The Nation Newspaper

Tag: improved welfare

  • Group seeks improved welfare for basic education

    Concerned about the downturn in the quality of basic education available to Nigeria’s children, which has resulted in our having about 13.2 million out-of-school children, a UK-based not-for-profit organization, Raising Champion Children Initiative (RCCI), under the leadership of an Educationist and Executive Director, Mrs. Bose Agbesanwa, recently engaged stakeholders in the education sector at a roundtable conference with a view to finding better solutions to the multiple problems confronting the sector. This she said became imperative in order to lay the right foundation for our children and also meet up with international standard, especially now that the world has gone global.

    The roundtable dialogue, which held at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry building (LCCI), Alausa, Ikeja brought together players in the  sector such as SUBEB; head teachers of private primary as well as public primary schools, politicians, policy-makers, educators, parents and other stakeholders to examine the topic: “Grading Nigeria’s Progress in Basic Education”.

    In her welcome address, Agbesanwa explained that Raising Champion Children Initiative (RCCI) is a non-profit organisation committed to supporting and improving lives of less privileged children, their families and communities by empowering them through quality relevant education, innovative healthcare and entrepreneurial skills.”

     

  • Sanwo-Olu promises improved welfare for Lagos workers

    It was all excitement yesterday at Alausa in Ikeja, the seat of power of the Lagos State government, when the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, held a consultative meeting with workers.

    A huge crowd of workers from all local government areas converged on Adeyemi Bero Hall to listen to the promises and programmes of the APC candidate.

    Workers’ welfare, Sanwo-Olu promised, will be a priority of his administration, if elected.

    He promised to run a listening government, to which every worker will have access.

    The APC governorship candidate, who was accompanied by his running mate, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, described the meeting as “a homecoming”.

    He said he and Hamzat were moved to tears, seeing the crowd of civil servants who welcomed them.

    Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat were commissioners in the state.

    The APC candidate explained the programmes in his manifesto, codenamed THEME, saying the programmes were formulated to elevate Lagos to be the pride of black race.

    He said: “We have developed our programmes to address the current challenges facing Lagos and to set the template for the realisation of a Greater Lagos that will be the pride of the black race.

    “This is the message we have been telling 25 million Lagosians on the campaign trail. To achieve these goals, we believe there is need for a knowledgeable public service that will drive these policies and programmes.

    “Our programmes will not be effectively implemented and our objectives achieved without the readiness of the public servants to work with us as the drivers of these policies and promises made to Lagosians. Most of our programmes will be technology-driven and we feel there is need to meet with you and prepare you ahead.”

    All government offices, Sanwo-Olu said, would be equipped with free Wi-Fi to promote seamless communications among government workers.

    The APC candidate promised that his government would bring back international capacity building and training opportunities for workers, but said the condition for selecting beneficiaries would be strictly be based on merit.

  • Lagos Speaker assures Nigerians of improved welfare

    Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa has assured Nigerians that the Federal and the state government are committed to improving their welfare and standard of living.

    Obasa, in his Democracy Day message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Musbau Rasak, lauded the citizens for their courage and perseverance and assured that the people would soon start to enjoy the dividends of government’s socio-economic reforms.

    The  Speaker said: “This is the third anniversary of the All Progressives Congress  (APC) administration at the centre and I want to commend our people for their support and prayers not only for the government at the centre, but also for the state and local governments.

    “Yes, things have not been rosy, hence the need for me to commend your courage and perseverance. Our people have been so wonderful for their support and prayers.

    “However, I want to assure you that very soon, you will start to reap the dividends of the socio-economic reforms of the government.

    “At the state level, there’s is no doubt that Lagosians are enjoying positive dividends of democracy with massive infrastructure and human development programmes anchored on people-oriented policies backed by rightly-guided legislation.”

     

     

  • PLASU promises improved welfare

    The Vice Chancellor Plateau State University, Bokkos, Professor Doknan Decent Danjuma Sheni has assures students of the university of improved academic and welfare for students.

    The VC said this is part of the sacrifices he has to make in order to accelerate the growth and development of the university.

    Prof. Sheni made this known while interacting with the new leadership of Students’ Union Government of the university.

    According to him, “The university is working hard to make the students comfortable during studies, as the architectural designs for additional hostels, clinic and stadium are ready but the major constraint is lack of funds.”

    He assured that as soon as resources are provided, more hostels, à clinic and stadium would be built.

    He commended students for their patience and understanding during the period that courses were not accredited and expressed satisfaction with the accreditation of courses run by the university, the convocation and mobilisation of graduates for the mandatory one year, National Youth Service Corps.

    Professor Sheni said he and the university management have committed their time and talents to repositioning the institution which would be beneficial to the younger generation.

    He therefore urged the new EXCO of SUG to remain totally focused and avoid corrupt tendencies, as doing so will be counter-productive.

    He also debunked the rumour that fees have been increased by fifty percent, saying the institution is not contemplating such move.

    In their separate remarks, the SUG President and Speaker of the Students’ Parliament, Comrades Izang Ajik Dogo and Ladan Sambo commended the Vice Chancellor and staff for their sacrifices, which they acknowledged have started yielding fruits.

     

  •  Lagos assures inmates of improved welfare

    The Prerogative of Mercy Committee has inspected prisons in Lagos. The fact-finding visit revealed the unhealthy conditions of the wards and cells , reports ADEBISI ONANUGA

    Unlike what obtained in the past when prison visits were embarked upon by sitting Chief Judges of the state to grant freedom to awaiting trial inmates who have been in prisons longer than they would have spent if they have been tried and convicted of an offence, last week’s visit of the Lagos State Prerogative of Mercy Committee had a different mission.

    It was one designed to see the state of the prisons and the conditions under which the inmates live. It was also intended to determine what measures could be taken to decongest the facilities which are presently over populated.

    As it turned out, it was one visit that revealed another dangerous dimension in the prisons, that of poor health conditions capable of becoming an epidemic as against the usual over population of the prisons.

    The Prerogative of Mercy Committee was led by the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Adeniji Kazeem. The committee also include the Solicitor General, Mrs Funlola Odunlami, the Director, Office of the Public Defender (OPD), Mrs Bukola Salami, Deputy Director, Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP), Dr. Jide Martins among others.

    Kazeem, after the inspection of the prison facilities, promised that the state government would take steps to improve the health situation of the inmates and reduce mortality rate.

    He said he had taken note of the dearth of drugs at the clinics in the various prisons and promised to seek the support of the state’s ministry of health for provision of drugs to the sick inmates.

    Adeniji, while answering questions from journalists after the visit, lifted the spirit of the inmates  as he disclosed that government has set a committee headed by the Director, Office of the Public Defender (OPD), Mrs Bukola Salami to review the cases of awaiting trials with a view to ensure that the inmates don’t continue to stay in prison unjustly, or die in the process of waiting, particularly those who are on sick bed without access to medication.

    He noted for instance, the case of a security guard, Joshua Zakari who has been in prison for two years on the allegation that he stole a generator and presently suffering from liver problem; Bassey Mathew who is awaiting trial for allegedly defiling a nine year old girl but now on admission at the General Hospital, Lagos for renal failure among others.

    The Justice Commissioner emphasized the need for the federal government to show more interest in the prisons and to work out a system to assists those who are sick, particularly to prevent an epidemic like meningitis likely to be occasioned by severe heat currently being experienced in the state.

    “We don’t want to experience a prison break in Lagos, The prisons is supposed to  reform inmates and not to make them want to make them want to break out on the account of ill-health”, he said.

    Mr Adeniji commended the state Controller of Prisons, Mr Tinuola and his officials over how they have been caring for the inmates noting that they are well behaved in spite of the harsh conditions under which they live in the facilities.

    Earlier,  the Lagos State Controller of Prisons, Mr. Olumide Tinuoye had disclosed that 32 prison inmates died in one year in prison in Lagos owing to their inability to access funds for proper medication and drugs.

    According to Tinuoye, the prisons also lost one female inmate to death last month after being on dialysis for over two years.

    He said that often times, prison officials use their personal money to buy drugs for the inmates while others live on the philanthropic gestures of churches and mosques which have been assisting to provide medication for the inmates.

    The state controller of prisons stated that there are 7,714 in all the prisons across the state,  6,047 of are awaiting trials, 1,390 convicted, 202 already condemned while  75 are serving life sentences.

    He stated for instance that Ikoyi prisons which has a capacity of 800 presently has a total of 2,508 inmates, 461 of which are convicted and 2,047 while Kirikiri Medium prisons with 1,700 capacity has 2,979 inmates out of which 2,634 are awaiting trials while 345 are convicted inmates.

  • Sports Festival: Para-athletes in Enugu seek improved welfare

    Sports Festival: Para-athletes in Enugu seek improved welfare

    The Head Coach of the Enugu State Ministry of Sports Para-Athletics, Silver Ezikpe, on Thursday called for an improved welfare for para-athletes in the state.

    Ezikpe, a world record holder in javelin, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu.

    He said that preparations for the 2014 National Sports Festival had been hampered due to poor attitude of the ministry toward the welfare of the athletes.

    He said that they were training on dilapidated platform and under harsh conditions.

    “There are many things that are weighing us down. The athletes come from long distance and are not even paid allowances. I feed them from my meagre salary.

    “I just showed you one of them eating hard bread with sachet water. This is what they eat after a hard training and this type of junk food is not meant for athletes,” he said.

    Ezikpe said that it was regrettable that Enugu, which used to be the toast of the nation in para-athletes, had suddenly relinquished such exalted position to other states.

    “The ministry should intervene and improve the welfare of my athletes because in other states, athletes are well taken care of.

    “If nothing is done urgently, we may not get a good result in Paradise 2014 Games because some of our good athletes are ready to dump Enugu to compete for other states,” he said.

    He said that sports had proven to be a veritable source of livelihood for the disabled in the country.

    “We have many disabled (persons) that are very good in sports in the state. What they need is encouragement by government in order to do the state proud.

    “If the athletes are well motivated, others will join and the ones we already have will come up to the standard of winning medals because para-games is where many gold medals are won.”

    Meanwhile, Enugu State Director of Sports, John Eli has assured that the state government will do everything possible to motivate athletes from the state for the 2014 National Sports Festival.

    “It will no longer be business as usual because we are doing a lot of things to make sure we do better.

    “We are making arrangements to field athletes in those sports where we feel we have comparative advantage over other sports.

    “Enugu is a traditionalist in football, athletics, para-sports and combatant sports,” he said.

    Eli said that the ministry had opened discussions with those that would represent the state during the festival.

    “We have already compiled a list of our athletes in order to give them all forms of motivation and also make their preparation conducive,” Eli said.