The Nation Newspaper

Tag: News Agency of Nigeria

  • Hematologist suggests how govt can reduce malaria infection

    Hematologist suggests how govt can reduce malaria infection

    A Hematologist, Prof.Osaro Erhabor, on Monday urged the three tiers of government to reduce the incidence of malaria infection by embarking on health education campaigns and training on malaria prevention.

    Erhabor of the Department of Hematology and Blood Transfusion Science, Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, said this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos ahead of the World Malaria Day (WMD).

    A hematologist is an expert in the study of the blood and blood-forming tissues.

    It also reports that the World Malaria Day, always celebrated every April 25, is to highlight the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment for malaria prevention and control.

    This year’s global theme for World Malaria Day is “End Malaria for Good.’’

    He said that governments at all levels could particularly educate people on the need to keep their surroundings clean to prevent them from serving as breeding places for mosquitoes.

    “The provision and the distribution of more insecticide treated-nets freely to the populace and embarking on extensive vector control program will also prevent malaria.

    “The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates stated that there were about 214 million cases of malaria in 2015 which led to 438,000 deaths.

    “Due to the incidence, WHO recommends testing before providing anti-malaria treatment because it limits indiscriminate use of anti-malaria drugs?

    “It prevents emerging parasitic resistance to anti- malaria and ensures a declining malaria transmission in previously high transmission areas,” Erhabor said.

    The hematologist said that those suspected to be suffering from malaria should go for Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs).

    He defined RTDs as the first screening test for malaria diagnosis that must be confirmed by microscopy.

    NAN reports that microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye).

    Erhabor said, “RDTs also assist medical doctors in the diagnosis of malaria, which can also help to detect evidence of malaria parasites in the human blood.

    “It helps doctors to make rapid and accurate diagnosis which can be complemented by the use of   microscopy”.

    Erhabor said that pregnant women should be given free malaria diagnosis and treatment to reduce the burden on them and the developing fetus in their wombs.

    “Every pregnant woman must be given malaria chemoprophylaxis at their first visit to the hospital for ante-natal clinics.

    “Increment in creating more awareness of malaria infection and its complications among pregnant women and children is very important,” he said.

    Erhabor advised all health workers, especially, nurses to always inform their patients during treatment or counselling what preventive precautions they would need to control the spread of malaria.

     

  • Carpenter charged with robbing man with knife

    A 23-year-old carpenter, Femi Ariyo, who allegedly robbed a man of his mobile phone with a knife, was on Monday charged before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court.

    The accused, who resides in Ogba area of Ikeja, is being tried for conspiracy, robbery and stealing.

    According to the prosecutor, Insp. George Nwosu, the accused committed the offences on April 6 at Abule-Egba, a Lagos suburb, at about 5.00 a.m.

    He alleged that the accused with two others still at large, who was armed with a knife, robbed the complainant, Semiu Okunlola, of his phone worth N25, 000.

    “The accused accosted the complainant, who was going to work at about 5.00 a.m., brought out a knife and threatened to stab him to death if he refused to surrender his phone.

    “Out of fear, he released the phone to the accused while he and his accomplices took to their heels.

    “The complainant raised an alarm and passers-by gave them a hot chase and caught the accused while others escaped with the phone,” he said.

    The offences contravened Sections 285, 295 and 409 of the Criminal Law of News Agency of Nigeria, 2015.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 285 provides three years, while Section 295 prescribes sentence not less than 21 years.

    The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    The Magistrate, Mrs O.I. Raji, granted him bail in the sum of N100, 000 bails with two sureties in like sum.

    Raji said the two sureties should show evidence of two years tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

    The case has been adjourned until May 2 for mention.

     

  • Dogara urges Cross River govt to investigate football fans’ death

    Dogara urges Cross River govt to investigate football fans’ death

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara has urged the Cross River State government to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of soccer fans in Calabar, the state capital.

    The speaker expressed sadness over the unfortunate incident which led to the death of football fans in a viewing centre in Calabar.

    A statement issued by the Speaker’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Turaki Hassan, Dogara called for a probe of the incident with a view to holding responsible anyone found wanting.

    The speaker condoned with both the families of those who lost their lives and the survivals of incident who were still receiving treatment.

    “My heart goes out to the families of football fans who died in the incident at the viewing centre.

    “At this moment, my thoughts and prayers are with the affected families, survivors, the government and good people of Cross River state following this sad incident.

    “It is my ardent hope that survivors are receiving adequate care, and the state government is taking the necessary steps to avoid a recurrence of such a sad incident,” he said.

    He prayed God to comfort all the families who had been thrown into mourning and to grant the souls of the dearly departed perfect peace.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that no fewer than 30 soccer lovers had lost their lives in a viewing center in Cross Rivers on April 20.

    The soccer fans were electrocuted on Thursday night after a high tension electric pole fell on the building while watching the UEFA Europa League quarter-final match between Manchester United and Anderlecht.

     

  • Government not helping grassroots sports development — Anambra Lawmaker

    Charles Ezeani, representing Anaocha II constituency in Anambra House of Assembly on Saturday said that governments in the country had not helped in nurturing talents discovered from grassroots sports development programmes.

    Ezeani made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the football trials organized by U.K.-based Diamond Sports Academy at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere Lagos.

    NAN reports that Diamond Sports Academy in partnership with Ezeani Sports Academy, Nneni, conducted the football trials in Lagos to scout for young talented players and provide them the platform to play abroad.

    The one week football trials which ended on Friday had over 200 young footballers from across the country that was given the opportunity to showcase their talents.

    On grassroots football in Nigeria, Ezeani, who is the Anambra State House of Assembly Minority Whip, said that government’s intervention through the provision of infrastructure could help sports to grow.

    “Grassroots football development in Nigeria is still poor in the sense that one would have expected that government should help in putting up infrastructure.

    “These structures will help give the young ones to have proper training. From my area Anambra State; one will shed tears on seeing the training pitches, there are no structures at all.

    “The fields are so poor with stones everywhere and all sorts of things. But if government as expected had put up sports infrastructures, it will encourage many young footballers.

    “Many upcoming talents have nowhere to train and those who want to scout for budding players are often discouraged but the talents are there,’’ he said.

    Ezeani said that many talented footballers are being wasted because there was nothing for them to train with, adding that youths had not felt the impact of government.

    “When you are in an environment and there is no facility to start up, how do you measure up? In my own case, I have to train the footballers in my own compound.

    “When talking about grassroots sports development, we don’t mean the cities but football fields in the rural areas and communities.

    “At times, also, in my father’s compound we train and when you train people under such uncomfortable atmosphere you cannot get the best out of them.

    “To scout for players, we need good fields; this will go a long way and I know that providing sports infrastructure is not too expensive for the government,’’ he said.

    The lawmaker, who is also the proprietor of Ezeani Football Academy in Nneni, Anaocha, Anambra, said that the players from his academy had issues playing on the synthetic pitch because had yet to play on it.

     

     

  • Niger Tornadoes FC commiserates with families of electrocuted fans

    The management of Niger Tornadoes FC of Minna has condoled with the families of 30 football fans electrocuted in a viewing centre on Thursday in Calabar, Cross River.

    The club’s Media Officer, Mr George Daniya, said in a statement on Saturday in Minna that the chairman of the club, Adamu Aliyu, described the incident as a dark moment in the history of Nigerian football.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the incident occurred when an electric cable fell on a house where the late fans gathered to view a match.

    The match was a Europa League club quarter-final between Manchester United and Anderlecht.

    It said that Aliyu sympathised with the families of the victims, saying that the tragedy was an act of God which could not be questioned.

    The statement urged the families to bear the irreparable loss and take solace in God, who gives and takes life at the appointed time.

    It said the entire Niger Tornadoes FC was saddened by the incident and prayed that such a situation did not recur.

    It added that the incident had caused a mourning period in the football industry and called on the affected clubs, Manchester United and Anderlecht, to honour their deceased fans.

    “We all know how passionate Nigerians are about football and Manchester United has a strong following base here.

    “It is sad we lost these passionate football enthusiasts, we will continue to remember them in our prayers that God will grant them eternal rest,” the statement said.

     

  • Ebonyi council elections commences with prompt arrival of materials

    Reports from different parts of Ebonyi indicated that electoral materials for the Local Government Council elections in the state have arrived in most polling booths and units across the state.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the sensitive and non-sensitive materials and the Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission (EBSIEC) ad-hoc Electoral officials arrived in most centres within the capital city as early as 8am.

    Officials of the EBSIEC said that areas not yet having these materials would soon be supplied after clearing some logistic problems.

    At Ishiagu community in Ivo local government area, officials and voting materials arrived polling units including Girls Secondary School, Akparata, Ajali, Ugwueziafor as early as 8am while accreditation of voters began at 9am in most units.

    In Ezza North and South local government areas some polling unit has yet to receive electoral materials as at time of filing this report.

    Meanwhile, massive presence of uniformed security men were noticed in Abakaliki and other parts of the state as voting begins.

    The Police, Army, the Civil Defence Corps were seen patrolling the state capital to maintain law and order during the exercise.

    The Ebonyi Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Jude Madu, assured the electorate of adequate security during and after the elections.

    “We assure the general public of readiness of the Nigerian Police and other security agencies to provide adequate security in all parts of the state during and after the voting exercise.

    “We advise the voting public to maintain decorum at the polling centres and ensure that they vote for candidates of their choice.

    “Nobody should be intimidated by the massive presence of Police and other security personnel in Abakaliki and other parts of the state,” Madu said.

    The Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Uchenna Orji, who is an indigene of Ishiagu, commended EBSIEC for the conduct of the election.

    Orji who spoke to NAN in a telephone interview described the turnout of voters as encouraging.

    “I commend EBSIEC for conducting the finest local government area election ever and I want to use the opportunity to advise the electorate to freely exercise their franchise without any molestation or intimidation,” Orji said.

    The Commissioner for Water Resources, Mrs Euphemia Nwali, noted that despite the late arrival of materials in some units, the situation was under control.

    The commissioner expressed optimism that the PDP would win the election as it had no rival in the state.

     

  • Malammadori LG constructs 45 toilets in schools

    The Malammadori Local Government Council of Jigawa on Saturday said it has constructed 45 pit toilets in schools to reduce open defecation and enhance sanitation among students.

    The Coordinator, Water and Sanitation programme in the council, Malam Babandi Saleh stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Malammadori.

    Saleh said that a 15-block of three improved toilets each was constructed in some selected basic and post basic schools to check open defecation.

    He explained that seven hand pumps were also provided in the schools to promote personal hygiene under its hand-wash campaign.

    Saleh disclosed that the projects were executed in collaboration with the UNICEF.

    The coordinator added that the council was also sensitizing the people on the dangers associated with open defecation.

    “We carried out awareness campaigns at different wards on the need for people to embrace personal hygiene, sanitation and promote waste management in the society”.

    According to him, the council also carried out waste and drains clearance exercise in the area to reduce cases of flooding.

    He called on members of the public to shun open defecation and keep a clean environment to protect themselves against diseases.

     

  • Internet association says only 80,000 .ng domain in Nigeria

    Internet association says only 80,000 .ng domain in Nigeria

    President of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), Mr Sunday Folayan says only 80,000 dotng (.ng) domain names have been registered so far in Nigeria.

    Folayan announced the figure during the NIRA 2017 .ng Awards, aimed at celebrating the achievements and innovation of Nigerian internet initiatives on Friday in Lagos.

    He said that the uptake and registration of .ng, which is the Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD), was low and needed to be embraced by Nigerians.

    According to him, South Africa, with a population of 57 million people, has over a million domains registered under .za, as its ccTLD.

    “This abysmal comparison led NIRA to do a deep introspect, where we recognized that education, especially which leads to entrepreneurship and job creation, is the major driver of domain name penetration.

    “NIRA has established the ‘NIRA Academy’, which will soon assume its position as the centre of excellence in Domain Name System (DNS) in Africa.

    “The academy currently operates outside NIRA head office, but we seek a permanent site for the construction of our campus,” he said.

    Afolayan implored Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State to assist the association with “generous allocation worthy of a campus for a centre of excellence”.

    The president said that in the course of the year, the .ng brand would be visible on social media platforms in order to promote the ccTLD.

    The internet service expert said that the NIRA .ng Awards was established in 2016 to recognise and honour the many contributors that were creating awareness in growing the .ng brand.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the categories of the awards include: “.ng Company of the Year”, “Start-up Company of the Year”, “Best Local Hosting Company’’ and “Best e-Payment Website/Portal’’.

    Others are .ng Media Award categories which include, “Best Print Media Website”, “Best Electronic Media (Television and Radio)” and “Best Online Media Website”, under which NAN was nominated.

     

  • NAN founding GM Nzekwu dies at 89

    The founding General Manager of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Chief Onuora Nzekwu, has died at the age of 89, the family confirmed on Saturday.

    Nzekwu, the author of a popular novella, Eze Goes To School died by 4.30p.m. On Friday in his home at Onitsha, Anambra, where he had been living in retirement, a family member, Mr Louis Chuke, said.

    Nzekwu joined the Federal Civil Service as an editorial assistant at the Nigeria Magazine Division of the Federal Ministry of Information.

    He worked as an editorial assistant from 1956 to 1958 when took over the position of editor-in-chief of the magazine.

    In 1966 when the Nigerian civil war broke out, he transferred his services to the Eastern Nigeria Public Service and returned to the federal service at the end of the crisis in 1970.

    He served as General Manager of NAN from 1979 to 1985.

    Nzekwu wrote Troubled Dust, a novel that recounts the experiences of the civil war.

     

  • Osun govt. to provide farmers with cocoa seedlings

    The Osun Government has pledged to provide cocoa farmers in the state with 200,000 cocoa seedlings this year.

    The Coordinating Director, Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Youth Engagement, Dr Bukola Aluko made the promise on Thursday, while speaking with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Osogbo.

    He said that the state government would also provide farmers with extension services and other facilities that would support and boost their productivity.
    “In helping to improve cocoa production in plantations across the state, the state government plans to provide farmers with 200,000 cocoa seedlings.
    “The process of making the seedlings available is ongoing and when the seedlings are ready, we will call on our farmers to come pick them at highly subsidised rates,” he said.
    Aluko also said that the state government had been allotting lands to farmers and individuals who were interested in farming so as to boost agriculture in the state.
    He said that the state government had set up some agencies to oversee land allocation processes and provide land to those who would use it purely for agricultural purposes.