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  • Bello proscribes JAC, trade union activities in state institutions

    Bello proscribes JAC, trade union activities in state institutions

    Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi on Wednesday announced the ban on the activities of Joint Action Committee (JAC) of trade unions and all forms of trade unionism in state-owned tertiary institutions.

    Bello, who made the announcement in a broadcast in Lokoja on Wednesday accused trade unionism in tertiary institutions of impeding government holistic reforms.

    He said he had respect for the rights of all citizens to responsibly associate and pursue their welfare within the ambits of the law and norms of a democratic society.

    The governor said his administration had made tremendous progress in resolving all issues relating to adequacy and frequency of remuneration for all categories of Civil Servants in the State.

    He reiterated his respect for the rights of labour unions in relations to the responsibilities of the owners and proprietors of tertiary academic institutions.

    Bello, however, regretted that the state-owned tertiary institutions’ trade unionism had let itself to impeding government’s efforts to carry out “holistic reforms in the civil service through its unjustified industrial actions.

    “The branch of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) in Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, has proceeded on yet another strike for alleged non-payment of salaries and emoluments irrespective of clear evidence of government’s good faith and efforts contradicting JAC’s position,” he said.

    The governor said there was evidence of massive embezzlement at Kogi State Polytechnic’s earnings in excess of N157m committed under JAC’s nose.

    Bello assured that his government remained committed to meeting its obligations to all genuine employees of the state as promptly as available resources would permit.

    “Government will work to ensure uninterrupted academic calendar, henceforth, in all basic education, secondary and tertiary academic institutions in Kogi State.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, and except where specified otherwise, references herein to the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Trade Unions of Tertiary Institutions owned by Kogi State are referred to:

    “The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU). The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP). The Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU). The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) and The Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education in Nigeria (SSUCOEN).

    “Others are the National Associations of Academic Technologists (NAAT) and any other Union operating in any tertiary Institutions owned by the Kogi State Government,” he said.

    NAN

  • 11m doctors, nurses, teachers needed to save Africa from ‘disaster’ – UN

    11m doctors, nurses, teachers needed to save Africa from ‘disaster’ – UN

    Africa needs 11 million more doctors, nurses and teachers by 2030 to prevent a “social and economic disaster” that could propel millions to migrate, the UN said on Thursday.

    It said the 11 million were needed to help the continent cope with a booming population, with the number of children set to increase by 170 million to 750 million in the next 13 years.

    “We are at the most critical juncture for Africa’s children,” Leila Pakkala of the UNICEF said in a statement.

    “Get it right, and we could … lift hundreds of millions out of extreme poverty, and contribute to enhanced prosperity, stability, and peace,” said Pakkala, who heads UNICEF operations in eastern and southern Africa.

    The UN’s children agency attributed the boom in births to high fertility rates, a rising number of women of reproductive age and lower child mortality.

    UNICEF said by the end of the century, one in two children worldwide will live in Africa.

    If they reach working age both schooled and healthy, they could spur economic growth – but for that to happen, Pakkala said investment in education and health were badly needed.

    UNICEF added that more schools must be built.

    The UN agency said that teachers, doctors, midwives and health workers must be trained and encouraged to stay in their community rather than move to cities or abroad.

    More than one in five Africans aged six to 11 are not in school.

    Girls, in particular, are more likely never to see a classroom, waylayed by child marriage and teenage pregnancy.

    Six in ten Africans lack access to basic sanitation and on average there are only 1.7 medical professionals per 1,000 inhabitants, well below the minimum international standard of 4.45 set by the WHO.

    To bridge the gap, 5.6 million health workers and 5.8 million teachers have to be trained by 2030.

    If it fails to invest in its future, Africa risks a “demographic disaster, characterised by unemployment and instability,” UNICEF said.

    It painted a picture where a lack of jobs, rapid urbanization and climate change could force millions to flee the continent seeking a better life overseas.

    Robert Yates, a health expert at the British think tank Chatham House, said 11 million teachers and medics was a challenging goal but not unfeasible, as shown by the rapid development of some Asian countries, such as Thailand and China.

    The UN agency added that this required a strong political will to boost public spending on health and education – rare in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Nigeria, which currently accounts for 20 percent of all Africa’s births, for example spends only 0.9 per cent of its GDP on public health, one of the lowest rates in the world.

    Exceptions in recent decades included South Africa, Rwanda and Ethiopia.

    NAN

  • FG disburses N229.6m to 22,926 poor, vulnerable in Jigawa

    FG disburses N229.6m to 22,926 poor, vulnerable in Jigawa

    The Federal Government on Thursday said it had disbursed N229, 640,000 million to 22,962 women considered to be poor and vulnerable in Jigawa, under its Conditional Cash Transfer ( CCT ).

    Malam Nura Sani, the Head of Media and Publicly, Jigawa office of the Federal Government’s Special Intervention Program ( SIP ), said this in Dutse.

    Sani said that the fund was disbursed to the beneficiaries in nine local government areas of the state: Auyo, Guri, Gwiwa, Jahun, Kaugama, Kiyawa Miga, Roni and Taura.

    He explained that the beneficiaries were selected from three political wards of the benefiting local government areas, considered to be the poorest of the poor.

    According to him the nine councils represent the first batch for the take-off of the programme being 30 per cent of the 27 local government areas of the state.

    According to him, 15 more councils would also benefit from the programme.

    CCT scheme was introduced by the Federal Government to tackle poverty among Nigerians.

    CCT programmes are aimed at reducing poverty by making welfare programmes conditional upon the receivers’ actions.

    In the programme, the government transfers the money to persons who meet certain criteria, include enrolling children into public schools, getting regular check-ups at the doctor’s office.

    CCTs seek to break the cycle of poverty in the country through the development of human capital.

    NAN

  • Police rescue two suspected robbers from mob in Enugu

    Police rescue two suspected robbers from mob in Enugu

    The operatives of the Police Command in Enugu State say they have rescued two suspected robbers from mob and lynching in Amuri road near Enugu.

    The Police Public Relations Officer ( PPRO ) for the command, Asp. Ebere Amaraizu, said in a statement on Thursday in Enugu.

    He said that the suspects, who attempted to flee after they made effort to steal a motorcycle, were rescued on Oct. 22.

    The police image maker noted that the rescue was carried out by police operatives from Agbani Division of the command.

    The spokesman said that the two suspects, name with held, hailed from Ogbaku in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo.

    “The two suspects received beating of their lives from the mob that promptly descended heavily on them for allegedly stealing a Top Star Motorcycle from where it was parked at Amuri Road at Agbani,’’ he said.

    He said the owner of the said motorcycle had gone to purchase some items from Eke Agbani Market.

    “It was gathered that suspects, having been sighted by good citizens, were promptly given a hot chase by members of the public who eventually closed them up.’’

    “They gave them the beating of their lives which left them with various degrees of injuries before the arrival of police operatives who immediately rescued them from being lynched.’’

    Amaraizu, who said the suspects were receiving medical attention while the motorcycle has been recovered, said the command had begun full scale investigations into the matter.

    NAN

  • Fitdasi Shekau’s wife feared dead after airstrikes on Durwawa – NAF

    Fitdasi Shekau’s wife feared dead after airstrikes on Durwawa – NAF

    Human Intelligence has indicated that the wife of Boko Haram leader, Malama Fitdasi Shekau, appeared to have been killed in recent successful airstrikes on Durwawa settlement on the outskirts of Urga, near Konduga.

    The Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF Headquarters, Air Commodore Olatokunbo Adesanya, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

    According to Adesanya, Fitdasi was reported to have been representing her husband in a coordinating meeting with other insurgents at the location of the airstrikes.

    He said NAF had carried out aerial attacks on large number of insurgents at Durwawa on Oct. 19.

    “Battle Damage Assessment had indeed revealed that the aerial attack set off a fire, causing damage to the insurgents’ structures within the settlement.

    “The airstrike also succeeded in neutralising most of the insurgents with a few of them fleeing the location,” he said.

    Adesanya said further that efforts were ongoing to confirm the reported killing of Shekau’s wife, alongside other insurgents.

    Read Also: Troops kill 3 Boko Haram insurgents, recover arms in Borno

  • ‘Oando Foundation equips 80 primary schools in 22 states’

    ‘Oando Foundation equips 80 primary schools in 22 states’

    Oando Foundation, an independent charity organisation has equipped  80 primary schools in 22 states and the FCT, in its efforts to boost access to quality education in the country.

    Mrs Adekanla Adegoke, Head of the foundation, made the disclosure at the inauguration of a block of three classrooms, ICT Centre and toilet facility at LEA Primary School Rido in Kaduna on Wednesday.

    The  facilities were donated to the school by the foundation, as part of Oando’s corporate social responsibility.

    According to her, the foundation has initiated a programme tagged Adopt-A-School Initiative (AASI), aimed at  holistic improvement of public primary schools.

    “AASI was initiated in 2007 in partnership with the Ministry of Education and State Universal Basic Education Boards in line with Oando Foundation’s mission of transforming lives through education.

    “AASI is focused on improving the overall quality of basic education in public primary schools and to create a sustainable model for effective teaching and learning in all adopted schools.”

    She said that the 80 schools adopted by Oando Foundation were located in Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Cross River, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Kaduna, Katsina, Kwara and Lagos states.

    Others are in Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, and the FCT.

    She disclosed that the foundation had adopted two schools in Kaduna state, namely LEA Primary School, Rido, and LEA Primary School Rigasa.

    “The foundation has so far spent about N50 million in LEA Rido since its adoption in 2011.

    “We constructed two blocks of five classrooms and sanitation facilities to improve hygiene.

    “We equally offered scholarship to 22 students to support their secondary education, provided over 1,000 units of teaching and learning materials to strengthen the quality of teaching and learning in the school.

    “We have also built the capacity of teachers and head teachers in modern teaching techniques,” the official said.

    She added that the foundation also partnered Sumitomo Chemical, a Japanese company, to establish the solar powered ICT centres in public primary schools in Kaduna, Lagos and Taraba states.

    “While most children in rural areas do not have access to a computer, three out of every five children in the urban areas lack basic ICT skills.

    “To reverse this negative trend, the foundation has established 15 ICT/Creative Centres in its adopted schools, serving the learning needs of over 16,000 pupils.

    “Together with Sumitomo Chemical and other well-meaning organisations like the Educate-A-Child Qatar, we are creating an enabling environment to provide pupils from marginalised backgrounds invaluable 21st century technology skills, “Adegoke said.

    Also speaking, the Executive Chairman of SUBEB, Malam Nasir Umar thanked the foundation for the gesture, saying that “education is a collective responsibility”.

    Represented by a Permanent Member of the board, Mrs Mary Ambi, the chairman called on other corporate organizations to emulate the gesture.

    Similarly, the Village Head of the community, Alhaji Hamisu Haruna also commended the effort, adding that it would reduce current congestion of over 300 pupils per class.

    He said that the school, built in the 1960s and with a population of about 2,000 pupils, has only seven classrooms, stressing that much would be required to bridge the gap.

    NAN

  • Enugu LGC kicks-off routine immunisation

    Enugu LGC kicks-off routine immunisation

    The Enugu State Immunisation Officer, Dr Udodirim Madu, has urged parents to avail themselves of the opportunity of immunisation provided by the State Government to safeguard the lives of their children.

    Madu made the call during the official flag-off of routine immunisation in Nkanu West Local Government Area of the state on Wednesday.
    He outlined numerous benefits of routine immunisation to include reduction in number of death and disability from number of diseases that affect children in their infant stage.

    Madu assured parents, especially women, of government’s determination to continue improving the primary health care service delivery in the state.

    A representative of the World Health Organisation ( WHO ), Mrs Onyinye Emefiena, said the essence of the exercise was to ensure that every child gets the maximum possible protection from vaccine-preventable diseases.

    Emefiena said that the WHO would continue to partner the state government to ensure that each child in the state is protected against child killer diseases and other infectious diseases as well.

    The Caretaker Chairman of the council, Chief Chika Igwesi, said that the exercise and other laudable programmes of the council area would affect the lives of the people from the area.

    Igwesi lauded Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for the support he has being giving the council as well as the free child and maternal healthcare service in the state.

    In a goodwill messages, the traditional ruler of Eziaba Community in Agbani, Igwe Sampson Nnamani, urged women to avail themselves of the opportunity provided by the government to safeguard the lives of their children by bringing them out for immunisation.

    “I am using this medium to call all my subjects as well as people living in other communities in this council to co-operate for us all to have healthy children,’’ Nnamani appealed.

    Mrs Ogechi Ugwu and Mrs Blessing Nnamani, nursing mothers, expressed gratitude to the state government for the exercise.

    In separate interviews at the event, they thanked the state governor his health team for making it possible.

    More than 100 nursing mothers and children under the age of five converged from different parts of the council for the immunisation and to receive gift items from the wife of the council’s caretaker chairman, Dr Rall Igwesi

    NAN

  • Kebbi to retrain unqualified teachers

    Kebbi to retrain unqualified teachers

    The Kebbi government has decided to re-train unqualified teachers in the state, rather than sacking them.

    The state’s Commissioner for education, Alhaji Muhamaadu Aliero, made the announcement on Wednesday in Birnin Kebbi.

    Aliero was addressing newly-elected officers of the state’s chapter of the Nigerian Union of Teachers ( NUT ).

    He said that unqualified primary and junior secondary school teachers would be encouraged to acquire the required qualification to be retained as teachers.

    The commissioner advised teachers to ensure that pupils in primary schools were capable of reading and writing as requirements for admission into junior secondary schools.

    Aliero said that principals would henceforth, be graded based on the success recorded by their pupils.

    According to him, a policy will be introduced to limit the number of students in a class room to 40 while, streams will be limited to A, B and C.

    He assured that infrastructure would be provided to accommodate the growing number of students, urging teachers to support the efforts made by government to raise the standard of education in the state.

    Read Also: Kebbi sponsors free eye surgery

  • Anambra guber candidate decries monetary inducement in politics

    Anambra guber candidate decries monetary inducement in politics

    Mr Chris Nweke, the candidate of African Peoples Party (APP) in the Nov. 18 Anambra Governorship election, has urged the electorate to shun monetary inducement in their voting decisions.

    Nweke told newsmen on Tuesday in Awka that big parties were polluting the political space with display of so much money.

    He said that he would win the election in spite of his underdog status, noting that neither money nor god-father syndrome but practicable manifestos would decide the election.

    Nweke said he had a well-articulated programme for the development of the state, adding that he was not into politics to make money, but to work for the interest and development of the state.

    The candidate appealed to the electorate to ignore his rivals who had no people-oriented programmes and deceived people with money to vote for APP for good dividends of democracy.

    “I represent a new hope in surmounting these hurdles against development and have resolved to match my opponents with my political goodwill.

    “I will also channel all efforts and resources towards re-orientating and grooming our people, especially youths to work for progress of our state.

    “The electorate should be focused, look into the antecedent of the governorship candidates, identify and judge among them who have the charisma to take Anambra to the next level.

    “They should not look at money used to induce voters during the election, they should vote wisely for our state to be better,” Nweke said.

    He said the education sector would be improved and strengthened with adequate funding and qualified personnel.

    The candidate added that his administration would stick by the internationally agreed standard of 26 per cent allocation to education.

    The APP candidate said that if elected, he would announce free and compulsory education for all children from the cradle to JSS 3 class.

    Nweke urged the people to support and vote him as a governor to realise his ambition of building a peaceful and prosperous state.

    NAN

  • El-Rufai seeks more funding for NYSC

    El-Rufai seeks more funding for NYSC

    Gov. Nasiru El-Rufai of Kaduna State on Wednesday called for improved funding for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to make it function effectively.

    El-Rufai made the call when the leadership of NYSC, led by its Director General, Brig.-Gen. Suleiman Kazaure paid him a courtesy visit in Kaduna.

    Kazaure is in Kaduna for a 3-day pre-orientation workshop for the 2017 batch ‘B’ corps members.

    The governor said the scheme should be properly funded as it serves as avenue of exploring the country’s diversity and strengthening its unity.

    “So, whatever the NYSC scheme needs to successfully take care of corps members, for them to go wherever they want to be in Nigeria, should be fully funded.’’

    The governor however frowned at situations in which corps members refuse postings to places they had never been to in the country.

    “From what I hear, many young people now don’t like going to states other than where they will be comfortable.

    “They think places where they have never been to are hostile communities and they don’t want to go there.

    “But I will like to use this medium to appeal to our young people to be adventurous.

    “NYSC will make you go to places you have never been because that is how you will know more about Nigeria.’’

    El-Rufa’i advised the NYSC management to do more in posting corps members to areas new to them.

    “This is what I will like to see the NYSC do, instead of fixing postings; just allow the computer to post people based on where they have gone to school,’’ he said.

    According to him, posting corps members to where they have never been to was the only way to bring young Nigerians together so they can understand the nation’s problems and challenges.

    El-Rufa’i thanked the management of NYSC for choosing Kaduna as venue for the national workshop and expressed the hope that the forum would boost the economy of the state.

    He added that the development was an indication that the security situation in the state had improved.

    Earlier, Kazaure said the choice of Kaduna State, to host the event, was in appreciation of the support and hospitality the scheme enjoys from the government and its people.

    The director general assured that the scheme, under his leadership, would continue to build on its solid foundation, as well as come up with initiatives that would promote national integration.

    NAN