The Nation Newspaper

Tag: rehabilitate

  • Women in medicine rehabilitate school in Ebonyi

    Women in medicine rehabilitate school in Ebonyi

    The Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN), Ebonyi State, has renovated a block of classrooms at Ndiebo Community Primary School, Abakaliki, the state capital.

    It also sank a borehole in the school and built an assembly ground podium in addition to a toilet.

    The association equally planted trees and flowers to beautify the school.

    At the flag-off of the facilities, president of the association Dr Thecla said the focus of her administration is improving the health of schoolchildren through services, education and information, and promoting a healthy environment.

    •The team testing the water project
    •The team testing the water project

    “The association has visited several schools in Abakaliki, both public and private schools, delivering health talks and demonstrations on topical issues such as hand washing to prevent diseases (accompanied with donation of customised tap buckets) oral hygiene to prevent dental caries (with distribution of toothbrushes and tooth pastes to children) sickle cell anaemia, debilitating but largely preventable disease; malaria and its prevention, to mention but a few”.

    “In the bid to promote a healthy environment, the association planted over fifty ornamental trees at Nkaliki Nnuhu Primary School, Abakaliki to beautify the school compound. We wanted to do much more in the school but met some community challenges”.

    “This led to our further search for a school where we could showcase our idea of a health promoting school”.

    “Search criteria included a public school, located in a rural or suburban area without water and toilet facilities, and with a significant population of children (of the poor)”.

    “Our unbiased search led to Ndiebo Ishieke Community Primary School and here we are today. We came and saw that this school has no source of water, no toilet facility and the central classroom was extremely dilapidated with holes in the weak walls, and torn roof”.

    “The school environment looked bare and harsh, not child-friendly. I must really recognise the effort of the government through SUBEB, in fencing the school compound, which was of immeasurable importance, and putting up a classroom block”.

    •The renovated classroom block
    •The renovated classroom block

    Dr Ezeonu said when MWAN came to Ndiebo Ishieke Community Primary School, “we saw and conquered. Today, this school has a newly built functional standard water borehole, a six-room toilet facility, a renovated classroom block, a podium for morning assemblies, and a compound decorated with ornamental and fruit trees.”

    All these have been put up by the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria, Ebonyi State chapter, by the help and grace of God, and with the help of our supporters and advisers”.

    She said part of the challenges faced by the association was when it was duped by fraudsters.

    She said: “we give God all the glory because it was no easy task. I must make it known to all that in the course of the project we got into the hands of fraudsters, by the name Water and Horticulture Development said to be managed by Community Borehole Development assistance Program and Nigerian Houses and Environment Sanitisation and Protection programme led by one Dominic Essien”.

    “They flounted fake papers and dossiers, and claimed to be affiliated to the ministry of works. They took our money and  abandoned

    the project. However, we are more than conquerors, through christ. We picked up broken bones and set to work again and we were able to put in place what you see today, within our limited resources”.

    Commissioning the project, National President of the Association, Dr Mrs Akwa Owoh commended MWAN for embarking on the project.

    She said MWAN Ebonyi state chapter is one of the most vibrant chapters of the association.

    Principal of the school, Mrs Gladys Akaeme appreciation of the students and PTA for the projects.

    “What you have done will not only promotee a favourable teaching and learning environment but will go a long way to prevent the spread of communicable diseases on my teachers and pupils as result of poor management and disposal of human waste and will also save the lives of our pupils who cross the dangerous road near the school compound in search of clean water to drink”.

    The elated pupils of the schools danced and. sang the praises of the association.

    The Parents Teachers Association (PTA) also presented gifts to the association in appreciation for the gesture.

     

  • Rep want FG to rehabilitate bad roads

    The House of Representatives on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to immediately commence palliative measure to rehabilitate the bad portions of the Ikorodu-Shagamu and Ikorodu-Ijebu Ode roads.

    This followed a motion moved by Barrister Jimi Benson (APC – Ikorodu federal constituency) which was unanimously adopted. Benson said that the roads are in a pitiable condition and that motorists were passing through harrowing experience.

    The lawmaker said that the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) had abandoned the two inter-state roads in spite of several efforts to get the federal government to hearken to the yearnings of millions of road users over the years.

    He said that most sections of the international highways were failing thereby creating hurdles and gully-like potholes at various sections of the road. The legislator noted that the situation had resulted to vehicular break down, traffic gridlock and encourages driving against traffic which has brought untold hardships on car owners and commuters.

    According to Benson, “the Ikorodu-Shagamu and Ikorodu-Itokin-Ijebu-Ode highways connecting Lagos and Ogun State from two different angles are vital trunk ‘A’ roads that are of vital economic importance to the citizens of the two states in particular, and Nigerians who occasionally ply the roads in general.

    The roads constructed over forty years ago have been in deplorable state, efforts at rehabilitating them had been half-hearted and produced poor quality work; and this is one of the 17 roads and bridges across 15 states approved by the Federal Executive Council on December 3, 2014, at over N430.5billion with the assertion that N21 billion as at then was available to kick-start the projects.

  • FERMA, please rehabilitate Ikole-Omuooke Road

    sIR:  I want to call the attention of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to the deplorable state of the federal road linking Ikole Ekiti with Omuooke Ekiti. As it is, the road has become a death trap.

    I believe the mandate of FERMA is to ensure that all federal roads are in good condition at all times. The agency should not pretend it does not know that the Ikole-Omuooke road is gradually scraping and wearing away.

    I want to use this medium to urge FERMA to rise to the challenge of putting the road in order so as to save the lives of the good citizens of this nation.

     

    • Adewumi Tope Humble

    Omuooke Ekiti,  Ekiti State.

  • Kano to rehabilitate primary schools

    The Kano State government has voted N4.2 billion for the rehabilitation of dilapidated primary schools in the state.

    The Executive Chairman of the Kano State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Alhaji Wada Zakari, made the disclosure in an interview with journalists in Kano.

    He said the project would be executed in collaboration with the Education Sector Programme in Nigeria (ESPIN), a UK-funded programme.

    “The state governor, Alhaji Rabi’u Kwankwaso, has approved the rehabilitation of all primary schools in the state but the work will be carried out in phases.

    “The primary schools in the state have been divided into three, as the first phase of the work will soon commence,” he said.

    The executive chairman said the project would include the provision of furniture for both teachers and students as well as the purchase of facilities to enhance teaching and learning.

    He disclosed further that the board had also began the training of 16,000 primary school teachers on methods of teaching English Language and Mathematics in schools.

    ‘’The training is aimed at keeping the teachers abreast with new methods and techniques of teaching English Language and Mathematics,’’ he said.

    According to him, a total of 5,345 headmasters are undergoing training on effective school management as part of measures to enhance their skills in mentoring pupils and school administration.

    Zakari revealed that the state government had so far constructed more than 2,000 additional classrooms in selected schools as part of efforts to decongest existing classrooms.

    ‘’The state government has also provided 22 Toyota Hilux vehicles to the board for effective supervision of schools in the 44 Local Government Areas,’’ he added.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Lagos to rehabilitate 1,000 roads

    Lagos to rehabilitate 1,000 roads

    Lagos State government has expressed its determination to make residents’ movement hitch-free. It has therefore set a target of rehabilitating about 1,000 roads; a proposal that has been captured in the 2013 budget.

    Chairman of the Lagos State Public Works Corporation (LSPWC), Mr. Gbenga Akintola revealed this while addressing journalists at his office in Ojodu Berger, Lagos.

    Akintola, who addressed the conference along with top officials of the corporation, expressed the determination of the state government to improve and strengthen synergy with the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) in order to achieve its goal of pothole-free Lagos.

    He, however, complained about the increasing vandalisation of manhole covers and gratings across the state, saying that the state is losing a whopping sum of taxpayers’ money annually.

    On the corporation’s achievement in the 2012 fiscal regime, he said about 705 roads were effectively maintained just as 241 roads “have been maintained between January and now.”

    He further said the government also plans to fix 250 gratings; replace 100 manhole covers; and construct drains in about 17 locations in nine local government and local council development areas.

    He noted that the state government had procured additional state-of-the-art plant and equipment “to make the task of road rehabilitation, manhole cover replacement and drain construction easier and faster. We are even expecting more before the end of this year.”

    Mr Akintola, however, lamented the continual removal and vandalisation of manhole covers by some members of the public, who sell them for monetary gains in the scrap metal markets.

    He further explained that, apart from series of communication channels “used in enlightening them on the dire consequence of the act, we realised that the removal of manhole continued across the state.

    “We therefore came up with a new product made of recycled plastic (composite resin fibre, which has zero market value unlike the previous one made of cast iron.) We, however, realised that even the recycled plastic products are also being vandalised or stolen,” Akintola said.

    He also explained that the state government’s collaboration with FERMA would be strengthened “to effectively maintain and rehabilitate federal roads across all the local councils in the state.

    “With the directive of Governor Babatunde Fashola, LSPWC recently commenced sales of asphalts at discount rate to FERMA so as to enable it to respond more promptly and effectively to road maintenance needs. If this synergy continues, it will be one major way of bringing relief to Lagosians, especially as regards federal roads,” the corporation explained.

  • Rehabilitate old rail lines first

    Rehabilitate old rail lines first

    SIR: The federal government should discard the idea of building more 10 rail lines and concentrate on rehabilitating the existing ones. Rail transport contributed in no small measure to the development of the country and wellbeing of the citizenry. During the first republic it was the major means of transportation, especially in the area of conveying foodstuff and other goods across the country. Cost of living then was very low because people were not spending much on feeding as foodstuff and other goods were easily affordable and at very cheap price. People, especially the down-trodden were able to provide sufficient meal for themselves and their families. In short life was easy going for the masses.

    But unfortunately this cheapest and safest means of transportation collapsed after the Nigerian/Biafran war thereby truncating people’s opportunity of travelling by rail. Now the present government has succeeded in making some portions of the rail lines functional, a task their predecessors could not achieve after spending billions of naira on it, it therefore becomes absolutely necessary for her to rehabilitate the entire network before venturing into new ones. As flagging off of the Lagos/Kano line was greeted with excitement by Nigerians, people, especially the southerners look forward to seeing the Port Harcourt Maiduguri route follow suit.

    Building of rail lines is not the same thing as constructing a road. The promise to complete three new rail lines this year seems unrealistic if it is taking the country more than 30 years to labour on the already built rail lines, the probability of completing three new ones within a year is absolutely zero. So government should jettison the idea of embarking on a similar project and endeavour to restore the usual hustle and bustle that was characteristics of railway stations in the past.

    Moreover, it has become a tradition in the country that any project started and unfinished by the incumbent government would not be continued by their successors. So it would be foolhardy for the president to start a job he cannot finish while in office; insisting on the mission would definitely mean leaving a white elephant project legacy.

    Rather, the President should divert the fund to resuscitating myriad of moribund industries scattered all over the country. For instance, outfits like Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mill, Delta Steel Company, Nigerian Airways and many others whose workers are still left to their fate need immediate resuscitation in order to reinstate their workers.

    If railway transport and power become effective in the country, Nigerians would begin to see light at the end of the tunnel.

    • Nkemakolam Gabriel

    Port Harcourt.

  • Abuja to rehabilitate more beggars

    Abuja to rehabilitate more beggars

    The Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) is to rehabilitate 10 additional beggars who were caught in some designated areas in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Director, Alhaji Isa Shuaibu, has said.

    Shuaibu said that the  AEPB had arrested 10 women beggars together with their 15 children during operations in deferent parts of the city.

    According to him, some of the arrested beggars had undergone rehabilitation and he wondered why they preferred to beg.

    “Some of these beggars had undergone rehabilitation and were given assistance to establish small-scale businesses.

    “I am surprised that they have come back to do the same thing here in Abuja. I am using this medium to inform them that we may be harsh on street beggars since they have refused to comply with our policy against street begging.

    “We will strictly monitor places where there is traffic congestion to ensure that both hawkers and beggars do not perpetrate their activities,’’he said.

    The director also praised the enforcement unit for ensuring vigilance and gave an assurance that the board would not condone any activity that would denigrate the status of the city.

    He said that the beggars had been taken to the FCT Rehabilitation Camp in Bwari.

    Shuaibu also warned traders not to flout the regulation against hawking during the forthcoming Sallah celebration, adding that the board would monitor sanitation activities during the festivity

     

  • Amaechi to rehabilitate roads

    An line with its transformation agenda, the Rivers State government will soon begin the rehabilitation of dilapidated roads in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

    The state Commissioner for Works,Mr Victor Giadom, disclosed this in Port Harcourt while briefing newsmen.

    He said that the project would begin immediately after the rains.

    The commissioner said that due to the nature of the state’s landscape, he had instructed contractors handling the rehabilitation to use sharp sand instead of laterite for the foundation of the roads to guarantee their durability.

    “Although this process is expensive due to the poor terrain, it is imperative for the ministry to apply the world best practices on road construction.

    “I am optimistic we will complete the rehabilitation before the next rainy season,’’ Giadom said.

    The commissioner expressed the hope that at the end of the rehabilitation, roads in the capital would be free from potholes.