Author: Isah Mukhtar

NAN-H-59

Schools

Lokoja, April 26, 2017(NAN) Chief Simeon Ogundele, a chieftain of the All Progressives Party (APC), has appealed to Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi to re-open state-owned tertiary institutions shut down in January.

Ogundele spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) on Wednesday in Lokoja, after meeting with the leadership of the students’ unions.

NAN reports that lecturers in the state’s five tertiary institutions embarked on strike in January over government’s failure to settle their salaries and arrears of assorted allowances.

The institutions include the Kogi State University, Anyigba, Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, College of Education (Technical) Lokoja, College of Education, Ankpa, and Kogi State School of Engineering, Lokoja.

The politician said that it was wrong to keep students perpetually at home, and regretted that they had become victims of the lingering feud between lecturers and the state government.

He wondered why lecturers should be frustrated into embarking on strike over unpaid salaries, and suggested that teachers’ salaries be made a priority in view of their roles in societal growth.

“In developed societies, the teacher is the first to be considered for such rights. Here, it is a different situation; this is sad,” he said.

‎Ogundele advised the governor to “critically look into the lingering disagreement”, stressing that students, parents and even the lecturers were tired of the indolence.

“The governor should immediately pay what is owed the lecturers in the interest of the state.

“It is dangerous for the society to keep the youths at home for so long, because they could be tempted to jump into vices which will not help the society,” he said.

Mr Philip Omepa, President of the Kogi State University chapter of the Students Union Government, who also spoke with NAN, urged the governor to look into the plight of the students and take urgent steps toward re-opening the schools.

“The youths are the future of the society; the quality of the future depends solely on the way we treat the youths today,” he pointed out.

Omepa said that the students were tired of staying at home and wanted to go back to their classes. (NAN)

WAL//ETS
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Edited by Ephraims Sheyin
‎‎

NAN-HG-38

Malaria

By Ezra Musa

Kaduna, April 26, 2017 (NAN) The National Association of Nigerian Paediatrics Nurses (NANP), Kaduna State chapter, on Wednesday disclosed that it would conduct a free malaria test and enlighten people on proper screening before treatment.

The NANP chapter chairman, Banji Omotayo, made this disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna.

Omotayo said the test would be conducted for three days as part of the activities to mark the World Malaria Day.

He said residents of the state would be tested and if diagnosed with the parasite drugs, would be given free treated mosquito nets for malaria prevention.

According to him, the test is necessary as self medication for treatment without proper test, has become a practice that should stop before the parasite becomes resistant to drugs.

He said the enlightenment campaign on self medication had to be a continuous one, as the practice was still on.

“The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that the incidence of malaria has been reduced by 29 per cent all over the world.  That is not acceptable to us, we will ensure that we reduce that number further through prevention,”Omotayo said.

“The northwest zone has the highest number of incidence of malaria and we must do everything possible to eradicate malaria before 2030”.

He lauded the State Government for the initiative of constructing drainages all over the state to control breeding of mosquitoes.

The chairman said the state Ministry of Health donated the drugs and treated mosquito nets to the association for distribution to people.

Omotayo, however, called on the residents to always keep their environment clean. (NAN)

EMZ/GOM/YEMI
Edited by Gregory Mmaduakolam Gregory/Yemi Idris-Aduloju

NA–H–94

Fraud

Lokoja, April 25, 2017 (NAN) Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi on Tuesday received the final report of the staff screening exercise, with a vow to retrieve salaries and allowances collected over the years by workers with fake certificates.

He also said that workers that gained employment into the state civil service with fake certificates would be prosecuted.

The governor, however, said that workers found guilty of altering their birth dates would be pardoned.

Bello, who commended the committee that carried out the exercise, said that issues relating to the 14-months verification exercise had finally been laid to rest with the submission of the report.

The governor promised to implement the recommendations in the report, and described the exercise as one of the “surgical operations” his administration had to embark upon toward effective service delivery.

Earlier, Mr John Ayuba, Chairman of the staff screening and verification appeal committee, had said that the committee was initially expected to attend to 32,753 workers, but ended up with 39,144

Ayuba, Director of Studies at the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), said that the committee identified 44 problems that were common to workers that appeared before it.

He listed the problems to include fake certificates, irregular promotion and appointments, disregard for civil service rules, inappropriate qualifications for people already in high places, among others.

The Chairman cited the case of some civil servants with primary school leaving certificates, who rose to become directors, and described the situation as strange.

In his remarks, Chairman of the Kogi chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Onu Edoka, said that the report was inconclusive as teachers and pensioners, who formed the bulk of complainants, were not captured .

He pleaded with the governor to temper justice with mercy in the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report. (NAN)
KKA/ETS

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Edited by Ephraims Sheyin

NAN-HE -5
Youths
Lokoja, April 25, 2017 (NAN) Mr Rasheed Abubakar, the Regional Manager of Premier Seeds, has advised youths in Kogi to take advantage of the start of rains in the state to cultivate crops‎.

Abubakar told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja on Tuesday that this was a good time to start farming.

“Premier Seeds will be giving out different seedlings to farmers and interested youths to help them have good seeds for cultivation.

“I want to urge ‎every youth to begin cultivation at a good time.

“Our seeds have been tested in the laboratory and have been given all the necessary attention to ensure that they grow to satisfaction and bring out good yields,’’ he said.‎

Abubakar said that his company had been on a sensitisation programme aimed at encouraging youths to go into full scale agriculture, rather than wait for government jobs.

“If every youth should yield to this call, it will reduce unemployment rate by 30 per cent and also boost the economy of the nation.

“The Federal Government is committed to encouraging youths to farm,’’ he said. (NAN)

WAL/OIF/TA

Edited by Ifeyinwa Okonkwo/Tajudeen Atitebi
 

NAN-H-110
Deaths
By Josephine Obute
Lagos, April 24, 2017 (NAN) At least four people were feared dead on Monday following a clash between scrap dealers and security men guarding oil pipelines in Isheri Osun/ Ijegun area of Lagos.

Residents of the area told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the armed security agents raided the scrap dealers for engaging in alleged “ nefarious activities’’.

NAN learnt that in the free-for-all fight, four persons were shot dead while several others sustained serious injuries.

“They came and started shooting, killing four of our men. I am just coming from Isolo mortuary where I deposited the corpse of my brother and some other bodies.

“About 17 people are lying critically wounded in two hospitals in the area, while others are in the police custody,” a victim, who identified himself as Sanni, told NAN.

The angry mob also set ablaze two Hilux patrol vans at the scene.

NAN learnt that the injured were taken to Eniola Hospital, Isheri-Oshun while the dead bodies were deposited at Mainland General Hospital, Yaba morgue.

The traditional ruler of Ijegun, Oba Nureni Akinremi, told NAN that police men from Area ‘M’ Command were invited to quell the clash which disrupted commercial activities in the area for several hours.

“I did not allow the clash to escalate so I called a combined police team from Isheri Osun, Ikotun and Area `M’, Idimu to restore normalcy,” he said.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Olarinde Famous-Cole, told NAN that the police were only invited to the scene to maintain law and order.

NAN reports that about five police patrol vans with armed personnel were moving around the area while those arrested were detained at Isheri Police Station. (NAN)
JNEO/MIO/WOJ

(Edited by Wale Ojetimi)

NAN-H-104
Peace
By Peter Amine
Jos, April 24, 2017 (NAN) The Police Community Relations Committee, (PCRC), says it  has adopted a strategy whereby Christian youths  guard mosques during Muslim festivities and Muslims youths guard Churches during Christian festivities in Plateau.

Mr Ola Azeez, the Chairman of Police Community Relations Committee, (PCRC), Plateau chapter, disclosed this when he led the group on a visit to the Commissioner Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Nazif in Jos on Monday.

He said the group adopted the strategy to consolidate on the prevalent peace in the state, adding that the efforts had enhanced the cordial understanding among the different faiths in the state.

The chairman, therefore,  solicited the state government’s support to ensure the success of the group’s effort.

The committee is responsible for setting up Neighborhood Watch in Jos metro.

Receiving the group, Nazif commended the group for the effortinitiating and actualizing ”The Neighbourhood watch.”

He noted that a good number of young men and women that had nothing to do have now engaged in the neighbourhood watch.

Nazif said that although there had been no salary for the group, government had been contributing ‘’very little’’ toward the sustenance of the group.

“Government has been observing the activities of the group and very soon, things will work out for the better”.

‘’The State Executive Council, during one of its meetings, has directed the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to liaise with local government chairmen to engage youths in neighbourhood watch and vigilante.

“The effort is aimed at ensuring that the state continues to enjoy the prevailing peace and harmony.

“It is the agenda of the state government that peace and security be sustained and we are collectively working to ensure that peace is sustained in Plateau,” he said.

The commissioner, however, warned that anybody that breached existing peace in the state would not be spared the rod by the state government.

According to him, the present administration in the state is proud to say that the prevailing peace in the state is one of its achievements and will not allow anyone to undermine it.

“Today, anybody can go to any part of Plateau and stay there as long as he or she wishe and returns to where he or she comes from without molestation.”(NAN)
PAT/DE/DUA
Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Dada Ahmed

NAN-H-45

Accident

Lokoja, April 24, 2017 ( NAN) Six persons on Monday lost their lives while 12 others were injured in an auto crash at Osara village on Lokoja-Okene road in Kogi.

Villagers told newsmen that the accident, which occured at about 9am, involved three vehicles – a truck, a Toyota Hiace bus and a Nissan Primera car.

According to the eyewitnesses, the truck and Toyota bus had a head on collision while the Nissan Primera car rammed into them.

The Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps ( FRSC), Mr Segun Martins confirmed the report, adding that the six victims died on the spot.

He said that the 12 persons who were critically injured were evacuated to the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja for further treatment, while the six corpses were deposited in the hospital’s morgue.

Martins said that the truck was registered Kano XF 156 FGE while the Toyota Hiace passenger bus carries Kano XC 581 DGE, and the Nissan, also conveying passengers, was registered Kogi KPF 369 AA.

According to him, the obstruction created on the road by the accident had been cleared for resumption of free flow of traffic. ( NAN)
KKA/MZA
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Edited by Maharazu Ahmed

NAN–H–27

Melaye

Lokoja, April 22, 2017 (NAN) Hundreds of women on Saturday staged a peaceful march in Aiyetoro-Gbede, Ijumu Local Government of Kogi, in support of Senator Dino Melaye over the attack on his country home on April 15.

About 10 gunmen had stormed the senator’s house at Aiyetoro-Gbede, in the early hours of the said date, and opened fire from various directions.

Two vehicles parked in the compound were damaged by the hoodlums.

Melaye, who was at home for the Easter holidays, was unhurt.

The women, who carried placards and leaves, marched through the street leading to the senator’s house, before assembling at a nearby spot where their leaders delivered speeches.

The women came from the seven local councils that make up Melaye’s Kogi West Senatorial District.

Some of their placards read: “Touch Dino and face our wrath”, “Don’t kill Dino Melaye” and “Don’t kill the light, let it shine”.

Mrs. Ikusemoro Jalo, one of the speakers, said that the solidarity march was to affirm their support for the senator and condemn the recent attempt on his life.

“We are mothers; we don’t want him to be murdered. He is representing us the way we want. We are proud of him because he has made us proud,” Jalo said.

She advised the senator not to be cowed by the recent attempt on his life, urging him to continue to fight for the rights of women, workers, pensioners, the oppressed and the repressed.

Another speaker, Mrs. Titi Kayode, said that assassination of political opponents had never been part of politics in Okunland, and described the masterminds of the attack on the senator’s life as “enemies of peace and progress”.

She called for a quick release of the report of the ongoing investigation into the incident, so that its perpetrators would be brought to justice.

Melaye expressed gratitude to the women for their support and prayers, saying that he “narrowly escaped death” on the day of the incident.

He cautioned politicians against politics of hatred and bitterness that was gradually gaining ground in Kogi “especially in the past two years”.

While noting that political rivalry was normal, he said that it should not be allowed to degenerate to assassination and violent attacks .

The senator promised to sustain his fight against injustice and delays in the payment of salaries, and declared that attacks and intimidation would not deter him.

“ God will not forgive me if I keep quiet while my people suffer,” the senator declared. (NAN)
KKA/ETS
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Edited by Ephraims Sheyin

NAN-H-1
Nzekwu

By Chukwudi Ekezie

Abuja, April 22, 2017 (NAN) Chief Onuora Nzekwu, the founding General Manager of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), has died at the age of 89, the family confirmed on Saturday.

Nzekwu, the author of Eze Goes to School, a novel, died by 4.30p.m. on Friday in his home in 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. (NAN)

JCE

NHIS expels 23,000 fake enrolees in 3 months, says Executive Secretary
NAN-HG-13
Fraud
By Felicia Imohimi
Abuja, April 20, 2017 (NAN) The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), said on Thursday that it has expelled 23,000 fake enrolees from the scheme in the past three months.

Prof. Usman Yusuf, the Executive Secretary of the scheme, revealed this at a forum organised by the Nigeria Health Watch in Abuja.

Yusuf noted that those numbers were infused into the scheme by the Health Maintenance Organisation (HMOs) to increase the number of enrolees due to selfish gains among others.

He emphasised that before the discovery, the scheme has been paying one thousand naira in 23, 000 places monthly.

The secretary, however, noted that the scheme would soon commence Biometric Auditing to further sanitise the system.

He emphasised that NHIS with its mandate, has the potential to change the life of Nigerians.

He expressed the displeasure over the meager resources allocated to the scheme which is not enough as subsidy to the HMOs.

Yusuf described HMOs as the problem of NHIS, noting that after giving them money three months ahead to pay for enrolees and their families healthcare services they find it difficult to release such monies to hospitals.

According to him, our patient ordinarily are supposed to be treated with dignity and respect but due to failure of HMOs to pay hospitals for services rendered they are been denied such services thereby compounding their health challenges.

“HMOs have been padding and increasing the number of false enrolees, the basis for what we have been paying them.

“The only way to flush this out is through biometric verification. The new ICT team constituted by the scheme in three months has expelled 23,000 ghost enrolees.

“NHIS has been paying N1, 000 to 23, 000 persons every month which amounts to N23 million to fake enrolees, it is only through biometrics we can sanitise the system.

“We will commence the biometric capturing as soon as the budget and our ICT department are ready, we are going to get our biometric machines in all hospitals,’’Yusuf said.

“My mandate is to make NHIS work for all Nigerians; the fund is not from Federal Government capital allocation but voluntary contributions by Nigerians and those who pay into the pool.

“I have been handed over to HMOs as CEO, but what do they have to offer, they are the problem of NHIS.

Yusuf noted that over eight months since he assumed office, he has been working to rebuild the lost confidence in the system in terms of accountability.

He, however, urged the public to hold leaders accountable in terms of investing in health sector and open to critiques in terms of how such investment are spent.

Yesuf noted that his targets during his tenure would be to promote accountability, increase coverage of Nigerians in the scheme and explore more creative way of financing health system among others.

“My hope and aspiration is to make NHIS work for all Nigerians, in the past 12 years it has not work, we have covered only one per cent of the population.

“I want to reach out to big churches, traditional leaders to tell them what we do and see how we could raise fund, outside government,’’Yusuf said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the forum called for greater cooperation with some health institutions and also to create opportunity to enlighten health sector and the public on NHIS plans to improve nation’s health system.(NAN)
FUA/JIE/AFA
Edited by Julius Enehikhuere/Felix Ajide