Blog

Jigawa LG woos children with sweet for immunisation

NAN-H-12

Immunisation

Dutse, Sept. 17, 2016 (NAN) The Buji Local Government Council of Jigawa has provided 40 cartons of sweets to woo children to participate in the September house-to-house immunisation exercise.

The Information Officer of the Council, Alhaji Ali Safiyanu, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Dutse.

Safiyanu said that no fewer than 47,500 children will be immunised against polio and other child killer diseases in the area.

He said the council had received enough doses of Oral Polio Vaccines (OPVs) to cover the targeted number of children during the five-day exercise.

The spokesperson said the council had also serviced the power generating set belonging to the National Program for Immunisation (NPI) to ensure constant power supply during the exercise.

Safiyanu said constant power supply will help in keeping the OPVs  refrigerated throughout the exercise.

NAN reports that the immunisation exercise for September begins in all the 27 local government areas of the state on Saturday. (NAN)

MNB/ACO/ROT

Corps member drills borehole in Jema’a LG

NAN-H-8

Borehole

By Moses Kolo

Kafanchan (Kaduna State), Sept. 17, 2016 (NAN) A Corps member, serving at Annam village in Kaninkon chiffon in Jema’a Local Government of Kaduna State, Mr Kassi Sunny, has drilled a borehole to provide potable water for the community.

The borehole, which he drilled through the mobilisation of the public, cost over N650,000.

Dr Bege Katuka, the Interim Chairman of the council, who inaugurated the borehole for use on Saturday, commended the corps member for his mobilisation power.

“The result of the drive has culminated into proving a community with a source of potable water,” he said.

Katuka said the borehole would go a long way in saving the people
from contacting water borne diseases.

He said that Sunny’s borehole was a rare fit and a challenge to well-to-do individuals of the community.

The chairman advices members of the community to guard the borehole against
vandalism to maximise its benefit.

In a remark, the District head of Annam, Mr Hosea David, applauded the gesture by the corps member, who he said, had given life to the community.

David said prior to the development, the community depended on only one source of water which they shared with animals.

He urged the local government to provide a bigger storage tank to enable the community have enough water.

Sunny had earlier explained that he was moved to embark on the Community Development Project as a result of the complaints from students from Annam, who report late to school as a result of lack of water. (NAN)

MGK/OFN

NDPHC to complete all pending projects
NAN-H-6
Projects
Lagos, Sept. 17, 2016 (NAN) The Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) has restated its determination to complete all ongoing projects being undertaken by the company.

This is contained in a statement issued by the General Manager Communication and Public Relations of the company, Mr Yakubu Lawal, in Lagos on Saturday.

Lawal described as false rumours that NDPHC projects have been suspended due to government plans to change the name of the company.

“I want to state categorically that all our projects are ongoing. There is no plan by the management to change the name of the company neither has the government ordered us to do so.

“Management is determined to complete all ongoing projects and we have been working with our contractors and stakeholders to ensure that projects are delivered as soon as possible.”

He said its Managing Director, Chiedu Ugbo, on Sept. 14, met with the Oronta Community of Abia to resolve the lingering Right of Way dispute.

Lawal said that this issue had hindered the completion of our 330KV Transmission Line passing through that community.

He said that the dispute was now resolved and the parties involved had signed terms of settlement.

“All other projects are going on unhindered and where there is an issue, I personally will go there to resolve the issue,” he said.

Lawal said that since Ugbo took over he had consistently told stakeholders of his determination to deliver ongoing projects so that power would be delivered to Nigerians.

The spokesman said Ugbo on assumption of office in June visited Gbarain Power Station in Bayelsa to resolve gas issues affecting performance of the company.

He said that last week the managing director led the management team to Ikot-Ekpene in Akwa Ibom to assess the issues affecting wheeling power through the transmission station.

He said the station would transport over 2500MW of electricity from the power station located in the Eastern/South-South regions of the country to the National Grid.

He said that Ugbo had also met with Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, to solicit his support in resolving community issues as well as reaching out to his counterparts.

He urged Ugwuanyi to assist NDPHC resolve all community issues in their respective state in order to pave way for contractors to complete their projects. (NAN)
YO/OFN
(Edited by Felix Nwadioha)

NAN-H-9

Polio

Kafanchan (Kaduna) Sept. 16, 2017 (NAN) The Director of Primary Health Care in Laura Local Government Area, Mrs Sarah Silas has urged nursing mothers to make their children available for this month’s polio immunisation.

Silas, who spoke on Saturday while inaugurating the exercise in Fadan Kagoro, said that the call became necessary in order to ensure the total eradication of polio in the area.

She commended the Interim Council for supporting health programmes, adding “this has in turn improved the general wellbeing of the people’’.

In his remarks, the Technical Facilitator in the state, Mr Alexander Danboyi expressed satisfaction with the large turn-out of mothers at the ceremony.

Also speaking, Jerisha Iya, the wife of the council’s Interim Chairman, noted that mothers were saddled with the responsibility of providing care for their children.

According to her, this includes immunisation, hence the need for them to rise to the responsibility.

Responding, the Chief of Kagoro, Mr Ufuwai Bonnet urged the ad-hoc staff handling the exercise to be committed to it to ensure maximum success. (NAN)

MGK/EEE

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Edited by Ese E. Ekama

NAN-H-69
Challenges
By Emmanuel Mogbede
Abuja, Sept. 16, 2016 (NAN) Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoS), has restated the commitment of the Federal Government to address the housing challenges of civil servants.

She made the statement on Friday in Abuja when a delegation from the Chinese-Africa Development Fund visited her.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that on Aug 1, Oyo-Ita performed the ground-breaking ceremony of 1, 000 housing units under the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) programme at Tafyi district, Abuja.

The FISH programme was initiated by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation in collaboration with the American Building System International (ABSI).

On completion, one bedroom flat is expected to be sold for N7 million while two and three bedroom flats would be sold for N9 million and N12 million respectively.

The FISH programme Oyo-ita said, was initiated by government to address the housing needs of civil servants since the Federal Government Housing Loans Board could no longer shoulder the responsibility due to paucity of funds.

She added that the programme was a public-private partnership between her office and private developers.

The Head of Service said that the Federal Mortgage Bank had indicated interest in the programme.

She noted that though provision of accommodation was important in human life, funding had been its major challenge.

She described the visit of the Chinese-Africa Development Fund as `very fruitful,’ adding that it would help fastract the FISH programme.

The HoS said that various foreign investors were already showing interest in Nigeria.

She said that with 87, 000 federal civil servants, Nigeria had the potential market in terms of population, capacity, human and mineral resources.

She told the delegation that Chinese companies were already operating in Nigeria’s rail sector and other sectors of the economy.

“We have about 87, 000 Federal civil servants, so you can be assured that you have a significant amount of people who will be undertakers to any housing programme you come up with’’.

She assured the delegation that their investment was secured in the country because they were dealing directly with the government.

She said that what the Federal Government needed most was infrastructural development and soft loans for civil servants on a single digit basis since accessing loan from commercial banks was becoming more expensive.

Earlier in his remarks, Mr Chi Jianxin, Chairman Chinese-Africa Development Fund and head of the delegation, said the visit was to discuss ways of solving the housing deficit in Nigeria.

He said that Chinese-Africa Development Fund was poised to reduce the cost of housing to make it more affordable to Nigerian civil servants.

“We will like to reduce the cost of owning houses by introducing more Chinese entrepreneurs to come and invest in construction materials’’ he said.

China-Africa Development Fund is a private equity and venture capital investment arm of China Development Bank specialising in expansion stage, mature stage and buyout investments.

It also invests in stocks, convertible bonds and other quasi-equity type investments.

The firm also invests in agriculture and manufacturing industry sectors. (NAN)

EEM/AEA/AEA
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Edited and Controlled by Archibong Asuquo

AE-16
Weather
By Sumaila Ogbaje
Abuja, Sept. 16, 2016 (NAN) The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), has predicted cloudy weather conditions over the central states of the country on Saturday morning with localised thunderstorms over Yola, Bauchi, Jos and some parts.
The predictions are contained in the Weather Outlook issued by NiMet’s Central Forecast Office (CFO) on Friday in Abuja.
It added that there were chances of thunderstorms over Minna, Bida, Ilorin and some parts of Abuja later in the day with maximum temperatures of 25 to 30 degrees Celsius.
The agency predicted increased cloudiness over the inland cities of the southwest and the entire coast cities with chances of localised thunderstorms and rains over the southeast in the morning hours.
It also predicted localised thunderstorms and rains over the entire inland cities and coastal cities of Lagos, Delta, Porthacourt, Yenegoa and Calabar mater in the day with maximum temperatures of 28 to 30 degrees Celsius.
NiMet predicted that northern states of would experience Cloudy morning over northwestern cities with chances of morning thunderstorms over Maiduguri, Damaturu, Nguru, Yelwa and environs.
It added that there would be prospects of localised thunderstorms over Kano, Gusau, Sokoto and Yelwa later in the day with maximum temperatures of 30 to 32 degrees Celsius.
According to the prediction, there are prospects of rainfall activities across the eastern flank of the country, which is expected to advence towards the Western side in the next 24 hours. (NAN)
OYS/AFA
Edited by Felix Ajide
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(more…)

NAN-H-66

Picketing

By Chinyere Bassey

Lagos, Sept. 16, 2016 (NAN) The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) on Friday protested over non-payment of workers’ salaries in two Federal Government Colleges in Lagos and Ondo States.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the colleges are the Kings College, Lagos and the Federal Government College, Idoani, Ondo State.

Mr Alade Lawal, the Secretary General of the ASCSN told NAN in Lagos that union officials would ensure that education officers in the schools do not resume for work.

NAN reports that the union had earlier cautioned parents and guardians not to release their children and wards to resume classes in the affected schools.

According to Lawal, the ultimatum given to the government, to pay the workers’ salary, expired on Thursday.

He, however, said that as at that day, government had not responded,

“Until government responds to our demands, the workers will not be allowed to operate,’’ the secretary said.

Lawal had called on the government to take urgent steps toward paying the salary of education officers outstanding since May 2016 in the schools.

“Education officers in the schools will not resume classes on Thursday, Sept. 15 unless salary owed them since May were paid by Wednesday, Sept. 14.

“Since May officers in King’s College and Federal Government College, Idoani, have been put in financial embarrassment in violation of Public Service Rules.

“We are afraid that the decision, not to pay the salaries, may extend to other schools if there is no resistance from the workers and their Trade Unions.

“This is also worrisome because the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office have continued to shift blames on the matter,’’ Lawal had said.

The secretary said that the other 102 colleges have been mobilised to join the strike, if the government still refused to pay the officers in the two schools, saying, “injury to one is injury to all.’’

He said that the association was still battling to ensure that arrears of salaries and allowances, owed by the last administration to some categories of officers, are settled.

Lawal appealed to the government to reduce the hardship facing the workers due to poor take home pay by paying them without further delay.

“The welfare of citizens should be among government priorities,’’ he said.

He, therefore, urged the government to pay the workers to douse tension that had started to build up in all the 104 unity colleges over the issue. (NAN)
CHIN/AIB/AFA
Edited by Abdulfatah Babatunde/Felix Ajide
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Court remands woman, 9 others in prison for alleged possession of Indian hemp

NAN-H-58
Hemp

By Dorcas Elusogbon

Ile-Ife (Osun), Sept 16, 2016 (NAN) An Osun Magistrates’ Court sitting in Ile-Ife on Friday remanded 10 accused persons, including a woman, in prison for allegedly being in possession of Indian hemp.

They are: Omobolade Oke, 30; Ogunsesan Gbadegesin, 28; Imeh Essang, 25; Yinka Akinyombo, 20; Tayo Adeyemo, 25; Sunday Oriade, 24; Moses Oladele, 30; Bayo Adeoye, 27; Kareem Dauda, 26; and Wale Olagbaju, 19.

The Magistrate, Mr Olalekan Ijiyode, said although the charge was a bailable but , decried the high level of deliquesces in the society.

He ordered the accused persons to be remanded in prison to enable them show remorse, and adjourned the case till Oct 20, for hearing.

The Prosecutor, Insp. Emmanuel Abdullahi, told the court that the accused persons committed the offence on Sept. 15, around 6 a.m., in Ile-Ife and its environs.

Abdullahi said that they conspired among themselves to commit felony to wit; housebreaking, stealing and resisted arrest.

He further said that the accused persons conducted themselves in a manner likely to cause the breach of peace with their behaviours which caused panic among the people in their neighbourhood.

No plea was not taken. (NAN)

EDA/KOO/OFN
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Edited by Kevin Okunzuwa//Felix Nwadioha

NAN-H-63

Recession

Abuja, Sept. 16, 2016 (NAN) The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has urged the Federal Government to declare Nigeria’s economic recession a national emergency.

This is contained in a three-point communiqué read by the Chairman of the Forum and Zamfara Governor Abdulaziz Yari in Abuja on Friday.

The governors also urged the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency tackle the resurgence in polio and  Lassa fever.

The governors had also resolved to support the Federal Government to continue to “reflate” the nation’s economy out of the present crisis.

According to the communiqué, the governors have agreed to set up state task forces on polio eradication, with the deputy governors as the heads.

The governors also expressed their commitment to the payment of their states’ counterpart funds in order to meet their obligations towards the eradication of polio.

The chairman said that the governors also discussed the recurring incident of Lassa fever and resolved to collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Health to address the challenge.

According to him, the governors traced the history of Lassa fever to the late 1950s and noted that African nations have yet to find a permanent solution to the problem.

“So, we are going to engage the ministry of health to discuss and find lasting solution to Lassa fever,’’ he added. (NAN)

DCU/OSA/EEE

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(Edited by Shittu Obassa/Ese E. Ekama)