Author: tdpel

Treatment

By Lucy Osuizigbo-Okechukwu

The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) says that no fewer than 1.7 million patients accessed HIV/AIDs treatment in the south-East region in 2021.

Dr Miriam Ezekwe, NACA’S South-East Zonal Coordinator, made the disclosure at a stakeholders’ coordination meeting in Awka on Thursday.

” At the end of December 2021, it was found that no fewer than 1.7 million persons sought and accessed HIV/AIDS treatment in the region.

” In 2015, a similar survey showed that some 670,000 patients sought and accessed the treatments. This current data shows a 37.4 per cent increase in six years,” she said.

Ezekwe stated that such epidemic control was achieved in the region following effective policy implementation, resources allocation and actions taken by stakeholders.

Non-pharmaceutical measures such as peer education, contraceptive and lubricant usage among others, also helped to control the rate of infection.

”The result of this is that people infected with the virus are able to seek and access treatment instead of suffering in silence,” he said.

Also speaking, Dr Adaoha Anosike, UNAIDS Resident Programme Officer in  Anambra, expressed worry that the state had the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the region.

She described the meeting as timely and strategic, adding that it would produce seminal and useful ideas for the campaign against the disease.

”It is important to take the sensitisation about the disease to every nook and cranny of the state,” she said.

Anosike thanked stakeholders for attending the meeting and contributing their ideas towards tackling the scourge

It would be recalled that the 2018 HIV/AIDS indicator and impact survey showed that the South-East had 1.9 per cent prevalence rate.

The survey listed Anambra as the highest in the region with 2.4 per cent while Abia followed with 2.1 per cent prevalence rate.

It further showed that Enugu had 2.0 per cent, Imo, 1.8 per cent and Ebonyi, 0.8 per cent HIV/AIDS prevalence rate.(NAN)

By Femi Ogunshola

The House of Representatives has urged the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Director General, Department of State Security (DSS) and other security agencies to  deployed officers to Ijesha land in Osun.

This is to arrest unwanted killing of innocent Nigerians by suspected cultists operating in the area in a bid to return normalcy and restore peace and order to Ijesha land in Osun.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance by Rep. Lawrence Ayeni (APC-Osun) on the floor of the House on Wednesday in Abuja.

In his motion, Ayeni noted that Atakumosa East/Atakumosa West, Ilesha East and Ilesha West Federal Constituency of  Osun State had been the most peaceful localities in the South West region of the country;

He, however, noted that the inglorious activities of suspected members of the yet to be identified cultist group had over the past three months embarked on murder of unsuspecting residents in the area.

According to him, on Feb. 7, members of the dreadful cultist group in broad daylight killed five persons.

“Those who were hurt by stray bullets and sustained various degree of injury were taken to Wesley Hospital in Ilesha East for medical treatment.

“The day for the All Progressives Congress (APC) party primary, a group of political thugs who drove in a branded vehicle of certain political party, invaded the venue of the party primary and unleashed attacks on the voters

He said that the group succeeded in killing one person before they escaped from the incident, adding that the security agencies pursued them and recovered the vehicle use for the operation.

“On Feb. 21, seven persons were killed in Irojo by the suspected cultists around 7.30pm, barely an hour of a peace meeting by some community leaders and the Osun State Commissioner of Police,” he said.

He said that residents of the areas could no longer sleep with their two eyes closed at night or were they able to go about their lawful businesses during the day sequel to life-threatening incidences

He stated that the ugly incidences, if not nipped in the bud, might caused breakdown of law and order as well as escalate to other parts of the state.

The House also mandated the joint Committee on Defense, Police and Army to interface with relevant authorities with a view to saving lives and properties.

The House also, mandated the Police and DSS to run an investigation on the recovered abandoned branded vehicle, while urging the Committee on legislative Compliance to ensure compliance.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

By Joan Nwagwu

The Federal Government says that the meeting with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will be reconvened on Feb. 28, with the hope of calling off the one month warning strike embarked upon by the union.

Sen. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, said this on Wednesday while briefing newsmen at the end of a marathon meeting between the government’s side and ASUU in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the union had embarked on a nationwide warning strike to press home its members’ demands from Feb.14 .

The lecturers’ demands include funding of the Revitalisation of Public Universities, Earned Academic Allowances, University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) and promotion arrears.

Others are the renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FG Agreement and the inconsistency in Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

According to Ngige, the ongoing warning strike is illegal because the demands of the union were already being addressed since last year.

He said the strike was a clear breach of the law, adding that the union did not go through the normal process before embarking on the industrial action.

“ASUU did not give the Federal Government the minimum 14 days strike notice prescribed by the law, prior to the strike.

“I saw their letter in my office on Feb. 18, which is last Friday and as you know, they started their action on Monday, Feb.14. So, it is a clear breach of labour laws. There are violations.

“If you must notify us of an intending strike action, you give us a minimum of 14 days notice. I pointed it out to them that we are a country guided by laws. Nobody is above the law. They should obey it,” he said.

Ngige said the Trade Disputes Act permits him to apprehend the strike and having done so, the industrial action should seize.

The minister also noted that the meeting touched on all the five-point demands of the union and sorted out four of them with timelines for action.

He explained that the demands were not new areas, but issues already being addressed by the Federal Government.

“That is why I said we are shocked that they went on this strike. These issues were discussed November/ December last year, up to the time we paid the monies for the Earned Academic Allowances (EAA).

“It was done last year. We paid N22.172 billion. So, they have received the money.

“The second area is renegotiation of the 2009 agreement. It talks about renegotiation of their conditions of service, both salaries and allowances.

“I made it clear to them that there is a government process. The Federal Ministry of Education alone cannot wake up and increase your salaries.

“There was a committee we empanelled in the Federal Ministry Education to take it up because they are their direct employer.

“There was a draft proposal, which education ministry has to agree on with them and then break it up to the higher bodies of the government, the Presidential Committee on Salaries (PSC) and from the PSC, it can then go to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval,’’ he said.

Ngige noted that there were known rates for allowances and any proposal not in sync with what the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) prescribed would not sail through.

Ngige also made it clear to ASUU that they should follow the normal route and work with the NSIWC and PCS in pursuit of their demands.

“So, if you are talking about duty tour allowances of a lecturer in the university, who is also a public officer, it must not be above what is presently rolled out as the new guideline.

“If you are talking about hazard allowance, it must not be above what is obtainable for the university system. You have to benchmark everybody.

“That is why we benchmark even the doctors in that area of hazard allowance. If you have it that way, you will be able to push it through,’’ he added.

He advised ASUU not to intimidate the education ministry or its committee into coming up with things that were not in tandem with the normal rate, then the document would not fly.

He said the meeting agreed that the ministry of education should resuscitate the committee within two weeks to look at the proposal it had with ASUU; “so that they could come up with something for the PSC to have a look and then send it to the FEC.’’

Regarding the dispute over payment platform for the lecturers, Ngige recalled that the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) finished its assessment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solutions (UTAS) developed by ASUU.

He added that its supervising Minister, the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy sent the report to him.

He said although it was not his duty, but he sent the report to ASUU for information and necessary action, saying that is how government works.

“I sent that on Dec. 12. They now replied NITDA through me in Feb. 2. So, who has wasted time? I took their report, sent to NITDA, copied Finance, Education and the rest of them.

“Some of these things are not supposed to be done by my ministry but we are proactive about anything Education and Health.

“Now, that you have told NITDA that they have not done the right thing, the next logical thing to do like we agreed today is that the two technical teams of ASUU and NITDA should meet and iron out the differences,” he said.

He said, ”As far as I am concerned, I was doing what I am supposed to do and government is doing what they are supposed to do. We have agreed on UTAS now.

“But, we are going to do a joint test of both technical teams and find areas of reconciliation because UTAS on its own is a home-grown system and Executive Orders 3 and 5 encourage local contents.

“So, we should be able to encourage them. That was what I told them but they have this phobia that government does not want anything other than IPPIS.

“I told them that no matter what solution you have, it must have a handshake with IPPIS, so that government will monitor the movement of their funds,” he added.

On the outstanding issue of Revitalisation Fund 2022, he said the government’s side, comprising of the Finance and Education Ministers and the Chief of Staff would meet as directed by Mr President, to finalise grey areas on it.

Ngige urged ASUU to brief their members appropriately and call off the strike before the expiration of the one month duration.

“By Monday, we would have dealt with some of the issues they are talking about and return to them for further discussion. We will meet again with them and the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) and we take it from there,” he said.(NAN)

By Shedrack Frank

The Director-General of the Bayelsa Governor’s Cup, Mr Ono Akpe, says that FIFA-licensed international agents will attend the tournament to scout for talents.

Akpe said this on Wednesday in Yenagoa while unveiling the tournament, tagged: “Prosperity Cup”.

He said that over the years, the competition had produced professional footballers playing in different clubs across the world.

He said that aside from helping to showcase football talents in the state, the tournament would also bring peace, unity and togetherness among the youths.

According to him, the bulk of the players in Bayelsa United FC that lifted Aiteo Cup are products of the Governor’s Cup.

Akpe said the organisers of the tournament would continue to bring out talents in football.

He said the preliminary stage of the tournament would start on April 10.

He further said the governor would take the kick-off at the Sampson Siasia Stadium, Yenagoa.

He said that the tournament would hold in two centres in each of the eight local government areas of the state.

Akpe said that the tournament would be limited to U-20 players and solicited the support of well-placed individuals and corporate organisations for a successful event.

He said that those who emerged first, second, third and fourth positions would go home with money prizes. (NAN)

By Ahmed Ubandoma

First Lady Aisha Buhari, on Wednesday visited the both chambers of the National Assembly to advance her support for increased  gender parity and women participation in politics.

Buhari who led her aides and two female ministers to the Senate Chambers said she was there to observe proceedings on the laying of the report of the 1999 Constitution Review.

“ I am here to witness the laying of a report on the amendment of 1999 Constitution which provides a bill for an act to alter the provisions for the constitution to provide special seats for women in the National and State Houses of Assembly.

“It also provides for an act for affirmative action for women in political party administration,” she said.

While commending the efforts of both chambers of the National  Assembly in supporting the cause of women`s participation in politics, the first lady said she looked forward to witnessing progress on the bill.

The first lady was accompanied to the National Assembly by the Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen and Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that this is the first time a serving first lady of Nigeria will witness the plenary seasons of both Senate and House of Representatives. (NAN).

By Fortune Abang

 Amb. Babacar Matar Ndiaye, Ambassador of Senegal to Nigeria, says his country’s bilateral cooperation with Nigeria has been quite successful in many spheres.

Ndiaye, who is the outgoing Senegalese envoy to Nigeria and Permanent Representative of Senegal to ECOWAS, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.

He commended Nigeria to have made remarkable progress and explained shared attributes between Senegal and Nigeria in terms of culture and tradition.

According to him, both countries share good bilateral relationships and are well represented globally.

Ndiaye said, “Senegal and Nigeria have done a lot together to further deepen their cooperations; we are the same people in every context and you do not feel like being any different.

“It is exciting to have served Senegal and contributed to strengthening the relationship with Nigeria. To have worked in ECOWAS was challenging and deepening cooperation with Nigeria as a country of interest.

“We have done a lot in terms of cooperation; the idea is to boost our bilateral relations.

“We were thinking of possible areas of cooperation and then, Senegal discovered oil very recently and the processing will begin next year.

“The idea was to learn from Nigeria since the country has been in this particular sector for decades and the experience is very interesting.”

He identified the oil sector to be a priority area that Senegal would want to further strengthen her ties with Nigeria, in the bid to build strong economy in the post COVID-19 era.

“One of our main aspects of cooperation is the oil sector, we decided to organise bilateral meetings and we also decided to organise this bilateral commission, which we did amidst COVID-19 challenges.

“In terms of exploring technical areas of cooperation, we could not make it, which is something my successor will be very inspired to work on,” he said.

He expressed the hope that the emergence of the President of Senegal, Macky Sall, as Chairperson of African Union would mark a new turn in the economic development of the ECOWAS sub-region.

He decried the inability by the mission in Nigeria to have held its proposed Private-sector Business Forum between Senegal and Nigeria to encourage economic growth.

He described Nigeria as a nation that is strategically positioned, while noting that more would be done by the mission to achieve the desired goal.  

“Nigeria is important to Senegalese, it is a great country in the whole of Africa and the world and it is very strategic.

“We have very specific ties that are cultural with the people of both nations; if you go to Senegal you also see Nigerians there, which is a platform we should promote.

“The relationship between our two countries has been excellent given any opportunity the two countries have.

“Globally, Nigeria remains a very good partner and our two leaders enjoy a very strong relationship, we are here to ensure this continues.

“We are satisfied with what we have done and we hope to build on the successes that have so far been recorded,” he added.

He observed that the fraternal visit by leaders of the two countries respectively to discuss bilateral issues amicably contributed immensely to the success recorded.

He mentioned that both countries could equally learn from each other in line of democratic experiences because of their eras of independence and roles in ECOWAS.

The envoy also extolled Nigeria’s leading role towards promotion of the rule of law and adherence to democracy in ECOWAS sub-region, to be worthy of emulation.

He, however, assured that Senegal and Nigeria would continue to work closely to tackle issues of political insecurity, promote democratic growth and build viable economies. (NAN)

By Leonard Okachie/Ihechi Chigemere-Uwom

The co-Chair, Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace, Bishop Sunday Onuoha, has called for the release of Miss Leah Shuaibu, who has spent four years in captivity with her abductors.

Onuoha made the call on Wednesday in a keynote address at a one-day National Security Sensitisation and Re-orientation Campaign in Umuahia.

The theme of the campaign, organised by the National Orientation Agency (NOA), was “Building a people of peace: Towards Enhancing National Security”.

The News of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Shuaibu was among the 110 students abducted on February 19, 2018 by the Boko Haram insurgents at the Government Girls’ Science Technical College, Dapchi.

Some girls were released later by the insurgents but Shuaibu and a few others are still in captivity.

Onuoha, who is the President of Vision Africa Radio, Umuahia, described Shuaibu as “an image becoming increasingly difficult to explain to the young generation, the youths and international friends.

“Why has Leah remained in the hands of her abductors for four years now?

“The truth remains that as long as Leah and others remain captives we all are in captivity,” he said.

The clergyman also called on government at various levels to invest in youth education and empowerment programmes.

He described such measure as the only panacea against youth ectiveness and violence in the country.

He further urged the government to quickly address the yawning gap between the rich and poor and rescuscitate the nation’s middle class.

Onuoha called for the abolition of the “state of origin” policy in government documentation.

NAN reports that the campaign was organised by NOA, in collaboration with the Abia State Ministry of Information and Strategy.

In a speech, Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu expressed government’s readiness to partner with NOA to promote national security.

Ikpeazu, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Chris Ezem, said that the theme addressed the current nation’s need to tackle the security challenges in the country.

He promised that the government would provide adequate support to the agency to boost its sensitisation and advocacy campaigns on the issue.

“I charge everyone to be security conscious, provide the relevant agencies with intelligence reports and report all suspicious movements around us,” Ikpeazu said.

Earlier, Dr Ngozi Okechukwu, the State Director of the agency, described peace as the cornerstone of development and social reintegration.

Okechukwu described the task of building a safer and secure nation as the responsibility of every citizen.

“If we fail to take decisive actions to improve the GDP, foreign reserve, employment, electricity and stop inflation and foreign debt, for sure youth agitations will continue and we may not escape the mayhem,” she said.

Also, the Corp Marshall of Federal Road Safety Corp, Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, said that peace and security remained fundamental to societal growth and economic advancement.

Oyeyemi, represented by the Sector Commander of the corps in Abia, Mr Paul Ugwu, promised that the organisation would work in synergy with the agency to ensure that the objectives of the campaign would be achieved.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mrs Janet Agbede, described education as an important factor in addressing the problem of insecurity and building national security.

Agbede, represented by Assistant Commissioner of Police, Odion Ekeinde, described public education as an effective tool for mobilising the citizenry to support government’s efforts in building national security.

Earlier, Mr Kenneth Nwosu, the Chairman of the occasion, commended the agency for its efforts in discharging its mandate of educating the public to develop progressive orientation.

Nwosu called on relevant agencies to evolve efficient strategies on peace-building to complement the efforts of NOA to build a secure and safer nation.

In an interview with newsmen, Dr Eze Chikamnayo, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, said the campaign was part of government’s efforts to further deepen people’s orientation for peace and security in Abia.

NAN reports that the event featured the investiture of the patrons of War Against Indiscipline, and presentation of the Abia Mobiliser, a NOA magazine on wide-range strategies on peace-building. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Isaiah Eka

The Nigerian Navy, Forward Operating Base (FOB), Ibaka, Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom, has impounded 40 bags of smuggled rice and seized the boat used in smuggling them.

The Commanding Officer, Navy Capt. Muhammed Kabiru, made this known to newsmen in Ibaka on Wednesday while handing over the bags of rice to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

Kabiru said the 40 bags of rice were seized from smugglers on Feb. 15 during routine patrol operations by the forward operating base.

He said that the smugglers abandoned the rice and the boat and fled on sighting the naval patrol team.

He assured that the base would not relent in putting an end to illegalities on the Akwa Ibom waterways.

Kabiru said that the seizure was on the directives of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Auwul Gambo, on zero tolerance to all forms of criminalities on Nigerian maritime domain, particularly the smuggling of rice and crude oil theft.

He said, “On Feb. 15, 2022  at about 18:00 hours during our usual patrol to weed out all forms of illegalities within our areas of responsibility, we came across a boat suspected to be a smuggling boat.

“Upon sighting our gunboat, the crew jumped into the water and swam to the nearby creek, thereby escaping arrest.

“We have no option than to tow the boat to the base. The boat is here at the jetty with the outboard engine. The content of the boat has been discharged, which is 40 bags of 50kg of rice; they are here.

“So, I, Navy Capt. Muhammad Kabiru, Commanding Officer of FOB Ibaka, hereby hand over the content of the boat 40 bags of 50kg rice to Superintendent Kikems Danbana of Nigeria Customs Service, Joint Border Patrol Team, Oron axis, for further investigation and possible prosecution.”

He advised smugglers to relocate from the Nigerian maritime borders, adding that it would no longer be business as usual for them.

He urged those engaging in smuggling and other illegal businesses to engage themselves in legitimate endeavours.

Danbana, who received the 40 bags of rice on behalf of NCS, said the service was determined to stop smuggling in the country.

He also warned smugglers to desist from the illegal trade, stressing that the NCS would continue to checkmate economic sabotage in the country. (NAN)