By Angela Atabo

The Hope 23 Yahaya Bello Presidential Campaign Organisation has refuted in strong terms, a fake report that Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi has picked an All Progressives Congress (APC) form for senate.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bello, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the APC, submitted

Dr Yemi Kolapo, the Director, Media and Publicity of the campaign organisation in a statement on Friday said that Bello would be the last man standing in the presidential race.

Kolapo said the campaign organisation described the report as a laughable concoction of desperate aspirants, who would do anything to be in the shoes of Bello, the leading contender in the 2023 presidential race.

She urged the media to always do their checks thoroughly and not play into the hands of those she described as out-paced politicians seeking to pull down serious contenders with fake and utterly mischievous reports.

As we stand today in the build up to the APC primary elections, Yahaya Bellos popularity among critical stakeholders, party members in general, and Nigerians as a whole, is unparalleled.

Who among the aspirants has an office address? Let them come and visit the headquarters of the Yahaya Bello presidential campaign office and see that we are ready to move to Aso Rock after our father, President Muhammadu Buhari. Bello bought Senate form? A lie from the pit of hell.

Our consultations across all the states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory, have shown that the next election will only favour a man of the people.

Our highly experienced and noble party leaders know that the only consideration is about winning election and will field the right candidate that will enable the party to retain power. That candidate is Gov. Bello, she said.

According to Kolapo , the campaign organisation can say conservatively, that more than half of the APC delegates are with Bello and supporting him.

She said that people had decided to vote their conscience and were yearning for that loyal leader with the capacity to build on the successes of President Muhammadu Buhari and take Nigeria to the desired destination.

She said that it was disheartening that some people could still resort to this kind of intellectually deficit strategy to make themselves relevant in an arena where they definitely had no seats.

We know the sponsors of this report and urge them with every sense of decency to retrace their steps and work on picking the pieces of their fast crumbling political bricks instead of engaging in petty, outdated pull them down gimmicks, she said.

Kolapo assured Nigerians and the teeming supporters of Yahaya Bello, youths, women, people with special needs and indeed all Nigerians, at home and abroad of Bellos stance in the election.

If there will be one individual left in the presidential race, that individual will be Yahaya Bello, Kolapo said. (NAN)

Edited by Chioma Ugboma

Source: NAN News

By Perpetua Onuegbu
The National Universities Commission (NUC) has presented provisional licences to 12 new private universities, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, presented the licences to each proprietor of the universities in Abuja on Thursday.

The universities include the Pen Resource University, Gombe; Al-Ansar University, Maiduguri; Margaret Lawrence University Galilee, Delta; and Khalifa Isiyaku Rabiu University, Kano.

Others are Sports University, Idumuje, Delta; Bab Ahmed University, Kano; Saisa University of Medical Sciences and Technology, Sokoto; and the Nigerian British University, Asa, Abia.

The rest are Peter University, Achina/Onneh, Anambra; Newgate University, Minna; European University of Nigeria, Duboyi, FCT; and Northwest University, Sokoto, Sokoto State.

Speaking at the event, the minister said while the number of the new universities may seem large, there was the need to establish more universities in the country,

Government is also well aware of the need to improve the countrys Human Development Index ranking, knowing that countries that are consistently well-ranked in human development indices have maintained a respectable number of universities relative to their population.

In the 2020 UN Human Development index, Nigeria dropped three places to 161 out of 189 countries and territories. These are some of the matters we aim to address.

As usual the provisional approval for these universities to operate is intended to create room for effective mentoring and qualitative growth within the first three years of operation, Adamu said.

He said the universities would be affiliated to older generation universities for academic and administrative mentoring which would be moderated by the NUC.

He urged the proprietors to sustain funding towards improving infrastructure, equipment for teaching and learning as well as human resources to earn the universities accreditation by NUC.

Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, the Executive Secretary NUC, commended the proprietors of the new universities.

He said private universities bring uniqueness to the Nigerian university landscape.

The NUC has embarked on a radical re-engineering of the curricula in the Nigerian universities to meet global standards and international best practices toward preparing Nigerian graduates for relevance in world economy.

The Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) has been revised to Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) by NUC along with the programmes best experts and industry stakeholders.

The CCMAS, which will soon be unveiled to the public provides 70 per cent of what should be taught along with the expected outcomes, while universities will provide 30 per cent based on their individual contextual peculiarities and characteristics.

The establishment of more private universities under the strict supervision of NUC is an antidote to the proliferation of illegal source of worry and embarrassment to the nation and a menace to quality university education delivery.

Rasheedtherefore enjoined the proprietors to acquaintthemselves with the code of governance for private universities which aimed to enhance successful running and sustainability of the institutions.

Prof. Julius Okojie, a former Executive Secretary of NUC, in his remarks said: Universities bring development, if we must have qualitative universities education, private universities must be encouraged.

According to him, unless there is the creation of new states new state universities cannot be created and government is hard pressed in terms of political will and funds to establish more universities.

Universities bring development and the future of development in this country resides with the universities.

Go to any state in this country, the establishment of universities bring about an increase in economics activities, new buildings coming up for students accommodation, okada riders for transportation, etc.

He said countries with huge populations have good number of universities to cushion their educational needs, therefore, called for support for those that want to establish private universities.

He said private universities make room for innovative and qualitative education.

Dr Muhammed Dikwa, the Proprietor of Al-Ansar University, Maiduguri, Borno, speaking on behalf of the proprietors assured the NUC that the newly licenced universities would observe all the guidelines set out by the NUC and ensure that qualitative education was not compromised.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the National Executive Council (NEC) approved the establishment of the universities on April 6, and there are now a total of 111 private universities in the country. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Source: NAN News

By Sunday Bassey

Akwa Ibom says it has N830 million as West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) fees for its 2022 final year students.

Commissioner for Education, Mrs Idongesit Etiebet, made this declaration at a briefing of principals, supervisors and other examination functionaries for the 2022 WASSCE held in Uyo on Friday.

She called on key players and stakeholders in the education sector to collectively employ strategies and modalities at ending examination malpractices.

Akwa Ibom spent N830 million to ensure that children in public secondary schools write the WASSCE this year, she said.

She added that Akwa Ibom set a target in 2021 that 80 per cent of its students writing WASSCE must obtain a minimum of five credits in subjects including English Language and Mathematics.

The target for 2022, she said is 90 per cent.

In the last three years, analyses conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) shows that students in Akwa Ibom have improved in their WASSCE results, she said.

She thanked teachers, principals and supervisors in public and private schools for the good job of teaching and grooming students, particularly students in exit classes.

Earlier, a Senior Internal Auditor at WAEC, Mrs Faith Ihediwah said there had been a noticeable decline in examination malpractices.

She expressed the hope that the trend would continue until the menace is completely subdued.

She also noted that there was an increase in the success rate of candidates and attributed this to the tenacity of the teachers.

Ihediwah thanked Akwa Ibom for the payment of the examination fees and the release of teachers for supervision and invigilation at the examination centres.

She enjoined all stakeholders to ensure the success of the 2022 WASSCE.

Ihediwah noted that WAEC had recorded improvements in the ease of collection of certificates at choice locations and the prompt release of examination results. (NAN)

Edited by Alli Hakeem

Source: NAN News

By Sumaila Ogbaje

The National Security Adviser (NSA), retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno, has expressed Nigerias readiness to seek more support and partnership of the Global Coalition against ISIS to enhance ongoing counter-terrorism operations.

Monguno said this when he led Nigerias delegation to the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, held in Marrakesh, Morocco.

He also called for global support and collaboration in tackling other threats to national security as well as efforts in preventing and countering violent extremism within the country and beyond.

The Head, Strategic Communication, Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Mr Zakari Usman, made this known in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

Monguno explained that the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS was an 83-member alliance established in 2014 to reduce the threat ISIS poses to international security in general and the national security of member countries.

He said the 2022 meeting was the first to be convened in Africa, adding that it presented an opportunity for the coalition, led by the United States, to reaffirm the shared determination to continue the fight against ISIS.

According to him, the fight will continue through both military and civilian-led efforts to sustain pressure on ISIS remnants in Iraq and Syria and to counter its global networks, especially in Africa where it has been undermining national security through the proliferation of affiliates.

In a Joint communiqu issued by Ministers of the Global Coalition following the meeting in Morocco, member countries affirmed that ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria remained a priority.

The coalition acknowledged that, in spite of the significant setbacks suffered by ISIS leadership in recent times, the group continues to conduct attacks in Iraq and Syria and represents an ongoing threat, he said.

NSA said the coalition also reiterated the importance of allocating adequate resources to sustaining its activities and those of legitimate partner forces.

He added that the coalition agreed that civilian-led efforts, including prevention, stabilisation, countering terrorist financing, counter narratives and foreign terrorist fighter prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration are increasingly necessary to achieve the lasting defeat of ISIS.

According to him, the coalition recognised the need to meet the evolving threat of ISIS in Africa and welcomed the first three Africa Focus Group meetings, which took place in Brussels, Rome and Marrakesh.

He said the coalition believed Africa would bolster the civilian-led counterterrorism capabilities of its members by fostering synergies with other existing international, sub-regional and regional counterterrorism efforts and initiatives.

According to him, the importance of addressing the underlying causes of insecurity in Africa was also stressed at the event.

The Coalition reiterated that any lasting solution to halting the spread of ISIS in Africa would rely primarily on national authorities, as well as sub-regional and regional efforts and initiatives that acknowledge and address the political and economic drivers of conflict.

To this end, Nigerias participation in the 2022 meeting was an opportunity to compare notes and share knowledge, as well as expand network on strategies to minimise or eradicate national, sub-regional and regional threats posed by the activities of terrorist groups and violent extremists.

Recall that Nigeria and the United States co-chaired a virtual meeting of the same event in November 2020, where Nigerias position on the global coalition was firmly emphasised.

Through the Counter-Terrorism Centre in ONSA, Nigeria highlighted, among other issues, that the challenges of global terrorism had negatively impacted virtually every facet of human endeavour.

They include national security, the economy, polity, environment and the lives and livelihoods of people, as apparent in the Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin and parts of the North-East of the country, he said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Source: NAN News

By Lizzy Okoji

Edited by Maureen Ojinaka/Isaac Aregbesola

Source: NAN News

By Emmanuel Mogbede
Hafsat Abiola-Costello, Director-General (DG) Gov. Yahaya Bello Presidential Campaign Organisation has advised Nigerians to keep faith in the country because better days are coming.
She said this while speaking with newsmen after submitting Gov. Yahaya Bellos Expression of Interest and Nomination forms to contest for the APC ticket for the 2023 presidential election.
She expressed gratitude to Nigerians for supporting Bellos presidential aspiration, adding that his presidency would restore hope in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bello, the Kogi governor is one of the 28 2023 APC presidential aspirants that will be contesting the partys ticket at its special presidential primary convention.
The convention is slated for May 30 and June 1
Today we have taken another step in the journey to restore hope to Nigerians by submitting the 2023 presidential expression of interest and nomination forms of Gov. Yahaya Bello, Abiola-Costello said.
She added that Bello was confident that he would clinch the APC presidential ticket to emerge its candidate for the 2023 presidential election because he had the capacity and competence.
According to her, Bello has built credibility within the party, and had built allies across religions and zones in the country.
So we have nothing to fear about other aspirants, especially those that are just joining the race now.
We see that some candidates are going around, meeting with delegates, Gov. Bello had been doing that religiously for years, so we are fully confident in the movement that he represents,she said.
Abiola-Costello said the governor had a formidable team and supporters working to actualise his presidential aspiration.
We have no reservations whatsoever about this great candidate. We have no reservations about his competency. We have no reservations about his qualifications from his first day in office.
As governor of Kogi, he started working to unify a state that was polarised, he started working to bring security to a state that had insecurity.

He started working to diversify the economy and to restore sanity to the civil service system. This is what he will do as president and we look forward to Nigerians welcoming him as APC 2023 presidential candidate come June 1 2022, she said.
She expressed gratitude to the APC National Working Committee(NWC) for the exemplary way it had conducted the partys affairs so far.
She said the governor Yahaya Bello presidential campaign organisation was looking forward to a successful party primaries come May 30 and June 1.
We sincerely believe that today we have submitted the form for the person that Nigerians will welcome in 2023 as the president of the country, she said.(NAN)

Edited by Chioma Ugboma

Source: NAN News

Source: NAN News

By Dorcas Jonah

The National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) has called for support for the Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, as she declares her ambition for the senatorial race.

The National President of NCWS, Hajiya Lami Lau, who made the call in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, said that the council would fully support the political ambition of Tallen.

According to Lau, as the umbrella body of women organisations in Nigeria, the NCWS will do its best to give the minister the necessary support she needs to win.

We join the women and youths from Southern Jos, Plateau State, to congratulate our minister, mother, sister and wife, on her ambition for the senatorial position.

Over the years, there has been a sustained poor representation and gender imbalance of women in all spheres of life.

The World Economic Forums Global Gender Gap Report ranking on Women Political participation, ranked Nigeria as 102 in 2019, the country is worse now than in 2010, when it ranked 99th worldwide.

This is a growing concern for the council and we must work hard to narrow the gap of Nigerian womens participation in politics, she said.

According to her, the success of the Gender Policy Framework largely depends on the extent to which it attracts high level support in government at all levels.

She said that to achieve this, the highest political level of governance must embrace gender equality principles and practice, for any meaningful change to occur.

Even as gender has been adopted at the global level as a yardstick for measuring progress in development, this is a clarion call on Nigerian women not to support or vote blindly come 2023 General Elections.

We will only support political parties that have at least 35 per cent women representation in both elective and appointive positions.

We will also look at parties that have the interests of women in their party structures and manifestoes.

Womens participation is central and crucial to our national growth and development. Now is the time for women to take the bull by the horn

As a council, we will support all women aspirants to make sure they become candidates, and also ensure that we support them to win the various positions they are vying for, she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that a coalition of women and youth groups from Southern Jos, purchased the All Progressives Party (APC), senatorial nomination form for the minister ahead of the general elections

The group said that the action was in recognition of Tallens antecedents in her service to humanity, especially to women and children. (NAN)

DE/DOR

Source: NAN News

By Abiemwense Moru, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

Deaths from preventable diseases linked to pregnancy and childbirth are very high in Nigeria.

Indeed statistics released by Health Watch Nigeria, a health communication and advocacy organisation, showed that daily, about 145 women, between the ages of 15 and 45 years die from preventable cases linked to pregnancy and childbirth.

Stakeholders in the public and private health sectors, also stressed that the country should fight the high maternal mortality by improving quality of care.

They also said that manufacturers and distributors of poor-quality maternal medicines should be sanctioned.

The stakeholders said that though sanctions are already in place, but the perpetrators are not deterred.

They advocated stiffer penalties for manufacturers and distributors of poor-quality maternal medicines in the country.

The stakeholders spoke recently in Abuja at a programme on leveraging Public-Private Partnerships to Improve Access to Quality Maternal Medicines, organised by Nigeria Health Watch.

Dr Kayode Afolabi, the Head, Reproductive Health Division, Federal Ministry of Health, said that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), should continue its work as the main regulatory agency.

He said: We are all familiar with the work of NAFDAC as the regulatory agency in this regard and what we should do is to further strengthen NAFDAC.

This will enable NAFDAC to ensure such substandard products are not allowed into the country and then we need to look at the supply chain process.

Particularly those maternal health products that need to be stored with certain conditions of temperature.

Can we maintain the cold chain and if there are gaps, how do we address the gap, should be our priority, he said.

Dr Kay Adesola, President, Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners (ANPMP), said good regulatory mechanisms with penalties should be put in place to curb the circulation of substandard medicines.

We all must take the issue of access to quality medicines as our businesses since no one is exempted from health concerns.

Good mechanisms in form of regulatory policies with effective implementations.

These measures must, however, not be seen taking the place of appropriate penalties to deter the die-hards importing these substandard drugs just for monetary gain.

In some climes, some similar culprits are made to face stiff penalties such as death sentence or life jail.

Apply penalties and see the mileage we will achieve in making maternal medicines safer and more lives saved, he said.

On his part, Prof. Chimezie Anyakora, Chief Executive Officer, Bloom Public Health, in a panel discussion gave insight into the critical role of supply chain management in ensuring the quality of maternal medicines in the country.

He said that maternal medicine quality is determined by factors including manufacturing, supply, storage and distribution of these medicines.

Anyakora stated that concerted efforts and strategic partnership among stakeholders were essential to build capacity in supply chain management in order to ensure quality medicines for the end users.

He also highlighted the role Bloom Public Health and its partners, including DrugStoc, were playing in ensuring proper management of the supply chain from manufacturers to end users.

He added that the distributions were through various projects like: the Drug Revolving Fund Project in Ebonyi to ensure sustainable availability and access to safe and quality drugs.

In her presentation, Dr Chioma Ejekam, Consultant Public Health Physician, said that all women needed access to high quality care in pregnancy and during childbirth.

She explained that most maternal deaths were preventable as the healthcare solutions to prevent or manage complications were well-known.

Ejekam, however, said the issue of quality around these maternal medicines had become a global concern as substandard or falsified (SF) medical products had long been acknowledged as a threat to individual and public health.

She said that penalties should be melted out on those manufacturers and distributors of such falsified or substandard maternal products.

Mr Frank Muonemeh, Executive Secretary, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Group of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN), said everyone must be involved in the fight against substandard medicines.

According to him, unless the people are in the drivers seat, from production to the last distribution point, substandard medicines will continue to be in circulation.

He, therefore, called for penalties against producers and manufacturers of falsified medicines.

Dr Chibuzo Opara, Chief Executive Officer of DrugStoc, said some of the key things his organisation was trying to solve was the problem related to supply chain financing and healthcare commodities security.

He said that the country needed to improve its cold chain infrastructure for better health services.

He said that, good investment, power supply and transportation could enhance the quality of the cold chain.

On her part, Mrs Vivianne Ihekweazu, the Managing Director of Nigeria Health Watch, said there should be stronger accountability to reinforce sanctions for substandard medicines.

She advised that policy makers, stakeholders and health workers needed to work together to improve pharmaco-vigilance, since it impacts on the quality of care they deliver.

There is a need for a stronger reporting system and cross collaboration to detect falsified medicines and prevent them from getting to the bedside of a mother, she said.

Ms Azuka Okeke, Chief Executive Office, Africa Resource Centre for Excellence in Supply Chain Management, said the country needed to leverage the PMG-MAN for better medicines.

She said this was necessary as they provide an organised structure for local manufacturers and ensure the production of quality and affordable medicines.

You cannot guarantee the quality of products if you dont know the source.

To achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), we must engage local manufacturers and associations in order to guarantee quality and accountability, she said. (NANFeatures)

** If used, please credit the writer as well as the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

==================================================

Source: NAN News

By Abdul Hassan

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has denied endorsing former President Goodluck Jonathan, as its preferred candidate for the 2023 presidential election.

A chieftain of the ACF, Alhaji Musa Saidu stated in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Thursday in Abuja.

Saidu, who is also the leader of the Arewa community in South-South and South-East, was reacting to media reports stating that a Coalition of Northern Groups has endorsed Jonathan for 2023 poll.

There was never a time the ACF or the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) endorsed a particular aspirant for the presidential election.

That is to say clearly that no coalition or any group that have the mandate to speak for the North, he said.

Saidu, however, said that although the group has the freedom to speak on national issues as a pressure group, it had no mandate to speak on behalf of the North.

I actually read a statement credited to one Abdulazeez Suleiman, the spokesperson for the coalition claiming that the North has endorsed Jonathan for 2023.

I want to say that this is not true, he said.

According to him, it is absurd to accept the groups claim that there is other credible and qualified candidate than Jonathan in all the South-South and South-East states.

We have been living in the South-South for years, we are part of the politics and we know who is who in the area, Jonathan came to power by incidental political circumstances, we know his weaknesses and advantages.

We have more credible candidates than him even within the Buhari administration, you can get them.

Perhaps, the coalitions claims was to attract monetary benefits from the former president, certainly not on the basis of truth, he said.

The chieftain, who urged Nigerians to disregard the claimed, called on the coalition to desist from speaking on behalf of the North.

It is absolutely misleading for a group to speak on behalf of the North without any mandate, doing this is a mischief and tantamount to creating confusion among interest groups, he said.

Saidu lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for urging that all interest aspirants in his cabinet to leave. (NAN)

Source: NAN News