By Oluwabukola Akanni

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has intercepted illicit drugs worth over N12 million within the first quarter of 2021.

The NDLEA State Commander, Josephine Obi, stated this in a report in Ibadan on Saturday.

The report was signed by the commands Public Relations Officer, Mutuiat Okuwobi.

She said the seizure comprised of 580.4024kg of Cannabis Sativa and other narcotics substances.

According to her, operatives of the command within the period under review, also arrested 95 people including, 88 men and seven women suspected of committing various drug offences.

She noted that during the period, 19 suspected traffickers were convicted for various drug offences.

She identified peer influence as a major contributing factor to increased drug abuse among youths, and called for collaborative efforts to fight illicit drug trafficking in the state.

We have taken sensitisation programmes to schools as part of our efforts against the production, trafficking and consumption of illicit drugs and other illegal substances in the state.

We encourage those whose children and wards are involved in drug abuse not to give up on them as treatment works.

They should visit the NDLEA office where we can take them in or refer them to other centres in the state for treatment and rehabilitation.

Between January and March, the command gave brief counselling to 13 people who used drugs while five are presently undergoing residential rehabilitation, she said.

She added that reducing drug trafficking and abuse would go a long way in reducing crimes and insecurity in the state. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

The Kwara Government has funded free eye surgeries for 450 patients across the 16 local government area of the state.

Dr Abubakar Ayinla, the Permanent Secretary, state Ministry of Health, disclosed this at the sidelines of the surgery held at the Civil Service Clinic in Ilorin.

He explained that 250 beneficiaries would benefit in the free surgery on Friday.

He stated that in addition to the surgery, about 1000 glasses were also distributed.

We are here to celebrate with the beneficiaries of free cataract surgeries sponsored by Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

You will recall that in November 2020, we did a statewide tour and at least 15 cases were operated in each of the 16 local government areas. We did some cases in excess and about 200 cases were operated, he said.

Ayinla explained that after analysis, there were some gaps that showed some who could not benefit from the previous exercise.

The second one which we are rounding up today was also scheduled over six weeks in specific local governments and regions of the three senatorial districts.

So, we have gone to Kwara North where we took four hospitals in each of the four local governments.

For Kwara South, we went to Omu-Aran last week and for Kwara Central, we started surgeries on Thursday, here at the Civil Service Hospital Ilorin; 50 patients also benefitted yesterday and all put together, we have 250 beneficiaries, he said.

Ayinla added that the surgical interventions have restored sight to some people and improved their productivity and contributions to the society.

Mr Rasak Owolabi, the Chairman Kwara State House of Assembly Committee on Health, said the present administration is investing heavily in the health sector.

He commended the Gov. AbdulRazaq for prioritising the sector and revamping the health sector in the state.

Dr Mohammed Solagberu, the Coordinator of the Kwara Eye Care Outreach, said the state was committed to treating eyes cases from the state and beyond with less bureaucracy.

Among the five sense organs of the body, eyes are very important and when somebody is blind you have not only taken that person out of productivity, you are taking a lot of people out of productivity.

Somebody who is blind cannot do many things on his or her own. He becomes dependent. This could take some children out of school, he said.

Alhaji Saka Dagbo, one of the beneficiaries, commended the state government for the sponsorship adding that the surgical intervention is without any political considerations.

This is probably not the first time such programmes will be organised in Kwara state. But this is the first time such will be organised without political or other considerations, Dagbo said.

Source: NAN News

By Amen Gajira

As Christians mark this years Easter celebration, the Southern Kaduna Baptist Conference says Nigeria needs healing and that can only come from true national repentance.

Rev. Donald Arak, president of the conference, made the call on Saturday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kafanchan.

As we reflect on this Easter season, I want to draw our attention to the need for national repentance.

Our land Nigeria needs healing and the only remedy is for everyone to return to God and seek His intervention in our situation.

Our leaders, political, religious, and traditional and indeed the followers need to turn to God for national repentance because we have all failed God, he said

Arak decried the wanton destruction of lives and property across the country, noting that Nigerians now live in suspicion of one another.

We are a wounded people. We are hurt and pained. We have become enemies to ourselves and have destroyed the foundation of our unity.

We no longer have dignity and respect for human life. We are now just living in suspicion of one another and this is very sad, Arak added.

He said for genuine peace and reconciliation to take place in the country, there was the need for Nigerians to return to God and do His will.

The word of God says, if my people who are called by name will humble themselves and turn back to me and leave their evil ways, I will answer them and heal their land.

And the best time to return to God is this Easter season. Let us not allow this Easter to just be a period of holidaying. Let it be a time of repentance and a time of reconciliation.

May this Easter season draw us to the cross for national repentance and may we begin to love one another and live in peace, he said.

According to him, Easter is an opportunity to show love, renew faith and hope, and not to despair, in spite of the harsh economic realities in the country.

He enjoined the Christian community to imbibe the teachings of Jesus Christ and put them into practice.

In His life time, Jesus Christ preached peace, honesty, love for one another and above all, the fear of God.

May we continue to look up to God and make sacrifice for one another to live in peace and unity, he added. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Justina Auta

The Nigerian Youth Congress (NYC) has called on youths to shun tribal and religious sentiments that will cause division in the country.

The National President, NYC, Mr Blessing Akinlosotu, made the call in his Easter message signed by Mr Emmanuel Daudu, his Senior Special Assistant on Media Related Matters, on Saturday in Abuja.

Akinsotu said uniting the multi-lingual entities and exploring the hidden resources in the country without sentiments would further usher in more development.

It is high time Nigerian youths discouraged tribal and religious divisibility but rather rally round about discovering why we are one nation with multi-lingual entities and explore the resources hidden therein, he said.

The president, while encouraging youths to continue supporting the government, stressed the need for them to unite in preparation for leadership positions in the 2023 General Elections.

I urge the youths to keep faith alive in the government of the day and continue to support the government in its efforts to provide security and enabling environment for economic growth and prosperity.

Also on the plain grounds for youths to be fused into the apex leadership positions in the forthcoming 2023 General Elections, he said.

The president also felicitated Christians during the Easter celebration and encouraged them to continue to pray for the peace and progress of the nation.

The statement also enjoined youths to continue observing the COVID-19 safety protocols and to seize the opportunity whenever it arrives to take the vaccine made available against the pandemic. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By George Odok

Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River has admonished Christians to imbibe the exemplary life of love, selflessness, sacrifice and forgiveness which Christ demonstrated in his death and resurrection for the redemption of mankind.

Ayade gave the advice in his Easter message released by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Mr Christian Ita, on Saturday in Calabar.

The governor noted that the whole celebration would be a holy sham if the reason and significance of Jesus death was lost on Christians.

As Christians, Easter presents us the opportunity for a deep reflection, a time to carry out an ecclesiastical soul searching with a view to embodying that which Christ came and died for, he said.

He called on leaders and the led to love and put Nigeria first in all their dealings, just as Christ showed unconditional love and made sacrifices for humanity.

According to the governor, with concerted efforts and tenacity of purpose, Nigeria will soon surmount its current challenges.

Easter represents a significant moment in our lives as Christians. It is both significant and sobering in the sense that it reminds us of the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness, love and compassion over hate.

These were the cardinal planks of Christs teachings while on earth.

Christs death and resurrection brought a refreshing dawn for humanity and re-defined the virtues of selflessness, love, sacrifice and forgiveness, he said.

The governor decried what the country was currently passing through, especially in area of insecurity and urged Nigerians to come together as a people to rescue it from the hands of its enemies.

He noted that such could only be achieved with love for one another and sacrifice for the good of the country.

While wishing residents in Cross River a hitch-free Easter celebration, Ayade urged them to adhere to COVID-19 protocols as they go about their activities.

Ayade also reminded them that the dusk to dawn curfew imposed on the state to curtail criminality was still in force. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Salisu Sani-Idris

The Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has warned motorists against driving on running water to avoid endangering their lives as the rainy season is approaching.

The Director-General of FEMA, Alhaji Abbas Idriss gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abuja.

Idriss said the advice became necessary because in 2020, two persons were taken away byrunning water and they eventually died.

He said that running water could kill faster than anything one could think of, adding that two inches of running water could sweep a car away no matter how big it was.

We lostseven lives to flooding in 2020, five were from the same family at Geri in Gwagwalada Area Council and two were taken away byrunning water.

We keep insisting and that is why you will see signposts in strategic places by FEMA in Abuja, telling motorists to avoid driving or walk insiderunning water because running water can kill faster than anything you can think of.

No matter how big your car is,two inches water can swallow your car. We advise that people should not drive into running water during the rainy season.

If you are at home and it is raining and you are told the road is flooded,stay at home to avert tragedy because its safer to do that, he said.

Idriss, however, cautioned FCT residents against indiscriminate waste disposal, adding that assessment conducted by FEMA revealed that all flooding in Abuja were human-induced.

We have witnessed lots of flooding in the FCT in 2020 but all the flooding according to our assessment were human induced flooding,that means we have alot to do to prevent it if it is human induced flooding.

The population of the FCT is getting much higher than the resources and the available facilities on ground to handle such emergencies.

Wastes are always generated and it is expected that the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) will evacuate them.

So we have a lot to do with the residents of FCT; all hands must be on deck to ensure that we do the right thing to avoid avoidable floods, he said.

FEMA boss said that AEPB, Department of Development Control, the Satellite Towns Development Department and all stakeholders had huge roles to play in preventing flood in the territory.

He said that the response or activities of FEMA would always start where these agencies were able to meet up their responsibilities.

It is only at the point of emergency that FEMA is invited and by the time we come, you will find out that there are infractions, shortcoming and violations here and then.

So we need to be up and doing to ensure that those things do not happen. we cannot do it alone; we dont even have the resources to do it.

We have to leverage on the resources of our stakeholders to be able to do what is expected of us, saving lives and property, Idriss said.

Source: NAN News

By Adeyemi Adeleye

The Agbarijo Egbe Odo Yoruba (Grand Council of Yoruba Youths) on Saturday, mourned the demise of Yinka Odumakin, Spokesman of Pan Yoruba Socio-Cultural group, Afenifere.

Odumakin, aged 56, died early hours of Saturday.

President- General of the council, Bamiji Awa, said in a statement in Lagos that the death of the late political activist was a personal loss to him.

Awa said: The news of death of my dear Brother, Comrade Yinka Odumakin, came to me as a rude shock.

As a familys friend, I did called his wife and my dear sister in the Nigerian democratic struggles, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, his sister-in-law, Vera Okei, and his personal driver to confirm the authenticity of this strange story.

I did this because I still find it difficult to believe, regardless of being inundated with calls, posts and messages from various people including the media.

Awa, who described late Odumakin as his Political Odyssey said the late activist brought Yoruba Youths together in 1998/1999 under the leadership of Asiwaju of Yorubas and Leader of Afenifere, Late Pa (Senator) Abraham Adesanya.

He added that late Odumakin served under late Adesanya as a young active man in Afenifere, alongside late Rev. Adetunji Adebiyi, the Special Assistant to Sen. Abraham Adesanya.

Awa, who noted that he had a cordial relationship with late Odumakin, explained that the unexpected emergence of Pa Ayo Fasanmis close friend, Chief Reuben Fasoranti as the Acting Leader of Afenifere at the period when Adesanya was on the sick bed, suddenly divided the camp of Afenifere till date.

He said that in 2011, Odumakin was a spokesman to President Muhammadu Buhari, before, during and immediately after the presidential election, when the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) produced Muhammadu Buhari/Tunde Bakare ticket.

This is to tell the whole world that no matter how long we continue to play the politics of relevance, it will get to a point that it will be difficult to cover the truth from the public.

He was so active from his university days as a Student Leader, Political Science Department and was blessed with one of our renowned female comrades as a wife, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin.

May God Almighty give your family, we, friends and Associates, the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss. We all love you my dear brother, but God loves you most, Awa added.

The late political activist and spokesman of pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, reportedly died of complications from COVID-19 at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.

Source: NAN News

By Jessica Onyegbula

Rev. Ikechukwu Maduka, the Abuja Regional Pastor of Glory House Salvation Ministry, has implored Nigerians to stop making provocative utterances capable of threatening the corporate existence of the country.

Maduka, who gave the charge in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday, said people should stop indulging in divisive acts.

The cleric said that God had special interest in the affairs of Nigeria, pointing out that the current challenges in the country would fizzle out with time.

He, however, advisedleaders in the country to always lead with the fear of God and to ensure equitable distribution of resources in order to have an even nationwide development.

We should use thisEaster season to offer prayers and thanksgiving to God for the peaceful co-existence among different ethno-religious groups in the country.

The celebration of this Easter must draw us closer to God than ever before, he said.

According to Maduka, Nigerians should strive to avoid negative tendencies, which can further compound the countrys fragile socio-political and economic conditions.

We are not to judge our fellow man. We should leave judgment to God who created us all, he said.

The cleric harped on the need for political office holders to remain committed to the welfare of the people and to work hard to surmount the security challenges confronting the nation.

He, however, gave assurance that the church would continue to pray for Nigerian leaders and support their efforts at improving the standard of living of Nigerians.

Source: NAN News

By Oluwabukola Akanni

Dr Temitope Hussein, the President of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan Chapter of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), says the association lost 17 doctors to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hussein, who was justifying the associations reasons for joining the nationwide strike of NARD, explained that the families of the deceased doctors were yet to benefit from the Death-in-Service Insurance Scheme.

According to him, the striking doctors were also protesting the non-payment of salaries of some of their members across the country and demanding for an upward review of hazard allowance, among others.

He decried the agony its members nationwide had been made to pass through for three months now without salaries, despite their uninterrupted service delivery to the nation.

Hussein said in spite of the three-month window given to the Federal Government to review the hazard allowance of health workers, the hazard allowance had remained at a paltry sum of five thousand naira monthly

He explained that the strike came on the heels of the expiration of the 60-day ultimatum given to the Federal Government on Jan. 25.

Source: NAN News

By Joy Mbachi

Mr. Godwin Ezeemo, a governorship aspirant for the Nov. 6 Anambra election, has admonished youths to shun being used to perpetrate electoral violence of any shape in the country.

Ezeemo who is aspiring to contest the governorship election on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the third time, made the call in a press briefing in Awka on Friday .

The aspirant, who was reacting to the attack on former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Charles Soludo, urged the youth to see themselves as future leaders of the state and the country.

According to him, politics is not a do or die affair so youth should not allow themselves to be used to perpetrate electoral violence.

Ezeemo advised aspirants not to heat up the polity but should conduct themselves in a most civilized manner as one person would be the governor at a time and spirit of sportsmanship should be the watchword.

He described his thirst for governance of the state as a passion for the good of the state.

He disclosed that he had returned his Expression of Interest nomination form at the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja and hoped that the party would give a level playing ground for all aspirants.

Ezeemo said that he had the passion to mend lots of wrong policies in the state and that had been his driving force these three times he had hoped to secure the post.

He said that he would work differently from the methodology past governors had applied and believed that his method would curb crime and bring about quality security through job creation.

Ezeemo said he had created over 500 jobs as a private individual and would do more to give back in the states resources to better the lots of the masses.

He said that if youths were more gainfully engaged, it would assist to a large extent to reduce crime and criminality in the society.

Ezeemo said he had garnered enough experience to govern Anambra from western world where he had sojourned for over 20 years and learnt that job creation played a huge role in development.

I have antidote to reducing crime and other related vices in the society, to boost the economy in all sectors and generation of power to sustain industries and attract business, he said.

He said that he had lived amongst his people adding that had given him insight into the most pressing needs of the people and how to tackle them.

I am not an abroad based politician, I am a local, he said.

Ezeemo appealed to the election umpires to give enabling environment to create safety and ensure credible election.

He said that if the PDP gave equal opportunity to all aspirants during the primaries, he would support any candidate that emerged.

I believe in the peoples choice than personal interests, he said .

Ezeemo urged the delegates during the PDP primary election to place the welfare of their children, growth and development of the state above materialism and shun politicians who buys conscience. (NAN)

Source: NAN News