Mrs Julie Okah-Donli NAPTIP D-G

By Isaiah Eka

TheNational Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has rescued132 victims of human trafficking in Akwa Ibom since the beginning of 2020.

The Director-General of the agency, Dame Julie Okah-Donli, disclosed this during an interactive with newsmen in Uyo on Thursday.

She said 40 of the victims were rescued from sex exploitation, 28 from baby sellers, 23 from labour exploitation, while others were for other sundry exploitation issues.

Okah-Donli said that the ages of the rescued victims ranged from five months to 34 years.

She said 40 per cent of them were from the Oron axis of the state because of its strategic trade location as a gateway to the Atlantic

Okah-Donli said that the establishment of the State Task Forces on Human Trafficking was a component part of the agencys strategic thrust aimed at expanding its frontiers.

She explained that the task force was to enhance state and non-state multi-sectoral response toward combating human trafficking in Nigeria.

The director-general also said it was aimed at enhancing comprehensive prevention and coordinated legal and other services for trafficked victims through capacity building, technical assistance and institutional development.

The overall objective of the task force is the coordination and reactivation of technical inter-agency cooperation meetings with key stakeholders.

They include donors, development partners, law enforcement agencies, MDAs and NGOs to enhance the capacities of state and non-state actors as well as multi-sectoral response towards improving partnerships.

These partnerships are aimed at the prevention of human trafficking, protection of victims of human trafficking, offer access to justice for victims of trafficking, prosecution of traffickers.

The partnership is also aimed at enhancing the process of successful restoration of victims of trafficking to the state of physical, psychological, social, vocational and economic well being, she said.

Okah-Donli commended the Nigerian Navy and other sister security agencies in the state for their continued assistance to the agency in combating human trafficking.

She solicited for continued support, adding that more would be achieved with increased support from the media, religious and traditional institutions.

In his remark, the Project Officer, Counter Trafficking and Mixed Migration in the International Organisation for Migration, Mrs Betham Ngurum, said the agency had rescued over 17, 000 Nigerians involved in illegal migration in Libya, Mali and other parts of the world since 2017.

Ngurum said that over 6, 771 of them had so far been rehabilitated with 45 of them from Akwa Ibom. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

President Muhammadu Buhari

By Ismaila Chafe

President Muhammadu Buhari has rejoiced with Nigerian born Kaycee Madu, appointed Minister of Justice and Solicitor General for the Government of Alberta, in Canada.

The presidents congratulatory message was conveyed in a statement by Mr Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, in Abuja on Thursday.

Madu makes history as the first African born provincial Minister in Canadian history, and is also the Provincial Secretary and Keeper of the Great Seal of the Province of Alberta.

Buhari described the honour as landmark and historic, saying it once again pedestals people of Nigerian descent as go-getters, who distinguish themselves in different walks of life.

According to the president, as the first Black Justice Minister and Solicitor-General in Canada, Madu has written himself into history books.

He urged Nigerians, both at home and abroad, to remain good Ambassadors of their country.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

Gov. of Sokoto, Aminu Tambuwal

By Muhammad Nasir Bello

Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State on Thursday, requested the consideration of the state Assembly to re-appoint the Chairman and permanent members of the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC).

The governor in a letter sent to the Assembly, said that the request followed the expiration of the appointees tenure.

This is as enshrined in the Public Service Rules and Regulations as well as other processes as required by the law pertaining to such appointment.

However, the appointment is with reference to the provisions of Section 197 and other relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

Forward herewith are the names of Alhaji Shehu Suleiman as Chairman and Muazu Dundaye, Sidi Ibrahim, Umar Durbawa, Abubakar Dange, Musa Illela and Faruk Salah as members of the Commission for the Assemblys consideration, he said.

The Deputy Speaker, Alhaji Abubakar Magaji, who presided over the sitting, ordered the House Committee on Public Service Matters to invite the nominees for screening and report back to the Assembly on Tuesday, Sept. 1.

In a related development, the Assembly had received a letter for the consideration of a resolution for the state and local government revenue codes from the office of the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Saidu Umar.

Umar said that the Revenue Codes is an addendum to the Revenue Integration and Consolidation Law earlier passed.

He appealed that the amendment be given speedy consideration in the interest of the state. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Dr Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Health

By Cecilia Ologunagba
Dr Bashir Yahaya, a facilitator at Asido Foundation, has urged youths to volunteer in raising awareness about mental wellbeing to fill the gap in provision of mental healthcare.

He made the call at the August Edition of Asido Foundation Online Interactive Monthly Community Engagement Series on Telegram with the theme Volunteering and Youth Engagement for Mental Health Action.

Yahaya, a medical practitioner and mental health advocate, said mental health was an aspect of health that was given less attention, noting that the development had led to a huge gap in the subsector.

Mental health gets far less attention than it requires and that has led to a huge gap in provision of mental healthcare with few available professionals and fewer facilities for optimal care delivery.

Regardless of the challenges facing the field of mental health in Nigeria, the youth population has a very pivotal role to play in improving their wellbeing.

They also have a role in improving wellbeing of the people around them and using their limitless potentials to turn the country and the world around for the better. Tiny drops make an ocean and very little actions can make the world a better place for us all, he said.

Yahaya, also a Director of Monitoring and Evaluation at Asido Foundation, urged Nigerians to join the foundation in promoting mental wellbeing by singing the #unashamed pledge online.

He said one in every four people will have one form of mental health challenge in their lives; and one in five people have an ongoing mental health challenge, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Although reliable data on mental health in Nigeria is unavailable, it is estimated that about 20-30 per cent of the population experiences one form of mental health challenge or the other.

With such estimates, it is particularly disturbing that in Nigeria, there are only eight Federal neuro-psychiatric institutions and a handful of others (Teaching Hospitals and FMCs).

They are few institutions equipped to handle mental health challenges with only about 300 psychiatrists to an estimated population of 200 million people.

That means to every psychiatrist, there are about 670,000 Nigerians; a number realistically impossible to be adequately catered for.

He said that in the past few years, there had been a drastic increase in the number of patients presenting at the few centres equipped to handle mental health challenges in the country.

With all the outlined deficits in provision of optimal mental healthcare, WHO believes that at best, only 10 per cent of all mental health challenges will get adequate attention.

If it is estimated that one in four Nigerians have mental health challenges (about 50 million people), this implies that about 45 million Nigerians with mental health challenges will never get optimal care.

A good number of these people are left roaming the streets termed mad, some tied down in religious homes and traditional healers and other places where they experience unspeakable degrees of inhuman treatment and human rights abuses, Yahaya said.

Answering question from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on what could be done to create awareness on mental health, he emphasised on public enlightenment.

The first and one of the most important thing would be talking more openly about the existence of mental health problems and how they are not spiritual attacks as most Nigerians would tag them.

Educating children from homes about the signs and teaching them to not discriminate against people with mental health challenges is also very important.

We also need to correct our friends, family members and colleagues when they say inaccurate things about mental health, he said.

Asido Foundation is an NGO founded by Dr Jibril Abdulmalik, a consultant Psychiatrist at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.

Source: NAN News

UNESCO

By Ijeoma Olorunfemi

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has reiterated its commitment to ensure that Gender-Based Violence(GBV) is eradicated in the country through education of women, girls and boys.

Mr Mamadou Sow, Officer-in-Charge, UNESCO Multi-sectoral Regional Office made the commitment on Thursday during the Family Life and Health Education (FLHE), manual presentation in Abuja.

The FLHE manual was conceptualised by Education Today for Sustainable Development Initiative (ETSDI), a Civil Society Organisation (CSO), for the implementation of Spotlight Initiative.

Spotlight Initiative is a project of the UN and EU, a 600 million Euros global investment, to end violence against women and girls in 25 countries including Nigeria.

We will be working very closely with the CSO, we will pay monitoring visits to the field and part of the things we will be assessing is whether this material has been distributed and used.

We will also be assessing if the beneficiaries capacities are being developed and to which level the manual has helped reshape their capacities to fight against GBV.

We will assess if the manual has helped them acquire life skills, competencies and helping them know their rights and responsibilities, he said.

Accessing the manual, Sow said it was produced in consultations with relevant stakeholders, which was the best way of developing any teaching and learning material.

He, however, encouraged the CSO to ensure effective distribution of the manual to reach the targeted audience in their homes and communities.

Earlier, Mrs Brenda-Otuojor Glory, Head of Programmes, ETSDI said the FLHE/Life Skill Facilitator manual was developed with support from UNESCO to enhance non-formal education across the country.

According to her, the manual became imperative because non-formal education curriculum existing in the country does not accommodate teaching of FLHE and life skills.

She added that it was prepared to provide easy learning skills and enable facilitators to teach the modules with ease, according to local needs and interest.

This manual is primarily developed for non-formal education facilitators, it can be adapted by any groups in the formal education centres, faith-based organisations, among others.

The facilitators should be professional teachers with the knowledge of educational process and the manual is ideal for a group of 10 to 40 learners in an interactive manner, she said.

She added that it had to be reviewed and validated by relevant stakeholders and was already being implemented in Ebonyi and environs.

Also, Mrs Hadiza Aminu, Spotlight Coordinator in Nigeria, said the team was looking at addressing the gaps existing in ensuring effective eradication of GBV and the manual would help.

Aminu stated that they were also tackling the dearth of data for GBV, putting systems in place and providing centres where GBV survivors could access help.

For Nigeria we are looking at some strategic areas that will be impactful to the interventions and gaps.

It showed us that based on our assessment before the programme began that data on GBV was lacking.

We dont have data on GBV across the country and we are trying to do that, we have also put in place some structures within the Ministry of Women Affairs for data collection.

We are looking at system strengthening such as capacity building for ministries, departments and agencies, strengthening the voices of women, womens movement and CSOs.

We are looking at where survivors of GBV can access services, we are trying to set up centres across the country so that a survivor knows where to go, she said.

She added that they were also raising awareness on the social norms as a major cause of GBV, as well as laying emphasis on empowering women and girls.

Aminu emphasised that women and girls needed life skills that would ensure they were self reliant and help them to be assertive in situations that could lead to GBV.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that implementation of Spotlight Initiative is being piloted in six states of the geo-political zones of the country, namely; Sokoto, Adamawa, Ebonyi, Lagos, Cross-River and FCT, for the next four years.

Source: NAN News

Mr Kaycee Madu

By Ifeanyi Nwoko

Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) has congratulated Mr Kaycee Madu, a Nigerian based in Canada, on his appointment as the first black Minister of Justice and Solicitor General for the government of Alberta.

A statement signed by Mr Abdur-Rahman Balogun, the commissions Head of Media and Public Relations unit, disclosed that the NIDCOM chief congratulated Madu in a congratulatory message, in which she expressed delight that the Nigerian had proved his mettle.

We are so happy for Mr Madu on his well deserved appointment. This confirms our saying that our Diasporans are our greatest asset making us proud globally, the statement quoted the NIDCOM chief as saying.

Dabiri-Erewa advised Madu to continue to give his best in the administration of justice, urging others to emulate such an excellent behaviour.

The NIDCOM boss said the appointment of Madu as Minister of Justice is a reward for consistent hard work, dedication, and determination to succeed in his chosen career irrespective of the fact that he is in a foreign land.

She prayed for his success in the new global assignment and canvassed for support and cooperation from all stakeholders to enable him to succeed in his assignment.

In this role, Minister Madu, as Minister of Justice will also be the Provincial Secretary and Keeper of the Great Seal of the Province of Alberta. the commission said.

In 2019, Madu made history by becoming the first African-born provincial Minister in Canadian history.

In the following year, he made history again as the first Black Justice Minister and Solicitor General in Canada.

We are proud of Madu and wish him success in his new role, Dabiri-Erewa added. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

AfDB

By Mustapha Sumaila

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has been re-elected to serve a second five-year term as President of the African Development Bank Group with 100 per cent votes of all regional and non-regional members of the Bank.

The Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Bank, Mrs. Niale Kaba, announced this after the election conducted by virtual on Thursday.

Adesina was first elected as President of the Bank on May 28, 2015 and will begin his new term of another five years on September 1.

Kaba said she was delighted that the Board of Governors had re-elected Adesina for a second term in office as President.

As shareholders, we strongly support the Bank and will give him all the necessary support to carry forward and implement his compelling vision for the Bank over the next five years she said.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Adesinas first term focused on the bold new agenda for the Bank Group based on five development priorities known as the High 5s

The High 5s are Light up and Power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialize Africa, Integrate Africa, and Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa.

NAN recalls that the AfDB president had on Wednesday said the Bank achieved impactful results on the lives of 335 million Africans, including 18million people with access to electricity, 141 million people benefited from improved agricultural technologies for food security.

According to him, 15 million people have access to finance from private investments, 101 million people provided with access to improved transport and 60 million people gained access to water and sanitation.

The Bank has maintained its AAA-ratings by all major global credit rating agencies for five years in a row while the Board of Governors of the Bank Group approved a 125 per cent increase in the General Capital of the Bank.

The capital rose from 93 billion dollars to 208 billion dollars, the largest in the history of the Bank. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture

By Rotimi Ijikanmi
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Chief Executive Officers for nine of the agencies under the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed in a statement said the approval letter was conveyed to him by Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, Chief of Staff to the President, on Tuesday.

The statement was signed and made available to newsmen in Abuja by Mr Segun Adeyemi, the Special Assistant To The President (Media) Office of the Minister of Information and Culture.

The minister said in the approval, Mr. Buki Ponle was appointed Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria while Mr. Nura Sani Kangiwa was named the Director General, National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism.

Mr Francis Ndubuisi Nwosu was appointed the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Press Council; Mr. Ebeten William Ivara, Director General, National Gallery of Arts; Mr. Olalekan Fadolapo, Registrar/CEO of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria and Prof. Sunday Enessi Ododo, General Manager/CEO, National Theatre.

Others are Mr. Ado Mohammed Yahuza, Executive Secretary/CEO, National Institute for Cultural Orientation; Prof. Aba Isa Tijjani, Director General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments and Mrs Oluwabunmi Ayobami Amao, Director General, Centre For Black And African Arts And Civilization.

He said the appointments take effort from Sept. 1, 2020.

Source: NAN News

By Ismail Abdulaziz
Mr Assem Elseify, Egyptian Ambassador to Nigeria, has urged African countries to take advantage of broadband internet towards making progress in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

Elseify gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja on the sidelines of a Zoom webinar with the theme Made in Africa.

The webinar was about investment potentials of African countries, the various measures in place to attract investors as well as testimonies by investors in the continent.

He said that the huge African human capital had the potential to turn around the fortunes of the continent for the better in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Internet speeds in Africa are very poor compared to the rest of the world.

Data shows that 17 of the 30 countries with the slowest internet connections are located in Africa, seven in Asia, six in South America and one in Oceania.

None of the top 30 countries is in Africa.

To further identify the depth of this issue, a research has shown that it takes about 18.5 hours to download a 7.5 GB file in Malawi, 14 hours in Egypt, and 18 minutes in Singapore,fastest which considered to have the fastest internet speed in the world.

The envoy said that internet penetration would boost sectors such as education, which is the bedrock of any society.

He said that the level at which online activities helped strengthen relationships at the height of the pandemic was a way forward to explore in all sectors.

Elseify urged African governments to invest more in the internet sector for the benefit of the citizens, adding that it would heavily impact socio-economic development.

If affordable broadband internet is strengthened, its penetration in Africa will enormously help educate rural and urban students.

It will also increase financial inclusion of informal sectors which constitute the majority of our economies. The world will be able to meet up through internet use by citizens and governments need to encourage it, he said.

According to a 2009 World Bank study, a 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration generates a 1.4 per cent increase in gross domestic product in low-income countries.

Recent studies also found that Internet users household income was an average of 19 per cent higher than non-users in several developing countries.

Source: NAN News

Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare has pledged that the Moshood Abiola national stadium main bowl pitch will be re-grassed and rehabilitated to world class standard by April, 2021.

The minister made the pledge on Wednesday in Abuja at the hand over ceremony of the pitch to the contractor for the re-grassing, fixing of score boards and rehabilitation of the main bowl.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the minister had in Nov. 2019 announced a partnership with Africas richest man Alhaji Aliko Dangote for the rehabilitation of the stadium.

The initial plan was to have the stadium ready by March but the outbreak of the global Coronavirus and some contractual details stalled the take off of the project.

Dare while handing over the project to the contractor said the feat will bring back the stadium to global reckoning as the citadel of sporting excellence.

It gives me great honour to welcome you all to the handing over ceremony of the main bowl pitch of the Moshood Abiola National stadium to the Contractor, Aron Nig. Ltd. for the rehabilitation works.

This is in fulfillment of our promise to restore this great edifice as a citadel of sporting excellence and an action spot for our sports men and women, he said.

Dare however called on more private corporations to take a cue from Dangote and chief Adebutu Kesington in a bid to renovate and maintain sporting facilities across the country.

He expressed optimism that the adopt a pitch/athlete initiative by the ministry will go a long way in developing and producing world class sports facilities and athletes in the country.

Earlier, Alhaji Mansur Ahmed, Group Executive Director, Government and Stakeholders Relations, Dangote Industries Ltd said the project will be executed in line with international best practice.

He said Dangote had expressed commitment to spend one million dollars to rehabilitate the stadium, thereby creating avenue for Nigerian youths to thrive and also stimulate the economy.

Mr Adeola Adenuga, Managing Director, Aron Nigeria Ltd assured that the stadium will be completed in 24 weeks.

Sen. Obinna Ogba, Chairman Senate committee on Sports commended the initiative but stressed on the need for maintainance of sporting facilities across the country.

NAN reports that the occasion was graced by sports stakeholders including NFF officials, ex-internationals like Daniel Amokachi Kanu Nwankwo, Tijani Babangida, Garba Lawal.

NAN reports that the main bowl of the stadium has been abandoned for some time, because of the poor state of the pitch.

The Super Eagles who hitherto played their home matches there have since relocated to Uyo and Asaba because of the poor playing turf.

Source: NAN News