By Ikenna Uwadileke
The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) on Wednesday commenced training of 35 journalists of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on how to detect and counter fake news during and after the general elections.

The two-day fact checking training held in Abuja was to sensitise participants on the danger posed by fake news and the tools to counter it.

Addressing participants at the training, the Managing Director of NAN, Mr Buki Ponle, urged them to take advantage of the training to excel on the job.

Ponle, who was represented by Mr Silas Nwoha, Editor-in- Chief of the agency, expressed concern over the wave of fake news and the consequences in the society.

I want you to give it your all because no training is a waste.

So let us pay attention to the rich experiences we can gain from the training.

Sometimes we want to go overseas for one training or the other, meanwhile we have the experts here.

So,whatever they are giving us today is also a different kind of knowledge you can get anywhere in the world.

Please, I urge you to pay attention and get the best you can from this training so that we come back to the newsroom as better journalists, Ponle said.

While commending the resource persons over the initiative, Ponle said that NAN was looking forward to having other training programmes for the agencys journalists in different zones.

Speaking on the fake news ecosystem, Ms Caroline Anipah, Deputy Director in CJID, emphasised the need to deploy journalism tools and technology to promote democratic accountability.

According to her, one of the cardinal objectives of Dubawa is to address information disorder also called fake news.

One way of tackling fake news, she said, was through fact checking.

We recognise as an organisation that we are not able to do that by ourselves alone and that we need to partner with relevant institutions.

And we also recognise that we can achieve our goal by training people who interface with the public to help us achieve our mandate, Anipah said.

Ms Temilade Onilede, Programme Officer of Dubawa Nigeria, said that the 21st century had seen the weaponisation of information on an unprecedented scale.

Onilede said that misinformation distorts reality and changes peoples perception of things.

She, however, urged that while reporting election processes, participants must be non-partisan, fair, objective, adhere to standards and ensure transparency of sources.

Kabir Muhammed, one of the participants and an Assistant Editor-in-Chief, described the training programme as a welcome development.

With this training NAN staff can excel and take the agency to greater heights by giving out their best through credible and qualitative information, Muhammed said.

Participants were trained on information disorder ecosystem, fact-checking practice, methodology and ethics as well as digital verification tools. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
(Edited by Mufutau Ojo)

Deputy Editor in Chief,
Head of Website/Solutions Journalism desk.

Source: NAN News

Gov. Matawalle

By Ishaq Zaki

Gov. Bello Matawalle of Zamfara has cautioned deposit money banks in the state against hoarding of new Naira notes.

Matawalle spoke on Monday when he paid an unscheduled visit to the Gusau branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and five other deposit money banks to assess the level of hardship being faced by citizens in accessing the new naira notes.

A statement issued in Gusau on Tuesday by the Press Secretary to the Governor, Jamilu Birnin-Magaji said the governor was irked by the long queues at ATMs amid acute scarcity and hopelessness in the state.

Birnin-Magaji listed the banks visited by the governor to include: CBN Gusau branch headquarters, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Jaiz, Eco and First Banks.

Birnin-magaji said: Matawalle during the visit warned the managements of the banks to desist from the bad practice of hoarding the new Naira notes.

He also directed bank officials to dispense the new Naira notes via the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and at the banking halls.

Birnin-Magaji further quoted Matawalle as warning that his administration will not hesitate to revoke the land ownership of any deposit money bank not willing to ease the sufferings of the people.

Earlier, at CBN, the governor urged the Branch Controller of CBN to ensure THE availability of new Naira notes at the commercial banks for people to access their money to conduct their daily activities with relative ease.

Matawalle invited the Controller of CBN, Gusau branch to accompany him to some branches of the banks in the state capital to assess the obnoxious situation.

During the visit, Matawalle expressed concern over the long queues of people at the ATMs in the bank branches and called on the managers to find means of easing the hardship being faced by the customers, Birnin-Magaji urged. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

Source: NAN News

Public presentation of the book Business Unusual: Postulating Peter Obis Presidency.

Dr Chuwuemeka Eziefe, President of Igbo Elders Consultative Forum, has urged Nigerians to ensure rancour-free elections and avoid selling their votes.

Eziefe, a former governor of Anambra, made the appeal on Monday in Abuja at the public presentation of the book Business Unusual: Postulating Peter Obis Presidency.

He stressed the need for Nigerians to shun vote buying and selling.

Do not be bought, dont allow yourselves to be bought by selfish politicians.

Monitoring of votes in a peaceful manner devoid of rancour is necessary. Watch your votes, guard it jealousy, so you wont cry of injustice, he added.

Eziefe also made case for the election of a presidential candidate from the South, saying it would enhance national unity.

Chief Duru Ejiogu, Chairman of the event, canvassed support for the Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, saying he would usher in a new Nigeria for all.

According to him, voting Obi as president will ensure that the dream of all Nigerians for a workable country is realized.

Pa Ayo Adebanjo, Leader of Afenifere, the Pan-Yoruba Socio-Political Group, said: Nigeria can be restructured without destroying any part of the nation.

Mr Obi will do this, everyone will still have his space, but it is going to be business unusual.

The aim would be to develop the nation, correct so many wrongs and for equity.

Dr Kletsaint Akor, the Convenor, Obi/Datti Conference, Creator and Lead Author of the book, believed that Obi has the capacity of addressing the decay across all sectors of the nation.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola

Source: NAN News

Members of Network of Women with Disabilities (NWD), FCT Chapter

By Justina Auta

Network of Women with Disabilities (NWD), FCT Chapter, has urged the Federal Government to domesticate all the regional and international instruments on disability rights that it has signed and ratified.

They made the call while presenting the Charter of Demand for Women with Disabilities, supported by MacArthur Foundation, in partnership with Womens Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), Abuja.

Ms Godiya John, Media and Communication Officer, FCT Chapter, said domesticating the instruments would promote inclusion, political participation and economic independence of People with Disabilities (PWDs), especially women.

John said the charter was developed through the findings and consultation of key actors, committed to the inclusion of women with disabilities in Nigerian Democracy and Governance.

According to her, the charter would serve as a tool for inclusion and a strategic roadmap for developmental processes for stakeholders with a clear objective of inclusion of women with disabilities in the political sphere and other sectors.

Relevant Government actors must domesticate relevant regional and international conventions and frameworks in Nigeria, including the UN Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Also to be domesticated are its Protocol; and the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa, the United Nations Charter on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, she said.

She also recommended immediate implementation of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities Prohibition Act (2019), provisions on political and electoral participation taking into consideration the need for Gender equality and equity.

John also stressed the need for electoral reform to provide for affirmative actions targeting women with disabilities as a criteria for registration of political parties.

She also said that relevant stakeholders must provide dedicated funding for womens political participation aimed at achieving 35 per cent affirmative action in elective and appointive positions in 2023 and beyond.

She said that The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Inter-party Advisory Councils must set and implement requirements that mandate Political parties to have in their decision-making organs women with disabilities before registration.

Convene National Women with Disabilities Summit and conduct a survey on women with disabilities inclusion.

Commence the process of development of the first National Disability Inclusion Framework for Women with Disabilities in Nigeria, she said.

According to her, the charter of demands has 11 articles, consisting the rights of women with disabilities to work, demonstrate political will and commitment to gender equality and empowerment, education, economy, health, security.

Others include protection during election, leadership and management of executive opportunities, involvement in the informal sector, and access to physical structures.

Also, Mary Musa, Legal practioner and Secretary, Network of Women with Disabilities, stressed the need for government to ensure safety, security and protection of People with Disabilities (PWDs) during the forthcoming election.

We urge the government even as 2023 election is coming up that they provide systems and structures for the security of women with disabilities, she said.

She also stressed the need that the forthcoming census exercise should capture data of PWDs.

Similarly, Ms Rose Daniel, Vice President II, NWD, stressed the need for the government and other stakeholders to prioritise education, empowerment and health of PWDs. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Vincent Obi

Source: NAN News

By George Odok

The University of Calabar has suspended four staff of the institutions medical center over the death of Ms. Precious Agindi.

Agindi was a third year student of the institution at the department of Library and Information Science.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Agindi died on Jan. 28 at the institutions Medical Center.

Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Prof. Florence Obi, on Tuesday briefed newsmen after receiving the autopsy report.

She said that the staff were placed on the suspension for showing lack of emotional commitment to the deceased.

Obi said that the autopsy gave a detailed cause of death of the student who was brought to the medical center at a very critical state where she died in less than an hour later.

For emphasis, let me categorically state that the death of Ms Precious Agindi had nothing to do with the rumored ruptured appendicitis as her appendix was found at autopsy to be healthy, not inflamed and intact.

This regrettable incident sparked very strong emotions, students demonstrations on that fateful day and a lot of misinformation and outright falsehood peddled by ill-informed and mischievous people, both within and outside the campus.

Regrettably, the lies that have been deposited in the public space, conscientiously or unconsciously, as amplified by social media, have had a damaging impact on the reputation and image of our university that my administration is working very hard to protect.

Management chose not to join issues with peddlers of falsehood at a time of deep sadness and sober reflection.

These persons without cause hastily blamed the death on the Medical Centre and by extension the university, she said.

She noted that the university maintained studied silence and strongly investigated the handling of the patient at the facility by constituting a panel of inquiry as well as carrying out a Coroners Inquest to determine the cause of death.

This, we are sure will serve a great purpose in the future, for understanding the causes of things is one of the callings of the university.

As I addressed protesting students on campus that fateful day, this much I promised we would do.

In fulfillment of this, with the full approval of the family of the deceased, we ordered an autopsy which was carried out by one of the foremost Nigerian Forensic Pathologists.

We are thankful to God that our late student was peacefully laid to rest on Feb. 11, 2023 in her hometown, Gbe Nanav in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State.

Yesterday, in the presence of the representatives of the family, the Benue and Tiv Community in the University, SUG officials, members of the Panel of Inquiry, Management received the Autopsy and the panel of inquiry reports.

She said that the late student never went to the university medical center but was only taken there by her friends in a very critical medical condition the day she died.

Please note that Ms Precious had received treatment from other private clinics in town from the scan result and other medications presented to the nurses on duty when she was brought in.

The panel of inquiry made up of experienced medical consultants and doctors absolved the nurses on duty of any professional negligence but saw elements of lack of emotional commitment as medical professionals.

While life and death are both in Gods hands, management of the university strongly believe that it is our responsibility to do our best at our respective duty posts to offer the service of care both professionally and emotionally considering our quest for excellence as an academic institution.

It is on this note that management feels that medical personnel in our medical center must give not just professional services but emotional and psychological services which are more soothing especially when one is on a sick bed.

The VC noted that the problem of commitment to work in the University of Calabar was a pillar that the institution gives great value in all its sections, including the Medical Centre.

Management has, therefore, decided to place all the staff on duty on a 3-months suspension for lack of empathy and psychological support and especially for demanding for money for card against the medical center policy of attending to patients in critical condition first.

The above investigation has revealed, that the patient was brought to the Medical Centre critically ill and her eventual death shortly after arrival was not as a result of professional negligence by staff of the medical center.

Also, there is an established clinical condition as cause of death which in deferment to the family and in respect to the dead we do not wish to reveal.

Yet all sorts of lies have been told both online and offline to batter the image of the University and instigate unrest among the students, she said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ismail AbdulAziz

Deputy Editor in Chief,
Head of Website/Solutions Journalism desk.

Source: NAN News

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed

By Rotimi Ijikanmi

The Federal Government says three months after the U.S. and the UK embassies issued frivolous travel advisories warning their citizens to avoid Abuja, the city has remained safe.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed stated this on Monday in Abuja at the 25th edition of the President Muhammadu Buharis (PMB) Scorecard Series.

The two countries had warned their citizens to avoid the Nigerian capital due to risk of terrorist attacks.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the edition featured the Minister of Defence, retired Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi, who presented the scorecard of his ministry.

In his opening remarks, Mohammed recalled that the advisories issued by the U.S. and UK created much panic and tension in the country and a number of Americans reportedly fled Abuja in the wake of the warning.

The minister noted that since the advisories were issued residents of Abuja had been going about their businesses without any threat.

He commended the countrys security agencies for their sacrifices to keep the country safe.

We want to commend our gallant troops, the police, the intelligence agencies and all other security agencies for their commitment and sacrifice to keep our country safe.

We also call on Nigerians to continue to support the security agencies as they carry out their onerous task, he said.

Mohammed re-echoed President Buharis call on Western countries to stop issuing frivolous travel advisories on Nigeria. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ejike Obeta

Source: NAN News

By Jessica Dogo

The Mining Entrepreneurship Stakeholders Association has urged the Federal Government to expedite action on the payment of compensation to the owners of a closed quarry, Nino Corporation Ltd.

The Chairman of the association, Alhaji Aminu Inuwa, made the appeal at a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.

Inuwa urged the government to compensate the quarry owners to enable them relocate their equipment to the proposed new site for the firm.

He said that as the quarry commenced operation within a month in 2018, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) reportedly took over the land to build a new correctional facility in Karshi, Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

This is to appeal for the governments quick action on the demand for compensation on the takeover of our land and business premises for the ongoing construction of a correctional facility at Karshi.

This particular land and business premises is actually a quarry company operated by Nino Corporation Ltd, of which some of our members have stakes.

Many others run businesses of supplies, transportation services, marketing mechanical and engineering services and sales, among others.

This takeover disrupted production and crippled the business activities, thereby putting all the investments, including bank loans whose interests have continued to grow by the day.

At the highest risk, many of our members and their families have been suffering the socio-economic effects of this development since then, he said.

Inuwa said that the land was a solid mineral area under the control of the government, which allocated the quarry site to Nino Corporation Ltd through the Federal Ministry of Mines and Solid Minerals Development.

According to him, the quarry site, massive rocks, was legally obtained by Nino Corporation Ltd from the Federal Ministry of Mining and Solid Mineral Development with all necessary documentary evidence.

Inuwa said: The claim by the government was that the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) allocated the land to the Nigerian Correctional Services.

However, after a series of meetings between the FCTA and Nino Corporation Ltd, the FCTA authorities admitted to an error on their side.

The Chairman said after several efforts by Nino to communicate its demands to the relevant authorities the Comptroller-General of the NCoS, invited the management of the quarry company to discuss the issue of compensation.

He commended the efforts of the government in tackling the challenges of securing Nigerias Correctional facilities by approving and funding the construction of ultramodern correctional facilities in the country. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

Source: NAN News

By Lucy Ogalue

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provision) Bill 2022 also known as the Omnibus Bill into law.

Dr Jumoke Oduwole, Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business and Secretary, Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) said this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

According to Oduwole, the bill will aid the ease of doing business for small business owners in the country.

This marks an important step in the delivery of an enabling environment for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.

Presented as an Executive Bill, the Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provision) Act, 2023 is a legislative intervention by the PEBEC which
amends 21 business related laws.

It removes bureaucratic constraints to doing business in Nigeria.

The new law also codifies the Executive Order 001 on Transparency and Efficiency in Public Service Delivery, the Administrations first executive order, aimed at strengthening ease of doing businessreforms across the country, she said.

Oduwole said that the PEBEC Secretariat was extremely grateful to see this Act come into fruition.

According to her, it is a culmination of over four years of collaboration between public
and private sector stakeholders.

This includes the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Nigeria Bar Association Section on Business Law through the participation of over 40 law firms and consulting firms.

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), and the National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER) are also part of the team, she said.

The PEBEC secretary said the Business Facilitation Act, 2023 consolidates the last seven years of PEBEC-led reforms.

Oduwole said it also demonstrated the Administrations sustained commitment towards making Nigeria a progressively easier place to start and grow a business.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Deputy Editor in Chief,
Head of Website/Solutions Journalism desk.

Source: NAN News

FRSC Delta decorates 107 newly promoted officers

By Clara Egbogota

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Delta Sector Command, on Monday decorated 107 of its newly-promoted officers.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that three deputy corps commanders are among the officers decorated at a ceremony held at the sector commands headquarters in Asaba.

The Sector Commander, Mr Udeme Eshiet, who decorated the officers, urged them to live up to expectations.

According to him, to whom much is given, much more is expected.

Your responsibilities have changed, and you must live up to the task before you and do the corps proud by increasing productivity and dedication to duty.

I am really grateful to the corp marshal and the Federal Road Safety Commission Board, he said.

The sector commander said that the promotion enhanced staff morale.

It is a call to be exceptionally disciplined.

It will now be whether you are worthy to perform a task effectively and efficiently before you are given a sensitive appointment, he added.

Responding on behalf of the decorated officers, Mr Jonathan Ogboh expressed gratitude to God for the promotion.

He also thanked the management of FRSC for finding them worthy of promotion.

We have every reason to be happy and we have accepted the responsibilities that come with the new rank, he said. (NAN)(nannews.ng)

Edited by Ijeoma Popoola

Source: NAN News

Prof. Oba Abdulraheem, Kwara NNPP governorship candidate

By Abigael Joshua

Prof. Oba Abdulraheem, the Kwaras New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) governorship candidate, has promised to embark on realistic, dynamic political and economic reforms if voted into power.

Oba, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said he would create a governable environment that promotes and supports socio-economic well-being of the people through his Strategic Actions to Change Kwara (SACK) strategy.

We want a Kwara State that works for all, propped by a determined focus on shared prosperity for all, driven by a vibrant economy and underpinned by quality service based on equity and justice.

The ultimate goal of Government and Governance is the welfare and security of the people, the governorship candidate said.

He said his government would pursue vigorous value-orientation to minimise corrupt practices, reduce and, ultimately, eliminate waste and leakages in public financing.

Explaining his education agenda, Oba who was a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, said there would be a deliberate focus on educational infrastructural renewal, arresting and reversing the decay at the basic education level.

He added that there would be unhindered access to free, qualitative basic education for all in Kwara.

There will be drastic reduction in out-of-school children population; progressive decongestion and expansion of instructional space and facilities, promoting ICT and e-learning.

I will embark on capacity-building through re-conceptualizing the teacher training education in order to match the goals of the Universal Basic Education.

There will be improved conditions/incentives for trainee teachers, restoration of rural posting and incentives for basic education teachers, he said.

Oba said the professional focus of the colleges of Education and polytechnics would remain sacrosanct, while there there would be enhanced conditions of service, including career opportunities for trained teachers.

According to the NNPP governorship candidate, education is a change-agent which will be deployed as the flagship of his partys change agenda. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Razak Owolabi

Source: NAN News