Mr Ekoi Obono-Obla at the ICPC headquarters after his arrest in Abuja on Friday. Photo: ICPC

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it is set to begin the implementation of the second phase of the constituency and executive projects tracking exercise in 16 states.

Mrs Rasheedat Okoduwa, ICPCs spokesperson in a statement on Monday said that the exercise, which was scheduled to commence on June 23, would involve 16 states.

She said that the tracking became necessary after recording success in the first phase of the projects tracking exercise conducted in 12 states in 2019.

According to her, the states to be visited include Cross River, Taraba, Ekiti, Ogun, Gombe, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Kwara, Jigawa, Abia, Delta, Ebonyi, Niger, Rivers, Oyo and Kaduna.

She also said that the projects tracking would focus on the following sectors: Health, Education, Water Resources, Agriculture and Power.

Some of the objectives of the tracking exercise are: to investigate fraudulent procurement practices in the award of contracts for constituency and executive projects.

Also, to make recoveries on projects or contracts confirmed to have been inflated or in which contractors under-performed or did not perform at all; and track contracting companies for all statutory compliance, she said.

Okoduwa said that the commission in 2019 launched the pilot phase of the exercise in which it tracked projects performance from 2015 to 2019 in 12 states.

She explained that successes of the exercise included the recoveries of tractors, ambulances, dialysis machines and other hospital equipment from sponsors of the projects across the pilot states.

Okoduwa said: The successes also included the recovery of huge sums of money, hundreds of tricycles, grinding machines and other empowerment items from the project sponsors.

Furthermore, the exercise forced contractors who hitherto had abandoned projects to return to site to complete them.

ICPC is again set to take the exercise to states not covered in the pilot phase with the aim of ensuring that government gets value in the execution of public projects, and improved delivery of social welfare services to the citizens.

Just as the first phase, the project tracking will be done in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Media, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and other stakeholders.

Source: NAN News

The Oyo State Government has begun the training of teachers preparatory to the reopening of schools shut down due to COVUD-19 lockdown.

This was contained in a statement issued on Monday in Ibadan by Olamide Adeniji, Press Officer to Dr Nureni Adeniran, the Executive Chairman of Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training initiative under the Universal Basic Education Authority will focus on the basic procedures for handling COVID-19 in schools.

NAN also reports that the resumption is for Primary Six, Junior Secondary Secondary Three and Senior Secondary School Three pupils and students.

The statement quoted Adeniran as saying that the training on reopening of schools was part of the state governments pre-opening mandate.

He added that the training was targeted at getting participants preparedness ahead of any possible identification of a COVID-19 case.

The workshop is expected to equip participants with the necessary knowledge on COVID-19 and how to manage it during these trying times among pupils.

Let me add that the workshop has representatives from each zone in the state and it is aimed at ensuring the safety of children and teachers in the state, Adeniran said.

Adeniran said asking only Primary Six pupils to return to school was strategic, adding that each school was spacious enough to accomodate them.

He, however, stated that Oyo SUBEB would look into constituting an Advisory Board to complement the efforts of the state government in combating COVID-19.

While every school has been mandated to adhere to all precautionary measures during this period to contain the spread of the virus in schools, the Oyo State Government has deployed trainers who would train teachers.

These trained teachers would in turn train their colleagues on precautionary measures and how to manage each pupil after the long stay at home, Adeniran said.

He also said that the board had distributed facemasks to all non-teaching and teaching staff across all Local Government Universal Basic Education Authority in the state.

Adeniran said this was part of the boards precautionary measures taken to prepare every member of staff for the task ahead.

He added that each school would provide wash hand basins and alcohol-based hand sanitisers.

Source: NAN News

Polio

By Ismaila Chafe
President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated fellow citizens on the joyous and historic occasion as Nigeria becomes Wild Polio Virus Free.

Buhari also appreciated all partners, local and international, for their relentless efforts in ensuring the clean health bill.

The president made his feelings known in a statement released by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja an Sunday.

According to the president, this achievement reflects the resilient spirit of Nigerians, particularly the capacity of hardworking men and women in the health industry, who drew resources and support from multiple sectors to deal a final blow to the deadly virus.

He said: This achievement is not only one of the great successes of this generation of Nigerians but also one of the obvious dividends of this administration, which is consistent with our progressive investment in the health of our people since 2015.

This landmark achievement is also a promise kept to all Nigerians. As you will recall that in August 2015, barely three months after we assumed office, I promised Nigerians that:

My government shall provide the necessary resources and commitment required to strengthen the health system, routine immunisation and ensure the country is certified Polio free.

The president noted that in 2016 the country suffered a major setback in the polio eradication efforts with the outbreak of the Wild Polio Virus in Borno, after about two years without any case.

Buhari recalled he promptly directed the immediate release of N9.8 billion to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to contain the outbreak.

Subsequently, we have been meeting all our financial obligations to bilateral and multilateral agreements, and also provided the moral support and leadership required at all levels to motivate the men and women in the frontline of polio eradication.

In addition, we sincerely appreciate our donors and development partners who stood by the country during those trying times, he added.

According to him, this achievement of polio free status is a hard-won battle spanning over three decades of hard work and dedication by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).

He also lauded the Federal, States and Local Governments, polio eradication team at all levels, the nation donors and development partners, both local and international for their contributions in achieving this feat.

As we recall, the polio eradication structures were used when Nigeria successfully eradicated Ebola Virus Disease within the shortest possible time in 2014.

I am glad that these same human, material and technological resources have been deployed to steadily increase Routine Immunisation coverage and are being organised to implement the fight against community transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This big battle would not have been won without the support of our donors and development partners.

These include Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Aliko Dangote Foundation, Rotary International, United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, USAID, Sir Emeka Offor Foundation, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and European Union.

The president also acknowledged the contributions of the Global Health Canada, German Development Bank (KfW), WHO, UNICEF, Nigeria Governors Forum, Polio Survivors Group, the media, faith-based and other non-governmental organisations.

Besides, Buhari noted the immense contribution of traditional and religious leaders who mobilised communities to accept immunisation and other government programmes.

The final theatre of the polio eradication fight was particularly championed by the Northern Traditional Leaders Committee on Polio Eradication and Primary Health Care (NTLC) under the guidance of His Highness, Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Saad Abubakar, and strategic leadership of late Shehu of Bama, Alhaji Kyari Ibn Umar El-Kanemi.

We thank you all for the leadership and partnership over the years, the president said.

Source: NAN News

COVID-19

China reported 18 new coronavirus cases for June 21, nine of which were in the capital Beijing, the National Health Commission said on Monday.

This compared with 26 confirmed cases a day earlier, 22 of which were in Beijing.

Local authorities are restricting movement of people in the capital and stepping up other measures to prevent the virus from spreading, following a series of local infections.

Another seven asymptomatic COVID-19 patients, those who are infected but show no symptoms, were reported as of June 21 compared with six a day earlier.

China does not count these patients as confirmed cases. (Reuters/NAN)

Source: NAN News

COVID-19 effects threaten food security, increase vulnerability, women farmers raise alarm

A Survey by Ibukun Emiola, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

Mrs Motunrayo Ajagbe, 55, is a smallholder farmer in Ibadan. She has a farm at Oluyole Local Government Area. She and members of her family depend on the sale of the farm produce for survival.

During the initial five weeks of the lockdown occasioned by COVID 19 pandemic, she lost 70 per cent of her crops and vegetables because she could not go to the farm to tend to them.

She observed that more than 70 per cent of the crops and vegetables were lost due to lack of movement to take care of the farm.

She said: We were caught unaware, so not going to farm had a serious impact on the family; and although I work with a private school, schools were also closed and no income came in for me. We became somewhat vulnerable.

It affected my children because we only eat one meal a day and eat anything we find in between meals like a refreshment.

Already, we have incurred more than 70 per cent revenue loss due to COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown has hindered movement and we couldnt sell the little harvest we got. The situation becomes frightening.

Not only this, we are unable to move freely to go to where our farm is located because the farm is far from where we live about a two-hour walk.

Due to this, many of our plants were destroyed, many of the crops dried off even as climate change affected farming this year because the rain didnt fall as expected.

Besides this, we have our own method which is irrigation but were unable to apply water to the crops to make them grow because there was no movement.

We were unable to prepare the vegetables in the nursery bed and then transfer them to the field as well as do other necessary things to keep the plant healthy and ensure growth. This has caused damage to the crops.

This is just the experience of one out of numerous women farmers across the country whose farming activities have been sustaining food security even at subsistence level.

Unarguably, before the outbreak of COVID-19 in late 2019, rising food prices, inadequate investment in subsistence farming, climate change and lack of capacity, especially for women to acquire land for farming, among other social factors, posed serious threat to farming.

Investigations reveal that farmers, especially women, have on many occasions, expressed concern about the impacts of COVID-19 on farming activities, observing that the situation can result in a food crisis and increased vulnerability if the authorities dont do the needful.

For instance, smallholder women farmers in some parts of Oyo State express fear over food shortage due to the effect of lockdown occasioned by COVID-19, climate change and inability to get government palliatives, among other factors.

The women, on the platform of the Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON) in some local government areas of Oyo State, spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

According to them the initial lockdown for five weeks in the country and particularly restriction of movement to Lagos and Ogun State have cost them to lose revenue between ranging 50 per cent and 70 per cent.

They note that inter-state travel ban has had adverse effects on their business which is their means of livelihood.

SWOFON is a coalition of Women Farmers Associations and Groups across Nigeria that, over the years, has championed advocacy and garner support for more than 500,000 grassroots women farmers in Nigeria.

The association has continued to witness myriad of challenges in its quest to provide for their households and ensure food security for the nation.

In many rural areas of Oyo State visited by a NAN correspondent, the harrowing experience of smallholder women farmers continue to echo as the challenges bedeviling these women remain unabated even with the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

The common denominator for all smallholder women farmers in the state remains lack of funds and inability to access grants and loans from the government as well as lack of modern farming implements, access to chemicals to control pests and insects and fertiliser.

While this group falls into the most vulnerable in the society, their contributions to food production and security in Nigeria cannot be overemphasised in spite of the challenges.

With the diversification programme of the Nigerian economy to non-oil sector and in agriculture notwithstanding, smallholder women farmers are clinging to the hope of receiving deserved attention from the government.

Women farmers recall that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development had its first draft of gender policy in agriculture in 2014 to fill the gaps of gender integration and responsiveness identified in the Agricultural Transformation Agenda.

The document was revised in August 2016 to reflect the vision of the present administration entitled: Agriculture Promotion Policy and Strategy, the Green Alternative.

But smallholder women farmers say they have yet to benefit from the initiative set up to underscore the vital role of agriculture in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) one, two and five.

The goals are set to eradicate poverty, end hunger and achieve food security, as well as improved nutrition anchored on achieving sustainable agriculture, gender equality and empowerment of women and girls.

Women farmers note that the goals may not be achieved because of poverty and lack of mechanised resources that have made them to remain at the lower rung of the ladder in society.

A visit to their farms shows a level of struggle and neglect as these women, who are mostly the breadwinners in their families, have continued to farm to keep up their families and feed the nation in their own way.

The women, however, alleged that they have continued to use manual and archaic farming methods and practices while being at the mercy of loans and climate change for survival.

In Lagelu Local Government Area of Oyo State, Mrs Jolaoye Mujidat, 45, a smallholder woman farmer at Iyana Offa, says the impact of the lockdown occasioned by COVID-19 is enormous, affecting the welfare of her family.

Exporting of farm produce has been halted due to an inter-state travel ban. Income has greatly reduced. We only sell to people around and that has reduced the cost of the produce by half and we sell below market prices.

In the planting season due to the downturn in our income we are unable to expand our farm; although there is enough land to farm on, no money to farm on the existing land.

We do the labour work instead of contracting it out due to paucity of funds. I am unable to do farming work as I want to due to lack of funds. I need the money to buy inputs and pay for labour on the farm.

Everything is now very expensive, we get our maize seedlings from the north and some other crops. To plant maize is very difficult now because of the lack of seedlings.

Cassava stems are so costly now, we cant even get around this place if we want to. What we do is that we cut cassava stems from the ones we have planted before, thats how we have been managing.

Before the lockdown, maize produce was taken to Lagos and other states and people from other states came to buy from us as well but that had changed.

Due to low income, we are unable to buy the needed chemicals to prevent our crops from being destroyed by insects.

We have been trained on how to apply the chemicals to stop insects from destroying our farms only that we have no means to do this, so we are soliciting help on this.

We want them to provide us with pesticides and power tillers such that they will be of great assistance to us in farming. It will even aid the expansion of our business, she said.

In Ibarapa Central Local Government Area, Igboora, Oyo State, Mrs Funmilayo Olaniran, 50, a smallholder farmer notes that farming ought to be very lucrative venture and women can be supported to boost food production.

Six of us came together to farm as members of SWOFON due to old age and lack of support to expand this farming business.

We plant maize, cassava and melon on five hectares of land but the effect of COVID-19 has had a negative impact on our business.

The lockdown occasioned by the virus prevented inter-state travel, meaning our produce could not be transported to where it would be sold.

People who buy our produce could not do so because movement has been prohibited, so, our produce spoil in the store and this has really affected us.

We want to expand our business and we want to do farming as it should be done and we want the government to come to our aid, she explained.

Mrs Maria Adegoke, 35, in the same local government explains that she began farming when she was 20 years old but she has never experienced a lull in farming business as the COVID-19 has presented recently.

Lack of transportation to move our goods which affect our sales. Business is not going smoothly. We have lost a lot of money with this coronavirus.

We are expecting the government to help us so that we can improve our businesses;

because of our losses, we are unable to plant as much as we would during this farming period.

The little amount we gathered was from microfinance bank. This loan will affect us because we are to repay it in time.

Similarly, Adijat Olayinka, 33, said: We bought the chemicals used for controlling pests in the farm, we borrowed money to do this.

Government should please provide us with modern farming implements to make our job easy and also reduce the cost of farming.

Since the advent of COVID-19, the labourers, who come to work for us from all over including Togolese are unable to come.

They are prevented from entering Nigeria to work on our farms. This has brought a set back to our business.

We tried to reduce the cost of labour by slashing down on the amount we give to labourers but they refused to accept this reduction.

Their reason for refusing to collect pay cuts is that prices of food items have increased with other things they need to take care of in their homes.

Stating the effects of the lockdown on farming, Mrs Olayiwola Bridget, a resident of Ibadan and a farmer, notes there are no sales since movement is restricted.

We want the government to give us tractors, we need pesticides to spray on our crops as they are being ravaged by insects.

We bought some of the seedlings we planted or we picked from the last harvest we had; we dont have large storage facilities; we only build some huts to put our harvest.

We want off-takers too as this will boost our business. We will appreciate it if the government can build storage facilities for us as well, she pleaded.

But Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Audu Ogbeh insists that the gender policy on agriculture is expected to drastically reduce the vulnerability of womens biases in agriculture.

He observes that the policy will also boost women smallholder farmers contributions to farming activities.

Agronomists note further that the policy document will enhance the platform for building an agri-business ecosystem to meet both domestic and foreign demands for achieving food security and accelerated development.

However, concerned citizens have been asking why such initiative is not achieving the desired result to improve the conditions of smallholder women farmers in Nigeria; even with the Central Bank of Nigeria palliatives on agriculture to cushion the effect of COVID-19.

The palliatives include a N50-billion credit relief package which is to serve as a relief package to businesses along the agricultural value chain.

Another is the N1.1-trillion credit facility package targeted at supporting the manufacturing sector, out of which N1 trillion would be used to support the local manufacturing sector and boost import substitution.

Another loan is targeted at farmers with a three-month repayment moratorium for all TraderMoni, MarketMoni and FarmersMoni loans under the Social Intervention Programme (SIP).

Apart from these, there are loan facilities from Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry and Nigeria Export Import Bank with the same moratorium to repay.

As inspiring as these initiatives are, smallholder women farmers in Oyo State insist they have yet to benefit from the palliatives.

The women plead to be supported by the government at all levels, especially now that COVID-19 pandemic has further devastated their means of livelihood.

In some of the local government areas visited in Oyo State, farmers and women farmers in particular, were not aware of the various government palliatives which are measures to cushion the effect of COVID-19 on agriculture.

Some of them say they have continued to rely on loans from microfinance banks and some of them say they are even indebted and are unable to service their loan due to the effect of lockdown occasioned by COVID-19.

Many of the smallholder women farmers note that they are surviving on the resources made available to them by family and religious organisations while some feed on their harvest.

Some of them, who plant cassava, maize and vegetables, note that although more than 70 per cent of their produce are lost to spoilage, they also have been feeding on the harvest to survive the pandemic.

All in all, experts note that although COVID-19 is a health crisis, it can result in a food security crisis if proper measures are not taken as the world is gradually facing food and nutrition security challenges.

They recommend a close monitoring of food prices and markets to ensure transparent dissemination of information that will strengthen government management of the situation, prevent people from panicking and guide farmers to make rational production decisions.

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

This report was made possible with support from the International Budget Partnership (IBP)

Source: NAN News

Johnson Boris

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday said the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK was diminishing, as the countrys coronavirus disease alert level was downgraded from four to three.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce a reduction in the two-metre social distancing rule and plans for the reopening of businesses on Tuesday, as part of efforts to restart Britains economy amid the pandemic.

Johnson, on Tuesday is set to update Parliament on the next stage of lockdown easing and whether pubs, restaurants, hotels could reopen in UK from 4 July.

The easing of restrictions on July 4 marks the start of phase three when some hospitality businesses can reopen.

According the governments guidance, alert level three means the disease is still in general circulation, although the risk of high or exponential transmission has diminished.

In turn, the World Health Organisation recommends a social distance of no less than 1 metre.

The United Kingdom registered 43 COVID-19 deaths on Sunday, well below the previous four days, when there were over 120 fatalities per day, the daily update from the Department of Health and Social Care showed. (Sputnik/NAN)

Source: NAN News

Gov. Nasir El-Rufai

By Philip Yatai

The Kaduna State Government said it had so far evacuated over 35,000 Almajiri children to 17 states and some neighbouring countries.

Hajiya Hafsat Baba, Commissioner for Human Services and Social Development, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Kaduna.

Baba disclosed that the state equally received more than 1,000 Almajiri from other states.

She said the measure was part of the state governments efforts toward ensuring that all children received both Quranic and western education under the care of their parents.

She said that with the support of the UNICEF, the ministry was documenting, counselling, and providing basic healthcare to the Almajiri evacuated from other states.

This is crucial because apart from COVID-19, some of the Almajiri had skin diseases and other ailments that need to be treated before reuniting them with their families.

Although enrolling the children into school is the responsibility of the ministry of education, the ministry of human services is currently assessing the state of Tsangaya schools across the state.

We want to determine their proximity and suitability for enrolling some of the Almajiri living close to such schools where they will acquire both Quranic and western education. she said.

The commissioner said that the government would continue to take delivery of every Almajiri indigenous to the state and would continue to engage Islamic teachers as parts of community engagement.

She added the ministry would equally continue engaging traditional leaders and relevant stakeholders in communities for them to understand that the children need to be taken care of by their parents.

Gov. Nasir El-Rufai had recently warned that parents who enroll their children into the Almajiri education system stand the risk of prosecution and up to two years jail.

El-Rufai said that all the Almajiri pupils repatriated from other states of the country would be given all the opportunity they deserved to grow and develop.

We will continue to take delivery of every Almajiri pupil indigenous to Kaduna state for rehabilitation, treatment and enrollment into formal school nearest to where their parents live, the governor said.

Source: NAN News

Crocodile

A total of 59 baby crocodiles have been stolen from a wildlife park in Australias Northern Territory (NT).

Local media reported on Monday that 59 crocodiles measuring 40-50 centimetres in length were stolen from Crocodylus Park in Darwin in May.

Grahame Webb, one of the leading experts on crocodilian research and the owner of Crocodylus Park, said that the loss of the reptiles, which he was breeding for research, had cost him up to 20,000 Australian dollars (,659).

He told News Corp Australia that he believes the crocodiles were stolen over several visits in a two-week period leading up to May 19.

All their food is monitored, and thats what we couldnt work out, the food was increasing in the other pens and the food consumption (in this pen) went up and then it stopped and it went up and then it stopped, Webb said.

On counting, the crocodiles staff at the park realised that 59 had been stolen.

It is not the first time that the facility has been targeted by thieves, with some having cut holes in the chain fence in the past.

They were last years hatchlings, this was the group that was growing really fast, Webb said.

Its a fundamental right to have some sort of respect for property.

Barbed wire doesnt stop anyone if theyre serious. (Xinhua/NAN)

Source: NAN News

Flood

By Peter Uwumarogie,

The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has urged Gombe State residents to imbibe the culture of proper waste management to prevent environmental degradation like flooding.

The NESREA Coordinator in the state, Mr Adamu Saurayi,made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe on Monday.

He said that the call became necessary because many residents were in the habit of dumping solid waste in the drains, especially during the rainy season.

According to him, the spread of COVID-19 in the state is an additional reason residents need to properly dispose waste like used face masks to avoid putting others at risk.

Saurayi cautioned residents against using the rains as way of sweeping away wastes through drains, adding that such could lead to blockage of drains which could further result to spread of infectious diseases.

He noted that from the onset of the rainy season, we have been receiving complaints on environmental issues, including poor disposal of wastes and we often move in to create awareness and ensure that our environment is not abused.

We must protect our environment as our actions toward the environment may create serious issues like flooding and erosion, which are often avoidable in some instances through proper waste management.

He called on communities to encourage their people to properly dispose solid wastes by designating refuse collection points for proper evacuation by relevant agencies.

He also called on the state government to build more refuse collection centres to encourage people to properly dispose, as well as evacuate wastes.

He said if you tell someone not to dispose wastes indiscriminately; you must build a collection point where they should take wastes to. If this is not available, then the risk of abusing the environment will be high.

While commending the state governments initiative of planting one million trees every year, the state coordinator said the trees planted under the initiative were growing well in several communities across the state.

He also called on the people to support governments drive to resuscitate the environment by taking advantage of the rains to plant more trees.

Source: NAN News

Gov. Nasir el-Rufai has approved N200m fund for the Women Empowerment Programme, to support women activities at the grassroots.

Hajiya Hafsat Baba, Commissioner for Human Services and Social Development, Kaduna State, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna.

Baba said that the programme, established in 2017, was specifically designed to improve financial inclusion and provide women access to low-interest loans to begin new or expand existing business.

She explained that the ministry was working on the guidelines and modalities for the disbursement of the money to new beneficiaries.

The commissioner added that the state was working with the Central Bank of Nigeria to deepen financial inclusion among women, adding that about 14,000 women have recently opened bank accounts.

According to her, the women will be thoroughly screened to ensure that only new beneficiaries access the money.

We will use Bank Verification Number to screen existing beneficiaries out so that others can benefit, she said.

The commissioner said that over 7,000 women benefited from the programme in 2019, noting that individual received N20,000 while association of 10 members got N200,000.

She said that while others have paid back, the ministry was working with the remaining beneficiaries to pay back the soft loan to provide opportunities for others to benefit.

Source: NAN News