Society
NIHORT trains 25 tomato farmers in Niger to reduce post-harvest losses, unemployment
The National Institute of Horticultural Research (NIHORT), Ibadan, Oyo State, has commenced a 2-day training for unemployed youths and women, on value addition for tomato farmers. The training is taking place at the headquarters of The National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI), Badeggi, in Niger state. Speaking at the opening ceremony on Wednesday, the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Institute, Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Abdullahi-Garba (rtd), said that the training was organized to build the capacity of the people. He described tomato as an important economic and food security crop consumed around the world. “Tomato is undoubtedly one of the most important vegetables grown in Nigeria and the commodity is capable of impacting positively on Nigeria’s agricultural economic development. “The ...
Israeli court limits use of spy agency to track coronavirus cases
Israel’s top court ruled Tuesday the government must curb its use of the domestic spy agency to track coronavirus infections, saying “draconian” surveillance constituted a blow to democracy. The government began using the Shin Bet’s surveillance technologies in March 2020, when Covid-19 infections began to spike. But the supreme court quickly blocked such practice, saying legislation was needed to authorise the programme. Tracking was discontinued in June but the following month, amid another infection surge, parliament passed a law allowing the surveillance when “an epidemiological investigation cannot be completed otherwise”. Initially approved for three weeks, that has measure has been repeatedly extended since while details of how information was obtained were kept secret. Critics crie...
NHRC urges Zamfara government to reconsider stand on ‘repentant bandits’
The National Human Rights Commission, on Saturday, expressed concerns over the rising cases of kidnapping of boarding schools’ students in northern parts of the country. The commission also called on the Zamfara State Government to reconsider its stand on repentant bandits to avoid elevation of criminality to a level where they would be dictating conditions for negotiations with government. The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Tony Ojukwu, stated this in a statement by the Commission’s Deputy Director of Public Affairs, Fatimah Mohammed, in Abuja. He was reacting to the recent reports of the abduction of over 300 students at Government Girls Science Secondary School Janjebe, Zamfara State. According to him, young boys and girls have unfortunately been abused and violated by some unsc...
Chukwuma Soludo: Why I joined Anambra governorship race
Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, says he is in the governorship race of Anambra to make the South-East geopolitical zone an island of prosperity. Newsmen report that Soludo will run for the Nov. 6 poll on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). In an interaction with newsmen on Saturday in Awka, he said the South-East had become largely unlivable despite the solid foundation and infrastructure laid down by leaders for the region’s development. Soludo described the South-East as a “tiny poor place that must begin to turn into a Promised Land. “For you to create a livable society comparable to any other place, it requires a crusade for all and it must happen simultaneously in the South-East,” he said. He said Anambra had been relative...
UNICEF partners Delta in renewed fight against malnutrition
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has restated its commitment and support for the Delta State Government in the renewed effort to flatten the curve for malnutrition in the state, particularly through supplementary and improved dietary provisions for adolescents in the state. The UNICEF zonal Chief of Field Office (Rivers), Dr. Tushar Rane, gave the assurance in virtual remarks at a one-day meeting in Asaba with stakeholders for Scale-Up of Adolescent Nutrition Programme for six local government areas of Delta State, organised by UNICEF. While lauding the state government for putting in place necessary policy instruments for a scale-up of the adolescent nutritional status of the state because of their importance to the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), he commen...
Northern governors condemn Zamfara schoolgirls abduction
The Northern States Governors Forum on Friday condemned another attack on Government Secondary School, Jangebe, in Zamfara State where hundreds of schoolgirls were abducted, saying enough is enough. Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, in a statement, said this trend is unacceptable and that strong measures must be taken to put an end to it before it escalated into a monster that would consume educational pursuit and national aspirations. Lalong said this development, which is coming on the heels of the abduction of school children in Kagara, Niger State still being addressed, called for serious concerns among all Nigerians. He said “as Northern Governors, we are deeply saddened by this embarrassing and unfortunate attack on our children who are in schools to ...
Nasarawa assures electoral agency of total independence
Nasarawa State has assured its internal electoral agency of a free hand to run elections into the 13 local councils. The Deputy Governor, Emmanuel Akabe, disclosed this on Friday while declaring open a two-day training workshop organised for members and staff of the Nasarawa State Independent Electoral Commission (NASIEC). Akabe, who represented Governor Abdullahi Sule at the event, assured that the state government would not interfere in the conduct of council elections, but support the complete independence of the commission to conduct free, fair and credible council elections. “In a society like ours, free, fair and credible election constitutes the basic principle of democracy. In this regards, electoral administrators are the drivers who ensure that the tenets of democracy are greatly...
Foundation donates N2 million to fix potholes in UNICAL
Tecno An educational foundation, Teacher Essien Ita Ita Educational Foundation (TEIIEF), has presented a cheque of N2 million to the University of Calabar (UNICAL) for the fixing of potholes in the institution. The presentation, which was done at the weekend in the office of the Vice Chancellor of the University, was part of the activities to mark the second year remembrance of the demise of Mrs. Temitope Ekpenyong Ita, wife of Mr. Ekpenyong Ita, a former Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and son of the late Teacher Esien Ita, who died March 13, 2019. Speaking shortly after presenting the cheque to the Vice Chancellor of UNICAL, Prof. Florence Obi, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation, Chief Gersh Henshaw said, the organisation was delighted to i...
NUT demands declaration of emergency on security
Nigeria Union of Teachers The Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, has frowned at the abduction of students and teachers of Government Science Secondary School, Kagara, in Niger State by bandits. To this end, the union tasked the federal government to adopt different approach in tackling insecurity as according to it, the current strategy being deployed by security agencies was not yielding any meaningful fruit. This was as it demanded a declaration of total state of emergency on security situation in the country by the government. The NUT, reacting to the development in a statement tagged:” Terrorist Attack on Schools and Abduction of Students/Teachers One Incident Too Many”, signed by its General Secretary, Dr Mike Ike Ene, regretted the reported incident. “We call on the Federal Government t...
Anambra election: We shall move our members to the polling booth – PFN chair
File Photo Ahead of the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State, the Chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in the state, Bishop Moses Ezedebego, has declared that as part of efforts being made by PFN to make meaningful contributions to the development, peace and progress of the state, all eligible voters that worship in pentecostal churches across the 326 wards in the State would be at the polling booth to participate in electing the next governor of the State. Bishop Ezedebego made the declaration while addressing a press conference in respect of a 3-day camp meeting involving Christians leaders from across Nigeria and beyond organized by Maximum Impact Leadership Development Centre with a view to addressing the challenges facing Nigeria particularly poor leade...
Insecurity: Nigerian governemtn to hold nationwide town hall meetings
In view of the security challenges confronting the nation, the Federal Government is set to convene town hall meetings in the six geo-political zones. Government is expected to confer with state chief executives, religious leaders, women and youth groups in a bid to find lasting solutions to the spiralling, multiple security threats in the country. A statement issued by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said the move was in furtherance of Federal Government’s commitment to address multiple security threats facing Nigeria. It said the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd) convened a meeting of the General Security Appraisal Committee (GSAC) on 11th February, 2021. The meeting, which was attended by the service chiefs and heads of law enforcem...
Armed herdsmen: Group calls on President Buhari to caution Bauchi governor
An Edo State-based civil society organisation, the Foundation for Good Governance and Social Change (FGGSC), has called on the Presidency to caution the governor of Bauchi State, Bala Muhammed, over a statement credited to him justifying bearing of arms by Fulani herdsmen to protect their cows. The group, faulting the comments of the governor, described it as ‘reckless, provocative, divisive and unbecoming of the status of a governor in a pluralistic society like Nigeria.’ Addressing journalists in Benin City, the Executive Director of FGGSC, Austin Osakue, said the situation in Nigeria was similar to what led to the 30 months civil war in the late 1960s that resulted in wanton destruction of lives and properties. ‘The statement opens the floodgates of self-help for Nigerians of other ethn...