NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA
Defence/Security

100 illegal miners arrested in Jos – official

125 total views today

Mining

By Zainab Oyekan

Mr Yabilsu Dogo, Permanent Secretary, Plateau Ministry of Environment Climate Change and Mineral Development has said that no fewer than 100 illegal miners have been arrested in Jos.

Dogo made this known on Thursday in Jos in an interview  with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Dogo said that the ministry has been collaborating with the police to stop the illegal activities.

He said Illegal mining has continued to pose serious threats to both human settlements and the environment in Plateau.

He said one major immediate danger of illegal mining  was land degradation  as illegal miners dig indiscriminately, creating deep pits and tunnels that weaken the soil structure.

“You know that overtime this would lead to increased incidents of land subsidence and sinkholes, making the ground unstable for buildings, roads, and other infrastructure.

“We had building collapse in Jos last year, illegal mining compromises the integrity of buildings, making them susceptible to collapse, especially during heavy rains or seismic activity,” he said.

Dogo said most times illegal miners get trapped in the holes and many had lost their lives in the process.

The permanent secretary said that government revenues were lost due to unregulated mineral extraction, depriving the state of funds that could be used for development.

He however, said that to mitigate these effects, the Plateau government had  strengthened enforcement measures to promote sustainable mining practices.

Dogo said plans had been put in place to create awareness about the dangers of illegal mining and  also provide  alternative livelihoods for illegal miners. (NAN)
Edited by Yakubu Uba

Metro

Nigeria, Germany partner on youth training

163 total views today

Training

By Franca Ofili

The Federal Government has announced a partnership with Germany to launch an innovative dual vocational training programme aimed at equipping Nigerian youths with essential skills for the job market.

The Minister of Youth Development, Mr Ayodele Olawande, gave this update in Abuja on Thursday during a meeting with a delegation from the IHK Giessen-Friedberg Chambers of Commerce and Industry, led by Dr Matthias Leder.

Olawande emphasised the ministry’s commitment to creating an environment that empowered young people to thrive and contribute to national development.

He also highlighted the ministry’s ambitious plan to train seven million youths in critical skills over the next two years.

He added that the ministry was organising an intensive three-day skills programme across 50 revitalised Youth Centres, culminating in a central event to enhance employability and prepare youths for an increasingly competitive job market.

Leder, in his address, called the training system a potential game-changer for Nigeria, noting the mutual benefits of dual vocational training for both countries.

He explained that the Nigerian youth would receive free vocational training in Germany, and those who pass the exams would be offered jobs at participating companies.

Former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, also stressed that the initiative would promote economic growth, trade, and investment opportunities between Nigeria and Germany.

He further said the collaboration built on a relationship that began in 2005 and was solidified with the launch of the Dual Vocational Education Project in 2012. (NAN)
Edited by Modupe Adeloye and Abiemwense Moru

Health

Anambra treats 156 dog bite cases in 2 years – Official

122 total views today

Dog

By Lucy Osuizigbo-Okechukwu

The Anambra State Government, in partnership with Carter Centre, said it recorded and treated 156 dog bite cases between 2023 and 2024.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, made this known at a news conference on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Interventions, to mark the 2025 World NTDs Day, in Awka.

The theme for this year’s commemoration is “Unite to Act Towards Elimination of NTDs”.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that World NTDs Day is marked every Jan. 30 to create awareness and support the growing momentum for the control, elimination and eradication of these diseases.

Obidike said the state government established three centres for the treatment of dog bite victims against rabies viral infection at Onitsha Federal Medical Centre, Ekwulobia and Enugu-Ukwu General Hospitals.

“Out of the 156 dog bite cases, 118 victims showed open wounds and bleeding, and more than half received free prophylactic treatment with anti-rabies vaccines.

“Results indicated that 87 males and 69 females were exposed, representing 56 per cent and 44 per cent respectively.

“The incessant movement of unvaccinated homeless, stray dogs in our streets remains a big challenge of public health.

“We are collaborating with the Ministries of Environment and Agriculture, to control rabies viral infection in the state,” he said.

The commissioner identified onchocerciasis, known as river blindness, lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis, schistosomiasis, and soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) as the NTDs in the state.

According to him, NTDs are caused by a variety of pathogens including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and toxins.

He said that the state had successfully eliminated two NTDs – river blindness and elephantiasis, through mass drug administration and vector control programmes.

Obidike urged Carter Centre and academic institutions to strengthen collaboration with the government, to sustain the successes achieved in the prevention of NTDs.

He urged residents to report cases of elephantiasis, hydrocele, dog bites, snake bites, oncho nodules, yaws, buruli ulcer, leprosy, guinea worm, and bloody urine, to the nearest health centre for prompt treatment.

Also speaking, Mrs Egeonu Attamah-Isiani, Programme Officer, Carter Centre, said the centre would continue to support the state to eliminate NTDs and achieve the global target by 2030.

In her remarks, Prof. Nkiru Orji, Coordinator, Parasitology and Public Health Society of Nigeria (PPSN), South-East, urged the state government to make policies and increase funding for NTDs research, to provide data for elimination. (NAN)

Edited by Florence Onuegbu/Oluwafunke Ishola

Economy/Business

Akpabio assures of speedy transmission of 2025 budget for Tinubu’s assent

164 total views today

Budget

By Kingsley Okoye

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has assured Nigerians that the 2025 budget will be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent as soon as it is passed into law.

Akpabio, who gave the assurance at plenary, emphasised the senate’s commitment to ensuring a seamless budgetary process.

He commended the lawmakers for their diligence in scrutinising the budget, adding that their efforts would result in a practical financial plan for Nigeria.

“I congratulate all senators and indeed the National Assembly as a whole for the way and manner you have scrutinised the budget of 2025. At the end, we will have a workable document for the benefit of all Nigerians,” he said.

Akpabio also lauded the lawmakers for extending the capital provisions of the 2024 budget to June 2025 to prevent government operations from being stalled

He said that efforts were re underway to transmit the 2025 budget to the president promptly.

“I also thank you for your foresight in extending the capital provisions of the 2024 budget to June so that government business does not grind to a halt.

“The constitution allows Mr President to undertake the current expenses in the 2025 budget, even up to June this year.B ut we will definitely get the budget across to him as soon as possible” he said. (NAN)

Edited by Modupe Adeloye and ‘Wale Sadeeq

Health

Cancer: Oncologist advises Nigerians on healthy life style

154 total views today

Cancer

By Confidence Nwanesi and Kemi Akintokun

A Consultant Oncologist, Dr Ajibike Orekoya, has advised Nigerians to adopt a healthy lifestyle to reduce the risk of having cancer.

Orekoya, the Head of Oncology Unit at the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta, gave the advice at a programme organised by the hospital to commemorate the 2025 World Cancer Day.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Cancer Day is observed every Feb. 4 globally, to create awareness about the disease.

The theme for 2025 is “United by Unique”.

According to her, breast and prostrate cancers are the most common among women and men in the country, hence the need for regular checkup to ensure early detection.

The oncologist noted that women who started menstruation earlier were at s risk of having cancer, while women with family history were also at risk.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), breast cancer is the most common cancer worldwide and leading cause of cancer deaths among women in low and middle-income countries.

“The World Cancer Day has been set aside globally to create awareness about different things concerning cancer care.

” The most common cancers in Nigeria among women and men are breast and prostate cancer.

”Breast cancer doesn’t have a known cause but there are different things that may increase the risk of a person having it,” he said.

Orekoya, however, urged the Federal Government to increase the number of cancer centres in the country to give patients more access to treatment

“The government, on its part, is trying but there’s still more that can be done.

“The government, has subsidised the treatment for cancer patients and we all know that cancer treatment is quite expensive.

“Patients who are under the health insurance, part of their treatment is covered:

“There’s also another programme where drugs that patients received are provided to them at a subsidised rate,” he said.

Orekoya urged the government to do more by increasing the number of cancer centres in the country and ensure access to timely treatment

” Luckily for us here, the Federal Government is building a comprehensive cancer centre  where patients will be able to have regenerative treatment, hopefully at a subsidise rate. (NAN)
Edited by Vivian Ihechu

National Assembly (NASS) complex
Economy/Business , Politics

Audit queries: Senate decries persistent absence of FIRS, NNPCL, NCS, CBN before panel

155 total views today

Audit

By Kingsley Okoye

The Senate has expressed concern over persistent failure of some critical revenue generating agencies to respond to expenditure queries raised by Office of Auditor-General for the Federation, (OAGF).

It also vowed to report and recommend sack of the chief executives of such agencies to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appropriate action.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Sen. Aliyu Wadada, said these at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday.

He said there was the need for the agencies to account for the funds appropriated by the National Assembly, in line with legislative provisions that empowers the parliament to carry out oversight responsibilities.

Wadada said that the auditor-general’s report which had been submitted to the committee raised significant queries on the expenditure of some of the agencies.

He listed some of the agencies that failed to appear before the committee to answer to the audit queries to include: Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, (NNPCL), among others.

The lawmaker said that the senate would report heads of such agencies to the president after providing them with another opportunity to answer to the queries.

“All efforts to get Nigeria Customs Service to the table to know how this happen proved abortive.

“It is important for Nigerians to know what happened under “ways and means”, why Central Bank of Nigeria debited borrower and credited borrower.

“Central Bank of Nigeria debited consolidated revenue funds account and credited treasury single account which amounted to over N30 trillion.

“Consolidated revenue funds account is government account, and the TSA is also government account.

“And in charging the interest, instead of the interest to be charged to treasury account, they went ahead again to charge the treasury account.

“They also went ahead to the treasury account and charged the consolidated revenue funds account, which now have amounted to over N6 trillion.

“There were correspondences among the committee, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy and the Debt Management Office (DMO) because of the faulty document which they were not ready to answer and have been evasive,” he said.

Wadada said that the report of the auditor-general for the federation which queried the agencies covered 2019 till date.

He also alleged that Nigeria Satellite Communications Limited had been invited for about nine times, but failed to appear, adding that Nigeria Police Force and Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority also fell into the category. (NAN)

Edited by ‘Wale Sadeeq

Health

Study finds rising plastic particles in human brain, liver

118 total views today

Plastic

Tiny plastic particles are accumulating in human tissues at increasingly higher levels, a new study published in the journal Nature Medicine showed.

The study, led by Matthew Campen of the University of New Mexico, shows that there are significantly higher levels of plastic nano and micro particles in the liver and brain.

The research was carried out from deceased people in 2024 compared to those studied in 2016.

According to the study released on Tuesday, the contamination is particularly high in the brain, with levels up to 30 times higher than in other organs such as the liver or kidneys,.

It said that while micro plastics have previously been detected in organs like the lungs, intestines and even the placenta, conventional microscopy typically only identifies particles larger than five micrometers.

The authors of the study said this excluded smaller nano particles that may be present.

Campen’s team employed advanced infrared and electron microscopy, which has allowed them to detect these smaller particles with greater accuracy.

The researchers analysed tissue samples from 24 deceased individuals in 2024 and compared them with 28 samples from 2016.

While the levels of plastic nano and micro particles in the kidneys remained largely unchanged, the liver and brain showed increase, particularly high levels in people with dementia.

The study also identified alarming levels of micro plastics in the brains of people diagnosed with dementia.

Twelve (12) brain samples were collected between 2019 and 2024, contained between 12,000 and 48,000 micrograms of plastic per gram of tissue.

However, the researchers said that these findings are associative and do not establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship.

The team also analysed the types of plastic found, with polyethylene, the plastic commonly used in bottles and packaging found to be the most prevalent.

It accounted for 40 to 65per cent of the plastic detected in the liver and kidneys, and up to 75 per cent in the brain.

The researchers cautioned that some of the differences observed in brain tissue could be attributed to geographic factors, as the samples were collected from New Mexico and the U.S. East Coast.

They stressed the need for larger-scale; longer-term studies to further explore the effects of micro and nano plastic accumulation, particularly on neurological health.
Edited by Cecilia Odey/Halima Sheji

Defence/Security

Civil disputes: I-G warns against misuse of police authorities

105 total views today

Authorities

By Monday Ijeh

The Inspector-General of Police (I-G), Mr Kayode Egbetokun, has warned against the misuse of police authority in civil disputes, particularly, matters of land ownership.

The Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja.

Egbetokun said police officers had no jurisdiction over purely civil matters unless there was an underlying criminal element involved.

According to him, even in such cases, investigations must be overseen by the Commissioners of Police in charge of the state, who will be held accountable for the process and outcome.

The I-G also raised concerns over the unwarranted and unethical practice of transferring ongoing cases, and misusing of public office by certain officers and individuals.

Egbetokun said the practices, which undermine investigations and diminish public confidence in the force, would no longer be tolerated.

He said transparency, professionalism and accountability must remain the guiding principles of policing in the country.

“In line with this, all supervising officers and personnel, particularly those in investigative units, should handle cases with diligence and integrity.

“Any officer found engaging in indiscriminate transfers of case files or misusing their office will face strict disciplinary actions,” he said.

He said the recurring practice of transferring cases still under investigation between formations without authorisation had been deemed unacceptable.

Egbetokun  said such actions create unnecessary delays, impose undue burdens on parties involved and waste resources.

“Cases should be investigated within the jurisdiction where alleged offenses occurred unless expressly approved by his office,” he added.

Egbetokun condemned the filing of frivolous or malicious petitions aimed at harassment or intimidation and vowed to address the issue.

According to him, moving forward, all petitions submitted to the police must now include a declaration confirming their authenticity and genuineness.

He said the petition must clearly state that the complaint had not been submitted to any other law enforcement agency.

The police boss said that if it had, it must have been withdrawn before involving the police.

“Petitioners found to have filed frivolous petitions will be made to face the appropriate sanctions for giving false information to the police,” he said.

Egbetokun urged the public to submit complaints and petitions directly to the appropriate Police Commands, Divisions, or Units rather than to the I-G’s office.

He said except in cases requiring review, appeal, or special intervention.

The I-G cautioned the public against framing civil disputes as criminal matters to manipulate police intervention. (NAN)

Edited by Stanley Nwanosike/Joseph Edeh

Metro

NLC suspends nationwide rally over proposed telecom tariff hike

164 total views today

Suspension

By Joan Nwagwu

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has suspended its planned  nationwide rally over proposed 50 per cent telecommunications tariff hike.

Mr Emmanuel Ugboaja, General Secretary of the NLC disclosed this in a statement addressed to all its state councils and affiliates on Tuesday in Abuja.

It would be recalled that the NLC’s National Administrative Council (NAC) had declared a one-day mass rally at all Nigerian Telecommunications Commission (NCC) offices nationwide in response to the tariff hike.

“Following our resolution, the Federal Government invited us to a meeting, where an agreement was reached to establish a 10-member committee to address key concerns raised by Congress.

“As a result, our protest has already achieved success, as the government has conceded to some of our demands without the need for an actual demonstration.

“In light of this development, we will now pursue other decisions of Congress on this matter,” he said.

Ugboaja commended NLC members for their support and encouraged them to keep their fingers crossed as they continue to engage with the federal government.(NAN)

Edited by Rotimi Ijikanmi

Health

Noise pollution: NESERA urges prompt report of environmental violations

122 total views today

Pollution
By Doris Esa
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has called on Nigerians to promptly report environmental violations to the agency.
Dr Innocent Barikor, the Director-General, NESREA, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Barikor spoke through Mr Elijah Udofia, Director, Environmental Quality Control (EQC), NESREA.
The director-general also urged Nigerians to respect environmental laws and regulations in the country.
He said that the agency would not fail to take action against individuals or facilities that violated those laws.
Barikor said that the agency had received and responded to several complaints on noise pollution.
He said the complaints were mostly from faith-based organisations (Churches and Mosques), night clubs, social gardens, power generating sets, musical shops, among others, within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and other states of the federation.
“These complaints received were investigated and resolved.’’
He said that the National Environmental (Noise Standards and Control) Regulations, 2009 prescribed the maximum permissible noise levels a facility or activity to which a person might be exposed to.
He said that the regulations equally addressed noise from other forms like in the place of worship, market places, sales, promotion with the use of public address system, among others.
Barikor said that facilities that were guilty of non-compliance had been sanctioned as provided in the National Environmental (Noise Standards and Control) Regulations 2009 after being served several notifications to abate noise pollution.
He said that, to effectively carry out her mandate, the agency was enforcing the provisions of 35 National Environmental Regulations on various environmental issues.
He said in pursuit of the implementation of National Environmental (Noise Standards and Control) Regulations, 2009, the agency embarked on sensitisation of the general public on the provisions of the regulations.
The NESERA boss said the regulations stressed on the sources and dangers of noise and ways of ameliorating the menace.
Barikor said that the sensitisation campaigns on noise pollution by the agency were carried out through print and broadcast media, social media, posters, flyers, stickers, among others.
He said that the agency was currently working on carrying out enforcement exercises against some facilities in Abuja and Nasarawa State for violating the provisions of the regulations.
“Recently, Cyvillian Garden, a popular relaxation spot in Mararaba , Nasarawa State, was shut down by NESREA over complaints on noise pollution by residents,’’ he said.
Barikor reiterated the agency’s commitment to ensuring a healthier environment for all Nigerians.
More so, an environmental consultant, Mr Lanre Eyinfunjowo, told NAN that noise pollution was a critical issue that needed to be addressed in Nigeria environmental space.
Eyinfunjowo, who is the President, Association of Accredited Environmental Consultants of Nigeria, said that many people were not aware that noise was a type of pollution.
He urged NESREA and other relevant agencies to continue to address the menace of noise pollution through public advocacy and sensitisation of Nigerians on the impact of noise to the environment. (NAN)
Edited by Chijioke Okoronkwo

X
Welcome to NAN
Need help? Choose an option below and let me be your assistant.
Email SubscriptionSite SearchSend Us Email