NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA

We need enough time to prepare for World Cup – Coach

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By Georgina Adegbie/Aderonke Ojo
 The head coach of Nigeria’s under-19 boys volleyball team, Sani Mohammed, has urged the Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF) to give his team enough time to prepare for the World Cup.
Mohammed told journalists after their last match against Morocco on Monday in Abuja that they needed  adequate time to prepare and have good results at the World Cup in Iran.
“Thanks to the Almighty God who has blessed us with success in the championship. We fought hard to maintain our title as a defending champion in the continent.
“In the last world cup, we finished in 17th position, and this year we want to make a difference. So, if we have a better preparation now, we will get better results.
“We  need good  preparation. If you are going to the World Cup, you don’t stay in camp for a month or two, but for a minimum of  four to five months in camp in order to have a good performance in the competition,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Nigerian under-19 boys won all their games in the championship.
They defeated Cameroon 3-2 in the first game, Gambia 3-1 in their second game, and Morocco 3-0 in their last game on Monday.
NAN reports that Nigeria finished first at the championship, while Cameroon took second position and Gambia finished third.
Nigeria and Cameroon have now secured tickets for the World Cup in Iran. (NAN)

Nimrod urges private sector, NGOs to invest in volleyball

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By Georgina Adegbie/Aderonke Ojo
The President of Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF), Musa Nimrod, has urged the private sector and non-governmental  organisations (NGOs) to invest in volleyball so as to enhance its development in the country.
Nimrod told newsmen as the 2020 Under-18 Girls and Under-19 Boys African Nations Volleyball Championship ended on Monday in Abuja that the federation needed the support of all stakeholders.
He said those in the private sector, as well as well-spirited individuals needed to rally round the sport.
“I urge all stakeholders to support and help the federation to grow from grassroots, particularly helping us to sponsor youth development programmes.
“The Cameroonian teams to the competition in Nigeria were good to look at, and they performed well. But they were well kitted by a company, and they came with delegates who were also all kitted.
“They were well composed and I will like Nigerian teams to be like that.
“I have helped to move the Federation to this height and I won’t want it to fall but to rather reach higher heights,” Nimrod said.
Speaking on the Nigerian teams’ performance, the NVBF President said the teams worked hard to book their tickets in the girls and boys categories for participation in the World Cup.
“The championship was  fantastic and the games were tough, but we have made it to the World Cup in Mexico for the female team and Iran for the male team,” he said.
Nimrod added that he was appreciative of all countries which sent teams to participate in the championship, namely Morocco, Gambia, Cameroon and Nigeria the host country.
Speaking also, the President of Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Habu Gumel, said the private sector should come out in strong terms to support volleyball and other sports activities in the country.
“The government cannot do it alone. I am appealing to all philanthropists to show interest in sports and support its development in the country,” he said.
The African Nations Volleyball Championship which started on Thursday ended on Monday.(NAN)

IWD: Fayose urges women to keep hope alive

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By Yinusa Ishola

Former Gov. Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti has urged women in the country to remained resilience and keep hope alive.

Fayose made the call in a message in Ado-Ekiti, to mark the International Women’s Day.

According to him, Nigerian women should be commended for their patience, resilience and tolerance in the face of recent happenings  in the country.

The former governor said in spite of the situation the country found itself, women had demonstrated themselves as the hope of the world.

He stressed that women were custodian of men and children, noting  that their love would take the nation out of captivity.

“Considering the roles of women in our society, they are worth to be celebrated. They are the salt of the world.

“We love them and we will not cease to celebrate them and they should not refrain from keeping hope alive,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that International Women’s Day (IWD), is a day set aside each year on March 8 to celebrate women globally.

The day throws the spotlight on women and their rights.

“Beginning early 1900s, IWD is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

“The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality,” according to the official IWD website.

This year’s IWD has the theme: ” Women in Leadership: Choose to Challenge Inequality Amidst COVID-19. (NAN)

IWD: Group drums support for women equality

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By Ikenna Osuoha

An Abuja-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Save Our Heritage Initiative, says women equality is imperative for global sustainable development.

Its Chief Executive Officer, Ms May Ikokwu, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on  in Abuja.

Ikokwu, who spoke in commemoration of the 2021 International Women’s Day (IWD), decried all forms of practices that promote discrimination and repression against women.

She called for total compliance with the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) which prescribed that women and girls everywhere must have equal rights and opportunity.

She added that “marginalisation of women must stop. At school, women perform just as well as men, representing about 50 per cent of the population, yet at work you don’t get so many women in top positions.

“In politics also, it’s just a handful of women in both the Senate and House. How many governors and deputy governors are women in Nigeria?, anyway we are gradually getting there.”

The SOHI chief executive wondered why women could not be given equal opportunities to be able to live free of violence and discrimination.

According to her, women’s equality and empowerment is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, but also integral to all dimensions of inclusive and sustainable development

Ikokwu, who lauded few women with outstanding accomplishments such as Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Amina Mohammed, said women were not to be seen only but their voices should also be heard.

She added that “the abuse and second class place reserved for women should end.’’

NAN reports that March 8 every year is set aside for the commemoration of International Women’s Day (IWD).

The 2021 theme is “Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World.’’ (NAN)

Ex-Gov. Oni condemns killing of farmers in Ekiti

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By Yinusa Ishola

Ex-Gov. Segun Oni of Ekiti has joined others to condemned the recent killings of farmers in Isaba, Ikole Ekiti, by unidentified assailants on Sunday, March, 7.

Oni in a statement in Ado-Ekiti on Monday called on security agencies to bring the perpetrators of the dastard act to swift justice.

According to him, this act of wickedness and callousness is totally unacceptable and I strongly condemn this  inhumanity to farmers.

He said the recent killing of the farmers had not only created palpable fears among the farmers, but lowered their morale and the attendant consequence of food shortages and socio-economic dislocation.

Oni also called on law enforcement agencies to take holistic actions that will instill confidence in the farmers and encourage them to return to their farms.

He said that the state government must also, at this point do everything possible to ensure adequate protection and secure farmers and their farms.

The former governor who sympathised with the families of the victims appealed to the Federal Government to take the onslaughts of these criminals’ assailants seriously.

He also advised the Federal Government to accord security of the nation a matter of priority.

“We must never allow insecurity to define our nation.

“These latest killings must not be added to the numbers of similar killings where justice is yet to be served.

“I deeply sympathise with the families of the farmers in Ikole Ekiti killed by these unknown assailants who are now said to be on the run,” he added. (NAN)

COVID-19: NCDC announces 13 deaths, 371 new infections

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By Abujah Racheal

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced 371 new cases of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total number of infections in the country to 158,906.

The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle late Monday.

The agency also registered 13 additional COVID-19-related deaths, raising the total fatality in the country to 1,982.

The institute said the new infections were registered across 16 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the past 24 hours.

It added that Lagos topped the list with 102 infections, followed by Enugu with 65,  then Edo with 56, and FCT with 23 of the new cases.

Other states with new COVID-19 infections were  Ogun-20, Osun-18, Bayelsa-18, Rivers-15, Kaduna-14, Plateau-10, Oyo-eight,  Bauchi-7 Kano-5 Delta-4, Nasarawa-3, Niger-2, and Ekiti-1.

The agency said 461 people had been successfully treated and discharged from different isolation centres across the country within the past 24 hours.

“Our discharges today include 104 community recoveries in Lagos State managed in line with guidelines,” it said.

According to NCDC, the total number of recoveries in the country stands  at 138,502 while the number of active cases in the past 24 hours stood at 18,588.

Meanwhile, a multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC), activated at Level 3, continues to coordinate the national response activities in the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the country has conducted more than 1.6 million COVID-19 tests as of March 8.

As the number of people infected with the virus keeps growing in countries across the West African sub-region, the Nigeria government is leaving no stone unturned in efforts to curtail further spread of the virus.

Nigerian authorities declared an initial 2-week lockdown on March 30, 2020 in three of 36 states of the federation (Lagos, Ogun, and Abuja), and on April 13, 2020 extended the lockdown by another 2 weeks, thereby  restricting the movement of more than 200 million people. (NAN)

Group urges FG to provide agric. inputs for rural women

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By Olasunkanmi Onifade

The Nigerian Association of Women Entrepreneurs (NAWE) has urged Federal Government to provide agricultural input for rural women to enhance food production.

The National President of NAWE, Mrs Vera Ndanusa, said this at a news conference to commemorate the International Women’s Day (IWD) in Abuja on Monday.

The News Agency  of Nigeria (NAN) reports that IWD is annually celebrated on March 8 around the world.

It has “Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World”as its theme for 2021.

Ndanusa said that the provision of agricultural inputs would reduce workload through the use of appropriate technologies.

She added that “women, like their male counterparts, can be big time farmers in Nigeria, if given the necessary and desired support by government and corporate organisations.

“Women are so enterprising but for lack of financial backing, they have gone back into their shields.

“We have women who are very successful in other businesses, so why not in agriculture sector?.”

Ndanusa noted that government could also assist in the establishment of “women shareholders’ multipurpose cooperatives” in both urban and rural settings.

The association president said such cooperatives could serve as channels for information dissemination among the women.

She noted that the provision of such assistance could help in dealing with health challenges like Malaria, Hepatitis,  COVID-19 that increase maternal mortality.

“A special gender-sensitive monitoring system should be developed and adopted by central and commercial banks to ensure that loans and cash transfers target reach vulnerable women.

“The UN can develop gender-sensitive monitoring and impact checklists to assist countries with follow up and assessment of their achievements in all sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The News Agency  of Nigeria (NAN) reports that IWD is annually celebrated on March 8 around the world.

It has “Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World”as its theme for 2021. (NAN)

Virologist tells Nigerians to give COVID-19 vaccine a chance

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By Abujah Racheal

Dr Solomon Chollom, a Jos based Virologist, has urged Nigerians to give the COVID-19 vaccine a chance in the country, saying that vaccines save lives.

Chollom told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja that so much had changed about life and living since the  SARS COV2 (COVID-19) virus pandemic hit the world.

“With daily figures of infected cases and mortalities due to the virus rising and falling unabatedly, experts and authorities rolled out response strategies that get updated as knowledge and information about the virus improves.

“Some response measures that have been put forward to fight the virus include quarantisocial distancing; lockdown; testing and treatment amongst others.

“These measures have played significant roles holding down the pandemic, they are not as potent as vaccines.”

According to the virologist,  a vaccine is a biological propagation which when administered, teaches the body system to fight off infectious diseases.

He said that an effective vaccine is one which is safe and efficacious.

“This data is generated from clinical trials and reviewed by regulatory agencies before a vaccine a certified for human use.

“With the pandemic still raging on especially with the emergence of new variants, across the world, it is clear that the response strategy implemented so far is still weak and inadequate hence the need to look the way of vaccines.

“Experts believe that vaccines and vaccination will strengthen the weakness in the global response and eventually end the pandemic,” he told NAN.

According to him, hindsight from history has shown that vaccines play significant roles in eradicating deadly diseases in the past.

He said that diseases including small pox and bubonic plague and polio in the recent past were clear examples.

“In view of this, vaccines against COVID-19 need to be given a chance to bolster our response framework,” she said.

NAN reports that Nigeria on March 2, 2021, took delivery of nearly four million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as part of an overall 16 million doses planned to be delivered to the country in batches over the next few months.

The vaccines are being provided by COVAX, an unprecedented global effort to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Upon arrival, samples were handed to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) NAFDAC for further examination.

It was later certified to be safe and effective for use.

Nigeria commenced the COVID-19 vaccination, beginning with healthcare workers who are often at the risk of exposure to infections being the first responders to patients.(NAN)

IWD: Centre mobilises grassroots women, girls on political participation

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By Justina Auta

The National Centre for Women Development (NCWD) says it is mobilising women and girls to exercise their civil rights by using their numerical strength to occupy decision-making positions and empowerment.

The Director General, NCWD, Mrs Mary Ekpere-Eta, made this known while briefing the media in Abuja on Monday in commemoration of the 2021 International Women’s Day (IWD).

The IWD is annually celebrated around the globe on March 8, in recognition of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and also a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.

This year’s edition has “Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World” as its theme.

Ekpere-Eta said available statistics negate the claim that more women voted than men in the 2019 general elections, as report shows that only 11,897,180 women voted out of the 26,348,429 accredited voters during the election.

She attributed the poor representation of women at both elective and appointive positions to patriarchy, political violence, insurgency and others, which plummeted the number of women casting their votes.

She added that “the NCWD is mobilising women and young girls in Nigeria, especially at the grassroots on the need for them to know the power of their civil rights.

“And use of their one vote to empower women and put them in decision making positions for good governance.”

According to her, the centre mobilises women and girls through media publicity and sensitisation to enable them to occupy political or appointive positions.

She added that “the centre is also working with the National Bureau of Statistics to ensure documentation of Gender Based Violence (GBV) issues and track incidences in the country with a view to end the practice.

“One important area of focus for us is the documentation of unpaid care work in Nigeria, which we are currently carrying out in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics to reduce the burden of unpaid care work on women,” she said.

The NCWD boss, therefore, urged unity to end Sexual/Gender Based Violence, patriarchy, discrimination against women and others.

She said the IWD provides an opportunity to call out gender bias and inequality, seek out and accelerate women’s achievement and advocate for increased participation of women in development and decision making.

She noted that the NCWD had empowered over 7000 women and youths with various skills and equipment and trained over 2000 women and girls in various skills through the Federal Government Post COVID-19 Programme. (NAN)

IWD: UNESCO scores Buhari high in women inclusion in governance

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By Ikenna Osuoha

Mr Steven Onyekwelu, Spotlight Project Manager, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), on Monday, said President Muhammadu Buhari demonstrated great inclusion of women in governance.

Onyekwelu said this at the occasion of the International Women’s Day (IWD) in Abuja, with the theme of this year’s celebration “Choose to Challenge.”

The project manager said UNESCO was satisfied with President Buhari’s commitment to women empowerment and equality.

“We are satisfied, as a matter of fact, His Excellency the President is doing a lot to ensure that inclusion in every area, in terms of governance, education, in terms of health, women are included,” he said.

The UN official, who congratulated women on the IWD, noted that UNESCO had through the spotlight project, empowered 6000 women in an accelerated second chance education.

“Why we are here today is to issue certificates to the 6000 women and girls that graduated from the programme of accelerated second chance education,” he said.

Hajiya Titalayo Olayande, the Director of Mass Education, FCT, commended the  FCT Administration for being committed to the education of women and girls.

Olayande said that the FCT had structured programmes as second chance education for women and girls as roadmap to guaranteeing literacy for women.

She explained that the FCTA had extended the programme to rural communities to redeem the educational image of woman at the grassroots.

Mrs Victoria Nwogu, the Zonal Coordinator, Mass Education, Abuja Municipal Area council (AMAC), emphasised the imperatives of collaboration to achieve women empowerment through education.

Nwogu said that a government and private sector partnership in all spheres would drive the project for literate women before the year 2030.

“For the women, it is not too late to learn, at any point, they can learn,” she added. (NAN)

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