By Ismail Abdulaziz

Prince Clem Agba, a frontline Edo governorship aspirant, says he will review the laws that empowers the governor to suspend or dethrone traditional rulers.

Agba, who is aspiring under the All Progressive Congress (APC) for the September 2024 elections, said this would allow the rulers to have more freedom to discharge their responsibilities effectively.

He disclosed this on Sunday during a remark at Ikpoba Okha local government area during his continuation of consultation with party faithful and loyalists.

“If elected governor, I will amend the law that gives such powers to the governor to dethrone or suspend traditional ruler,” he said.

Agba said he would sponsor the amendment of the provisions of the Traditional Rulers and Chieftaincy Law of 1979, through the State House of Assembly.

‘’A situation where a governor will be in confrontation with the revered traditional rulers was a dent on the valuable culture and tradition of the state.’’

Agba had visited Ikpoba Okha, Oredo, and Egor local government secretariats of the party in Edo South senatorial district for consultation with the party faithful.

The immediate past Minister of State for Budget and National Planning told loyalists that he was in the race to change the narrative of poor infrastructure development in the state.

At Ikpoba Okha, Agba said as commissioner in the state during the administration of Sen. Adams Oshiomhole, he was instrumental to the enactment of control measures of gully erosion in the area.

He disclosed that data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that the state inflationary rate stands at 26.6 per cent, saying food shortage stands at 33.5 per cent.

He said this was due to poor road networks in rural areas, which made the evacuation of farm produce near impossible with only about 40 per cent getting to cities.

“These are things we want to deal with if elected governor,” he said.

Agba declared that he would not only build schools but also employ teachers to man them.

“I want to produce students locally who can compete internationally like in our days. I am a product of local schools. If the education I had took me to the international stage, why not now?

‘’I will revisit the state of roads, schools and hospitals in the state when given the opportunity. We will also revisit the urban renewal of Oshiomhole’s administration,” he said.

Agba also disclosed that the Clem Agba Foundation has been established in memory of his mother where would be screened for cancer-related diseases and given vaccine free of charge.(NAN)

PR:

By Muhyideen Jimoh

Ansar-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria (ADS) on Friday inaugurated a central mosque complex in the Gwarinpa district of Abuja, as part of activities to mark the 100th  anniversary of the association in Nigeria.

President, ADS, Alhaji Abdul Rafiu Sanni, who inaugurated the mosque in the company of the National Missioner, Sheikh Abdulrahman Ahmad and other national leaders, thanked Allah for the successful completion of the project.

Sanni said that the celebration of the centennial anniversary of Ansar-ud-deen Society of Nigeria and the inauguration of the mosque was a remarkable point in the history of the association in Nigeria.

“It is a tradition in this part of the world, we always want people to know that there is an existence of a mosque within their vicinity.

“And the only way we can do that is through a walimah(celebration), So what we are doing is like we are doing a walimah, as is obtainable in marriage,” he said.

The national president said Ansar-ud- deen had been a trailblazer in terms of  impacting on humanity and the nation at large.

“There is no doubt about it that the 100 years have been very eventful, impactful, and very successful. Because if you know the history of Ansar-ud-deen up to date, you will have known that we have impacted on humanity in a very significant manner.

“In terms of education, in terms of Islamic propagation, in terms of providing the necessities of life like health care and all others.

“But the next thing is, the next century, we have to do more ,because we cannot be stagnant, and that is why we are doing all these things. We are doing in order to plan for the next century. And by the grace of God, our intention is to do more in terms of serving humanity,” Sanni said.

He stressed the need to do more in terms of propagating Islam and also addressing the vices bedeviling the country.

Earlier, the Branch Chairman of the ADS, Alhaji Abdul-Kareem Abdul-Azeez, said that the estimated cost of the mosque, which started in 2020 was about N200m.

He said that the benefits of the mosque to the community could be over-emphasised, especially as the mosque would serve the residents and other estates in the area.

Abdul -Azeez noted that the funding for the project was through donations and contributions from members.

He called on Muslims to do more to support Islam and also be agents of positive change in the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the the inauguration, which was preceded by a special inauguration Jumat service, was graced by Muslims from all walks of life. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Buhari Bolaji

By Peter Okolie

A not-for-profit organisation, Centre for Social Awareness Advocacy and Ethics (CSAAE), has expressed worry over the “poor performance” of public primary education and healthcare delivery in the South-East.

The Founder of CSAAE, Rev. Fr. Godswill Agbagwa, made the remark in Owerri during the unveiling of a 44-page report conducted between 2021 and 2022 on South-East Public Primary Education and Healthcare Delivery.

He said that the organisation, funded by Open Society Initiative for West Africa, was dedicated to social development and advancement of good governance, accountability and efficient delivery of public services.

“In 2021, we launched the Local Government Good Governance Monitor (LGGM) and built the capacity of 190 youths as champions to monitor public education and healthcare delivery in 95 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the South-East.

“The LGGM project lasted for 23 months during which the LGGM champions visited 1,387 public schools and 534 primary healthcare centres in the region for data collection.

“We designed the project in such a way that we could get into the communities to see how the councils are performing based on minimum standards provided by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and National Primary Healthcare Development Agency of Nigeria (NPHCDA),” Agbagwa said.

He further said that most primary schools in the region were not conducive for learning, citing the lack of doors, toilets and adequate teachers.

He also said that most primary healthcare facilities lacked doctors, and at least four nurses and ambulances for operational services.

“About 80 per cent of the primary schools do not have toilets thus making pupils and teachers, sometimes, to engage in open defecation when pressed.

“It is a shame that our primary schools do not have toilets where our children can go to ease themselves.

“UBEC says that every primary school in Nigeria must have perimeter fence and there must be a security guard in every school.

“But findings revealed that most of these public schools in the region have no fence, let alone security guards,” Agbagwa said.

He further lamented the absence of water in most of the public primary schools visited.

He said: “No state scored more than 29 per cent in the provision of a minimum of two toilets for male and female.

“Looking at the information from data analysed, one could see that between 2021 and 2022, only Ebonyi scored more than 50 per cent in quality and inclusive primary education delivery based on UBEC’s minimum standards.

“In fact, Ebonyi, the best performing state in the zone, exceeded 50 per cent with just 1.56 per cent, while Imo came a distant second with 42.32 per cent.

“Anambra came third with 39.21 per cent; Enugu came fourth with 33.28 per cent while Abia came last with 29.26 per cent,” he said.

In the area of healthcare delivery, Agbagwa said that Abia emerged the best performing state, scoring 53.46 per cent.

“This means that only 53.46 per cent of Primary Healthcare Centres in Abia met NPHCDA’s minimum standards,” he said.

He said that Ebonyi came second with 52.79 per cent; Imo third with 52.57 per cent; Anambra fourth with 52.43 per cent and Enugu fifth with 40.79 per cent.

“We also looked at how the LGs contributed towards primary healthcare and primary education, and discovered that some of the council officials complained of lack of resources, portfolio and power to execute projects in the sectors under review.

“Sometimes they complained that SUBEB and the Ministry of Education performed their constitutional duties rather than work with the LG Education Authorities.

“This brings to bear the need to redefine the roles of the LG authorities and the roles of the state agencies, who have taken advantage to usurp the roles of the LGs.

“We got our data and an analyst to discover that the South-East is lagging behind generally. The truth is that all of them performed poorly,” he said.

However, Agbagwa said that in spite of the general poor performance, some LGAs distinguished themselves for development in the sectors.

He said that Udenu LGA emerged the best performing LG in the South East, in terms of education, “but interestingly, Enugu is the second worst performing state in the South-East.”

Agbagwa called for urgent interventions to rescue and strengthen the LG system to improve the standards in primary education and primary healthcare delivery.

Highlight of the event was the presentation of awards to 15 persons, including former LG Chairmen for their contributions to the improvement in the primary education and healthcare delivery in their areas.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Sam Oditah

The management of Sun Newspapers has applauded the outstanding contributions of entrepreneur Azibaola Robert to the growth and development of Nigeria, and nominated him for The Sun Public Service Award 2023.

The management led by its Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, Mr Onuoha Ukeh, said this during a visit to present Robert with his letter of nomination for the award on Wednesday in Abuja.

“Your selection for this award was based on merit because of your outstanding contributions to the growth and development of Nigeria.

“With your undying spirit of public service, you embarked on a 14-day expedition into the Niger Delta deep forests to produce a documentary on the impact of Climate Change and adverse environmental practices by inhabitants on the region,” Ukeh said.

He added that the newspaper honoured Robert “as a human and environmental rights advocate”, who is leading “campaigns to preserve our rainforests and wildlife in Nigeria, particularly in the Niger Delta region”.

He commended Robert’s collaboration with ecological enthusiasts, governments, and private sector to produce a two-hour documentary film that highlights the story of people and life in the creeks.

Ukeh explained that the award was not only for those in the Public Service but also for people that performed exceptionally well in impacting the society through the public or private sector.

Accepting the award, Robert thanked the Newspapers for recognising and appreciating the contributions he has made, which has been “useful to the society and making positive impacts.”

“I’m so grateful that what I initiated is useful to the society and making impact that has made you to notice. No society has grown only on the basis of Government initiatives.

‘’So there has to be more synergy and multi-level cooperation between the governments, the private sector, individuals and locals efforts in preserving and conserving our environment for posterity.”

On the recent COP28, in Dubai, Robert urges more local initiatives and collaborations in communities of the rainforests in reversing the climate change.

“The impact of global climate change is visible amongst us. I think that it is not international conferences that will bring about reversals of climate change – but local actors taking initiatives in various areas of endeavour in local communities; because environmental change itself is global, but it’s local.”

He added: “I want to be able to draw attention to the region of the Niger Delta rainforests where I come from just as the Amazon rainforests is attracting global attention, because it is one of the last rainforests that we have in Nigeria.

‘’Rainforests are the sources of oxygen which you and I depend on for existence. We are told that the Amazon contributes about 6% of the global oxygen we breathe. We should be able to calculate the percentage the Niger Delta rainforests contribute, as well.”

Robert is the founder of ‘Expedition into Deep Forests’ and the Niger Delta Human and Environmental Rescue Organisation (ND-HERO).

In 2021, Robert and his team embarked on a 14-day expedition into deep forests of the Niger Delta to ascertain the impact of climate change and adverse environmental practices being experienced by inhabitants of the oil-rich region.

The expedition produced a two-hour documentary-film titled: ‘Azibaola Robert’s Expedition into Deep Forests’.

The documentary highlights the story of the Niger Delta people and life in the creeks.

That exercise has spurred him to make the expedition an annual event, as well as motivating communities to be planting trees.(NAN)

PR:

By Ismail Abdulaziz

The Federal Civil Service Commission is poised to end the “cash and carry” syndrome in appointment and promotion in the civil service, Prof. Tunji Olaopa, its Chairman, said on Wednesday Abuja.

He disclosed this to newsmen after his team’s inauguration by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa.

He said that the 12-member board of the commission would ensure that the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President would be a guide in dispensing their duties to Nigerian civil service.

Olaopa said the commission would rebrand the civil service to become the spotlight of integrity and efficiency.

‘’The allegations of job racketeering is very disturbing. The commission, by its conception, is supposed to be a beacon of integrity and those that founded the commission in the glorious days of the service gave the civil service great name.

‘’So, I am disturbed by the whole cash and carry reputation at the commission and we will do everything possible in collaboration with some of the intelligence and security agencies to make a few scape goats.

‘’We will communicate a new face for the civil service commission. That will be our first charge and we will all be committed to bring back institutional values to the public service of Nigeria,’’ he said.

Olaopa said the new board would reposition the civil service as well as beef up its capability and efficiency for better service delivery to the people.

‘’We need to modernise and deploy technology, re-institute professionalism, we need to move the civil service to a position where it could help the government deliver and that we are poised to be able to do.

‘’We want a commission that promotes cherished value of the public service in everything that it does.’’

A member of the FCSC in charge of Niger and Federal Capital Territory, Dr Husseini Adamu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the new members are ready to swing into action to make the service more effective.

‘’We have a crop of seasoned technocrats and administrators on the board that will deliver on the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda. We will deploy our vast and diverse experience to make the service the pride of government,’’ Adamu said.

He pledged to also serve the interest of all Nigerians, especially those from Niger and FCT whom he represents.

The newly appointed 12 members of the commission are Prof. Tunji Olaopa – Chairman; Dr Daudu Jalo, Obong Ededet Eyoma, Shehu Aliyu, Festus Oyebade and Dr Chamberlain Nweke.

Others are Dr Adamu Hussein; Rufus Godwin, Aminu Nabegu, Hindatu Abdullahi, Odekunle Aduke and Princess Sarah Sosan. (NAN)(wwww.nannews.ng)

By Alex Enebeli

Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu State, on Thursday, inaugurated 15 World Bank assisted Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS),  Project in Enugu to enhance food production in the state.

The project include 15 number Aggregation and Cottage Processing Centres in cashew, rice and poultry spread across the three senatorial zones of the state as well as 10 energy installations

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that APPEALS Project is a six-year project developed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in collaboration with the World Bank and other stakeholders to assist rural farmers.

Speaking at the event which took place at Nara Rice Processing Centre in Nkanu East Council Area, Mbah said the state achieved the feat due to his  administration’s commitment to boost food production and turn the state to a net exporter of agricultural products within the next four years,

Mbah,  represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said the agricultural revolution of the state had moved from pipeline to platform and from template to execution.

“My administration anchors the sustainability of our economy on agriculture, which has the capacity to earn huge revenue for our dear state.

“With the construction, equipping and use of this Nara rice processing centre by Enugu APPEALS, the agricultural revolution of the state has moved from pipeline to platform and from dream to reality,” he said.

The governor expressed satisfaction with the impacts of APPEALS on the lives of farmers in the state.

He added that since its inception in 2019, the project had empowered 8,520 direct beneficiaries, with CIGs/SMEs totaling 2,948 and 1,700 agro-entreprenuers among women, youths and people with disabilities.

“Many farmers rice, cashew, poultry, aquaculture and cassava value chains in the state have also benefited through capacity trainings, technology demonstrations and knowledge exchange visits which have exposed them to modern agricultural best practices.

“Furthermore, Enugu State, through the APPEALS Project, has constructed 15 Aggregation/Processing Centres in cashew, rice and poultry farmers.

“The centres include Nara, Adani, Ngwo, Orba, Aguobuowa, Amechi, Ikpa Market-Nsukka, Udi, Eha-Amufu, Oduma and Akwarri in Eha-Alumona,” the governor stressed.

In a welcome address, the  APPEALS Project Coordinator, Enugu State, Mrs Ihuoma Eze, said the project had made meaningful contributions in the lives of farmers across the state directly prioritizing the needs of women and youths who were into agriculture and entrepreneurship.

She stated that the Aggregation and Processing Centres had been equipped with all the required value chain machineries for optimum operation.

Eze said that the Rice Aggregation and Processing Centres had both milling and drying capacities of 10 tons per day and five tons per day, respectively.

According to her, the supplied and installed equipment for Rice Centres include paddy precleaner, paddy grader, parboiling/soaking vessels, stream boiler, platform dryers, rice dehusker, rice and  polisher.

Others are  destoner, polished rice grader, rice packaging machines, sets of elevators, 40KVA generator, bag closers among others.

She appreciated the support from the state government which ensured that the projects were completed.

“It is noteworthy to mention that the completion of all these 15 number Aggregation and Cottage Processing Centres as well as the 10 Energy Intervention sites were expedited and completed within the 100 days of His Excellency, Peter Mbah’s administration.

“The APPEALS project executed in Enugu is worth 19.4 US dollars since its inception in 2019 till date”, adding that the project which ended in Sept. has met its project development objectives.

“It is our earnest prayer that the 15 number of aggregation  and cottage processing centre of rice, cashew, poultry across the three senatorial zones will impact maximally in the various localities to contribute food security,  livelihood improvement and export,” she said.

On their parts, the Nkanu East Local Government boss and chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON),  Mr Okechukwu Edeh, and Mr Chukwudi Ozoeluba of Ezeagu Council Area extolled the project, saying it came at the right time for the people of the state.

They pledged to ensure adequate security of the facilities and ensure the centres were productive and sustained.

Igwe Ifeanyi Ogbu of Nara Unateze Kingdom, while commending Mbah, promised to ensure judicious use of the centre for transformative agricultural policy of his administration.

He equally seek Mbah’s intervention on water infrastructure, irrigation, electricity, provision of security and technical intervention.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Maureen Atuonwu