By Ruth Oketunde

Nigeria International NGOs Forum (NIF) has provided 267 humanitarian interventions across 23 states of the federation.

Ms Camilla Corradin,  the Director, NIF, made this known while briefing newsmen on the sidelines of an event tagged “INGOs in Action: Partnership and Collaboration, in Abuja.

She said that the forum which presently has 55 members, remains committed to support humanitarian responses across the country.

She said that the focus of the INGOs which used to be on the North-Eastern part of the country, had of recent, extended its support to North-Western part of the country.

Corradin said that the projects focused on contributing to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in the country.

Also speaking, Mr Charles Usie, Country Director of PLAN International Nigeria, said International NGOs came together officially around 2014 to provide life-saving assistance to people in need of aid, among others.

He said that since its inception, more than 40 million people across Nigeria had benefitted from its humanitarian projects, which was done in partnership with the state and federal government.

“We work in conjunction with the government to strengthen the government and enable them to do more.

“We don’t work to take over or duplicate what they do, we actually work to amplify the work of government in all the states we work with.

“That is why this meeting is important as we have government officials from almost all the states we work with in the Northern part of the country,” he said.

Mr Suleiman Sani, Deputy Chief of Party of the Mercy Corps Nigeria, said collaboration and partnership with the relevant authorities had contributed to the success of its activities over the years.

He said that the forum had so far carried out several interventions across education, youth empowerment, girl-child, health, humanitarian interventions, among others.

“Collaboration and partnership with the government is key, as we try to provide assistance to the most vulnerable communities across Nigeria.

“This means that we recognize the existing structures of government and we adapt and work through those existing policies and systems to complement what government is primarily there to do for the people.

“In spite working in an environment with all sorts of impediment such as insecurity among others challenges, we had continued to work with the federal, states and local governments to bring solution to the problems,” he said.

Also speaking, Mr Fredenburg Dane, Deputy Country Representative, Programmes, Catholic Relief Services, added that localization and community engagement were done to identify the needs of the people and co-create solutions to those needs.

“We work in different ways and with different mandates as International NGOs, but in all, we work with communities to make sure that they own, participate and have a voice in our projects.

“From design of the projects, we sit together with communities and we essentially design interventions that at the end of the day meet their needs.

“We don’t have a project that is written in a vacuum, we have a dialogue and assess what the needs are and in that way, they can fully own it.

“This is to ensure that local actors are increasingly taking up the efforts on these projects,” he said.

For his part, Mr Enkas Chau, Head of Mission, INTERSOS Nigeria, explained that the International NGOs had to align with the communities’ priorities to ensure accountability and transparency in the projects.

“A lot of INGOs are already collecting different surveys to collect the views and issues from the community members.

“An example is the running of the women and girls safe space, where women and girls can freely go there to share what their concerns are, particularly about gender-based violence, about issues that women are mostly affected with among others.

“We then collect their views, we then provide counseling, psycho-social support and livelihood support to them,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that participants deliberated on the pivotal role of partnerships in driving sustainable change for communities affected by crisis across the country. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Fatima Sule Abdullahi/Sadiya Hamza

By Angela Atabo

Search for Common Ground (SFCG), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) says it is working on plans to develop a curriculum for journalists on promoting freedom of religion and belief in Nigeria.

Mr Ogabiela Daniel, the Project Manager, SFCG, said this at a three-day workshop for development of curriculum on common ground journalism in relation to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Abuja.

Daniel said the project being supported by the Netherlands Embassy would equip journalists with improved capacities to produce conflict sensitive reporting on inter faith and FoRB related issues.

He said that the curriculum being developed with media practitioners would establish effective Early warning/Early Response and Referral (EWER) mechanisms for addressing FoRB violations in Nigeria.

“The curriculum is going to reduce the insensitive reporting that we are experiencing at the moment,I am very confident of this because of all the inputs the high level media and executives here have done.

“This consciousness will now stay in the sector where everybody will be doing their reporting sensitively bearing in mind that inasmuch as freedom of religion is everybody’s rights, but they will do it responsibly,” he said.

Daniel said the curriculum would help to enhance public understanding of interfaith conflict and have greater access to neutral and conflict-sensitive information related to inter-faith harmony and cohesion.

Interim Country Director, SFCG, Fatima Madaki said that the organisation’s move to develop FoRB curriculum was against the backdrop of the fact that journalists wielded immense influence over public opinion and societal perceptions.

Madaki said it was a responsibility that carried not only the duty to inform but also the profound responsibility to do ethically and sensitively.

She said that the workshops focused on conflict-sensitive reporting within the framework of FoRB acknowledged the complexities that arise when covering issues that could be deeply personal and intertwined with cultural, social and political dynamics.

“We recognise that these issues are not just news stories; they are narratives that shape identities, values and relationships.

“The intersection between FoRB and journalism ca e fraught with challenges; how do we report on matters of faith and belief with sensitivity and respect for the diverse perspectives that exist?

“How can we ensure that our reporting contributes to peaceful coexistence rather than inadvertently fueling division?

“As we engage in these discussions, let us remember that our collective commitment to ethical journalism is a catalyst for positive change,’’she said

Madaki said that understanding the principles of common ground journalism would bridge divides, dispel misinformation and contribute to a world where freedom of religion or belief was celebrated as a cornerstone of diversity and harmony.

Mr Temisan Etietsola, the National Media Specialist, SFCG,said the organisation decided to develop the curriculum against the backdrop of the numerous religious crisis.

“We found out that when the issues of religious conflicts happens in Nigeria, journalists tend to shy away from reporting it, but we are not proactive enough to report these issues on religious freedom of religious belief.

“So we decided to develop this curriculum, in conjunction with other journalists at the top level who know what they and their colleagues want.

“We then use it to train them on how to report conflict sensitive issues around FoRB and we also feel the need for journalists that are coming up even right from the school to know how to report conflicts around FoRB issues,” he said.(NAN)(www.nannews.com)

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Edited by Ali Baba-Inuwa

By Nabilu Balarabe

Gov. Mai Mala Buni of Yobe has approved the payment of N667 million to 475 pensioners across the 17 local government areas of the state.

The approval is contained in a statement by Buni’s Director-General Press and Media Affairs, Alhaji Mamman Mohammed, in Damaturu on Friday.

He said the approval followed a screening and verification of the pensioners by a committee earlier constituted by the state government.

“The committee has verified a total of 475 beneficiaries and hereby attached lists of beneficiaries and summary according to local government areas for both living and deceased pensioners,” Mohammed said.

He assured that the state government would settle all outstanding pensions owed retired workers in the state. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Maharazu Ahmed

By Ibironke Ariyo

The Young Moms Support Initiative, a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), has trained no fewer than 500 women in different skills to enable them become self-reliant and contribute to national development.

The Founder, Executive Director of the NGO, Dr Vivian Sonny-Nsirim said in a statement on Friday in Abuja that the training was for three days.

Sonny-Nsirim, who is also the Ugochinyere I of Igbo land and Madubia of Uke Kingdom, said that the women were trained in baking, beverages, cereals and custard making among others.

She explained that their target was for the women have strong means of livelihood through which they can raise the economic status of their families.

“The actual goal was to bring out the potential in women, to seize their economic opportunities by learning how to boost their productivity and maximise income.

“The organisation came up with the idea of training the women on various skills to enable them become financially stable, as joblessness was a major cause of insecurity in the country.

“Women have good potentials for greatness but they need a little push.

“We want to ensure that women especially widows, single mothers and young girls who dropped from schools, have a viable source of livelihood,” Sonny-Nsirim said.

According to her, the organisation believes it is important to help women acquire skills so that they would not consider anti social behaviours or crime as option for their daily survival.

Sonny-Nsirim lamented that most of the women, including widows, were passing through a lot of challenges, hence the need for such economic impact training.

She appealed to Federal and State governments and individuals to partner with the organisation to train more women in the society.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Maharazu Ahmed

By Felicia Imohimi

An International NGO, Women Environmental Programme (WEP) has called on the support of the government, donor agencies and other CSO’s to develop entrepreneurial skills for women and youths in rural communities on ICT.

Dr Priscilla Achakpa, Founder/Global Lead WEP made the appeal at the Unveiling of WEP office building and halls on Thursday in Abuja.

She said that the development of such ICT skills would enable them monitor their farms and uplift them from current poverty level.

Achakpa said: “We are looking for partners to build entrepreneurial skills to support our young people and women from the rural communities so that at the end of the day we will be able to uplift them from that poverty level.

“So, we need our partners support on ICT in agricultural development because food is life and if you do not have food is a challenge.”

Achakpa said WEP was committed to expanding its scope and impact of her work with particular interest to grow, saying, “our skills building, entrepreneurship initiatives to upskill women in the key areas of ICT and agriculture.”

According to her, the programme also avail them start up support and continued technical and all round guidance to enable them thrive in business.

Achakpa said the organisation was trying all it could to build the skills and businesses of rural women to avoid remaining dependants on the society but rather independent and continue to expand with the proceed they get.

“This way, we believe can contribute to ending poverty and the variegated associated challenges which are manifesting in the growing insecurity, violent extremism and mass irregular migration episodes.

“For us to achieve these, we need further financial and other forms of support.

”Most of the businesses in the counyry are folding up because of insecurity challenges but this is attributed to the impact of climate change and poverty level.

“So, unless we go to the grassroot and continue to empower the communities and look at the ways we can address the impact of climate change we still have a long way to go.

“Let us look at adaptation, let us look at ways to address the impact of climate change and empower the communities, ” she said.

Achakpa said the edifice which comprise of multipurpose training facility and office complex was built from the Hapag-Llyod, Albert Ballin Award for Global Action she received in May 2022 in Hamburg, Germany.

She said the award which included a monetary prize of 50,000 euros was given to individuals or institutions whose innovative actions demonstrate how to assume social, cultural, and political responsibility for
our world.

“Instead of using the money to buy clothes, golds and other material things that will fade away I opted to reinvest the monies in my goal of constructing a multipurpose training facility and office
complex.

” The facility and complex will provide services to women-led and grassroots organisations, academicians, researchers, and students who might use them for varied activities.

“WEP, on the other hand, will continue to provide training and empowerment programmes to grassroots women’s organisations and other stakeholders.

“This is in order to improve livelihood
programmes and quality of life in a world where women’s and youth’s lives are positively transformed,”Achakpa said.

Vishal Bundhun, Area Managing Director of Hapag-Lloyd, West and Central Africa said the building speaks volumes, not merely in terms of architectural grandeur, but in the language of empowerment, sustainability, and change.

Bundhun said the structure, crafted with passion and dedication by WEP led Achakpa, embodies the very values that Hapag-Lloyd holds close to its heart.

The award, according to him, embodies Hapag-Lloyd’s commitment to fostering networking, advocating for the marginalized, and promoting global initiatives that contribute to a more interconnected and compassionate world.

He said that Achakpa’s remarkable achievement in winning the award and her subsequent accomplishment in constructing the ‘transformative building’ underscore the alignment of her efforts with the spirit of progress and positive change that the organisation hold dearly.

Bundhun said the building stands as a testament to the progress that could be achieved when purpose-driven individuals and organisations unite.

He further identified it as a testament to the potential within each and everyone to make a difference, irrespective of backgrounds or fields of endeavour.

Bundhun said that the centre stood as a testament to shared belief in gender equality, empowerment, and sustainability.

“We are gathered here to celebrate a remarkable achievement – a testament to the power of determination, vision, and the unyielding commitment to make a positive impact on our world.

“We unveil not just a building but a symbol of transformation and empowerment, a beacon that will guide us towards a brighter future.

“This magnificent complex, constructed by the WEP under the visionary leadership of Achakpa, resonates with the principles that Hapag-Lloyd holds dear: responsibility, innovation, and global action.

”The Albert Ballin Award, won by Achakpa in 2022, stands as a beacon of recognition to her exemplify the profound impact of innovative actions in assuming social, cultural, and political responsibility for our world,” he said.

He said that Albert Ballin was a risk-taker who was willing to challenge his colleagues, competitors, and domestic politics in order to build a successful shipping company.

Bundhun said: “He was a pioneer of globalisation and innovation, embodied the spirit of crossing borders, fostering connections, and paving the way for progress.

“In honour of his legacy, we established the Albert Ballin Award for Global Action, recognizing those whose innovative actions inspire positive change on a global scale, “he said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani