By Deborah Akpede

A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Mirabel Centre, has urged the public not to blame victims of sexual abuse but the perpetrators.

The NGO made the appeal on Thursday on its official X handle @MirabelCenterNG monitored by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

It stated that a child, who was sexually abused, should never be blamed nor the parent be blamed for any act of abuse suffered.

According to the centre, sexual abuse can occur irrespective of a child’s age, religion, culture or socio-economic level, saying there is no foolproof way to protect children from sexual abuse.

To reduce the risk and protect children from abuse, the NGO urged parents to be well informed about sexual abuse and build an open relationship with their children.

“Accurate information makes us stronger and equips us to build protective environments and respond better when children face problems.

“Speak to your children and listen to them too.

“Build an open relationship with your children. Let them know they can trust you and share any information with you.

“Show more interest in their day-to-day lives and give them a chance to raise topics to discuss,” it stated.

It also appealed to parents to pay attention to what is happening around them and observe their children’s behaviour.

“Be aware of what is happening around you, your community and pay attention to your children’s behaviour and take note of changes.

‘Also, observe the behaviour of adults, who spend time with your children,’’ the organisation stated.

Mirabel Centre, a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), provides free support services for survivors of sexual assault, appealed to the public to seek help when abused.

“Seek help immediately from Mirabel Centre if you suspect that a child is at risk or may have suffered abuse.

“Our helplines are 08187243468, 0815 5770000,’’ it stated. (NAN)

Edited by Ifeyinwa Omowole 

By Tosin Kolade

The Federal Government on Thursday commended the efforts of Guinness Nigeria in promoting responsible drinking, environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility for the citizens.

The Minister of State for Environment, Dr Iziaq Salako, gave the commendation while hosting a team from Guinness Nigeria, led by Mr John Musunga, its Managing Director in Abuja.

The minister said Nigeria was appreciative of the organisation’s impact in many ways and also in contributing to national growth and development.

“I must commend you for your very high sense of corporate social responsibility.

“Some of the things you are doing are in the conviction that you cannot be an island, you must relate with the environment, community where you do business.

“So, thank you for believing in Nigeria and your persistence to ensure that you continue as a contributor to the economic growth of Nigeria.’’

He said although Nigeria was faced with a lot of economic challenges due to poor decisions, the courage of the present administration would take the country to a path of recovery.

Salako  called on the private sector to assist the government in driving the economy.

While commending the interventions of Guinness in many areas, the minister said the deliberate decision to reduce carbon footprints was laudable as Nigeria was working towards following suit.

He said Guinness Nigeria’s decision to halt the production and sale of alcoholic drinks in sachets was impressive as it would help to reduce underage drinking and environmental pollution.

“One of the things that I advocated when we were doing the review of the public health law in Ogun is for the state to ban the circulation of alcohol in sachets because it makes it easier for people to access the underage and everyone else.

“Some other people with health conditions who should not be doing alcohol, but because it is so easy for them, they can put in the pocket, sell in the garages and all that;  so it’s definitely something that must stop,’’ he said.

The minister however said he would be at the forefront of stopping the production and sale of sachet alcohol products, adding that it would be legislated upon.

In his remarks, Musunga said the visit was to strengthen relationships with its government partners and to further update the minister of the organisation’s interventions in the country.

According to him, Guinness Nigeria has impacted no fewer than 180,000 persons in its employee value chain with an annual tax payment of N14 billion.

Musunga said the organisation was working to reduce importation of goods for its products and relying on local companies to promote backward integration, economic development and livelihood for local businesses.

 While citing the challenges of access to foreign exchange, Musunga said the organisation was supporting local farmers in raw material production for ethanol, saying 80 per cent of products were sourced locally.

“It is cheaper to import; but you look at the economic benefits of sourcing locally and it makes more sense for us to support the communities around us by sourcing locally.

“ So, for example ethanol, we now produce 100 per cent of ethanol from Nigeria.

“The quality specification was not optimal; so, we spent a lot of investment to help the local suppliers upgrade the quality of ethanol from the facilities, albeit more expensive, but for the benefit of the sugar farmers,’’ he said.

On his part, Mr Rotimi Odusola, Corporate Relations Director, Guinness Nigeria, said the organisation was working to promote positive drinking, champion inclusion and diversity, for greater impact and sustainability.

According to him, this includes the `Wrong Side of the Road’ project to curtail alcohol abuse, the `Smashed Project’ for alcohol education for young people, `Water of Life Project’, `Recycling Alliance’ among others.

Odusola said the Water of Life Project targeted the provision of solar-powered water facilities for water-stressed communities.

He said that many states had benefited with women taking ownership of operation and maintenance for sustainability.

Odusola said plans were underway to commission a 50,000 metric cube water facility in Lanlate community in Oyo to provide potable water for 11,000 people, adding that such projects had been going on in many cities for 30 years.

The corporate relations director highlighted efforts to reduce carbon footprints to include the Water Recovery plants which took water from its factories, process them and use for cleaning purposes.

“The water recovery plant is a system which takes treated water from our current effluent treatment plant and further purifies it using state of the art technology to the point where it becomes safe for human consumption.

“The recovered water is then re- introduced into our breweries for pasteurisers, hydrants, this process results in the reduction of water taken from the environment,’’ he said.

He added that the organisation partnered with the Food Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA) to develop the recycling industry and innovate into more sustainable formats for food and beverage manufacturing firms.

Odusola said partnership with waste management organisations like WeCyclers and Sustyvibes had addressed Post-Consumer Waste by collecting cans and pet bottles in different parts of the country. (NAN)

Edited by Chijioke Okoronkwo

By Aderogba George

A pressure group under the auspices of “One Nigeria Forum” has advocated balance, equity and true democracy in Nigeria’s governing system to build a greater country.

The group made the call in Abuja at the official unveiling of “One Nigeria Forum” and the first National Abuja 2023 delegates conference.

Addressing the delegates, the Chairman of the group, Chief Sunnie Chukumele, stated that the country had suffered many challenges as deliberate attempt by those who were against its unity.

He said that the country had suffered delibrate consequences of policy summersault, leading to what the legendary Bob Marley in his song described as “One step forward, nine steps backward”.

According to him, no nation has advanced with poor governance and leadership attitude.

“Nigeria today is so terribly divided. This division among tribal, ethnic and religious lines cannot help our transmutation into a nation. This is the kind of country inherited by President Bola Tinubu.

“We anticipated that the president should do all those things he stood for and agitated for long before assuming the saddle of presidential leadership in Nigeria.

” These are in areas such as true federalism, devolution of power, judicial autonomy, local government autonomy, abrogation of state electoral commissions, finding a constitutional role for traditional rulers.

”Going forward, we want to see and be in a country of the State Electoral Commission, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducting every election into political offices in Nigeria,” he said.

Chukumele disclosed that ” One Nigeria Forum” was a group of compatriots and comrades who came across each other on the political turf during the build-up to the last presidential race.

He said that the individuals who constituted the group, had risen from diverse  backgrounds, having built a bond and faith in the future of the country, based on their individual collective convictions for a better Nigeria.

The chairman said that the like minds, having considered some interesting and positive variables, agreed to foster and bolster their belief in the country and its future.

He said that upon this belief, they agreed among themselves to form the socio political forum/association and pressure group to contribute their quota to the advancement and deepening of the ideals of good governance.

Chairman of the event, Alhaji Majeed Dahiru, noted that Nigeria had not attained the purpose of its vision due to lack of unity among the different tribes in the country.

According to Dahiru, there is no country in the world that has attained capital development without national unity of the people therein.

He said that the ultimate task ahead of those in power should revolve on how to build the country.

Dahiru called for consensus of Nigerians to change the elite conspiracy, stressing that there was need to build a united Nigeria from bottom to the top.

Dr Austine Maho, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Daybreak Nigeria, stated that Nigeria democracy was in recession, and that there was need to change the narrative.

Maho, who is also a Public Affairs Analyst, said Nigeria needed true democracy, adding that as at now, Nigerians were not enjoying the kind of democracy they bidded and campaigned for.

He said that what the country was practising at the moment was not a true democracy, but a government for the few elites.

“What we see in the last few years is government of the elite, for the elite and by the elite; we are having a situation whereby you find out that we are now having a generational transfer of power.

“This is not the democracy we bid for, we campaign for, democracy should be people centred  and that is why it is defined as government of the people, for the people and by the people.

“When democracy is no longer people- centred, then the essence is lost, and I think that a group like this, One Nigeria Forum, should push for the true democracy.” (NAN)

Edited by Idris Abdulrahman

By Emmanuel Oloniruha

Nigeria’s prosperity depends on getting her power sector right, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Richard Montgomery, declared in Abuja on Wednesday.

Montgomery made the declaration at a roundtable on the Electricity Act 2023 with the theme: “Implications and Opportunities for State Electricity Markets’’.

The two-day event organised by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) is funded by UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and implemented by the United Kingdom Nigeria Infrastructural Advisory Facility.

Montgomery was represented at the roundtable by the Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms Gill Atkinson.

He urged Nigeria to find ways to connect the dots between the power sector and inclusive growth.

“This is the time to explore new opportunities to scale up electricity delivery to more Nigerians.

“We need to give primacy to ways to promote expanded renewable integration, both on and off-grid.

 “Nigeria gave fantastic commitments to COP26 and to the future of its power sector. This forum will help Nigeria to deliver those commitments,’’ she said.

COP 26 was the 26th UN climate change conference held in Glasgow from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13, 2021.

“We also need to find ways to connect the dots between the power sector and inclusive growth. Nigeria’s prosperity depends on getting the power sector right,’’ she said.

The envoy said deficit in the power sector was affecting about 90 million Nigerians and the country’s economy, and advised Nigerians to work with the new government to address the challenge.

“We have a new government here. It has embarked on important macroeconomic reforms. The exchange rate and the fuel subsidy are bringing short-term pain to the country and to the people of the country.

“These are positive changes in the medium to long term that will help Nigeria to fulfil its potential for the future.

“Part of this, and a particularly important moment, is the Nigeria’s power sector. Unfortunately, the country has the world’s largest absolute electricity deficit.

“This affects 90 million people. Even those Nigerians who are connected to the grid face frequent outages and do not get reliable supply,’’ Atkinson said.

She added that Nigeria must understand and acknowledge the impacts of the power supply problems both on the people of Nigeria and on its economy.

“What we are gathered here to do is to work on the credible reform process needed to resolve both the regulatory and the policy changes that are necessary.

“We need to work together to make sure these are addressed in an integrated manner.

“The Electricity Act, passed in June of this year, is an important component of the current reforms,’’ she said.

Earlier, Chairman of the NGF, Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara, said the forum was promoting subnational electricity programme to facilitate the development of sustainable, competitive and diversified electricity markets.

AbdulRazaq said that the forum believed that the action would deepen the electricity market in Nigeria in a competitive way.

“We believe in partnership and getting divergent views on how to achieve the same goal. This is why this roundtable is so important and we look forward to reboot engagement in this important event.

“I hope we will leave here enriched to see how we can implement the Electricity Act and interface with existing structures,’’ AbdulRazaq said.

In his remarks, the NGF Director-General, Mr Asishana Okauru said growth in the electricity sector would inevitably catalyse economic development in Nigeria and impact positively on all other sectors.

Okauru said that the amended Electricity Act 2023 represented a significant milestone to achieving a stable, reliable, and efficient electricity supply for the people.

He noted that the Act also provided a legal framework for private sector participation in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity.

Okauru described the roundtable as the first in a series of talks and activities that would jumpstart the development and growth of the electricity sector in the country.

“We are often told that the amendment of the Constitution and the signing of the Electricity Act 2023 open the sub national electricity market.

“To stakeholders and players in the industry, this makes perfect sense, but to laymen and perhaps to a majority of the populace, this is mere jargon.

“Our task, therefore, is to facilitate the simplification of this very complex and highly technical endeavour in a way that the government and the governed will fully appreciate.

“We have held and continue to hold talks with development partners and international donor organisations that have shown remarkable interest in supporting our efforts in ensuring the success of this initiative,’’ Okauru said.

He added that the NGF planned to unveil a support effort that would caption the Nigeria Sub-National Electricity Markets Support Programme.

“This is going to be a flagship project of the NGF and it will be designed to facilitate the development of sustainable, competitive and diversified sub-national electricity markets in the country,’’ Okauru said. (NAN)

Edited by Alli Hakeem

By Justina Auta

The Federal and State Governments are to implement programmes targeted at advancing the rights and economical status of rural women nationwide.

Uju Ohaneye, Minister of Women Affairs said this on Wednesday at a one-day strategic meeting with all state commissioners for women affairs in Abuja.

Ohanenye said government would use the bottom-to-top approach for all target interventions to ensure the empowerment and poverty alleviation projects impacted on grassroots women, girls and children.

She said strategies would be employed for the betterment of rural dwellers, especially poor Nigerian women and children, since the previous ways of doing things has not yielded desired impacts and results.

“It is time for us to change the narrative, we don’t identify what we need rather we copy and paste anything that works for Western world.

“Identify the issue we have and stop copying the Western style. It’s a shame we send our children overseas because we fail to build our nation.

“That is why I call all commissioners to change the way we work in order to see results in six months,” the minister said.

She said all empowerment interventions meant for poor Nigerian women and children, including those coming from donor organisations, must be directed at the poor who are found at the grassroots.

The minister added that four steps rice milling machine that produce 10 bags of rice in an hour would be distributed to women farmers in rural areas.

The minister also disclosed that plans are on to empower women with tricycles (Pink Riders) in order to enhance their economic status.

Ms Beatrice Eyong, UNWomen and ECOWAS Country Representative to Nigeria, reiterated their commitment towards reinventing intervention to the grassroots through its technical support in partnership with the government of Canada.

She said: “The achievement of gender equality and protection of women’s rights is critical if Nigeria is to attain the SDGs targets. “Gender equality means that women and men have equal opportunities, rights and responsibilities in all spheres of life.

”It means that women and men can equally contribute to and benefit from the development of our nation.

“Along this line, the Ministry of Women Affairs is a vital institution in the society, working tirelessly to ensure that gender equality becomes a reality.”

Ibrahim Sesay, Chief Child Protection Officer of UNICEF, said the meeting was an avenue for unified effort to support government efforts in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, especially goal number five.

“The minister, while she was at the UN General Assembly (UNGA), was championing the cause of women in Nigeria and for the entire continent.

“She was advancing important interventions among which women empowerment not just by word of mouth and also narrating the key contributions of the government under His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu,” she said.

Also, Dr Ini Adiakpan, speaking on behalf of the states’ Commissioners of Women Affairs, Dean of Commissioners, noted that the states would partner with the federal government for the attainment of key targets and policies.

She said: “We want the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs to continue to interface with us so that we can synchronise our own practice with what the ministry does.

“Truly we are very happy that you came to see us and you immediately went into action to implement this and we see that this is a step in the right direction and we know that with this, our capacity will be felt.”

Dr Asabe Vilita-Bashir, Director General of Maryam Babaginda National Centre for Women Development (MBNCWD), lamented that less than one per cent of the nation’s budget was allocated to the Ministry of Women Affairs that cares for 70 per cent of over 200 million Nigerian population. (NAN)

Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

By Ahmed Ubandoma

A group, Advocacy for Women and Girls with Disabilities Initiative (AWWDI) has urged stakeholders to ensure full implementation of the African Union Protocol on the protection of the rights of Persons With Disabilities.

Ms Bilkisu Yakubu, the National Coordinator of the group, disclosed this on Wednesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

Yakubu said, this has become necessary to address the plight of persons with disabilities in the country especially women and girls with disabilities who are more vulnerable and exposed to different forms of discrimination and exploitation.

The National Coordinator while commending President Bola Tinubu for signing African Union charter which guarantees the rights of Persons with disabilities, says it is a step in the right direction.

” As a group we believe this is a step in a right direction because we see this as an affirmation of the promises made during the campaign by the president.

”Because he promise to give more attention to issues affecting persons with disabilities in Nigeria.

”AWWDI therefore look forward to the full implementation of the AU protocol on disability in Nigeria and most importantly the community of women and girls with disabilities” she said.

NAN recalled that the AU Protocol on Disabilities was adopted in 2018 by the African Union, to address all forms of discrimination perpetuated against Persons with Disabilities across African Continent

The AU Protocol also seeks to tackle the ingrained issues of disability discrimination so that everyone can access health, education and employment without stigma. (NAN)

Edited by Ekemini Ladejobi