By Ibukun Emiola

Banks across Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, opened their doors to customers to withdraw cash and transact other financial transactions in line with the directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that long queues were witnessed within the banking premises as customers besieged the financial institutions for transactions.

It was also observed that old notes were issued to customers, as new Naira notes was still being rationed to them.

NAN also reports that most banks operated between 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with customers taking turns accessing the banking hall to collect mostly old notes.

In several locations, long queues of customers trying to make withdrawals were recorded, with some of them expressing relief of getting their money after months of scarcity.

Bankers told NAN that the Naira supply situation was expected to gradually ease out within the week and beyond as the CBN had matched its word with action.

Some of the customers told NAN that with the withdrawal limits on both old and new Naira notes, they may be forced to face more hard times ahead.

Mr Olaniyi Olawuyi, expressed joy that banks operated during the weekend as he was able to withdraw cash, after long months.

“I was at my bank for financial transactions, although, there were old notes that I withdrew from the Automated Teller Machines, (ATM) but the most joyful thing is that there was no queue at all, while the cash limit remains N10,000.

“But in other places, long queues were visible as customers lined up in front of the banking hall and ATM,” Olawuyi said.

Mrs Adurayemi Ojeyemi said there were queues where she had gone to withdraw, but expressed optimism that the hardship would reduce after sometimes.

“I saw long queues in some other banks, but I thought things would be better than what they had been some months back.

“I have been coping at this time by collecting cash from market sellers and so far that has been my way out of this present predicament,” Ojeyemi said.

Mr Mayowa Olayinka said that long queues were experienced in the morning, but gradually eased out towards evening as fewer people were seen on queue at most ATM points.

Olayinka said that many people preferred to queue than pay a certain amount on every withdrawal for PoS agents.

“Different banks have different withdrawal limits from N2,000 up to N20,000, but they are old notes. I still wonder why the new notes are scarce.

“But it is a thing of joy that the CBN has decided to make more cash available for Nigerians,” he said.

Ms Lizzy Adelaide decried situation that many banks stopped attending to customers before 4:00 pm, which was the closing hours set by the banks.

She, however, commended the innovations and ingenuity of some banks that have provided other means of attending to their customers’ complaints.

NAN reports that the CBN directives on weekend banking came a few weeks after the Supreme Court ruling on the case of the redesign of the notes.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Remi Koleoso/Ismail Abdulaziz

By George Odok

A socio-political group, Us4Us Movement, has canvassed the support of the national leadership of the All Progressive Congress (APC) for Sen. Godswill Akpabio to be become the 10th Senate President.

Convener of the group, Mr Richard Romanus, made the call during an interaction with newsmen after an extraordinary meeting of the group held on Sunday in Calabar.

Romanus said that Akpabio had made huge political sacrifices for the party; hence he should be rewarded and supported for the position of the 10th President of the Senate.

He explained that the Us4Us Movement is made up of young political enthusiasts across all political parties in Nigeria.

According to him, the group exist with the sole aim of advancing the socio-political wellbeing of young people and advocating for good governance in Nigeria.

“Bearing in mind the huge sacrifices Sen. Akpabio made in the interest of the party and for stepping down his presidential ambition unconditionally for Sen. Bola Tinubu, he should be compensated.

“His stepping down overwhelmingly helped in midwifing a seamless victory for Sen. Tinubu during the national convention of the APC.

“Also, we are aware that Sen. Akpabio worked assiduously to deliver more than the constitutionally required 25 per cent vote to the APC in a Peoples Democratic Party controlled state like Akwa Ibom.

“The leadership of Us4Us Movement hereby resolve to support and appeal for Sen. Akpabio to be elected as the Senate President of the incoming 10th Assembly.

“We call on the vast majority of elected Senators to galvanize their support for the Senate Presidential ambition of Akpabio,” he said.

Romanus added that in the interest of fairness and expanding the party in the South South geopolitical zone, the leadership of the APC should zone the office of the Senate President to the South-South region.

He noted that the Us4Us Movement was of strong opinion that the interest of young people, especially within the South-South geopolitical zone, would be best protected by Akpabio as Senate President.

“We the members of Us4Us Movement hereby unanimously adopt and endorse Akpabio for Senate President, on the strength of his unrivalled track record of performance and commitment to the party and the people of Nigeria.

“We urge other elected members of the incoming 10th Senate and the leadership of the APC to overwhelmingly support Akpabio in the spirit of fairness, credibility and competence,” he said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz

By Ahmed Ubandoma

Stakeholders in the healthcare sector have agreed to the full implementation of new formulated standard curriculum for training of caregivers to the elderly in the country.

The stakeholders made this known to newsmen on Saturday the end of a 3-day “Stakeholders engagement on the development of national benchmark statement and minimum standards in curriculum for training caregivers to older persons” in Abuja.

The stakeholders’ engagement was organised by the National Senior Citizens Centre (NSCC) in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), UNFPA and National Primary Healthcare Development Agency.

The stakeholders expressed the need for relevant agencies, states and local governments to get involved in the project.

The Director-General, National Senior Citizens Centre (NSCC) Dr. Emem Omokaro said the meeting was geared towards building a concensus on the need to develop a national benchmark statement and minimum standards in curriculum for training different levels of caregivers.

Omokaro said some of the  stakeholders and agencies that have statutory mandate in social and healthcare had issued their commitment towards supporting and certifying the project.

”We have NBTE for certification of skills, we have NPHCDA, Nursing and Midwifery Council, WHO, Federal Ministry of Health, UNFPA and other existing care agencies; so for the past three-days we have brain stormed on the challenges of ageing and care provision in Nigeria.

”We build concensus and that’s the communique that all the agencies signed that there’s need to develop a national benchmark statement and minimum standards in curriculum for training different levels of caregivers.

”And for standardisation of care agencies and even certification of care agencies operators in Nigeria, So, what we are coming-out here with is a draft benchmark statement and minimum standards in curriculum for training this different levels of caregivers and also certifying care agency operators.

“What these means is that we have to now move here to validation after having harmonised the zero draft.

“It means we have to now move to states because if we say it is national, then states have make inputs, so what we have here is a zero draft.”

Omokaro, therefore, assured the stakeholders that the process of validating the draft document would commence in earnest.

”Now, we are going to embark on validation exercise to ensure that we capture even the voices of stakeholders consultative forum on ageing, voices of older persons and then we have input from state departments and agencies in charge of older persons, social welfare departments because these concerns everybody.

”So, it is really an excitement for us in the NSCC to initiated these programmes and to have been able to strategically bring all the actors.

”We are hoping that by August 2023, we will finish the validation exercise and  by then we will have a guideline document for administering care to older persons in Nigeria.

”We are calling on all the experts and some more because we now want to develop a standard guidelines and regulations as a policy document,” she said.

The Special Assistant to the President on Humanitarian Affairs, Mr Musa Bungudu said the project was critical and important to the welfare of older persons in Nigeria.

Bumgudu commended the centre for initiating the programme aimed at providing psycho-social and health support to the senior citizens in the country.

”I really commend the experts for coming together to develop a training framework that we never had, infact up till, yesterday I couldn’t believe the modules for the training that was developed we don’t have it in Nigeria,” he said.

Mrs Lilian Sule-Jiringho, the Founder of the Centre for Happy Elderly People (CHEP) said the engagement afforded her the opportunity to understand a new dynamics in caring for the elderly.

Sule-Jiringho promised to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in administering care for the elderly in her centre.

”My expectations is to see that I have been able to formalised all the training  I  acquired here and now with the existence of NSCC, who initiated the stakeholders meeting for developing a standard curriculum for training caregivers for the past three-days; we will continue to improve our services.

”When I go back, I am going use the knowledge acquired to improve on my work. So I am very happy to be part of this programme,” she said.

Dr Emmanuel Osundu, the Administrator of Tender Loving Care, an NGO expressed confidence on the ability of the centre to achieve its target of formulating a unique standard procedure for managing the health and wellbeing of older persons in Nigeria.

”We are here as stakeholders to develop policies and procedures on how to manage the health of the elderly. What I am going home with today is that we have achieved the purpose that is designed for us to come here.

”In terms of developing policies, procedures, benchmarks on how to manage the health of the elderly in Nigeria, that’s our theme and that’s what we accomplished here today.” he said (NAN)(www.nannews.ng).

AMU/GY

Edited by Grace Yussuf

Cross-section of the 9th batch of the 2022 pilgrims

By Bridget Ikyado

Nigerians on pilgrimage in Israel on Sunday urged their compatriots to remain positive in their hope for a better nation.

A cross-section of the 9th batch of the 2022 pilgrims gave the advice in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), while touring the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem.

The Pool of Bethesda is the place where Jesus Christ miraculously healed a paralyzed, according to Christian tradition.

The Nigerians prayed at the pool — where Jesus healed the 38-year-old paralytic man, who never saw his miracle coming — asking God to intervene in Nigeria’s economic woes.

They also committed the challenges faced by their fatherland to God for a turnaround, believing that with God all things are possible.

Mrs Caroline Adepoju, Deputy Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, said she believed strongly that Nigeria’s glory would be restored.

“Faith, hope and love abide. I believe Nigeria will be better. Nigeria will overcome its challenges. Nigeria is a developing country and we will get there someday.

“Let’s be patient and stop the comparison with developed nations, they did not get there in one day.

“The paralytic was patiently waiting for his turn. It even came in a way he did not expect. So let us be patient in our prayers for our country.

According to Adepoju, through prayers and proper guide, children with various exposures will also contribute their quota in Nigeria’s sustainable development.

Also speaking, a cleric, Rev. Simeon Aderibigbe, admonished Nigerians to stop their constant fears of failure.

According to him, people should drop their failure where they failed and move on: “dare to forget about yesterday’s failure.

“Cultivate the habit of praying every morning and night, cultivate the habit of thanking God for everything.

Aderibigbe advised Nigerians to show mercy to people in distress, saying that Nigerians needed to appreciate God for everything.

“Do not be lazy. God will bless the work of your hand. Do not put the horse before the cart, find something doing. Take steps and move on.”

The clergyman also expressed his optimism that Nigeria would encounter breakthroughs and make impacts on the global arena.

The highpoint of the tour was prayers at the home of Mary, the Mother of Christ, who hailed from Bethesda, according to biblical records. (NAN) (www.nannewsnng)
BTT/SN
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Edited by Silas Nwoha

Sen. Ifeanyi Araraume says he is not contesting the  Imo governorship election under the Labour Party (LP) as he still remains a bona fide All Progressive Party (APC) member.

In a statement by Uche Anyanwu, his
SA Legal and Public Affairs, Araraume described the rumour about such moves as fake and unfounded.

“The attention of Senator Ifeanyi Araraume has been drawn to the mischievous and fake list of Labour Party governorship aspirants, making rounds in Sections of the Media wherein his name was published as having picked the expression of interest form to run for the office of governor in Imo state, under the Labour Party (LP).

“Senator Arararaume hereby reiterates unequivocally that he is still a bonafide member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Director of Trade and Economic Affairs (South) of the APC presidential campaign council (PCC).” he said.

Araraume reiterated that he is not a member of LP and has not picked or paid for any the party’s nomination form.

He said that he does not intend to pick the nomination form of the LP now or later in this dispensation.

“Senator Araraume is a responsible member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and does not even have the faintest idea who the Labour Party ward chairmam is in his immediate ward.”

Araraume said he is not a man to shy away from what he believes in and will not approach the Governoship contest in Imo state through the back door.

He added that his intentions about the would be without ambiguity whenever he decides to throw his hat into the ring for a contest which he has the requisite qualifications and capacity.

“The fake aspirants list under the Imo state Labour Party is a fabrication and the work of mischief makers, who are bent on using his name to score cheap political victory.”

The 2023 Imo State governorship election will take place on Nov. 11 due to the late inauguration of incumbent Gov. Hope Uzodinma of the APC.

Uzodinma is eligible to run for re-election, but has not yet stated whether he will do so. (NAN)

Edited by Ismail AbdulAziz

By Ibukun Emiola

Stakeholders have called for collaboration among the governments, academia and industry for revolution in the Nigeria’s industrialisation through research and development of commercialisation of raw materials and local production.
The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports that the Executive Secretary, of Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Dr Bello Gusau; Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan (UI), Prof. Kayode Adebowale and Chief Executive Officer, Jola Global Industry Ltd. and Dr Moses Omojola, were among the stakeholders who spoke in Ibadan.
They made the call at the Knowledge Sharing Workshop, organised by the University of Ibadan, in collaboration with PTDF.
The theme was: “Nigerian Petroleum Industry and Energy Transition: Opportunities for Research, Innovation and Development.”
Gusau, represented by Mr Olayinka Agboola of Strategic Planning and Documentation (SP&D) Department, PTDF, said that the fund, as agent of government for building capacity in the oil and gas industry, used avenues like human capacity building, institutional support and funding research and development.
He said the organisation has eight endowment funding in various institutions in Nigeria, adding that in UI, PTDF has endowed chairs funded to conduct research in topical areas in Oil and Gas Industry.
According to him, the event is one of the outcomes of all the researches that the chair of the fund had conducted over the years.

We tried to expand the frontiers of knowledge based on the outcome of research and developmental efforts, which we have funded.
“You don’t do research in isolation; you have to work with stakeholders because at the end of the day researches are supposed to translate into products in the market.
“So, you need to have an industry, the institution and the government and the triple elites need to be applied to ensure that the researches are effective and you will be able to generate value.
“We don’t want to be funding theoretical researches that would just end up on the shelf in the laboratories in the institutions.
“We have to make sure that researches are adopted and applied in the industry, you have to collaborate with all the relevant stakeholders.”
Adebowale, in his remarks as Chairman of the occasion, said that knowledge sharing had been the direction of building the triple-elite model, desirable in the university, which would strengthen the link between academia and the industry.
He lamented that there were so many researches lacking impact, saying that they were just research for theoretical purposes or advancement in the career ladder.
Adebowale underscored researches that focussed on solving challenges in the industry and sourcing local raw materials that would replace the expensive ones being imported.
“This would solve so many of our problems and halt wasting of our meagre foreign exchange.
“The Oil and Gas Industry needs considerable research and we know that if town and gown do not collaborate, it will be difficult for us to solve specific challenges,” he said.
According to him, this is to prevent all our research and development centres from just relocating outside the country.
“Because, only when we have an effective handshake between the academia and industry, that we can develop our research and development to compete favourably and then industries would not relocate their research and development centres outside the country,” Adebowale said.
One of the lead presenters, Omojola, identified industrialisation as the way out from the present economic challenges facing the country.
He urged the Federal Government to encourage industrialisation by addressing the nation’s energy challenge.
“So much money is spent on energy and if it is not addressed, there is no way our products can compete with the imported goods. We can produce so many SMEs, but they cannot survive without energy,” Omojola said.
Also, a Professor of Petroleum Engineering in UI, Sunday Isehunwa, said Nigeria could address its carbon targets, if it could look inward through research, innovation and development.
Isehunwa, also one of the speakers at the event, said that energy demand would keep rising, saying this was because “energy is linked to development” .
Earlier, Prof Olugbenga Falode, Head of the Department of Petroleum Engineering in UI, said there were various challenges bedeviling the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry based on environmental issues and the rising cost of operations.
Falode said that optimising the “golden egg” was critical for the industry to survive.
“So, there are big chances for oil and gas in navigating the energy transition as it responds to the challenges it is currently confronted with, it must address the issue of human capital development,” he said.
Falode however, highlighted the roles of PTDF in developing indigenous manpower and technology transfer in the petroleum industry as well as to make the country “a no-man-resource-centre for the West African sub-region”. (NAN)

By Justina Auta

Oxfam Nigeria and Women in Information Technology and Communication (ICT), have advocated for more women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related fields to advance gender equity.

They made the call during an event, tagged “SHESHINES’’, to create more awareness on gender and creativity in Abuja.

The President, Women in ICT, Ms Kemisola Bolarinwa, stressed the need to encourage the society dismantle stereotypes and long-held beliefs on perceived appropriate careers meant for women and men.

According to her, women are often more productive in every areas, hence the need to increase their presence in technology, which will increase the turnout of inventions, innovative solutions and breakthrough in sciences.

Bolarinwa cited recent breakthrough in the early detection of cancer through the early cancer detection smart brassiere by her Women in ICT team as a perfect example of how creative women in the innovation space could be.

“Right now, the invention of the smart bra detects cancer.

“This cancer has been a disease that has been there for a very long time but even though we have a lot of men in the sciences, they couldn’t think through to solve women’s problem through technological invention.

“These are part of reasons why we need more women in STEM space generally,” she said.

She explained that the smartbra safely detects and monitors potential cancerous cells at an early form, which will reduce death rate by 80 per cent by 2030.

Prof. Olabisi Aina, Researcher and Lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, said the National Gender Policy aims to promote gender equality, women empowerment and human rights.

Aina, who led the 2006 Gender Policy for Nigeria, added that it would also provide platforms for more sectors of the economy such as the sciences, to key into the drive for gender mainstreaming.

“The National Gender Policy is an umbrella policy to which we expect that every sector, whether it is labour, environment, health and others, to key into and look at gender issues in their sectors and then draw policy guidelines in order to mainstream gender into what they do.

“Women are now competing with men in the workplace and do a variety of jobs from ICT to high profile corporate work.

“But in all of this, the environment of work is said for a long time to be very masculinised because men are in majority.

“Now that women are entering the labour sector, we recognise the need to make that workplace comfortable for men and women to work,’’ she said.

Also, Ms Esohe Ahior, a legal Practitioner and Head of Department, Poise Graduate Finishing Academy, highlighted the need to upscale youth in technology and innovation to advance their livelihood and enable them contribute to the economy.

Ahior revealed that through the support of OXFAM, they worked with Project Alliance Project to train girls in sectors like graphic design, reproductive health, among others to improve more participation of women in STEM fields as part of the International Women’s month.

According to her, over 190 marginalised girls who have been abused and who have become early mothers, and girls the economy has set aside as not being able to do things, have benefitted from the training.

“This training will help upscale girls in the technological field. Because in my organisation, women are doing more things in tech than men. Women are the lead trainers in tech, graphic designers, photographers.

“It is an eye opener and shows that women are just as hungry to be in tech space like the men, and some are even surpassing the men,’’ she said.

She added that women in STEM field have shown the strength, commitment and tenacity to even supercede societal expectations and the men in technology innovation.

NAN reports that other highlights were poetry recitations, music performances and presentations by various outstanding women and female groups. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Vincent Obi

By Fabian Ekeruche

Wild Africa Fund has launched a new wildlife-focused television series, Dr Mark Animal TV Show, for kids between ages seven and 14.

This is contained in a statement by Wild Africa Fund Nigeria’s Representative, Mr Festus Iyorah, on Saturday in Lagos.

“The kiddies show premieres this Saturday and every other Saturday at 8.45 a.m. on Silverbird TV DSTV channel 252, StarTimes Channel 109, and GOTV channel 92/192.

“The show will educate children between ages seven and 14 on Nigeria’s amazing wildlife and the need to protect them,” the statement said.

It said that Nigeria had become a transit hub for the illegal wildlife trade of pangolin scales and ivory in the last few years.

The statement noted that the Nigeria Customs Service had made four major seizures of pangolin scales, ivory, and other wildlife parts in the last 13 months.

It added that there was a growing appetite for bushmeat consumption, especially among urban dwellers in Nigeria.

“Conservationists say illegal wildlife trade and a demand for bushmeat have sharply declined Nigeria’s wildlife and biodiversity.

“They estimate that Nigeria has fewer than 50 lions, 100 gorillas, 500 elephants, and 2,300 chimpanzees left in the wild.

“Generally, ignorance and low awareness about Nigeria’s amazing biodiversity and the importance wild animals play in the environment have contributed to the continuous destruction of Nigeria’s wildlife.

“These existential challenges have inspired the need for public awareness and educational materials that educate the general public, especially young people who are best equipped to save our environment for future generations,” it said.

The statement quoted Mr Peter Knights, Founder of Wild Africa Fund and the Executive producer of the new TV show as saying that kids would enjoy the show.

“We hope that kids will be excited to learn about these animals and how we must protect them for their futures,” Knights said.

The statement added that Mark’s Animal TV show would enlighten children on the human and ecological importance of wild animals such as pangolins, lions and African grey parrots, among others.

It said that the children would also learn fun facts about these animals including domestic animals like dogs.

The statement said that a quiz competition had been scheduled to inspire retentive knowledge in kids at the end of the show.

It said that the animal show comes at a time local content for children, especially on the environment, is nonexistent.

The statement also quoted Iyorah as saying that Wild African Fund would continue to invest in educational wildlife content.

“We plan to invest in educational wildlife content that will empower children as the next generation of wildlife ambassadors.

“We expect children to impact their cycle of influence with what they learnt from watching the show,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma