By Collins Yakubu-Hammer

No fewer than 3,000 women in Kogi have benefited from the Federal Government’s Special Grant for Rural Women Project.

Hajiya Sadiya Farouq, Ministrer of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, in a statement on Wednesday signed by the Deputy Director of Information in the Ministry, Mrs Rhoda Iliya, said that the grant, of N20,000 each, was expected to increase income and productive assets of target beneficiaries.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the grants were disbursed to the beneficiaries on Wednesday in Lokoja.

She urged them to use the grant to contribute toward improving their living standard by using it to boost their trade and business for greater income and not to see it as their own share of the so-called National Cake.

“We believe that with the complementary effort of the state government, the target beneficiaries will all be adequately covered within the next few days.

“I am optimistic that with the support and cooperation of the governor and other stakeholders, we will remain on track to improving the livelihood of the ordinary Nigerians,” Farouq said.

Farouq, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Alhaji Bashir Alkali said that the target was to disburse the grant to about 3,000 women including Persons Living with Disabilities (PLWDs) across all local government areas in the state.

Speaking, Kogi Gov. Yahaya Bello, represented by the Deputy  Governor, Mr Edward Onoja, expressed  his gratitude  to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister for consistently bridging the gap between the rich and the poor.

Bello said that the president had done that through the National Social Investment Programmes.

He said that with the 3,000 beneficiaries involved in small scale businesses, the sector would be greatly impacted financially.

The governor urged everyone to pray for the Buhari’s administration and other political leaders.

The Kogi Focal Person for National Social Investment Programme, Prince Abdulkareem Suleiman, said that poverty eradication was a major objective of the administration.

He pledged to support the Minister in her determination to improve the livelihood of women in the State.

A beneficiary of the cash grant, Miss Christopher Odede, thanked Buhari for the grant and promised to use the money judiciously.

Ibrahim Haruna Chairman, People Living with Disabilities (PLWDs) in Kogi, said that before the administration of Buhari, People Living with Disabilities were neglected.

He, however, noted that today the President had given them a voice and people had begun to see ability in disability.

He called on the Federal Government to provide enabling environment for the PLWDs to showcase their abilities. (NAN)

The World Health Organisation (WHO) believes it is unlikely the Coronavirus pandemic （COVID-19）will come to an end  by the end of 2021.

“I think it will be very premature and unrealistic to think that we are going to finish with this virus by the end of the year,” Michael Ryan, director of the WHO’s health emergencies programme, said at a briefing on Tuesday.

“What we can, if we are smart, finish with is the hospitalisations and the deaths and the tragedy associated with this pandemic,” Ryan added.

The WHO’s focus at present was to keep transmissions as low as possible and vaccinate more and more people.

The situation regarding the delivery of vaccine doses had already improved compared to 10 weeks ago, Ryan said, although there were “huge challenges” in distributing them and the virus still had the upper hand.

“If the vaccines begin to impact not only on death and not only on hospitalization, but have a significant impact on transmission dynamics and transmission risk, then I believe we will accelerate towards controlling this pandemic,” Ryan said.

The number of new cases of COVID-19 rose by 7 per cent worldwide, last week, the WHO said later on Tuesday.

This is the first increase following a fall in case numbers over the past six weeks.

In the last week of February, 2.6 million cases were reported to the UN agency in Geneva in the last week of February.

The increase could be due to new and more contagious strains of the virus, the WHO said, citing easing of rules and fatigue with regulations as other possible causes.

The Middle East saw the largest rise of 14 per cent, followed by a 9-per-cent rise in South-East Asia. Case numbers also rose by 9 per cent in Europe and by 6 per cent in the Americas.

In contrast, nearly a quarter fewer cases were reported in Africa compared to the week before.

Likewise case numbers fell slightly in the Western Pacific region including East Asia and Australia.

According to WHO， vaccines do not provide immunity immediately but need several weeks before they become effective, and noted it would take even longer to protect whole populations.

That means testing, contact tracing, social distancing, masks and other hygiene measures remain critical.

By Precious Akutamadu

Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers on Tuesday urged media practitioners to be more circumspect while reporting issues that could further polarise the country.

Wike gave the advice in Port Harcourt at a meeting held to reconcile Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue and his Bauchi State counterpart, Bala Mohammed.

He advised media houses to play a role in stabilising the peace and unity of Nigeria.

“The press should have a role to play in stabilising the country; it is not everything you must report. You don’t try to escalate things and when you do that you are not helping the country,” he said.

Wike thanked the two governors for amicably resolving their differences.

“We give God the glory today that the differences have been sorted out,” he said.

Similarly, Ortom thanked Wike and Gov. Ahmed Fintiri of Adamawa for arranging the meeting to reconcile him and his Bauchi State counterpart, pointing out that the outburst between them was unnecessary.

“We have accepted that it was wrong for us to have that kind of outburst that went out, but as from today we have learnt, we are all fallible human beings and we are subject to mistakes and so when we make mistakes, it is a plus for us if we correct them.

“We shall live together, the Fulani and Tiv people have cohabitated for a long time and there is no issue whatsoever,” he said.

He urged the Federal Government to find a lasting solution to the security challenges facing the country.

Gov. Mohammed stated that the outburst between him and Ortom over Fulani herders was regrettable.

“We didn’t mean to divide the country, to divide our people. We are still friends and brothers… we will move forward because most of those issues are fully resolved, the Bauchi State governor said.

On his part, Gov. Fintiri of Adamawa said as national leaders, it beholds on him and Wike to intervene in the disagreement between their Benue and Bauchi State counterparts.

By EricJames Ochigbo

Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello has advocated that the Federal Government should apply “local solutions’’ in tackling major national challenges, including insecurity and economic issues.

Bello gave the advice on Tuesday in Abuja when he received a delegation of Nollywood actors, who came to pledge their support to him in his plan to run for the nation’s presidency in 2023.

He said that his administration had been able to achieve success in every sector by applying “a mixture of local solutions, knowledge and human-based solutions to tackle challenges’’.

Bello said that his administration had taken cognizance of the fact what would endure was a knowledge-based economy rather than a resource-based economy.

He emphasised the need for Nigeria to develop human and knowledge-based resources, through inclusion of youths in governance.

The governor lauded Nollywood actors for their contributions in the creative industry, which he said, had increasingly contributed to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, employment, youth empowerment and showcasing Nigeria to the world.

“Let me appreciate all of you for the wonderful contributions and for presenting Nigeria to the world, showcasing our rich culture, our unity in diversity and all the good things about Nigeria and Africa.

“I appreciate you for identifying with me on our modest achievements in Kogi State.

“Kogi State, prior to Jan. 27, 2016 when I was sworn in as the fourth Executive Governor used to be a state that was divided among herself, a long ethnic line, religious line, class line and several other types of criminality used to be the order of the day.

“But by the special grace of God, by our leadership style and the touch of quality of the young men and women I was able to assemble, the reverse is the case today in Kogi State.

“Let me appreciate you for urging me to run for the position of president in 2023.

“Kogi State will soon be an oil producing state. It would be celebrated but oil has been the greatest undoing of Nigeria.

“What will last longer than our generation is knowledge-based economy, not resource-based economy.

“There are some of you that did not read arts at tertiary levels, just raw talents and you learnt on the job.

“That is why in Kogi State, we believe in our own local solutions to our own problems. We do not import solutions.

“If we say there is problem coming, we want to see it first, evaluate it, know how it would enter our own territory then apply our own solution to solve the problem.

“That is what we should apply to our problems in Nigeria.

“In Kogi State, we apply the mix of our local solutions and that is how we have solved our problems of insecurity. We have applied our own local solutions and we are developing our infrastructure.

“We have been able to discover that we have solid minerals and we are establishing a university, which is coming up this year. The university will be second to none in Nigeria. It is where we are going to develop our knowledge.

Bello said that another strategy the state had used was women inclusion in governance, explaining that women always played critical roles in peace building.

He also advised youths to key into the opportunities offered by the present administration, pleading with them to join the All Progressives Congress.

“We applied our local knowledge when a certain ailment came in and we simply said we did not want any alien to come in. We are living healthy, we are good.

“This is our leadership style, we are proactive. Can we replicate this in Nigeria, the answer is yes, is it possible, the answer is yes.

“If you are urging me to run for president in 2023, I will simply listen to you and I will throw it back to you because me as a person, I have contributed my own quota, I am still contributing my own quota.”

The leader of the delegation, Mr Seun Oloketuyi, commended Bello for his efforts in promoting youth inclusion in governance, saying that the inclusion was what the country needed.

Oloketuyi pledged the support of Nollywood to Bello in his bid to become president.

“Nollywood is the second largest employer of labour today in Nigeria. We believe that ahead of the 2023 elections, Nollywood has a great role to play as most of the actors have huge followers, making them influential in whatever they say.

“Going into 2023, Nollywood actors have said they will not just sit down and fold their hands; they will sensitize their followers on voting for a youth as president in the person of Gov. Yahaya Bello,” Oloketuyi said.

In his remarks, Dr Segun Okeowo, Director-General of the Best of Nollywood (BON) presented a notification of interest to Bello, seeking Kogi to host the 13th edition of the BON award in November this year.

By Joan Nwagwu

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened to picket filling stations across the country over hoarding and creation of artificial petrol scarcity.

The NLC President, Mr Ayuba Wabba, gave the warning at end of an emergency (virtual) meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the congress on Tuesday in Abuja.

Wabba said NEC had condemned the current hoarding and artificial scarcity of petrol by marketers in major cities.

He said that NEC lamented the great hardship the situation was imposing on an already suffering and traumatised Nigerian workforce and people.

Wabba said that Nigerians were being punished and impoverished to satisfy the greed of a few marketers of refined petroleum products.

“NEC called on relevant regulatory agencies of government to rise up to the protection of the interests of the majority of Nigerians from the exploitative hands of market forces.

“These market forces are bent on making maximal profits from the sufferings of fellow citizens.

“The NEC also warned that should the current artificial scarcity persist that the various leadership structures of the NLC should picket petrol stations found to be inflicting pains on Nigerians,” he said.

Wabba also said the attention of the entire working class in Nigeria had been drawn to a bill which was listed in the House of Representatives as HB 950.

He said the bill, which was sponsored by Mr Garba Datti of Sabon Gari Federal Constituency, Kaduna State had passed the first and second reading in February.

He noted that the NEC considered Datti as only a hireling in the plot by his sponsors to disorient, injure, and exterminate Nigeria’s working class.

“Any attempt to move the National Minimum Wage from Exclusive Legislative List to Concurrent Legislative List will make Nigeria a laughing stock in the comity of nations.

“NEC resolved that if the National Assembly give credence to a Bill seeking movement of the minimum wage from the Executive Legislative list, to Concurrent Legislative list, workers may embark on strike,” he said.

Wabba noted that any attempt to move the minimum wage was an attempt to plunge the country into chaos and make Nigeria a laughing stock in the international community, as minimum wage was a global standard.

He added that the major reason behind the call to move the minimum wage to the Concurrent Legislative list was to enable states negotiate and fix their minimum wage.

He said that the National Minimum Wage was a global standard adopted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) through Convention 26 which was ratified by Nigeria on June 16, 1961.

He, therefore, said that Nigeria as a Sovereign gave effect to the National Minimum Wage by putting it in the Exclusive Legislative List.

He also said the NEC called on President Muhammadu Buhari not to allow fifth columnists masquerading as politicians to derail his government by railroading the legislature into removing national minimum wage from the exclusive to the concurrent list.

Wabba also said NEC rejected in its totality, a bill with the number HB. 1062 sponsored by Mr Abbas Tajudeen representing Zaria Federal Constituency of Kaduna State.

The bill he said was seeking a constitutional amendment to allow for establishment of State Judicial Councils.

“The NEC submitted that the passage of the bill would occasion a further exacerbation of the institutional crisis in our country, constitute an existential threat to our democratic experience and greatly imperil the corporate existence of Nigeria.

“The NEC also reasoned that given the heterogenous nature of Nigeria in terms of culture, religion, and ethnicity, it would be difficult if not impossible to manage the fallout from the decentralisation of our judiciary,” he said.

He added that NEC after a careful consideration of the issues on their implications to the working-class, decided that there will be a national protest.

He said the action would commence from the March 10 in the Federal Capital Territory to the National Assembly.

“The protest is to make a strong statement that Nigerian workers would not lie low and watch hard fought rights which are of global standards bastardised by opportunistic and narrow thinking politicians.

“The NEC resolved that the national protest action will be concurrently held in all the 36 states of the federation and to the different State Houses of Assembly across Nigeria,” he said.

NEC resolved that all the resolutions and decisions adopted at the emergency meeting should be pursued in collaboration with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the overall interest of all Nigerian workers,” he said (NAN)

By Edeki Igafe

Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta has promised that the storm drainage projects being executed by his adminstration in parts of Warri and Effurun will be ready next year.

Okowa made the promise on Monday while speaking to newsmen after inspecting the ongoing flood control projects in the two towns.

The governor was conducted round the projects by the Director-General of Warri-Uvwie and Environs Development Agency, Mr Ovuozourie Macaulay.

“Apparently we are several months behind,  they were supposed to be two years projects.

“I believe with the rate of work, we will not be able to keep to time but we will be able to finish the projects sometime in 2022,”  Okowa said.

He said the challenges posed by coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic slowed down the pace of work on the projects.

Okowa, however, pledge that his administration would scale up activities to enable the government to deliver them in 2022.

“Before we started these projects, I had already informed you that there are going to be four different storm drainage projects for us to fully drain Warri of the flood water.

“We have taken on the first two major projects, one in Warri South Local Government Area and the other in Uvwie Local Government Area. The other two are smaller drainage projects.

“We have gone to several points today and you have seen the two different contractors, CCECC Nigeria Limited and Levante Nigeria Limited.

“They have taken us through their various sites and the various works they are doing.

“It’s quite a lot of work and I have noticed that a lot of work has been done already and a lot more is going to be done.

“The contractors are on course and I am happy with the standard of work,’’ he said.

The governor, however, said that his administration would not pay compensation for buildings which would be pulled down because they were sited on the right-of-way and obstructing the drainage projects.

By Cecilia Ologunagba

The World Health Organisation  (WHO) says Nigeria has received nearly four million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, shipped via the COVAX Facility, a partnership between CEPI, Gavi, UNICEF and WHO.

COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, WHO and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) working in partnership with UNICEF, the World Bank, civil society organisations, manufacturers, and others.

WHO Office in Nigeria, in a statement posted on its website on Tuesday,  stated that the arrival marked a historical step toward equitable distribution of the vaccines.

“The arrival marked a historic step toward the goal to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines globally, in what will be the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history.

“The delivery is part of a first wave of arrivals in Nigeria that will continue in the coming days and weeks.

“COVAX shipped 3.94 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) from Mumbai to Abuja.’’

The statement quoted Edward Kallon, UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, as saying, “the UN Country Team in Nigeria reiterates its commitment to support the vaccination campaign in Nigeria and help contain the spread of the virus.

“The arrival of these vaccines in Abuja today marks a milestone for the COVAX Facility in its unprecedented effort to deliver at least 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines globally by the end of 2021.”

The arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine would enable the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to commence the vaccination of Nigerians in priority groups, starting with frontline healthcare workers.

The statement also quoted Thabani Maphosa, Managing Director for Country Programmes at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, as saying, “This is a landmark moment for the country .

“It is a landmark moment for the country and the COVAX Facility’s mission to help end the acute phase of the pandemic by enabling equitable access to these vaccines across the world.

“We are glad to see Nigeria is amongst the first receiving the doses from COVAX, thanks to the excellent level of preparedness put in place by the Government of Nigeria.

“Gavi looks forward to these vaccines being made available to the people most at risk, as soon as possible and to ensuring that routine immunisation services for other life-threatening infections are also delivered to avoid other disease outbreaks.”

The statement further quoted Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, WHO Representative in Nigeria, as saying: “It is heart-warming to witness this epoch-making event.

“WHO wishes to congratulate the government of Nigeria for its participation in the global vaccine collaboration (COVAX) efforts and its commitment to protecting Nigerians against this pandemic.

“Vaccines are a critical new tool in the battle against COVID-19; therefore, this is a step in the right direction.

“These vaccines have undergone rigorous regulatory processes at global and country level and have been deemed safe and effective.”

The COVAX Facility is expected to deliver around 90 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the African Region in the first quarter of 2021 and has committed to providing up to 600 million doses to the region by end-2021 to cover 20 per cent of the population.

“After a year of disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, today we celebrate the efforts being made in getting the vaccine to Nigeria.

“With more than 150,000 Nigerians infected with the virus and over 1,800 lives lost, the path to recovery for the people of Nigeria can finally begin.

“This is a very significant occasion – the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccines into Nigeria is critical in curbing the pandemic.

“The only way out of this crisis is to ensure that vaccinations are available to all,” the statement quoted Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative, as saying.

The COVAX Facility thanks the governments, foundation and other donors who contributed to making this milestone happen – including the generous support of the European Commission, countries of the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. (NAN)