By Collins Yakubu-Hammer

The Africa Youth Growth Foundation (AYGF) has conducted free medical tests and distributed over 500 treated mosquito nets to reduce the prevalence of the disease in Lugbe community of FCT-Abuja.

Speakingbat the event on Tuesday, the Executive Director of the foundation, Dr Arome Salifu, lamented that every 30 seconds, a child die from malaria that could be prevented and cured.

The theme for the 2023 World Malaria Day is: “Time to deliver zero malaria: Invest, innovate and implement”.

Salifu, represented by the Head of Project Delivery of AYGF, Ms Omonike Oyedele, said the foundation is making efforts to reduce the severe impact of malaria on families and communities to promote healthy living as well as enhance societal development.

“Malaria is particularly devastating in Sub-Saharan Africa where it has significant social and economic consequences,” she said.

“The latest World Malaria Report, again confirmed the continent of Africa as home to 95 per cent of malaria cases and 96 per cent of malaria deaths.

“More worrisome is that children under five years accounted for 80 per cent of the deaths caused by the malarial parasite,” she said.

According to her, Nigeria accounted for 31 per cent of global malarial deaths which resulted in 191,890 lives lost annually.

“This contributed to the 619,000 estimated number of malarial deaths on the continent, which carries a disproportionately high share of the global malarial burden.

“While progress has been made in expanding access to malaria services for at-risk populations, too many people are still not receiving the needed services towards preventing, detecting and treating the disease.

“This is compounded by various challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict imposed humanitarian crises, funding gaps, weak surveillance systems, and declining effectiveness of malaria-fighting tools,” she said.

According to Salifu, to address some of these challenges, the AYGF is establishing more robust malaria programmes in Katsina, Kogi and Niger States, covering over 2,000 communities.

She added that the foundation’s programmes has reached about one million individuals, including pregnant women and children, and still counting.

She explained that AYGF’s intervention, supported by the World Bank project’s Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN), has developed guidance, strategies and frameworks to enhance the transparency, flexibility and access to malaria tools.

“Through these interventions, AYGF is tackling technical challenges facing malaria implementation, especially the barriers people encounter in accessing quality health services.

“By bringing malaria commodities closer to where people live and work through primary healthcare centres in those communities, the cost of care is reduced and equity is enhanced.

“However, the Nigerian government’s approval of a new malaria vaccine from Oxford University, the R21/Matrix-M, is also commendable.

“The vaccine designed to prevent malaria in children aged 5 to 36 months was manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.

“We are hopeful that this vaccine and other interventions will soon make malaria a thing of the past in Africa, particularly in Nigeria.

“AYGF will continue to partner with government of Nigeria and other stakeholders in enhancing quality of healthcare and deliver zero malaria through investment, innovation and implementation of people centric malaria interventions,” Salifu stressed.

Responding, the Village Head of Lugbe Village, Mr Danlami Cheta, appreciated AYGF for its intervention to reduce the prevalence of malaria in his community.

“It is a good programme for us that we will never forget. It is wise to bring such a programme in this community, because malaria is seriously dealing with my people.

“This is as a result of the environment and that is why when I took over office last year, I have been sensitising people on the need to have a clean environment.

“We thank AYGF for making us to benefit from this malaria programme of treatment of malaria and distribution of mosquito treated nets to my people.

“We will be glad for this relationship between the community and AYGF continuous, and not on malaria alone, but other health interventions. We can not pay you back. It is only God that will pay you. Thank you AYGF,” he said.

Meanwhile, a beneficiary, Hajiya Fatima Maina, who was tested for malaria and given mosquito net, said the intervention would go a long way to help the residents of Zhilu community in Lugbe, Abuja.

“Our people are suffering from this malaria and other health challenges. The malaria is affecting us, because of the nature of our community with stagnant water everywhere.

“There ares gutters everywhere and the mosquitoes are too much, especially in the heat season and the raining season that has started.

“The nets are giving us free of charge will help us so much. Most of us don’t have means to and cannot buy because of poverty. So the nets and malaria drugs given to us are very important.

“It will be helpful to all of us in the community. We appreciate AYGF for the effort they made to get our community to benefit from this programme. Other NGOs should emulate AYGF please,” Maina said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the foundation had tested and provided mosquito nets for free to over 500 residents, including sensitisation on the disease and how to use the nets. (NAN)
(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Auwalu Birnin Kudu/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

By Segun Giwa

United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with National Orientation Agency (NOA), on Wednesday in Lagos, commenced training of selected youths and journalists in the South-West zone on digital learning platforms.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the two-day training is tagged: “Media Dialogue on Digital Learning Platforms.”

In her opening remarks, UNICEF Communication Specialist, Mrs Blessing Ejiofor, said that the programme was aimed at exposing youths to the advantages of digital learning platforms.

Ejiofor said that the media were also involved to do the advocacy on the digital learning platforms and give the platforms necessary publicity.

According to her, embracing the digital learning platforms by the youth will reduce unemployment and crimes in the country.

Ejiofor said that the primary purpose of the dialogue was to understand the various digital platforms and how young people could make use of them positively.

The UNICEF communication specialist also said that the training would expose the youth to how to write their curriculum vitae, where to submit job applications and how to make use of digital platforms for wealth creation, among others.

“We brought many experts to this programme to help us know more about digital learning platforms of both the private and government organisations,” she said.

In her remarks, the NOA Director in Lagos, Ms Adetola Adegboyega, said that the training was important due to the importance of technology in day-to-day activities.

Adegboyega, who noted that journalists were also an important aspect of the training, said that they would help in disseminating information on the opportunities offered by digital learning.

Also speaking, UNICEF Programme Specialist, Mr Joannes Yimbesalu, said that the programme was an opportunity to explore, learn and share ideas on digital learning.

In her presentation, Head of Communication, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Ms Taiye Tunkarimu, said that the agency was saddled with creating employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for all Lagos residents.

Tunkarimu said that the agency was also working toward reducing unemployment and crimes in the state.

She stated that the agency had trained no fewer than 16,000 youths on digital literacy, tech talent drive and vocational skills, among others. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Victor Adeoti and ‘Wale Sadeeq

By Victor Adeoti

Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and Gov. Ademola Adeleke of Osun have commended the Jennifer Etuh Foundation (JEF) for donating a hospital and skill acquisition centre to Ifewara community in Osun.

The duo gave the commendation on Wednesday during the inauguration of the hospital built by the foundation in memory of the late Mrs Jennifer Ramatu Etuh, wife of the Chairman of JEF, Mr Thomas Etuh.

The establishment of the hospital is part of the vision of late Mrs Jennifer Etuh to provide accessible and affordable world-class healthcare services to women and children in rural communities.

In his remarks, Adeboye thanked Etuh for siting the hospital in his hometown, adding that the late Jennifer Etuh was one of his “spiritual daughters”.

The cleric who noted that the late Jennifer and her husband were very dear to him, said that in spite of his intercession while she was sick, “the Lord decided to call her home”.

Adeboye called for prayers for the family of the Etuhs, admonishing people to contribute their quota to improving the society and helping the people around them.

Also speaking, Adeleke appreciated the foundation for building the health facility in the state.

He said that his government would continue to prioritise the welfare of the people of the state.

The governor said his administration had provided free medical care to over 25,000 residents of the state under the “Imole Free Sugical and Medical Outreach.

In his remarks, Etuh said his wife gave clear instructions on what should be done with her investments following her health challenges, before her demise.

He said the late wife’s instruction gave birth to the medical centre.

“Before her demise, considering what she was going through, Jennifer gave clear instructions on what was to be done with her investments and this was to ensure others do not experience what she unfortunately passed through.

“It was the burden she carried before her demise that gave birth to the blessing, now known as the Jennifer Etuh Foundation (JEF).

“By the special grace of God, we are here today inaugurating a new hospital in the home town of her spiritual parents, Pastor and Mrs Enoch and Folu Adeboye,” he said.

Etuh noted that two similar medical centres on the instruction of his late wife, had been built and inaugurated in Odu (Kogi State) and Kagoro (Kaduna State).

He said the foundation intended to build two more hospitals.

Etuh disclosed that the foundation would soon inaugurate another hospital in Gombe State. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Emmanuel Afonne/Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

By Reporters

Some residents of Abuja and its environs have expressed fear over the looming flood as a result of poor environmental and sanitation practices.

The residents, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said that rainy seasons had been a difficult period for them as floods always submerge their belongings.

Mr Jacob Idris, a resident of Nyanya, said that the community had been battling with flood every rainy season even after clearing the drainages around them.

He said ”until the bridge and the road are reconstructed and a bigger ring is fixed; they may not get out of the problem.

‘’We don’t have the financial strength to construct a bigger bridge and a better road that’s why we are appealing to the government to come to our aid.

‘’We have lost millions of naira worth of goods and property to flood in this area and we are afraid that if nothing is done this year, property or even lives may be lost to flood.

‘’We have started seeing signs that it will rain heavily this year, since the first rain had caused serious flooding’’ he said.

Mrs Amaka Ukachukwu, a resident of Mararaba, Nasarawa State, said to prevent a recurrence of flood this year, the public needed to be sensitised to desist from dumping refuse on water channels.

‘’We need to sensitise residents to the danger of dumping refuse on waterways and major channels.

‘’Now that the rains are coming, we appeal to the government to be prepared and assist us on time.

‘’Some of us are poor, we should be relocated to camps as usual, so we are calling for early preparation in case such occurrences happened,’’ she said.

Mr Abdullahi Sanwo, a resident of Ado, Nasarawa State appealed to residents to avoid blocking waterways with refuse.

He said that a simple environment friendly rule of cleaning the waterways should be adhered to.

‘’We do not want to witness flooding this year in our community; we are educating our people on the need to keep the drainages free of refuse.

‘’Aside that, we use the media houses to educate the public to clear their drainages and to cut the weeds on the waterways,’’ he said.

Mrs Josephine Paul, a resident of Mpape, a suburb of Abuja, said that a committee has been constituted in her area to monitor residents to ensure proper disposal of waste .

Paul said that “waste bins are provided by the government, so residents are been monitored to ensure the proper use of the waste bins

‘’We had an agreement to contribute the sum of N100, 000 to hire labourers that will assist in clearing the drains and the weeds around our premises,” he said.

Mr Isaac Dogo, a resident of Garki advised residents against blocking of drains, adding that nature would fight back and the result is flood.

‘’I urged the government to take precaution against the impending doom,’’ he said

He appealed to the government to take a lasting solution to address the issue of flooding in the country in general.

NAN reports that the Director-General of Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Prof. Mansur Matazu, says that rainfall is predicted to be earlier than the long-term average in most parts of the country.

NAN also reports that in 2023, although NiMet forecast had predicted a largely normal rainfall pattern, it also indicated a high possibility of flash floods in some states.

Matazu said there was likely to be elevated dry spell in some states of the north with potential adverse impact on planted crops.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Joseph Edeh

Malam Mele Kyari, Group CEO, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited with other stakeholders at the inspection of ongoing construction of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline and Station project site in Kogi.

By Emmanuella Anokam

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) says it has so far spent over 1.1 billion dollars on the ongoing construction of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline and Station project from its cash-flow.

The NNPC Limited GCEO, Malam Mele Kyari said this on Monday while touring some of its project sites in Kogi, with newsmen and other stakeholders.

Kyari was accompanied by some top officials of the NNPC Limited and Oilserv Limited, (Pipelines and Facilities), the contractor of the project.

Kyari said the company would continue to fund the massive project which it was delivering in phases and has been active even though it did not have third party finance for the project.

“So far, NNPC Ltd has funded over 1.1billion dollars on the project and to date none of the project activities is abandoned as reported and we reassure all stakeholders that we have a line of sight to project delivery on schedule.

“NNPC Limited remains highly committed towards the delivery of strategic National infrastructure projects through responsive project delivery, active collaboration with government security agencies and communities as well as deployment of technology for delivering the project.

“This is is one of the most massive projects of proportion value to our country for economic growth. It is a must-deliver project and we have continued to fund in spite of not having third party finance support, we will deliver this project.

“We do not owe a dollar to our contractors, there are over 30 sites that are active today in this project, we are very hopeful and optimistic to deliver this project,” he assured.

The GCEO decried the fact that due to insecurity, it had lost some site workers thereby expressed sadness over thier demise and consoled their families whom he said the company shared in their grief.

He said 70 per cent of the welding work had been completed adding that once welding was completed, it could actually flow gas through the pipeline.

He said on completion the pipeline would deliver two billon cubic feet of gas, powering industries, powering power plants and creating gas based industries.

He said the entire welding work would be completed by the third quarter of 2023 then it would actually energise the pipeline.

Kyari further said that the gas pipeline was projected to support power plants with a total of 3,645 Mega Watts, adding that it would soon begin constrution of Abuja- Kaduna power plants in ernest.

Earlier, Mr Steve Nnorom, Project Manager, Oilserv Ltd explained that there were three schematic of the pipeline and station installations which included Brovo, Chalie and Alpha spread segment, that showed progress of the project.

He said they were currently doing full auto welding, completed 73 per cent of its mainland welding works and had done 222 kilo metres remaining 27 kilo metres of welding work to complete.

“We are crossing rivers, railway, existing pipelines. We have other sites where various work activities are ongoing, our target is that concurrently all works will be going on at different spread,” he said

Nnorom, while noting that the project has been active and fully financed said that it has purely 100 per cent Nigerian workers. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola

By Ikenna Osuoha

The National Population Commission (NPC) has reassured the public of the safety of its server and data as they prepare for the 2023 Population and Housing Census.

Dr Isiaka Yahaya, Director, Public Affairs Department (PAD) said this in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a staff of the Commission and Comptroller of Chanchaga LGA, Niger State, Mr Sanusi Maigida had earlier claimed that the NPC server was hacked.

Maigida had cited this development as the reason for the postponement of the LGA-level training of the Supervisors and Enumerators for the 2023 Population and Housing Census.

Yahaya, who reaffirmed the commitment of the commission to a credible and acceptable census, said that its server was not hacked.

The public affairs department boss described as false and misleading, the information on hacking of the commission’s server.

“We wish to assure the public that the security of the data for the
2023 Population and Housing Census is absolutely guaranteed.

“The commission is committed to upholding the highest standards of data protection and maintaining the trust placed in us by the Nigerian population,” he said.

Yahaya explained that the Commission’s Chairman, Alhaji Nasir Kwarra’s visit to the United Nations was to attend the 56^th Session of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development was to the benefit of the country.

He said the chairman also presented Nigeria’s statement on ‘Population and Development’ at the global event and has since returned to the country ahead of preparations for the first digital Census in Nigeria.

“Over the years, it has been the standard practice for the Chairman of the Commission to attend the annual event on Population and Development in line with the mandate of NPC as the coordinating agency on population matters in Nigeria.

“Consequently, the public is advised to disregard the false statement trending online about the hacking of the commission’s server and the subsequent travel of the NPC Chairman to restore the purported hacked server,” he said.

He assured of the commission’s determination to continue to update the populace on developments regarding the 2023 Population and Housing Census as events unfold.

Yahaya solicited for Nigerians’ support to ensure a secure and successful 2023 Census exercise. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Uche Anunne

By Okeoghene Akubuike

The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), has said that the approval of the concessioning of its two projects by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) would attract N180 billion revenue to Nigeria.

A statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by Ifeanyi Nwoko, Acting Head, Media and Publicity, ICRC), said the projects included the Cassava Bio-mass and Bio-ethanol Value Chain and National Fire Detection And Alarm System (NAFDAS).

Nwoko said the concessioning was to create wealth, reduce poverty, improve food security and nutrition, provide jobs and renewable energy, and reduce carbon footprint.

“While the NAFDAS project will generate a total of N75 billion in the 15-year concession period, the cassava bio-ethanol value chain will generate a total revenue of N105 billion within the five-year concession period.

“The cassava bio-ethanol value chain, which will be done on a pilot phase, aims to build a Bio-technology Industrial Park on a 20-hectare plot across 20 universities, academia and research and development institutes.

“In the pilot phase, 5,000 special hybrid cassava (TME 419) stems will be planted per hectare, (totalling) 100,000 stems for the 20 hectares,” he said.

In addition, he said the project would supply organic fertiliser, boosters, conditioners, pre and post-emergent herbicides, pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, and knapsack sprayers.

“The project also seeks to double cassava production from the current 62 million tons to an output of no fewer than 120 million tons.

“With improved tropical agro-ecology, bio-technology, intense mechanisation, and effective partnership resource mobilisation, Nigeria can double output to 120 million metric tons in five years,” he said.

Nwoko said the key goal of the cassava-bioethanol pilot project was to demonstrate the efficacy of a private sector-led approach in promoting investment in renewable biomass and creating wealth.

“Also in providing jobs, reducing poverty, improving food security and nutrition, providing renewable energy and reducing carbon footprint,” he said.

Nwoko said the project was proposed to be financed with a grant from the Federal Government and Concessionaire investment totalling N11.9 billion.

The ICRC spokesman said the revenue stream presented by the project includes sales of cassava stem, cassava flour, garri, starch, and Bio-ethanol.

“Total revenue for the five-year concession period is N105,610,000,000,” he said.

He said that the NAFDAS project would provide fire mitigation hardwares, softwares, and equipments that would be linked to a cloud network.

Nwoko said the project would be supervised by the Federal Fire Service through a private entity.

“Through the use of this technology, call, and response time in fire incidents will be automated thus drastically reducing avoidable incidents,” he said.

Nwoko said more lives and properties would be saved, and generally ensure efficient fire prevention, detection and management.

“This means that smoke alarms and other fire detection hardware will be linked to a server which will alert the system when the user is in distress without them having to call for help,” he said.

He said the project would begin in seven states on pilot basis, before rolling it out to all states across the country.

Nwoko said the total cost of the project was N3.5 billion, while the government targets to generate N75 billion within 15 years of the concession.

“Share of revenue to the government was projected as 40 per cent of subscription revenue totaling N17,262,850,871, an average of N1,150,856,724 over the 15 years proposed concession period.”

He added that the revenue stream included margin on installations and annual subscription fee from users.

Nwoko said both projects would be executed under the regulatory guidance of ICRC with the revenue shared between government and the concessionaire at a ratio decided in the concession agreement. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Maharazu Ahmed