By franca Ofili

An NGO, Community Advocacy for Positive Behavioural Patterns Initiative, says there are substantial benefits to the federal government’s decision to remove fuel subsidy.

Mr Bamidele Mann, Director, Campaign Team of the initiative said this in a statement in Abuja.

“Hitherto fuel subsidy has been a contentious issue over the years, with some calling for its removal and others advocating for its continuation.

“However, we are resolute and have faith that President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove fuel subsidy will subsequently impact positively to the nation,” Mann said.

According to him, the president’s pronouncement during the inaugural speech on May 29 that “fuel subsidy is gone” citing budgetary concerns has changed the trajectory of our dear country.

He urged the president to protect and cushion the effect of the removal especially on the low incomes and youths to enable them secure right to adequate standard of living.

“Consequently, many are terrified they might not meet their daily needs, which could be absolutely excruciating.

“As the father of the nation, we seek your support in this regard as we are prepared to work with you to create a system that works.

“We are optimistic that the right attitude will take us through the journey,” Mann said.

NAN reports that President Tinubu declared that there would no longer be a petroleum subsidy regime as the current 2023 budget he glimpsed does not contain it.

He stated this on May 29 in his inaugural address at the Eagle Square, Abuja.

The current 2023 budget has provision for the fuel subsidy till June.

Tinubu stated that funds for subsidies will be diverted to other things like public infrastructure, education, health care and jobs.

NAN reports that on Nov. 15, 2022, a former Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said the federal government will do away with petroleum subsidy by June 2023.

NAN reports that the federal government said that fuel subsidy gulped N2.565 trillion between January and August 2022.

Also, in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, the federal government proposed to spend N3.3 trillion on fuel subsidy between January and June 2023. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Josephine Obute/Sadiya Hamza

By Ijeoma Olorunfemi

The Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) says Nigerians need to leverage on opportunities that abound in the data protection ecosystem.

The National Commissioner of NDPB, Dr Vincent Olatunji said this at the one-day capacity building on Data Protection and Privacy for members of the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) on Sunday in Abuja.

The training was part of the bureau’s stakeholders’ engagement to create awareness and ensure that they understood data protection.

Olatunji said there was a huge gap that existed in the data protection ecosystem that had the capacity to provide wealth and millions of jobs for Nigerians and promote the digital economy.

“Across the globe, people are losing jobs, while others are gaining jobs in the digital economy sector.

“To be part of people gaining jobs, we need to re-skill, learn digital skills because technology is changing, a new world is emerging with the Internet of Things, Big Data, 3D Printing and more.

“In Nigeria, we have about 500,000 data controllers and processors, and according to law, each of these data controllers are meant to have a Data Protection Officer (DPO) that ensures data protection compliance by the controller.

“In Nigeria presently, we are barely 10,000 certified DPOs and that number does not commensurate with the number of data controllers in the country,’’ he said.

Olatunji said that the gap was huge, adding that Nigerians could develop themselves with skills to qualify as a DPO.

According to him, the data protection sector is an open field that anyone can venture into as long as they can read and write.

He said:“In the past two years, the data protection ecosystem have created over 9,000 jobs, it is an ecosystem that can create direct and many indirect jobs.’’

Olatunji added that in ensuring compliance level of data controllers, there had been positive results.

He added that from the time of its establishment, the bureau had interrogated seven major organisations, fined them and ensured they followed the steps of data protection compliance.

Mrs Leena Abba, Lead, Strategy, Partnerships and Communications of NDPB, explained that Data Privacy meant information autonomy.

Abba said that data protection was important to reduce incidences of crime, ensure personal security, enhance customer retention in terms of business engagement, among many reasons.

Mr Bamigboye Babatunde, Lead,Legal,Enforcement and Regulations gave the `PARAMETERS for data protection and privacy as:

”Principles, Accountability, Rights, Auditing, Management of Records, Ethics, Technicality and organisation, Education, Remediation and Sovereignty.”

Oluchi OKorafor and Nanqwat Dariem, some participants at the training said the capacity building had helped them to understand the data protection sector and how to report it better.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that no fewer than 40 IT Reporters participated in the training. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Segun Giwa

The Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa has denied allegations of physically abusing his wife, describing it as taking politics too far.

A statement issued on Sunday in Akure by his media aide, Mr Kenneth Odusola-Stevenson, quotes Aiyedatiwa as stating that the allegations were baseless and the imagination of a faceless group.

It would be recalled that there was news making the rounds on social media that the deputy governor allegedly assaulted his wife.

The statement, which noted that the deputy governor reserved the right to privacy particularly with respect to his family, said there had never been any issue of domestic violence as alleged, as his wife, Mrs Oluwaseun Aiyedatiwa, was at the moment outside the shores of the country.

“It has come to the attention of the Office of the Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, that a baseless and false report credited to a faceless group alleging the deputy governor of domestic abuse and assault on his wife.

“This falsehood and its peddlers would have ordinarily been ignored at this time but the need to halt further negative reports and rumours capable of creating needless tension in our state has necessitated this response.

“The said allegation of domestic abuse against the person of the deputy governor is a figment of the imagination of those behind it and their ungodly intentions to cause crisis in the state had been known for weeks and therefore such falsehood did not come as a surprise.

“It is not a secret that Mrs Oluwaseun Aiyedatiwa has lived and worked in the United Kingdom for many years before her husband became an elected public official in Nigeria.

“And since then she has been shuttling between the United Kingdom and Nigeria to take care of the home and the children who are also in the United Kingdom.

“Therefore, any report of alleged domestic issues within the family should be taken as the handiwork of the enemies of the state who are bent on causing crisis where there is none.

“And we therefore warn those spreading such falsehood to desist or face the consequences,” the statement said.

According to the deputy governor, he has been busy with official duties of his office and performing duties delegated to him by his boss, Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu, while on leave.

“It is, therefore uncharitable for anyone to claim that the deputy governor has in that period carried out “multiple assaults” on his spouse who is out of the country.

“This is nothing but political blackmail taken too far.

“We urge the good people of Ondo State to ignore such falsehood as those behind it may just be plotting further attacks on the deputy governor to promote their sinister agenda,” the statement concluded. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Bayo Sekoni

By Oluwatope Lawanson

The Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, says medical colleges in Nigeria must develop the capacity to train more doctors to bridge the brain drain gap in the sector.

Hamzat spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Sunday while reacting to the issue of the brain drain of medical experts in Nigeria.

He said since many medical practitioners had decided to leave Nigeria for other developed countries, it had become necessary for Nigeria to increase its capacity to produce more doctors to serve the nation.

The deputy governor said that human migration was inevitable, adding that people moved around the world all the time.

“Human migration is normal. People would leave, and people would come. But as a country, we can train more doctors.

“I am not against the brain drain of medical doctors, but what we need is to create a pipeline to train more doctors instead of complaining that medical personnel are leaving the country.

“If we train 5,000 doctors yearly, let us increase the numbers to 15,000, by doing so, the country benefits.”

Hamzat said the government could not stop people from going wherever they wanted to go.

According to him, in 2022, 197 Americans threw away their passports and became Singaporeans, so people will continue to move around the world.

“The Nigerian government should rather, look for a way to benefit from the countries our doctors are moving to.

“For example, if 1,000 doctors go to the United Kingdom, the UK Government must pay us something back in return.

“Therefore, our medical colleges need to increase their capacity by training more people.”

On Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led second term administration, Hamzat said that the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda of the first tenure would continue.

The acronym stands for :Transportation and Traffic Management; Health and Environment; Education and Technology; Making Lagos State a 21st Century Megacity, Entertainment and Tourism; and Security and Governance.

He said the ‘Plus’ added to the agenda for the second term was to enhance more social inclusion.

“There are many people that we need to lift out of poverty.

“We need to make sure that people can at least run a business no matter how small, based on their skills, and interests.

Hamzat said the administration would also focus on youth engagement, and gender equality, adding that they would try to access women in the rural areas.

“It is necessary that we bring them in and elevate everyone so that they can be part of the Lagos Agenda.” (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Okeoghene Akubuike/Vivian Ihechu

By Polycarp Auta

Acute shortage of water is forcing residents of Sabongida community in Langtang South Local Government of Plateau into constant battles with animals for drinking water from dirty ponds.

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who visited the community on Sunday, found that there was no source of potable drinking water in the area.

NAN found that water had become a scarce commodity, particularly during the dry season.

With the scarcity worsening by the day, residents usually travel many kilometres in search of ponds where they fight with cows, goats and dangerous reptiles in water ponds.

“We take basins and move to far away areas; we keep looking around for streams and ponds.

“Very often, we have to wait for cows to finish drinking the dirty water before we scoop whatever is available. Unfortunately, that is the only option available to us,” a resident, Mrs Christie Ndam, told NAN.

She said that some journeys take four to five before one could sight a stream or pond as the few available ones keep drying up in view of pressure.

Ndam described the situation as “appalling and unfortunate”, and expressed regret that the water scarcity issue keeps getting worse.

She said that the absence of potable water was affecting the quality of food they consume, making the people vulnerable to waterborne diseases.

“We are vulnerable to waterborne and other communicable diseases here.

“We sometimes spend hours around a dry well to get water. Herders struggle with us as they also have to care for their cattle. The competition for every drop is usually stiff.

”For years now, we have been suffering in Sabongida; it has lingered for long without any meaningful help.

”As you can see, we spend hours here just to fetch this dirty water. We try to purify it with chemicals before drinking.

”Our hospitals, schools, and other public places don’t have water and this is affecting our personal hygiene and environmental sanitation.

”As a community, we have made efforts toward addressing this challenge, but it has not yielded much result; sometimes we dig the grounds in search of water,” she lamented.

Miss Jennifer Nimfa, a secondary school student, scooping water from one of the ponds in the community.

Miss Jennifer Nimfa, a 16-year-old secondary school student, told NAN that the situation was affecting the education of children in the community.

“Very often, children spend school hours in search of water.

”I have been around this well since 4 a.m. and it is 10 a.m. already.

“I haven’t fetched water yet. I am no where any close. It means I can’t go to school today again because school time has past.

”Water is life; we need it to take our bath, cook and carry out other domestic activities before going to school.

”But majority of children can’t go to school because we spend hours in search of water. Sometimes, we go to school without taking our bath and brushing our teeth, but for how long can we keep doing this?

”We call on government and public-spirited individuals to come to our aid, particularly to safeguard our future as young people because if this continues, our educational journey is already bleak,” she fumed.

Another resident, Fabong Miri, decried the effect of the situation on farming and other agricultural activities.

He said that the absence of potable water is a general problem in the locality, adding that all the communities in Langtang South were suffering acute water shortage.

”We are basically farmers; we need water for irrigation and other use in the farms, but we don’t have.

”This dirty water you see people struggling with animals to fetch is here because of the rain that fell few days ago. Without the rain, all the wells and dams would get completely dried.

”This is why we are calling on government to come to our aid by dredging some of the dams here so that they can retain water for longer period and ameliorate our sufferings.

”We heard that the dredging of this dam has been captured in the budget, so we are appealing to goverment to expand and make them deeper.

“We want to say bye bye to water scarcity in Sabongida and environs,” he said.

Mr Goyil Maikarfi, another resident, decried the alarming water scarcity problem in the entire locality, insisting that the situation calls for a national emergency.

“The situation in Sabongida is scary; people here struggle with animals over the untreated water from the Mabudi and other dams.

”The rural dwellers urgently need intervention to provide good water in the area.

”The problem of water scarcity in the entire Langtang South needs a holistic approach; the problem needs government intervention with good political will to address the hardship faced by our people.

”We call on the new government at the state and federal levels to address our plight by finding lasting solution to the perennial water scarcity in our community,” he appealed.

The community leader of Sabongida, Mr Ponzing Durfa, who also spoke with NAN, described Langtang South as the most backward and underdeveloped local government area in the state.

Durfa decried the absence of not just potable water, but all critical social amenities, adding that successive administrations had only paid lip service to the provision of the amenities.

”This community and, indeed, the entire local government area, produce varieties of agricultural products in large quantity.

“Our people are basically farmers. We produce yam, maize, cassava, groundnuts, among other crops, in commercial quantities.

”Unfortunately, the local government area doesn’t have any source of good water. It lacks other basic amenities like road network, electricity, healthcare facilities, among others,” he lamented.

One of the ponds where residents fetch water from

Worried by the hardship people are passing through, Mr Timkat Peter, the National Coordinator, Economic Freedom Fighters-Nigeria, recently petitioned the state and federal government to urgently address the problem.

Peter copied his petition to Sen. Nora Daduut who represents Plateau South Senatorial District, and Dame Pauline Tallen the immediate past Minister of Women Affairs.

Other notable government functionaries who reveived the letter included Idris Wase, the current Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Beni Lar who represents Langtang South/Langtang South in the House of Representatives. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ephraims Sheyin

By Emmanuel Afonne

Mr Tein Jack-Rich, a frontline APC presidential aspirant has congratulated Sen. George Akume and Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, on their appointments by President Bola Tinubu.

Akume was appointed as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), while Gbajabiamila was appointed as Chief of Staff (COS) to the President.

Their appointments were announced in a statement on Friday by Mr Abiodun Oladunjoye, Director of Information, State House.

Jack-Rich described the SGF and COS’ appointments as well deserved, stating that the duo were no doubt round pegs in round holes.

The President/Founder of Belema Aid Foundation, expressed optimism that the former Benue governor and ex-speaker’s antecedents as seasoned administrators, legislators and leaders, would come to play in the discharge of their duties.

“Your hard work and dedication to duties have paid off.

“I am confident in your abilities to discharge any mandate and overcome any challenges because your patriotism to the Nigerian project is unparalleled,” Jack-Rich said.

Until his appointment as SGF, Akume was the immediate past minister of special duties in former President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet, while Gbajabiamila was the speaker of the ninth house of representatives. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Chioma Ugboma

By Muhammad Nasir

Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto has tasked Qausain TV on professionalism in the provision of its services to the public.

Abubakar, the President General Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), made the call when the Qausain group’s President, Nasir Musa and his management team paid him a courtesy visit in Sokoto on Friday.

The Sultan also charged the media firm to redouble its effort toward ensuring that all reports given out to the public were properly checked in order not to mislead the society.

“As the managers of information, who inform the society, I urge you to make more efforts in providing efficient services.

“This is to ensure that all your services are thoroughly monitored in order to give out the best information that will support societal needs,” Abubakar said.

Earlier, the Qausain group president said the visit was to seek the royal father’s blessings and appreciate him for his fatherly engagement towards ensuring a more peaceful Nigeria.

“We are all here to seek for your blessings and support toward our services to the public,” he said.

Musa added that Qausain TV would continue to act on the fatherly advice from the sultan and do the needful in serving the society as requested.

The team presented an award of exceptional excellence and leadership to the sultan.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Qausain TV, a private media firm is one of the popular television stations that operates in three major languages, English, Hausa and Arabic. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Benson Iziama/Bashir Rabe Mani

NAN MD tasks female reporters on mentorship, leadership positions

By Justina Auta

Mr Buki Ponle, Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Friday tasked female reporters of the agency on mentorship that would boost competence in the media space.

Ponle gave the charge during a seminar with the theme ‘Fostering Mentorship amongst Female Management Staff/Controllers’ organised for female reporters in Abuja.

The training is a leadership project of a staff of the agency, Ms Martha Agas, who is a 2023 participant of the Report Women! Female Reporters Leadership Programme (FLRP) Fellowship of Wole Soyinka Centre.

Ponle, represented by his Special Assistant on Special Duties, Mr Muftau Ojo, said the mentorship would improve productivity and build capacity to access leadership positions in the media space.

He urged females at the managerial level to mentor young reporters on skills that would improve the quality of their reports and boost their productivity.

According to him, the event organised is a demonstration of her commitment, zeal and passion in the discharge of her duties .

“We should endeavor to go beyond our limits in everything we do. Based on her own initiative, good work, she has been able to achieve much.

“It is what you make of your best that determines whether you excel or not. You can be anywhere, but the most important thing is your determination to succeed,” he said.

He restated the commitment of the agency towards supporting its staff in the discharge of their duties.

In her presentation on ‘Fostering Mentorship Amongst Female Reporters’, NAN Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Mrs Hadiza Aliyu, urged reporters to imbibe Perseverance, Dedication and Faith (PDF) to learn and excel in the media profession.

Aliyu listed some benefits of mentorship to include increase in self confidence, self awareness, communication skills, better personal network and exposure to new and different perspectives to solving problems.

Similarly, Ms Sadiya Hamza, Head of Judiciary Desk, while discussing on “Building the capacity of the Female Reporter in the discharge of her duties and for leadership positions”, encouraged them to be open-minded and strive towards learning on the job.

Hamza tutored female reporters on how to navigate between their jobs, family responsibilities and other commitment to enable them excel in various positions and discharge their work effectively.

“You need to come out of your comfort zone, package yourselves by learning from various courses around, engaging in editorial duties and putting in your best,” she said.

Also, Mr Isaac Aregbesola, Senior Editor and Contents Manager, NAN Website, while speaking on “Skills that make Reporters Outstanding in their Duties,” stressed the need for mental stability and alertness to enable them perform well.

Aregbesola also highlighted the need for reporters to have digital journalism skills, knowledge on the use of social media, persistence, research skills, problem solving skills and journalism knowledge.

On her part, Ms Martha Agas, the convener of the seminar, said the event was aimed at educating reporters on strategies to navigate their work and other responsibilities for better performance.

NAN reports that 49 management staff and reporters participated in the training.(NAN)

Edited by Josephine Obute/Sadiya Hamza