September 11, 2024

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Anti-open Grazing Bill: Ohaneze Ndigbo youths hail Senate’s 2nd reading

 

Some members of the Youth Wing of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide during an interactive session with newsmen on Friday in Awka
Some members of the Youth Wing of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide during an interactive session with newsmen on Friday in Awka

By Lucy Osuizigbo-Okechukwu

The Youth Wing of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide has lauded the Senate for ensuring that the Bill seeking to establish ranches at herders’ states scaled the second reading.

Mr Chukwuma Okpalaezeukwu, the Acting National Youth Leader of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, made the commendation during an interactive session with newsmen in Awka on Friday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the bill was sponsored by Sen. Titus Zam (APC- Benue North-West Senatorial District).

It passed through the second reading on Wednesday.

It is entitled: “A Bill to Establish a National Animal Husbandry and Ranches Commission for the Regulation, Management, Preservation and Control of Ranches Throughout Nigeria; and for Connected Purposes, 2024”.

Okpalaezeukwu said that the bill would serve as an antidote for the perennial clashes between farmers and nomadic herders.

He described farmer-herder clashes as a recurring crisis that had claimed lives and property and affected the country’s economy.

According to him, the establishment of ranches will control and manage the incessant and unnecessary crisis.

“The basic responsibility of any government is to protect the lives and property of its citizens and open grazing is detrimental to it.

“Rearing of cattle is not an ethnic phenomenon, it has become a matter of national security and not something to be sentimental about.

“There are many countries that produce more cattle and do other dairy businesses than Nigeria but do not encounter such crisis, and that is because they do not engage in open grazing.

“We urge Nigerians to consider ranching as a viable option at this critical time,” Okpalaezeukwu said.

Edited by Florence Onuegbu/Sam Oditah

General News

Soludo leads 1,000-man health walk in Awka

 

By Chimezie Anaso

Gov. Chukwuma Soludo of on Anambra has called on the people of the state to always find time to engage in physical exercises in the interest of their health.

 

 

 

Soludo made the call after leading no fewer than 1,000 residents on a monthly walk organised by the Anambra State Sports Development Commission at the Awka Township Stadium on Saturday.

 

 

 

The theme of the monthly walk is: “Solution Walk For Healthy Living”.

 

 

 

The governor said apart from going to hospital to access medical care, routine exercise is a cheaper way of maintaining good health.

 

 

 

He said his administration is determined to evolve a healthy population while promising to lead the walk at least one Saturday in every month.

 

 

 

“We shall make this a routine and I will be here to walk with you at least one Saturday every month.

 

 

 

“A healthy youth, healthy women, healthy adults and healthy senior citizens population makes healthy nation,” he said.

 

 

 

Soludo commended corps members who turned out in their numbers for keying into the exercise and urged them to imbibe the Anambra spirit of hard work and enterprise.

 

 

 

“Develop a passion as a corps member, learn marketable skills and you will become a creator of value and employer of labour very soon.

 

 

 

“About 100 corps members are going through our “one youth twoWwoWwww“ programme, I encourage you to continue because in Anambra, we build people on a sustainable basis,” said.

 

 

 

On his part, Patrick-Estate Onyedum, Chairman of Anambra State Sports Development Commission, thanked Soludo for approving the programme and demonstrating his love for sports by identifying directly with the people.

 

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Onyedum promised to make subsequent editions bigger, better and rotational across the major cities in the state subject to the approval of the governor.

 

 

 

He thanked participants at the event for coming out en masse to walk with the governor while urging them to make it a habit on an individual basis.

 

“The turn-out today was impressive, roughly 1,000 people, we hope to hit 10,000 soon as we progress because, with the approval of Mr Governor, it is now a monthly affair,” he said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

 

 

Education

Anambra: Staff of NAU protest 4 years of unpaid salaries

 

 

 

By Lucy Osuizigbo-Okechukwu

Some staff of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU),Awka, Anambra, on Thursday staged a peaceful protest over non-payment of their four years salaries.

The protesters lamented that since they got their employment letters in 2019, they  had yet to be captured in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that members of the group displayed placards with different inscriptions.

Some of the inscriptions included : ‘Federal Government, do come to our rescue’, ‘It’s been 4 years of employment with NAU without pay’ and ‘Senate and House of Reps, our case needs urgent attention’.

Others read: ‘We are dying of hunger and depression’, ‘We are now Debtors’, ‘Presidency and Head of Service, save our souls’, among others.

Addressing newsmen, the group’s spokesperson, Mr Echezonam Ibezi, said he could not understand why they were yet to get their salaries after going through the processes of employment.

“Since Jan.1, 2019, when we got our employment letters and resumed work, we have not been paid a dime till today.The school management said we have to be captured in IPPIS.

“At some point, about 120 persons were sent text messages to go to Enugu for IPPIS capturing and after that, the remaining 1,311 persons were yet to be captured.

“They keep saying they are working on it, but this is four years running, nothing has been done, no salaries.

“We come to work regularly, the students I taught from year one have all graduated. What is our crime? We are suffering, many of us cannot afford to pay our rents and pay other bills.

“We are holding this protest to call the attention of the National Assembly, the HOS and Nigerians, to our plights. The Federal government should come to our rescue,” he said.

Responding, Prof. Joseph Ikechebelu, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, NAU, thanked the protesting staff for being civil.

He said that the management was working to resolve the problem and assured them that their concerns would be considered (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

 

Edited by Vivian Ihechu

Economy/Business

Why we staggered our online verification- PTAD

By Francis Onyeukwu
The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) says staggering “I am Alive Confirmation Solution” for pensioners’ verification is to avoid network failure.
Dr Chioma Ejikeme, Executive Secretary, PTAD, gave the explanation at the South-East Stakeholders Engagement Forum in Awka.
Ejikeme said the agency came up with the “I Am Alive Confirmation Solution”,  to transit from manual to automated system of verification.
According to her, for efficient and effective delivery, and prevention a heavy traffic on the website, PTAD has staggered the use of the Confirmation Solution as follows.
“Police Pensioners (April 14 to October 13, 2023), Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pensioners (June 1 to December 31), Civil Service Pensioners ( July 1 to January 31, 2024) and Parastatals Pensioners; August 1 to February 28, 2024”, she said.
She urged pensioners to note the scheduled dates as they concern their respective departments.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was attended by pensioners and Stakeholders from Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo and Anambra.
Ejikeme, who reviewed the activities of the agency since she took over four years ago, said PTAD had achieved a lot in 10 years of its establishment.
“No pensioner who is alive should be left out of this very critical and important exercise that would determine a pensioner’s eligibility to continue to receive pension.
“Our resolve is to ensure that no eligible pensioner is left out. PTAD wishes to inform all our pensioners in the United States of America, Canada and the United Kingdom, that a survey is being carried out by the Directorate to ascertain the number of pensioners in those countries,” she said.
She advised pensioners living in those countries to visit the PTAD website and take part in the survey, saying “they should log on to our website – www.ptad.gov.ng to access the link for the survey”.
Chief Godwin Abumisi, President, Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), commended the transformational leadership of PTAD, saying that pensioners are better treated now than before.
Abumisi particularly praised the “I Am Alive Confirmation Solution” initiative by PTAD, noting that the policy has reduced the sufferings of pensioners.
Mrs Nneka Obiamulu, a director in the agency, said there was a lot of mistrust and aggression in the way pensioners related with pension managers, but said that much has improved.
She noted that the huge debt owed pensioners due to challenges in the verification and profiling of pensioners before the establishment of the agency have been resolved.
“We have visited more than 800 pensioners who are incapacitated in their homes and hospitals and our plans is to continue to improve,” she said.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
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