Month: October 2023

Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta has called for proper funding of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to enable it to carry out its responsibility of organising credible elections devoid of interference.

Okowa made the call on Friday in Asaba in his presentation during the executive session of the ongoing 14th All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) holding in Asaba.

According to him, the electoral body cannot carry out is constitutional duties of conducting free, fair and credible election if it is not financially independent.

“We cannot have a credible election if the electoral umpire is incapacitated to carry out its functions of ensuring credible elections.

“As a nation, we have an obligation to make INEC truly independent by ensuring the commission is fully and adequately funded.

“In a situation where the electoral body go hand-in-cap begging for funds from the executive, it makes it difficult to guarantee credibility of electoral processes,” he said.

Okowa said that when an electoral body was constrained to carry out its functions, it exposed it to the control of the executive and the tendency to compromise its integrity.

He said: “If INEC should be answerable to anybody, it should be the legislature and not the executive.

“If we must have an independent electoral body, we must give it all necessary assistance it desires.”

The governor also noted that credibility of elections in Nigeria would remain a mirage, as long as the majority of the citizens lived in abject poverty.

He said that poverty in had contributed to corrupt practices among the electoral officials and voters alike, thereby undermining the process.

Okowa said that many cases of vote buying and other forms of cash inducement in the country’s electoral process were as a result of poverty.

He appealed to the media to join in the fight against acts that tend to compromise the country’s electoral process by exposing them. (NAN)

Vice-President Yemi, Osinbajo says investing in Nigerians is a major pillar of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice-President Laolu Akande said that Osinbajo spoke on Friday in a lecture at Oxford University, UK.

In the lecture entitled: “The Challenges of Human Development in 21st Century Africa’’ the vice-president said that Human Capital Development must be a priority of public policy of governments across Africa.

According to him, this will effectively tackle multidimensional poverty and improve long-term development on the continent.

He highlighted ongoing investments, efforts and plans of the Nigerian government and the progress it had made in improving the country’s Human Capital Development indices and investment climate.

He said that the National Social Investment Programmes (N-SIP) had also made huge impact, calling on African governments to unlock other opportunities to significantly achieve improved standards of living.

“All over Africa, the political will to better the lot of our restive populations is evident, innovative ideas are also in abundance.

“If we keep our focus, especially on good governance, the next two decades may truly be the African decades.

“Governments are also best placed to deploy the public policy tools required to bring about synergy between growth objectives and social needs,’’ Osinbajo said.

The vice-president also said that the administration’s N-SIP would continue to make policies and initiatives to improve Human Capital Development in Nigeria.

“The major plank of the Federal Government’s approach to empowerment is to improve financial inclusion.

“Our Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) is an important tool for financially empowering small businesses, artisans, market women, petty traders and table top traders.

“Over the past two years, through the N-Power Programme, the largest post tertiary employment programme in Africa, we have been able to offer skills development programmes digitally to more than 500,000 young citizens between the ages of 18 years and 35 years.

“We have set a target of skilling 10 million Nigerians by 2023’’, he said.

Osinbajo said that by the end of the year, two million petty traders nationwide were expected to benefit from the TraderMoni, which provided them collateral and interest-free N10, 000 loans.

He added that a total of N55 billion had been disbursed to 250,000 farmers on the platform of  the administration’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme scheme, which provided subsidised credit to small holder farmers.

At the event, Osinbajo also inaugurated the International Advisory Board of Oxford University’s African Studies Centre in the School of Global and Area Studies.(NAN)

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Niger on Saturday called on citizens, governments in all levels and the private sector, to take proactive measures on disaster reduction in the country.

Alhaji Aliyu Kanfindangi, the NEMA Head of Operations in charge of Niger and Kwara, made this appeal to commemorate the observance of International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Kanfindangi, in a statement, disclosed that the agency’s focus was in line with this year’s theme — “Reducing the Economic Loss of Disasters’’.

He noted that extreme weather condition arising from climate change as well as natural disaster had caused huge economic loss to many people.

He urged stakeholders to cultivate the habit of taking proactive measures aimed at disaster risk reduction and preventing loss of lives and property.

International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction is observed on Oct.13 to highlight the way people and communities around the world reduce exposure to disasters and to raise awareness about the risks involved in it.(NAN)

A U.S.-based Nigerian heart surgeon, Dr Jonathan Nwiloh, said that he had carried out free heart surgeries for no fewer than 200 indigent Nigerians in need of life-saving interventions.

Nwiloh told the News Agency of Nigeria that the open heart surgeries were carried out through his foundation, Joe Nwiloh Heart Foundation, in the last 15 years.

The Nigerian founder of the foundation said that he had a passion to help advance the field of cardiovascular surgery in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.

He said: “Over the last 15 years since reintroducing open heart surgery in Nigeria, I have been performing free open heart surgeries for indigents who were otherwise doomed to untimely death without these life-saving surgeries.

“We have performed free heart surgeries to more than 200 indigents and also trained hundreds on emergency cardiovascular resuscitation for cardiac arrest victims,’’ he said.

According to World Health Organisation, cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of death worldwide while in Africa, it is second to HIV and AIDS and projected to become the overall number one killer over the next decade.

Nwiloh said that because more than 70 per cent of the populations of sub-Saharan Africa live below poverty level, majority of patients needing this life-saving modern surgery do not have access and often die prematurely.

“Joe Nwiloh Heart Foundation was founded to help tackle some of these societal challenges, which we have been championing over the last 15 years.

“To extend the benefits to more people, we are trying to form partnerships and solicit support for expansion of our various programmes to transform more lives,’’ he said.

He explained that the foundation had partnered the Federal Government and several state Governments, including Lagos, Kaduna State and Anambra since 2003, when Nigeria was in dire need.

“More than 15 years ago, I reintroduced the practice of open heart surgery in Nigeria after the only programme at University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Nsukka, shut down over a decade earlier

“I subsequently helped to establish several heart surgery programmes after demonstrating that it could be performed safely in Nigeria with acceptable outcomes leading to its proliferation across the country.

“This led to my partnership with Anambra Government under then Gov. Peter Obi, with the establishment of Dr Joe Nwiloh Heart Center at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Adazi.

“The hospital is presently the only heart surgery programme in the whole South-East and South-South geo-political zones outside of University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu.

“We are starting in Nigeria but intend to extend the training to other countries in sub Saharan Africa; we are also forming partnerships with other Nigerian and international non-governmental organizations,’’ he said.(NAN)

President Muhammadu Buhari has secured 2,931,235 votes at the just concluded presidential primary election held across the 484 wards in the 44 local government areas of Kano State.

The figure is contained in a statement signed by Mr Abba Anwar, the Chief Press Secretary to Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje, and made available to newsmen in Kano on Saturday.
According to him, Ganduje announced the result of the election at the party collation centre.

He explained that the governor retired to the state party secretariat, which served as the collation centre for the exercise after casting his vote at his Ganduje Ward in Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of the state.

Ganduje assured Kano’s total support to the candidature of Buhari as the sole candidate who will carry the party’s flag come 2019.

“Our support is without any doubt looking at the result of this all-encompassing and highly participatory process,’’ Anwar quoted the governor saying after announcing the result.

He attributed the massive turnout of registered party members during the primary to stakeholders’ effort at mobilising party members to consolidate the gains of direct primary election process.

“People believe that President Muhammadu Buhari is up and doing. While APC manifesto is a clear and direct manifestation of Buhari’s love for the country.

“Ours is just to replicate the good work enunciated by this complete gentleman, our dear leader,” Ganduje said in the statement. (NAN

Mr Victor Emuankhagbon, the Chairman of Esan South East Local Government Area of Edo, on Saturday confirmed that six deaths were recorded in the flooded communities in the area.

Emuankhagbon disclosed this when he received a delegation of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and officials of the Federal Ministry of Health at Ubiaja.

He said from the casualties, one of the bodies was yet to be recovered from the flooded area.

He said no fewer than 42 communities, 8,000 houses and 35,150 were affected by the flood.

The council boss, who also bemoaned the time of response by the concerned agencies, called for a change of attitude in the manner specific responsibilities were handled by those mandated to implement them.

He also called for effective measures against natural disaster such as flooding.

According to the chairman, “the time has come for those saddled with responsibilities that affect Nigerians to focus more on long term plans rather than short term solutions.

“We are reacting to the crisis in the same old ways by adopting quick fix, temporary approach, thereafter, we all go home and relax until it happens again.

“We do this over and over again. The truth is that the time has come for us to start planning ahead because if we fail to plan, we are planning to fail.” (NAN)

Members of Lagos State House of Assembly have adopted Mr Babajide Sanwo-olu to be chosen as the candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the party’s governorship primary election on Sunday.

Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode, who is seeking a second term in office, has been at loggerheads with party stakeholders in the state.

Mrs Adefunmilayo Tejuosho, the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Strategy, Publicity and Security, said in a statement that the lawmakers had resolved to support the governorship ambition of Sanwo-olu.

Tejuosho said that the decision was taken at a parliamentary meeting at Lateef Jakande Auditorium in the House of Assembly Complex on Saturday under the chairmanship of the Speaker, Mr Mudashiru Obasa.

Tejuoso said out of the 40 members of the House, 36 were present at the meeting and endorsed the decision, adding that the statement was duly signed all the lawmakers.

Tejuosho said that the lawmakers were in agreement with the leadership of the party and the Governor’s Advisory Council which earlier endorsed Sanwo-olu for the governorship ticket.

Ambode’s second term ambition has been facing opposition within his party following speculations that he had fallen out of favour with his political godfather, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

Tinubu is said allegedly supporting Sanwo-Olu, a former commissioner in the state, who has already declared his intention to contest the governorship on election on the platform of APC.

Analysts view the development as a trying political season for Ambode, who has since announced his readiness for the party’s direct primary on Sept. 30 to slug it out with his opponents.

Another APC governorship aspirant in the state, Mr Femi Hamzat, a former commissioner for works, has reportedly stepped down his ambition to support Sanwo-olu.

Local government chairmen and former council sole administrators in the state are among groups rooting for Sanwo-olu to succeed Ambode in 2019. (NAN)