The Executive Members of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) have directed their members to resume work at the nation’s seaports and oil and gas platform.

Last week, the union had earlier ordered closure of all the nation’s Seaports, Jetties, Oil & Gas platforms and Terminals in compliance with the organized labour’s directive on the indefinite strike which was to commence on Tuesday, October 3.

 

President-General of MWUN, Prince Adewale Adeyanju, in a statement on Monday night, said an agreement had been reached with the government and the strike would no longer hold.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have jointly suspend the indefinite strike billed for October 3, 2023 following the removal of fuel subsidy.

 

“It would be recalled that the Nigeria Labour Congress had directed its affiliate member Unions across the country to mobilize and shut down the country following the refusal of government to adhere to the seven points demand made by the NLC and the TUC to ameliorate the suffering of the teeming Nigerian Workers and the impoverished masses of the country”, a statement signed by MWUN media head, Com John Kennedy Ikemefuna

.members of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress are still in a meeting with the federal government as of the time of filing this report

 

By Aderogba George
Abuja:. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has debunked a news publication in an online media alleging non-establishment of testing laboratory for food fortification.
A statement by NAFDAC Resident Media Consultant, Mr Olusayo Akintola, in Abuja on Monday stated that the attention of the agency was drawn to the Sept. 30 publication by “Flowerbud NEWS” in respect of the subject matter.
Akintola stated that the publication claimed that this assertion was made by The Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) in collaboration with the Civil Society Legislative Advisory Centre (CSLAC) and eHealth.
The resident media consultant however debunked the position of the organisations about NAFDAC, saying it has laboratories for analyses of micronutrients in foods.
“I wish to state unequivocally that NAFDAC has laboratories for analyses of micronutrients in food and had been conducting annual survey on food fortification in Nigeria for the past years.
“Particularly, the Central Food Laboratory has international accredited micronutrient laboratory units with the state-of-the-art equipment.
“The laboratory has the Vitamins units for testing of vitamins in food which include Vitamin premix and fortified food vehicles.
“Vitamins tested include fat soluble- Vitamin A; water soluble – thiamine, riboflavin, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, cyanocobalamin, folate.
“This unit is equipped with latest versions of Agilent and Chromaster brands of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).
“The Laboratory has the Metal unit equipped with latest models of Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS), Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES), Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS),” he said.
He stated that the metal unit analyses all the nutritional and heavy toxic metals in foods including the fortification vehicles.
He said that the units have well-trained staff that are technically equipped to handle the equipment in the analysis of micronutrients using internationally accepted protocols.
According to him, the test scopes of the units are accredited by American National Accreditation Board (ANAB) since 2018 and this has been sustained and renewed annually.
He said that this fact can be verified from the ANAB website.
Akintola said that the laboratory along other NAFDAC laboratories in other parts of the country handles over 10,000 samples of fortified foods in the 2023 Food Fortification Survey.
He disclosed that the result of the samples are presented to the National Fortification Alliance (NFA), adding that NFA consists of representatives of the industries – Flourmills, sugar processing and vegetable oil industries.
Others, according to him are government and regulatory agencies and donor partners.
Akintola said that NAFDAC does not and had never contracted the analysis of its micronutrients or any parameter of its regulated products to private laboratory since the assumption of office of Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye as its Director- General. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng) / Flowerbudnews

 

 

By Flowerbudnews
Enugu:  Sen. Osita Ngwu (PDP), representing Enugu West Senatorial Zone, says he is committed to boosting basic education in his constituency through quiz competition among students.

 

Ngwu told journalists on Monday in Enugu that the quiz competition was in fulfillment of his campaign promises to the people during the electioneering campaign.

 

He said that the competition would kick-off on Oct. 4, 2023, in Awgu Local Government Area in Enugu State.

Ngwu, who spoke through his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on human capital development, Mr Francis Eneiga, said that the quiz competition would involve all the secondary schools in the senatorial zone.

 

He said: “We are committed to encouraging excellence among the student population in my zone. Education is key to the development of every society.

 

“I, Distinguished Senator Osita Ngwu, made several promises to my people in the course of my campaign and I have since hit the ground running.

 

“One of such promises I made is to boost education, make our people develop more interest in pursuing excellence through education; that is the essence of the school quiz”.

He said that the winning school of the quiz competition would smile home with N500,000; while the second position would get N300,000 and the third position would receive N200,000.

 

According to him, there will also be a consolation prize of N50,000 for the fourth position.

 

“There would be academic sponsorship for teachers (lecturers) of the winning school,” he added.

 

It would be recalled that 10 students from the constituency had been enjoying higher institution scholarships courtesy of Sen. Osita Ngwu. (Flowerbudnews)

 

 

By Flowerbudnews
Enugu: The Minister of Works, Chief Dave Umahi, has congratulated Gov. Peter Mbah on his victory at the Enugu State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, while calling on opposition parties to stop distracting the governor.

 

Umahi, who is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said it was not about the party, but about the quality of the individual Enugu State people chosen to lead them.

 

The minister, who said this when he inspected the collapsed bridge at the Enugu end of the Enugu -Port Harcourt Expressway, advised the opposition in the state to stop wasting their time contesting Mbah’s divine and people’s mandate.

 

He also said that Mbah’s initiative to commence the reconstruction and dualisation of the Enugu-Abakaliki Federal Road up to the Ebonyi State Boundary was another display of people-driven leadership by a private sector person in governance.

 

According to him, I am happy that you came from the private sector. There is a very serious high hope by the steps you have rolled out.

 

He said: “They are in tandem with the President’s steps and I pledge to support him very seriously and I also pledge to support you. There must be a change. We must reset the country.

 

“I want to publicly say, while congratulating you on the tribunal victory, that whoever is taking you to court must stop wasting their time, as you are clearly the people’s choice and for good reasons.

 

“So, we will continue to support and pray for you, and I urge whoever is distracting you that they should understand the steps of God and know that you are divine and we are very proud of you.”

 

Umahi noted that when a man wants to engage in public affairs, you should find out about his background.

 

“I know Gov. Mbah as a very successful private person and he is going to bring it to bear in this governance of Enugu State

.

“I also believe that what he is bringing to the table will rob off positively and be the pride of Enugu State, the entire South East and of course, the East Central State”, the minister said.

 

He equally commended Mbah for ending sit-at-home in Enugu State, describing it a major step forward for the Igbo nation.

 

“Let me also thank you for being able to courageously stop sit-at-home in Enugu State.

 

“It is a major thing you have done for the Igbo people. It is a major thing you have done for the country”, he added. (Flowerbudnews)

 

By xStanley Nwanosike

Enugu: Troops of the Joint Task Force, South-East, code-named Operation UDO KA II, has cleared four notorious camps of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliates, Eastern Security Network (ESN), in Imo State.

The troops, in the course of the clearance, neutralised two IPOB/ESN members and four of the criminals were arrested.

This is contained in a statement issued on Monday in Enugu by Lt.-Col. Jonah Unuakhalu, acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 82 Division, Nigerian Army, for the Joint Task Force Operation UDO KA II.

Unuakhalu said that the camps cleared are located in three communities – Ihube, Aku and Umulolo – in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State.

He said that the clearance and recovery was carried out on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023.

The army spokesman said that during the clearance operation, troops encountered many Improvised Explosive Device (IEDs) deployed enroute to the camps.

According to him, however, due to superior firepower, the irredentist group members fled into neighbouring forests with gunshot wounds.

“It was discovered that the camps were being used to perpetuate atrocities such as cannibalism, occultic practices and ritual killings to instill fears into law-abiding citizens.

“These were evident from many fresh and old corpses discovered while clearing the entire camps.

“Also, the houses of the two spiritual leaders and herbalists that took to their heels were destroyed.

“Furthermore, the shrine of the wanted terrorist, Amobi Chinoso Okafor, alias Temple, where human sacrifices are being made was destroyed,” he said.

Unuakhalu said that the items recovered from the camps included different denomination of the Biafra currencies, one new power bike, four motorcycles and solar panels.

Others items recovered are POP cements and a petroleum tanker suspected to have been hijacked from hard working Igbo owners (indigenes) trying to make a living.

“Operation UDO KA II will continue combating crime and criminality in accordance with the extant rules and regulations guiding its operations.

“All law-abiding and good citizens of the South-East are enjoined to act against these devilish terrorists by providing timely, credible and reliable information which will lead to ending the menace of insecurity occasioned by activities of the terrorist group in the region.

“Do not be a victim of this sacrilegious. These criminals are desecrating Igboland,” he said. (Flowerbudnews)

 

 

By Biola Lawal
Abuja (Flowerbudnews): The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has achieved total domestication of the analyses of micronutrients in food and in other parameters of regulated products.

Prof. Mojisola Christiana Adeyeye, the NAFDAC Director General, who disclosed this in a press briefing on Monday in Abuja said that since she assumed office as NAFDAC Chief Executive Officer, the agency had never contracted out such analysis..

”I wish to state here that, NAFDAC do not and had never contracted the analyses of its micronutrients or any parameter of it regulated products to private laboratory since my assumption of office as the Director General,” Prof Adeyeye declared.

The NAFDAC Boss was reacting to a news story by Flowerbud NEWS on a reported non-establishment of testing laboratory for fortification by the Agency.

The NAFDAC Boss declared further, ‘:I wish to state unequivocally that NAFDAC has laboratories for analyses of micronutrients in food and had been conducting annual survey on food fortification in Nigeria for the past years”.

Prof Adeyeye stated that in Particular, NAFDAC Central Food Laboratory had international accredited micronutrient laboratory units with the state-of-the-art equipment.

The NAFDAC Boss stated;

”The laboratory has the Vitamins units for testing of vitamins in food which include Vitamin premix and fortified food vehicles.

”Vitamins tested include fat soluble- Vitamin A; water soluble thiamine, riboflavin, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, cyanocobalamin, folate.

”This unit is equipped with latest versions of Agilent and Chromaster brands of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).

”The Laboratory has the Metal unit equipped with latest models of Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS), Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES), Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS).

” The metal unit analyses all the nutritional and heavy toxic metals in food including the fortification vehicles.

”These units have well trained staff that are technically equipped to handle these equipment in the analyses of micronutrients using internationally accepted protocols.

”The test scopes of these units are accredited by American National Accreditation Board (ANAB) since 2018 and this has been sustained and renewed annually. This fact can be verified from the ANAB website” .

Prof. Adeyeye disclosed that the laboratory, along with other NAFDAC laboratories in other parts of the country handled over 10,000 samples of fortified food in the 2023 Food fortification survey.

She said that the result of the samples was presented to the National Fortification Alliance (NFA).

The NFA consist of representatives of the industries Flourmills, Sugar processing, Vegetable oil,etc., government and regulatory agencies, and donor partners. (Flowerbudnews)