Month: March 2024

 

Flowerbudnews
Pastor Alex Ogundipe of the Cherubim & Seraphim (C&S) Movement Church Worldwide, Daki-Biyu District, Kubwa Branch, says Easter signifies the celebration of life over death.

Pastor Ogundipe, the Senior Pastor and Leader In charge of the church, stated this on Sunday in his Easter Sermon titled: “The Great Conqueror” in Abuja.

According to him, there would have been no Christianity without the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

He said his resurrection perfected the Christian’s faith

“Therefore, the requirement to enter the kingdom of God is to accept Jesus as Christ and saviour.

“That is the only condition and the key to the eternal life,” he said.

Enumerating the significance of resurrection, Ogundipe said “It confirms that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was accepted.

“Jesus said he laid down his life voluntarily so that he could take it back for the redemption of our sins.

“That Jesus rose from the death means that we have an advocate.

“Because Jesus rose, there is a reconciliation between us and God.”

The clergyman recalled that through Adam, man sinned against God, but through Jesus, man was reconciled back to God.

“Therefore, the resurrection of Jesus is more important than his birth,” he said, urging everyone to accept Christ’s teachings and turned to God.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

 

By Flowerbudnews

The Joint Task Force “Operation UDO KA” has raided most notorious Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed Eastern Security Network (ESN) Monday Oluchi-Ogu Camp also known as B44 Camp in Imo.

The troops recovered three Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), one RPG bomb, one motorcycle, seven Baofeng handheld radios, local jewelries, a foreign ATM card, two SIM cards, two voter’s cards, plate numbers of stolen vehicles and a toolbox from the camp.

This is contained in a statement issued on Sunday in Enugu by Lt.-Col. Jonah Unuakhalu for Joint Task Force Operation UDO KA.

 

Unuakhalu said that the raid which commenced on Thursday, March 28, was aimed at clearing known IPOB/ESN camp located at the border of Njaba River bothering Awo-Omama community in Oru East LGA and Ezoiha community in Mbaitoli LGA of Imo.

“During the clearance operations that continued on Friday, March 29; troops came in contact with the criminals.

“Due to the superior fire power, the terrorists were forced to flee into the nearby bushes with various degrees of injuries and gunshot wounds.

“Troops further encountered and detonated some of the planted Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) meant to hinder troops movements,” he said.

The spokesman of the operation said that it was disheartening to discover that some innocent Nigerians reported kidnapped were gruesomely murdered and buried in shallow graves in the camp without any form of dignity.

“As part of the Nigerian Army’s Civil Military Cooperation Relations, forensic analysis of some of the exhumed corpses will be done for a befitting burial,” he said.

He said that the Force Commander of Joint Task Force Operation UDO KA, Maj.-Gen. Hassan Dada, wish to assure all citizens of the South-East of the Nigerian Army’s commitments to ensure peace and stability in the region.

“The general public is enjoined to continue in providing timely, reliable and credible information through its toll free line -193 – and press Option 2 to speak directly to a representative,” he added.

 

Hon. Peller Urges Nigerians To Choose Love Over Hatred.

By Adewale Owoade

Honourable Shina Peller, a member of the House of Representatives at the ninth Assembly, has urged Nigerians to choose love over hatred, peace over violence and good over evil in the spirit of Easter.

The Ayedero of Yorubaland, made this call on Sunday while congratulating Christians on the occasion of the 2024 Easter celebration.

Peller, the former lawmaker stated further, that Easter symbolises victory over loss, forgiveness over malice, love over hatred, gain over pain, joy over sadness, peace over violence as well as good over evil.

Furthermore, the Oke Ogun-born businessman cum politician urged all to embrace all the good things that Jesus Christ represented which he said include peace, love, humility, forgiveness, tolerance, patience and charity.

In the same vein, he enjoined everyone to reach out to the needy, rekindle the hope of the hopeless and touch lives positively in whatever way they can during and after Easter.

The statement read in full:

“Happy Easter to my Christian friends and fans both at home and in the diaspora. To God be the glory for witnessing the moment.

“Easter symbolizes victory over loss, forgiveness over sin, love over hatred, gain over pain, hope over hopelessness, joy over distress, belief over disbelief, peace over violence and good over evil. So, as you celebrate, I urge you all to embrace all the good things that Easter represents as true followers of Jesus Christ (Peace be unto him).

“In addition, always remember that Jesus Christ, who was the main reason for Easter celebration, represented and preached peace throughout his lifetime. His act of humility, forgiveness, tolerance, charity, patience and love for humanity knew no bound and should be emulated by all, irrespective of our religious status.

“Importantly, in whatever way we can, let’s spread love around, reach out to the needy, put smiles on the faces of the depressed, rekindle the hope of the hopeless, and touch lives positively during this Easter celebration and even after. May God make it possible for us. Amen.

“Once again, I wish everyone of you a fantastic Easter celebration and May we witness many more on earth. Amen.”

By Taiye Olayemi

Some Indian professionals in Lagos, on Saturday, held traditional prayers for the success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the country’s forthcoming election.

The prayer session was organised by the Overseas Friends of Bharatiya Janata Party (OFBJP), at Geeta Ashram, Lekki, Lagos.

Sanjay Srivastava, President, OFBJP, said the prayer, “Havan, Hanumaan Chalisawas”, was part of efforts to show support for the prime minister and to guarantee his success in the forthcoming Indian election.

According to Srivastava, Modi deserves to emerge winner of the elections as he has been a democratic leader who prioritises the welfare of Indians.

Also, Praveen Kumar, General Secretary, OFBJP said the prime minister was capable of making India the top economy in the next few years.

Kumar said Modi had assured Indians of a guaranteed welfare; abrogation of article 370, an end of era of exclusion; empowering the Annadatas; a promising ecosystem for the Amrit Peedhi and more.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that India’s election is slated to hold from April 19 to June 1.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been leading India since 2014 and will be contesting for his third term in the forthcoming election. (NAN) (nannews.ng)

 

By Biola Lawal
Flowerbudnews: The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye has been commended for placing high emphasis on the growth and development of Nigeria’s local Pharmaceutical industry.

Mrs Josephine  Dayilim who is the NAFDAC Director, Northwest Zone, gave the commendation while answering questions in an exclusive interview with Flowerbudnews on NAFDAC efforts, achievements and activities in the past six years.

The Director noted that under Prof. Adeyeye, NAFDAC has now placed  ”a great focus on strengthening of the local pharmaceutical companies through international best practices with emphasis on local manufacturing”.

She disclosed that through the initiative of Prof. Adeyeye, NAFDAC now helped local Pharmaceutical industries and manufacturers standardize their operations and productions with World Health Organisation (WHO) assisted audit programmes,

The Director stated that NAFDAC connection of the factories to WHO was now making Nigeria’s Pharmaceuticals  to be among the certified companies in terms of turnout of quality  and safe products.

(Mrs Josephine  Dayilim, NAFDAC Director, Northwest Zone)

‘The gradual strengthening of the  pharmaceutical  industry is yielding result as exemplified  in the recent WHO prequalification of a pediatric product of a local manufacturer, the first in West and Central Africa,”’ Mrs Dayilim stated.

Speaking further on the transformation that is enhancing NAFDAC status locally and globally in the past few years, She  said that  the  culture  of NAFDAC  had changed to  a “Customer-focused   and  Agency-minded” establishment to safeguard the health of the nation.

She also said that NAFDAC under Prof Adeyeye has achieved a ”paradigm shift for access to medicines which included the introduction  of innovative reforms such as the 5+5  policy,

The expansion of NAFDAC’s  ceiling list to thirty-four (34) products (aimed at increasing  access to quality medicine through local  manufacturing),  the new policy  on  establishment   of  Pharmaceutical   Plants  in  Nigeria,   the  centralized  GMP inspection for Pharma plants and Good Distribution Practice (GDP) inspections.

”The  ongoing  transformative  leadership  is   reflected  in the  strengthening  of  grassroots pharmacovigilance  or Post-Marketing  Safety Monitoring,  expansion  of risk-based post marketing  surveillance,

”The  introduction  of a Dossier Management  System  (an online solution   that  streamlines  the  dossier),   leading  in  Africa  the  development  and use  of Traceability Information System – a GS 1-driven technology – to give  COVID-19 vaccines and ATM  commodities’   supply chain visibility  and mitigate  substandard  and falsified medicines, as part of restructuring toward  ML4 and WLA status,’: the Director stated.’:

She said that the DG had also  ‘:led  the  Agency  in  strengthening  of  the  Food  industry  through emphasis  on Food Safety, evidence-based Chemicals and Pesticides Management”.

The Director said that the DG had also inaugurated Nigerian  Herbal Medicine  Product Committee  (HMPC)  as a means of fostering research involving herbal practitioners and academic researchers while the intellectual property  is protected.

She said that NAFDAC ultimate goal with the DG’s initiative ”is to turn complementary alternative medicines  into a research-driven,  regulation controlled commercially viable commodities.”

Mrs Dayilim stated that the DG had nstitutionalised Quality Management system (QMS), Increased staff training and standardised destruction of Unwholesome  and Fake regulated products ·worth billions of naira across all geopolitical Zones.

She noted that NAFDAC Introduction of the use of track and trace technology to stamp out substandard and falsified medicines and other pharmaceutical  products was yielding results.

The Director disclosed that the DG had also strengthened  stakeholders  engagements with all these resulting in attainment  of ISO  9001-2015   in 2019,  yearly re-certification,  and WHO Maturity Level 3 (ISO 9004) in 2022,  a recognition as a well-functioning Agency.

She particularly commended Prof Adeyeye for her efforts in the  area  of  Staff  welfare, saying; ‘:the  DG  has  introduced   a  number   of  commendable compensation  strategies to boost the morale of her workers amongst which are; yearly staff recognition award, retirement benefits for NAFDAC retirees and stipends for laboratory staff”.

‘:The DG has also Improved  interpersonal  relationship with staff e.g.  Expression of emotional  intelligence by
the DG during the loss of loved ones by reaching out to staff personally,” she disclosed.

The DG had built more  offices  across  the  country,  providing  a  more  conducive  working environment and institutionaliztion of QMS, Mrs Dayilim noted.

The Director said that Prof. Adeyeye had also  ensured  timely promotion  after examination  and decentralization/digitization  of the exam process, making it more transparent and reliable.

However, on areas to further improve NAFDAC services to Nigerians, Mrs  emphasized the need for provision of internet facilities (Galaxy backbone) in all NAFDAC office.

She also advocated further improvement in staff allowances, increase in the workforce (ROII, ROI and SROs),  increment of budgetary allocation and Provision of PPE (overalls).