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Bola Tinubu's Victory Speech As APC Presidential Candidate

Special Report On Okada Ban In Lagos  

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To better prepare and protect the world from global disease threats, H.E. German Federal Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization Director-General, will today inaugurate the new WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, based in Berlin.

“The world needs to be able to detect new events with pandemic potential and to monitor disease control measures on a real-time basis to create effective pandemic and epidemic risk management,” said Dr Tedros. “This Hub will be key to that effort, leveraging innovations in data science for public health surveillance and response, and creating systems whereby we can share and expand expertise in this area globally.”

Read More :https://mapnews24.com/who-germany-open-hub-for-pandemic-and-epidemic-intelligence-in-berlin/

Ejike dreams of becoming a governor. He arrived in Lagos in January 2020, leaving his parents in Ebonyi state. His brother promised to send him to school. But he’s in Lagos, selling CDs in traffic- just like his brother. Making between N6,000-N10,000 a day, Ejike supports his brother’s family of four. Ejike wants to become a governor in Lagos state. He says his brother promised to send him to school next year. He’s told he can’t go to school this year because of COVID 19. Ejike is 14 years old.

Farouk is 17 years old. His mum sells herbs in Ibadan while his dad is an Alfa (Islamic scholar). He travelled to Lagos on his own and caters to himself, calling passengers at the motor park and sometimes bearing load for money in the market in Oshodi. During the COVID19 lockdown, Farouk says he barely survived. He couldn’t make money as markets were open only temporarily and buses were not moving. He said one of the few women who came to the market fed him throughout the lockdown.

Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent De Paul, an NGO, has appealed to the Federal and State Governments to award bursary to students with disability in tertiary institutions.

Rev. Sister Fidelia Unigwe, the National Coordinator of Child Empowerment Programme of the organisation, made the appeal in Abuja during the NGO's ``Disability Learning Exchange" programme.

She said that the exchange programme was organised for the NGO's local partners, persons with disabilities (PWDs), Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and boards responsible for disability affairs at the State level.

According to Unigwe, the financial support, if awarded yearly, quarterly or monthly as the case may be, will reduce the challenges faced by the PWDs in their academic pursuit.

The Federal Government has begun investigation into the death of a 21-year-old Richard Gbadebo at Ibadan-based factory, Expand Global Manufacturing Limited.

The factory located in the Oluyole area of the city was sealed on Wednesday by officials of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Mr Femi Fatoki, the Federal Controller of Labour, Oyo State Office of the Ministry, said that the factory was sealed following findings of a preliminary investigation.

"Immediately we got knowledge of the accident, we came for a report.

"We wanted to do a kind of investigation to actually know what happened and what led to the accident. We came here but we could not do much.

"All the information we requested for and the document could not be supplied.

"But despite that, we are able to put up a preliminary investigation and it was based on the preliminary investigation that we ordered the sealing up of the factory.

"This order is in conformity with Section 38 of the Nigerian Factory Act. It has been identified as a dangerous workplace and we should seal it up."

Fatoki said that the factory would remain sealed pending the outcome of a more comprehensive investigation report, which would determine whether or not the order would be lifted.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gbadebo was, until his death on the 28th of July, a 300-level student of the University of Ibadan.

The deceased, a factory worker with a third party company - Henkel Nigeria Limited- was reported to have slipped into a soap making machine during production and died.

NAN recalls that Mr Aliyu Jubril, the Human Resources Manager of the company, had in a statement described the loss as 'a sad development'.

Jubril, who sympathised with the family and friends of the deceased, stated that the company was working closely with the police and Ministry of Labour to ascertain the cause of the tragic incident, in spite of the stringent safety protocols in place for all workers.

He stated that the company's representatives had met with the family, along with representatives from the student council to express their deepest condolences.

Jubril, in the statement, also gave assurance that the company would continue to engage with the family of the deceased to provide necessary support.

Dr Adaora Obu, a staff of the ministry, said the preliminary investigation was inconclusive, but was optimistic that a statement would be issued upon conclusion of the ongoing full investigation.

She said that some contraventions, which were identified, had been communicated to the company manager in writing.

"We are still investigating, looking into the autopsy report and all that.

"When we finish with the investigation, I am sure, there will be a statement," Obu said. 

Credit : (NAN)

virtual conference

Quotes from Speakers:

The Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Dr Hadiza Balarabe: (the role of Government)

The issue of trust in public institutions is not peculiar to Nigeria alone as many countries around the world are also under pressure to meet rising citizens expectations. She however stated that the Kaduna Government has rebuilt trust by providing functioning primary healthcare centres, laying-off incompetent teachers and revamping the education system in the State. She noted that signing up with the Open Government Partnership has also fostered the state’s culture of transparency and accountability.

Dr Amina Salihu (on the role of Civil Society)

Trust is earned as a result of being accountable, responsive and capable and civil society organisations are strategic pathfinders who need to enable citizens to recognise their right to access basic needs and improved public services and how they can use their voice and actions to drive change.

Dr Joe Abah (on the role of citizens and other issues):

The decline in trust is traceable to a number of things and reasons, and issues like the current corruption allegations in NDDC awarding billions to themselves in so called COVID- palliatives will continue to dispel public trust.

Mr Fisayo Soyombo: On the role of the media

Although the media has a huge responsibility to play, the Government has the bulk of the job. He added  that people who want trust have to earn it.

Most of the things that we consume as news are actually PR. This shows that journalists are being manipulated especially because they are not well paid. Government must be responsible for providing better governance, the media must ensure that public institutions are not deceiving citizens by engaging more investigative reporting. While stressing the need for more investigative reporting, he called on the public to support good journalism especially with funding. “If we want a media that is more alive, people have to support good journalism.” He also encouraged journalists to be objective in their reports. He noted that we need a value-reorientation in this country.

Hamzat Lawal, Chief Executive, Connected Development:

In 2019, what we learnt engaging government MDAs post elections informed our overall objective at Connected Development (CODE), which was to begin a campaign that was intended to increase trust among citizens and government. CODE’s strategy was to create platforms for informed debate between public institutions and citizens and also advocate for more government agencies to leverage digital communications to foster trust, increase transparency and ensure better accountability. This has led us to organise this conference that seeks to increase conversations and raise citizens and government’s consciousness towards rebuilding trust.

More than 8.8 million cases have now been reported to WHO, and more than 465,000 people have lost their lives.

“Blood donation is very critical component of patient care, ranging from those we have in Trauma, following road traffic accidents, those that are going for surgeries and those with critical illnesses that require blood transfusion.

“So, it is a very important day for awareness to be raised across the globe and in our own case in the country for need for people to willing, voluntary donate blood.

“Voluntary donors have been found to be safer than those who donate blood for replacement, maybe for family relations and those who are doing it for business.

The consultant emphasised that those who voluntarily donate have blood safer product than those who do it for monetary gain or for relations.

WBDD is a set aside by World Health Organisation (WHO) for member states’ and countries around the world to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products.

It is also a day set aside to thank blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood.

According to WHO, blood is an important resource, both for planned treatments and urgent interventions.

“It can help patients suffering from life-threatening conditions to live longer and with a higher quality of life, and supports complex medical and surgical procedures.

“Blood is also vital for treating the wounded during emergencies of all kinds (natural disasters, accidents, armed conflicts, etc.) and has an essential, life-saving role in maternal and perinatal care.

“A blood service that gives patients access to save blood and blood products in sufficient quantity is a key component of an effective health system.’’

A Consultant Haematologist at the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Uche Nwokwu, has urged Nigerians to donate blood to reduce Coronavirus (COVID-19) fatality and to save lives of those in need of blood.

Nwokwu made the call in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja to commemorate the World Blood Donor Day (WBDD).

WBDD is celebrated every June 14, to raise awareness of the need for save blood and blood products and to thank blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood.

“The people who are dying - the fatalities - are more of those who have underlying diseases and those underlying diseases may require blood transfusion.

“If their haemoglobin concentrations were optimal, they may have survived better than the case as it is now.

“This type of pandemic is very critical because those patients who require blood transfusion, despite the pandemic; they are people that have other illnesses that also require blood.

“The pandemic period is even a time that many more people can donate, if you ask me, I will say, those who can’t donate PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), money, can donate blood.

The Medical Laboratory Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) says it has not approved any Rapid Test Kits for the purpose of diagnosis and surveillance of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.

The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of MLSCN, Dr Tosan Erhabor, stated this at a news conference on the Report of Pre-market Validation of SARS-COV-2 Infection (COVID-19) Rapid Test Kits in Nigeria on Friday in Abuja.

According to the registrar, the council has validated four Rapid Test Kits and did not meet expected performance to be used in the country.

Also speaking, Mrs Nwandu Mba, the Director of Laboratory Services, NCDC, emphasised that no rapid test kit had been approved for use in the country.

“Even if we have rapid test kits approved later; it will only serve as a guide. We will still continue to use Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for testing the virus,’’ she said.

She said that NCDC was also working to validate GeneXpert machines for testing of COVID-19 to complement the PCR being currently used. (NAN)

The National Assembly (NASS) has advocated for the establishment of  Fund Committee to manage donations from individuals and organisations in support of the ongoing crusade against COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

The Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, made the call on Tuesday, at the end of a strategic engagement between President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of NASS over national issues including the Coronavirus disease at the State House, Abuja.

Lawan, who was in company of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, stated that the committee when constituted would ensure proper and effective utilisation of the various donations made so far.

``The leadership of the National Assembly has been holding series of meetings with Ministers and the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and this afternoon we had an engagement with the President.

``We discussed with him what we have resolved as leaders of the National Assembly and our opinion on various issues regarding the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria as well as going forward.

“For example, the various donations that we are receiving should go into a single account and should have a fund management committee that would be in charge of releases. Accountability and transparency require that we have that separation.

“It is also an opportunity for us to commend Nigerians and corporate bodies that have given us donations but we believe there should be more coordination as far as the management of the funds donated is concerned.”

Cue out audio 1 (Lawan)

Lawan commended the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 for working hard to curb the spread of the deadly virus in the country.

“I believe the Presidential Task Force is doing a very good job, they have been very proactive and they deserve our commendation,” he added.

On Social Investment Programme, the Senate President called for a review of the way and manner the programme was being implemented to enable more poor and vulnerable citizens benefit from it.

“We also believe that it is time to reform the way and manner we implement the social investment programme.

“This is a very important programme that is meant to help poor and vulnerable Nigerians and we believe that having implemented it for four years or more, we should be reviewing to evaluate the efficacy and efficiency with which we have been implementing the programme.

“I believe that we also need to legislate on how to fight poverty in Nigeria because this is one issue that has been there for quite some time and therefore there is need for us to have a very clear and well spelt out processes and procedures on how to tackle poverty.

“There should be very little or no room for discretion so that we have a programme that will be very transparent and should go deep down to those who really deserve to have the support and should be  such an equitable and fair programme as far the geographical spread across the country is concerned,” he said.

On palliative measures, the Senate President said the National Assembly is on standby to reconvene and deliberate on the issue of the N500 billion stimulus package meant to cushion the effects of COVID-19 proposed by government, when presented to it.

Since 2012, 11 October has been marked as the International Day of the Girl. The day aims to highlight and address the needs and challenges girls' face, while promoting girls' empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights.

The Executive Director, Onelife Initiative for Human Development ' Sola Fagorusi, has called for the establishment of family court in Nigeria to protect the right of children in the country.

Fagorusi said this while speaking as a guest on a radio show by The Development Report.

He stated that it is not enough to pass the law adding that establishment of the court would ensure the compliance and implementation of the child rights.

He, however, added that the lack of social support system could weaken the decision of the court.

“It is not enough to pass the law; it has to be implemented. But another challenge is that in Nigeria, there is no social support system, so if the father or caregiver is arrested and jailed, who will take care of the child after Mr. A has gone to prison?”

Fagorusi explained the Child Rights Act as a legal instrument for parents, caregivers should pay attention to their wards but that is not enough because there could be offenders in this area.

“So, we try to define who a child is. There is a social definition of a child and anyone under the age of 18. Biologically, anyone that is having a mother or father is still a child to the living parents. There is also the legal definition which is about minors. This differs from places to places as there are countries that recognize that people below the age of 16 as children.

“The Child Rights Act is a way of telling people in Nigeria that we have signed on to this treaty and that children should have special care, that there should be laws about the rights of children. But several states in Nigeria are taking a look at having their own versions of the Act.

Guest Name:  Mr. Kolawole Banwo, an Independent Consultant on Natural Resource Management, Chairman, Civil Society Steering Committee of the NEITI Board

“When the citizens are adequately integrated into the government planning process in Nigeria, the budget would deliver services to the people.”

The Federal Team Leader, Engage Citizens Pillar, Partnership to Engage Reform and Learn (ECP-PERL), Mr Greg Anyaegbudike  said the above while addressing members of the civil society organisations and Citizens group at a meeting held in Abuja on Monday as preparatory to public hearing by National Assembly on 2020 budget of Nigeria started on Wednesday.

The Development Report is a program with focus on amplifying and telling impact stories of NGOs/CSOs sector and share news that informs.

This Week on TDR we are giving you news updates around the world within development sector.

Short Break – TDR bed play

On The Highlight

- Climate Innovation: Northern Youths Highlight Solution to Climate Problem in The Region

- LASG Owing Pensioners Since 2016 – Chairman, Lagos NUP

- SDGs fleet greets Greta Thunberg in NYC Harbour

- The YRK Leadership Awards Opens: Nominate a nonprofit leader

In details

Climate Innovation: Northern Youths Highlight Solution to Climate Problem in The Region

In bid to find a solution to climatic problems in North Central Nigeria, youths from the region have highlighted some climatic problems facing the region while also proferring solutions to the climatic problems.

These ideas will proffer better innovative, measurable and bankable solutions to combat these climate change problems.

The youths gathered at a Climate Incubation Hub event in Lafia, Nasarawa in line with the mandate of the Federal Ministry of Environment, through the Department of Climate Change, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Nigeria.

The event was facilitated by the International Climate Change Development Initiative Africa (Climate Wednesday), an environmental youth-led organization championing the creation of a climate-smart generation. 63 Participants from the North Central zone drawn from Abuja, Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau states were in attendance.

LASG Owing Pensioners Since 2016 – Chairman, Lagos NUP

Rev. Remi Johnson, Chairman, Lagos State Council, Nigerian Union of Pensioners, has revealed that since 2016, the Lagos State Government has not paid pensioners under the Contributory Pension scheme in the state.

Rev. Johnson revealed this while speaking at the Pension Stakeholders Forum organized by Pension Justice. Pension Justice is a Civic Tech organization championing the causes of pensioners in Nigeria.Johnson said the adoption of the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS was supposed to address the numerous challenges faced by pensioners while using the Defined Pension Scheme, DPS but added that it has not relief the sufferings of the pensioners.

Johnson stressed that the disregard for the plights of pensioners is a major reason their issues are not being addressed. He said, “the non-payment of pensioner’s entitlement is one challenge, yet another challenge is the nonchalant attitude to the plight of pensioners.”

The Chairman of the Lagos State Council of NPF also identified noncompliance with sections 173 (3) and 210 (3) of the Nigeria Constitution as a great challenge. He stressed that the unconstitutional provisions which provide for review of Pension every five year need to be adhered to.

Earlier, a Senior Manager at the National Pension Commission, names withheld, identified some challenges in the Pension Reform Act 2014, which initiated CPS

Team Lead, Pension Justice, Phillip Asen said the first in the series of the Pension Stakeholders Forum was meant to hear the plights of the pensioners with the purpose of finding a lasting solution.

Globally, stronger government institutions are factors for efficiency in all sectors of a national life meant to bring about equity, inclusion and better lives of citizens. Break down of law and order, poor service delivery in public and private organizations, consumer right abuse, poor economies, poor living standards, unfavorable business atmosphere, etc are results of dysfunctional regulatory agencies. In Nigeria, institutional inefficiency is a common problem. This trickles down to private institutions not living up to their expectations as well.

Guest  is Francis Olufemi Leye , the Team Lead of Servicorps, a civic tech solution by Jadora Foundation

News in Brief 27 May 2019

• Yemen war update as 27 children are killed in just over 10 days
• UN Mission in Libya, alarmed over attacks, kidnapping
• Major new UN Habitat Assembly gets underway in Nairobi

Audio Credit:Daniel Johnson, UN News, Geneva.Audio Duration:
 

On Issues in Focus; we are looking at: Sharing TakeAway from Just Concluded Africa Climate Week held in Ghana and Setting Agenda for Climate Action in Lagos.

Guest is Titilola Kazeem, a development practitioner, Programme Coordinator for Zero Carbon Africa and a Co-founder of Greenway International Foundation, Nigeria with over 10 years’ experience contributing to sustainable development at the local and global communities.

 With the growing number of Non Profits Organisation in Nigeria. more and more people are interested in their activities and ideas even to know their economic contributions to our GDP.

This week we are doing a review of the sector and I will be joining via phone by the Executive Director of NNNGO Mr. Seyi Oyebisi 

Open Contracting Partnership

The most useful tool to address and tackle the issue of corruption in any society is radical transparency. Institutional opacity and absence of responsiveness strengthen misappropriation of public funds.

Open knowledge of how taxpayers’ money are disbursed is crucial to the development of every society. 

It is the interest of both the government and the governed to promote the understanding of procurement processes, contract award processes; contract cost, bidder’s information and who monitors the contract implementation.

How Open is Government Contracts bidding process, what you should know about Open Contracting as a Tool for Civic Engagement; I have in the studio this morning: 

Patrick Enaholo, PhD, Director, Open Data Research Center, School of Media and Communication, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos.

Also Adesola Afolabi, a Financial Reporter from Business AM Newspaper  

Guest :  Hamzat Lawal an activist who has successfully led grassroots campaigns in over 40 African countries with over nine years’ experience in the non-profit sector and specializes in practical issues associated with advocacy campaigns and development policies as it affects rural and deprived grassroots communities.

He is currently the Founder/Chief Executive of Connected Development (CODE), under his leadership CODE won the ONE Africa 2016 Award which recognizes, rewards, and advances the exceptional work of Africa based organisations; dedicated to helping the continent achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

On Issues in Focus segment this week, we are going to Machina Community in Yobe State. In our last two editions precisely episode 9, we talked about Advocacy on Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), this week we are telling a story of Machina Community through Connected Development, an NGO based in Abuja and initiator of Follow The Money campaign.

First let me tell you about Machina Community; The ancient city of Machina is Local government headquarter of Machina local government, Yobe State.  Machina is in Yobe North Senatorial District, Machina local government has border with Nguru, Yusufari, Local government in Yobe state, Birniwa in Jigawa state and the Republic of Niger. Also known for nationally and internationally for it is ancient history, culture and tradition, like horse riding (Durba)r.

The Issue; Machina Community has a single health facility to serve more than 15,000 populations and with no Medical Doctor or trained personnel in the facility. 

Follow The Money is an initiative of Connected Development [CODE], that advocate, visualize and track government spending and how effective it has been in rural communities visited Machina and launched #EquipMachina. 

About The Guest 

Akin Jimoh is a medical physiologist, health communication expert, journalist and journalism trainer. 

He was a communication specialist with UNICEF Nigeria (2013 to August 2017); a Knight Fellow at MIT (1999/2000) and a Bell Fellow at Harvard (1995/96). 

Currently he is the Program Director at Development Communications Network in Lagos. 

On Issues in Focus, we are Examining 2018 World AIDS Day

Fear, stigma and ignorance. That is what defined the HIV epidemic that raged through the world in the 1980s, killing thousands of people who may only have had a few weeks or months from diagnosis to death - if they even managed to be diagnosed before they died. 

“With no effective treatment available in the 1980s, there was little hope for those diagnosed with HIV, facing debilitating illness and certain death within years,” says Dr Gottfried Hirnschall, Director of the HIV department at WHO. 

1 December 2018 marks the 30th anniversary of World AIDS Day – a day created to raise awareness about HIV and the resulting AIDS epidemics. Since the beginning of the epidemic, more than 70 million people have acquired the infection, and about 35 million people have died. Today, around 37 million worldwide live with HIV, of whom 22 million are on treatment.

When World AIDS Day was first established in 1988, the world looked very different to how it is today. Now, we have easily accessible testing, treatment, a range of prevention options, including pre-exposure prophylaxis of PrEP, and services that can reach vulnerable communities.

 The National Health Act has been in existence for four years but its implementation has become a controversial issue in the health sector. It was the lacuna in the 1999 Constitution which failed to adequately provide for a legal framework for health care that birthed the idea for the enactment of the Act.

The National Health Bill was first proposed in 2004 during the time of Eyitayo Lambo as minister of health. It however took a decade of consideration before it was eventually passed and signed into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan on October 31, 2014.

The signing brings into effect the journey that lasted for about ten years. By this development, it is expected that the enforcers of the Act will commence seamless operation at all levels so as to enable Nigerians enjoy the provisions of the National Health Act.

The National Health Act performs the following functions:

a) Provides a platform for efficient coordination of the health system in Nigeria

b) Provides for minimum package of essential Health services

c) Makes provision for social inclusion and addresses the issue of equity in health

d) Protects families from catastrophic health expenditure

e) Accelerates Nigeria’s progress towards Universal Health Coverage

f) Cumulatively and consequently saves the lives of millions of mothers, new-born and under-fives and thus supporting Nigeria’s response to poor health care indices

g) Provides a better legal basis to address the restiveness of health professionals and other canker worms that have daunted our health system over the years.

The National Health Act has seven parts with each part addressing a major domain of the health system. The parts are:

I. Responsibility for health and eligibility for health services and establishment of National Health System

II. Health establishments and technologies’

III. Rights and obligations of users and health care personnel

IV. National Health Research and Information System

V. Human Resources for Health

VI. Control of use of blood, blood products, tissue and gametes in humans

VII. Regulations and miscellaneous provisions

Guest Name: Mutiah Ipaye-Macaulay is the Director of Clinical Research & Operations at Public Health Aid Awareness & Education Organization.