Enugu Establishes Acute Malnutrition Centres For Children, Women


The Enugu State government in collaboration with United Nations Children Education Fund have established three centres for Management of Acute Malnutrition in the state.

The establishment of the centres according to the state nutrition officer, Dr Henrietta Ugwu, was part of efforts to tackle rising cases of acute malnutrition among children in the state.

Ugwu spoke Wednesday, at a one day media engagement workshop organized by Civil Society Scaling-up Nutrition in Enugu.

While she revealed that acute malnutrition was a major challenge in the state, she stated that through UNICEF and the Federal Ministry of Health, the state was able to set up the CMAM centres which are located in Obollo-Afor, Abakpa Nike and Oji River.

She said, “Children are still very much malnourished in Enugu State. Children still go to bed hungry and we have malnourished children scattered all over the local governments in the state. There is no local government that does not have malnourished children.



“Currently in Enugu State, with the assistance of the Federal Ministry of Health and UNICEF, by March this year, we were able to establish three centres where malnourished children are taken care of.

“And since these three centres were established, we have been recording numbers of malnourished children even with the intensive routine immunization that we have carried. We just came out of the second round of modified integrated medical outreach.”

On his part, Enugu State coordinator of CS-SUNN, Dr Chuka Agunwa, disclosed that the Enugu State government has accepted to work with a five-year nutrition budget line which will go a long way in addressing the issue malnutrition in the state.


#orientdailynews

Jighere Wellington To Quit Scrabble Due To Winnings Owed By Scrabble Federation

So, yesterday was my birthday.
Birthdays for me are days of deep and sober reflection, and reflect I did. It’s getting clearer that I’m getting older and with such realization comes the need to re-evaluate ones priorities and goals. While I can boast of a few successes, failures have been many too. Well, such is life. The general goal is to have more successes or at least focus on succeeding at key areas while doing ones best to limit the failures. One cannot accomplish this without identifying what’s not working and hence putting an end to such.

After much soul searching, I’ve come to the conclusion that an end has to be put to the one thing that got most of you acquainted with me in the first place: SCRABBLE.

I can guess that you’re shocked but I’m sure you’d agree with me at the end of the day.

Professional Scrabble for me started almost 20 years ago in 2002. Since that time, I’ve sacrificed almost everything else to ensure that I succeed at this one area I chose to channel my energies towards. I sacrificed good grades in the University because I’d always prioritize scrabble over my academic pursuits. I sacrificed stable amorous relationships as there just wasn’t enough time left to devote to making such work. I sacrificed auspicious and profitable endeavors for the same reasons of having insufficient time to devote towards thriving at much else. If you know my story, it’s easy to say “at least you succeeded at your chief aim!” But the nagging question is: Was it all worth it?

Yes, I won National Championships, twelve of those actually, but was it all worth it?
Yes, I won several International Championships notably two African Championships and one World Championship, but was it all worth it?

Yes, I gained much popularity and the government of my country, Nigeria, recognized my feats severally but was it all worth it?
Now, I know a lot of you must be saying “What’s this guy talking about?” “How can it not have been worth it?” Just wait till I reveal another angle to all this so that we can all answer this burning question together.

You see, I live in an environment where it almost all boils down to how fat your bank account is. And boy, is my bank account lean!

Remuneration from scrabble in the first place is nothing to write home about. Add the fact that such earnings are heavily “taxed” by the Nigerian Scrabble Federation and a lean purse becomes leaner. Add the fact that most of these winnings are left unpaid by the powers that be and a leaner purse becomes leanest.

Talking about unpaid prizes, two notable ones come to mind:
1) African Scrabble Championship, Accra 2010: $5,000 (five thousand US Dollars) left unpaid after ten years.

2) Godswill Akpabio International Scrabble Classics 2017: Another $5,000 (five thousand US Dollars) left unpaid three years and counting.

A friend of mine, Femi Iyanda, popularly called GM Femix, once referred to me as the poorest World Champion alive! Laugh all you want but he might be correct. If you consider that I was penniless, homeless, hungry and without something befitting to clad my unclothedness as at when this jibe was made then he might be doubly correct. Subtract the bane of unpaid prizes and the story might probably not be the same.

So, yes! I am the poorest World Champion alive living in one of the poorest countries in the world. In my country, someone like me has one of two viable options: become a criminal like those who are responsible for my unpaid prizes or run away to an environment where you can actually make a decent living by engaging in an honest day’s job. It is not in my DNA to consider option one (although I’d be excellent at it). So, I guess I’m left with a singular option: relocate!

But then, I don’t have any money to do that at the moment, which brings me to yet another singular option: extract my money from the grip of these jackals!

Over the years, it has become abundantly clear that these people cannot be reasoned with so I guess the only way out is to go to war!

Over the next couple of days/weeks, I will be stopping at nothing to recover my moneys.
The last time I embarked on a similar crusade was in December 2010 and I ended up being banned from Scrabble. I remained in exile for three whole years before returning to the fold. Needless to say, I won the World Championship two years afterwards. Now, since the worst that these people in high places can do is to take my career away from me, I’ve decided to save them the stress and retire to start with. It’d be nice for these folks to face someone with nothing to lose.

Mind you, I’m fighting for my very sanity here because it drives me crazy each time I think of having accomplished so much in my chosen career yet I have little to nothing to show for it.

Thanks for your time.
Stay tuned.


#gossip

2023: We Will Bring Prominent Leaders, Youths Into PDP - Saraki



As political parties begin skeletal preparations for the 2023 general elections, immediate past President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki has promised to woo political stakeholders, youths, businessmen among others to the fold of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in its push for a return to power at the centre.


Saraki, who made the pledge, Wednesday, at the inauguration of the PDP National Reconciliation and Strategic Committee which he chairs, noted that with unity, the party would succeed in returning to power and give Nigerians the democracy dividends they have been yearning for in the past five and a half years.

Decrying what he called the “lack of unity of purpose,” in the nation’s political leadership, the former Kwara state governor, counselled the PDP to go the whole distance to bring on board men and women desirous of seeing genuine change in Nigeria, noting that across all spheres of life, the country is battling the scourge of the fault lines that have held it in chains for long.

We will go all out to reach our members who have one grievance or the other and seek to reconcile all of us. We will reach out to numerous key politicians who have left our fold and have indicated interest in returning to the PDP.

“We will reach out to all the youths looking for a party on whose platform they can contribute to the development of our country. We will reach out to those who create jobs in our country and want to support a party with clear and realistic economic policies.

We will hold discussions with many other political leaders in other parties who have expressed the desire to join PDP but have held back until we put our house in order.

“Since political parties are vehicles for mobilizing the citizenry around national goals, objectives and ideas, it is important for the passengers in the vehicle to be in harmony, stay together in peace and be focused on their destination and the best possible route to get there.

This initiative by our great party to embark on genuine reconciliation, strengthening of our structures, addressing the grievances of our members, re-inventing the all-inclusive, broad-based foundation of our party which has been the goal of our founding fathers is, to quote Victor Hugo, “an idea whose time has come”, he said.

He expressed the readiness of the committee to make the most of the assignment, saying “we all subscribe to the fact that a united PDP is in the best interest of Nigeria. It is a necessity for mobilizing the citizens of this country around the ideas of national unity, economic prosperity, healthy social relations, mutual respect, discipline and security of lives and properties.

We will also seek to provide good accommodation for youths and make them a virile driving force behind the PDP. This committee will seek to make recommendations on how to give sense of belonging to the youths and get them to contribute ideas on how to achieve consistent growth within the party.”

He continued: “It is my belief that this is a critical time in the life of our nation when politicians must forget about our individual ambitions and focus on building a nation that can overcome the challenges of insecurity, economic crisis, indiscipline, disunity and internal as well as external aggression.

After all, it is only when there is a nation that somebody can aspire to govern or lead her. Let me State it clearly that while it is legitimate for politicians to have ambition, this is the time for us to push our ambition to the back.

How can anybody realise his ambition when the political party on whose platform he wants to pursue his ambition not fully united? That is why I believe our pre-occupation as members of the PDP now should be how to unite the party, strengthen it and put it in a position to beat all opposition in coming elections.

The pre-occupation of leaders now should be how to keep our country united, rebuild her institutions, defeat the forces seeking to pull her apart, rebuild the infrastructure, reposition it as a respected and responsible member of the international community, make the country truly serve the citizenry and inspire patriotism from them.

“Any political party or politician not worried by these issues is not worth the ambition he or she is pursuing. We believe that nothing is more important at this point than Nigeria and our party. And it is obvious that the success of the PDP today is the only hope that Nigeria needs to survive and bounce fully back.

Saraki further noted that for the committee to deliver on its mandate, the National Working Committee, NWC, National Executive Committee, NEC, Board of Trustees, BoT and the PDP Governors’ Forum must be on the same page with it at all times.

Inaugurating the committee, national chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus tasked the members to bring their experience to bear in the interest of Nigeria and the party.

“Our party has carefully chosen men of integrity and those with the best skills in the country to solve the plight of our party. We have absolute confidence in them to carry out this assignment. We also believe that reconciliation is a major assignment in our party.

And as you are aware that the country is falling apart, Nigeria requires the leadership qualities domicile in our party to show the pathway for the next general election in 2023. It is so important at this time; they come on board to serve not only the party, but also to serve the entire country,” he said.

The PDP boss further called on the committee members to see their assignment as a pan-Nigeria mandate, saying, “we are not here to play politics with our people. We are passing through the most difficult time, not only our party but also as a nation.


We are aware that the All Progressives Congress, APC, is a political party of lies and propaganda. They fooled Nigerians in 2015 and 2019 and they can’t continue to fool the people all the time.”

The six-man committee has as its members, former Governors Liyel Imoke, Ibrahim Shema and Ibrahim Dankwambo of Cross River, Katsina and Gombe states respectively as well as erstwhile Senate President and one-time Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim and ex-House of Representatives leader, Mulikat Adeola-Akande.


#nairaland

ASUU Strike: Nigerian Govt Sets Up New Committee To Renegotiate 2009 Agreements


As part of efforts to end the eight-month-old strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the federal government has reconstituted its team to renegotiate the 2009 agreements with lecturers, others.

Before reconstituting the 2009 committee, which is one of the demands of the striking university lecturers, the former committee was headed by the former pro-chancellor of the University of Lagos ( UNILAG), Wale Babalakin.

Other demands of the lecturers include providing funding for the revitalization of universities, earned allowance, the constitution of visitation panels, payment of shortfall in salaries of lecturers, and a stop to the use of the payment platform, IPPIS, for payment of the salaries and allowances of lecturers.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Babalakin resigned his position as the head of the government’s negotiation team, saying “he will no longer be available for the role he had been playing since 2017 without a headway.”

On Wednesday, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, while inaugurating the committee in Abuja, said public universities will resume activities like their private counterpart soon.


The Committee

According to Mr Adamu, the committee is expected to re-negotiate the 2009 agreement between the federal government and the university-based unions.

The federal government team is categorised into substantive members, advisers and observers. The team is headed by an emeritus professor, Munzali Jibril.

Other members of the committee are the Pro-Chancellor, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nimota Akanbi; Pro-Chancellor, Federal University Ndufu Alike, Ikwo, Nimi Briggs; Pro-Chancellor, Federal University, Wukari, Lawrence Ngbale; Pro-Chancellor, FUT, Minna, Femi Odekunle; Pro-Chancellor, University of Calabar, Nkechi Nworgu,

They also include Pro-Chancellor, Kaduna State University Shehu Abdullahi and Pro-Chancellor, Kebbi State University, Mamman Magoro.

Among the advisers are, Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC); Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund); Chairman, Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities
(CVC); Chairman, Committee of Vice-Chancellors of State-owned Universities; Chairman, Association of Registrars of Nigerian Universities (ARNU); Secretary, Association of Registrars of Nigerian Universities (ARNU); Chairman, Association of Bursars of Nigerian Universities (ABNU), and Secretary, Association of Bursars of Nigerian Universities (ABNU).

The minister said the observer category is composed of representatives from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Ministry of Finance and Budget Planning, Federal Ministry of Justice, Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, and Office of Head of Civil Service of the Federation.

The minister said the present administration is committed to finding
lasting solutions to the challenges confronting the education sector, and most especially, the university sub-sector.

He said the team is expected to take another look at the 2009 Agreements reached with the university-based unions and work with each union towards making far-reaching recommendations that would reposition the Nigerian university system.

“It has also become necessary and urgent that all hands must now be on deck to restore the confidence reposed in university education by students, parents and the general public,” Mr Adamu said.

“As you are quite aware, the federal government and relevant stakeholders, in the past months, have been neck-deep in several meetings with the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and others, to resolve the outstanding issues that led to the current industrial action in public universities.”

He said the government is determined to, within available resources, provide the requisite environment, infrastructure as well as improve the conditions of service for all categories of staff in Nigerian universities.

“Government, like other stakeholders, is also worried about the vicious cycle
over the years of the myriad of industrial actions by one staff union or the other
The cumulative effect has been the obvious loss of productive and precious
man-hours direly needed by the universities to fulfil their tripod mandates of teaching, research and community action,” he said.

He said all these have impacted negatively on students’ learning outcomes and the reputation of the Nigerian brand, which hitherto was the pride of the nation.


Selection

The minister said the committee has been carefully selected in recognition of their records in university management and academic leadership.

“The terms of reference of the team are to re-negotiate the residual issues in the 2009 Agreements between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the university-based unions, towards a workable and implementable agreement between both parties, such that will facilitate repositioning of Nigerian universities for greater responsibilities in national development,” he said.

He said the terms of reference also include “Propose and prescribe short, medium and long-term measures for the
sustainable funding and management of federal universities, in order to
restore lasting peace, stability, harmony and progress in the Nigerian
university system; and make any other recommendations.”

Committee React

In his remark, the chairman of the committee, Munzali Jibril, thanked the government for considering them worthy of the task. He said the committee will commence work promptly with the aim of producing a good result within a short time.

The meeting had in attendance representatives of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), led by the president, Biodun Ogunyemi, and other stakeholders.


ASUU Strike

ASUU embarked on a nationwide strike on March 23. Apart from its demands listed earlier, the union also proposed the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) as a replacement for the controversial IPPIS.

PREMIUM TIMES also reported how the government made improved proposals to the union which ASUU said it would take to its members for consideration.

In the latest government proposals, made two weeks ago, the government offered N65 billion for the payment of earned allowances and the revitalisation of universities. The government also agreed to suspend the use of the IPPIS in paying the backlog of salaries and allowances owed the lecturers which the government said would be paid before the end of the year.


#asuustrike

Boko Haram Attacks Are International Conspiracy To Split Nigeria – Army

The Nigerian Army has said that the Boko Haram attacks are an international conspiracy to “cut Nigeria to size” and to destabilise the peace of the country.

The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col Sagir Musa, stated this, claiming that there are some international paymasters sponsoring Boko Haram.Musa stated this in an article he shared on social media and with journalists.

The army spokesman said, “The recent killing of our people on a rice farm in Borno State was unexpected, inhuman, cowardly, dastardly and sadistic cruelty by the Boko Haram terrorists. There is no normal human being that will take pleasure in such inhuman massacre of defenceless and armless civilians, working on their farms; but that is the nature of terrorism and those who sponsor it.

“There is an international conspiracy to cut Nigeria to size and compromise national renegades making attempts to destabilise and dismember Nigeria if possible in subservience to the international paymasters; who are the owners of Boko Haram.They train them, arm them, finance them and supply their logistics.

“Without this treacherous international support of Boko Haram; they would have since been defeated. Yet, we can defeat them through our unity and unflinching support and encouragement of our security forces, particularly the military.”

#saharareporters

Disconnect Customers Rejecting Meters, NERC Orders DISCOs Distributors

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on Wednesday ordered power distribution companies to start disconnecting electricity consumers who reject meters.

Recently, the Federal Government commenced the mass deployment of about six million meters across the country in order to halt estimated billing and improve service delivery in the power sector.

But operators in the industry observed that some power users were opposed to being metered in order not to pay the exact sum for the electricity that they consume.

To address this, the power sector regulator issued an order on Wednesday mandating Discos to commence the disconnection of electricity users who opposed being metered.

This came as the acting Managing Director, Transmission Company of Nigeria, Sule Abdulaziz, told journalists in Abuja on Wednesday that the recent collapse of the country’s power grid was restored within 40 minutes.

Our correspondent gathered that the directives from the NERC to the 11 Discos were contained in various regulatory orders to the firms, for instance, Order No/NERC/220/2020, with the title, “Amended order on the capping of estimated bills for Yola Electricity Distribution Plc,” was issued to Yola Disco.

The regulator said the new orders were amendments to the previous ones on capping of estimated billing issued by the NERC in February 2020.

In the latest regulatory instrument, the NERC declared, “Any customer that rejects the installation of a meter on their premises by (Disco) shall not be entitled to supply and must be disconnected by (the Disco), and shall only be reconnected to the network after the meter has been installed.”

The directives to the Discos, which were jointly signed by the NERC Chairman, James Momoh, and a Commissioner, Dafe Akpeneye, took effect from November 1, 2020.

The directives to the Discos, which were jointly signed by the NERC Chairman, James Momoh, and a Commissioner, Dafe Akpeneye, took effect from November 1, 2020.

#punchng

DSS Arrests Lawyer On One Man Protest At Abuja Villa Gate

ABUJA – A Lagos-based human rights lawyer and activist, Chief Malcolm Rich­ard Omirhobo, has been arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).

The arrest was effected at the Presidential Villa gate in Abuja when Omirhobo was on a one-man demonstration to register his displeasure over the recent killing of 43 farmers in Borno State by suspected Boko Haram in­surgents.

The lawyer arrived at the Villa gate in company of some journalists about 90a.m, clad in a customised T-Shirt with the inscription, ‘Stop the Genocide

He was whisked away by operatives of the service while granting a press inter­view.

Omirhobo said he was at the Villa gate to see the pres­ident, Muhammadu Buhari, with the intention to express his bitterness over the grue­some murder of the farmers in Zabarmari village.

But the activist was pre­vented from gaining access into the Presidential Villa by armed policemen stationed at the gate near the Supreme Court.

The situation led to ex­change of hot words between the policemen and the lawyer as he insisted on gaining en­try into the premises.

He told the officers that he is a Nigerian citizen and that he has the right to see the president on the need to stop the senseless killing in the country.

He accused the Federal Government of conspiracy in the carnage that is going on in the country.

Leader of the police team, CSP Isah Hadejia, in an at­tempt to dissuade him from going ahead with the protest, asked him to formally trans­mit his demands to the appro­priate authority.

Trouble, however, started when the armed operatives of the DSS arrived at the scene, descended on the activ­ist and rudely bundled him into a vehicle and drove into the Villa.

Journalists covering the protest were not spared as they were harassed by the op­eratives who even attempted to seize their cameras.

Omirhobo had said he was at the Presidential Villa to protest peacefully against the institutionalised and systemic genocide going on in Nigeria.

He said the Zabarmari village incident came on the heels of the slaughtering of 110 farmers also in Borno State.

“I am here to tell the pres­ident that enough is enough, and that he should stop playing the ostrich because all the acts done by these evil people killing innocent and harmless Nigerians are being backed by the govern­ment.

“I am saying it categori­cally that the government is conniving, conspiring, and assisting this crime against humanity, and that is why I am here to protest,” he said.

#nairaland

Omo-Agege: National Assembly Can’t Deliver New Constitution

•Rules out merger of Senate, House of Reps
Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, has urged Nigerians not to engage in wishful thinking that the 9th National Assembly would deliver a new constitution, saying it lacks the mandate to do so.

According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yomi Odunuga, Omo-Agege made the comment when he hosted members of the Alliance of Nigerian Patriots led by Ambassador Umunna Orjiako in Abuja.

The deputy senate president, who chairs the Adhoc Committee on Constitution Review, explained that the National Assembly had no powers to replace the current constitution of the country but could only amend it.

He cited advanced democracies like the United States of America after which Nigeria’s presidential system of government was fashioned as well as Sections 8 and 9 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), saying what is obtainable is piecemeal alteration of the constitution.

Omo-Agege, therefore, urged those calling for a brand new constitution to channel their energy towards participating actively in the ongoing amendment by the National Assembly.

“One of the issues you raised is the replacement of the 1999 Constitution. I am not so sure that we, as a parliament, have the power to replace the constitution. We can only make amendments. And it is explicit in Sections 8 and 9 of the constitution how we can do that and the requisite number of votes required.

“I say that because there are some top attorneys in this country who, for some reasons, keep saying that we don’t even need any of this, that we should just bring a new constitution. We can’t do that. What we are mandated to do by law is to look at those provisions and bring them up-to-date with global best practices, especially to the extent that they tally with the views of the majority of Nigerians. So we are not in a position to replace this constitution but we can only amend,” he said.

The lawmaker described the proposal by the delegation that zones should replace states as another euphemism for going back to the regions.

“We will look into that if that is what majority of our people want. You talked about devolution of powers. The preponderance of views we have received so far is that those 68 items are very wide and need to shed some weight and move them to the Concurrent Legislative List,” he said.

On the call for scrapping of the upper legislative chamber, Omo-Agege said;

“One of the issues raised by #endsars protesters was that the government should abolish the Senate and merge us with the House of Representatives. We are not in a position to do that. Mr. President is not even in a position to do that as well.”

Earlier, Orjiakor called for the reconfiguration of the present 36 states structure into six zones as federating units, drastic cut in the Exclusive Legislative List and expansion of the Concurrent Legislative List, reform of the National Assembly to a hybrid presidential and Westminster systems, abolition of security votes to be replaced by regular security budget allocations and electoral reforms to ensure a truly independent Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Ronaldo Scores 750th Career Goal In First UCL Match To Be Officiated By A Woman

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 750th career goal as Juventus eased to victory against Dynamo Kyiv in a match refereed by Stephanie Frappart, who became the first woman to take charge of a men's Champions League fixture.

The Portuguese forward scored the second for the Italian champions, already through to the last 16, when he tapped in after Georgi Bushchan's attempted block rebounded off Juve striker Alvaro Morata.

Ronaldo was a made to wait a few seconds before the VAR team signalled to the French referee the goal would stand.

That was the only major contentious issue Frappart had to deal with, although Kyiv might point to an incident in the first half when penalty appeals were waved away after defender Leonardo Bonucci had his arms around forward Benjamin Verbic.

Juve took the lead in the 21st minute when loan signing Federico Chiesa scored his first for the club, with a header from Alex Sandro's cross.

After Ronaldo added a second, Morata made it 3-0 when he slotted home his sixth Champions League goal of the season following good work from Weston McKennie and Chiesa on the right.

Kyiv, who have now taken only a point from five group games, impressed in patches and were twice thwarted by former Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny, who denied winger Viktor Tsygankov with two great reflex saves.

Juventus are at Barcelona in their final Group G match next week, with both sides vying to finish top of the pool.

Cristiano Ronaldo's 750 career goals
Real Madrid 450
Manchester United 118
Portugal 102
Juventus 75
Sporting Lisbon 5

#sports

Rashida Bello In Dubai For Weight Reduction

EXPOSED!!! How Kogi State First Lady, Mrs Rashida Bello Expensively Stormed Dubai For Weight Reduction, CheckOut Her New Look

Report reaching us is that, the first lady of kogi state has been in dubai over 3 months with her entourage I.e. her mum, children, staff and some family members.

A close source disclosed to us that Mrs Bello took over 10 ambassadorial suite in Armani hotel Burj khalifa , the tallest building in dubai with one suite worth over $3200 ! N1,552,000 per nite ...

We were also told that, she was in American hospital for her weight reduction which made her looking more like a teenager while she also undergone liposuction. Recall that davido took to his IG stories to compliment her kids whom he met at dubai mall during one of their numerous shopping..

Congratulations to the Bello’s....
#nairaland