PRESS RELEASE

20/07/23

Nigeria’s House of Representatives adhoc Committee investigating the allegation of result forgery by 19 year old Ejikeme Mmesoma concluded its investigation on Wednesday.

The JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, and the 19-year-old candidate of the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, Miss Ejikeme Mmesoma, both appeared before the committee.

Mmesoma, on her part, tendered a profound apology to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, and its Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede.

The 19-year-old noted that ignorance played a significant role in her action, saying she only got to know the full implication of her actions after she had manipulated her result.

The JAMB Registrar, in his presentation, noted that it is practically impossible to fake JAMB results because they are stored offline and not in “cloud.”

Oloyede assured the committee that the board’s Central Admission Processing System is “full proof” and no human interference has been recorded since 2017 when it was installed insisting that the board has made tremendous progress in the area of its CAPS and as such there are no loopholes or vulnerabilities identified in the JAMB process.

Chairman of the committee, Sada Soli, commended Mmesoma, her father and lawyers for showing up at the investigative hearing. He, however, advised her to stay off bad influence and learn from her mistakes.

The lawmakers unanimously adopted a motion by member representing Andoni/Opobo/Nkoro constituency, Awaji-Inombek Abiante asking the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, to stay any punitive action on Ejikeme Mmesoma

Mmesomaa, a student of Anglican Girls Secondary School, Nnewi in Anambra State, had claimed she scored 362 marks as against the 249 marks her JAMB records of 2023 UTME showed.

The House of Representatives had on July 5, 2023, constituted an ad-hoc committee to probe allegations of manipulation of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination result by the 19 year old.

20/07/23

PRESS RELEASE

SHINA JO

The Nigerian Senate has called on employers to desist from adding age as a major requirement for Job Employment

According to the upper chamber , once a Nigerian has reached an employment age, further barriers should not be included.

The resolution of the upper chamber follows a motion by Abba Moro (PDP Benue South) on the need for intervention on age requirement as precondition for employment in Nigeria.

Moro said there is an uproar within the public over the unabated violation of Chapter 4, Section 42 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which guarantees every citizen the right to freedom from discrimination.

He added that it is Pathetic that a graduate in Nigeria who could not get a job upon graduation and decides to go back to school with the hope that a higher qualification,
could give him a better employment opportunity is still faced with age qualification

The Senate urged the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and Productivity to immediately draw up policies that relate to equality of opportunity and treatment in access to employment at all levels.

The upper chamber also urged the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and Productivity, and other relevant Agencies to prohibit and discourage public and private employers in Nigeria, from putting up job adverts with inherent undertone calculated to deprive any qualified Nigerian of being gainfully employed merely by reason of his/her age.

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PRESS RELEASE

19/07/23

BENEDICTA TD

To mitigate the impact of Fuel hike on Staff Members,The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union, COEASU has directed members to work only for only two days weekly, until the Federal Government yields to its demand for 200 percent salary increase amidst difficulty of members to get to work as a result of Petrol hike.

In a Release after its Extra-ordinary Executive Meeting, COEASU President, Smart Olugbeko said that the over 250 percent hike in Petrol prices increased inflation and worsening prices of food stuffs, Transportation and services, making it difficult Members to go to work.

COEASU Expressed Concerns that Salaries were last increased in the Colleges of Education in 2010, when a litre , and Thirteen years down the line, a litre of fuel is N650 and the Salaries remain the same.

COEASU says it is ridiculous that Government is evading the negotiation table, after it proposed 35 percent salary increase as against 200 percent put forward by organised labour.

COEASU warns that if something urgent is not done, the Nigerian student will end up bearing the brunt as a 6- week Semester, will become 12 weeks and a 6-month teaching practice is likely to be 12 months, following the two days working schedule of their lecturers.

19/07/23

GABRIEL O.D

PRESS RELEASE

Addis Ababa / Berlin / Geneva—

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) have launched a Health Security Partnership to Strengthen Disease Surveillance and Epidemic Intelligence in Africa.

The partnership aims to strengthen Africa’s health security capabilities in the areas of biosecurity, integrated disease surveillance, event-based surveillance, genomic surveillance, and epidemic intelligence.

The Partnership seeks to encourage strong country leadership. The first phase will be implemented in six African Union Member States including The Gambia, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Tunisia, and South Africa and will later be expanded to additional countries.

Strengthened disease surveillance is a foundational requirement for health security.

 Substantial progress has been made in disease surveillance across Africa over the past decade, but it is worth noting that it experiences more outbreaks and other health emergencies than others, many of which are preventable or controllable with proven public health interventions.

The COVID-19 Pandemic highlighted the critical role of the Public Health laboratory in surveillance as well as the necessity for advancements in data collection, management, reporting, and dissemination to ensure evidence-based policy making during health security emergencies.

In response, the Health Security Partnership in Africa works to improve integrated disease surveillance capabilities across the continent in order to better detect, confirm, and notify health security threats. “The multi-country project consultation and launch meeting is a significant milestone towards strengthening surveillance and epidemic intelligence capabilities in Africa. It provides a platform for sharing experiences and best practices, which will be essential for the success of the project,” said Dr. Yenew Kebede, Head of Laboratory Systems and Networks at Africa CDC.

With a shared commitment in supporting African countries to strengthen health systems and safeguard public health, WHO’s Regional Offices for Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean have been working closely with Africa CDC under the Joint Emergency Action Plan (JEAP) framework to strengthen public health surveillance, promote regional cooperation, and address health challenges in Africa. The Health Security Partnership in Africa will contribute to the overall collaborative framework by delivering concrete results in the areas of emergency preparedness and response, surveillance and laboratory capabilities, and help protect the health of people in Africa through a better coordinated and more resilient health system.

“Our collective ability to prevent, prepare for, and respond to healthy security emergencies remains critical to keeping our communities safe,” said Sara Hersey, Director of Collaborative Intelligence at the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence. “Through this partnership, WHO remains dedicated to working with Member States to systematically strengthen our capabilities and collaboration across stakeholders, sectors and borders for more effective and collaborative disease surveillance in Africa.”

Funded by the Government of Canada’s Weapons Threat Reduction Program and aligned with the health security objectives of the G7-led Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, the Health Security Partnership in Africa signifies a collective commitment to collaboration at the health security interface and will play a catalytic role in accelerating the building and pooling of capabilities and expertise for disease surveillance and epidemic intelligence in and for Africa.

18/07/23

Credit NAN

ELIZA DD

Following the News of Petrol pump price rising to over N600, the Nigeria Labour Congress has resolved to pull out of the various committees on fuel subsidy palliatives and rejects any further increase of the product.

In a Release signed by NLC President, Joe Ajaero and titled: the proposed palliatives, Cash Transfer, Robs The Poor And Pays the rich, we reject it.

The Labour movement insists that it has restrained itself and allowed to be in some palliatives committees, to avoid any misinterpretation from the new Government in power, but it appears Workers Patience are being taken for granted.

The Labour Union says since June 19, 2023 when it was agreed to set up committees with a National Steering committee, Government is yet to make any move on to inaugurate the committees, but news flying around of further hike in pump price.

The NLC warns that the current Government must watch clearly and observe that the impunity displayed in the immediate past Government, is not allowed to rare its ugly head, and that the workers are fully ready to stop any anti-people policy.

On the proposed N8000 palliatives to 12 million Families, the Labour movement says it stands rejected as it is another charade of the Nigerian ruling class to deceive the poor Masses.

Labour argues that it does not have confidence on how the data of the 12 million poor Families was arrived at, calling on Nigerians to reject it as it is most likely to go the way of the home grown school feeding programme and the covid-19 Palliative, which were more or less conduit pipe for corruption.

Meanwhile, Fuel Scarcity has resurfaced across many States of the Country given pump Price increase to between #600/650 per litre

The situation has left many in frustration Coupled with the poor Power Supply in recent times

17/07/23

PRESS RELEASE

DANIELS G.O

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has confirmed one case of Anthrax disease in a mixed livestock farm in Niger State.

This is according to a statement jointly signed by the Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria, Dr. Columba T. Vakuru and Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) On Monday, July 17, 2023.

The duo said this was the first animal case to be reported in Nigeria since the beginning of the West Africa outbreak in Ghana in June 2023.

They explained that “on 13th July 2023, the sudden deaths of livestock in this farm with eight (8) mortality was reported. In addition, the animals who died were observed to have been bleeding from external orifices without blood clotting.

“Following this report, samples were collected on 14th July 2023 from multiple species in this livestock farm and transported to the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), VOM, Plateau State for testing and the results were positive for anthrax”.

They however informed that further investigation was also ongoing to trace the source of the infection and to identify spread to other farms and humans.

Though human exposure had been reported, there were no reports so far of human symptoms or mortality. Therefore, “the FMARD and the NCDC are currently working closely with the Niger State Ministries of Health and Agriculture to identify, isolate and follow up all exposed persons. The NCDC has activated the incident management system (IMS) at level two (2) today with an incident manager appointed for effective coordination of the response”.

Meanwhile, the risk assessment conducted by the human health sector today remained HIGH for the likelihood of an outbreak and its potential impact among humans.

The statement also said FMARD was able to diagnose anthrax and provide early intervention within 48 hours of notification of suspected animal deaths.

Also, the Government of Nigeria, through the FMARD and NCDC, and other one-health stakeholders, has put measures in place to ensure any outbreak of Anthrax in Nigeria is quickly detected, controlled, and contained. These measures include;

Anthrax is a severe disease caused by the bacteria – Bacillus anthracis. It can affect both humans and animals, including wild animals and livestock such as cows, pigs, camels, sheep, goats, etc.

The bacteria, which exist as spores, can be found in the soil, wool, or hair of infected animals. Anthrax spores are resistant to extreme conditions and can survive in the soil or environment for decades, making controlling or eradicating the disease very difficult. The spores are brought to the surface by wet weather, by deep digging, or when eaten by livestock or wild animals when they graze.

In the light of this, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has urged all livestock owners to remain vigilant and promptly report any suspicious illnesses or deaths in their animals. They should avoid contact with sick or dead animals and their products and exercise caution when buying animals from certain bordering states and countries.

People are advised not to slaughter sick animals as it can expose anthrax spores that may be inhaled. Products from sick or dead animals should not be consumed and hunters should avoid picking sick or dead animals from the bush for human consumption.

The ministry recommended vaccination as the most effective preventive measure against anthrax in livestock. Personal protective equipment should be used when handling sick animals and regular monitoring of livestock for signs of sickness is crucial.

Cases of animals bleeding from body openings should be immediately reported to veterinary authorities. Good hygiene practices on the farm, regular cleaning, disinfection of animal housing and equipment, and biosecurity measures are essential to prevent the spread of anthrax.

Sick animals should be isolated and strict quarantine measures implemented to prevent further spread of the disease. Early detection and reporting of suspected anthrax cases in animals or humans are crucial for effective control measures.

18/07/23

ATOJA UMOKORO

Governor Of Delta State Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori has visited the Family of the two-year old Ivan Omorhiakogbe killed by stray Bullets from the Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at Okpanam a suburb of the Asaba Delta state Capital

Governor Oborevwori whose visit coincided with the arrival of the state Commissioner of Police Wale Abbas to the family of the deceased at the Federal Medical Centre Asaba where the younger sibling of Ivan, Eromonsele a one year old was receiving treatment for bullet injuries he sustained in his left eye commiserated Iwith the family on the unfortunate loss their son Ivan and promised to ensure that they get Justice.

He said on receipt of the unfortunate incident, he immediately reached out to the authorities of the NDLEA to unravel circumstances surrounding the death of the toddler and that of his younger Brother Eromonsele currently receiving treatment.

The Governor who appreciated the Management of FMC for their proactive steps sympathised with the family over the loss and expressed his happiness on the stable condition of their younger son that sustained bullet injuries in his left eye.

The CP Abbas while also commiserating with the family assured the Governor and the bereaved family that the command had already commenced investigation of the case

Head of FMC Opthalmology Department briefed the Governor the extent they have gone in the treatment of the Eromonsele.

Earlier the Father of Ivan had recently cried out over the death of their Son who was about to Graduate but was cut short by a bullets that shartered and pierced through their shop and killed him while sitting inside.

The Family are demanding for justice for their Son Ivan allegedly shot by the men of NDLEA during one of their operations in their area.