UNICEF has declared that 152,243 children below five years of age are stunted in Enugu state. Its Planning and Monitoring Specialist, Enugu Field Office, Maureen Zubie-Okolo made the declaration at a policy dialogue with Enugu State Executive and Legislative Councils on Investment in Nutrition on Friday. Zubie-Okolo attributed the situation to poor nutrition arising from poor maternal, infant and young child feeding practices during the first 1,000 days of birth. “In Enugu state, only 7.8 per cent of children below five years of age receive the minimum acceptable diet, while less than one-fifth of children 0-5 months are exclusively breastfed.…
Author: Newsdesk
By Justina Auta After being trained by the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), some female artisans have expressed their readiness to join in harnessing economic opportunities in the nation’s construction industry. The benecifiaries, who were trained under NCWD’s female artisanship programme, said on Friday in Abuja, that the skills acquired would enable females to be useful in the industry. The female artisans , who spoke separately at the 2021 center’s graduation ceremony of 130 trainees, expressed willingness to be part of an industry, that had been dominated by males. Mrs Goodness Emmanuel, a beneficiary from Enugu State noted that…
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) says that 3,487,298 eligible persons in Nigeria have been fully vaccinated against Coronavirus (COVID-19), having received their second jabs. Dr Faisal Shuaib, the Executive Director disclosed this during the inauguration of mass vaccination exercise for Nasarawa state on Friday in Lafia. Shuaib said that as at Friday, November 26, a total of 6,242, 224 eligible persons in the country had received their first doses of the vaccine. “From the data above, it is clear that Nigeria is still far from reaching its target of vaccinating almost 112 million of its eligible population,”…
By Justina Auta Some stakeholders have called for the need to prioritse marginalised women and girls to end Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), as well as harmful traditional practices in the country. They made the appeal at a Flashlight Action on Girls’ Safety (FLAGS) 16 days of activism 2021, to end GBV on Thursday in Abuja. Adetayo Erinle, the Executive Director, Tabitha Cumi Foundation (TCF), said the high record of GBV cases necessitated the need for all stakeholders to collaborate on ending the scourge, as well as ensure the offenders are prosecuted. According to her, the 2021 global theme,…
A Political Scientist, Dr Gbade Ojo, has cautioned the National Assembly against imposition of direct mode of primary on political parties in choosing their candidates. Ojo, also a Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science, University of Ilorin, spoke on Thursday in Ibadan. According to him, it is undemocratic for the National Assembly (NASS) to impose direct mode of primary on any political party. “Such an imposition will amount to an infringement of their fundamental human rights,” he said. Ojo, a onetime Chief of Staff to the late Gov. Abiola Ajimobi, said that political parties should be free to adopt any…
The Defence Headquarters has said Nigerian troops eliminated more than 128 bandits and arrested 64 others in different operations across North West and North Central zones in the past two weeks. Acting Director, Defence Media Operations, Brig.-Gen. Bernard Onyeuko, disclosed this while giving updates of military operations between November 11 and November 25 on Thursday in Abuja. Onyeuko said the troops of Operation Hadarin Daji eliminated 118, arrested 12 criminal elements and rescued five kidnapped victims across the theatre within the period. He added that 26 assorted arms and 194 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition were recovered within the period in…
The Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen, on Thursday, says government will soon establish a special court that will try Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) cases, aimed at ending the menace. Tallen said this while addressing a news conference in Abuja to commemorate the 2021 International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, with the theme: “Orange the World, End Violence Against Women Now.” The Day marks the start of 16 Days of Activism on violence against women and girls, an international campaign that takes place each year from November 25 to December 10 to raise awareness on…
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says its personnel would require specialised training on firearms handling ahead of its commencement of night highway patrols. Assistant Corps Marshal, Corps Project Implementation Office, Kingsley Agomoh said this In Abuja on Thursday while answering questions at a seminar organized by the Bureau of Public Reforms. He said that although the Commission had been given the licence to carry arms, it would only do so after the specialised training. “It is one of the reasons we have not started work at night“, Agomoh said while answering questions on traffic management at night. He however…
Sen. Tanko Al-Makura, Chairman, Senate Committee on Solid Minerals, Mine, Steel Development and Metallurgy, has called for special funding towards reactivating the Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi. He stated this on Thursday while presenting the 2022 budget report of his committee to the Senate Appropriation Committee. Al-Makura (APC-Nasarawa) stressed the importance of the solid minerals sector to the diversification of the economy saying that the company was key to Nigeria’s industrialisation. “The Ajaokuta Steel Company is one of the very vibrant sectors that have been left in deep slumber. “Also, inadequate funding is one of the major problems of the…
The Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS) says it is contemplating imposing sanctions, including suspension of member countries that flout rulings of the Community Court of Justice. The move the regional body says stems from the fact that flouting the community court’s ruling was against the dictates of the “Community Texts’’ and which also equates to disruption of democratic processes. A judge of the court, Justice Dupe Atoki said in Lome, Republic of Togo, on Thursday, that the need for sanctions had become necessary in view of the impunity of disobedience by states. Atoke, who moderated a session on…