The Gombe State Government said on Monday that it had begun engaging key stakeholders across the state to ensure a peaceful harvest and prevent farmer-herder clashes. The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Abdulkadir Muhammed, disclosed this at a news briefing in Gombe. He said a committee set up by the state government to ensure peaceful harvest activities had begun engaging traditional rulers, leaders of farmers’ and herders’ associations, and other grassroots stakeholders. According to Muhammed, there have been no reported clashes between farmers and herders so far, which he attributed to the early engagement of relevant stakeholders. He said…
Author: Newsdesk
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, has called for harmonised health training standards across ECOWAS member states to strengthen regional integration and improve healthcare delivery. Pate made the call in Abuja on Monday at the Integration Meeting of Accredited West African Colleges, Training Institutions and Regulatory Bodies in the ECOWAS Region. Represented by Dr. Dakum Londji, Nigeria’s liaison officer to WAHO and the African Union at the ministry, Pate said diseases did not respect national borders. He stressed that solutions, knowledge and health professionals should also be able to move freely across the region. He…
Prof. Kingsley Ogboi, president of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), has called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to promote sustainable, inclusive and resilient human settlements in Nigeria. Ogboi made the call in a statement issued on Monday in Uyo to mark the 2026 World Town Planning Day (WTPD). The theme for the 2026 WTPD is “Great Communities Are Built on Planning.” He emphasised the importance of collective action, effective planning and coordinated development in addressing the growing challenges facing cities and communities. Ogboi said building sustainable communities required a shared commitment to sound physical planning, responsible land use,…
A science, technology and innovation researcher, Dr Philip Osim, has called for targeted fiscal incentives to attract private-sector investment in Nigeria’s emerging bioeconomy. Osim, also a policy analyst, made the call in an interview with reporters in Abuja on Monday. “The bioeconomy will not grow on government funding alone. “Private capital must come in, and capital goes where risks are reduced and returns are predictable,” he said. The Food and Agriculture Organization defines the bioeconomy as the production, use, conservation and regeneration of biological resources across all economic sectors. Osim said the sector could create jobs and reduce the country’s…
The Lagos State Deputy Governor and All Progressives Congress governorship candidate for the 2027 election, Obafemi Hamzat, has pledged to expand health insurance coverage to one in every three residents and upgrade about 150 primary healthcare centres to round-the-clock facilities if elected governor. Hamzat said the proposed expansion would improve access to healthcare, protect residents from the financial burden of illness and ensure more communities had access to functional primary healthcare services. He also promised to increase bed capacity in nine general hospitals, complete ongoing hospital projects and establish a new university of medicine to train more doctors in the…
The Lagos State Government has warned private medical practitioners against treating conditions outside their professional competence, urging them to refer patients to specialists rather than risk avoidable deaths and complications through inappropriate care. The Executive Secretary of the Health Facilities Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA), Dr Victoria Egunjobi, gave the warning during a meeting with the Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners in Lagos, according to a statement obtained by reporters on Sunday. Egunjobi also urged private practitioners to help the state identify unqualified operators and facilities, asking association members to provide information about individuals and centres involved in quackery.…
Mr Ikechukwu Godwin, a construction expert, has identified misdiagnosis of damp, overwhelmed damp-proof courses and trapped salts as major causes of moisture in buildings. He warned that surface repairs treat only the symptoms, not the hidden source of moisture. Godwin, who spoke to reporters in Suleja on Sunday, said homeowners should not treat damp walls as merely a cosmetic problem. “Homeowners often treat peeling paint and mould as cosmetic problems — scraping, puttying and repainting — while moisture continues to travel invisibly through masonry, finding its way back through new paint when the root cause is ignored.” He said common…
The UN’s annual climate talks kick off on Monday in Turkey as rising temperatures heighten the urgency of action, while financial constraints and geopolitical tensions complicate efforts to secure global cooperation. More than 100,000 people are expected to attend COP31 over the next two weeks at a sprawling expo centre in the Mediterranean seaside city of Antalya. Negotiators from nearly 200 countries face difficult discussions on how to accelerate the energy transition and provide funds to help developing nations cope with the worsening climate emergency. However, observers say few major breakthroughs are expected as countries grapple with an oil price…
Experts in radiography and healthcare research have called for stronger patient-safety measures, improved diagnostic services and compassionate care to enhance healthcare delivery. They made the call on Sunday in Lagos at the 2026 World Radiography Day celebration, organised by the Lagos State Branch of the Association of Radiographers of Nigeria (ARN), under the theme “Upholding Patient Care”. World Radiography Day is marked annually on Nov. 8 to commemorate the discovery of X-rays and recognise radiography professionals’ contributions to healthcare. Mr Unyime Essiet, a radiotherapist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Mediserve Cancer Centre, stressed the importance of accurate diagnostic…
Three commercial transport operators say compressed natural gas (CNG) has significantly reduced their fuelling costs, but long queues, inconsistent dispensing pressure and a shortage of fuelling stations are eroding the benefits. The operators spoke in separate interviews with reporters on Sunday in Lagos. President Bola Tinubu reportedly directed the accelerated deployment of mobile refuelling units in March 2026 to improve access to CNG while permanent infrastructure is expanded. One operator, Fatai Mohammed, a driver for a corporate organisation, said his vehicle’s 75-litre CNG cylinder could hold up to 17 standard cubic metres (SCM) of gas. He said a refill cost…