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Nigerian government inaugurates committee to checkmate MDAs

Nnenna Okoronkwo
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The Federal  Government, inaugurated a committee on enrollment of newly recruited civil servants on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, IPPIS, to checkmate employment irregularities perpetrated by officers in Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs.

Inaugurating the committee, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan bemoaned incidences of sharp practices, noting that a large number of fake appointment letters were being discovered in some Ministries, which if not properly addressed, would lead to the denial of employment to a great number of prospective and eligible law-abiding job seekers in the country.

According to her, the Office is already collaborating with security agencies to investigate and bring to book those behind the nefarious and shameful practices.  She commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the implementation of the human resource module of the IPPIS, adding that the integrated payroll system would help address the age-long incidence of ghost workers as well as reducing personnel cost.

Dr Yemi-Esan urged members of the committee to give their best in their service to the nation, noting that the nation needed their wealth of experience to have a reliable and credible IPPIS platform.

In his brief remark, chairman of the committee and Permanent Secretary, Career Management, Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, OHCSF, Mr. Mamman Mahmuda, said the committee will carry out the assignment with all sense of responsibility, with a view to achieving the civil service that would be the pride of all.

The Committee’s Terms of Reference include, “identifying the challenges associated with the old process to guide the new process; examining the new processes of enrolling newly recruited officers on the IPPIS platform; identifying the benefits derivable from the new process including cost saving, where possible; initiating the process of enrolling new employees on the IPPIS platform guided by the new procedure; ensuring that the enrolment of new employees on IPPIS is based on the approved waivers from the OHCSF;   as well as treating and capturing all backlogs of newly recruited officers based on the new procedure, subject to authentication of appointment letters, approved waivers; financial clearance and Federal Character Commission Compliance Certificate, where applicable.”

Others are “recommending appropriate sanctions on defaulting MDAs, and individuals identified to have abused, breached or manipulated the process; ensuring no further enrolment of newly recruited officers on the IPPIS platform is done without the approval of the committee; identifying and removing all officers illegally enrolled on the IPPIS platform including savings made, where possible; and submitting monthly report on the number of staff captured or suspended on the IPPIS platform.”

Other members of the committee include the consultant, IPPIS-OHCSF Mrs Anne Atta, Director, Employee Mobility-OHCSF Mr. Tijani Inuwa, Director, Organization, Design and Development, ODD-OHCSF Mr. Ben. Omogo Director, IPPIS-Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF Dr. Nsikak Ben, Director, Recruitment-Federal Civil Service Commission, FCSC Mr. Ibrahim Anjugu, and Deputy Director, IPPIS-OHCSF Mr. Francis Ikyenge (secretary).

Suzan O/VANG

President Buhari celebrates release of Zamfara School Girls

Confidence Okwuchi
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President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed joy over the release of abducted female students in Zamfara State.

Reacting to the development, the President said “I join the families and people of Zamfara State in welcoming and celebrating the  release of these traumatized female students.”

President Buhari said he was excited that their ordeal came to a happy end without any incident, that “being held in captivity is an agonizing experience not only for the victims, but also their families and all of us.”

He however,  called for greater vigilance by the people so that human intelligence could be collected early enough to nip the bandits’ plans in the bud.

The Nigerian leader warned that the time has come to reverse completely, the grim and heartbreaking incidents of kidnapping.

“Ransom payments will continue to prosper kidnapping,” he warned, while urging the Police and the Military to go after these kidnappers and bring them to justice.

Confidence Okwuchi

US downplays possibility of sharing Covid-19 vaccines with Mexico

Mercy Chukwudiebere
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President Joe Biden’s administration has downplayed the prospect of sharing coronavirus vaccines with Mexico, saying it is focused first on getting its own population protected against a pandemic that has killed more than 500,000 Americans.

The remarks by White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki came before a video conference between Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and US President Joe Biden, in which the Mexican leader was expected to ask the United States to consider sharing some of its Covid-19 vaccine supply.

“The administration’s focus is on ensuring that every American is vaccinated. And once we accomplish that objective, we’re happy to discuss further steps,” Psaki said at a White House news conference.

President Biden told reporters that ”the two leaders would discuss the issue at the meeting’s outset.” But an official statement released after the meeting ended made no mention of vaccine distribution.

He has predicted the United States would have enough supply by late July to inoculate all Americans.

The US authorities have administered 76.9 million doses to date, according to its Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, enough for 23% of the population to get the two doses recommended for full protection under the vaccines that have been deployed so far.

Mexico has vaccinated roughly 2.5 million doses so far, enough for about 1% of the population, according to reports. Officials have been frustrated by bottlenecks in supply and raised concerns that wealthy countries are hoarding vaccines.

Loprez Obrador said at a news conference before the meeting that ”he would ask Biden to share the vaccines.”

Mexico would repay Washington once pharmaceutical companies have delivered on their orders, reports said

In a joint statement released after the meeting, the two countries said ”they would deepen their cooperation on Covid-19 response.”

They also said they would work together on immigration policies “that recognise the dignity of migrants and the imperative of orderly, safe, and regular migration.”

Lopez Obrador is pushing for more US work permits for Mexicans and Central Americans, including professionals.

The two countries also said they would try to cooperate on efforts to slow climate change and would restart high-level diplomatic talks on trade and labor rights.

Reuters/Olawunmi Sadiq

Nigeria Savings Bond: DMO offers for March 2021 subscription

Nnenna Okoronkwo
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The Debt Management Office (DMO), on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria has offered for subscription, the March 2021 Federal Government of Nigeria Savings Bond.

This is contained in a notification published on the website of the agency. According to the notification, the savings bond offer comes in two tranches;

2-year FGB Savings Bond due March 10, 2023: 5.181% per annum

3-year FGN Savings Bond due March 10, 2024: 6.181% per annum

Details

Opening Date: March 1, 2021

Closing Date: March 5, 2021

Settlement Date: March 10, 2021

Coupon Payment Dates: June 10, September 10, December, and March 10

Units of sale: N1,000 per unit subject to a minimum subscription of N5,000 and in multiples of N1,000 thereafter, subject to a maximum subscription of N50 million.

According to the circular, the offer is backed by the full faith and credit of the Federal Government of Nigeria and charged upon the general assets of Nigeria.

Interested investors were however advised to visit their website in order to get the list of stockbroking firms appointed as distribution agents.

Note also that Nairametrics had reported the offer for subscription of a similar Savings Bond in February with interest rates of 4.214% and 5.214% per annum for 2 years and 3 years tenor respectively.

The interest rate for the latest offer is, however higher than the offer announced in February. This could be a move to attract more investors to subscribe to the securities.

The FGN Savings Bond is an investment product issued through the Debt Management Office (DMO) on behalf of the Federal Government.

It also qualifies as securities in which trustees can invest under the Trustee Investment Act, and is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Suzan O /Nairametrics

Hepatitis: NGO seeks prevention of Mother-to-Child transmission 

Mercy Chukwudiebere
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A Non-Governmental organisation in Nigeria known as Center for Initiative and Development CFID, has called on government at all levels to put measures to end mother- to- child transmission of Hepatitis disease which has been on the increase in the country.

The Executive Director of the organisation Mr. Adda Danjuma made the call in an interview with Voice of Nigeria in Taraba State, North-east Nigeria, as part of activity to commemorate this year’s International Day for Non-Governmental Organisation, NGOs marked every 27th February.

He said more women especially those in the rural communities are at the risk of transmitting hepatitis disease to their children due to lack of early diagnosis and treatment.

“Most of them don’t even go to the hospital during pregnancy  and some of them patronise local birth attendants without proper care,” he said.

Mr Adda noted that only early diagnosis of the hepatitis disease could help prevent mother to child transmission of the hepatitis disease.

Partnership
He called on government at all levels to partner with the relevant civil society organisations to carry out activities that could lead to early diagnosis and treatment of the hepatitis disease especially among the rural dwellers.

“We at Center for Initiative and Development, CFID,  have been carrying out free diagnosis for selected communities in Taraba State and six other states in Nigeria and we were shocked by the high number of pregnant women who have the disease but are not aware of it because they have not been tested, so we are calling for more partnership to scale up our outreach for early diagnosis and treatment so we can stop the possible transmission of Hepatitis from mother to child,” Mr Adda stressed.

The Executive Director also stated that in other advanced countries, measures have been put in place to end mother-to-child transmission of Hepatitis through early diagnosis and treatment but Nigeria is yet to get to that stage as there are no government programmes for the management of Hepatitis.

 

 

Mercy Chukwudiebere

INEC seeks stakeholders support for additional polling units

Confidence Okwuchi
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The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has appealed for public support for its planned increase in the number of polling units across Nigeria.

INEC equally stressed the need for enhanced voter education in order to ensure the delivery of free, fair and credible elections.

The Commission’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr. Nick Dazang, said this in an address during the opening ceremony of the INEC/IFES Voter Education Manual Review/Validation and Training of Trainers Workshop held in Akure, the Ondo State capital,

Dazang said, “The commission is intending to expand voters’ access to polling units. This is because the existing polling units were created in 1996, many of the voters today were born at that time and what it means is that, some of them won’t have access to where they can vote now. Also, many towns and villages have come up while some have expanded.

“So, many existing polling units cannot serve all the people now, that is why on election day, you see a lot of congestion at the polling units and some people will become unhappy and leave, this often leads to voter apathy.

“We have started consulting the stakeholders, so far, we have consulted with the leadership of political parties, CSOs, PWDLs, the media, Afenifere, ACF, Middle Belt Forum, Ohanaeze among others to make them see the need for the creation of the additional polling units.”

The Resident Electoral Commission in Ondo State, Dr Rufus Akeju, said, “It is believed that this task would have been completed before the commencement of the CVR (Continuous Voters Registration). The fact that voters in Nigeria are still culpable in various electoral offences indicate that our voter education drive is yet to achieve the desired result.”

NP/Confidence Okwuchi

 

Zero Discrimination Day: Group calls for more awareness

Lateefat Ibrahim
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As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark Zero Discrimination Day, a nongovernmental organisation, Nigeria Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV/AIDS (NINERELA+), has called for more awareness creation amongst women to end discrimination in society.

 

The National Coordinator of NINERELA+, Amber Erinmwinhe, while speaking at an event to mark the day in Abuja, said that women perpetrate most of the discriminatory acts against fellow women.

 

She noted that women still practice some old traditions that shows signs of discrimination against other women all over Nigeria.

 

“Women need a lot of orientation especially those in rural communities where some old practices still exist. In some communities where widowhood practices still take place, it is usually the women that will shave a fellow woman’s hair. It is the woman who also takes children for circumcision,” Ms Erinmwinhe said.

 

Ms Erinmwinhe also said that women need to unlearn some old traditions that they hold on to, if the country is to end discrimination.

 

She called for more awareness for men and women for Nigeria to achieve zero discrimination.

 

According to the Programmes Manager of the group, Mr. Ikenna Nwakamma, everyone has a role to play in ending discrimination in society.

 

“The Family has a role to play in training a child, at the community level there are barriers and practices that are discriminatory and at the government level, there is a need to ensure equitable access to opportunities and resources,” he said.

 

Mr Nwakamma explained that the group engages various stakeholders including faith and community leaders, as part of its effort to achieve zero discrimination in the country.

 

Zero Discrimination Day is celebrated on March 1 every year to promote equality in practice and before the law. The day aims to create global solidarity towards ending all forms of discriminations.

 

Zero Discrimination Day 2021 aims at highlighting the urgent need to take action to end the inequalities surrounding income, sex, age, health status, occupation, disability, sexual orientation, drug use, gender identity, race, class, ethnicity and religion that are prevalent around the world.

 

According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), “inequality is growing for more than 70 per cent of the global population, exacerbating the risk of division and hampering economic and social development.”

 

Participants at the event gave their commitments to end gender discrimination in their localities.

 

 

Lateefah Ibrahim

 

Croatia’s former Coach Zlatko Kranjcar dies

Mercy Chukwudiebere
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Croatia’s former coach and Dinamo Zagreb star Zlatko Kranjcar has died  at the age of 64.

“Kranjcar, legendary Croatian footballer, and coach … has died in Zagreb,” the National Football Federation (HNS) said in a statement without providing further details.

The Zagreb-born Kranjcar was hospitalised last month due to liver problems.

Kranjcar played for Dinamo in the 1970s and 1980s before joining Rapid Vienna, where he won the Austrian championship twice.

After retiring as a player Kranjcar returned to coach Dinamo, leading them to the league and cup double in 1996 and 1998.

He served as national team coach from 2004 to 2006 but was sacked after Croatia failed to make the knockout phase at the World Cup.

Kranjcar later had an 18-month spell in charge of Montenegro and stints with Iran’s Sepahan and Al Ahli of Qatar.

He briefly took over Dinamo again in 2016 and then Iran’s Under-23 side in 2018.

Kranjcar’s son Niko, 36, is also a former international footballer.

 

 

Channels Tv/Mercy Chukwudiebere

Nasarawa Assembly commences inspection of SUBEB Projects

Lateefat Ibrahim
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The Nasarawa State House of Assembly Committee on Education, Science and Technology, has advised contractors handling the construction and renovation of primary schools projects across the state against the use of substandard materials.

 

This, the committee said, was to ensure that quality jobs were done to improve the standard of education in the state.

 

The Chairman of the committee, Daniel Oga Ogazi gave the advice on Monday when he led other members of the committee on an assessment visit to the ongoing construction and renovation of primary schools in Lafia and Obi Local Government Areas of the State.

 

Oga Ogazi ( APC), who represents the Kokona East constituency said that the committee inspection visit was aimed at ensuring that contractors adhere strictly to specifications.

 

The House Deputy Majority Leader said that the committee would not allow any contractor to jeopardise government’s efforts in providing quality education in the state.

 

Ogaz commended Governor Abdullahi Sule for his efforts in improving the standard of education through the award of school projects across the state.

 

He has also commended the management of SUBEB for an effective supervision of school projects  and called for its sustenance.

 

The lawmaker commended some contractors for quality jobs done.

 

“Some contractors used poor and substandard materials. We advise those contractors to go back to the site and do the needful as we are going to make appropriate recommendations  on them to ensure that good jobs are done for the overall development of the education sector and the state at large”

 

” We are here on- the spot assessment of the new constructions and renovations of classrooms across the state.

 

”  We want to ensure that contractors adhere strictly to specifications to improve on the standard of education in the state.

 

” As the visit was not meant to witch hunt anybody but to ensure that the right things are done in the interest of our children and the education sector,” he said.

 

Huge investment in the education
Ogazi also urged the community and teachers to take ownership of school projects in their domains to ensure that good jobs were delivered for stability.

 

The lawmaker gave assurance of the committee’s readiness to supervise school projects across the state to justify the government’s huge investment in the education sector.

 

Some of the schools visited include LGEA primary School, Lafia East, GJSS, Lafia South, LGEA Primary School, Angwan Galadima, LGEA Isyaka Islamiya, Command Secondary School, Lafia, LGEA Primary School, Kwandere, Danka Bako Primary School, LGEA primary School, Danka Sarki, RCM Pilot Science School, Aridi,  LGEA primary school, Shabu, LGEA primary school, Gimare, LGEA primary school, Wakwa Baba, LGEA primary school, Mararaba, LGEA primary school, Bukan Kwato as well as the construction of roads, drainage, culvert and walkways at Vocation and Skill  Acquisition Centre, Lafia, all in Lafia Local Government  Area of the state.

 

Others are LGEA primary school, Akunza Migili,  LGEA primary school, Duduguru in Obi Local Government Area of the State.

 

Lateefah Ibrahim

Jangebe School Girls regain freedom

Confidence Okwuchi
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The Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle has announced the release of the kidnapped students of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe.

The girls were abducted on Friday by bandits who stormed their school on motorcycles and Hilux vehicles.

Matawalle said, “Alhamdulillah! It gladdens my heart to announce the release of the abducted students of GGSS Jangebe from captivity. This follows the scaling of several hurdles laid against our efforts. I enjoin all well-meaning Nigerians to rejoice with us as our daughters are now safe.”

The governor, who received the girls at about 5am Nigerian time on Tuesday in Gusau, said the girls were returned safely without paying any ransom.

He said, “this is the result of our peace effort and putting to shame all those saying there is no security in this country.

“We have been in discussion since Friday with the abductors and reached agreement on Monday by 4pm that the girls were released.

“We are happy that all 279 have safely returned, they will undergo medical checks and given balanced diets to recupperate by the state government before they are handed back to their respective families.

“I want to appeal to parents not to remove their children from school as a result of this, we will ensure additional security in all the schools.

We thank all media outlets for their support throughout these trying times,” the governor said.

 

NP/Confidence Okwuchi

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