Benue Has No Monkeypox Case - Health Commissioner

The Benue State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. (Mrs.) Cecilia Ojobo has said Benue State has not recorded any case of Monkeypox.

Benue Command Of Nigeria Prison Service Appeals To FG For Operational Vehicles

    

The Benue Command of the Nigeria Prison Service, on Wednesday appealed to the Federal Government for operational vehicles to enhance its effectiveness in conveying inmates to courts.

The State Comptroller of Prisons, Mr Peter Pevigo said this in Makurdi that the command has no single official vehicle for the movement of inmates.

Command now uses all kinds of buses, including ambulances to move inmates to courts.

Pevigo explained that the command had no option but to improvise, by exploring alternative means of conveying inmates to court to avoid any breakdown of law and order in the prisons.

“We do not have any Black Maria, the official car for the movement of inmates from one place to the other, so we have to improvise alternative means of solving the problem.

“This is a very sensitive issue, because if we fail to take inmates to court at the appropriate time, they may cause havoc or cause any unlawful thing within prisons yards.

“At the moment, we have 858 inmates out of which only 86 are convicts.

“It is incumbent on us to take 772 inmates awaiting trial to court as at when due, that is why we are using our discretion to solve the issue.” he said.

The comptroller explained that the command had officially communicated to relevant authorities about their condition and expressed the hope that the situation would be addressed soon.

He commended prison warders under the command for their hard work and dedication to duty, and ensuring peaceful coexistence at all times.

CNPP Rejects Benue Council Elections, Demand its Annulment

 


The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), umbrella organization of all registered political parties and associations in Nigeria, has rejected the process and the outcome of the Saturday’s local government election in the Benue State.


It described the outcome as an “unprecedented rape of democracy and rubbishing of every tenet of free, fair and credible election at the local government level”.

The CNPP in a statement by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, while demanding for its cancellation, observed that “the process was tailored by the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC) and the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) and Governor Samuel Ortom to produce APC Chairmen in the state irrespective of the people’s choice.

It said, “The voters apathy marred the election in all 23 Local Government Areas of Benue State on Saturday, which resulted in low turnout of voters across the state clearly indicate that the people rejected the process and a remarkable statement that the election outcome is a fraud.

“We, therefore, call on the National Assembly, the international community and all well-meaning Nigerians to take note of the unprecedented rape of democracy and rubbishing of every tenet of free, fair and credible election at the local government level through electoral process manipulation by the Governor Samuel Ortom led administration.

“For us, no election took place in Benue on Saturday and we demand immediate cancellation of the election”, CNPP stated.

DisCos decry botched N100bn power subsidy

The 11 electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) have decried the failure of Federal Government to provide a N100 billion subsidy it promised three years ago, after private investors took over about 18 power sector utilities on November 1, 2013.
The DisCos in a statement by its umbrella body, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) yesterday also faulted the poor funding for the transmission section of the sector, which they said has resulted in the huge load rejection cases.
The statement issued by ANED’s Director of Advocacy and Research, Barrister Sunday Oduntan said government which holds 40 per cent equity in the utilities stated many interventions in the Performance Agreement of DisCos with the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).
“To date, the government has not met the privatization transaction foundational requirements of providing N100 billion in subsidies; payment of MDA electricity obligations; ensuring that the DisCos have debt free financial books; and implementing a cost reflective tariff,” it said.
On transmission constraints, ANED doubted if the N50 billion appropriated for TCN in the 2016 budget was released by half adding that, “This funding level is even more pitiful when, especially, measured against TCN’s estimate of $7.5 billion for its five-year expansion plan that is expected to take us to 10,000 megawatt (mw), from our current 4,500mw.”
The Daily Trust however reports that TCN’s former Managing Director, Engr. Atiku Tambuwal Abubakar said in February 2017 that the 2016 allocation was released by over 90 per cent, adding that many networks and substations were strengthened for efficient service delivery. “Should the DisCos have to suffer financial losses due to the limitations associated with TCN’s wheeling constraints?,’’ they queried in the statement.
They decried the continued dearth of TCN funding, saying it impedes the DisCos’ ability to distribute power and has led to crashes in power turbines of Generation Companies (GenCos) due TCN consistent requests for de-loading.

Bank workers to blow whistle on stashed funds

President of Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), Comrade Oyinkan Olasanoye, yesterday  implored her members in the Insurance and Banking sector to get involved in the whistle blowing of any person or persons known to them to be involved in the practice of cash racketeering.

She said it was necessary in order to save the nation’s system from liquidity crisis beleaguering it. 

“We urge our members as well as other players in the financial service industry to support the war on corruption in whatever capacity we can in order, to save our nation and ensure a more viable financial system and better society.

“As a responsible association, we can safely say that if all such funds are in the banking system today, the liquidity position will be different.
That ASSBIFI shall continue to support the efforts of government to rid the financial system of corruption at all levels.
She enjoined the federal government  to go beyond the financial reward to whistleblowers, and put in place laws that will protect the whistleblowers against any form of retaliation.

She advocated the need  for  anti-corruption agencies to intensify efforts into preventive activities by working hand in hand with the financial system operators and regulators in ensuring that access to such cash is prevented at the commercial banks and the Central Bank of Nigeria.

She also advised the federal government to employ proactive approach to anti-corruption as against the present reactionary trend.
She added:”The people shall desire to see a more diligent prosecution of corruption cases and a stem in the tide of corruption cases being lost to lack of diligent prosecution”.

FG bans chloroquine, artemisinin monotherapy

The Federal Government of Nigeria has banned the use of chloroquine and artemisinin monotherapy for the treatment of malaria.
The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, who made this announcement, stated that about N300bn was being lost annually by the Federal Government in the treatment and prevention of the disease.

According to him, the losses were incurred in government’s efforts to tackle the scourge in the country.
Adewole spoke on Tuesday in Abuja, during the commemoration of this year’s World Malaria Day.
Speaking on the theme, “End Malaria for Good: What is your Role?” The minister said, “With a new emphasis on citizen accountability and rights, I want you as a Nigerian citizen to challenge your health care provider and ask questions.

“When you have malaria and somebody wants to prescribe drugs for you, ask the health care provider: ‘Have you confirmed this is malaria?’ It is your right.
“As a citizen when your healthcare provider prescribes chloroquine or artemisinin monotherapy, say no. Doctors and nurses have been told that chloroquine is no longer useful and that it is wrong to prescribe artemisin monotherapy. For the healthcare provider, do not treat malaria without diagnosis.
“Tell yourself, ‘I must not prescribe chloroquine. I must not prescribe monotherapy for artemisinin when what we should prescribe is a combination therapy”, the minister emphasised.

I have not had light for 7 weeks, Nigeria still facing problems Fela spoke about – Femi Kuti

Femi Kuti, the son of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, has lamented the poor state of electricity in Lagos.
According to him, he has not had electricity in his home at Alagbole Akute, lagos for seven weeks.

He added that this shows that Nigeria in 2017 is still facing the same problems Fela spoke about years ago.
The Afrobeat singer said this during his performance at the New Afrika Shrine on Sunday, 23rd April 2017.
“’It’s been over 7 weeks of no electricity in my house.

“The reality is that we are still facing the same problems Fela spoke about,” Femi Kuti said.