Day: August 2, 2024

The Speaker of Anambra State House of Assembly, Mr Somtochukwu Udeze, has said that the late music icon, Onyeka Onwenu epitomised nobility, greatest,hard work and creativity in her chosen career (music).

In his Condolence Message released through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Emma Madu, Udeze said the late Onyeka Onwenu used music to deliver a lot of lessons and also contributed to the happiness, growth and development of Nigeria through her collections.

The Speaker who recollected with nostalgia some of the late Onwenu’s albums like ‘One Love,Keep Us Together’, ‘You And I will Live’ and ‘Chukwu Gozie Nnem’ among others, described her as a queen of the music industry.

Talents

While calling on the Federal Government to immortalise the late Onwenu by naming the National Center For Women Development after her, Udeze enjoined other women of Igbo extraction to emulate the late music legend by discovering their talents and utilising them in the service of God and humanity as Ms.Onwenu did.

The Speaker who note
d that the impressive life and times of the late Onwenu will remain fresh in people’s memory, consoled her immediate family, Imo State Government, Ndigbo, Nigeria and International Community on the demise of the pride of Ndigbo in music ,Onwenu and prayed God to grant her soul eternal rest.

Source :News Agency of Nigeria

Jigawa State Governor in North West Nigeria, Umar Namadi, has declared a 24-hour curfew in the state.

In a State broadcast, Governor Namadi said the curfew became necessary following the looting and vandalization of properties during the #EndBadGovernance protest# in the state.

He said, ‘It is sad that we woke up on Thursday to witness what is not part of our culture and tradition of destroying properties and even the protest.

‘This is totally not part of us because as Muslims, we believe that nobody can inflict hardship on anybody except God Almighty.

‘We were surprised to see small children sponsored to destroy public property, hence the need to impose the curfew.’

He said the curfew would continue until the situation is assessed and evaluated to determine the next step.

The governor however noted that because of Friday’s Jumaat Prayer, the curfew would be relaxed from 12:00 noon to 2.30 pm to allow for the congregational prayer.

Meanwhile, the Jigawa State Police Command has reiterated its readiness
to implement the curfew.

The command Public Relations Officer, DSP Lawan Adam in a statement said fifty-five (55) people were arrested and six items were recovered during the protest.

‘We’ve arrested fifty-five (55) suspects, recovering Motorcycles 35, Tricycle 3, Bicycles 12, Bags of fertilizer 111, Chairs 9 and Cartons of mosquito nets 40.’

Some of the damaged areas are Hadejia LG Secretariat where six (6) parked vehicles were set on fire, JARDA store was vandalized, Gumel LG, Set fire to the house of national assembly member, Hon. Nazifi Sani, Vandalized NITDA office, Looted APC state secretariat and set it ablaze, Vandalized JASCO store and carted away fertilizer and foodstuff in B/Kudu and Attempted attacking Senator Babangida Hussaini’s house in Kazaure LGA.

Source :News Agency of Nigeria

Some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have advocated increased participation of women in politics and leadership positions, decrying the underepresentation of women in politics in Nigeria.

The NGOs, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) and BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights, made this known during a Regional Strategic Workshop on Women’s Full and Meaningful Participation in Public and Political Life in Southwest Nigeria, held in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

Speaking during the workshop, the NDI representative, Dr. Roselynn Musa, explained that the convening has been regionalised because Nigeria is a diverse country and no one cap fits all the states, noting that the Southwest Zone convening is the first leg as the meeting will be held in all the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.

Musa stated: ‘It’s very good to hear from the women what the issues are and what the solutions to those issues will be before we now bring them all together in a plan that everybody will be able to relate
to. Everybody’s issues will be identified within that plan that will serve as a blueprint for people who are interested in inclusion in political participation and leadership.’

Mitigating the barrierso

Executive Director, BAOBAB, Bunmi Dipo-Salami said the convening is aimed at developing strategies that can feed into a national action plan to improve women’s political participation in Nigeria, saying an early start is imperative to mitigating the barriers faced by women, as the women present at the workshop are very enthusiastic and optimistic.

Dipo-Salami noted: ‘The women are from different states, and different political parties, but they are all united that what is really important, what binds us is that we are women and we are marginalised and this has to stop, it is very embarrassing. It is in the interest of Nigeria for women to be at the table because it is when we hold hands, that Nigeria can make progress and prosper.’

As a way of addressing the challenges, BAOBAB, in partnership with NDI, des
igned a programme: ‘She Persists’, a project to improve women’s political participation at the local, sub-regional and national levels in Nigeria, to ensure a higher uptake of women participation and getting elected into political positions.

Women politicians

The Programme Director, BAOBAB, Anne Lawal, revealed that She Persists is a 2-year project that is supposed to come up with a national action plan, a concrete document, that everybody can have as a guide on women in politics across Nigeria, by bringing women politicians in the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria together.

Lawal said: ‘We expect that all the regions will share what their challenges, opportunities and best practices are, and it will help us develop the national action plan at the end of the day, that women can have as a living document that they can work with when it comes to women’s increased political participation in Nigeria.

‘Another aspect of the project is advocacy to young women in politics, and other female politicians who are no
t even taking it beyond 2027. That is why we are coming up with the national action plan, which will be a living document that everyone can refer to even beyond 2027,’ she asserted.

The participants agreed that the workshop will influence women’s participation in the forthcoming election, saying there were enough brainstorming sessions on issues that can enhance the participation of women in the forthcoming elections.

One of the participants from Ekiti State, Mrs Aderonke Okusanya, argued that although women participation in politics is declining, but her state has made appreciable improvement as it is the only state that has six women in the House of Assembly.

Okusanya stated: ‘It’s declining but in Ekiti State we currently have a female deputy governor, female deputy speaker, and more than 10 women in the State Executive Council. Not only that, for appointments there are over 300 women appointed into the state government. So, we want every other state in Nigeria to follow our example in Ekiti State.’

Su
pport

For Alhaja Nurat Babs-Olorunkemi, another participant from Lagos State, women should be determined to be involved in politics, form a coalition of like minds so as to exchange ideas and correct their mistakes as necessary, and also stand up to support one another.

She noted: ‘With all the support we give to women, we comb the nooks and crannies looking for them, but at the end of the day we are dumped. We don’t want that situation again, we want to support ourselves, and that is why it has become a good gesture on the part of BAOBAB to organise such a programme.’

The workshop, themed: ‘From Margins to Mainstream: Improving Women’s Political Participation in Nigeria,’ brought together female politicians from the six states of Southwest Nigeria including Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Ekiti, to strategise and compare notes in order to see an improvement in the particupation of women in politics and leadership in Nigeria.

Source :News Agency of Nigeria

The Renewed Hope Initiative, a pet project of Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu has offered scholarships to 200 Nigerian students.

The move which aimed at boosting the number of Nigerian Youths to have access to qualitative education is in partnership with various National and International organizations.

The 200 beneficiaries of the AUDA-NEPAD/African School of Economics/ RHI Scholarships were unveiled at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.

Speaking at the event, the First Lady reiterated that the administration of President Bola Tinubu will continue to prioritize education as evident in the various policies and programmes it is implementing in the sector.

‘The administration of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has done so much in the education sector.

‘The recent zero interest Student’s Loans scheme, bursary and scholarship awards to students, and various education infrastructure development projects, are all geared towards providing unhindered access to education for every
Nigerian student.

‘Last year, the Renewed Hope Initiative under its National Scholarship Programme (RHI-NASP) gave scholarships to the tune of N1,000,000 per annum for four years and a brand new laptop to students in Nigerian tertiary institutions.

‘This is to assist the students with tuition fees, books, and other educational expenses. The second tranche of payment for the beneficiaries is due in September 2024,’ she stated.

Mrs. Tinubu explained that she has consistently emphasized the education and empowerment of the Nigerian girl-child, who is culturally and traditionally excluded, to a great extent, than her male counterpart, from receiving comprehensive formal education.

This she said has brought about the need for the establishment of Alternative High School For Girls across the country.

This was corroborated by the Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman who explained that the First Lady is an education Champion.

‘Your Excellency, your commitment and drive in the education sector is highly
appreciated and as the Ministry, we are also supporting this drive with an additional 4,000 bursary grants for tertiary education students in the country.’

In her remarks, the CEO of AUDA-NEPAD in Nigeria, Gloria Akobundu, pointed out that the beneficiaries will receive qualitative education within and outside Nigeria.

Finland’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Leena Pylvanainen, stated the readiness of her country to explore more partnerships with the Renewed Hope Initiative in the area of education.

A total of 200 students in various fields are to commence their academic career at the African School of Economics, an affiliate of Priston University, USA with the scholarship.

Source :News Agency of Nigeria

The Emir of Kano in North West Nigeria, Mohammadu Sanusi has called on the people of the state to remain calm and support the security in maintaining peace.

The Emir gave the advice in a broadcast amidst heightened tension and anxiety as a result of violent protest which led to the destructions of properties worth millions of Naira in the state.

He expressed dismay over the destructions in Kano especially reported deaths, the looting and burning of the Nigerian Communications Commission Digital Park, Kano State Printing Press and Business Plazas among others.

He said, ‘the Digital Centre of excellence that was built by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) was aimed at educating our youth, giving them digital training, preparing them for examinations.

‘We have set ourselves back. The printing press that was burnt will have to be rebuilt, the machines will have to be bought and these are funds that could have gone into youth empowerment, into poverty alleviation, into education, healthcare and nutri
tion and addressing the very problems that we are protesting against.’

The Emir commiserated with the affected victims, saying, the destructions will greatly affect the state.

‘The violence of Thursday was what scholars and leaders kept warning against the possibility that miscreants and agents of destruction would hijack peaceful demonstrations and use that opportunity to cause mayhem which led to loss of lives and destruction of properties and injuries to countless people.’

Emir Sanusi called on the people of Kano to support the security by obeying the curfew imposed by the government as well as reporting all suspicious movements.

He also, called on the people not to buy looted properties from the looters, urging parents who are in possession of of the loots to return them to be appropriate authority.

He said, ‘any violence in Kano only hurts Kano, it hurts innocent people. The young people who died are our children, the property that was burnt and stolen belongs to the people of Kano.’

‘I am calling
on people of Kano not to allow themselves to repeat what happened yesterday or to be deceived into continuing with this kind of mayhem.’

‘Let us continue to persevere, Kano has witnessed difficult times before, it has gone through worse than this and it has risen. Let us revive the Kano spirit of strength, of perseverance and upholding steadfast onto God who will lift us up and out of this even stronger,’ Emir Sanusi added.

Source :News Agency of Nigeria

Businesses have Commenced fully in Ebonyi State Southeast Nigeria after the first day of nationwide hunger protest.

A Driver who operates from Ebonyi to Onitsha in Anambra State, Mr John Ojemba said the protest didn’t draw massive participation in the state as anticipated.

‘We are used to suffering and working hard to make a living in this part of Nigeria, even when we protest against bad administration, Nigerian Government will not hearken to our plight,, so we are used to struggling and working hard to live in line with best practices,’ Ojemba said.

The Commercial Driver urged Nigerian Government to listen to the voices of the majority who are protesting for their rights.

A customer of First Bank, Mrs Ula Una expressed happiness that commercial activities had resumed fully.

The protests in the state were however peaceful.

The first day of the protest saw businesses shutting down due to security concerns.

In some parts of the country, properties were vandalised and lootings from business premises we
re recorded.

Source :News Agency of Nigeria