Day: August 18, 2024

Mr Peter Dogara has emerged as the chairmanship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the State Independent Electoral Commission has fixed Oct. 19 for the council polls in the state.

Delegates from the 12 wards of council affirmed the nomination of Dogara as the party’s candidate through a voice vote at a congress held in Kafanchan.

Alhaji Rilwanu Abdullahi, the Chairman of the Congress Committee, commended the members of the party for their peaceful conduct throughout the exercise.

Abdullahi said that the smooth and seamless process that produced Dogara was a pointer to the victory for the party in the forthcoming elections.

He advised the candidate to carry everyone along during the campaign to guarantee his success.

Accepting his nomination, Dogara thanked the party members for the confidence reposed on him, assuring that he would not let them down.

He promised to execute people-oriented projec
ts if elected into office and solicited for the support of the electorate in the area.

Earlier, Jema’a APC Chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Koli, described the candidate as a grassroots politician whose pedigree would translate to an overwhelming victory for the party at the polls.

He called on those who lost out during the selection process to join hands with the candidate and work for the success of the party.

Source : News Agency of Nigeria

The Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society has organised a holiday camp workshop for more than 80 teenagers in Abuja to inculcate moral values and develop their entrepreneurial skills.

The National Chief Imam of the Society, Shiek Fuad Adeyemi, at the end of the 10-day intensive camp on Saturday stressed the need for parents to devote more time for the development of their children, inorder to evolve a better society.

He said the 12th edition of the teenagers workshop which had as it’s theme: ‘Heroes in the Making through Entrepreneurial Skills’ was carefully segmented into pre-teens and teenagers sections for maximum impact.

‘As we all know, the entire world is challenged, everybody is knowledgeable, but there are no morals, no discipline, no home training, most people are just focused on how to make money, even if it’s immoral and we can’t continue like this.

‘This is why we brought our children together for the 12th edition of this workshop, this year we had about 80 of them in camp and Alhamdulilah we were abl
e to teach them discipline, morals and how to supplicate and get things from Allah.

‘We also exposed them to entrepreneurial skills for self reliance, we trained them in digital skills such as video editing, graphic design, photography, online business and other skills like baking,’ he said.

Adeyemi, who decried the moral decadence and vices prevalent in the society, urged government at all level to synergise more with faith-based organisations to get youth development programmes down to the grassroots.

Earlier, the Ameer of the teenagers camp, Nurudeen Adeleke, said the camp was an eye-opener for the participants, as they learnt positive things that would make them better individuals and contribute positively to the society.

‘Alhamdulillah, we are happy for this great opportunity and wish it can even be expanded in subsequent editions,’ he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that participants at the workshop were taught entrepreneurial skills such as baking, weaving, netting, gift box, graphi
c design, among others.

Source : News Agency of Nigeria

The Kaduna State Government says it will soon commence implementation of the Disability Act to strengthen equality and mainstream persons with disabilities.

Alhaji Zubairu Muktar, Special Adviser to Gov. Uba Sani on NGO matters, said that the act would also help to remove barriers in accessing services in public and private sectors.

Muktar spoke at the end of a strategic round table discussion and orientation of media houses on disability reporting in Zaria.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the act was passed and signed by former Gov. Nazeer El-Rufai in Oct. 2021.

The programme was organised by Lafiya Project, a UK support in health transformation in Nigeria, in collaboration with SightSavers International.

Muktar, who expressed dismay over non-implementation of the Act, which had been signed into law since 2021, explained that he would meet with the governor within the week over the implementation.

He, therefore, restated the commitment of the current administration to ensure that persons
with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone.

Earlier, Mr Monday Okwoli, Disability Inclusion Adviser, Sight Savers, an NGO, commended the state governor for the initiative.

Okwoli expressed the commitments of the NGO to strengthen partnership with the state government on the implementation of the Act.

According to him, available statistics from the National Demographic Health Survey indicated that about 9.7 per cent of Nigerians had different form of disabilities.

‘This category of people with such a huge number cannot be relegated. Many of them lack access to public services such as education, health, empowerment and security empowerment programmes, among others,” he said.

Okwoli said one of the aims of the orientation was to build the capacity of the media to know the stigma and discrimination faced by persons with abilities while accessing public services.

He added that the programme was also aimed at getting the nod from the media so that they could come up with programmes
that would amplify more visibility for persons with disabilities and ameliorate their challenges.

‘Our belief is that, when there is adequate right information in the public domain, the stigma and discrimination faced by people with disabilities while accessing services would be eroded,” he said.

Hajiya Rakiya Umar, Executive Secretary, Kaduna State Disability Affairs Board, commended the organisers of the programme and described the orientation workshop as educating and informative.

The executive secretary said implementation of the Disability Act would reduce barriers experienced by the person with disabilities and scale-up access to many services rendered by the board to its immediate constituency.

According to her, this action further denotes that more persons with disabilities will have improved access to empowerment from different centres of the board across the state.

‘By implication, some of the people with disabilities, who are on the streets, would be rehabilitated,” she observed.

Source :
News Agency of Nigeria

Load shedding remains suspended, with Eskom providing uninterrupted power supply for over 142 consecutive days since 26 March 2024, including over 108 days of constant supply throughout the winter period.

There has been no load shedding since the start of Eskom’s financial year on 1 April 2024.

According to Eskom, the Generation Operational Recovery Plan continues to enhance efficiencies for Eskom, resulting in a R10.21 billion reduction in Open-Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs) diesel expenditure from 1 April 2024 to 15 August 2024.

‘This represents approximately a 74% decrease compared to the same period last year,’ the power utility explained.

Eskom said the last time South Africa experienced over four months of load shedding suspension was more than four years ago, from 16 March 2020 to 9 July 2020, when load shedding was suspended for 116 days.

Eskom has maintained an average Energy Availability Factor (EAF) of 67% over the week.

In addition, over the past seven days, Majuba, Lethabo, Kendal, Kusile,
and the peaking stations have recorded an EAF greater than 70%.

In addition, four more power stations have achieved an EAF above 60%.

‘Notably, five of these stations were part of the priority list in our recovery plan. Eskom’s operational efficiency continues to surpass its winter assumptions, with current unplanned outages averaging between 9 800MW and 12 400MW since 01 April 2024 – the start of Eskom’s Financial Year 2025,’ the organisation added.

Friday’s figures were sitting at 10 145MW, which according to Eskom was still significantly lower than the winter 2024 forecast.

However, the winter forecast, published in April, anticipated a likely scenario of unplanned outages at 15 500MW and load shedding limited to Stage 2 still remaining in force.

Eskom is expected to announce on 26 August 2024, its outlook for the summer period from 1 September 2024 to 31 March 2025.

Source : South African Government News Agency

The Department of Cooperative Governance (DCOG) has announced its decision to end the participation of Community Work Programme workers who also receive old age grants so as to redirect resources to those who rely solely on the programme for their livelihood.

According to the department, the decision comes after a thorough verification exercise conducted in collaboration with the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).

‘Cognisant that the programme is funded from the same fiscus as the old age grants disbursed by the SASSA, it is considered prudent to avert double dipping, by participants especially those who are above the age of 60 years. This will allow the department to redirect resources to those who rely solely on this programme for their livelihood.’

The department believes that the exiting of participants who are already receiving stipends from government presents an opportunity to enrol more women, young people and people with disabilities.

‘Moreover, exiting beneficiaries of old age grant
s will also enable the programme to maximise on imparting tech-based and artisanal skills, particularly among the unemployed women and youth.’

The department stated that it has, through the implementing agents, engaged the affected participants and issued them with formal letters, notifying them of the decision.

The last working day for affected participants was on Friday, 16 August 2024, while the final stipend will be paid on 25 September 2024.

‘The department is mindful of the impact this decision might have on the affected participants. However, it is confident that in the long run, it will optimise the programme’s effectiveness and sustainability.’

Meanwhile, the department said it was committed to advancing poverty eradication and economic empowerment through community development, especially amongst the most vulnerable in society.

The department has described the CWP as one of the transformative flagship strategies that respond directly to social security through active economic participation.

‘It is important to note that CWP is a temporary employment safety net, premised on the principle of graduating participants from poverty to self-sustenance through skilling and community development.

‘The programme is designed to facilitate for temporary participant intake and sustainable socioeconomic exit paths.’

In efforts to enhance the impact of the programme, the DCOG has since adopted a smart partnership model in aid of sustainable exit strategies for participants.

‘Additionally, the reimagined CWP aims to recruit youth as part of addressing unemployment and skills shortage amongst this cohort,’ said the department.

Source : South African Government News Agency

It has been a good weekend for South African sport.

In a social media post on X, President Cyril Ramaphosa congratulated mixed martial artist, Dricus Du Plessis, for retaining the United Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight title.

‘Congratulations Dricus Du Plessis, on retaining your UFC middleweight world championship with a submission in #UFC305.

‘As a bonus, you kept our Flag flying hours after the Springboks scored an historic a 2-0 series win in Perth as well. We couldn’t wish for a better day in the office,’ the President said on Sunday.

This as Du Plessis defeated Israel Adesanya in Perth, Australia.

Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie also congratulated Du Plessis.

‘This is who we are as a South Africans, one nation and sport crazy. Thank you Dricus Du Plessis, my voice is gone!’ said the Minister in a post on X.

The Proteas Men also made the nation pride in their match against the West Indies.

‘Winning is what we do! South Africa’s test series win yesterday was the 10th conse
cutive win against the West Indies! The Proteas made us so proud with an incredible team effort and clinical bowling when it mattered! Well done once again,’ said Cricket South Africa on X on Sunday.

On the rugby front, the Springboks claimed victory in their bout against Australia in Perth on Saturday. The Springboks beat the Wallabies 30-12 in the second Castle Lager Rugby Championship Test.

In a post on X, the South African government congratulated the Springboks.

‘You’ve made South Africa proud!,’ it said.

Source : South African Government News Agency