Politics
Nigeria Set To Improve Family Planning Services
Nigeria is currently doing
everything possible to improve its family planning services by increasing its Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR).
The Adviser, Health System Strengthening, Health Plus Project, Palladium, Dr Emeka Nwanchukwu, made this known, yesterday, in an exclusive interview shortly after the inauguration of the Advocacy Working Group on Family Planning in Port Harcourt.
According to him, the CPR of Nigeria is amongst the lowest globally, hence the Federal Government is seeking to improve it by 2018.
“The CPR for Nigeria is one of the lowest globally, standing at 15 per cent as at 2013. This is why the Federal Ministry of Health is aiming to improve it to 30 per cent by 2018,” he said.
As much as achieving this sounds ambitious, he explained, “we think that there is a lot we can do to work towards achieving it.
“What we are doing here today is to engineer the state to decide on goals, objectives and activities that will help the state to achieve their own target of that national 36 per cent goal”, he said.
The HSS Advisor explained further that Rivers State is the 8th in the country to institutionalize the Advocacy Working Group on Family Planning and has as its target “bringing together. Family planning advocates made up of Civil Societies, those in the academia, Government, Community leaders, Religious leaders and family planning champions.”
To enhance this, he continued, the media is brought in “to come together to look at the barrier militating against uptake of family planning in the state, and design advocacy strategies that would be used to implore resources for family planning.
Also speaking, a consultant gynaecologist with the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Dr Cosmos Enyindah, stated that the essence of the inauguration of the Advocacy Working Group on Family Planning in Rivers State is to ensure an increase in the CPR.
Dr Enyindah, who was one of the facilitators, stated that the target is to “see how we can get to about 61 per cent so that at the end of the day, we will achieve what we are expected to do in increasing the CPR in the nation at large.
He also explained that the objective is, among others, to ensure that policy makers are brought in to improve on budgetary allocation and release of same towards capacity building as well as provision of family planning commodities for the end users.
Palladium is a United States-based organisation based in Washington D.C, that works towards improving livelihood and economies of countries, especially developing counties.
Sogbeba Dokubo
Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has appointed Nigerian music legend, Innocent Idibia, popularly known as TuFace, as his Technical Adviser on Entertainment and Community Outreach.
In a viral video on Wednesday, Governor Alia praised TuFace for all the support towards his administration.
The Governor stated that TuFace can do more.
He stated, “On behalf of the Benue State Government and our very good people, we want to give you some more responsibility plus the ones you have been doing because you have the capacity to do some more and help us chart a way forward to improve other people’s lives and to gain more from your wisdom and advice as well.
“So, I’m pleased to announce that we will make you a Technical Adviser to the Governor on Entertainment and Community Outreach.”
Governor of Delta State, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, has officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The announcement was made following a closed-door meeting at the Government House in Asaba on Wednesday.
The Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Sir Festus Ahon, confirmed the development in a telephone conversation with The Tide’s source.
Similarly, the defection of former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa was announced on Wednesday in Asaba by Senator James Manager, following a meeting that lasted over six hours at the Government House.
Senator Manager said all PDP members in the State, including the Governor, former Governor Okowa, the Speaker, the state party chairman, and all local government chairmen, had agreed to join the APC.
“We cannot continue to be in a sinking boat,” he said.
The decision to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) followed extensive consultations with political stakeholders and was made in the interest of Delta State’s long-term development.
Governor Oborevwori, who won the 2023 gubernatorial election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was received by senior APC officials in what political analysts are already describing as a strategic realignment with far-reaching implications ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria has condemned the recent wave of killings in Plateau, Borno, Benue, Niger State and most recently, Kwara State, calling on the federal and state governments to take urgent steps to stem the tide.
Chairman, Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, Adebo Ogundoyin, stated this in a statement issued in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Rt Hon. Ogundoyin, who is the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, said the gruesome killings had led to tragic loss of lives, widespread displacement, and unimaginable trauma for thousands of Nigerians.
“We are alarmed by the escalating insecurity in the land and the seeming helplessness with which these attacks are met. The time for mere condemnation and rhetoric has passed; urgent and coordinated action is now required at all levels of government to end these bloodbaths and restore peace and order.
“While we acknowledge that defence and national security fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal Government, we must stress that every level of government bears responsibility for the security and welfare of the people. State governors, in particular, must rise to the occasion and fully understand that governance is not limited to road construction and ceremonial functions. True governance is rooted in the protection of lives, the preservation of order, and the alleviation of suffering,” he said.
He called on state governments to complement the efforts of the Federal Government by making and enforcing enabling laws for community policing and other grassroots-driven security models.
According to him, States must develop proactive frameworks that integrate local intelligence, social support systems, and youth engagement in the fight against insecurity.
The conference also urged the Federal Government to meaningfully engage the citizenry and introduce bold, practical measures to cushion the hardship caused by its current economic policies.
“Millions of Nigerians are groaning under the weight of inflation, unemployment, and a cost-of-living crisis. It is imperative that relief initiatives—targeted, transparent, and impactful—are rolled out without delay. Dialogue, not distance, must define the relationship between the government and its people at this critical time.
“The Conference of Speakers affirms its commitment to supporting all legislative actions necessary to restore security, promote justice, and foster inclusive governance across the country. The killings in Benue, Niger, Plateau, Borno, Kwara, and any part of Nigeria must not be allowed to continue unchecked. Justice must prevail, and peace must be restored.
“Let it be known: the safety, dignity, and well-being of every Nigerian must remain the top priority of all arms and levels of government,” Rt Hon. Ogundoyin said.