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Rotary Foundation commits $300m to polio eradication in Nigeria
The Rotary International Foundation says it has committed over 300 million dollars to polio eradication in Nigeria.
Its Chairman, Board of Trustees, Mark Maloney, disclosed this on Thursday while conducting polio immunisation at a Primary Healthcare Centre in Jahi, Abuja.
According to him, polio eradication is Rotary’s number one priority worldwide and it is focused on eradicating the variant type two poliovirus cases discovered in 2024.
Maloney said efforts towards eradicating the polio variant should be intensified, adding that recording success in that area would be beneficial to the Nigerian government.
He also commended the Federal Government’s polio accountability programme as well as all Rotarians for their efforts in putting an end to the disease.
“The Nigerian government is facing a significant challenge with the continuation of variant polio type two, and so far, we have seen about 92 cases through the cases that have been evaluated in 2024.
“We encourage the government to redouble their efforts to put the focus on this polio eradication as they did with the Wild Polio Virus (WPV), and they were successful.”
On new donations to Nigeria, Maloney said that Rotary would allocate some funds in 2025, but the amount was yet to be determined.
“There are 50 million dollars that I expect will be allocated, but a lot of it has to go to Pakistan and Afghanistan, where WPV is still endemic.
“Though, I think there will be a significant tranche of funds, maybe not tens of millions, but a significant amount of money will be allocated to Nigeria,” he added.
The chairman noted that the organisation has allocated two million dollars to its Programme of Scale project aimed at reducing the rate of birth-related mortality in Nigeria.
“What we are looking to do is to decrease the rate of mortality in births in this country, and it is operating now in several districts.
“One way that the mortality rate can be decreased is for more births to happen in a healthcare facility rather than at home.
“We have seen in the first year of the programme a significant increase in the percentages of births happening in medical facilities.
“One district had gone from 11 per cent happening in medical facilities to 33 per cent, which is a significant increase,” he added.
The Chairman of the organisation’s Nigeria National Polio Plus Committee, Mr Joshua Hassan, said outbreak immunisation efforts are conducted locally in response to the vaccine-derived variant of polio.
Hassan said national immunisation days are planned twice a year for the entire country.
According to him, the organisation is focusing more of its efforts on Kano, Zamfara, Katsina, Kebbi, and Sokoto states.
Prof. Emmanuel Lufadeju, the National Coordinator of Together for Healthy Families in Nigeria, said that the Programme of Scale project was designed to reduce maternal mortality among women by 25 per cent.
Lufadeju said that this is done through community dialogue, home outreaches, medical outreaches, and capacity building.
“We are going to train a lot of people, including doctors and nurses.
“Then we are going to do something that is called a social, behavioural change, to change the attitude of people and make them deliver in the facility instead of delivering at home.”
He added that the two million dollar project, which began in 2024, is expected to end in 2025.
The Tide source reports that Maloney is in Nigeria for an official visit to embark on advocacy, carry out symbolic immunisation, visit the Programme of Scale project areas, and also visit President Bola Tinubu.
President Bola Tinubu has approved the nomination of four new members to the Governing Council of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement yesterday, said the appointment is to fill existing vacancies and strengthen the board’s capacity.
The statement said the approved nominees are Mr. Olusegun Omosehin of the National Insurance Commission and Engr. Wole Ogunsanya of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria.
Tinubu also endorsed the nomination of Sam Onyechi, who represents the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum and Barrister Owei Oyanbo from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
The President encouraged the new members to leverage their expertise and dedication to enhance local content development within Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
It added, “The nominations arose from the exit of previous institutional representatives from the Governing Council.
“The NCDMB Governing Council, established under Section 69 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010, comprises representatives from key institutions.
“These include the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum, and the National Insurance Commission.”
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has announced plans to construct additional hostels, rehabilitate roads, and enhance power supply in the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT).
NDDC’s Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, disclosed this during a visit to the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, yesterday by a delegation from the UNIPORT’s Governing Council.
Ogbuku stated that the NDDC had committed to upgrading facilities at UNIPORT as part of efforts to foster partnership with educational institutions across the Niger Delta.
According to him, the implementation of additional projects at the university forms part of a broader strategy to improve education standards in the region.
“Aside from the construction of new hostel blocks and installation of a 300 KVA solar inverter system, the NDDC will also facilitate more projects in the university.
“The commission will also deploy its engineers to assess the condition of UNIPORT’s roads and hostels for potential rehabilitation,” he said.
Ogbuku noted that upon completion, the projects would add to various initiatives previously undertaken by the commission at the university.
“These and other projects reflect our commitment to actualising President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the Niger Delta region,” he added.
He reaffirmed the NDDC’s dedication to fostering development and strengthening partnerships across the region.
Earlier, Sen. Mao Ohuanbunwa, Chairman of UNIPORT’s Governing Council, who led the delegation commended the current leadership of the NDDC for its achievements in accelerating development in the Niger Delta.
He highlighted the university’s infrastructural challenges, noting that it lacked adequate facilities to accommodate its growing student population, and appealed for the NDDC’s support in addressing the shortfall.
“Currently, UNIPORT has a total student population of about 50,000, while its hostel accommodation capacity can only cater for 5,000 students.
“We therefore urge the NDDC to assist in the construction of additional hostels, improve transportation facilities, and facilitate the acquisition of gas turbines to enhance power supply for our students,” Ohuanbunwa pleaded.
The Vice Chancellor of UNIPORT, Prof. Owunari Georgewill, commended NDDC for its impactful projects across the Niger Delta and extended an invitation to the commission to participate in the institution’s forthcoming 50th anniversary celebrations.
The Senate has rejected a motion to rename the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters after the former chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission, late Prof Humphrey Nwosu.
Nwosu presided over the June 12, 1993, presidential election, which was truncated by the former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd).
The election which was won by the late business mogul, Chief MKO Abiola, was adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the electoral history of Nigeria.
The motion to rename INEC after Nwosu was re-sponsored by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe yesterday after lawmakers threw it out last Wednesday.
Abaribe called for posthumous national honours to be conferred on Nwosu in recognition of his role in Nigeria’s democratic evolution.
However, the proposal sparked a heated debate once again, with lawmakers deeply divided over Nwosu’s legacy.
Senator Osita Ngwu acknowledged that Nwosu operated under a military regime, which restricted his ability to announce the results.
He argued that “there was no way he would have announced the results with a gun to his head. That doesn’t change the fact that some of us see him as a hero.”
Senator Austin Akobundu, however, described it as most uncharitable for lawmakers to dismiss Nwosu’s contributions, insisting that he deserved a place in Nigeria’s hall of honour.
On the other hand, several senators like Senator Jimoh Ibrahim dismissed the idea outright, questioning why the Senate should honour someone who failed to announce the results insisting that “nothing should be named after him”.
Senator Cyril Fasuyi argued that history does not reward efforts, but only results.
“As long as he did not announce the result, whether under duress or not, I am against naming INEC headquarters after him,” he submitted.
Also, Senator Sunday Karimi criticised Nwosu for lacking the courage to speak out, while Senator Afolabi Salisu warned that immortalising him would undermine the memory of MKO Abiola, the widely accepted winner of the June 12, 1993, annulled election.
“Any attempt to do anything beyond a one-minute silence is to rubbish Abiola’s legacy,” he tendered.
After intense deliberation, most senators rejected the motion through a voice vote.
They, however, agreed to honour him with a one-minute silence and extend condolences to his family, effectively dismissing the other prayers to immortalise Nwosu.