Nation
THE STATES
Borno
The Borno State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teach
ers (NUT) has donated reading glasses to 140 teachers with eye problems after free medical treatment.
The state Chairman of NUT, Alhaji Bulama Abiso, disclosed this in Maiduguri in an interview with newsmen
He said 14 out of the beneficiaries would undergo eye surgery, while others were given free eyeglasses.
Abiso said the free eye screening was conducted by a team of medical experts from Afro Eye Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO).
He said patients with minor eye problems were treated at its medical centre, while those with surgical cases were referred to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital for operation.
Abiso said that the gesture was part of the union’s efforts
Ekiti
An Ado-Ekiti High Court has sentenced one David
Olugboyega to death by hanging for armed robbery involving N14,570.
Justice John Adeyeye passed the judgment following the confessional statement of the convict and the conclusion of trial by the prosecution.
During trial, the prosecutor, Mr Alaba Adeyemi, told the court that the convict committed the offence on March 20, 2003 at Araromi Street, Ikere -Ekiti.
He said the convict, armed with dangerous weapons including gun and cutlass, robbed three people of N14,570.
Specifically, Adeyemi said the convict robbed Kola Owolabi of N8,000; Beatrice Olawumi, N5,000 and Idowu Abiodun, N1,570.
The prosecution called seven witnesses to prove the case.
The convict, who made confessional statement at the police station, opted to defend himself without a lawyer.
FCT
Director-General of Centre for Management Develop
ment (CMD), Dr Kabir Kabo has warned unaccredited management training institutions and uncertified consultants to close shop or face the wrath of the law.
Kabo gave the warning in a statement in Abuja by his Special Assistant on Media, Alhaji Abdulkadir Ibrahim.
Kabo said the Nigerian Council for Management Development Act gave it a regulatory role to sanction any management consultant or training institution that undertook training programme without accreditation.
CMD, which is a parastatal agency under the National Planning Commission, is the operational arm of the council.
The visit took Kabo to some organisations, including Jheyah Nig. Ltd., PAN Training Centre, Shehu Shafi’i and Co. and Rafisa Safety and Management Consultants.
The DG added that the council was determined to ensure quality assurance, control and intervention in the operations of manpower and management developers.
Jigawa
The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate
(PTAD) has commenced the verification of federal pensioners in Jigawa State.
This is contained in a statement by the PTAD Director-General, Nellie Mayshak, in Dutse. The statement stated that the verification, which began on November 2 with pensioners in the North-West – Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina, Kaduna and Zamfara, would end on November 14.
It stated that South-East – Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia and Imo would hold between November 30 and December 12, while North-East, South-West, South-South and North-Central would hold in the first quarter of 2016.
Kaduna
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of
Nigeria (IPMAN), Kaduna branch, has appealed to the Department of Petroleum Resources to urgently address the current fuel scarcity in the area.
The IPMAN Spokesperson, Alhaji Sani Yushau, made the appeal in an interview with newsmen.
Yashau said the problem had been worsened by the inability of the refinery in Kaduna to produce as well as the non transportation of fuel from Lagos by marketers.
Kano
The Department For International Development (DFID),
has promised to partner the Kano State Government in addressing the problem of unemployment in the state.
The Manager in charge of DFID’s training programme in Kano, Dr Muhammad Sagagi, stated this in an interview with newsmen in Kano.
Sagagi had had an audience with Alhaji Kabir Rurum, the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly.
He said the programme focusing on Kano, Kaduna and Katsina States was tagged Way Out ‘Mafita.’
According to him, the three states have the highest number of unemployed people in the country.
Katsina
Senator Mustapha Bukar (Katsina North), has rolled out
his free eye treatment for no fewer than 7,000 people in his constituency.
Speaking at the inauguration of the free eye programme, Bukar noted that the beneficiaries were selected from the 12 local government areas of the senatorial district.
He said the free eye treatment and surgery was instituted as part of welfare programmes for the people.
“Many of the beneficiaries could not afford such medical treatments or operations due to financial constraints.
“We engage 20;qualified doctors for the exercise and it is expected to be completed within one month.”
He restated his commitment to introduce more programmes that would improve the living standards of the people.
Lagos
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities
(SSANU), has called on the Federal Government to find ways of improving the working conditions for its members.
The National President of SSANU, Mr Samson Ugwoke, made the appeal in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.
According to him, rather than relieving workers in the system, the government should seek means of improving the living conditions in the universities.
It will be recalled that members of the association had in June, protested a circular directing Vice-Chancellors of Federal Government universities to stop accommodating their staff school teachers in their emolument structure.
Nasarawa
Governor Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has of
fered free medical services to all persons living with disabilities in the state. Al-Makura disclosed this during the commemoration of World Disability Day in Lafia.
He said the state government had embarked on a census and registration of all persons with disabilities across the 13 local government areas to enable them to access the service and other gestures from the government.
He said the state had tried the free medical services in the past without success due to activities of saboteurs.
Oyo
An Alternative Therapy Medical Practitioner and Nutri
tionist, Dr Ayelara Oni, says lemon is an anti-cancer food.
Oni made the disclosure in an interview with newsmen in Ibadan. She said lemon was acidic to taste but was an alkaline-forming food, explaining that this was why it was good for balancing a highly acidic condition in the body, thereby balancing the body’s pH.
She added that lemon contained 22 anti- cancer compounds, including limonene, which was the natural oil that help to slow or halt the growth of cancer.
Oni, who is also a Director at a herbal store, said lemon had a substance called flavonol glycosides which could stop cell division in cancers.
Plateau
The Executive Chairman, Plateau State Universal Basic
Education Board, Prof. Mathew Sule, has called for the establishment of health clubs in public schools to enlighten children on prevention of HIV/AIDS.
Sule made the call in an interview with newsmen in Jos.
He said such clubs would be good platforms to enlighten pupils and students on the ultimate target of eradicating the pandemic in the society.
He added that “the best time to inculcate knowledge in children is when they are minors; that is the time such awareness could be firmly rooted in their subconscious.’’
The SUBEB boss explained that the health clubs, which were already part of school curriculum activities in Plateau, should serve as platforms for enlightenment on AIDS and the dangers it posed to the society.
He exressed regret that many children had been made orphans by the scourge, pointing out that such persons were worst hit because they would find it difficult to acquire education and other neccesities of life.
Sokoto
Former Treasurer of APC in Sokoto State, Alhaji Muktari
Mapia, has advised the state independent electoral commission to use card readers in the forth coming local government election.
Mapia told newsmen in Sokoto that using card readers would enhance the credibility of the conduct of the election.
He called on the commission to provide a level playing field for the conduct of transparent election to usher in democratically elected leaders at the grassroots.
The former treasurer also called on leaders of political parties in the state to sensitise their followers to the dangers of involvement in political violence and thuggery.
He advised security agencies to brace up for the challenges by providing a peaceful atmosphere for the conduct of the election in the state.
Nation
PTAD Reiterates Commitment To Pensioners’ Service Delivery
The Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Dr Chioma Ejikeme, has reiterated the commitment to service delivery for pensioners.
Ejikeme said this during the Customer Service Week in Abuja, yesterday.
He said that commission had a mandate to deliver good service delivery to the pensioners.
Ejikeme, who was represented by the Director Civil Service Pension Department, Mr Kabir Yusuf, said that the customer service week was important to operations of PTAD.
“Customer service is the support that you give to a customer, whether it is an existing customer or potential customer in the process of delivering or making enquires about a service.
“To be a good customer service representative you need to be knowledgeable, have good attitude and attribute especially to the senior citizens and have empathy,” he said.
Ejikeme said that all PTAD staff had most of the attributes of a good customer representative.
“We provide excellent customer service by going to verify our aged pensioners who cannot do it by themselves anywhere across the country.
“There is a dedicated team that was mandated to go round to confirm the aliveness of those who can not confirm their aliveness either because the are too old or have health issues,” the executive secretary said.
The National Coordinator, SERVICOM, Mrs Nnenna Akajemeli, said that the official theme of the 2024 customer service week was “ We Go Above and Beyond For Our Customers.”
She commended PTAD and the SERVICOM team for organising the 2024 customer service week.
“This is in line with the best practice of celebrating frontline workers and service takers.
“Customer service week is celebrated annually during the first full week in October.
It calls attention to the importance of people to boost morale team work and departmental collaboration in supporting pensioners.
“ It is a platform to reward employees for the significant work they do,” Akajemeli said.
She said that the objective of the customer service week was to celebrate the hard work and dedication of employee who strived to create positive customer experiences.
She said that it was time to show customers that the organisation valued their experience and feedback, through comment cards, dedicated hotline, among others.
Akajemeli said that it raised awareness internally and externally about the importance of good customer service in building customer loyalty and satisfaction.
She said that the benefit was to increase motivation, show appreciation, encourage friendly competition, boost employee retention, create a positive workplace and increase productivity.
The Head, Surveillance Department at the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mr Abdulrahman Saleem, said that good service delivery was the key success of every establishment.
Salem said that PTAD operated with standard, considering the success it had achieved so far.
Saleem said that pensioners required the best service attitude and behavior.
“ I give kudos to PTAD for its efforts and encourage it to do more.
“Therefore I urge PTAD staff to keep up the standard and continue to give good service to the pensioners,” he said.
Nation
CAS Honours Officer For Placing NAF On International Spotlight
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, has honoured Flying Officer David Sangokoya for winning the 2023/2024 Royal Air Force College Cranwell International Cadet Sword of Honour.
Abubakar honoured the officer during the presentation of cheques to 13 beneficiaries of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Group Personal Accident Insurance Policy (GPAIP) in Abuja, yesterday.
He described the achievement as ground-breaking as it was the first time an African cadet had won the prestigious award since the Academy’s creation over 100 years ago.
According to him, the feat underscores the excellence that exists within NAF, and proof that NAF officers and cadets can stand shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world.
“To our awardee, you have set a new standard, not just for your peers, but for every cadet and officer that will come after you.
“This accomplishment is a powerful reminder that no goal is out of reach when one is armed with dedication, discipline and an unwavering commitment to excellence.
“Your journey as an officer has begun with this prestigious accolade, but the true measure of your success will be seen in how you serve, lead and contribute to the mission of NAF and the defence of our great nation.
“As we celebrate this historic occasion, we extend our deepest gratitude to the United Kingdom Government for its unwavering support in providing world-class training opportunities to our personnel.
“This has enabled our officers and men to gain invaluable skills and knowledge, strengthening not only our bilateral ties but also our collective ability to address global security challenges,” he said.
The CAS said that the NAF looked forward to continuing the fruitful partnership for the mutual benefit of Nigeria and UK countries.
He expressed gratitude and unflinching loyalty to President Bola Tinubu for his commitment to the welfare and training of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, and NAF in particular.
“I must also take a moment to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the leadership of the Nigerian Defence Academy and the instructors who helped to mould and prepare this cadet for the global stage.
“Their dedication and commitment to developing top-notch officers is evident in this ground-breaking achievement.
“You have not only trained a leader but have given the Nigerian Air Force a legacy we will all cherish,” he said.
Nation
Healthcare Reforms: NHIA Advocates Private Sector Involvement
National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has advocated private sector involvement to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare system.
The Director-General of the authority, Dr Kelechi Ohiri, made the call at a high-level policy dialogue on sustainable health system reforms in Nigeria in Abuja, yesterday.
The Tide’s source reports that the dialogue was organised by the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN), a coalition of private sector stakeholders, to address the multifaceted challenges plaguing the country’s healthcare system.
The dialogue has “Private Sector Support for SWAP (Sector Wide Approach) in Healthcare” as its theme.
Represented by Dr Yakubu Agada-Amade, the NHIA Director of Standards and Quality Assurance, Ohiri explained the crucial role of private sector collaboration in strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare system
He highlighted the “One Plan” under the SWAp framework, which seeks to unify health sector efforts, ensuring efficient resource use, effective governance and expanded healthcare access.
He also stressed the importance of overcoming barriers that historically hindered the implementation of healthcare interventions in Nigeria, such as inadequate financing, weak governance systems, and bureaucratic bottlenecks.
He added that “the dialogue explored innovative approaches, including digital health innovations and financing mechanisms to accelerate the implementation of the National Health Act and mandatory health insurance coverage.
“With enrollment in health insurance growing by 14 per cent over the past year, NHIA can push for greater inclusivity, particularly targeting the informal sector through flexible payment systems and partnerships with telecommunications companies.”
He called for stronger synergy between public and private health actors to ensure universal access to quality healthcare and sustainable reforms in line with the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII).
Panelists from the Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners (ANPMP), Healthcare Providers Association of Nigeria (HCPAN) and Health and Managed Care Association of Nigeria (HMCAN) echoed the sentiments, underscoring the private sector’s role in expanding insurance coverage and improving healthcare delivery.
They commended NHIA’s efforts toward driving reforms to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp).
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