Month: April 2024

Yiaga Africa, an NGO, says its national debate competition will provide a unique platform for students across universities in Nigeria to articulate their vision for the nation of their dreams.

Mrs Antonia Onda, Senior Programme Officer, Yiaga Africa, made this known at the South West Zonal Debate titled: ‘My Nigeria – Our Nigeria’ held in Lagos on Monday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Yiaga Africa invited students from accredited Nigerian universities to register to participate in the debate competition in February.

According to Onda, ‘My Nigeria – Our Nigeria’ debate competition is a Yiaga Africa initiative with support from the Open Society Foundations and in partnership with the National Universities Commission and All Nigerian University Debating Championship.

Onda explained it was organised to encourage participants to engage in insightful debates on crucial topics relating to citizenship, national values, governance, and politics to harness citizens’ inputs into governance and natio
n-building.

According to her, it is also a tool for promoting critical thinking, advocacy and vision amongst students of tertiary institutions.

She said: ‘We saw the involvement of young people at the last general elections and we can see their enthusiasm so we discovered that they need an opportunity and a platform.

‘Also, they need to be encouraged every time. Therefore, the debate is an opportunity for universities across the country to come together, express themselves and have honest conversations on national issues.’

Onda further explained that the initiative was a platform for students to contribute actively to the discourse on the future of Nigeria.

She noted that the debate symbolised the essence of critical engagement and visionary leadership.

‘This is to see how youths will be included and carried along and also encourage young people to participate in governance processes.

‘Also, this debate gives them the platform to have a discuss on the issue that bothers them with regards to governance
while prizes will be awarded to winners.

‘The competition will embrace the opportunity to be a part of this transformative journey and join in shaping the future narrative of Nigeria,’ Onda said.

The Yiaga Africa official disclosed that the debates were held at each of the six geo-political zones, and that winners at the zonal round would be invited to the grand finale in Abuja in May.

According to her, the final round of the debate will be broadcast live on TV and social media platforms.

One of the participants, Ifeoluwa Odeyemi, a 400 level student of Political Science at Obafemi Awolowo University said Nigeria was at a stage to make certain decisions that had to do with restructuring and procedures, to produce desirable results.

‘Nigeria is at a stage where we have to make certain decisions that has to do with restructuring and procedures to produce the results we desire.

‘This kind of platform provides more resources for the government to have something to rely on whereby citizens can actually speak
where it matters.

‘For as long as we continue to discuss issues that border on Nigeria on a more concentrated platform like this, l believe there are positive steps to the future that we want for our country.’

Another participant, Miss Halimat Ariyo, a final year Cell Biology and Genetics student at the University of Lagos, said the competition was an avenue for youths to have an engaging conversation that they would not necessarily have outside their daily life.

Ariyo said the competition was insightful because in most instances, youths shied away from engagements relating to nation building.

According to her, this debate is an avenue to bring youths together to make them have hard conversations that go beyond sentiments, favouritism, ethnicity or tribe.

‘It allows us to make hard conversations in a friendly environment because in a debate environment, you cannot necessarily attack the speaker but you can proffer solutions to cases before you.’

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said it has begun the conduct of fresh bid round for marginal oil fields in Nigeria.

The NUPRC said 12 oil fields would be offered together with the five from the 2022 bid round that was put on hold due to the 2023 general elections.

The Commission’s Chief Executive, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, said this at the Maiden Edition of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Policy Dialogue on Monday in Abuja.

The NEITI House Dialogue is a platform for quarterly policy briefing by Chief Executive Officers and policy makers in the extractive industries to update the public on their activities.

It enables them present information and data on key transparency and accountability policy reform efforts either accomplished or ongoing in their respective organisations.

Komolafe, in his presentation, said the bid round would be conducted between 2024 and 2025.

He stated that the Commission would conduct a comprehensive review of all awarde
d assets to ascertain active and idle assets in the industry.

He assured that the process would be fair, transparent and competitive in line with Section 73(1) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

He said it would be difficult to put a figure to the amount that would be generated from the bid round, adding, however, that it would run into billions of dollars.

According to him, the country’s oil production is currently hovering around 1.4mbpd and 1.5mbpd.

He said the petroleum environment prior to the PIA was chaotic, but had been changed with 25 regulations put in place by the Commission.

He added that the sector had become predictable for investors to come in.

Komolafe said the Commission awarded 49 gas flare sites under the gas commercialisation programme of the Federal Government, and generated N4.344 trillion revenue in 2023.

Earlier, in his Opening Remarks, the NEITI Executive Secretary, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, said the Dialogue would host notable policy makers in Nigeria’s extractive industries a
nd related sectors.

Orji said it would address issues that were of interest and topical to the industry.

He added that the policy dialogue would also get the invited policy maker to provide update or status report on the implementation of NEITI report recommendations as it concerned the agency.

‘This is with a view to deepening not just government oversight and reforms in the extractive sector, but making it inclusive of all stakeholders.

‘Selected section of company representatives, media and civil society actors will be invited to the programme live.

‘This is to demonstrate the multi-stakeholders’ nature of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) process,’ he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Environment and Safety Management Institute (ESMI) has urged the government and other stakeholders to prioritise the safety and security of workers in the country.

Alhaji Usman Ibrahim, Emir of Nasarawa Emirate and Chairman, Board of the institute, made the call at the 4th National Stakeholders’ Seminar on Environment and Safety organised by ESMI on Tuesday in Abuja.

The theme of the seminar was ‘Banditry as a Threat to Occupational Safety in Nigeria.”

Ibrahim, who was represented by Mr Sunday Edibo, member of ESMI board, said ‘safety first is safety always.’

The traditional ruler said that prioritising workers safety involved the implementation of comprehensive safety measures, providing proper training and retraining of personnel.

He said it also entailed inter agency collaboration to address root causes of banditry and other forms of violence.

Ibrahim decried that the country was faced with a growing challenge of banditry threatening the safety and security of workers across all sectors in the
country.

Citing Wikipidia, he described banditry as ‘a type of organised crime committed by outlaws (bandits) typically involving threat or use of violent acts.”

He said that such act could be in form of robbery, kidnapping, extortion and murder in an ungoverned space or areas where rule of law had broken down.

Ibrahim said that the negative impact of banditry cut across every sector of the economy which included agriculture, educational institutions, religious, among others.

‘In agriculture, our largest economic sector for instance farmers and farm workers are brazenly kidnapped from their farms, houses and processing factories leading to disruption of agricultural value chain.

‘This adversely affects our food production, transportation, processing and marketing systems; exacerbating food insecurity, unemployment and poverty.

‘Our educational institutions are not spared; our youths who are leaders of tomorrow are kidnapped in broad day light and subjected to harrowing trauma which survivors often expe
rience symptoms such as post trauma stress, depression and anxiety.

‘These conditions can significantly impair individual’s ability to function in daily life and maintain healthy relationship with members who may feel guilt for not been able to protect their loved one, ‘he said.

He added that bandits also vandalised power lines; thereby making the nation’s quest for stable power supply seemingly untenable.

Ibrahim said that the incidents not only affected lives of individuals at risk but disrupted the smooth functioning of businesses and governance as well as putting the economy in jeopardy.

On his part, Mr Martins Torsamber, National President of ESMI, said the seminar was informed by the rising spate of banditry.

Torsamber said the seminar was for professionals to brainstorm and come up with best solutions in tackling banditry in the country and to reduce its consequences on workers in the country.

According to him, occupational safety is not only referring to workers.

‘We are referring to the farmer
s, artisans, craftsman, as well civil servants,” he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has said that it conducted 5,592 occupational safety and health activities at various workplaces across the nation in the last one year.

Mrs Maureen Allagoa, Managing Director of NSITF said this on Monday in Abuja during a tree planting ceremony to mark the 2024 World Day for Safety and Health at Work.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the theme of the 2024 edition is ‘Impacts of Climate Change on Occupational Safety and Health’.

According to her, the exercise was conducted between May 2023 to April 2024 adding that the SITF was committed to the improvement of safety and health in the world of work.

‘We have conducted a total of 3234 occupational health and safety audits, a total of 1614 awareness and enlightenment campaigns.

‘We also conducted 744 follow-up on cases in various workplaces across the federation, using our 12 regional and 57 branch offices and we are geared to do more,’ she said

Allagoa said the Fund was committed to creating safe, h
ealthy, and sustainable workplaces for all Nigerian workers.

She noted that the prevention of workplace accidents through robust Occupational Safety and Health(OSH) programmes was the first step in the dynamic processes of the employees’ compensation.

The NSITF boss said the Fund would intensify efforts to double the figure in the following year.

On the theme, Allagoa said, while focus had been on the environmental and humanitarian impacts, it was crucial to recognise that climate change also posed significant challenges to occupational safety and health.

‘Climate change affects workplaces in various ways, including excessive heat, increased exposure to extreme weather events, ultraviolet radiation, vector-borne diseases, agrochemicals, and air pollution.

‘These environmental shifts jeopardise the physical well-being of workers and impact their mental health and overall productivity,’ among others,’ she said.

Allagoa said the NSITF as the custodian of workplace safety and health, had adopted proactive m
easures to tackle the challenges head-on.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Federal Capital Territory Administration, says it will relocate Apo Mechanic Village and artisans loitering in the area to give way for road construction.

The coordinator of the council, Mr Felix Obuah, disclosed this during a meeting with the Apo Mechanic Village and Auto Spare Parts Dealers Association in Abuja.

Ubuah pointed out that the FCTA was constructing a road along the Apo mechanic village, adding however, that the road has been occupied by spare parts dealers and artisans.

He said that the relocation became necessary because a contract for the road construction had been awarded and work would begin in earnest.

He said that he had visited the area specifically to check the streets, the roads, and the artisans, and see how they could be taken off the streets and relocated.

‘So, we went there to see for ourselves and see what we can do to relocate the occupants of the mechanic village and artisans who have taken over large portions of the roads.

‘
From there we went to Wasa to see the possibility of relocating the artisans out of the area to give the city its desired beauty,’ he said.

The Chairman of the association, Mr Michael Ndubisi, said that the visit by the association was to pledge solidarity with the coordinator and extend a hand of partnership.

Ndubisi, who is also the Chairman of the Amalgamated Union of Motor Mechanics and Technicians of Nigeria, promised to partner the council for the development of Abuja city.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Federal Capital Territory Administration, has declared war on vandals of manhole covers and streetlights in the territory.

The Coordinator of the council, Mr Felix Obuah, made this known in Abuja, while reacting to the unabated vandalism of manhole covers and gully inlet by hoodlums.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) introduced the use of materials with `no resale value’ in the production of manhole covers.

The move, according to the authority’s Head of Public Relations, Mr Richard Nduul, is to discourage criminal elements from stealing and selling them as scrap.

However, in spite of the efforts, vandals continued the heinous act, even when the covers do not have resale value.

The situation is disturbing that even the newly installed manhole covers of the B6 and B12 roads under construction on Independence Avenue in Central Area, Abuja, were being vandalised.

But Ubuah told the News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, that AMMC had concluded plans to take the war to their doorstep to curb the trend.

He said ‘we want to let the vandals know that we are taking the war to their doorsteps.

‘You can see the good roads that are being constructed by FCT Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, unfortunately, most of the manhole covers were being carted away.

‘Most of the streetlights have been vandalised. We are no longer going to take it lightly with them.’

He disclosed that a taskforce would be established to further strengthen the clampdown on the manhole cover and streetlight vandals.

He expressed optimism that the law would soon catch up with the vandals, their sponsors and those patronising them.

‘I addressed the executives of Apo spare parts dealers, and I told them that they are part of the people fuelling criminal activities in the FCT.

‘This is because, if the criminals stole the manhole covers and other electrical equipment and could not get buyers, they would not continue with such acts.

‘I
told them categorically that they are the major sponsors and financiers of the vandals and that if they can partner with government, most of these things will be a thing of the past.’

The coordinator urged residents to report any suspicious movement around manhole covers to the government.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria