Category Nigeria News

Nemat Hajeebhoy, the UNICEF Abuja office’s chief of nutrition, is pleased that more than 90% of Nigerian mothers breastfeed their children.

She made the comment on Friday when World Breastfeeding Week was being launched in Ambursa, the Kebbi Local Government Area. The purpose of the event was to encourage breastfeeding mothers to embrace exclusive breastfeeding.

By creating a sustainable support system for each mother and every child in Nigeria, Hajeebhoy said, “We are gathered here for one mission, and that is to put mothers and babies first.”

Breastfeeding is a newborn’s first vaccine and a crucial means of survival, not just food. Nigeria is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which consacres the right to breastfeed.

“First, I want to share some positive news. Mothers, I appreciate you breastfeeding. Nigerian mothers breastfeed more than 90% of the time. I want to congratulate the mothers.

Despite this encouraging figure, she pointed out that some recent surveys show a decline in nursing mothers’ exclusive breastfeeding. She therefore emphasized the need for all parties involved to support mothers in carrying out their responsibilities.

Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State commended the governor for approving six months of maternity leave for employees, describing it as a brave move. Breastfeeding is a crucial step in protecting children’s health and future, according to her.

Nafisa Nasir-Idris, the wife of Kebbi State Governor, also addressed the audience and urged women to practice exclusive breastfeeding to promote a more healthy society. She cited its advantages, noting that it strengthens a child’s intelligence, wisdom, and agility.

She also urged women to keep personal and environmental hygiene up to date to stop illness outbreaks.

The governor’s wife praised her husband for putting health issues first in the state and supporting her health-related initiatives.

Read more about Kaduna’s plan to pass a law allowing working mothers to breastfeed for six months without paying.

Yunusa Musa Isma’il, the commissioner for health, praised development partners for their contributions to various programs, particularly those in the health sector, during a speech at the event. He expressed his willingness to work with the state government by offering counterpart funding to combat malnourishment and other health issues.

Halima Hassan-Kamba, the commissioner for women’s affairs, also praised Kebbi women for embracing exclusive breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding benefits children’s health and intelligence, strengthens mother-child bonds, lowers cancer risk, supports family planning, and gives mothers satisfaction, she said.

Michael Juma, the UNICEF’s Director of Field Office, earlier stressed the value of introducing breastfeeding early. He urged mothers to prioritize breastfeeding for at least the first two years of a child’s life and urged policymakers to give breastfeeding-related issues more attention.

The governor’s wife gave packages containing a bag of rice, a pair of children’s clothing, and $10,000 to 20 women who exclusively breastfed their babies in order to support and encourage breastfeeding.

The federal and state levels’ lack of accountability is criticized by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).

Kolawole Oluwadare, the deputy director of SERAP, said on Saturday on Channels Television’s Sunrise that the majority of people think the government uses wasteful resources.

According to him, “The reality is that the majority of Nigerians view the governors as being dishonest.” It demonstrates the extent of Nigeria’s poverty.

Read more: Tinubu Rewards Governors for “Mismanaging” Public Resources, according to Lukman.

The President is the C-in-C, and he superintends over the governors because he really doesn’t need the US government to say that before he knows that.

The President has a lot of authority to affect the economy, according to the nature of federalism we practice.

Governors’ performance, according to Oluwadare, was largely deficient in terms of providing leadership and public trust.

“And that may be due to the President not doing enough,” she added. And that demonstrates the country’s infrastructure shortfall.

According to him, “that’s how you see governors will prioritize building large buildings over constructing infrastructure that will benefit the people,” he continued.

In addition, he added that impunity had eroded government systems, despite the Constitution’s explicit instructions for governors and other public officers.

The operation licence for Badegi Radio station’s operation has been immediately revoked by Governor Umaru Bago of the Niger State.

The Hauwa Wali Multipurpose Hall in Government House, Minnesota, where the All Progressives Congress (APC) Caucus met for an expanded meeting, Bago issued the order.

The governor accused the privately held station of consistently using its broadcasts to foment public animosity toward the state government.

Read more about the Saint Lucia PM’s criticism of Tinubu’s visit.

According to him, this behavior was intentional in an effort to destabilize the New Niger Development Agenda’s efforts.

“Badegi Radio’s activities are obviously against the rules of journalism.” The governor claimed at the high-level meeting, which brought together party representatives, elected officials, and political leaders from all the 25 local government areas, that they are misleading the public, creating unnecessary tension, and advancing this state.

Governor Bago emphasized that while his administration supports press freedom, it must not be taken advantage of to harm state peace, development, and good governance.

In the run-up to the upcoming local government elections, his directive is a result of ongoing efforts to foster better communication between the government and the populace.

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) says it is expanding its investigation scope beyond aviation in light of rising concerns about frequent transport tragedies in Nigeria, from boat accidents to road accidents and rail accidents. The bureau is training new investigators, installing data recorders on highways, promoting campaigns for the use of life jackets on waterways, among other things, according to NSIB Director of Transport Investigation, Abdullahi Babanya, in an interview with Channels Television.

Enjoy the quotes!

What steps can you take to stop such tragedies if you are a part of the investigation into recent boat accidents in Niger, Taraba, and other states?

Let me begin by condolences to the families of the unfortunate Shiroro boat accident (in Niger State) that occurred last Saturday. The NSIB first learned about the incident through social media, which was then followed by the media. The story then caught our attention when the mainstream media began to cover it. So we created a “go-team.” Our team arrived and went looking for details about what transpired, which you can only guess were they deployed from Abuja to Niger State and specifically Shiroro.

The boat capsized in the river after the preliminary information we had, according to the reports we received and the preliminary information we had. About 39 people, including a child, were on board the ship. Unfortunately, 13 of them passed away.

Important is to mention that all seven of the 39 passengers survived and that seven of them were wearing life vests. What does all of this mean, then? It specifies that some small but crucial steps must be taken, just make sure that everyone who board those boats is wearing personal flotation devices, or safety jackets. They will be able to survive an accident and remain submerged until rescue arrives.

Moving on to the third part of the question. We’ve been in those other areas before, yes. We have the authority to look into air accidents. The director general has been working on a multi-faceted and multi-pronged plan since the beginning of this administration to strengthen our capacity and ability to examine those additional new directions that have been added to our authority.

So we are instructing our staff members. Our laboratories are being upgraded. We will begin installing recording devices on road traffic next week or shortly thereafter. Our laboratory is expanding. A new materials science lab is also being built. We’ve located training facilities that will provide the necessary training.

We have a number of employees. They will start operating the office by September. The training requirements that they require have already been ironed out. Expertise from industry professionals was a source of strength for us. They gave us advice, and we will continue to do so in order to build the necessary capacity to conduct thorough and independent accident investigations in all modes of transportation in Nigeria.

After seeing an incident in the air, there are concerns about aviation regulation, especially. What is your response to this?

You must involve all parties involved in the system in safety management. The regulator is the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The NCAA establishes the regulations, certifies the personnel, equipment, and ensures that the aircraft’s airworthiness and other equipment are up to par with industry standards. Additionally, they have oversight functions in place to make sure that the approvals that were issued are followed along with the certifications that were issued.

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), which is tasked with conducting an independent investigation of events, is on the other side. Additionally, it issues recommendations when conducting an investigation.

We now monitor compliance with those recommendations in partnership with the NCAA and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau. Sometimes, we make recommendations, and the parties follow up with them. However, you occasionally experience failure.

So we come back to those mistakes. We examine the efficacy of the recommendations. See what else can be done if the safety net needs to be adjusted or changed in some ways to expand its scope.

Everywhere there are humans involved, there will be errors, you know. And occasionally, these blunders create undesirable circumstances. You have a constant surveillance of the system because of this. You regularly check the runways, make visits to those facilities, check those facilities, and occasionally check those facilities. At the start of the year, we have a course on how to evaluate the entire system. And NSIB will look into it if something goes wrong. We make recommendations for how to make the system better following the investigation. So the operation is that.

Let’s move on to the additional avenues that NSIB’s new mandate currently covers. A document with safety recommendations for rail, marine, and road is about to be released. What would these recommendations entail when referring to rail transportation first?

The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria signed the NSIB Establishment Act of 2022, expanding its scope of its responsibilities. We must have policies, regulations, and procedures in place to conduct an incident investigation in accordance with the process.

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) had always been in charge of the railroad’s operations in Nigeria prior to the NSIB Establishment Act of 2022, for instance. The NRC serves as the regulator, investigator, and operator in this case. Therefore, the NRC will conduct the investigation and provide recommendations for how to fix those issues whenever something goes wrong with the rail system’s operation.

With the establishment of NSIB, we now have an independent accident investigator who is not affiliated with the operations but is independent of the regulations. The NRC’s responsibilities in the event of an accident are set out in the NSIB Act. The NRC will be in charge of ensuring that a specific event has occurred at a specific location and that it should arrive on time. Then NSIB will create a “go-team” to visit the site, gather evidence, and then return to the office to analyze the evidence.

Stolen rail sleepers, clips, and train derailments are becoming more common. Given that some of these rail lines stretch for miles and don’t have any walls or barriers, what specific recommendations would you make?

Between security and safety, there is always a fine line. The security of the rail system is one of the main concerns we have. In addition, we must make sure that Nigeria’s rail system’s infrastructure is secured.

Umaru Fintiri, the governor of Adamawa State, has announced a 20% increase in the corps members’ monthly allowance.

Governor Fintiri made the announcement Friday when he opened the NYSC Orientation camp in Damare, Adamawa State, for Batch B Stream I.

The governor stated in a post that was shared on his official X (previously Twitter) handle that the 2025 Batch B Stream I NYSC Orientation in Damare was officially open today.

I made a change to the corps members’ monthly allowance, which will increase from $20,000 to $30,000. Additionally, we plan to construct a new NYSC camp in partnership with project participants in the field.

Read more about the Governor’s increase in state benefits for corps members at 20 000.

The Damare 2025 Batch B Stream I NYSC Orientation is now open. I made the announcement that the corps members’ monthly allowance would increase from 20 000 to 30 000. Additionally, we intend to construct a new NYSC camp in partnership with project participants in their fields. pic. twitter.com/c6khE38LFq

Read more about Akwa Ibom’s extension of his 20 000 NYSC benefit to serving indigenous people.

Additionally, the governor disclosed that a new NYSC camp is being planned for the state. He claims that the project has already employed professionals in the field.

Following Akwa Ibom’s increase to the state’s corps members’ monthly allowance of 20 000, this increase comes a short while.

Governor Umo Eno stated that the increase would help corps members meet their basic needs, in addition to the 77, 000 monthly allowance provided by the Federal Government.

“Every year, more than 10,000 corps members are stationed at Akwa Ibom. Eno remarked that we must continue to support and encourage them.

The Nigerian graduates’ one-year compulsory scheme NYSC was established in 1973. It is intended for those who haven’t completed their education by 30.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not a victorious opposition, according to Senator Dino Melaye, who is a member of the All-Party Congress (APC) ruling party. &nbsp,

The former lawmaker claimed that the APC was responsible for the party’s demise after recently leaving the PDP for the African Democratic Congress (ADC). &nbsp,

APC has purchased PDP. The APC’s parastatal PDP is. The APC has a PDP division. On Friday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today, Melaye claimed that they take dates for NEC meetings and NWC meetings as well as dates for NWC meetings at the [Presidential] Villa.

Look at the number of PDP governors today, he said. Do these governors behave similarly to the opposition governors? Are they governors in opposition roles? The PDP’s remaining members are holding out for the APC.

READ ALSO: 2027 ADC Will Create A Candidate To Beat Tinubu-Dino Melaye

Tinubu will lose to ADC.

Former Kogi West senator Melaye resigned from the PDP and joined the ADC, claiming that the party’s efforts to “relieve the country’s people from the prevailing political cankerworms that have deeply ingrained in the fabric of our beloved country” were ineffective.

Senator Melaye defended his decision to leave the PDP on Friday, claiming that it is not acting opposition-like.

“With all the love and respect I can have for my uncle, Babangida Aliyu.” You heard him say two days ago, “We should tolerate Tinubu for another four years, if we can tolerate Buhari for eight years,” the former lawmaker said.

Is that someone in opposition’s voice? So, in essence, what I’m telling you is that we live in a precarious state.

In his opinion, Bola Tinubu will win the 2027 elections under the leadership of his new party.

“The ADC needs to build a comfortable, stable foundation,” said one member. And I think the platform will lead to a 2027 presidential contest winner, he said.