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…pledges to reduce spread, inaugurates governing board for SACA The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has called on youths, governments, healthcare workers and researchers not to relent on the campaign to rid the world of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Obaseki made the call on the occasion of the commemoration of the World Aids Day, December 1, every year, set aside by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to create awareness on the dangers posed by HIV/AIDS. He said it was encouraging that the consensus to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS has yielded appreciable success over the years, and urged all not to relent but push to end the spread. Pledging his administration’s readiness to reduce the prevalence of the disease in Edo State on Thursday, from the about 4.1 prevalence rate to below the national average of 3.1, Obaseki tasked the Governing Board of the Edo State Agency for the Control of AIDS (SACA), during its inaug

The Senate has begun the investigation of the alleged sale of illegal African migrants “mostly Nigerians” as slaves in Libya, which it described as a slap on the face of Nigeria. The probe was based on a motion moved by Senator Baba Kaka Garbai (Borno-Central) at the plenary on Wednesday, entitled, ‘Urgent Need to Protect Nigerian Citizens from the Libya Slavery Auction.’ President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, said there was the need for Nigeria to do more to protect its citizens. He said, “As a country, truly, it is a slap on the face of all of us if Nigerians can be treated in this manner. Like somebody said, Ivory Coast that is not as big as us is taking action to see how they can bring their own citizens back. We need to be doing similar things.” The lawmakers unanimously granted prayers of the motion, including to “condemn in totality the current depravity and sheer animalism being exhibited by these Libyans selling fellow Africans as slaves.” They also urged the Federal Gov

…proposes N79.8bn for capital projects, N66bn for Recurrent expenditure The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, on Wednesday presented a 146billion 2018 Appropriation Bill and Budget Estimates, christened ‘the Budget of Growth’ to the Edo State House of Assembly with the assurance to consolidate on the infrastructural and socio-economic gains of the outgoing year 2017. Obaseki commended the Speaker and members of the Edo State House of Assembly for their unprecedented support through their timely responses to requests for legislations and other forms of support to the executive arm of government. According to the governor, “we have a budget size of N146, 659,830,444 billion, which is a 15% nominal increase over the 2017 budget. The 2018 budget is made up of N66,797,615,689 for Recurrent and N79,862,214,754 as Capital expenditure.” He explained that the “revenue estimates for the budget are based on a $45 bench mark for crude oil and average daily production of 2.3 m

The Nigerian Government has declared Friday as public holiday to mark the Eid-El-Maulud celebration. The Minister of Interior, Lt Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.), made the declaration on behalf of the FG in a statement on Wednesday by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Abubakar Magaji. He admonished all Muslim faithful and Nigerians to use the occasion to pray for peace, progress and unity of the nation. He further urged all Nigerians to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration towards building the nation. “The minister wishes Nigerians a happy Eid-El-Maulud celebration,” the statement said.

All Progressives Congress, APC, in Edo State, yesterday, disclosed that the 5-star Benin Central Hospital constructed by the administration of former Governor Adams Oshiomhole, is yet to kick off because of the Health Insurance Scheme bill sent to the state House of Assembly by Governor Godwin Obaseki. According to the party: “This scheme will make the cost of medicare affordable. The key to all these is a firm funding arrangement that would sustain the world class services to be rendered by the hospital that are intended to eradicate medical tourism from our national life.” Publicity Secretary of the APC in the state, Chris Azebamwan, who addressed journalists in Benin City, said the party was not ready to join issues with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state over the issue of the hospital, “because the hospital will not be run by government. Government is going to put in place professional hospital administrators that will run the hospital. It will be run like a private

Eating breakfast gives you the energy you need to start your day. These 5 foods Will give you the energy you need and ensure that you don’t get fat while trying to stay healthy. Oatmeal Oatmeal can help you lose weight in two ways. First, it’s packed with fiber and it keeps you feeling fuller longer. Second, a recent study in the Journal of Nutrition reported that eating a breakfast made with “slow-release” carbohydrates—such as oatmeal or bran cereal—3 hours before you exercise may help you burn more fat. How? Eating “slow-release” carbohydrates doesn’t spike blood sugar as high as eating refined carbohydrates (think: white toast). In turn, insulin levels don’t spike as high. Because insulin plays a role in signaling your body to store fat, having lower blood sugar levels may help you burn fat. Peanut Butter Nuts were also among the top 5 foods that Harvard researchers said promote weight loss. I love to slather a tablespoon or two of peanut butter onto whole-wheat toast (ahem, a

As part of their Nigeria Study Tour, members of the Senior Course 40, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, visited Libya returnees undergoing training at the Edo Agricultural Development Programme in Benin City, on Monday.   The Edo State Government led by Governor Godwin Obaseki has been at the forefront of efforts to receive and reintegrate Edo indigenes returning from Libya and other African countries. About 150 of the returnees are undergoing training in agriculture as part of the state government’s capacity building initiative to ease their integration. The Secretary to the Edo State Government (SSG), Osarodion Ogie Esq., who received members of the Senior Course 40, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, earlier at the Government House, Benin City, said government was pursuing reforms to stem the tide of illegal migration and open up the state for investment. He said that, despite economic challenges in the country in the past one year, the state has m

As part of ongoing efforts to revamp the estate development and housing sector in the state, the Edo Development and Property Authority (EDPA) has commenced the recertification exercise for legal occupants of government-owned estates in Benin City, the state capital. The recertification exercise, which commenced on Monday, November 27, at the Andrew Wilson Housing Estate, Evbuoriaria, off Sapele Road in Benin City, will be carried out across all EDPA estates in the state. The exercise will enable the state recover rents from the legal occupants of the estates and build a database for decision-making. Executive Chairman, EDPA, Isoken Omo, said “The exercise is important because the agency needs to update its records of legal occupants of the estates. It will provide up-to-date information that will help in planning and further development work in the estates. With this, we will identify occupants who have completed necessary payments to enable the agency give them documents that will

The Edo State Government has described as “false and misleading” reports that it owes its workers, noting that state employees receive their salaries on or before the 26th of every month. In a statement, the state government said no worker in its employ is owed a dime, and this is a testament to the efforts by government to ensure that workers are well motivated for optimal service delivery. The state government was reacting to a report that purports that it owes its workers and pensioners 10 months salaries.  According to the statement, “The state government has ensured that workers are paid as and when due. We are pursuing all-inclusive reforms in the state civil service to ensure that workers deliver optimum service to the people. The payment of their salaries is one of the first steps to achieving this and we have been faithful to that mandate. “We have met these obligations right from the previous administration up till now. In Edo State, we prioritise the welfare of workers,

Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode on Monday November 27, 2017 restated the commitment of the State Government to ensure the comfort and safety of residents and investors, saying the general welfare of the people remains a top priority for his administration. This is as it emerged that the State Government has perfected plans to acquire Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platform, which is a specialized light aircraft, to secure creeks and riverine communities in the State. Speaking at Lagos House in Alausa, Ikeja when he received Commanders of Armed Forces formations in the State on courtesy visit, Governor Ambode said it was gratifying that in the last two and half years of his administration, security agencies have been extremely cooperative with the State Government and working hard to ensure safety of lives and property. While lauding the cordial relationship that exists among security agencies in the State, Governor Ambode said it was also commendable th

Edo State Government has assured residents of Benin City, the State Capital of its resolve to complete the construction of designated bus terminals. The assurance was given by the Commissioner of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Hon. Edorodion Erimona, during a media chat with journalists at the Government House in Benin City. According to the Commissioner, “the construction of the bus terminals is work in progress even as the government will make good its promise to ensure that the construction is completed in due course. This will sustain the ongoing plans to decongest parts of the state capital with heavy vehicular and human traffic.” Erimona added that “the goal of the state government in constructing the terminals is to provide permanent solution to the congestion of the state capital. It will also aid state capital residents commute easily around the city.” “The state government through the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development is working out the

The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, will on Wednesday, present the budget proposal for 2018 fiscal year to the Edo State House of Assembly for consideration. The budget expected drive growth and progress in all sectors of the state, has N73,925, 548, 087.59 for capital vote while N66,264,096,418.26 is proposed for recurrent expenditure. This brings the budget size to N140, 189,644,505.85. According to Obaseki, the budget will boost industrial activities following the implementation of the 2017 budget, which laid the foundation for economic revolution in the state. Reviewing the activities of the outgoing year, the governor said that, “despite the challenges posed by the economic recession, the state was able to meet its salary and pension obligations to civil servants, constructed several roads across the state and kick-started the development of the N200billion Benin Industrial Park amongst other achievements.” Comparatively, the 2018 proposed capital vote of N73,

The Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has decried the reported sale of persons into modern-day slavery in Libya, describing the incident as a “desecration of the sanctity of humanity.” In a statement, the governor, who condemned the act as an “evil that must be stopped at all cost,” said that indigenes of Edo State, who may have been caught up in the web of human traffickers, should come back home, as his government has set up systems to reintegrate into society. The governor was reacting to a recent report by America-based news channel, Cable News Network (CNN), in which victims of human trafficking, who were stuck in Libya, were being auctioned as slaves for as low as $400. According to the governor, “I received the news of the incident with shock because it reduces the value of the human to the basest level. In fact, this takes us back to the age of slave trade, which, I believe, doesn’t have a place in modern society. “That this is happening shows that many have lost th

A Libya returnee and father of five, Mr. Sylvester Agho, has described his five months experience in the North African country as hellish and harrowing, just as he promised to join in the fight against illegal migration. He made the disclosure while fielding questions from newsmen in Benin, Edo State capital, weekend, shortly after their deportation from Libya. Agho, who said he was glad to have been back to the country, said the moment one leaves his country, he loses his freedom, pointing that there is no other country that can be likened to Nigeria. He said: “I am happy because there is no place like home. When you are in Nigeria, you have the freedom to move about without molestation, but the moment you step out of the shores of Nigeria, you have lost your freedom. “There is a great discrimination over there. But in Nigeria, there is nothing like such. You can walk freely unlike over there.” Mr. Agho, who is among the 531 Edo indigenes deported from Libya to the state, said he w

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTlP) in collaboration with the Motorsports Club of Nigeria (MSCN) has held a track race in memory of the 26 Nigerian girls found dead in Italy. The event was held in Evbuobanuosa community in Orhionmwon local government area of Edo state at the weekend. In her speech at the event, Director-General of NAPTIP, Juli Okan-Donli, revealed that Nigeria was yet to get the official report from the Italian government to enable the federal government take decision on the next step to take over the matter. Okan-Donli said operatives of the agency are still discussing on how to unravel the circumstances that lead to the ugly situation. While noting with dismay that a lot of Nigerians had been killed and their organs in the body removed for sale, the NAPTIP DG appealed to participants and parents at the event to advise their children not to travel through illegal means abroad. “This event is for us NAPTlP in remembrance of the

● Sex trafficking has become endemic in this southern Nigerian state of Edo, in spite of international and national efforts to stop it. Determined to turn things around, the governor is now trying a “home-grown solution.” -By Osagie Otabor for The Nation Edo, one of Nigeria’s 36 states, has practically become synonymous with sex trafficking. Last August, Edo state governor Godwin Obaseki said he had had enough. He announced that the appointment of a high-level task force to find solutions to this scourge. It’s an old and intractable problem rooting back to the 1980s. At the time, Edo women would travel to Italy to pursue commercial opportunities, but when things went badly, some resorted to prostitution. A few even went on to become madams. Since then, a number of international instruments have been adopted to fight trafficking, notably the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (UNTP). Nigeria signed the agree

A former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, may return to the Peoples Democratic Party on Sunday (today), according to one of his associates, Mr. Ahmed Lawan. Lawan, who is the Organising Secretary of the All Progressives Congress in Adamawa State, told one of our correspondents on Saturday that Atiku would formally register as a member of the PDP at his Jada ward 11, in Yola, the state capital. He said Atiku’s return to his former party was based on the motivation he received from the PDP leadership towards the realisation of his ambition to contest the 2019 presidential election. Lawan, however, warned, Atiku to have a rethink of his action because his resignation might mark the end of his political career. He said, “He (Atiku) told the whole world that he was in the APC to stay, and that even if anything would make him to leave the APC, he would retire from politics. He noted that Atiku did not see the possibility of defeating President Muhammadu Buhari in the primary of the APC.

By Shobha Shukla, CNS (Citizen News Service) More than 1000 participants, including the President of Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, ministers from over 75 countries, donors, researchers, civil society representatives, and other stakeholders, had met at the first-ever "WHO Global Ministerial Conference on Ending TB in the Sustainable Development Era: A Multisectoral Response" which was held in Moscow on 16-17 November 2017, to forge stronger inter-sectoral partnerships for accelerating action to end TB. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the WHO, said that "Political attention is vital to end TB, but it is not enough. Through a multisectoral approach we have to expand access to services, ensure sustainable financing and invest in R [research and development]. It is no longer a call for commitment, but a call for action." A world without TB may not be possible without a holistic TB prevention strategy that includes new diagnostics, new drugs, a

Oba Ghator kpere Ise!!!!

The Buhari administration, in line with its New Vision for the Niger Delta to develop it, will integrate more youths in the region in its Social Investment Programmes, particularly the N-Power and the Government Enterprise Empowerment Programme (GEEP), according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN. Prof. Osinbajo said this will help reduce unemployment by creating more jobs for young graduates, as well as providing additional assistance for entrepreneurs and artisans in the region. The take-off of the Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta State, ongoing process of licencing for modular refineries and the Ogoni clean-up are indications of the Federal Government’s resolve to ensure the long-term development of the region, while it will also continue to engage with stakeholders to ensure continuous peace and security in the region, the Vice President added. Prof. Osinbajo said this on Thursday when a delegation of ambassadors from the US, UK and the European Union (EU), led by Mr. Ke

It is a special pleasure to be here at this graduation ceremony, of the Senior Executive Course 39 of 2017 of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, and I bring you the very warm felicitations of President Muhammadu Buhari, President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.  I congratulate the participants of Senior Executive Course 39, for your excellent performance and your elevation to the privilege of Member of the National Institute, MNI. Your presentation to Mr. President last week, Friday 17th November, on the theme “Science, Technology and Innovation for the Development of Agriculture & Agro-Allied Industries in Nigeria,” was both scholarly and practical, and will be an important reference in refining and implementing policy in this important area. I also congratulate family and friends, and especially spouses of participants on this joyful occasion. NIPSS occupies an important place in our national policy discourse, e