10072020 - Day 4: Panel grills ‘Magu's 7 Untouchables’

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22—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2020 •Fulani women selling fresh cow milk in Lakweme community, Gombe State, yesterday TETFUND: Kogi Poly warns contractors, secures N.9b projects By Boluwaji Obahopo LOKOJA - Acting Rector, Kogi State Polytechnic, Dr. Salisu Usman, has decried the high level of abandoned projects in the institution, warning that such will no longer be tolerated. The rector has also advised contractors handling projects for the state polytechnic to maintain highest standards in the execution of the contracts to avoid being blacklisted. Dr. Usman spoke in Lokoja during the presentation ceremony of “award letters” to the contractors who emerged victorious after competitive bidding process for seven Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFUND, projects to be executed for the institution He noted that the era of abandoned projects syndrome COVID-19: Apprehension in Nasarawa as AG tests positive By David Odama LAFIA—FEAR has gripped governnent officials in Nasarawa State as the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr. Abdulkarim Kana, was, yesterday, confirmed positive to COVID-19 virus. Confirming the incident to AREWA VOICE TEAM Editor: Soni Daniel Correspondents: Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin Bashir Bello, Kano Aliyu Dangida, Dutse Umar Yusuf, Yola Ibrahim HassnWuyo, Kaduna Peter Duru, Makurdi Marie-Therese Nanlong, Jos Abdul Murtala, Kano Femi Bolaji, Jalingo David Odama, Lafia Charly Agwam, Bauchi Boluwaji Obahopo, Lokoja Andy Asemota, Katsina had gone forever, advising the contractors to comply strictly with the bill of quantities in order to avoid collision with the management. “It is lamentable the plethora of abandoned projects doning the landscape of the polytechnic. I am determined to change the narrative for the school to have value for its money for the benefits of humanity and the institution. The TETFUND is magnanimous with the school by approving the construction of seven legacy projects which is aimed at enhancing teaching and learning; I, therefore, urge the contractors to exhibit highest level of professionalism in the execution of the projects. “On assumption of office barely three months ago, I did promise to utilise my contacts to bring functional developments to the journalists in Lafia, the state Commissioner for Health, Yahaya Ahmed, said the Justice Commissioner tested positive to the virus after undergoing screening by the NCDC. He said: “I can confirm that. However, he is in self-isolation at home and is in a stable and clear condition. We are taking care of him.” The Attorney-General who is also a member of the state task force on COVID-19 reported to be conscious of the pandemic by observing its safety rules like daily wearing of facemask, washing of hands and usage of hand sanitiser. Meanwhile, the state has a total of 234 confirmed cases of COVID- 19, with 113 recoveries and a total of eight deaths so far recorded. It would be recalled the state chairmanin of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, had tested positive to the virus last week. institution which culminated in approval of these seven projects for the polytechnic,” he said. Usman warned contractors against repeat of the ugly situations that led to the abandonment of some projects in the school without useful explanation from those By Victor Young ORGANISED Labour in the nation’s communications industry, has raised the alarm that Nigeria Postal Service, NIPOST, is at a risk of losing no fewer than 15,000 workers into the unemployment market over alleged recent takeover of its primary duty to produce and issue stamp by the Federal Inland Revenue Services, FIRS. Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government Owned Companies, SSASCGOC, who raised the alarm in Abuja, yesterday, issued a 21-day strike notice to the Federal Government to put things right or face a nationwide strike by its members. General Secretary of SSASCGOC, Ayo Olorunfemi, said at the briefing: “The FIRS on June 30, 2020 against any known law produced and launched its brand of adhesive stamp, thereby hijacking and taking over the function of NIPOST. It is illegal for FIRS to produce and issue stamp to denote duties when it can be procured from NIPOST. If this is allowed to go on, the usurpation of the main duty of NIPOST will lead to about 15,000 job loss. As a union, we will not accept this as there is no known law that gave FIRS powers to produce stamps. Everybody knows the situation in the country today. I insist, NIPOST will lose nothing less than 15,000 workers and when you look at that, the Kaduna declares emergency in water, sanitation sector By Ibrahim Hassan THE Kaduna State Government has declared a state of emergency in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, WASH, sector, to enable it attain the national goal of making Nigeria Open Defecation Free, ODF, by the year 2025. In a statement signed by the Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Mr. Muyiwa Adekeye, yesterday, the government also noted that the state of emergency will enable the state to build on the success of the Sanitation, Hygiene and Water in Nigeria, SHAWN II, programme. The special adviser said that significant progress was being recorded in ridding the state of open defecation, adding that "Jaba Local Government Area has been validated by UNICEF as having attained ODF status.” Adekeye said: "As at May 2020, 2,269 communities in the state have attained UNICEF ODF status. This was achieved through the implementation of relevant WASH projects and consistent sensitisation of communities. Steps are being taken to achieve state-wide ODF concerned in the handling of those contracts, noting: “The era of abandoned projects has gone forever in the institution. The previous experiences with the contractors will not be tolerated. We are determined to ensure that any kobo spent on projects must be accounted for to the letter." ‘Nobody told us our children would be ferried across River Benue' Continued from page 21 team if she were told they would be taken across the river. She said: “I was at home when they left the house. All they told me was that they were going for combined choir practice at Sabongida Wadata. They did not tell me they were to cross the river; I was not told. I wouldn’t have allowed them go because it is dangerous, especially with the increased level of water in the river at this time of the year. “They took our children in a boat without life jacket in an overloaded canoe and wasted status across the 23 local government areas. The state government places priority on the provision of clean and safe water and promotion of basic hygiene. "These are central to delivering quality health care and life expectancy which are important human development indices. Also, water and sanitation are very critical in preventing killer diseases like cholera, Lassa fever and typhoid, as well as Covid- 19." The special adviser disclosed that the state’s Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, RUWASSA, rehabilitated 110 boreholes across Kaduna State in 2019, with funding from UNICEF. By May 2020, RUWASSA has rehabilitated another 216 bore holes in various communities across the state. In addition, local artisans were trained and provided with tool kits to assure future repairs of the boreholes, enhance community participation and ownership as well as the sustainability of the installations.” The statement promised that Kaduna State government will continue to invest in human and material resources to eliminate open defecation. Adekeye who noted with gratitude UNICEF’s role in helping Kaduna State to achieve ODF status, added that the UN body has been a very supportive ally in that effort. The special adviser further said that: ‘’Kaduna State looks forward to building on the gains of the SHAWN II programme and attaining a vital sustainable development goal". Stamp duty: 15,000 jobs at risk in NIPOST, labour raises alarm multiplier effect on the economy and the saturation of unemployment market, you will know that it will be a catastrophe waiting to happen and we have said we will not allow that to happen. “To this end we are calling on the Federal Government to facilitate an urgent meeting between NIPOST, FIRS, SSASCGOC and other stakeholders to arrive at an amicable resolution. Failure to do this within 21 days from today (Wednesday) July 8, 2020, the Union shall have no other option than to direct all its members in NIPOST to withdraw their services. It is very painful that while other nations are protecting and developing their postal services and making maximum use of the services for advancement, Nigeria is busy doing things that will kill its own. “It should be noted that both NIPOST and Federal Inland Revenue Services are statutory corporations for which this Union has jurisdiction to organise their staff. Therefore, our position must always be balanced according to the laws of the land. That is why we are insisting that both organisations must develop a synergy that will enhance higher productivity in the area of stamp matter." their lives. Even their leader also died. This is just too much for me to bear,” she said as she wept. Meanwhile the Police Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent, DSP, Catherine Anene in a statement said 14 bodies had so far been recovered from the river by the search and rescue team comparing Marine Police personnel and local fishermen stationed at Ijaha community in the outskirts of Makurdi where some parents gathered to received some of the bodies so far recovered.
Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2020 — 23 COVID-19: Plateau rural communities improvise to get running water By Marie-Therese Nanlong, Jos THE need for personal hygiene could be said to be as old as man. Even in the primitive age, humans found ways of keeping themselves clean and neat. Basically, everyone has been taught to always wash hands after certain daily activities like before and after eating, after using the toilet, among others. But many, especially in rural communities, see this ritual as either a waste of time or scarce resources, especially in areas where water supply is very minimal or scarce. However, diseases, like the ravaging COVID-19 in contemporary times, have brought to fore the urgent necessity to continue with the age-long tradition of hand washing even in the rural setting because it is one of the preventive measures against the disease. We do not want to die in IDPs camps, aged Benue IDPs cry to FG Continues from page 21 immediate desire is to go back to their ancestral homes with their families and not die shamefully in IDPs camps. In one voice, they acknowledged that relative peace had returned to parts of the state following the intervention of the military operation code-named Operation Whirl Stroke, OPWS. But they observed that armed herders were still launching attacks on their communities and confronting the troops. They appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government to give attention to their plight by fulfilling the promise of rebuilding their homes and helping them return to their farms that were either taken over by armed herders or destroyed by the same marauders. Among these aged IDPs is 70- year-old Tyo Kosu who fled Tor Kula village in Guma LGA with his three wives and eight children since 2018. He said: "My community is still not safe but we want to return home, I don’t want to die here. “The Federal Government should urgently come to our aid. They promised to rebuild our destroyed homes; they should please fulfill that promise so that we can go back home and return to our farms.” On his part, 85-year-old blind Utoo Damsa who fled Umenger village also in Guma LGA with To curb the spread of the disease in Plateau State, women in rural communities who have no access to running or pipe-borne water received training on ways of improvising to ensure their households wash hands under running water. Apart from COVID-19, frequent hand washing is good for one’s personal hygiene The training which focused on how to construct a local running water system for frequent hand washing was conducted for the women in different Plateau communities under the Social Investment Programme, SIP. With the increasing number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 the help of this children and aged wife, said: “The only help I desire is for the Federal Government to rebuild our home and stop herdsmen from coming into our communities, so that I can go home and die peacefully.” Also homesick is 72-year-old 80 year old blind Utoo Damsa 82-year-old Zuzu Ato disease in the State a n d frequency of rainfall, r u r a l women now activate the skill to wash their hands. Explaining t h e mechanism, a beneficiary of the training, A woman using the local hand-washing mechanism in Zabolo village. Esther Yusuf, from Jingir in Bassa Local Government Area of the State said the construction is simple as two sticks are fixed stick. The rope with the jerry can is also tied to the end of another stick which is partly suspended on the ground. firmly apart in the ground, Upon stepping on the another stick hinged on the two and a four or five litre jerry can containing water with tiny holes on the lid is then fastened to the top stick and soap tied to a corner of the suspended stick, the rope drags the jerry can upside down and in the process spills the water out for hand washing. The water stops whenever the person removes Akombu Ikyohl who fled from Umenger village with his four children. She said she was tired of living a pitiable life in the IDPs camp and wondered why the Federal Government abandoned them to their fate “but paying attention to IDPs in other parts of the country". And she had queried thus: "Why, what is our sin?” Same was the position of 89- year-old Magagh Chabo who had lived in the camp for three years with her three children and several grandchildren after fleeing Umenger village. Speaking with so much pain she said: “My only request is that they should not allow me die here in the camp.” For 72-year-old Fagagh Zaki who fled Tor Kula village with his seven children and wife from his ancestral home, life Chukchi Tartyo, 70 years old 89-year-old Magagh Chabo had not been the same for members of his family. “The state government is catering for us but the Federal Government should rebuild our homes and chase armed herders way from our villages so that we can go home where we can die peacefully. I don’t want to die in this camp; that is my plea,” he added. This is also the sentiment of 75-year-old Silvernus Uwachi from Kaseyo village, 82-yearold Zuzu Ato also from Kaseyo and 82-year-old Kase Duwegh from Tse Akwu Mbagwen, all in Guma LGA, who passionately appealed to the Federal Government to help them return to their ancestral homes to enable them enjoy the last moments of their lives and not die shameful deaths in IDPs camps in a “foreign land”. Ukir Awunnna, 71 years old his/her leg from the suspended stick. This improvised running water system is being constructed at homes and other public places in rural communities as residents say it has helped them in the fight against germs, especially as children now wash hands properly before meals. Rose Bawa from Zabolo in the same local government area added that: “The training has been very useful and many people have started learning how to construct it because it cost almost nothing to construct, apart from getting some sticks, ropes and jerry cans.” She stated that the one for her household is mounted at her gate and everyone coming into her house will wash his/her hands before entering her house, and her neighbours have been assisted to construct theirs for their respective households. She maintained that water needed for the jerry can is fetched from local water sources like wells, rain and boreholes, while encouraging other rural dwellers to all learn how to construct it so that they could mount it in front of their houses and other places for use. Also, Musa Umaru, another rural dweller further urged citizens to key in and construct the hand washing tool in their homes because, according to him: “Apart from COVID-19, frequent hand washing is good for one’s personal hygiene.” It was, however, confirmed that many homes across rural communities are mounting the tool in front of their homes to encourage regular hand washing. It is hoped that this humble effort would be rewarded as COVID-19 is being battled not only in Plateau and Nigeria but the world at large.
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10072020 - Day 4: Panel grills ‘Magu's 7 Untouchables’

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