REMAPSEN condemns unrest in DRC: calls for peace.

 

The African Media Network for the Promotion of Health and the Environment, REMAPSEN, a non - non-governmental organization, has expressed dismay at the killings in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC.

Describing the country as one of the most productive countries of REMAPSEN, the President of the organization, Bamba Youssouf, noted that, because REMAPSEN remains strongly attached to life, it cannot ignore the hundreds of deaths and thousands of those injured in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, describing it as barbaric.

In a statement signed by the President at the weekend, he says, " We have a special thought for all our colleagues from the DRC who are members of REMAPSEN, whether at the central, regional, or national levels " We pray for a rapid and definitive return of peace in all parts of this great country, the DRC " 

It will be recalled that, for weeks, there had been clashes in Eastern DRC, causing heavy losses of human life.

Fighting between Rwanda-backed rebel group; M23 and government forces led to the killings of hundreds of civilians, women, and children mostly affected.

Thousands have also fled into the bushes as the rebels overran and captured the mineral-rich Goma region and advanced to the DRC capital, Kinshasha as the health system shut down in parts of the country.

Julie Ekong

Farmers In Shonga get Relief materials: calls for regulation of development in flood-prone areas.

Farmers in Shonga, Edu local government area of Kwara State have received farm inputs and other relief materials to cushion the hardship caused them by the devastating flood that washed away their rice farms.

Speaking at the distribution of the relief materials, members representing Pategi Moro and Edu Federal Constituency, of Kwara State Ahmed Saba expressed worry over the damages caused by the flood.

He expressed dismay at the billions of Naira lost to the flood due to a lack of awareness and information from the Water Resource Management (WRM).

 Saba thanked the state government for assisting the farmers with some relief materials.

" I appeal to the State and Federal government to implement policies on the management of land use, regulate development in flood-prone areas, as well as invest in the construction of drainage systems to prevent a recurrence ". Saba

 He called for the creation of public awareness activities on flood risks and provided emergency response and relief services.

Items distributed to the farmers affected by the flood in Shonga included Knapsack sprayers, Water pumping machines, Solar Engine pumps, Chemicals, Rice seedlings, and Fertilizers among others.

ALI RABIU

Engage in environmentally friendly practices: wildlife experts tell Nigerians.

     A group of Conservation professionals has stressed the need to collate reliable data on bird species in the country to strengthen biodiversity.

    At a stakeholders meeting in Abuja on Citizen Science Advocacy in Conservation Practices, Dr Alao Mitchell, the Director of Wildlifeife Disease Surveillance and Ecosystem Heath, in the Ministry of Livestock Development, urged Nigerians to engage in environmentally friendly practices.

   " According to him, the event is aimed at communicating citizen science data of the species for management and advocacy, adding that," the data when generated will aid in making policies that will protect animals and humans".

  A Deputy Director in the Ministry of Environment, Mr Aiwuyo Christopher, described birds as essential creatures who help in preserving the environment.

He explained that " Nigeria has about 975 species of birds which help in pest control, plant pollination and also spread seeds".  

    The Executive Director of the Organization, A.P Leventis Foundation Nigeria, Mr. Hope Useita, said, that The organization is in partnership with the Federal government, as some stat, es, and other organizations to train youths and farmers in farming and other relevant skills for self-reliance.".

   On her part, the Manager of the Nigerian Birds Atlas Project, under the A.P Leventis Ornithological Research Institute of the University of Jos, M.rs Talatu Tende, says, "The objective of the project is to raise awareness about the importance of birds within the environment and understand how growth in human population is affecting their population and distribution around the country.

   The Head of the Africa Office, of the Tropical Biology Association in Kenya, Mr Anthony Kuria, while sharing his country's conservation strategies, stated that" the Government of Kenya invests hugely in the wildlife sector which is one of its top revenue earners ".

EMMANUEL KUTARA/SHEKARA

Radiographers commend President Tinubu for the payment of 2024 arrears and request additional funding to address the issue of quackery.

The Radiographers Registration Board of Nigeria has commended President Tinubu for restoring funding and paying the 2004 salary arrears of the Board and some other regulatory agencies. 

The Registrar of the Board, Prof Mark  OKEJI  who stated this during a visit by the Minister of State Health and Social Welfare, Dr Isiaq Adekunle Salako to the Board in Abuja, however, called for increased appropriation to procure more vehicles for enforcement activities against Quackery in the profession. 

According to o Prof Okeji, who also chairs the committee of Registrars of 13 MDAs under the Ministry of Health the Board currently has four Monitoring and enforcement vehicles, which are grossly inadequate and cover the entire country.

"The vehicles are currently stationed in Abuja,  Lagos, Kano, and Enugu, leaving the other offices in Sokoto, Maiduguri, Port Harcourt, Calabar,  Awka, and Ilesha without official Vehicles

Quackery leads to misdiagnosis and uncontrolled exposure of the citizens to radiation. This same radiation used for diagnosis and treatment in medicine is a predisposing factor for cancer not properly regulated. Monitoring and enforcement activities are capital intensive and require good appropriation to sustain them" 

On the dearth of Radiographers, occasioned by Japa syndrome, the Registrar stated that the Board doubled its quoter to the universities to balance the number of professionals in the country.

In addition to efforts to address the shortage of radiographers, the Board attracted N7M naira for the tuition-free training of therapy Radiographers in the country. 

"There are 4632 radiographers in our register out of which 2810 had their annual licence in 2024. We currently have a lot of radiographers leaving Nigeria for other countries (Japan syndrome). However, we have doubled our quota to the universities to balance the manpower needs of our country. We have also encouraged the establishment of more B.Sc. programs in Nigerian universities since I assumed office. We have 40 universities offering radiography now from the initial 9 when I took over. Most are at various stages and will start graduation soon"

Other milestones of the record according to the registrar include Relocation to a 28-room office space at the  Federal Secretariat from a 7-room rented apartment, thereby saving cost for the Government.

Others are the Purchase of seven  utility vehicles, 

Renovation of Zonal offices in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ilesha, Maiduguri, Calabar, Awka, Enugu, Sokoto Kano and 

Construction of office and training complex in Enugu for South East and South-South.

Responding, the Minister of State Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, appreciated the Radiographers ' contributions to the health sector but urged them to be more proactive in fighting quackery. 

"I want you  to be more innovative in ensuring that only qualified people practice as radiographers and only facilities that are properly registered provide such services in the country"

" I challenge you as a regulatory body to fight quackery in the Radiography profession in line with the priority of the Federal Government to stamp out quackery in the federal  ministries" 

Dr Salako urged them to view the visit as a call to improve service delivery and justify President Tinubu's confidence in reinstating the board's funding.

Radiography is the art of science that applies various forms of Radiation energies on human beings to promote health, treat diseases such as cancer, and produce various diagnostic images including X-ray, Ultrasound,  and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Maureen

Two suspects caught with a pump action gun in police net.

A Joint Security Team comprising Police Operatives at Oko Divisional Headquarters and Operatives of Vigilante Group Amaokpala in Anambra state has arrested two suspects in possession of a pump action gun and one mobile phone in the state.

Other items recovered from the suspects included a black handbag and two tiny glasses suspected to be used for inhaling hard drugs.

The Police Public Relations Officer of the command, Mr Tochukwu Ikenga in a release, said the Operatives acting on the intelligent-driven investigation arrested one Micheal Chinweze aka Small, aged twenty, a native of Iwollo, Eziagu Local government area of Enugu State and Mmesoma Agba, female, aged twenty-five, from Enugwu - Nanka.

He explained that the arrest followed a reported incident on the twenty-second of this month at the Police Station where the suspects and one other person who was still at large dispossessed a victim of her personal belongings around Oko Community Hospital. 

The Police Image Maker listed the items forcibly taken at gunpoint to include: one red Cub motorcycle with Registration number WER 137 GV, valued at one million, three hundred thousand Naira only, her bag containing One Techno mobile phone, one ATM card, and a cash sum of thirty-eight thousand naira only allegedly realized from the victim's daily business in the Shop.

Mr Ikenga said, during interrogation of the suspects, Micheal confessed to the crime and said, he stole the gun from a Security Post in a hotel at Amaokpala. 

He stated that preliminary information revealed the first husband of Mmesoma, a mother of two, was neutralized by the police during a gun battle with gang members in the state.

Mr Ikenga said, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Nnaghe  Itam had ordered the immediate transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department Awka and charged the Operatives to redouble efforts towards arresting the other suspects that were currently on the run.

No admission for law candidates from 2025 to 2026...as JAMB suspends law programmes in 8 Higher institutions.

 

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB has withdrawn approval for admission into the Law programme in eight universities.

A statement by the JAMB Public Communications Advisor, Fabian Benjamin explains that this follows the suspension of the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) programme by the Council of Legal Education for the 2025/2026 academic session at the universities for violating regulatory procedures.

According to the statement, the universities are Kwara State University, Malete, Ilorin, Kwara State, Bingham University, Karu, Nasarawa State, Redeemers University, Ede, Osun State and Western Delta University, Oghara, Delta State.

Others are Taraba State University, Jalingo, Taraba State, Arthur Jarvis University, Akpabuyo, Cross River State, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi State and Nigerian Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State.

It also says the Nigerian Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State has been barred from admitting students for two academic sessions, that is, 2025/2026 and 2026/2027.

SUSPENSION OF LAW PROGRAMMES AT SELECTED UNIVERSITIES 

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) will not be conducting admissions for the Law programme in some selected universities following the suspension of the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) programme by the Council of Legal Education (CLE) for the 2025/2026 academic session at the following universities:

 1. Kwara State University, Malete, Ilorin, Kwara State

 2. Bingham University, Karu, Nasarawa State

 3. Redeemers University, Ede, Osun State

 4. Western Delta University, Oghara, Delta State

 5. Taraba State University, Jalingo, Taraba State

 6. Arthur Jarvis University, Akpabuyo, Cross River State

 7. Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi State

 8. Nigerian Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State

Please note that the suspension of the Law programme at the Nigerian Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State, will last for two academic sessions: specifically, the 2025/2026 and 2026/2027 sessions.

As a result, JAMB will not approve any admissions for candidates seeking to enrol in the Law programme at the aforementioned universities for the 2025/2026 academic session. Furthermore, the ban on registration for the Law programme at the Nigerian Police Academy will extend into the 2026/2027 academic session.

Story by Patience Olumati

Kano State GOVT takes the lead: It releases 500 million to tackle malnutrition.

The Kano State Government has released ₦500 million in counterpart funding under the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF), approving over 637 million Naira.  

The fund which is a critical step towards scaling up sustainable financing, programs, and supplies to combat malnutrition in the state is designed to support countries with high rates of child malnutrition. It matches government investments to accelerate the prevention, detection, and treatment of manifestations of malnutrition.

Kano State exposes Nigeria’s national malnutrition challenges, with 51.9% of children under five stunted, 38.4% underweight, and 10.4% suffering from wasting, 

According to the 2023-24 National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS). The alarming figures represent lives affected by malnutrition and its related conditions that hinder growth, weaken immunity, and reduce productivity later in adulthood. 

Through CNF- the benefit is that the state can increase its stock of essential nutrition commodities like Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF), Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS), Micronutrient Powder (MNP), Small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNS) and others required to treat, manage and prevent malnutrition by 100%.

In a statement, the Executive Secretary CS-SUNN Nigeria, Mr. Sunday Okoronkwo said efforts by CS-SUNN in collaboration with Alive & Thrive, UNICEF, and others played a role, engaging key government officials, including the Kano State Head of Service and the Commissioner for Health to achieve the feat.

They emphasized the need for States to support in establishment of Nutrition Departments across relevant MDAs, extending paid maternity leave from three to six months, and timely approval and release of the CNF. 

"Media roundtables amplified these efforts, increasing visibility and galvanizing support for the approval and release of the CNF and other nutrition interventions. Advocacy visits to traditional leaders, including the Emir of Kano, His Royal Highness Alhaji (Dr.) Muhammadu Sanusi II further underscored the need for action ".

CS-SUNN Executive Secretary, M.r Okoronkwo led a delegation of nutrition partners to key State players in Kano State and noted that, with over 50% of children stunted (from the recent 2023/24 National Health Demographic Survey (NDHS), Kano is home to 3.4 million children under five, of whom 350,000 are wasted, adding that, " Alarmingly, one in every two women in the state suffers from anemia". 

 Mr. Okoronkwo however commended the state government for its efforts in addressing malnutrition but emphasized the need for increased and timely release of funds to effectively tackle the growing burden of malnutrition and support the implementation of the state Food and Nutrition Strategy.

The team requested the Emir leverage his influence, to unlock critical funding and catalyze
action from key decision-makers for improved nutrition, including the release of the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF).

In his response, the Emir of Kano State, His Royal Highness Alhaji (Dr.) Muhammadu Sanusi II. emphasized the importance of prioritizing nutrition during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life. 

" Efforts are falling short at the most vital stages—before conception, at birth, and during breastfeeding" and highlighted the need for focused action in these phases ". 

Drawing from his experience as the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Emir recounted his advocacy for six months of maternity leave to support exclusive breastfeeding. 

While deemed too expensive at the time, he reflected on how the COVID-19 pandemic proved that flexible work arrangements were more cost-effective even at the highest levels.

The Emir demonstrated deep concern for the well-being of women and children in Kano, emphasizing his commitment to contribute to tackling the state’s malnutrition crisis. 

As the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria and the Nutrition Council, " He promised to advocate to key stakeholders—Commissioners of Finance, Budget, Health, and the Secretary to the Kano State Government—urging them to prioritize nutrition ".

  As a custodian of his people, the Emir underscored the urgency of addressing malnutrition, describing it as " a moral duty to safeguard the future of Kano children and empower women to thrive ".

With coordinated efforts across sectors and the continued leadership of key stakeholders, Kano has an opportunity to transform its nutrition landscape. 

Aligning traditional authority with government action ensures a collaborative approach to breaking the cycle of malnutrition and giving every child a chance to thrive. 

According to the statement, the approval and release of the CNF counterpart fund signals a new chapter of hope and progress for Kano’s children.