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Islamic New Year: Ayu tasks Nigerians on brighter future

New year
By Habibu Harisu
Sokoto, July 30, 2022 (NAN) Dr Iyorchia Ayu, PDP National Chairman, has called on the Muslim faithful to use the significant celebration of the new Islamic year to asses their conduct for a better future.

Ayu made the call in a fecilitation message signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communication, Alhaji Yusuf Dingyadi on Saturday in Sokoto.

” I urge Muslim faithful to asses thier conducts, intensify on prayers for unity and cohesion of our nation.

” Prayers for devine intervention can assist towards producing leaders that can bring lasting peace and rapid development that will usher a greater nation.

“‘ We should not lose hope or allow anybody to use his failure to destroy this great and blessed nation. We are a people united by a common destiny of greatness which we must bequeath to our upcoming generation.

” Nothing should change our determination and commitment to restore the lost glory of this great nation, ” Ayu said.

He rejoiced with Muslim faithful on behalf of PDP family nationwide and fecilitate with Nigerians on the celebration of the New Islamic Year 1444.

Ayu further urged Muslims in the country to rekindle their faith which emphasised love of one another, forgiveness and greater dedication to peace and development.

The party chairman urged Nigerians to support the PDP as the only party that could reorganise Nigeria as a nation through unity, economic growth, security, education and true federalism.

He appreciated the role of all party members across the country for their support and determination to make Nigeria great. (NAN)
HMH/OJI/IA

Edited by Maureen Ojinaka/Idris Abdulrahman
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Unity
By Habibu Harisu
Sokoto, July, 26, 2022 (NAN) The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has urged corps members to discourage all forms of restiveness and strive toward promoting national unity and cohesion.

The Director-General of NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Muhammad Fadah, made the call at the swearing in of NYSC 2022 Batch ‘B’ stream 2 corps members posted to Sokoto state, at the Permanent Orientation Camp, Wamakko Local Government Area, on Tuesday.

He advised the corps members to shun cultism, drug abuse and other social vices, and urged them to use the platform to promote national unity.

Fadah, who was represented by the NYSC State Coordinator, Alhaji Muhammad Nakamba, cautioned the corps members to avoid using the social media to spread fake news, fuel hatred and other negative purposes.

The DG urged them to use social media for the promotion of national unity and development.

He implored them to be security conscious at all times and to report any suspicious characters or activities around them to appropriate authorities.

Fadah said that Nigeria’s economy was facing challenges and advised corps
members to maximally utilise the skills acquisition training during the service year.

” I would like to remind you that white collar jobs are not readily available, therefore I encourage you to avail yourselves of the opportunities offered for self-employment through the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme,” he added.

He further advised the corps members to adhere to preventive and safety measures put in place by the Nigeria Centre for Disease control (NCDC) against the COVID-19 pandemic as the scourge was not yet over.

The D-G encouraged the corps members yet to be vaccinated to avail themselves of COVID-19 vaccination that would be administered in camp.

He expressed appreciation to the federal, state and local governments as well as law enforcement agencies, traditional rulers and employers of the corps members for the support given to the scheme especially in the areas of security and general welfare of corps members.

Earlier in his welcome address, the NYSC State Coordinator, Alhaji Muhammad Nakamba, enjoined the corps members to be disciplined, noting that camp life was regimented and not designed to make them comfortable.

He said that Sokoto state was safe, but the corps members needed to comply with traditions of the people to guarantee their safety throughout their stay in the state.

The Chief Judge of the state, Justice Sa’aidu Sifawa, who was represented by a Senior Magistrate, Junaidu Altine, administered the oath of allegiance on the 406 corps members.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the corps members in camp are comprised of 278 males and 128 females. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
HMH/OOA/AOS
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Edited by Olabisi Akinbode/Bayo Sekoni

Traditional ruler seeks support for UN programmes for gender equality

Empowerment

By Habibu Harisu

Sokoto, July 26, 2022 (NAN) The Wazirin Sokoto, Prof. Sambo Junaidu, has called on stakeholders to support the United Nations interventions on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

This, he said, was to promote women education, participation in governance and gender-responsive policies.

Junaidu made the call during a regional Stakeholders’ Consultations on the Development of UN Women Strategic for Nigeria (2023 to 2027).

It was organised for the North-West geopolitical zone on Monday in Sokoto.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports it was organised by the Sokoto State Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, UN Women, in partnership with the Sultan Foundation.

He reiterated that UN Women’s efforts should be complemented by individuals, groups, institutions, organisations and governments at all levels.

The Wazirin Sokoto stated that this was in recognition of the desire to improve standard of living for women and girls.

He said it was also to recognise women’s leadership roles in the communities and society at large.

Junaidu, who is a Senior Member in the Sultanate Council, described the efforts as being in tandem to cultural and traditional tenets.

He said:”with the calibre of discussions and participants at the workshop, the new strategic note would align with religious provisions and the constitution of Nigeria.

”Maximum support would be given to the actualization of the Strategic Note (SN).”

Junaidu expressed hope that it would strengthen the advancement of women in all sectors, as well as to reduce the challenges women face in society.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs, Hajiya Kulu Sifawa, said that all avenues were being explored toward developing and implementing relevant and inclusive policies.

She said that such policies would enhance the empowerment of women and girls, as well as create an enabling environment for women to actualise their dreams.

Sifawa said that the state government was determined to implement the right policies and support the actualization of the Strategic Note.

This was to promote participation of women in politics, economic activities and governance at all levels.

She lauded the organizers of the meeting, describing it as part of a robust exercise taking place across all six geopolitical zones.

Earlier, the UN Women Programme Specialist, Ms Tosin Akibu, informed the participants that the consultation was to improve UN Women’s strategy.

This is in addressing issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment across four thematic areas.

Akibu said the areas comprised Women Economic Empowerment, sustained, inclusive economic growth.

They also include development that provides equitable opportunities for decent employment and livelihoods for women and girls.

Akibu said other areas include humanitarian action and disaster risk reduction to ensure equitable access to affordable clean energy.

Others are sustainable food systems and increased resilience to climate change and disasters.

”When looking at GBV, as well as health, a key focus was for communities to have increased access to and use of quality basic social services especially education and social protection.

” Furthermore, ensuring inclusion of women in governance, fair participation in public life and women’s role in peace and security.

”This is paramount in enhancing participatory, transparent, gender-sensitive governance.

” Access to justice and emphasis on women’s rights at all levels is critical accelerating achievement of the 2030 agenda and SDGs, for a peaceful, inclusive and cohesive society,” Akibu said.

NAN reports that the current UN Women SN 2018 to 2022 will end in December.

The Nigeria Country Office has initiated the process of developing a successor SN that would cover the period of 2023-2027.

The new SN will outline UN Women’s overall strategy and plan of action for Nigeria.

This enables the country to respond to the developmental, humanitarian and disaster risk reduction priorities of governments.

It will also align and contribute directly to the new United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), for Nigeria UNSDCF: 2023-2027.

The framework is currently at the final stage of development.

It will also translate the UN Women’s Global Strategic Plan (2022-2025), and its All-Africa Strategy to the country.

Participants were drawn from northwest states that comprised state lawmakers, academicians, youths and women groups, traditional institutions, NGOs, journalists and government officials. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
HMH/BRM/SH

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Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani/Sadiya Hamza

FG solicits stakeholders’ partnership to bridge housing deficit

Housing
By Habibu Harisu
Sokoto, July 25, 2022 (NAN) The Federal Government has solicited stakeholders’ collaboration to bridge the housing deficits of Nigerians for the overall development of the country.

Mr Jide Ode-Martins, the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics in the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, made the call at the 11th meeting of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development on Monday in Sokoto.

Ode-Martins said the theme of the 2022 meeting: ”Housing Our People, by All of Government and All Our People” was chosen in a bid to further address the housing needs of Nigerians.

He said it was chosen in recognition of the collective resolve to address the challenges in the housing sectors.

” Federal Government alone cannot address the gap in housing development across the country which brings to focus the fact that state governments and private sector are critical stakeholders.

” It was aimed to have maximum collaboration to address the housing challenges by bringing to the forefront desirable strategies to increase the stock of affordable houses to Nigerians ” Ode-Martins said.

He added that the meeting would be preceded by a two-day technical meeting of directors, heads of agencies and professional bodies in building sector.

According to him, stakeholders will fine-tune the recommendations, from necessary provisions on our various institutions, towards adequate housing infrastructure by governments and private sector.

Earlier, Permanent Secretary, Sokoto State Ministry of Works, Housing and Urban Development, Alhaji Ahmad Moyi-Tambuwal, described shelter as desirable needs for human beings.

Moyi-Tambuwal said governments exerted efforts to provide affordable and reasonable houses to citizens.

He said the event was timely and it demonstrated commitments to provision of houses to all categories of Nigerians.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was attended by representatives from 36 states of the federation, associations in the building sector and higher institutions. (NAN)
HMH/MA/IA

Edited by Muftau Adediran/Idris Abdurrahman
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FG trains 23 NOA officers on rural empowerment in Sokoto
Empowerment
By Habibu Harisu
Sokoto, July 19, 2022 (NAN) Federal Government has begun the training of National Orientation Agency (NOA) officials for effective implementation of Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP2.0) digitisation and registration in Sokoto State.
The training is organised by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
It is specifically organised for 23 NOA Community Orientation and Mobilization Officers (COMOs).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on the completion of the exercise, the trainees would serve as desk officers of GEEP in the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.
In a speech, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouq, said the programme was among the National Social Investment Programmes (N-SIP) meant to tackle poverty and hunger in the country.
Umar-Faruk, represented by Mr Segun Awosanya, said the success of the programme would depend on the quality and quantity of data generated by COMOs.
She urged the participants to double their efforts to ensure better implementation of the programme.
She warned against the extortion and intimidation of beneficiaries.
The minister said that those found guilty would be dealt with.
She also said that GEEP 2.0 was designed to create access to credit for the poor and vulnerable people.
“The ministry organised this training to acquaint the trainees with the new criteria of registration, the new GEEP digitisation application pre-loaded on the tablets to be used by participants.
“The tablets are to be used for digitisation aimed at ensuring seamless programme implementation and to bring the COMOs up to date with the new strategies and requirements for phase two registration,” she said.
Earlier, NOA’s State Director, Alhaji Maude Danchadi, commended the ministry for trusting the agency with the task.
Danchadi also thanked the Sokoto State Government for supporting the programme.
He assured the minister that the officers would double their efforts in ensuring that the success of the programme.
The agency’s State Mobilization Officer, Mr Murtala Isa-Gwadabawa, said the enumeration of beneficiaries was ongoing in all the LGAs.
Isa-Gwadabawa commended the ministry’s effort aimed at lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty.
He promised that NOA team would work tirelessly to ensure the success of the programme.
He urged GEEP desk officers to pay attention to the training and observe the ethics of the job, which included integrity, discipline, honesty, fairness among others.
NAN reports that GEEP was introduced in 2016 under the supervision of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The programme consists of Trader Moni, Market Moni and Farmer Moni, through which loans are disbursed to beneficiaries.
Under the Farmer Moni, beneficiaries get farming equipment in lieu of the amount.
Items such as tablets and power bank were distributed to the officers for the exercise. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
HMH/KOO/USO
Edited by Kevin Okunzuwa/Sam Oditah