National News
By Comr. Isaac | ICC News Reporting | January 2024
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has suspended all administered programmes by the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), the Federal Government said.
Announcing the suspension in a statement on Friday, the Director Information, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Segun Imohiosen, said the president’s decision was in view of the “ongoing investigation of alleged malfeasance in the management of the agency and its programmes.”
“All four (4) Programmes administered by NSIPA, viz; N- Power Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme and Home Grown School Feeding Programme (the “Programs”) have been suspended for a period of six weeks in the first instance,” the statement read.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has also raised significant concerns regarding operational lapses and improprieties surrounding payments to the Programs’ beneficiaries.” According to the statement, Tinubu also constituted a ministerial panel to conduct a thorough review of the agency’s operations to recommend necessary reforms of the NSIPA.
During the period of this suspension, all NSIPA-related activities, including but not limited to all distributions, events, payments, collaborations and registrations are now frozen. Tinubu also assured stakeholders and all Nigerians that his administration remains committed to a swift and unbiased process that will ensure that, going forward, social intervention programmes will work exactly as intended, to the benefit of the most vulnerable Nigerians.
SOURCE: Channels Tv
Gunmen Burn Down Anambra Monarch’s Palace
Unidentified persons suspected to be Gunmen have burnt the palace of Igwe Emmanuel Nnabuife, the traditional ruler of Isseke Community in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State. This is coming about one week after a former convoy driver to late Gov Chinwoke Mbadinuju was allegedly kidnapped by gunmen after performing the funeral of his brother at the same Isseke community.
It was said that the former driver failed to settle the gunmen before burying his brother and shortly after the funeral, they stormed his home at night firing gun shots into the air. They took him away to an unknown destination. Confirming the incident, Igwe Emmanuel Nnabuife said that his house was burnt by the gunmen. He lamented that he had no problem with anyone in his community to warrant the incident.
“It is true that my palace was burnt down by some boys and I have lost everything that I laboured all my life to achieve and as it is now, I am homeless. “Everything was raised down but I thank God that no life was lost and nobody was harmed and this is the way it in my town Isseke,” he said.
The Anambra State Commissioner of Police, CP Aderemi Adeoye, who confirmed the incident, said investigation had begun. According to him, the police have launched a manhunt for the fleeing perpetrators. Those boys in Isseke now are fleeing from Ihiala because of our operation there,” he said.
SOURCE: Dailytrust
Meningitis killed 190 in 2023
The Federal Government has alerted Nigerians to the outbreak of Cerebrospinal Meningitis. Meningitis is an inflammation of the fluid and three membranes (meninges) surrounding one’s brain and spinal cord. The government said the warning became necessary as the disease is more prevalent during the dry season, which comes with dust, winds, and cold nights.
The disease claimed 190 lives across the country last year, according to the FG. The Director General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Ifedayo Adetufa, revealed that Nigeria recorded 2,765 suspected and 303 confirmed meningitis cases with 190 deaths across 140 local government areas in 30 states, including the Federal Capital Territory in its 2022/2023 statistics.
The NCDC boss said the highest burden of CSM in Nigeria occurs in the “Meningitis Belt,” which includes all the 19 states in the North, the FCT, and some southern states, such as Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo, Osun. Adetufa, in a public health advisor issued on Thursday, explained that despite significant progress in vaccination over the last few years, CSM remains a priority disease and an ever-present public health threat in Nigeria.
He said its annual outbreaks in high-burden states pose a challenge to the people, health systems, economies, and communities. Adetufa, however, assured Nigerians that the government is working to prevent, detect, and respond to cases of the disease. He said the NCDC, in collaboration with ministries, departments, agencies, and partners through the CSM TWG, had implemented several measures to ensure enhanced coordination, collaboration, and communication for response across the country.
Among other preventive measures, he said, “At the