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National Assembly Proposes 63 New Varsities, Others, Experts kick

August 1, 2022

Not less than 63 bills have been tabled before the National Assembly for the establishment of new universities, polytechnics, colleges of education since the beginning of shutdown of activities in public tertiary institutions in the country.

An analysis of the 63 bills on creation of new institutions being considered by both houses, revealed that 26 of the bills are for federal universities; 33 are for federal colleges of education, agriculture, health, technology; and forestry among other specialised colleges.

The lawmakers also proposed four bills for the creation of new polytechnics.

Meanwhile, education experts have been reacting to the proposed bill.

A professor at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Ondo State, Victor Olumekun in an interview faulted the lawmakers for turning the establishment of new institutions into constituency projects.

He said, “I say it often that it is not the number of universities that we have that matter but the capacity to do what universities are supposed to be doing.

“As an academia, we don’t have to establish universities in every town, village and hamlet. University education is not about number, it is about capacity.”

The National President of ASUP, Dr. Anderson Ezeibe, said the move showed a clear lack of direction.

“We have continued to maintain that government should fund existing institutions to enable them meet their mandates.

“Passing bills for new institutions at this time is for political convenience and not in the public interest,” he argued.

Also the General Secretary, COEASU, Dr Ahmed Bazza decried the development, saying ” There is shortage of lecturers in all tertiary institutions because the system has made it so harsh that there is high level of brain drain in the system. We are trying to cope with that and also trying to cope with the funding and facilities.

“Then someone will just wake up for political reasons and say he is proposing a bill to establish a new university. That is not fair to the system honestly.

In the same vein, Programme Director, Reform Education Nigeria Ayodamola Oluwatoyin accused the lawmakers of trying to score political goals.

“It is so unfortunate that we live in a country where lawmakers use matters like education to score cheap political points this is unheard of in any part of the world.

“How will you propose new bills for new institutions when the existing ones are on shutdown? Who advises these individuals?”

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics and Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union have warned the government against the establishment of new institutions while failing to fund the existing ones.

Nigeria has a total of 49 federal universities. The official data from the National Universities Commission also revealed that the country has 59 state universities and 111 private universities.

The National Board for Technical Education also puts the number of Federal Polytechnics at 40, state owned at 49 and private at 76.

While a total of Federal and state owned colleges of health is 70; Nigeria currently has 17 private colleges of health while the National Commission for Colleges of Education put the total number of colleges of education in Nigeria at 219

No Uniform UTME Cut-Off Marks For Admission Says JAMB

Rhoda Onuzulike

August 1, 2022

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said there is no uniform minimum Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) scores for any of the tiers of tertiary institutions, as it has not decided the requirements for any institution.

The Head of Public Affairs and Protocol of JAMB, Fabian Benjamin, stated this in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday.

“The board does not and has never determined any uniform national UTME scores otherwise known as cut-off mark by the general public for any tertiary institution because, in actual sense, there are no uniform national UTME scores.

“The lucid process of admission which the former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Nasir Fagge, expounded is the exact process being followed in the conduct of admission exercise to tertiary institutions in the country,” Benjamin said.

He said the process has even been improved upon with the elimination of human interefence through its full automation with the introduction of the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS).

The board said for the purpose of emphasis, it conducts the UTME and hands over the results to institutions for the conduct of admissions.

“However, before the admission exercise commences, a policy meeting is held with all the Heads of the institutions in attendance and chaired by the Hon. Minister of Education. At this meeting, the admission guidelines, which include recommendations from individual institutions and their preferred minimum admission scores are presented and deliberated upon at the meeting and not JAMB as erroneously portrayed by Prof. Fagge, because JAMB is only a member out of the close to about a thousand participants at the meeting.

“Prior to the meeting, for instance, more than 50% of the universities had submitted in writing their minimum scores of 200 and above to the Board for presentation to the meeting for the purpose of deliberation. The same applied for the other tiers of tertiary institutions. The implication of this process is that no institution would be able to admit any candidate with any score below what they had submitted as their minimum scores.

“Perhaps, it is also apt to address the series of misconceptions as to what is generally described as ‘uniform minimum national UTME score’ for admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria entails. For some time now, many candidates and some members of the general public have been under the erroneous impression that there is a minimum national UTME score set by the Board, which they also refer to as ‘cut-off point’. The truth is that there is nothing like a national minimum UTME score for all Universities, Polytechnics or Colleges of Education in Nigeria as it is only individual institutions which set their minimum entry scores based on their peculiarities,” the statement stated.

The JAMB spokesman added that the Board has no role whatsoever in the decision of the institutions to determine how or with what criteria they want to admit, while emphasising that the role of the Board is to ensure that the goalpost is not shifted in the middle of the game.

Varsity Students Petition Pres. Buhari, Makinde Over Colleague’s Kidnap

Rhoda Onuzulike

August 1, 2022

Students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, have petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde over the kidnap of one of their colleagues.

The students said that they are in pain over the abduction of one of their colleagues identified as Opadele Rachael Abiola.

The students in a petition addressed to Buhari and Makinde, said that their colleague, Opadele, Rachael Abiola, a final year student of Fine and Applied Arts with Matric Number: 170886, was reportedly abducted in the early hours of July 29th, 2022.

The students in the statement signed by the trio of the Students Union Government (SUG) President, Anuoluwa Adeboye; General Secretary, Okiki Ibrahim Opaleke and Public Relations Officer, Love Gabriel Michael, said that the girl was abducted in a hotel at Aaba, a community close to LAUTECH.

The students disclosed that Abiola was working at the hotel due to the strike by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that has urged Buhari and Makinde, to save them from the frequent abduction of their colleagues by kidnappers.

The students’ leaders, on behalf of their colleagues, said over 35,000 students of the institution were living in fear.

The petition read, “It is with a heavy heart that we write this openly to the Presidency and Oyo State Government and all Nigerians. Our hearts are grieved by the unending sorrow bequeathing our fellow students by the criminals (rapists, thieves, looters, kidnappers, and murderers) that have grown wings and spread across the country otherwise known as bandits.

“It saddens our heart that Opadele Rachael Abiola, a final year student of Fine and Applied Arts with Matric Number: 170886 is reported to have been abducted in the early hours of July 29th, 2022 in a hotel at Aaba, a community close to LAUTECH.

“Rachael was said to be working at the hotel due to the ASUU strike that has kept all Nigerian students outside the school. What a shame on our federal government led by President Muhammed Buhari who has failed us. The federal government has failed us in our education system, as well as our security.

“We can no longer walk or move freely, sleep conveniently, travel, or do anything without fear of being abducted or kidnapped, robbed, raped, or maimed within or outside our university community.

“This is a cry of bereavement from over 35,000 students of Ladoke Akintola University Of Technology, Ogbomoso to the Federal Government Presidency, Oyo State Government, all security operatives in Nigeria and Oyo State, the Obas, and the Management of LAUTECH over the abduction of Rachael by unknown gunmen, known as bandits in our dear country, Nigeria, to help, free and save Rachael.”

Lekki Port: Management Says Construction Now 95.65% Complete

Angel Gimalo

August 1, 2022

The Lekki deep seaport is inching ever closer to completion as the project is now 95.65% complete as the board, management, shareholders, project managers and contractors are still focused on ensuring that the construction is completed by September 2022.

The project which was at 80% completion stage as of January 2022, will be the first seaport to be fully automated at take-off.

This disclosure is contained in a statement issued by the Lekki deep seaport on Monday, August 1, 2022, and can be seen on its official Twitter account.

It also stated that the wait for a deep seaport with an efficiently operated terminal is over as the seaport is expected to commence operations by the end of 2022.

What the statement is saying
The statement reads, “We are delighted to announce that the construction of Lekki Port is now at 95.65% completion. Our management, board of directors, shareholders, EPC Contractors and the project manager remain focused on our objective to complete construction by September 2022 and start port operations by the end of the year.

‘’The wait to behold a deep seaport with a container terminal operated with efficiency and world-class standards in Nigeria is almost over!’’

Nigerian Government Bans SIM Card Importation, To Be Produced Within Henceforth

Angel Gimalo

August 1, 2022

The Federal Government of Nigeria has banned the importation of subscriber identity module (SIM) cards.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami made the announcement on Monday in Oniru, Lagos, South-west Nigeria.

He spoke at the Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE) organized by the Nigeria Office for Developing Indigenous Telecoms Sector (NODITS) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Pantami said Africa’s biggest country should not be importing things that could be produced within.

“Let me make it clear that the federal government will no longer tolerate the importation of sim cards. We are now producing them in Nigeria.

“Our aim is to increase indigenous content in the ICT sector so that by 2025, we will be self-reliant by at least 80 percent”, the minister noted.

Pantami urged stakeholders and citizens to support government efforts to boost local patronage and consumption.

“If we do this, history will be kind to all of us”, the professor of Cybersecurity added.

In June, Pantami informed the public that the Buhari administration had established a SIM card manufacturing plant in Lagos.

The facility, built with private sector support, has the capacity to produce 200 million cards annually and also export them to other African countries.

Why Egg consumption is important for Children under five – Physician

Cleopatra Okohai

August 1, 2022

Consultant Public Health Physician at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Modupe Akinyinka, says proteins like fish, meat, egg, and crayfish are very essential for the growth and development of under-five children.

According to the physician, children under five years should consume three or four eggs every week plus other diverse diets to avoid stunting and being underweight.

Akinyinka says mothers must feed their under-five children with protein-rich foods because they need them to grow properly.

There are, however, no official recommendations from the World Health Organisation on how many eggs parents can give under-five children each day or week.

The American Heart Association, though, states that individuals, in general, should limit their intake to one egg per day.

Speaking further, the physician said children under five years require adequate protein from meat, fish, egg, and other sources to grow and not just carbohydrates.

She explained, “They really need protein because they are growing. Their cells are rapidly dividing, so they need protein to grow properly.

“That tender age is when children need protein the most. They need to be given adequate meat and egg. It is an error for parents to deny their children meat and egg with the notion that they will steal when they grow up.

“Proteins like fish, meat, egg, and crayfish are very essential for the growth of these children. If we don’t want to have children that are malnourished, we have to move away from traditions that are inimical to their health.”

“Children under five years should consume three or four eggs every week plus other diverse diets. We encourage mothers to make sure their babies take different types of diets. You know that all these foods don’t contain one nutrient.”

Akinyinka also urged mothers to ensure that their children are getting the right quantities of nutrients from various food sources required for their optimal growth and development.

“So, when you give your child different types of food, you are exposing the child to all varieties of nutrients. And you will be able to protect the child from coming down with micronutrient deficiency.

“The consequences are that the child will be stunted and underweight. These are serious forms of malnutrition. It can affect the cognitive development of a child and the child will not be smart.

“If we are bringing up children that are malnourished, not only will they be sickly, they will not be able to perform physically as they should,” she noted.

For mothers that are always giving their babies pap, the physician advised them to fortify the pap by adding other nutrients including palm oil to reduce their risk of micronutrient deficiency.

The physician noted that palm oil is a rich source of vitamin A, adding that a child requires it for proper growth and development.

She asked parents to move away from traditional feeding practices that are detrimental to the health of their children.

“A lot of mothers give their babies pap and it is just carbohydrates. The baby needs more than carbohydrates to grow. Mothers should fortify the pap by adding other nutrients. The mother should add crayfish, milk, and a little bit of palm oil.

“Palm oil is very important because it is a major source of fat and oil which is a major nutrient. The child requires it. Again, palm oil is a rich source of vitamin A. It is very important for the child’s development.

“The only way we can prevent under-five children from malnutrition and kwashiorkor and their attendant health consequences is to feed them with foods rich in micronutrients,” she said.

According to the World Health Organisation, vitamin A deficiency affects about 190 million preschool-age children, mostly from Africa and South-East Asia.

In infants and children, vitamin A is essential to support rapid growth and to help combat infections.

Stakeholders advocate price reduction of new HIV medicines

Cleopatra Okohai

August 1, 2022

Some experts, world leaders, and stars around the world have called for the dramatic reduction in price of the ground-breaking new HIV medicines, to ensure global accessibility to all who need them.

They lamented the lack of access to the new HIV medicines, noting that the AIDS pandemic could be effectively curbed with better access to the ground-breaking vaccines.

According to reports, some of the advocates included Nobel laureates Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Joseph Stiglitz, former President of Malawi, Dr. Joyce Banda, and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.

Others are artists Olly Alexander (singer and actor), Stephen Fry (actor, writer, and presenter), Adam Lambert (singer and songwriter), David Oyelowo (actor, producer, director), and Arnaud Valois (actor).

Also, business leaders Mo Ibrahim and Paul Polman are amongst those who have joined the call in an open letter.

The letter was published in the run-up to the International AIDS Conference, which opened in Montreal on July 29.

“AIDS pandemic continues to take a life every minute, and new HIV infections are rising in too many communities.

“The breakthrough long-acting medicine only has to be taken every few months and is proving to be one of the most effective methods to prevent HIV transmission.

“In addition to the prevention tool available now, long-acting antiretrovirals could one day be part of revolutionizing treatment to prevent deaths.

“But these medicines are currently only available in high-income countries at a price of tens of thousands of dollars – far out of reach for people and governments in low- and middle-income countries.

“People in these countries need them most,’’ they said in the letter.

The advocates said that these long-acting HIV medicines could enable millions of adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa to protect themselves from acquiring HIV.

According to them, they can enable people from marginalised communities including gay men, transgender people, and sex workers, to receive a discreet injection every few months to protect themselves.

The letter called on ViiV, one of the world’s largest HIV pharmaceutical companies, to share their technology and know-how to boost production and set their price at a point where all countries could afford to buy these medicines.

In particular, it called on ViiV to tackle the barriers to access by taking some steps.

“Announce a lower price for the long-acting injectable ARV for prevention, CAB-LA, as close as possible to that of other HIV prevention medicines (PrEP).

“The current best PrEP option is approximately $60 per person per year. Make the price public and transparent, and include the cost of the accompanying syringe.

“Quickly finalise licences to produce generic versions of this long-acting ARV through the Medicines Patent Pool.

“Licence across the world’s low- and middle-income countries on a non-exclusive basis, with a broad geographic scope for both treatment and prevention.

“Share know-how and technology. Enable producers in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern, and Central Europe and beyond to seek transfer and begin producing.

“Commit to making enough to meet demand until generic producers come online.’’

Lilian Mworeko, the Regional Coordinator of the International Community of Women Living with HIV Eastern Africa, said: “While many in the global North are getting access to long-acting HIV prevention tools and medicines, Africans are overwhelmingly denied the opportunity.

“It is worse for groups who continue to be left behind like adolescent girls and young women.

“As long as the price is unaffordably high for our governments and for funders to purchase, we will continue to be locked out from being able to access them.

“They are vital to preventing new HIV infections and they could become transformational in treatment.

“Our message is simple: all of our lives matter,’’ she said.

As the global HIV response has come under strain from the COVID-19 crisis and the Ukraine war, ensuring rapid, affordable, and equitable access to these medicines has become even more urgent.

The signatories to the letter stressed that they could and must be made available to everyone, regardless of the passport they hold or the money in their pocket.

They said that the new medicines present a remarkable opportunity to avoid the scientific and policy mistakes that defined the early years of AIDS whereby after the first antiretroviral HIV drugs received approval, prohibitive costs meant they were out of reach in the global South.

They said that millions died and that the failings were not due to scientific or technical limitations but the result of conscious choices about how medical innovation and access to health tools were organised and financed.

“It is within ViiV’s power to ensure that millions more people around the world are able to benefit from the incredible technical advances that have gone into this new medicine.

“If countries know that it is available at an affordable price, they will be able to prioritise the purchase of it from their health budgets and to make it available to all who need it,’’ said Deborah Gold, CEO of the National Aids Trust.

Also, Dr. Ayoade Alakija, Co-Chair of the Africa Union Africa Vaccine Delivery Alliance for COVID-19, said, “There is a choice about how new medicines are launched into the global market in terms of whether they are available to everyone, everywhere.

“The limitations are less to do with scientific or technical challenges and much more to do with how medical innovation and access to health countermeasures are currently organised and financed to favour the rich and reinforce inequity.’’

The International AIDS Conference is taking place in Montreal from July 29 to Aug. 2, 2022.

It offers a historic opportunity for ViiV to stand with world leaders, civil society, and people living with and at risk of HIV from around the world and pledge actions that will save lives and accelerate efforts to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

The World Health Organisation will release new guidelines on CAB-LA – the new medicines – at the conference.

Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, said: “The stakes are high. 40 million people around the world are living with HIV today, and around 1.5 million people were newly infected in 2020 alone.

“This is an issue of inequality.

“Will these new medicines help us break down the inequalities driving the AIDS pandemic – affordable and available for those who need them most? Or will they stay out of reach?

“The pharmaceutical industry has the opportunity to make medicines affordable and accessible to people in all countries, including so-called middle-income countries – through sharing technologies and setting an affordable price today until those generics come online.”

NMA Pressures Political Leaders To Strengthen Nigeria’s Health System

Olasunbo Okoromi

August 1, 2022

The Chairman of the Lagos chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Tajudeen Salau, has urged political leaders to prioritise strengthening the country’s health system.

Dr. Salau stated this while speaking during the Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the association, themed, “Healthcare Workforce and Infrastructure Development in Nigeria: Setting Agenda for the Next Political Dispensation.”

According to him, strengthening the nation’s health system, is crucial to providing quality healthcare services.

He said, “The theme of the conference was carefully selected because the health care workforce and its infrastructure is our primary focus and interest.

“As we roll into a new political Dispensation, we don’t want to be laid back, so we start setting the agenda to better the health care delivery system.”

The Chairman of the occasion, Prof. Wole Alakija, stressed the importance of health insurance.

Alakija, who is also a Professor of Community Medicine and Child Care, said, “Poor health insurance coverage has denied many Nigerians access to hospitals, promoted self-medication, and resulted in unpreventable death and complication of ailments that hospitals can treat at low cost.

“We had the slogan during the beginning of the Primary Health Care era as health for all Nigerians by the year 2000. This was never achieved now we are in 2022. The new Health Insurance Act that puts it that all Nigerians will be insured for good health by 2030 appears a laughable slogan.

“If the 2022 Act makes it punishable not to be insured, offender getting five years imprisonment and also two million naira fine, one wonders how practicable this will be.”

Also speaking, the Local Organising Chairman of the event, Dr. Joy Chionuma, said universal health coverage was central to the actualisation of quality health care delivery for patients.

Nigeria to honour 16-year-old female golfer, Iyeneobong Essien

Henry Williams

August 1, 2022

The Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will work to see that 16-year-old Nigerian girl, Iyeneobong Essien, is honoured for her feat in golf.

Iyene shot 79/78/80 playing on two challenging courses – Lough Erne Resort, Enniskillen, Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. She displayed great character, grit, tenacity and resilience in her battle for the win but came short.

She, however, emerged first runner-up in the competition which caught the attention of one Twitter user, @woye1, who urged the foreign ministry to honour her.

Woye tweeted, “May I appeal to @GeoffreyOnyeama, @abikedabiri, @nidcom_gov to pls honour 16-year-old Nigerian Golfer, Iyeneobong Essien who created an enviable record at the Champion of Champions World Golf Championship Invitational in Northern Ireland by finishing 1st runner-up. Congratulations.

“Iyene completed in the 16-19years category beth July 26-28, 2022. That same course played host to World best golfers including Rory Mcllroy. I wish to appeal to @MBuhari to personally write to her and signed the letter @MrUdomEmmanuel @IyeneE. Congratulations once again.”

In response, Abike Dabiri-Erewa wrote, “Wow! Amazing feat!Will take it up. Thanks for the heads up!”

Nasarawa Govt. Says 90% People Living With HIV/AIDS Has Suppressed Viral Load

Olasunbo Okoromi

August 1, 2022

The Nasarawa state government said that 90 percent of people living with HIV/Aids have a suppressed viral load and encouraged them to be regular and sustainable uptake of their drugs to avoid new infections in the state.

State Agency for Aids control program Monitoring and Evaluation officer (M&E) Ministry of health, Mrs. Halimatu Musa, stated this at a two-day training of media houses on youth-friendly HIV/AIDS program in collaboration with the Nasarawa state Agency for the Control of AIDS (NASACA), in Abuja.

She explained that the state has recorded 82,302 people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS), in the state and are currently on treatment.

She, therefore, called for more support from the federal ministry of health and other partners to procure and supply the state with testing kits and other preventive packages.

Speaking, Executive Director Nasarawa State Aids Control Agency (NASACA) Dr. Ruth Bello said the training was organized to let the media know the level of progress recorded as well as the way forward in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the state.

She said that the state has recorded the reduction of HIV/AIDS prevalence from 6.4 to 2.0 due to the effective level of awareness created by NASA with the support from the media and solicited more synergy in that direction.

She appealed to the media to apply a factual, none judgemental reporting style that would help maintain the health and support of those infected with and affected by the virus in society, especially women and youths.

She, however, cautions journalists on the implications of negative reporting of HIV/Aids and appealed to them to be conversant with the terminologies and languages that would not discourage those living with the virus from living well.

While presenting his lecture, Prevention Officer NASACA, Dr. Eze Okwudili explained that contrary to public perception that HIV/Aids is a death warrant for those infected, many people who are living with the virus and managing it well, are living a healthy life like every person.

He encouraged Journalists to develop programs that would encourage people on preventive measures against HIV.

Speaking on behalf of participants from both print and electric media, Director Programs Nasarawa Broadcasting Service ( NBS) Lafia, Hajiya Hadiza Dahiru, lauded NASACA for bringing the training to reality and noted that the knowledge gained during the training will be put to practice appropriately.

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