The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has approved 11,222 polling units in Kano State ahead of the 2023 general polls.

INEC Kano Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Riskuwa Arabu, made this known at a one-day workshop on electoral reportage organised by the Kano State Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and sponsored by INEC.

“Media is part of INEC, they project our work in a way that people appreciate us particularly in the area of voter education,” he said.

Arabu noted that the interactive session was to help the commission fine tune processes and procedures in such a way that the integrity of polls would be improved upon so that the country would have transparent elections.

“We have 484 wards of polling units across the 44 local governments in the state,” he said.

According to him, as at January 2022 in Kano State, 128,628 residents have completed their voter registration out of which 77,255 were valid and 51,373, equivalent of 39.9 per cent, were declared invalid.

Arabu pledged to hold the interactive session quarterly and called on the members of the public who have yet to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) to do so.

“We have 481,318 both old and new PVCs yet to be collected,” he said.

On his part, the Chairman of the Kano State Chapter of the NUJ, Abbas Ibrahim, urged INEC to make the interactive session with journalists a regular feature.

He said this was needed to keep them abreast of current trends and fill the gap of misinformation and disinformation.

Ibrahim, represented by the NUJ Financial Secretary, Nasiru Ibrahim, assured the commission that journalists in the state would continue to give a fair and factual coverage of the electoral process.

Also speaking, Chairman Kano Correspondent Chapel, Ibrahim Garba-Shu’aibu, said the workshop was to educate journalists on the amendment of the electoral act and effective reporting.

The Deputy Governor of Anambra, Dr Onyekachukwu Ibezim, on Wednesday visited a personnel of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), who survived the April 3 attack by gunmen on its patrol team.

It was reported that the attack which took place on the Uga-Ezenihite-Igboukwu road in Anambra resulted in the death of two FRSC officers.

Ibezim visited the wounded officer at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (COOUTH) in Awka.

The deputy governor said he was impressed with the wounded FRSC officer’s speedy recovery.

The deputy governor described the attack on the officers as unfortunate, saying it should never have happened.

“Thank God, he is recovering fast. He has been moved from the ICU to the wards and has started feeding orally.

“He has enjoyed the best of medical care and I must say the hospital is doing well. From the sound of his voice, his spirit is strong and we are hopeful that in no distant time he will go back to work.

“It boils down to what the governor has been saying that we just have to discuss; we need to come to a roundtable and sort out the issues. We can’t continue to lose lives and harm ourselves, it does nobody any good.

“FRSC officers do not carry guns, they are soft targets and this is an attack that we pray should never have happened, as they were on the statutory duty of ensuring that our roads are safe,” he said.

The deputy governor gave financial support to the family of the victim, saying that the Chukwuma Soludo-led government was deeply saddened by the incident.

He pledged that the state government would continue to do all what would bring sustainable peace and security for all.

Dr Joe Akabuike, the Chief Medical Director of COOUTH, said the wounded officer had undergone every necessary surgery and was on the recovery path.

Akabuike said the officer was shot in the intestines and abdomen, but thankfully, he received some care from the referral hospital before coming to COOUTH for corrective surgeries.

He said that the officer had become stable now, after spending over two weeks in the ICU.

In his remark, Adeoye Irelewuyi, the Sector Commander, FRSC in Anambra, thanked the deputy governor for the visit, saying the command was highly encouraged.

Irelewuyi said the command was happy for the support from the state government, adding that the men and officers of the corps were not deterred by the attack

He prayed for complete recovery of the wounded and for the repose of the souls of the two other officers who died in the attack.

The state commander described the FRSC as a humanitarian job who work for safety on the roads, adding that people should not make them targets of attacks.

He added that “On April 22, one of the officers was buried at Nteje and as we speak, the other officer is being buried at Ogoja”.

“We are in contact with their families and will ensure that all their statutory entitlements reach them,” he said.

Stakeholders in the agriculture sector have called for a review of the implementation arrangements of the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) to define roles and responsibilities of private sector, Federal and State Governments.

Some of the stakeholders made the call on Wednesday on the sidelines of the 2022 summit on NLTP organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural in collaboration with Agriculture Correspondents of Nigeria (ACAN) in Abuja.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations representative in Nigeria and to ECOWAS, Fred Kafeero, said such reviews will fast track its implementation, monitoring, evaluation, learning and accountability for the results.

Kafeero also called on the need for a strong institutional set up to drive national level implementation in a coordinated manner.

He said the measure would fast track its implementation, monitoring, evaluation, learning and accountability for the results.

He further called for the strengthening of advocacy and public awareness about the NLTP, which is critical in building stakeholders’ understanding and clarifying public perceptions about the Plan.

Speaking, Dr Andrew Kwasari, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agriculture, said the Federal Government in collaboration with States have begun the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) 2019 to 2028.

He said to resolve the lingering crises between farmers and herders as well as reposition the livestock sector in the country.

According to him, 22 States have sent letters of express interest to the office of the Chairman of National Economic Council and Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, and only 10 States have set up the States Livestock Transformation Office.

He noted that states doing so well include Nasarawa, Plateau, Adamawa and Kaduna.

Winnie Tai-Solarin, Director of the Animal Husbandry Department FMARD, said that the Summit was designed to address the misconceptions about the NLTP and to map the way forward.

She said in 2019, the Federal Government had inaugurated a 10- year NLTP (2019-2028), as an alternative to open grazing of cattle, to prevent and end the lingering crises between herders and farmers, which have claimed many lives.

The Chairman of ACAN, Oba Olasukanmi noted that the livestock sector can empower rural women and youth, improve natural resource-use efficiency, and increase the resilience of households to cope with climate change.

“An FAO report, states that livestock contributes 40 per cent of the global value of agricultural output and supports the livelihoods, food and nutrition security of almost 1.3 billion people.

“In Nigeria, livestock play a major role in sustainable food systems, according to experts, the country’s livestock sector has a huge economic potential worth over N33 trillion, such a sector should never be ignored.

”Development of policies like the National Livestock Breed Improvement Programme (NALBIP), National Livestock Transformation Plan among others are welcome ideas,” he said.

The NLTP is a scheme adopted by the National Executive Council (NEC) on Jan.18, 2019.

It is an initiative designed to partner with interested state governments to provide land for livestock farmers to practice their profession.

The Federal Government has charged cooks under its National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) in Jigawa to ensure they prepare quality and hygienic meals for pupils in the state.

Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouk, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, gave the charge during the training of 54 cooks in Dutse on Wednesday.

Umar-Farouk, represented by Badayi Mukhtar, the Assistant Director of Finance in the ministry, said that the training was to ensure that the cooks prepared their meals under the most hygienic conditions with nutritional value.

“This training is to ensure that the cooks prepare their food under the most hygienic form and also ensure that they include the nutritional value to it.

“We understand that in the past, the cooks usually prepared the meals without any standard guidelines.

“That is why the ministry brought in consultants to teach them on the need to include nutritional value to their meals, as well as cook them under the most hygienic process,” Umar-Farouk said.

She assured them that the ministry would not compromise on the quality and quantity of meals served to pupils in the country.

Also speaking, the Focal Person on Social Investment Programme in the state, Mustapha Umar, said that the training was imperative as the Federal Government was trying to make the programme sustainable.

Umar said that the gesture would go a long way to check malnutrition among pupils in the state.

“This training is necessary at this particular time for its sustainability.

“This is because there will be a change of government after the 2023 elections.

“Therefore, we want a situation whereby the incoming administration will adopt and continue the feeding programme.

“That’s why the training focused on hygienic and nutritional element of the meal in its entire preparation,” Umar said.

He said that the gesture would also ensure the consumption of healthy foods by the pupils, thereby checking malnutrition among children across the state.

He, therefore, enjoined the cooks to be mindful of the hygienic nature of the meal and water served to the pupils.

The focal person said that 54 cooks selected from each of the 27 local government areas of the state, participated in the training.

According to Umar, the participants are expected to step down the training to other cooks in their respective areas.

Some of the trainees, Rabia Sa’idu and Na’ima Usman, lauded the ministry and the state office for the training.

They promised to enhance their operations through the knowledge acquired.

Usman urged the government and other stakeholders to ensure the reduction in prices of food items and other commodities needed to prepare the meals.

“We don’t have any challenge with regards to our payment or any other aspect of our operation.

“The major problem is the skyrocketing prices of food items.

“So, we want the government to ensure that the prices of food items are stable and affordable,” Usman said.