Centre For Peace And Environmental Justice CEPEJ, a non-governmental organisation, has urged stakeholders in the oil and gas regions to protect their environment from companies working contrary to environmental best practices.
This Is Contained In A Statement Signed By The NGO Co-Ordinator, Mulade Sheriff, In Abuja, Nigeria’s Capital.
Sheriff Said It Was A Way Of Saving The Environment From Further Devastation In 2022.
The coordinator said that stakeholders should advise oil companies to tackle the challenges of pollution in order to reverse to its original status, protect and sustain the environment for future generations.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has warned drug barons and all those still involved in the illicit trade to repent or risk losing their freedom and assets this year.
The agency said its workforce had moved into 2022 “with a resolution to rid the country of illicit substances and to continue our aggressive pursuit of drug cartels, barons and traffickers anywhere they may be within the country or even outside.”
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, NDLEA, Brig-Gen Buba Marwa (retd.), issued the warning in his New Year message titled: ‘Turn over a new leaf or lose it all’.
He said, “Given our pedigree in 2021, there should be no doubt whatsoever about our capability to carry out these stated objectives. In the past year, we scaled up our capability and reinvigorated our anti-narcotic activities.
“Our efforts have yielded arrests and interdictions. That should be a clear signal to anyone in the drug trade that the rules of the game have changed.
“In 2022, our goals remain the same: to dismantle drug cartels and syndicates, and that include arresting and having drug offenders jailed by the court and ultimately to rid our society of all traces of illicit substances.”
While pleading with them to repent, Marwa said, “There is still a window of opportunity for drug traffickers and barons.
“Now is the time for them to turn over a new leaf before the NDLEA turns on the heat and they lose it all. Since most of them are in the business to amass wealth and now they have made fortunes from this trade that harms society, therefore, it is time to quit.
“We call on them to think about the common good; to think about the future of this country; and to think about the young and coming generations. Let commonsense prevail and on your own volition make a significant contribution towards the effort to have a drug-free society, where peace and harmony reign.
“We have seen the havoc of illicit drugs from the ugly development in parts of our nation due to drug abuse by youths, and also from the general blight caused by abuse of cannabis across the country.
“Those who heed this warning will thank themselves for taking the wise decision to quit the drug trade in the days ahead. Those who think and act otherwise can be assured of a tough year in 2022. They can take a cue from what happened in 2021, where the agency secured various jail terms for over 1,200 drug traffickers, including nationals of other countries, and we brought to justice six drug barons, including those outside the country and those who had been on the run for as long as 10 years.”
While emphasizing Nigeria’s determination to win the drug war, Marwa said with the full support of the President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Assembly, the judiciary and the citizenry, the NDLEA would leave no stone unturned to fulfil its mandate this year.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted hazy weather condition from Tuesday, January 4 to Thursday, January 6, 2022, across the country.
NiMet’s weather outlook released on Monday, January 3 in Abuja predicted thick dust haze over the Northern region throughout the forecast period on Tuesday.
According to the agency, moderate dust haze should prevail over North-Central and inland cities of South with horizontal visibility values ranging from 2,000m to 5,000m and localised horizontal visibility of less than or equal to 1, 000m throughout forecast period.
“Morning fog or misty atmosphere with few patches of clouds are anticipated over the coastal cities of the South within the forecast period.
“However, slim chances of isolated rains are anticipated over Bayelsa, Rivers, Lagos, Ogun and Delta in the afternoon or evening period,” it said.
The agency forecasted thick dust haze over the Northern cities throughout the period on Wednesday.
It further forecasted moderate dust haze with visibility values ranging from 2,000m to 5,000m over the North-Central and inland cities of the South throughout the forecast period.
“Fog or mist is anticipated in the morning hours over coastal cities of the South.
“Afterwards, the coastal cities should be under hazy atmosphere with few patches of cloud within the forecast period.
“Also, slim chances of isolated rains are anticipated over Rivers, Bayelsa and Eket in the afternoon and evening period,” it said.
According to NiMet, moderate dust haze with visibility values from 2,000m to 5,000m is expected over the Northern region within the forecast period on Thursday.
It anticipated moderate dust haze with horizontal visibility values ranging from 2,000m to 5,000m and localised horizontal visibility values of less than 1,000m over the North-Central and inland cities of the South throughout the forecast period.
The agency envisaged the coastal cities of the South to be hazy with few patches of cloud throughout the forecast period.
The Kaduna State Government has earmarked N4.7 billion for the provision of water, sanitation, and hygiene services in its 2022 budget.
This is contained in the 2022 budget size of N278.6 billion, signed by Gov. Nasir El-Rufai on Dec. 22, 2021 in Kaduna, the state capital, on Monday, January 3, 2022.
The budget document showed that a total of N4.7 billion was allocated to the state’s Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, representing 1.7 per cent of the total budget.
Of the amount, N4.6 billion was allocated for capital expenditure, while N16.7 million was for recurrent expenditure.
The budget showed that N1.5 billion was earmarked as a matching grant for the Partnership for Expanded Water Supply, Hygiene, and Sanitation project.
It further showed that N406.1 million was allocated for the implementation of the state Roadmap for Eliminating Open Defecation in 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs).
Similarly, N58.3 million was earmarked for the conduct of hygiene promotion and mobilisation and N4.9 million for the management of 207 Community-Led Total Sanitation facilitators across the 23 LGAs of the state.
Also, N471.1 million was earmarked for the construction of 100 blocks of gender-sensitive sanitation facilities in institutions and public places, while N258.1 million was for the rehabilitation of 2,633 hand pump boreholes.
The government equally allocated N882.7 million for the implementation of Sustainable Urban-Rural Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene across the state and N575.7 million for the construction and installation of 230 hand pump boreholes.
A total of N214.5 million was earmarked for the procurement of three state-of-the-art drilling rigs and accessories, and N16.8 million for emergency response to disaster in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH).
The document further showed that N78.5 million was allocated for refurbishing and maintenance of two drilling rigs and components, as well as the purchase of workshop materials.
A total of N3.4 million was earmarked for the procurement process for the drilling and construction of water and sanitation facilities.
The institutionalisation of the Village Level Operation and Maintenance concept in 476 communities for the sustainability of WASH facilities got N72.9 million.
Also, a total of N94.2 million was allocated for tracking, monitoring, contract management, media and publicity, supervision, and other logistics to all project sites.
Similarly, a total of N51.7 million was allocated to the state Water Service Regulatory Commission, of which N17 million was for capital expenditure and N34.6 million for recurrent.
Of the N17 million earmarked for capital expenditure, N11.7 million was for the development and production of regulations, standards, and guidelines, while N5.4 million was for the procurement of mini water quality laboratory equipment and reagents.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has vowed that Nigeria will no longer be made a dumping ground for chemicals banned in other countries.
This is as the agency faulted reports that 40 per cent of the registered brands of pesticide products used in Nigeria are either banned or restricted for use by the European Union.
The agency’s Director-General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, stated this during the organisation’s two-day top management committee meeting in Lagos.
A statement from the agency on Sunday titled “Nigeria will not be a dumping ground for chemicals banned in other countries, vows NAFDAC” quoted Adeyeye as describing NAFDAC as an ISO: 900: 2015 quality management system-certified organisation.
Prof Mojisola Adeyeye
The statement read, “The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control dispelled the insinuation that 40 per cent of the registered brands of pesticide products used in Nigeria are either banned or restricted for use by EU, thereby endangering the lives of people, animals, and the environment in Nigeria.”
The NAFDAC boss added that the agency had put in place procedures to enable it to make regulatory decisions and determine whether an active ingredient should be banned or restricted.
She said, “NAFDAC is a signatory to the international convention that banned chemicals and pesticides such as the Rotterdam Convention, an international treaty designed to facilitate informed decision-making by countries with regard to trade in hazardous chemicals and pesticides.
“Chemicals banned by international convention have been phased out and never entertained for registration or given import permits as raw materials for production.”
She said NAFDAC was responsible for ensuring that chemical products produced in Nigeria and those being imported into the country meet the prerequisite in-country approval as well as international standards.
Adeyeye added that the agency has a stringent requirement of ensuring that any pesticide imported into Nigeria is on the market in the exporting country and that the current free sale certificate is authenticated by the Nigerian embassy in the exporting country.
The NAFDAC boss said to ensure that only active ingredients approved by NAFDAC are allowed into the country, the agency appointed testing agents and laboratories to conduct tests and forward results to the agency before any pesticide is shipped from countries that are major exporters of agrochemicals into Nigeria.
While saying that adequate quality control tests are carried out by the agency before granting certifications for all products that are either imported or manufactured within the country, she said the field trial evaluation is conducted in collaboration with research institutes in Nigeria to determine the safety, quality and efficacy of new molecules as well as inspection of manufacturing facilities to establish good manufacturing practice.
Ministry of Education in Lagos State has called on school administrators to step up their safety measures with the aim of reducing negative incidence.
This is as public and private schools resume today January 4, after the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The Commissioner of Education, Folasade Adefisayo, who made this appeal in a statement made available to local media, said they should devise appropriate strategies to advance teacher/student interaction in order to gain an insight and expose negative tendencies before they metamorphosed into unfortunate situations.
She said school administrators should ensure that exposure of students to danger within the school premises are neutralised.
She directed that they should also identify possible dangers outside the walls of the schools and escalate it to appropriate state safety and enforcement agencies through prescribed channels.
While welcoming students, teachers and school administrators to the beginning of the New Year and second term for the 2021/2022 school session, Adefisayo further directed that adequate monitoring, especially as it affects boarding school students should be enforced to prevent the incidence of bullying and other vices.
The commissioner re-echoed the warning of the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, that bullying, cultism and other vices will not be tolerated in Lagos schools, while appealing to the administrators to increase counseling of students against these vices.
The Governing Council, Osun State University, Osogbo on Monday announced the appointment of Professor Odunayo Clement Adebooye as the 4th substantive Vice-Chancellor of the University.
In a statement issued on Tuesday morning by the school’s Public Relations Officer, Adesoji Ademola, Chairman of the University’s Governing Council, Yusuf Ali disclosed that Professor Adebooye was appointed after the approval of the school Visitor, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.
The University former Vice-Chancellor, Professor Labo Popoola completed his tenure on November 5, 2021, after which Professor Afeez Bello became the acting Vice-Chancellor, following the litigation against the appointment of a substantive Vice-Chancellor.
While announcing the 4th substantive Vice-Chancellor of the University, the Council Chairman, commended the Visitor and Governor of the state for his consistent support which has made the University one of the fastest-growing universities in the country.
Also, thanking the Senate, Management and the entire staff of the University for their sacrifice and selflessness, Ali urged them to maintain peace and cooperate with the new Vice-Chancellor.
Clement Adebooye, Born on December 18, 1966, is a professor of Plant Physiology with academic career spanning over 26 years during which he served UNIOSUN at various times as a member of the Governing Council, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Provost/Dean, Director and Head of Department among others.
At the international level, he had served as Ambassador Scientist for the German Government Humboldt Foundation, Secretary-General of the African-German Network Excellence in Science (AGNES) and Regional Project Coordinator for the Government of Canada Projects in West Africa.
He has been Visiting Professor at many universities in Nigeria, Germany, Canada and provided services for the United Nations. He has utilized nine (9)fully-funded international research fellowships worldwide including the highly prestigious United Nations University Fellowship, Germany and won 25 research grants with over 100 travel grants.
Ministry of Education in Malawi says teacher’s union and government need to engage in social dialogue to set standards, developing policies and devise programmes that promote a decent working environment.
Minister of Education, Agnes NyaLonje said this when she officially opened the 23rd Congress of Teacher’s Union of Malawi (TUM) at Crossroads Hotel in Lilongwe whose theme was “Join hands in motivating and protecting teachers for quality education”.
She said this could be achieved if a functioning Education system for the country was enhance for the betterment of the teaching profession.
The Minister said there was need to be open and honest with each other about intentions and need to treat each other with respect.
NyaLonje disclosed that the Ministry has been working for some time to develop a Code of Conduct for Teachers.
She added that such a Code of conduct is important as it promotes professional conduct by teachers both in the classroom and more broadly in their role as community leaders in society.
The Minister pointed out that the discipline of teachers in any education system goes a long way towards inculcating a culture of discipline amongst learners.
Secretary General of Teachers’ Union of Malawi, Charles Kumchenga, said for the past two year the education sector has been greatly affected by the pandemic which he said brought a challenge of pupil-teacher ratio where observation of social distancing was being encouraged in all school despite having inadequate classrooms.
Secretary for Education, Chikondano Mussa, assured delegates to the Congress that the Ministry was aware of the issue of delayed promotions of the teachers in the country.
She said Human Resources officers in the Ministry are working with the Department of Human Resource Management to ensure that issues of outstanding promotions among teachers are looked into.
Naomi Osaka made a triumphant return to tennis in her first match since her hiatus from the sport, defeating Alizé Cornet in the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set.
In her first match since September, when she announced she would take an indefinite break from tennis after a defeat to Leylah Fernandez at the US Open, Osaka was a bit rusty but went on to win 6-4 3-6 6-3.
The former world No. 1 had 57 unforced errors, eight of which were double faults.
“I only really have one major goal this year, and it’s completely unrelated to results and stuff like that,” Osaka said post-match.
“For me, I just want to feel like every time I step on the court I’m having fun. I can walk off the court knowing that even if I lost, I tried as hard as I could.”
The match was Osaka’s first in four months after her loss to Fernandez. Last year, she also withdrew from the French Open, citing mental health issues, and chose not to participate at Wimbledon.
“I actually really thought I wasn’t going to play for most of this year,” Osaka told reporters. “I’m really happy with myself that I love the sport that much because I literally said that I was unsure when I was going to play after the US Open and I’m here right now.
“In the break, I was feeling like I didn’t know what my future was going to be. I’m pretty sure a lot of people can relate to that. Of course, you never know what the future holds, but it was definitely an indecisive time.
“But I’m really happy to be sitting here right now.”
Osaka will face Belgium’s Maryna Zanevska in the round of 16 on Wednesday.
A restorer prepares Rembrandt's famous painting the 'Night Watch', protected by a glass barrier and video surveillance, as it undergoes public restoration after a first phase of study, in Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands July 8, 2019. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
Rembrandt van Rijn’s iconic and huge painting “The Night Watch” is now also a supersized museum photo delivered right to your laptop in unsurpassed detail.
The Amsterdam Rijksmuseum on Monday put on its digital portal what it called “the most detailed photograph of any artwork” ready for assessment by scientists and art lovers alike. It is expected to draw widespread interest especially since the museum is closed.
The 717-gigapixel photo allows viewers to zoom in on Captain Frans Banninck Cocq and see how the 17th-century master put the tiniest of white dots in his eyes to give life to the painting’s main character. It also shows the minute cracks in his pupils, brought on by the passage of time.
The real canvas measures 379.5 x 453.5 centimeters (149.4 x178.5 inches) canvas and each pixel represents 5 micrometers or 0.005 square millimeters.
Apart from simply showing the dazzling detail, it will also help researchers restore the work and assess its aging process over time.
The Night Watch will be removed from its wooden stretcher in two weeks and placed on a new one to remove rippling that was caused when the world famous painting was housed in a temporary gallery while the Rijksmuseum underwent major renovations from 2003-2013.
The oil-on-canvas painting depicts a group of Amsterdam civil militia and shows off Rembrandt’s renowned use of light and composition to create a dynamic scene filled with characters.
The painting has undergone many restorations over its existence. It was placed on its present wooden stretcher in 1975. Once the painting has been re-stretched, the museum will decide whether further restoration work is needed.
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