News
Minister Seeks Regional Cooperation in Disaster Management
Hajiya Hadiza Mailafia, minister of Environment, has urged ECOWAS member countries to integrate disaster risk prevention and mitigation in policies and programmes of their governments.
Mailafia made the call at the Seventh Consultation of the Regional Committee for Disaster Management in West Africa, hosted by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
Mailafia said that most of the hazards confronting the sub-region were trans-border in nature, urging better cooperation and coordination among concerned countries.
She said that disaster-related management actions must at all times, aim at strengthening capabilities and resilience of households and communities to protect their lives and livelihoods.
Mailafia said that disasters had put agriculture and food security at risk with severe consequences on vulnerable and poor agriculturally dependent people in the sub-region.
“It is, therefore, imperative to state that countries in the sub-region need to consider preparedness, mitigation and response not only in their own individual capacities but across the border.’’
She said that countries in West Africa and the sub-Sahel region experienced yearly natural disasters such as droughts, floods, trans-boundary animal diseases, economic crisis and civil conflicts.
“These events result into losses of lives, assets and livelihoods, consequently weakening the food and nutrition security of the populations,’’ Mailafia said.
Alhaji Mohammad Sani-Sidi, NEMA’s director-general, advocated a stronger regional mechanism for disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness among ECOWAS countries.
Sani-Sidi said that disasters constituted the biggest threat to national development in developing countries.
“ It has become necessary for ECOWAS nations to work towards building regional drought, flood and epidemics early warning system, search and rescue platforms that will enhance our cooperation on effective and sustainable emergency management.’’
He pledged NEMA’s support and cooperation towards developing a regional framework for mutual support and cooperation on disaster management in the sub-region.
Sani-Sidi expressed the organisation’s willingness to develop a framework for effective emergency preparedness, response, mitigation and sustainable development of ECOWAS nations.
Sani-Sidi said that developing a strategic partnership initiative with sister African countries on disaster and emergency preparedness, was in line with NEMA’s drive to foster regional cooperation among ECOWAS countries.
Mrs. Allegra Baiocchi, representative of the UN Regional Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in West and Central Africa, lamented the upsurge in the number of disasters and their devastating impact on populations and destruction to economic and social assets.
She said that report from the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction estimated that 1.3 million people had been killed and 4.4 billion affected by natural disaster in the last 24 years.
Baiocchi said the organisation in a new global risk assessment report, published in May, also warned that direct losses from disasters had been underestimated by at least 50 per cent.
She said the report put cost to global economy in the range of 2.5 trillion dollars “since the start of this century’’, noting that the number of people affected by floods in West Africa had tripled since 2007.
“In Nigeria, millions of people were affected by flooding in 2012, causing a reduction in cereal production and placing 18 million people in dire food insecurity and nutrition crisis.
“Today we still have more than 11 million people struggling to recover from the 2012 food crisis and continue to face food insecurity.’’
She urged the forum to formulate trans-border recommendations on how to better use international and national information, coordination and funding mechanism for disaster preparedness and response.
Nigeria has launched an emergency response centre after recording 190 deaths from Lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic illness, according to Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC).
The disease, mainly transmitted to humans via contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or excrement, has infected 1,154 people in six Nigerian states.
Jide Idris, head, Nigerian Center for Disease Control, said the agency’s risk assessment has categorized it as high, prompting the activation of the emergency Operations Centre to manage the outbreak.
“While the disease occurs throughout the year, peak transmission typically happens between October and May, coinciding with the dry season when human exposure to rodents increases,” he said at a press briefing in Abuja.
The centre will ensure seamless coordination of the control and management of the outbreak.
Symptoms of the virus – which can also be passed between people through bodily fluids of those infected – include fever, headaches and, in the most severe cases, death.
The World Health Organization classifies Lassa fever as a priority disease due to its epidemic potential and lack of approved vaccines.
Federal government has proposed to spend N1.5bn for internet services for passengers at five international airports in the country.
The project, “Provision/Upgrade of WiFi Services for Passengers in Five International Airports and some Domestic Airports” was listed as a new project in the 2025 appropriation.
In some parts of the world, access to the internet via Wi-Fi at airports is regarded to be a basic human right.
Such amenities are lacking in Nigeria.
But the 2025 budget presented to the National Assembly last week by President Bola Tinubu saw the sum of N105.953,496,365 being allocated to the Ministry of Aviation.
Apart from internet access at the airports, some other capital allocations were reinstated for the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).
In previous budgets, three agencies of the ministry including the apex regulatory agency, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA); the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and NAMA were exempted from the annual budgetary allocation.
In addition, the federal government deducts 50 per cent of the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), which is against the standard and recommended practices of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which recommends that the funds generated by the agencies should be reinvested into improving infrastructure and boosting aviation safety.
Fidelis Egueke, former bank manager, , has been convicted and sentenced to six months in prison by an Asaba, Delta State Chief Magistrate’s Court for defrauding a victim of $46,900.
Chief Magistrate Callistus Isioma Moeteke found Egueke guilty of a single charge brought against him by the police under case number CMA/295c/2024.
Raphael Eze, prosecutor, of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Asaba, said Egueke, a former Asaba branch manager of a tier-one bank, fraudulently obtained $46,900 by using two Certificates of Occupancy (CofOs) as collateral.
One of the land titles, however, was not his, and the other was fake.
After receiving the money, Egueke used it for personal expenses and failed to repay the victim as promised.
The prosecution argued that Egueke’s actions violated Section 419 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap C21, Vol.1 Laws of Delta State, Nigeria, 2006.
Despite denying the offence, Egueke failed to present evidence of repayment during the trial.
Chief Magistrate Moeteke determined that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Egueke was convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment.
However, the court also gave him the option to pay a fine of N350,000 in lieu of serving the prison term.
The court ordered Egueke to pay N30 million in restitution to the victim within six months of his conviction.
The charge against Egueke stated that, in 2016, he fraudulently obtained a credit facility worth $46,900 (approximately N60 million) from Chief Jude Ndudi by presenting false documents, including land titles that did not belong to him, in violation of Section 419 of the Criminal Code Law.
Egueke is also facing trial before a Lagos Federal High Court on charges related to a separate fraud case involving N179.498 million.
He is being prosecuted by the Force Criminal Investigation Department (ForceCID), Annex Alagbon-Ikoyi, Lagos.
NCDC Activates Emergency Response as Lassa Fever Kills 190
CBN Disqualifies 41.65m Shares in Access Holdings Rights Issue
2025 Budget: FG Earmarks N1.5Bn for Airports’ Internet, Others
World Bank Raises Nigeria’s NIN Target to 180m
MTN Nigeria Renews Spectrum Lease Agreement with NTEL
UBA Group Sets Foot in France with Full Banking Services
FG Begins N50 Electronic Levy Deductions from Moniepoint, Other Digital Banks
Report Reveals Most Organisations Fear AI-driven Cyberattacks but Lack Key Defences
Nigeria Risks Missing out on $1.2 Trillion AI Opportunity- NigComSat
Firm Sues NIMC, Others On Digital Rights Breach Allegations
Telecom3 days agoAirtel Africa to Return $100m to Shareholders via Share Buyback
Broadcasting2 days agoSpotify’s ‘Detty December’ Hub and Spotify’s ‘Songs of December’ now live
Broadcasting2 days agoQNET Collaborates with Lagos Food Bank to Aid Vulnerable Children
News3 days agoEgueke, Former Bank Manager Jailed for $46,900 Fraud
Telecom3 days agoFG Gives Banks, Telcos Six-Month Deadline to Resolve N250Bn USSD Debt
Broadcasting2 days agoNERC Discloses $5.7 Million Debt Owed by International Customers for Q3 2024 Electricity Supply
Telecom3 days agoNCC Launches Initiative to Combat Fraud, Spam Messaging
Broadcasting3 days agoAfrica Magic Announces Call for Entries for 11th AMVCA