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FG to support establishment of National Mine Action Centre

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The Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Matawalle says the Federal Government will provide necessary technical support for the establishment of a National Mine Action Center in the North East.

He also assured that the government would continue to support the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) programmes in the region.

Matawalle gave the assurance during a meeting with the UNMAS delegation, led by the Director, Ileen Cohn, in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the since its deployment in July 2018 at the request of the Resident Humanitarian Coordinator, UNMAS Nigeria has provided critical life-saving assistance.

The main objectives are to develop the national capacities to protect the civilians from the threats of mines and explosives, and to mitigate immediate threats for the vulnerable population in the North-east.

The activities include coordination, risk reduction, victim assistance, nontechnical survey, and capacity development for the national and state authorities as well as a civil society organizations.

 

The minister said that the national mine action center would support efforts to not only resettle displaced persons, but also enable Internally Displaced Persons to access education.

Matawalle emphasised the government’s commitment to collaborating with UNMAS to facilitate the full reintegration of IDPs and farmers, and return of economic activities for improved livelihood.

He stressed that efforts were being intensified to realise this crucial initiative, adding “we are focused on developing action plans that will facilitate the return of IDPs and farmers to their lands”.

Earlier, Cohn commended the minister’s efforts in bringing the Government of Borno to support and facilitate the initiative by providing residential and office accommodation to the UNMAS.

She highlighted the ongoing progress in establishing the national mine action centre in Maiduguri and affirmed their commitment in supporting the rehabilitation efforts for IDPs and farmers in the North East.

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Woman killed while crossing road in Anambra

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The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Anambra State Sector Command, has confirmed the death of a woman in an accident at Okpoko Market on the Asaba-Onitsha Road.

The Sector Commander, Mr Adeoye Irelewuyi, who confirmed the accident to journalists in Awka on Thursday, said that the woman was hit while she was crossing the road.

He said that the accident, which occurred on Wednesday, involved a commercial tow truck with registration number XA550BMA.

“Eyewitness report reaching us indicates that the truck was towing a vehicle in an uncontrollable speed along the axis.

 

“The vehicle that was being towed got detached from the tow truck.

“It hit and killed a female adult, who was said to be crossing the road, while the tow truck continued its movement.

“FRSC rescue team came to the scene and took the woman to Toronto Hospital, Onitsha, where she was confirmed dead and her body deposited at the hospital’s mortuary,” he said.

While sympathising with the family of the dead, the sector commander urged motorists, especially tow truck drivers, to exercise a high level of professionalism.

He also urged the drivers to always use standard equipment and avoid speeding.

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LASG’s maize palliative impactful, says poultry association chair

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The Chairman, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State Chapter, Mr Mojeed Iyiola, said the state government’s maize palliative to members of the association made a positive impact on the sector.

Iyiola said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.

“We received about 150,000 tons of maize in February from the Lagos State government as palliative to cushion the effect of high feed prices.

“The major benefit of the palliative is that it actually cushioned the cost of production for most poultry farmers in the state.

“The palliative was beneficial as it made the cost of some poultry produce, especially eggs to drop,” Iyiola said.

He noted that prior to the palliative, a crate of egg was sold between N3,500 and N3,700 at the farm gate, but after the palliative, it now sells between N3,200 and N3,400.

According to the PAN chair, retailers and middlemen who sell from N3,800 to N4,200 do that for their personal gain.

 

“We have urged our members to sell their eggs at reasonable prices following the receipt of the palliative from the government.

“We appreciate the Lagos State government for the palliative but we also urge the federal government to do likewise, to further reduce the cost of production in the sector.

“This will consequently lead to drop in the prices of all poultry produce across board,” he said.

He said the palliative was shared among financial members of the association at no extra cost.

“As an association we shared the grains equally across PAN’s eight zones in the state equally. We also mandated each zone not the sell even a grain of the maize.

“We, however, considered new poultry farmers who wanted to the join the association as beneficiaries of the palliative,” said Iyiola.

He noted that through the palliative, more poultry farmers were recruited into the association.

“The maize was shared only to poultry farmers and not feed millers, it is the major component of poultry feed formulation,” he said.

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