NEWS
Plateau Govt. Promises Educational Support for Vulnerable Children
The Plateau Government has promised to support vulnerable children in acquiring education to develop themselves and contribute meaningfully to the growth of their communities.
The Commissioner for Secondary Education, Mr Mohammed Nyalun, made the promise at the closing ceremony of summer classes for vulnerable children, organised by two non-governmental organisations on Monday in Jebbu Miango, Bassa Local Government Area.
Nyalun said that the support was part of efforts to assist children, who have dropped out of school as a result of violent attacks in their communities to continue with their education.
The commissioner, who was represented by a director in the ministry, Goyomma Iliya, pointed out that the Jebbu Miango community has experienced series of attacks in recent times, leading to high rate of out of school children.
He gave an assurance that the state government was determined to ensure all children of school age were given the opportunity to acquire education.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Caroline Pangiang, appreciated the effort of the organisations towards enriching the hearts and minds of vulnerable children in displaced communities.
The commissioner, who was represented by a staff member of the ministry, Sunday Dabim, assured the NGOs of the ministry’s support in helping vulnerable children fulfil their destinies.
The Executive Director, Army Child Foundation, Mrs Shuwargwe Damak, said that the foundation, in collaboration with the Claire Aid Foundation, organised the summer school programme to provide supplementary education for children in displaced communities.
Damak said that underserved children in the Jebbu-Miango community received instruction in subjects like mathematics and English language over a four-week period.
“They were also offered vocational training in tie and dye, and tailoring to empower them for self-sustenance.
“The goal is to provide these children with the skills and literacy needed to enhance their communication abilities and overall livelihood.
“This initiative is designed to help vulnerable children develop the skills necessary to improve their lives and continue their education,” she added.
The Director of the Claire Aid Foundation, Nenkinan Deshi, said the objective was to inspire and empower vulnerable communities with child education, advocacy, and welfare. (NAN)
NEWS
Customs Intercept Contraband Worth N510.92m in Two Conths
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit Zone C, says it intercepted contrabands with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N510.92 million between July 15th and September 15th, 2024.The zone covers the six states in the South-South geopolitical zone and the five states in the Southeast geopolitical zone.
This is contained in a statement signed by Jerry Attah, Public Relations Officer, NCS, Zone C, and made available to journalists on Wednesday. According to the statement, Comptroller Michael Ugbagu, NCS, Zone C, gave the statistics while showcasing the seized contraband to relevant regulatory agencies at the Government Warehouse in Edo.Ugbagu said that the zone also recovered the sum of N25.57 million from demand notices raised based on some infractions noticed, making a cumulative sum of N536.49 million recorded within the months under review.“The DPV was derived from our seized goods, which include 49,699 sachets of various brands of tramadol and 3,350 bottles of various cough syrups with codeine without an NAFDAC number.“1,015 sacks of dry donkey meat and skin, 75 jumbo bales of second-hand clothing, 463 cartons of foreign spaghetti, 269 pieces of used pneumatic tires, and 56 cartons of smuggled foreign tomato paste.“More worrisome is the interception of 49,699 sachets of various brands of tramadol and 3,350 bottles of various cough syrups with codeine without NAFDAC registration numbers.”He noted that the cough syrup with codeine and tramadol without NAFDAC registration numbers, if not intercepted, could have had adverse effects on youths.He added that the items were mostly intercepted along the Ewu-Okada/Benin expressways based on credible intelligence. (NAN)NEWS
APC Forum Decries Deplorable Condition of Federal Roads
The Forum of Stakeholders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has decried the deplorable condition of some federal roads in Nigeria. Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the North-Central Chairman of the forum, said this in an interaction with newsmen on Wednesday in Jos. Zazzaga described some of the federal roads as ”death traps”, particularly those within the north-central region.
He said that some of the deplorable roads in the region include Jos-Akwanga, Makurdi-Oturkpo-Otukpa, Makurdi-Ankpa, and Jos-Saminaka. Other roads that needed urgent attention, he said, included Suleja-Minna, Ejule-Otukpa, Ganawuri-Manchok, Lokoja-Abuja, Lapai-Agaie-Bida, Birnin-Gwari-Bokani-Mokwa, Minna-Zungeru-Tegina-Kontagora. ”Currently, the north-central region has the most deplorable roads and highways in the country. ”These deplorable roads have brought severe hardship on the people and lost lives and property through preventable road traffic crashes. ”We call on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and ensure the rehabilitation of these roads because good roads are vital enablers of development,” he said. The chairman also called on governors of states within the region to reconstruct the dilapidated roads and seek refunds from the federal government. ”Though these are largely federal roads, they are located within states, and the beneficiaries are the people of these states. ”So we call on state governments to reconstruct these roads and seek refunds from the federal government,” he added. (NANNEWS
Yuan Strengthens 7. 087 Against Dollar
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 160 pips to 7.087 against the dollar on Wednesday.This is according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.In China’s spot foreigners exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by two per cent from the central parity rate each trading day.
The central parity rate of the yuan against the dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day. (Xinhua/NAN)