From Attah Ede, Makurdi

No fewer than 56 primary healthcare centres, schools and market places have been shut down due to ceaseless activities of armed bandits in Katsina-Ala local government area of Benue State.

Chairman of the Local Government Council, Justine Shaku who disclosed this to newsmen on phone in Makurdi said that all social infrastructure within eight council wards have been damaged.

For the past one year, the armed bandits have crippled every social and economic activity in the affected wards, leaving several schools, markets and clinics a no go area.

Given a breakdown of the social infrastructures that have become inaccessible, Shaku disclosed that over 20 schools, 23 markets and 13 primary health clinics remain shut in the eight council wards where the criminal elements have been doing exploits.

“Insecurity in the area has been challenging. Agriculture, which is the major source of our livelihood, is greatly affected because of so many challenges at the moment.”

“My administration will seriously focus on rebuilding, rehabilitating and resuscitating all the broken economic sectors within the council.

“I will focus on health, education, roads, agriculture and security, to boost the council’s economy, “and to ensure that the schools are back to life.”

“I will rebuild the local government council secretariat which has become an eyesore”, Shaku said.

According to him, with the Supreme Court judgment granting autonomy to local governments, he is set to rebuild the decayed infrastructure within the council and strive to deliver on his campaign promises.

From Attah Ede, Makurdi

The Benue State Government, on Tuesday said, it has successfully treated and discharged a total of 1,939 people with all forms of Tuberculosis (TB) within the last three months in the State.

The State Programme Manager, Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Control Program, Dr.

Kaior Akaangee, who disclosed this while speaking with Journalists in Makurdi, said this was made possible through a conscious implementation of Tuberculosis (TB) programme in the state,

Akaangee, who gave an overview of TB program implementation and the policies around TB activities in the State, stated that the patients were treated and successfully discharged between April 1 to June 30, 2024.

He noted that the state government has done so much in TB case finding and treatment.

According to him, “active TB case finding through the state TB and Leprosy control program and DOTs services started in 2001 in Local Government Area, (LGAs) including Gwer East, Otukpo, Logo and Ohimini and where 162 cases were diagnosed and placed on treatment.

“Currently, TB active case finding and treatment is obtainable in all the 23 LGAs. As of June 30th, there are 1939 patients on treatment for all forms of TB.

“This number is the validated number of clients and active cases that were placed on treatment and not those diagnosed. Because of the robust strategies that have been in place, we always identify them early and as at June 30, no mortality was recorded in the state.”

“I want to use this opportunity to call on people of the state to seek medical help whenever anyone suspects a TB case. There is a treatment centre for drug-resistant TB cases at St. Vincent Hospital Aliade, while those with latent TB and close contacts can be placed on Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment, (TPT).

“We have   adopted several strategies in TB case finding by checking public and private places especially in communities and in key populations like IDPs, correction centres, HIV infected clients, nomads among others”, Akaangee stated.

He said inadequate funding, ineffective monitoring, inadequate reporting, low case finding in children, resurgence of HIV, low stakeholder involvement and ineffective stakeholder collaboration were some of the challenges confronting the programme in the state.

The State Programme Manager however appealed for all hands to be on deck as much has been done in active case finding and treatment and more needs to be done to eliminate the disease in the state.

He commended Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia for the huge budgetary allocation to TB program, stating that the timely release of the funding and capacity building of health workers will go a long way to achieve the target of TB implementation in the state.

He further commended Lawyers Alert, an NGO, for launching Gender Equality Fund project to advance community rights and end gender barriers in the treatment of TB, HIV and Malaria in Benue and Nigeria at large, stressing that partnership is the way to go for effective implementation of the program in the state.

He however advocated for laws to cater for TB survivors and their right to life.

The federal Government has given owners of its titled properties 60-day notice to pay their outstanding ground rent and other statutory charges  or face revocation of their Certificate of Occupancy (C of O).

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, gave the ultimatum on Wednesday in Abuja, at the 29^th Conference of Directors of Lands in the Federal and State Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

The theme of the conference is “Equitable Land Stewardship: Challenges of Land Administration and its Impact on Climate and Community Rights’’.

“The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is aware that several owners of its titled properties have failed to pay ground rent and other statutory charges to the Ministry for several years now.

“This non-compliance has resulted in the loss of trillions of Naira in revenue to the Federal Government.

“Under the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, this cannot be tolerated as this revenue is much needed to deliver the Renewed Hope Agenda to Nigerians.

“As such all Federal C of O title owners are hereby given a 60-day notice to settle all outstanding ground rent and statutory charges. Failure to make payment within this period will result in the revocation of their C of Os,’’ he said

According to the Minister, the Federal Government is in a state of emergency regarding land administration, economy, security, and social development.

Dangiwa said that the Ministry also observed activities of various residents associations in Federal Government landed properties preventing Ministry workers from accessing the estates for billing purposes and enforcement of non-payments.

“We want to warn such associations to comply with the terms and conditions outlined in their respective C of Os. Failure to adhere to these requirements will attract the appropriate penalties and sanctions,’’ he warned

The minister said that the ministry upscaled the Electronic Certificate of Occupancy (e-C of O) and Land Titling System for all federal government-owned lands in the 36 states of the country.

He explained that the e-C of O system incorporates a web-based Advanced Workflow System (WNABS) and an Electronic Documentation Management System (EDMS) to streamline the review, approval, and issuance of Certificates of Occupancy.

Dangiwa said that the new system had significantly reduced administrative bottlenecks and processing times for federal land applications.

He said that the innovative initiative has resulted in the digital approval of over 600 e C of O applications as of October 2024 with a target to clear the backlog before the end of December.

“This will be integrated within the larger framework of the national land titling program that we are implementing with the World Bank and other partners,’’ he said.

Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, Permanent Secretary in the ministry said land use decisions must prioritise sustainability to mitigate the impacts of climate change, protect biodiversity, and ensure that future generations have access to vital natural resources.

“Land is not only an economic asset but also a cultural and social resource that holds deep significance for communities.

“Across Africa, land tenure is closely tied to identity, heritage, and community cohesion.

“Unfortunately, in many cases, communities especially rural and indigenous ones, are displaced or marginalised due to inadequate or inequitable land management practices.’’

Ogunbiyi therefore, urged that in the pursuit of development, authorities should ensure that the rights of these communities were safeguarded.

He added that customary land rights should be recognised and the need for inclusion of local communities in land-use planning to promote fairness and avoid conflicts. (NAN)