From Francis Sadhere, Delta

ManRoy Global Services Limited, in partnership with Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, has donated an 18-seater bus to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Warri Correspondents’ Chapel, to enhance the mobility of its members.

The donation was made at ManRoy’s office along the DSC Expressway in Udu Local Government Area of Delta State, in the presence of the Ovie of Great Idjerhe Kingdom, HRM King Monday Obukohwo Whiskey.

Speaking during the presentation, the Managing Director of ManRoy Global Services, Mr.

Okorie said the bus was provided to support journalists in the discharge of their professional responsibilities, noting that the media plays a vital role in disseminating information in society.

He said, “You know in society, without journalism, information will not be disseminated. So, you are an important part of society and without you there is no society.”

The Manager of Administration, Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, Princess Daisy Jaja, said the donation was in line with the company’s commitment to supporting mobility, particularly during events and official assignments.

Jaja said the bus would make it easier for members of the chapel to travel together rather than using separate vehicles for assignments.

She noted that Tantita had maintained a cordial relationship with the NUJ Warri Correspondents’ Chapel, describing the donation as another demonstration of the partnership.

According to her, “It’s always very hard to get pockets of people in different vehicles. But if they are in their bus, they will go together and come back together.”

Jaja also commended ManRoy for initiating the gesture, praying that the bus would serve its intended purpose and that the cost of fuelling it would not become a burden.

The Ovie of Idjerhe Kingdom, HRM King Monday Obukohwo Whiskey, PhD, thanked ManRoy Global Services and Tantita Security Services for the donation.

The monarch urged both organisations to sustain their existing relationship and continue to explore areas of collaboration with the NUJ.

In his response, the Chairman of the NUJ Warri Correspondents’ Chapel, Okakuro Akpokona Omafuaire, Esq., expressed appreciation to the management of ManRoy for the gesture.

Omafuaire described journalists as campaigners who use their platforms to promote issues and causes, adding that the donation would further enhance the chapel’s mobility and visibility.

He said the bus would enable members to move together for assignments and events, adding that its presence would also draw attention to the partnership between the NUJ and its corporate partners.

“We are happy you have increased our propensity to do this campaign. Driving that vehicle alone everywhere is a campaign. We will drive it and use it to campaign everywhere,” he said.

The NUJ chairman expressed gratitude to both ManRoy and Tantita for supporting the chapel, saying the gesture was unprecedented in the history of the union.

Omafuaire also appealed to the management of ManRoy to continue to open its doors to the NUJ for further collaboration and partnership.

Earlier, Silver Ofugara welcomed members of the NUJ Warri Correspondents’ Chapel and the traditional ruler to ManRoy’s office for the presentation ceremony.

From Dan Amasingha, Minna

No fewer than 73,949 women accessed family planning services, with an estimated 7,721 unintended pregnancies averted, under the INTEGRAT-E Project implemented across 14 Local Government Areas of Niger State.

The Niger State Commissioner for Health, Dr Murtala Muhammad Bagana, disclosed this on Wednesday in Minna at the end-of-project dissemination event of the intervention, describing the programme as a major demonstration of how strategic partnership between government and the private health sector could expand access to essential healthcare.

The project, implemented across the Suleja, Minna and Bida clusters, also recorded 25,920 new family planning acceptors and generated 26,812 Couple Years of Protection (CYP).

 According to the commissioner.On child health, Bagana disclosed that 109,871 children were attended to for selected primary healthcare services, bringing essential services closer to communities that might otherwise face barriers to accessing formal healthcare facilities.

The commissioner said the figures represented more than project statistics, stressing that they reflected the real impact of the intervention on women, children and families across the state.

“These figures represent real people, women who gained access to reproductive health services, families who were supported to make informed choices, and children who received needed care closer to their communities,” he said.

He further stated that 362 providers were trained adding that the project strengthened the capacity of community-based private healthcare providers, with 362 providers, comprising 40 Community Pharmacists and 322 Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs), trained during the implementation period.

Dr. Bagna added that 42 LGA officers were also strengthened in monitoring, integrated Community Case Management and family planning.

In addition, 248 Community Pharmacists and Tier 2/3 PPMVs received competency training in implant insertion and removal, while 10 Interpersonal Communication Agents were trained and deployed to mobilise communities and generate demand for health services with the Private sector getting a bigger role.

The commissioner said one of the major achievements of INTEGRAT-E was the creation of a more structured relationship between private healthcare providers, primary healthcare centres, local governments, regulatory agencies and the state health system.

The intervention he noted has strengthened referral mechanisms, supportive supervision, provider follow-up and health data reporting.

He said the project had demonstrated that the private sector could effectively complement government healthcare delivery when providers were properly trained, supported and regulated.

“Importantly, the project has strengthened government capacity rather than creating parallel structures,” Bagana said.

He identified the State Steering Committee, Integrated Supportive Supervision Team and trained LGA officers as critical structures that would provide the institutional foundation for sustaining the programme’s gains.

On the conclusion of the project, the commissioner assured stakeholders that the state government would not allow the gains recorded to disappear.

Bagana said the Ministry of Health would continue working with the Niger State Primary Health Care Development Agency, regulatory bodies, private-sector providers and development partners to strengthen supervision, referral systems, data utilisation and quality of healthcare services.

“The ministry would also examine the evidence and lessons generated by INTEGRAT-E to guide future health planning and identify opportunities for scaling up successful interventions across the state”

The commissioner commended the Gates Foundation for its financial and technical support towards improving health outcomes in Niger State.

He also praised the Society for Family Health (SFH) and the INTEGRAT-E project team for their commitment and collaboration with the state government.

Speaking earlier, Gate foundation representative in Nigeria, Rodio Diallo tasked the State government to integrate the programme into the activities of the State ministry of health and Local government family planning plans and provide budgetary provision for effective planning, supervision and monitoring.

She revealed that the network has built 14 implementations in fourteen local government areas of Niger State adding that between January 2022- September 2025 a total 362 private sector providers were trained in providing family planning services with 322 patient and proprietary medicine vendors from 42 local government areas of Nigeria benefiting.

The Benue Government says it is repositioning the state’s economy to convert its abundant resources into jobs, investment, higher revenues and improved living standards.

Group Managing Director (GMD), Benue Investment and Property Company (BIPC), Dr Raymond Asemakaha, stated this while presenting the state economic vision at the end of a three-day economic summit in Makurdi.

The GMD said that the summit was aimed at moving Benue from “potential to prosperity.

Asemakaha said the strategy followed a root-cause analysis of factors responsible for the state’s poor economic performance, leading to the identification of seven strategic principles for sustainable prosperity.

The GMD listed the areas as human capital development, enterprise development, innovation, development financing, agro-allied development and value addition, technology and digital transformation, as well as economic and governance reforms.

He said the N7.3 billion allocated to human capital development must be deployed strategically to ensure that graduates and other young people become productive participants in the economy.

Asemakaha stressed the need to move beyond producing graduates to equipping them to become entrepreneurs, skilled workers, innovators and wealth creators.

GMD also advocated for an enterprise/trust fund to mobilise capital for productive activities.

He said effective utilisation of initial funding would help the state build credibility and attract larger domestic and international investments.

Asemakaha added that the government could not achieve the transformation alone, stressing the need for collaboration among government, businesses, investors, development partners and other stakeholders.

Also speaking, Tom Isehohi from Hudson Global Consulting and also the lead facilitator of the summit said the economic strategy should focus on agriculture, enterprise, technology, logistics, governance, funding and security.

Isehohi, who is a financial expert, said Benue’s agricultural challenge was not necessarily food production but post-harvest losses, inadequate storage and poor logistics.

He advocated direct purchase of farm produce from farmers after harvest, prompt payment, improved storage and transportation, and movement of products to high-demand markets such as Lagos.

He said the state should subsequently transit from selling raw commodities to agro-allied processing and value addition to increase earnings from its agricultural resources.

On governance, Isehohi proposed a digital monitoring system through which the governor and other officials could track government projects, assignments, deadlines and performance in real time.

He said such a system would strengthen accountability and ensure that officials were held responsible for tasks assigned to them.

Isehohi also identified Benue’s strategic location as an opportunity to develop the state into a major trading, distribution and logistics hub.

He said investment in technology infrastructure could equally position the state’s large youth population to benefit from the digital economy.

The financial expert said previous development plans failed largely because of poor ownership and inadequate funding, noting that stakeholders who would implement the current initiatives participated in their design.

He said efficient use of existing resources for job creation, security, income generation and support for productive enterprises would create a track record capable of attracting additional investment.

Isehohi stressed that improved security was also critical to economic development, saying a safer Benue would boost investor confidence, facilitate movement of people and goods and help change the state’s negative image.

The speakers said the overall objective was to ensure that Benue moved beyond merely possessing economic potential to producing measurable prosperity through effective implementation of the seven-point strategy. (NAN)