China further optimizes COVID-19 response with new measures

By Zhong Yin, People’s Daily

Local authorities across China have soon made specific policies to implement the 10 new prevention and control measures recently rolled out by the country on further optimizing the COVID-19 response, so as to contain the epidemic in a more science-based and targeted manner.
According to the 10 new measures, China will optimize nucleic acid testing, and quarantine measures imposed on high-risk areas must be lifted if no new infections are reported for five consecutive days. Besides, quarantine measures for COVID-19 patients and response measures at certain locations will be optimized.
The new measures ensure people’s basic needs to purchase medication and underline the need to accelerate vaccination rates especially for the elderly. They will also ensure smooth logistics and enhance the efforts to protect groups at higher-risk .
Over the recent three years, China has been closely monitoring the changes in the virus and the disease, continuously optimizing the prevention and control strategy and measures based on the situation and looking for the best plan..
China has issued nine editions of COVID-19 control protocols, rolled out a series of measures to optimize pandemic control, and effectively responded to more than 100 regional outbreaks at home and five global resurgences. The country has effectively coped with the uncertain pandemic with stable strategies and flexible control measures.
China’s practice fully indicates that its COVID-19 response has to a very large extent protected the lives and safety of the Chinese people and facilitated people’s life, production and investment.
With the weakening pathogenicity of the Omicron, increasing uptake of vaccination and growing disease response experiences, China’s COVID-19 prevention and control work is facing new situations and new tasks.
The 10 new measures represent further optimization of the country’s ninth edition of COVID-19 control protocols and part of the 20 measures announced in November this year based on the features of the virus and the development of the pandemic.
The optimized measures, which match the new COVID-19 dynamics and the features of the Omicron variant, are expected to make China’s COVID-19 control more science-based and targeted. They will make more efficient use of prevention and control resources, better coordinate epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development, and better ensure people’s life and production as well as the demand for healthcare.
It must be realized that these measures are made proactively, rather than passively. The don’t mean relaxation of COVID-19 control, let alone the so-called “lying flat.”
China has a huge population and a large number of senior residents, as well as massive patients of chronic and underlying diseases. It doesn’t have sufficient medical resources and the distribution of such resources remains uneven between regions.
The new measures target at the features of the dominant variant of the coronavirus in China as well as the epidemiological characteristics. They take into consideration the current COVID-19 dynamics and the assessment on the effectiveness of the current control measures. They also learn from the beneficial experiences accumulated across China.
The 10 new measures are exactly a concrete step taken to implement the people-centered philosophy that puts people and their lives and health in the first place, as well as a step that further optimizes prevention and control measures.
By ramping up the vaccination drive, especially among the elderly, and preparing more medical and healthcare resources, the new measures will enhance China’s capacity in pandemic prevention and control and lay a solid foundation for further optimization.

Tinubu, Sule will win in 2023, says Nasarawa Speaker

.

“… as he inaugurates 60 man campaign team…”

Speaker, Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Ibrahim Balarabe Abdullahi, has expressed optimism that Sen. Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the Presidential Candidate of APC and Gov. Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State will come out victorious in the 2023 general election.

The Speaker stated this while inaugurating his 60- man third term campaign team in Umaisha, Toto LGA of Nasarawa State today.

He said that the APC Government at both the national and state levels have performed well.

The Speaker noted that the election of Tinubu and Sule would consolidate on achievements recorded by the party so far.

“APC is set for victory, no opposition party at the moment is alternative to APC.

” I am here to offically inaugurates my third term campaign team

” I have developed and still developing Umaisha/ Ugya constituency and the entire Toto Local Government Area.

” I have initiated different projects cut across health,, education, agriculture, solar power, electricity, employment, empowerment, road among others.

” I have lobbied for projects to Toto Local Government and Iam doing this to change on your lives positively,” he said.

Balarabe Abdullahi promised to do more, if given another mandate come 2023.

He commended Gov. Abdullahi Sule for his laudable projects in Toto LGA and other parts of the State.

” I want to commend His Excellency, Engr. Abdullahi Sule for bringing different projects to Toto LGA and for his efforts in dismantling Darul – Salam terrorists in the area,

” As the peace being enjoyed in Toto LGA today was a result of His Excellency security and my efforts,” he added

The Speaker solicited for the support of all and sundry to enable him, Gov. Sule and Sen Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the APC Presidential candidate to enable them come out victorious in 2023

” I want to call on you all to vote for me , Gov. Abdullahi Sule and Sen.Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the Presidential candidate of APC.

” This is to enable you and others enjoy more dividends of democracy,” he added

The Speaker assured Gov. Sule of his readiness to go to all the nooks and crannies of Toto to mobilise support for Tinubu, Sule and himself.

Besides, the Speaker advised his supporters not to join issues and retaliate to opposition parties insults.

” I want to plead with you not to insult anybody that insulted us. Let’s proof them on the day of election by rejecting them and voting APC in 2023.

Hon Aliyu Abdullahi Tasha, the Executive Chairman of Toto Local Government Area, Alhaji Aliyu Ahmed Tijani, former SSG, Hon Yusuf Musa Omaki, former lawmaker and State Coordinator Tinubu/Shettima in Nasarawa State, Hon Usman Labaran Shafa, member representing Toto/ Gadabuke constituency at the state legislature among others appreciated the Speaker for all his inclusive leadership.

They urged the people of the area to go to all nooks and crannies of the area to campaign for the Speaker, Gov. Sule and Tinubu.

They also urged the people of the area and the state to vote for the Speaker, Gov. Sule and Tinubu 2023 for more development to be achieved.

Juncao contributes to treatment of saline-alkali land in Jiangsu province

By Bai Guangdi, People’s Daily

Yancheng, which literally means the “City of Salt” in Chinese, is located in east China’s Jiangsu province. It is home to more than 455,000 hectares of coastal mud flat, which accounts for 70 percent of the total saline-alkali land of Jiangsu province.

Juncao, which in Chinese literally means “mushroom” and “grass”, can be used to grow edible and medicinal mushrooms. In 2019, Zhang Quanxing, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor at the School of Environment of Nanjing University, visited a demonstration base of Juncao in Pingtan county, southeast China’s Fujian province, and learned about the plant’s strong vitality, as well as its high economic and ecological value.

Later, he shared with Lin Zhanxi, chief scientist of the China National Engineering Research Center of Juncao Technology, the idea of planting Juncao grass on the coastal mud flat of Jiangsu province.

In April 2021, Yancheng started growing Juncao grass. Over the past year, the plant has brought about positive changes to the coastal mud flat in the city.

A Juncao test field in Caomiao township, Dafeng district, Yancheng, has planted 10 hectares of Giant Juncao grass, a Juncao grass variety that can grow about five to six meters tall.

The test field was once a piece of salty and barren land where nothing was able to grow.

The Juncao grass is sweet itself, but it tastes salty now because it absorbs the salt in the soil and thus lowers the salt content in the soil, according to Liu Bobin, professor at the Yancheng Teachers University.

Good news from Pingtan county confirmed the impact of Juncao grass. In June this year, a piece of mud flat in Pingtan county saw its salt content drop from 14.7 per mille to 1.3 per mille since it was planted with Juncao grass three years ago by a research team led by Lin.

Yancheng, which has a different climate from Pingtan county, has a higher requirement for the cold hardiness of Juncao grass. At present, researchers are working to cultivate a new variety of Juncao grass that suits the natural environment in Yancheng, so as to better solve the issue of soil salinization in the city.

Apart from improving soil ecology, Juncao grass has also laid a solid foundation for enriching biodiversity in Yancheng.

Yancheng has the world’s largest nature reserve for the protection of elks. Statistics show that over 7,000 elks inhabit the areas along the coastal mud flat in the city, including some 3,000 wild ones.

To ensure the source of food for the animals has always been a topic studied by the nature reserve over recent years, and Juncao grass is considered a substitution for traditional feed.

The nature reserve designated a piece of land as a Juncao test field, and the grass harvested there is fed to some of the elks.

According to Jia Yuanyuan, deputy head of the Yancheng research institute of elks, the animals enjoy eating the Juncao grass. However, it takes further scientific experiments to prove whether Juncao grass can be taken as daily feed for elks, she added.

If the result is positive, it will not only significantly reduce the feeding cost of elks, but also enrich the source of food for wild elk populations, Jia said.

Besides, Juncao grass is also a rich reserve of food for migrant birds staying, breeding or wintering in the city.

The strong capability of Juncao grass in nitrogen and carbon fixation has opened up even bigger prospects for the plant.

It is learned that different from other crops that take in nitrogen from the outside, Juncao grass is able to fix nitrogen in the soil through its photosynthesis, which improves the fertility of the soil and lowers the consumption of fertilizers. It is beneficial to the development of ecological agriculture.

Juncao grass can reduce greenhouse gases as well. “Based on experimental data, the photosynthesis efficiency of Giant Juncao grass is 4 to 21 times higher than that of broad-leaved trees. Each hectare of Giant Juncao grass can absorb more than 100 tons of carbon dioxide each year,” said Lin.

Yancheng would see broad prospects of carbon fixation if it plants Juncao grass on all of its mud flats, the scientist added.

China cultivates world’s first rice seeds in orbit


By Wu Yuehui, Yu Jianbin, People’s Daily
The third batch of space scientific experimental samples from China’s Tiangong space station were delivered to scientists after a return capsule, carrying astronauts of the Shenzhou-14 crew, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Dec. 4, Beijing Time.
The returned experimental samples included three cold packs of rice and Arabidopsis, and a bag with four boxes of container-free materials.
Rice, the main crop for humans, is a major candidate crop for the life support system in future manned deep space exploration.
Rice breeding under space microgravity is one of the important directions of space botany research. To ensure long-term survival in space, humans must make sure that plants can complete the alternation of generations and successfully reproduce in space.
It was the first time in history that the full life-cycle growth experiment of rice was completed in space. Previously, only thale cress, rape, peas and wheat had successfully grown from seed to seed in the space environment, but the rice had not been able to complete the full growth cycle in such circumstances.
The life-cycle growth experiments of rice were handled by Zheng Huiqiong, a researcher at the Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and her team.
Flowering is a crucial stage for plant reproductive development. The team also systematically studied the effects of microgravity on flowering in space using the model plant Arabidopsis
Several life sciences experiments were done during 120 days in orbit. Experimental seeds of rice completed the entire growth process from seed to seed, and relevant images were acquired from space for analysis. The rice was grown after the pruning and it yielded the second crop of mature seeds in space.
Besides, the experiments also completed the analysis and sampling on seed germination, seedling growth and flowering of Arabidopsis under space microgravity.
Preliminary results showed that rice plants became looser in space with larger leaf angles. Short-grain rice grew shorter while the height of tall-grain rice was not significantly affected. Besides, the spiral upward movement of rice leaf growth controlled by the biological clock was more accentuated in space.
Moreover, the ratooning rice can sprout two ears of rice 20 days after pruning in space, which confirms the possibility of growing ratooning rice in a small closed environment. It has provided new ideas and a solid basis for the efficient production of crops in space.
It marked the first time in the world to apply ratooning rice technologies in space, and is expected to significantly increase the yield of rice per unit of volume.
Scientists for the first time studied the key biological clock-controlled genes that regulate photoperiodic flowering in space. They found that for Arabidopsis, the genes’ response to a microgravity environment is significantly different from that on the ground. It has provided a new direction for using modified flowering genes to make plants better adapt to microgravity in space.

Residents laud CHEC for corporate social responsibility  

 
Residents of Keffi in Nasarawa State have lauded construction company, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) for being responsive to its corporate social responsibility to the people.
 
 
They also commended the company for the pace and quality of the Keffi-Lafia Road which it is currently working on.
 
Also the people lauded the efforts of the Ministry of Works, led by the Minister, Babatunde Fashola, for the commitment towards the fruition of the road project, which is expected to be completed early next year.

A titled leader in Keffi, Mohammed Agwai, was full of gratitude to the company offering its equipment to help him clear out huge trees in his compound just off the Keffi-Lafia Road for a project that would be of benefit to the people of the state.
 
Agwai, who is the Shettiman Keffi, said besides the good quality of work being done by the company on the road it was constructing, it has been alive to its corporate social responsibility to the community where it was working.
 
 
He said, “I was clearing the site for a project. I had to clear the surrounding area which has been bushy with some trees around it and have spent so much money to cut down the trees. In the process of doing that I experienced that I could not uproot the trees from the ground. I tried for two weeks for who to help me do it and there was no headway. We have a time limit to do this. That was what happened and we were looking for how to get this big root out of the way. 
 
 
“I reached out to a friend who reached out. We took advantage of the work, the road construction of Keffi Lafia Road going on. I now had to reach a friend to help us reach out to the company to help us with their machines just to uproot the trees from the ground which it gladly did yesterday to my amazement.
 
“They responded within a very short time. I was so excited. I paid so much already and there was nothing I could do. They came and helped me remove all the roots so we can have the function. We are happy with the company. On behalf of our people, we are glad for this gesture and for building this road.
 
“This road has been a nightmare for so many years. We had so many problems on this road. Congestion, traffic, sometimes the traffic lasts for a whole day. This has been going on. But we are happy now, this road is now going on as if something magical is going on. It is so fast, and we are happy with the construction company. They are very friendly people. We have never had issues with them.
 
 
“They are a very serious company and we hope other companies in Nigeria would emulate them. What they are doing is good. They have been very responsive to the people. I am one of the title holders in Keffi and I can say the responses we get from the people is that the company is doing well. 
 
“This company takes care of their responsibility very well. They do corporate services wherever they are. This is just one of the help they are giving us. Without them I do not know how I would have managed this situation. We thank them and encourage them. In terms of employment, this company has impacted positively on this community. They have employed youths in this community. Most of their local staff and workers are indigenes of Keffi and Nasarawa State. It has improved the economy of the people. The quality of road they have also been doing is of very good standard. 
 
“We also have a message for the Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola. He is doing a  very wonderful job. We can see his passion in him particularly for this road and other roads too. He is driving it with all his energy. We know this project would be completed and delivered by him. We convey all our sincere gratitude to him. He is wonderful. The road has been here for ages until he came to work on this road. And we are very grateful for how it has improved our lives.”
 
Another leader in Keffi, Alhaji Sefiu Rafiu, was also full of gratitude for the CHEC.
 
Rafiu, who is the Pakati Yoruba Keffi said, “The company has been doing very well. It has been doing our work. We have been expecting this road to be done before now, but since this present administration started this work, it has been moving very fine. So there is no problem. We thank God for the company. They have been helping members of the community. They have employed our brothers. And they have improved the economy of this area. We would continue working with them and supporting them to do more.
 
 
Also a woman leader in Keffi, Hajiya Aisha Mohammed, expressed gratitude to the company.
 
“We are happy with what the CHEC is doing in Keffi. They are doing a good job and the road they are constructing is wonderful. Before it was not anything to write home about, but now it is very good and they are doing a good job and people are happy. There is nothing better than what they are doing,” she said.
 
 

NYCN, others pour encomiums on Sen. Akpabio

The National Youth Council of Nigeria, has described the immediate past minister of Niger/delta, Sen. Godswill Akpabio as a leader with quality.

The President of the Council, Dr. Solomon Adodo, stated this at the 2nd Godswill Akpabio leadership and youth mentorship lectures in Abuja, on Friday.

Adodo who expressed satisfaction on the Forensic audit of the Ministry of Niger/Delta Affairs also said it has gone a long way in proving that while Sen. Akpabio held sway in that capacity, he demonstrated high sense of prudence in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s stance against corruption. Stating that the Forensic Audit was the singke largest anti-corruption probe of the administration which put an end to multi-trillion naira looting of the commonwealth of the region and paved way for rapid development.

“Right from time, we knew Sen. Akpabio to be a a man of prudence and unrivalled integrity. The recent forensic audit of the Ministry which did not show any form of financial recklessness further lends credence to our strongly held position. As a result of the new order of development, the Niger Delta region has today become more peaceful under President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Today is a day we are all gathered here to speak to the essence of impactful leadership based on selflessness, integrity and sacrifice for the good of the generality of the people. I can summarize and actually reinforce the long standing phrase that, Sen. Akpabio is truly an uncommon leader throughout all his trajectory of leadership”, Comr. Adodo added.

On his part the keynote speaker, Okpanachi Jacob, applauded the National Youth Council of Nigeria for instituting the Godswill Akpabio Leadership and Youth Mentorship lectures as a pathway for breeding a new generation of disciplined and patriotic leaders, stating that Nigeria needs accountability and development driven public Servants now more than ever.

He therefore charged Nigerians to vote politicians who have patriotic leadership qualities and mentorship capabilities for supporting emerging young leaders. Comr. Okpanachi advised the Youth Council to set up a permanent Leadership and Youth Mentorship Center for the year round training and mentoring of young leaders.

Another speaker at the event Dr. Dominic Ogakwu of the Civil Society Groups for Good Governance noted that what Nigeria lacks is leadership and not leaders as examplified in the public and private conducts of Sen. Akpabio whom he described as an uncommon leader with conscience and passion for the upliftment of the downtrodden.

It will be recall that Sen. Godswill Akpabio, is the immediate past Minister of Niger/Delta affairs, he resigned to aspire for President at the last Presidential Primary of the ruling All Progressive Congress.

The former governor of Akwa-Ibom state was born on the 9th December. Thus the Godswill Akpabio Leadership and Youth Mentorship Lecture witnessed a large turn out of youth leaders who eulogized hus life of uncommon service to the Nigerian nation.

Democracy Watch Nigeria expresses worry over incessant attacks on INEC facilities


… Int’l community is watching Nigeria closely

… Projects earth shattering legal battle between Tinubu and Nwajiuba

A coalition of 92 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) under the auspices of Democracy Watch Nigeria (DWN) have expressed worry over widespread callous attacks on facilities belonging to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The coalition while addressing journalists during a press briefing in Abuja, the Convener, Dr. Nwambu Gabriel and Secretary, Alhaji Babananga Nengari said it was troubling because all the security agencies recently assured INEC of adequate protection of its facilities even as it has commenced the distribution of voting materials across the country.

“Ironically, the offices and facilities of INEC has frequently and systematically been attacked in what seems to us as a coordinated and simultaneous attacks across Nigeria especially in the southern part of the country. The attacks in Imo state is making it the seventh attack in four months. They were coordinated attacks in INEC offices in Ogun and Osun states respectively.

“Democracy Watch Nigeria has noted with dismay that these attacks are coming after INEC had met with the nation’s security chiefs and several reassurances by the Inspector General of Police which is the lead agency for international security that security has been beefed up to protect INEC installations and facilities nationwide. It is worthy of note that INEC is not a security agency and no successful election can take place without adequate protections of lives and property of citizens.

“For an effective election process, citizens need proper reassurance of their safety otherwise this would impaire negatively on the turn out of registered voters on elections. In these attacks, Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), electricity generating sets, and election materials, infrastructure, etc. were burnt and destroyed.

“The electoral management body has assured every registered voter that they would not be disenfranchised. Consequently, the commission has commenced the reprinting of all burnt PVCs across the country. This is coming when issues about the funding of INEC’s budget had long been concluded for the 2023 General Elections for a country that is in a dare need of funds to finance it’s budget. The funds for the replacement of PVCs and other facilities would have been saved if not for these consistent and incessant attacks”, the Coalition emphasised.

Dr. Nwambu further he was aware that INEC is working relentlessly well to comply with the election timetable and to ensure a transparent, peaceful, free, fair and credible elections come February 2023 amidst intimidation, threat to life, including various cases in court to compel the chairman and other national commissioners to resign, or to prevent the commission from deploying the BVAS technology.

He frowned at the several attempts been made by just a very few desperate politicians to infiltrate the voters register of INEC, and hack into the website to manipulate elections in their favour noting however that, in all these, INEC has remained resolute and steadfast in ensuring the conduct of the general elections synonymous to the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and the extant laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“By this medium, we, the members of Democracy Watch Nigeria hereby pass a vote of confidence on Prof. Mamood Yakubu, the National Commissioners and the management of the commission on their insistence on doing the right thing, complying significantly with the relevant laws and the Electoral Act 2022.
We hereby call on all registered voters who are yet to collect their PVCs, civil servants, traders, market women, students, youths, women and every eligible person who has registered to go to INEC offices from 12th of December 2022 to 22nd January, 2023 to collect their permanent voters’ cards as their votes must surely count in the general elections”, he added.

On the part of the judiciary, he said there has been an increased number of cases bothering on the candidature of various political parties on different positions hinting that the Commission is faced with 600 cases bothering on same issue.

In a case by case consideration the coalition noted that, the Adamawa APC is facing serious litigation on the authentic Governorship candidate of the party.

The Abia state APC is also not left out as it is having its own share of litigation between Dr. Uche Ogah and Chief Ikechi Emenike on who is the authentic Governorship candidate.

He recalled that, the APGA in Abia state is having its own tussle and examplified in a case filed by Chief Chikwe Udensi challenging the APGA governorship primary that produced Prof. Greg, Justice Binta Nyako nullified the primary and ordered for a fresh primary within 14 days.

Similarly, in Akwa Ibom state, the PDP is at the Appeal Court now on who the authentic Governorship candidate is. The APC is also in the Appeal Court while the Governorship candidate of the YPP, Senator Bassey Albert has been jailed for 42 years for an offence he allegedly committed between 2010 and 2014 while serving as commissioner for Finance in Akwa Ibom state.

“In the same vein there is a case that would be decided on Monday, 12th December, 2022 by a high court in Abuja between Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba and Bola Ahmed Tinubu who won the presidential primary election of the APC. This Judgement on Monday will shake the political fabric of our nation. It would determine whether the nation is indeed compliant to our beloved Electoral Act 2022 or whether it is lip service.

“Nigerians and the international community are watching and waiting for this Judgement. This would definitely make or erode the public perception on the belief that the Judiciary is really the hope of the common man.

“Hon. Nwajiuba posited his stand on 3 germane issues: that the Primary and Secondary School Certificates of the candidate was not submitted to INEC sequel to fundamental requirements of law; that the candidate had in the past deposed to an affidavit that he attended certain secondary schools and that the provision of section 90(3) of the Electoral Act which bothers on the disclosure of sources of funds in excess of 50 million naira has been breached by the candidate, as the candidate has failed to furnish same to INEC. This is sequel to the the purchase of expression of interest and normination forms at the cost of 100 million naira.

“Hon. Nwajiuba argued that other political parties might as well take advantage of this lacuna thereby destroying the chances of the APC.

“He went further to section 84(13) of the 2022 Electoral Act which states that where a political party fails to comply with the provision of this act in the conduct of it’s primaries, it’s candidate for the election shall not be included in the election for the particular position in issue.

“The above, no doubt, are earth shattering issues for which the Judiciary should brace up to the challenge of doing justice to ensure transparency and the dominance and supremacy of the rule of law preparatory to the 2023 general elections”, the Coalition concluded.

Allegations of lopsided appointments against ITF DG, Ari, malicious – Group

By Abdulateef Bamgbose

The Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government Own Companies (SSASCGOC), has drawn the attention of Nigerians to an attempts by sponsored agents and media organizations to blackmail the Director General of the Industrial Training Funds (ITF), Sir Joseph Ari, while describing the publication as malicious.

The Association raised the alarm in Abuja, on Friday following a malicious publication by SaharaReporters that serially linked the Funds to allegation of lopsided appointment and promotions in the ITF.

The secretary General of the Association Othman Balarabe, while responding to the allegations at the press briefing stated that the reaction was coming on a heel of the publications attributed to a faceless group, a self-styled Northern Human Rights Group (NHRG) by an online publication SaharaReporters.

“The attention of the two workers’ Unions in the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) – the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government Owned Companies (SSASCGOC) and Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) – has been drawn to the above publication that was published on the website of Sahara Reporters on 8th December, 2022.

“The story which is attributed to a faceless group the Coalition of Northern Human Rights Groups (NHRG) was based on a protest letter by the – group, to the office of the Minister of Trade and Investment (Sic), alleging lopsided appointments and monetization of the promotion process, fraudulent awards of contracts, mandate deviation, nepotism and outright diversion of public funds, against the DG and Management of the ITF.”

While it is not in our place to hold brief for the Director-General and Management, who are quite capable of defending their integrity that is clearly being assailed and tarnished. We, as representatives of the entirety of the ITF workforce are constrained to react to this malicious publication whose purpose is to sow seeds of discord while appealing to Nigerians and stakeholder to cross check their fact at the various offices of the ITF.

“Administrative and Vocational Wing; Lagos Island Area Office Complex; Modern Library Complex and Central Stores in the Headquarters complex; Classroom Blocks at the ITF Staff School, Headquarters Auditorium and Gymnasium and Access road and; Intro-tech Laboratory at the ITF Staff School.

“The commissioning ceremonies were performed by our supervising Ministers – Otunba Richard Adeniyi Adebayo and Ambassador Mariam Yalwaji Katagum, who lauded the DG’s achievements and parsimonious application of lean resources. Eight other projects have been completed and awaiting commissioning namely: Gusau Area Office Complex and Vocational Wing; Minna Area Office Complex and Vocational Wing; Aba Area Office Complex and Vocational Wing and Access Road; Awka Area Office Complex, Vocational Wing, and Access Road; Yola Area Office; Maiduguri Area Office; Abakaliki Area Office; Owerri Area Office in Imo State; the Multi-purpose Building in Maitama, Abuja; the proposed Institute of Hospitality Management at Oba Akran in Lagos and; a special Agriculture Greenhouse at Ofadaland in Ogun State. On-going projects include ITF staff quarters in Port Harcourt, Yola Area Office Complex and Vocational Wings, Uyo Area Office and Vocational Wings, ITF Multipurpose Training Centre, Abuja and Model Skills Training Centre (MSTC),

Enugu. It must equally be placed on record that the House of Representatives’ Committee on Industry, during an oversight function visit to the Fund commended the Director-General and Management of the Fund for industrial harmony as well as for achieving so much in the face of paucity of funds.

In conclusion, the report should be discountenanced, as it is tissue of lies and untruth that have no basis in fact. As a responsible media organisation, SaharaReporters should have done well by cross checking the information they got from what is clearly a faceless and non-existent organisation.

Discords and cause disaffection within the Fund. This is based on our firm understanding of the operations of the Fund, our deep appreciation of what the DG has done since his appointment in 2016 and the implication of the story on the image and reputation of our dear institution. In view of the above, we as the executive officers of the two unions wish to react as follows:

“On the allegation of ‘nepotism, lopsided appointments and promotion of workers and monetization of the processes’ the NHRG and Sahara Reporters are merely trying to ‘give a dog a bad name in order to hang it’ because since the assumption of office of the DG, the ITF has operated transparently and in keeping with his pledge to heal wounds and work as unto God in the discharge of his duties. Therefore, every activity, be it employment, promotions and appointments and others have followed due process which accounts for the industrial harmony that has prevailed in the Fund since his appointment.

“With regards to the recruitments that Management conducted some years back, it was obvious to everyone associated with the ITF, even before his assumption to office that the Fund was short-staffed owing to retirements and other sundry reasons. The DG, therefore, commenced the process of recruiting staff to plug the gaping manpower gaps in a transparent process that involved the Federal Character Commission (FCC), the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and the ITF Governing Council.

“It is, therefore, preposterous that several years since the recruitment exercise, the DG would be accused of ‘lopsided appointment and bias recruitment’ as if he had sole responsibility for such an exercise, or rode roughshod over the other parties to populate the Fund with ‘indigenes of Plateau State and environs’ as the story suggested. Indeed, instead of the suggestion of ‘running the agency as his private estate with the bulk of recruitment into the agency reserved for indigenes of Plateau State and environs,’ the ITF was commended by the Federal Character Commission for adherence to laid down processes in the recruitment exercise. There is nothing that suggests the desperation of the medium to impugn the name of the DG than the assertion of “promotion in the agency has been monetised and, in most instances, based on religious and ethnic considerations”.

As staff of the Fund, we wish to state that the promotion exercises are conducted with the supervision and active participation of the supervising Ministry and the Governing Council based on clearly defined parameters in line with the Civil service rule and condition of service. The transparency of the Fund’s promotion exercise has been further enhanced by the introduction of the Computer Based Test (CBT) under the leadership of Sir Joseph N. Ari.

Having witnessed the process of our promotion exercise, the FMITI adjudged our exercise as one of the best and therefore, directed the Fund to prepare a template that will be adopted by other agencies under the Ministry. Consequently, the issue of lopsided appointments alleged by the publication is not only mischievous but equally satanic and devilish. Interestingly, the last recruitment made by the Fund was in 2019, and the necessary approvals were obtained, and the quota system was duly followed as in accordance with the directive of the Federal Character Commission. From 2019 to date, no other recruitment.

“We, as the Unions, will be first to complain should there be any attempt to subvert the process in favour of others. Anybody familiar with the ITF will testify that the ITF Unions are reputed for their activism.

“Regarding allegations of ‘fraudulent award of contracts in the Fund, without recourse to the civil service rules (Sic)’, we state without fear of contradiction that all processes concerning the award of contracts in the ITF are followed to the letter. For a medium that hypes its investigative journalism credentials, we are amazed that it did not cite any instance of such alleged infractions. Indeed, because of the transparent adherence to procedures and due process in its affairs, the ITF was ranked amongst the first from over 500 agencies of the Federal Government that were surveyed in 2020 in terms of service delivery, transparency and integrity.”

“It is equally spurious and quite laughable that a man that is described by most stakeholders’ as ‘the architect of Modern ITF’ and ‘Mr Infrastructure,’ who has virtually transformed the ITF both in terms of its ability to actualise its mandate and physical infrastructure is being accused of ‘outright diversion of funds and mandate deviation’.

“It is public knowledge that since the assumption to office of the Director-General, he has initiated several skills Acquisition programmes that have equipped thousands of Nigerians with relevant technical skills, who were empowered with start-up kits to start their businesses. It is equally on record that since his appointment in 2016, the DG has completed and commissioned over ten projects namely: The Mechatronics Workshop and Administrative Block at the Industrial Skills Training Centre”.

The Senior Staff Association of ITF has described its DG Sir Joseph Ari as the best thing that has happened to the Fund in recent time. They said that the negative report by Sahara Reporters ascribed to a faceless group is not only false but satanic in its entirety but that Sir Ari is clear headed Leader that has maintained the principle of the federal character in all facet and has dutifully added value in terms of infrastructural development of the fund.

CSO Chides Reuters over report of infanticide

A rights group, Northeast Advocacy for Peace and Justice (NAPJ) has described a report by Reuters, a London based news agency alleging forced abortion of unborn babies in facilities run by the Nigerian Army as a fabrication aimed at undermining national security.

The CSO in a statement signed by its convener, Ambassador Abdullahi Gambo stressed that the said report was a conspiracy to derail peace efforts and the fight against insurgency in the country.

NAPJ insisted that the report was a premeditated, high wired and international attempt to thwart the successes recorded by the Nigerian Army in the battle to finally eliminate BokoHaram/ ISWAP in the country.

“The report is clearly targeted at the Nigerian Army with the sole aim of giving the security forces a bad name and painting the soldiers as violating conventional laws of engagement”

The Northeast group which has been deeply involved in advocacy for Peace in the region over several years described the Reuters report as an attempt at undermining national security and called on security agencies to unmask sponsors of such fabricated report.

“it is disheartening and worrying that Reuters would give its medium to enemies of Nigeria and publish such damaging report against the military that has worked extremely hard to contain the activities of BokoHaram / ISWAP.”

The news medium claim to have began its investigation since 2013, about a decade ago. All these years, Reuters never blew the whistle or raised alarm. The report is coming out now that the military is almost eliminating the threat of BokoHaram/ ISWAP in the country. The women, soldiers and those they claimed to have interviewed are fictional and make belief characters that do not exist in real life.

There is no doubt in our minds that Reuters is sponsored by the west to defame the Nigerian Army. Severally, countries like the US and UK have been issuing security alert warnings to their citizens of impending attracts on some cities and public places in the country, all in a bid to create panic in the citizens and discredit the security forces in the country. No attack has taken place and the citizens of these countries have returned and are moving about their daily activities.

Ambassador Abdullahi Gambo while condemning the news medium described the report as a figment of the imagination of the sponsors of Reuters.

The report is concocted to discredit the Nigerian Army on the abortion programme and killing of children in violation of international laws. It’s aim is to get the international community to desist from cooperating with the Nigerian military and sale of weapons to the country.

It is our firm consideration that the foreign sponsors and international groups funding the activities of BokoHaram/ ISWAP are responsible for such damming report.

The northeast group passed a vote of confidence on the Nigerian military and asked the government and people of Nigeria to discountenance such cruelly fabricated report and call for support to the Nigerian military

Ambassador Gambo warned the UK and the US and other foreign countries to stay away from causing panic in the county. Severally, families and members of the terrorists who surrender are profiled and handed over to authorities. Several women have given birth while under custody. They are subjected to the best available medical facilities.

The claims in Reuters report are wild fabrications and sponsored narratives and propaganda written to tarnish the reputation of the Nigerian military.

Nigerian Army, where Reuters got it wrong

By Philip Agbese

During the 2010 Jos riots and the subsequent months, international news wire service, Reuters, did a disservice to Nigeria that many people might not have noticed but which was nonetheless bad, horrible actually for a news outlet that is perpetually steeped in virtue signaling. At that time, Reuters was engaged in reporting the crisis in a manner that further pitched one side of the crisis against the others by constantly highlighting casualties on an ethno-sectarian basis, an approach that was intended to sustain a tit-for-tat killing spree as each side was engaged in constantly trying to avenge the casualty figures reported for its side by Reuters.

Being the resilient nation that it is, Nigeria weathered that storm and remained in existence despite this kind of psychological operation ((PSYOP), a war designed to undermine Nigeria and unravel the country for whatever benefit that global media operations like Reuters are after. Wikipedia described PSYOP as “operations to convey selected information and indicators to audiences to influence their emotions, motives, and objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of governments, organizations, groups, and individuals.”

It went on to explain that “PSYOP can encourage popular discontent with the opposition’s leadership and by combining persuasion with a credible threat, degrade an adversary’s ability to conduct or sustain military operations. They can also disrupt, confuse, and protract the adversary’s decision-making process, undermining command, and control. When properly employed, PSYOP have the potential to save the lives of friendly or enemy forces by reducing the adversary’s will to fight. By lowering the adversary’s morale and then its efficiency, PSYOP can also discourage aggressive actions by creating disaffection within their ranks, ultimately leading to surrender.”
Reuters’ latest so-called investigative report against Nigeria, “The Abortion Assault: Nigerian Military ran secret mass abortion programme in war against Boko Haram” is a dangerous deployment of PSYOP that must be condemned by all right thinking persons as an irresponsible attempt at manufacture of dissent, which refers to a cause that is so unpopular that it is solely driven by money, fake news media, or rogue intelligence agencies, which Reuters is proving to be.
The opening lines of the report, which is marketed to be an investigative piece, actually read like a fiction novel, more vested in holding the reader spell-bound than conveying vital information, which ought to have been the intention of a news outlet. The writers’ style belied their confusion as they struggled to make sense of whether they are running a first person narrative, or a third person reported account. What they succeeded in doing was to largely assume the omniscient tone, a see-all-know-all format that is favoured by fiction novelists, which totally dismissed the entire report as something that should only be found on the fantasy section of fiction novels.
According to a research and policy group, Humanitarian Outcomes, “As of the end of 2019 there were 74 identified organisations working in the northeast, including 6 UN agencies plus OCHA and IOM, 28 INGOs, and 33 Nigerian national and local NGOs.” These NGOs have at various times raised alarm about issues, often accusing the Federal Government especially the military of one thing or the other but not once has any of them raised the issue of 10,000 forced abortions. Even the UN representatives interviewed in the report denied knowledge of what Reuters is insinuating.
In Reuters’ own words, “This investigation is based on interviews with 33 women and girls who say they underwent abortions while in the custody of the Nigerian Army.” This presents an interesting scenario. It reported there were 10,000 forced abortions but it was only able to sample 33 women and girls. St. Olaf College recommended that “Generally speaking, the smaller the population, the larger the sampling ratio needed. For populations under 1,000, a minimum ratio of 30 percent (300 individuals) is advisable to ensure representativeness of the sample. For larger populations, such as a population of 10,000, a comparatively small minimum ratio of 10 percent (1,000) of individuals is required to ensure representativeness of the sample.” So how come Reuters conveniently disappeared 9,977 other “victims” of the atrocity it reported and never bothered to interview them? How did speaking with 33 alleged victims become 10,000 forced abortions?
It is interesting to note that the news outlet doubted its own report and acknowledged it is part of a damaging operation targeting Nigeria. For instance, it stated that “Reuters was unable to establish who created the abortion programme or determine who in the military or government ran it. Nigerian military leaders denied the programme has ever existed and said Reuters reporting was part of a foreign effort to undermine the country’s fight against the insurgents.”
Reuters also exposed how its reported 10,000 forced abortions was a concoction of figures provided by sources that were so unreliable that they could not be named. The report is so trashy that the International Criminal Court (ICC) Office of the Prosecutor declined to comment on Reuters’ findings. The entire report was replete with phrases and clauses that hinted at uncertainty about the allegations being made, which makes one wonder why that organization proceeded to publish the report under such circumstances.
A five page statement that Director of Defence Information, Major General Jimmy Akpor, issued has totally rubbished the Reuters report for the hogwash that it is so there is no point rehashing the strong points that the military has raised about the sanctity of life and the military’s adherence to rules of engagement that ensure that even hardened terrorists are treated humanely when captured to talk less of their victims.
The tragic facing part, however, is that Reuters may succeed in its intention for publishing the report unless the Nigerian military and the Federal Government chose to be deliberately strategic and robust in their response to the propaganda attack. A critical factor to achieving this is to properly contextualize Reuters’ attack, identify its collaborators and anticipate the next moves in the PSYOP that has been revived against Nigeria. In terms of contextualizing the environment around the report, it is important to note how the publication was hastily pushed out at a time when there has been successive killing or capture of terrorists – Boko Haram/ISWAP and bandits; focusing on the publication could create distractions that would interfere with the progress of the counter-terrorism efforts.
It should equally be noted that Reuters, a news platform that ought to be neutral, openly participating in the propaganda war against Nigeria signals a desperation on the part of those that have been propping up the terrorists with propaganda support. In the past they have used groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch without the kind of defining success they have in mind.
The Nigerian Army (and the Federal Government) should attenuate Reuters’ attempt to bring it into disrepute and promote terrorist propaganda against the Nigerian State. This should be done by outlining and highlighting the successes that have been recorded in dismantling the foreign-backed terror infrastructure that they want to gain root in Nigeria. The government should promote its rehabilitation and reintegration programmed for victims and repentant terrorists because these are the kind of success stories that make those running evil entities like Reuters to bristle and froth at the mouth. There is a whole lot of good things that the Nigerian Army is making to happen and that should be the focus and not wasting efforts on Reuters’ irresponsibility.

And for the records, Reuters got it wrong when it surmised that the pack of conjectures, half-truths, fictions, and the lies in its report would be swallowed by all and sundry hook, line, and sinker. Reuters got it wrong when it thought it could easily pick up with doing damage in Nigeria from where it left off in the 2010 Jos Crisis. The dynamics have changed in a manner that have left the Reuters goons behind. Its propaganda efforts will fail worse than those of its collaborators that had attempted to undermine Nigeria in the past.

Agbese is a UK trained human rights expert writing from Abuja.