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House of Representatives Promises to Enhance Gender Equality

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House of Representatives Promises to Enhance Gender Equality

By: Michael Mike

The House of Representatives has promised to work at reducing inequalities and enhancing the participation of all genders in socio-economic and political development of the country.

The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen reiterated this commitment at the roundtable on Tuesday in Abuja and signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between United Nations, UN Women and Media Executives to escalate media intervention and provide a media platform to enhance gender equality and women’s empowerment in Nigeria.

Represented by the chairman, House committee on women in parliament, Hon. Fatima Talba (APC, Yobe), the Speaker noted that part of the Green Chamber’s efforts in that regard was the re-introduction of the ‘Gender Equal Opportunities’ Bill which failed in the 9th Assembly as well as other critical legislations required to dismantle barriers to women’s economic and political inclusion.

He said the House has equally signed MoUs with various women advocacy groups including the Office of the United Nations Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (UN-CEDAW) to enhance legislations and other interventions on issues of women economic and political inclusion.

He also noted that the bill to create special seats in the National Assembly and State Assemblies also passed second reading on the floor of the House on July 10, 2024.

He said: “It is an honour to be with you today to celebrate the Significant milestone of signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and Media Executives.

“This partnership aims at providing media platforms to amplify and escalate media interventions in advancing women’s political participation and inclusion as we look ahead to the 2027 general Elections.

“Politically, the current representation of women in Nigeria’s parliament is alarmingly low, standing at less than 5%. This situation is unacceptable and must change by the next electoral cycle.”

He added that: “The media has a crucial role to play in not only highlighting the barriers to women inclusion but also in advancing these efforts, and in holding us accountable and providing insights into where progress is being made and where more effort is needed.”

This was as different women groups at the event unanimously recommended that the National Assembly and the Executive arm of government should consider amendment of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 and not its repeal.

A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015, and Enact the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Bill, 2024 seeking holistic reform of the law to be in line with the realities of societal change and drafting standards to effective dispensation of justice, is the currently before the National Assembly.

In the resolution, read by media consultant to the UN Women, Moji Makanjuola, the women said: “The Nigerian women at a meeting convened on Abuja Continental Hotel today, September the 17th, 2024 recommend to the National Assembly and the Executive to consider an Amendment to VAP Bill not a repeal.”

In her opening remarks, the UN Women country representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Beatrice Eyong lamented that globally, one in every 10 women lives in extreme poverty, adding that projections indicate that 342.4 million women and girls will not have moved out of extreme poverty by 2030 unless the current trends are shifted.

Eyong said, the percentages could be higher for countries like Nigeria where the gap between the few rich and a majority poor continues to widen, lamenting the representation of women in Nigeria’s parliament, where critical policies and laws are made that is just about 4% with only 17% of them serving as ministers in the federal executive council.

“These are challenges that we must all join hands together to surmount. This is where you, as media practitioners come in. But the question is, how much is being done by the media to advocate for more women representation and inclusion in appointive and elective positions in Nigeria?

“What can media do differently to improve the chances of more women joining politics and winning in the next elections? These are challenges we must all respond to as women and gender champions in the media sector.”

Eyong noted that: “UN Women invests in enhancing personal resilience and professional development of women to increase their contribution in leadership, economic growth, peace, security and in humanitarian nexus. UN Women believes that investing in women equals to investing in the architecture of the society.

“We do know that no nation can develop and prosper if women are excluded. Our support is guided by shared value, mutual respect and common vision of the Government and the people of Nigeria.”

House of Representatives Promises to Enhance Gender Equality

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NBMA Debunks Allegations of Negligence, Compromise Against It

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NBMA Debunks Allegations of Negligence, Compromise Against It

By: Michael Mike

The Director General and Chief Executive Officer (DG/CEO) of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr. Yemisi Asagbra debunked some allegations level against the agency by some non governmental organisations (NGOs) concerning negligence and compromise.

Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, Asagbra said: “The negative statements circulating are misleading and lack credible scientific backing. The agency asks these organisations to present verifiable scientific evidence for their claims and we relies on sound scientific research and internationally recognized protocols to make informed decisions. It is part of the Cartagena Protocol with over 180 parties, our mandate is to protect the health of Nigerians and the environment. It will not compromise on this as it is an agency of integrity.

She added that: “The agency is transparent and accountable in its operations. It invites review of its processes and rigorous evaluations of GMO products. We are confident in our procedures that it’s meet global standards and it is a leader in effective regulation in Africa”.

On the source of the allegations, she said “over the years they have been advocating to have their presence in the board where all these products coming will be thoroughly Investigated, but it hasn’t been given. Most times we rely on the information given by Nigeria Custom Service to furnish them with needed information, which most time is not always easy if they have other things doing.

The Head planning, research and statistics National Biosafety Management Agency Mrs. Bello Scholastica said the agency is concerned with safety to our health and safety to our environment.

She further reiterated that what NBMA stands for is to establish first regulation from identification of the gene of interest, “of what you are interested in, from then till commercialization, and even after commercialization, they still follow suit to make sure that the approvals they gave hasn’t caused any harm, or those that were given approval to that they stay put to what they were asked to do”.

She further explained that the agency has put in effort to promote environmental conservation and biosafety in Nigeria.

NBMA Debunks Allegations of Negligence, Compromise Against It

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House of Reps Assures on Passage of Human Rights Defenders Bill

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House of Reps Assures on Passage of Human Rights Defenders Bill

By: Michael Mike

The House of Representatives has revealed that it is interested in the passage of the Human Rights Defenders Bill into law, saying that the bill has already passed the first reading and will soon be subjected to second reading.

The House also promised to take the necessary steps to ensure an improvement in the 2025 budget of the NHRC, pointing out that the N5 billion approved for it in the 2024 budget is inadequate considering the myriad of human rights violations in the country.

The Chairman House Committee on Human Rights, Hon. Abiola Makinde made this disclosure during the oversight visit of Committee to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

The Chairman, who was represented at the occasion by his Deputy, Hon. Mudashiru Lukeman assured the NHRC that the Committee would continue to advance the course of human rights in Nigeria by ensuring that the House of Representatives passes critical bills on human rights issues as well as makes adequate budgetary provisions to ease the work of the Commission.

Makinde also stated that in a bid to improve some aspects of Civil and Political Rights, the House of Representatives had ensured the establishment of human rights desks in all police formations and Headquarters across the 36 States of the Federation.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Dr. Tony Ojukwu who received the lawmakers with his management staff told the Human Rights Committee that the Commission relies heavily on them for the enactment of human rights friendly laws and enhanced budgetary provisions to discharge it broad mandate of promotion, protection and enforcement of human rights in the country.

He used the opportunity to commend the legislators for their role in the amendment of the NHRC Act 2010 as well as the support of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila in the payment of compensation to victims of human rights violations by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigeria Police Force.

He equally informed the legislators who were on oversight visit about the recent report released by the Commission following the findings of the Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations in Counter-Insurgency Operations in the North East Nigeria , which he noted has saved the country from possible invitation by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

He noted that the aforementioned wide spread allegations of human rights infractions against some government institutions could result in the ICC extending invitations to some of the leaders to respond to the allegations, but the Commission has done the needful in compliance with the international principles of omplementarity.

He thanked the Committee for promising to improve the budgetary allocation of the Commission in the 2025 fiscal year.

House of Reps Assures on Passage of Human Rights Defenders Bill

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FG Confirms Arrest of Simon Ekpa

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FG Confirms Arrest of Simon Ekpa

By: Michael Mike

The arrest of Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa in Finland has been confirmed by the federal government.

A statement on Friday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Nigerian-Finnish citizen and prominent leader of the proscribed Indigenous People
of Biafra (IPOB), was arrested by Finnish authorities on Thursday.

According to the statement, Ekpa was
charged with inciting terrorism and promoting violence.

The Finnish District Court of
Päijät-Häme ruled to detain him on probable cause for publicly inciting crimes with terrorist intent.

The Finnish authorities alleged that Mr. Ekpa used social media platforms to spread
separatist propaganda, incite violence and encourage illegal actions, which had caused
significant disruptions in the South-East of Nigeria. Finnish investigators had also linked
him to incidents of violence in Nigeria, which were believed to had been fueled by his
online activities.

The statement said “the arrest of Mr. Simon Njoku Ekpa follows sustained diplomatic
pressure by the Nigerian government on Finland, to take action against his activities,
which were linked to violence and instability in the South-East of Nigeria. The request
for action featured during high level engagements between countries.”

The Ministry stated that the arrest of Ekpa, is a significant development in addressing the activities of IPOB, and also neutralizing the influence of transnational actors and “their impact on our national security.”

The Ministry promised to continue to monitor the legal proceedings and provide further updates as the case progresses.

FG Confirms Arrest of Simon Ekpa

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