Alake Urges Mining Marshal to Keep up the Good Work of Getting Illegal Miners on the Run

By: Michael Mike

The Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Dele Alake has enjoined the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps Mining Marshal to remain focused and continue to work relentlessly in the enforcement and crackdown on the illegal miners across board.

The message was given to commemorate one year anniversary of the commissioning the Special Squad.

Alake made the call while congratulating the NSCDC Commandant General, Dr Ahmed Audi for the significant and remarkable success achieved especially in the number of arrests, illegal mining site dislodged and the overall protection of the Nigeria Mineral Resources.

Alake said the tactical approach of the NSCDC in the discharge of her assigned duties and the appointment of a diligent Mining Marshal Commander- ACC John Onoja who has repeatedly rejected lucrative and mouth- watering bribes from illegal miners trying to free themselves from being held responsible for their criminalities are indications that the NSCDC is highly credible and professionally working in tandem with the renewed hope agenda of Mr President.

He said: “The Mining Marshal Commander and his men have continue to portray and project the image of the NSCDC in good manner with their refusal to compromise their integrity which has subsequently safeguarded the mining industry and safe billion of dollars curbing potential revenue loses for the country.”

He further charged the Marshal to remain dogged in their crackdown on illegal mining activities across the country.

The Mining Minister urged the NSCDC to remain vigilant and focused as the federal government intensifies efforts to salvage the country from the negative omen created by illegal miners and other criminal elements in the Sector.

Launched on March 21, 2024, NSCDC Mining Marshal is a specialized Unit established to focus on combating illegal mining activities, protecting legitimate mining sites and ensuring sustainability of the mining sector in the country.

The NSCDC Mining Marshal has been working in collaboration with the Ministry of the Solid Minerals and other relevant agencies to achieve the set out objectives”.

Alake Urges Mining Marshal to Keep up the Good Work of Getting Illegal Miners on the Run

African regions have the highest cases of NOMA disease, says WHO Director.

By Yahaya Wakili

The Acting WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweezu, has said that the African region has the highest number of noma cases, a rapidly progressing non-contagious gangrenous disease of the mouth that primarily affects young children.

Dr. Chikwe disclosed this in his message on World Oral Health Day, observed annually on 20th March, saying it is a vital opportunity to raise awareness and prioritize oral health—an essential component of overall well-being that is often overlooked. He noted that oral diseases such as dental caries, gum disease, and tooth loss affected 42% of the WHO African Region’s population in 2021.

“If left untreated, noma has a high fatality rate, and survivors often suffer from lifelong impairments, disfigurement, stigma, and discrimination. To tackle these challenges, member states endorsed the Regional Oral Health Strategy 2016-2025integrating oral disease into non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention and control programs.

Dr. Ihekweezu maintained that oral diseases share common risk factors—tobacco, alcohol, high sugar intake, and socio-economic and commercial determinants—with other NCDs such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases, making an integrated approach more effective.

Added that, at the global level, the seventy-fourth World Health Assembly (WHA74) in 2021 recognized oral health as a core part of the NCD agenda and Universal Health Coverage (UHC). This led to the endorsement of the Global Strategy on Oral Health (WHA75) and the Global Oral Health Action Plan 2023–2030 (WHA76), which includes a monitoring framework.

“Despite these advances, the African region lags behind key oral health indicators. For example, only 17% of the regional population has access to essential oral health care services. Progress in disease prevention is also slow, including fluoride use and sugar reduction efforts.

“With the support of partners like Hilfsaktion Noma e.v. and the Borrow Foundation, as well as WHO Collaborating Centres, several countries in the region have taken concrete action. Lesotho, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone developed oral health policy documents.

According to Dr. Chikwe, a new capacity-building project has been launched in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia to improve access to WHO-listed dental materials, supported by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare.

African regions have the highest cases of NOMA disease, says WHO Director.

ENERGY COMMISSION OF NIGERIA PRESENTS INDUSTRIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY POLICY REGULATION

By: Michael Mike

To improve Nigeria’s industrial energy performance and resource efficiency, the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN)has unveiled a new policy and regulations to reduce the cost of energy consumption by industrial consumers in Nigeria.

This was made known at the event organised by the ECN in Abuja to validate the recommendations from the analysis of Individuals Energy Efficiency (IEE) and improving enterprise environment performance Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production (RECP) and innovative approaches in Nigeria.

According to the Director General of ECN, Abdullahi Mustapha, it is now known that a lot of Nigerians are clamouring for a reduced cost within electricity, therefore, which has made the Commission to realize that there is a need for industrial policies for efficiency.

He said the current move to meet the yearnings of Nigerians is done with the help of the technical assistance from UNIDO in Nigeria,

He said: “Today we are unveiling new registration and policy for industrial players for them to be able to use electricity, with that we are assured that electricity cost will be reduced. Our mandate as a commission is for strategic coordination and also development of energy policies in all ramifications.

“There are two key things here to note: energy generation and energy efficiency. If you generate energy, no matter the volume of that energy you’re generating, if you’re having 20000 Megawatts, if you’re not using that efficiently that would be wasted”

“While the government is pushing at it cleaning up his electricity generation, it is important that the generated one is conserved and utilized accordingly.”

In the same vein, the Director General of Manufacturer Association of Nigeria (MAN), who was represented by Mr. Michael Olufemi also commended on the effort of ECN on the regulations and policy, he noted that it is critical and timely.

He said we see the policy and regulations as essential pillars for driving sustainable economic growth and environmental protection in Nigeria.

ENERGY COMMISSION OF NIGERIA PRESENTS INDUSTRIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY POLICY REGULATION