Day: October 1, 2023

Mr Aliyu Tahir, Managing Director, Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), has commended President Bola Tinubu for signing the 2023 Electricity Act into law.

Mrs Ama Umoren, Head, Communication and Protocol, NEMSA in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, said Tahir stated this while felicitating with Tinubu and Nigerians on the nation’s 63rd Independence Anniversary

Umoren said that Tahir, who is also the Chief Electrical Inspector of the Federation, commended Tinubu for his leadership drive and passion to leave behind a better and improved electricity supply services in the country.

The NEMSA boss also applauded the untiring efforts of the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, to provide the needed policy direction in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

Tahir recalled that NEMSA was established by Electricity Act, 2015 (now Electricity Act, 2023), to carry on the functions of enforcement of technical standards and regulations, technical inspection.

”Some of these functions include testing and certification of all categories of electrical installations, electricity meters and instruments to ensure an efficient production and delivery of safe, reliable and sustainable power supply.

”We also guarantee safety of lives and property in the Nigerian electricity supply industry and other allied industries/workplaces and premises,” he said.

According to him, the priority of the agency is for Nigerians to have electricity networks that are stable, safe and reliable.

Tahir said that through close collaboration with partners, NEMSA strives to ensure zero incidences of electrical accidents, energy accountability, eliminate sub-standard equipment and materials, and rid the system of quack electrical personnel.

He said that one of the strategies to realise the vision was through effective service delivery.

”We are doing this by consistently applying our corporate culture defined by a simple set of corporate values of quality service and safety, honesty and integrity, as well as leadership and collaboration,” the statement quoted Tahir as saying. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ephraims Sheyin

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) says only collective support for President Bola Tinubu can bring manifold dividends of democracy to Nigerians.

Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, the Lagos State APC Chairman made this remark in his congratulatory statement on the occasion of Nigeria’s 63rd Independence Anniversary on Sunday.

Congratulating the party faithful and Lagos residents on the anniversary, Ojelabi said that Nigeria had continued to wax strong over the years because of the grace, mercy and power of God that kept her citizens in unity despise the diversity.

He implored residents of the state to sustain the formidable unity for the continued growth, development of Lagos, “for peace to keep reigning in Nigeria”.

The chairman also urged residents to continue their support for Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his team for them to keep providing the people with the dividends of democracy.

He implored the citizenry to be law abiding always and go about their activities peacefully.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Ghanaian actor and musician Kwadwo Nkansah has released another soul-catching and uplifting motivational single titled ‘Y3b3 Y3 Yie.’

The song, which features reigning New Artiste of the Year Lasmid, triggers a spirit of hope for the hopeless and represents a breath of new life.

The new single produced by renowned beatmaker Apya comes along with some hard-hitting kicks and is incorporated with guitars, violins, drums, and electronic keyboard sounds.

The duet between Lilwin and Lasmid on the new tune sounds refreshing, with the latter dropping some astounding vocals.

The lyrics of the song are uplifting, taking one’s spirits from gloomy states to a better understanding of God’s undying love for believers and how he demonstrates his prowess even in difficult times.

Accompanying this song is a lyric video for easy consumption and appreciation.

The song ‘Y3b3 Y3 Yie’ is available on YouTube and all streaming platforms:

Source: Ghana News Agency

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the country’s vision of becoming the preferred destination for medical care in West Africa by 2030 is on course.

He said the country was working successfully towards that goal with a substantial investment to strengthen health systems performance, infrastructural growth and access to quality healthcare.

President Nana Akufo-Addo, inaugurating the St. Michael’s Specialist Hospital (SMSH), at Lapaz, Accra, said the nation’s health target had been buoyed by the progress of work on the ‘Agenda 111’ initiative.

The initiative is to provide 100-bed standard district hospitals with accommodation for doctors and nurses, construction of new regional hospitals for the six newly-created regions as well as two new psychiatric hospitals.

Giving a breakdown of the percentage of work done so far, the President hinted that the average completion rate of the 89 ongoing projects was 52 per cent, with work on some of the sites being 70 to 80 per cent complete.

These comprise 86 district hospitals, two regional psychiatric hospitals and the Western Regional Hospital.

The President lauded the founder of the Specialist Hospital, Mr. Michael Banahene, for his vision and complementing the Government’s efforts at achieving universal health coverage.

The Hospital is a multidisciplinary state-of-the-art facility providing patient-centred healthcare services, including surgery.

It deals with plastic and neurosurgery, cardiology and mental health consultations, surgical care, paediatrics, dental and interventional cardiology care, antenatal and delivery care, amongst others.

‘Beyond the building of these new healthcare facilities, my vision is to help our country become the Centre of Excellence in medical care in West Africa by 2030,’ the President assured.

The relevance of the country’s vision, he said, was reinforced by the fact that the sub-Region was projected to have a population of half a billion people by the said year.

Consequently, the authorities were leveraging Ghana’s status as the most peaceful country in the Region to upgrade its health facilities and human resource development, he stressed.

The agenda is to derive maximum benefits from the health sector for accelerated economic growth.

‘The first wealth is health. Good health is fundamental to all we do and hope to do,’ President Nana Akufo-Addo noted.

He reiterated the Government’s commitment to working with the private sector in achieving the nation’s health goals, especially as enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor , described the SMSH project as monumental, and commended the authorities for the initiative.

Mr. Banahene, the Founder, said achieving universal health coverage was a shared responsibility, and urged the Government to work effectively with the private sector to achieve that goal.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Ernest Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana has signed the book of condolence opened at the Ga Mantse Palace in memory of the late Queenmother of the Ga State, Naa Dedei Omaedru III.

He pledged the support of the Bank towards the funeral preparations of the late Ga Manye.

Dr Addison was accompanied by a delegation, including Dr Maxwell Opoku-Afari, the First Deputy Governor,

The rest were Board Members including Dr Samuel Nii -Noi Ashong, Mr Andrew Boye-Doe and Mr Joseph Alhassan.

The Bank’s Secretary, Ms.Sandra Thompson and the Head of the Security, Wg CDR Kwame Asare Boateng were also part of the delegation.

The delegation presented items such as customary drinks, assorted soft drinks, bottles of water, and a cheque to support the funeral preparations.

‘The demise of the late Ga Manye is a matter of concern to us all. The Central Bank will lend its support for a befitting burial for the late Ga Manye. We are grateful for your warm reception,’ he said.

Ms. Sandra Thompson, the Bank’s Secretary, said over the years there had been a cordial relationship between the Ga State and the Bank.

She said the Bank had extended support to the Ga State in so many ways, adding that it would continue to do so in areas such as education.

‘The Bank of Ghana and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly is currently collaborating to build a three-storey eighteen-unit classroom block and a three-unit nursery block with ancillary facilities for the Independence Avenue 2 Cluster of Schools, a project which we hope to complete by the end of this year,’ Ms Thompson said.

The BoG delegation was warmly received by the Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II together with other traditional leaders in the Ga State.

King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Governor and Management of the Bank while also urging them to remain focused on discharging their mandate.

‘There are lots of challenges in Ghana but I entreat you to work diligently to deliver on your mandate. Do not be discouraged and it is not everything you do which will please people but then be focused and remain steadfast,’ he added.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has enrolled six adolescent girls at Techiman in the Bono East Region in a non-formal training programme to acquire employable skills in support of better livelihoods.

The beneficiaries are all minors, aged between 15 and 17, who were single teenage mothers or victims of child-marriage.

They were trained in dressmaking and hairdressing to create jobs and wealth for themselves and their families for a secure socio-economic future.

This is to empower the adolescent mothers and survivors of child marriage to eke a living, address the menace of child marriage and sexual and gender-based violence, and improve reproductive health outcomes.

It is being implemented in six selected areas in the region; Techiman South and Nkoranza South municipalities, Techiman North, Nkoranza North, Pru East and West districts with the support of the Bono East Regional Coordinating Council.

The initiative broadly sought to reduce the prevalence of child marriage and improve the health, safety, and the general well-being of young girls and women.

Ms Julian Harrison Mutaah, the UNFPA Regional Focal Person at the RCC, said this during a monitoring exercise in Techiman and other project communities by a team of UNFPA officials to assess and evaluate the progress of implementation, achievements, challenges and lessons learnt.

She said the master apprentices had been provided with tools/equipment to facilitate their work to break the cycle of poverty, adolescent motherhood, and child marriage.

Highlighting some achievements since January, this year, Ms Mutaah said a group of trained Muslim men, known as ‘Male Champions’ had formed a club at Kintampo in the Kintampo North Municipality of the region to engage in house-to-house discussions and hold ‘parliamentary sittings’ to educate their peers about the threat of child marriage and gender-based violence.

She shared a testimony of a female beneficiary who, through the knowledge gained, was able to convince her uncle to stop giving out his teenage daughter for marriage, adding that another young man confessed he had stopped smoking because of the exposure through the training.

Source: Ghana News Agency