Day: May 8, 2024

The Senate has mandated its Committee on Works to interact with the Minister of Works, toward the completion of the Wudil-Gaya-Dutse Dual Carriageway on Kano Maiduguri Expressway. This followed the adoption of a motion on Urgent Need to Expedite Completion of Wudil-Gaya-Duste Dual Carriageway on Kano Maiduguri Road by Sen. Kawu Suleiman (NNPP - Kano) at Tuesday's plenary. Presenting the motion, Suleiman said the expressway was a critical artery for transporting people and agricultural goods in the northern corridor. He said contract for the construction of the road was awarded by the Federal Government 17 years ago, by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He said that successive administrations had failed to complete the road. 'Also notes that in 2018, the former president Muhammadu Buhari-led administration's commitment to improving road transportation led to the award of so many road contracts to restore many dilapidated roads in the country. 'Among these projects was the renewed contract for the dualisation of the Kano - Maiduguri road. 'Aware that a major transportation upgrade is on the horizon, a brand new two-lane highway will be built, along with improvements to the existing road. 'To tackle this ambitious project, it has been divided into five manageable sections. 'The first section focuses on the Kano - Wudil - Shuwarin road, while subsequent sections cover progressively connect Shuarin to Azare, Azare to Potiskum, Potiskum to Maiduguri, and finally, Maiduguri to Benishek,' Sumaila said. He said one of the sections was the most extensive, spanning roughly 202.73 kilometres. He said as an international route linking Nigeria to Chad, Niger, and Cameroon, the Kano - Maiduguri Road facilitated cross-border trade. 'The Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company Nigeria Lld., was awarded the contract for section one of the road, but despite initial work, the project appears to be behind schedule. 'Worried that the unfinished section between Wudil and Gaya in Kano State is particu larly dangerous. 'One lane of the planned dual carriageway is complete, forcing drivers to navigate a single lane in both directions, this significantly increases the risk of accidents,' he said. He expressed worry that the unfinished section from Wudil to Gaya in Kano State posed grave danger to commuters. He said the only one lane completed on a planned two-lane road, forced vehicles traveling in both directions to navigate a single lane. 'This is a recipe for disaster, and immediate action is required to finish construction and ensure driver safety,' he said. Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), says less than seven per cent of women have been represented in elective and appointive positions in Nigeria since 1999. The institute said that the development was worrisome in spite of the 35 per cent affirmative action. The NILDS Director-General, Prof. Abubakar Suleiman, said this in Abuja on Wednesday at a Train the Trainer Workshop for NILDS Staff on Gender Mainstreaming. The workshop was facilitated by the UN Women in partnership with NILDS. He said the workshop was designed to equip staff of the Institute with necessary tools and competencies to mainstream gender into policies, programs, and budgeting. According to him, the workshop is expected to train NILDS Staff to improve the institutional capacity in gender policy analysis, equip them with knowledge on gender mainstreaming principles and methodologies. This, he said, would help integrate gender perspectives into NILDS policies, programs, and activities and result in more inclusive and gender-responsive initiatives. 'It is indeed worrisome that despite the extant legal framework that recommends 35 per cent affirmative action of women participation, available data reveals that on the average, women participation and representation in governance since the advent of democratic rule in 1999 is less than seven per cent.' The DG said the challenge facing all advocates of gender inclusivity in politics today was the wide gap between shared values reflected in the national and international policies and practices. 'Despite concerted efforts made by government, NGOs, donor agencies and international partners towards ensuring increased participation and representation of women in politics and governance, there remains a continuous decline in women's representation and participation in politics and governance. 'I am optimistic that NILDS is strategically positioned in ensuring that women secure wider participation in governance by guiding policy makers to be able to make informed and evidence-based policies to enhance gender participation in governance in Nigeria.' Suleiman, however, said that there was the need to upscale the staff skills and competencies to effectively achieve the objective. He commended NILDS partner, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), for also considering it a priority and a point of collaboration to put the workshop together despite limited resources. 'Let me also seize this opportunity to once again reaffirm our commitment to our partnership and our collective drive to strengthen the legislature and other democratic institutions in Nigeria. 'Women and men have different needs and living conditions and circumstances, including unequal access to and control over power, resources, human rights and institutions, including the justice system. 'The situations of women and men also differ according to country, region, age, ethnic or social origin, or other factors. 'The aim of gender mainstreaming is to take into ac count these differences when designing, implementing and evaluating policies, programmes and projects, so that they benefit both women and men and do not increase inequality but enhance gender equality. 'Gender mainstreaming aims to solve sometimes hidden- gender inequalities; it is therefore a tool for achieving gender equality.' Suleiman, a former minister of National Planning, said the Institute had been a frontline vanguard in advocating for gender mainstreaming on all fronts of political, social and economic policies and legislations. According to him, the fight for gender equality is not only an individual matter, but requires determination and commitment of decision-makers, state institutions in creating policies for reconciliation of different roles men and women play in the society. Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The House of Representatives Joint Committee on Environment, Petroleum Resources Upstream, Petroleum Resources Downstream and Climate Change has queried oil producing companies operating in the Niger Delta over environmental degradation in the region. Rep. Pondi Gbabojor, the Chairman of the joint Committee, said this in Abuja on Wednesday at the public hearing on Environmental Damage within the oil-producing communities. He said that the oil-producing communities had experienced environmental degradation and socio-economic marginalisation following decades of oil exploration and exploitation. 'The abundant natural resources should have been a source of prosperity and development; rather, the host communities have suffered pollution and land degradation. 'They also suffer from loss of biodiversity, and deterioration of traditional livelihoods that are inestimable and irreparable,' he said. He said that in spite of laws and regulations enacted to safeguard the environment and the established regulatory ag encies, the environmental damages in oil-producing communities had persisted. He said the committees would identify erring organisations and hold those responsible accountable. 'Our environment is not just the backdrop of human action but the very essence of life and our sustenance,' he said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 40 companies were invited to the hearing, but only 35 honored the invitation, including the Ministry of Environment, Dubi Oil Company, Nigerian Agip Oil Limited Others were Starling Oil Exploration, Mobil Producing Nigeria Ltd. Resources Exploration and Production Ltd, First Exploration and Petroleum Development Company among others. The oil companies however requested that the committees visited all the affected states that had experienced environmental degradation, especially the Ogoni Land. Source: News Agency of Nigeria