News

Bauchi Community Lauds NGO On Gender Based Violence Sensitisation

Published

2 years ago

August 30, 2023

Some residents of Gadan Maiwa community in Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi state have commended Women and Children’s Rights and Empowerment Foundation (WCREF) for sensitizing them on Gender Based Violence (GBV).

They made the commendation in a separate interview with newsmen in the community on Wednesday during a One-Day Sensitisation Training and Reporting on Gender Based Violence using referer pathways in Northeast.

One of the residents, Hafsat Ya’u, said that the sensitisation was very important to the people of the community especially, women, where Gender Based Violence, most especially rape is on the high side.

She said “our children, sisters and even elders are being raped almost on a daily basis either on their way to farms or somewhere that is a bit quiet and nobody is taking any action on it.

“That’s why most of them prefer to keep quiet about it and let the matter go.

“We thank God that they brought this programme here and the founder also promised us to be taking such cases up to a concluding end,” she said.

In his contribution, another resident, Isage Suleiman, said that the ‘life saving’ programme came at the right time into the community.

According to him, the people now have confidence to approach the foundation to help them take up a case to a logical conclusion.

“Before the coming of the programme, rape cases were on the high side and even recently, we have two cases of rape and we have handed the cases to Barrister Abdu already to help us take them up.

“May the Almighty Allah continue to help her and whoever is behind this foundation so as to continue to help the less privileged,” he prayed.

Also, Abubakar Tela, Gadan Maiwa community Leader explained that there was a problem of GBV in the community, adding that the programme is a blessing to the community as many people had been sensitised on how to address it.

He called on other Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to emulate the foundation and bring to the people especially, the less privileged programmes that would be beneficial to them.

In her address, Barr. Mariam Abdu, the Executive Director, WCREF, said that the foundation selected the community having realised that there had not been much training on GBV in the area, hence, were suffering in silence.

“We are here to empower them to make them know that if you have been raped or knows anybody that has been raped, don’t suffer in silence and don’t keep it to yourself.

“I will actually be standing for them if the case arises and we have created a coalition of able bodied people who have different positions like the Civil Defence, Police, Lawyers and others.

“I want them to know that they are not alone, we are behind them 120 per cent as there are laws, policies that back them and It’s time for us to not shy away from things that are not our faults, it’s time for us to speak up and get justice,” she advised.

On his part, Mr Abdulsalam Ridwan, Head of Programme, WCREF, explained that the foundation had been in existence since 2018 and had been conducting Sensitisation on GBV in the Northwestern part of the

News

Bumper Harvest: Foundation Distributes 6,000 Fertilizers To Farmers In Bauchi

Published

20 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

A group, Wunti Al-Khair Foundation has donated 6,000 50kg bags of fertilizer to farmers in Bauchi state in order to have a bumper harvest.

Speaking during the flag off ceremony of the distribution of the fertilizers on Thursday, Mr Abubakar Mohammed, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Wunti Al-Khair Foundation, said the distribution was only for the indigent farmers in the state.

He said the fertilizers would be distributed to farmers in underserved communities across the three Senatorial Districts of the state.

“We are gathered here to flag off the free distribution of fertilizers to farmers, especially the indigent farmers that don’t have the means to buy fertilizer for their farms.

“That is the reason why the founder of this foundation bought the fertilizers and distributed them to the low income farmers in the state.

“We have gone round the nooks and crannies of the state to identify the underserved communities and those that deserve this particular gesture.

“We planned to distribute about 6,000 bags of fertilizer and due to the populous nature of the Bauchi LGA, they have the largest share but some other local governments too have hundreds of beneficiaries which we divided into Senatorial zones,” he said.

According to him, today was the flagging off of the Bauchi South Senatorial District, adding that the extension of the gesture would commence in Bauchi North and Bauchi Central Senatorial Districts tomorrow.

Mohammed explained that the only criteria used in selecting the beneficiaries were underserved communities and low income farmers, adding that “we know that a large number of the farmers in Bauchi state are low income farmers.

“Those are the people that we identified, verified and they are our beneficiaries and we have warned the general public about the activities of some unscrupulous elements that go round to impersonate our foundation.

“Wunti Al-Khair Foundation is not charging a kobo for every part of its activities, be it education, healthcare, economic empowerment and community development”.

Responding, one of the beneficiaries, Emmanuel Samson, described the support as a timely intervention that would greatly enhance his farming activities and appreciated the foundation for the intervention.

Another beneficiary, Salisu Maidawa, who was short of words for the gesture, said the gesture came at a time when he was in dire need of it.

News

IYC Urges Tinubu To Sack NCDMB Boss

Published

20 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Western Zone, has urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately sack Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, the Executive Secretary of Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for allegedly not “keeping up to the fundamental mandate,” upon which the agency was established.

This was contained in a statement jointly signed by Comrade Nicholas Igarama, Comrade Ebi Joshua Olowolayemo, and Comrade Tare Magbei, Western Zone
Chairman, Secretary, and Information Officer respectively, and made available to newsmen in Warri on Thursday, August 14, 2015.

According to the IYC, the call for Ogbe’s sack becomes necessary following his incompetence and ethnic bias, adding that Ogbe has turned the agency meant for the whole Niger Delta to his Itsekiri ethnic group alone.

The IYC, while noting that efforts to meet the NCDMB Executive Secretary to discuss critical issues as they affect the region and its people have proved abortive, said it can no longer fold it arms and watch while things go from bad to worse.

“As Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Ogbe has consistently failed to input his supposed industry track record in the advancement of the mandate upon which the agency was founded.

“He has continually had a sectional engagement with his fellow Itsekiri Kits and Kin, thereby shutting all other ethnic nationalites in the Niger Delta region out.

“Repeatedly, he avoided critical youth engagement in the region while sponsoring that of his Itsekiri ethnicity through different human capacity development initiatives, while other ethnic nationalites are left unattended.

“As Ijaw, mostly from the western flank where Engr. Ogbe also hails from, we will not sit and watch others benefit from the resources that we produce without our practical involvement to better the lives of our people as well.

“It is on record that the leadership of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Western Zone has tried to establish communication with Engr. Ogbe, for the last ten months, but every medium of communication to get his attention has fundamentally proven to be abortive.

“As youths, we can no longer have leaders in office who have now equated themselves to demi-god and have refused to attend to most significantly youthful issues in the Niger Delta Region.

“To this end, we therefore call on President Bola Ahmed Tinibu to immediately sack Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, who has consistently displayed disregard for critical actors in the Niger Delta and has also exhibited the highest level of gross inefficiency by not keeping up to the fundamental mandate upon which NCDMB was founded,” the statement reads.

The IYC also called for the probe Ogbe as Executive Secretary after his sack.

Efforts to reach Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, NCDMB, for reaction proved abortive.

News

I’m Being Impersonated – Goodluck Jonathan Disowns Social Media Account

Published

23 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

Former President Goodluck Jonathan, on Thursday said he is being impersonated by fraudsters.

Jonathan alleged that a fraudulent Instagram handle has been impersonating him.

In a statement by his Media Aide,
Ikechukwu Eze, the former President insisted that he does not operate any Instagram handle.

The statement is titled ‘Beware of fake Instagram account impersonating H.E. Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’.

“Our attention has been drawn to a fraudulent Instagram account operating under the handle goodluck_ebelejonathan, which is falsely impersonating former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

“This impostor account has been deceitfully posting content, some copied from Dr. Jonathan’s Facebook page, while pretending to represent the former President.

“We wish to emphasise that Dr. Jonathan does not operate any Instagram account.

“The media and members of the public are strongly advised to disregard, avoid sharing, or promoting any content originating from this fake profile,” the statement read.