News

Expert Tasks NGOs On Int’l Standard Procurement Procedure

Published

2 months ago

July 24, 2025

A procurement expert, Mr Ogunnupe Olushiga, has urged Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to fine-tune their policies and procurement activities to fit national and international standards.

Olushiga gave the advice at a two-day capacity building workshop for 15 NGOs on International Standard Practice on Procurement Processes.

The workshop was organised by Efficiency Management Consulting Firm in Bauchi and supported by Young Leaders Network, CARD, JO Ogun and Sons Enterprise.

Olushiga, the Convener and Lead Facilitator of the training, said the workshop was to help organisations mirror their activities in line with the Nigeria Procurement Act.

He noted the training would help organisations adjust their policies and procurement activities to fit global benchmarks.

He said it would also help procurement, administration, finance, compliance and programme officers align their procurement practices with national laws and global donor policies.

Olushiga added that it would equally build a fraud resistant-audit ready and value driven procurement system.

“The training is to increase the capacity of the not-for-profit sector partners or workers and all those organisations that work under the not-for-profit to bring them up to international standards in procurement practice.

“It is also to help them to mirror their activities with the Nigerian Procurement Act which is not mandatory for them but compels them to have their policies and procurement activities in tune with national policy and international standard.

“This standard fits into the World Bank and other donor agencies that come into partnership with them,” he said.

He pointed out that the new global, national, state laws and frameworks on procurement aligned with the need to safeguard the environment in rendering services by being eco-friendly and energy efficient in all procurement processes and services.

Patricia James, a Legal Procurement Consultant, listed some of the existing laws that guide organisations in procurement matters to include the Public Procurement Act, 2007, and the Bauchi State Public Procurement Law, 2020.

Others she said are the World Bank Procurement Regulations (2023), Transparency International (2021), Corruption Risks in Public Procurement, Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply CIPS (2020) and Ethical Procurement.

In his address, Malam Nura Mohammed, the Director-General, State Agency for Sustainable Microfinance, said the government would henceforth channel all its Micro-credit Revolving Fund facilities through Participating Financial Banks down to the grassroots.

He said this would ensure financial inclusion in underserved communities.

He said the agency was established by the state Governor, Bala Mohammed, to act as an intermediary between the government, financial institutions, and businesses towards providing access to credit, business development services, and policy support.

The director-general who said procurement was critical to the operations of every organisation, commended the facilitator for his commitment.

He urged the participants to practicalise the knowledge gained to ensure procurement credibility and integrity in their organisations.

News

Back To School: Lions Club Distributes Educational Materials In Edo Schools

Published

7 hours ago

October 4, 2025

Editor

The Benin Etete Unique and Edo Heritage Lions of the International Association of Lions Club on Friday jointly distributed educational materials to two schools in Benin City as part of the association corporate services to humanity.

The two clubs in District 404-A4 Lions Nigeria, jointly carried out the distribution of notebooks, maths sets, school bags and sandals, pens and other writing materials to excited pupils in Ivbioba Primary School and Oghede-Ivioba Primary School, Ugbighoko, Egor Local Government Area, and Evbiyenava Primary School, in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State.

Themed, Back to School Project, pupils were also engaged in Reading Action Program (RAP) and Spelling Bee Competition, after which winners were presented with special prizes.

In their remarks, Lions Darlington Uyi and Franca Nikoro, presidents of Benin Etete Unique and Edo Heritage Lions Clubs stated that the vision of the Lions International is to serve humanity.

They, therefore, tasked pupils on commitment to their studies in order to attain their fullest potentials in life.

“Emulate Lions in your visions for tomorrow. We have various professionals as members, and if you are committed to your studies, obedient to your parents and teachers, you will attain great heights,” Lion Uyi Darlinton Stated.

“Our vision is to serve, and we are here like we do every period to ensure Literacy is inculcated in pupils to enable them to attain their full potential. It is our earnest desire that you grow into well rounded personalities. Literacy is important in order to actualize that aspiration,” Franca Nikoro stated.

Earlier, in his address, Lion Sir Dede Henry Idemudia, Zone 6A Chairperson, tasked the pupils on good conduct, honour to parents and guardians and obedience to instructions of school authority.

News

NAFDAC Gives Nigerian Food Companies 18 Months To Cut Trans Fats

Published

8 hours ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has set an 18-month grace period, effectively giving food companies until early 2026 before facing full enforcement of regulations to eliminate industrially produced Trans-Fatty Acids (TFA).

The initiative, launched as a comprehensive strategy and roadmap for TFA regulation, moves Nigeria from simply having the policy to enforcing its world-class standard: a regulatory limit of no more than two grams of industrially produced trans fat per 100 grams of total fat or oil.

The Director-General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, emphasised that the roadmap moves the country beyond policy creation to aggressive enforcement and implementation.

This was contained in the NAFDAC DG’s keynote speech posted on the agency’s official X (formerly Twitter) on Friday.

Adeyeye stressed the moral imperative of the Agency’s mission.

“The removal of industrially produced trans fats from the food chain is not only a technical achievement, but a moral imperative.

“Eliminating industrially produced trans fats is possible, achievable, necessary, and urgent,” Adeyeye stated, calling for national collaboration.

The moratorium period is designed to allow manufacturers to exhaust existing stock with outdated labels and reformulate their products to comply with the legal limit.

NAFDAC’s action targets a dangerous dietary risk factor strongly linked to cardiovascular disease, stroke, and premature death globally.

Adeyeye emphasised the significance of the move beyond technical compliance, noting, “The removal of industrially produced trans fats from the food chain is not only a technical achievement, but a moral imperative.”

This aggressive step builds upon Nigeria’s existing reputation; the country was recognised by the World Health Organisation in 2023 for adopting best-practice TFA elimination policies.

The new roadmap is key to securing WHO validation of Nigeria’s full TFA elimination programme, establishing the nation as a regional leader in public health interventions.

News

Mohbad’s Father Urges Lagos AG To Prosecute Wife, Nurse, Others

Published

9 hours ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

Joseph Aloba, the father of late singer Mohbad, has urged the Lagos State government to initiate criminal proceedings against individuals named in the coroner’s inquest into his son’s death.

Mohbad passed away on September 12, 2023, following an injection administered by auxiliary nurse Feyisayo Ogedengbe.

Despite being buried the next day, public outcry and ongoing investigations led to the exhumation of his body on September 21, 2023, for an autopsy.

In a letter dated October 3 and addressed to the attorney general of Lagos State through his lawyers, Aloba demanded that criminal charges be filed against those indicted within 14 days.

“Specifically, we refer to persons indicted by the coroner’s verdict hereunder: Miss Ogedengbe Fisayo, indicted for unlawful medical practice and gross medical negligence; and Mrs. Omowunmi Aloba, indicted for negligence,” the letter reads.

“This includes Ibrahim Owodunni, a.k.a. Prime Boy, and others who either facilitated the invitation of the auxiliary nurse or refused to take him promptly to a recognised medical facility for treatment.”

Mohbad’s father said he was concerned that despite the coroner’s clear verdict, no prosecutorial steps had been taken against those indicted nearly three months after the judgment.

He asked the attorney general to exercise prosecutorial powers within the 14 days, or, in the alternative, grant him and his legal team a fiat to prosecute the matter on behalf of the state.

“Our Client, as a bereaved father desirous of ensuring that justice is done and seen to be done, is deeply concerned that notwithstanding the clear indictments contained in the Coroner’s Verdict, no prosecutorial steps have been taken against the aforementioned persons since the delivery of the Verdict on 11th July, 2025,” the letter reads.

“The judicial observations amount to clear indictments warranting the prosecution of the said individuals in order to give full effect to the Coroner’s findings and recommendations, and to ensure that justice is manifestly and adequately served in this matter.

“We request that you exercise your prosecutorial power on the above subject matter within 14 Days Next, in view of the high sensitivity of this matter and the public attention and outrage it has generated.”

In October 2023, Naira Marley and Sam Larry were arrested over allegations linking them to Mohbad’s death, but were released on bail after five weeks in detention.

By February 2025, a magistrate court cleared them of any involvement in the singer’s demise.