Day: April 27, 2024

Dr John Asein, the Director-General, Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), says the Federal Government is taking steps to finalise its National Intellectual Property (IP) Policy and Strategy for the country.

Asein disclosed this on Friday while commemorating the 2024 World Intellectual Property Day with the theme ‘IP and the SDGs: Building Our Common Future with Innovation and Creativity” in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Day is observed every April 26 to celebrate the importance of intellectual property (IP) rights to encourage innovation and creativity.

The director-general was represented by the Director of Legal, Mr Emeka Ogbonna.

NCC boss said the policy would serve as a blueprint for a more efficient modern and responsive legal and administrative framework for the country to leverage on its creative and innovative potential.

He said that the day underscored the power of innovation and creativity in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and shaping a sustainabl
e and inclusive future for humanity.

According to him, the SDGs represent a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all by the year 2030.

‘IP rights play a pivotal role in fostering innovation, creativity, and technological advancements. They provide the framework that encourages men and women to develop new solutions that address global challenges.

‘It is the lynchpin for incentivising the use of creative and innovative ideas to solve many of the challenges that confront humanity.

‘This year’s World IP Day reminds us that intellectual property can be a powerful tool for social, economic, and environmental development.

‘It encourages individuals, businesses, and governments to leverage IP rights to drive innovation, create jobs, and build resilient communities.

‘By aligning our intellectual property policies and strategies with the objectives of the SDGs, we can accelerate their achievement,” NCC boss said.

He said in the spirit of the’Renewed Hope Agenda
” of the present administration, government had also shown appreciable commitment to the creative industry as a major sector of the economy.

‘As one of the agencies responsible for the wholesome development of the creative sector, the Nigerian Copyright Commission will continue to provide the needed institutional, legal and administrative support for the protection, promotion, regulation and enforcement of copyright.

‘The commission will pay particular attention to using the copyright system to advance Goal 1 (No poverty); Goal 4 (Quality education); Goal 5 (Gender equality).

‘And Goal 8 (Decent and economic growth); Goal 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure) and Goal 17 (Partnerships to achieve the goals).

‘We are aware that the goals would have to be adapted to fit the peculiar needs of intellectual property which is an intangible asset.”he added.

The director-general, who said that the commission focused on the 17 SDGs to address emerging challenges, called on authors, innovators, users, IP ex
perts and other stakeholders to reflect on the vulnerability of the nation’s fragile knowledge and creative ecosystem.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Veterinary doctors in Nigeria have urged all tiers of government to accord them equal recognition with medical doctors for overall well-being of the populace.

The veterinarians made the call in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja in commemoration of the 2024 World Veterinary Day.

NAN reports that World Veterinary Day is commemorated annually on every last Saturday of April; the theme for 2024 celebration, which falls on April 27, is ‘Veterinarians are essential health workers.’

Prof. Lawrence Okonkwo, President, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nigeria Alumni Association said that most advances in medicine were either made by veterinarians and or in collaboration with human medical doctors.

Okonkwo said that the application of veterinary science contributed not only to animal health and wellbeing but also to human’s physical, mental and social wellbeing.

‘Therefore, the advocacy for one’s health requires equal recognition of the roles of veterinarians and medic
al doctors,” he said.

Dr Ifeanyi Ogbu, Director of Finance of the alumni association and also the immediate past Chairman of the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), FCT Chapter, identified the 2024 theme as timely.

Ogbu said humans needed adequate protein for proper growth and body functions as majority of the proteins consumed daily by human were from meat and milk.

He specifically said that over 70 per cent of all infectious disease emanated from animals either through the consumption of infected meat, milk or by contact with an infected animal or animal products.

‘Therefore, if there is no veterinarian on the globe, man should be in a chronic battle with over 70 per cent of the diseases that human hospitals cannot prevent.

‘Diseases that have formed world pandemic over time were only nipped in the bud by the veterinarians. Such diseases are Coronavirus, Ebola virus, rabies virus, Lhasa virus, tuberculosis, avian influenzas and monkey pox virus.

‘Others are brucellosis that causes miscarr
iage in women, fibroid in women, e-coli bacteria, typhoid bacteria, trichinellosis, anthrax bacteria, fungi infections, hepatitis among others.

‘Veterinarians are trained on how to vaccinate live animals against these infectious disease, how to treat an infected animals and how to screen, examine, quarantine and condemn infected animal meat,’ he said.

The veterinarian, however, encouraged government at all levels to engage the services of veterinary doctors in abattoirs in all local government areas across the country.

According to him, such services will provide access to wholesome meat and milk products by people in remote and rural communities.

NAN reports that the World Veterinary Day was initiated by the World Veterinary Association (WVA) in 2000 as an annual celebration of veterinary profession.

The commemoration is to highlight and promote the lifesaving work performed by veterinarians across the globe.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, on Saturday in Lagos, flagged off demolition on the right-of-way of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, beginning with the Mami Chula Beach Lifestyle.

Umahi began the demolition after he inspected kilometre 13, 16 and 20, to ensure the most economical and viable way to access the coastal roads without much damage.

He noted that the demolition was necessary since the structure was located on Federal Government’s right-of-way.

He said that a number of structures would be affected by the demolition, adding that compensation would be provided.

Umahi said, ‘So, with the utmost fear of God, gratitude to God Almighty and the commitment to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in our infrastructural development agenda in particular, I wish to flag off this demolition.

‘It’s in a right-of-way within the coastal corridor which is legitimate right of way of the federal government.

‘Before the flag-off of the demolition, I graciously increased the grace period by another
seven days and yet another four days and here we are because the project stopped because of lack of demolition.

‘And I want to commend the likes of Bolaji, incidentally from kilometre zero to four from what I’m seeing, he is the only one that is majorly affected. That’s the only infrastructure I can see that is affected.’

The minister, who acknowledged that some people were opposed to the project, insisted that it was necessary for economic development.

He assured those affected by the demolition that they would be adequately compensated, adding that documentation would start between May 2 and May 3.

Umahi also assured that he would be available throughout the week to address any confirmation or payment issues related to the demolition.

Responding, the Chief Executive Officer, Mami Chula Beach, Mr Bolaji Ariyo, acknowledged the project’s necessity for development, even when it causes inconvenience for a small number of people.

He said, ‘We all hope this is the renewed hope that we all clamoured for, dur
ing the campaign, we all prayed for development in Nigeria.

‘And some of us have so much belief in Mr President that he will do it well, and this is an opportunity.

‘For example, I’m a Lagosian and this is also a development that has been set down for a very long time. It is good that Mr President is doing that right now.

‘It is unfortunate. We all prayed for development, and in every development, some people pay the price and sacrifice for the development.

‘You might be wondering why I’m talking like this, maybe because I was also on the other side before, so, I understand what governance means.

‘I understand when a government is promising to make life easy for the entire Nigerians.

‘Some of us are affected, no doubt about it, but those of us affected are not up to 0.1% of the millions of people that will enjoy the coastal roads.

‘That’s why people like me have taken it to heart to also support Mr President and the honourable minister to ensure that this road comes to life.’

Source: News Agency of N
igeria

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has commended contractors handling different projects in Abuja for keeping to their promises to deliver the projects before May 29.

Wike gave the commendation after inspecting some of the ongoing projects across the capital territory on Saturday.

The minister recalled that he had promised the residents of Abuja that President Bola Tinubu would inaugurate a lot of projects to celebrate his one year in office.

‘I am fully satisfied. This is a promise made and a promise kept.

‘We went to the Southern Parkway, from Christian Centre to Ring Road I, being executed by Setraco. The project is almost 98 per cent completed.

‘We have been to the Outer Southern Expressway from Villa Roundabout to Ring Road I, being executed CGC.

‘You can agree with me that it is just the beauty. The landscape is wonderful, and the project is also 98 per cent completed.

‘We went to the Vice President’s residence being executed by Julius Berger and the company has
assured us that all the furniture and other facilities are ready, and that they are doing finishing touches,’ he said.

From the VP residence, the minister inspected the B6 and B12 road on Independence Avenue, also being executed by Julius Berger and the company officials assured the minister that it would be ready for inauguration in May.

He equally inspected the N-20 Northern Parkway to Outer Northern Expressway in Jahi District, being executed by Gilmor.

The minister expressed satisfaction with the project, which he said was almost 99 per cent ready.

He equally expressed confidence that the overhead bridge projects at Wuye and the road projects at Guzape would also be ready for commissioning.

‘I want to thank all the companies for keeping to their words. They promised us that all these projects will be commissioned by May.

‘I am very impressed. This is money spent well. The renewed hope agenda is alive,’ the minister said.

He attributed the successes being recorded in less than a year to the full sup
port of President Bola Tinubu.

He added, ‘We are doing all we can to complement Tinubu’s efforts for giving us all that we require to do our job. We are making sure that all the support is not in vain.’

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Federal Government has vowed to deepen efforts to tackle climate change and its attendant effects to accelerate sustainable development.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, gave the assurance at the closing ceremony of the 2024 edition of the Regional Climate Outlook Forum for West Africa and the Sahel.

In a closing remark, the minister assured that the Federal government would deploy climate-smart predictions and warnings to enhance socio-economic development of the citizens.

Specifically, he said the government would continue to take seriously the issuance of disaster early warnings for its citizenry, to de-risk sectorial activities and avert losses.

The minister recalled that the Government through NiMet had a public presentation of the Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) early in the year.

According to him, SCP is an early warning tool that highlights vital Weather and Climate information that may affect socio-economic activities in air, land and water transportati
on.

He said the SCP also gives useful information on agriculture, water resources, disaster management and mitigation, health, tourism, sports, power and energy.

‘A similar event was recently held by the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) where the Annual Flood Outlook was released to Nigerians,’ he added.

He said the reports would help to forestall the reoccurrence of flood disasters witnessed in the country in 2022.

‘In 2022, we had one of the worst cases of flooding in decades.

‘For weeks, the movement of people and goods between the northern and southern parts of the country was severely disrupted.

‘After the flood period, millions of people had lost their homes and livelihoods, properties worth millions of Dollars had been destroyed.

‘Investments in farms and other agricultural products had disappeared, and lives had been lost,’ he said.

Keyamo said the outcome of the regional climate outlook forum would be a great planning tool for governments and policymakers across the region.

‘Exp
erts and researchers in meteorology and climate sciences from across the West African sub-region and Sahel had dedicated their energy and intellect to develop a comprehensive forecast for the region, targeting the coming rainy season.

‘Just as the general airspace is a continuum in aviation, weather and climate events are also trans-boundary, hence the need for us to work together irrespective of boundaries.

‘ We should downscale the outcomes of this forum to our local and rural communities to achieve the United Nations’ target of Early Warning for All (EW4ALL) by 2027,’ he said.

The minister assured that Nigeria would continue to support regional efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change and encourage weather and climate-smart sustainable development.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, says Federal Government is employing a dual-pronged approach to combating illegal mining in the country.

Alake stated this while declaring open a two-day ministerial stepdown retreat, organised for the staff of the ministry and its parastatals on Friday in Abuja.

The theme of the retreat is ‘Delivering on the Eight Presidential Priorities.’

The retreat is geared towards ensuring that the workers performed their duties diligently in line with the eight presidential priorities of the Tinubu’s administration, particularly in unlocking energy and natural resources for sustainable development.

Alake said that the dual approach comprised both coercive and persuasive measures, being concurrently to get the desired result.

He explained that the persuasive method involved formalising artisanal and illegal miners into cooperatives, where they could attract adequate funding and be easily identified for incentives and other interventions.

‘Their business wi
ll become enhanced and they can attract funding from financial institutions.

‘They can increase their profits then government can identify with them and obtain the necessary royalties, taxes and revenue that have been lost before,’ he said.

According to the minister, within three months of the policy, no fewer than 70 cooperatives have been established.

He said that part of the coercive approach was the establishment of the Mining Marshal Corp who were recently deployed to the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to secure the mining environment.

The minister said that Africa possessed more than 60 per cent of the worlds natural resources and should take advantage of the resources to develop its economy by demanding value addition for its mineral resources.

He reiterated that approval for licences would only be given to mining companies that would comply with value addition to mineral resources.

Alake pointed out that Nigeria has the critical minerals needed for the global energy transition in co
mmercial quantities but required the cooperation of its workforce to assist in marketing the products and sanitising the sector.

He said that the government was marketing its solid minerals to attract foreign direct investment, create jobs, support small and medium-sized companies, and foster sustainable economic development.

The minister said that the retreat was a period for the workers to reflect on their performance and make necessary adjustments, as productivity was key to achieving the presidential priorities areas.

He added that it was an opportunity for the workers to engage in fruitful discussions, especially towards the ministry’s seven-point agenda, shared best practices, and identifying innovative strategies to actualise the presidential priorities.

‘The importance of delivering on this priority area (energy and natural resources) cannot be over emphasised.

‘The Nigerian economy is in dire need of rapid economic growth through the solid mineral sector, given the limitless value this sector ca
n provide.

‘I believe with the efforts of everyone in this room, the Nigerian Economy can be positively catalysed,’ he said.

The minister maintained that good character and the right mental capacity were required to achieve the ministry’s seven-point agenda.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Friday again visited the family of one of those who died in the stampede which occurred during the distribution of palliative rice in Lagos in February.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NCS delegation was led by Hammi Swomen, an Assistant Controller-General of Customs (ACG) and Zonal Coordinator Zone A.

Commiserating with the deceased’s family at Empire Area of Lagos, Swomen expressed the condolences of the Customs Comptroller General, Mr Wale Adeniyi, to the family.

‘We came to pay a condolence visit to one of victims of government rice palliative distribution and this is the second time we are checking on their welfare.

‘You remember the unfortunate incident that happened when customs got approval of President Bola Tinubu to support Nigerians by selling 25kg par boiled rice at a reduced price of N10,000.

‘Unfortunately, we had a stampede outside our premises after the exercise and that led to the incident; right now, we have confirmed four family ar
e affected.

‘We are here on behalf of the Comptroller-General, Mr Bashir Adeniyi, to continuously show our support to this family.

‘ We have been here before, this is our second time of coming and the deceased family has visited our office too,’ Swomen said.

He said that the service was not unmindful of the effect of this loss, adding that customs had pledged to support the four deceased families continuously.

Swomen said they decided to continuously check on the family to ease the trauma they were going through.

He assured that the Customs management would continue to engage in concrete terms with the families of the victims.

Michael Odulaja, the husband to the deceased, commended the moral support given by the customs management.

Odulaja, in tears, recounted the vacuum his wife, late Susan Odulaja, had left for the family.

‘She left five children. It is not easy to loose a caring and understanding wife.

‘ Since she had died, I have never been myself.

‘My wife was too helpful because I don’t know h
ow much a man can give a woman, woman is still the owner of the house.

‘ Since her death, we could not get ourselves because she had been there for her family, ‘ Odulaja said.

‘ I thank God and I also thank the Customs Service for their continuous support,’ Odulaja said.’

NAN reports that The Nigeria Customs Service suspended its rice disposal initiative following a stampede that claimed seven lives on Feb. 23.

The incident was during the distribution of 25kg bags of rice at its Zonal Headquarters, Yaba, Lagos State.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Vice-Chancellor of Trinity University, Yaba, Lagos, Prof. Clement Kolawole, has urged parents to show more commitment to the general activities of their children in their academic pursuit.

Kolawole in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said this would go a long way in enhancing their children’s success in their studies.

According to him, it is not enough to pay their children’s tuition and provide other requirements; parents must also check their activities.

He said that aside the major requirements, such as school fees, personal needs and other academic materials, parents should pay attention to the behaviours, attitudes and academic performances of their children.

‘This is more realistic and obtainable in private universities like ours, and the idea is for us school management and parents to work together to help these young minds to achieve their potentials.

‘We expect parents to link up with us so that we can work together to monitor, get the students on the right track and focus on
the reasons they are here on campus.

‘I have some parents that call me from to time to make inquiries about their children’s academic performances and behaviours on campus; that is the collaboration we are soliciting for.

‘On our part, we try to monitor the students and where we find any form of misbehaviour, we invite their parents to relate to them before sanctioning them, and some parents will be shocked,’ he said.

According to the vice-chancellor, students must know their obligations and rights, and be expressive. They must also ensure that they portray and uphold the good image of the institution.

‘We encourage them to open up where they are having difficulties, even among their peers, because some of them hide to do some funny things.

‘With such information, we will be able to respond swiftly,’ he said.

Kolawole, however, identified financial constraints as the major challenge facing the institution, adding that the management had been working within the limited resources available.

He said that
in spite of the challenges, the institution still allowed payment by installments from parents, irrespective of the courses and the stipulated fees.

According to him, the institution has facilities to accommodate about 85 per cent of the students on campus, adding that management is working within the limit of its resources so as not to add to the financial burden.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria