NEWS
First vaccine against malaria not for adults — FG
The Federal Government has said that the first malaria vaccine recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), would be administered in four doses to 5-month-old babies.
WHO had said the vaccine would be effective against the deadliest parasite, especially common in Africa and it’s not for adults.
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, said this on Tuesday in Abuja at the Ministerial bi-weekly meeting on the update of COVID-19 response and development in the country’s health sector.
The 2021 World Malaria Report (WMR 2021), indicates that Nigeria contributes 27 per cent of the global malaria cases and 32 per cent of global malaria deaths.
The minister said that the country witnessed a total of 57 million clinical cases per year and annual deaths of about 100,000.
“It is also estimated that about 60 per cent of all out-patients and 30 per cent of all hospital admissions across the country are due to malaria”, he said.
Ehanire said that vaccines for malaria were still under review with the first one known to have reduced the risk of malaria by 40 per cent in children in Africa as of 2020.
“The global target of the WHO is to reduce the incidence of malaria by at least 30 per cent by 2030,” he said.
The minister said that malaria remains one of the most common diseases prone to misdiagnosis and self-medication.
“In Nigeria especially, any symptoms of chills, body pain and headache often equal the purchase of anti-malarial drugs; sometimes coupled with typhoid drugs; from the nearest pharmacy.
“Although effective in some cases, this ideology can be detrimental to our health due to complications and increasing resistance to some anti-malarial drugs,” he said.
He said that efforts were in place to combat the malaria scourge.
“Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the Nigeria End Malaria Council (NEMC) and mandated it to ensure successful implementation of the programme.
”The right implementation of strategies utilising collaboration and interventions would be based on the resolve of the administration to ensure the protection of the health of Nigerians and in the spirit of one health,” he said.
He said that the FMOH placed strong importance on interventions that would limit vector-human contact towards protecting people from diseases.
“There are more than 30 anopheles species of mosquitoes that have been reported across the five geo-ecological zones in the country.
“One reason why the mosquito has thrived across all parts of the country is its ability to breed and proliferate under unusual conditions.
“The importance of this critical vector and the diseases it transmits established the Integrated Vector Management Branch within the National Malaria Elimination Programme.
“The essence of the programme is to coordinate all efforts to mitigate the impact of the diseases,” he said.
Ehanire said the objective of the National Malaria Strategic Plan was to seek to improve access and utilisation of vector control interventions to at least 80 per cent of the targeted population by 2025.
READ ALSO: Novartis and Malaria No More provide two million antimalarial treatments to children in Zambia
“Some of the vector interventions being deployed include mass distribution of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) on the principle,” he said.
The minister said that the NMEP, in collaboration with partners, had established 29 entomological surveillance sentinel sites across the country.
He said the purpose of the establishment was to monitor the vector behaviour and insecticide resistance patterns across the different ecological zones of the country.
The minister said that the country had been profiled for critical locations where Indoor Residual Spraying was urgently required in about 25 states.
Recall that according to the 2010 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey (NMIS 2010), there has been a continuous decline in malaria from 42 per cent in 2010 to 27 per cent in 2015.
In the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS 2018), there was a further decline in malaria cases from 27 per cent to 23 per cent.
This decline was believed to have resulted from a thorough programme implementation of the National Malaria Strategic Plan.
The country is currently implementing the National Malaria Strategic Plan of 2021 to 2025, with the intent to achieve a parasite prevalence of less than 10 per cent.
It is also expected to reduce mortality attributable to malaria to less than 50 deaths per 1,000 live births by the year 2025.
It will take about N1.89 trillion to implement this five-year plan.
African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has accused government authorities of repeatedly targeting him, declaring that he has been a threat to the government since he was 20 years old.
Sowore made the declaration during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, following an alleged attack on him and members of his team in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
The activist expressed frustration over questions about why he believed the authorities considered him a threat, insisting that attention should instead be focused on the circumstances surrounding the incident.
SEE ALSO: Sowore Challenges Okonjo-Iweala to Name Those Behind Alleged $2.4bn Subsidy Fraud
During the interview, Sowore alleged that the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Falade Adegoroye Michael, knew the individuals responsible for the attack, claiming that the commissioner visited them while they were receiving medical treatment.
“So he knew the people who attacked us,” Sowore said.
He further alleged that shortly after the commissioner left, the police issued a statement describing the incident as an altercation.
Questioning the circumstances surrounding the incident, Sowore also raised concerns about the alleged removal of CCTV cameras at the location.
“And why are they trying to remove the camera?” he asked.
Sowore also recalled previous encounters with security agencies, alleging that a tracking device had once been placed under his vehicle and traced to the Department of State Services (DSS).
“They placed a tracker under my car. It was traced to the DSS,” he said.
The AAC candidate further referenced an incident during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, alleging that he was abducted from a hotel in Lagos.
He also claimed that DSS operatives attempted to take him away from a court premises less than two months ago, but were resisted.
Responding to questions about why he believed the authorities were after him, Sowore described the line of questioning as condescending.
He subsequently declared: “I’ve been a threat to the government since I was 20 years old, and they have not given up on me.”
He added: “They want to kill me, and you know it.”
Sowore maintained that the central issue was the alleged attack in Ekiti rather than questions about his perception of the government’s attitude towards him.
“The issue is that we were attacked, unprovoked, in Ekiti State, and we have given you what happened,” he said.
He also challenged journalists not to pretend they were unaware of what he described as continued attempts to target him.
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know,” he added.
How the Ekiti Incident Happened
The controversy followed an incident at a restaurant in the Dalimore area of Ado-Ekiti on Friday, where Sowore and members of his team sustained injuries during a confrontation with some individuals.
Sowore had earlier raised an alarm on social media, alleging that armed men attacked his team and that their whereabouts were initially unknown.
In a post on his X account, he accused the attackers of being government-sponsored and alleged that the DSS provided them with his team’s location.
“We have been brutally attacked and injured by well armed government-sponsored thugs in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State,” he wrote.
He subsequently accused the security agency of providing the attackers with their exact location to facilitate the assault.
However, the Ekiti State Police Command disputed reports that Sowore had been kidnapped, explaining that officers responded to a distress call concerning an altercation involving the AAC candidate and some individuals at a restaurant.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Sunday Abutu, said operatives were immediately deployed to the scene and rescued Sowore before taking him to the Police Hospital in Ado-Ekiti for medical attention.
According to the police, Sowore sustained a minor injury during the incident.
The command also disclosed that the Commissioner of Police had ordered a discreet investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident, identify those involved and ensure that anyone found culpable was brought to justice.
Sowore subsequently rejected the police description of the incident as an altercation, insisting that he and his associates were attacked.
“There was no altercation! We were attacked!” he declared.
He also accused the police command of downplaying the severity of the incident despite what he said the commissioner witnessed during his visit.
The conflicting accounts have left questions surrounding the circumstances of the incident, with the police investigation expected to establish what transpired and identify those responsible.
The DSS had yet to publicly respond to Sowore’s allegations at the time of this report.
President Bola Tinubu has forwarded the names of six nominees for executive director positions at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to the Senate for confirmation, retaining three existing directors while introducing three new nominees.
The nominations were conveyed to the Senate in a letter from the President, according to a statement issued on Friday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
The six nominees comprise three executive directors seeking reappointment and three new candidates proposed for different leadership positions within the petroleum regulatory agency.
SEE ALSO: Tinubu Promises to Boost Local Production with NNPC Refineries
The officials nominated for reappointment are Abiodun Adeniji, Executive Director of Finance and Accounts; Ogbugo Kalu Ukoha, Executive Director of Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure; and Dr Mustapha Lamorde, Executive Director of Health, Safety, Environment and Community.
The three new nominees are Mobolaji Tajudeen Musa, proposed as Executive Director of Hydrocarbon Processing Plants, Installations and Transportation Infrastructure; Ogechukwu Modie, nominated as Executive Director of Economic Regulations and Strategic Planning; and Said Abutalib, nominated as Executive Director of Corporate Services and Administration.
If confirmed by the Senate, all six nominees will serve five-year terms.
President Tinubu urged the lawmakers to consider the nominations expeditiously, stating that the appointments would ensure institutional continuity and strengthen the Authority’s oversight capacity.
In a related development, the President has approved the appointment of Jumoke Gafar as Secretary to the Board/Authority and Legal Adviser of the NMDPRA.
Her appointment is subject to the completion of the statutory processes stipulated under Section 46 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The latest nominations follow Tinubu’s appointment of Engr. Rabiu Abdullahi Umar as Chief Executive of the NMDPRA in April.
The Senate’s consideration and confirmation of the six nominees will determine their formal appointment to the respective executive director positions.
In the bid to improve environmental sanitation, the Osun State Government plans to engage with immediate effect, able-bodied men and women as ad hoc road sweepers.
Biztellers reports that the exercise would cover designated areas of the state.
The recruitment exercise, announced by the Osun State Taskforce on Environmental Sanitation (OSTES) is open to medically fit able bodied men and women who are residents of the areas where they intend to work.
According to the public service announcement, applicants must be at least 30 years of age, medically fit and resident in their preferred areas of assignment.
READ ALSO: US Hails DPRP as Nigeria’s Petroleum Exports Surge Seven Times
The designated areas mentioned by the Taskforce include Akoda- Abere, Ataoja -Ogo-Oluwa, Olaiya -Old Garage, Igbonna -Ayetoro, Power Line – Ota-Efun and Kobongbogboe.
Other areas covered by the exercise are Ataoja- Dele Yes Sir, Stadium- Testing Ground and Ilesa- Garage, as well as Oke-Fia -Dada Estate, Dele Yes Sir- Lameco and Oroki Housing Estate.
Interested applicants are required to submit application letters to the General Manager, Osun Waste Management Agency, at its office located at the former Boreepo House, West Bye-Pass, Ring Road, Osogbo.
The announcement further stated that the deadline for submission of applications is Thursday, November 12th, 2026.
The recruitment is expected to support routine road sweeping and complement the state’s efforts to promote a cleaner, healthier and safer environment.
Applicants have been advised to ensure that they meet the stated requirements and reside within the areas where they seek to be deployed.
It would be recalled that the state governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, had earlier declared every Thursday of the week as Environmental Sanitation Day throughout the state during which offices, markets, shopping malls and homes among other public places are to be swept clean between 8am and 10am.
‘I’ve Been a Threat to Gov’t Since Age 20’ – Sowore
Guinness Nigeria CEO Shares Sustainable Growth Strategy
Tinubu Sends Six NMDPRA Executive Director Nominees to Senate, Retains Three
Osun Tackles Sanitation with Adhoc Road Sweepers
NLNG: Nigeria’s Oil Ambitions Require Investor Guarantees
OTL Africa Urges ECOWAS to Adopt Regional Standardisation
Trump’s Family Unveils New Cryptocurrency Platform
Senate Denies Receiving Petitions Against Tinubu’s Ambassadorial Nominees
Dangote Cement Lights Up Benue Host Communities With CSR Initiatives
Reps Recommend 3-year Jail Term For Aviation minister
Tems Sets New Record On Billboard Hot 100 Chart