By Suleiman Yakubu

Niger Environmental Protection Agency (NISEPA) has mapped out strategy aimed at enforcing and complying with environmental law across the state, the general manager of the agency, Dr. Abubakar Mohammed, has said.
He disclosed that the agency has already commenced the evacuations at some dump sites across Minna, Bida, Kontagora, and Suleja as part of measures put in place by the agency to ensure a clean and safe environment.
The GM, who disclosed this at a news briefing in his office on Friday, explained that the current leadership of Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago is committed to ensuring a clean and safe environment that will be a source of pride for the people of the state.
Dr. Abubakar warned people to desist from dumping their waste in undesignated areas, explaining that the agency will not hesitate to prosecute offenders in accordance with the relevant laws establishing the agency.
According to the general manager, the agency has already commenced the total evacuation of dumps in Kontagora, while in Bida and Suleja, some skeletal evacuations are ongoing, adding that all the urban cities in the state will soon witness complete evacuations of refuse.
He pointed out that after the evacuations of all the waste in the four major urban centres in Niger State, including Minna metropolis, "we don't expect to see any waste in the already evacuated dump sites any more".
He warned that the agency will go all out to ensure the prosecution of any person found dumping waste on the evacuated sites, while stressing the need for people to steer clear of dumping their waste on the cleared sites.
Speaking further, the general manager disclosed that the agency has already mapped out a plan to embark on inspections of drainages within and outside Minna the state capital, with the aim of monitoring the dumping of waste in the drainages.
He called on the residents within drainage areas to always take responsibility for their drainages by ensuring that waste was not dumped inside the drainages.
The general manager warned that monitoring teams will be deployed to various houses to inspect drainages in their respective areas, and anyone found dumping waste in the drainage will be held responsible.
"It is pertinent for people to take responsibility for their waste by desisting from dumping it indiscriminately.
"Especially in undesignated areas, because our inspection teams will soon embark on monitoring houses whose drainage is within their area to ensure that their drainage is kept clean," he said.
He then appealed to residents of Minna and its environs to always maintain a clean environment at all times.

By Suleiman Yakubu

Niger State Commissioner for Secondary and Tertiary Health, Dr. Bello Tukur, has observed that combating health misinformation is everybody's business.
The Commissioner stated this while delivering a keynote address during the health misinformation management fellowship orientation programme, organised by Nigeria Health Watch (NHW) in collaboration with the Niger State Ministry of Primary Healthcare and that of Secondary and Tertiary Health, held at the Guidel Hotel, Minna, on Friday.
He observed that the issue of health misinformation transcends borders, beliefs, and backgrounds, and it affects every life, family, and community in the state and beyond, hence it's everybody's business.
He pointed out that the fight was critical and everybody's business because it jeopardises lives, undermines the very fabric of our healthcare system, and increases health disparities, adding that the fight was not merely a responsibility but a moral imperative because the matter is multi-faceted and cannot be fought by one entity.
He disclosed that, in keeping with the vision of Governor Umaru Bago, to use innovative solutions to move the state forward in all aspects of development, the two state health ministries were collaborating with Nigeria Health Watch to ensure that Nigerlites and Nigerians are well equipped with the tools and knowledge to make informed decisions about their health.
Dr. Tukur, who was represented at the occasion by the director of planning, research, and statistics of the ministry, Pharmacist Hamza Tijjani Yahaya, also revealed that the launch of the Niger State Health Misinformation Management Fellowship was the result of the 2022 project piloted by NHW in combating health misinformation in the state.
Earlier, the state director of public health, Dr. Ibrahim Idris, urged the fellowship members to be good ambassadors of the project and the state by saying and doing the right things.
He also disclosed that the orientation training that they will be engaged in will equip them with the right information to disseminate, urging them to pay attention to the training programme so that they will be better equipped for the task ahead.
Giving an overview of the health misinformation management fellowship programme, the NHW Director of Programmes, Dr. Kemisola Agbaoye, said the fellowship programme is a dynamic and intensive programme designed to address the challenges posed by vaccine hesitancy and the dissemination of false health information.
She explained that the fellowship was a strategic response to the rapid spread of misinformation, which poses a significant threat to public health, and that it was not an isolated endeavour but an integral component of the broader Health Misinformation Management Project.
While appreciating the partnership between NHW and the two health ministries in the state, the NHW Director of Programmes also commended the state governor for creating two ministries to manage the health sector of the state, saying it is a sign of good things that will come to the health sector of the state.
Participants in the event were drawn from the media, faith-based organisations, women and youth groups, as well as market women. The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Niger State Chapter, Comrade Abu Nmadu, was also present at the event.