Policeman kills first class graduate

Thirty-year-old first class graduate of Economics from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Moses Murtala Aminu was shot dead by a constable with the Nigeria Police. Moses had on Sunday, left his No. 67 Ahmadu Ahidjo Street, Narayi High Cost family residence for a party in Barnawa, Kaduna State.

According to his friend and eyewitness, the police constable who was identified as Alex Okpe was beating up Aminu’s girlfriend outside the party venue when he tried to intervene. At that point, the constable got angry, reached for his jeans trousers, brought out his gun and fired, killing Aminu on the spot. The constable also shot in the air as he escaped on his motorcycle.

The killer policeman has been tracked down and arrested by officers from the Barnawa Police Division.

The incident has also been confirmed by Femi Adenaike, the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police and he said that it was true Alex Okpe was arrested and he confessed to the killing on interrogation. He said that Okpe claimed that he fired in ‘self-defence’ when Moses and his friends were trying to fight him over his girlfriend. According to the Police, Okpe was not even sent to Barnawa as at that time and he will be tried and dismissed if found guilty.

“The suspect is in the cell and we have commenced investigation. And if he is found guilty, we will give him an in-house trial and summary dismissal so that he can face the law for homicide,”the police boss said.

Saraki’s wife travails: Oyegun exonerates APC

ABUJA – National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief John Oyegun has debunked insinuations in some quarters that the party or any of its members were responsible for the current travails of the wife of the Senate President, Toyin Saraki in the hands of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
It will be recalled that the anti-grant agency recent arrested Mrs. Saraki of on issues of money laundering.
But the issue sparked off controversy with some feelings that some big personalities in the ruling party masterminded her ordeals to get at the husband who emerged as senate president against the wish and directive of the party.
But speaking with Journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Oyegun exonerated the party, saying that EFCC was only doing what it felt was necessary to do.
He said: “I want to assure you without doubts that the APC absolutely has nothing to do with the matter. She’s not on trial by the way. It is an investigation that has to do with the Senate President’s wife.
“You saw all the speculations in the media. As a matter of fact, this could have been triggered by the opposition party itself. The PDP has its branch in Kwara.
“They have to be nudged to make a denounce that they were not the originators of the petition or whatever triggered this investigation.
“We are completely, totally, absolutely, innocent of it. What we have not done like in the PDP days is to rush and interfere with the processes of the EFCC which our president has made quite clearly. Everybody should be ready to carry out their legitimate functions without interference. The EFCC is doing what it thinks it has to do.”
Speaking on the crisis that rocked the National Assembly and in particular, the House of Representatives, Oyegun expressed happiness that the issue had been amicably resolved.
He remarked the intervention of President Mohammadu Buhari in the matter, saying that his “presidential prestige” was brought to bear in the imbroglio, also emphasized the supremacy of the party.
Oyegun also commended what he called the patriotism of Speaker, Yakubu Dogara for toeing the party’s line eventually.
“The misunderstanding in the House of Representatives has been very very amicably resolved thanks to The intervention of Mr. President who again made it quite clear with everybody, that there is no alternative but to listen to what the party says.
“I want to emphasise the fact that all of us were what we were, what we are thanks to the platform that the party provided for everybody.
“I think his message resonated very intensive with all the members of the House. He still did not interfere. I want to make that very very clear and his parting words to us was that the presiding leadership of the House and the party should go and resolve whatever issues there are that was militating against the resolution of the problem and that is what exactly happened.
“When we were leaving there I promised, the press was very anxious to hear that A, B and C have been appointed to whatever positions but that is not what happened. I promised that within a few hours, 4 hours as I said definitely by the next morning, the nation will be glad knowing that this issue would have been resolved and put behind us.
“We left there into consultations and discussions with the presiding officers of the House of Representatives.
“Let me take this opportunity to pay tribute to their maturity to their sense of responsibility, tribute to their loyalty of the party and above all tribute to their sense of general good meaning their patriotism displayed by the Speaker and his Deputy. It did not take long, necessary concessions that had to be made were made.
The chairman who expressed regrets over the exclusion of the south east in the sharing of offices pleaded with the zone to be patient, saying haring of portfolios were not over yet.
“The sharing process is not over. I want everybody to get that very very clear, even in the House of Representatives, it is not yet over. All these will be taken into consideration when other positions in the House are being distributed. I have no doubt.
“What is important is that the system functions. The system went out of gear. The first election made the planning of the party out of sync. So, you have to walk back and resolve it as best as possible given the circumstances.”, he said.
The chairman also flayed some claims that the crisis in the House would affect the “change” agenda of APC even as he stated that president Buhari was right in saying he would probe the past government of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“Change agenda, I don’t see how it will be affected. I will be very sorry for any member of the House who demonstrates objection to any measures or proposed laws which are directed towards the change agenda.
“Will someone stand up and say he likes corruption to thrive? Will somebody stand up and say we don’t need to do what we need to do to restore peace, that is to defeat the insurgency? Will anybody stand up to say that the power sector should not be made functional? Will anybody stand to say we should not ask for any Billions or Trillions of Dollars that have been stolen to be refunded, that is the change agenda? I don’t think that will happen on both sides of the divide. I do not see that happening”, Oyegun said.
Meanwhile, Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has expressed happiness over the peaceful resolution of the House of Representatives leadership crisis which had before now crippled activities of the House.
In a statement released by his Media Office in Abuja on Wednesday, the former Vice President recalled that the amicable outcome of the tension was in line with his earlier position that compromise and accommodation were necessary in ending the deadlock.
He added that warring camps have demonstrated maturity, wisdom and sense of patriotism by finally arriving at a workable compromise.
He also commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the fatherly role he played in the resolution of the crisis.
Atiku said it was this concern that led to his prompt intervention from the beginning to avoid the tension getting out of hand, and thereby threatening the implementation of the party’s progressive programmes to make life better for Nigerians.
The former Vice President explained that there should be no rivalry between the executive and legislative arms of government because both of them should be united by the common goal of offering efficient service delivery to Nigerians.
 The APC chieftain said, “As a stakeholder, I am committed to promoting harmonious working relationship between the two branches of government. I was once in government, and I knew why harmony and cooperation are essential in the success of presidential system of government.”
The former Vice President urged the lawmakers to see themselves as partners in progress in the implementation of the change agenda.

How Prof Hattie’s research faults government’s education policies.

Professor John Hattie 
 

WOrld leading education expert Professor John Hattie has questioned some of the key reform policies pursued by governments in the last 20 years. Hattie’s research promises to be useful for education policy makers in Nigeria, who are tasked with the significant duty of improving Nigeria’s struggling education system.

John Hattie in his report states that “school choice, teacher performance pay and reducing class sizes are part of a “politics of distraction”. The papers are published by Pearson as part of its “Open Ideas” series, in which independent experts from around the world provide their views on the big, unanswered questions in education.

In his report, Professor John Hattie expressed that; “Despite the best of intentions, education has become fraught with the politics of distraction, most drawing us away from the critical work at hand. That is, ensuring that each student makes at least one year’s worth of progress for one year’s worth of effort. If we truly want to improve student learning, it is vital that we shift our narrative about teaching and learning away from these distractions, and begin the critical work of building up collaborative expertise in our schools and education systems.”

Hattie continues by questioning widespread government focus on policies including longer school days, teacher performance pay, and reducing class sizes all of which he says are less important than the variability in education outcomes and teacher effectiveness within any school.

In the first report, titled What Doesn’t Work in Education: the Politics of Distraction Hattie calls out a number of popular, but low impact, policy “distractors”, describing; Longer school days as lengthening the school day or year, a very expensive fix and is shown to have little effect, as there is no positive correlation between instructional time and student achievement.

Hattie goes to describe performance pay as compensating teachers based on performance alone, is proven to only increase stress levels, while decreasing enthusiasm. He rationalises that a better solution is increased pay for increased expertise or helping fellow teachers improve their skills.

In smaller class sizes the evidence shows that teachers tend not to change their teaching approach, regardless of class size; therefore smaller classrooms do not have as much of an impact as anticipated.

Hattie continued that technology as a magic bullet, is mostly used in the classroom as yet another way for students to consume facts and knowledge. In order to have a transformational impact on teaching and learning, as such, technology needs to be seen as a tool to support teachers.

In choice of school, Hattie also states that too much attention is paid to the differences between schools, when the evidence shows that the greater issue is the difference within schools, particularly the variability among teachers.

Hattie thus closes that the classroom that a student is assigned to within a school matters more than the school itself. Studies show teacher education programmes have among the lowest overall impact of all the influences on student achievement. Instead, more focus should be placed on the first year of full-time classroom teaching, which is where the greatest learning happens for teachers.

Muthar Bakare, Managing Director Pearson Nigeria, in commenting on the insightful reports expressed that; “New technologies and innovations give us an unprecedented opportunity to bring quality learning solutions to the world’s most vulnerable children and with the right focus, remote communities in Nigeria and across Africa will be important beneficiaries”.

He said: “By convening development professionals, innovators and businesses at the Activate Talks, Unicef UK and Pearson, hope to broker a conversation that builds partnerships and develops solutions that contribute to the goal of giving the world’s most marginalised children the education they deserve”.

Professor Hattie, is an education expert at the University of Melbourne who has dedicated his career to opening up the “black box” of learning, challenges policymakers around the world to re-evaluate their strategies for improving learning using the available evidence on what does and doesn’t work in education.

Hattie asserts in his report that “it is our obligation to provide every student with at least one year of learning progress for one year of input, regardless of their academic achievement level when they begin”. He further identifies within-school variability – most critically, the variability in the effectiveness of teachers within any given school – as a fundamental problem to be addressed.

Building on Hattie’s world-renowned Visible Learning work, which examines the relative impact of various education interventions on student learning, Hattie shows that many of our most politically popular structural fixes, such as school choice or reduced class size, are simply “distractors”they have had little impact on student learning despite costing billions of dollars. The evidence tells us that a much higher impact strategy is to develop a culture of “collaborative expertise” in our schools and systems.

In his second report titled, What Works Best in Education: the Politics of Collaborative Expertise, Hattie further lays out a series of tasks designed to reduce the problem of within-school variability by seeking out and scaling up teacher expertise.

Brethren at war: How power tussle tears Assemblies of God Church apart.

•Show of shame… Security men battle to break up a fracas involving factional members of the Assembles of God church, Enugu 

AVAILABLE statistics showed that the Assemblies of God Church has a population of over 2.6 million members worshipping in over 14,300 churches spread in Nigeria with its headquarters in Enugu, Enugu State.  It has planted more than 50 missionaries in nine countries across the world with over 11,650 ministers.

However, the once peaceful members of one-fold family had been torn apart following a leadership tussle that is presently bedevilling the church. Crisis of factionalisation of the church had been lingering as two senior Reverend gentlemen, Professor Paul Emeka and Dr Chidi Okoroafor have been at loggerheads, each laying claim to be the overall leader of the church, qualified to bear the designation General Superintendent, GS.

The issue which resulted in litigation  is currently at the last bus stop – the Supreme Court, awaiting the final arbitration. Whilst the much-expected judgement is being awaited, members of the 27 Mount Street Parish in Enugu engaged in free-for-all recently. The shameful act still centered on the crisis over who takes control of the parish which is believed to be lucrative.

Control ofthe parish

The drama   started when Reverend Nathaniel Udeze stormed the Mount Street parish with letters of posting and other court documents empowering him to be installed as the new pastor of the parish that morning.

But he was stoutly resisted along with his team of loyalists by the   current Resident pastor of the parish, Reverend Amaechi Agbo who, along with his loyalists, accused Udeze of being an “intruder”. The disagreement led to a free for all when Udeze insisted on taking over since he had been officially posted there by the leadership of the church under Rev Paul Emeka.

He went on to inform the bewildered congregation that their resident minister, Agbo, had been transferred to another Parish since May 2015. Earlier, supporters of both warring pastors were found sharing different versions of the Sunday school manual during the school which angered the supporters of the divide until the two pastors began a shouting match that eventually led to the free for all.

The fracas attracted the attention of the police who raced to the place and the church was locked up. That was not the first time members of the congregation would engage in such a show of shame. Sometime last year, precisely December 3, 2014, hell was also let loose at the national headquarters of the church located in Enugu when the two warring factions engaged in a bloody clash that left no fewer than five persons seriously injured, while four cars parked at the premises were burnt beyond recognition during the free for all that ensued.

Vanguard Metro, VM, gathered that the clash followed the invasion of the church   headquarters by the Reverend Chidi Okoroafor-led faction in a bid to forcefully take over the national secretariat of the church which had been under the control of the embattled General Superintendent, Reverend Paul Emeka and his loyalists.

Violence broke out that fateful Wednesday morning, December 3, 2014, when members of the Okoroafor faction stormed the national secretariat in several buses and attempted to gain entry into the national secretariat but were prevented by   Reverend Emeka’s loyalists.

How we prevented bloodshed at the parish  — PPRO

ENUGU police command told VM surveillance has been mounted   within the vicinity of the parish until normalcy would be fully restored which is still under lock and key as at the time of this report.

Speaking to our reporter, the State Police Command’s image maker, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, said: “Please let me correct one impression. We (Police) did not lock up any church. Ours is to ensure that there is no breakdown of law and order. What happened was that we intervened and averted what could have resulted to bloodshed.”

“If  not for our timely intervention that Sunday,” he went on, “it could have been a different story. When efforts were made to bring the two factions to amicable settlement, which was not forthcoming, we gave our advice, so they locked it up and the keys are with them not with us (Police). But for now, we are monitoring the place to ensure that no unpleasant thing occurred there”.

The CAC angle:

ANOTHER angle has been added to the crisis as the Nigerian Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, had in a letter dated June 22, 2015 conveyed the withdrawal of the name of Reverend Paul Emeka from the Certificate of Incorporation earlier issued pending the final determination of the case currently pending before the Supreme Court.

EFCC Arraigns Six Persons for N31m Fraud.

EFCC Press Release
EFCC Arraigns Six Persons for N31m Fraud
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday, July 24, 2015, arraigned six persons before Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja on a 17 count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing and forgery.
The six accused persons - Festus Onile, Olawale Garuba, Abiodun Afainiya, Jayeola Afolabi David, Yewande Adeyemi and Adetoun Kammal, were arrested by the Commission sequel to a petition from a new generation bank which alleged fraudulent transfers and withdrawals of N31 million through ATM and Point of Sale, POS, from the account of one of its customers.
One of the counts reads: “Festus Onile, Olawale Garuba and Abiodun Afainiya between the 14th December, 2012 to 18th December, 2012 at Lagos within the jurisdiction of this honourable court with a dishonest intent stole the sum of N5,513,519.98 (five million, five hundred and thirteen thousand, five hundred and nineteen naira, ninety eight kobo) through point of sale terminals (POS) from account no. 0038253607 belonging to late Shodiya Wemimo Agnes.”
The accused persons pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to them.
In view of their plea, the prosecution counsel, Abba Mohammed, prayed the court for a trial date and to remand the accused persons in prison custody.
However, Seun Adenuga, counsel to the first accused asked for a short adjournment to enable him file for bail. He also prayed the court to remand the accused in EFCC custody.
Justice Ipaye however ordered that the accused be remanded in Kirikiri prison pending the determination of their bail applications and adjourned the case to October  9th,  20th and 21st for trial.
Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
27th July, 2015

Alleged forgery of Senate Rules: Controversy as Police seek political solution.

 

Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu,  Deputy Senate President

LAGOS — CONTROVERSY has swallowed the report of the Police investigations into the alleged forgery of the 2015 Standing Rules of the Senate following its recommendation of a political solution on the issue.
The 13-page report of the Police investigations obtained by Vanguard which details submissions from seven senators belonging to the National Unity Forum led by Senator Ahmad Lawan affirmed that the amendment of the rules was not according to the laid down rules of the Senate.
The Police report termed the development as not only “criminal, but portends danger for our growing democracy.”

However, the report, which did not indict any person, drew back from recommending prosecution. The report authored by the Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG Dan‘Azumi Doma, concluded by suggesting that the casefile be forwarded to the Attorney-General of the Federation for his assessment as to whether a crime had been committed or whether the action laid within the internal affairs of the Senate.
The police conclusion is in the wake of mutterings by elements supportive of the Senator Bukola Saraki-led leadership of dire consequences on senators who petitioned the police for dragging the internal affairs of the Senate to the Police. The development promises a showdown between the two camps as the Senate resumes tomorrow.
Further controversies stoked the development, yesterday, following the submission by a senior staff of the National Assembly that the amendment was at the behest of the leadership of the former Senate.
Despite that submission, it emerged, yesterday, that no member of the David Mark leadership was questioned by the Senate. Senator Mark was not available for comment on the development, yesterday, as a senior aide said he was not available.
Senator Ike Ekweremadu, the Deputy President of the Senate; Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, the leader of the 7th Senate both denied being questioned by the police in separate interfaces yesterday.
Ekweremadu, who has been in media spotlight over the issue was not once mentioned in the report by the police.
Meanwhile, the report has drawn controversy upon claims that the Police received submissions from only senators belonging to the Senate Unity Forum, in the All Progressives Congress. Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, senators and senators aligned to the Senator Bukola Saraki inclined Like Mind Group were yesterday muttering that their side to the issue was not taken.
Those questioned
The seven senators, who were questioned by the DIG Doma-led team, were Senators Suleiman Hunkuyi, Secretary of the Senate Unity Forum who wrote the petition to the police, Ahmad Lawan, Abdullahi Gumel, Kabiru Marafa, Gbenga Ashafa, Robert Boroffice and Abu Ibrahim.
Also questioned were former Senator Ita Enang, who served as chairman of the Business and Rules Committee in the 7th Senate; Senator Babafemi Ojudu and Solomon Ewuga, all of whom are members of the APC.
Also questioned were the Clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa; the Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. Ben Efeturi; Secretary, Directorate of Legal Services in the National Assembly, Mr. Daniel Adem and Secretary of the Senate Committee on Business and Rules, Dr. Ogozy Nma.
All of those questioned with the notable exception of Mr. Efeturi, who also doubles as the Clerk of the Senate, denied knowledge of the amendment.
The Clerk of the National Assembly, Maikasuwa, who presided over the election, is quoted in the report as saying: “that he did not refer to any Senate Standing Order/Rules but used the normal procedures for the opening of a new parliament.”
The report also quoted him as denying knowledge of the existence of the production of the Senate Standing Rules 2015 as amended.
Efeturi, on the other hand, however, affirmed that the production of the 2015 Standing Rules was in line with convention as he said that the same procedure was used in the production of the standing rules in 2003, 2007 and 2011.
Efeturi, who is about the longest serving legislative bureaucrat in the National Assembly with experience running from the Second Republic, according to the police report is quoted as saying that “the Senate Standing Orders 2003, 2007 and 2011 followed the same procedure as that of the 2015.
“He emphasised that in the parliament, amendment of Standing Orders is by practice and not necessarily by procedure. He further stated that the ruling of the Senate President on the June 24, 2015 that the Senate Standing Orders of the Senate 2015 is authentic is final, relevant and cannot be challenged. He attached a copy of the debates of the Senate on Wednesday, June 24 24 where the Senate President ruled that the Senate Standing Order 2015 was the authentic Standing Orders of the 8th Senate.”
The police in its findings nevertheless dismissed Efeturi’s contention, saying that so long as it was not done in the lifetime of the Mark Senate that it was irregular.
But despite the dismissal of that submission, the police drew back from making an indictment. Rather, the police sought counsel from the Attorney General on whether the issue was a crime or leave it as an internal affair of the Senate.
Findings
(a) That on the 9th of June, 2015, a document entitled “the Senate Standing Order 2015 as amended” was distributed to senators of the 8th Senate for their inauguration as members.
(b) That the contents of the Senate Standing Order 2015 as amended are substantially different from the Senate Standing Order 2011 as amended. Sections 2(iv), 3(3)E, I,ii,iii, G and H, 5 and 7 of the Rules are different in the two Orders.
(c) That the Senate Standing Order 2015 as amended was used by the clerks of the National Assembly and the Senate as the Senate Standing Orders to inaugurate and conduct elections into the offices of the presiding officials of the Senate viz the Senate President, the Deputy Senate President etc.
(d) That the testimonies of some members of the 7th Senate including that of the chairman of the Business and Rules Committee and Senators of the 7th Senate indicate that the Senate Standing Order 2011 was not amended during the tenure of the 7th Senate which ended on the 8th of June, 2015.
(e) That the procedure for the amendment of the Senate Standing Order as contained in Section 110 of the Senate Standing Order 2011 as amended stipulates that any amendment to the Senate Standing Orders should be in line with the following procedures:
i. Any senator desiring to amend any part of the Rules or adding any new clause shall give notice of such amendments in writing to the President of the Senate giving details of proposed amendment.
ii. The President shall within seven working days cause the amendment to be printed and circulated to members. Thereafter it shall be printed in the Order Paper.
iii. The movers of the amendment shall be allowed to explain in details the proposed amendments, thereafter the Senate shall decide by simple majority votes whether the amendment should be considered.
iv. If the decision is to consider the amendments, then another date shall be set aside by the Rules and Business Committee, whereby opportunity would be given to Senators to further propose amendments but must strictly be confined to the original amendments.
v. Two third majorities shall decide the amendments and such amendments shall form part of the Rules of the Senate.
(f) That the Clerk of the Senate, Mr. Benedict Efeturi, who doubles as the Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly confirmed in his statement that the Senate Standing Order 2015 as amended was produced on the orders of the Senate leadership without following the amendment procedures as contained in the Senate Standing Orders 2011 as amended.
(g) That the allusion by the clerk of the Senate to procedure of amending the Standing Orders of Parliament through “practise and not necessarily by procedure” is a misplaced analogy and undemocratic because the Nigerian Senate has clearly laid-down without a provisio, the procedure to be adopted in amending its standing orders as contained in section 110 of 2011 Senate Standing Orders.
Recommendations
5. From the findings, especially from the statement of the Clerk of the Senate who doubles as the Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly, the Senate Standing Orders 2015 which was used to inaugurate the 8th Senate on the 9th of June 2015 was ordered by the leadership of the 7th Senate without following Section 110 of the Senate Standing Rules 2011 as amended which requires that any amendment to the Senate Standing Rules must be debated and approved by the senators on the floor of the Senate.
5.1. This practice where some group of senators amend the Rules of the Senate without following legal procedures is not only criminal but portends danger for our growing democracy and should be discouraged. However, it is recommended that the file be sent to the Attorney General of the Federation for vetting to determine if this conduct constitutes crime or should be treated as an internal affair of the Senate.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/alleged-forgery-of-senate-rules-controversy-as-police-seek-political-solution/#sthash.MutcYzR4.dpuf

‘Pneumonia kills 195,000 Nigerian children annually’

Kaduna—The Director of Projects, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria-Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health, PSN-PACFaH, Remi Adeseun, has said pneumonia claims the lives of about 195,000 children annually, while about 124,000 others die of diarrhoea.
Speaking, yesterday, at a dialogue and media roundtable with key stakeholders in Kaduna, Adeseun described pneumonia and diarrhoea as silent child killer diseases that had yet to received the necessary attention.
Quoting a recent World Health Organisation, WHO, statement, Adeseun said pneumonia alone was the biggest killer of under-five children worldwide, noting that various intervention initiatives had been able to reduce pneumonia mortality from four million in 1981 to just over one million in 2014.
“The disease still accounts for nearly one fifth of childhood deaths worldwide,” Adeseun said.
He explained that the roundtable was designed to sensitise pharmacists and media practitioners on the overview of WHO’s new treatment guideline for children under five years suffering from pneumonia and diarrhoea.
He said: “The most suitable formulation for children is dispensable Isamoxicillin and the dosage is based on the child’s weight and because of the risk associated with under or over dosing, it is crucial that paediatrics formulation have flexibility dose for adjustment and that is the reason for the dialogue.
“Nurses, doctors and pharmacists from across Kaduna State have come together to deliberate on how we can improve the health status, especially that of Kaduna’s children.”

‘Pneumonia kills 195,000 Nigerian children annually’

Kaduna—The Director of Projects, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria-Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health, PSN-PACFaH, Remi Adeseun, has said pneumonia claims the lives of about 195,000 children annually, while about 124,000 others die of diarrhoea.
Speaking, yesterday, at a dialogue and media roundtable with key stakeholders in Kaduna, Adeseun described pneumonia and diarrhoea as silent child killer diseases that had yet to received the necessary attention.
Quoting a recent World Health Organisation, WHO, statement, Adeseun said pneumonia alone was the biggest killer of under-five children worldwide, noting that various intervention initiatives had been able to reduce pneumonia mortality from four million in 1981 to just over one million in 2014.
“The disease still accounts for nearly one fifth of childhood deaths worldwide,” Adeseun said.
He explained that the roundtable was designed to sensitise pharmacists and media practitioners on the overview of WHO’s new treatment guideline for children under five years suffering from pneumonia and diarrhoea.
He said: “The most suitable formulation for children is dispensable Isamoxicillin and the dosage is based on the child’s weight and because of the risk associated with under or over dosing, it is crucial that paediatrics formulation have flexibility dose for adjustment and that is the reason for the dialogue.
“Nurses, doctors and pharmacists from across Kaduna State have come together to deliberate on how we can improve the health status, especially that of Kaduna’s children.”

‘Pneumonia kills 195,000 Nigerian children annually’

Kaduna—The Director of Projects, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria-Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health, PSN-PACFaH, Remi Adeseun, has said pneumonia claims the lives of about 195,000 children annually, while about 124,000 others die of diarrhoea.
Speaking, yesterday, at a dialogue and media roundtable with key stakeholders in Kaduna, Adeseun described pneumonia and diarrhoea as silent child killer diseases that had yet to received the necessary attention.
Quoting a recent World Health Organisation, WHO, statement, Adeseun said pneumonia alone was the biggest killer of under-five children worldwide, noting that various intervention initiatives had been able to reduce pneumonia mortality from four million in 1981 to just over one million in 2014.
“The disease still accounts for nearly one fifth of childhood deaths worldwide,” Adeseun said.
He explained that the roundtable was designed to sensitise pharmacists and media practitioners on the overview of WHO’s new treatment guideline for children under five years suffering from pneumonia and diarrhoea.
He said: “The most suitable formulation for children is dispensable Isamoxicillin and the dosage is based on the child’s weight and because of the risk associated with under or over dosing, it is crucial that paediatrics formulation have flexibility dose for adjustment and that is the reason for the dialogue.
“Nurses, doctors and pharmacists from across Kaduna State have come together to deliberate on how we can improve the health status, especially that of Kaduna’s children.”

‘Pneumonia kills 195,000 Nigerian children annually’

Kaduna—The Director of Projects, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria-Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health, PSN-PACFaH, Remi Adeseun, has said pneumonia claims the lives of about 195,000 children annually, while about 124,000 others die of diarrhoea.
Speaking, yesterday, at a dialogue and media roundtable with key stakeholders in Kaduna, Adeseun described pneumonia and diarrhoea as silent child killer diseases that had yet to received the necessary attention.
Quoting a recent World Health Organisation, WHO, statement, Adeseun said pneumonia alone was the biggest killer of under-five children worldwide, noting that various intervention initiatives had been able to reduce pneumonia mortality from four million in 1981 to just over one million in 2014.
“The disease still accounts for nearly one fifth of childhood deaths worldwide,” Adeseun said.
He explained that the roundtable was designed to sensitise pharmacists and media practitioners on the overview of WHO’s new treatment guideline for children under five years suffering from pneumonia and diarrhoea.
He said: “The most suitable formulation for children is dispensable Isamoxicillin and the dosage is based on the child’s weight and because of the risk associated with under or over dosing, it is crucial that paediatrics formulation have flexibility dose for adjustment and that is the reason for the dialogue.
“Nurses, doctors and pharmacists from across Kaduna State have come together to deliberate on how we can improve the health status, especially that of Kaduna’s children.”

‘Pneumonia kills 195,000 Nigerian children annually’

Kaduna—The Director of Projects, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria-Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health, PSN-PACFaH, Remi Adeseun, has said pneumonia claims the lives of about 195,000 children annually, while about 124,000 others die of diarrhoea.
Speaking, yesterday, at a dialogue and media roundtable with key stakeholders in Kaduna, Adeseun described pneumonia and diarrhoea as silent child killer diseases that had yet to received the necessary attention.
Quoting a recent World Health Organisation, WHO, statement, Adeseun said pneumonia alone was the biggest killer of under-five children worldwide, noting that various intervention initiatives had been able to reduce pneumonia mortality from four million in 1981 to just over one million in 2014.
“The disease still accounts for nearly one fifth of childhood deaths worldwide,” Adeseun said.
He explained that the roundtable was designed to sensitise pharmacists and media practitioners on the overview of WHO’s new treatment guideline for children under five years suffering from pneumonia and diarrhoea.
He said: “The most suitable formulation for children is dispensable Isamoxicillin and the dosage is based on the child’s weight and because of the risk associated with under or over dosing, it is crucial that paediatrics formulation have flexibility dose for adjustment and that is the reason for the dialogue.
“Nurses, doctors and pharmacists from across Kaduna State have come together to deliberate on how we can improve the health status, especially that of Kaduna’s children.”