DAILY RENDEZVOUS

Daily Rendezvous Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, has dumped hia deputy, Crowther Seth, and picked the Vice Chancellor of Adamawa state University, Prof. Kaletapwa Farauta as his Running Mate in the 2023 governorship elections in Adamawa. Rendezvous gathered that the choice of Prof. Kaletapwa as running-mate is in furtherance of Gov. Fintiri's policy to further gender inclusiveness and parity within the party's hirarchy. The move has also been considered as a smart and strategic move that would silence the opposition party in the state who are still grappling with the reality of the emergence of Sen. Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed Binani as the flagbearer of the party. The gubernatorial running mate is currently the Vice Chancellor, Adamawa State University, Mubi.

Daily Rendezvous  Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri has constituted a  3 Member Interim Management Committee to overhaul the Adamawa State Post Primary Schools Management Board in line with the education policy of the administration.  Hajiya Ladi Banu a retired Permanent Secretary is to chair the Committee with Mr Joab Sama and Kennedy Dauda as Members.  Governor Fintiri notes that the development had become imperative with the growing need to strengthen secondary education in the State to meet the desires of the Government towards repositioning the education sector generally.  While congratulating the Members, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri who directed that the Committee's assignment takes immediate effect urged them to ensure the overhaul and re-organisation of the Board for effective service delivery.

Daily Rendezvous The Vice Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Kabir Ibrahim Masari, has informed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that he lost all his school certificates. A sworn affidavit for the loss of some original documents submitted to the electoral commission by Mr Masari showed that the APC vice presidential candidate had misplaced vital documents including C of O of one plot KT 17522 in Katsina state, his Grade II certificate from Katsina Teachers College and his primary school certificate. “That sometimes in January 2021, while on transit within Wuse Area, FCT-Abuja, I discovered that my original Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) of Plot, No KT 17522, GRA Katsina, Katsina State; Certificate of Kaduna State Development Centre from 1994 – 1995; Grade II Certificate from Katsina Teachers’ College (KTC) from 1978 – 1983 and First Leaving School Certificate issued by Masari Primary, Katsina State, from 1972 – 1978, got lo...

Daily Rendezvous  A civil society group,  International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, has raised the alarm that the life of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, is gravely in danger as the group alleges that some Islamic Jihadist group have initiated a plot to assassinate Peter Obi. The group made this known is press statement, signed by the group's leaders and made available to Newsmen, over the weekend.  The statement reads in part, "The Int’l Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) is strongly and unmistakably raising alarm and alerting the world especially the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General and Presidents of the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council; the Papacy and the Governments of United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Japan, South Korea, India, Brazil, the European Union and its key Member-States as well as key local and international human rights ...

Daily Rendezvous  A new, open, transparent sublicence agreement between the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) on behalf of C-TAP, and South African pharmaceutical company Biotech Africa will accelerate the manufacture and sale of a COVID-19 serological antibody technology around the world. The World Health Organization welcomes the sublicence agreement, the first of its kind to be signed under the auspices of the WHO’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) initiative. C-TAP was set up in 2020 to facilitate the timely, equitable and affordable access to COVID-19 health products. The new agreement builds on a licensing agreement announced by WHO and MPP last year with Spain’s National Research Council (CSIC). The non-exclusive sublicence allows Biotech to manufacture and commercialize CSIC’s COVID-19 serological test worldwide. “The most effective way to get – and keep – ahead of COVID-19 is to keep testing,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General....

Daily Rendezvous  Outbreak at a glance Since 1 January 2022, cases of monkeypox have been reported to WHO from 42 Member States across five WHO regions (the Regions of the Americas, Africa, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, and Western Pacific). As of 15 June, a total of 2103 laboratory confirmed cases and one probable case, including one death, have been reported to WHO. The outbreak of monkeypox continues to primarily affect men who have sex with men who have reported recent sex with new or multiple partners. While epidemiological investigations are ongoing, most reported cases in the recent outbreak have presented through sexual health or other health services in primary or secondary health care facilities, with a history of travel primarily to countries in Europe, and North America or other countries rather than to countries where the virus was not historically known to be present, and increasingly, recent travel locally or no travel at all. Confirmation of one case of...

Daily Rendezvous  WHO highlights urgent need to transform mental health and mental health care Report urges mental health decision makers and advocates to step up commitment and action to change attitudes, actions and approaches to mental health, its determinants and mental health care. The World Health Organization today has released its largest review of world mental health since the turn of the century.  The detailed work provides a blueprint for governments, academics, health professionals, civil society and others with an ambition to support the world in transforming mental health. In 2019, nearly a billion people – including 14% of the world’s adolescents - were living with a mental disorder .   Suicide accounted for more than 1 in 100 deaths and 58% of suicides occurred before age 50. Mental disorders are the leading cause of disability, causing one in six years lived with disability. People with severe mental health conditions di...

Daily Rendezvous  Development of new antibacterial treatments is inadequate to address the mounting threat of antibiotic resistance, according to the annual pipeline report by the World Health Organization.  The 2021 report describes the antibacterial clinical and preclinical pipeline as stagnant and far from meeting global needs. Since 2017 only 12 antibiotics have been approved, 10 of which belong to existing classes with established mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). “There is a major gap in the discovery of antibacterial treatments, and more so in the discovery of innovative treatments,”  said Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Assistant Director General on AMR.  “This presents a serious challenge to overcoming the escalating pandemic of antimicrobial resistance and leaves every one of us increasingly vulnerable to bacterial infections including the simplest infections.”   According to WHO annual analyses, in 2021 there were only 27 new antibiotics ...

Daily Rendezvous  The Adamawa state Police Command has dislodged some criminal gangs in the state and arrested 13 members of a kidnapping ring and recovered various weapons used in criminal activities. The items recovered by the police during the raid include; one AK47 rifle, two locally-made double barrel pistols, two Dane guns, 24 rounds of live ammunition, One leg chain padlock, military uniforms, three motorcycles and a sum of N358,500. This was made known by the Adamawa state Commissioner of Police, CP. S.K Akande at a press briefing held, Monday in Yola, Adamawa State. Akande said, “The Command Divisions and tactical units in compliance with my strategic action plan on combating kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes across the state achieved the following; "Arrest of Thirteen (13) suspects in connection with kidnapping activities, unlawful possession of Fire arms among others from across the State, recovered One AK 47 Riffle, Two Locally ...

Daily Rendezvous President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the Senate seeking confirmation of seven ministerial nominees. The nominees are:  - Henry Ikechukwu – Abia State - Umana Okon Umana – Akwa-Ibom State  - Ekuma Joseph – Ebonyi State - Goodluck Nana Obia – Imo State - Umar Ibrahim Yakub – Kano State  - Ademola Adewole Adegorioye – Ondo State -  Odo Udi – Rivers State

Daily Rendezvous SunSmart Global UV App helps protect you from the dangers of the sun and promotes public health   A new app for mobile phones that provides localized information on ultraviolet (UV) radiation levels has been launched by the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).  The SunSmart Global UV app provides five-day UV and weather forecasts at searchable locations. It highlights time slots when sun protection is required with the aim of helping people around the world know when to use sun protection, in an effort to reduce the global burden of skin cancer and UV-related eye damage. The  SunSmart Global UV  app is available free of charge at both the  Apple App  and  Google Play  stores. It provides personalized options so that users can take actions to protect prolonged, excessive U...

Daily Rendezvous The anti-drug agency in Nigeria (NDLEA) has nabbed 11 women and seized over 3,000 kgs of concealed drugs.within the year. The agency says, it has, in various crackdown within the year, arrested about 296 persons for various drug related offences. NDLEA revealed that during the crackdown, a drug lord who instigated a mob action that led to the beating of some the agency's officials and the killing of one NDLEA officer was also arrested. The state commandant of NDLEA, Femi Agboalu, made this known during a press briefing marking the United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking, Monday in Yola, Adamawa state. Giving details into various operations of the Agency, Femi Samson Agboalu said about 296 drug criminals have been successfully prosecuted within one year and.that the seized illicit substances comprises of 2000 kilograms of cannabis sativa concealed in a motorised concrete mixer, which was impounded at Girei Local G...

Daily Rendezvous The UN Residents Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Matthias Schmale, has expressed concern over the spate of violence by Non State Armed Groups (NSAGs) in Northeast Nigeria leading to the killing of about 30 Civilians, injuring 57, destroying over 500 homes and displacing over 10, 000 locals in Guyuk and Lamurde local governments of Adamawa state. The Humanitarian Coordinator said, some 32 Internally Displaced Persons have also been killed in Mudu village in the outskirts of Dikwa, all between the months of May and June, 2022. This is contained in statement issued by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Schmale said, these strings of violence are endangering the lives of civilians and hampering humanitarian efforts at securing and delivering assistance to millions who are in need in  northeast Nigeria. The statement reads, "I am gravely concerned about the recent waves of violence affecting civilians in north-e...

Daily Rendezvous The Adamawa state Council of the Nigeria union of Journalists, NUJ Saturday held its election which saw the emergence of Ishaka Donald Dedan as the Chairman for the second term. This was announced by the Chairman, Electoral Committee of the twenty twenty three, Comrade Bashir Liman at the N UJ's Secretariat, Press Centre Yola. The returned Chairman, Comrade Ishaka Donald Dedan polled one hundred and ten votes to defeat his rival Comrade Kate Aliyuda who polled seventy two votes. Meanwhile, Comrade Fidelis Jockthan polled one hundred and twenty to clinch the position of Secretary defeating his closest rival Jonathan Filibus who polled fifty nine votes. The office of the treasurer was won by Joy Diamond Leka with one hundred and sixteen votes beating her rival Felicia Amos who polled sixty six. Other positions of Vice Chairman, Assistant Secretary and Auditor were unopposed. The newly elected leaders were administered oath of office by Barrist...

Daily Rendezvous The Adamawa State Director of Public Health, Dr. Celine Laori has confirmed the outbreak of monkeypox in Adamawa state. Dr. Laori said, there has been as at 12th June, 2022, five laboratory confirmed cases of monkeypox and another 57 suspected cases of the disease in Adamawa. This was made known by the Adamawa state Director of Public Health, Dr. Celine Laori, in an exclusive chat with Daily Sun in Yola, Adamawa state. Dr. Celine said, the monkeypox was first noticed sometimes between late April and early May at Army barracks and later on at the Yola correctional facility.  She explained that, so far the disease has been noticed in two local governments of Yola north and Yola South. According to Celine Laori, "Yes there has been an outbreak of Monkeypox in the state which was registered in late April by the Honourable Commissioner of Health, almost at the time when he was declaring the end of cholera response. "There was a case that wa...

Daily Rendezvous Let me begin by, once more, commending our great Party for organizing and concluding, arguably, the best and rancour-free Convention, which produced me as our flag-bearer for the next year’s Presidential Election. Once more, I commend my fellow aspirants in that contest.  I thank them for their sportsmanship. They put up spirited fights because they cared and care for our country. I have personally gone around to thank them and to seek their cooperation for the struggle ahead. Party unity is critical not only for us to prosecute a winning campaign but also to provide good governance that our country seriously deserves and our people earnestly yearn for. The task of winning the coming elections will be a tough one and we must not take anything for granted. With the convention behind us, we have arrived at the stage for me to pick a Running Mate because this is a joint ticket. I am very happy to announce today that I have reached a decision on that. In ar...

Daily Rendezvous Since 13 May 2022, and as of 2 June 2022, 780 laboratory confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported to or identified by WHO from 27 Member States across four WHO regions that are not endemic for monkeypox virus.  Epidemiological investigations are ongoing. Most reported cases so far have been presented through sexual health or other health services in primary or secondary health care facilities and have involved mainly, but not exclusively, men who have sex with men (MSM). While the West African clade of the virus has been identified from samples of cases so far, most confirmed cases with travel history reported travel to countries in Europe and North America, rather than West or Central Africa where the monkeypox virus is endemic.  The confirmation of monkeypox in persons who have not travelled to an endemic area is atypical, and even one case of monkeypox in a non-endemic country is considered an outbreak. While most cases are no...

Daily Rendezvous WHO Director-General's opening address at the World Health Assembly The pandemic is most certainly not over. This virus has surprised us at every turn – a storm that has torn through communities again and again, and we still can’t predict its path, or its intensity. We lower our guard at our peril. Almost one billion people in lower-income countries remain unvaccinated.  Only 57 countries have vaccinated 70% of their population – almost all of them high income. We must continue to support all countries to reach 70% vaccination coverage as soon as possible, including 100% of those aged over 60; 100% of health workers; and 100% of those with underlying conditions.  The pandemic is not the only crisis in our world. We face a formidable convergence of disease, drought, famine and war, fuelled by climate change, inequity and geopolitical rivalry.    You have a full agenda this week – from designing the health workforce...