Gender Officer, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Office in Jigawa, Hajiya Aina’u Ibrahim, has called for the introduction of more gender policies to boost the productivity of women in agriculture.
Female smallholder farmers
Ibrahim made the call while speaking with journalists in Dutse, the capital of Jigawa State, on Wednesday, November 1, 2017.
She noted that women constituted 70 per cent of the labour force in the agricultural sector of the nation’s economy.
She said that in spite of the vital roles of women in agricultural production, they had limited access to land and other resources.
“History has shown that women constitute about 70 per cent of the workforce in the agricultural sector but they still do not have access to land and other resources or control over them.
“In spite of the vital roles which women play in agriculture such as crop planting, fertiliser application, harvesting, crop threshing and packaging, among others, they still face serious challenges such as illiteracy and poverty,’’ she added.
Ibrahim reiterated that women, who played prominent roles in all agricultural processes, were largely unable to access those services that could boost their productivity.
“Surprisingly, if you go to our villages, you will find out that most of the farmlands owned by women there are possessed through inheritance.
“You will, however, discover that the women either lease or lend the farmlands out, or sometimes they give the lands to their husbands to farm.
“Very few of the women benefit from such farmlands through gayauna – a small portion of the land being cultivated for them by those they leased or lent out the farms to.
“So, we are telling them that the time has passed for the women to be left behind or short-changed. Women should take full control of their farmlands and venture into agriculture.
“I am sure that by so doing, it will lift them out of poverty and they will eventually become employers of labour, and not labourers,’’ she added.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Wednesday urged traditional rulers to support efforts aimed at reducing the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS among adolescents in Kaduna State.
UNICEF’s Communication Specialist in Kaduna, Malam Rabiu Musa, disclosed this at the opening of a two-day workshop to enlighten traditional rulers on the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS among adolescent and young persons (AYPs) in the state.
According to him, about 18,000 adolescents are living with HIV/AIDS in the state.
Musa said the workshop, holding in Kachia, was organised by the National Orientation Agency to enlist the support of traditional rulers towards tackling the burden.
He explained that after the orientation, the traditional rulers would be expected to support the creation of HIV/AIDS services centres in their various communities.
“The traditional rulers will also play a key role in increasing male’s support for anti-natal care and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV,’’ he said.
To stem the prevalence of AYPs living with HIV/AIDS in the state, the UNICEF officer said that effort must be made to locate such youths and place them on treatment.
He, therefore, charged parents and caregivers to put an eye on young children because they are very delicate at that stage of their life.
“Research has shown that about 80 per cent of the HIV transmission in Nigeria is related to sexual contact while 10 per cent through blood transfusion.
`The remaining 10 per cent is through other routes such as mother to child transmission, injection by drug users and use of unsterilised instruments.’’
He spoke on the need for religious leaders to take the campaign against HIV very serious in their places of worship, to help reduce the burden of the scourge.
The communication specialist noted that HIV could be managed at the early stage, but stressed that prevention remained the better option.
“HIV can be prevented and can be properly managed; but prevention and effective treatment require teamwork.
“The teamwork involves the child, the family, HIV experts, community, governmental, non-government institutions and international partners,’’ Musa said.
He urged the youths to be faithful to their partners and advised them to use condoms correctly and consistently because “unprotected sexual contact with an infected partner can result in being infected’’.
NAN recalls that the Kaduna State AIDS Control Agency recently said that it had experienced significant progress in the control of HIV/AIDS leading to drop in the number of victims.
The Executive Secretary of the agency, Dr Mark David-Anthony, had told NAN in Kaduna that the prevalence rate had dropped from 11.6 per cent in 1999 to 2.2 as at 2014.
Tropical Wood Exporters Association of Nigeria and Processed Wood Manufacturers Association of Nigeria are said to have begun reforestation programme in the states of Ekiti, Ogun and Adamawa.
Ibrahim Usman Jibril, Minister of State for Environment
Acting Director of Forestry, Federal Ministry of Environment, Mr Adetolu Osakuade, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday, November 1, 2017 that the programme was aimed at planting trees to replace the felled ones.
Osakuade said the Federal Government succeeded in getting the two associations, the beneficiaries and takers of the forests, to engage with state governments to plant with a view to replacing the felled trees.
“These two associations are fusing together and marshalling their resources to engage with state governments, to do reforestation of the degraded land.
“They have done that in Ekiti, Ogun and Adamawa.
“They come together under the umbrella of tree planting company to now bring resources to each state and collaborate with state government at least between 10 and 50 hectares of forest regeneration,’’ he said.
The acting director said the companies did 10 hectares in Ekiti, 50 hectares in Ogun and were planning to do 50 hectares in Adamawa.
“As at the time we were there two weeks ago, where we did the inauguration in Adamawa, they planted 13 hectares of trees and are thinking of putting borehole to water what they have planted.
“Involving all stakeholders in tree planting is the new thinking. We are thinking outside the box now to make sure that every one that benefits from the use of trees replaces felled trees.
Queen Maxima of the Netherlands has urged Nigerian government to leverage on technology to provide useful and affordable financial products and services to people living in remote areas of the country.
Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode (right); Queen Maxima of The Netherlands; and Chief Executive Officer, PharmAccess Group, Onno Schellekens, during her courtesy visit to Lagos House, Ikeja. Photo credit: guardian.ng
Maxima, who is the UN Secretary-General’s advocate for financial inclusion for development, said this on Wednesday, November 1, 2017 during her working visit to the Federal Ministry of Finance, Abuja.
The queen, who also visited the Central Bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, she said she was in Nigeria to see how far the country had gone in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The UN advocate said her visit was also in connection to see how far Nigeria had achieved financial inclusion.
She advised the government to leverage on the current mobile phone penetration put about 63 per cent to deliver key banking services to the people.
She said that the potentialities in achieving financial inclusion were enormous, adding that it was possible for Nigeria to address perceived issues that would help its citizens reap the benefits of financial inclusion.
“From 2008 to 2016, there has been very decent progress in raising the bar of financial included people from 28 per cent to 58.6 per cent in Nigeria.
“Since 2014, a couple of things have changed from financial literacy policy, regulations for agent banking and other reforms to strengthen this issue even more.
“However, in the last years, growth has flattened up and in some cases, we have seen reductions. But it is still possible to achieve the target of 80 per cent financial inclusion by 2020.
“I think now is time to sit down again and review your objectives and review your National Financial Inclusion strategy to see what needs to be done.
“There is huge potential now. Maybe 15 years ago, trying to reach that target would have been impossible, but now technology really offers us a fantastic window of opportunity,’’ she said.
Maxima identified some of the issues in the way of achieving financial inclusion to include: consumer protection, infrastructure as well as connectivity.
She stressed need for cooperation between the Central Bank of Nigeria, Ministry of Finance and other relevant agencies to militate against perceived risks to achieving financial inclusion.
“A lot of countries have addressed these issues, it is not impossible.
“We will keep working toward that. We are prepared to help Nigeria to this journey of addressing the risks, identifying them and see the best ways to approach them with the help of regulators.”
Receiving the queen, Adeosun, said access to banking services remained a problem, particularly for the rural women in the country.
She said that looking at the geography of Nigeria; it wouldn’t be viable to have bank branches everywhere, thus the need to take innovative actions.
“We have a lot of young people who are underutilised and underemployed but are technology savvy.
“We started with our social intervention programmes, the concepts of keeping people within their communities and paying them to work in those communities under the N-Power scheme, the N-Teach.
“We also have the Community Tax Officers who are going round to sensitise people about the tax system.
“We will see how we can piggyback some of that work around financial inclusion, how we can marry some of these opportunities, “she said.
Adeosun said that looking at the Social Intervention Programmes of the Federal Government; it might create an opportunity to introduce banking services to the people in the remote areas of the country.
Also, the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, pledged Nigeria’s commitment to achieving 80 per cent financial inclusion rate by 2020.
“The bank have introduced a lot of initiatives prominent among are: the Agent Banking Framework, the Know your Customer framework, the Micro Small and Medium Entreprise framework and the National Collateral Registry.
“We have also introduced the Credit Bureau and Credit Scoring System and released Financial Literacy and Consumer Protection Framework.
“On the back of these reforms, I’m pleased to tell you that, we have moved from 46 per cent exclusion rate in 2010 to 41.6 per cent in 2016.
“To achieve the exclusion rate of 20 per cent by 2020 across the country, we are priotising interventions and creating awareness to ensure patronage, incorporating non-financial services into the CBN’s intervention programmes,” he said.
Emefiele said that CBN had also increased sensitisation campaign to encourage citizens to adopt digital financial services and other simple alternative channels.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday, November 1, 2017 approved N40.2 billion for the resuscitation and completion of Kontagora/Auna Dam and Irrigation project in Niger State, as well as N226 million for pests control along 11 frontline states.
Federal Executive Council Meeting
The Ministers of Water Resources and Agriculture, Suleiman Adamu and Audu Ogbeh, respectively, said these were part of the Council’s decisions at its weekly meeting which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The ministers briefed State House correspondents alongside Ministers of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Okechukwu Enelamah, as well as the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.
Adamu said that the council approved the upward review of the cost of the Kontagora/Auna dam project which was abandoned after reaching 61 per cent completion from N8.9 billion to N40.2 billion.
“As part of our efforts to complete ongoing projects which were hiked over time we presented a memo to the Federal Executive Council towards resuscitating and completing the Kontagora/Auna Dam and Irrigation project in Niger state.
“You could recall that we had a technical audit at the beginning of last year, of all the ongoing projects in the ministry and this project was ranked as among the top priority projects.
“It had attained 61 per cent progress before it was abandoned in 2010. This is the project that was initiated in 1985.
The minister said the Federal Government was working towards increasing the land for irrigation by 100,000 hectares to boost agricultural activities across the country.
The Minister of Agriculture said that the approved N223 million was meant for the procurement of chemicals to check locust and Quelea birds’ invasion of farmlands in the 11 frontline states.
The affected states are Kano, Jigawa, Borno, Sokoto, Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kano, Bauchi, Gombe and Adamawa.
Ogbeh said the council had resolved to use drones in spraying the chemicals to achieve maximum result.
He also said that the council discussed the persistent problem of rice smuggling along the nation’s border towns, saying efforts had been intensified by the Nigeria Custom Service to check the menace.
On his part the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Enelemah, attributed the progress achieved by Nigeria in the Ease of Doing Business to the collaborative efforts of the executive arm of government, the National Assembly, government agencies and state governments.
The World Bank, had on Tuesday, said that Nigeria now ranked 145th position out of 190 countries in the Ease of Doing Business index for 2018.
The World Bank stated this in its just released Ease of Doing Business report titled: “Doing Business 2018: Reforming to create jobs”.
The report indicated that Nigeria had moved up by 24 positions from 169th position on the 2017 ranking and also 170th position on the 2016 ranking to 145 in the World Bank’s 2018 report.
According to the World Bank, Nigeria alongside El Salvador, India, Malawi, Brunei Darussalam, Kosovo, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Zambia and Djibouti are the top 10 improved countries worldwide after carrying out numerous reforms to improve their business environments.
Enelamah also spoke extensively on the National Action Plan Phase 2 meant to further solidify the achievements so far made.
In his contribution, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Malami, said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on recovery of stolen funds would soon be signed between Nigeria and Swiss government.
According to him, the signing of the MoU will be done during the forthcoming global forum on assets recovery slated for December.
“As you are aware, the Federal Government has been making efforts to recover stolen funds, loot, assets and the efforts have been indeed yielding fruits particularly as it relates to local recoveries.
“A memo has been presented to council this afternoon by the office of the Attorney General which is intended to shift focus to international recovery, before going into the memo, I think it is important to bring to your attention that recently, about a week ago, we succeeded in recovering 85million dollars relating to Malabu issues from U.K.
“And then, now, there exist a forum that is Global Assets Recovery Forum taking place in December, in US and we are looking towards that, we are in agreement substantially with Swiss for the recovery of additional sum of $321 million.
“That Memorandum of Understanding has been substantially agreed between Nigeria and Swiss.’’
Stakeholders in the agricultural sector have called on government to increase investment in agricultural infrastructure across the country.
Farming
They made a case for more agricultural facilities such as silos, irrigation and other equipment to boost dry season farming across the country.
The farmers, under the umbrella of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), made the call in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, November 1, 2017 in Abuja.
Mr Isah Harri, Organising Secretary, AFAN Nasarawa State branch, said dry season farming could be more productive if facilities such as irrigation, silos and other farming facilities were available for farmers.
“Honestly we need dry season farming; dry season farming is more productive than rainy season farming.
“The people in the far north make more money than us, this dry season irrigation is very good and the government should encourage more of that than rainy season farming.
“They should build dams, farmers will key in and they will be productive all year round and not just wait for seasonal farming.
“We need better storage facilities; they need to build more silos so that during the dry season prices of food will still remain stable.
“Government should buy food and store and later sell it to the general public.’’
Also speaking to NAN, Chief John Baba, the Local Government Coordinator, AFAN Kogi State Branch commended the Federal Governments’ efforts in ensuring that farmers are provided with inputs.
Baba, who is also the State Chairman of Cocoa Association of Nigeria, however, appealed to the government to extend the gesture to all parts of the country.
“The government is trying especially in the northern side, but in the Eastern and Western side there is no much improvement on irrigation.
“We need to go on proper irrigation and there should be more provisions either by state governments or the Federal Government
“Definitely we need more silos to be able to store those perishable commodities so that we do not have problems especially when you have these climatic hazards like the floods.
“If those things are well preserved for two three years, we will not have problems but if we do not have enough silos or preservative conditions or materials, it will be very bad.
“I will want the state governors, their ministry of agriculture; and the commissioners to assist farmers, to encourage them.’’
In her contribution, Mrs Mary Inwang, said that with adequate facilities and support, women farmers were capable of eradicating hunger and malnutrition in the country.
She called fo more investment on smallholder farmers, particularly women who were facing challenges in accessing agricultural inputs and extension services.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Celebrity Marshals Unit has released a list of top media and entertainment personalities to be inducted as new members in 2017.
Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) marshall, Boboye Oyeyemi. Photo credit: premiumtimesng.com
This was contained in a press release by the Coordinator of the Unit, Chris Kehinde Nwandu, in Abuja.
Some of the new celebrity marshals include AIT’s anchor person of Focus Nigeria, Gbenga Aruleba; Chief Executive of ONTV and Soundcity TV Tajudeen Adepetu; and torch bearing artiste and TV host, Zakky Azzay.
Others include the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Sun Newspaper, Eric Osagie; Managing Editor of The Eagle Online and President of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, Dotun Oladipo; General Manager of AIT in Lagos, Jiire Kuforiji; and General Manager Raypower in Lagos, Yewande Iwuoha.
Also on the bill are veteran actress, Ngozi Ezeonu; Executive Director Marketing, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Vera Oshokoya; as well as veteran broadcaster, Olusesan Ekisola.
Former President of Directors Guild of Nigeria, Bond Emeruwa; CEO of Goldmyne TV, Sesan Rufai; Editor Sunday of New Telegraph newspapers; Juliet Bumah; radio personality, Nanli Diali of Rhythm FM; and human rights lawyer, Kayode Ajulo, are included in the list.
The induction of the new members will form part of the activities marking the 1st Annual Lecture of the FRSC Celebrity Special Marshals scheduled for November 10, 2017 at Renaissance Hotel, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos.
The event, which commences at 11am, will have as its Guest Speaker the Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, who will be speaking on the topic: “Ember Months, The Myths, The Rush And Subsequent Effects.”
There will also be other notable speakers.
The FRSC Celebrity Special Marshals Unit was established in 2011 with the aim of using notable personalities in the media, movie, music, comedy and other showbiz industry as ambassadors for road safety.
Their mandates include advocacy, national patrol, enlightenment programmes at motor parks and various activities that will help in reducing road crashes.
The current membership of the Unit currently stands at over 100 across the country.
Thirty New celebrities are expected to be inducted at the event, according to Nollywood veteran, Segun Arinze, who doubles as the Chairman of the Membership Committee and Coordinator Lagos Unit of the Celebrity Special Marshals.
The days of dental amalgam use in dentistry in Edo State in particular and Nigeria in general appear to be numbered, thanks to a landmark resolution reached by a gathering of stakeholders in Benin City, Edo State on Tuesday, October 31, 2017.
A group photograph of participants at the daylong stakeholder workshop on phase-down of dental amalgam use in Edo State
Dental amalgam is a liquid mercury and metal alloy mixture used to fill cavities caused by tooth decay. Because it contains traces of mercury, it is said to be dangerous to health, especially children and pregnant women.
Participants at the daylong stakeholder workshop on phase-down of dental amalgam use in Edo State including government officials, dental practitioners, dental students and surgery technicians, as well as media and civil society groups resolved to end the use of the item for children in the state by 2018. The event was organised by Sustainable Environment Development Initiative (SEDI) in collaboration with the US-based World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the workshop, participants urged the federal and state governments, as well as other African nations, to end amalgam use in children under 16, along with pregnant and breast feeding women from July 1, 2018.
Participants also want government to, in compliance with the provisions of the Minamata Convention, initiate a coordinated multi-sectoral approach for an effective phase-down of use of dental amalgam in the country.
The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury.
According to them, the authorities should update dental schools training curriculum to emphasise mercury-free dentistry, and that the implementation of a phase down work plan must also include legislative review and development of guidelines, gathering baseline data and developing the national overview.
Apart from the initiation of demonstration projects and application of best available technology and environmental practice in the management of dental amalgam, the forum likewise called for the promotion of alternatives/transition to alternatives by a concession for imported alternative restorative materials. They also underlined the need to engage the public and media as well as other stakeholders in awareness creation on the health impacts of mercury in dental amalgam and the need for prevention of caries.
Participants also called for an urgent need for Nigeria to domesticate the Minamata Convention as soon as possible.
Mercury was described as a chemical of global concern owing to its long range atmospheric transport, its persistence in the environment once anthropogenically introduced and its ability to bio-accumulate in ecosystems.
According to participants, exposure to mercury can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, cardiovascular system and immune system, particularly in women, unborn children and infants.
Participants also observed the low level of awareness among Nigerians on the dangers of mercury in dental amalgam; the wide spread use of dental amalgam in the country as the most affordable dental filling material serving the restorative health needs of Nigerians, and the limited number of dental clinics and centres to provide services for Nigeria’s teeming population.
In a goodwill message, Minister of State for Environment, Alhaji Ibrahim Jibril, represented by an Assistant Director in the ministry, Mr. Olubunmi Olusanya, said a lot of work is going on in Nigeria by the government and non-governmental organisations to ensure a phase-down of mercury in the country.
The minister, who commended the organisers of the workshop, said it would allow for an analysis of the effect of mercury in dentistry in the country.
Dean, School of Dentistry, University of Benin, Prof. O. Obuekwe, who was represented by Dr. Sunny Okeigbemen, said although dental amalgam use in dentistry has been long but that the school is ready for the shift in paradigm.
He added that the over 40-year-old institution is ready to work with NGOs to make dental amalgam history in Nigeria.
Chairman, Nigeria Dental Association (NDA), Edo State chapter, Dr. Anthony Osaguona, said the group understands the concept and is willing to key into the process, adding that the communiqué would be fully discussed in their meeting in the bid to implement it.
President, World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry, Charlie Brown, an American, said Nigeria has the largest economy and population in Africa and so the campaign started here. The World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry is a global coalition of NGOs championing the campaign for mercury-free dentistry.
He said every country needs to do what the European Union has done because every child is important. Brown stressed that amalgam in dentistry in Edo State phase-down should start now.
In her keynote paper presentation, Dr. Joan Enabulele of the School of Dentistry, University of Benin, said there are viable alternatives to dental amalgam.
Enabulele, whose paper centred on “Mercury Free Dentistry: Alternative to amalgam”, highlighted the alternatives to dental amalgam, as well as the challenges in Nigeria.
Other papers presented at the workshop include: “Minamata Convention: Dental amalgam use in Nigeria” by Mr. Olubunmi Olusanya of the Federal Ministry of Environment; “Minamata Convention: From commitments to results” by Mr. Leslie Adogame of Sustainable Research and Action for Development (SRADev Nigeria); “Understanding the role of Dental Health Workers in phasing down dental amalgam” by Dr. Sunny Okeigbemen and “Dental amalgam phase-down in Nigeria: Leveraging partnerships” by Dr. Anthony Osaguona.
Against the backdrop of the negative impacts of mercury on people’s health and the environment, the Minamata Convention on Mercury was adopted and signed by over 128 nations of the world on October, 10, 2013 at Minamata, Japan.
Nigeria has signed but is yet to ratify the convention.
A collaboration involving the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) and the Lagos State Government through its Ministry of the Environment saw a colourful carnival-like parade in some parts of the city on Saturday, October 21, 2017.
“Walk for Nature”, as the campaign is termed, is an annual event aimed at promoting public awareness for sustainable environmental practices. This year’s theme, “Cleaner Lagos: the Foundation for Sustainable Ecotourism” was described as a clarion call for an ideal city, a healthy city and the essence of making a cleaner environment a top priority.
NCF President, Chief Philip C. Asiodu, labels “Walk for Nature” as “an awareness campaign platform for environmental protection, nature conservation, biodiversity and sustainable development among the citizenry.”
Izoma Philip Asiodu, President, NCF Board of Trustees (Second from left); Dr. Babatunde Adejare, Commissioner of the Environment, Lagos State; Mr. Babatunde Haunpe, Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on the Environment; Chief Ede Dafinone, Chairman NCF National Executive Council; and Mrs. Adebimpe Akinsola, the Commissioner of Tourism, Arts & Culture, Lagos State, at the 2017 Walk for Nature held in Lagos on Saturday, October 21, 2017Participants at the 2017 Walk for Nature held on Saturday, October 21 2017 in Lagos
Speaker, Benue State House of Assembly, Mr Terkimbi Ikyange (Ushongo/APC), has expressed confidence that the state’s Anti-Open Grazing Law will, from Wednesday, November 1 2017, come into force.
Flashback: Governor Samuel Ortom signs the Anti-Open Grazing Bill into law May 22, 2017 as Speaker, Benue State House of Assembly, Terkimbi Ikyange, lends a hand
Ikyange, who stated this on Tuesday, October 31, 2017 while playing host to the Strict Movement Against Ravages in Tiv Land (SMART-Land) at the Assembly Complex in Makurdi, emphasised that the November 1 date for the commencement of the full implementation of the law was not negotiable.
“There is no going back on the full implementation of the Open Grazing Prohibition Law 2017,” he stressed.
Stressing further, the Speaker stated that the Assembly would continue to enact laws that would defend and protect the people and territorial domain of the state, reiterating that implementation of the law was sacrosanct.
Disclosing that the Assembly was aware of the threats by the Miyetti Allah Kauta Hore over the implementation of the law, he noted that the threats would be reported to appropriate agencies, and so, there was no cause for alarm.
The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) had appealed to the Federal Government to prevail on the Benue State Government to extend the implementation of its Anti-Open Grazing Law scheduled to take effect from Nov. 1, 2017.
National Coordinator of the association, Alhaji Garus Gololo, said the extension of the implementation time would enable both the government and herders resolve some grey areas in the law. He, however, did not disclose the duration of the extension needed.
Ikyange encouraged SMART-Land to exercise restraint by remaining law abiding, calm and support the government in its bid to implement the law.
He appreciated them for embarking on the solidarity visit, stating that it was a show of love for their people and father land.
Earlier, National Coordinator SMART-Land, Mr Sevendagas Gbakighir, said that the visit was to register their support for the full implementation of the law.
Gbakighir further said that the association also condemned the threats by Miyetti Allah in all ramifications.
It will be recalled that the law was passed by the Assembly and signed into Law by Governor Samuel Ortom on May 22, 2017.
