The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) held its annual dinner tagged “Green Ball” with the theme “Green Recovery Nigeria – Restoring the Mangroves and Reclaiming the Desert” on Saturday, November 17, 2018 in Lagos.
This year’s event was used to create awareness and seek support for its Green Recovery Nigeria Initiative, while focusing on restoration of the mangroves and reclaiming the desert.
In attendance were Wife of the Ogun State Governor, Dr. (Mrs.) Olufunso Amosun, Chief Femi Olopade, Mr Odein Ajumogobia, Dame Marie Fatayi-Williams and Mr. Desmond Majekodunmi, among others.
Dr. (Mrs.) Olufunso Amosun giving a response as recipient of the Environmental Stewardship AwardChief Philip Asiodu, Board of Trustees (BOT) President, NCF giving a welcome addressChief Ede Dafinone, NCF NEC Chairman with Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, former Minister of PetroleumDame Marie Fatayi-Williams appreciating the sponsorsDr. Muhtari Aminu-Kano, DG of NCF giving a speech
The Federal Government has begun the partial commercialisation of four River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs) in the country.
Mr Alex Okoh, Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE)
Mr Alex Okoh, Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), in a statement issued by Amina Othman, Head, Public Communications, BPE, on Friday, November 16, 2018 in Abuja, said the RBDAs are the Niger-Delta, Sokoto-Rima, Ogun-Osun and Upper Niger.
He said this at the kick-off meeting for the commencement of transaction advisory services by Agri-Africa Consultant A and E Law and Partnership Consortium for the partial commercialisation of the four RBDAs.
According to the statement, Okoh expressed delight at the commencement of the project, adding that the main objective of the advisory service is to restructure and reposition the RBDAs for partial commercialisation and optimum performance.
He added that the kick-off meeting was to formally introduce the advisers to the Minister of Water Resource, Mr Suleiman Adamu and other key stakeholders.
“The consortium’s scope of work is to provide the requisite advice and support required for the Federal Government to successfully implement the partial commercialisation of the RBDAs in a manner of consistent with relevant national policies, laws and international best practices.
“The consortium is expected to conduct diagnostic study on the four RBDAs, define their business objectives and develop a strategic plan to achieve its operational goals.
“It will also identify, verify, record, classify and value the key assets of the RBDAs including status of title documents of their lands.”
Okoh said in conjunction with the BPE that it would also implement the partial commercialisation of the RBDAs, develop quality management system, make chart of accounts and opening balance sheets based on internationally acceptable standards.
The consortium is also mandated to introduce operational tools developed through a one-off training and incorporate, restructure and reposition the four named RBDAs to be self-sustaining.
The Water Resources Minister, Adamu was represented at the occasion by Mr John Chigbo, Director, River Basins Authority and Inspectorate of the Ministry.
Adamu said the RBDAs project was in line with the vision of the ministry and promised to support and cooperate with the adviser in the course of the project.
Mr Chigbozu Ekwekwuo, the team leader of the consortium, said the consortium had assembled a credible team to deliver the project and make agriculture work in Nigeria.
The BPE was created through the Public Enterprises (Privatisation and Commercialisation) Act 1999, to diversify the economy and strengthen the private sector as Nigeria’s engine of growth and economic driver.
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Dr Usani Uguru Usani, has expressed concern over the negative impacts of environmental damage in the Niger Delta region.
Uguru Usani, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs
Usani expressed this concern at a one-day Stakeholders Validation Workshop and launching of a draft document on Niger Delta Region Climate Change Programme and Action Plan organised by the ministry.
The Minister decried a situation where communities in the region were submerged by flood with little or no action taken to address it, in a statement issued by Mr Stephen Kilebi, the Deputy Director Press of the ministry on Friday, November 2018 in Abuja.
According to him, the negative impact informed the ministry’s decision to streamline environmental policy action in the region.
He said that such environmental problems included flooding that ravaged the riverine communities, the prevalence of cancer-related ailments, the radio-active ailments as well as the soot that was in the atmosphere, especially in Rivers.
The minister decried a situation where communities in the Niger Delta region were being submerged by flood, while little or no action was taken to address the trend.
He called on relevant stakeholders to urgently device means of addressing environmental disaster that demands emergency in Nigeria, especially in the Niger Delta region.
He stated that all human activities were impacted as a result of climate change in the region.
“There is need to carry out sensitisation on climate change so that people will know the effect of what they go through.
“And also, that investors and economic moguls will discontinue harping on our ignorance while they make economic fortunes,’’ he said.
Usani said that the ministry would perfect the draft on climate change programme document to make it a worthy document that would guide all actions aimed at addressing environmental disasters in the region.
The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr Aliyu Bisalla, said that climate change and global warming posed serious challenges to the region.
He noted that the pace of change was increasing, saying unless the trend was reversed, human and physical ecologies were bound to be seriously impacted.
The Chairman, Council of Traditional Rulers, Bayelsa State, King Alfred Diette-Spiff, charged the people of the region to take necessary measures to guard against more negative effects of climate change.
Corroborating Spiff’s view, the Chairman, Council of Traditional Rulers in Cross River State, Dr Etim Okon Edet, thanked the Federal Government for its development efforts in the Niger Delta region.
He advised that the ministry should inaugurate the completed housing project in Bakassi for the beneficiaries to address their housing need.
Edet also advised that the ministry should expedite action to ensure the completion of the skills acquisition centre in Akpabuyo in Cross River State.
The Lagos-based ITB Nigeria Limited has announced plans to be the first indigenous company to obtain the latest ISO 45001:2018 – Occupational Health and Safety Management System. The company made the announcements at an Essentials of ISO training held recently in Lagos. ITB will also be obtaining certifications in ISO 9001:2015 – Quality Management System and ISO 14001:2015 – Environmental Management System.
An impression of Trinity Towers being built by ITB
Described as an “innovative construction company”, ITB built Trinity Towers, Heritage Place and Azuri Peninsula.
The training facilitated by Dr. Rami Chidiac, Founder of ISO Liban, is part of the prerequisite to obtain the ISO Certification and had a lot of ITB members of staff in attendance. The training emphasised the need to ensure quality is maintained across all facet of the Company’s work process while covering topics such as Quality Management, Occupational Health and Safety, and Environmental Management Systems.
Commenting on the essence of the ISO Certification, Rami Chidiac said, “Putting a quality management system in place means that a company does the right thing right even when no one is watching and that they adhere to a set of inherent characteristics that fulfill requirements. Having an occupational health and safety management system will help organisations to minimise the risk of harm to all workers and provide a platform for continual improvement in health and safety.
Managing Director, ITB Nigeria Ltd. Mr Ramzi Chidiac on his part, added: “ITB in line with International standards has put in place all measures to plan, establish and maintain a process to handle incidents and non-conformities both in our offices and on project sites. We are also committed to a coordinated and systematic approach to managing health and safety risks. Having the ISO recognition will help us to continually improve our performance by focusing on our major operations to ensure customer satisfaction.”
ISO is the International Standardisation Organisation which assists in the improvement of business processes and responsible for the development of international standards for products, services, systems and conformity assessment procedures. The ISO system is a tool or a means of correcting errors and ensuring that they do not recur, and has a positive impact on investment, market share, sales growth and profit margins, as well as achieving competitive advantage.
The Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON) has called on the public to join hands in the sensitisation and participation of all to ensure proper hygiene.
The environmental health officers with officers and men of the Nigerian Police
Dr Dominic Abonyi, the Registrar of the Council on Friday, November 16, 2018 in Abuja made the call during the inspection of some Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) within the FCT to mark the 2018 World Toilet Day with the theme: “When Nature Calls”.
The officers in the course of the inspection visited Force Headquarters, Head of Service, Ministry of Environment, Jabi Motor Park, Utako market, Dei Dei community amongst others.
“Our prayer is for everybody to join hands in the enlightenment and sensitisation programme of the ministry to keep the Nigerian environment safe.
“We visited some important places – the office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation is number one office of the civil servants and I think that what we saw is not far from what we want it to be.
“This is the primary reason why we started from these places so that we can take a cue from their standards.
“We want all of you who joined this visit to also join us in saying what you have seen.’’
He said that in Nigeria there were places that have standards, adding that these standards should go around the entire country.
“What should be done is what President Muhammadu Buhari has done, declaring a state of emergency on sanitation.
“You will notice that when you are talking about water sanitation and hygiene, it has more than one ministry or agency that has the mandate.
“So, while you are talking about water and efforts being made to make sure that Nigeria has water in abundance and water that is portable, environment will be talking about safe environment because a single access of sewage from faecal matter that enters the water will rubbish efforts at water resources management.
“It is therefore everybody’s business.
“If we have good water and we go to toilet and don’t wash our hands, then it means that we are trying to poison ourselves, so another group will be seriously addressing hygiene education.
“You see, the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Water Resources and indeed other public utilities must join hands because sanitation is not one man’s business. It is the business of everybody”.
Mr Leon Aliboh, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, corroborated Abonyi’s views.
“I believe you have seen for yourself how our toilet facilities are in most of the offices visited.
“I will leave it for you to judge; you are our judges in this case, and our officers will make the report, and where we noticed some challenges we communicate to those offices to effect the changes where necessary”.
When asked about sanctioning the offices with low standard toilets he said the officers went around today as teachers to sensitise the public.
“Well, you know as a teacher, when you are trying to teach, you are trying to sensitise people now, then later we will introduce sanctions but now we want to at least enlighten people, sensitise them that there’s need to keep our toilets very clean.
“After our reports we will be able to tell defaulters these are their setbacks and challenges to make sure they rectify them before we come again.”
NAN reports that only the senior civil servant toilets were clean while the junior servants’ toilets were a far cry from acceptable.
The UN system in Nigeria has partnered leading Nigerian companies from the banking, energy, legal and consumer services sectors to support the Federal Government to tackle the humanitarian crisis in the northeast.
Edward Kallon, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria. Photo credit: Bada/TA/NAN
Head of Communications, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Mrs Samantha Newport, made the disclosure in a statement in Abuja on Friday, November 16, 2018.
Newport said the United Nations Nigeria Humanitarian Fund-Private Sector Initiative (NHF-PSI) was launched in Lagos on Thursday.
She said that the innovation marked the first time the private sector would be collaborating with the UN to assist the needy.
She also explained that the collaboration would be done through a country-based fund with pool resources to deliver humanitarian aid to people in need.
UNOCHA’s Head of Communications recalled that the crisis, triggered largely by the ongoing conflict in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, had claimed the lives of 27,000 people in almost a decade.
Newport said that reports had revealed that more than seven million vulnerable women, men and children needed life-saving aid such as food, safe water and medicine.
The statement quoted Edward Kallon, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, as commending the partnership, explaining that it was an investment in humanity.
“The Nigeria Humanitarian Fund-Private Sector Initiative presents a unique opportunity to create a blueprint for future private sector engagement in humanitarian action across the globe.
“Investing in the vulnerable people of north-east Nigeria is an investment in humanity that will last for generations. That is business for good.”
“The initiative aims to not only harness the financial resources of Nigeria’s dynamic private sector, but also the entrepreneurial and innovative expertise of Africa’s largest economy.
“In a move that will see the country’s private sector working alongside the United Nations and Member States, International and Nigerian non-profit organisations who are working on the frontlines of the response,” Newport quoted Kallon as saying.
The statement also quoted Mr Adewale Tinubu, the Group Chief Executive of Oando PLC, as saying that the Nigeria’s Humanitarian Fund-Private Sector Initiative would create hope and promote social justice for the disadvantaged citizens.
“I am proud to be a part of this unique opportunity for the private and public sectors to collectively offer solutions to a local humanitarian crisis,” Tinubu said.
Also, Mr Jim Ovia, the Managing Director, Zenith Bank, said: “Merging our money and our minds, helping our countrymen and building on progress made so far.”
According to the statement, that 14 companies and groups announced their support for the Nigeria NHF-PSI.
They promised to form a Steering Group that will collaborate efforts to raise awareness and resources for the overall interest of the under-privileged.
The Steering Group will be co-Chaired by Ovia, Tinubu, Kyari Bukar of Nigeria Economic Summit Group, Folake Ani-Mumuney, Group Head Marketing and Corporate Communications, First Bank of Nigeria Ltd.
Others include Olumide Akpata, Partner, Templars Law; Patrick Akinwuntan, Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria; Herbert Wigwe, Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc; and Yaw Nsarkoh, Executive Vice President for Nigeria and Ghana, Unilever Plc.
Others are Onyeche Tifase, the Managing Director, Siemens Nigeria; Dr Bryant (ABC) Orjiako, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc; and Georgios Polymenakos, Managing Director, Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd.
Kemi Okusanya, General Manager, Visa West Africa; Oscar Onyema, CEO, Nigerian Stock Exchange; and Samaila Zubairu, President, Africa Finance Corporation, will also be participating.
The Director General, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Li Yong, will visit Nigeria on a two-day official assignment from November 19 to 20, 2018. This is Yong’s second visit to Nigeria – Africa’s largest economy – since he assumed office as head of the UN organisation in 2013.
Director General of UNIDO, Li Yong
One of Yong’s major engagement in Nigeria will be the historic signing on November 19 of the $60 million UNIDO Nigeria new Country Programme (CP) for Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development (2018-2022) with the Federal Government.
The new CP, the second in the series of UNIDO’s support to the Government of Nigeria, is aimed at enhancing Nigeria’s drive towards Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development (ISID) and is aligned to the priorities of the Federal Government as outlined in the Nigeria Vision 20:2020 (NV 20:2020), Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP).
Designed to build on the cumulative achievements of past Country Service Frameworks and Country Programme implemented by UNIDO, the new CP comprises nine programmatic components. These are: industrial governance, research and statistics programme; Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises development programme; Special Economic Zones (SEZs), industrial parks and private sector development programme; innovation, science and technology management programme; agro-industry and agribusiness development programme; minerals and metals development programme; trade capacity building programme; renewable energy development programme; and environmental management programme.
The visit will also take place in the context of the 2018 Africa Industrialisation Day (AID) commemoration holding at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, on November 20.
This year, under the theme “Promoting Regional Value Chains in Africa: A Pathway for Accelerating Africa’s Structural Transformation, Industrialisation and Pharmaceutical Production”, AID 2018, according to UNIDO, offers an opportunity to identify innovative, solution-driven actions and policies to advance pharmaceutical production on the continent, in the context of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa (IDDA III).
The AID, celebrated on November 20 of every year, presents a platform for UNIDO to enhance international cooperation and dialogue on the pan-African industrialisation agenda, and to raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges associated with this innovation drive, says UNIDO. Every year, it gathers African leaders, policy makers, representatives of the private sector, academia, international financial institutions (IFIs) and development partners to showcase the continued relevance of industry, including manufacturing production, as a powerful engine for sustainable development and poverty eradication.
During his two-day working visit to Nigeria, Yong, it was gathered, will also hold bilateral meetings with high level government officials and UNIDO’s bilateral partners to expand and strengthening the organisation’s capacity for promoting Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development in Nigeria, Africa and globally.
As the world observes the “World Antibiotic Awareness Week” from November 12 to 18, 2018 that is aimed at increasing global awareness of antibiotic resistance (AMR), the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in unveiling an assessment of India’s National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (2017-21). The assessment, says the group, finds limited progress on only a few critical activities to contain AMR from animal and environmental sources.
Chandra Bhushan, Deputy Director General, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)
“Even after a year and a half after India’s National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (2017-21) came into being, there is at best limited progress on only a few critical activities to contain AMR from animal and environmental sources. Many of these were planned to be completed within a year. India is going to be heavily impacted by the AMR crisis and we cannot afford such delays,” says Chandra Bhushan, deputy director general, CSE.
The Indian action plan was released in April 2017 along with the “Delhi Declaration on Antimicrobial Resistance” endorsed by 12 stakeholder ministries.
AMR: A clear and present danger
Resistance to antibiotics is now recognised as a public health threat of an unprecedented scale. Antibiotics are increasingly becoming ineffective. Common infections and diseases, which were earlier treatable, are now becoming difficult to treat. Globally, it is expected to lead to a 3.8 per cent loss in GDP and 10 million deaths annually by 2050.
Besides antibiotic use in human health, overuse and misuse of antibiotics in producing food from animals such as chicken meat, eggs, milk and fish is a key cause behind rising AMR. India will be heavily impacted by it due to its huge burden of infectious diseases, large-scale food animal production using antibiotics, and inadequate healthcare systems, says the CSE.
CSE researchers also point out that poor management of waste – which can contain antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria or genes transferring resistance – from farms, pharmaceutical factories, healthcare settings and households adds to the emergence and spread of AMR.
Many countries – such as those in the European Union – are said to have already set up the necessary regulatory frameworks to address antibiotic misuse in animals.
“India still does not have laws and systems to control use of antibiotic growth promoters in animal feed, or those which would help track the sale and use of antibiotics in food animals. All we have so far is a Central government advisory, which cannot be enforced in states,” says Amit Khurana, programme director, food safety and toxins, CSE.
“What India also needs is a clear roadmap for two things – one, to phase out use in animals of antibiotics which are critically important for humans, and two, to stop antibiotic misuse for mass disease prevention,” adds Khurana.
Lagging on AMR control
CSE researchers acknowledge that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has recently notified the much-required tolerance limits for antibiotic residues in food from animals such as meat, milk, egg and fish. On the other hand, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has also initiated the Indian Network for Fisheries and Animal Antimicrobial Resistance (INFAAR) with 18 labs at ICAR institutes. However, a lot of planned activities on AMR surveillance have not yet been completed.
In March 2018, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) prepared a set of draft standards for antibiotic discharge in pharmaceutical industry effluents. Says Khurana: “At present, it is being reviewed by the environment ministry and we expect stringent final standards to be set soon.”
“We have a lot of ground to cover towards strengthening laboratories, developing capacity, and finalising mechanisms and modalities for a nation-wide AMR surveillance in food, animals and environment,” says Rajeshwari Sinha, deputy programme manager, food safety and toxins, CSE.
Talking about the required action on environmental AMR, Sinha mentions: “The poultry farming guidelines of the CPCB need to be strengthened and made enforceable. Extended producer responsibility should be introduced to ensure appropriate drug take-back and drug disposal.”
The CSE assessment of the Action Plan points out that there is limited clarity on formal status, structure, roles, responsibilities and powers of a new authority – the National Authority for Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance (NACA) – which was planned as an overarching body for AMR containment activities and a stakeholder in implementing the Action Plan. It also highlights that Kerala is the only state so far which has released its own action plan, and that other states must actively come forward in order to ensure effective implementation of the plan on the ground.
The assessment has expressed its concerns over the limited focus in the budget on AMR. The Union budget of 2018-19 had no separate head for AMR under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Instead, AMR was made part of a common pool allocated for different public health programmes.
“Sustained political will at the Centre and the states and adequate financing of the AMR Action Plan will be the key to address the AMR crisis in India. Centre must ensure that AMR activities are adequately funded. States should now come forward with their own plans like Kerala has done. Without their active participation, implementation of the Action Plan would be impossible,” says Bhushan.
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Nigeria, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, has reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment and determination to deliver credible elections in Nigeria in 2019, which will embody the concepts of inclusiveness, transparency and accountability, by also ensuring that established rules are fully, fairly and impartially enforced.
Realnews Publisher & Editor Ms Maureen Chigbo welcoming guests to the Lecture
“At the risk of stating the obvious, let me say that INEC is deeply committed to democratic elections in the belief that the outcome can contribute to political stability and consolidation of democracy, which will foster rapid economic progress,” the INEC boss said in Lagos on Thursday, November 15, 2018 while delivering the 6th Anniversary Lecture of Realnews Magazine, one of Nigeria’s pioneer online magazines.
Yakubu, who is also President, governing board of the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC), explained that INEC “continues to think innovatively and to consolidate several tools” towards addressing emerging challenges related to the delivery of credible elections in Nigeria, whose registered voters are more than the populations of several African countries combined.
He, however, said that “INEC alone cannot do the job,” and therefore “counts on the goodwill and collaborative partnership of other stakeholders.”
The INEC boss gave a run-down of the Commission’s preparations for the 2019 polls, and also identified seven challenges that could impact smooth electoral process in Nigeria. According to him, these include the “do or die mentality of some members of the political class;” “vote-buying;” “lack of internal democracy within political parties;” and “incendiary speech” by political actors.
Others are “election security,” which he said, was “beyond the responsibilities and capabilities of INEC;” “impunity and lack of consequences for electoral offenders,” which he said could be addressed through the establishment of Electoral Offences Commission/Tribunal for easy disposal of election cases; and lastly, the ever increasing number of “litigation and conflicting Court Orders,” requiring the attention of the Commission.
Prof Yakubu lauded Realnews Publisher/Editor, Ms Maureen Chigbo, and her team for their excellent professional job.
In his goodwill message, Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, UN Special Representative and Head, UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, charged Nigerian political actors and the media to bear in mind that “elections in Africa’s most populated country and largest economy have implications for the entire continent and beyond.”
He noted that while “accurate and dispassionate reporting of electoral events will help to educate the electorate and contribute towards informed choice from among competing candidates, biased reporting and deliberate falsehoods (fake news), on the other hand, could “contribute to distorting the choices of the voters and election-related violence, while “hate speech leads ultimately to hateful acts.”
Renowned Nigerian journalist and chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund, Dr Haroun Adamu, who chaired the well-attended lecture themed: “Political Transitions and Africa’s Economic Development”, urged online publications to leverage the benefits of social media platforms to positively impact “the minds, hearts and ultimately the fingers of voters in achieving a desired outcome.”
In her welcome address, Ms Chigbo described credible election as a necessary step towards speedy socio-economic development with visionary leaders and appropriate policies.
The lecture was followed by a question and answer session and a Panel Discussion featuring Dr Charles Okeke, a professor of economics, College of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas, US; Prof Adebayo Olukoshi, Director, Africa and West Asia Regional Programme and Liaison Office to the African Union; and Engr Simbi Wabote, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, who was represented.
Seven new members – Prof Yakubu, Dr Adamu, Dr. Okeke, Prof Olukoshi, Engr Wabote, Mr Paul Ejime and Sir Elvis Emecheta – were later inducted into the Realnews Hall of Fame.
Previous inductees include Dr Chambas; Dr Oby Ezekwesili, Nigeria’s former Education Minister; Prof Charles Soludo, former Central Bank Governor; Prof. Maurice Iwu, former Chairman of Nigeria’s Electoral Commission, and Dr. Ngozi Anyaegbunam, President, Media World.
Ms Chigbo described the gesture as “our own modest way of honouring Lecturers and Speakers at our Anniversary Lectures for their contributions to knowledge and national development, and also for recognising Realnews Ambassadors”.
Investigators in California revealed on the night of Thursday, November 15, 2018 that another seven sets of human remains have been found in the northern part of the state’s Camp Fire, bringing the total number of people killed to 63.
Firefighters work to put out raging flames in California. Photo credit: Ventura County Fire Department
Butte County Sheriff, Kory Honea, said that of those found dead, 53 have been positively identified.
Three of the bodies were found in Paradise – a town of 27,000 that has been destroyed by the inferno. Another three were found in Magalia and one was discovered in Concow.
The number of people who remain unaccounted for in the Northern California area increased to 631, by more than 500 people, officials said. Some 52,000 people have been displaced.
The wildfire – which started on Nov. 8 – remains the deadliest in California state history, leaving more than 8,500 structures destroyed and 140,000 acres of land scorched. It was 40 percent contained as of Thursday night.
President Trump is scheduled to travel to the Golden State on Saturday to visit victims of fires in both the northern and southern ends of the state.
Trump is supposed to pay a visit to those who’ve been affected by the flames, White House Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters said.
“We will keep you updated on details as they are available,” Walters said.
In Southern California, the Woolsey Fire has reportedly left three people dead. The wildfire has destroyed roughly 500 structures in Malibu and neighboring areas, as it’s burned more than 98,000 acres with a 62 percent containment.
