The Second Annual Conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers will hold at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos State on Friday, October 19, 2018, with former Governor of Ogun State, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, as Chairman.
L-R: Then President, Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), Musilikilu Mojeed; Zonal Commanding Officer, Zone 2, Lagos, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Sheu Zaki; Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media, Femi Adesina; Prof Akin Olugbinde; Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Bayo Onanuga and Director, Public Officer, EFCC, Osita Nwajeh, during the 1st Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) in Lagos
A statement signed by GOCOP’s Publicity Secretary, Olumide Iyanda, disclosed that the theme of the conference is: “Online Publishers’ Role Towards A Sustainable Economy, Credible Election and Security in Nigeria.”
Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, will be the guest speaker.
The Chairman, Centre of Excellence in Multimedia Technology, Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye; and Director, ICT Centre, Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Prof. Leonard Shilgba, will be the discussants.
Speaking on the choice of the theme, GOCOP President, Dotun Oladipo, said: “The prevailing economic, political and security realities in Nigeria require keen interest from the media.
“With the 2019 general elections approaching, Nigerians deserve access to authentic news and views, which are best provided through digital platforms upon which GOCOP members operate.
“As an organisation, GOCOP is committed to ensuring that the use of fake news and misinformation do not destroy Nigeria’s political, economic and security progress, hence the need to look at the critical role of online publishers as entrusted to them by the Constitution.”
The Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and other stakeholder groups in the media will be represented at the conference.
GOCOP represents media organisations registered in Nigeria with promoters drawn from practitioners who have served at senior levels in the profession.
Civil society representatives have been monitoring ongoing talks by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in South Korea over the its 1.5°C Report, which observers have tagged a “rescue plan for humanity”.
At the 48th Session of the IPCC in Incheon, South Korea, governments are considering the Special Report on Global Warming of I.5ºC
The activists, from Greenpeace, WWF and Oxfam, operating under the aegis of the Climate Action Network, have highlighted the significance of the discussions underway on the most definitive scientific assessment on climate change by the IPCC on the 1.5°C temperature limit as enshrined in the Paris Agreement.
The report will provide detailed signposts that can guide policymakers on pathways to limit global warming to 1.5°C. The summary of policymakers, currently under negotiations, is expected to be released on Monday, October 8, 2018 and will summarise the nearly 1,000-page full report.
The report comes at a time when the world is witnessing extreme weather events that are causing wide-scale destruction with alarming consequences even at 1°C warming. Every half a degree matters and the current collective climate commitments, which put us on a 3°C warming pathway, are nowhere near scaling down to a safe zone of 1.5°C.
The 1.5°C goal is considered a lifeline for those on the frontlines of impacts and is said to be critical for the protection of fragile ecosystems many of which, according to scientists, will be irreversibly lost even at 2°C warming.
Jennifer Morgan, Executive Director, Greenpeace International, said: “We must remember Parties requested this report in 2015 and they must own it. This IPCC report is set to outline a rescue plan for humanity. It will shine a light on what needs to happen and what we’ll suffer if we fail to act quickly enough.
“Those leaders who stand up, listen to the science and take action will be remembered as the moral authorities of their time. Given the evidence from science, countries must raise their national climate targets in line with a 1.5C pathway.
“We need new climate leadership. This report is not about politics, it is a scientific report and we need leaders guided by science. They really will have nowhere to hide with this evidence.”
She added she was hopeful and inspired by people taking action locally and justice groups such as in the Philippines demanding more from their governments.
Chris Weber, Lead Scientist, WWF Climate and Energy Programme, said: “New science shows that in many ways 1.5°C is the new 2°C in terms of impacts we are seeing and can expect. Delivering on the 1.5°C will require massive transformations in our societies which will only get harder and riskier the longer we wait and fail to increase ambition in the near term.
“The IPCC report will provide detailed signposts for governments and the most important underlying message is that to reach the 1.5°C temperature limit we need rapid and deep decarbonisation by 2050 and preferably by 2040 across sectors and specifically in the energy and land use systems. The difference between feasible and not feasible is in many aspects about political will.”
Raijeli Nicole, Regional Director, Oxfam in the Pacific, said: “The countries most vulnerable to climate change are boldly leading and we only have to see the declarations from the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Fiji on the sidelines of the recent One Planet Summit in New York. We ask that other countries step up ambition.”
Speaking from the Solomon Islands, she added that the IPCC report would be a concrete scientific input into the Talanoa Dialogue, which is at its heart about an open and honest conversation and to talk about the barriers.
“This is not aspirational talk, it (the Talanoa Dialogue) must consider the report must serve as a tool that we can all work with collectively.
“Also, it is not just the energy sector we need to focus on but all sectors (maritime, aviation, land) and how they can be managed with interactions on adaptation, mitigation and sustainable development to keep us in the safe zone of limiting warming to 1.5°C,” she added.
While the speakers could not comment on the content of the report under discussions and the political dynamics at play in the negotiations, they all reiterated that politics cannot come in the way of science and every half a degree matters in this race against time with climate change.
Some 110 organisations and social movements, including renowned environmental activists, Friends of the Earth International, La Via Campesina, Indigenous Environmental Network, Third World Network, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), ETC Group, and the Heinrich Böll Foundation on Thursday, October 4, 2018 issued a manifesto, speaking out against “the large-scale manipulation of climate and earth systems with unproven technologies – so-called geoengineering”.
Lili Fuhr of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, coordinator of the Hands Off Mother Earth Campaign
At the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth in Cochabamba, Bolivia, in 2010, a broad coalition of popular movements, civil society groups and Indigenous Peoples’ organisations from around the world launched the first global campaign against geoengineering. Hands Off Mother Earth (HOME) became a global campaign to defend communities and the common home and Planet Earth, against the threats of climate manipulation.
The HOME Campaign provided a common platform for organisations around the world to express their opposition to geoengineering. The HOME manifesto 2010 asserted that geoengineering “is a set of dangerous false solutions to climate change, and that the seas, skies and soils of our home planet should not be used as a laboratory for these unjust and risky technological endeavors, that no one can or should be in control of the global thermostat and that we movements and organisations stand united to defend our lands and our rights”.
The groups added in a statement: “We believe that a re-launch of the HOME campaign is more urgent today than before. In the last few years, we have witnessed increasing support for geoengineering proposals. A small but growing group of governments, corporations and scientists, the majority from the most powerful and most climate-polluting countries in the world, have been pushing for research into and political consideration of geoengineering.
“Several outdoor experiments on Solar Radiation Management (SRM) are planned in North America, where an alliance between climate skeptics, fossil fuel interests and techno-solutionists seem to be providing a fertile ground for this new hype. At least two of these experiments are planned on indigenous land. Other open-air, marine and terrestrial field experiments have been announced in Latin America, Asia, Canada and the Artic.
“Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technologies, which are currently being discussed and used in climate models and government plans to implement the Paris Agreement, would imply building gigantic industrial complexes and infrastructures with an excessive demand for land, water, energy and other resources. Impacts on humanrights, vulnerable populations, indigenous peoples, peasant communities, as well as risk of conflict over adverse impacts and unintended side-effects are high and real.
“Until the geoengineering agenda resurfaced in the climate context in the mid-2000s, decades-long research into attempts at manipulating and controlling the weather and regional climates (‘weather modification’) has largely been pursued in government and military quarters. Today, public debates about geoengineering in international fora such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), explore whether it is a means to combat climate change rather than combat other nations. But the original interest in geoengineering and its potential as a military tool has not decreased. Quite the opposite: geoengineering remains a potential dual-use technology.
“Withthe onset of the growing climate crisis, the spectrum of geoengineering proposals, the number of research projects and planned outdoor experiments as well as the political appetite to consider it as ‘part of the toolbox’ to address the climate crisis has increased significantly. And since geoengineering technologies have the potential to disrupt our natural ecosystems and global geophysical processes, with large impacts on natural resources, livelihoods and the survival of marginalised communities, they pose a threat with implications as serious as war.
“We call upon you – civil society allies, popular movements, Indigenous People’s movements, ecologists and concerned citizens – to join us in filling the relaunched Hands Off Mother Earth Campaign with renewed vigour.”
New research from C40 Cities, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy and the New Climate Institute shows that climate action, such as doubling bus network coverage and frequency in cities, could prevent the premature deaths of over one million people per year from air pollution and traffic accidents.
Cars cause a lot of air pollution
The report, titled “Climate Opportunity: More Jobs; Better Health; Liveable Cities,” also argues that climate action, which include energy efficiency retrofits in buildings, enhanced bus networks and renewable energy initiatives, could generate 13.7 million jobs in cities and save 40 billion hours of commuters’ time plus billions of dollars in reduced household expenses each year.
Report authors argue that climate policies lead to positive public health and economic outcomes across countries and regions.
Some of the main findings of the study include:
Investments in residential energy efficiency retrofits could result in a net creation of 5.4 million jobs in cities across the globe. Such investments would also result in significant household savings, as well as emissions reductions.
Improved public transport could prevent the premature deaths of nearly one million people per year from air pollution and traffic fatalities worldwide. Improved transport networks could also save 40 billion hours of commuters’ time every year by 2030, while achieving important emissions reductions.
District-scale renewable energy for heating and cooling in buildings could prevent a further 300,000 premature deaths per year by 2030. Renewable energy could contribute to significant emissions reductions and create approximately 8.3 million jobs.
Climate action policies can have proportionally greater outcomes for lower income groups in developing cities, where populations have the most to gain from the introduction of new technologies.
“Cities account for 73 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, making large-scale climate action in urban areas an urgent focus of efforts to meet the highest goals of the Paris Agreement,” said Thomas Day, Partner at NewClimate Institute, who led the research.
“While cities are already leading the way in emissions reductions by cutting energy usage in their buildings, transport systems, and industries, Climate Opportunity will give policymakers a compelling justification for climate action by illustrating the deep connection between climate and other urban priorities like public health, poverty alleviation and economic growth.”
“The Climate Opportunity research sends a powerful message that city-level climate action leads to more than addressing an environmental issue; it also has societal benefits. Well-designed measures will mitigate climate change and reduce air pollution, thereby also tackling this public health emergency,” said Martina Otto, Head of UN Environment’s Cities Unit. “Not only can cities prevent unnecessary deaths through climate action, but they also have the opportunity to stimulate economic growth, help alleviate poverty and improve the liveability of our cities.”
Launching at the same time as the research, a new online dashboard hosted on the Global Covenant of Mayors’ website allows cities to use data from the Climate Opportunity report to see how specific climate actions—such as the improvement of transport links, retrofitting buildings, or implementing renewable energy projects—can positively affect their city in the areas of job creation, reducing emissions and increasing savings.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, says if appropriate measures are not taken to replant after the recent flood, the country may be in serious trouble with rice production.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh
Ogbeh disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday, October 4, 2018 at the inauguration of National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) Molecular Facility and the 2018 seed fair and Farmer’s field day.
He said that the flood had affected some major rice producing states, adding that the country might experience scarcity of rice, if not addressed.
“We have to find out a way to assist farmers, who were affected by the flood; places like Jigawa, Kebbi, Anambra and Kogi states were majorly affected. Farmers lost everything they planted.
“There are different varieties of rice that are being produced at NASC like faro 66 and 67 which are flood tolerant.
“We hope to get them into the field in large quantity for farmers to plant soon.
“We are also hoping that as soon as the rain seized, we are encouraging farmers to replant so that the residual moisture on the soil plus irrigation can give us another crop by the end of December or early January.
“Otherwise, we will be in serious trouble for rice, millet, sorghum and maize next year,” he said.
The Minister expressed his pleasure and honour to be given the opportunity to chair this year’s Seed Fair and Farmers’ Field Day and inaugurate the NASC Molecular Laboratory.
“It is quite heartwarming to note that NASC has over the years kept faith in its drive to ensure the availability of quality seeds to farmers.
“Also, this event is being used as a platform for creating awareness among our great farmers and the farming communities to showcase the different improved crop varieties that can enhance the productivity and increase national food security.
Also peaking, Dr Philip Ojo, the Director-General, NASC, said that the 2018 event was opened with a Road Walk from the Federal Secretariat to the Minister of Agriculture.
“This was followed by a Symposium. All the events were geared towards creating improved seeds awareness among our great farmers and the farming communities, especially in the Federal Capital Territory.
“I wish to state categorically that improved seed use is the most cost-effective means of enhancing agricultural productivity.
“It is important to inform you all that between the 2017 and 2018, a lot of successes have been achieved in the Nigerian Seed industry.
“NASC collaborations with other stakeholders have started yielded positive results such as the NASC Molecular Facility that will soon be inaugurated.
“The facility which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation under the BASICS Programme will help in the development of the Cassava Seed System in the country and enhance productivity,” he said.
The director-general appealed for more support from the state governors in order to step up the agency’s regulatory activities to rid the market of fake and adulterated seeds.
The yearly event has: “Enhancing Improved Seed Adoption towards achieving Food Security and Wealth Creation,” as its theme for 2018.
Fake seeds confiscated by the council were burnt by the Minister, during the event.
The Federal Government on Thursday, October 4, 2018 flagged off a N1.7 billion erosion control work on Nduetong Oku-Ikpa Road, cutting across Uruan and Uyo Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State.
Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State
Sen. Ita Enang, Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters (Senate), performed the flagging off ceremony.
He said that the project would alleviate the suffering of the people and boost economic activities.
Enang sympathised with the people for the inability to convey their farm produce to the market due to the deplorable condition of the road.
He assured them that the Buhari administration would continue to implement projects to alleviate the suffering of the people.
The presidential aide said that government was committed to improving the living standard of the people by addressing their plight.
“Let me bring greetings from the Presidency to you. President Muhammadu Buhari cares for every life and communities in this country.
“For about seven years this road had been impassable, for some years the children and people of this community had not been able to cross to the other part of the community.
“The Federal Government is committed to improving on the plight of its citizens,” Enang said.
Speaking to newsmen, the Project Manager, Mr Friday Iniobong, said that the project would be completed within the next six months.
He solicited the cooperation of the community to ensure timely completion of the project.
Responding on behalf of the community, the Clan Head of Oku community, Chief Enefiok Ukpong, thanked Buhari for the gesture.
The royal father said that the project when completed would reduce the suffering of the people.
The Federal Government of Nigeria says it has commenced the review of the National Environmental Sanitation Policy to improve and promote sound environmental sanitation practices in the country.
Ibrahim Usman Jibril, Minister of State for Environment
Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment, Mr Leon Aliboh, said this on Thursday, October 4, 2018 at the National Critique Workshop on the Review and Update of the National Environmental Sanitation Policy, Guidelines and Action Plan in Abuja.
The policy was developed and launched by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005.
Aliboh, who was represented by the Director of Pollution Control and Environmental Health, Mr Charles Ikias, added that the ministry, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), developed the policy and its supporting documents.
“The policy document is now 13 years old and due for review. No wonder we are gathered here today to critique and update it for validation,’’ the permanent secretary said.
He said that the policy adopted a sectoral approach to addressing the sanitation challenges in the country.
“This policy identifies various settings such as homes, schools, markets, abattoirs and addresses the then sanitation needs of these sectors.
“The needs include excreta disposal, solid waste management, pest and vector control, food sanitation and hygiene education in a holistic manner.
“The National Action Plan provides the operational framework for implementation.
“It enunciates strategies, programmes and time bound activities and assigns roles and responsibilities to the different tiers of government and other relevant stakeholders.’’
According to him, the policy, due to multi-sectoral relevance and multi-disciplinary approach to sanitation, also enunciates an institutional arrangement comprising all tiers of government and public agencies for effective implementation.
“The advent of new sanitation technologies, innovations, emerging sanitation issues and challenges in the implementation of the document called for the review and update of the policy documents.
He said the review became necessary to meet present needs and challenges.
Aliboh said that with an effective and efficient framework to tackle the myriad of environmental sanitation challenges, sustainable development goals would be greatly achieved.
The Director, Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), Baba Shehu-Lawan, urged relevant stakeholders to implement the policy after its formulation and review.
Shehu-Lawan, who was represented by the Deputy Director of Environmental Health Service, Mr Ajueyitsi Simeon, called for all hands to be on deck to ensure implementation of the policy.
“It has been generally observed that the crucial stage after policy formulation/review is its implementation. Our policies are bedevilled with somersaults,’’ the director said.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator, Mr Achim Steiner, and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr Mark Lowcock, will visit Nigeria and Chad on a mission to highlight and support joint humanitarian and development efforts in these countries.
UNDP Administrator, Mr. Achim Steiner
Mr Lucky Musonda, UNDP Communications Specialist, said this in a statement on Thursday, October 4, 2018 in Abuja.
He said the UN joint mission would visit Nigeria between Oct. 5 and Oct. 6; and Chad between Oct. 6 and Oct. 7.
“The joint mission comes after the High-Level Conference on the Lake Chad Region held in September in Berlin, Germany.
“Lowcock and Steiner will discuss with partners and governments how to translate commitments made during the conference into practical action on the ground.
“In Nigeria, the duo officials will meet with high-level government officials and representatives of the humanitarian, development and donor communities.
“They will travel to Borno on Oct. 6 and visit a site for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), a transition centre and a rebuilt community,” he said.
He said the humanitarian and development partners were linking up efforts to respond to the devastating consequences of the ongoing violence in Northeast Nigeria while seeking to promote durable solutions for affected communities.
He noted that the humanitarian crisis in Northeast Nigeria had spread across the Lake Chad region and remains severe with 7.7 million people in urgent need of assistance.
According to him, UN has stepped up coordination to improve resilience and self-reliance of local communities through the restoration of basic services such as water and electricity.
He said the world body had also embarked on the rehabilitation of schools and hospitals and emergency jobs programmes.
In Chad, the two UN principals according to him are expected to meet President Idris Déby, senior government officials as well as humanitarian and development partners.
“They will visit a nutrition centre in N’Djamena on Oct 7, where international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and UN agencies are treating children with malnutrition amid one of the worst nutrition crises the country has ever experienced.
“The joint mission will provide a unique opportunity to assess UN coordination on the ground, to mobilise resources to address longer-term needs, and seek further commitments from government and partners,” he said.
World food prices slipped in September from the month before, with only sugar posting a rise, the UN food agency said on Thursday, October 4, 2018.
Jose Graziano da Silva, Director General of the FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, averaged 165.4 points last month.
The figure is against a marginally revised 167.7 in August, which was previously given as 167.6.
FAO said global cereals output in 2018 was seen at 2.591 billion tonnes, up three million tonnes on the previous forecast given in September.
However, it is still down 63 million tonnes, or 2.4 per cent, from 2017’s record production level.
FAO’s forecast for world wheat production in 2018 was almost unchanged on 722.4 million tonnes, the smallest since 2013.
The death toll from multiple quakes and a tsunami in Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province had risen to 1,424, an official said on Thursday, October 4, 2018.
Residents attempt to rescue belongings from the rubble
Head of the planning department of the National Search and Rescue Office, Abdul Haris, said that the search and rescue operation was hampered by poor access to the hardest-hit areas.
He said that many people are still afraid of being trapped in the ruins in Palu, the provincial capital, and the districts of Donggala and Sigi.
“Many roads leading to the affected-areas have been cut off to prevent heavy machinery equipment from been taken to the sites.
“Although electricity has been restored in some areas, blackout still remains in the hardest-hit areas.
“In some places electricity facilities have resumed function but we still use generators to support our work,’’ he said.
Spokesman of the National Disaster Management Agency, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said even as many as 25 heavy machinery equipment have joined the rescue operation by far, 21 others are still on the way to the province.
He said death toll is expected to rise as there are reports that hundreds of locals were feared to be still trapped under the ruins of the houses leveled by the quakes.
Sutopo said the main airport in the province has resumed operation, with communication, electricity and supply of fuels returning nearly to normal.
According to him, that will pave way for distribution of emergency aid as well as the search and rescue mission.
Multiple quakes and a tsunami triggered by the quakes struck the province on Friday with Palu and Donggala district as the hardest-hit.
