₦airaland Forum

As part of the 2016 World breastfeeding week, the Civil Society Coalition for Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) held a One Day High Level Nutrition Sakeholders meeting on Wednesday in Abuja.

At the meeting the wife of the Senate President and President Wellbeing Foundation, Africa, Toyin Bukola Saraki, chairperson of the meeting said, according to surveys Nigeria has the lowest breastfeeding rates at 17%, and yet suffers from plunging levels of malnutrition, stunting and under weight children and all these leads to an under developed nation.

"Development essentially thrives on the advancement of women and children, there is an urgent imperative to invest in exclusive breastfeeding in Nigeria in order to yield healthier population that would sustain the country economically "

"Expedited action is urgently needed and so is a more prominent role for nutrition across all government based and non-government based work streams"

"Prioritizing investments in exclusive breastfeeding in Nigeria is equal to investing in the future of our great country."

She said that Nigerians should seek the expansion of the Work Place Hazard Act to not just to pregnant women But also to new mothers in The work place.

Ngozi Nnam, chairman CS-SUNN also said that the benefits of breastfeeding would be of much impact for both mother and child. One of which is the reduces risk of ovarian and bossom cancer suffered in women.

Other partners present at the meeting were, UNICEF, NAFDAC, Nutrition society of Nigeria, Budget and Planning office of the Federation, FHI360, National Primary Health Development Agency, Save the Children, Alive &Trive, Spring and the Wellbeing Foundation Africa.

Wife of Senate President, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, says, as a committed supporter of the United Nations Secretary General’s Every Woman Every Child Effort, and champion of #HeForShe and Let Girls Learn, every nation should empower its daughters with education as their weapon through life. She spoke on the occasion of the Girls Education Forum organised by the Global Citizens Chime For Change and the UK Department for International Development.

“There is a critical need for all of us internationally to come together and empower women and girls. Education is the key to this and should be championed as the vital solution to many gender equality issues such as under aged brides, sexual violence, the inequities of access to quality health and the overriding conditions of poverty”, Saraki said in a statement.

“Beyond the primary challenge of girl child retention in education, at home in Nigeria, in Africa, and around the world, girls miss school, interrupting their education, due to the unavailability of information, secure sanitary infrastructures, and products to guarantee menstrual hygiene; we can change this by engaging skilled midwives in adolescent health, through the adoption of the Midwifery Services Framework espoused by the International Confederation of Midwives, whose goals I support as Global Goodwill Ambassador, with my Wellbeing Foundation Africa matching our words with concrete actions, to engender better global outcomes for girls education. “Transforming the world is as simple as transforming the present and future lives of every single girl, that #SheWill survive, thrive, and transform her life; we must take actions now to #LetGirlsLearn”.

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Wellbeing Foundation Africa Marks World Sickle Cell Week Activities, 19th June - 25th June, 2016
Abuja, 26th June, 2016

As the world marked 2016 World Sickle Cell Day on 19th June, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), under the leadership of Global Health Advocate, Mrs Toyin Saraki, Wife of Nigeria's Senate President and Founder-President of the Foundation, and through its #MaternalMonday Campaign, #MamaCare Ante-natal & Post-natal Care Awareness Project, and #LetsLearnSTEM Programme, conducted impactful activities to sensitise Nigerian women, children and families, at its frontline focal states of Kwara, Lagos, and Abuja, on the issues around sickle cell disease. Nigeria has the highest rates of sickle cell disease in the world, with about 150,000 children born with this inherited, but preventable disease, every year. This represents close to half of the global burden of this disease, and an indication for the huge public health importance of this non-communicable disease (NCD).

Commencing with its #MaternalMonday global advocacy campaign, on 20th June, the WBFA directly engaged over 60,000 participants, and its wider global audience on key facts for wellbeing regarding Sickle Cell Disease and its impact on Pregnancy and Maternal Health. This informed mothers and their healthcare workers, on health-seeking behavior, for better outcomes, through lively social media conversations, globally, across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. In line with its long-standing tradition of matching advocacy with frontline actions to achieve citizen-level impact, the Foundation's #MamaCare Project, an innovative series of expert midwife-led, modern antenatal, perinatal and postnatal education curriculum classes, delivered freely to over 650 expectant mothers weekly, at its facility-based locations in Kwara State, Lagos State, Abuja FCT and IDP Camps, sensitised its expectant and new mothers, on the necessity to #KnowYourGenotype, along with special care precautions, detections and management of sickle cell disease and anaemia in pregnancy, as well as the perinatal and post-partum periods, to avoid life-threatening disabling crises.

In extending its #MamaCare Sickle Cell Awareness Week to children and adolescents, the WBFA, in collaboration with the Future Assured Initiative of Her Excellency Mrs Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, Wife Of The President of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria, embarked on a series of children and youths awareness campaigns to participating educational institutions at Lagos Military Cantonment School, in order to bring Sickle Cell Awareness to over a thousand children and adolescent citizen students in Lagos State, as well as their teachers and families, in lively and colorful interactive lectures led by WBFA’s #MamaCare Midwife Ambassadors and #MaternalMonday Personal Social Health Education Counselors (PSHE), where children were sensitised on #knowyourgenotype, and to recognize the signs and symptoms of sickle cell disease, in its variant forms.

In Abuja, the awareness campaigns were taken to WinnieKidz International Primary School, Wuse, as well as Model Secondary School, Maitama. At these selected schools, the Nigeria Country Director of the Foundation, Dr Luther-King Fasehun, led educational talks and awareness-raising campaigns for pupils, students and their teachers, encouraging them to be aware of preventive measures, including the #KnowYourGenotype Campaign. This was also done in collaboration with the Future Assured Initiative, and the students and teachers were grateful for the exercise books received, courtesy of Her Excellency, Mrs Buhari. Also, mathematical instruments from Her Excellency, Mrs Saraki’s #LetsLearnSTEM Programme were distributed to students, to their delight, as well as that of their teachers.

Also on Friday, 24th June 2016, and in extension of The Wife of the President, Her Excellency, Mrs Aisha Buhari’s kind donation, in commemoration of the World Sickle Cell Awareness Week, of several hundred exercise books to students of Almuwahidden School, Ilorin, Kwara State through her pet project- The Future Assured, Wellbeing Foundation Africa programme officers presented Maths Set to all the students of the school at the programme, as donated by Her Excellency, Mrs Toyin Saraki. Health talks on sickle cell condition, genotype, keeping of health records and nutrition, were held during the programme, which had in attendance women groups across Kwara State, representatives from the Kwara State Ministry of Health, members of the Parent Teacher Association (P.T.A.) of the school as well as students of the Almuwahideen School.

Speaking on Sickle cell and genotype, a Director in the Kwara State Ministry of Health, Dr Arigidi advised parents to know the genotype of their children and educate them as early as possible on the implications of the genotype, for instance child with an AS or SS genotype must be careful on the choice of a life partner, so as not to bring forth a child with sickle cell disease. Dr Hassan, also from the Kwara State Ministry of Health, spoke on the importance of Health Records in hospitals; he explained that when a patient comes to the hospital, the Nurse or Doctor will ask certain vital questions in order to determine the type of treatment to give the patient, he noted that the WellBeing Foundation Africa has collaborated with the Kwara State Ministry of Health with the provision of Personal Health Record (PHR) booklets. WBFA midwife, Mrs Patricia Komolafe, spoke on the importance of good nutrition, advising parents that their children need a lot of protein and other nutrients to ensure progressive growth. Also in Kwara, earlier in the week, during the antenatal classes, expectants mothers were given lectures on sickle cell disease prevention and early detection.

In goodwill messages from Mrs Toyin Saraki, mothers and students alike were encouraged "to know their genotypes, to elevate health-seeking behavioral care, as being more beneficial to their health and wellbeing, than uninformed emergency point-of-need interventions," while Mrs Saraki commended the uncommon vision and strategic partnership of Her Excellency, Mrs Aisha Buhari's Future Assured Program saying "it has been an honour and privilege, and remains an impactful pleasure, to encourage and be encouraged by our collaborations with Future Assured, for the wellbeing and benefit of Nigerian children, truly encapsulating the African proverb 'if you want to walk fast, walk alone, if you want to walk far, walk together', truly we are honored to walk far together with Future Assured."

In total, participating schools and students received over 1,000 kits of Wellbeing Foundation Africa Mathematical Instruments Sets, donated by its Founder, Wife of the Senate President, Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki, in support of the WBFA's #LetsLearnSTEM Textbooks And Learning Materials Program; and over 1,000 lined exercise books donated by the Future Assured Program of the Wife Of The President Federal Republic Of Nigeria, Mrs Aisha Muhamadu Buhari, all of which were gratefully received by the participating students and institutions.

To many it came as a surprise. But to those who have followed their histories, Toyin, wife of Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, and Zahra, fifth daughter of President Muhammadu Buhari, have both been true to the virtues of good upbringing that continues to shape lives and sharpen their focus on the need to help the underprivileged.

Therefore, when penultimate week Nigeianhive.com broke the news of the collaborative engagement of Toyin and Zahra, it needed further interrogation and exposition. This report will show why, even in the midst of the potentially combustible highwire politics of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, especially the chasm between President Buhari and Senator Saraki – created as a result of the latter’s defiant emergence as President of the Senate – there is a beacon of hope for Nigeria as the two ladies break the barriers of politics to continue their work in charity.

Perhaps, the relationship, which predated the emergence of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the ruling party, was never expected to run into any storm as Zahra, President Muhammadu Buhari’s fifth daughter, always referred to Toyin, Senate President Bukola Saraki’s wife, as aunty. For those close to the two families, it may not be out of place to assume, at first contact, that a soon-to-be 52year-old Toyin Saraki, has filial relationship with Zahra Buhari. Though, for security reasons, the location of the boy is being kept secret, it was Toyin and Zahra, according to the Nigerianhive, the online publication that broke the story, who received Musa. Little Musa had been flown into Abuja from Kano. Because of their mutual concern for the less privileged, Toyin and Zahra, who had heard about the very disturbing and pathetic story of the mutilation of little Musa could not but choose to offer help. This would not be the first time both ladies are lending a helping hand to the less privileged.

Toyin Saraki, a lawyer and as Founder-President of Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), is a philanthropist with two decades of advocacy covering maternal, newborn and child health, gender-based discrimination and violence, improving education, socio-economic empowerment and community livelihoods in Africa. She is an advocate of Millenium Development Goals 4 and 5 in Nigeria, reducing the rate of maternal and infant mortality. She also launched a successful social media campaign through Wellbeing Foundation Africa in 2012 called #MaternalMonday, to raise awareness on key issues in maternal, newborn and child health in Africa. She contributed largely to the establishment of the Lifestream Charity in 1993 and is a global advocate of the UN’s Every Woman Every Child campaign. Toyin is on the board of the Global Foundation for the Elimination of Domestic Violence and the board of the Africa Justice Foundation. She is also the Newborn Champion for Save The Children Nigeria and was the inaugural Global Goodwill Ambassador to the International Confederation of Midwives in 2014. Zahra, on her part, easily disentangles herself from the accoutrements of presidential comfort to mingle with the less privileged. The 22-year old Zahra has demonstrated to many of the children of the rich that the essence of richness is to spread joy and help humanity. In what many still consider a classical act of humaneness, sometime last year, Zahra commissioned a new library for the ACE Charity camp – an abode for the less privileged The children, overwhelmed by joy to have a high profile Nigerian in their midst, responded in kind by making her cute cards to wish her a happy day. Because of her humility – despite her stunning beauty – many Nigerians did not get to know about her many charity engagements. In fact, what she did at the Ace Charity Camp may never have gone beyond the walls of the camp but for social media. The photograph of Zahra in the midst of the less privileged children on Tweeter quickly dominated the social media sphere.

Today, the bonds of friendship, humility and a shared value to help is what is driving Toyin and Zahra. But the story of little Musa was never meant to become a media circus – and it is still not. It was also never intended to go beyond the operating theater where doctors battled to patch-up little Musa whose mutilation was considered near first degree. Sunday Vanguard has been made to understand that the 18 month-old little Musa is responding not too badly to treatment. In the midst of the politicking between the husband of the one and the father of the other, wife and daughter are moving on with selfless service to humanity. More, following the acclaimed launch of the ‘Every Breath Counts’ pneumonia advocacy campaign during the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa in January 2016, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, led by Toyin Saraki, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Nigeria Office), have met to explore potential areas of collaboration and synergy, especially around the involvement of H.E. Mrs Aisha Buhari – Wife of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria – and Toyin Saraki, in the areas of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH). Meeting with the Gates Foundation Nigeria team, led by Dr Mairo Mandara; as well as the Special Adviser to the Wife of the President, Dr. Mohammed Kamal, the leadership of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa provided an overview of the Foundation’s work and expressed that effective solutions to maternal and child health challenges are needed to strengthen accountability and save lives in Nigeria. At that meeting Toyin Saraki further stated, “From statistical analysis, it is clear that in healthcare, data facilitates accountability. Without data, accountability is hindered. Without accountability, progress in maternal and child health is stalled.” Through collaborative efforts, both parties aim to expand the coverage of high-impact interventions; further develop innovative tools and technologies; and improve the quality of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health care services provided in Nigeria – from the grassroots to the urban centers. Coming from Toyin Saraki and Zahra Buhari, this multi-pronged need to save lives and serve humanity is beyond politics.

HE Toyin Saraki: United Nations Global Day of Parents - & Being an African mother

In Yoruba culture pregnant women and mothers are celebrated in a concept that I hold dear to my heart - Alaafia . Alaafia is a belief that motherhood transcends the physical process and is a transformative pre-gestational, social, prenatal, postnatal, spiritual, and community role. We believe that Alaafia starts from the heart. It begins before birth, and continues throughout the lifetime of both mother and child. It does not discriminate based on age, location, circumstance, and income levels. It is a right and concept that every woman - at every stage of life - deserves to access. It is a right and concept that every family and every community - at every stage of life - deserves to access.

It is through the concept of Alaafia that I want to celebrate today’s UN Global Day of Parents. I have long mourned and lamented the state of healthcare for African mothers. Despite the progress made during the Millennium Development Goals on reducing maternal mortality across the world, 800 women still die every day due to preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth - 99% of these deaths take place in developing countries. We have a long way to go in meeting our mission to save every woman and every child. However, I want to celebrate African mothers today - the hidden strength of African mothers, the enduring love of African mothers, and the unparalleled cultural place that African mothers hold in our societies. I have always believed that mothers have so much to learn from, and teach to, each other, because motherhood is truly, and should be, the universal sisterhood.

In Yoruba society, there is no greater tragedy than the death of a mother in childbirth. There is a saying that a child survives and thrives only at the mother’s will, emphasising the critical role that the mother plays in a child’s welfare. This is backed up by global health statistics as babies whose mothers have died during childbirth have a much greater chance of dying in their first year than those whose mothers survive. If we are to improve maternal health and move towards achieving SDG 3, we must celebrate Alaafia throughout the African continent and the unparalleled role of mothers in families, in societies, and in communities.

Celebrating Alaafia is important because it transforms the prevailing narrative around maternal health in Africa by emphasising the power of African mothers. By giving pregnant women the tools they need for survival - access to skilled midwives, access to clean and safe birthing facilities, access to innovative financing for health insurance, and access to Personal Health Records - we empower them to take up their powerful, transformative role as mothers within communities and families.


Follow Toyin Ojora-Saraki on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ToyinSaraki

Culled from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/toyin-ojorasaraki/united-nations-global-day_b_10243030.html

Wife of the Senate President, Toyin Saraki, has called on the Federal Government through its relevant agencies to ensure the protection of women and girls in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps against gender based violence.

Mrs Saraki, who is also the President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), according to a statement from WBFA, spoke at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on the fundamental rights of displaced women and girls in Nigeria.

At the event organised by CSIS Africa Programme in Washington DC, USA, Mrs Saraki noted that gender-based violence has plagued Nigeria and there is a desperate need for the nation’s policymakers and the international community to invest in protecting the women and girls in the camps.

She further urged the government to explore assistance for psycho-social counseling of displaced persons largely situated in the Northeast. According to her, “Thousands of girls and women have been victims of violence and kidnappings by Boko Haram and they need the protection and security.”

She further said there is urgent need for the Federal Government and international organisations to work together and reduce gender-based violence in the camps.

She explained that there needs to be a register of all missing persons nationally, while providing health integrated certifiable identities to displaced persons, to aid restoration of their constitutional human and citizenship rights.

She commended the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for its ongoing efforts to ensure food security and safety for all in the camps.

“As a mother, it pains me to acknowledge that someone else’s daughter is not as safe as mine. I believe in equality and equity for all lives, and I believe that no matter your personal circumstance or location, you should be able to live a safe and secure life. I hope that Nigeria can move forward and improve the status of our women and ensure their safety,” Mrs Saraki said.

Meanwhile, Wellbeing Foundation Africa has launched its MamaCare Antenatal Education Programme at the Ikeja Military Cantonment of Lagos.

According to the statement, MamaCare Antenatal Education Program provides education for expectant parents across a range of subjects, including the birthing process, prenatal nutrition, attending to the many needs of an infant.

With a class of over 30 expectant parents spanning their first, second, and third trimesters, the participants learned about the symptoms, risks, treatments, and preventative measures in regards to anemia in pregnancy.

It could be recalled that Ikeja Military Cantonment is the most recent health provider to bring on the fortnightly MamaCare Antenatal Education Classes, which have already been established at both Medicross Hospital and St Raphael Hospital in Lagos, as well as in Kwara State Specialist Hospital Ilorin, Kwara Civil State Service Hospital Ilorin, and Aikjobi Cottage Hospital Ilorin.

MamaCare was designed and implemented in alignment with global standards of health by Mrs. Saraki.

“Education is the strongest safeguard for expectant mothers and children,” Mrs. Saraki said. “These programmes empower women to make informed decisions in the interests of both herself and her child.”

During a spirited question and answer session which followed the lecture, students raised questions about a range of subjects, including prenatal nutrition, identification and treatment of minor disorders in pregnancy, and the necessity of regular medical examinations.

“To share a learning space with so many women proactively seeking wisdom to protect both themselves and their children is a humbling thing,” said Mrs Saraki.

Wellbeing Foundation Africa’s MamaCare Antenatal Education Programs will soon expand to Abuja, with intention to scale across West Africa.

As with most of Africa, Nigeria needs a healthcare revolution. This is especially the case in maternal care where we currently have one of the worst indices for maternal and child mortality in the world, an inglorious position shared with Afghanistan. However, the narrative surrounding healthcare in Nigeria is far more nuanced than the outside world often care to understand. Great strides are being made, particularly with pledges to improve primary health infrastructure. But we know there is still huge work to be done.

The disparities in survival rates for mothers and newborns around the world alludes to the fact that a global lottery exists surrounding the location of one’s birth. According to UNICEF, Nigeria is the second largest contributor to under-five and maternal mortality rates, with a majority of newborn deaths occurring within the first week after birth. The chance of dying during pregnancy in Nigeria is 1 in 13; a shocking statistic that relates directly to the lack of skilled and equipped healthcare-attended births and to the fact that many mothers simply do not receive antenatal care. These stark statistics expose the health crisis in which Nigeria finds itself, these problems must be addressed quickly and effectively.

However, the reliance on raw statistics alone are part of the challenge. Our simple registers of births and deaths cannot lead us to solutions because they reveal neither the social determinants nor the ultimate causes. They also do not reveal stillbirths, or those that survive with permanent birth injuries. Only 50 % of births are registered in urban areas in Nigeria and just 21 percent in rural areas. The absence of these essential details has produced a difficult challenge for healthcare policy makers and professionals to produce solutions that reflect and address the reality of the problem.

This is why at the Wellbeing Foundation Africa we have lobbied for health enhanced vital statistics, civil data and birth registrations through the deployment of personal health records. The personal health record stores all the essential information of the pregnancy for the mother and healthcare professionals and also officially registers the pregnancy.

We believe in tapping into a mother's natural protective instinct to nest and nurture by empowering her as principal custodian of her own health history. We also help mothers with financial inclusion through savings accounts and health insurance, along with practical birth and lactation classes. Through these programmes, we hope to address all the unmet need and transform the lives of mothers, newborns and families, by creating both demand and compliance of best practice behaviour and delivering higher continuum of care.

I believe at the heart of the solution are midwives. Without supporting, training, and resourcing midwives in Nigeria, we cannot address these dire health outcomes. For the safe and responsible delivery of a child, the presence of a midwife is vital. So it is crucial that we arm our midwives with skills, education and equipment, to ensure safe deliveries and healthy mothers. It is also essential that all women no matter their income have access to antenatal and postnatal care. By investing in one midwife for each mother and her pregnancy, we can save, and improve the quality, and value, both real and statistical, of at least 2 lives.

Last week, over 200 policymakers, healthcare professionals and activists joined the Wellbeing Foundation Africa at the Inaugural Global Midwifery Conference in Abuja. This was the first conference of its kind in Africa. The conference aimed to address the healthcare challenges that Nigeria and the rest of Africa are facing with regards to child and maternal health.

The momentum of the conference was felt across Nigeria, and subsequent to it, the Nigerian Health Minister, Professor Isaac Folorunso Adewole, pledged his commitment to strengthening the healthcare workforce, vowing to deploy midwives to all parts of Nigeria. The Federal Government ensured that it will revamp primary care, placing midwifery at its core. We are delighted that the Government has joined us in bettering the lives of the mothers and the children of our country.

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA) has always centered its policies on midwifery, ensuring midwives and mothers are equipped with the right tools and skills. The WBFA’S Mamacare programme is a prime example. Our Mamakit package contains essential sterilised items that ensure a hygienic and safe birthing process; antenatal classes; and also Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care (EmONC).

Even if care is available and accessible, the next step is to ensure that it is of the highest quality. As the ICM President, Mrs Frances Day-Stirk noted at the conference: ‘‘educated, trained, licensed and regulated midwives prove the full scope of midwifery”. The ICM have created a Midwifery Services Framework, which guides countries on how to apply global best practice models and improve national policies and programmes for midwifery services. The framework will help to ensure that at every birth, the hands that care for our children are the best.

As we move forward in achieving our targets in reducing maternal, newborn and child deaths in Nigeria, we need to ensure that the midwife is at the centre of the all policy recommendations. They are essential in giving every woman and child in Nigeria and Africa the best and safest start to life. We cannot use deaths as population control when cost effective contraceptive should be readily available.

Toyin Saraki is the founder of women's rights charity Wellbeing Foundation Africa

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa has launched two more hashtags to rally information and support to promote the welfare of midwives, seen as crucial to the survival of newborns and mothers.

#MamaCare and #MamaKind, both launched on Abuja to mark the International Day of the Midwife, will join #MaternalMonday to complement long-standing work meant to raise awareness on maternal, newborn and child health, especially including the important role midwives play in the continuum of care, Wellbeing said.

Wellbeing chief executive officer Stephen Sobhani said, “We all know the cry of a baby, but sometimes tragically, we don’t hear it.”

“Midwives are the first eyes to see and the first hands to hold our future. If we improve lives, we save the world, and Nigerians can change the world. WBFA has always put midwives at the centre of its interventions, as it understands the important position they hold in achieving sustainable change in healthcare, as well as reaching the SDG [Sustainable Development Goals] targets for Nigeria and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa,” he noted.

Wellbeing founder and president and a global goodwill ambassador for the International Confederation of Midwives, Toyin Saraki, said, “I will like to personally commend the dedication of Nigerian midwives, as well as midwives from all around the world. I have seen with my own eyes the value that having a midwife can make to a mother.”

Health awareness is taking on a new dimension following the way organizations like Toyin Saraki’s Wellbeing Foundation Africa integrates social media into advocating for improved healthcare nationwide.

#MidwivesSaveLives: 1st ever Global Midwifery Conference in Abuja, Nigeria. ‘Every Birth Counts’

As part of activities to mark the International Day of the Midwife observed globally on the 5th of May annually, the Inaugural National Midwifery Conference in Nigeria is scheduled to be held on 5th May 2016, in Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital territory.

The conference will allow professionals from across Nigeria and beyond to engage in rich exchanges with peers, learning about current development in the field, addressing critical challenges and renewing commitments to Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH).

It is a unique opportunity to increase the visibility of organisations working with midwives.

For more details and registration, kindly visit: http://www.idmnigeria2016.com/#!register/wjqp6

NEW YORK, 24 MARCH, 2016 – Her Excellency Toyin Saraki, Founder of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, today spoke of the need for legal frameworks to protect the rights of women for a sustainable future at the Women in Sustainable Development: New Legal Frontiers side event at the United Nations Conference for the Status of Women.

“The long-term economic success and wellbeing of nations rest firmly on the shoulders of addressing structural issues of gender parity and equality,” Mrs Saraki said. “The international data speaks for itself. If we strive for sustainable long-term economic development, then we must take a robust approach to address inequality," she further stated.

In discussion of the recent failure of the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill in Nigeria last week, Mrs Saraki wryly noted that such an outcome was “Not surprising… [when] only 7 out of the 109 senators were women."

Nevertheless, Mrs Saraki remained optimistic to the future of Nigerian legality with regard to gender, stating, “The narrative on the importance of gender parity to sustainable economic growth and economic success is clear… Let us be smart about enshrining gender equality into all economic legislation, whether it’s a finance bill, or development bill or trade bill. Let us work together to ensure that gender parity begins to be reflected in the day to day economic work of governments, legislature and judiciary.

Then, gender equality will no longer just be about women’s rights, but will also be about sustainable development and economic success. Cultures, religions, traditions and diversities can all still be upheld in parity, peace and dignity, but economies will not advance if their women cannot advance."

She concluded by stating, “The new legal frontiers for women are actually not new at all, but in fact right in front of us — in every country, whether in the United States of America, or my beloved Nigeria. But they are hidden behind the very dialogue embedded around them. It is therefore imperative that we do more."

Mrs Saraki’s warm and effusive advocacy was commended by Renee Dopplick, moderator and co-chair of the NGO and Not-for-Profit Organizations Committee of the American Bar Association Section of International Law.

“The remarks are wonderfully written in substance, tone, eloquence, and call to action,” said Ms. Dopplick, “Attendees can relate directly with her in spirit, and be inspired to join in her commitment to a better future.”

Event organisers also thanked the Wellbeing Foundation Africa "for dedicated and ongoing efforts to advancing women’s rights".

Signed: Communications

Wellbeing Foundation Africa

Chaired by Wife of Nigeria Senate President, H.E. Mrs. Toyin Saraki, the second Senators Wives Forum meeting in the Eighth National Assembly has called for Nigerian men and women to work together to promote dignity for all and bridge the gap in gender equity and opportunity. The assemblage was addressed by Senator Biodun Olujimi, Sponsor of the Gender Equality and Opportunity Bill, Madame Grace Ongile, Country Director of UN Women, and Julia Bunting, President and CEO of the Global Population Council.

Delivering the keynote address at the meeting which held today, 17th March 2016, the Forum Chair, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, stated, “Our second meeting comes at a significant time, a time when women’s rights and equality are being discussed around the world as part of Women’s History Month, as well as at the UN’s 60th Commission for the Status of Women in New York, which is taking place as we speak. For us here in Nigeria, the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill which was rejected in the Senate two days ago makes this meeting all the more timely; in fact, we couldn’t be meeting at a more important time.”

In light of the rejection of the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill on Tuesday, 15th March 2016, discourse during today’s Senator’s Wives Forum meeting disproved the erroneous belief that religious and cultural rights are not compatible with the bill – which the Forum hopes will be ‘reintroduced’ by Senator Olujimi after necessary adjustments, following its recent setback. “We uphold our cultures, our traditions and our religious tenets within our respected diversities, in parity, peace and dignity. Let us pledge for parity within the contexts of social determinants and support dignity for all,” Mrs. Saraki stated.

Concluding her address, Mrs. Saraki further stated, "Let us be our sisters’ keepers; parity starts in our sisterhood in order to be embedded in our national consciousness to ensure our respect, dignity and rights. Women are the bedrock, the nurturers of the nation: women’s rights are family rights. Nigeria’s advancement will be gauged by the advancement of its most needy, it’s underprivileged, it's disabled, it's displaced, and it’s excluded and disenfranchised citizens, and indeed, it’s voiceless orphans. Nigeria cannot advance if their women cannot advance. As Kofi Annan has said, ‘there is no tool for development more effective than empowering women.’ And I want to urge every woman here today to use her voice so that we can see all citizens live and work with dignity.”

A committed global advocate of women’s empowerment, Toyin Saraki also serves as the Founder of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa; the Global Goodwill Ambassador for the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM); the Newborn Champion for Save the Children – and is a renowned advocate for the Every Woman Every Child effort of the UN Secretary General, the Girl Declaration, and the Girls Not Brides coalition.

Previous Chairs of the Senator’s Wives Forum have included Lady Margery Okadigbo, Barrister Chioma Blessing Anyim and Mrs. Helen David Mark – to name a few.

Culled from: http://www.kwara247.com/senators-wives-forum-led-by-toyinsaraki-calls-for-dignity-and-gender-parity-in-nigeria/

I absolutely disagree with this news! It's too false to be true. There was a meeting for real but Saharareporters as usual just to attack saraki and paint him in the negative have just cooked up this befuddled lie. Why must it always be because of Saraki whenever everything happens in Nigeria; Naira's fall against Dollar = Saraki, Electricity = Saraki, Buhari travelling = Saraki, Everything = Saraki.................Haba! Na wa ooo

I marvel at the way some Nigerians reason. If anything happens it is always Saraki. So it was saraki that budgeted for more aso rock rent and
inflated every digit on the budget? And he was the one that submitted three versions of the budget 2016, right?
Rather than apportion blame to the right sector we would always think biased in favour of who ever we admire irrespective of the fact that they are doing the right thing or otherwise. As a Senator, Marafa should rather make his grievances known to his colleagues in the red chamber than publicly air a false allegation that even he knows lacks every iota of truth just to defame the personality of the Senate President. He was appointed the Chairman of Senate Committee on National Population and National Identity but that is not enough for him and he has since refused to perform in that capacity but he prefers to keep playing the role of the opposition even within his party.

I marvel at the way some nigerians reason. If anything happens it is always
Saraki. So it was saraki that budgeted for more aso rock rent and
inflated every digit on the budget? And he was the one that submitted three versions of the budget 2016, right?
Rather than apportion blame to the right sector we would always think biased
in favour of who ever we admire irrespective of the fact that they are doing the right thing or otherwise. As a Senator Marafa should rather make his grievances known to his colleagues in the red chamber than publicly air a false allegation that
even he knows lacks any iota of truth just to defame the personality of the Senate President. He was appointed the Chairman of Senate Committee on
National Population and National Identity but that is not enough for him so he will keep playing the role of the opposition even within his party.

That is a good start.
More should follow.
I can see that our Senior Ladies are contributing immensely to the development of our country, just as Mrs Saraki earlier tasked lawmakers' wives for inclusive participation in government via supportive roles, obviously she shows she's not just talk; but action. Way to go!!
God Bless our first Lady, Aisha Buhari
God Bless Our First Lady of the 8th Assembly, Toyin Saraki
God Bless Lagos First Lady, Mrs Ambode
And
God Bless Nigeria!!!

Stale 2011 news now making wave like it was an event of just yesterday. Wack journalism

Mrs Toyin Saraki spoke at the same event, for the United Nations Every Woman Every Child Programme.

And 50 cent also shared his own experience which inspired his musical career.

We all need to emulate Mrs Toyin Saraki's selfless acts.
Turning your pain to passion is one of the sweetest thing anyone can ever do.
Kudos for that and keep up your good work.

Highlighting Mrs. Toyin Saraki’s courageous act of turning her personal experience of perinatal child loss into the transformational and life-saving Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), an organization committed to reducing and eliminating preventable maternal and child deaths through advocacy and implementation of innovative interventions, The Guardian UK Global Development Network (GDN) has named WBFA as one of the favourite NGO Heroes of 2015. Having reviewed over a hundred nominations submitted by the general public, the GDN selected a few, which it shared in an article published on its online platform.

Commending WBFA for its phenomenal work in bringing best-practice models to Kwara State, in north-central Nigeria, including the development and distribution of client-held personal health records (PHRs), and a partnership with Johnson & Johnson (JnJ) and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) to deliver emergency obstetrics and newborn care ‘skills and drills’ training which aims to lower maternal mortality by up to 20%, WBFA emerged alongside other important players such as Medical Aid for Palestinians in Gaza; Barefoot Lawyers – Uganda; and Christian Aid UK, to mention a few

This nomination is one that is acknowledged by WBFA and will primarily serve as a source of encouragement towards increasing our efforts in the fight to save more lives, and empower women and adolescent girls through innovative, tested and proven solutions/interventions.

WBFA remains committed to working with communities across Africa to build learning and awareness, as well as empower women, thereby creating opportunities/platforms that enable them to seek better lives for themselves and their communities, while contributing our quota towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Good one.
Others should emulate cos the IDPs could have been any of us.
Support in whatever way you can, no matter how little it looks like.

Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has dissociated himself from the N60bn arms deal involving the immediate past National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd).

Saraki in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, stated that contrary to report published in an online medium, SaharaReporters, he has never had anything to do with purchase of security equipment because in his entire political career he never served in any committee or body which has any link with Defence or national security.

"As a member of the Seventh Senate, Dr. Saraki was not a member of any of the committees which have oversight function on the Ministry of Defence or the intelligence and national security apparatus. If he was tagged the leader of the opposition to the Jonathan administration, how then will he be privy to Arms purchases and have the influence to blackmail any government agency or institution over the release of funds.

"The Senate President would like to alert members of the public to this new plot by this particular online medium, SaharaReporters to tarnish his reputation as the medium and its sponsors pursue the singular objective of removing him from the office of the Senate President, an objective they have since failed to achieve within and outside the National Assembly"

This time around, SaharaReporters and its sponsors chose to drag the Senate President to this reigning and current issue of arms purchase by insinuating that he once blackmailed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to give him and other Senators the sum of N250 million as a way of covering up the arbitrary withdrawal by the NSA from the security fund approved by the former President.

First, there is no logic in SaharaReporters’ claim as Dr. Saraki who was persecuted by the last administration could not have had the influence and good standing to walk up to the Central Bank to demand for any money having exposed many atrocities of the past administration. Again, on what ground would the Senate President blackmail anyone for 250 Million naira? It must be emphasized here that Dr. Saraki will never engage in any sharp practice or issue which will warrant him to blackmail any individual or government institution.
"Therefore for record purposes, Dr. Saraki did not collect any money from any official of the CBN in respect of any arms deal. The Senate President also challenge SaharaReporters or any official of the apex bank, Senator, serving or past, who witnessed or participated in any sharing of the alleged money purported to have been received by him, to come out with evidence.

"It should be recalled that SaharaReporters believe it can continue to disparage and defame people claiming that it is operating outside the country. The medium cannot operate above the law.

"This same medium had falsely published the data page of a forged passport it purportedly claimed belonged to Saraki. The Home Office in the United Kingdom has since written to confirm that the said passport, does not belong to the Senate President. Also, SaharaReporters once claimed that Saraki bribed some judges using a former Chief Justice of Nigeria as a front. The claim has since been proven to be false. Anybody who knows the reputation of the retired Justice in question knows that he cannot be used to pervert the cause of justice.

" It also claimed that Saraki tried to cover up the case of $20 billion missing NNPC fund and indeed collected “cash and gifts” from former President Goodluck Jonathan through Mr. Gilbert Chagoury when in actual fact the Senate President was the only member of the Senate committee who refused to sign the majority report of the Makarfi committee because he disagreed with the report which he believed did not address the matter. It is strange however that a man who dissociated himself from the probe report because he believed it amounted to a cover up was later accused by the same online medium as supporting attempts to hide the issue of the missing funds. This is not only completely false, but also a fiction concocted by SaharaReporters to defame Dr. Saraki.

"The game being played by SaharaReporters and its sponsors is clear. As they have done in previous cases involving the on-going trial of the Senate President at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, they are targeting the Appeal at the Supreme Court coming up on Thursday, December 3rd 2015. They want to prejudice the Supreme Court as they have done when they blackmailed a judge of the Federal High Court to withdraw from the case and also published false reports, which compelled the Court of Appeal to postpone its judgment at the last minute.

"Whatever the motive of SaharaReporters, it is high time we employed the instrument of the law to stop this act of impunity aimed at publishing false reports believing the victims will not go to court or be frustrated by its dubious claims that they are domiciled outside Nigeria.

" We urge all Nigerians and other well-meaning individuals across the globe to ignore this absolutely false claim by SaharaReporters. Like we earlier stated, this false claim shall not go unchallenged. We shall meet in court.

“We have allowed SaharaReporters enough latitude to indulge in their unscrupulous and mischievous method of journalism. However, enough is enough. We have no option than to commence legal action against Sahara Reporters in all relevant jurisdictions, particularly on the issue of fake passport, false claim of bribery and the recent one on blackmail, all aimed at tarnishing the image of the Senate President.

“We need to put an end to this concerted mischief of defaming the person and good reputation of Senator Bukola Saraki. We will vigorously defend the integrity of the Senate President. We believe law and global best practices should guide these cyber-warriors. They have abused the docility of the law for too long. Enough is enough.”


Yusuph Olaniyonu
Special adviser (Media and Publicity) to the Senate President

Saraki, Please beware of wolf in sheep clothing,
Dog-In-The-Manger-Tactics!
*Old Serpent Syndrome*

Senate President Bukola Saraki absolutely deserves the standing ovation for still being faithful to his party APC after all the persecution heaped on him by some of his party members
Good one.

Why The 8th @NGRSenate Is Not Opposed To The Implementation Of Treasury Single Account by @waleflame

Credits: Wale Bakare

The announcement by President Buhari at a public function to adopt a single treasury accounts for all revenues due to the government and its agencies has continued to elicit controversies from different quarters.

The Treasury Single Account (TSA) is an initiative that should be welcomed by all and economic pundits have argued that these steps are necessary to improve appropriation control and enable efficient cash management. The impunity that permeated the previous administration affected the full implementation of the TSA as funds were loosely spent to finance unproductive ventures with reckless abandon. Corruption and lack of sincerity by the executive has hindered the benefits of the scheme, rather more funds have disappeared under questionable circumstances and this explains the reasons for the mixed reaction when the TSA matter was up for debate and most especially the Senate stands to ensure that due process are followed in its contrivance and overall configuration.

If we have to adopt the Treasury Single Account, then we have to get it right this time, the change Mantra of the Buhari led government has given some credence of hope to an end to the shenanigans that has often encumbered the successes of such democratic process. To avoid a clog in the wheel of its progress, It is on this premise that the senate is demanding openness and accountability in its handling and execution from the running of the account by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the software system company- Systemspecs.

On Tuesday, the 17th of November 2015, during the plenary sitting shortly after the presentation of the report of the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, the Senator representing Kogi West Dino Melaiye raised a point of order calling the Abubakar Bukola Saraki led 8th Senate to investigate an alleged N25 billion commission paid to Systemspec being 1% of the accrued TSA fund that passed through its Software – REMITA. Baffled by the politicization of the TSA fund, Dino Melaiye also called the attention of the Senators to a publication in one of the National dailies sabotaging their earlier call for a probe into the alleged N25b commission paid. A copy of the newspaper publication was tendered and submitted to the Senate President for immediate action during plenary.

Based on constitutional provisions, the Executive arm of government led by President Buhari dispenses the honour and holds the sword of the community. He administers laws enacted by the legislature. The Legislative arm on the other hand prescribes the rules by which the duties and rights of every citizen are to be regulated. For instance, the civil society group or any aggrieved Nigerian can exercise his fundamental right by submitting a written petition to the Senate through the relevant Senate committees on any actions taken by the executive which is deemed inimical to the Country’s progress, while the same individual or group can write to the judicial arm to call the legislative and executive to order, which on the contrary, has no influence over the executive or the legislative.

Simple logic depicts that certain perplexity challenging the rights of the Senate, with an ample oversight power demanding ‘rare’ information from the executive on the TSA implementation shows the leaps and troughs of our democratic outreach. It is imperative that good governance in democratic settings like ours is dependent on the type of laws enacted by the legislature as they are the eyes of the electorate in their oversight capacity as watchdog to other arms of the government. While I agree that the relationship between the executive and the legislative arm should be strengthened as we’ve learnt from our nascent democracy, that one cannot be strictly separated and independent of the other, it is also, important that their cooperation must work in favor of those whom they represent; to formulate policies and laws in line with standard practices.

To further consolidate on the earlier points established by Senator Dino Melaiye, Section 82 and 120 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, empowers the national and state assemblies to direct or cause to be directed or investigated into:

Any matter or thing with respect to which it has powers to make laws
    2. The conduct of affairs of any person, authority, ministry or government department charged with the duty or responsibility for executing or administering laws enacted by the national or state assembly, and disbursing or administering the money appropriated;

      3. To make laws with respect to any matter within its legislative competence and to correct any defects in existing laws;

   4.To expose corruption, inefficiency or waste in the executive or the administration of laws within its legislative competence

Automatically, the Senate is required by law to exercise its democratic privileges to conduct investigation into the activities of the Treasury Single Account for good of the Country. However, it must be noted that these investigations are not in any way a confirmation of fraud until investigations are concluded. So, does carrying out this legislative oversight functions infer that the 8th Senate is opposed to the implementation of the Treasury Single Account?

The advantages that the TSA portends far outweighs its demerit for any right thinking person to vehemently oppose its successful implementations at a time like this when the Country is on its path to economic recovery and moral renaissance.

Loss of moral value is the reason many see this move as the ‘’Executive Vs Judiciary’’. The bone of contention here is who gets what and under what condition. What is the role being played by the e-collection agent (REMITA)? Why the disregard for the CBN act, which makes it mandatory as the sole body responsible for collection and disbursement of money on behalf of the Federal government. Answers to these any many other pertinent questons might fasttrack the implementation process and lay to rest the confusion surrounding funds payment.

In every rumour there’s a grain of truth in it, no matter how insignificant – that ‘’little truth’’ is what the senate seek to unravel. Checks and balances are necessary especially in this CHANGE era where expectations are high, monitoring of executive actions, through oversight mechanisms such as the committee on Finance, and Banking set up by the Senate President will cut wasteful spending and enhance speedy economic growth.  In my opinion, this motion raised by Melaiye to probe the activities of the TSA is similar to the type raised by Senate Bukola Saraki back then in 2011 on fuel subsidy payments, which eventually saved Nigeria a whooping N1.2 trillion in the excess crude account. The TSA must work effectively for Nigeria and it activities must not be shrouded in secrecy. On the positive, these might just be the beginning of an independence legislation we’ve been craving, devoid of financial or material benefits or inducement by members of the executive arm to overlook certain issues of national interest.

Wale Bakare writes from Lagos and can be reached on Twitter by @waleflame

Culled from: http://www.kwara247.com/why-the-8th-ngrsenate-is-not-opposed-to-the-implementation-of-treasury-single-account-by-waleflame/

Following the successful screening and Senate confirmation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial list, different groups within and outside the federal capital territory have described the just concluded Screening exercise as the most watched by Nigerians in a very long time. A group – The Integrity Watch Index (IWI) has commended the Senate President and Chairman of the 8th National Assembly- Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki for a successful and matured handling of the 36 man list of ministerial nominees that will be occupying various portfolios to aid productivity and boost economic growth.

In a statement made available to press men in Abuja yesterday, the group’s president Comrade Tochi Ibekwe spoke on behalf of the body, he was full of praises for the sagacity and commitment of Senator Bukola Saraki in carrying out the screening effectively despite the distractions that emanated from different quarters during the ministerial screening.

According to the Statement: ‘’I have never witnessed a vibrant senate more determined to forge a common cause in the interest of the nation than the Sarak led 8th Senate. With the live broadcast of the exercise watched by Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora, I am glad that our democracy is finally evolving to a globally accepted one among the committee of nations. This is a positive for our country, particularly for our youth who will learn one or two things about governance and our legislative system" He concluded.

In a similar commendation, a civil society group based in Kwara State Capital of Ilorin, Kwara Justice Forum (KJF) has described Bukola Saraki has their illustrious son in whom they are well pleased. The group Chairperson, Hajia Ruqoyat said that Kwarans from all walks of life have cause to be proud of the Senate President Bukola Saraki and his decisions so far in view of the recent development in the Senate on sensitive issues of national interest.

"From our findings so far, we have been able to establish that the purported media reportage of frictions between the legislative arm and the executive is non-existing. The Senate's screening of 36 nominees and confirmation of 17 ministerial nominees so far is a plus for our justice system in not using the Senate to undermine democracy or settle some old scores as it was rumored before the commencement of the screening. The Senators have all demonstrated a high sense of decorum, integrity and professionalism in screening the potential ministers despite the challenges it faced from external influencers”.

The group further urged Nigerians and most especially Kwarans to continue to support Senator Saraki and their representatives in order to enact useful laws that will ensure justice and fairness towards nation building.

Also joining in the commendation is the Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) who has expressed its delight on the confirmation of Rotimi Amaechi and others, describing the process as "democracy at work" and "victory over forces of darkness".

In part statement signed by its Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya and issued Thursday in the State capital, Port Harcourt, the party said the confirmation of the former governor signaled a victory over the forces of darkness.

"The Eighth Senate has by this action proved that they are not only patriotic and nationalist but also that they cannot allow petty politics to becloud their sense of reasoning as they seek to accomplish the onerous task of building a virile, vibrant, united and strong Nigeria.” The statement added.

Credits: Media Office of The Senate President

The attention of Dr. Bukola Saraki, President of the Senate, has been drawn to a charge sheet being widely circulated on the online media, upon which he is expected to be tried at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT). 

It should be noted that at the time of writing this statement (10.00am on September 16, 2015), Dr. Saraki has not been served the court process. However, we recognise that as a public officer, he owes members of the public explanation on the allegations contained in the charge sheet. 
We therefore state as follows:

1. That all the claims contained in the charge sheet are false, incorrect and untrue.

2. That Dr. Saraki has consistently declared his assets as required by law at every point before resuming any political office and that of 2015 is not an exception. It is surprising that the alleged charges is now referring his asset declaration made in 2003 while in office as Governor of Kwara State to formulate their charges. They therefore ignored the recent declaration for which they last week issued an acknowledgement.

3. That we believe that the Code of Conduct Bureau following their processes in which after a declaration is submitted to the bureau they carried out verification of the assets and ascertained the claims made, should not wait till 12 years later to be pointing out an alleged inconsistencies in a document submitted to it in 2003. This same Dr. Saraki submitted asset declaration form in 2007, 2011 and 2015. It is unexplainable that the case in question is now based on the 2003 declaration. 

4. This is why we are of the opinion that present effort is a desperate move initiated due to external influence and interference.

5. It should also be noted that contrary to the procedure indicated in the law setting up the CCB, the bureau never wrote to Dr. Saraki to complain of any inconsistency in his asset declaration forms.

6. It should also be noted that Dr. Saraki as Governor of Kwara State never operated a foreign account. 

7. That some of the issues contained in the charge sheet are subjects of earlier decided and on-going Court cases. We therefore believe those behind filing of these charges are engaging in forum-shopping.

8. It should be noted that we do not know on whose authority these charges are filed when the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act clearly indicate that any prosecution must be authorised by an Attorney General and we know the nation last had an AG in May 2015. This is another clear indication that the CCT is acting under influence from outside its domain and therefore ready to bend the rules to achieve this obnoxious objective

9. We therefore conclude that this is not an anti corruption driven case and cannot be part of the moves aimed at fighting corruption. It is simply a pure malicious and politically motivated prosecution aimed at undermining the person and office of the Senate President.

10. That those behind this plot will definitely meet Dr. Saraki in court as this case which is based on outright fabrication and mischief will not and cannot stand the test of justice.

11. it should be noted that throughout his career as a public official democratically elected to high public service, Dr Saraki has always held himself, to global standards of transparency and accountability, to a far higher standard of diligence, disclosure, and compliance, than required or even requested by Nigeria’s Code Of Conduct protocols. Thus, Dr Saraki has always, lawfully and accountably, declared his assets, both directly owned, and in which he may derive any historical and on-going degree of beneficial interest. 

12. In view of the above, Senator Saraki hereby affirms his belief in the justice system and that when the proposed case comes to the tribunal, he will diligently state his case. He is also ready to co-operate with the Tribunal and other lawful government agencies in the bid to genuinely fight corruption and eliminate impunity in our public affairs.


13. We also note that anytime you try to fight corruption or insist that the right thing should be done, the system will always come after you. This is another case of desperation to fight Dr. Saraki because of his recent stance on national issues.

Media Office Of The Senate President

http://www.abubakarbukolasaraki.com/saraki-debunks-frivolous-allegations-by-cct/

Senate President Bukola Saraki has discussed the issue of Boko Haram and plight of displaced persons with the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon.

Saraki had the session with Ban Ki Moon with 11 other heads of parliaments from different parts of the world as part of activities for the 4th United Nations Conference for Parliamentary Heads in New York, USA.

Senator Saraki who briefed the press after the meeting said Ban Ki Moon told the parliamentary heads that the UN viewed with seriousness the issue of terrorism, rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and general insecurity which he said further worsen the cases of poverty, underdevelopment and disrespect for the dignity of human persons.

The Senate President said he came out of the meeting with Ban Ki Moon more energized to get the much needed support for the IDPs and those affected by terrorism in the North Eastern part of his home country, Nigeria.


Watch the videos here: https:///541SAB87B5 https:///RydhV7Z5eG

All we can do is just thank God for the Bukola Saraki-led 8the Senate. It's looking quite like they have the interest of Nigerians at heart.

Following a recent query issued to NERC by the Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki-led Senate, on Monday, August 17th, 2015, the National Electricity Regulatory Committee, agreed to finally end the practice of bulk billing.

In a resolution presented on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, August 11, 2015, entitled: “Unfair trade practices of Electricity Distribution Companies in Nigeria,” which was sponsored by Senator Sam Egwu, from Ebonyi, and Senator David Umaru of Niger East Senatorial District, the Senate instructed NERC to “immediately abolish fixed charges on electricity consumption, bulk marketing of villages and communities.”

Additionally, the resolution required NERC to explain the “basis for Discos estimated electricity billing as well as payments made by consumers for meter installation in their homes.”

Initially, in a press conference held a week after the Senate query, NERC, under the leadership of its Chairman, Dr. Sam Amadi, attempted to defy the directive of the Upper Legislative body. However, in a swift turnaround, the commission released a statement on Monday, 17th August, 2015, stating that customers who do not receive power will henceforth be exempted from paying fixed charges. Additionally, the commission agreed with the Senate’s position on the need to eliminate the practice of bulk billing, and replace this practice with individual metering and billing.

Although it appears the Senate and NERC have reached an understanding on the issue of bulk billing, responding to the segment of the query on fixed charges and estimated billing, Dr. Amadi said that there is “no going back on the charges on electricity consumption fixed by the Commission as that was a global practice” – a compromise that many believe is a show of democracy at work.

Reacting to the development, the Senate President on Friday, August 21st, expressed his delight, stating that he was glad that NERC finally agreed with the position of the Senate.

In a series of Tweets on his personal page, Dr. Saraki further commended NERC for responding to Nigerian’s calls in such a prompt manner, and reassured Nigerians that the “Motion on #power should be a signal to other regulatory bodies that the 8th Senate will not allow anti-people policies to go unchecked.”

The Senate President went on to urge Nigerians to engage with their representatives in the legislature as the 8th Senate will make channels of communication available to Senators- asking Nigerians to contact their Senators for oversight of any agencies and/or organizations.

Many Nigerians took to social media to commend the Senate, with some like @ObongTunji tweeting to the Senate President’s @BukolaSaraki handles saying: “Keep doing the good work sir.”

Credits: Suleiman Ibrahim

THERE have been consistent efforts by reactionary forces within the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to portray Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara as disobedient and treacherous party men since June 9, 2015 when the election of presiding officers of the National Assembly. But nothing can be farther from the truth.

While, I disagree with those who want us to believe that the party has no say in who becomes what at the National Assembly, I prefer the term “party influence” to “party supremacy”. Only the Constitution is supreme in a democracy.  APC’s dictates cannot be superior to Section 50 of the Nigerian Constitution, which upholds the rights of even non-APC federal lawmakers to aspire to any presiding office of their choice.

Besides, ascribing supremacy to the party, especially when it is in pursuit of the personal interests of a few, sounds haughty, arrogant, and tyrannical. But, party influence means that you are able to rally your party men and women to tow party direction without necessarily feeling compelled, subjugated, and cheated. Rather they obey the party because the party’s motives   and modus oparandi radiate internal democracy, equity, and justice.

If the truth most be told,  the APC leadership and elders actually lost their moral authority to influence their federal lawmakers towards a desired result when they prevaricated on zoning and also failed to ensure that equity prevailed in allocation of substantive offices at the federal level among the various families (defunct political parties and splinter of parties) that make up the APC larger family. Some party leaders succeeded in goading the APC into clear preferential treatments for some contenders for the presiding officers positions of the National Assembly; and the party did it in such a way that left the New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) family of the APC with absolutely nothing, hence used and dumped.

After the controversial straw polls, substantive offices in the Federal Government, by APC’s proposal, were as follows: President Mohammadu Buhari (defunct CPC), Vice President Yemi Osibanjo (defunct ACN), Senate President Ahmed Lawn (defunct ANPP), Deputy Senate President George Akume (defunct ACN), Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila (defunct ACN), Deputy Speaker (defunct ANPP). It did not matter to the APC hierarchy that the nPDP brought five incumbent governors in addition to a good number of federal lawmakers and therefore contributed in no small measure to the party’s victory at the general elections.

Such treatment must have left people like Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara feeling like half casts of the APC family. The show of disdain and discrimination was so barefaced that in the so-called straw poll for the Speakership, Dogara’s supporters were taken unawares, while Gbajabiamila and his supporters came well mobilised and prepared because they were obviously tipped off. House Members-elect were also made to write their names and the name of their preferred candidate. It was lie voting at gunpoint, against your conscience. Little wonder Dogara’s group walked out, while Senator Saraki and his supporters boycotted the straw poll for the Senate Presidency entirely.

If the party was ever supreme, it vaporised once vaulting personal ambitions and interests of a few powerful party leaders took pre-eminence over the 1999 Constitution, parliamentary convention, internal democracy, justice, and equity. So, what the APC propagandists dubbed the ‘Saraki-Dogara rebellion’ is actually ‘APC injustice against Saraki and Dogara’.

It could be also be recalled that when Hon. Dogara accepted to cede the position of the Majority Leader to the “Loyalists”, with a proviso that it would not go to the South West and by implication, Hon. Gbajabiamila, since the zone already had the Deputy Speakership, the supremacists and their godfathers emotionally blackmailed President Muhammadu Buhari into eventually breaking his principle of non interference. Compelled, Dogara conceded the position to Gbajabiamila to massage Bola Tinubu’s battered ego. So, the party would have lost its ‘supremacy’ had another “Loyalist” like Hon. Ado Dogowa become the Majority Leader or the ‘Loyalists’ from the South East got the Deputy Majority Whip in line with federal character.

For Saraki, who would not succumb to such   tyranny against subsisting parliamentary convention, his wife suddenly became a guest of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC overnight.  But Mrs. Saraki had no immunity even as governor’s wife and also left office over five years ago. The Buhari we know would never go after Mrs. Saraki to get back at her husband, but I would be under the heavy influence of rum to vouch the same way for the many tin gods in the APC known to induce and manipulate state institutions to achieve selfish ends.

Pray, how on earth do you convince the world in this circumstance that Mrs. Saraki’s cross has nothing to do with her husband’s refusal to bow to ‘party supremacy’? If a witch cries at night and the child is pronounced dead in the morning, where would fingers naturally point? It looks every inch the case of Oba Ovonranwen Nogbaisi who says that when you cannot lynch the master, you go after his favourite goat. I think it is up to Mr. President as the father of the APC to utilise the opportunity of this National Assembly recess to ensure that the APC regains its peace, groove, and focus.Those singing the betrayal song to divide him and National Assembly or its leadership are just selfish. political actors who want to run a ring around him.

Likewise, the police meddling in the internal affairs of the Senate over trumped-up allegation of forgery of the Senate standing Rules 2015 bear all the imprimaturs of the tin gods of the APC. Pray, what have the police got to do with the Senate Rules for crying out loud.

It has never been the practice that Rules of a past Senate such as the 2011 Rules, which died with the 7th Senate, would apply to a new Senate such as the 8th Senate. Even the foot soldier of the APC tin gods like Senator Marafa who is promoting the lies along with his co-travelers in Senate disunity Forum, knows he was given 2011 Rules produced by the National Assembly management, not 2007 Rules, when he was first inaugurated a Senator in 2011 or the 6th Senate. So, if the 2015 Senate Rules is fake, where then is the original? It can’t be 2011 Rules, which by National Assembly, died with the 7th Senate.

Funny enough, the police took only the accounts of the arrowheads of the APC tin gods in the Senate (aka Senate Unity Forum). Same with former APC Senators. No single PDP Senator was interviewed, whether serving or former.  Not even the leadership of the 7th Senate.

I am also wondering what manner of investigation would dismiss the account of the Deputy Clerk to the National Assembly and the longest serving legislative expert in the National Assembly to all in the bid to arrive at a prearranged conclusion. The police admitted in their report that he said “The Senate Standing Orders 2003, 2007 and 2011 followed the same procedure as that of the 2015” and that  “amendment of Standing Orders is by practice and not necessarily by procedure”? in other words, if you say the 2015 Standing Rules was forged, all others before it, including that of 1999, were all forged because they were the products of the same procure.

My thinking is that it is up to Mr. President as the father of the APC to utilise the opportunity of this National Assembly recess to ensure that the APC regains its peace, groove, and focus. Those singing the betrayal song to divide him and National Assembly or its leadership are just selfish political actors who want to run a ring around him. The good thing is that the National Assembly has been cooperative, approving all his requests and appointments, including a questionable $75 World Bank Loan for a highly indebted Edo State. So, what does the President need from the National Assembly- party supremacy or cooperation?   It is up to him to decide.
 
Suleiman Ibrahim, a political analyst, wrote from Keffi, Nassarawa State.