General
CBA Foundation Shares Food, Cash to Anambra Widows
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
As part of the New Year celebration, the Chinwe Bode-Akinwande (CBA) Foundation, a non-governmental organization in Nigeria, has put smiles on faces of some widows in Nnewi, Anambra State.
The event, which was held on Friday, January 1, 2021, had excited widows numbering over 55 going home with food-items and financial empowerment.
Speaking at the event, the founder of the NGO, Mrs Chinwe Bode-Akinwande, said the basis for diligently driving the foundation is derived from the passion and need to impact the lives of underprivileged widows who have gone through so much pain and discrimination and might have lost hope.
“We give hope to the hopeless. We are driven to support underprivileged widows to have a positive outlook on life despite the problems they experience by losing their loved one, mostly the breadwinner of the family.
“At the moment, we have over 1,200 authentic widows on our profile. The successes have been enormous, many women are now business owners and are able to not just fend for their families but are employers of labour. Over 40 children who had lost hope in education are back to school, through the payment of school fees as well as provision of stationeries. Twenty-six underprivileged widows through our medical intervention recovered from stroke.
“We have reached out to over 5,600 underprivileged widows and over 850 children through our International Widow’s Day outreaches since we started with food items, clothing, skill acquisition training, and financial empowerment to some selected and medical outreaches. We can go on and on but time wouldn’t permit me,” she said.
Mrs Bode-Akinwande added: “We have a long term expansion plan but what matters to us at CBA Foundation is our immediate environment.
“This indeed forms the basis for expanding our environment beyond Lagos, Ogun and Anambra which we currently cover. We are hopeful that more individuals and organisations will support us to spread across the country and beyond.”
At the Nnewi outreach, the widows expressed gratitude to the foundation as some were seen with smiles and relief on their faces.
According to Mrs Nwosu, one of the widows, a bitter kola and palm kernel trader, every market day, she goes to the town’s market society to borrow money to be able to buy and resell; she thereafter returns the money along with a part of the profit.
Mrs Nwosu was given a seed capital for bitter kola and palm kernel business by the CBA Foundation.
Mrs Nnodu is a mother of three. She and her kids hawk fruits on the streets. They share the routes they have to cover daily. To boost her income, she used to borrow money from the women group to sell plastics but was unable to meet up interest and timelines. She became a lucky beneficiary of CBA Foundation seed capital for the plastic business and packaging of the fruits.
Just like Nwosu, periodic checks and reports are to be done by leaders of their respective groups to track their progress, Mrs. Chinwe Bode-Akinwande, the CBA founder said.
For Mrs Okonkwo, the kids’ welfare had remained a huge challenge. The widow who cleans the streets and takes care of her very aged mother, wants to start a poultry business that can fetch her money, take care of the sick aged mother with her is enough for her to cater for her kids. CBA has come to her rescue also by providing seed capital for the poultry business which will be tracked by her group leader just like others who were empowered the same day of outreach.
One of them, Mrs Akoma, goes into thick bushes to fetch firewood, arranges them and takes to different market days to sell and earn a living. Akaoma was also among the beneficiaries of the seed capital to start a business to immediately stop the risk to her life in the thick forest.
The CBA Foundation is primarily dedicated to promoting the protection of Nigerian underprivileged widows and their vulnerable children, restoring immediate and lasting hope, confidence, and courage in their lives.
Established in 2015, the foundation, under its five-point agenda, has reached out to thousands of underprivileged widows and children through skills acquisition training, health intervention, business start-ups and provision of clothing, nutrition and tuition fees for the children.
A breakdown shows 5,600 widows have been empowered through its women empowerment and capacity building initiative; over 3,500underprivileged widows have received health intervention while over 3,600 have received food items.
The foundation has also reinstated 45 children in schools, empowered 120 widows financially to start a business of their own and provided palliatives to 250 widows during the COVID-19 pandemic lock-down.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Director-General of the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership (NCSP), Mr Joseph Tegbe, is currently visiting China to bolster China-Nigeria relations and foster economic and sustainable development between both countries.
The DG, with the Nigerian delegation, on Monday was at the headquarters of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of the People’s Republic of China where the NDRC Deputy Chairman received them, Mr. Zhao Chenxin, and other top officials, as well as the Nigerian diplomatic community and the Chinese Business Community.
Mr Tegbe is expected to cement strategic agreements in line with President Tinubu’s vision, with China for national growth and in vital sectors of the economy such as agriculture, to boost food security, alternative energy for developing renewable energy sources, healthcare, mining for harnessing Nigeria’s mineral resources to drive economic growth, education to strengthen Nigeria institutions and promote cultural exchange.
Other areas include technology, to foster innovation and advancement, and the support initiative of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The visit of the NCSP ‘s DG underscores the federal government’s commitment to establishing strong bilateral relations and supporting Nigeria’s economic diversification plans, infrastructure development, technology transfer, and job creation to foster mutually beneficial collaboration between the two nations.
Through this initiative, Nigeria can leverage its resources and human capital to develop key industries, bolster infrastructure, and enhance youth capacity through skills acquisition programmes.
On Monday, the DG NCSP and his team visited the CCECC Head Office, had dinner with the CHEC, and will on Tuesday, visit the Governor of the Central Development Bank, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the China Export, Import Bank, as well as the China Development Bank. They also met with Power China Representatives.
They will on Wednesday, visit the Chief Harbour, the CHEC, CNCEC, and the CCECC Chairman, before moving to the CSCS Haishen Medical on Thursday, the CCECC, the China Building Materials, amongst others.
They will on Monday, 20th January, visit the Consulate General/Trade Mission Office, the Yang Shang Deep Sea Port, and Danghai Bridge (Sea).
The team is also expected at Huawei, before going to the CEC/ Long UAV, for a meeting with Diana Chen on Saturday, before returning to Nigeria.
This initiative comes on the heels of President Bola Tinubu’s official visit to China before the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), where he had talks with China’s President Xi Jinping on improved economic cooperation, with the latter pledging 360 Billion Yuan, (about $51 billion), financing to African nations in the next three years, and support for 30 infrastructure projects to boost connectivity across the continent.
Last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Nigeria to reinforce the growing partnership between China and Africa, especially Nigeria, with discussions on strengthening economic ties, enhancing security cooperation and mutual developmental goals.
As Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, seeks to become a net exporter to China in the next five years, the consolidated partnership is aimed at playing a crucial role in achieving this goal.
The country also remains China’s major partner on the continent for trade and technology investments.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, said power generation in the country increased by about 30 per cent in 2024, but missed crucial targets in the review year.
Mr Adelabu made the disclosure during his ministry’s 2025 budget defence before the Senate Committee on Power at the National Assembly complex on Monday.
He said that when he assumed the leadership of the ministry in 2023, he met an average of 4,100 megawatts of power generation.
“I can tell you authoritatively that by the end of 2024, we had a peak generation of 5,528 megawatts of power from 4,100 megawatts that we met on ground and the reason for this is not far-fetched. We added a new hydroelectric power dam, Zungeru, with 700 megawatts.
“There was also a tremendous increase in the generation lines by other existing generation companies,” he said.
The Minister said that the target for power generation was 6,000 megawatts, adding, however, that due to the challenges experienced toward the end of 2024 in terms of grid collapses, the ministry missed the target by a minimal margin.
He further said that apart from energy access expansion, the sector had plans to stabilise the grid and other transmission infrastructure.
“I’m happy to also inform you that out of the eight collapses of the national grid that we experienced during 2024, five were full collapses, while three were partial collapses.
“Out of the five full collapses, three were actually due to generation problems. So, as against the 12 collapse that were publicised, it was just about eight collapses.
“We have been trying very hard to ensure that we manage the grid that was inherited.
“Unfortunately, it is still very old. It is dilapidated. And we are just managing it until we are able to fix it permanently.
“This is the focus of the Presidential Power Initiative, to ensure that the entire grid is revamped so that we won’t be having all this vandalism.
“So these are the summaries of our activities. And we are proud to say that we almost met all our targets for 2024.
“Our hope is that 2025 will be a better year for us, and we will be able to address all the existing issues in the sector,” he said.
By Dipo Olowookere
The governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has refuted claims that he was involved in the removal of Mr Mudashiru Obasa as the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Mr Obasa was impeached on Monday after being on the seat since 2015 by 32 of the 40-member state parliament for alleged gross misconduct.
The action was carried out while the Speaker was away in the United States, with Mrs Mojisola Meranda elected as his replacement, becoming the first female to occupy the position.
It happened a few weeks after Mr Obasa said during the presentation of the 2025 budget by Mr Sanwo-Olu that he was qualified to be the governor of the state and even better than those who have occupied the position.
This statement by the former Speaker was seen as an affront on the previous governors of the state, including President Bola Tinubu, who governed Lagos between 1999 and 2007.
It has been speculated that Mr Obasa kept Governor Sanwo-Olu waiting for long during the budget presentation last month. It was claimed that this action infuriated the governor and leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Yesterday, members of the parliament in Lagos said they had had enough of Mr Obasa, moving to remove him from office.
As this happened, there were claims that Mr Sanwo-Olu instigated members of the Lagos State House of Assembly to impeach the former Speaker.
But the governor, through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Gboyega Akosile, distanced himself from the impeachment, emphasising that it was purely a decision of the legislative arm of government.
“This is a legislative matter, and the Assembly handled it as they saw fit. The governor has no involvement,” Mr Akosile, who once served as the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) of Mr Sanwo-Olu, said in an interview, noting that his principal does not interfere in the other arms of government.
-
Feature/OPED5 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism8 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz2 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking2 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports2 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
-
Technology4 years agoHow To Link Your MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile Lines to NIN