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UN targets 2030 as deadline to end violence against Women, Girls

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***as it urges sustained collective action

The United Nations has drawn global attention to the need for concerted action towards preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls leveraging on the annual 16 Days of Activism campaign.

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is an annual international campaign. It commences on 25th November (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women).
It climaxes on 10th December (Human Rights Day), indicating that violence against women is the most pervasive breach of human rights worldwide. 
The global theme of the 16 Days of Activism for 2022 is UNiTE! Activism To End Violence Against Women and Girls!” 
To this end the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator and the UN Women Nigeria Country Office convened a high-level Orange the World Ceremony and the Lighting of the UN House to commemorate the 16 Days of Activism for the year. 
During the event, The Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Nigeria Mr. Matthias Schmale pointed out that the 2022 theme UNITE! Activism to End Violence against Women and Girls aligns with SDG-17 on partnerships as it calls for global action from all stakeholders to increase awareness and share knowledge to end this pandemic of violence once and for all. 
“The lighting of UN House is one way we can show our solidarity with the victims of gender-based violence. The colour orange signifies our commitment to a brighter future free from violence against women and girls. 
“We are calling for an increased spotlight on the many forms that this violence can take and the culture of silence that often surrounds its victims. 
“Much progress has been made recently with the Violence Against Person’s Prohibition Act which has been passed into law by 34 out of the 36 states. 
“This has been made possible by the collective efforts of government, civil society, development partners, UN agencies, and the donor community. Let this be an inspiration to us for further partnership and coordination together.   
“The EU-UN Spotlight initiative is another good example of collaboration towards ending violence against women and girls. We need more such initiatives to scale up current actions to eliminate harmful practices such as child marriage, female genital mutilation, human trafficking, sexual violence, and domestic violence. 

“We need large scale investments in data collection, evidence gathering, and provision of legal support services to ensure access to justice is quick and unhindered. Perpetrators of violence need to be reliably prosecuted. 

“We must also pool resources to protect women and girls in humanitarian settings including those affected by the recent catastrophic flooding. 
According to him, with the upcoming 2023 elections, we need greater efforts towards ensuring that women in politics are protected against all forms of violence and discrimination. “We need women participating in political life and making decisions for themselves and others.”
UN Women country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS Beatrice Eyong indicated that in Nigeria, 30 per cent of girls and women aged between 15 and 49 reported having experienced sexual abuse.  

“The Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey shows that 14 per cent of women in Nigeria have experienced physical violence. Cases of violence against women increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. 

“A UN report revealed that by April 2020, cases of gender-based violence increased by 56 per cent after only two weeks of lockdown. These unfortunate realities of our time call for collective and systematic efforts in dealing with the menace. 

She said the overall objective of this Orange Ceremony and Lighting of the UN building is to strengthen partnership to end violence against women and girls among UN agencies, Government MDAs, Diplomatic Community, Development Partners, Security Agencies, Civil Society Organization and Media, among other stakeholders, while also increasing visibility and public support for the 16 Days of Activism. 

“Another major aspect of this ceremony is the official orange lighting of the UN Building

The light initiative is integral to the UN Women and the UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE Campaign and is used to “symbolize a brighter future without violence.” 

The “orange” comes from the fire ignited by the many women’s groups dedicated to combating violence against women around the world. We call on our partners to join us in promoting the orange campaign throughout the 16 days and beyond so as to galvanize more support to end violence against women and girls. 

“We must sustain the momentum for a brighter future where men and women, girls and boys enjoy equal rights, devoid of discrimination and all forms of violence.
The event’s highlight was the lighting of the UN House in orange. The light initiative is integral to the UN Women and the UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE Campaign and “symbolises a brighter future without violence.” The “orange” comes from the fire ignited by the many women’s groups dedicated to combating violence against women worldwide.
The event drew participants from high profile delegations such as top-level government officials, high level UN Delegation, Donor Communities, Civil Society Organizations, young women organizations, male champions, persons living with disabilities, among others. 

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Clark tells Tinubu to set up special Military Task Force to rescue Chibok Girls, others

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***Blames him for failure to rescue tgen after 10years

Elderstatesman and Leader of the Ijaw Nation, Chief Edwin Clark, has urged President Bola Tinubu to set up a special military task force to rescur the remaining Chibok School Girls and others still in the captivity of the Boko Haram insurgents.

The Ijaw national leader gave the indication at a news conference in Abuja to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Chibok Girls abduction by the dreaded Islamic sect.

He said the special military task force should be coordinated by a courageous military

While expressing displeasure over the failure of past administrations to rescue the girls, Clark urged President Bola Tinubu to leave no stone unturned to secure the release of the girls.

“About 90 of them are still missing after 10 years. This should be a source of worry and concern to any government of a nation.

“Tinubu should appoint a special taskforce with brave soldiers, competent, transparent and not nepotic.

According to the elderstatesman “It appears to some of us that the President Tinubu’s Government is not serious in the effort to rescue the remaining Chibok girls.
“About ninety (90) of them are still missing after ten (10) years. This should be a source of worry and concern to any government of a serious nation.

“I recall that in October, 2020, when a United States of America (USA) citizen, Mr. Philip Walton was held hostage between Niger Republic and Nigeria, the government of the United States deployed one of its machineries, the Naval Special Warfare group, popularly known as SEAL Team Six, who rescued Mr. Walton in Nigeria.
” The then President of the US, Mr. Donald Trump, followed the matter to up to conclusion. When the Mr. Philip was rescued,
“President Trump was so excited that a citizen of his country held hostage had been rescued and described the action as “big win for our very elite U. S. Special Forces.” Also, speaking on the incident, the then US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said “The United States is committed to the safe return of all U. S. citizens taken captive.
“We delivered on that commitment late last night in Nigeria, where some of our bravest and most skilled warriors rescued a U. S. citizen after a group of armed men took him hostage across the border in Niger”.
Clark wandered why the case of Nigeria is different.
According to him,In the case of the U. S., it was just one person, yet the government of the country went all out to ensure his rescue.
“In Nigeria, we are still talking about 90 girls still missing, ten years after.
Explaining further he said the Nigerian government bungled fresh negotiation to free Chibok girls
He said he led a high-level negotiations between the Nigerian government team and Boko Haram insurgents, to secure the release of 220 Chibok girls saying that it crumbled

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Kogi Central: Again, Natasha distributes six trucks of grains to constituents

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The lawmaker representing Kogi Central senatorial district, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has distributed another six trucks of grains to her constituents to cushion the effects of the economic hardship ravaging the country.

At the Yuletide, the senator had distributed six trailers of rice, 20,000 notebooks, and 10,000 wrappers to her constituents for Christmas and New Year celebrations Additionally, she provided 5,000 branded bags to school children in the senatorial district’s five local government areas.
In that round of empowerment programme she targeted widows and the underprivileged, with the senator stating that the items were not exclusive to PDP members but for every deserving constituent, irrespective of party affiliation

This time, the six trucks of grains contain 7,200 bags of rice, beans, and millet distributed to the 57 Wards of the five local government areas of the senatorial district.

The beneficiaries included Muslim community, Christian community, Drivers’ union, Okada/Keke union, Mechanics’ union, pensioners, Hausa/Fulani community, Yoruba community, amongst others.

She reiterated the position that the distribution must reach all her constituents irrespective of party affiliations, adding that she will continue to do her best to bring the very best dividends of democracy to them.

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Easter: Woman leader tells women traders to involve God in all their businesses

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By Ekuson Nw’Ogbunka

The woman leader, National Association of Nigeria Traders (NANTs) in Abuja the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief (Mrs) Rachael Adewumi has advised women traders in the nation’s capital to always involve God in their businesses.

Adewumi gave the admonition to the women traders in her Easter message on Thursday.

Adewumi was last year reelected as the woman leader and inaugurated along with others in ither positions with her in March.

Reiterating the essence of involving God in one’s business and other dealings, the woman leader said with the fear of God and His involvement in their business, sky would be their limit.
She urged them to have faith in God, adding that everyone who put his faith in God will never be disappointed.

The woman leader wished them well in the Easter celebration, as she reminded them that Easter is celebrated to observe the sacrifice of Jesus for mankind, adding that Easter is usually celebrated to promote peace, love and worship God, among other good gestures.

Enjoining them to remain law abiding and be supportive to the government, Amb Adewumi noted that, that will do a lot of good, as no government would plan evil for its citizens.

She further urged the women traders to neither hoard food items and other goods, nor sell at exorbitant profit as it would deny their customers and other Nigerians, the right to enjoy the Easter.

The woman leader also advised the women traders to neither spend above their income, nor make their husbands to do likewise, even as she urged husbands to accept Christ as their boss, for the wife to know that the husband is the head of the family.

She however appealed to the government at all levels to always intervene in the high rates commercial banks charge for loans, saying that the women traders, if encouraged or empowered would contribute immensely to the economy. Adewumi indicated that the markets, plazas, streets, among other areas where buying and selling are done, more than 80% of the traders are women.

“These women, if encouraged in the area of empowerment, among other similar gestures would go a long way to boosting the economy. Most of these women started with little or nothing, but today, they are doing wonderfully well, beyond imagination.
“So let the government find a way of encouraging and empowering the women traders, which if done will go a long way for this country,” she stated.

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