The house of representatives is considering extending the time limit for the prosecution of sexual offences against girls below 13 years of age.

The bill, which has passed the first reading, is sponsored by Bitrus Laori, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker representing Demsa/Numan/Lamurde federal constituency of Adamawa state.

The bill proposes an amendment to sections 218 and 221 of the Criminal Code Act.

Section 218 of the extant law stipulates that: “Any person who has unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of thirteen years is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for life, with or without caning.

“Any person who attempts to have unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of thirteen years is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for fourteen years, with or without caning.

“A prosecution for either of the offences defined in this section of this Code shall be begun within two months after the offence is committed.

“A person cannot be convicted of either of the offences defined in this section of this Code upon the uncorroborated testimony of one witness.”

The bill seeks to amend the section by replacing the paragraph: “A prosecution for any of the offences defined in this section shall be commenced within two months after the offence is committed” with “A prosecution for any of the offences defined in this section shall be commenced within two years after the offence is committed”.

Laori said the two-month period stated in the law is insufficient to gather the necessary facts needed to prosecute an offender and is a “defence to free the offender of criminal responsibility even if it were true that the accused actually committed the offence”.

“The two-month period of limitation within which an offender of these offences has to be prosecuted provides a window of escape from prosecution and punishment of such offenders after two months,” he said.

“Many times where these offences are committed, reporting of the cases, arrest of the offender, investigation, collection and processing of evidence as well as commencement of trial take longer time than two months.

“This is usually influenced by many factors including threats, stigmatisation and absence of willing witnesses to testify for the prosecution.

“The two-month period provided by the law is, without doubt, too short to achieve this.

“The implication is that where the two-month period elapses, the offender is in law free of all criminal responsibility in that regard while the victim is denied justice and the effect of the offence on the victim remains.

“The removal of this time limit would put perpetrators in the know that there is no window of escape for them once they commit this offence and would operate to a great extent in deterring them and others from further committing the offences.”

[TheCable]

A report by the Auditor-General of the federation’s office has indicted the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) in the diversion and misappropriation of public funds and non-timely remittance of revenue to the federation account in 2021.

The report, published in November, details cases of unauthorized deductions of N82.9 billion from the federation revenue for refinery rehabilitation and irregular deductions of funds valued at N343 billion from domestic crude sales at the source.

The OAuGF report observed that N343,642,598,726.51 was unilaterally deducted from the gross domestic crude sales as NNPC Value shortfall, Strategic Stock Holding Cost, Crude Oil, and Products Pipeline Losses, as well as the pipeline maintenance and management costs.

The corporation did not provide the details of each cost component for audit review, and the corporation’s management could not justify the reasons for the deductions.

The NNPCL management ought to have paid a net payable sum of N127,075,366,570.65 in May but only remitted the sum of N77 billion, leaving the sum of N50 billion largely unaccounted for.

According to the report, these anomalies are attributed to the weaknesses in the NNPC’s internal control system.

This deduction is a violation of the 2009 Financial Regulations and the OAuGF has advised the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL to provide reasons for the deductions, remit the funds to the federation account, and provide proof of remittance else stand a chance of facing sanctions relating to irregular payments and gross misconduct.

Similarly, the NNPCL was also indicted for the deduction of N82.9 billion from the sale of Crude Oil and Gas (Federation Revenue) from the 2020 and 2021 records for purported refineries rehabilitation.

This deduction was not supported with evidence of authorisation and approvals.

Following these revelations, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a civil society organisation (CSO), directed the GCEO of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, to account for the misappropriated funds.

The Guardian earlier published a report detailing SERAP’s demands.

The CSO demanded that Kyari identify and hand over those suspected of involvement to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and

Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“According to the recently published 2021 audited report by the Auditor-General of the Federation (AGF), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) failed to account for over

N825 billion and $2.5 billion of public funds meant for refinery rehabilitation and repairs, and other oil revenues,” SERAP noted.

SERAP emphasized that Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) requires public institutions to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power.

[Guardian]

A Rivers State High Court has upheld Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s authority to conduct official business with the three lawmakers who have not vacated their seats in the state house of assembly.

The ruling, delivered on December 20 by Presiding Judge Sika Aprioku, dismissed a suit seeking to compel Fubara to present the 2024 state budget to the Martin Amaewhule-led assembly.

The case, marked PHC/3552/CS/2024, was filed by the Registered Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners.

The plaintiffs sought to require the governor to submit the budget for passage to the 27-member assembly, led by Amaewhule.

The suit named the Government of Rivers State, Governor Fubara, and the Attorney General of the state as defendants.

After hearing arguments from both parties, the court ruled that the governor is constitutionally allowed to engage only with the lawmakers who have not vacated their seats.
Judge Aprioku referenced previous instances, including under former Governor Nyesom Wike, where business was conducted with fewer than the full legislative numbers.

“Therefore, the same way His Excellency Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, presented Budgets and financial Bills with only six members when the numbers were less than two third 2/3 of the 32 Members, so shall His Excellency, Siminalayi Fubara, the Governor of Rivers State be constitutionally guided to interface, and approach the properly constituted House of Assembly led by Oko-Jumbo, to carry on the business of the state and until the 27 lawmakers who defected and lost their seats, approaches the court, for a redemption or INEC conducts another election to the seats vacated by the 27 lawmakers upon their defection,” the court said.

The ruling also explained that as long as the status of the 27 defecting lawmakers remains in question—pending the outcome of the ongoing case concerning their seats—the governor can work with the current assembly members who have retained their positions.

This includes presenting the state budget, making board appointments, and screening nominees for executive positions.

The court concluded that the suit brought by the claimant lacked merit and dismissed the application.

The plaintiffs were also ordered to pay N500,000 in costs to the defendants.

“In sum, until the Supreme Court gives its verdict on the issue of jurisdiction which affects the status of the 27 lawmakers, it is only those who did not vacate their seats, the Governor can constitutionally approach to the present budget, appoint chief judges and president, customary court; also screen commissioners, including the attorney general and make board appointments.

“That the claimant’s claim seeking declaratory and injunctive reliefs for the Representation of the 2024 budget to the former 27 lawmakers, who defected and automatically vacated their seats, lacks merit and is accordingly dismissed.

“That this suit be and is hereby dismissed, with cost in the sum of N500,000.00, awarded in favour of the defendants and against the claimant.”

[Guardian]

The Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church in the Wenchi West District of the Mid-West Ghana Conference, Bono Region, celebrated 20 young girls over the weekend for preserving their virginity. The girls, aged 13 to 16, received undisclosed financial support during a special Thanksgiving service.

As reported by GhanaWeb, the ceremony was led by the Young Adventist Women Ministries and aimed to promote moral integrity, rooted in Christian and cultural values.

The Coordinator of the Young Adventist Women Ministries, Mrs. Nana Amponsah Poku, highlighted the initiative’s focus on nurturing the holistic development of young women.

She emphasized the importance of self-confidence and wise decision-making, urging the girls to maintain their purity and remain cautious in choosing friends in the coming year.

“God created you uniquely beautiful and you must not allow anybody to lure and break your virginity until you marry”, she urged the girls and asked them to be cautious about the friends they picked in 2025.

“The ancient Bragoro or Dipo rite was very essential in preserving girls’ virginity and controlling teenage pregnancies inimical to the growth and development of young girls and women”, she stated.

Associate Pastor Andrews Dua Bour Kyereh praised the honorees for their discipline and purity. He encouraged them to prioritize education and faith, urging other young girls in the church and community to follow their example.

Pastor Kyereh also called on parents to take an active role in guiding their children toward virtuous living and instilling strong moral values.

[Punch]

The Left Movement in Nigeria gained two of its best known leaders in 1973. Edwin ‘Eddie’ Ikechukwu Madunagu was a 27-year-old postgraduate student of Mathematics, specifically Differential Equations and Functions of a Complex Variable. He was in the University of Lagos, UNILAG, and had joined the Nigerian Youth Action Committee, NYAC.

In UNILAG, that same year, he met a 26-year-old postgraduate student of Botany, Benedicta ‘Bene’ Michael Afangide and immediately drew her into the movement. The following year, they were with the Society for Progress, a radical youth organisation led by high school teacher, Olu Adebayo.

That same 1974, Bene and Eddie were with the Anti-Poverty Movement of Nigeria, APMON. It was the period of the Public Service Review Commission headed by Jerome Udoji, hence it became known as Udoji Award. APMON got information that, under it, the military regime led by General Yakubu Jack Gowon had approved humongous salary increases for members of the armed forces. It published the new military salary, and members of APMON, including Eddie, were in January 1975, clamped into detention without trial. Students in campuses across the country went on nationwide demonstrations to protest Eddie’s arrest and demanded that the regime stepped down. One of the student leaders, Najeem Jimoh, wrote that: “The mobilisation of the leadership of the student unions nationwide to join our cause was easy because the couple (Bene and Eddie) had always identified with us students…Bene was the great inspiration of our efforts.” Eddie was released in the fifth month and reinstated to his UNILAG teaching job.

In 1976, they joined the Revolutionary Movement for the Liberation of Nigeria, REMLON. This was also the year they got married and undertook one of the most dangerous tasks in their lives: a plot to overthrow the Nigerian state. For this, Eddie resigned from UNILAG and went underground with others. As they planned an armed struggle to carry out a socialist revolution, the revolutionaries were embedded amongst the peasantry in Ode-Omu, now in Osun State. Eddie, to the peasants, was an Ijesha man. You can imagine their reaction when they later found out that he was not even Yoruba.

 While being part of the plan for an insurrection, Bene, that year, transferred her services from UNILAG to the University of Calabar, UNICAL. When the insurrection plan fell through, Eddie joined Bene in UNICAL. That 1977, they jointly founded a revolutionary students movement on campus called the Movement for Progressive Nigeria, MPN. One of their protégées, a then 21-year-old student, Offiong Offiong Aqua, emerged the pioneer President of the UNICAL Students Union.

In the April 1978 ‘Ali-Must-Go’ national students protests against the commercialisation of tertiary education, Aqua was fingered as one of the five ring leaders. He was detained without trial for months and expelled. Bene and Eddie were identified as the mentors of Aqua and providing inspiration for the protests. They were both dismissed from their jobs along with nine other lecturers and administrators in other tertiary institutions. Also dismissed was Bassey Ekpo Bassey, Editor of ‘Chronicle Newspapers’ and a close comrade of Bene and Eddie in Calabar.

It must have been quite tasking for a couple with Ph.Ds to be out of work and be unemployable for three years because the state so dictated.

In 1981, the year they were reinstated, Bene and Eddie participated in founding the National Democratic Movement Against Fascism, NDM, to tackle the growing fascism under the Shehu Shagari government. That administration had fallen on campuses like a hurricane, sweeping dozens of student leaders out of schools like the Bayero University, BUK, and the Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, while also smashing the leadership of the newly established National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS.

It was part of the efforts to stem this tide and resuscitate the NANS that led the radical national student movement, the Patriotic Youth Movement of Nigeria, PYMN, to send a two-person delegation round some campuses. Comprising then University of Ife Technology student, Femi Fatonode and I, our mission to UNICAL was to meet Bene and Eddie and ask them to link us with members of the MPN. It was on that mission we established contacts with the MPN leader, Kayode Komolafe, known on campus as Komo. Subsequently, the MPN sent two of their cadres, Chris Mammah and Eddie Igharo to the 1981 NANS Convention in the University of Benin, and they emerged respectively as the President and Secretary General of NANS. Those protégées of Bene and Eddie established the radical foundations of NANS which sustained the student movement through the Shagari administration and the brutal military regimes of Buhari, Babangida and Abacha.

The Marxism of Bene and Eddie is centred on social justice, humanism, freedom, internationalism and anti-sexism. In 1981, fierce debates on the rights of the woman boiled over in ABU leading to a national conference in that university from May 27-28, 1982. Two of the papers accepted at that heated conference were by Bene and Eddie. They made a joint presentation on “Conceptual Framework and Methodology: Marxism and the Question of Women’s Liberation.” They posited that the oppression of the woman in the nuclei family is located, first in her role as housewife performing socially necessary, but unpaid, labour. Secondly, as a mother, in which her role “as child bearer is exploited to perpetuate her social inequality with men.”

A socialist revolution, they argued, would not necessarily lead to women emancipation, so women liberation must be integrated into the struggle for socialism.

In a separate paper: “Contemporary Positions and Experiences of Women”, Bene argued that women oppression is in addition to the oppression of the mass, and neither can be liberated without the other. One salutary outcome of that conference was the establishment of a radical women movement called the Women In Nigeria, WIN. In a joint 1986 paper with great women champion, Altine Mohammed, Bene theorised that the strength of WIN is in straddling the class and gender fields, and accepting both males and females as members.

Bene with Grace Osakue in 1993, founded the Girls’ Power Initiative, GPI. Ten years later, she became the General Coordinator of the Development Alternatives With Women for a New Era, DAWN, a network of women from the global South working for democracy, gender and economic justice.

On April 30, 2021, Bene and Eddie ahead of the latter’s 75th birthday on May 15, jointly renewed their vows to socialist revolution in Nigeria and worldwide, and transferred their combined archives to the Nigerian Left.

On November 26, 2024, Bene joined the pantheon of international revolutionaries. The Left, her family and other lovers of humanity will gather in Calabar on Friday, January 17, 2025 to give Bene a final Red Salute.

The chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has dismissed claims that the panel did not consult with Nigerian governors.

The introduction of the bills by the Bola Tinubu-led government sparked widespread debates, especially in the north, with the Northern Governors Forum, the Northern Elders Forum, and others expressing strong opposition to the bill. 

The proposed legislation seeks to reform the country’s tax collection and administration systems, offering an opportunity to establish a more equitable and efficient taxation model. It includes the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.

Earlier, elder statesman and northern politician Buba Galadima claimed that the tax committee failed to consult with governors, adding that the bills were only fair to Ogun and Lagos states, adding that the Oyedele-led group failed to meet with any governor except that of Lagos state.

Speaking during an appearance on Arise TV on Sunday, Oyedele faulted Galadima’s allegations, revealling that the heads of the state governments cancelled four scheduled meetings.

He said, “We have more than 20 government institutions represented. We have the private sector, whether it’s manufacturers, whether it’s women in business. We have 45 students from 22 universities across Nigeria.

“In addition to that, we had extensive engagement with the governors. I went to the governors’ forum. We wrote and wanted to meet with six governors, one from each of the six geopolitical zones. Up until this moment, it’s only the governor of Lagos state we were able to see.

“The other governor who was willing to welcome us was the governor of Kaduna state. And after all the logistics, we agreed on the date, on that day he wasn’t able to attend. It was the deputy governor that hosted us. I will not name the other governors, but I can actually if I need to. They didn’t have time for us.

“The governors’ forum themselves invited us four times and canceled four times. The fifth time, we were kept waiting until 1:30 a.m., in the middle of the night. By the time they had time for us, they said we had 15 minutes.

“And I said, Your Excellencies, we have a lot to talk about. They said, tell us how our revenues will go up. Even that, we couldn’t say in 15 minutes. We had a half-day engagement with the finance commissioners from across Nigeria. We’ve had more than four engagements with the heads of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from all over Nigeria. 

“We’ve had engagements with different groups, more than 40 sectors, from manufacturers to SMEs to FinTech. And these things were published.”

To address issues of misinformation, Oyedele revealed the committee met with over 120 northern clerics and regularly engages with northern groups like the League of Northern Democrats.

His words: “I’ll tell you that we had an interesting meeting with the Ulamas. They are the clerics, mostly from the north. There were over 120. We had to explain everything to them. And many of them, when we were done, were praying for the work we had done because there was a lot of misinformation previously. 

“We had meetings also with some sections of the north. I was with the League of Northern Democrats. So if they call me today, most times I get less than a 24-hour notice. I have to fly around to go to different places. So we are happy to discuss. We are willing to discuss.”

[Vanguard]

Nigeria’s telecoms industry, and the digital economy that has developed around it, are at a fundamental inflection point. The decisions that we make now will determine whether the growth and development of our digital economy continues on a sustainable trajectory, or whether the connectivity infrastructure that drives it begins to degrade.

The scope, breadth and sophistication of Nigeria’s telecoms industry today is a shining example of what can happen when a country combines the right policy and regulatory environment, with the right market opportunity. Since the first call was made in 2001, Nigeria’s telecoms sector has evolved into one of the largest and most sophisticated in the world, meeting the growing needs of Nigerian consumers and employing millions of people. Today, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) statistics show that there are now more than 157 million active connections, and that number is growing every month.

As the telecoms industry has expanded connectivity, it has enabled the emergence and rapid growth of the digital economy. In 2024, ICT contributed nearly 20% to Nigeria’s GDP, more than twice the contribution of oil and gas, and it continues to grow. As Nigeria transitions to the non-oil based economy that will enable more inclusive growth, connectivity is becoming more and more important. It is the foundation on which our future economy will be built. Whether it is your digital banking solution, social media and marketing, your mobile-based agricultural extension services, your e-government portal or the telemedicine and edtech solutions that are enabling broader access to healthcare and education, the impact of improved connectivity is universal.

That is why we must act now to ensure that we have a sustainable platform for the connectivity needs of the future. The NCC and the Federal Government are quite rightly-focused on ensuring Nigerians have the service levels that they deserve, but they also recognise that the industry needs the help and support of the government. The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the ministry of digital economy and communications under the able minister, Bosun Tijani, should be commended for their recognition of the need to support the industry, and the actions that they have taken to do so. For instance, legislation like the critical national infrastructure bill is vital to the maintenance of service quality levels, and systemic debt issues in the sector – both of which have now been comprehensively addressed. These all help establish the foundations for the future.

It is also commendable the other generic, giant strides the minister and the government as a collective, are taking to promote the nation’s digital economy. For instance, the ‘Three Million Technical Talents’ (3MTT) programme, which is a critical part of the Renewed Hope Agenda, is aimed at building Nigeria’s technical talent backbone to power our digital economy and position Nigeria as a net talent exporter. Put this side by side with the same government’s planned 90,000km terrestrial fibre roll-out, it becomes glaring that we now have a more forward-looking policy formulators at the helm of affairs. When completed, the fibre optics network will move the nation’s capacity from 35,000 to 125,000, making it one of the longest in Africa.

Ensuring service quality and reliability is at the heart of our mission as telecom operators, but achieving this requires a delicate balance between the cost of a product, and the investment that is made to maintain or enhance it.

Over the last decade, the tariffs that you pay for telecom services have not changed, yet over that time, operating expenses in the sector have increased by more than 300%. That equation is simply unsustainable for any industry, but even more so for a capital-intensive sector like telecoms. If you look closely at the financials of a telecoms company you will see that in order to maintain standards, delivery service quality and invest in new technology operators have to make continued and significant capital investments. The simple reality for our industry is that investment drives growth. If costs exceed revenue generation, then it becomes questionable whether the funds that need to be reinvested into the network every year will continue to be available. When that happens, growth stops and the service quality that our customers rely on suffers.

The consequences of this would go far beyond the telecoms industry. The digital services that we have all become reliant on could begin to suffer. Millions of jobs would be lost and Nigeria’s economic development would be set back by decades. This is not just a threat to our company and our industry. It is a threat to the nation, and every one of its citizens.

At the same time, the industry and the government recognise that Nigerian consumers have faced a range of significant cost of living challenges over recent years, and the transition to market pricing in the fuel and electricity sectors have driven up prices across the board. We know that we have to find the right balance between the increases that the industry wants, and the prices that Nigerians can afford to pay.

It is also important to assess the cost of Nigeria’s telecoms services compared to our contemporaries in Africa. Recent studies have shown that the average cost of 1GB of data in Nigeria is $0.38. That compares to $0.59 in Kenya, $0.68 in Ethiopia, $1.77 in South Africa and $6 in the USA. Today, Nigeria has some of the cheapest data prices for its citizens anywhere in the world.

The discussions between the industry and government have been deliberate and focused on finding the right balance, while aligning with pricing in other markets. It is why the proposed tariff increases will surely be capped, and definitely much lower than the price increases that have been imposed in other sectors like power/energy and oil; and ensuring that prices remain below our contemporaries. So not only will increases be capped well below the levels the industry has requested, but they are linked to a requirement to invest in network upgrades and service improvements, which will be overseen by the NCC to ensure compliance.

This balance of tariff increases, alongside investment commitments means that not only will the telecoms industry have the confidence to invest, and a clear pathway back to sustainability – but the higher prices will lead to better networks, more relevant services and so the better customer experience that enables growth.

Nigeria’s digital economy has shown its potential in the last decade, but the journey we are on to develop and grow it is still in its very early stages. The decision that the government has taken to ensure a sustainable tariff regime is brave, necessary and must be commended. It will ensure that our digital economy can remain on its growth path.

At MTN Nigeria we have demonstrated our long-term commitment to Nigeria many times. We believed when no one else did. We continue to believe, and we are committed to partnering with Nigeria and Nigerians to continue to invest based on that belief.

Dr Karl Toriola is the CEO of MTN Nigeria.

When Rotary started in 1905, it was just an idea and the vision of one man: Paul Percy Harris. The Chicago, Illinois-based attorney formed the Rotary Club of Chicago on February 23, 1905 (the first Rotary Club in the world with his three friends), so that professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful lifelong friendships. Over time, Rotary’s reach and vision gradually extended to humanitarian service.

By next month, Rotary International would be 120 years old – the fellowship and humanitarian service organisation that you will find in over 200 countries and geographical regions, including some of the world’s most remote locations.

Paul Harris died a long time ago on January 27, 1947 when he was 78 years old. But Rotary – his dream and idea – has continued to thrive and endure and waxing stronger each day with 1.4 million members in over 46,000 Rotary and Rotaract Clubs worldwide.

In 1917, something remarkable happened during the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a life-changing initiative that would ensure that the Rotary vision of serving humanity did not die. It simply means Rotary would be with us forever; the idea would be sustained in perpetuity.

Arch Klumph, the sixth President of Rotary International, came up with the idea of setting up an endowment fund at the convention that became known as The Rotary Foundation (TRF) “for the purpose of doing good in the world.” It was previously called the Permanent Fund. That idea, with an initial contribution of US$26.50, “set in motion a powerful force that has transformed millions of lives around the world.”

The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill and peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment and alleviating poverty.

The Rotary Foundation is the non-profit arm of Rotary International. A Board of Trustees manages the business of the Foundation, led by the trustee chair. The Rotary International president-elect nominates the trustees, who are elected by the Rotary International Board of Directors.

The trustee chair serves for one year and trustees serve for four years. One of the trustees is our own Pearl Ijeoma Okoro, a Nigerian, who is currently serving on the board. Ijeoma is a Past District Governor of District 9141, and her tenure as TRF trustee would lapse on June 30, 2028.

The current trustee chair is Mark Daniel Maloney, who was Rotary International President in 2019-20 when the Covid-19 pandemic turned the world upside down. It was during his term that Rotary held its first-ever virtual convention from June 20 – 26, 2020 that was originally planned to be a physical event in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The seed money of US$26.50 has continued to grow and the value this year is expected to reach US$2.025 billion.  All the monies donated to the foundation are invested in various high-yielding ventures like stocks, bonds, real estate, etc. as advised by the trustees for a period of three years.

After three years, the funds – only the interest is touched – become available to be disbursed as grants. The Rotary Foundation offers grants that support humanitarian projects, scholarships, and vocational learning teams. We have: a) district grants, b) global grants, c) disaster response grants and d) program of scale grants.

District grants fund smaller-scale, short-term projects that address immediate needs in our communities or abroad; global grants support large international projects with long-term, sustainable outcomes in one or more of Rotary’s areas of focus. They range from US$30,000 to US$400,000.

The disaster response grants support disaster relief and recovery efforts in areas that have been affected by natural disasters through grants from the Rotary Disaster Response Fund, while the program of scale grants benefit a large number of people or a significant geographical area. The grant supports Rotary member-led, evidence-based programs that have already demonstrated success.

The program of scale grant is worth US$2 million and three have been issued to date. The first grant was given to Zambia to fight malaria (Malaria-Free Zambia project); the second grant was given to Nigeria for maternal and child health while the third was given to Egypt for cervical cancer.

Rotarians and non-Rotarians are encouraged to contribute to foundation. The three types of funds available in the foundation are: a) the Annual Program Fund, b) the PolioPlus Fund and c) the Endowment Fund.

Under the Endowment Fund, we have the Arch Klumph Society (named after the sixth President of Rotary International) which recognises The Rotary Foundation’s highest tier donors – those who have contributed US$250,000 or more during their lifetime. Some Nigerian Rotarians are Arch Klumph Society members.

Under this fund, we also have Bequest Society members (those who make a commitment for future gifts of US$10,000 or more to the fund that is redeemed after their death), and Benefactors (those who contribute US$1,000 or more to the fund outright, or when they include the fund as a beneficiary of US$1,000 or more in their estate plans).

Now, let’s talk about Polio and the fund being used for the eradication of the wild-polio virus. “Polio, or poliomyelitis,” according to a statement on Rotary International’s website, “is a paralysing and potentially deadly disease that most commonly affect children under the age of five. The virus spreads from person to person, typically through contaminated water. It can attack the nervous system.

“Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years. As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), Rotary’s commitment has seen polio cases reduced by 99.9 per cent since the first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979.

“Rotary members have contributed US$2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly three billion children in 122 countries from this paralysing disease. Rotary advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by governments to contribute more than US$10 billion to the effort.”

Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. “Until the polio virus transmission is interrupted in these two countries,” says GPEI, “all countries remain at risk of importation of polio, especially vulnerable countries with weak public health and immunization services and travel or trade links to endemic countries.”

Nigeria used to be listed alongside Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Nigeria (PAIN, what an acronym!) as the remaining countries in the world where the polio virus was endemic. However, Nigeria was certified polio-free on August 24, 2020 by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Before then, Nigeria’s last case of indigenous wild-polio virus was in 2016, whereas in 2006, Nigeria had the highest number of polio cases in the world.

More than US$300 million was spent by Rotary to kick out the polio virus from Nigeria. Last year, The Rotary Foundation donated another US$14 million to strengthen polio surveillance in the country which was facilitated by the Nigeria National PolioPlus Committee chaired by Past District Governor Joshua Hassan.

The eradication of the wild polio virus was successful because community health workers and volunteer community mobilisers built effective community engagement; regions of high risk were targeted; missed children were tracked, and community-based surveillance and independent monitoring were improved.

However, information on the current status as of December 2022, revealed that there were 168 cases of vaccine-derived variant of polio (a circulating type 2 transmission strain), in the country. To maintain the polio-free status, Nigeria administers over 270 million vaccines each year.

In 2024, Nigeria recorded around 50 polio cases between January and May, despite vaccination campaigns and monitoring efforts. The polio virus that was discovered in Nigeria in 2021 continues to circulate, particularly in high risk areas. This variant often affects communities that are under-immunised, where routine vaccine coverage is low.

Every Rotarian is required to support the PolioPlus Fund by contributing a minimum of US$10, while the contribution by each Rotary Club is US$1,500. Each Rotary District is expected to apply 20 per cent of their District Designated Funds (DDF) to support the fund which is matched with an additional 50 per cent by Rotary’s World Fund.

By the way, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation doubles contributions to the polio fund in the ratio of 2:1 matching grant.

Mark Maloney, the TRF chair and his spouse, Gay, are visiting Nigeria from January 15 – 20, 2025. The couple would be received by Pearl Ijeoma Okoro (member of The Rotary Foundation Board of Trustees) and other Rotary leaders in Abuja.

He is scheduled to meet President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Aso Villa. Mark Maloney added Tunde to Mark as a mark of his engagements and recognition of his footprints in Nigeria. President Tinubu should call him Marktunde Maloney to confirm is Nigeria-ness and his relationship with Nigerians.

This would not his first visit to Nigeria. I recall that in September 2018, Maloney and Gay were in Nigeria. At that time, Maloney was the President-elect of Rotary International. We posed for photographs at Eko Hotel, in Lagos.

Maloney and Gay are billed to interact with Rotarians in Abuja (District 9126 and District 9127) before flying into Lagos on Saturday January 18, where he would be hosted by District Governors Oluwole Kukoyi and Femi Adenekan of District 9111 and District 9112 respectively.

His itinerary in Lagos includes a press conference, advocacy engagements, visit to the Polio House, funding raiser, symbolic polio immunisation, town hall meeting and gala dinner with Rotarians, partners as well as other stakeholders.

How are you doing good in your community? What are you doing to make a difference in other people’s lives? It is never too late; you can start today. You can become a goodwill ambassador, and you can also decide to join Rotary.

Braimah is a communications strategist and publisher/editor-in-chief of Naija Times (https://ntm.ng) and Lagos Post (https://lagospost.ng). He is also the Chair of Public Image Committee (2024-2025), Rotary International, District 9112, and can be reached at ehi.braimah@neomedia.com.ng.

India has detected two cases of the human metapneumovirus (HMPV).

The development follows the outbreak of the virus in China which has caused global concern.

HMPV, which was first reported in 2001 in the Netherlands, is a single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus that causes symptoms similar to the common cold and influenza, including cough, fever, nasal congestion, and fatigue, with an incubation period of three to six days.

It causes severe complications like pneumonia in infants, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems.

It spreads through respiratory droplets or contact with contaminated surfaces.

In a statement on Monday, India’s ministry of health announced that the country’s Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has detected two cases of the virus.

The ministry said the virus was detected in a three-month-old female infant, who was diagnosed with HMPV after being admitted to Baptist Hospital, Bengaluru with a history of bronchopneumonia.

The other patient is an eight-month-old male infant, who tested positive for HMPV on January 3, 2025, after being admitted to Baptist Hospital, Bengaluru, with a history of bronchopneumonia.

The ministry said while the three-month-old has since been discharged, the eight-month-old infant is recovering.

“Both cases were identified through routine surveillance for multiple respiratory viral pathogens, as part of ICMR’s ongoing efforts to monitor respiratory illnesses across the country,” the statement reads.

“It is emphasized that HMPV is already in circulation globally, including in India, and cases of respiratory illnesses associated with HMPV have been reported in various countries.

“Furthermore, based on current data from ICMR and the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) network, there has been no unusual surge in Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) or Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases in the country.”

The ministry noted that “neither of the affected patients have any history of international travel”.

“Union Health Ministry is monitoring the situation through all available surveillance channels. ICMR will continue to track trends in HMPV circulation throughout the year,” the statement reads.

“The World Health Organization (WHO) is already providing timely updates regarding the situation in China to further inform ongoing measures.

“The recent preparedness drill conducted across the country has shown that India is well-equipped to handle any potential increase in respiratory illnesses and public health interventions can be deployed promptly if needed.”

[TheCable]