Actress and producer Ruth Kadiri  speaks out about the lack of vaccines for babies in Nigerian hospitals, expressing her frustration and concern.

Ruth Kadiri revealed that her daughter has gone more than a year without being vaccinated, as hospitals continue to face shortages of essential immunization vaccines.

The Nollywood star highlighted that this is a nationwide issue, with mothers across the country struggling to access vaccines for their children. 

With a sense of urgency, Kadiri called on the federal government to address this pressing vaccination issue and ensure that all babies receive the necessary immunisations.

Taking to her Instagram account, Kadiri shared her plea:

“My nurse just informed me there are no vacancies for babies at the hospital! Mothers are facing the same vaccination issues.

“Federal Government, please look into this. My daughter needs her immunisation. Over one year and counting. Help our babies o!”

Few months ago, Ruth Kadiri cried out to her fans to help her get her money from a company that wants to advantage of her financial situation.

According to her, she had a business transaction with a body shaper and waist trainer manufacturer, but her items were never delivered, despite her best attempts.

Given the state of the economy, Ruth implored the business to either refund her money or deliver the merchandise.

She bemoaned her frustration and sadness at falling prey to scammers, expressing how difficult it is to gain trust these days and said that none of her communications had been answered.

The distraught actress made her plea to her fans on social media, hoping that they can help her retrieve her money.

With the receipt of transfer made to the company.

Renowned Nigerian actress and comedian Helen Paul recently opened up about her experience securing a visa to move to the United States after facing rejection earlier.

During a conversation with media personality Daddy Freeze, Helen Paul got into the specifics of her relocation to America, shedding light on the challenges she encountered along the way.

She stated that her initial intention was solely to obtain a visiting visa to accompany her husband to see her godfather in Chicago. To her surprise, her visa application was rejected on the same day as her graduation from the University of Lagos.

“”I didn’t know that I was going to relocate, I had only applied for my visiting visa but I got rejected. For what reason? I wasn’t sure, and it was the same day as my PHD graduation from the University of Lagos. My husband wanted us to visit my Godfather in Chicago to celebrate, so when I got the rejection I was surprised and then we spoke to my father who said to get me a lawyer to re-appeal” she recounted.

Upon further investigation, Helen Paul discovered that her previous visa denial was due to her engagement in work during a prior visit to the US.

“When he got us a lawyer the lawyer said ‘I’m going to call you back’ and when she called back she said, ‘I see that you’ve been doing some jobs, you have an account and you haven’t been paying tax.‘” she admitted.

Reflecting on the situation, Helen Paul admitted to her lack of awareness regarding the implications of her work activities while in the US.

“As entertainers, we often lack information on the technicalities of taxes and work permits. Sometimes, we accept gigs abroad without considering the legal consequences, only to face repercussions later on,” she explained.

Ultimately, after revisiting her options with the assistance of her lawyer, Helen Paul was presented with an opportunity for an entertainer visa, which allowed her to stay in the US for one to two years. Encouraged by her godfather’s support, she decided to go ahead with the application.

“I was like ‘Is that it?’ because most times as entertainers we don’t have the information. We come abroad with a visiting visa and we put it on Facebook or Instagram and then we have people calling you to say ‘Come to our bar, party or birthday,’ But when they are paying you, some of them are innocently wicked or they don’t know, they would put your name and account on their tax as a record that they’ve given you a job.

“So we were told to do the visa for entertainers called the J1 visa, it’s a one or two years green card. And then the lawyer called me back saying ‘Congratulations, from your resume you have a PhD from one of the best universities in Nigeria,’ and I said yes. When she got everything from me and we started exchanging emails and my godfather told me to try for it and I did” she concluded.

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Ahead of the first anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, a group of 84 local and international Civil Society Organisations says at least 4,416 persons were killed.

In contrast, 4,334 others were abducted in incidents of mass atrocities across the country, in the last year, the CSOs said.

The groups said the numbers did not account for the regular crimes like armed robbery and other forms of crime committed in the period, adding that the situation had reduced the citizens’ right to life and dignity guaranteed under Sections 33 and 34 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended), to a mere inscription.

Addressing journalists at a press conference held in Abuja on Tuesday, to mark the 2024 National Day of Mourning, said the insecurity in the country had earned Nigeria a place as one of the most insecure countries in the world, ranking 144th out of 163 countries on the Global Peace Index in 2024.

“Since the commemoration of the last National Day of Mourning #NDOM2023 on May 28th, 2023, and President Tinubu’s first year in office, our records show that at least 4416 people were killed and at least 4334 were abducted in incidents of mass atrocities across the country.

“These numbers do not account for the regular crimes of armed robbery and other forms of crimes within that range.

These incidents of violence have reduced the citizens’ right to life and dignity guaranteed under Sections 33 and 34 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) to a mere inscription.

“The frequency of these atrocities has kept Nigerians in a state of perpetual fear and uncertainty and is impacting social cohesion, the economy, public health, and education across the country,” the CSOs said.

The press conference was addressed by Lois Auta, Founder of Cedar Seed Foundation; Martins Obono, Executive Director of TAP Initiative; and Frank Tietie, the Executive Director of Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights, who said the frequency of the atrocities had kept Nigerians in a state of perpetual fear and uncertainty, and impacting social cohesion, the economy, public health, and education across the country.

They further stated that the Northern Central region had accounted for the highest number of fatalities, with at least 1600 lost, the North West came in second place with at least 1,136 fatalities, with Maradun Local Government, a community in Zamfara state, being the most hard-hit after enduring at least five separate incidents of terror in 2023, with at least 118 lives lost.

“While no region of the country has been spared in the past year, the North Central region has accounted for the highest number of fatalities from mass atrocities, with at least 1600 lives claimed in terror pillages, communal clashes, and herdsmen attacks.

“With at least 1,136 deaths, mostly from terror-pillage attacks(banditry), the Northwest came in second.

Particularly hard-hit were communities like Maradun Local Government Area in Zamfara State, which endured at least five separate incidents of terror pillages in 2023 in a series of attacks that claimed at least 118 lives.

“At least 904 people were killed in the Northeast in the past year. Boko Haram/ISWAP activities still account for the highest number of atrocious killings in the Northeast, particularly in Borno State, with pockets of incidents in Yobe and Adamawa states.

“We also noted an upsurge in insurgent group clashes. For example, at least 82 Boko Haram insurgents were killed in an inter-insurgent group clash in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State,” the CSOs asserted.

The Southeast recorded the highest number of killings in the Southern part of the country with at least 344 killed, with most of the massacres occurring in Imo and Anambra states.

The groups also noted that the state security personnel also fell victim to violence, with at least 262 personnel killed on active duty, with the number including 110 military and 126 police officers.

They, however, warned President Bola Tinubu, the security service chiefs, and the representatives at the National Assembly that their continued failure to fulfill their constitutional duty would result in our passing a loud and consequential vote of no confidence in them.

The CSOs urged the government to fulfil its constitutional obligations under Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended and ensure the security of Nigerians’ lives and property.

Yunusa Tanko, the spokesman for the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi has said that the party has no interest in merging with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He explained that the party would rather consider allying with the PDP to unseat the current All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government.

According to him, the PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar and Obi must first develop strategies for moving forward, before involving their respective parties.

Tanko stated this in an interview with Punch.

Recall that some weeks back, Obi had met with Atiku in a closed door meeting in Abuja.

Speaking on the development, Tanko argued that any potential merger must adhere to the fundamental principles of the political parties.

He said, “That (merging) would take a technical level and technical vision, and the technical discussion will be done at the party level. But this particular discussion is discussed at the highest level of interest. ‘You are a presidential candidate, I am a presidential candidate, let us reason together on how to solve the problem.’

“So that will dovetail into the issue of merger, then the technical issue of political parties will be done.”

The presidential candidate’s spokesman, however, said merging of political parties requires considering the technicalities, adding that for now, it remained a discussion between two leading candidates.

“Because a merger means that people will leave their political party and be subjected to scrutiny or leave this particular banner, the logo, and their names and adopt new names, logos, and others.

“But an alliance means that you just work together and meet with each other. This is your strength, this is my strength. Let’s do it together and see how it works.

“So, two things happen. Let the leaders first of all agree on that, after which they can drag their political parties into it,” he added.