News
Fight Against Sickle Cell: NDDC Joins Forces With NGO
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Sickle Cell Awareness Initiative Ireland-Nigeria (SCAIIN) have launched a landmark Sickle Cell Awareness and Advocacy Flagship programme in the nine states of the region.
It was gathered that the partnership designed to promote public health, drive awareness, and mobilize resources to address sickle cell, which had become a pressing public health challenge in the Niger Delta region.
The event, which was held at the NDDC Headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Thursday, was designed to bridge the gap in sickle cell disease management and care.
In his remarks, the Managing Director/CEO of NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, said that the project was a collective responsibility to promote public health, drive awareness, and mobilise resources to address sickle cell disease as a regional priority.
Ogbuku noted that sickle cell disease affects thousands of individuals and families in the Niger Delta, with many lacking access to early diagnosis, counseling, and treatment.
He said the country bore a significant burden of the disease, with approximately three perncent of the population affected and about 150,000 babies born with the condition annually.
Ogbuku said that the partnership between NDDC and SCAIIN included community outreach, genetic screening, education, blood drives, and high-level advocacy.
He explained that the initiative would save lives and lay the groundwork for long-term prevention, research, and care, assuring that the NDDC remained committed to investing in programmes that directly improved the health and wellbeing of the people of the Niger Delta.
He said: “NDDC remains committed to investing in programs that directly improve the health and wellbeing of the people of the Niger Delta. As we collaborate with our partners, healthcare providers, and the broader public, I am confident that this initiative will not only save lives but also lay the groundwork for long-term prevention, research, and care.
“On behalf of the Niger Delta Development Commission, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to all those who have contributed to making this vision a reality. Together, we reaffirm our shared mission: to build healthier, stronger communities for today and for generations to come.”
Ogbuku expressed gratitude to all those, who had contributed to making this vision a reality, emphasising that the project was a meaningful step forward in combining community outreach, genetic screening, education, blood drives, and high-level advocacy under a comprehensive initiative.
In her address, Esther Pepple Onolememen, Clinical Psychotherapist and Founder of SCAIIN explained that the project was to address the growing burden of sickle cell disease in the Niger Delta region.
She said the initiative, supported by the NDDC, would increase awareness, provide genetic screening, train healthcare professionals, and empower families with the necessary education and tools.
Onolememen noted that the journey began nearly 25 years ago when her daughter, Reme, suffered a stroke at just eight months old due to complications from sickle cell disorder.
She said the life-altering experience sparked her advocacy work and led her to co-found SCAIIN, the Sickle Cell Society Ireland, and the Umoja Africa Sickle Cell Consortia (UMASCCO), a Pan-African platform of nearly 40 countries.
Onolememen emphasized the importance of collective action in addressing the growing burden of sickle cell disease.
She said: “We cannot ignore the statistics. We cannot ignore the stories. This must change. The NDDC’s support has been instrumental in facilitating this initiative, demonstrating the impact of institutional and community collaboration.
In his welcome address, Dr. George Uzonwanne, Director of Education, Health, and Social Services at NDDC, described the initiative as a deeply meaningful step towards restoring dignity, understanding, and hope to countless lives affected by sickle cell disease.
“Caring for people living with hereditary conditions like sickle cell disorder is not just a healthcare duty, but a moral calling”, he said.
He said the NDDC’s support for the initiative was part of its broader efforts to build a Niger Delta that heals, understands, and never leaves its own behind.
He said by working together, stakeholders could make a meaningful difference in the lives of thousands of individuals and families affected by sickle cell disease, and ultimately create a brighter future for the region.
Thenationonlineng.net
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has emerged winner of the Ghari/Tsanyawa supplementary election in Kano state
The returning officer, Professor Muhammad Waziri of Bayero University, declared Garba Ya’u Gwarmai of the APC winner with 31,472 votes
Waziri defeated the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Yusuf Ali Maigado, who polled 27,931 votes
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has secured victory in the Ghari/Tsanyawa supplementary election held in Kano state.
Announcing the results on Sunday morning, August 17, the returning officer (RO), Professor Muhammad Waziri from Bayero University, declared APC candidate Garba Gwarmai the winner with a total of 31,472 votes.
He defeated the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Yusuf Maigado, who polled 27,931 votes, according to The Punch.
The supplementary poll was conducted after the initial election in the constituency was declared inconclusive. With a margin of 3,541 votes, Gwarmai’s victory marks a key win for the APC as the party continues to reinforce its influence across the state.
Meanwhile, the NNPP won the Bagwai/Shanono state assembly by-election in Kano state.
Daily Trust and Vanguard noted this update.
Announcing the result at 12:36 a.m. on Sunday, August 17, the RO for the election, Prof. Hassan Adamu Shitu, declared the NNPP candidate, Ali Hassan Kiyawa, winner with 16,198 votes, defeating the APC candidate, Ahmad Muhammad Kadamu, who polled 5,347 votes.
Former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, has said that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is performing well but lacks an effective communication strategy to relay its achievements to Nigerians.
Aliyu made the statement on the Thursday edition of Arise Television’s ‘The Morning Show’, while reacting to the outcome of a recent public accountability session held in Kaduna.
Aliyu, reflecting on the discussions at the Kaduna Forum, said the government is facing public dissatisfaction not because it hasn’t delivered, but because it is failing to tell its own story effectively.
The ex-governor said it is proper for political leaders in the North to make demands from Tinubu’s administration since the bulk of the votes that took power came from the region.
“Let the people understand what is happening on the ground. If by what we say that 63/64 percent of the vote came from the north, it is only logical that the north will be expecting so much from the government.
“But from what we have seen so far is that the government is doing well but they do not know how to communicate very well,” he said.
News
New Twist As El-Rufai Snubs ADC, Announces Another Party To Vote In Kaduna Bye-Election [ Video Trends]
Former Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, appeared to have taken a reverse from the coalition’s adopted political platform, ADC
This is as the former governor took to social media and asked the people of Zaria, Chikun to vote for another party in the Saturday, August 16 (today), bye-elections in the constituencies in Kaduna
Recall that the former governor recently visited Sokoto to canvass support for the ADC, while criticising President Bola Tinubu and the APC government.
Click to watch El-Rufai’s video here
— Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai (@elrufai) August 14, 2025
Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna, has fueled speculations that he dumped the recently adopted coalition political platform, African Democratic Congress (ADC), as he called on the people of Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency and Zaria Kewaye and Basawa state constituency to vote for the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
However, in a dramatic turn, the former governor urged the people of Zaria and Chikun to vote for the SDP in the Saturday, August 16, by-election, a poll which was meant to test the opposition’s strength ahead of the 2027 general election.
Recall that El-Rufai defected to the SDP after dumping the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), but soon after joining the party, the SDP fell into a leadership crisis, and the former governor has been silent on his membership and allegations against him.
El-Rufai recently visited Sokoto on a mission to gather support for the ADC. He described his action as a patriotic one to rescue Nigeria from the grip of ‘nepotism’ and ‘incompetence’.
During his visit to Sokoto, the former governor attended two important events meant to sensitise the people and political stakeholders working to achieve the agenda of sacking President Tinubu and the APC in the next general election.
During his address at the event, the former governor lambasted the ruling party and called them ‘a failed, clannish, and visionless administration that has plunged Nigeria into deeper socio-economic misery’.
He declared that it was time for Nigerians to rise against the APC and accused the party of ‘broken promises and elite conspiracy’. He warned that any move to vote for the APC beyond 2027 would be a greater doom for the country.
However, in a sharp turn, the former governor, in a video posted on his social media page ahead of the by-election, urged the people in the constituencies where the poll will be held in Kaduna on Saturday, August 16, to vote for the SDP rather than the ADC he went to Sokoto to canvass for.
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BREAKING: Winner Emerges In Kano Bye-Election As APC, NNPP Lock Horns
BREAKING: ADC Claims Victory Against APC In Kaduna Bye-Election
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