.As NAFDAC sensitizes indigenes on fake drugs, calls for vigilance, report of drug abuse
STEVE UNEGBU, Umuahia
The Abia Government says preparations have been concluded for the public presentation of the state’s 25-year development plan.
The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu, disclosed this on Monday in Umuahia while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting presided over by Gov. Alex Otti.
Kanu said the long-term plan is a strategic document designed to guide Abia’s development trajectory over the next quarter century.
He said the plan outlines short, medium and long-term goals with clear funding pathways and will be backed by legislation to ensure implementation irrespective of changes in administration.
According to him, the initiative aligns with the “developmental trajectory already demonstrated by the government’s achievements in the last 30 months”.
Kanu also announced that the Abia State Material Testing Laboratory has been completed and is ready for commissioning, adding that its operations will curb incidents of building collapse across the state.
The commissioner further stated that the second batch of the 2025 teachers’ recruitment exercise, which closed on Nov. 6, received 28,813 applications.
He said applicants have until Dec. 5 to verify their submissions ahead of shortlisting for the Computer Based Test.
On education data management, Kanu said the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education recently concluded its first annual school census in 24 years.
He said the digital census, which began on May 20, covered 4,150 schools, 1,687,326 learners and 45,151 staff.
He noted that many private school proprietors were reluctant to release enrolment figures but said the exercise nonetheless produced valuable data for planning.
He said highlights included the distribution of 1,221 Android tablets to school heads and data officers, training sessions facilitated by the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS), and the deployment of mentors in all 17 LGAs to support digital uploads.
“All schools successfully uploaded their data on the NEMIS portal for the first time in Abia,” he said, adding that the outcome reflects ongoing reforms in the state’s basic and secondary education sectors.
Kanu also reported that the adult and non-formal education programme is now operational across the state, aimed at equipping previously uneducated residents with skills needed for employment and personal advancement.
On infrastructure, he said the Ministry of Works executed direct-labour projects in 50 locations during the review period, completing five while adding seven new sites to its maintenance schedule.
.As NAFDAC sensitizes indigenes on fake drugs, calls for vigilance, report of drug abuse
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has called on Nigerians to be vigilant, pay attention to how the body reacts to medication, as well as report fake drugs to the Agency.
Speaking at the Stakeholders engagement programme with the theme,’ Grassroots community sensitization on pharmacovigilance’ organized by NAFDAC in partnership with the Immunization Plus Malaria process by Accelerating Coverage and Transforming service ( IMPACT) held at Rapha Hotel Umuahia, the representative of the Director General NAFDAC Anulika Princess Nwosu said the Agency has been doing a lot to reduce proliferation of fake drugs in Nigeria.
She added that NAFDAC is using some drug check App to verify the authenticity of drugs, such as Mobile Authentication Service( MAS), which uses scratch codes and short message service, among others.
She pointed out that the Agency is collaborating with other sister agencies like Drug Law Enforcement Agency to curb the Menace of drug abuse, while urging consumers to report suspicious drugs to the nearest NAFDAC office.
In her speech, the NAFDAC Focal person, Njoku Helen Noble, said part of the sensitization was on drug abuse,which means using substances in a way that it is harmful to the body, mind and society.
Njoku explained that people embarked on drug abuse due to peer pressure, stress, lack of parental guidance.
She noted that it has effects such as mental health problems, organ damage, addiction, poor memory, social effects like dropping out of school, violence, crime, prostitution, broken homes, poverty etc.
She advised community leaders and parents to monitor the youths in their environment.
Earlier, the Coordinator NAFDAC Abia State, Dr Ejike Nnamani, said NAFDAC is working so hard to implement the knowledge for change component through targeted Social Behavior Change Communication strategies. said the goal of the initiative is to strengthen the monitoring of medicinal products by institutionalizing pharmacovigilance across Nigeria using effective Social Behavior Change Communication strategy approaches.
He harped on the importance and benefits of pharmacovigilance, such as reporting of adverse drug reactions, use of substandard and falsified products.
He further explained that it will promote patient safety and enhance public health outcomes, adding that bringing drug safety monitoring to the community level will make communities active stakeholders in the NAFDAC pharmacovigilance system.
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