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Blindness: Nigerian govt may establish Federal Institute for Vision, Optical Research across six geopolitical zones – Rep Obuzor

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The House of Representatives member representing Ahoada West/Ogba Egbema/Ndoni, Victor Obuzor, has disclosed that the Nigerian government may subsequently replicate the establishment of the Federal Institute for Vision and Optical Research in Rivers State across the six geopolitical zones of the nation.

The Rivers lawmaker, who sponsored the bill for the establishment of the Institute, addressed journalists on Monday, saying the support the bill received during and after the public hearing recently held at the National Assembly was encouraging.

“The House is delighted with the bill and has asked that the Institute, since it’s one of its kind, should be replicated in the six geopolitical zones,” he said.

He called the establishment of the proposed institute an urgent necessity.

“As guardians of public health, we must address the escalating prevalence of vision impairment, particularly in underserved communities,” he added.

With an estimated 50 million Nigerians currently affected by visual disabilities and over seven million already blind, the need for decisive action has never been more pressing.

“The proposed institute represents a crucial step towards mitigating this growing public health challenge and ensuring a brighter future for our citizens,” he stressed.

Earlier in his presentation at the public hearing, he explained that “vision disorders are reaching epidemic proportions in Nigeria, exacerbated by limited access to ophthalmic care, particularly in rural locales,” adding that projections by the World Health Organization suggest that the current figure may double by 2050 without the right interventions.

On the proposed bill to establish the Federal College of Optometry to provide courses leading to the award of designated degrees, diplomas, and certificates in Optometry and related courses, which he also sponsored, he said the desire of any government is to have a population of healthy citizens.

“This is why governments all over the world, including Nigeria, continue to fund health-related infrastructure as well as basic health and eye care services to ensure that health sector objectives are actualized.

“The impact of optometric care is growing worldwide, and countries have devoted huge resources toward the development of infrastructure and human capital to ensure that this vital organ of the human body is given its pride of place, because without the eyes, life and living would be difficult,” he stated.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, had during the hearing assured that the bills, if considered and passed into law, “will address the current low-level scientific research and development in vision healthcare and ensure a phenomenal increase in the number of qualified professional manpower and the establishment of more specialized eye care facilities across the country.”

Also in his remarks, Chairman of the Committee on Specialty Healthcare, Hon. Alex Egbona, while expressing support, said the bills generally seek to increase public access to healthcare for Nigerians in the area of eye care, vision, and optical health.

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Politics

PRESIDENT TINUBU INAUGURATES NATIONAL CENSUS COMMITTEE, GIVES THREE-WEEK DEADLINE FOR REPORT

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April 16, 2025

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STATEHOUSE PRESS RELEASE

PRESIDENT TINUBU INAUGURATES NATIONAL CENSUS COMMITTEE, GIVES THREE-WEEK DEADLINE FOR REPORT

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inaugurated a high-level committee on the forthcoming national population and housing census on Wednesday. The committee will submit an interim report within three weeks.

The President said the census is crucial for national development, accurate planning, and effective decision-making in healthcare, education, security, and economic planning.

Nigeria’s last census was in 2006, nearly two decades ago. It recorded a population of 140,431,790, with 71,345,488 males and 69,086,302 females.

President Tinubu stressed the pivotal role of a technology-driven process in ensuring credible and verifiable results and the need for collaboration among all relevant agencies and stakeholders.

Underscoring the critical financing factor in the exercise, the President enjoined the members to look at domestic and even international resources.

“Work with all relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning. This ministry has to take charge of this because you cannot budget if you do not know how many we are.

“We expect you will touch on the technology area because the census must be technology-driven. Things have changed since the last time that we conducted this exercise. The enumeration has to be technology-driven with biometrics and digitalisation,” he said.

Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila represented the President at the event held at the State House in Abuja,

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, who chairs the Presidential Committee on Population and Housing Census, assured the President that the committee will deliver its report within the three-week deadline.

The minister recalled President Tinubu’s advice to ministers during their retreat in 2003, urging them to think creatively and work with the resources available, even under harsh economic conditions.

Bagudu noted that despite global economic challenges, Nigeria is making steady progress under President Tinubu’s leadership, citing improved foreign exchange stability and a positive growth trajectory.

He said the committee will recommend practical solutions, including strategies for mobilising domestic and international resources to fund the census.

The Minister of Information, Muhammed Idris, also a committee member, emphasised that accurate data is critical for planning across all sectors and that a credible census is the foundation for such data.

The National Population Commission (NPC) Chairman, Nasir Isa Kwarra, who will also serve as the committee Secretary, said the commission has already begun preparations for the national population and housing census in collaboration with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and other relevant stakeholders.

According to him, the focus has been on identifying key requirements and laying the groundwork necessary for the President to make an informed decision on the actual conduct of the census.

Kwarra assured Nigerians that the National Population Commission remains committed to ensuring a credible, technology-driven enumeration that will support effective national planning and development.

The eight-member committee also includes the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Director General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the Principal Secretary to the President, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration and Operations (Office of the Chief of Staff).

Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President
(Information & Strategy)
April 16, 2025

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PDP governor of Akwa Ibom says Tinubu will complete 8 years as president ‎

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April 16, 2025

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‎The governor of Akwa Ibom State, Umo Eno has said that President Bola Tinubu will complete his second tenure in office
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‎Eno, a member of the opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the president will complete eight years (two tenures of four years each) as president.
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‎The governor made this disclosure at the flag-off of the Akwa Ibom section of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project on Tuesday, April 15.
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‘So much damage’ – Biden blasts Trump in first speech after White House exit

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April 16, 2025

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The immediate former United States of America president, Joe Biden, in his first major speech since leaving the White House, tackled his predecessor, Donald Trump’s administration reforms at Social Security, which pushed 7000 employees out the door.

Biden disclosed this on Tuesday in his speech at a conference of disability advocates in Chicago.

He said that the Trump administration has done so much destruction in the less than 100 days of his second return to the White House.

“In fewer than 100 days, this administration has done so much damage and so much destruction—it’s kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon,” he said.

“They’ve taken a hatchet to the Social Security Administration, pushing 7,000 employees out the door,” the former president added, referring to the national agency that pays out retirement and disability benefits.

He further highlighted staff reductions at the agency that Trump and his billionaire aide Elon Musk have pushed as part of their self-declared “Department of Government Efficiency,” saying the Social Security website “is crashing” and hindering retirees from getting their benefits.

He continued speaking, Many Americans “literally count on social security to buy food, just to get by.” “For many of these beneficiaries, it’s their only income. If it were cut or taken away, it would be devastating, devastating for millions of people.”

Meanwhile, President Trump, in a jab at Biden, posted a short video on social media of one of his rambling anecdotes without comment.

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