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Hospital with State-of-the-art Facilities Commissioned in Awka

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A world class hospital, Life International, with the state-of-the-art facilities, has been commissioned and dedicated to God in Awka by the Anambra state governor, Chief Willie Obiano and the Presiding Bishop of Grace of God Mission, Bishop Paul Nwachukwu respectively.

The hospital built by Mr. Joseph Ifeanyichukwu Ikechebelu, a Professor of Obstetrician and Gynecology at the faculty of Medicine, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, will employ the use of modern scientific technology, known as endoEYE view in the diagnosis and treatment of women related issues and as well, boost quality healthcare delivery of citizens.

The commissioning and dedication was preceded by the 41st inaugural lecture of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, entitled ‘EndoEYE View of the Woman’ delivered by Prof. Ikechebelu at the University’s auditorium.

He explained that the hospital which is international standard, will handle facility issues and other ailments in the area, thereby saving patients the burden of accessing medicare at Nnewi, Lagos, Abuja or even abroad.

Gov. Obiano represented by his Deputy, Dr. Nkem Okeke while commissioning the edifice expressed shock that an individual could thought of putting in place such structure and modern technologies in diagnosis and treatment for the citizens and urged others to emulate him.

“This kind of think home philosophy is what the governor has been praying and working for. I am impressed that the hospital also has a separate quarter for patient’s relatives so that they won’t be stranded while taking care of the patients. This is a pure touch of class and excellence and a gesture we all need to emulate.

“Government has done its own part of creating enabling environment for business to thrive; we want industrialists, investors and professionals to queue into that by creating jobs for our youths. With this, people don’t need to travel to India, Canada, America and other places to access Medicare. The only thing we ask Prof. Ikechebelu is to ensure that there is professional treatment of patients here,” he urged.

He said the state government’s security breakthrough and Think Home for investment Philosophy pledged that the present administration will continue to create an enabling environment for more businesses to emerge and thrive.

In an interview, the Deputy Governor, Dr Nkem Okeke, who commended the initiator of the project, said he was impressed at the touch of class and excellence, evident in the facility.

According to the Deputy Governor, it is the major role of government to provide a conducive atmosphere for its citizens, which is what it has been doing since inception, saying that as a result, many private businesses have emerged.

He stressed that present administration understands the strategic importance public private partnership as a catalyst for advanced development, calling on more people to heed the Aku Luo Uno call of the Governor by bringing a part of their businesses, as the next four years in the life span of Governor Obiano’s administration will witness unprecedented ingenuity in all sectors of the State economy.

Dr Okeke who said that about seventy five percent of the healing process is attributed to the human relation in the hospital, urged the staff of the establishment to be dedicated to their duty by being courteous among other good human virtues, and tasked the citizenry on playing their individual roles in the process of development of the state.

Earlier at the inaugural lecture at UNIZIK auditorium, Prof. Ikechebelu described women as a special breed and a carrier of godly environment such as the vagina, uterus, fallopian tubes and pelvis but regretted that some factors like the sexually transmitted disease, uterine fibroid, tubal damage and peritoneal factors that distort the general environment in a woman could adversely result to infertility.

He further explained that EndoEYE system, available at Life hospital, is a high tech system used to examine the woman’s abdomen (laproscopy) and uterus (hysteroscopy) that transmits light and has a small video camera that sends images and video to a monitor or screen.

According to him, EndoEYE view can be used for improved diagnosis and surgery, easy procedure recording, assessment and treatment of conditions relating to the reproductive environment in a woman, adding that with the technological innovation in assessing woman’s environment, reproductive issues like tubal pathologies, tubal blockage, peri-tubal adhesions and Salpingistis with or without hydosalpinx can be identified and treated with ease.

The Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof Joseph Eberendu Ahaneku, however commended Prof. Ikechebelu for making the university proud through skills and research, pointing out that he has demonstrated strength in academics, science, entrepreneurship and willing to share his wealth of experience with others.

Dedicating the edifice unto God, the Presiding Bishop of Grace of God Mission, Dr. Paul Nwachukwu, stressed that the project was brought to fruition by God, through man’s instrumentality, saying that just like the name of the hospital implies, when one is giving life, one is doing the work of God.

Bishop Nwachukwu added that such project is the beginning of good things to come in the state.

In a comment, the traditional ruler of Umunya, who is the Chairman of Oyi Traditional Rulers Council, Igwe Kris Onyekwuluje, said that Governor Obiano’s solid foundation of security has attracted many developments into the state, calling on more people to come back home and invest, as return for their investments is guaranteed in the state.

The Convener and CEO of the Hospital, Dr Joe Ikechebelu, promised service delivery to patients in the hospital, even as he said that the Governor’s posture on development informed his investing in health care.

Others present at the inaugural lecture and commissioning of the hospital included the traditional ruler of Abagana, Igwe Mbamalu Okeke; his Umunya counterpart, Igwe Onyekwuluje; CMD NAUTH Nnewi, Prof. Anthony Igwegbe; the Sales Representative of OM Surgical New Delhi, India, Rajesh Patil; Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr Joe Akabuike; professional bodies; management and senior staff of NAUTH, among others. (News Express).

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70% of Christians killed in 2024 are African – Group

ORJI ISRAEL reports that the group accused ANC of maintaining silence on religious persecution, while deepening ties with ideological extremists in Tehran

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70% of Christians killed in 2024 are African gettyimages
Women crying during killings in Benue State, Nigeria

Recent reports indicate that over 4,400 Christians were murdered for their faith last year, while over the past decade, jihadist violence has driven 16 million Christians from their homes, millions of which are African citizens.

This is according to global Christian charity, Open Doors, which also confirms that for every five Christians, one will face persecution in Africa specifically.

Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List reveals the top 10 most dangerous countries for Christians are dominated by Islamic states in the Middle East and Africa, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, and Nigeria. A more detailed UK Parliament briefing recently noted that 70% of Christians killed in 2024 were indeed in Africa. 

Over the last six months, the brutality against Christians in Africa has escalated to alarming levels, with a series of devastating attacks across the continent. Just last month, ISIL-affiliated rebels stormed a Catholic church in Komanda, DRC, murdering close to 50 worshippers, including women and children. That same month in Mozambique, Islamic State fighters captured and beheaded six Christians from Natocua village, just across South Africa’s border. A month earlier, in June 2025, armed militants in Nigeria massacred nearly 200 Christian civilians in Yelwata village. 

“What we are witnessing is not random violence or isolated attacks. It is a deliberate, coordinated campaign by jihadist networks to wipe Christianity from vast regions of Africa and the Middle East,” says SAFI spokesperson, Bafana Modise. “These acts of terror are the early stages of a genocide against Christians, and history will record who spoke out and who shamefully looked away. Tragically, the ANC has chosen the latter.”

This silence is even more damning in light of last week’s news that South Africa’s military chief, Gen. Rudzani Maphwanya, met with Iranian Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami in Tehran to discuss deepening military and strategic ties, when Iran remains one of the world’s most notorious persecutors of Christians.

A recent report by the Middle East Africa Research Institute (MEARI) warned that Pretoria’s deepening ties with Tehran has compromised South Africa’s democratic foundations by defending Iran at the UN and IAEA, downplaying its human rights abuses, and potentially benefitting from covert support, including speculation around the ANC’s repayment of a multi-million-rand debt shortly after filing the ICJ case against Israel.

“These atrocities are not just crimes against individuals; they are part of a war against the freedom of religion itself,” Modise warns. “This is religious genocide, and it is gaining momentum as it edges closer to South Africa’s borders.”

Instead of defending religious freedom, the ANC government has remained silent. It has issued no meaningful condemnation or rallying call to protect persecuted Christians: “The ANC has done nothing to defend the rights of Christians,” says Modise. “Instead, it has squandered South Africa’s moral standing on discredited genocide charges against Israel – the one country in the Middle East where Christians live in safety and equality.”

This betrayal is even more unforgivable in a nation where 80% of South Africans identify as Christian. Freedom of religion is a fundamental human right, but the ANC, once the global champion of human rights, has made its bed with regimes and groups that have used Islamic law to suppress and destroy those freedoms.

“The ANC’s alliances make it clear: they have abandoned South Africa’s Christians, choosing friendship with the very forces driving this campaign of genocide,” Modise concludes. “Silence in the face of such evil is complicity, and the ANC is guilty of both. They have aligned themselves with Jihadist Islamic ideology, without further thought.”

We call on every pastor, every congregation, and every believer to demand that the ANC account for its indifference and betrayal. The blood of persecuted Christians cries out from across the African continent. If South Africa will not stand with them now, the day may come when their fate becomes our own.

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Government Should Support Media with Tax Incentives, Relief on Import Duties – Soneye

….Media Sustainability: Soneye Advocates Tax Reliefs, Independent Fund for Journalism

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Femi Soneye
Femi Soneye

Former Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Mr. Femi Soneye, has called on the Federal Government to support the Nigerian media with targeted incentives, including tax reliefs and import duty waivers on essential media tools.

Soneye made the appeal in Abuja on Tuesday after receiving the NUJ FCT Excellence in Corporate Communications Award, conferred on him by the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT Council.

The NUJ leadership, led by Chairperson Grace Ike, alongside the Deputy Chair, Secretary-General, and other executives, described Soneye as a consummate professional who has distinguished himself with tact and excellence in the communications field.

In his remarks, Soneye noted that while the Nigerian media remains one of the most vibrant in Africa, it continues to grapple with systemic challenges that weaken its effectiveness.

“The Nigerian media remains one of the most vibrant in Africa, but it also faces systemic challenges, financial, political, legal, and technological that weaken its effectiveness. The government can play a supportive role by granting tax incentives or relief on import duties for newsprint, broadcast equipment, and digital infrastructure,” he said.

He also urged the Federal Government to establish an independent media development fund to support investigative journalism, community radio, and newsroom innovation, drawing parallels with models in South Africa, the United States, and Canada.

The award underscores Soneye’s long-standing contributions to journalism and corporate communications, as well as his advocacy for a stronger, independent, and sustainable Nigerian media.

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Lagos NIPR elects new executives

Reporter: Sandra Ani

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Members of the newly elected executive of Lagos State Chapter NIPR
Members of the newly elected executive of Lagos State Chapter NIPR

… GFD Executive Director emerges chapter Vice Chairperson* 

The Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has elected a new executive council at the close of its flagship Lagos PR Fest 2025, reinforcing its commitment to professionalism, innovation, and societal impact.

In elections supervised by NIPR Registrar, Chief Uzoma Onyegbadue, Samuel Ayetutu emerged as Chairman, while Eniola Mayowa was elected Vice Chairman in a closely contested race.

Other members of the executive include Secretary Samuel Adeyemi, Assistant Secretary Rita Ali-Nock, Public Relations Officer Ogochukwu Okeke, Financial Secretary Bassey Nta, Treasurer Olabamiji Adeleye, Welfare Officer Funmilola Akintola, and Ex-Officio Provost Marshal Quadri Adeleke.

In his acceptance remarks, Ayetutu pledged to drive professional standards, promote inclusiveness, and foster collaboration among members to enhance the chapter’s influence locally and nationally.

This year’s PR Fest, themed “Urban Farming for Food Security: The Role of Communication”, convened communication professionals, policymakers, and stakeholders to explore innovative strategies for tackling food security through effective public engagement.

Over the years, the Lagos PR Fest has evolved into a leading platform for advancing the role of public relations in societal development, with the 2025 edition underscoring the Institute’s mission to position communication as a driver of sustainable development in Nigeria.

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