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Digital Switchover: Enugu Procures 10,000 for Grassroots People
Enugu as the first State to witness the switch from analogue to digital television broadcasting, in the South East Nigeria, is already making moves to fete rural dwellers. Speaking at the event, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi said that in line with the administration’s rural development agenda, procured 10,000 set top boxes for distribution free of charge to identified low income households across the 475 autonomous communities of the state.
Price of set-top box varies; least of them sales for N5000. However, at the subsidised rate of N1,500 (Federal Government’s rate), the State will now spend about N15million to make the devices available to the people. Speaking at the ceremony, which took place at the zonal headquarters of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Enugu, Gov. Ugwuanyi stated that the procurement was to enable less economically-endowed families in the rural areas have access to more television channels in line with the inherent benefits of the new innovation in the broadcasting industry.
The governor further stated that his administration also took the decision because of the significant cost of digital cut-over on the consumer who will have to source for set top boxes that will enable their analogue televisions to receive new digital signals. Gov. Ugwuanyi disclosed that the state government was delighted to “fully” support the digitization process, which he said “will dramatically increase the number of channels available to Enugu TV viewers, expand and deepen educational content available to our children, drastically reduce the cost of deploying and managing our costly state television infrastructure, and ultimately improve the IGR of our local governments”.
“As a state, we are fully conscious of possible discomfort that economically challenged families will face when they experience disruption in accessing free-to-air television. This, in our judgment, is the major reason the federal government has committed to produce and subsidize 10-million set top boxes for distribution to poor households in Nigeria. “We are keen to encourage the federal government to make good this promise so that this unique service will be available to most Nigerians especially the rural poor. As a government, we have intervened on behalf of our people by purchasing ten thousand (10,000) set top boxes which will be distributed free of charge to identified low income households in our rural areas”, the governor announced.
Gov. Ugwuanyi expressed delight that Enugu is now the number five in the country to cutover to digital television broadcasting after Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Plateau, Kwara and Kaduna states, adding that the state also has the distinction of being the first in the entire southern Nigeria. The governor commended the federal government, especially the Ministry of Information and Culture and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for the resolute manner they have pursued the digital switchover agenda despite the daunting challenges, stressing that “there is every reason to support the switchover from analogue to digital television broadcasting”.
In his address, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, thanked the governor for his presence at the event despite the short notice, noting that Enugu is the third state the federal government has launched the Digital Switchover in the last two months.The minister emphasized the need for an objective and scientific audience measurement that would provide confidence among the people through the digitalization of television broadcasting in the country, urging Nigerians to support the on-going revolution in the industry.
Also speaking, the Director General of NBC, Mallam Is’haq Modibbo Kawu, who described Enugu as a remarkable city under the present administration in the state, stated that the federal government was making the transition from analogue broadcasting to digital a reality, stressing that the benefits are enormous as the viewers will gradually appreciate the vision behind the initiative.
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Teacher Arrested For Beating 8-Year-Old Pupil To Coma In Anambra
A 30-year-old teacher at Landmark School Mgbakwu in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Faith Nwonye has been arrested for allegedly beating an 8-year-old pupil into a coma.
The state commissioner for Education, Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, who disclosed this while briefing journalists in her office on Monday, May 20, 2024, said that the school has been permanently shut down.
Chuma-Udeh said she had summoned the school’s proprietor and Nwonye to explain the incident that led to the brutal beating of the primary pupil.
“We received this unfortunate incident from an illegal school in Mgbakwu that a child was beaten to a coma over the weekend. On behalf of the State Government, we invited the proprietress of the illegal school as well as the teacher who purportedly beat the child,” she said.
“We’ve handed the matter to the police for further investigations, as we await Mr Governor’s directives. Meanwhile, the school is closed down indefinitely because it’s not supposed to exist in the first instance. Any parent who is enrolling his/her child in an illegal school is doing so at his/her own peril.
“To the proprietors of private schools, anyone running an unapproved school in Anambra is a criminal. It’s a criminal offence to run an illegal school in the state.
“Whether the school is legal or not, it’s criminal to beat a child. According to the doctor, the chances of survival of the child is 20%.”
The commissioner added that the teacher would be brought to book.
“As soon as the police are done, the teacher will face other institutions against child rights. She’s going to have the full wrath of the law brought upon her over her actions,” she said.
“Anambra state abhors violence to children, women, and any other person. It’s not part of this administration and Mr. Governor is against such.”
News
BREAKING: Iran President, Ebrahim Raisi And Others Confirmed Dead After Helicopter Crash
The Iranian President, Raisi has been confirmed dead alongside others in a helicopter crash.
The body of the President however could not be identified due to burns beyond recognition.
According to information, A foreign minister was also involved in the crash and a list of others. They are; Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Governor of Eastern Azerbaijan province Malek Rahmati, Tabriz’s Imam Mohammad Ali Alehashem, The Pilot, The Copilot, Crew Chief, Head of Security and Bodyguard.
The rescue team were at the crash site of the helicopter carrying the president and the discovery came after a long night of searching in freezing conditions.
Shortly before the discovery, Iranian Red Crescent Society head Pir-Hossein Kolivand said the situation was “not good.”
According to Reuters, the helicopter was completely burned in the crash.
Additional and Unfortunately, there is a possibility of martyrdom of all the passengers of the helicopter.
News
The Peruvian Government Has Officially Classified Transgender, Nonbinary And Intersex People As “Mentally ill”
According to the country’s ministry of health, the controversial decision was made to ensure the country’s public health services could “guarantee full coverage of medical attention for mental health” for the trans community.
It also categorises “dual-role transvestitism,” “fetishistic transvestism,” and “other gender identity disorders” under the same bracket of mental illness.
The new law will change language in the Essential Health Insurance Plan (PEAS) to reflect the view of trans and intersex people as a mental health disorder.
Trans groups across Peru have loudly condemned the decision as a step backwards for the country’s already complex relationship with LGBTQ+ rights.
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