The Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has offered to help victims of the no fewer than 50 houses destroyed by the rainstorm in some communities on Wednesday evening, leaving many residents homeless. The communities affected by the rainstorm which damaged residential buildings, shops, and educational institutions are Ipoti, Ejiyan, Owatedo and Odo Owa Ekiti, in the Ijero Local Government Area. Oyebanji, who visited the affected communities for an on-the-spot assessment on Thursday, sympathised with the victims and promised to initiate a process that would lend a helping hand for them to repair their damaged buildings in record time. Oyebanji, represented by the Deputy Governor, Mrs Monisade Afuye, during the visit, charged landlords “to always take precautions by repairing damaged roofs and changing weak planks that can predispose their residences to unwarranted wreckage. “Regular maintenance of old buildings remains the best option to avert annual rainstorms being experienced in some towns, thereby rendering many homeless and scores being sapped economically. “I am saddened seeing people being homeless as a result of rainstorms. Moving around the town, you could see that the disaster was too much. “We are promising you, on behalf of the government, that the officers of the State Emergency Management Agency will visit here and do the enumeration of the buildings and value the damage. We are going to help you. God shall heal your wounds.” He thanked God that there was no loss of lives, noting that “that is our joy in this matter. The ruins are much, but we need rains to make our lives and farming flourish. But we have to do what is necessary to prevent damage to our buildings.” As part of the ways to mitigate such occurrences, Oyebanji encouraged residents to embrace tree planting around residential areas to serve as windbreakers during stormy rainfall. He also urged the traditional rulers to propagate tree-planting practices among the people at the grassroots. The Olupoti of Ipoti Ekiti, Oba Oladipupo Kolade and Oloja-Owa of Owatedo, Oba Adebayo Adewole, described the calamity as heartrending, saying people needed to manage their buildings to resolve such a crisis. The Olupoti said: “I nearly cried while going round to assess the level of damage. Mostly affected are the women and children, which makes the matter so worrisome. “I want to appreciate the governor for being proactive in attending to this emergency in record time. The governor has again demonstrated that he is after the welfare of Ekiti people. So, we are expecting the government’s help within a short time to give relief to the victims.”

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Panamanian leader says sale of a Chinese company’s port operation to a US firm does not amount to retaking the waterway. Panama President Jose Raul Mulino has accused his American counterpart, Donald Trump, of lying when he told members of Congress that the United States is “reclaiming” the Panama Canal. In a statement posted on X on Wednesday, Mulino said the man-made waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans “is not in the process of recovery” by Trump and the US government. “Once again, President Trump is lying,” Mulino wrote on X. “I reject, on behalf of Panama and all Panamanians, this new affront to the truth and to our dignity as a nation,” Mulino added. During the annual presidential address to the US Congress on Tuesday, Trump declared that Washington would be reclaiming the Panama Canal “to further enhance” US national security. “We’ve already started doing it. We’re taking it back.” He was referencing a deal announced on Tuesday for a consortium, led by the US investment management company BlackRock Inc, to buy a controlling stake in the company held by a Chinese group that operates ports at both ends of one of the busiest water channels in the world. In a filing, CK Hutchison Holding had announced that it would sell all shares in Hutchison Port Holdings and in Hutchison Port Group Holdings to BlackRock in a deal valued at nearly $23bn, including $5bn in debt. The deal has to be approved by Panama’s government. Trump has been talking about retaking the Panama Canal since his campaign, arguing the US should have never turned control over to the Panamanians and that the US was being overcharged for using it. Since returning to the White House, he has also started complaining that China controls the canal, and did not rule out a military invasion to regain control of it. Panama maintains it has full control over the canal and that the Hong Kong-based group’s operation of the ports did not amount to Chinese control over the waterway, and therefore the private sale to a US-based company would not represent any US “reclaiming” of the canal. In February, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Mulino and insisted that China was exerting influence over the canal’s operations. Panama rejected that China had any influence over canal operations. Beijing has also consistently denied interfering in the canal. The US built the canal in the early 1900s as it looked for ways to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between its coasts. Washington relinquished control of the waterway to Panama on December 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter. Trump has claimed that Carter “foolishly” gave the canal away. The 80km (50-mile) canal handles 5 percent of global maritime trade and 40 percent of US container traffic. Follow Al Jazeera English:...

A nutrition expert at Utah State University, Oluyemisi Akinsola, has called on the government to incorporate age-appropriate nutrition education into school curriculum to combat rising cases of malnutrition and non-communicable diseases in Nigeria. Speaking in a statement released on Wednesday, Akinsola said Nigeria must take nutrition education seriously to tackle poor dietary habits and misinformation, particularly among young people. Akinsola advocates that schools should integrate age-appropriate food and health topics into the curriculum so that the next generation can make informed choices. She noted, “Public health campaigns on radio, television, and social media should be used to counter misleading trends with science-backed information, delivered in local languages and culturally relevant formats. “Government agencies such as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control ans the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare have a role to play, too. They must step up efforts to regulate false health claims, especially online, where misinformation spreads rapidly. “At the same time, investments should be made to train and deploy more dietitians across every local government area, ensuring that communities have access to accurate, evidence-based advice.” The nutrition researcher stated that across Nigeria, people are making food choices based on what they see on social media, hear from friends, or are told by self-proclaimed health experts, adding that detox teas, juice cleanses, high protein diets, weight-loss diets etc are gaining traction, not because they are backed by science, but because they are trending. She said many of the diet fads are grounded in misinformation, and the consequences are becoming alarmingly clear, revealing that data from the 2021 Nigeria Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey shows that only 31 per cent of children between the ages of six and 23 months receive a minimum acceptable diet. Akinsola stressed that nutrition challenges are compounded by the current economic climate, marked by a steep and widespread surge in food prices revealing that according to the December 2024 Selected Food Price Watch, the average cost of food items rose by 91.6% year-on-year, from ₦1,524.63 in December 2023 to ₦2,920.13 in December 2024. She added that staple foods were particularly affected, with brown beans (1kg) recording the highest price hike of 187.29%, increasing from ₦870.67 to ₦2,501.32. Onion bulbs (1kg) also rose significantly by 111.74%, reaching ₦2,057.81 from ₦971.86 the previous year. “Other essentials such as local rice, beef, and palm oil also experienced notable increases, all contributing to the overall strain on household food budgets. “This sharp escalation in food costs makes it increasingly difficult for many Nigerians to afford nutritious foods, pushing them toward cheaper, less healthy alternatives and raising concerns about food security and dietary quality,” she said. She further explained that urban centres are witnessing a steady rise in overweight and obesity, particularly among adults, emphasising that the World Health Organisation posits NCDS such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease now account for nearly 28% per cent of all deaths in Nigeria, hence the need for nutrition education. “Nutrition is rarely part of our everyday conversations in schools, communities, or even health clinics. Unlike mathematics or biology, nutrition education is not systematically taught in classrooms. “Children grow up with limited understanding of basic concepts such as balanced diets, food groups, or how to read a nutrition label. As adults, they remain vulnerable to diet-related myths that can lead to poor health outcomes,” she stated. Akinsola further noted that public health campaigns on radio, TV, and social media should be used to counter misleading trends with science-backed information, delivered in local languages and culturally relevant formats, adding that stakeholders such as NAFDAC, Federal Ministry of Health and individuals have a role to play, too. “They must step up efforts to regulate false health claims, especially online, where misinformation spreads rapidly. At the same time, investments should be made to train and deploy more dietitians across every local government area, ensuring that communities have access to accurate, evidence-based advice. “As readers, we all have a part to play. Before trying the latest diet trend or buying the next “slimming tea,” ask yourself: Is this backed by evidence? Who is recommending it? And are they qualified? Be critical. Share verified information. Encourage friends and family to speak to registered dietitians or nutritionists when they have concerns about their diet,” she added. Recently, UNICEF said 1.3 million children (under the age of five) suffering from severe acute malnutrition can lose access to treatment, leaving them at heightened risk of death. Speaking on funding gaps, UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director, Kitty Palais, said, “Nigeria, where around 80,000 children per month require treatment, we could run out of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food supplies sometime between this month and the end of May. But the focus cannot just be on RUTF – or treating a child once they become severely malnourished. “Programmes must deliver services to prevent children from becoming malnourished in the first place – this includes support for breastfeeding, access to micronutrient supplementation such as Vitamin A and ensuring they get the health services they need for other illnesses.”