President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja on Wednesday for a state visit to France.

According to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, President Emmanuel Macron invited his Nigerian counterpart to the European country.

Onanuga said the three-day visit will focus “on strengthening political, economic, and cultural relations and establishing more opportunities for partnership, particularly in agriculture, security, education, health, youth engagement and employment, innovation among others”.

“President Tinubu who will be traveling with the First Lady Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, will be received on Thursday at the 350-year-old French military museum, Les Invalides and Palais de l’Élysée, by Macron and his spouse, Brigitte, for initial ceremonies that will dovetail into bilateral meetings.”

“During the visit, President Tinubu and President Macron will harmonise positions on stimulating more interest in exchange programmes that focus on skill development for youths and improving their competencies in automation, entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership.

“Both leaders will participate in political and diplomatic meetings highlighting shared values on finance, solid minerals, trade and investments, and communication. They will also witness a session by the France-Nigeria Business Council, which oversees private sector participation in economic development.

“Brigitte and Nigeria’s First Lady will discuss the latter’s passion for empowering women, children, and the most vulnerable through the Renewed Hope Initiative,” the statement read.

Tinubu and his wife who will be hosted to a state dinner by the French leader before their departure, will be accompanied by top government officials.

Nigeria’s Presidency has said that as Port Harcourt Refinery begins operations on Tuesday, about 200 trucks are set to load petroleum production at the government-owned plant.

A presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare, disclosed this in a statement through his official X handle on Tuesday.

This comes as they Nigerian National Petroleum Company on Tuesday announced that Port Harcourt Refinery has commenced crude oil processing.

Reacting, Dare said, “200 trucks are expected to load products daily from the refinery, Renewing the Hopes of Nigeria.”

He added that “the Port Harcourt refinery has two wings.

“The Old Refinery comes on stream today with an installed production capacity of 60, 000 barrels per day of crude oil.”

By Francesca Hangeior

Maternal health experts have said there is no scientific evidence to show that certain sex positions assist women to get pregnant faster.

While they acknowledged that there were claims that specific sex positions could make conception easier and faster, the gynaecologists confirmed that there was no scientific basis for such.
Checks revealed claims that sex positions such as missionary, doggy style and spoon, among others could increase conception rates.

Their argument was based on the premise that such styles brought the penis closer to the cervix, creating easy access for the sperm to flow directly into the fallopian tubes, leading to pregnancy.

However, the gynaecologists noted that all things being equal, once a healthy sperm reaches the vagina and could swim to the cervix, a woman would conceive regardless of the sex position.

The physicians further asserted that a sex position was only medically considered during sex selection.

Providing expert advice on the issue, a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun state, Ernest Orji, stated that although the myth exists, there was no scientific basis for it.

He said, “There is no sexual position that a woman takes that she won’t get pregnant. None is easier or faster than the other one. Sometimes, the man can ejaculate on the woman’s thigh and she will still get pregnant. Once sperm enters into the vagina, anyhow, the woman can get pregnant.

“We know that the womb can sometimes be introverted but sperm moves freely. Unless the cervix is blocked and prevents the sperm from entering, no position makes getting pregnant better or faster. If every other thing is normal with the sperm and the woman, once the sperm enters into the vagina, the woman can get pregnant.”

The researcher on Reproductive and Feto-maternal Health further clarified that on the other hand, no sexual position could reduce the chances of getting pregnant.

The don added, “A lot of time, some people would think that since there was no deep penetration during sex, there wouldn’t be pregnancy. But if there was ejaculation, the woman would get pregnant.”

Also, a Consultant Gynaecologist, Dr Stanley Egbogu, stated that sex position was only significant during sex or gender selection of a child.

He also affirmed that the position assumed during sex had no impact on the possibility of conception.

“Anytime there is difficulty in conceiving, we don’t look at the position. Position does not mean anything,” Egbogu said.

He further reaffirmed his position, mentioning that even those who relied on the withdrawal method as a means of contraception could still get pregnant because the pre-ejaculatory fluid, which would have been released before withdrawal, has been tested to contain some sperm.

“Position will play less or no part because if you have good quality sperm and eggs, whether it’s missionary, lateral or dog style, they can get pregnant. So, we don’t bother about positioning when we talk about people trying to conceive. It is when we want to talk about sex formation that is when we talk about the positioning, that is the posterior side, meeting the woman on the day of her release of egg and alkalinisation,” the gynaecologist said.

He further clarified that no sex position could reduce the likelihood of pregnancy or serve as an effective method of avoiding it.

“In a fertile person, even the pre-ejaculation fluid can make the person pregnant, much less the semen. If you don’t want to get pregnant, there are laid down rules, we have our guidelines, which is family planning. We have emergency contraception, the normal family planning method of contraception that we use- we have condoms, cervical caps, oral contraceptive pills that a woman can swallow once every day for 30 days, we have Progesterone-only contraceptive pills, injectables, implants and intrauterine contraceptive device.

“We methods of preventing pregnancy and sexual position are not methods. Withdrawal method is a method of family planning but it has a high failure rate. So, there is no sexual position that is used as a family planning method,” the gynaecologist said.