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  • Group gives scholarships to 60 female students

    Group gives scholarships to 60 female students

    Our Reporter

    The Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) has provided scholarship, from the primary to university level, for 60 female students across Nigeria.

    The APWEN National Vice President, Mrs. Elizabeth Jumoke Eterigho, disclosed this in Minna during the 2020 International Women in Engineering Day.

    Speaking to reporters after the mentoring walk from the state secretariat of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) to the Niger State House of Assembly, Mrs. Eterigho said the pupils were drawn from the six geo-political zones and the scholarship would be co-sponsored by the NNPC.

    Read Also: Google announces Google Africa Developer Scholarships

    “In six states across the six geographical zones, we have picked pupils from primary schools on the scholarships by APWEN which is co-sponsored by NNPC. We will sponsor them from primary level to university if they read engineering but if they do not read engineering in universities, the scholarship will stop.

    “We have picked 10 pupils from each state and now, there are 60 of them but we have plans to increase the number over the years. This is because we want to help the girl-child to pick interest in STEM subjects and engineering as a field of study at the university.”

    The Minna Chapter APWEN Chairman, Arfa Haq, said the association  was encouraging female pupils to go into the engineering field and not see engineering or STEM subjects as difficult to handle.

    She disclosed that after the school resumes, the association would train STEM teachers on how to teach science subjects effectively and interestingly so that more students will be more interested in STEM subjects which include Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.

  • MeCure to attract over 10,000 doctors for online consultations

    MeCure to attract over 10,000 doctors for online consultations

    Adekunle Yusuf

    As businesses continue to grapple with numerous challenges during the coronavirus era, innovation seems to be the only thing that people need to remain in business.

    To this end, in order to cater to the surging demand for telemedicine services in Nigeria, MeCure Smart, a smartphone app that allows remote online consultations, has partnered with HelloDocApp, the largest online community of doctors in Nigeria, to bring more than 10,000 doctors on its platform.

    This is to cater for patients who now prefer remote consultations, since this allows both the doctors and patients a very safe and effective environment to manage healthcare in the pandemic time, said Ajinkya Shelar, product manager who heads MeCure Smart.

    “When we launched MeCure Smart back in April 2019, we were simply conducting an experiment: Is the Nigerian market ready for healthcare services through a digital platform.

    Cut to February 2020 and we were not able to handle the sheer volume of calls anymore. The scale and demand for tele-medicine services is overwhelming today.

    READ ALSO: Health sector a money spinner, says Polaris Bank chief

    “Hence, we decided to tie up with HelloDoc. This partnership will allow us to onboard 4000+ doctors across every specialty ranging from general physicians to even neurosurgeons on our MeCure Smart app immediately and we intend to further expand it to up to 10,000+ doctors by end of 2020. We hope that through this initiative anyone in Nigeria will immediately have access to quality and affordable healthcare that is also COVID safe,” Shelar added.

    He further explained the MeCure Smart – HelloDoc partnership works as a pure marketplace.

    This, he said, means customers can browse doctors by specialty and compare them by prior customer feedback, ratings and even pricing, adding that each doctor on the platform has a verified Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) certificate and is vetted through a rigorous background check.

  • Lagos welcomes first ‘public servant baby’

    Lagos welcomes first ‘public servant baby’

    Adekunle Yusuf

    The Lagos State Government, through the Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA), has welcomed its first public servant baby under the Lagos State Health Scheme (LSHS). The baby girl was born through Cesarean section by one Aminat Oluwatobi Ademiluyi at Blue Cross Hospital, Lagos.

    Speaking at the baby’s debut, the Acting General Manager of LASHMA, Dr Emmanuella Zamba, described the event as double celebrations since the birth of the baby coincided with public service day anniversary.

    “On behalf of Mr. Governor, we are glad to welcome our first public servant baby. We got the good news yesterday that we deliver our first baby under the Lagos Health Scheme. Incidentally, it was also the public service day celebration. It is really a remarkable day for us,” she said.

    READ ALSO: Herdsmen kidnap kinsman in Lagos

    She further stressed that the state health insurance scheme is affordable while urging the general public to also utilise the advantage to access quality healthcare services. “The state government is subsidising the payment for civil servant and it is also open for the general public. It is costs N8,500 for a year. The family is expected to pay a premium N40, 000 yearly, that is N3,333 monthly and the single premium is N8,500 per annum.”

    While expressing his gratitude, the new baby’s father, Ademiluyi Adebowale, a physically impaired civil servant who is an officer at Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs, described the schemed as a rare privilege. “I know what it would have cost me as an individual to have my wife through this C-section operation in the private hospital but with the (LSHIS), it’s absolutely coming with nothing. I’m full of appreciation to the Lagos State government.”

  • OPay donates 300,000 masks to support fight against spread of COVID-19

    OPay donates 300,000 masks to support fight against spread of COVID-19

    Our Reporter

    OPay, a financial service technology company has donated 300,000 medical face masks to hospitals and healthcare centres in Nigeria.

    The donation is part of its #DoMore initiative as well as its 50 Million Naira fund that was set up to provide medical supplies to frontline health workers and relief support for the less privileged during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    In June, the fintech company donated 100,000 medical face masks to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) as part of the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s #MaskForAllNg campaign.

    The supplies were received by the Chief Medical Director of LASUTH Professor Adetokunbo Fabamwo.

    OPay donates three thousand masks

    “For public-spirited companies like OPay, who have made this very generous donation, we say thank you. We are very excited, this will go a long way”, Professor Fabamwo notes.

    150,000 medical face masks was also donated to the Lagos State Primary Healthcare Board who delivers essential health care to an estimated 25m people. They will oversee the distribution of the health supplies to 309 primaries healthcare centres, spread over 57 local Government areas in Lagos State.

    50,000 medical face masks was donated to the Ogun State Hospital Management Board.

    READ ALSO: OPAY supports ‘MaskUpLagos’ initiative with donation of face mask

    During the event, Ogun State Commissioner of Health, Dr Tomi Coker, said her organisation is surprise but grateful for the donation from OPay.

    “This is a huge contribution that will go a long way to support our efforts to protect our frontline health care workers who are daily exposed to the risks that COVID-19 poses”, she said.

    OPay donates three thousand masks

    Opay Country Manager, Iniabasi Akpan said OPay, considers it a duty of theirs to support Nigeria frontline medical workers, “They are our brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers working tirelessly during this pandemic, they are the real heroes.

    “One effective way to protect ourselves from the virus is with the use of face masks. As the saying goes, “prevention is better than cure”, We hope with this donation we can continue to achieve this,” she said.

    OPay, a leading mobile money (MMO) and financial technology platform in Nigeria is dedicated to accelerating financial inclusion through technology.

    Currently, it has a network of 300,000 agents, 5 million registered app users, and an ever-increasing range of financial and related services for Nigerians.

  • FG targets N1trn revenue from stamp duties

    FG targets N1trn revenue from stamp duties

    Nduka Chiejina (Assistant Editor)

    …₦66bn stamp duties remitted to federation between Jan and May

    The Federal Government has charged the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to ensure it recovers all stamp duties collected on behalf of the Federal Government but yet to be remitted by governnment agencies, banks and other companies.

    Reason for the renewed focus to recover unremited stamp duties is that the federal government is targeting ₦1trillion giving the potential for revenue stamp duty has.

    Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF) Mr. Boss Mustapha made this declaration in Abuja on Tuesday at the inauguration of the inter-ministerial committee on Audit and Recovery of Back years stamp duties and the launch of Federal Inland Revenue Service adhesive stamp.

    The SGF noted that the government will focus on revenue from stamp duty as it has the potential to yield up to N1trillion annually if properly harnessed.

    Mustapha told the FIRS that the federal government expects the lnter-Ministerial Audit and Recovery Committee “to judiciously undertake an audit and recover on behalf of the Government all stamp duties charged from January 2016 to date but yet to be remitted by the relevant Ministries Departments and Agencies, Deposit Money Banks and Nigerian InterBank Settlement System Plc among others.

    In order to ensure transparency and accountability, Boss Mustapha directed and requested that “all recoveries made by this Committee be remitted to appropriate Stamp Duty Account maintained by the Federal Government with the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

    He also directed “all relevant MDAs particularly the Central Bank of Nigeria, NIBBs, DMBs, NIPOST and FIRS should give maximum cooperation to the Committee in the discharge of its mandate.”

    He said it had become imperative to recover stamp duties because of government’s dwindling revenue “which was caused by the negative impact of the Coronavirus pandemic which has led to a budget deficit of over N5trillion.”

    READ ALSO: NIPOST should collect stamp duties, says minister

    Responding, the Executive Chairman of the FIRS Mohammad Nami said the stamp duty recovery efforts will start from his agency and directed the finance and accounts department to remit ₦39 billion being stamp duties collected by the Service to the Committee.

    He also vowed to go after MDAs that have collected stamp duties from contracts executed but failed to remit same to the account.

    Nami disclosed that between January and May this year, a total of ₦66 billion stamp duty fees collected so far has been remitted into the federation account. In addition ₦18billion was generated in 2019 fiscal period.

    Giving a breakdown of the ₦66billion, Nami said ₦20billion was remitted by Deposit Money Banks, while ₦39billion collected by the FIRS is warehoused in the CBN.

    Nami maintained that the FIRS is prepared to reposition stamp duties as the next major revenue source for Nigeria, as revenue from oil and gas continues to dwindle due to global fall in demand and price, “indirect taxes such as Stamp Duty remain the viable and sustainable alternative revenue source for funding budgetary requirements” he said.

    The remaining ₦7.9billion he said represents stamp duty revenue from stamping of various instruments.

    He attributed the rise in stamp duty collection to the dynamism triggered by the Finance Act of 2019.

     

  • Synergy key to tackling Nigeria’s border management issues, says Osinbajo

    Synergy key to tackling Nigeria’s border management issues, says Osinbajo

    Our Reporter

    As government and other stakeholders continue to seek solutions for a more effective border management in Nigeria, renewed efforts will be channeled towards improving synergy amongst agencies involved in border management, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has said.

    Osinbajo stated this on Monday during the virtual presentation of the research report of the National Defence College Course 28 titled “Border Management & National Development in Nigeria: The ECOWAS Protocol Relating to Free Movement of Persons, Residence & Establishment in Perspective”.

    Osinbajo in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity,

    Laolu Akande while giving his remarks after the presentation of the research report and the interactive session, said border management affects the economy very considerably hence the need to get all agencies involved in the sector together.

    The statement quoted Osinbajo as saying, “It is absolutely the correct thing to do, to try and see how we can unify agencies concerned with border management so that there is synergy. We must come back to the question of synergy. Why it is that we have the kinds of problems at the borders and ports, and why the delays?”

    While commending the participants for a thoroughly researched paper, the Vice President said research paper touched on important national issues and that efforts would be made to adopt and implement key recommendations.

    “I commend you for a very comprehensive, thought-provoking and well-researched paper. The point that has been made also is that we can see the importance of synergy even here. Here is a situation where relevant services have come together including international participants with experience in the relevant areas, and have made what I think is really a seminal contribution to our ideas about border management.

    “I like the fact that you have addressed very practical issues and also very contemporary questions that we have to deal with not just as matters of security and human trafficking but perhaps on a broader scale for the generality of our people and the Nigerian economy at a very difficult time.

    READ ALSO: FG plans to digitalise border management for effective surveillance

    “There is no question at all that whatever we do with respect to border management will affect our economy very considerably.”

    Continuing, Osinbajo said; “I think that the questions that you have addressed really goes to the root of our economic survival. Some of the things that you have said are spot on. And what we really need to do is to see how to implement some of these suggestions.”

    The report identified the lack of coordination as a major weakness in Nigeria’s border management sector while key recommendations include the adoption of a comprehensive border surveillance programme, the creation of National Border Management Service, amongst others.

    Participants present at the event include the Commandant of the National Defence College, Rear Admiral Mackson Kadiri, and other principal officers of the College; the Director-General of the Border Communities Development Agency, Capt. Junaid Abdullahi; the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Amb. Adeyemi Dipeolu; and the Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole.

    Representatives of the Course participants that made presentations at the event include; Col. Babatunde Omopariola, who was the lead presenter; Col. Raymond Utsaha; Navy Capt. O A Oshatuberu; Group Capt. Ehimen Ejodame; and Brig. Gen. Jitendra Singh.

  • No fee is charged for NIS recruitment -CG

    No fee is charged for NIS recruitment -CG

    Agency Reporter

    The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has warned applicants against patronising fake recruitment sites as no fee was charged for NIS recruitment.

    The Comptroller General, NIS, Mr Muhammad Babandede, gave the warning in a statement by the Service Public Relations Officer (SPEO), Mr Sunday James, on Tuesday in Abuja.

    Babandede issued the warning while reacting to the reported existence of fake NIS websites on social media.

    “These are by fraudsters with the intention of defrauding innocent and unsuspecting Nigerians of monies.

    “The Service had warned severally and is still warning good spirited Nigerians to avoid such fake recruitment offer which is not officially posted on the official NIS website.
    “No fee whatsoever is charged for NIS recruitment,” he said.

    Babandede advised the public to disregard the scam posted recently to avoid falling victims to the criminal elements.

    READ ALSO: NIS jobs: Court asks Moro, others to defend abuse of office

    He said that the NIS would always announce its official recruitment and notifications through credible Nigerian dailies and media platforms for the attention of the public.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Civil Defense, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Service Board (CDCFIB) had published the recruitment advertisment in national dailies on March 13.

    The recruitment was for four weeks from the time of publication.

    (NAN)

  • NANS to protest alleged victimisation of Poly student

    NANS to protest alleged victimisation of Poly student

    Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

    The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has resolved to converge in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, for it describes as “mother of all protest” against the continued victimisation of a member, Comrade Adegboye Olatunji, by the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro.

    The protest slated for first week of July is tagged “National day of Action against victimisation and intimidation of students union leaders by institutions management”.

    It is meant to demand unconditional reinstatement of Olatunji as student of the polytechnic.

    Olatunji, a Senator in NANS and President, Students Union Government of the Polytechnic was suspended by the institution after he was arrested by the Police in February  over alleged cult- related activities.

    But NANS claimed his travails were orchestrated by the Polytechnic because of his call for accountability.

    The decision to protest followed the approval granted for it by the National Executive Council of NANS as stated by the NANS National Vice President, Ojo Raymond while briefing reporters on Sunday in Obantoko, Abeokuta.

    Ojo added that the NANS National Secretariat has directed all SUG in every state to organize mass protest against victimisation of students leader in their respective States before the National Day of Action in Ogun State.

    While calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently set up a panel to probe the on – going projects at the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, the NANS National Vice – President also called on the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to investigate the administration of all funds allocated or generated by the Polytechnic since the appointment of Dr. Olusegun Aluko as its Rector.

    Ojo said: “We hereby call on the Rector of the Federal Polytechnic Ilaro to immediately and unconditionally reinstate one of our Senator’s in NANS Comrade Adegboye Emmanuel Olatunji pending the outcome of the on-going investigation of frivolous allegations against him.

    “The National Executive Council of the National Association of Nigerian Students having review the report of the fact finding MISSION set-up by NANS on the allegations of Cultism and illegal arrest of one of our Senator’s in NANS and the President of the Student Union Government of the Federal Polytechnic ILARO, Comrade Adegboye Emmanuel Olatunji made it bold to say that it is a clear case of victimization to destabilize the Union.

    “We are not unaware of the antics of majority of our institutions administrators in using the instruments of blackmail, victimization and of course intimidation to destabilize unionism in most of our campuses with pronounced aimed of making the Union  stooges in their hand.

    “The drama surrounding the arrest of the Students’ Union President of Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Adegboye Emmanuel Olatunji most especially as it relates to the allegation of cultism levied against him by the Nigerian Police Force, Ogun State Command was orchestrated by the Rector.

    Read Also: NANS to Shuaibu: Reconcile with Oshiomhole

    “We suspect that his arrest occurred when all attempts to cow him from raising some fundamental questions as regards the management of the institution’s resources and pertinent issues on Students welfare.

    “This is evident in the quick manner in which the management of the institution suspended him without giving him the opportunity to defend himself in line with principle of fair hearing as guaranteed and enshrined under Section 36(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

    “The National Executive  Council of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) call on President Muhammadu Buhari via the Minister of Education to set up a panel with men of good character to probe the on-going projects and project executed by the  Dr. Olusegun Aluko, the Rector of the Federal Polytechnic Ilaro.

    “We have reasons to suspect that majority of the projects did not follow due process and were executed by the Rector through his fronts and private companies.”

    But the Police Public Relations in the state,  Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the students were not “reasonable,” with their allegation, wondering whether the Rector or the Police dressed their colleague in cult regalia and took him to the bush where he was arrested during cult initiation.

     

     

     

  • UNIABUJA secures NUC approval for 14 programmes

    UNIABUJA secures NUC approval for 14 programmes

    Frank Ikpefan, Abuja 

    The University of Abuja has secured approval for 14 new programmes from the National Universities Commission.

    The university however failed to secure accreditation for its Computer Science programme.

    Ten of the fourteen programmes secured full accreditation while four have interim accreditation.

    Head, Information and University Relations at the University of Abuja, Dr Habib Yakoob, disclosed these in a statement on Sunday.

    The programmes with full accreditation include Public Administration, Education Arabic Studies, Education Christian Rel. Studies, Education English, Education Geography, Education Islamic Rel. Studies, Guidance and Counselling, Law, Chemistry and Microbiology.

    Those with interim accreditation are Banking and Finance, Education Physics, Educational Administration and Planning and Primary Education Studies.

    The statement quoted the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah as saying:  “Just a few days ago, your university received the results of the November 2019 National Universities Commission (NUC) accreditation visit to the UofA of Nigeria; and out of  15 (fifteen academic programs visited), it is only one of them, Computer Science, that we have difficulty in,  which Academic Planning Office, working with the academic department concerned, would prepare an appeal for a revisit and a re-evaluation.”

    The vice-chancellor said the management of the university was working round the clock with all faculties and academic departments to lift the university to world class standards.

    Read Also: Cultism: UNIABUJA suspends 24 students indefinitely

    “Ladies and gentlemen, your university is a proud university and our distinguished staff and students would continue to show excellence and raise the banners of academic excellence as the No. 1 University in Nigeria.

    “We are in the middle of laying a solid Internet infrastructure (fybriotics) in all our campuses. Your university is establishing computer laboratories across faculties and departments where students and staff would easily walk in when they need to use computers. Several of our classrooms are in the program of now being converted into smart classrooms where learners and instructors can use cyber technology.

    “Your university has already built and is perfecting its UniAbuja Virtual classroom system and many students are currently taking some courses online in a Pilot study of our Virtual Classroom system, and the Centre for Sponsored Projects, the Centre for Undergraduate Research, the UofA International Centre, the Entrepreneurship Centre, the General Studies unit, and more, are all mobilizing staff and students to explore world class academic, research and global citizenship opportunities provided in the great UofA of Nigeria,” he said.

    The vice-chancellor also said the university has created a Rape and Sexual Harassment Reporting Platform on the main university website.

    He said the platform would provide opportunity to “any student who felt she or he has been harassed, however long this has happened to her or him, can report to the University authority, and such report will go direct to the designated officer and the Vice-Chancellor, where every legitimate process would be followed to thoroughly follow up and get to the bottom of the allegation while also protecting the victim at the highest level.”

     

     

  • NGO charts way forward for education POST-COVID

    NGO charts way forward for education POST-COVID

    A Non-Governmental Organisation(NGO), Carisma4U, has revealed the importance of having strong science and engineering programmes in Africa for education to remain strong COVID-19.

    The NGO is working with the vision of Creating future readiness for 2,000,000 African students by 2030 to transform beneficiaries with STEM for future readiness and eradicating poverty.

    As part of the system working towards setting a new threshold in the education sector post-Covid-19, the NGO will be holding an online conference to discuss key concerns around education, and charts way to moving forward.

    Read Also: ‘STEM education key for Africa’s growth’

     

    Its founder, Engineer Adetola Salau, said: ‘If Africa will compete meaningfully this decade, we must emphasis STEM education more than ever before.

    We have invited industry experts who will escalate the conversation and help us with verifiable data to enable us to make informed decisions as school owners, teachers, parents, and other stakeholders.

    The online conference with the theme: STEM The Equalizer: Setting The Education Threshold For A Post COVID-19 Relevance And Significance In Africa held between: June 26 – 27, 2020 by 3pm daily.

    Lagos Commissioner of Education Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo declared the conference open.