The Nation Newspaper

Tag: 1000

  • ‘Over 1000 police families to receive compensation soon’

    Over 1,000 families of Nigerian police officers and men who died or sustained injury during active service between 2012 and last year will soon receive adequate compensation, The Nation has learnt.

    The victims are those who were not covered as a result of the non-payment of insurance premium on the Group Life Assurance Scheme of Federal Government workers to insurers following the enforcement of ‘No premium, no cover’ policy by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in the insurance industry.

    Assistant Commissioner of Police and Head Insurance Department, Nigeria Police Force, Kayode Turner disclosed this in an interview with The Nation.

    He said the Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Abubakar had been working with the Budget  Office to pay the affected families.

    He said following the enforcement of the ‘No premium, no cover’ policy’by NAICOM, the money to be paid to the families cannot be termed as insurance claims any longer but compensation because no premium was paid to the insurers.

    Turner assured that going forward, premium on police Group Life Assurance Scheme will be paid up front.

    He noted that the police presently have insurance cover running for the year, as insurance premium has been fully paid.

    He believes premium should not be tied to quarterly allocation of the budget releases.

    He however stated that NAICOM ought to give a special concession to the police and other security forces in paying their premium owing to the nature of their job and the time when the Federal Government budget allocation is released, knowing full well that premiums are paid from the budget which comes every January after most of these polices may have been due.

    workers in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), such as the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Federal Ministry of Education, and Federal Ministry of Justice, Federal Ministry of Power, among others, who die in active service are not eligible to get compensation.

    The Pension Reform Act states in Section 9(3) that employers shall maintain life insurance policy in favour of their employees for a minimum of three times the annual total emolument of the employee.

     

     

  • NGO empowers 1,000 youths

    As part of its efforts to reduce the rate at which youths are lured into thuggery, particularly during election periods, the Great Elevation Care Initiative (GECI), a non-government organisation (NGO), has empowered 1,000 youths in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

    The beneficiaries were selected from the six local government areas of the Northern Senatorial District of Ondo State.

    Addressing the beneficiaries, the National Coordinator of the NGO, Pastor (Mrs.) Grace Abebi Aruwajoye emphasised the need for all to be actively involved in the development of the state, adding that government alone cannot provide all amenities needed by members of the community.

    She decried the civil service-driven orientation of the people, even as she said other sectors are left unattended to, thereby suffering neglect.

    “We discovered that a lot of people are working for the government; it is only civil servants that you can get in Ondo State. Everybody depends on the government and this leads to an increase in the rate of unemployment,” she said.

    Aruwajoye said such state of affairs informed the initiative’s training of the unemployed youths in the state by giving them the necessary skills and available resources to be self-reliant in order to be useful to themselves and the society.

    As a result of her commitment to community development, Pastor Aruwajoye had to relocate to Nigeria from the United States of America. She appealed to well-meaning Nigerians in the Diaspora to come back home and improve the living condition of the people, adding that there is the urgent need to complement government’s efforts towards reducing the rate of poverty among the people and to encourage entrepreneurship in the country.

    “Now that elections are fast approaching, we have to do everything possible to engage the teeming army of unemployed youths so that they will not be engaged as thugs by some unscrupulous politicians for their selfish interests. It will be very difficult to engage someone who has something doing,” she said.

    She, however, enjoined other sister organisations not to give out money to the people but make it basically a training and empowerment programme.

    She assured that the gesture would be replicated in the three senatorial districts and 18 local government areas of the state.

    Chairperson on the occasion, Mrs. Solape Elegbeleye, wife of the Director-General of National Sports Commission (NSC), urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the training programme.

  • Kano recruits 1000 teachers

    In its bid to ensure qualitative education at the secondary school level, the Kano State government has recruited over 1, 000 teachers to boost teaching, tutorials and instructions in secondary schools across the state.

    According to the Director-General of the state Secondary Schools Management Board (KSSSMB),  Alhaji Habib El-Yakub, the exercise formed part of the measures taken by the government to fill the vacuum created by teachers who had retired or left the profession in search of greener pastures.

    He said government has also concluded arrangements for the recruitment of a second batch of 1, 900 teachers soon.

    “All these efforts are geared towards ensuring that our secondary schools are equipped with qualified and adequate personnel. This is necessary because of the government’s free education policy introduced last year,” he added.

    He said further that the introduction of free feeding and uniforms in primary schools has attracted many parents, who hitherto refused, to enrol their wards in school.

    According to El-Yakub, the government has also recruited computer teachers for each of the 973 secondary schools under the board as part of renewed effort to ensure that pupils are computer literate.

    He said the board is currently in partnership with over 20 private firms, which specialise in  Information and Communication Technology (ICT), to ensure the full take off of ICT centres in all secondary schools in the state.

    “This is also aimed at making sure that all secondary school pupils are computer literate in view of the modern trend,’’ he added.

     

  • Ajimobi’s wife empowers 1000 widows

    Ajimobi’s wife empowers 1000 widows

    It was a happy and joyous Sallah for widows in Oyo State as the wife of the governor, Mrs Florence Ajimobi, hosted to a party and donated cash and other items to them. TAYO JOHNSON was there.

    in her bid to alleviate the sufferings of widows in our society, the wife of the Oyo State governor, Mrs Florence Ajimobi has empowered no fewer than 1000 widows in the state under her Ajumose Widowhood Initiative programme.

    At the empowerment programme held at the Tennis court, government house during the recent Sallah celebration, the widows were selected from four different groups in the state and were given cash price, foods and other materials.

    The widows’ home includes; Christian Care for Widows, Channels for Widow Health Centre, Widows Care Centre and Dream Alive Concept.

    According to Mrs Ajimobi, the programme was  thoughtfully designed to coincide with this year’s Sallah celebration.

    “We thought it necessary that we should always put smiles on the faces of a very important group of vulnerable people in the society- the widows. This is not the first time that this government will be extending its hand of love to the widows in the State.

    “You will recall that in the year 2011, at the inception of this administration led by His Excellency Senator Abiola Ajimobi, two of the earliest activities embarked upon by my office were the opening of mini-clinics for the aged and widows in all the 33 local government areas of the State as well as the flag-off of the widowhood support programme, also in all the local governments areas.

    “Also in May 2013, in commemoration of the second year anniversary of this administration, there was also an empowerment programme which was specially organised for the aged and widows. This goes to show how dear widows are to the heart of this administration and how germane it is to us to see that they are well catered for. Widows are the embodiment of the struggles and travails of womanhood and I would like our widows to know that this administration does not undermine your importance” She stated

    The governor’s wife said the present administration in the state recognises the peculiarity of the situations of the widows, and is more than committed to continue to give them (widows) the necessary support in order to ensure that they are saved from the stigma that is usually associated with widowhood in the country.

    She lamented that:”Traditionally, widowhood is seen as a curse and a burden and the death of the breadwinner usually translates into the ‘death’ of his family.  The plight of widows is thus indeed very pitiful. Many widows and their children are kicked out of their homes, forced to live in abject poverty on the fringes of society, and are prey to abuse, violence and sexual exploitation.”

    Mrs Ajimobi urged all Nigerians to rise to support and empower the widows in their midst, stressing that they must be given the opportunity to live again.

    She enjoined all sundry in the state to keep supporting the government of Governor Ajimobi “as you always have and let us work together to make our dearly beloved Oyo State great again”, urging the people of the state to ensure continuity of the administration.

    In her appreciation message on behalf of the widows, Dr Joan Agunloye thanked Mrs Ajimobi for her kind gesture towards them, praying God to grant Governor Ajimobi second term in office for continued transformation of the state.

  • Recapitalisation:1000 BDCs may emerge

    BureauX De Change (BDCs)  are waiting for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to release the list of operators that met the July 31 recapitalisation deadline, Managing Director, Blue Wall Bureau De Change (BDC) Limited Lucky Aiyedatiwa has said.

    He told The Nation that feelers indicated that about 1,000 operators may make emerge.

    Aiyedatiwa, who is former Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) president, said: “We are waiting. The collation process is ongoing. I think that the CBN may complete the collation before the week runs out.”

    He said operators that hitherto ran four or more BDCs would be forced to go for only one licence because of the new huge capital base. Duplication of ownership, he said, would no longer be feasible.

    ABCON President Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe said the policy was an indirect attempt to empower few operators and force many others out of business.

    ABCON proposed a 40-week timetable for operators to meet the new minimum capital requirements. The proposal, he said, was sent to CBN for consideration. He said though CBN extended the deadline to July 31, the time was still too short to enable BDCs comply with the statutory and legal requirements of the new policy.

    The timetable, he said, contained actions needed to be taken to enhance the successful implementation of the policy for the subsector.

    Managing Director, Kayewd Bureau De Change (BDC) Limited, Rotimi Dada said the CBN was still selling only $15,000 to BDCs as against $50,000 before the policy was announced.

    Dada  said CBN was “a bit hasty” by cutting the dollar sales to BDCs, adding that the regulator should consult with stakeholders on what to be done. CBN, he said, should see the BDCs as macroeconomic factors that favour the economy.