The Nation Newspaper

Tag: 30

  • Publishers kick against proposed 30% tariff on imported books

    The Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA) has urged the government not to impose duty on imported books.

    The group made this appeal,  at its yearly conference and general meeting in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    President of the association, Chief Ngwobia Okereke, urged the government not to go on with the introduction of the new tariff regime of 30 per cent levy.

    He said books are supposed to be without any import duties and warned that if government goes ahead, the move would hamper the development of the education sector.

    Similarly, Chairman, Safari Book Limited, Chief Joop Berkhout, who chaired the occasion, lamented that publishers were producing under stifling condition already without the duty which would worsen the situation.

    “The world is changing fast and we have to catch up with innovations. I understand that various meeting had been held with the Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC) to revert duty to zero in a country where there are no paper mills; where everything to produce books are imported; even electricity, only the labour force is local. We still use printing machines that are obsolete in other countries apart from restricted capacity.

    Every country must have the right to manufacture whatever they want for economic and quality reasons,” he said.

    Speaking on the theme: “Nigeria book industry: National development and government policies,” the NPA President, Okereke, said the association chose it to review the growth of the publishing industry and the society at large based on various government policies.

    Lamenting frequent changes in education policies from successive administrations, he called on the government to ensure continuity to improve education standards.

    Supporting Okereke’s call for continuity, Chairman, University Press Plc, Dr Lekan Are,  said there must be a synergy between the industry and the Federal Ministry of Education.

    “Government policies are not stabilised.  The Nigerian Publishers Association has come of age hence the government and the stakeholders must work together to move the nation forward,” he said.

    In his address, NUC’s Executive Secretary, Prof. Julius Okojie,  said the book industry had contributed immensely to the development of the society.

    Represented by Prof Akanerem Essien, Okojie suggested that the research committee of the NPA should set in motion the analysis of the potential of e-book industry in the country.

    “It is better to start now to think about it while building on your platform. For a long time to come the print book will be of great relevance in our economy,” he said.

  • Kwara to upgrade 30 schools to first class status

    The Kwara State government has announced plans to upgrade 30 secondary schools to first class status.

    Ten of the schools to be rehabilitated and upgraded will be picked from each of the senatorial districts of the state, Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Alhaji Saka Onimago has said.

    The commissioner said this in Ilorin, the state capital at a public lecture/book launch to mark the centenary anniversary of Government Secondary School (GSS), Ilorin.

    Onimago added that the state government is considering GSS and Queen School both in Ilorin for a special role.

    Onimago who is also a product of GSS, Ilorin said: “Today’s occasion calls for a little reflection on how far this institution has gone. We want to recall that some few years’ back when Senator Bukola Saraki was the governor of Kwara State four schools were specifically picked for complete renovation and rehabilitation and I believe GSS was one of the schools.

    “I have something in the offing for you not minding what I have heard today. Governor Abdulfatah Ahned has picked 30 schools; ten from each senatorial district of the state for first class rehabilitation. The good thing about it all is that GSS and Queen Elizabeth School Ilorin are being considered for special unique role. I want to assure you that what you have seen in a couple of months or probably before a year there will be a complete change.”

    The National President of the GSS Old Boys Association, Alhaji Nurudeen Alabi, blamed explosion in student population and inadequate infrastructure for the decline academic standard and discipline in the school

    The president said that: “Over the years, the situations and circumstances have changed culminating in the decline of academic standard and discipline in school. With the explosion of student population came its attendant challenges of inadequate infrastructure and the decay of the existing ones.

    “There is also the challenge of exchange students which accounts for about 70 percent of the student population.

    “The once cherished academic standard has fallen as a result of the very low academic standard of the exchange students. Whereas the best students in the state were selected for admission into the school, the school has no control on the quality of intakes from other states, yet these exchange students constitute the bulk of the student population. The consequence of this anomaly is better imagined than described.

    “We have had a running battle securing our land as a sizeable portion of our school’s land had been grabbed. The recent land encroachment has been successfully resisted. Our appreciation goes to the commissioner for education for timely intervention which has now given us a respite.”

  • 30 years after, ex-classmates meet again

    The first set of graduates of the College of Health Sciences of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) has held a re-union, which brought them together years after graduation. The attendees were the class of 1978-1984.

    The event, tagged: 30th Year Reunion and Public Lecture, was graced by the first Vice-Chancellor, Emeritus Prof Oladipupo Akinkugbe, and his successor, Emeritus Prof Adeoye Adeniyi. Both were guest speakers at the event.

    In his lecture titled: Still too many loose ends to tie, Akinkugbe praised the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Abdulganiyu Ambali, and his team for sustaining quality, adding that UNILORIN topped the ranking of Nigerian universities.

    He said: “I continue to be very proud of your heritage and pray that you will all continue to fulfill our nation’s highest expectations of playing a major role in creating and sustaining best international practices in the three vital areas of teaching, research and service.”

    Prof. Akinkugbe described the 1978-1984 class as outstanding ambassadors of the medical school. He advised the alumni to make their alma mater a good place to learn.

    Prof Adeoye described Akinkugbe as the “foundation scholar” of the medical college. Hailing the alumni for the event, Prof Adeoye said: “Seeing you here today, through the grace of God, we have not failed. I salute you, I thank you, and I am very proud of you.”

    Prof Ambali, represented by his deputy on Management Sciences, Prof Yisa Fakunle, said Akinkugbe is a “father of Medicine” in Nigeria, saying his predecessors were academics that pictured what others could not see many years ago. He said the foundation which the duo laid in the university four decades ago was yielding fruits.

    The class representative of the 1978-1984 class, Dr Ebun Bamgboye, a Consultant of Nephrologists and Clinical Director, described their teachers as “pillars that made us into what we are today.” The set donated medical equipment to the UNILORIN Teaching Hospital.

    Also at the event was the Deputy VC on Academics, Prof N.Y. Ijaiya, Registrar, Mr Emmanuel Obafemi and Liberian, Dr J.O. Omoniyi, among others.

  • SON endorses 30 phone brands

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has registered about 30 phones.

    Some of the mobile phone brands that passed SON’s comprehensive e-product registrations are Gowin, M’horse, Bontel, XGP, Tukaro, Q7, and Soloking.

    Others are U-Boss, Oktec, Maxtel, BML, MBO, Teemur, Aus, Mi-phone, Opsson, and MTK, Admet, H-mobile, DXD, Teenic, Simba, Ucall, Treesky, and Gionee and Kenxinda.

    President, Phone and Allied Products Dealers Association (PAPDA) at Computer Village in Ikeja, the Lagos State capital, Mr. Ikye Onwe, said the registration followed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with SON to rid the market of counterfeit products.

    He said to ensure compliance to standards, the group has provided an office for SON officials for the establishment of a market desk where two staff of SON would be deployed to operate to fight substandard products.

    He said to support the agency’s zero tolerance on sub-standard phones, PAPDA facilitated a joint trip for SON’s top management to China where they visited some phone factories and met with over 65 owners of phone factory to ensure that these factories no longer manufacture and import sub-standard phones into the Nigerian market.

    Onwe also explained that the association and all importers of mobile phones at the Computer Village market agreed that from July 1 this year, all mobile phones that would be sold in Nigeria would be products that have been duly registered with SON.

    According to him, passed off mobile phones, such as “Nokia and Samsung products will not be stocked and displayed in stores owned by PAPDA’s members”.

    In addition, the group agreed that all mobile phone brands sold in the market need to have a functional service centre which would cater to “after sales services”. PAPDA  has, however, warned that the products that lack these requirements would be confiscated and destroyed by the “joint taskforce of the SON and PAPDA.”.