The Nation Newspaper

Tag: centre

  • Tears,anger as govt demolishes popular Yenagoa relaxation centre

    Tears,anger as govt demolishes popular Yenagoa relaxation centre

    A Bayelsa government agency renders over 100 jobless demolishing a popular Yenegoa joint in an exercise meant “to rid the state of illegal structures”, reports MIKE ODIEGWU

    Sickedness and insensitivity. These were the words used by passers-by and fun-seekers to describe the action of the Bayelsa State Capital City Development Authority (CCDA) against Bolex, a popular relaxation joint in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

    Residents were angry that the CCDA chose no other day but Thursday, a day business experts, tourists and politicians from Nigeria and around the world gathered in Yenagoa for the first Investment and Economic Forum organised by Governor Seriake Dickson to demolish Bolex.

    While the governor was dissipating his energy highlighting business potentials in Bayelsa to woo foreign and local investors, officials of CCDA led by the authority’s Executive Secretary, Mr. Idaba Eje, moved into the premises of Bolex, believed by many fun seekers to be a success story in local investment, with a bulldozer.

    Officials of CCDA heavily protected by a truckload of armed policemen invaded Bolex, put their bulldozer to work and pulverized facilities in the bar. There was panic among customers who trooped to the bar for relaxation and to wash their vehicles.

    Bolex is a known brand and a household name located on the Isaac Adaka Boro expressway Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. It has existed in the area for about six years even before a gigantic hotel believed to be owned by Dame Patience, the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan rose close to it. It has a business mix of a car wash, open bar and a night club.

    In fact, many residents believe that Bolex is synonymous to nightlife in Yenagoa. But the bubbling Bolex, a business venture that has employed over 150 people, came under attack by officials of the CCDA.

    In dexterity, the CCDA officials destroyed over six fanciful car ports, perimeter fences, chairs, erected concretised pavements, riser beams and other equipment used for car wash. Nothing was spared, not even the electrical wiring and plumbing line.

    When Niger Delta Report visited the scene, Bolex was a shadow of itself. The Manager, Mr. Preye Boligha, was devastated. He was simply ruminating on the reason behind the action of CCDA.

    “We really do not understand the reason behind this destruction. Bolex is genuine business. We wash cars, run a snacks bar, club and night bars. This is a business that has given employment to about 150 jobless people, especially youths.

    “What could we have done wrong?” Boligha kept pondering. “We don’t have a problem with the government. No part of our premises was marked for demolition and no prior notice of the destruction was given to us. We are not owing the government because we pay all our dues and taxes to the government,” he said.

    The Director and Founder of Bolex, Amos Boligha, was also dumbfounded. He said he lost over N6million to the destruction. The demoralised Boligha wondered why the CCDA came to destroy a business he suffered very hard to build.

    “I was not around when it happened. I was at the airport when I got information that members of CCDA were here with their bulldozer to come and demolish the car wash. This is the business I have been operating for the past six years here.

    “The business is out of the right of way. We have been operating here and we have not got notification from anybody. Nobody has written us to inform us about illegal structures. If the CCDA has any issue with any part of our premises, they should have at least given us a notice,” he said.

    In fact, the founder of Bolex was not alone in his request for an explanation. Employees and beneficiaries of the Bolex business were confused and stranded. They wondered why the government was interested in their job, their only source of livelihood.

    “When we go to the government for jobs, they close their door behind us and tell us there is no job. But Bolex has given us jobs and the same government has come to take them away. Bolex doesn’t owe us.

    “There is no worker here that earns below N30,000 monthly. This is where I have been making a living and taking care of my wife and five children,” one of the workers lamented.

    Also, Mr. Ziki Charles, who hails from Nembe Local Government Area and works as a security man at Bolex said the business made him what he was. “Bolex has made me who l am today. I am surprised at what the CCDA did today,” he said.

    Ahmed Ismaila, who washes vehicles at Bolex to make a living said the business gave him the money and opportunities to begin and finish his Ordinary National Degree (OND) programme.

    “I have worked here for five years. I finished my OND while working here and I want to go for my HND. This man has helped many people in Yenagoa. I feel pained. It was like a dream”, he said.

    But, Eje, while defending the action of the CCDA on a local radio station, said it was carried out to rid the state of illegal structures.

  • Succor for residents as Lagos unveils cardiac and renal centre

    Succor for residents as Lagos unveils cardiac and renal centre

    The opening of a cardiac and renal centre by the Lagos State government may signal the end of overseas treatment for Nigerians suffering from heart attack and similar health challenges. MIRIAM EKENE-OKORO reports.

    Not a few lives have been lost in Nigeria due to unavailability of modern health facilities and competent personnel to treat certain complicated diseases. While a few who could afford it travel overseas to seek medical attention for such health challenges as heart and kidney related diseases, thousands of others, helpless, are left to agonise over their conditions either praying for miracle healing or waiting patiently for death.

    One of such was Ms Bisi Oladele (not real name) a school teacher in one of the private school in Lagos State. Highly loved by the students and school management because of her hard work and commitment that had seen many students graduate from the school in good grades, her dreams of pursuing a career in teaching was cut short by a disease that was difficult to treat in our clime.

    As she battled with the problem later diagnosed as cardiac arrest, she had the hope that she could live longer to realise her dream if only she has access to treatment, but this was not to be as she eventually lost the battle for lack of access to funds to seek treatment outside the shores of the country.

    All that experiences by many Nigerians, observers say would be a thing of the past with the unveiling of a Cardiac and Renal Centre at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital Annex in the Gbagada axis of the state.

    The facility which was designed to handle heart and kidney related disease also offers out-patient services, diagnostic services, ultrasound, CT scan, Echocardiography, Stress Electrocardiography, laboratory services, fluoroscopy, ocular investigation for complications from hypertension, diabetes and renal conditions, haemo -dialysis for acute and chronic kidney diseases with 24 dialysis machine, admission for all cardiac conditions that requires hospital stay, critical care in intensive care unit (ICU) and high dependency wards, cardiac catherization, non invasive cardiology, open heart surgery, renal surgery, nursing and diabetic services, rehabilitation services and corporate wellness program.

    The contract to build the health facility was awarded in 2008 to Messrs Deaux project Limited, and it was completed with the capacity for  67-bed centre that sits on 2,317 square metres or24,792 square feet of land.

    The design provides access to all floors by two bed lifts and a wide ramp which allows two trolleys to pass simultaneously. Fire/service stairways are provided at the side of the elevator and at the back of the building.

    To manage the project, the Lagos State Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Renescor Health Limited Liability Partnership to run and manage the facility under a 5-year Operation and Management (O&M) concession renewable for another five year term subject to satisfactory performance and mutual agreement of the parties wherein the proponent will provide all of the healthcare services and total facilities management required for the value-engineering Renal and Cardiac Centre.

    At the signing of the agreement, Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, noted that the government considered it appropriate and timely to have a befitting cardiac and renal centre due to the increasing number of patients presenting with end stage renal failure.

    Idris who explained that cardiac and renal disease constituted a growing health burden globally, said there is what is called a triple jeopardy in the health sector, especially in Lagos and Nigeria which require efforts of stakeholders in State health system to address.

    According to him, “We have what we call double jeopardy but now it is triple jeopardy in the sense that we do not only have problems with communicable diseases, we are now having problems with non-communicable diseases, and the third one has to do with mental health. But this project is trying to address the major aspect of the non-communicable disease burden.

    “Not only that, we also do know that these two-disease burden jointly cause serious complications in people who have these problems; and once you have these problems, you have them for live if they are not properly treated”, Idris explained.

    He said government had over the years earmarked, as part of its free health policy, quite a huge chunk of its budget to sponsor people abroad on various medical problem that could not be treated in the country where the needed expertise and facilities were not available, saying that it was the copulation of these factors that prompted the government to build the cardiac and renal centre.

    “A copulation of these factors prompted the need for us to build facilities locally, find a way of staffing them locally to provide the needed services to treat people of these ailments, reduce the number of money we are spending to sponsor people abroad, and more importantly to build local capacity,” he added.

    Idris also opined that setting up of the facility would help bring back home Nigerian medical specialists as a way of ‘brain gain’ to defeat the ‘brain drain’ phenomenon, lamenting that over the years, quite a number of indigenous medical personnel had left the country for greener pastures due to lack of infrastructure and facilities they could exhibit their skills with.

    “We have over 2,000 specialists in the United States, similar number in Europe and Canada. And this is one way of brain gain instead of brain drain because if you establish a facility with the right equipment and infrastructure, we can use that to attract the specialists abroad back home where they can exhibit their expertise and at the same time build local capacity here. That was the basic underlining reason why we decided to embark on this project.”

    He noted that the need to get a suitably qualified competent consortium that has the needed requirement to run the facility prompted the state to opt for a Public-Private Partnership, PPP, agreement through the office of Public-Private Partnership, adding that this aim resulted in the appointment of Renescor Health Limited Liability Partnership to run and manage the facility.

    Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Ayo Gbeleyi said that the reason for opting for qualified competent consortium of medical professionals to manage the facility through a PPP initiative was due to dearth of appropriate competent staff in this environment and the highly specialized nature of the equipment and services to be rendered within the facility.

    He said that the PPP office was quite convinced of the capabilities of the private managers, as they were expected to provide quality services in line with international best practices, promote medical tourism, provide training field to develop the capacity of state’s own health personnel and facilitate a gradual paradigm shift on dependence on foreigners with the skilled empowerment of local professionals.

    The Managing Director of Renescor Health Limited Liability Partnership, Dr. Ladi Awosika commended the government for building the state-of-the-art facility which he described as first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa taking out South Africa and Angola.

    He added that the Cardiac and Renal Centre has been built to very good specification as attested to by the specialists that had signed up with the company, saying that the centre has facility for telemedicine which would make every procedure going on in this facility to be reviewed by colleagues anywhere in the world, thereby ensuring that training and cutting edge facility therapy would be available at the facility.

    Awosika explained that Messrs Renescour comprise mainly of Nigerians specialists who had been in the Diaspora and could not get any space to work in Nigeria, noting that when they saw what was on ground, they pledged to contribute their quota through the facility.

    “As at today, we have about 200 Nigerian specialists who have signed on to be a part of this. Some of them have decided that it will not even be for money, rather they will take one or two week vacation to be at this centre to impact their knowledge and skills to the people of Lagos in particular and Nigeria in general,” he said.

    Awosika noted that more facilities of the magnitude of the cardiac and renal centre is required in the State to be able to satisfy the demand of its more than 21 million residents and promote medical tourism in Lagos, pledging that his company would not let the State down.

  • Foundation opens child centre in Calabar

    Foundation opens child centre in Calabar

    In its bid to promote the early educational development of children, the Oando Foundation (OF) has launched an Early Childhood Care Development Centre at St. Patrick’s Primary School in Adiabo, Calabar, Cross River State.

    Director of the foundation, Ms Tokunboh Durosaro, said the programme includes upgrading of the classrooms, training of Early Child Care Development Education (ECCDE) teachers and caregivers by providing them with the necessary skills to work with young children effectively.

    “In addition, OF provides on-site support to teachers in the use of ECCDE equipment and provides educational equipment and furniture such as kiddies’ furniture, white board, children mats, and various children’s teaching aids and toys,” she said.

    She said the centre was established to meet the needs of children based on the approved curriculum which stipulates physical development, affective/psychosocial development, cognitive development, food and nutrition, health, water and environmental sanitation, safety measures and child protection.

    She said, “The programme has been designed to stimulate interest in schooling at a tender age by providing an environment that is child-friendly and age appropriate; ensure the fullest development of personality, talents, and mental and physical abilities; strengthen knowledge on current trends and approaches in ECCDE capacity building for teachers and caregivers; and encourage pupil enrolment and retention in schools.

    “As we know, there is growing scientific evidence that what happens – or doesn’t happen – to a child in the first 1,000 days of life has immediate effects on his or her well-being and future.  Early Childhood care and education services help build cognitive and non-cognitive skills at a time when children’s brains are developing, with long term benefits, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.”

    Speaking at the event, wife of the Cross River State governor, Mrs Obioma Liyel Imoke, said education is the best gift for every child and should be made available and assessable to every child.

    She lauded Oando for the effort at early childhood educational development.

    Commissioner for Education, Prof Offiong Offiong, expressed gratitude to the foundation for their commitment to the programme and called for other corporate bodies to emulate same.

    He promised to work with the foundation to ensure all their programmes succeeded.

    Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mr Joseph Ebam, lauded the foundation for their sense of responsibility in developing education in the state.

    The Obong of Calabar who was represented by the Village Head of Adiabo, Apostle Edet Okon, also expressed gratitude for the gesture and promised to always work with the foundation for the sustainability of their programmes.

  • Konga.com unveils biggest e-commerce centre, warehouse in Africa

    Konga.com unveils biggest e-commerce centre, warehouse in Africa

    The new Chief Operating Officer of Konga.com, Alex Kamara has described the online store as the biggest in Africa. Speaking at the unveiling of its 120,000 sq feet Fulfillment Centre in Lagos, he said the online store is the biggest of any single online retailer in Africa.

    The online retailer, which was launched in July 2012 is gradually becoming “the everything store” with its wide selection of products via its marketplace and fulfillment by its platforms, giving Nigerian businesses the opportunity to come online and consumers the opportunity to shop online.

    In a year, Konga.com has laid solid foundations of a retail, technology and logistics company, building a system by which buyers and sellers can find each other, providing unprecedented levels of retail convenience, choice and customer satisfaction.

    The new distribution centre is another critical step towards the company’s vision of building a world class online retail business in Nigeria. The facility offers the infrastructure ýrequired for Konga to make this happen.

    According to a top member of the team,“This is all about our customers as they are the reason why we are number one in Nigeria today. Logistics is the bedrock of any successful retailer, and today marks a turning point in our business and for Nigeria as a whole.  With this new distribution centre we are demonstrating our commitment ýto powering retail in Nigeria by building a company that Nigerians will be proud to use and associate with around the world. We are also creating new jobs, introducing new skill sets and exposing Nigerians to a new way of life.

    “We continue to create jobs, with staff strength growing from just seven to over 400, in a short period further demonstrating the level of growth within the company.

    The new warehouse has been operational since September 24, this year meeting immediate needs and providing ample scope for expansion as Konga grows. This setup allows the store optimizes efficient operation for its current size but offers the scope and flexibility for very rapid expansion of the operations as needed. Four times the space can be utilized by introducing a second level above the first.

    The fulfillment centre therefore provides a durable platform for the physical operations of the business.  Aligned with our strong technology base and rapidly growing logistics /fulfillment operation, the Konga team is reinforcing the solid foundations of their eCommerce company. This is all about their customers; the fulfillment centre is another critical step towards world-class selection and service for customers.

    Specifically, the new fulfillment centre allows the store offer a broader and deeper selection of wares, it allows retail partners offer a wider selection through their Marketplace and fulfillment by channels, customers are sure to benefit from the increased selection, improved service delivery and competitive prices that have always been part of the appeal.

    “The store has promised to upgrade its facility, as well as improve service delivery saying the fulfillment centre is a future-proof site. “The products and services we have been able to deliver to our customers, is an affirmation of our belief that the African consumer has unmet retail needs and that African business can and should be able to discern those needs and provide locally sourced high quality solutions for our consumers.  It is the result of a driving vision and belief that a technologically driven e commerce platform [developed in Nigeria] is a possibility in Nigeria ,”said Mr Alex Kamara.

  • Lagos praises centre for providing free training

    Lagos praises centre for providing free training

    THE Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Mrs Risikat Akiyode has commended the Centre for Vocational Empowerment Programme and Development (CVED), Ipaja, Lagos for complementing the efforts of the government in jobs provision for the people by training 148 people free.

    She spoke at the 11th graduation of the centre in Lagos at the weekend. She said it was good that people were availing themselves of getting training in skills instead of looking for white collar jobs.

    Mrs Akiyode, who was represented by Mrs Adedeji Oluwatoyin described the programme as laudable, saying it was good the owners of the centre Dominion Faith International Church are looking beyond the traditional roles of the church to empowering not only its members but also others.

    The Chief Executive Officer of the centre Rev David Olatona said the vision of the centre,which started in 2007, was initially aimed at feeding 300 less privileged in the community every Friday. But that it was later expanded to skills training in areas such as event decoration, cold water starch, body perfume, insecticides, body cream, hair cream beads making and computer appreciation.

    At the end of the three-month training, certificates are awarded, he added. The first set graduated in 2009.

    “Categorically, through CVED, we aim at helping participants to attain personal, professional and spiritual growth; and we are confident that lives will be enriched, poverty will be alleviated and future-oriented entrepreneurs will be raised,” he further said.

    Co-ordinators of the Programme, Pastor Olajide Esan and his wife Mercy noted the vision of the church ‘’which is connecting people to their destinies in order to impact their world positively’’. They said: “The uniqueness of the programme is that it cuts across every strata of the society; it is platform for every one. The qualification is simply a willing heart and availability for lectures.”

    A Trustee of the church Rev Gabriel Oyediji said at the moment the path to national development is through skills acquisition, urging unemployed graduates to embrace the option. He noted that the era of dependence on certificates was gone, adding that emphasis is on what one could do with one’s hands.

    He also said that is the only way Nigeria can lifted from being a consumer economy to producer, adding that it was through family businesess and cottage firms that Europe and some advanced countries were developed.

  • Centre plans expo

    The FEDPOFFA entrepreneurship centre has identified some projects it will implement in collaboration with relevant academic and non-academic departments to properly groom the entrepreneurial skills of students.

    The Director of the Centre Mr Kamaldeen Arowomole, also spoke of plans to organise an Entrepreneurship Week which will provide a platform for students and departments to showcase their products.

    Some of the projects to be on display include block making, automobile diagnostic and Management Centre as well as agro allied industrial products.

    He said the centre has intimated the Management through the Rector of its intention to use part of the polytechnic land at the Main Campus to plant various fruits and crops from the agro allied productions.

    Mr Arowomole also disclosed that the unit is planning to help the Polytechnic generate income and organise sponsorship for some of entrepreneurship products.

  • NTDC to build tourism centres in six zones

    NTDC to build tourism centres in six zones

    As part of efforts to rapidly develop domestic tourism destinations by the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), six tourism centres are to be built across the six geopolitical zones in the country.

    The Director-General of NTDC, Mrs. Sally Mbanefo, made this declaration while addressing members of management and staff in an interactive session at the tourism village in Abuja during the week.

    The DG, who took time to intimate staff on progress report and recent developments since her assumption of duty, emphasized that the core of her administration remains a comprehensive development of Nigeria’s local tourism attractions, hence the need for the tourism centres across the geo-political zones.

    According to her, the NTDC plans to introduce information desks at major airports in Nigeria with the aim of supplying tourists and visitors, relevant information on areas of interest, directory on places to visit, activities of the NTDC and the tourism industry in general.

    During the meeting, Mrs. Mbanefo noted that the NTDC will work with stakeholders and professionals on strategic imperatives aimed at growing revenue base, while restructuring the corporation and repositioning it to better finance its activities.

    The NTDC boss also said a productive workforce is essential to achieving her vision which is to make the NTDC an employer of choice in the public sector, putting measures in place to make the work environment conducive for staff with a comprehensive welfare package.

  • ‘Lagos centre to partner training institutions’

    The Lagos State Public Service Staff Development Centre (PSSDC) will partner other training institutions, its Director-General Mrs. Olubunmi Fabamwo has said.

    She spoke while receiving a delegation from the Institute of Strategic Management of Nigeria led by its President,Dr. Otive Igbuzor, in her office.

    Mrs. Fabamwo said as the training arm of the public service, the centre is poised to equip workers with the tools needed to keep pace with the state’s focus of being Africa’s mega city.

    She said 21st century managers must be equipped with strategic planning tools to remain effective.

    The centre, according to her, has aligned its vision with that of the state and is simultaneously benchmarking its services with other training institutions in Africa to deliver on its mandate.

    The centre, Mrs. Fabamwo emphasised, is not only a training institution, but that it provides solutions for stakeholders, especially in the public service.

    She said a framework was in place to achieve its objectives, adding that 21 old courses have been reworked and 37 new ones designed to accommodate the public service.

    Igbuzor said the visit was part of activities marking the 10th anniversary of the institute.

    The institute chose to reach out to PSSDC because of the recognition of its “critical mandate of developing requisite manpower needed for the sustainable growth and development of the public service in Lagos state”, he said.

    He said the institute was proud to be associated with the centre and would be willing to collaborate with it in deepening strategic management, especially by the public sector.

     

     

  • Centre urges review of Amnesty for ex-militants

    THE Centre for Peace and Environment Justice (CEPEJ) has called for the review of the amnesty granted ex-militants in the Niger Delta.

    The organisation said the training for the ex-militants should have factored in the remediation of the environment devastated by years of militancy, illegal bunkering and oil exploration activities.

    CEPEJ’s National Coordinator Sheriff Mulade, spoke at a a review of the amnesty programme to train the former warlords on how they can help clean the environment destroyed by attacks on oil facilities.

    He said: “The Federal Government should review the amnesty programme with inclusion of Environmental Remediation Taskforce to engage trained youths as this will help to solve issue of unemployment.

    “We have observed that the Presidential Amnesty Programme for Niger Delta youths addresses capacity building through training and re-integration, without capability. It fails to tackle the fundamental issues of underdevelopment as well as environment pollution and degradation caused by the reckless activities of multinational oil companies, illegal bunkering and oil theft.

    “It is regrettable that over the years, oil pollution had destroyed farmlands, waterways and various sources of drinkable water, thereby impoverishing the local people and affecting their socio-economic well being. Also cases of oil spillage recorded were not handled in a satisfactory manner by oil companies and relevant government agencies.

    “We are calling on the Federal Government, especially the Special Adviser to the president on Niger Delta Affairs, Kingsley Kuku, to set up an Environmental Remediation Taskforce to critically address this environmental challenge through the Federal Government’s laudable programme, as well as take proactive steps to monitor oil spillage and cleanup activities in the Niger Delta.”

    Mulade said the majority of unrest and criminalities taking place in the region are the handiwork of unemployed trained ex-militants, who have not been gainfully engaged since returning from training.

    He disclosed that CEPEJ, in collaboration with the Bayelsa State government, was organising a two-day annual peace and environment seminar with the theme “Towards Eradicating Environmental Threats and Sea Piracy Challenges in Africa”.

    Mulade said the seminar would address fundamental issues, such as crude oil theft and illegal refineries, illegal mining, kidnapping and marine piracy, as well as other environmental challenges in Africa.

    He added that the forum would facilitate policy and dialogue among key stakeholders in the environment sector on how best to promote innovations to meet environmental best practices.

    Among the speakers to deliver papers at the event are the Minister of Environment, Hajia Hadiza Mailafia; the Deputy Minister of Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation, Ghana, Dr. (Mrs.) Bernice Heloo; Prof. Moses Montesh of the College of Law, University of South Africa, Pretoria and other renowned academics from within and outside Nigeria.

     

     

  • NIC to set up centre

    The National Industrial Court (NIC) is set to establish an Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre (ADR), its President, Justice Babatunde Adejumo, has said.

    He said this in Abuja, while addressing the bar during the hearing of a case filed by former pension boss, Mr Abdulrasheed Maina, challenging his dismissal from office.

    He said the centre would be saddled with settling disputes lodged in the court through alternative dispute resolution mechanism.

    “If a case is filed at the court and all parties filed their processes, it can be referred to the centre for possible out-of-court settlement.

    “After a case is filed and the parties in the suit have properly joined issues, they will be sent to the ADR Centre, and if they fail to settle, they will return to the court for hearing to commence,” he said.

    He said the centre would be an important means of resolving industrial disputes in the country, urging counsel to always embrace out-of-court settlement of industrial disputes.