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Tag: Edo State government

  • EdoJobs, Curators Academy commence training on programming for youths

    Less than two weeks after the Vice President, Prof.  Yemi Osinbajo, commissioned the Edo Innovation Hub, the Edo State government in partnership with the Curators Academy, have commenced training on Python, Data Science, and other programming tools, at the new facility in Benin City.

    The Special Assistant to the Governor on Job Creation and Skills Development, Mrs. Ukinebo Dare, who disclosed this to journalists in Benin City, said the Curators Academy has opened its laboratory for Edo youths, to acquire on-demand tech skills.

    According to her, “Beginners and intermediate classes would be held on Python and Data Science programming for youths who were part of the boot camp held when the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, launched the Edo Innovation Hub.”

    She added, “In preparation for this class, the lab is now open for people who are interested in learning Python and Data Science programmes to come in and use the lab to learn.”

    She explained that “Those who were trained during the launch of the Edo Innovation Hub are practicing, working and using the knowledge and tools to improve their skills. This kicks off a one-year partnership where 600 young people in Edo will be trained as tech entrepreneurs and tech experts participate in international competitions and get jobs globally in the tech space.”

    Mrs. Dare also noted that the Edo State government will be organising a 2-day training programme on Book Keeping and Financial Management in partnership with Recounting Limited.

    “Edo Innovates is focused on leveraging technology for job creation and enterprise development so it is a connection point for entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts. At the financial management training, entrepreneurs will be trained by accounting experts. It is targeted at giving business owners up-to-date skills needed to manage business finance. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply on the EdoJobs portal before June 28.”

    She further said that Mobicure, a social enterprise, is the first tech business to secure office space in the Edo Innovation Hub and encourages other start-ups and businesses to take full advantage of the facility and training programmes.

  • Edo raises alarm over adulterated kerosene

    …As one dies in fire explosion

     

    The Edo State Government has raised alarm over the supply of adulterated kerosene to users of the product.

    Commissioner for Youth and Special Duties, Mika Amanokha, raised the alarm in Benin City after a report of a fire incident in Evbuotubu Market, on Tuesday, which was put under control by officials of the Edo State Fire Service.

    Amanokha urged the federal government agencies that supervise the distribution of kerosene to mop up the fake product from the market.

    Read Also:Eight Edo indigenes coming from Spain die in accident

    He explained that the victim of the fire incident, who deals in kerosene in the market, lit a match stick to demonstrate that the kerosene she was selling was genuine.

    “Unfortunately, the product was adulterated as the experiment produced an explosion which killed her,” Amanokha said.

    He added that the timely intervention of officials of the Edo Fire Service brought the fire under control.

  • Indiscriminate waste disposal: Edo begins arrest of culprits

    The Edo State government is set to commence the arrest of persons who dump refuse indiscriminately across the state, in her renewed effort to rid the state of refuse.

    The decision is contained in a statement issued by the state’s waste management board.

    A statement issued by the General Manager, Edo State Waste Management Board, Osadebamen Charles Imariagbe, warned residents who dump refuse indiscriminately around Benin City and other parts of the state to desist from the practice or risk arrest.

    He frowned at the practice of dumping refuse in public places, on median separator, walkways and road setbacks in Benin City.

    Read Also:Edo SEEFOR concludes orientation for 9,000 new beneficiaries

    Imariagbe said the Obaseki administration prohibits the indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the state and warned members of the public to desist forthwith or face arrest.

    “Edo State Government will be apprehending persons caught in this uncivilized act,” he warned.

    “Members of the public, shop owners, market women and households are hereby advised to give their wastes to government-accredited Waste managers to avoid being caught and prosecuted,” the general manager said.

    Recall that the state government undertook an overhaul of its waste management structures after hitches between cleaners and contractors got to a head, which led to the ouster of the then Commissioner of Environment and Sustainability, and the General Manager of the State Waste Management Board.

  • ‘Sacked workers were not doing their jobs’

    Edo State Government has explained that it sacked its employees at the College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi because the affected workers were no longer doing their jobs.

    It said the number of staff in the college were higher than students in the institution.

    Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. Monday Osaigbovo, who stated this in a chat with our reporter, said the school could not grow in a situation where the workers were always fighting.

    The sacked workers had last week led a street protest saying that the termination of their appointment did not follow due process.

    Osaigbovo stated that a revamped College of Agriculture would be unveiled before April next year.

    Read Also:Sacked workers: Union threatens to disrupt Aero Contractors’ operations

    He stated that the private sector is expected to play a role in the new College of Agriculture by building workshops in the school where students could go for practicals.

    The Agriculture Commissioner boasted that students to be trained from the new institution would be employers of labour.

    According to him, “The Governor took the action for laying off the workers and paying them as a result of the workers not doing their job. That is the basic truth. If you ask them, they belonged to different fighting factions. The school cannot grow in such a situation.

    “There was in fighting among the staff. There was no longer students in the school. The staff were more than the students. When you finish from a specialized school, you should be able to employ yourself or somebody will be running after you. That is how the school of Agriculture ought to be. That is what we want it to be.

    “Before the first quarter of next year. We are expecting a college that the students that graduate from there should be able to employ themselves and companies will be waiting for them to graduate to employ them. It is a college of both the private sector and government.

    “The role the private sector will play is that during the students programme, they will be going to the private firms for training. The private sector will be in the board of the school. They will have workshops in the school for practicals. We are bringing in a research institute like NIFOR. They will be part of the new College of Agriculture. Any students that finish from the new college do not need to be searching for jobs. They will employ themselves and also employ others.”

  • Obaseki, World Bank, step up consultation

    Edo State government will Friday, host the Senior Director, Governance Global Practice, at the World Bank, Debbie Wentzel, in continuation of the series of expert meetings and consultations between the World Bank and the state government to deepen the bank’s officials’ insights into the workings of the Obaseki-led government and pave way for a special support window from the bank.

    Wentzel who will be accompanied by the bank’s Practice Manager, Hisham Waly, will be hosted to sessions to be led by Governor Godwin Obaseki.

    The World Bank’s officials’ visit will build on previous discussions between Edo government and the Bretton Woods institution that has expressed its readiness to increase the tempo of its developmental activities in the state, after rating the Obaseki-led administration high on transparency, accountability and demonstrable commitment to the sanctity and integrity of development-based partnership.

    According to the bank, “the meetings will provide the platform for the governor to share his perspectives on governance issues in Nigeria in general and Edo State in particular with a view to identifying possible areas of intervention by the bank, and to also discuss progress on the implementation of the State Employment and Expenditure For Results (SEEFOR) project which falls under Wentzel’s portfolio.”

    Read Also:Obaseki relishes Edo’s 10-year partnership with World Bank

    The meetings will be followed by “visits to some project sites as well as interactive session with beneficiaries of the projects across sub-components on-site and their representatives.”

    The Senior Director’s one-day visit is coming one week after the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mr. Rachid Benmassoud, paid a 2-day visit to Edo State.

    Benmassoud was accompanied by senior specialists in various sector areas, such as institutional reforms, public works, gender, agriculture, water and sanitation.

    Development experts who have been following the World Bank’s relationship with the Obaseki administration say Benmassoud’s visit was predicated on Edo State government’s impressive deployment of funding, technical and other assistance of the World Bank, which was attested to recently, by 11 Executive Directors of the World Bank, who were in the state recently, for on-the-spot assessment of the bank-sponsored developmental projects in the state.

    Obaseki said Debbie Wentzel’s visit will deepen talks and insights of the bank on the developmental aspiration of Edo State, to enable the bank customise its developmental products to suit the peculiar needs of the state.

    He assured the state government would expand ongoing development conversation with the bank on support for the state’s education and health sectors; rural development, job creation, gender issues and infrastructural development amongst others.

    “The several visits of the World Bank officials lend credence to our commitment to bringing development to our people in the state, with the support of our partners,” the governor said.

    He maintained that Edo State under his watch places high premium on the sanctity and the integrity of partnerships, contracts as well as an open and transparent process.

    “Development partners like the World Bank, operate in an environment where stakeholders abide by rules governing the partnerships, and in which input, output and outcomes are measured from time to time. The World Bank will not take you seriously if all you do is to award ‘political contracts,” he added.

    Some of the bank-sponsored projects such as erosion control projects under the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Project (NEWMAP), Edo State Employment and Expenditure for Result (SEEFOR), covering road projects; agriculture (FADAMMA); water, sanitation and review policy.

  • FG hands over N3.85bn Esan Water Project to Edo Govt

    President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government has handed over to the Edo State Government, the completed Northern Esan Water Project, in Ugboha, Esan South East Local government area of the state.

    The project estimated to have cost N3.85 billion, can generate two million gallons or nine million liters of water per day.

    Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, who led a Federal Government delegation, which included Minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, to the state, said the delegation was in the state to hand over completed projects to the Edo State government.

    Engr. Suleiman said he participated in the conception of the project in 1997, when he worked as a consultant to the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), which was then led by current President, Muhammadu Buhari. He noted that lack of fund stalled the project, until it was revived by the present administration.

    “We have finished our intervention programme and we are here today to hand over the project to the Edo State Government led by Governor Godwin Obaseki”.

    He expressed satisfaction and confidence in the quality of job done and hoped that the agencies in charge of the scheme would do a good job to ensure its sustainability.

    Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki expressed gratitude to the President Buhari-led administration for the uncommon gesture to the people of the state and Esan land, in particular.

    Read Also:Second Niger Bridge main project to gulp N210 billion

    He explained that access to potable water was a major challenge in Esan land and thanked the President for coming to the aid of the people, promising that his administration will do all it can to ensure the project benefits the people.

    “I want to assure you that as a progressive government, we align with the water policies of the Federal Government. We have been following your policy guideline to strengthen water reforms in Edo State,” the governor said.

    Obaseki disclosed that a bill to set up small town and rural water projects in the state has been passed by the Edo State House of Assembly (EDHA), noting that the state government has trained communities to set up their own water associations.

    He added that his administration is restructuring its urban water board. “I want to assure you that this scheme will be sustained. This is part of our plan to ensure water in all parts of Esan land.”

    The governor said his administration is working with the Niger Delta support programme, supported by the European Union (EU) to provide water, adding “We have paid 700 million naira as our counterpart fund and the EU is providing about two to three billion. We expect that all these investments will provide water in Esan land and other parts of the state.”

  • EdoJobs partners First Bank, Interswitch to train 42 new employees

    As part of Governor Godwin Obaseki’s drive to create jobs and improve financial inclusion, the Edo State Government has through Edo Jobs, employed 42 persons as enumerators and partnered with Interswitch Financial Inclusion Services to train the new employees from the three senatorial districts of the state on agency banking.

    The exercise is the first in a series of activities that will roll out over 500 agency bankers in partnership with Firstbank Nigeria and Interswitch.

    The skills development program equips beneficiaries with skills and expertise to become third party agents for the processing of cash deposits, withdrawals and payment of utility bills.

    Read Also:Edo trains 150 youths in Career Kickstarter Programme

    Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Skills Development and Jobs, Mrs. Ukinebo Dare, said that the training is in part, a fulfilment of the Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration’s promise to create 200,000 jobs in the state.

    She added that the trainees will also serve as enumerators for the EdoJobs programme, as they have been deployed to provide assisted registrations on the EdoJobs portal from all LGAs in Edo.

    Noting that the state government is determined to empower youths to become self-reliant, she said, “At Edo Jobs, we want to address the issue of job creation wholistically. So, we are leaving no stone unturned. Much as we are training people on how to be the best in the workplace, we are also empowering them to be self-reliant with bespoke training packages.”

    On the partnership for agency banking with FirstBank, she said, “As part of its commitment towards the development of Edo State, First Bank of Nigeria is partnering with EdoJobs on training and equipping of 500 small business owners on Agency Banking across all Local Government Areas.”

    She said, “Agent banking is the provision of financial services to customers by a third party (agent) such as cash deposits and withdrawals, payment of utility bills and other banking services. The partner will be branding the business location as well as providing necessary tools to help drive publicity and business profitability.

     

  • Police arrest 58-year-old man for defiling minor in Edo

    …Edo sets up committee on child defilement

     

    The Edo State Government has set up a committee to check the incidence of child defilement in the state, in a renewed effort to strengthen the Child Rights Law to address issues of sexual abuse of children.

    Acting Chairman, Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and Special Assistant to the Governor on Basic Education, Dr. Joan Oviawe, disclosed this during a press briefing at the Government House, Benin City, when the state government handed over a 58 years old man, Mr. Lambert Ighodaro, to the State Police Command for prosecution for allegedly raping a 12 years old girl in Benin City, Edo State capital.

    Dr. Oviawe added, “After the case was reported by SUBEB to the Police, Mr. Lambert was apprehended by the Police.”

    She said, “This was after SUBEB received report of the incident from the class teacher of the 12 years old girl, who is a pupil in one of the primary schools. She had observed that the girl was always absent from school and contacted the girl’s guardian to find out the cause of her absenteeism.”

    “The girl told her class teacher how she was being sexually abused by Mr. Lambert Ighodaro, in his house during school hours since 2017. She alleged that the man gives her money after defiling her,” she added.

    The SUBEB boss told journalists that the state governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, had set up an inter-ministerial committee to develop a framework to curb the incidence of child defilement in the state.

    She said the board is concerned about the wellbeing of pupils while in and out of school, noting that structures are being put in place to assist victims of rape overcome stigma, while the perpetrators are not only shamed but prosecuted.

    She said, “Teachers who were trained recently in the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (Edo BEST) programme, were trained on ways to identify children who have been abused physically and sexually.”

    Oviawe explained that the board was also investigating two other cases of sexual abuse involving an 11 years old girl and another eight years old girl.

    “The state government is reviewing existing Child Rights Law to strengthen the law made to combat all forms of abuses against children in the state,” she noted.

     

     

  • Edo to train 200 youths on solar panel installation, photography, others

    Edo State Government has concluded plans to partner with the After Graduate Development Centre to train 200 youths on solar panel installation, photography and cosmetology.

    The training programme, conducted through Edojobs, is aimed at equipping the youths with in-demand vocational, business intelligence and financial literacy skills. Youths will also be mentored to apply for business funding during the programme.

    The trainees are to be drawn from Edo North, South and Central senatorial districts of the state.

    Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Edo State Governor on Skills Development and Head of EdoJobs, Ukinebo Dare, expressed her gratitude to the Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, for attracting the programme which is funded by ACT Foundation to the state.

    She said that the training will fast-track the realisation of the governor’s promise of creating a minimum of 200,000 jobs. She also noted that it will also equip the 200 participants with skills and resources to be self-reliant as trainees will be guided to access credit from the Bank of Industry (BoI).

    She also noted that the state’s Ministry of Science and Technology is recruiting new hands for its Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and encouraged job seekers to get details and apply on the EdoJobs Portal.

    According to her “application for the 200 slots on the training being run by EdoJobs in partnership with AGDC (After Graduate Development Centre) is ongoing and individuals desirous of becoming brand names in the different fields, should apply right away on edojobs.edostate.gov.ng”

    The training programmes are on Solar Panel Installation and Maintenance, Photography as well as Makeup and Cosmetology.”