The Nation Newspaper

Tag: information

  • Maximising the gains of unbundled information ministry

    Maximising the gains of unbundled information ministry

    Sir: I write as a concerned citizen, seasoned broadcast journalist, thespian and culture enthusiast to appraise the long-awaited compartmentalisation of the erstwhile ministry of information, culture and national orientation.

    As a tested and trusted leader who has proven his mettle in the past. We in the art sector are happy to have a stand alone, culture ministry and a fully fledged ministry of tourism. With the preponderance of culture experts across the land and your knack for always gunning for the best, I foresee a new, greater and more prosperous Nigeria.

    Nigeria, no doubt, is a cultural power house on the international stage attracting global recognition. We are talking of a nation with over 250 ethnic groups, each with its unique artistic expressions, traditional Nigeria art forms such as pottery, sculpture, mask-making and delicious cuisine. What about Nigerian music and film industries which are also playing crucial roles in promoting Nigerian Art globally?

    As the saying goes “there’s no soldier so powerful to stop an idea of which time as come”. Time to beam the searchlight on tourism and culture is now, if we must move beyond paying mere lip service to diversification of the nation’s economy.

    Read Also: Global information security market to hit $170b by year-end

    Let’s harness this legion of talented creatives making waves globally. Our culture is exportable, Njideka Akunyile Crosby, Yinka Shonibare (MBE) a British Nigerian, Peju Alatise, a multidisciplinary artist, El Anatsui, a sculptor, Kehinde Wiley known for his distinctive portrait who gained recognition for his official portrait of Barrack Obama, contemporary Nigerian painters, Jelili Atiku a multimedia performance artist, member of Arterial Network are doing something big in this regard.

    Nollywood is another money-spinning industry considering the impact of Nigerian film makers in the international movie industry. It produces the largest member of films showcasing Nigerian talents. Genevieve Nnaji’s directional debut with “LionHeart” earned critics acclaim and became Netflix’s first Nigerian Original Movie. Oprah Winfrey in 2009 dubbed Genevieve as “Julia Robert of Africa”. Kunle Afolayan’s film such as Figurine and October 1 have received and still keep attracting global recognition and awards, while Tunde Kelani’s films which explore Nigerian culture and tradition have been screened at prestigious film festivals worldwide. Doing his own thing in his corner of the world is ace cinematographer Tunde Alabi-Hundeyin, Dudu, who has been playing crucial roles in the nation’s cultural landscape since the 70s. Also worthy of note is that documentary “What’s wrong with Nigeria” produced by Andrew Young Foundation, the documentary won the first place at the Zuma National Film Festival 2010, Abuja.

    Can we downplay the role of Nigeria Art Galleries in promoting international exposure? Ask the likes of multi-gifted culture connoisseur Tunde Odunlade of Tunde Odunlade Arts and Culture Connexions whose gallery at Bodija, Ibadan is a must visit by tourists across the globe. What about Engineer Yemisi Shyllon, a private individual reputed as the biggest collector of African arts in the world and the largest art collector in Africa and proprietor of world’s standard private museum (Omo Oba Yemisi Shyllon Muesum).

    What are we waiting for? We have a new oil in our hands. The black gold discovered in 1953 at Akata near Eket and later Oloibiri the fossil fuel in 1956 in commercial quantity is fast running out. Creativity is inexhaustible we have the brains. All we need do is put square pegs in square holes not round pegs in square holes – the bane of our developmental challenge. When the white men looted our artifacts, then they thought they have taken it all, but they only took the arts but failed to remove the craft our creative ingenuity.

    What can man do without food? Absolutely nothing, as we target working on achieving the greatest good for greatest number of people. No effort must be spared in ensuring food availability. A hungry man they say is an angry man, food is an essential ingredient for man.

    • Fatai Adiyeloja, Abeokuta.

  • ‘Opposition plots to truncate polls’

    Opposition leaders are plotting to truncate the forthcoming elections and throw 10 states into chaos, the Federal Government alleged yesterday.

    The plot, said the government, is to create an atmosphere of confusion to pave the way for the enthronement of an interim government.

    Information, Culture & Tourism Minister Lai Mohammed, who raised the alarm, declined to reveal the identities of those behind the plot.

    According to the minister, some armed bandits and Boko Haram insurgents have been hired to launch massive attacks on more than 10 states.

    The states are: Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Benue, Kano, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara. The minister alleged that some armed mercenaries from Niger Republic were hired to attack top government officials, including governors, in the Northwest.

    According to him, the government was issuing the alert “not out of any panic or any partisanship”.

    He assured that everything will be put in place to have the elections conducted everywhere.

    Mohammed, who made the disclosures at a press conference in Abuja, said the alert was based on credible intelligence.

    He said: “As you are aware, Nigeria goes to the polls just 27 days from now. However, the Federal Government is in possession of credible intelligence to the effect that widespread violence being orchestrated by the opposition is threatening the 2019 general elections.

    “You have definitely seen the massive and warm reception that President Muhammadu Buhari has been receiving across the country, compared to the thinning crowds that have been attending the opposition rallies.

    “Having realised that their fortunes have dwindled badly ahead of the polls, the desperate opposition is orchestrating widespread violence with a view to truncating the elections, thus triggering a constitutional crisis that could snowball into the establishment of an interim government.”

    Mohammed said the government uncovered plans to unleash mayhem on more than 10 states, mostly in the Northwest and in the Northeast.

    He said the wanted militia leader in Benue State, Terwase Akwaza (a.k.a. Gana), had been engaged to attack soft targets in Benue, Nasarawa, and Taraba states

    Read also: Nasarawa begins fertiliser production at 100 tonnes per hour

    He added: “Before you accuse the government of crying wolf, let me tell you, gentlemen, that we have credible intelligence that armed bandits and Boko Haram insurgents have been mobilised to engage in massive attacks and other acts of violence in several states across the country, including Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Benue, Kano, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara.

    “The Benue-based armed criminal group, led by Terwase Akwaza, also known as Gana, has been commissioned to strike soft targets in Benue, Nasarawa, and Taraba states.

    “In Kano State, a group of notorious miscreants have been mobilised by some prominent opposition leaders to provoke massive chaos before, during and after the elections.

    “There is also an international dimension to the evil plan. Some armed mercenaries from Niger Republic have been contracted to attack top government functionaries, including state governors, across the North-west between now and the elections.”

    The minister, however, assured the nation that the government was doing its best to address the security threats.

    But he pleaded with Nigerians to be vigilant in the days ahead of the poll.

    Mohammed said: “The Federal Government is taking every possible measure to counter these evil plans by unpatriotic anarchists and ensure the success of the 2019 general elections.

    “The administration’s commitment to credible, free, fair and peaceful elections is unshaken. After all, according to the online encyclopedia – Wikipedia – elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated since the 17th century.

    “We appeal to all Nigerians to be vigilant in the days ahead. We also appeal to the media to help in sensitising members of the public on these observed threats, which are capable of disrupting the elections.

    “The punch line of our long-running campaign on security – if you see something, say something – remains relevant, perhaps even more, at this time.

    “Finally, all the relevant agencies under the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture will work together to ensure that Nigerians are alerted to the dangers posed to the forthcoming elections by unscrupulous, unpatriotic and desperate characters who will not hesitate to destabilise the country if they cannot achieve their inordinate ambition.”

    He expressed regrets that some opposition leaders were ready to cooperate with Boko Haram to disrupt the general elections.

    Mohammed said: “I think every election year, Boko Haram has always threatened to attack people and make the conduct of elections impossible. But this time around, it gets a bit more worrisome because some unpatriotic elements are even ready to use Boko Haram for these attacks.

    “What I can assure you is that the Federal Government is up to the task and everything will be put in place to ensure that elections are held everywhere. Actually, that is the whole purpose of this press conference.

    “We want to alert the nation that we are aware of these threats, we are in possession of credible intelligence that this is being planned.”

    Despite promptings from reporters, the minister declined to disclose the sources of the credible intelligence.

    He added: “I have been asked that if we made such serious allegations, they should be backed by facts and figures. But I do not know anywhere in the world where intelligence sources will reveal its sources. But, you see, it is serious enough if the government came out to say that it has received credible intelligence.

    “And that is the difference between the government and the opposition. We have an obligation to protect lives and property; we have an obligation to ensure that there is stability in the country.

    “When we made these allegations, which we called credible intelligence, it is because they are real.”

    The minister insisted that the forthcoming elections will hold in every part of the country.

    Mohammed said: “We are committed to holding the elections. And the fact that we are conscious of this intelligence means that we are also on top of the matter. We do not want anybody to panic, we will take all measures to ensure that elections are held. Mr. President has said clearly that the elections will be free, fair and credible.

    “When the government is in possession of this type of credible intelligence, it is like you are nipping in the bud whatever is going to be likely consequences of this type of thing.

    “The fact that we are aware of this information serves two purposes: we are able to alert and sensitise the public and at the same time it enables us to take preemptive actions. What those preemptive actions will be is not what you discuss in the open.”

    He explained that the Lake Chad Commission was already looking into plans to hire armed bandits in some neighbouring countries to attack some states.

    “You must appreciate the fact that we work closely with Cameroon, Niger Republic, Chad and other members of the Lake Chad Commission. I can assure you that at that level, the matter is being taken care of,” he said.

    Responding to a question, Mohammed said there was no need for panic, debunking insinuations that the alarm was meant to frame up some key opposition figures.

    He said: “We are raising these allegations or alerting the people not out of any panic or any partisanship because we are committed clearly to peaceful elections, we are committed to maintaining law and order in the country and we believe elections can be held, would be held fairly and they will be credible.

    “I think that is rather trivialising the whole issue, we are talking of serious intelligence some of which came from outside the country. We are not out to frame up anybody.”

    The Social Democratic Party (SDP) yesterday hit back at the minister for alleging that opposition parties plan to truncate the forthcoming general elections.

    Its National Publicity Secretary Alfa Mohammed said the party was not surprised that the present administration has been shifting the burden of its inability to address major problems confronting the country.

    He challenged the minister to arrest those opposition parties identified by the government for sponsoring Boko Haram insurgents.

    Mohammed said: “We are not surprised; they have always been shifting the burden of their inability to address the major problems which they were elected to address. Why can’t they arrest those oppositions sponsoring Boko Haram members that they have identified?”

  • Experts seek greater funding, support for conservation sector

    A strong case has been made for government and organisations to adequately fund and support digital preservation of information and heritage, in order to safeguard accumulated knowledge assets and promote sustainable development.

    The call was made by Professors Gabriel Olubunmi Alegbeleye of Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, Ogun State and Wole Michael Olatokun of Africa Regional Centre for Information Science (ARCIS), University of Ibadan,  in Abuja during a conference of archivists in the academia, government and private sectors.

    Tagged “2018 Digitisation and Preservation Conference,” the parley, which held under the aegis of Nigerian Library Association, Preservation and Conservation Section (NAL-PAC) and sponsored by International Association for Social Science Information Science and Technology (IASSIST) was in response to the 32nd session of the General Conference of the UNESCO (2003) Charter, which drew attention to huge losses that the world may suffer through preserving heritage via digital technology, and enjoined member-states to take legal, economic and technical measures to tackle and remedy them.

    Prof. Alagbeleye, in a keynote address to the conference, blamed Nigeria’s inadequacy in digital storage and management on knowledge and skill deficit. He, therefore, canvassed formal education and training in library and archival schools, participation in workshops and conferences, vigorous self-education and increased official funding and support to develop the industry.

    He lauded the International Council on Archives for its recent initiative to promote coordinated support with emphasis on education and training in digital records curation programme for archivists in Africa between now and 2020.

    Alagbeleye remarked that the ease with which digital contents could be altered manipulated, and amended, raised concern about their continued authenticity and integrity, while rapid replacement by faster and more powerful versions of digital software and hardware technologies, with newly added features and functionalities often rendered existing information difficult to read and interpret.

    He remarked that long term documentation and preservation of information and knowledge materials is critical to sustainable development of science, arts, education, culture, public policy and society, thus it deserves greater attention and investment by stakeholders.

    Prof Olatokun, noted that creating and protecting digital resources and preserving their integrity had become challenging for many organisations and countries worldwide due to the dynamic nature of digital technologies and trends in the industry.

    Describing it as a development issue, he said it was important for government and institutions to guarantee long term availability of accumulated knowledge, so that it would be utilized in the future only in the scientific, technological, educational and cultural fields, but also as a policy issue “so that those yet hampered by digital divide will someday be able to share it” and for future generations to benefit from it.”

    He listed the challenges confronting the industry as lack of digital preservation policy, inadequate power supply, unskilled professionals, technical obsolescence, poor maintenance culture, technophobia, storage media degradation and inadequate funding.

    The university don, however, noted that while the challenges looked the same globally, they were particularly hard to address in lower resource environments such as Nigeria, where the issues are just as complex as in advanced countries but where material resources, control systems awareness and professional capacity were often scarce.

  • Army offers N5m for information on IED factory

    The Army has promised a N5 million reward for anyone with information leading to the discovery of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) making factory in Maiduguri and the Northeast.

    Theater Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj.-Gen. Rogers Nicolas, who addressed reporters yesterday, said: “We have N5 million reward for anyone who gives information on bomb-making factories in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States, and any part of the theatre.

    “I know the factories are located within our communities. Security is not only for the military or other security agencies, but a collective one.

    “Anyone who has information on the location of IEDs factory should contact me, the police, DSS or any other security agency; there is a N5 million reward.

    “Within one month, we took off over 35 suicide bombers, arrested 25 in Bama, Konduga, Maiduguri, Tungushe, Madgali and Mubi in Borno and Adamawa States. You should assist us to secure our communities.”

  • Fed Govt seeks UNESCO’S help to train information managers

    Fed Govt seeks UNESCO’S help to train information managers

    The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has been urged to assist Nigeria in building the capacity of public information managers, in view of the changing dynamics of the information landscape due to the advent of the social media.

    Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed made the appeal in Abuja on Tuesday when he received a delegation from UNESCO in his office.

    “The information era of the 60s, 70s and 80s are not exactly the information era of today. In the 70s and 80s even up to the 90s, we depended largely on the print, radio and television to mould opinions and views. But today, with the social media, I think it’s a completely new ball game and this is where UNESCO will also need to adapt, especially in the area of support they give to us.

    “Today, our young ones – I think it’s correct to say that about 80 per cent of them, don’t rely on the traditional media: newspapers or even radio or television, as their source of information. Today, they rely more on the social media. Even the traditional media today also have realised that unless they are also present in the social media, their impact will probably not be felt.

    “So I want to appeal to UNESCO…to look at how you can assist us in capacity building in the area of social media,” he said.

    Mohammed said such assistance becomes imperative because the social media has now become a platform for the dissemination of fake news and disinformation, which is a nightmare for public information managers.

    He, therefore, appealed to UNESCO to focus more on building capacity on how to manage information emanating from the social media.

    In the area of culture, the minister said Nigeria has now become a powerhouse in the creative industry through the proliferation of its films, music and other forms of entertainment.

    Leader of the delegation and Assistant Director-General of UNESCO for Africa Mr. Edouard Matoko said the organisation was ready to support the development and implementation of the Creative and Culture Industry Action Plan for Nigeria to build the capacity of the youth, especially in the film and entertainment sector.

  • NSE begins direct flow of information to stock market

    NSE begins direct flow of information to stock market

    The Nigerian Stock Exchange ( NSE ) has launched the auto-flow mechanism in its trading engine. This allows companies to send their corporate earnings’ reports and other information directly to the trading engine on a real time basis.

    The auto-flow function, an existing function of the issuers’ portal had been partially disabled in order to allow a first level, non-substantive review of filings by the NSE before they are circulated to the market and the general public. Since inception in 2013, the Exchange has seldom permitted information to auto-flow to the market.

    With the launch of the full auto-flow mechanism, all corporate information shall flow from the companies to the stock market, a move that will reduce possibility of interference and distortion of the price discovery mechanism.

    A circular obtained by The Nation at the weekend indicated that the full auto-flow mechanism began on the first trading session in 2018.

    The auto-flow mechanism is one of the functionalities of the X-Issuer platform of the Exchange. It allows information filed by companies and other issuers through the issuers’ portal to flow directly to the market on a real time basis without any human intervention.

    According to the Exchange, the time is ripe for all information submitted via the issuers’ portal to auto-flow directly to the market without any intervention of the Exchange.

    The NSE had noted that operationalising the complete auto-flow function on the issuers’ portal will eliminate the current practice of reviewing financials before the financials flow to the market and the Exchange’s website, thus ensuring a real time flow of information directly from the issuer to the market.

    In order to ensure a seamless transition from  previous system to a complete auto-flow system, the Exchange had adopted a four-phase approach that included regulatory and statutory disclosures training, assessment of issuers’ compliance with disclosure requirements, pilot test of auto flow and full launch of complete auto flow.

    Under the phase one, which was held between November and December 2016, the Exchange had organised trainings for company secretaries, compliance officers, chief finance officers and other issuers’ representatives charged with the responsibility of making disclosures to the Exchange.

    In the second phase, the Exchange conducted a comprehensive review of issuers’ filings using interim returns for the last quarter of 2016 and the December 2016 audited accounts of listed companies with December year ends. Deficiencies identified at this phase were highlighted and communicated to companies for correction in subsequent filings.

    Under the third phase, the Exchange conducted a pilot test of the auto-flow mechanism using September 2017 interim returns and September audited accounts of companies with September year ends. Any report with regulatory and statutory deficiencies was withdrawn and corrected immediately. There was no sanction imposed for any report with deficiencies at this stage.

    Under the current final phase, the Exchange has commenced full operationalisation of the auto-flow mechanism in X-Issuer using December 2017 audited accounts.

    The circular indicated that with the full launch of auto-flow, the Exchange will apply regulatory sanctions on companies whose filings flow to the market with any form of deficiency.

     

  • Don’t distort information on sacked lecturers, LASU tells ASUU

    Don’t distort information on sacked lecturers, LASU tells ASUU

    Authorities of Lagos State University (LASU) have urged the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) not to plunge the institution into a fresh crisis by feeding the public with false information on 16 of their colleagues who the university sacked last September.

    LASU said the current peace on its campus was the result of the reform and an all-inclusive governance style it administered for the acceptance of all parties.

    A statement by its Public Relations Officer (PRO), Ademola Adekoya, said: “The call for crisis by the few discredited ones among them is mischievous and self-serving and should be completely disregarded and ignored.”

    The university management was reacting to a report by ASUU’s Lagos Zone which urged the Lagos State government to set up an independent panel of enquiry to review the case of the sacked lecturers, who included the chairman and vice chairman of ASUU at LASU, Isaac Akinloye Oyewunmi and Adeyemi Suenu.

    ASUU’s Lagos Zonal Coordinator, Prof Olusiji Sowande, accused the university of conniving with certain elements in government to victimise their colleagues.

    ASUU also accused LASU management of high-handedness, disregard for due process as well as undue victimisation of their members, now led by ASUU-LASU Treasurer, Dr Oluwakemi Aboderin-Sonibare.

    Adekoya regretted that ASUU was more concerned about the two union leaders than the others.

    The university said ASUU was playing the ostrich, adding that the management’s decision was in line with LASU’s Condition of Service.

    The statement said: “What they (ASUU) failed to tell the public was that the sack of the two, alongside others, was in line with the Conditions of Service of the university. They refused to state that the allegations against the sacked workers were, ab initio, brought forward by the victims of their indiscretion in some cases, and or staff members from their own local union (ASUU-LASU).

    “In fact, the information that led to the dismissal of a number of the academic workers, who were dismissed, was given by officials of ASUU-LASU executive before further checks revealed that a member of the executive was himself culpable.”

    It added: “All cases went through impartial statutory committees, which established their culpability on the various acts of misconduct before the university’s Governing Council, its highest decision-making body, ratified the dismissals.”

    LASU said the union’s call for the state government to set up an independent panel of enquiry was like chasing shadows.

    It added that by the Edict that established LASU, a statutory panel of enquiry to appraise the activities of the union only comes up every 10 years, and the institution is not yet due for that.

    “Supporting impunity and illegality of individuals and shielding them from due sanctions, because they are union executives casts a shadow of doubt on the integrity of ASUU leadership as a body,” the statement stated.

    “For ASUU to continue in this path of dishonour portends grave danger for the future of our universities and every concerned stakeholder must rise up to save our ivory towers from further onslaught.”

  • Navy unveils Safety Information portal

    Navy unveils Safety Information portal

    The Navy has launched an online Maritime Safety Information (MSI) portal and data centre to provide mariners with real time security and safety information on the waterways.

    The centre, located at the NN Hydrography Office on Point Road, Apapa, Lagos, was inaugurated yesterday by the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas.

    Ibas said the portal would provide adequate information on happenings in the maritime domain for sailors and ensure timely collation, processing and dissemination of navigational warnings, other safety information to mariners operating within the country.

    The CNS, who was represented by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command (WNC), Rear Admiral Sylvanus Abbah, said the availability of accurate and timely hydrographic data was a necessity for improved maritime activity.

    He said: “Robust Maritime activities cannot thrive without security and safety, which largely depends on the availability of accurate and timely hydrographic data and information.

    “This data can be in form of nautical charts, be it paper and/or electronic navigational charts as well as navigational warnings about uncharted dangers which need to be dessiminated quickly to facilitate safe conducts of maritime activities.

    “With this portal, I enjoin stakeholders to cooperate and utilise this facility for promotion of safety and security in Nigeria’s maritime environment.

    “With our waters safe and secure, robust maritime activities will thrive, which will boost Nigeria’s economy and ultimately improve the well being of Nigerians.”

    The Hydrographer of the Navy, Commodore Emeka Okafor, said: “The MSI portal and data centre is intended to provide navigational warnings of uncharted dangers and meteorological forecasts to mariners navigating within Nigerian waters.

    “On the other hand, mariners would be able to easily reach out to the hydrographer to report any uncharted features observed during their voyage within the Nigerian waters, which may constitute dangers to navigation.

    “Presently, the world is divided into 21 navigational areas and Nigeria is number two. Through this portal, Nigeria has fulfilled a critical International Hydrographic Organisation’s requirement for the development of hydrography.”

  • Oyo govt holds information summit

    The Oyo State Government will on Tuesday, August 8 and Wednesday, August 9, 2017 hold the first state council on information summit.

    The two day event is aimed at improving and strengthening the information network of government and making the media veritable partners in the sustainable development of Oyo State.

    The state government said that the first of its kind State Information Summit will be an avenue for stakeholders to come together to address proper dissemination and management of information in the state and the country as a whole.

    The State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Toye Arulogun, said that the theme of the Information Summit is “Managing Information and Communication: The Catalyst for Sustainable Development” and it will hold at Prof. Theophilus Ogunlesi hall, opposite University College Hospital, (UCH), Ibadan.

    Arulogun said that Governor Abiola Ajimobi will declare the summit open while  a former Special Adviser to President Jonathan on Media and ex- Editorial Board Chairman of Guardian Newspaper, Dr Reuben Abati will give the keynote address.

    The Commissioner explained that the summit becomes imperative based on vitriolic language and toxic narratives which have filled the media space in recent times saying that these rancorous discussions especially on radio and the social media have distorted information dissemination in the country.

     

  • UTME: JAMB arrests cyber cafe operators for selling information to candidates for N10,000

    UTME: JAMB arrests cyber cafe operators for selling information to candidates for N10,000

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) yesterday said it had arrested operators of cyber  cafés for defrauding candidates of the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for N10,000 to access information on their e-mails.

    Its Head of Information, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, said this yesterday in a statement issued in Abuja.

    He said the operators  deliberately changed the e-mail addresses and passwords of candidates to ensure that messages sent to the candidates by JAMB get to them (operators of cyber cafes) and in turn sell such information.

    “We also appeal to candidates not to allow cheats to defraud them as we have arrested cyber cafe operators who changed candidates email addresses and passwords  and ensure that all messages send to candidates get to them and in turn sale such information like examination notification for N10,000.

    “It’s our humble expectation that a candidate aspiring to be a student in any tertiary institution should be able to operate an email. All information are send to their email addresses and also on our site for the public use,” he said.

    He said the organisation did not post candidates out of their preferred towns as was reported in the media.

    “Again we want to reiterate that we did not post any candidate outside his or her town of choice as expressed in their application, contrary to reports in some quarters. Candidates are always allowed to make a choice of examination town while we allocate centres within the examination town chosen by a candidate,” he said.

    Fabian hailed the organisation for the successful conduct of the UTME, which began on Saturday across 642 computer based centres (CBT).

    He said: “We are happy that the 2017 UTME, which kicked off on Saturday, May 13, has been hitch-free so far and in line with the arrangements put in place for candidates to write the examination without stress.

    “All negative speculation of shift, change of schedules etc over the ongoing 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examinations (UTME) are from mischief-makers, who are desperate to create confusion before or during the exams, owing to personal and selfish interests that are detrimental to the development of public examination and education.

    “We thank all Nigerians who supported this drive. We promise that we will continue to fine-tune the process for the better. From the reports across the federation, there has not been any major hitch on the ongoing UTME with over 1.7 million registered candidates captured for the examination.”

    He advised candidates to check JAMB’s website as well as its official twitter handle for information concerning the conduct of the examination.