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Tag: Kwara State

  • NMA wants more research on HIV, AlDS

    NMA wants more research on HIV, AlDS

    The Nigeria Medical Association ( NMA ), Kwara state chapter, has solicited the support of the Federal and state governments for more research to curb the HIV and AlDS scourge in the country.

    The Chairman of NMA, Dr Kunle Olawepo made the call in llorin, on Friday in a statement to commemorate the 2017 world HlV and AlDS day.

    Olawepo who expressed delight that there was remarkable reduction on the outbreak of the disease, noted that more support was needed for the research to further improve on the current available treatment plans.

    The Chairman added that more research on the causes of the disease would assist in the prevention, treatment and control activities.

    He appealed for the provision of free and affordable treatment for all infected persons in the country.

    Olawepo also urged governments to further ‘strengthen the health sector, to enable it cope with the ever increasing challenges.’

    He listed the symptoms of the disease to include, persistent fever, chronic diarrhea, chronic cough, severe weight loss and rashes on the body.

    He said that HIV infection occurs through sexual intercourse (heterosexual and homosexual) with an infected person, transfusion of HIV infected persons.

    Olawepo advised Nigerians to go for regular medical checkup, indulge in physical exercises and avoid the use of unsterilised syringes.
    The theme for 2017 world HIV and AlDS day is, ‘My Health, My Right.’’

    NAN

  • Kwara needs N13b to expand college

    The Kwara State government needs N13 billion in the next five years to expand the recently commissioned International Vocational Technical and Entrepreneurship College (IVTEC), Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has said.

    The college is located in Ajase-Ipo, Irepodun Local Government Area of the state.

    Ahmed added that the state had invested approximately N3.2 billion on campus construction, furniture, fittings, partnerships, basic training equipment and tools here at IVTEC.

    He said, “We therefore seek partnership from local, national and internal bodies so that we can upscale IVTEC to the level envisaged as its establishment.”

    During the launch of the college, Vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo called for the establishment of technical centres that are tailored around aggressive talents of Nigerian youth and existing needs of the country.

    The vice president condemned importation of skilled artisans from neighbouring West African countries into the country, saying that Nigeria has a high number of talented youth with aggressive mind to succeed in trade, commerce and entrepreneurship.

    He said that the country had, before now, lacked technical centres tailored around existing talents of Nigerian youth and needs of the country.

    Prof Osinbajo, who said that the federal government would see to it that the college was replicated across states in the country, added that the vision for establishment of the college tallied with the agenda of the Buhari administration of producing all we consume in the country.

    He said that Nigeria needed an industrial base to maximize potential and talents of the youth for optimal local production, adding that Nigeria should tap into potential of Nigerian youth for greater change in the country.

    Prof Osinbajo, who described the IVTEC as one of the major important projects any government could undertake, said that the college was tailored around exact needs of the society, particularly with partnership with notable international organizations like the City & Guilds, London, Alfred State College of Technology, US, University of Wolverhampton and Praxis Atlantis among others.

    “The vision of the college to give right type of skill and international certificate that will enable graduates to work in any part of the world is commendable. The partnership with international organisations will also make graduates saleable to the benefit of the country”, he said.

    The vice president, who called on other states of the federation to emulate Kwara state on the project, pledged assistance of the federal government to ensure that the college was replicated in all parts of the country.

    Earlier, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed said that the vision to establish the college was to equip youths with skills for self-reliance, tackle unemployment, and ease access to vocational training of international standard for students from a variety of skills and educational backgrounds.

    “Globally, technical, vocational and entrepreneurship training has been identified as critical to growth, especially industrialisation. As you are aware, Nigeria’s previous experimentation with technical education has faulted in the face of neglect and an expanding gap between the schools’ curricula and the needs of the economy,” he said.

    “Indeed, we are already partnering with the World Bank to train 17,000 youths identified as vulnerable in the state, starting with an initial 80 students.

    “Regardless of educational background, IVTEC will prepare students for the globally-renowned City and Guilds of London qualification, National Business and Technical Education Board (NABTEB) certification and other vocation-specific qualifications.

  • KWACCIMA boss pledges partnership with govt. over unemployment

    KWACCIMA boss pledges partnership with govt. over unemployment

    The President, Kwara State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, ( KWACCIMA ), Alhaji Ahmed Raji, says it will partner with the state government to reduce unemployment among its youths through the various vocational skills acquisition.

    In an interview with correspondents in Ilorin, Raji said he was optimistic that the government could reduce rate of unemployment with its new vocational entrepreneurship centre.

    He expressed joy at the recent commissioning of the International Vocational and Technical Entrepreneurship Centre ( IVTEC ), Ajasse Ipo, by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

    Ahmed said that the centre, with the mission to provide technical and vocational skills, would improve the business environment in the state, which KWACCIMA could ultimately key into.

    “The chamber will join hands with the state government to ensure the success of the centre and to get it to an enviable height.

    “I, however, appeal to Kwara people, particularly the youth, to key into the project by becoming self reliant and self employed.’’

    Read Also: Kwara elongates retirement age of magistrates, counsel to 65 years

    The KWACCIMA boss commended the foresight of the state government for establishing the centre.

    He said that the centre, if well managed, would churn out standard professionals who would even be recognised globally.

    “So, I want to urge the government to continue to embark on people-oriented projects and to engage the youth productively,’’ Ahmed said.

    NAN

  • Kwara dominate 1st Ex-Squash Pros Diaspora tourney

    Kwara dominate 1st Ex-Squash Pros Diaspora tourney

     

     

    Players from Kwara State dominated the first edition of the Ex-Squash Pros Diaspora Under-13 and Under-16 National Squash Tournament which came to an end last weekend at the Squash Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

    NationSport reports that AbdulRaheem Nasir of Kwara State emerged winner of the U-16 Boys category after defeating Mustapha Habeeb from Ogun 3-2 (11-4, 11-8, 9-11, 6-11, 11-8) in the final.

    Adeyi Odunnade also defeated hee Kwara State counterpart, Musa Aminat 3-0 (11-4, 11-9, 13-11) to emerge winner of the U-16 Boys category.

    In the U-13 Girls, Kwara State’s Durosinlorun Mistura beats her sister Durosinlorun Ishat 3-1 (6-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-6) to emerge winner.

    Gideon Bala from Niger however defeated Ibrahim Balogun from Kwara 3-0 (11-2, 11-7, 11-3) in the final of the U-13 Boys Category.

    The award for the Best Behaved Boy was given to Olaniyi Samuel from Oyo State, while Daud Kudirat won the Best Behaved Girl award.

    Five year old Durosinlorun Rasheedat won the Youngest Female Player of the tournament, while seven year old Emmanuel Chigbu won male version of the award.

    NationSport reports that all the winners went home with various gifts including trophies, rackets, training bags, trainers etc.

    The Ex-Squash Pros Diaspora tourney was organised by ex professionals in the diaspora, as part of their contribution towards the development of squash at the grassroots.

    In a chat with one of the members of the Diaspora group, Mr Sahkiru Matti who runs a Squash Academy in Canada and has worked in Mexico, Guatemala and Puerto Rico, the initiative was inspired by the need to introduce a working system into our society.

    “First of all, I am a Nigerian who has had a lot of opportunities, and I have learnt the principle of giving back which has prompted me to come back home to be a part of this development,” he said.

  • Kwara records 64% pass in WASSCE

    Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has said that 55 percent and 64 percent of candidates who sat for the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) in 2016 and 64 percent of those who sat in 2017 in the state had five credits.

    The results include English language and Mathematics, the governor added.

    Ahmed who was represented by his Special Adviser on Agriculture, Anu Ibiwoye said this at the 50th anniversary of Government Secondary School (GSS), Omu-Aran, Irepodun local government area of the state.

    The governor who was represented by his Special Adviser of Agriculture,

    He spoke of the state’s efforts to revamp facilities in the education sector.

    “We are set to begin the rehabilitation of an initial 30 secondary schools to bring them to global standard in terms of facilities and quality of teaching.

    “The renovation will also include the overhaul of school libraries thereby ensuring our children develop good reading habits, improve their vocabulary and writing skills.

    “At the Primary level, the state government will soon commence the rehabilitation of classrooms across the state once it pays counterpart funding to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

    “This will encourage more teachers to teach in the rural areas and boost educational development in the state,” he said.

    Earlier, Principal of GSS Olusegun Abifarin said the school had a pupil population of 838 comprising of 457 and 381 senior and junior secondary.

    However, he lamented that the school lacked requisite teachers.

    “The school is still faced with paucity of teachers in the core subject areas of English language and mathematics, further mathematics, ICT, commerce and trades,” he said.

  • ‘We owe Nigeria a lot’

    ‘We owe Nigeria a lot’

    TOP flight private secondary schools in Kwara State, Thomas Adewumi International College (TAICO) is 20 years old.

    To commemorate the event, management of the school organised a thanksgiving anniversary. Parents, friends and well-wishers were treated to a sumptuous reception by the management.

    At the event, the proprietor of the school Dr Johnson Adewumi expressed his concern for the country which is facing various challenges, but he also stressed that compatriots owe the country a duty to salvage it.

    Speaking with reporters, the proprietor of the college, Dr Johnson Adewumi, an engineer, said his concern for the worsening education system in the country informed his decision to establish the school.

    He said, “I was concerned about the deteriorating level of education in Nigeria. The standard of education was falling beyond what could be imagined. I realised that the new generation were been exposed to education standard less than the one I enjoyed in the 60s and 70s and I felt that was unacceptable. I was concerned particularly by my own community. I realised that the system that produced me had disappeared. I shared it with my wife. It was the need to redress the falling standard of education that gave birth to this school.

    “I want to thank God for having by my side a woman that believes in my vision. We didn’t have money but the passion and determination were there. My wife was prepared to leave the city and come and stay to ensure that the vision succeeds…Today as we look, I am amazed at what God has done. We didn’t do it alone God brought men and women that contributed tremendously to the success story.

    “Even the government of Kwara State then in 1995 said that there was no way we could build a school in a place like this. There was nothing. No infrastructure, no road. We made our own road approximately 7km to Ilofa, Oke-Ero Local Government Area of the state.

    “Basically, we are not the type of persons that should run school based on our trainings, but God brought men and women from inception to assist us. Those are the people we are celebrating today. It is dedication, commitment and sacrifice that have brought us thus far.”

    Reiterating his belief in Nigeria, Dr Adewumi said, “I believe in this country. Nigerians must not just fold their arms. If this nation is to be better, we must do something about it. The deliverance of Nigeria is in the rural areas. Our food stuffs come from the rural areas and the most neglected people are in the rural areas today.

    “But we have given life through the grace of God and the contributions of men and women to celebrate 20th anniversary of this school. Any community in Nigeria can be like this if we don’t spend most of our time in the cities. It is every one of us going back to our communities and making our best efforts to better the lot of those communities. I believe that the future of this country is in the hands of you and I.

    “If government wants this country to grow, it should fund education better than it is currently doing. Government should entice the better teachers into the education sector. But today employment of teachers is doing through politicians, because when you expose these children to worst teachers there is no way they churn out got students. The 90 percent that have poor education will not allow the 10 percent that are trained abroad to enjoy themselves. There will be more crime because half education is worse than no education at all.

    “I wish I had money to make education free in this school we will probably have more than 2000 students.”

    To Dr Roy Lillyman, principal of the college in the last 14 years, 20 years is a milestone.

    He said, “Today Thomas Adewumi International College (TAICO) celebrates 20 years and that is a milestone. The school has literarily gone from a very humble foundation to what it is today.

    “That is why we are celebrating those 20 years of excellence, because I can honestly say that the pupils that graduate from here go into the universities throughout the world and make huge successes of themselves; our exam results this year were 98.6 percent pass rate.

    “We don’t just concentrate on academics, we believe very much in creating the holistic child, through arts, drama, music and then debate. A lot of the kids have skills and we draw out those skills as well.”

     

     

     

     

  • Kwara Police parades cultists, kidnappers, armed robbers

    Kwara Police parades cultists, kidnappers, armed robbers

    The Kwara Police Command on Friday paraded eight suspects over alleged criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, being a member of secret cult and unlawful possession of firearms.

    The State Commissioner of Police, Mr Lawan Ado, disclosed this while briefing newsmen at the Police Headquarters in Ilorin.

    He listed the accused persons as – Qudus Alaya, Yusuf Olatunji, Salami Adesola, Sunday Oluwatobilola, Ridwan Musa, Sodiq Bakare, Quadri Adele and Johnpaul Nditusi.

    He said that the accused persons were arrested for allegedly killing of Allen Ahmed, Alimi Aliyu, Mumini Omo Alhaja and one Yusuf on Nov. 2 at Oke-Foma area of Ilorin.

    He said that one single barrel locally made gun, one double barrel locally made gun and five live cartridges were recovered from them.

    Ado also said that eight suspects were arrested for kidnapping one Usman Muhammed at Sabo-Osi in Ekiti Division and collected N500, 000 ransom from his family.

    He said that the suspects confessed to the crime.

    Ado said that N361, 150 being part of ransom collected from the victim’s family, two single barrel guns, seven mobile phones and dangerous charms were recovered from them.

    According to him, Jimoh Idowu and Taiye Plumber were arrested for dispossessing one Georgina Okoye of her Honda CRV Jeep with registration number Lagos AAA 362 AG at gun point on Oct. 12 at Asa-Dam Road, Ilorin.

    He said that the vehicle was later recovered at Ajese-Ipo in Irepodun Local Government area.

    The commissioner urged the people to provide information that would help the police to curb criminal activities.

  • 250 Kwara students get N7.5m scholarship awards

    250 Kwara students get N7.5m scholarship awards

    No fewer than 250 indigent students of Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State in public secondary schools and tertiary institutions have benefited from N7.5 million scholarship awards since 2015.

    The awards were instituted by a non-governmental organisation known as Bayo and Bunmi Babalola Foundation.

    Speaking during presentation of the awards in Omu Aran, headquarters of the local government, the coordinator of the foundation, Sunday Babalola, an engineer said that education is a means of emancipating the people.

    The former Kwara state governorship aspirant, said that the gesture was aimed at assisting indigent students in the area to accomplish their potentials, added that education is a tool of building a vibrant society and making enlightened people who would know their rights and fight for their rights.

    “With about 10.5 million children out of school in the country, it means they won’t be able to contribute anything to the society in future. Education forms the basis of development. The only solution is to get people educated and invest more money into it.

    “What it takes to actually go to school is not much, but in spite of that you find out that a lot of people could not go to school because of this little which the government could not provide. We are spending about N7.5 million this year to give scholarship to about 250 students

    in public schools,” he said.

    Babalola., a petroleum engineer, said that categories of beneficiaries were students of junior secondary school (JSS), senior secondary school (SSS) and tertiary institutions from the local government, adding that the scholarship and philanthropic programme was started since 2015.

    “In 2015, there were a total of 103 beneficiaries which included 32 from tertiary, 81 from WASCE, 35 from JSS 2 and 56 from SSS 2, while a total of 219 beneficiaries comprising 81 tertiary, 35 JSS and 103 in SSS categories.

    “We see indigent students who could not have gone to school unless they receive some form of help. We think we should contribute something in our own little way, our own quota to the society to the indigent students, particularly when we think the government is not doing well or should be complemented ad far as education is concerned. So, we decided to do whatever we can to help the society.

    “A society that’s not educated is bound to suffer in a lot of ways. When people are not educated, they are easily cheated,” he said.

    He promised that the foundation would continue to put smiles on faces of the people in humanitarian ventures, added that Bayo and Bunmi Foundation had also provided bore hole to Christian College, Omu Aran, the same local government.

  • ‘Kwara implemented 71% of 2017 budget’

    ‘Kwara implemented 71% of 2017 budget’

    Kwara State Government says it has so far implemented 71 per cent of its 2017 budget.

    Alhaji Wasiu Odewale, the State Commissioner for Planning and Economic Development, disclosed this while speaking with newsmen shortly after the 2018 Budget Harmonization Meeting in Ilorin on Monday.

    Odewale said that the success recorded in the implementation of the budget was unprecedented as many infrastructure projects for 2017 had been executed.

    He said the meeting was to fine tune preparation for the 2018 budget with a view to expediting its passage.

    Mr Shuaib Abdulkadri, the Deputy Chairman, Kwara House of Assembly Committee on Finance and Appropriation, said the event was to foster better working relationship between the legislature and executive, especially in the presentation and passage of the 2018 budget.

    The meeting was attended by some members of the state executive council as well as various committee chairmen of the State House of Assembly, among others.

    NAN

  • ‘Polytechnics now offer more arts courses’

    ‘Polytechnics now offer more arts courses’

    Polytechnics in Nigeria have deviated from their original concept of focusing on technical education, Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Dr. Lateef Olatunji has said.
    He added that polytechnics in the country now do more of arts courses than science and technical oriented courses.
    Dr Olatunji canvassed reorientation of the polytechnic education to revitalise nation’s economy development.
    The rector told reporters in Offa, Offa local area of Kwara state as part of activities for ninth convocation and 25th anniversary of the institution.
    The rector, who said that the development would not help production of engineers and technicians by polytechnics, added that government should attract more funds to polytechnics
    “The reason for establishing universities is different from why the polytechnics were set up in the first instance. But unfortunately we’ve mixed the two together in this country. Population of non science students are now more than science students in our polytechnics when you talk about engineering, technical studies and the like. We should change our orientation towards science education.
    Most polytechnic institutions have derailed in their educational curriculum as they now do more of art courses rather than core science and technical  oriented courses. We should change our orientation to be able to produce more engineers towards revitalising nation’s socio economic development, instead of encouraging people in arts subjects.
    “Federal Government can do more to assist and encourage science and technical oriented courses by pumping more money in the area of science education. For instance, tetfund would do more by giving more financial opportunities to polytechnics rather than the universities as the case is right now. Federal government should attract more funds to technical education”, he said.
    He also said that science and technical education would encourage entrepreneurship among youth in the country, adding that entrepreneurship was the key to self reliance and poverty alleviation.
    Dr. Olatunji, who said that a total of 6,000 students would graduate during the ninth convocation of the institution, added that his administration had succeeded to block  leakages in financial operations among workers by discouraging frivolous vouchers.
    He said that necessary control was being injected by the present administration without a recourse to witch hunting.
    The rector identified funding, upgrading of sport facilities and equipment, problems of transportation to and fro its main campus, and uncompleted road construction projects as part of challenges facing the institution.