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Tag: Nigeria News

  • Benue governor tasks youth on self-reliance

    Benue governor tasks youth on self-reliance

    Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue has advised the people, especially youths, to venture into commercial activities to be self-reliant as white collar jobs were difficult to come by.

    Ortom gave the advice on Monday in Makurdi while inauguration Benysta Microfinance Bank, built by a front line politician in the state, Mr Asema Achado.

    “Since white collar jobs were not forthcoming, commerce and agriculture remained the only way out.

    “There are no more white collar jobs from the federal, state and local governments, hence the need for alternative means of livelihood.

    “My administration will create the enabling environment for business and agricultural activities to thrive, to encourage many people to venture into them to better their lots.

    “I want to commend Achado for keying into the vision of my administration which is anchored on private sector driven economy’’, he said.

    Achado disclosed that as the Chairman of the bank, he could not give authority note to anybody to access loan facility from the bank because he was warned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Read Also: NNPC to select core investor for Benue bio-fuel project – Baru

    Achado, also the President, Benue Chamber of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture (BECCIMA), said that if he violated the rule, he would be removed from his position by the CBN.

    “I cannot even surety anyone, anybody that wants to access loans from the bank should contact other personalities to surety them,’’ he said.

    The Vice President, BECCIMA, Mr Mhii Aii-Yenge, described  Achado as a wonderful entrepreneur who had done remarkable things for the development of Benue.

    Aii-Yenge prayed God to continue to give him the the strength to soar higher.

    The Chairman, Gwer Local Government Area Traditional Council, Chief Dominic Akpe, thanked Achado for initiating the people-oriented project that would put smiles on the faces of the community.

    NAN

  • Brazil wants Nigeria to protect small farmers

    Brazil wants Nigeria to protect small farmers

    The Consul-General of Brazil in Lagos, Amb. Maria Figueiredo, on Monday announced her government’s plan to share its philosophy of protecting small farmers with Nigeria.

    Figueiredo made the announcement in Lagos at a Business Forum between a Brazilian Delegation, members of the Nigerian-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other Nigerian businessmen and women.

    The consul-general said that it was imperative for Nigeria to protect her small farmers to be sustainable and self-sufficient in the production of food for home consumption.

    According to her, about 70 per cent of food produced and consumed in Brazil is from the small farmers.

    “We are really ready to share our philosophy for protecting small farmers with Nigeria.

    “An official from my country’s Ministry of Agriculture will be visiting Abuja soon to share our philosophy for protecting small farmers with Nigerians.

    “In Brazil, there are laws that are made to protect small farmers. So, I feel that Nigeria should also protect such farmers,’’ she said.

    Figueiredo said that Nigeria should not only continue to promote big farmers, whose agricultural products were always exported to the international market.

    She said that the delegation was visiting to explore the possibility to explore the Nigerian market for the importation of agricultural equipment from Brazil.

    The President of the Nigerian-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Emmanuel Ibru, said that there would continue to be synergy between Nigeria and Brazil.

    Ibru, who said that there was a lot for Nigeria to learn from Brazil, also announced his organisation’s plan to soon organise another visit to Brazil.

    He said that the chamber would continue to encourage and promote trade and knowledge transfer between Nigerians and Brazilians.

    Trade relationship between Nigeria and Brazil dates back to 18th century. Nigeria and Brazil enjoy warm cultural and trade relationship. Many Afro-Brazilians trace their roots to Nigeria.

    Brazil is the largest country in Latin America and Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa. Both countries are key players in the economies of their regions. Brazil is a leading political and economic power in Latin America. Nigeria is equally the leading political and economic power in West Africa.

    Nigeria is the second largest trade partner of Brazil in Sub-Saharan Africa and 11th in the world. Brazil is the third largest importer of Nigerian crude oil after USA and India. Nigeria balance of trade with Brazil is very favourable.

    Brazil’s key industries are textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, agriculture, motor vehicles and parts, other machineries and equipment. Major export products include aircraft, coffee, vehicles, soybean, sugar, rice, orange juice, iron ore, steel, textiles, footwear, electrical equipment, etc.

    Brazil’s current account surpluses had continued to hit record levels, indicating that exports were growing strongly. Its income per head is now twelve times that of India and China.

    Nigeria has a great deal to learn and tap from Brazilian experience. So come on board, let’s take advantage.

    NAN

  • 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

  • 2019: INEC trains staff on ICT in Ebonyi

    2019: INEC trains staff on ICT in Ebonyi

    The Independent National  Electoral Commission ( INEC ), on Monday in Abakaliki, Ebonyi, commenced three-day training on Information Communication Technology (ICT) for its staff in the state.

    Prof. Godswill Obioma, the State INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), who declared the workshop open, said that the initiative was to train and equip the staff with basic knowledge of computer and application of ICT.

    According to him, the training is part of strategies being put in place to ensure credible, free, fair and efficient conduct of the 2019 general elections.

    He said that the ICT training was the 5th batch in the series, slated to enhance the capacity of the staff of the commission.

    He said that 300 staff of the commission at its headquarters in Abakaliki would first undergo the training before it would be stepped down to the staff at the various local government areas.

    “Election is a process and the training we are organising for our staff is to equip and enhance their skills and capacity for efficient and effective election management.

    “This is the 5th batch in a series of training, lined up for the staff of the commission in the build up to the 2019 general elections.

    “We are concentrating on equipping the staff with knowledge of computer in this 5th batch and we identified and isolated those staff without any knowledge about computer and ICT.

    “We are going to train them on basic computer application for three days, and we are starting with 35 of them and each set will be trained for three days until we train all our 300 staff.

    “We expect that the over 300 staff stationed at the headquarters will undergo the training programme before we move down to the local government areas to train our staff there.

    “Voting and issues about election have become electronic-based, hence the need for the commission to build capacity of its staff to cope with the new trend,” Obioma said.

    He said that the commission had improved on its card-reader machines, saying that the use of the machine and electronic voting in 2019 would be hitch-free and more efficient.

    “The application of the electronic voting and the use of card-readers have been discovered to reduce election fraud and other irregularities associated with manual voting.

    “We have improved on our systems; the Federal Government is going to change and strengthen the card-readers, and the card-reader which was introduced in 2015 general elections has depressed considerably the issues of malpractices in elections,” he added.

    Obioma urged the trainees to pay attention, adding that the commission was depending on them to deliver on its mandate of conducting credible, free, fair and acceptable polls in 2019.

    NAN

  • Obaseki to present 2018 budget on Wednesday

    Obaseki to present 2018 budget on Wednesday

    Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo on Monday sought the House of Assembly’s approval to present the state’s 2018 budget estimates for its consideration and approval on Wednesday, Nov. 29.

    The request of the governor was conveyed in a letter dated Nov. 17 and signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Osarodion Ogie.

    The letter, titled “Presentation of the Year 2018 budget’’ was read by the Clerk of the house, Mr James Omoatamae, during plenary.

    It stated that the presentation of the budget earlier scheduled for Monday, Nov. 27, 2017 was, however, now rescheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 29.

    The Speaker, Mr Kabiru Adjoto, however, urged members to be available for the budget presentation on Wednesday.

    Obaseki presented an Appropriation Bill of N150b for the fiscal 2017 to the State House of Assembly in Benin on Dec. 19, 2016.

    NAN

    Read also: Gov. Emmanuel presents N651.5bn 2018 budget

  • Zimbabwe declares Mugabe’s birthday as public holiday

    Zimbabwe declares Mugabe’s birthday as public holiday

    Former President Robert Mugabe’s birthday, Feb. 21, is now a public holiday after the Zimbabwe Government gazetted it as Robert Gabriel Mugabe National Youth Day, the state-controlled media reported on Monday.

    The designation of the day as a public holiday comes after the government adopted the decision in August following intense lobbying by the ruling ZANU-PF Youth League.

    The day has been previously commemorated as the 21st February Movement by the party in celebration of the principles and ideals of the former president.

    The party youths pushed for the birthday to be declared a holiday in recognition of Mugabe’s efforts in empowering the youths.

    Mugabe resigned on Nov. 21 after military and public pressure, ending his 37 year stay in power.

    NAN

  • New Zimbabwean Govt. declares Mugabe ’s birthday as public holiday

    New Zimbabwean Govt. declares Mugabe ’s birthday as public holiday

    Former President Robert Mugabe’s birthday, Feb. 21, is now a public holiday after the Zimbabwean Government gazetted it as Robert Gabriel Mugabe National Youth Day, the state-controlled media reported on Monday.

    The designation of the day as a public holiday comes after the government adopted the decision in August following intense lobbying by the ruling ZANU-PF Youth League.

    The day has been previously commemorated as the 21st February Movement by the party in celebration of the principles and ideals of the former president.

    The party youths pushed for the birthday to be declared a holiday in recognition of Mugabe’s efforts in empowering the youths.

    Mugabe resigned on Nov. 21 after military and public pressure, ending his 37 year stay in power.

    NAN

    Read Also: Mugabe ‘glowed’ with relief after he quit – priest

  • 12 UniAbuja medical students fail final exam after 12 years

    12 UniAbuja medical students fail final exam after 12 years

    Twelve of the 30 pioneer medical students of the University of Abuja ( UNIABUJA ), who enrolled in 2005, failed their final examinations, an official has said.

    Mr Waziri Garba, Deputy Registrar UNIABUJA in charge of Information and Publications, made this known in an interview in Abuja on Monday.

    He said that results of the students’ final professional examinations, released on Nov. 24, showed that five of the 18 successful medical students passed with distinction in surgery.

    Garba said that the 18 successful students would be inducted on Dec. 2.

    According to him, the induction is significant since the students were the first set.

    “The induction ceremony, which will hold at the main campus of the university, will feature a lecture by a renowned member of the medical profession, Prof. Adetokumbo Ademola.

    “Ademola is a Professor of Public Health, Obstetrics and Gynaecology,’’ he said.

    Garba said that the pioneer Provost of the University’s College of Health Sciences, Prof. Jam Otubu, would be honoured at the event.

    NAN reports that the pioneer medical students could not graduate all the while due to non-accreditation the university’s medicine and surgery course, by the National Universities Commission.

    The course has, however, secured full accreditation.

    The then Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, in April 2012, announced suspension of medicine, agriculture, veterinary  medicine and engineering courses in the university, after a panel set up to assess needs of universities visited the institution.

    The students had sometimes staged peaceful protests against their continued stay in school, demanding to be transferred to other universities.

    NAN

  • Auchi poly staff unions confident of Rector’s ability to liquidate N1.8bn debt

    Auchi poly staff unions confident of Rector’s ability to liquidate N1.8bn debt

    Auchi Polytechnic staff on Monday said they had implicit confidence that the acting Rector, Dr Sanusi Jimah, would redeem his pledge to liquidate arrears of the inherited N1.8 billion owed to unions at the institution.

    The three unions in the institution in March, suspended their month-old strike following an inaugural meeting with Jimah over the outstanding indebtedness of N1.8 billion owed to the unions by the previous administration of Dr Philipa Idogo.

    The unions include: the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics ( ASUP ), the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics ( SSANIP ) and the Non Academic Staff union of Polytechnics ( NASUP ).

    Some nine months since his assumption of office, the leadership of the unions, who described the acting Rector as “a man with a progressive heart,’’ confirmed that he had commenced the process of liquidating the outstanding debt.

    In telephone interviews in Benin, the union leaders, who commended Jimah’s policies and programmes, expressed implicit confidence in his leadership style.

    ASUP chairman, Mr Justin Momodu, said “I must say that all three unions have been enjoying a very cordial relationship with the acting Rector.

    “He has treated workers’ welfare with utmost priority, often times, even a step ahead of us.

    “For instance, even before we asked, he had tabled the issue of some of our sacked members before the Polytechnic’s Council.

    “Council granted the union’s appeal for their recall, and those recalled, who already attained retirement age, had their full benefits restored.

    “WIth a management that has Jimah as acting Rector, at its helm, workers do not have cause to complain or nurse any fear.

    “May I add that for now, workers have implicit confidence in his leadership style,’’ he said.

    SSANIP chairman, Mr Godwin Ikhide, confirmed that “following management’s agreement with the unions, the acting Rector has paid five per cent of the outstanding N1.8 billion owed to them by the previous management.

    “We are glad that he is fulfiling his commitment on his agreement with the unions. What happened was that the previous management, instead of remitting workers’ deducted funds to the union’s welfare account, was re-circulating it to pay staff whose employments were neither approved nor cash-backed.

    “This was what accumulated in two years to N1.8 billion, which the previous management left behind.

    “But the acting Rector is trying to liquidate this debt with internally generated revenue and is also taking steps to regularise the issue of unapproved employment of staff that has put the institution into this quagmire,’’ he said.

    NAN reports that members of ASUP are now on a nationwide strike, to demand for the enrolment of their members into CONTISS 15 migration salary structure for levels 11 downwards, and the payment of their promotion arrears.

    NAN

  • Sokoto to host 4th traditional boxing tourney

    Sokoto to host 4th traditional boxing tourney

    The Secretary of the Nigeria Traditional Boxing Premier League, Ahmed Jada, said on Monday that Sokoto State would host the fourth edition of the traditional boxing tournament next month.

    Jada made this known in Abuja that the tournament would hold at the Trade Fair Complex on Old Airport Road in Sokoto.

    He said the event was earlier scheduled to hold from Dec. 7 to Dec. 10 but was shifted to Dec. 14 to Dec. 17, due to some circumstances.

    He said that the tournament was previously billed to hold in Kebbi but was moved to Sokoto, due to unavailability of venue in Kebbi.

    “Everything has been put in place to start the fourth event of the year; the competition will go round the eight participating states.

    “The first phase was held in Kastina State in August, Ogun State hosted the second phase in September; Kaduna State hosted the third phase in November and now Sokoto State is hosting the fourth phase.

    “Kano State won the trophy in Katsina and Kaduna, the battle is open for other participating states to win the trophy.

    “This is the best way to propagate the game in the country, we are working hard to meet the international standards of the game in Nigeria.’’

    He said that the league started with eight states – Katsina, Niger, Kano, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Ogun and the FCT.

    He said that funding had been the major challenge of the league, pleading that the federation needed support from government and private companies.

    NAN