The Nation Newspaper

Tag: opens

  • Coastal Hire opens for business

    Coastal Hire opens for business

    A major boost came the way of operators in the construction and industrial sectors with the arrival of Coastal Hire Nigeria Limited, a franchise partner to parent company, Coastal Hire South Africa.

    At the opening of its store in Lekki, the Managing Director of the firm, Mr. Abayomi Onasanya said: “One of our key objectives for bringing the brand to Nigeria is to provide viable, cost-effective and sustainable alternative to the construction and industrial sectors.

    “We realise that these two sectors are marked by accelerated development and will need reliable and efficient equipment to support their business and commercial activities. Coastal Hire Nigeria has come to fill that gap by providing top-notch equipment that assists them in reaching those goals.”

    Chief Executive Officer of the firm in South Africa, John Harcourt Cooke, said: “We are eager to partake in and support the impressive development that has marked certain sectors in the economic space.

    “As the leading small equipment hire franchise in Southern Africa, we will be bringing our many years of experience and expertise to bear on delivery of service and technical support.”

     

     

     

     

  • Universal Furniture opens showroom

    Universal Furniture Limited is set to introduce its international standard furniture into market with the opening of its showroom tomorrow in Lagos. TONIA ‘DIYAN reports.

    Universal Furniture Ltd is opening its remodelled showroom in Victoria Island, Lagos.

    It aims to showcase various designs and collections every six months. These include indigenous designs.

    Though the firm’s designs are grounded on weaving international experience with African talent, its key aim is, overtime, to have Nigeria’s talents with the know-how designing and producing their collection of furniture for the African market with little or no input from experts.

    Ninety-five per cent of the company’s workforce, which has grown from 30 in 1987, when it began operations, to 550 this year is Nigerian and majority have been with the company for more than 10 years. In its strive for continuous development, the company applied and attained ISO9001-2008 certification in 2010, thereby grounding its ethos of “the customer is king”.

    One of the key benefits of the certification has been a significant improvement in its after service care. The loading has improved significantly with less than two per cent complaints on all its delivery and where there are issues – the company promises 48-hour turnaround to address the issue on site or at its factory.

    In 2009, it  bought a new set of machines which spurred its exploration of mass retail production. Prior to this date, the brand was mainly available for large multinational and government establishments.

    Having developed the technical know-how over almost 30 years in Nigeria, the brand has also brought in new management to drive a new strategy and the retail market development. To add to its core focus of multinational and government establishments, it looks to offer locally made high end furniture. The designer was born in Nigeria but trained in the United Kingdom and France, has furnished iconic houses in London and Paris with a key focus on setting the right mood with a unique ambience that plays on the mind of each client.

    In producing the “Heritage” collection, she worked very closely with Nigerian talents at the Universal Funiture Limited factory to achieve a blend of international class with African attitude – offering both comfort and contemporary styles.

    However, the company has experienced several challenges over the years.

    The challenge of finding qualified staff and the issue of infrastructure causing damages from factory to client’s location, were the two major challenges. But, both have been addressed head-on over the years – with regular training for all staff and improved packing/ loading approach to withstand the jolt of bumpy roads.

    The firm is set to engage in talent partnerships with universities across Nigeria to give back to the country, which has supported its growth over the last 25 years. The partnership will involve identifying talents from university, giving them work experience and permanent jobs upon completion of their studies.

    Showcasing at the opening tomorrow in Victoria Island, will be the designer’s Heritage Collection, which offers the latest in international luxurious styles, with an international flavour to the mood creation design. It offers various styles, colours and texture – using the same high-quality raw materials as leading brand-name manufacturers in the UK, Italy, France and Turkey. The brand  aims to wow and appeal to all strata of the society.

    The opening  will offer office and home furniture designed by a United Kingdom acclaimed interior designer – Danielle Moudaber.

    That of Abuja will follow in June next year. The prime location, with excellent parking facilities, in Victoria Island promises top design, timely quality delivery with first class after service care where required.

  • Fayemi opens classrooms, road, skills centre

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has inaugurated five blocks of 15 classrooms at the College of Health Sciences and Technology, Ijero, as well as the 17km Ijero-Ipoti-Ayetoro road.

    The ceremonies were part of activities marking the third anniversary of the Fayemi administration.

    Each of the classrooms will accommodate 50 pupils.

    Fayemi said the project was in fulfillment of his promises to transform the education sector and provide institutional support for human capital development.

    He said his administration would continue to create the enabling environment for learning.

    The N54 million contract for the project was awarded last year April and completed in May.

    Fayemi said N23 million monthly subvention was released for the accreditation of schools and the payment of salaries and allowances.

    He said the government would make budgetary provisions for infrastructure in the state’s Mid-Term Expenditure Framework.

    At the inauguration of the Ijero-Ipoti-Ayetoro road, the governor said he was determined to make all parts of the state accessible by 2014.

    Fayemi kicked off the construction of Ijero township roads, saying his vision to make roads motorable was not limited to intercity roads.

    He said the rehabilitation of intra-city roads would improve the people’s lives.

    The governor said some township roads had been fixed through the 5km road project executed by the councils.

    Warning against the burning of tyres on roads and dumping of refuse in drains, he said the reconstruction of the Ijero-Ara-Araromi-Awo road, which cuts through the College of Health Science and Technology, would begin soon.

    Inaugurating the Eyiyato Enterprise Development Centre in Iloro-Ekiti, Fayemi said the centre would develop human capital and build employable youths and future entrepreneurs.

    He said the government would continue to invest in the development of human capital, which is the state’s “greatest asset”.

    The centre will train youths in various vocations.

    Fayemi urged stakeholders in Iloro, Aisegba and Ilupeju, where the centres are located, to protect the assets and encourage youths to use them.

    Commissioner for Finance Dapo Kolawole, who hails from Iloro-Ekiti praised the governor for establishing the centres, saying they would secure the future of youths.

    Chairperson of the Governing Council of the College of Health Sciences and Technology Chief Monisola Oloro said the institution was exploring new options to increase its Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR) and get support from philanthropists and Non-Governmental Organisations to complement the government’s efforts.

    She said the options include the codification of e-payment of school fees and other charges to ensure accountability and transparency, as well as the establishment of the College Business Venture, among others.

  • Police chief Manko opens new offices

    Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, yesterday stepped up crime-fighting efforts in the state. He opened new offices for officers at the Pen-Cinema Police Station, Agege.

    The structure houses the Anti-Robbery Squad (ARS), Divisional Crime Branch (DCB), Investigating Police Officers (IPOs), Human Rights (HR), Operations (Ops) and the Station Officer.

    Manko, at the event, noted that when policemen operate in conducive offices, their efforts at effectively fighting crimes become easy.

    Manko, who was represented by the Area Commander in charge of Area ‘G’, Ishola Abdullahi, an Assistant Commissioner (ACP), said: “I want you all – the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) – to go back to your divisions and replicate what you saw today. I am happy now that everyone has an office here. Many DPOs had been here with no indelible mark left behind and that is why all the DPOs were mandated to be here today.”

    The host DPO, Aniefiok Wilson Akpan, a Chief Superintendent (CSP), said he was motivated by what he observed at Area ‘G’ Headquarters, Ogba, in terms of structures that were put up by ACP Abdullahi. He vowed to achieve same at the Pen Cinema despite space constraints.

    Chairman of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), Pen Cinema,Gbadamosi Abdulrasheed, an engineer, commended Abdullahi and Akpan for their efforts at mapping out good strategies for effective crime fighting in the area. He stressed that such efforts would compel the community, companies, factories, local government and others to love the police and think of ways of assisting them.

    The project, The Nation learnt, cost N2.1million with its labour daily paid for; building materials provided by companies, while clarifications were carried out by the PCRC.

  • US varsity opens Nigerian campus

    The American Liberty University has established a campus in Nigeria in its quest to promote quality higher eduction.The American University of Nigeria (ALUN) bears the name of its parent institution, American Liberty University (ALU), which was founded in 1999 by Dr Kelvin Soltani. The institution has campuses in California and Alabama, United States.

    The university’s foundation was laid at the maiden Annual General Meeting (AGM) of its Board of Trustees (BoT) held in the training hall of the Lagos Building Investment Company Limited.

    The BoT comprises seasoned professionals and educators, including former Minister of Information Chief Alex Akinyele; Justice of Sharia Court of Appeal, Kaduna, Justice Shehu Ibrahim Ahmad; former Director-General of National Teachers’ Institute, Prof Patrick Onyekwere; Rector of Gateway Polytechnic, Ogun State, Prof Babasola Onalaja and Prof Oladipo Hunponu-Wosu, a Professor of Community Health and Primary Healthcare, Lagos State University College of Medicine.

    Others are chairman of Integrated Marble Limited, Abuja, Mr Roland Bassey; president of Kingsland Group of Schools, Ikorodu, Prof Catherine Udenze; co-founder, Christian Pentecostal Mission, Reverend Mercy Ezekiel; Dr Olusola Dada and Dr J.P.C. Anyadiegwu.

    ALUN’s African Director, Dr Akin Ogunsakin, said the university was established because of the millions of naira paid by distance learning students to the parent institution.

    He said he believes that if ALU campus was opened in Nigeria, the nation’s economy would thrive, adding that the university would be pan-Nigerian.

    Stating the mission and vision of the university, Ogunsakin listed the problems of the education sector to include poor funding and infrastructure, inadequate classrooms and teaching aid and polluted learning environment. He added that vices such as cultism, hooliganism and corruption were like a plague in public universities, which affected their values and academic progress.

    “Admission and being in school today is merely the ability to pay what is demanded in monetary terms by school operators and not on what could be offered academically. This widens the scope of poverty prevalence as well as the gap between the rich and the poor, which education is designed to bridge,” Ogunsakin said.

    While noting that higher education remains the vital tool for intellectual and cultural development, Ogunsakin said the responsibility of universities is not only to impart knowledge but also to forecast the future needs of economy.

    He said: “The proposed university will emphasise critical thinking, small classes, students’ participation, problem solving, a US-style general education programme. The university will exchange students with the parent institution in the US. This puts it in conformity with practice of other American universities outside of the United States such as the American University of Beirut and the American University of Paris.”

    Bassey praised Ogunsakin for bringing the project to Nigeria, urging the BOT members to rally support for the smooth take off of the university. He donated N1 million towards the cause.

    Dada said he was elated to be a member of the board, but expressed displeasure on the absence of Soltani at the meeting. Prof Udenze urged management of the proposed university to maintain American standard.

    At the end of the session, Chief Akinyele was elected chairman of the BOT, a position which made him the president of the Nigerian campus of the university. Prof Hunponu-Wosu was elected the deputy chairman and vice president of the proposed university.

    Akinyele described his appointment as another history, saying he had never failed any job given to him in his lifetime. He told members of the board to appreciate the privilege, while urging them to study Ogunsakin’s paper properly and come back with their observations.

    “This appointment is far more important than being appointed as minister. I seek for cooperation and support of all board members and I promise to be more humble,” Akinyele said.

     

  • Kanu opens talks with Keshi

    Kanu opens talks with Keshi

    Former Super Eagles captain, Nwankwo Kanu is confident Eagles’ Head Coach, Stephen Keshi and West Brom’s forward, Osaze Odemwingie, will resolve the ongoing impasse over Twitter rants in a matter of days.

    Kanu who was at the corporate headquarters of The Nation/SportingLife Newspapers to promote the forthcoming March 14 launch of the N5bn Kanu Heart Foundation Cardiac Centre on Thursday, disclosed that the development was worrisome, but was quick to add that all available means must be explored in resolving the lingering crisis.

    Kanu also called on the egg-heads of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to assist in resolving the issue before it gets out of hand, noting that failure to do that will not be a good omen for the round-leather game.

    “Nobody likes what is happening and we don’t pray for the worst to happen. But if you are a Nigerian you are a Nigerian. Like I said earlier, if you are a coach you are a coach and a player is a player. Now that we are the champions of Africa we have to move forward and forget the past. Nothing should stop us from moving forward.

    “I am trying to talk to them, I have started with Keshi and the next step is to talk to Osaze, but like I said it is a sensitive issue and one must be careful where to tread. But the NFF should be responsible for making sure that all these are resolved. As it stands Keshi is still the coach and Osaze a player. They both have to work together, if not it will be difficult,” he said.

    On what informed his confidence in the Super Eagles at the just concluded Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, Kanu said: “Yes I will say patriotism. I knew we are the best. Nobody can say we are not the best. And like I said we just have to believe in ourselves. I knew that if it clicks, nobody can stop us. That is why when Nigeria comes to play, you don’t know what to expect.

    “If you saw the team and what Keshi is doing, the hunger to succeed was there. Players were fighting for their shirts. Imagine the local players getting the chance to play. And all the same I don’t know if you are seeing the force upfront. The only department that was a bit shaky was the defence. But if you watched all their games, they didn’t lose so why not believe in them that they can do it. That was why in South Africa, I went round the rooms of the players to make sure that I spoke to them. When they listen to somebody like me, you should know that I wasn’t talking rubbish, that if they listen, then they can achieve it. I was not the coach, but I had to contribute my quota,” he said, even as he revealed that he does not feel bad not winning the Nations Cup in his playing days.

    “No one is perfect. If I have won virtually all the trophies apart from the Nations Cup I don’t think that is too bad. I was at the finals severally and not winning it does not mean that I was not there. But now Nigeria is the Champion of Africa and I am a Nigerian so I am a champion,” added the former Ajax and Arsenal ace.

  • NDDC opens waterway

    The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has inaugurated the six kilometre Foropa Community canalised coastal waterway linking Digetoru River in Bayelsa State.

    With this development, the canal is now positioned to facilitate trade and commerce which will in turn boost commercial and social activities in the area.

    Inaugurating the project, NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Christian Oboh restated the commission’s commitment to variables that would ease transportation of goods and services in the region.

    Represented by the Bayelsa State Representative on the board of the commission, Edi Orubo, he maintained that the project was in line with NDDC’s mandate to develop Niger Delta communities, no matter how remote.

    Why emphasising that the canalisation would also open up communities along the coastline and boost the tourism potential of the area, Dr. Oboh disclosed that his administration will sustain the achievements recorded so far.

    In a welcome address jointly signed by the traditional ruler of Foropa Kingdom, Chief Atthanatius Allison and 15 other community leaders, the people noted that the canalisation was the first Federal Government project in the area.

    “Our happiness can only be compared to that of Mungo Park, the Scottish explorer of the River Niger in 1804; we lack words to express our gratitude for this laudable project which now serves as a highway in this coastal region”, they said.

  • Eaglets’ camp opens today in Calabar

    Eaglets’ camp opens today in Calabar

    The National Under-17 team will open their preparatory camp in Calabar today, ahead of the 10th African Under-17 Championship to be hosted in Morocco in April.

    The self-styled new Nigeria Golden Eaglets under coach Manu Garba, who qualified for the championship last December after winning their six qualifying matches, have been drawn against two West African rivals, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and 2011 second runner-up, Congo-Brazzaville at the championship to be held between April 13 and 27.

    Team secretary Tayo Egbaiyelo, said the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has directed that the 30 invited players as well as the technical and backroom staff should report to the team’s Princeville Hotel Camp in Calabar today.

    Already the Golden Eaglets have been drawn in Group B for the 2013 CAF U-17 Championship in Morocco. Other teams in the group include Ghana, Congo and Cote d’ Ivoire.

    Eaglets are the team to beat, as they scored a total of 21 goals, and conceded one in their qualifier series.

  • Utaka opens goal account

    Utaka opens goal account

    Nigeria attacker, John Utaka scored his first goal of the 2012/13 season in France for Montpellier HSC on Saturday.

    Utaka’s strike in the 64th minute which was his side’s second of the day helped them to a 3-1 victory over OGC Nice.

    The forward latched on a defence-splitting pass from Rémy Cabella before slotting past the Nice keeper, Joris Delle.

    Replays showed the Nigerian was just offside when he received the pass from Cabella but the officials failed to spot the action and Utaka will be pleased to have finally gotten off the mark this term.

    The 30-year-old was an integral figure for Montpellier as they romped to the 2011/12 Ligue 1 title. He made 43 appearances for the club in all appearances last season netting 8 times.

    The forward has yet to replicate that form as he picked up an injury early this season and missed crucial games.

    He will now be looking to continue his impressive form as he looks to force his way back to reckoning at international level as Nigeria prepare for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.

    Utaka made his Nigeria debut in 2002 and has made 43 appearances for the Super Eagles since then scoring six goals.

  • Osun opens cattle ranch

    Osun opens cattle ranch

    THE Osun State government has opened a cattle ranch where a new agro-based industry is emerging.

    This is part of a plan to assist livestock farmers to improve milk and meat production.

    Governor Rauf Aregbesola,who opened the beef farm , said it would boost self-reliance in food production as well as create economic bases and job opportunities for the people.

    The Oloba Farm Settlement at Iwo, according to the government, is primarily targeted at boosting agriculture, meat and food production, food processing and mass agro-based employment.

    Aregbesola’s theory is that given the huge market for cattle in Lagos and other southwest states, animal rearing has become a lucrative business for Osun.

    The governor described the potential of the beef market in the Southwest as huge, adding that it could not be waved aside by visionary government.

    For instance, he disclosed that in Lagos alone, about 6,000 cattle are slaughtered daily in the abattoirs, while the remaining five states combined conservatively accounts for another 6,000 based on their total population.

    This translates to a huge N4.4 billion per annum. This huge market demand for beef, the governor argued, carries the potential to empower the state and the entire Southwest people economically through wealth creation.

    ”It is the objective of this administration in the State of Osun to create the enabling environment that will make this happen.

    “We will be dedicating and developing hundreds of hectares of land into grazing reserves, cattle markets, breeding centres, and fattening hubs. This will be in addition to the new central abattoirs that we are developing in selected towns across the state,” Aregbesola said.

    It is against this backdrop that the government began a study of the process to come up with a programme that will be indigenous to the state and the region.In February 2011, this assignment took them to the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Ibadan, where they discussed about building partnerships to help the state develop a robust framework for implementing an innovative programme that focuses on Beef Chain Development in Osun. What came out of the interactions between the Osun team and the ILRI is the abattoir-linked enterprises that include fattening, breeding and marketing activities.

    Hence, government decided that the strategic option for the state is to adopt the value chain approach to developing the beef sector in the state, with a preliminary target, excluding production for local consumption, of serving a minimum 10 per cent of the Lagos 6,000 cattle per day market. This, it was gathered, would be achieved through a strategic initiative incorporating activities such as cattle genetics improvement, breeding, fattening, slaughter and beef marketing.

    With the resulting strategic discussion with the ILRI, between December 11th and 16th, 2011, Aregbesola led a delegation of selected state government officials on a tour of the Zambian agricultural industry. Research revealed that Zambia has practised what could be achieved through agriculture as a means for creating jobs and wealth for the people.

    The first, it was gathered, hinged on gaining a first hand understanding of the Zambian success story in agricultural development, as well as to begin the development of the beef sector in Osun. The programme hit the ground running and this result is the Oloba cattle ranch, which the governor revealed would not be the only one in the state as efforts are on to establish more in viable locations in the state.Oloba Cattle Ranch is about 78.8 hectares in size.

    Plans are afoot to establish others in Ede (400 hectares) and Ejigbo (1,000 hectares). Land has been acquired for this purpose and the location would have grazing reserves and cattle hub – including markets, feed mills. The grazing reserves will help us to tackle the recurring feud between the Fulani pastoralists and the crop farmers usually caused as a result of cattle grazing on farms.

    At present, the ranch, which is being managed by a South African expert in conjunction with International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Faculty of Agriculture, Obafemi Awolowo University, has 1500 cattle sourced locally. The farm is being run with the technical direction of foreign Technical Partners from Zambia and South Africa.

    According to the governor, 30 foreign species of cattle called the Zambian Boran, would be introduced to the ranch with a view to genetically crossbreeding them with local ones to get new indigenous species.When fully in operation, the ranch, which will be run on public private partnership basis, will have modern abattoir that offers services to the people at a lower rate. Government also intends to promote the establishment of cattle and ram feedlots and as such, efforts are in progress to put the feedlot infrastructure in place to accommodate 1,500 cattle. At the maximum capacity, this ranch will accommodate up to 10,000 cattle being fattened at the same time.

    Not only that, the Oloba Cattle Ranch would act as a breeding centre for a foreign breed of cattle known as the Boran, so as to develop a new breed of cattle that is indigenous to the South-West by cross-breeding the Zambian-Boran with local breeds such as the White Fulani and Sokoto Gudali.

    The resulting cattle, it is expected, will have greater capacity to produce meat, making cattle fattening and beef production a very profitable endeavour for the state.