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  • Edo investment summit targets education, business, healthcare, others

    By Ambrose Nnaji

    Edo State has become an investors’ delight in the last three years with reforms being spearheaded by Governor Godwin Obaseki. From November 8 to 12, Nigeria’s business community will converge on Benin City, for the third edition of the Alaghodaro Summit, which showcases the landmark achievements in education, primary healthcare, business and other sectors, being recorded in the state, writes Ambrose Nnaji

    When Governor Godwin Obaseki, during his inauguration on November, 12, 2016 identified agriculture, education and industrialisation as strong pillars on which the Edo state’s economic revolution would stand, many believed it was one of the plausible and chimerical chants sung by politicians, with little or no intention of fulfilling them.

    Justifiably, the belief may have held some water because since the advent of Nigeria’s democracy in 1999, most governors have been widely adjudged to have performed poorly, despite uninterruptedly completing their two-terms of eight years in office. While some were found to be somewhat power drunk, corrupt and without a strategy of implementation of policies, others chiefly think more about self, family and loyalists than the populace.  But in barely three years, Governor Obaseki is already rewriting history, bringing governance and its dividends to the doorsteps of Edo people.

    Unlike what was attained in the past, there is an exciting breath of fresh air in various sectors of the state including education; economy; infrastructural, human capacity and industrial development; agriculture and rural development. The governor has touched almost every nook and cranny in the state in terms of developmental projects that are visible for ‘any doubting Thomas’ to see.

    More so, apart from bringing panache and dignity to governance,  Obaseki through his populist and people-oriented reforms has elevated the face of leadership and redefined politics to be able to make government respond to the yearnings of the suffering masses, which ordinarily should be the penchant of any government in power.

    A visitor in Edo State will be astounded by the rate of massive industrial and infrastructural developments, as well as the strategic execution of laudable policies and reforms, which prescient observers say have repositioned the state to investor’s destination, tourism hub and construction site. With a pellucid vision, the Obaseki-led administration is pulling every string available to attract investors, build local capacity and create wealth for Edo State and its people.

    Alaghodaro: The Summit

    Right from the electioneering seasons, the governor has remained resilient and focused on his visions and aspirations to transform Edo State to a business destination haven. Almost on a daily basis, the ‘wake and see’ governor, unveils policies and strategies to break the ground in fast-tracking the state’s industrialisation and economic diversification.

    This is one of the reasons for the birth of the Alaghodaro Summit. With the theme, “Delivering to Our People, The Next Level”, the 2019 edition will create an avenue to evaluate how the Obaseki-led administration’s policies, programmes and initiatives have been able to transform the lives of ordinary Edo people and articulate aspirations for further achievements.

    Alaghodaro, meaning progress, started in 2017, bringing big ticket investors from all parts of the world, thereby exposing the state to more investors and expanding its economic space. Last year, it was a “People’s Summit” that brought all Edo people and residents together in one place, face-to-face with their governor to discuss on challenges confronting the state and identify peculiar and innovative ways to tackling them. But the 2019 edition of the summit will enable the government to assess the impact of the people-centred policies, programmes and projects of the governor on job creation, youth empowerment, basic and technical education, healthcare, food security, among others.

     

    Agriculture Revolution

    Already, impacts of the governor’s effort to unlock the state’s potentials are eminently felt in all sectors. One of Obaseki’s blueprint for development in the state is the harnessing of agriculture’s immense capacity to accommodate more hands. With a vision to create over 200,000 jobs after his first tenure at the helm of affairs of the state, he has gone all out to craft policies and initiatives to get more youths into agriculture through a value-chain driven agricultural development model designed to ensure smooth commodity-to-market flow.

    In Edo, the government is building a strong nexus linking youths, agriculture and jobs. The state government believes that tapping opportunities from its vast arable, loamy land to provide jobs for teeming youths would quell job crisis. The idea is hinged on the thinking that agriculture has a huge potential for job creation, which affords the people better life.

    Already, the farmers in Agenebode axis of the state have started reaping from the bouquet of policies of the Obaseki led administration, harvesting several metric tons of rice in farms cultivated in partnership with the state government, who provided inputs and technical support for the farming season.

    The farms were captured under the state’s Agriprenuer programme, which prioritises the cultivation of a number of crops, including maize, cassava and rice. Over 10,000 hectares of land in various locations across the state are being cultivated under the agripreneur programme. The state government intends to harvest 17,000 metric tons of rice by cultivating 4,000 hectares of land at the end of the planting season in 2019.

    The state government also boasts a Fertilizer Plant. Governor Obaseki said during the opening ceremony of the Edo Fertilizer Plant, that the plant was a key peg for engaging youths in the state, especially as it provided needed input to fast-track agricultural development. According to him, “This achievement is an open call to other investors to bring in new technology, create more jobs and expand our economic opportunities.

    Also, the industrialisation plan pursued by the Obaseki-led  Edo State Government is quite grand and encompasses a wide range of strategically connected projects which does not only targets to see the rise of the state as an economic hub, but as a cynosure of all those seeking to make an industrial city from a lowly civil-service state.

    The government has been committed to its grand plan to reincarnate the state as an industrial city serviced by gas-powered power plants, housing refineries, seaports, industrial clusters, innovation hubs, smart neighbourhoods and a number of other investments.

     

    Revamping Technical Education

    As Obaseki goes around courting investors, an extensive overhaul of the Government Science and Technical College, formerly known as Benin Technical College is still ongoing. The revamp is in order to train a new breed of technicians and scientists that will be absorbed by investors in the new companies expected to sprout from the Industrial Park and other projects that will be requiring technical manpower. The government has, in the same vein, been training youths in enterprise development and other critical skills required in the 21st century workplace through its EdoJobs platform.

    A critical sector that the state government has beamed light is the education sector, which is expected to supply the needed manpower for the lofty ideas of the government. Reforms in basic and technical education are ushering in a new breed of human resources to drive the state’s development efforts.

     

    Re-enacting basic education

    with Edo-BEST

    One specific reform in the sector that has continued to earn the governor accolades and recognitions is the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (EDOBEST) programme spearheaded by the Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

    Aimed at transforming the basic education sub-sector and consequently improving learning outcomes in schools, the project recently earned the governor a national honour by the Nigeria union of Teachers (NUT). The feat has attracted the international community as the governments of Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania have sent representatives at different times to Edo State to understudy the Edo-BEST initiative. Just recently, Lagos State Government adopted the Edo State Basic Education model after officials of the state came to learn how the programme works.

    So far, the programme has impacted 11,300 government teachers, reaching 918 schools and around 300,000 children. A recent study conducted in the state showed higher academic attainment among children in the project. Governor Godwin Obaseki, said the programme will, “develop a highly-skilled teaching workforce by training, supporting and motivating Edo State teachers to succeed in the classroom of tomorrow, empowering our children to compete effectively in the world of work. The programme will leapfrog the basic education delivery systems by leveraging technology to gather and utilise accurate and timely data to drive policy and planning decisions.”

    Guests on parade for Alaghodaro 2019

    All these and many more are part of the reasons the Alaghodaro Summit was put up, examine the success of the three years of project execution of the Obaseki-led administration and identify new paths to be explored in improving the lives of the Edo people. The events will bring together all Edo sons and daughters, home and abroad, as well as businessmen, investors across the globe.

    Some of prominent guests expected at this year’s Alaghodaro Summit are the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria, Mr. Osagie Osunbor; Executive Director, Dangote Group, Halima Dangote; Chairman, Nosak Group, Dr. Toni Ogunbor; Toni Adepoju of KPMG Nigeria, among others.

    According to Special Adviser to the Edo State Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, “In the last three years, Edo people have witnessed an incursion of businesses into the state to take advantage of the reforms being implemented by the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led government. One of the iconic things we have done for the business community is to ensure that that we respect the sanctity of contracts and also make doing business in the state seamless.”

    “The people know what this administration has done with the fight against human trafficking, through which our children are now free from the grip of human traffickers. Investors are coming to the state to harness prospects in projects such as the Benin River Port, the Edo Modular Refinery, Edo Innovation Hub, Edo Production Center, and the Benin Enterprise and Industrial Park.”

    Osagie continued: “The governor has continued to receive commendations on job creation with the opening of the Edo Production Centre, skills acquisition training programmes for youths which have benefitted over 150,000 persons, support to farmers to boost food security and other laudable initiatives to drive industrialisation, economic expansion and create wealth for Edo people.”

    “The interesting thing about the 2019 Alaghodaro Summit is the focus on how the Obaseki-led administration has continued to deliver dividends of democracy to Edo people and residents.”

  • Dons, others for researchers’ conference

    The International Association of Research Scholars and Administrators (IARSA) will hold its Third Annual International Conference on “Global issues in multidisciplinary education, research and technology development” at the Grand Ibro Hotel Annex, Wuse Zone 5, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja between November 20 and 21.

    Over 500 experts in education and development, university leaders, research associations, foundations, agencies, policy makers, among others, are expected at the event.

    They are among those who will speak  on the latest in research and service improvements in 10 sessions at the event.

    The event would also feature debate sessions with the top scholars; five accredited training streams and receive 10 continuing professional development (CPD) points

    Lead Facilitator of the conference, Prof. Akin Ogunsakin, said the highpoint of the event would be presentation of awards to celebrate the achievements and leadership of individuals and organisations that have made outstanding contributions to research and international education.

  • Funding, others may truncate electricity access targets

    By Akinola Ajibade

    The Federal Government’s target of expanding access to electricity to 150 million people next year may be truncated, if the problem of inadequate funding is not adressed, the Founder, Change Partners International, Mr Akachukwu Okafor, has said.

    The goal of providing electricity to about 190 million people across the country by 2030 may also be affected.

    In a telephone interview with The Nation, he said the 150 million people represent 75 per cent of the country’s 200million population.

    According to him, funding is key to realising the short- and long-term goals, which the Federal Government has set for the sector.

    He said other measures include provision of a strong energy market and other infrastructural facilities.

    He said the sector would  grow when all these things were in place.

    Okafor said: “These targets are achievable. Once, the government can provide adequate funding, provide a virile market for trading, among other facilities, the sector would bounce to reckoning. The reason is because the three key stakeholders namely the power generation companies (GenCos), distribution companies (DisCos) and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) would be able to play well in the industry.”

    Still on market, he said the  Nigerian Electricity Bulk Trading Company (NBET) would be strenghtened once there is enough capital.

    Cases, such as rising debts owed by the GenCos for providing electricity to the DisCos, would not arise once there were enough funds, coupled with provisions of modern infrastructure by operators.

    He advised the Federal Government to provide funds to procure transmission equipment, adding that the sector is still using obsolete equipment.

    This, he said, was evident from the collapse of the grids, a development which has made it difficult to evacuate electricity for consumers.

    He said the sector could still be positioned for growth, irrespective of the problems.

  • Tim Godfrey, Tope Alabi, others for ‘Night of Mercy’

    GOSPEL artistes Tope Alabi, Tim Godfrey, Bishop Bernard Asare and Efe Nathan are set to perform at the ‘Night of Mercy’ crusade slated for Friday, November 8 at the Gymnasium Hall, National Stadium Complex, Surulere, Lagos.

    Others artistes expected are Bidemi Olaoba Eben, Chinyere Udoma and Paraclete mass choir.

    According to the organiser, Senior Pastor of Holy Ghost Christian Centre (HCC), DR. Amos Fenwa, the initiative was to take the gospel out of the church and bring unbelievers to God.

    “The programme provides a wider opportunity to bless children of God through prayer and prophetic ministration in line with the objective of the monthly Solution Night that holds in HCC church,” said Dr. Fenwa.

    “We shall seek the face of God for mercy and divine intervention in the lives of people. If you know anyone believing God for the fruit of the womb or anyone that is sick and their hope is dimmed or it seems there is no cure, why not come so we can pray together for Mercy. That’s why it is titled ‘Night of Mercy’.

    “The world is full of people who are looking for God, leadership has failed people, family has failed people, and friends have failed people. But God cannot fail people. That is why the venue is not going to be in the church it has to be outside the church because a lot of people who are not members of the church have issues.”

    One of the artistes scheduled to perform at the program, Evangelist Tope Alabi, said “I will be realising a single before the end of this year and participant of “Night of Mercy” will get a taste of it.”

    On his part, Tim Godfrey said that “people should come with their expectations as it is going to be unforgettable experience and God will move like the days of David.

  • Small Doctor, SSP, others headline Laffmattazz and Laf Up Live

    FANS enjoyed what could be called a triple treat of awesomeness at Laffmattazz and Laf Up Live last weekend in Abeokuta and Lagos respectively.

    Nigerian A-list entertainers such as; Small Doctor, Qdot and Sir Shina Peters graced the events and delivered memorable performances.

    Laffmattazz held its Independence Day edition at OOPL Marquee, Abeokuta, with Maltina, where comedy lovers gathered to enjoy comedy. The event was themed ‘Loud in Abeokuta’.

    In the same fashion, Laf Up Live which held at Terra Kulture Victoria Island, Lagos, witnessed some of the best comedy and music performances in the industry. Small Doctor, often described as the Alaafin Of Agege, performed hit songs like; Omo Iya Teacher, This Year, Mosquito Killer, My People, 911 and others.

    Read Also: Maltina thrills Ilorin residents at LaffMattazz

    Fans were impressed by both shows which were sponsored by Maltina.

    The Senior Brand Manager, Maltina, Olusegun Lawal, expressed delight at the success of the shows and the opportunity it gave the brand to engage with consumers.

    “Laughter is very important; it eases stress and relaxes nerves. People come from far and wide to relax and unwind with their loved ones at Laffmattazz and Laf Up Live. Maltina is a brand that delights in helping consumers nourish family moments and this is why we have continued to support these shows these past years.”

    Since its inception, Laffmattazz with Maltina has treated over 50,000 comedy lovers to rib-cracking jokes and other fun experiences. Laf Up Live on the other hand, has for over four years, continued to amuse and entertain comedy lovers across the country.

  • Omosexy, Yetunde Babaeko, others celebrate Steve Babaeko’s ADWeek Recognition

    Friends, family and close associates of Steve Babaeko, the CEO/CCO of advertising and media production company, X3M Ideas, gathered together on Sunday, July 21 at The George Lagos Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos to celebrate Steve Babaeko’s recent recognition by Adweek as one of the top 100 creatives in 2019.

    The annual honorary list was created by Adweek to celebrate trendsetters and innovators in creative industries across the globe whose ideas are advancing advertising worldwide.

    Leading actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekehinde, Media Entrepreneur, Fade Ogunro, Singer, Praiz, DJ Spinall, On-Air Personality, Gbemi Olateru Olagbegi, Media Personality ,Lamide Akintobi, Comedian and MC, Tee A and others graced the event.

    Other guests included; Publisher YES Magazine, Azuh Arinze, CEO Red Media, Debola Williams, Publisher, Brand Crunch, Lekan Babatunde, Chief Strategy Officer, EbonyLife Films, Eunice Omole, CEO Plaqad, Gbenga Sogbaike, Creative Director, STB McCann Lagos, Samson Adeoye, Assistant General Manager, Operations, Channels Television, Kingsley Uranta, CEO ID Africa, Femi Falodun, CEO Smooth Promotions, Ayo Animashaun, Ace Producer & Director, Femi Odugbemi, Supervising Producer, CNN Africa, Stephanie Busari and CEO Daria Media Ltd, Kadaria Ahmed amongst others.

    Steve’s wife and ace photographer, Yetunde Babaeko, their three sons and other members of his family also graced the occasion to honour Steve for his distinctive contribution to the Nigerian advertising and creative industry.

    Speaking at the event, Steve expressed his joy on the Adweek recognition and other accomplishments by him saying,

    “I’m glad that Nigerian creatives and companies are rising up to change the African narrative and tell original stories. We are not erasing our history, we are simply redefining the future and this is birth from a place of passion, as well as hard work.”

    “I feel honoured to be celebrated today. We will keep pushing boundaries and changing the way Africa is perceived. We will continue inspiring younger generations and challenge practicing creatives, because this is how we can move Africa forward.”

  • DPR, Navgas, others push for oil, gas safety

    Stakeholders in the oil and gas industry have said there is urgent need to promote safety in the sector. They spoke at a seminar organised by Navgas, in conjunction with Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and others, in Ikeja, Lagos at the weekend.

    Navgas Terminal Manager in Apapa, Lagos Monday Adeoye said there was the need to focus on the effective handling of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), enjoining every one to join hands in boosting safety. He said it was for this that the firm holds the event every two years to boost their consciousness. This was the third event, he announced.

    In his message DPR Director, represented by Dr Akin Musa, as Assistant Director, said standards and procedures were being reviewed to meet up with the ever-changing trends in the sector. He said there would more survelliance by the directorate to tackle errant firms. He said as new plants emerge, so DPR would increase its monitoring,, adding that defaulters would be punished. He praised Navgas for sponsoring the event, urging other operators to emulate its good gesture.

    DPR Lagos Zonal Director Oluwole Akinyosoye, who spoke on ‘’Regulatory Compliance’’ said though gas consumption had grown astronomically in the 10 last years compared to kerosene, we were merely scratching the surface. Comparing the consumption of domestic gas in Senegal and other countries, he submitted that the rate of the product’s consumption in the country is small. However, he was optimistic that the market would deepen in the future.

    He listed some of the benefits of gas over kerosene as its cheapness, and easy availability and that more Nigerians were taking to gas for their domestic use.

    Even then, Akinyosoye warned that gas is more volatile, a reason stakeholders should make safety their watchword. DPR, he said, would always be strict on safety and that operators should self-regulate their operations. He told them that there were a lot of leakages in the system, a factor that led to incidents in the past. There were reports that product is being distributed to illegal operators, he said, warning that DPR would sanction anyone caught doing so.

    Programme Manager National LPG Expansion Plan, Office of the Vice President Dayo Adesina also harped on safety. Noting that the sector has a lot of stakeholders, he called on relevant stakeholders to interact on how to boost safety and production. He added that the government would assist them through awareness creation, among others, to move the industry to the next level in the next 10 years. LPG, he noted, would a game changer.

  • NCC mulls strategy to tackle fake phones, others

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)  is set with other stakeholders in the information communications technology (ICT) ecosystem to establish a Mobile Device Management System (MDMS) to combat unchecked import and use of unregistered, cloned, substandard, counterfeit, stolen and or non-compliant devices.

    It said these pose a threat to Quality of Service (QoS) and Experience (QoE) as well as security, among others, across the country.

    NCC Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Prof Umar Dambatta, at the weekend, said the proposed MDMS would have the capacity to facilitate the mandatory registration of all subscriber identity module (SIM)-based devices, block all stolen, counterfeit, illegal or otherwise substandard SIM-based devices from operators’ networks and interface with the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), tax authority, security agencies, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and other relevant agencies to ensure full registration, payment of duties and taxes due on those devices and the protection of security and privacy of users in the country.

    Delloitte, in its 2018 Nigeria Cybersecurity Outlook, said cybercrime is estimated to cost the economy about  $500 million yearly.

    Consistent with the Commission’s regulatory mandate, several consultative fora were organised to enlighten stakeholders on the growing menace posed by the influx of cloned and fake ICT devices into the country.

    The stakeholders include the NCS, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), security agencies, SON, as well as equipment and solution vendors.

    He said after due consideration of input from stakeholders, the resolution was reached to deploy an end-to-end technology based solution in combating the influx of cloned and fake ICT devices into the country.

    “Essentially, the NCC and other relevant government agencies in Nigeria are going tough on fake devices. Therefore, the panel is expected to proffer seamless solutions to assist in eradicating the influx of cloned and fake phones and other devices, and curtailing the menace of existing cloned and fake phones and other devices on Nigerian shores. Cyber security is structurally composed of processes, technologies and practices devised to optimally mitigate the risks to computers, programmes, and networks, i.e. cyber crime,” Dambatta said.

    According to him, cybercrime evolves at a fast pace with malicious cyber criminals becoming increasingly more sophisticated and better organised using the same ICT infrastructure and systems that have made it easier for people to conduct e-commerce and online transactions, being exploited for criminalities.

    The Federal Government, being aware of the benefits of ICT to its citizens and the growing concerns about cyber security, therefore,  developed the National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy documents, and came-up with The Cyber Crimes ACT 2015, a measure to address the nation’s risk exposure in cyberspace.

    The NCC has provided the enabling environment for growth and a level-playing field for competition.

    “Counterfeiting is a global challenge that has elicited a common disquiet among stakeholders, especially in respect of the continued influx of counterfeit and illegal information communication technology (ICT) devices in both developed and developing countries.

    ‘’Nigeria is not immuned to this problem. The challenges posed by this menace are quite devastating, hindering the progress made so far in ICT usage and processes in terms of its economic, social, environmental and security impacts on the country,” he said.

  • SEUN KUTI, CHIGURL, OTHERS CHIP IN ON FALZ’S SURPRISE

    AS Lagos looks forward to the highly talked about surprise in stock at the show being put together by artiste Falz The Bahd Guy, notable celebrities like actress and comedian, Chigurl, OAP Do2dTun, Afrobeat scion Seun Kuti, former Big Brother Naija housemates, Tobi Bakre and Khloe, have joined the trend, suggesting to Falz what he should do at the concert.

    Others to air their views include media personality BollyLomo, music artiste, Skiibi and Instagram comedians Oluwakaponeski and Josh2funny.

    They join hundreds of Nigerians on social media who are suggesting to Falz what they’ll like to see him do at the concert.

    The show tagged “The Falz Experience II” have music lovers guessing what will happen at the upcoming event as they have over the past week engaged in conversations with Falz on social media with the hashtag #WhatWillFalzDo.

  • 2019 elections: Army blames Wike for death of Lieutenant, others

    The Army has said Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike is to blame for the deaths during the 2019 elections in Rivers State.

    General Officer Commanding, 6 Division Maj.-Gen. Jamil Sarham, who testified before a joint National Assembly Committee on Army, headed by Rimande Shawulu, made the allegation.

    A motion by Kingsley Chinda blamed the police, Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS) and army for the death of two workers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) – Ferry Gberegbe and Mrs Ibisaki Amachree.

    According to Sarham, Wike personally led a convoy of about 40 vehicles, carrying people who were shooting into the crowd with the intent to blame the Army for any casualty.

    The lawmakers told the army representative that the investigation was to determine the causes of the death of victims and ask about the role of the army during the elections in Rivers State.

    Sarham said: “Kurumi was killed on February 23 and the soldiers were killed on March 2. No other person than the Executive Governor of Rivers State led a convoy of more than 40 vehicles to attack a collation centre and shot at Salami, manhandled Corporal Abiodun at Obio Akpor council. We have complained to the police and it is well-documented.

    “The soldiers who were at the outer cordon were supposed to stop anybody coming to either harm the voters or disrupt the polling. Kurumi tried to enforce that but unknown to him, there were other people with different agenda hidden there and they snuffed life out of him.

    “He was quite professional. He restrained himself and restrained his men from taking any untoward action that would affect other people around the general area. When that failed, tension built up.

    “Operation Save Conduct is designed, like the position paper has said, to assist the Police and INEC conduct the 2019 election. It was in support of the Police. Everything, every action taken as far as Army and Save in particular, was aimed at helping the Police.

    “In Rivers State, there were plethora of series of uniforms; in particular, that incident I think the Army intelligence are still investigating to find out if actually they are men of the Nigerian Army who took part in that operation.

    “The police called us and we assisted, saying “if there is an incident in a particular gentleman’s house, of course, we must have gone there together with the police.”

    Sarham insisted that the Army did not arrest or detain anyone.

    “Nobody was kept in the Bori Camp for nine days, apart from the people who were directly responsible for killing Lieutenant Kurumi. There were actually people in Rivers State who were responsible for the killing an officer and three soldiers during that election…”