The Nation Newspaper

Tag: project

  • Project ‘Touch a life today’ launched

    Project ‘Touch a life today’ launched

    Project ‘Touch a life’ visited Ughelli General Hospital and Kiagbodo General Hospital in Delta State on May 2.  131 patients, including children, women and men had their medical bills subsidised.

    It is the brainchild of the Global Initiative for Peace, Love and Care (GIPLC), which was launched a new initiative which will be taking place from April 25 to May 17. Project ‘Touch a life’ will reach 1000 patients in three states in three weeks.

    The non-governmental, not-for-profit charity organisation, which was founded in 2006 to cater for orphans and vulnerable children in Nigeria, has launched this new project as part of Igho Charles Sanomi II’s birthday celebrations and to commemorate the GIPLC’s 11th anniversary. 1000 identified vulnerable Nigerians in Abuja, Delta and Benue States will receive financial support to subsidize and assist their medical bills. Visits will be made to patients to follow up on their progress.

    A full professional team of GIPLC staff, doctors and nurses will be deployed to ensure the desired impact is met and lives are touched and saved.

    Sanomi, founder and chairman of Taleveras, and past recipient of a Dr Martin Luther King Legacy Award for Philanthropy and International Service, said: “Supporting the work of the GIPLC is something I have done for many years, in many ways. This year I wanted to do something which would help even more of the vulnerable people who have been at the core of the GIPLC activities. This unique initiative seeks to touch the lives of the most needy members of our communities at a time when they need it the most. This is something I believe in wholeheartedly and to which I am pleased to have been able to lend my support.”

    Nuhu Kwajafa, GIPLC Co-ordinator, said: “We give God all the glory for His blessings and the capacity and the will, for people like Igho Sanomi to give back to those in need.  We pray that by this gesture, ICS II will endear others to do same, so we may sustain this practice on a yearly basis. Ultimately, the goal is to stimulate the mobilisation of resources and raise awareness on the plight of those living in especially difficult circumstances. GIPLC will coordinate and share this experience daily. God bless you all.”

    The initiative was founded in 2006 to cater for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Nigeria by providing food, medical assistance and learning materials for their development.  It also aims to stimulate sustainable, participatory, community based projects, which will help to meet the needs of vulnerable children and other persons living in especially difficult circumstances.

    “Life has been interesting since I started GIPLC because I look at it like a cash register, in that every account, every thought, every deed, like every sale is registered and recorded. The best use of life is to spend it for something that will outlive life itself. I believe at my age I have lived half my life for myself. Right now I am dedicating the remaining half for humanity,” Kwajafa.

    Sanomi II was born in 1975 in Agbor Delta State, the fifth child (and first son) of a devout Catholic family. His father, the late Dickens Oghenereumu Patrick Sanomi hailed from Delta State and was a retired Assistant Inspector General of the Nigerian Police. Mr Sanomi’s mother, Mabel Iyabo Sanomi holds a Royal title of Yeye Jemo of Isotun Ijesha Kingdom in Osun State. She was a renowned nurse and medical entrepreneur from Osun State in South Western Nigeria.

    Sanomi entered the world of business shortly after completing his Bachelor’s Degree in Geology and Mining at the University of Jos in Northern Nigeria. Mr Sanomi is the Chairman of Taleveras which he founded in 2004. He is also Chairman of the Dickens Sanomi Foundation board of Trustees. He also sits as Chairman and co-chairman of various companies which he founded or co-founded. These companies’ activities span from Telecom to Shipping, Aviation and Real Estate Investments worldwide.

  • Emir of Kano to inaugurate Project 20 Million

    A socio-political group under the auspices of the Project 20 Million has intensified its campaign on patriotism among Nigerians.

    The programme tagged: ‘I’m a Nigerian, I Want Greatness’, will be inaugurated by the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi. Addressing a press conference, the President of Project 20 Million, Comrade Ikechukwu Chukwunyere said the campaign was as part of initiatives aimed at promoting nationhood and motivating the youths in the country to show interest in national development. Chukwunyere said that the Emir of Kano would inaugurate the North West Zone Campaign of “I Am a Nigerian I Want Greatness” and that the campaign would keep spreading across the country. The programme will be inaugurated May 4, 2017 in the North West Zone of the country.

    The President of Project 20 Million said the campaign is an organised effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within in the country and aimed at a thorough, purposeful, invigorated masses driven and grassroots mobilisation of over 20 million Nigerians who seeks for greater Nigeria with a common mantra, ‘I’m a Nigerian, I Want Greatness.’

    Chukwunyere lamented that Nigeria is going through some trying times caused by failure in the present and past leaders to deliver the true dividends of democracy to the people. According to him, ‘Project 20 Million’ wishes to bring governance back to the people; we wish to partner with great Nigerians that have distinguished themselves morally, intellectually and administratively.

    “We will be meeting with Cardinal Onaiyekan, Nigerian Prelate of Roman Catholic Church. We will also meet professional bodies like NBA, ICAN, NUJ among others. We also plan to meet PMAN, Actors Guild of Nigeria, market women and men, NURTW for partnership in making Nigeria great again. “We will visit all the 36 States including the FCT.

    We will reach all 774 local governments, 8,812 political wards and 120,001 polling units in the country to preach the message of making Nigeria great again.

    “Those visits will afford us the opportunity to discuss with all the major stakeholders in the polity, tap from their immeasurable and rich wealth of experience in nation building and seek for advises to make Nigeria a better nation.”

  • Emefiele hands over 2011 intervention project to MOUAU

    Emefiele hands over 2011 intervention project to MOUAU

    Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele has handed over the bank’s 2011 intervention project, Centre for Entrepreneurship Development building, to Michael Okpara University of Agriculture at Umudike (MOUAU), Abia State.

    The project was designed for the Southeast zone.

    Emefiele urged Abia residents and other people in the Southeast to use the centre well to enable them develop their skills.

    The CBN governor, who was represented by a Deputy Director, Mr. Oluwole Owoeye, described the project as part of the bank’s corporate and social responsibility (CSR) to the zone’s residents.

    He said the Entrepreneur Development Centre (EDC) was designed to develop skills – small and medium scale enterprise (SMEs).

    Emefiele said: “In Nigeria, we realised that for now, there is a dearth of skills and people don’t have relevant skills.

    “So, the essence of this thing is for people to develop skills in various areas so that they can be independent as well as help to develop the skills of others after they must have sharpened their own skills.”

    The CBN chief added: “This one is the project the bank has developed for the Southeast. I want to appeal is Abians and other parts of Southeast to leverage and take advantage of this centre to develop their skills.

    “We know that Aba is well known for a lot of SMEs. So, I want to use this medium to appeal to the people in Aba, its environs and other parts of Abia State to patronise this centre so that we will build up their skills…”

  • Agip to begin work on $13.5b Zabazaba deepwater project

    Agip to begin work on $13.5b Zabazaba deepwater project

    • Firm calls for tenders

    The Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAE) is to begin work on its Zabazaba deepwater project estimated to cost $13.5 billion.

    The firm will this month begin to receive commercial proposals for the various activities lined up for the development of the field.

    The request follows the conclusion of the technical evaluation for the main packages of the project by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and NAE, with the aim to maximize local content. The packages include the floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) units, subsea, installation and rigs.

    According to NCDMB’s Executive Secretary, Simbi Wabote, the Board fast-tracked its evaluations and approvals on the Zabazaba project with a view to increase Nigeria’s crude oil production and create opportunities for the growth and development of Nigerian Content.

    Wabote noted that the conclusion of the technical evaluation has paved the way for NAE to proceed with its plans to receive and evaluate the commercial bids, conclude negotiations and award contracts in the second quarter of 2017, adding that with the call for tender and consequent commencement of work on the deepwater facility, a fresh wave of work activities is set to begin in the Nigerian Content sector.

    He commended the NAE for working harmoniously with the Board, adding that the company took all Nigerian Content requirements on board.

    The NCDMB Chief stated that the NAE plans to achieve first oil in 2020, hence it is determined to achieve the final investment decision (FID) in the second quarter of 2017 and start execution of the project in the third quarter.

    To bring the project to fruition, Wabote, urged contractors to submit reasonable commercial bids, bearing in mind the prevailing price of crude oil and the fact that Zabazaba is the only major project that has reached execution stage at the moment. The deep water project was introduced a few years ago, but later suspended after cost projections and other push backs made it unviable.

    He praised NAE for its determination to pursue the project despite the challenges in the market and charged all stakeholders to support fast-tracking the execution.

    NAE Vice Chairman, Mr. Massimo Insulla, had at a  meeting with Wabote underscored the importance of Zabazaba project to Nigeria, all Joint Venture (JV) partners and stakeholders in terms of revenue for the government and job creation. It will also grow small and medium enterprises, expand existing facilities and develop the skills set of the work force.

    Insulla praised the NCDMB and THE NAE teams for concluding the technical evaluation at a speed that was unprecedented in the industry. He also advised other approving entities to adopt the NCDMB’s model while executing their evaluations of tenders and other processes.

    Zabazaba and Etan fields are located in oil prospecting licence OPL (245) on the southern edge of the Niger Delta in water depths of 1,700 to 2,000 metres. The oil block holds oil and gas reserves of about 560 million barrels of oil equivalent. “Agip is developing the block in partnership with Shell Nigeria Exploration Company (SNEPCo). The Etan field will follow three years later and tied back to the Zabazaba FPSO from where the produced hydrocarbons will be processed and exported,” Agip said.

  • World Bank extends project duration in Delta

    World Bank extends project duration in Delta

    The State Employment and Expenditure for Results Project (SEEFOR), an interventionist project of the World Bank and European Union (EU), has extended activities in Delta State by two years.

    Project Coordinator Mr. Benson Ojoko told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Asaba the extension was to make up for the two years of delay in the beginning of the programme, noting that it took off in 2013 instead of 2011.

    He said: “Knowing that the delay will affect the achievement of the objectives of the programme, the sponsors saw the need to extend the project by two years.

    “It is also because most of the states  implementing the project have said if given further opportunity, they will employ more people than the number originally targeted.’’

    Ojoko added that the extension was because the EU provided complementary financing to the original project as conceived by the World Bank.

    He said the financing was a non-repayable grant, adding that it was meant to help realise the objectives of the SEEFOR programme.

    The coordinator said the extension of the programme would help the state deliver on the key performance indicator assigned to it.

    NAN reports that in Delta, SEEFOR has carried out road maintenance, refuse collection and disposal.

  • 130,000 pupils for Cross River feeding project

    THE Cross River State government has announced that the feeding of 130, 000 pupils in about 1, 100 public pre-primary, primary and junior secondary schools in the state would begin  in six weeks. The aim, according to government, is to drive pupils’enrolment in schools and ensure a high nutritional value.

    The state Coordinator and Special Adviser of the Home Grown School Feeding Programme, Mr Gabriel Okulaja, spoke during a workshop organised by his office in collaboration with the Federal Government Special Investment Programme of the Office of the Vice President.

    “We also have to enhance the value chain which has to do with the agricultural sector. We want to grow a local economy that would ensure we have sustainable communities,” Okulaja said.

    He continued: “We are to start feeding children in schools in about six weeks. A lot of work has been done. The first level is getting the schools, which we identified. We have also identified the number of vendors we need. The programme provides for a number of people to be fed by a number of vendors. A vendor is supposed to do a maximum of 150 per day. We have agreed on the state implementation framework, and the menus. We now go into the next level, which is the final screening of the vendors, which relates to their medicals and a training based on the outcome of this workshop.

    “An estimated number of pupils has not been fixed yet. We are still verifying the numbers. But what we have captured is about 130, 000. That is for the entry level. The final number would be out in about two weeks. Benefitting schools will be about 1,100 schools across the state. We are looking at nothing less than 1,000 vendors.”

    A communiqué at the end of the workshop signed by Chairman, Etaba Okpa Etaba, and secretary, Sir Demort Achor as well as six other members, called for the establishment and domestication of a policy for the state home grown school feeding programme.

    They also called for the supply of improved seeds and seedlings, fertilisers, agro-chemicals to small-scale farmers and building capacity on improved farm practices to boost local production of agricultural produce, among others.

     

  • AEDC launches business process reform project

    AEDC launches business process reform project

    The Management of Abuja Electricity Distribution (AEDC) has launched the company’s Business Process Reengineering (BPR) project, which is a two-year project aimed at instituting a better work culture, greater productivity and improved customer service delivery.
    The 76 employees, who were selected as ‘Change Champions’, with the special task of driving the reform project, were unveiled at the launch.
    Managing Director Ernest Mupwaya urged workers to strive towards excellence in their respective duties. He enjoined them to ensure honesty, integrity and be “customer-centred” in line with the company’s values.
    A statement at the weekend by AEDC’s Head of Public Relations and Media, Ahmed Shekarau, said Mupwaya reminded the workers they cannot continue to do things the same way and expect different result.
    He told them with the privatisation of the power sector, customers’ expectations from the company were high, stressing the need for them to adjust for improved service delivery.
    Coordinator of the project Mrs. Clara Musama announced that in the first phase of the project, which began last April, 136 business processes were mapped, 20 of which are totally new processes and are now ready for implementation.
    She added that some of the processes were being tested in the field.
    Mrs. Musama said the approved processes were arrived at after 40 workshops between April and November, and announced that a new company-wide organisational structure, which is aligned to the new processes, will be implemented soon.

  • AEDC launches business process reform project

    The Management of Abuja Electricity Distribution (AEDC) has launched the company’s Business Process Reengineering (BPR) project, which is a two-year project aimed at instituting a better work culture, greater productivity and improved customer service delivery.

    The 76 employees, who were selected as ‘Change Champions’, with the special task of driving the reform project, were also unveiled at the launch.

    Managing Director Ernest Mupwaya urged workers to strive towards excellence in their respective duties. He enjoined them to ensure honesty, integrity and be “customer-centred” in line with the company’s values.

    A statement at the weekend by AEDC’s Head of Public Relations and Media, Ahmed Shekarau, said Mupwaya reminded the workers they cannot continue to do things the same way and expect different result.

    He also reminded them that with the privatisation of the power sector, customers’ expectations from the company were high, stressing the need for them to adjust for improved service delivery.

    Coordinator of the project Mrs. Clara Musama announced that in the first phase of the project, which began last April, 136 business processes were mapped, 20 of which are totally new processes and are now ready for implementation.

    She added that some of the processes were being tested in the field.

    Mrs. Musama said the approved processes were arrived at after 40 workshops between April and November, and announced that a new company-wide organisational structure, which is aligned to the new processes, will be implemented soon.

  • Lawmaker, commissioner bicker over disruption of project

    The lawmaker representing Remo in the House of Representatives, Ladi Adebutu, has lamented the disruption of his constituency water project.

    Adebutu accused the Ogun State government of disrupting the project at Lugoke in Iperu-Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area.

    The lawmaker, who spoke with reporters at the weekend, alleged that Commissioner for Finance Wale Osinowo, masterminded the disruption.

    He said Osinowo, who hails from the area, led thugs to stop construction at the site.

    Adebutu, who is the chairman of the Committee on Rural Development, explained that the project was part of the goodwill of the Federal Government towards providing clean, potable and safe water.

    “Unfortunately, what we are seeing now is that the government is denying its people the opportunity to get safe water for reasons other than good sense. It is really sad and quite unfortunate,” he said.

    According to him, the incident has been reported to the leadership of the National Assembly.

    The leader of Lugoke community, Aliu Fatoye, appealed to the government to allow the community host the project.

    But Osinowo denied the allegation.

    The commissioner said: “How can I invade the site? Am I a politician? My mother lives in the area where the project is sited and I only went there to visit her. Is there a crime in that?

    “When I got there, there was disorderliness and I tried to settle the matter. What I saw was that the project  supervisor was very rude.”

  • ‘Diversified economy boosts demand for project managers’

    Demand for project managers is expected to rise as government intensifies plans to diversify the economy from oil, Ericsson Nigeria Director of Consulting and Systems Integration, Oluwatosin Agbetusin has said.

    He said an increasingly diversified portfolio has created a wave of projects ranging from infrastructure to mining—and an increased demand for project talent.

    He said the project management profession has become so popular over the past five years, such that a huge number of professionals are switching careers to join the field. “More projects in the pipeline mean more hiring of project talent,” adding that  there are more project management jobs available than experienced professionals to fill them.

    “I see 2017 bringing more push for additional project management skills and certifications. Beyond the Project Management Professional (PMP) credential, I expect more organisations in Nigeria will seek out practitioners with specific skills and certifications in risk, scheduling, Agile, programme management and portfolio management,” he stated.

    The National Bureau of Statistics forecasts that the Federal Government’s renewed spend on projects and cuts on wasteful spending will spark an annual average of 5.4 per cent expansion between 2017 and 2020.

    Agbetusin aligns with this policy direction which he says will have a ripple effect on demand for the skills that project managers bring to the table.

    “As the profession matures in Nigeria, so do the expectations of hiring managers,” he observed. “Project management skills and credentials that might have been viewed as a bonus a decade ago are now listed in job adverts as mandatory requirements. Risk management skills are more apt to be discussed now than in the past, when attention was largely limited to schedule and cost control.”