The Nation Newspaper

Tag: seeks support

  • Asiwaju Musulumi seeks support for Ooni-elect

    The Asiwaju Musulumi of Yorubaland, Asiwaju Khamis Olatunde Badmus has called on Yoruba sons and daughters, especially  the people of the ancient town of Ile-Ife to give  maximum support to the Ooni-elect, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.

    In a statement made available to the newsmen during the week in Osogbo by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs, Alh. Dawood Ajetunmobi, Asiwaju Badmus described the rancor free way in which Oba Adeyeye was unanimously selected as a sign that he is acceptable to all and sundry.

    “Though, the vacuum left by the late Ooni, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse ll, is a big one but with the support of the people for the new monarch, the vacuum will be less felt,” the statement read in part.

    While congratulating Oba Adeyeye on his emergence as new Ooni, Asiwaju Badmus prayed the new monarch will be bestowed with wisdom and long life to take the ancient town to an enviable height.

  • Customs boss seeks support from seaport economic regulator on cargo declaration

    Customs boss seeks support from seaport economic regulator on cargo declaration

    The new Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Col Hameed Ali (rtd), yesterday paid a working visit to the seaport economic regulator, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, where he sought the support of the regulator in the area of cargo declaration by importers and their clearing agents.

    Ali, who said he realised that there are many agencies in the maritime sector, specifically stated that the creation of a synergy between the Customs and Shippers Council has become necessary in order to arrest high-level under-declaration by shippers.

    “I have seen that 75 per cent of revenue comes from the maritime sector. It is a necessity that we must create an avenue, a forum for synergy and for friendship so that we move this nation forward.

    “We have set machinery in motion to iron out these issues, but let me mention here that many times, manifests come to us with a lot of problems. Some of them don’t contain exact descriptions of goods.

    “This is one area we are finding a little difficulty to work. We need to create an understanding to further cement the bond between us for everyday interaction. We will be very glad to be of assistance to the council,” Ali said.

    In his response, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, NSC, Mr Hassan Bello, said lack of collaboration between maritime agencies has been the bane of development of the sector.

    “The current under achievement in maritime is largely due to uncoordinated activities of the agencies. With you in charge, we believe this will change. It is a myriad of responsibilities for the agencies that makes the functions overlap,” he said.

    In a presentation, Bello intimated the Customs boss with the activities of the council and its role as the seaport economic regulator.

    He said as an agent for economic development, the council has observed that the high cost of shipment increases the cost to the consumer.

    “The cargo is very important but the owner of the cargo is not protected in the system that sees the service providers- terminal operator, shipping lines and insurance companies as the giant factors.

    “So we are to ensure efficient and timely delivery of shipping services under a favourable cost input.”

  • Adeola seeks support for social media

    Adeola seeks support for social media

    The Managing Director, Sterling Bank Plc, Yemi Adeola has said the premier Social Media Awards Africa held in Lagos at the weekend,  was designed to recognise and celebrate excellence, creativity and enterprise in the use of social media – through its tools and platforms by individuals and organisations across Africa.

    He said the event was an opportunity to showcase the very best in Social Media on the African continent and reward individuals and institutions that have added value to the continent through the unique use of social media.

    “We at Sterling Bank are more than happy to associate with this noble initiative because of our focus and commitment to advancing human and social development across Africa. We are also interested in growing relevance of social media around the world with Africa in particular,” he said.

    Adeola said Sterling Bank cannot overlook the importance of social media in today’s society and the increasing role it plays in the lives of people on a daily basis, hence the need to identify with the Award.

    He said beside providing a platform for the bank to further consolidate its position as a leading light in the social media space, the bank has taken this project as one of our Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

    A member, Advisory Board, Social Media Africa Awards,  Mrs. Ini Onuk, said with the four major categories and 15 awards, the SMAA is a genuine, timely intervention for promoting distinctive creativity, peerless innovation and pervasive developments on the African Continent through the best use of social media platforms and the rest of the social web.

    “Social media has reconfigured the way in which all businesses and public entities now communicate. Open-sourced and inherently radical, it has created a space adverse to the tight image controls that brands once successfully exercised,” she said.

    She said that before now, it was almost impossible to reach certain brands, persons and products but with social media, marginalised dissenters can now make mince meat of the mightiest multinational brands thanks to an explosion of public platforms that have created unlimited venues for sharing facts, spreading rumours and propagating aggressive calls to action.

  • Fashola seeks support to improve schools

    Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola has urged individuals and organisations to assist the government by providing infrastructure in public schools.

    Fashola spoke yesterday at a breakfast meeting to appreciate stakeholders that have keyed into the government’s Support Our Schools Initiative.

    He said it was necessary for individuals and organisations to invest in the training of future leaders.

    Fashola said his experience at his alma matter, Birchfreeman, shortly after he became governor, and a story he read in a newspaper propelled his administration, through the Ministry of Education, to inaugurate the initiative, which he said has been of immense benefit to many schools across the state.

    He said: “Not long after I became governor, some of my aides and I were talking about schools and I told them that I was going to attend my school’s Old Boys’ meeting, but inside me, I was planning to show them my classroom and desk.

    “But when we got to the school, there was no building, talk less a classroom. Then Yusuf Olaniyonu wrote a piece in This Day and that was a wakeup call for me. He said everybody must go back to where he or she came from and give back.”

    Fashola hailed the various contributions towards the initiative, adding that the breakfast meeting was to render account of what the government has received and how it was spent.

    He said: “The impact is already being felt. The performance of our students in last year’s West African Examination Council (WAEC) examination is a testimony that it has started manifesting results.”

    The governor said his administration is working towards evolving a model where education will meet the needs of the society.

    He said: “Our graduates must be produced in the areas where our economy needs them. That is why we are changing some of the curriculum in our schools to address our present challenges. We have introduced some courses in our tertiary institutions because we are looking ahead. Impossible is not an option for us; it is possible and we will deliver.”

    Fashola said with over 1,000 primary schools and about 663 junior and senior secondary schools, the government realises the need to continue to retrain teachers to deliver quality education.

    He said: “We realise schools do not teach; teachers do, so there is a lot of teachers’ training going on. Last year, about 7,000 teachers were trained and the training is continuous.”

    Commissioner for Education Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye thanked the donors and said more support was needed in the area of providing hygienic environment for children.