The Nation Newspaper

Tag: upgrade

  • Ebonyi begins upgrade of airport’s runway

    Ebonyi begins upgrade of airport’s runway

    Ebonyi State government has commenced the upgrade of the Chuba Okadigbo’s Airport runway to international standard, as a way to avert crashes.

    The State Commissioner on Aviation and Technology, Dr. Ngozi Obichukwu, said that expatriates have been contracted to upgrade the Airport runway.

    Obichukwu noted that the upgrade of the Chuba Okadigbo’s Airport runway, from concrete to standard asphalting, is to enhance the operation of foreign airlines and other flight movements at the airport.

    She said that the governor of the state, Francis Nwifuru has engaged security agencies to protect lives and properties, especially the travellers, and assured the foreign airlines of adequate safe landing at the Airport.

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    Obichukwu said: “The runway is of concrete, instead of asphalt. That’s why the governor quickly dispatched experts who are knowledgeable in the construction of the runway to see how the runway can be upgraded to international standards.

     “The expatriates are here and as you can see, they are working tirelessly to ensure that the runway meets international standards. The United Nigeria Airways landed here and requested that the concrete be upgraded to standard asphalting.

    “The governor Francis Nwifuru has opened discussion with CCECC and CDC construction companies to ensure that the runway is constructed to international standard.

    She called on the travellers to be patient, as the runway upgrade will soon be completed, adding that: “Chuba Okadigbo’s Airport has overtaken other Airports in South East region, and needed to be upgraded,” he stated.

    Obichukwu however, applauded the governor for the payment of five months’ salaries to over 500 airport staff that were recruited by the previous administration in the state.

  • Ekiti to upgrade staff development centre to institute

    Ekiti to upgrade staff development centre to institute

    The Ekiti State government is set to upgrade the in-house Staff Development Centre to a full-fledged institute for public servants.

    The Head of Service (HOS), Dr. Olugbenga Faseluka, broke the news yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, during the second convocation ceremony of the centre.

    The HOS said Governor Ayodele Fayose had approved the advancement of officers in the secretarial cadre from their previous cadre bar to a more advanced level.

    The gesture, according to Faseluka, is a display of the commitment of the current administration to making public service more proficient while prioritising the welfare of workers.

    Faseluka said the development centre, which caters for the training of the secretary cadre only, would be upgraded to become a vibrant citadel of learning that can handle the training of all cadres in public service.

    Emphasising that the government was aware that training was key to a better, more professional public service, Faseluka said Fayose relocated the centre to its present site with state-of-the-art Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment during his first term in office.

    He said: “There is no gainsaying the fact that the centre has contributed tremendously to the manpower needs in the secretarial cadres of public service and private/corporate sector of Ekiti State and sister-states.

    “I congratulate the workers and students for maintaining the quality and standard the centre is known for.”

    The Permanent Secretary in the Office of Establishments and Training, Mr. Olusesan Alabi, noted that the centre was established to build human capacity and ensure career progression of workers in the service of Ekiti State government.

    He stressed the importance of exposing the public service to regular training to achieve effective service delivery.

    The centre’s principal, Mrs. Mercy Ipinmoroti, acknowledged the support of the DAWN Commission and the Department for International Development (DFID) for the proposed upgrade of the centre.

    He said the establishment was known for its consistent pursuit of excellence, adding that it performed well in the last national secretariat examination with an overall aggregate of 97 per cent.

  • Kwara SUBEB to upgrade 70-year old school

    The Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (KWSUBEB) says that plans are afoot to upgrade the 70-year-old Alore Primary School in Ilorin West Local Government Area of the state to a junior secondary school.

    Former acting director, Finance and Supply in KWSUBEB and a permanent Secretary Designate, Dr Ahmed Sebutu told reporters this in Ilorin at the sideline of 70th anniversary of the school.

    Sebutu said the government’s decision was part of the programmes to create ”space for infrastructural development” in the school.

    “The school has produced great men and women who have contributed to the development of the community and the state as a whole,” he said.

    He called on parents as the ”first school” of every child to be alive to their responsibilities to ensure the success of their wards in school.

    An alumnus and member of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Abdulrafiu Abdulrahman said that the assembly would ensure the inclusion of the school among those to be renovated under the state capital projects this year.

    Abdulrauf who represents Ilorin Northwest constituency urged all old pupils of the school to rally round to provide teaching aids and other learning materials to complement government efforts.

    In his lecture, a lecturer at the Kwara State University, Dr Abdulkadir Sambaki, called for proper attention to primary education as it is the bedrock for the overall development of any nation.

    The teacher of Islamic studies, urged the Ilorin people to discountenance myths and embrace science education, saying there was “no contradiction between Al-Qua’an and science.”

  • 70-year-old Kwara school for upgrade

    70-year-old Kwara school for upgrade

    The Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (KWSUBEB) has said it will upgrade the 70-year-old Alore Primary School in Ilorin West Local Government Area to a Junior Secondary School.

    A former Acting Director, Finance and Supply, Dr Ahmed Sebutu, sapoke during the school’s 70th anniversary.

    The lawmaker representing Ilorin North West, Abdulrafiu Abdulrahman, also said the House would ensure that the school was included among those to be renovated this year.

    Sebutu said the decision was part of government’s plan to create “space for infrastructural development” in the school.

    He urged parents to be alive to their responsibilities to ensure the success of their children and wards in school.

     

  • ‘Nigeria, others must upgrade systems to combat cyber threats’

    ‘Nigeria, others must upgrade systems to combat cyber threats’

    Nigeria and other African countries need to drastically improve cyber security and cyber crime detection systems to combat emerging cyber threats, Vice President of Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa at Check Point Software Technologies, Steve McWhirter, has said.

    According to the company’s latest global threat index released in October, Botswana (4th globally) is the most threatened country on the continent, followed by Morocco (7), Cameroon (8), Egypt (12), Nigeria (13), Malawi (17), Uganda (18), then Zambia (20).

    Speaking at the Check Point Experience 2017 conference in South Africa, McWhirter said the continent has too much of the old stuff and needs to upgrade.

    He said: “If that were to happen, it would lift the profile of protection much higher and there’s no doubt that people look around and pick the least common denominator, your best defence is ensuring that they don’t go after you.

    “If you look at the threat landscape, you have threats that you know about which are very easy to defend against, but the threats to really worry about are the ones never heard of, and that’s where the continent hasn’t managed its transition yet.”

    According to ITWeb Africa, also speaking on the occasion, the Chief Strategist, Threat Prevention for APAC, Middle East, and Africa at Check Point, Tony Jarvis, said there are a lot of new and sophisticated attacks on countries, underlining the need for governments to do more across the continent.

    He said: “When we look at what’s happening, at what we call the threat landscape, we essentially see a lot of new and sophisticated nation-state attacks.

    “These are attacks developed by countries that have domestic resources, massive budgets, and very talented individuals, designed perhaps initially to infiltrate a specific victim. What has happened recently is that some of these attacks, which are very powerful, have been leaked to not just the hands of very professional attackers, but essentially into the general public.”

    Research released by other IT security firms, including Symantec and Fortinet, reflect a similar sentiment.

    Symantec’s cybercrime and cyber security trends in Africa 2016 report, stated: “With a young population that is rapidly adopting new technologies, Africa is on the verge of an internet boom. To keep pace, Africa needs to urgently address efforts to combat cybercrime and improve its cybersecurity posture.”

    Fortinet’s Global Threat Landscape Report for Q2 2017, 90 per cent of organisations recorded attacks targeting system and device vulnerabilities that were at least three years old.

    Despite Africa having a higher threat landscape compared to global counterparts, McWhirter said the continent does not experience as much cyber crime.

    He says this is because the continent is somewhat removed from the international landscape.

    “That’s not a bad thing when it comes to this topic, because it’s not top of mind to criminals. But if people think that is a ‘get out of jail free card’, it’s not because as long as you’ve got the internet you’re exposed, it’s pure and simple. In terms of cyber threats, I’d say the continent is getting its proportionate share – but a lot of that is because of the remoteness, however, you do not assume that continues. When people go after personal data on the internet, there are no borders or countries.”

  • Fitch Ratings may upgrade FBN Subordinated Notes

    Fitch Ratings may upgrade FBN Subordinated Notes

    Fitch Ratings has placed First Bank of Nigeria’s (FBN) subordinated notes, which are rated ‘CCC’/’RR5′, on Rating Watch Positive (RWP). Placing a debt on RWP means that rating for the instrument may likely be upgraded.

    The FBN notes were issued through FBN Finance Company BV, a special purpose vehicle, which was established to provide funding for the bank.

    FBN’s other ratings are unaffected by this rating action. The rating action follows publication of an exposure draft on December 12.

    The exposure draft, Fitch said, includes a proposal to append ‘+’ or ‘-’ modifiers to ‘CCC’ Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (and long-term debt ratings) to denote relative status/creditworthiness within this rating level. The subordinated debt of FBN is rated one notch below FBN’s ‘b-’ Viability Rating (VR).

    If modifiers are introduced to the ‘CCC’ IDR category as proposed, the one notch differential would be maintained and FBN’s subordinated debt would be rated ‘CCC+’. The notching from the VR reflects higher-than-average loss severity for subordinated debt relative to senior debt. No additional notches for non-performance risk have been applied.

    The ratings on the subordinated notes are sensitive to a change in FBN’s VR. Fitch expects to resolve the RWP within the next six months upon the conclusion of the Exposure Draft period. If the final criteria are substantially similar to the exposure draft, then the rating on the subordinated notes is likely to be upgraded to ‘CCC+’ after the final criteria are published.

  • Egbin repairs upgrade cost $400m, says MD

    • Begins 1500Mw expansion plan

    The management of Egbin Power Plc has said the owners of the largest Nigerian power plant, Sahara Group, have invested $400 million in the plant since they took over the company in November, 2013 to date.

    Egbin Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Dallas Peavey, stated this during his presentation on the activities of the company to a delegation of the United States congressmen led by Senator Chris Coons of Delaware and accompanied by the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, to the power plant at Ijede, Lagos.

    Peavey said: “At the time of takeover of Egbin Power, the power plant was operating at less than 30 per cent capacity and Unit-06 had not been operational for over 10 years. Despite the extensive regulatory challenges, KERL have successfully moved the plant to original generation levels and operate the assets based upon international standard position, investing substantially, over $400 million, in the plant since take over. The Egbin Power Plant is now operating at over 88 per cent with Unit-06 returned to full original operational service.

    “Prior to the privatization of the plant in November 2013, Egbin averaged generation of below 240 megawatts per hour due to the dismal operational state of its six units. At its lowest point, only two of the six units were partially operational.

    “The Power plant was saddled with an excess of over 1000 employees with an alarming number of aging experienced workforce approaching retirement.  The Administrative Building was in a deplorable state, un-safe and a very bad occupational environment which made it difficult to work in for the employees.”

    He also stated that the management wants to increase the capacity of the plant by 1500mw by 2020. Currently, Egbin’s capacity is 1320Mw, so on completion of the expansion, the total capacity of the plant will be 2820Mw.

    “Everything is now working and fully usable. We have done major changes and overhaul of facilities. We have also employed 107 engineer graduates from universities in Nigeria. We have invested heavily on Egbin. In the next month, we will be building a training facility for Egbin.

    “We have upgraded the Distributed Control System (DCS) to Units 4, 5 and 1 to the latest modern technology available. The remaining DCS unit upgrades are being performed concurrently with the remaining unit overhauls.

    “We have carried out replacements and repairs of major essential parts of the plant such as of re-tubing specific sections of the boilers, replacement of the high pressure heaters and switch gear-breaker system, among others,” he added.

    Fielding question from reporters, Director and Co-founder of Sahara Group, Mr. Tonye Cole, said: “The privatisation that happened in Nigeria is first of its kind in Africa. Everyone knows that when Nigeria succeeds, other African countries will succeed. This is the reason we have put so much efforts so that it does not fail.

    “We have had a lot of discussions with people engaged in power, and the most important thing for the power sector in Nigeria has to do with the policies, advocacy and making sure everything is in place to enhance investment growth.

    “When we took over, nobody was coming from the university to work in the power sector, so we had very aging population of engineers in the power sector and now we have to fill that gap very well. So we have been able to make the business good for the young people to come in and the only way we can do that, is to make this a success. We need to ensure that the power sector in Nigeria does not fail.”

     

  • Will Senate upgrade Yaba Tech, Ilaro Poly?

    Will Senate upgrade Yaba Tech, Ilaro Poly?

    The Senate is gearing up to upgrade two first class polytechnics in the country to universities of technology.

    On Thursday, April 6th, 2017, the Federal University of Technology, Ilaro, Establishment Bill 2017 and Federal University of Technology, Yaba Establishment Bill 2017, passed the first reading in the Senate.

    Essentially, the bills seek the upgrade of two prominent tertiary educational institutions, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos State and Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State into universities of technology.

    The two private member bills, promoted by Senator Solomon Adeola (Lagos West), were well received by members of the upper legislative chamber.

    The bills are likely to receive accelerated treatment due to what a senator described as their overarching importance.

    The need to continue to expand the border line of education in the country was also said to favour the bills.

    The Senate Business and Rules Committee whose duty it is to list bills for consideration, is said to have gone far in preparing the bills for the crucial second reading.

    No doubt, the consideration of the bills will evoke deep feelings in and outside the Senate chamber.

    Public opinion is however expected to weigh heavily in favour of the bills.

    The ever increasing population of Lagos State will be added advantage to the argument for the establishment of higher institutions in the state.

    Senator Adeola said the push for the establishment of federal universities at Yaba, Lagos State and Ilaro in Ogun State is part of his legislative agenda for educational development of the country.

    Speaking on the need for the upgrade of the two institutions into universities, the Lagos West All Progressives Congress lawmaker, Senator Adeola said, “We have serious shortage of spaces for our youths to get requisite and quality education. These two institutions have excelled in time past in providing middle and top grade level of human resources for the nation. Their upgrade will advance their capacities to further develop our youth for the challenges of a technological society.”

    Findings showed that among the three senatorial districts in Ogun State only Ogun West, where the Federal Polytechnic Ilaro is located is without any Federal or State Government owned University.

    Ogun East have Olabisi Onabanjo Univesity, Ago Iwoye and Tai Solarin University of Education both owned by the State government. Recently, the Federal Government approved a university for the district at Ijebu Ife.

    Senator Adeola, hails from Pahayi in Ilaro, where the Federal Polytechnics is located. Apart from mounting serious lobbying of his colleagues at the National Assembly to see reason with him to endorse the bills, Adeola will need other stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Education, National Board for Technical Education to push through the bills.

     

  • Ways to upgrade your LBD this year

    Ways to upgrade your LBD this year

    A little black dress can always be counted on to deliver a best-dressed look with hardly any extra effort. It is the  easiest and safest of colours! 

     

    How to style it

    An animal print or floral pattern jacket is a great way to accessorize your favourite little black dress.

    Add a men’s style tuxedo jacket for stylish look

    Go for black shirt dress in-place of gown, its work wonder!    

    Trade micro-minis and deep plunges for the off-the-shoulder trend, which is one of the newest ways to show skin. 

    Peter-colar-This is perfect for you next office soiree.

  • Govt votes N567.4b for rail upgrade

    The Federal Government has set aside N567.4 billion ($1.68 billion) for the upgrade and modernisation of the Kano-Kaduna segment of the Lagos-Kano rail line.

    The contract for the project has been awarded to a Chinese firm, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).

    According to a statement endorsed by Yi Er San Ri and Liunian Jiuyue, on behalf of the construction giant at the weekend, the two-lane standard gauge design will travel at a maximum driving speed of 150kilometres per hour (km/hr).

    In context, the rail line can move as fast as travelling from Lagos to Ibadan in 48 mins. This is expected to be faster than the Kaduna-Abuja rail line.

    CCECC also signed a contractn worth $3.4 billion for the construction of the Calabar-Port Harcourt Segment 1, which aims to extend the rail line between Calabar and Port Harcourt to Onne Deep Seaport.

    In 2006, the Chinese firm signed the Nigerian Railway Modernisation Project, to upgrade and modernise transportation between Lagos-Ibadan, Ibadan-Ilorin, Ilorin-Minna, Minna-Abuja, Abuja-Kaduna, and Kaduna to Kano.

    The contract was signed at $8.3 billion at the time, only for the government to ask for the suspension of the project in 2008.

    According to CCECC, the government later negotiated for the implementation of the Lagos-Ibadan, and Abuja-Kaduna segments of the project.

    The Abuja-Kaduna rail line was delivered on July 13, this year while the Lagos-Ibadan segment remain uncompleted.

    Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi said the newly signed projects would be concluded in two years but CCECC said the project will be concluded in 36 months contradicting.

    Last week, the same Chinese firm, announced that it had won the $1.851 billion Kano city light rail project.