JAMB and awaiting results candidates

http://ift.tt/2lPTNFN

That the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the other day, came up with a new law barring candidates awaiting results from taking the entrance examination into tertiary institutions is draconian, retrogressive and myopic. The pigheaded regulation represents everything that is wrong with education in Nigeria and should be trashed.

The Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo should call JAMB to order. That rule is utterly destructive and should be stopped in the national interest.

Reports say with effect from this year (2017), candidates awaiting results would no longer be eligible to apply for Universities Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

This was disclosed in Abuja by JAMB’s spokesman, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, who stated, categorically, that candidates awaiting results would not be admitted into any institution.

Dr. Benjamin said: “In the cause of conducting admission exercise, many institutions have admitted candidates on merit only for them to discover that such candidates do not have qualified O’ Level results or the right combination for admission and had to delete and start the process all over again. With this, they would have denied other qualified candidates the opportunity for admission.”

He said no candidate will be recommended for admission without his O’ Level result being supplied and that JAMB will insist that candidates supply their result on its website for them to be considered for admission.

To start with, JAMB should be reminded that it is just one of the 17 parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Education and as such has no power or authority to make any law.

If there is need to make any law concerning JAMB entrance, the National Assembly alone is the constitutional authority that can enact it.
JAMB’s mandate is simply implementation as laid down in the Act establishing it. JAMB should not arrogate undue powers to itself outside what the law stipulates.

Decree No. 2 of 1978 (amended by Decree No. 33 of 1989) empowered the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to conduct Matriculation Examination for entry into all universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in Nigeria.

There is nowhere in the law that any category of candidates were excluded from taking the entrance examination. The job of JAMB is to conduct the entrance examination for whosoever is interested and is duly registered.

JAMB has no right under the law to prevent or stop anybody from exercising their constitutional right to education.It is obvious that JAMB’s new regulation is borne out of laziness on its part. The current Board under Prof. Is-haq Oloyede appears unwilling to do a thorough job of sorting candidates, which the Board has done since it began in 1978. The Board now wants the easy way out to the detriment of thousands of candidates and the country.

If JAMB has accommodated candidates awaiting results since 38 years ago and carried out the admission exercise without hitch or complaint, why should the 2017 set be disallowed from taking the same entrance exam?

Second, JAMB is biased against candidates who may not have the requisite O’ Level papers but is silent on the thousands of candidates who have the requisite papers but don’t get admission.

It is common knowledge that possession of requisite admission requirements is no guarantee for admission. There are several other issues involved such as catchment area, choice of university, choice of course, favouritism, bribery and corruption, etc.

JAMB’s regulation would have been innovative if it had said that henceforth, every candidate with the requisite subject combination and minimum cut-off mark would automatically get admission. JAMB should work to expand opportunities for the youths and not constrict their chances.

That is why the new regulation should be voided. If awaiting result candidates are excluded from taking JAMB entrance examination that will drastically reduce the number of candidates seeking admission.

Consequently, from about 1.5 million candidates, which is the annual figure, the number will drop to about 500, 000. That way, JAMB gains by doing less work but taking the same pay while candidates, parents and the nation lose.

If every candidate who has the requisite O’ Level papers were to be given admission, the thousands of candidates who miss admission yearly wouldn’t have missed it.

On average, every year, about 1.5 million candidates sit for JAMB and only about 500,000 are offered admission. The rest, which includes those with complete O’ Level papers are left to their fate.

Since JAMB began, millions of Nigerian youths with requisite five O’ Level papers, including Math and English Language have missed tertiary education not by their fault but because of other circumstances beyond their control, which includes JAMB’s inefficiencies and failures are among. It was JAMB’s failures that led to the introduction of post-JAMB test that is now rested.

It needs to be stressed that JAMB’s entrance examination is primarily for students in the final year of senior secondary school, who wish to proceed to tertiary institutions. They are mostly the candidates who take the entrance while awaiting their WAEC results. Those are the ones JAMB wants to shut out.

Barring this category of candidates is tantamount to punishing the youths for the systemic failures they did not cause. There is no country in the world where a person is forbidden from applying to university or other institutions of higher learning. Any person can apply but it is left to the institutions to evaluate the applications and offer admission to the deserving ones.

Allowing JAMB’s rash and arrogant regulation or rule to stand will erase any little progress the country has recorded in the tertiary education sector. It is a setback for the country.

It is absolutely regrettable and disappointing that JAMB conceived such degenerate idea, which, of course, it has no authority to make and is about imposing it on the country.

Here is a country that is largely illiterate. According to UNESCO, 65 million Nigerians are illiterate and effort is being made to bridge the gap by opening the door for mass education. And here is JAMB shutting the door and working hard to frustrate the effort of government.

In view of the critical importance of education, Nigerians should join forces to stop JAMB from imposing a vicious and cruel regulation against youths aspiring for higher education.

If JAMB stops thousands of youngsters from attempting to get admission into tertiary institutions, many will take to prostitution, kidnapping, armed robbery, Yahoo-Yahoo and other sundry crimes. In today’s tech age, youngsters should be encouraged to aspire higher and not discouraged.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mveScD

Eagles’ camp opens March 20 near Wembley Stadium

http://ift.tt/2lPZoMu

The Super Eagles PHOTO: THENFF.COM.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) yesterday revealed that the Super Eagles will start arriving their Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ealing London on March 20 to begin preparations for their international friendlies against Senegal and Burkina Faso.

The hotel, which will house the 25 invited players and their officials, is about 1.98 miles from Wembley, which is the home of the English national team, the Three Lions.

Nigeria will meet with Senegal and Burkina Faso at the Barnet Stadium on March 23 and 27 respectively.The NFF revealed that Super Eagles’ Coach, Gernot Rohr, who is already in Europe visiting with some of the players, would be on hand to welcome the boys on arrival, while the other coaches, including head coach, Salisu Yusuf, Imama Amapakabo and Alloy Agu, as well as home-based goalkeeper, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, will join the team from Nigeria the same day.

Speaking on preparations for the matches, NFF Secretary General, Mohammed Sanusi said the federation was working with Rohr to ensure the national team is in top shape for the African Nations Cup and World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Cameroun respectively.

He said the body would always assist Rohr to continue his winning streak since he took over the senior national team, adding that the body gave the German the freedom to choose players for the friendly games because they believe he is in the best position to know the good players for the team.

“You should understand that Rohr is on a mission to revamp the Super Eagles and it would not be right for anybody to impose players on him. He has been given the free hand to select players of his choice and the NFF is ready to give him all the support to succeed.

“The friendly games against Senegal and Burkina Faso in London are part of the ways the federation is assisting the coach to build a solid team for Nigeria,” he said.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2lW3B1P

Adeosun commends United Capital Plc domestic investment drive (Read full details)

http://ift.tt/2mj3wVR

Kemi Adeosun

Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun yesterday in Abuja commended the domestic investment drive of United Capital Plc, a leading African financial and investment services Group in Nigeria.

The Minister charged other Nigerian corporate bodies to emulate the good examples of United Capital Plc to invest in infrastructure development as a way of attracting foreign investments as a measure of confidence building. She added that unless this was done, foreign investments would continue to elude Nigeria.

Adeosun gave the charge when the Management of United Capital Plc sensitized the public on the group’s recent two Initial Public Offers [IPOs] of: $10 million United Capital Nigerian Eurobond Fund and the N2billion United Capital Wealth for Women Fund.
It also presented the United Capital Nigerian Power Sector Report, which was just published.

“There is no magic to attracting foreign investment into the country. The local investors must attract the foreign investors here by themselves investing to demonstrate a sense of confidence in the economy,” she said.

On the outlook for the Nigerian economy, Adeosun noted that government was committed to increasing capital funding for critical infrastructure from 10% to 30% of government expenditure.

Managing Director of United Capital Asset Management, Jude Chiemeka said: “The current economic challenges have altered investment interests in the market.
We designed these new products specifically to suit the changing needs of our clients.

“Our Mutual Funds have consistently offered attractive dividend returns for investors and we expect our two new funds to follow suit.”

He said the United Capital Nigerian Eurobond Fund was an open-ended mutual fund that would be invested in dollar denominated Eurobonds.

Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2lQo9Mx

Tribute to the teacher’s teacher, Ekwelie, at 80

http://ift.tt/2kSNOzu

Sylvanus Ajana Ekwelie

The year 1984 must have been one of the proudest moments in the history of Mass Communication Department, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. It was the year Kingsley Osadolor, a product of the department, had emerged the best graduating student, with a cumulative score of 3.84 out of a possible 4.0. At the convocation, he had given a valedictory speech said to be the best in the history of the university. Dr. Pat Utomi, another alumnus of the department, had just served as Special Assistant to President Shagari. At 27, he was one of the youngest Nigerians to serve in that capacity. Other alumni of the department – Innocent Oparadike, Osaro Isokpan, Ike Emeagwali, and a host of others – were making waves in their chosen fields. The department certainly had reasons to be proud. In October that year, we, the “new Jacksonites”, were even prouder to have gained admission into such a famed department.

The attainments of the products of the department were an indication of the future ahead of us. The lecturers we had were, perhaps, the best the university had in any department at the time. We had this charismatic young lecturer in his early 30s then, called Dr. Charles Okigbo, with about five degrees; Dr. Ralp Okonkwor, then the Orator of the university, as huge in physique as in intellect; Dr. PC Agba, E.N. Ume-Nwagbo; Dr. Idemili, and then the Head of Department, Dr. (later, Prof.) Sylvanus Ajana Ekwelie.

Professor Ekwelie, born in Achalla, Anambra State, in 1936, had graduated best student from the department in 1967 and soon after, had proceeded to the University of Wisconsin in the U.S., where he earned a PH.D in Journalism. He had taught in some American universities before returning to his alma mater to head the department in the early seventies.

Ekwelie took us, the first year students, in Introduction to Mass Communication and Elements of Journalistic Style, perhaps the most important courses for us at the time. He was always smartly dressed – dark suits and bright ties, mostly red. During evening classes, he dressed in short-sleeved shirts, properly pressed and tucked in. His sense of dressing was as impeccable as his clarity of thought. Just about 5ft.8ins, slightly balding and with a bit of “stomach,” he walked in very confident and measured steps, with his head held high in a literal sense. He once told us that his reason for taking us in the first year was to “smoothen the rough edges” we had come to the department with. He knew a bit of just about anything under sun. With him teaching us, we realized how little we knew. However, after every lecture under him, we felt an inch taller. No one needed to compel us to attend his classes. We knew what we would miss if we did not attend. He was determined that we would not leave his classes as “ignorant” as you came in. In the first few weeks, he had asked each of us to raise our fingers, and asked each person: “show me your pinkie. And your index”. It was astonishing how many adults did not know the finger called the pinkie.

In Elements of Journalistic Style, one of our daily routines as first year Mass Communication students under him was to rise by 5am to listen to the news bulletin on BBC World Service. He wanted us to know what was happening in the world, but more importantly, he wanted us to learn how words were pronounced. He was as much offended by wrong pronunciation as by wrong usage of words. From BBC he wanted us to learn the length people could go to ensure that names of people and places were properly pronounced. He believed that it was only laziness that could make a journalist not to pronounce a name correctly. For any name of person or place, there must be somebody familiar with the pronunciation. Seek out that person and learn from him. So he would normally ask somebody, “how do you pronounce your name?” And he would repeat it, with the right inflections and accents. No mistakes. He told us about the broadcasting greats like Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Barbara Walters and the things that made them great.

He was particular about how you wrote. One of his most famous quotes was from John Sheffield: Of all those arts in which the wise excel, Nature’s chief masterpiece is writing well. And Professor did write well and still does. Short sentences. Every word tells. He had no regard for long winding sentences and people who wrote them. He would say they tried to “hide their ignorance in verbiage and grandiloquence”. He spent several weeks teaching the use of various punctuation marks. He would tell you, never get tired of using your commas at the appropriate places. Separate the town from the state, and the state from the country with commas (Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria).

His sense of humour was unequalled and whatever he said had his signature humour. Once in a class, two students were arguing about the pronunciation of the word Zoology. One said it was Zuoloji. The other said it was Zuuloji. He just allowed them to monkey on. Then one asked him, “Sir, what do you think”? He responded calmly, with a shrug, “Nothing. Only that both of you are fools, because, this is the only country in the world where people argue about a word that is in the dictionary.” And then he raised his voice and continued, “the dictionary is there to teach you three things: the spelling, the meaning, and the pronunciation. Class, shall we proceed?” That was how he ended it. Another day, he had asked a question and answers began to fly around. After one person’s contribution, he kept quiet for a while and when he spoke, he said, “that is a voluminous display of ignorance”. And to the next person, he responded, “if you were to write the constitution, half the country would go to jail, because nobody would understand the laws of the land”.

Sometimes, his humour was self-abasing. Once, while teaching us how to conduct interviews, he had volunteered himself as the interviewee. And he had authorized us to “ask anything, no matter how foolish”. It became an opportunity to ask anything indeed, from the sensible to the inane. One asked, “Sir, did you have many girl friends while in the university and why”. His answer, “ No. I did not. In the university, I had three shirts and two pairs of trousers, and not particularly handsome. With that profile, you are not a darling with the ladies. So, I consoled myself with my books and it paid off”. Next question was, why he was not yet a full professor, despite his brilliance. Did he feel frustrated? His answer was that, earlier in life, all he had wanted to be was a headmaster in his village school. “Now standing here and teaching you, undergraduates and even some graduate students, I have come a long way. So, nobody is frustrating me”.

He was very a compassionate and observant lecturer. While recuperating from a malaria and typhoid attack, I had lost some weight and once bumped into Prof on the halfway of the department. He spoke to me, “ young man, you are not looking well. Is it hunger or disease or both?” It might have sounded rather caustic, but I was really impressed to know that he cared enough to note how I looked.

Prof. Ekwelie belonged to a generation that considered teaching a sacred calling and believed that the students under them were to be protected. As a much younger lecturer, he was known to have stood up to a much senior lecturer who was messing around with a student. Characteristically, he had told the senior, “sex is a conquest game. If you think you are handsome and rich, go outside the campus and impress women. But please, leave these defenseless girls alone”. He was also very fair and just. He was not afraid of scoring anybody an “A” or an “F”. You got whatever you merited, irrespective of the number in the class that merited those grades.

Like all very brilliant people, he had that impatience bordering on arrogance. He could not just stand unnecessary mistakes and people who made such. Once, he was rumoured to have refused to attend a meeting called by the Vice Chancellor. His reason: there were so many errors in the Notice of Meeting that he told them such could not have come from the office of the Vice Chancellor of UNN. At an event, he had risen from his seat to correct a very senior and highly respected professor who was mispronouncing the word “monkey”.

As his students, we felt bad that he was not writing enough articles in the newspapers. We wanted “the world to feel him”. But his decision not to write was deliberate. He said he did not believe in “vanity publishing”, and he did not want “some ignorant people” in the newspapers to “edit their ignorance” into his writing. He told the story of how some of them were trying to correct his writing and in the process made mistakes he called “abominable”. However, if he did not write much, the little he wrote was celebrated. He had an article on Traditional Communication in Africa (not exactly sure again), first published in the Journal of Communication. It was so powerful it was reproduced in numerous other publications. His later book, A Master Style Guide published in 2005, is perhaps the best book in that area, after Elements of Style by Strunk and

White, which was the book he had recommended to his students in those days.
He came back to us in our final year, as if to confirm that his labour in our first year would indeed bear fruits in the field of communication. His passion showed in the anger he displayed, when final-year student gave an astonishingly wrong answer to a question he had asked in the class. Without any trace of his characteristic humour, he spoke “in a few weeks from now, we will give you a certificate, telling the world that we have found you worthy in character and in learning. If you give that kind of answer again, I will make you do not get a certificate from this department”. He was that jealous for the honour of the department.

Over the years, Professor Ekwelie has produced and influenced generations of the best of breed in communication, marketing, finance, oil and gas, public service, the academia and indeed all walks of life.

Ekwelie turned 80 and last weekend, his family, friends and numerous former students gathered in his hometown of Achalla to celebrate his life. The great joy is that his life is being celebrated while is still alive. It is therefore a great honour to write this tribute to one of the most brilliant and accomplished teachers of mass communication this side of heaven. Happy Birthday, Prof.!
• Emma Esinnah, Mass Communication, UNN, graduating class of 1988, is Country Director of Curves International

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2loJD09

Bank worker challenges termination of appointment

http://ift.tt/2kSRKAi

National Industrial Court, Abuja

A senior member of Ecobank Nigeria Limited has sued it before the National Industrial Court, (NIC), Lagos for wrongful termination of employment.
The plaintiff, Gbite Mathew Adegoke is claiming N1.2 billion as damages and special damages having suffered near paralysis in the course of being on official duty.
  
The bank has however denied owing him any duty of care save what is established in his contractual employment.In a statement of facts filed by Adegoke’s counsel, Jiti Ogunye, the claimant stated that he was employed by Oceanic Bank on April 11, 2006 as a Manager and was the pioneer branch manager of the bank at Ota, Ogun State.
  
Due to hardwork, he was promoted as a Regional Manager in 2007 and redeployed to Oyo as Regional Manager, Western Zone 1. On May 26, 2008, he was deployed to the Western Zone Region 6.

  
To Adegoke’s credit, according to his claims filed in court, he was responsible for opening up the bank in the Western Zone, particularly in the rural areas. He assisted the ban in opening more than 10 branches. One the branches he opened that really benefitted the bank is the Canaanland branch. Canaanland is the headquarters of the Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) where he grew the balance sheet consistently from a paltry N1.2 Billion to N21 Billion. At this juncture, he received a letter of commendation from the Managing Director of the bank.
  
Trouble however started for him on July 11, 2009, while on a trip to Lagos for an official meeting, he encountered armed robbers on Lagos- Ibadan Expressway. The armed bandits shot at him and their bullets penetrated his spinal cord, rendering him a near total paralysis. This was before Ecobank took over Oceanic Bank in a merger.
  
Other chain of events eventually led to the termination of his appointment and he sued.However, in the defence filed by the bank’s counsel, Chief Anthony Idigbe SAN, the bank refuted Adegoke’s claim. In its 101 paragraph statement of defence filed before the court, the defendants denied most of the averments of the claimant.
  
The bank said in a bid to re-engineer and restructure her workforce and determine the contract of employment of some of its members of staff, the claimant was affected.
  
He said: “After the restructure of her workforce, the claimant was deemed surplus to requirements and was subsequently issued a letter of termination of employment dated January 4, 2016.
  
“The defendant was never pushed out of employment, forced out in a precarious health condition, rendered unemployable and demoralized, rather, in order to restructure her workforce, the contract of employment for some staff was determined and the claimant’s employment was terminated.”The suit as been adjourned till March 21, 2017.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2kG6SpA

Group condemns calls for removal of DESOPADEC boss

http://ift.tt/2ktIVzT

DESOPADEC

Petroleum-Bearing communities in Delta Central District yesterday protested against calls on the state government to remove the Managing Director of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) and three other officials of the agency.

They, under the aegis of Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSTCOM), in a statement yesterday, said calls for the removal of Dr. William Makinde and the three commissioners representing the Urhobo ethnic nationality, was in bad taste and ran contrary to the spirit of even development of the state.

The group, therefore, urged Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to disregard the calls.The statement, signed by the group’s chairman, Mr. Akponofuo Pemu Festus, said: “Urhobo needs development. Therefore, we call on the Governor Okowa to ignore their calls. We cannot fold our arms and allow some impostors to take over our responsibilities.”

Those calling for the removal of Makinde are not members of HOSTCOM. And so they cannot dictate to us,” the statement further read. It would be recalled that another group had in the recent past demanded the removal of the DESOPADEC Managing Director for alleged corrupt practices.

Festus said those calling for the sack of Makinde and the three commissioners did not mean well for the Urhobo nation and therefore, warned that from henceforth, anyone found impersonating the body will be dealt with.

He said, “We don’t know these people claiming to be HOSTCOM members, they are impostors.”Also speaking, Mr. Samco Ese, said they will not accept the removal of Dr. Makinde and three others because members of Oil and Gas Association do not have the right to call for their removal.

He said the action of the detractors was responsible for the lack of development in Urhobo land and vehemently called on the state government to ignore their calls.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2kV9mPB

Bank rewards customers in MoneyGram promo

http://ift.tt/2jNhXTw

Three lucky customers of Skye Bank Plc., across different business locations of the Bank, have emerged winners in the ongoing Skye Bank – MoneyGram “Receive n Win Promo”.

The winners, which included Oladele Ojo Femi, Babatunde Sodiq, and Akinmusire Seyi, emerged winners in the first monthly raffle draw of the promo and won the sum of N100,000 each. A brand new car is up for grabs at the grand finale of the promo exercise scheduled for March this year.

The promo is meant to encourage increased patronage of the services of the wire money transfer franchise; and is specifically targeted at customers who receive their transfers in Skye Bank.

Speaking at the presentation of the cheque to the winners, the Executive Director, Retail and Lagos Commercial Banking, Mrs. Markie Idowu, disclosed that winners are customers of the Bank, who received transfers in Skye Bank in December 2016.

According to Idowu, “The winners emerged by meeting the set criterion; they received at least one MoneyGram transfer from a Skye Bank branch within the last 30 days. The rewards will continue for the duration of the promotion with three lucky winners emerging monthly. 

One of the winners, Akinmusire Seyi, commended Skye Bank for living up to its billing; while promising to spread the good news among family and friends.
The winners are customers of Akungba branch (at Iwaro Oka Cash Centre) in Ondo State; Shomolu and Ikorodu Branches, both in Lagos. The presentation was made at the Bank’s Head Office Annex: Adeola Hopewell Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The MoneyGram promo is still ongoing (across all its agent’s locations in Nigeria) until February 28, 2017; where more customers stand a chance to emerge as winners for receiving money in cash at any Skye Bank branch or transferred directly into the savings/current account domiciled in the Bank.

The promotion is open to both account and non-account holders and runs from December 2016 to end of February 2017.

MoneyGram is the 2nd largest provider of money transfers in the world with a network of over 350,000 agent locations across the globe in over 200 countries. Skye Bank is a key MoneyGram agent in Nigeria with the service available in over 350 branches across Nigeria. The MoneyGram service is also available on weekends in selected branches that offer weekend banking services across Nigeria. 

Vía The Guardian NigeriaThe Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2jNgyfD

Nigerian, Ghanaian coaches assemble in Lagos for ITF level 1 course

http://ift.tt/2jNh39S

Chairman, Lagos State Table Tennis Association, Femi Sokoya, presenting table tennis kits to cadet players donated by Scuola Italian Tennis Tavolo Club at the Rowe Park Sports Centre, Yaba…recently.

About 40 coaches from Nigeria and Ghana are currently updating their knowledge in tennis at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Level 1 coaches course holding in Lagos.

The nine-day programme, which is coming through the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is facilitated by the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) and according to ITF Instructor, Rotimi Akinloye, the course, which is in two parts, is supported by the ITF through the provision of materials.

Akinloye, who is Nigeria’s national tennis head coach, who runs ITF courses for English-speaking West African countries, disclosed that the course is aimed at producing quality coaches, adding that the programme is under the ITF Coaches Educational Programme (CEP)

“We have had Level 1 and 2 courses before but what makes this particular one unique is that it is coming through the IOC. It means the Nigeria Tennis Federation applied to the IOC through the Nigeria Olympic Committee,” he said.

Akinloye, a former Nigeria tennis captain, added that the essence of the programme is to prepare Nigerian coaches to get modern teaching methodology.

He added, “We are very optimistic our coaches will never remain the same as their philosophy of teaching will change.“In the history of coaching courses in Nigeria, this is the first time we are having coaches from another country taking part. This highlights the high rating of this course.”

Vía The Guardian NigeriaThe Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2jPrt68

Borno government pays N3.2billion gratuities, leave grants

http://ift.tt/2iyy3O5

Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima

The Borno state government has approved the immediate release of N3.2 billion for payment of outstanding gratuities of 1, 024 pensioners and the 2016 leave grants of workers in the state.

Announcing the payments in Maiduguri at the Musa Usman secretariat complex, the Head of Service (HOS), Yakubu Bukar and Commissioner of Local Government and Emirate Affairs, Usman Zanna said that the Accountant General of the state has released N3.2 billion into pensioners and workers’ bank accounts.

In the breakdown of N3.2 billion pension and gratuities, Yakubu said: “The sum of N1 billion for payment of outstanding Gratuity to State Pensioners, in which, a Committee has been constituted to handle the payment of N817, 737,058:00 for 2016 Leave Grant to all State Civil

Servants in addition to N50 million for payment of arrears for 142% to State Pensioners.”Similarly, Zanna while giving a scorecard of 27 councils in the state, he said an additional N1 billion had also been approved and released for payments of five-year pension and gratuities to the living and deceased pensioners for Local Education Authority and councils’ workers.

He noted that from 1994 to September 2009, the total number of beneficiaries for both deceased and living of Local Education Authority staff stood at 565, while that of Local Government Staff is 459, who will all benefit from the payments exercise.

He explained that concerted efforts are being made to ensure that leave grant for the total workforce across the council areas are being paid without any further delay.

“It is pertinent to note that Borno, despite security challenges posed by Boko Haram sect, was one of the first states in the country to implement the N18, 000 minimum wages. No any civil servant is denied payment of his monthly salary as and at when due since Governor Kashim Shettima took over the mantle of leadership since 2011,” said Zanna.

Vía The Guardian NigeriaThe Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2jNjxEZ

FG will not tolerate destruction of national monuments, says minister

http://ift.tt/2jNj45X

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed

Information and Culture minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said the Federal Government will not tolerate the destruction of national monuments anywhere in the country for whatever reason.

He gave the assurance when he visited the site of a national monument – the 190-year-old Brazilian style building in Lagos – at the weekend.The building, which was acquired and gazetted as a national monument by the Federal Government in 1956, was destroyed by some developers. The Federal Government and the developers have since instituted cases in court over the property.

“Because they wanted to develop this place, they have broken so many laws. Fortunately, this is a country of laws and we are ready to meet them in court and one thing I can assure you is that nobody can benefit from his own crime.

“I want to assure you that we will challenge them in court and we are going to get our reliefs and we will restore this building to its formal glory. We have the picture, we will rebuild it,’’ he said.

Alhaji Mohammed said the monument, built by returnee slaves from Brazil, is unique because it chronicled the historical, cultural and social relationship between Nigeria and Brazil

“It is like a living monument of our (slave trade) past. It was a monument that exhibited the Brazilian architecture at that time, which is rare to come by anywhere in the world. It is a remembrance of what our ancestors went through in slavery and how they triumphed, came back and showed that they were well-to-do. The important thing is that a people without history will perish very fast. This building was worth billions of dollars because it symbolised our past.

“No amount of skyscrapers can replace this history and all important monument that has been demolished, and I want to assure you that nobody can profit from his crime. You cannot go to court now and say that because the structure has been destroyed, the land should go back to the owner.

“This is why I have come here with the (Lagos State) Commissioner of Police, who has been quite helpful. I want to assure Nigerians that we are going to pursue whoever has destroyed this place. It may take time, but the hand of the law is long and the wheel of justice grinds slowly but surely,’’ he said.

Vía The Guardian NigeriaThe Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2jPlXQU

Uncle Lai, ‘Bring Back Our Flag!’

http://ift.tt/2jvuKdd

Nigeria Flag

In all my years of travel, I have never seen any country where the national flag is as disrespected as in Nigeria. Why does our flag deserve to be treated with such indignity? I think it is just one of the symptoms of our patent ignorance and unrepentant lack of patriotism. And this malaise goes right through the hallowed chambers of both our upper and lower houses, which have continued to lower our national image into deeper shame with each passing tenure!

Shortly before the nation’s Golden Jubilee in 2010, I remember meeting with the then Minister of Information and Communications, John Odey, to discuss with him how that milestone could be used as a platform to save our national flag from the persistent denigration to which it had long been subjected. I told him the Golden Jubilee would provide an excellent opportunity to redesign the national flag and unveil it with a proper public enlightenment campaign. Because to begin with, our green-white-green flag is simply flat, boring and uninspiring.

It had long served its purpose and should have been discarded for something much more exciting and representative of our very vibrant and colourful identity as a people. What if we had added a splash of gold to this boring green-white-green on that Golden Jubilee? Rather, what we heard was some silly celebration that cost a lot of money without anything of enduring value that anybody could point a finger to. Even individuals mark their Golden Jubilee by setting up foundations and other things of lasting impact talk less of a gigantic nation like ours!

A flag is one of the most important symbols of a nation’s brand identity. It makes a definitive statement about who we are and what we stand for. It is an item that should evoke very positive feelings of nationalism and patriotism. Unfortunately, what we have is a nation where the citizens treat their football club flags with more respect and dignity than the national flag. It is, indeed, tragic and calamitous that even at the highest levels we see the flag being humiliated. Right there in Abuja where our overpaid legislators and senators sit (or pretend to sit) and deliberate over matters of national importance (or pretend to so do!), you will see our flag looking tattered. Across our major cities the flag adorns many building and company premises, including bank branches. The sorry state of these flags perhaps reflects the sorry state of the nation itself.

We see the flag in different shapes and sizes and dimensions and different shades of green. In most cases, the white is more brownish than white and the green could be any shade between olive green and army green. No minister in recent memory has come to tell us which shade of green is the correct one, or which is the correct dimension. There is a certain agency called The National Orientation Agency. It is hidden somewhere within the Ministry of Information. I have been trying to figure out precisely what this agency does without success. But I was informed that this national flag matter is supposed to be the responsibility of the agency.

When the flag was designed in 1959, it was meant to symbolize the birth of a new nation. The green represents our natural wealth and agricultural diversity while the white represents peace. It served the purpose and without disrespect to the designer, Mr. Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi, who by the way was never properly honoured for his work, the flag is no longer compelling and doesn’t project our national identity in a globally appealing way. The flag is the single most important element of our visual brand identity and should properly represent what we stand for as a people. I am happy most corporate bodies now take branding very seriously. The flag is to the nation what logos and colours are to a company. Somewhere in the archives of some ministry, we may find some rules guiding the use of the national flag. It should not be hoisted if torn and tattered. It should be flown at half-mast during state funerals and times of national tragedy. But these are fairly basic. What is fundamentally wrong is the state in which we find most flags being hoisted across the country. It is bad enough that we have an uninspiring national flag. It is a national shame that we subject such an important symbol of nationhood and sovereignty to so much indignity.

Those in the position to educate and enlighten the people on the flag have simply refused to do so over the years. And just as our national values have eroded over time, our flag is just an indication of this progressive decline. If our nation was a human, the flag is like her apparel. But sadly, we are a nation whose public officials wear the most expensive clothes yet the nation they claim to serve is dressed in rags. We need an urgent intervention, at least now that we are in an era of change! We must take immediate and decisive steps to restore pride in our national flag. We must indeed revamp our national identity, with the flag regaining its glory and playing its proper role as a symbol of national identity and pride.

When it was claimed that Nigeria was being re-branded, the basic elements of brand identity were ignored, while they rushed to the media to run campaigns. The whole thing was simply about sloganeering. “Good People Great Nation”, they claimed. Before then, it was “Nigeria, Heart of Africa”. How could any serious branding programme ignore the basic visual elements of brand identity? They should have called it what it was – advertising campaign.

And that’s exactly what we now have with “Change Begins With Me”. I am glad they are not calling this campaign ‘rebranding’. The relevant ministry or agency must now go back to the basics and save our national flag. We must redesign this flag. We need a flag that’s bright and colourful. Our country is so bright and sunny all year round, with very colourful festivals going on everywhere! Our skies are bright and our land is fertile. Our people are vibrant and there is so much energy in our diversity. Our flag doesn’t capture our identity in the least.
In short, our flag falls short!
@muyiwa_kayode
• Muyiwa Kayode is CEO at USP Brand Management, and Author, The Seven Dimensions of Branding

Vía The Guardian NigeriaThe Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2jNjSY8

Responsibility: Your response to natural abilities Iis your response to greatness

http://ift.tt/2jwGGt0

Davids. PHOTO: Youtube

It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities – John Mason

Responsibility is the price for greatness. Although greatness starts with a God-given dream, you have a role to play to make that dream a reality. You can’t fold your hands and expect that things would work out. According to Steven Covey, the word ‘responsibility stands for: ‘response – ability, i.e. our ability to respond to situations. This is an intriguing fact – too many people spend valuable time reacting negatively to situations; they focus on the things, which did not work for them e.g. a poor family background, lack of education, etc. and make excuses at every opportunity. An excuse is never a valid reason.

One of the greatest Presidents of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt, suddenly got stricken with Polio. But this did not stop him from pursuing his political ambitions, as he ended up being the 32nd President of the United States of America, even though he was on a wheel chair. He chose not to allow his current situation affect his dreams. Your response to situations would determine how far you go in life.

The Bible also offers us several examples of men, who conquered and overcame. One of my favourite characters is Joseph, a young man betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery in a strange land, far away from his birthplace. It seemed like Joseph’s dreams had been dashed, but he carried on and didn’t react to the negative situation. Eventually he was able to fulfil that dream in a strange land.

Are you discouraged? Have your dreams been dashed or broken? I want to tell you that you are made of the stuff that champions are made of. You need to be aware of your responses, even when things don’t go the way you expect.

I urge you to read Joseph’s story in Genesis chapter 37, 39, 40 and 41. The path of greatness is full of obstacles, so you must be determined to keep forging ahead. You cannot control your circumstances all the time, but you are fully in control of your reactions or responses to them.

I have no doubt that you are destined for greatness, but God has made you a custodian of your own destiny, and so, you must take full responsibility, as nobody else will. How you respond to events today will determine how you end tomorrow.

“Work” is the tool, which has been committed in your hands, regardless of your employment status (employee, employer of labour or self- employed). As a student, your academics is the tool in your hands. If you are searching for a job, there will always be opportunities to put your hand to work –you can put your skills to work in your local church or your community. Be responsible, be diligent and you will reap the benefits in due time.

Below, Proverbs 22:29 gives a clear picture of the result of being diligent.

“Do you see any truly competent workers? They will serve kings rather than working for ordinary people” NLT.

Diligence precedes promotion. The ability to create a profitable cause is within you. Don’t wait.

I pray that God gives you the grace to realise your responsibilities and assignments and the strength to respond, as you should. May you walk in your God-given purpose in Jesus name. Amen.

I would love to hear from you; @yemidavids, pastoryemi@globalimpactng.org or visit www, globalimpactng.org or The Goodland, Ifako Bus Stop along Ogudu-Oworo Expressway, Lagos. @Globalimpactng. See you next week!

Vía The Guardian NigeriaThe Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2jCQpAb

Novena Varsity, Delta govt sign MoU on training of medical students

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

By Festus Ahon

ASABA—Novena University, Ogume, Ndokwa West Local Government Area, Delta State, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the state government for the training of its medical students.

Under the MoU, Delta State government will make its hospitals available for the training of the medical students, while the university will assist in the upgrade of facilities in the health institutions to meet required standard.

Signing the MoU, Pr- Chancellor and Chairman of the University Governing Council, Dr Chuks   Ochenogor said the symbiotic relationship being established by the university and the state government would help promote the development of the health sector in the state.

 

The post Novena Varsity, Delta govt sign MoU on training of medical students appeared first on Vanguard News.

Vía Vanguard News http://ift.tt/2jz4HiO

FUSENGBUWA HEADSHIP CRISIS IN IJEBU: Court admits 5 exhibits against Subomi Balogun

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

By Daud Olatunji

ABEOKUTA—The Fusegbuwa ruling family in Ijebu-Ode has tendered five exhibits against the founder of First City Monument Bank, Otunba Subomi Balogun before an Ogun state High Court, Ijebu-Ode in respect of the case over the headship (Olori – Ebi) of the Funsengbuwa Ruling House of Ijebu Ode .

Some members of the family, who dragged the Olori-Omooba of Ijebuland, Otunba Balogun before the court include former President, Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria  (ICAN), Otunba Abdul-Lateef Owoyemi, Prince Rasaq Akeju, Yisau Ajidagaba and Prince Adeleke Adeyemi.

Otunba Balogun, who is a member of the family was dragged to court following his purported emergence as the head of the family after the demise of the former head of the family, Chief Adeleke.

The exhibits consist of letters written by the ruling house to Awujale and Paramount ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, the Ijebu-Ode local government, the Permanent Secretary of local government and Chieftaincy Affairs and acknowledgement letter from the local government all pertaining to the nomination of Owoyemi as the authentic head of the ruling house.

While admitting the exhibits which were vehemently opposed by the counsel to the defendant on the ground that the letters were not signed, but, were later found to be signed by the Secretary of the ruling family, the Judge, Aderonke Asenuga overruled the counsel to defendant.

The judged admitted the exhibits and marked them appropriately.

The case was however, adjourned the case to February 13 and March 7,2017 for continuation of hearing.

The post FUSENGBUWA HEADSHIP CRISIS IN IJEBU: Court admits 5 exhibits against Subomi Balogun appeared first on Vanguard News.

Vía Vanguard News http://ift.tt/2jrmomZ

NBBF holds AGM, awards dinner

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, will on January 30, 2017 in Abuja hosts its Annual  General Meeting to give stakeholders an account of its stewardship in the year 2016.

According to a press statement from the Board’s head of media, Patrick Omorodion, a day after on January 31, 2017, the federation will  also hold an Awards Dinner to recognize, appreciate and honour deserving athletes, administrators, technical officials, sponsors, partners, contributors as well as the Media for their meritorious service and outstanding contribution to the development and growth of the game in Nigeria.

Prominent among those to be honoured  are two former presidents of the NBBF, His Royal  Majesty, the Gbom Gwom Jos, J.D. Buba and Senator U.K. Umar. There are also going to be post humous awards to a  late Vice President of the federation, Dr Segun Erinle, late fiba referee,Chris Obojememe and late National Coaches,Danjuma Lemmy Harry and Danjuma Danazumi.

Expected to attend the events are the Youth and Sports Minister, his Information, Culture and National Orientation counterpart as well as members of the National Assembly.

 

 

 

 

 

The post NBBF holds AGM, awards dinner appeared first on Vanguard News.

Vía Vanguard News http://ift.tt/2jz3Rmm

Westerfield College, Canada partner on foreign education

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

By Amaka Abayomi

WESTERFIELD Collegein partnership with the government of Canada, has launched the Canada FoundationProgramme, CFP, aimed at offering more Nigerian students opportunities to study in the North American country.

Mr. Marc-Andre Savage, First Secretary, Canada Deputy High Commission, who represented the Deputy High Commissioner, said the partnership is to cement the synergy existing Nigerian and Canadian schools.

His words “As at 2016, there were over 10,000 Nigerian students in various Canadian institutions. This is because Canada is in the top three countries to live in and quality education is our main focus as these schools are manned by people who are passionate about education. Selling Canada as the preferred study destination would help us achieve our goal of providing top notch and internationalising education for Nigerians.”

On how the partnership would work, the CEO, Westerfield College, Mr. Mike Dosumu, said students would do one year with Westerfield then proceed to complete the remaining three years in Canada.

Education destinations

He said “Canada is understated but is one of the best countries in the world and is ranked as one of the top three education destinations. Instead of selling Canada as a destination, we would get students to do one year in Nigeria and three years in Canada. This way, we would help parents save over 50,000 Canadian dollars.”

On why Canada, the vice president, North West Community College, Canada, Mr. Justin Kohlman, said the quality of education and safety of students are two of the top reasons why people choose to study in Canada.

He said “The Canadian education system is such that the first two years are spent at the colleges while the remaining two years are at the varsities. But if you do one year with Westerfield College, you now spend one year at the college and two at the varsity in Canada. We do most of our learning outside the classroom to complement what is being taught and the teachers know each student by their names and have their phone numbers. Students also have the opportunity to complete the last two varsity years outside Canada.”

 

The post Westerfield College, Canada partner on foreign education appeared first on Vanguard News.

Vía Vanguard News http://ift.tt/2jreQjY

Fraud: Financial institutions’staff to adopt whistle blowing

http://ift.tt/2jVfQ0R

By Providence Emmanuel
FOLLOWING growing complaints by customers of financial institutions especially banks as well as fraud reports from the regulatory authorities, senior officers of the sector under the umbrella trade union, the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) may have begun the process of deploying whistle blowing windows in addressing the issues.

Disclosing this at an interactive session with stakeholders in the financial sector, National President, ASSIBIFI, Mrs. Oyinkan Olasanoye, said, “We will be entrenching sound corporate governance practice in our various institutions, as well as utilizing the window of whistle blowing in addressing issues of concern in the financial sector on fraudulent activities.”

She said the association would be pushing for industrial peace and harmony while creating a well developed, disciplined and responsive workforce that will increase individual productivity and that of the organization. Against the backdrop of retrenchments in the sector, Olasanoye said downsizing and retrenchment should not be the first port of call at a time when the country is experiencing harsh economic condition.

She stated: “We believe that there are ways employees and employers would not suffer during this critical period of economic crisis without burning each other. We believe that instead of lamenting over this present Nigeria macro economic crisis which has an adverse effect on our sector, we should use the opportunity to reinvent our strategic partnership. This ASSBIFI believes, will enhance relationship, attitudes and staff welfare for improved productivity and better deal for all stakeholders.”

The post Fraud: Financial institutions’staff to adopt whistle blowing appeared first on Vanguard News.

Vía Vanguard News http://ift.tt/2jz9yAx