Abuja

The Minister of Agriculture of Egypt, Mr Amin Abaza, said the just concluded Agri-business and Agro-industries conference in Africa would pave way for a more effective South-South cooperation.

Abaza said such cooperation would place Africa as a global player in agriculture during an interview with The Tide’s source  in Abuja.

He said that Africa had potential in untapped natural resources and if well harnessed with the proper cooperation, would result to   “tremendous’’ benefits for Africa. 

“I am a great believer in Africa and I think that this century is going to be Africa’s century. We have plenty of potential, plenty of untapped resources.

 “And really by working together and having a south-south cooperation we will just reap the benefits of all the potential in Africa that we have not yet been able to use effectively,’’ Abaza said.

He noted that the main challenge for Africa was infrastructure, such as power, roads, ports and lack of funding.

Ekiti

The Ekiti State House of Assembly has promised to ensure efficient and full implementation of the N69.6 billion 2010 budget.

Mr Ayodele Michael, Chairman, House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, made the promise on Thursday in Abuja in an interview with the newsmen

He said the House would re-invigorate its oversight functions to achieve the objective.

Michael noted with regret that the implementation of the 2009 budget fell bellow expectation.

“The House will on quarterly basis, summon the state Ministry of Finance and Board of Internal Revenue to give detailed analysis of the implementation of the budget.

“We will also embark on budget tracking to ensure full implementation of the budget.

“Last year’s revised budget of N58 billion was averagely implemented, but I can assure you that this year, the budget will be closely monitored to ensure full implementation,” he added. 

The House had on Feb. 23 passed the budget.

Kaduna

A Sanitation Consultant, Dr Comfort  Olayiwola, has called on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) officers to engage in purposeful data-gathering to address the challenges facing the sector.

Olayiwola made the call in Kaduna while fielding questions after her presentation on the “Draft WASH Communication Strategy in Nigeria’’ at the three-day zonal stakeholders’ workshop.

“The communities keep more data better than all of us. Go and ask ‘WASH’ committees, they will show you a book containing dates, times and what they have done.

“But when you go to the office, you forget to do the same. How do we get the data back?

“You should keep records properly; you should package the data and present it to your local government chairmen and governors.

“This will serve as evidence. When you have concrete evidence; you can tell them to go and see the progress of work and challenges in the communities,’’ she said.

Olayiwola said that the development of the communication strategy remained a collective effort.

Kebbi

The Joint World Bank Assisted/Kebbi Community and Social Development Project (KBSCDP), will spend N1 billion on community micro- development projects in 2010.

The KBSCDP General Manager, Malam Usman Abubakar, told The Tide’s source in Birnin Kebbi on Friday that the World Bank granted N750 million as loan, while the state government released N300 million.

He said “we recieved N100 million out of  N300 million expected from the state.”

He added that the project development plans comprised  three micro-projects to be identified by benefitting communities.

According to him, each benefitting community is to contribute 10 per cent in cash or project execution materials.

Kogi

The Police Command in Kogi had arrested a bus driver with 16 bags of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the command, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, announced this while parading 14 suspects arrested from different parts of the state for different offences at the command headquarters in Lokoja on Thursday.

Abubakar, an employee of Olamaboro Local Government, said the driver was arrested at Ogori-Magongo.

He said the bus driver claimed that a man (not named) hired his vehicle marked Kogi: LG 86 LAM, to convey the substance from Alayere-Akure, Ondo State, to Anyigba in Kogi.

In an interview with The Tide’s source, the suspect said the man hired him from the park to carry gari but he later discovered that the bags contained Indian hemp.

The suspect said that he decided to go back but the man assured him that he would settle policemen on the road.

Lagos

The Lagos chapter of Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI) has urged Acting President Goodluck Jonathan to find lasting solution to the problem of power supply.

Mr Duro Kuteyi, the Chairman of the association in Lagos State, told The Tide’s source that  improvement in power generation and distribution would enhance the growth of small and medium scale businesses.

He urged the acting president to make the power sector his priority, saying the sector appeared to be one of the greatest challenges facing the growth of the nation’s economy.

“Stable and regular electricity supply will boost the economy and eliminate all the risks including health hazards, associated with other sources of power, such as pollution, suffocation and environmental degradation,’’ he added. 

Kuteyi said constant power supply would reduce substantially, the cost of production being incurred by the small and medium scale businesses.

He also advised the acting president to take decisive action on the issue of security and deteriorating state of the Nigerian roads.  

Ogun

The Ogun Government says it will no longer absorb beneficiaries of the Federal Teachers Scheme (FTS) in its teaching service.

Chief Sina Adejobi, Chairman, Ogun Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), made the announcement recently  in  Abeokuta in an interview The Tide’s source.

The scheme was introduced in 2006 by the Federal Government to address the dearth of qualified teachers in the nation’s primary schools.

Under the scheme, fresh graduates of NCE and degree holders  are engaged on two years teaching service in public primary schools in all the 36 states and FCT, after which state governments are encouraged to absorb them with full employment.

Adejobi, however, explained that the state government already had 21,000 teachers who were NCE and degree certificate holders, considered to be adequate for its teaching service.

Oyo

There must be  transparency in governance and  business for the creation of jobs in Nigeria, .

 Prof. Dafe Otobo of the University of  Lagos said in Ibadan on Thursday.

Otobo, a professor of business, made the call at a two-day seminar organised by Labour Writers’ Association (LAWAN) on the topic,  “‘the impact of Economic Crisis on Employment”.

He said the unemployment rate would increase if effective management was not incorporated in governance and in the workplaces.

“‘There will be declining turnover and more people will be laid off if managers of various organisations do not help to shape the already bad economy,’’ he said.

Otobo said it was regrettable that the impact of globalisation had taken its toll on organisations which  had no choice but to retrench workers to remain in business.

Otobo urged the government to embark on measures that would create jobs to improve the economy and make life better for the people.

Sokoto

Alhaji Abdullahi Maigwandu, the Special Adviser to Sokoto state Governor on Pilgrims Affairs, says that woman, who are three months  pregnant, will not be allowed to perform the 2010 Hajj.

Maigwandu also says that intending pilgrims, aged 65 and above, or 15 years and below, will not be allowed to perform the Hajj.

The Tide’s source  reports that Maigwandu gave this directive on Wednesday in Sokoto at a meeting with the officials of the agency and those of the 23 local governments of the state .

The meeting was convened as part of the preparations for the 2010 Hajj exercise in the Holy land.

“We shall no longer tolerate a situation where any of our pilgrims will violate the laid down principles guiding the conduct of  Hajj exercise,” he said.