Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
Prof. Isa Chiroma of the University of Maiduguri has called for the introduction of e-learning and distant programmes in polytechnics and universities.
Chiroma made the call at a pre-convocation lecture entitled: “Challenges Facing Tertiary Education Adminstration in Nigeria” on Friday in Mubi, Adamawa.
He said it was high time to change the pattern of tertiary education to meet the socio-economic and technological demand of the country.
Chiroma said e-learning would address inadequate funding militating against smooth operations of the institutions.
“Since funding and infrastructure are the challenges, tertiary institutions should consider e-learning and distance learning programmes with sister institutions.”
Bauchi
Bauchi state Ministry of Education has set up a committee to investigate Sunday’s demonstration at the Government Technical College, Gumau.
The Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Aminu Ibrahim, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Bauchi on Friday.
Ibrahim said that in spite of the committee, the college had also constituted its own internal panel to probe the incident.
On Sunday, students of the college protested against “a strange man” who had allegedly been sneaking into the girls’ hostel.
The Commissioner said he had visited the college and met with the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Gumau town.
FCT
The Federal Government on Friday said it was committed to the dual task of reviving and creating an enabling environment for the smooth functioning of existing automobile industries in Nigeria.
A statement signed by Alhaji Umar Sani, the Senior Special Assistant to Vice President Namadi Sambo, said Sambo made the statement at a forum in Abuja.
It said the forum was a meeting between the management of Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) and Bank of Industry (BOI), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) and Union Bank Nigeria (UBN) PLC.
Kaduna
Zaria Local Government Education Authority in Kaduna State has introduced a new system of checking the performance of teachers, the council’s Secretary, Alhaji Mustapha Umar, said on Friday.
He told newsmen in Zaria that the measure would ensure
effective teaching and learning in primary schools.
He, however, expressed concern over the poor performance of class five and six pupils, and stressed that most of them could not even write a sentence in English.
He said: “It is unfortunate that some primary five and six pupils cannot write a sentence in English and some cannot even write their names correctly”.
Kano
Rep. Faruk Lawan, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Education, has joined the governorship race in Kano State on PDP platform.
He presented his letter of request to the PDP state’s executive committee members in Kano on Friday.
Lawan, who represents Bagawai/Shanono federal constituency, said his decision to run for the governorship post was informed by his desire to “restore the glory” of the state.
He particularly expressed concern over the high rate of drug abuse, especially among youths in the state as well as the ‘sorry state of education.’
He said such issues would be tackled if given the opportunity to govern the state.
Katsina
The Federal Government is to establish legal aid centres in 72 local government areas across the country this year.
Already, government has earmarked N300 million in the 2010 budget for the project.
The Director-General of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, Mrs Nwaka Akinlami, said this in Katsina shortly after paying a condolence visit to the former First Lady, Hajiya Turai Yar’Adua.
“With this development, each of the 36 states of the federation will have three legal aid offices; one in the state capital while the remaining two will be in local government areas,”she said.
Kebbi
The Kebbi Government has spent N15 million on the formulation of a 10-year strategic plan to develop the education sector.
The Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Sani Rukubulo, made the announcement in Birnin Kebbi on Friday, when he addressed stakeholders, serving and retired educationists.
Rukubulo said the plan was targeted at upgrading 1,476 primary schools, 228 Junior Secondary Schools (JSS), 90 Senior Secondary Schools (SSS) and six tertiary institutions in the state.
He said the policy was also to improve the one teacher to 100 pupils ratio as well as the one teacher to 75 students to improve learning in schools.
Lagos
The immediate past Chairman of EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadbu returned to Nigeria on Friday through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The Delta Airline aircraft with registration number DL 053, which he travelled in from the US , touched down at exactly 4.40pm.
Ribadu simply said, “wonderful, wonderful, wonderful,’’ when asked by journalists how he felt coming back home.
“I am very happy, I feel very great, I am happy to be back home. I am just coming now, I am happy to be back home,’’ Ribadu said when pressed further.
The Tide’s source reports that the EFCC’s former chairman was received by his wife and three children.
Niger
The Concerned NITEL/MTEL Staff Association of Nigeria (CNSAN), Niger chapter, on Friday, protested the non-payment of their 26 months salary arrears and pension entitlements.
The Tide’s source reports that members of the association carried placards calling for the payment of their life pension scheme to reduce their suffering.
One of the placards read: “26 months without salaries; 308 dead.”
Mr Oluti Gabriel, President of the association told the source in Minna on Friday that, “members want to be returned to life pension agreement we signed with the Federal Government.”
“Government should pay for declaring us redundant and asking us to go before our time.”
Ogun
A don, Prof. Labode Popoola, has appealed to the Federal Government to show serious concern to the catastrophe posed by climate change.
Popoola, a professor of forest economics and the Dean of Post Graduate School at the University of Ibadan, gave the warning on Thursday in Ota, Ogun State, at a capacity building workshop on climate.
In his paper ,“Understanding Climate Change: Context, Drivers and Impacts”, Popoola, represented by Dr. Jimoh Saka, a lecturer in the university, said that 80 per cent of the inhabitants of the Niger stood the risk of being displaced as a result of climate change.
Plateau
The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Plateau, on Friday in Jos, presented working tools to 30 women under the 4,700 jobs scheme.
The disbursement is in addition to the recent training of 50 persons on information and communication technology and events management, while 30 people were trained in agriculture.
Speaking shortly after the Friday event, the Plateau NDE Coordinator, Mr Monday Dalyop, said that 20 other women penciled to receive the tools could not do so because they could not present guarantors.
Sokoto
A Non-Governmental Organisation under the aegis, “Unity Education Empowerment Initiative,” has donated 10 wheelchairs worth over N160,000 to physically–challenged students of Abdulrashid Adisa Raji Special School,Sokoto.
Its Chairman, Sqn.Ldr Aminu Bala-Sokoto(rtd),told newsmen in Sokoto, that the beneficiaries included seven female and three male students respectively.
“They were drawn from the nursery, primary and secondary sections of the school. They were hitherto crawling to their classes from their hostels.”
“The gesture is aimed at alleviating their suffering. We have plans to donate crutches, brail machines, walking sticks and hearing aids to more students of the school soon,’’ he said.
Yobe
The Yobe House of Assembly has passed into law a bill compelling every household in the state to plant trees in its environment.
The law also prohibits illegal felling of trees.
The state Commissioner for Environment, Alhaji Wakil Sarki, announced the enactment on Friday in Damaturu at a news conference to mark the World Environment Day.
He said the law was aimed at inculcating the habit of collective environmental sustainability in the people and also giving them acceptable guiding principles.
According to him, the law will teach them how to plant trees and spell out punishment for anyone found guilty of cutting trees illegally.
A 72-year-old man and five undergraduate students are some of the suspects the NDLEA arrested in a week-long operation to seize hard drugs and arrest offenders.
The raids, across nine states and at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, yielded 5,721.92 kilogrammes of Indian hemp and other drugs.
The 72-year-old man, Emmanuel Akanbi was arrested at Odofin Camp, Uso, Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State with 2,050kg of Indian hemp.
The varsity students belong to the American University of Nigeria, (AUN) Yola, and the University of Maiduguri.
NDLEA’s Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi said in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja that one Okorie Onyeribe was arrested at the MMIA on December 3.
He was attempting to export 21.85kg of Indian hemp concealed in foodstuffs to London.
Babafemi stated that two students, Emmanuel Thlama and Jonah Joshua were arrested with 16.750kg of Indian hemp on Nov. 30 when NDLEA operatives raided a settlement opposite Gate 4 of the University of Maiduguri.
He added that the three other students, Ekene Asher, Daniel Alkali and Emmanuel Smooth are undergraduates of AUN. They were arrested on Dec. 2.
Babafemi explained that their arrest followed their receipt of “Loud’’ a very strong variant of Indian hemp ordered by Asher.
“Equally, ThankGod Danladi who completed a jail term in October was arrested on Wednesday, Dec. 1 with 67 kilograms of Indian hemp in a raid in Taraba.
Also on Dec. 2, NDLEA operatives intercepted a motorised concrete mixer truck used to conceal 2000.6kg of Indian hemp loaded at Ogbese, Ondo State.
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on Wednesday, inspected the ongoing comprehensive overhaul of the pitch of Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu, to bring the stadium at par with international standard.
It would be recalled that the Gov. Ugwuanyi administration recently awarded contract for the upgrade of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium pitch with the installation of state-of-the-art turf in line with the requirements of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Licensing Regulation on sports infrastructure and facilities.
Speaking during the inspection, the State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Hon. Manfred Nzekwe, who led Gov. Ugwuanyi to the site, disclosed that the discarded turf was installed 12 years ago, precisely in 2009 and has not been changed since then until the current intervention by the present administration in Enugu State.
Hon. Nzekwe pointed out that, although the state government had been maintaining the pitch and other infrastructure at the Stadium, prior to commencement of the upgrade, Gov. Ugwuanyi administration decided to install a new pitch as part of its concerted efforts at upgrading the stadium to international standard.
The Sports Commissioner added that there had been a yearly routine maintenance of the turf and other sports facilities in the stadium since the inception of the present administration, commending Gov. Ugwuanyi for his commitment to youth empowerment and sports development in the state.
Reacting, a cross section of jubilant sports enthusiasts who witnessed the governor’s inspection tour of the ongoing works at the stadium applauded him for the remarkable intervention and other efforts of his administration in repositioning the sports sector in the state.
By: Canice Amadi, Enugu
A 100-tonne Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) plant constructed by the Buterny Energy Company was inaugurated on Saturday in Katsina.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylvia, during the launch said the plant was coming at the time several projects that would address gas availability, accessibility and affordability in the country were being put in place.
Sylvia, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Sani Gwarzo, added that the pricing of gas was currently a major threat to the availability and affordability of the fuel in Nigeria.
“The Federal Government was leveraging the gas pricing framework and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) gas development fund to create an appropriate funding model to support off-take of the gas, especially among vulnerable groups.
“I cannot complete this speech without touching on pricing which is a major threat to gas affordability and gas penetration.
“It is, therefore, expected that the economy of Katsina State and indeed the North-West and the whole of Nigeria will benefit from socio-economic spin ups associated with the gas value chain,” he said.
The minister added that smaller countries with less gas reserves than Nigeria such as Kuwait have higher per capita consumption of gas due to their investment in gas infrastructure.
He urged Butane Energy to make their plant a role model of LPG depots by deploying technology to drive market penetration, creation of financial instruments to incentivize off-take of its bottled gas.
“And also investment in human capital development to attract and retain a resilient workforce and operation in a globally acceptable and responsible manner,” he said.
Butane Energy Chair, Alhaji Isah Inuwa, said the aspiration of the company under the first phase of investment programme was to have five plants in the Northern Nigeria.
“Kano will have 180 metric tons, in Bauchi, 120 metric tons, in Abuja, 180 metric tons and in Kaduna, 180 metric tons.
“Today, we have finished the designs of Kaduna and Bauchi plants and by God’s grace, we are going through the contracting processes between December and January, and it is our hope that before the end of January, construction work will start.
“By April, we will start Kano and Bauchi plants with a combined tonnage of 360.
“Our expectation is that by September 2022, we will have completed five plants with a total capacity of 820 metric tons and we will have the capacity to process 9,200 12.5kg cylinders per eight hour shift per day.
“We would have invested nearly N3 billion by the end of the first phase of our development programme. We expect annual gross revenue of these five plants to be more than N20 billion.”
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