News
13,000 Teachers Jobs: RSG Shortlists 20,000 For Interview
No fewer than 40,000 applicants have finally been confirmed to have failed the aptitude test held to screen candidates seeking recruitment as teachers into the Rivers State public schools.
The 40,000 candidates were among about 60,000 indigenes from across the 23 local government areas of the state and others who had participated in the written recruitment examinations in centres located within Port Harcourt and its environs on 15 August, 2012.
Consequently, about 20,000 candidates have finally been shortlisted for oral interview, commencing next Monday at three designated centres in Port Harcourt.
The Tide gathered that the 20,000 applicants made the Ministry of Education’s next phase of the interview after scaling through the tough examination questions, and making not less than the 160 cut off point set by the ministry.
The names of the 20,000 successful candidates have already been displayed at various locations in the state capital, including the Rivers State Secretariat Complex, premises of the Post Primary Schools Board, Rivers State Universal Basic Education Board and secretariats of the 23 local government areas.
In addition, the 20,000 candidates have also been notified vide their emails and the internet portal through which they completed the registration process for the initial examinations on 15 August.
The Tide learnt that after the written and oral interview, the final list of 13,000 teachers recruited for the state public schools would be published.
A statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr Richard Ofuru, advised candidates to check their names, interview dates and centres at the designated locations in the state, and avail themselves of the opportunity to participate in the oral interview.
The permanent secretary implored successful candidates to bring along with them two copies of their completed curriculum vitae, containing their names, dates of birth, gender, state of origin and local government area.
He also advised those shortlisted to appear for the interview with photocopies of academic qualifications, including first school leaving certificates, West African Examinations Council Certificates, National Examinations Council Certificates, university or polytechnic certificates, National Youth Service Corps discharge certificates, and two passport photographs as well as writing materials.
The interview, according to the statement, would be conducted in both oral and written format, beginning next Monday at the Civic Centre Complex, Moscow Road, Ministry of Justice Auditorium, State Secretariat Complex, and the state College of Arts and Science in Port Harcourt.
Noting that each candidate has been notified of the specific date, place and time of his or her interview, the permanent secretary stated that each set of candidates has been grouped into batches, and would be accredited to start the exams at exactly 8am and 1pm for the first and second batch, respectively.
It would be recalled that the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Richard Ofuru had earlier said that only those who score 160 points and above would be shortlisted and subjected to another round of written and oral interviews as part of the selection process.
However, it was discovered that some persons who scored 160 points and above, could not find their names on the list displayed at the three centres.
Consequently, Ofuru has directed those whose names are missing from the list to write down their names at the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, and report back to the ministry at 7.30am on Monday for further directives.
Meanwhile, the display centres have been inundated with a sea of heads as hundreds of thousands of applicants for the 13,000 teachers’ jobs scrambled for hours in the last couple of days to spot their names on the list.
Most of the candidates, who spoke with The Tide at the State Secretariat Complex, complained that the names were so tiny that it was very difficult for them to easily identify their names, dates of the interviews and centres.
They also complained that the list was so disjointed that it was to know how many candidates were shortlisted in the first place.
In another development, the Rivers State Ministry of Education has postponed the Common Entrance Examinations into the Nne Kurubo Model Secondary School, Ebubu, Eleme initially slated for tomorrow.
According to a statement dated October 31, and signed by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Richard Ofuru, the exams would now hold on November 10, 2012.
He explained that the change in date was necessitated by the need to allow Rivers people observe the monthly sanitation exercise, which comes up tomorrow.
While insisting that the venue and time for the exams remain the same, Ofuru advised those affected to take note of the new date, and ensure that they made themselves available for the exams, expressing regrets at the inconveniences the postponement may cause parents, guardians, and those expected to participate in the exams.
Eunice Kayode-Choko
The Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency (RSIPA) has unveiled measures to enthrone ease of doing business and win back the confidence of the business community.
The Director-General of the Agency, Dr Chamberlain Peterside, unveiled the plans at the Breakout Session of RSIPA at the ongoing 18th Port Harcourt International Trade Fair, at the Obi Wali International Cultural Centre, in Port Harcourt.
Dr. Peterside said the agency was poised to free the state from accumulation of wrong narratives that branded it over the years as unsafe for business.
He, however, admitted that many things had gone wrong in the past where regulators joined to make the business environment difficult for investors.
He announced that the agency was rather focused on actions, solutions, and results as adopted in the mission statement of the Board.
“Our task is no mean feat. We are dealing with the perception risk that over several years branded the state as unsafe. We are also faced with the challenges of dealing with the lack of cohesion amongst MDAs, policy inconsistencies, multiple taxation, incessant harassment by miscreants, red tape and delays in obtaining operating permits, high cost of operations and opaque public sector,” he said.
“It is about listening to the investors in the field and ensuring that MDAs are carried along, hence the imperative for the setting up of our One-Stop-Center”, he added.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Warisenibo Joe Johnson, who represented the state governor, said the Fubara administration was ready to listen to the business community to see ways of reducing impediments to investments.
He listed the stages of actions being undertaken by the governor as outlined in his 37-page blue print to revive the economy of Rivers State.
The Mayor of Housing, My-ACE China, who was presented at the event as a star investor and promoter of Rivers State reputation, said for the plans of the investment promotion agency to materialize, an enabling law should replace the Executive Order that established the Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency.
He said this would insulate the agency from political instability and remove fear in the minds of investors about its sustainability.
According to him, protection precedes promotion and Local Direct Investment (LDIs) is what attracts and promotes Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs).
“It is the rat at home that reveals to the one in the bush that there is fish in the kitchen”, he added.
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?The Mayor of Housing who is also the CEO of the Alesa Highlands Sustainable Green Smart City said that Port Harcourt is like a business empire under lock and key because it is not protecting its own and also not promoting its own enough for investors to come in.
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?In the area of land documentation and inventory, China urged Rivers State Government to borrow a leaf from Abuja and adopt the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in dealing with land and property registration and documentation for ease of doing business.
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?He said Lagos understood the power of business information, adding “this creates the impression that if you are not doing it in Lagos, you are not doing it in Africa.
“We need to shout louder than Lagos, because we need more investments than Lagos and the structural integrity of Abuja. When you marry both, Rivers State would be wonderful and become green with investments,” he said.
In her speech, the President of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), Dr. Chinyere Nwoga, called on the state government to look into the menace of parked trucks now turning Trans-Amadi into a risk zone.
She outlined the activities of the PHCCIMA and invited investors and businesses to the Port Harcourt economic hub, saying peace has returned.
The Director, Investors Relations of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), Mrs Lovina Kayode, urged Rivers State to make haste and catch up on Ease of Doing Business, saying the Council has come to help businesses in the state.
Mrs Kayode, who represented the Executive Secretary/CEO of NIPC, Aisha Rimi, commended the Mayor of Housing and his counterpart, Mr. Oliver Biedima of Rainbow Heritage Group, for their decision to invest in Rivers State, saying it is a proof that Rivers State is safe for investors and their investments.
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In his remarks, Oliver Biedemi of Rainbow Heritage Group urged government to give the private investors chance to develop the economy, saying ordinarily government does not have the funds to develop the economy.
Happy Birthday Chief Barr. Nyesom Ezenwo Wike CON
Honourable Minister Federal Capital Territory
News
We’ll Drive Tinubu’s Vision in Rivers With Vigour – Fubara …Inaugurates Dualized Ahoada/Omoku Road ….Debunks Rift With RSHA
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has stated that he will lead Rivers people to galvanize support for President Bola Tinubu to drive the vision and objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda in the State with vigour.
The governor, who joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), on Tuesday, explained that his decision to join the APC was not for personal interest but for the overall benefit of Rivers State.
Fubara disclosed these while inaugurating the extension of the dualized Ahoada/ Omoku Express road in Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Areas of Rivers State.
He commended the contracting firm, Julius Berger, for timely delivery of the project, saying the project is a campaign promise fulfilled which will bring economic benefits to the people and tackle issues of insecurity associated with the route.
He said his administration has remained focused in delivering democratic dividends in the state despite facing glaring challenges.
The governor thanked the people of Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Areas for their continuous support, and urged his supporters to remain steadfast and also support President Tinubu who he said, has demonstrated love to Rivers State as a father.
Fubara denied having rift with the Rivers State House of Assembly, stating that his meeting with the lawmakers was stalled as a result of delay in the agreed meeting to be convened by former Governor Nyesom Wike and other stakeholders for him to meet with the state lawmakers.
“I have made every effort to meet with the Assembly members, but it is not within my leadership to initiate the meeting process.
“The arrangement was for my leader, Wike, and the elders led by Anabraba to call for a meeting with the the lawmakers.
“I’m a gentleman and principled. I can’t go behind to call them when we’ve already agreed. Whoever that tell them that I don’t want to meet with them, or I rejected proposal meant for them isn’t saying the truth,” Fubara said.
The Permanent Secretary of the Rivers State Ministry Works, Mr Austin Ezekiel-Hart, who gave the project description, said the delivery of the project was a fulfillment of long time dream by the people of Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Areas.
He said the road was previously a single lane and has now been dualised to 14.6 meters wide, complete with solar-powered streetlights with drainages.
He said the road significantly would reduce travel time between Ahoada and Omoku while improving economic activity in the region.
In his welcome address, Chairman of Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area, Hon. Chuku Shedrack Ogbogu, described the road as a symbol of unity, oneness, and development, thanking the governor for fulfilling his campaign promises.
On his part, the Managing Director of Julius Berger, Engr. Peer Lusbash, said the project was awarded to his company in 2023 with a completion period of 18 months which was achieved in best quality.
He added that Julius Berger enjoyed a good support from the Fubara administration, and assured to complete all ongoing projects being handled by Julius Berger on specification, especially the Ring Road project which is a legacy project.
