The Delta State Government (DTSG) has commended the West African Examination Council (WAEC) for the effective conduct of examination and proper assessment of students.
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa gave the commendations during a courtesy visit by members of the Nigeria National Committe (NNC) of the West African Examinations Council for its 60th Meeting in Asaba.
Okowa, represented by Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Patrick Ukah, said the State Government understood the vital role WAEC played in the development of a child.
“The Governor is a lover of education. If you interact with the Commissioner for Education, you will see the giant strides the government has taken in education in Delta State.
“I am sure your coming to the state is not just to discuss the subject matter but you see the level of knowledge we have here, we do not lack in giving information as it concerns national bodies,” he said.
The Asagba of Asaba, Prof Chike Edoziem, said special attention should be paid to the quality of secondary schools as well as the educational standards.
“I had the opportunity to be worried about the quality of secondary education in Nigeria 20 years ago while i was a Professor in the United States.
“There was an issue about continual education of Nigerian students in the American universities based on their WAEC, that the quality of performance of students is low.
“I advised that I believe that Nigerian students may not be intellectually inferior to any race in the world.
“I advised they should continue admitting Nigerians, if possible give them special attention.
“Few years later, the report was that they perform badly in the first year but subsequently they become very good,” he said.
Commissioner for Secondary Education in the State, Mrs Rose Ezewu, said the State Government had continued to prioritise the education system, adding that WAEC had proven to be reliable in the conduct of its examinations.
She pledged the Delta State government’s support for the council through the state’s Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Mr Augustine Oghoro, said WAEC was a foremost examination body saddled with the responsibility of providing quality and reliable educational assessment.
Oghoro said certificates issued by the council was equivalent to those issued internationally, adding that the council had formidable structures that ensured smooth conduct of its examination.
“The council is a major contributor to regional integration and revival of values and we commend the council for its proposed merit award for some Secondary schools in Delta State”.
Also speaking, Chairman of the National Committee Meeting of WAEC, Mrs Binta Abdulkadir, said they were in the state for the 60th Meeting of the Nigerian National Committee Meeting of the council .
Abdulkadir, also the Director of Secondary School Education in the Federal Ministry of Education, commended Delta State for its achievements in the education system, saying that the state had performed creditably.
“WAEC is an important assessment body that is committed to ensuring the realisation of its mandates.
“WAEC carries out its functions with utmost integrity and the council is exceptional in assessing Nigerian child.
On his part, the Director of Examination and Standard, Mr Sunday Egomagwuna, said the meeting would have multiplier effect on the conduct of examinations in the state.
He lauded stakeholders for the contributions to the growth of the sector.

The African Union Development Agency and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD), in collaboration with Delta State Government, have trained and empowered about 3,380 farmers in the State.
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, who flagged off the One-Day training programme, organised by AUDA-NEPAD and the Delta State Government on Wednesday in Asaba, said benefitting farmers would be trained in six commodities; fisheries, rice, cassava, poultry, piggery and vegetables.
The Tide’s source reports that the theme of the programme was, “Innovative Strengthening of Smallholder Farmers Capabilities Towards Productive Land Restoration Amid COVID-19 and Flood in Nigeria”.
Okowa, represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chief Patrick Ukah, thanked the African Union, AUDA-NEPAD for selecting Delta State as one of the pilot states in Nigeria for the implementation of the programme.
He said the programme has been domesticated and domiciled in the state Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources as a 10-year plan to grow agriculture and boost food security in the state.
According to the Governor, this programme is one of the landmark initiatives of the African Union which came on the heels of economic devastation brought by COVID-19 pandemic.
“Its four major objectives are, eradicating poverty, promoting sustainable growth and development, integrating Africa and the World economy, including the accelerated development of women.
“Agriculture remains central to African countries in their pursuit of these objectives, but they lack the technical leverage of the industrialised world.
“This is why the broad aim of the programme is to strengthen smallholder farmers, accelerate productive land restoration, combat desertification and promote the use of innovative technology to reduce post-harvest loses and maximise food security in Nigeria and in Africa, he stated.
“Against this backdrop, the AUDA-NEPAD programme is domesticated for sustainability, it’s a 10-year plan food sufficiency in our continent.
“It will help to meet the domestic food need and actualise the zero hunger policy of Nigeria, the African Union and the SMART Agenda of Delta.”
Okowa added, “to achieve this in Delta, the AUDA-NEPAD, with the support of the state government, has screened and selected 3,380 smallholder farmers across the 25 Local Government Areas of the state comprising of men, women and persons living with disabilities.”
He, however, charged the participants to remain committed to the programme in order to grow the country’s economy through agriculture.
In her remarks, National Co-ordinator and Chief Executive Officer, AUDU-NEPAD, Princess Gloria Akobundu, represented by its State Director, Mrs Christie Eruotor, said the programme was to cushion the impact of COVID-19 and Flood on the farmers.
Akobundu, however, said the benefiting farmers would be adequately empowered at the end of the programme on innovative technologies on how to increase their farming activities.
Earlier, in his address, the State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr Geoffrey Enita, said that the programme was an intervention of African Union that entails a 10-year support for African governments.
According to him, it is COVID intervention by the African Union that entails a 10-year support for African governments to undertake a range of measures to protect their population from the immediate and long term social, economic and humanitarian impact of the pandemic.
He noted that the programme was spearheaded by the Nigerian Governors Forum, which appointed Gov. Okowa and his Akwa Ibom counterpart, Prof. Emmanuel Udom, to represent the South South region.
He said that at the end of the training of the selected 3,380 smallholder farmers, that the African Union Continental Office was expected to fund their empowerment.
While thanking the State Government for attracting the programme, Enita tasked the farmers, whom he described as the bedrock of food production, to remain committed to the training to upgrade their knowledge on best farming practice.
In their goodwill messages, former State Commissioner for Agriculture, Chief Julius Egbedi, and Chief Jerry Ossai, Former, State Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), lauded the programme, saying the country has no business with hunger if every household could own a small farm.
According to them, the state government has shown commitment by paying its counterpart funds to attract most programmes to grow the state economy.

A non-governmental organisation, Stakeholders Alliance for Corporate Accountability (SACA), has commenced a flood impact response intervention programme in Bayelsa State.
The programme include medical outreach beside distribution of foodstuffs, and other palliatives aimed at mitigating the impact of the floods in the state.
According to the Executive-Director of SACA, Mr Kingsley Ozegbe, the first phase of the programme will hold across nine focal communities of SACA, and Agbura Community, in Yenagoa Council Area of the state, was chosen to kick-start it.
Noting that the impact of the floods have unleashed untold economic hardship on victims and communities, Ozegbe said aside the medical outreach, which will enable them know the health status and treatment of investigated illnesses in victims, the NGO would also be distributing food stuffs to impacted focal communities, and also administer questionnaires on victims for a post-flood intervention outreach, which is also expected to be carried out by SACA, upon concluding its flood response scheme.
“We’ve a team of Medical Doctors and other medical professionals who would be medically examining and treating victims impacted by the flood.
“This programme is tagged: ‘SACA flood response intervention’. It’s expected to take place first in nine out of our 41 focal communities across Bayelsa State. But, we’ve begun in Agbura today, we’ve nine days for the first nine communities.
“But in total, we intend to reach out to 24 Communities first. However, we wanted to begin this programme first in nine Communities before reaching out to the remaining ones”, the SACA’s executive-director said.
The Tide learnt that SACA is funded by Misean Cara of Ireland and the St. Patrick Missionary Society, and that the flood response programme is carried out by SACA in partnership with the Bayelsa State Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Environment, respectively.
Reacting to the NGO’s flood response programme, the Agbura Community through its Deputy paramount ruler, HRH.Rex Okpoto, commended SACA for the initiative, saying prior to the coming of the Ngo, the community was almost left out in the scheme of things concerning flood impact.
Speaking on behalf of beneficiaries, Mrs Anita Etele lauded SACA for its magnanimity, noting that she saw in the conduct of the NGO its desire and willingness of ameliorating their plights as impacted victims of the devastating floods.
Meanwhile, the Head, Medical Outreach of the SACA’S flood response intervention programme, Dr. Maria Okpomu-keme, has said their medical findings revealed that there were prevalent cases of malaria, typhoid, blood pressure issues and skin infections occasioned by the floodings amongst patients attended to.
She advised impacted victims to make themselves available for medical examination and possible treatment so as to enable them live a heathy life as the floods continue to recedes across impacted areas of the state.

By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa