Nation
Abia LIFE-ND Picks 1,000 Beneficiaries For Agro-Business
The Abia State Project Coordinating Office of the Lifelihood Improvement Family Enterprises for Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) has commenced selection of another set of beneficiaries for its agribusiness project.
The project’s National Administrative Officer, Mrs Ngozi Ohaechezi, who coordinated the exercise, told newsmen in Umuahia that the project is expected to bring on board at least 1000 potential beneficiaries.
She said the beneficiaries, who are otherwise known as the incubates, are the fourth set to be recruited.
Ohaechezi said the beneficiaries comprised youths aged between 18 and 35 years and women-headed households with children under the age of 15, who are interested in agribusiness.
She said persons living with disabilities were also eligible for the project, adding that the beneficiaries were being selected from 100 communities in 10 local government areas of the state that the project is operating.
Noting that 10 persons are being selected from each of the communities, she said the project received over 3,000 applications, including those of online, stressing that only 1,000 would be engaged after the screening.
“We have five teams in all the 100 communities and the 10 council areas who are supervising the exercise, but the community leaders themselves are actively involved in the screening process.
“We are trying to re-strategise and use a new approach to make sure that people are given the opportunity in our recruitment process, which is based on merit”, she said.
The State Project Coordinator, Dr Uchenna Onyeizu, said the beneficiaries would be engaged in the four agro- commodities, including cassava, rice, poultry and oil palm, which the project is working on.
He said the project had been able to engage about 1,500 beneficiaries at different stages in different agribusinesses, since its inception about three years ago.
Onyeizu said: “The project targets to engage 4,250 beneficiaries for its six-year lifespan.
“By the time we bring in the 1000, thereby getting about 2500 beneficiaries, we would have surpassed our mid-term target, which is a few months from now.
“The essence of the agribusiness is to ensure that the livelihood of the households improves significantly”. she said.
Nation
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The Rivers State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Peters Nwagor, has commended the orderly conduct of the ongoing 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination in the state and urged schools to sustain the standard.
Dr. Nwagor gave the commendation on Tuesday during a monitoring tour of selected secondary schools in Port Harcourt and environs where the WAEC exam is ongoing.
The commissioner, who was accompanied by directors and monitors from the Ministry of Education, said he was impressed with the peaceful atmosphere at the centres visited.
“The students conducted themselves properly and wrote their papers under conducive conditions. Invigilators and supervisors also performed their duties professionally,” he stated.
Nwagor noted that the Rivers State Government had invested heavily to ensure the smooth and credible conduct of the examination across the state
He urged candidates to reciprocate government’s effort by shunning all forms of examination malpractice and focusing on their studies.
“Government has done so much to ensure successful examinations in our schools. Students should take advantage of it by remaining focused,” the commissioner said.
While no case of malpractice was recorded in the centres inspected, Dr. Nwagor warned that any principal, teacher, invigilator, or official caught aiding malpractice would face strict sanctions in line with regulations.
He also commended school administrators, teachers, WAEC officials, and security personnel for upholding the integrity of the process.
Centres visited included County Grammar School, Ikwerre/Etche; Government Comprehensive Secondary School, Borokiri; Government Secondary School, Borokiri; and Pabod Model Secondary School.