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Use Tech To Rewrite Negative Narrative About Nigeria, Mrs Tinubu Tells Women …Launches Skills Training In Rivers
Wife of the President and National Chairman of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has charged women to use the opportunity provided by technology to rewrite the negative narrative portrayed against the country in the cyberspace that is in sharp constrast with its true national value.
She has also urged women to start the process of building solid value-based foundation to launch Nigeria into the technology world in the next decade.
Senator Tinubu gave the charge while declaring open a two-day Women in Tech Skills Training for Women Entrepreneurs for the South-South Region, organised by the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) in partnership with Huawei, at the African Centre for Excellence, University of Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
Represented by the Wife of the Rivers State Governor and State Coordinator of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), Lady Valerie Siminalayi Fubara, Senator Tinubu said with Nigeria facing enormous challenges amidst negative narrative, it behoves every citizen of the country, particularly women, to use every available opportunity to project it in positive trajectory.
She said, “This training programme, jointly coordinated by technology giant, Huawei and the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), pet project of the Wife of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a gateway programme targetted at raising the number and influence of women in technology in Nigeria.
“Our nation is facing a tough time with the narrative being presented through the cyberspace. This narrative, which does not represent our true value, is sad testimonial on our national image, and it must be corrected. It is my belief that rewriting the narrative starts with you.
“Every citizen owe it to this country to use every opportunity available to put Nigeria in positive pedestal. I am aware that women have always occupied strategic positions in development planning in Nigeria, and as the world continues to evolve, especially in technology-driven disciplines, it is only very necessary to immediately commence the building of a solid value-based foundation for Nigeria’s sojourn in the tech world in the next decade,” she noted.
The Wife of the President, who noted the strategic roles women play in society and the challenges faced as a result of gender bias, lack of representation and access to leadership, stated that the programme was put in place to develop and grow more women who are determined, skillful and committed to breaking new grounds in tech development.
Senator Tinubu, while noting the leading role of Germany, France and others in the tech business as a result of deliberate plan to achieve set goals, stressed optimism that Nigerian women can also become world leaders through deliberate training, and nurturing to achieve desired aim.
She emphasised, “In partnering with Huawei for this training, the Renewed Hope Initiative is not oblivious of the strategic roles women play in the healthcare and health services sector, the educational sector, and indeed, in government and private sector organisations.
“However, it is our conviction that giving the enormous endowment of every Nigerian woman, there should be a deliberate focus of finding ways of increasing their productivity, especially in technology-driven areas.
“It is obvious that the biggest underlying challenges has always been gender bias, lack of representation, lack of access to leadership opportunities, and that is precisely why the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) has floated this programme to grow more determined and skillful women that are committed to staying focused in breaking new grounds in tech development.”
She observed, “Germany, France and others around the World are leading in the tech business today because there was a deliberate plan to do so. It is, therefore, our conviction that Nigerian women can rise to be world beaters, if we make deliberate plan to train, nurture and position them for such sectoral leads.”
The Wife of the President noted the great potentials inherent in women, and urged them to build more frontiers for networking, skills building initiatives and fostering new areas of mentorship for younger generation of women committed to tech development.
She added, “The Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) believes that every woman here has great potentials. I, therefore, urge you to build more frontiers for networking with global women in tech movement, skills building initiatives, and also foster new areas of mentorship for the younger generation of women interested in tech development.”
According to her, “When you do this, rest assured that you would have built the future of e-governance business and championed the course of a new position thinking, tech service generation of Nigerians on all fronts.”
She called on Nigerian women, irrespective of ethnic affiliation, to continue to support the efforts of the Wife of the President in uplifting society through the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI).
“It gives me great pleasure to be part of today’s event. When I was called upon to represent our beloved mother, Her Excellency, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, CON, Wife of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria in this event, I saw it as an opportunity to meet with women who have the capacity and knowledge to shape the country of our dream.
“I am, therefore, delighted to represent our First Lady, a woman whose vision in the transformation of female values in Nigeria is unequivocal, and I call on Nigerian women, irrespective of ethnic affiliation, to support her genuine efforts in uplifting the family through quality programmes embarked upon under the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI).”
In his goodwill message, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof Owunari Georgewill, expressed gratitude to the Wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, for initiating the programme geared towards upscaling women in technological skills.
Represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research, Prof Iyeopu Siminalayi, Prof Georgewill noted the partnership that had existed between the university and Huawei in upscaling it’s students in IT skills like networking, cyber security, and commended Huawei for partnering with the First Lady of Nigeria to undertake the programme, while expressing the belief that the programme will benefit the women in the state who are being underrepresented in the tech world.
In his welcome address, the Managing Director of Huawei, who spoke through the Country Representative, Dr Nihinlola Fafori, said the programme is the 5th batch of the RHI’s Women in Tech Training, which covers the South-South Region.
She stated that the programme, which has been on since the first quarter of this year, had covered over four geo-political zones with about 25 states in Nigeria, emphasizing that the training will enable participants drive their businesses through technology and explore more opportunities within the tools that will enable their business to be reached across other consumers not just within the region but in Nigeria and globally.
Presenting the Training Overview, Huawei Consultant, Chinedu Ogbiede, noted that the training will afford participants the opportunity to understand the role of women in ICT, become more employable, run their businesses better, harness the potentials of ICT, and support their families and communities.
He asserted that with the training, the era of ‘I don’t know were to start’ is over, because with the aid of technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), they will be able to launch a business.
Speaking on behalf of the participants, Mrs Efe Ovrine, lauded the Wife of the President for her deep-seated idea of putting the programme together to train women and empower them technologically, promising to utilize the experience gained to impact on society.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
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RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.