NIGERIAN NOTCH

The Honorable Minister of State Education, Hon Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba led today led a high powered delegation in birini kebbi for the National Campaign on Out-Of-School Children. A drive to get more children into schools and off the street in line with the Ministerial Strategic Plan (2018-2022). The Ministry is set out to identify children of school age who are not in school and ensure their enrolment. The Minister urged stakeholders to work together to ensure that all children especially the indigent ones within our communities are given support and sponsored in their various vocations to achieve a better,reliable and safer society for all. He further charged all States to take giant strides and follow the path laid by the Federal Ministry of Education.  In attendance were the Director, Basic Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Dr. Folake Davids, the Commissioner for Education, Kebbi State, Alh. Watagara, Chairman Kebbi SUBEB Prof Suleiman Khalid, the Secretary to the Ke...

  By Jones Fcc Onwuasoanya   As an ardent campaigner for the next president of Nigeria to come from the Southeast, I should have been ordinarily excited with the news of Owelle Rochas Okorocha’s upcoming World Press Conference where he is expected to formally declare his intention to vie for the highest office in the land. But, it is quite unfortunate that the man from Ogboko who is on his fourth presidential voyage is set to have what is certain to be his worst ever political outing, in his over two decades of active political involvement. Apart from other relevant questions that have been raised about the viability and even morality of his presidential ambition, the Imo West Senator’s willful affront on Ndigbo’s collective authority which is demonstrated by his romance with a discredited impostor parading himself as the President-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, a certain Mr. Chidi Ibeh, clears every doubt, that Okorocha’s comical ambition to govern Nigeria  is bot...

  ......ASKS SECURITY AGENCIES TO INVESTIGATE HIM A group known as Imo must speak, has called out Rochas Okorocha to stop sponsoring insecurity in Imo State just because his in-law is not the Governor of the state. They said that the continuous sponsorship of unrest against Imolites with their commonwealth stolen by himis as callous as a demonic practice.  "No matter how hard you try, you cannot wriggle away from the complicity." The release signed by its convener Barr. Clifford Odionyema futher stated that "the over 3,600 pump action rifles and 235 Sienna can purchase to empower your security unit during your tenure in office as the Governor, remains unaccounted and these are the tools used by your demonic agents to unleash unrest on Imolites." The group however called on Imolites to rise in their numbers, under one voice and condemn in totality, Okorocha sponsorship of insecurity in Imo. "Ndi Imo must demand for the prosecution of Owelle, let him be held acco...

  ... Leads three other Govs for a meeting with AfDB President in Cote d' Iviore Governor Hope Uzodimma has pledged the commitment of Imo State to the highest standards in infrastructure and management that would be required to attract global, regional and national investors for the successful delivery of the Special Agro-Industrial  Processing Zones(SAPZ) Programme. Imo was one of the States chosen for the African Development Bank (AfDB) - sponsored SAPZ Programme in collaboration with other development banks and the federal government, as a veritable strategy in the transformation of the Nigerian agriculture sector, through industrialization. Other States include: Kaduna, Ogun and Oyo. Senator Uzodimma as the focal Governor for the programme reaffirmed Imo State's commitment to the scheme in his remarks on Tuesday in Cote d' Iviore during a meeting with the President of the AfDB, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina and his team as well as representatives of the development partners and...

Sometime in 2017, the world apex bank introduced a performance based programme  that would make them monitor and rate the fiscal performance of states. To that effect, world bank entered into a mutual agreement with the Federal Government which gave birth to a programme known as The State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme. The rationale behind the State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme is informed by the current serious fiscal challenges faced by the states with many unable to pay backlog of salary arrears of  several months due to poor fiscal governance occasioned by high cost of governance, profligacy poor revenue drive amongst others. Most states with the exception of a few have weak fiscal transparency and accountability structure characterized by unpublished budgets & financial statements, lack of timely budget implementation reports, very high budget deviation (between 30% to 55%) and thei...

Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos says building a world class health system is a priority of his administration. Sanwo-Olu said this on Friday in Lagos during the Y2021 Health Forum with the theme, “The Art of Building a World Class Health System.” The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the programme was organised by the Lagos State Government in collaboration with the State Health Service Commission (HSC). Sanwo-Olu, represented by Mrs Folasade Jaji, Secretary to the State Government, noted that establishing a robust health system would complement the status of a mega city and 21st century economy desired for the state. He said that the development of the health sector to adequately cater to the health needs of the people effectively and efficiently had been a priority of his administration, as expressed in the THEMES agenda. According to him, achieving this goal will entail enhancing the delivery capacity of all health facilities at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. He sa...

  The Young Progressives Party (YPP) governorship aspirant in Ekiti, Mr Debo Ajayi, has identified the lack of visionary leadership as the major cause of underdevelopment in the state. Ajayi who made this known in a statement he issued on Friday, through his party’s secretariat in Abuja, vowed to change the narratives if given the opportunity to govern the state. He noted that the time has come for men of integrity and vision to take over the mantle of leadership in the state, provide direction and fix the broken system. The governorship aspirant said part of the visionary leadership he would offer if elected into office would be to tap into the intellectual assets that are in abundance in the state and also ensure a private sector-driven economy. “We will invest massively in the youths who will be drivers of our proposed knowledge-driven economy. “Politics in Nigeria is rapidly evolving with renewed consciousness made increasingly possible by the obvious leadership failure since t...

The Central Bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele has assured the Super Eagles of Federal Government’s support in the team’s quest for a fourth Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title in Cameroon. Emefiele gave the assurance when he visited the team in company of top Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) officials in Garoua, Cameroon. The CBN governor commended the efforts of the Super Eagles players and officials with a call on them to continue to be patriotic. “You will continue to be rewarded, but most importantly, you should see this outing as service to the nation. I can assure you that everything is being done by the government to make Nigerian youths happy. “Continue to make Nigerians happy just as you have done, members of government delegation are always present and ready to give you all the support,” he said. Earlier, NFF President Amaju Pinnick thanked the CBN governor and his delegation for the visit, with a pledge to always make the nation proud. “We indeed thank the extremely passion...

Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, says Nigeria is pleased with the contributions of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to humanitarian efforts in the country. Osinbajo’s spokesman, Mr Laolu Akande, in a statement on Friday, said the vice president received a delegation from OCHA led by the Undersecretary/Emergency Response Coordinator, Mr Martin Griffiths, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. According to Osinbajo, no matter the challenge or resource constraint, people need to know that their government will always be in a position to support and make provisions for them. “We have challenges; post-pandemic challenges, resource constraints, but we still have to make provisions for the millions of people, who expect that government must be in a position to support them in a terrible and challenging period. “We are extremely pleased with OCHA; its contribution to all humanitarian efforts. “The experience OCHA brings to the table is one of dealing with ...

The price of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) basket of 13 crude oil samples stood at $86.54 per barrel as at Monday, Jan. 17. This is compared with $85.46 per barrel of the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Abuja as released by OPEC on Tuesday. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB), introduced on June 16, 2005 is currently made up of the Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Djeno (Congo) and Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea). Others include Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).  Credits: (NAN)