All Posts in "Day: December 16, 2021"

Mustapha Banana Holds Annual Ogun Table Tennis Tourney

Mustapha-Banana holds third annual Ogun Table Tennis Championship - Champion Newspapers LTD
Sango Ota, Ogun State will be a beehive of activities between December 20 and 21, 2021 as the city plays hosts to the third edition of the annual Banana Table Tennis Championship.
According to the organiser, Alhaji Sikiru Mustapha, the championship, which will feature players in both the veterans and cadet boys/girls categories, holds at the renowned MAO sports hall, Sango Ota, Ogun State.
He noted that necessary arrangements have been concluded to ensure the success of the championship, which will have participants from all the 20 Local Government Areas in the Gateway State.
Alhaji Mustapha, who stated that winners at the championship will go home with medals and handsome cash awards, further  revealed that the annual championship enjoys the supports of the Ogun State Sports Council.
It will have officiating referees from the state sports council,he said.
A veteran table tennis player in Ogun State and the honorary adviser on the championship, Mrs Funmi Oyetayo, noted that the annual table tennis fiesta was being put together to showcase the state’s talented table tennis players  who lacked necessary exposure, improve the skills of the participants and also ensure the discovery of talents for the country’s table tennis national teams.
She explained that plans were underway to make sure all events at the championship were COVID-19 compliant, more so that dignitaries from all walks of life were being expected to grace the championship.
Online Editor by — December 16, 2021 in Sports 0
5G Auction:Tinubu Has  Connection With Mafab Communications-NCC

5G auction: NCC not aware of Tinubu's connection to Mafab Communications
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC),has denied ownership of Mafab Communications Limited,one of the companies that won its recent 5G spectrum auction  with the former governor of Lagos,Senator Bola Tinubu.
Its position was sequel to  publications in some online media channels alleging the involvement of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos State, in Mafab Communications Limited, one of the winners of the 5G spectrum sold by the Commission in a public auction conducted on Monday, December 13, 2021, at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
The agency said:”It bears restating that, consistent with the Commission’s long-established regulatory culture and tradition, the process leading to the auction of the 5G spectrum was open, fair and transparent in the most, as the public auction followed a rigorous due process and was witnessed by a cross-section of stakeholders as observers, including the media, the Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), the Independent Corrupt Practices  and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) as well as civil society groups.
Mafab Communications Limited is a corporate entity duly licensed by the Commission to conduct telecommunications business. The company, which is in good regulatory standing with the Commission, currently holds international data access (IDA), inter-connect data exchange (IDE) and Value-Added Service (VAS) licences.
It  added that the Information Memorandum (IM) for the auction of the 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum clearly set out eligibility criteria for participation of interested bidders in the auction, which included that new companies could participate in the bid.
It added:”Over the years, the NCC has had spectrum auctions and as an independent regulatory agency, has maintained an undisputable reputation of successful auctions based on openness, fairness and transparency, a fact widely acknowledged locally and internationally. NCC’s auction proceedings conform to international best practice, devoid of any undue influence or interferences whatsoever.
“A higher standard of integrity and openness was emplaced in the 5G auction as the process was, for the first time, witnessed by the public both physically and virtually through a link provided by the  Commission on its official website.The commission would like to assure Nigerians that, following the successful auction of the 5G spectrum, it is prepared to drive the implementation of the next phase of the deployment of the new technology, in line with the Federal Government’s approved plan, for the benefit of all citizens”.
Online Editor by — December 16, 2021 in IT&Telecoms 0
Airline Operators Okay FG’s ’s Stand On Face-Off With UAE 

FG lifts ban on Emirates Airline after negotiations - Businessday NG
Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), say the position taken by the Federal Government and Sen. Hadi Sirika, the Minister of Aviation on its face-off with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) shows the sovereignty of Nigeria.
A statement by Dr. Abdulmunaf Safina, the President, AON, said that government showed courage and stood for the honour, dignity and respect of the country throughout the impasse with the Middle East country.
He also commended Capt. Musa Nuhu, the Director-General of NCAA for his dogged and courages actions, which did not leave anyone in doubt about his resolve to do all within his capacity not to allow any country disrespect the country.
He said: “We thank President Muhammadu Buhari for his unwavering stance on this issue, which emboldened the Minister of Aviation to reciprocate with equal measure the treatment meted out to a Niegrian airline operating into the UAE.
“We commend the Buhari’s government for standing solidly and protectively behind not only Nigerian airlines, but also indigenous investments and investors in Nigeria. By the recent reciprocal actions undertaken by the Federal Government, national sense of pride and belief in Nigeria rose to an all-time high.”
The group declared that it was not opposed to other foreign airlines operating into Nigeria, but frowned at the alleged underhand actions of some of these airlines and their countries in making it difficult for Nigerian carriers to get the necessary permits to operate in their countries.
The statement added that AON was not unmindful of the leading roles the Minister played in getting President Buhari to sign the Customs Duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) waivers into law immediately the National Assembly passed the bill.
The  UAE recently reduced the three weekly flights operated by Nigeria’s Air Peace into the Sharjah International Airport to just one flight per week, while UAE’s carrier, Emirates, operates 21 flights weekly into Nigeria, a situation that led Nuhu to reduce Emirates frequency into Nigeria to just one flight weekly.
The UAE authorities have not only granted seven slots per week to Air Peace, but have granted the Nigerian carrier the slots to operate from the preferred Dubai Airport instead of Sharjah.
Online Editor by — December 16, 2021 in Aviation 0
AGF Parleys Midstream, Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority On Improved Operations

Accountant-general, NEITI vow to recover N69.5bn, $5.31bn from extractive industries - Punch Newspapers
The Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed idris, has pledged the support of the Treasury to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority(NMDPRA) to help it succeed in its operations.
According to a statement by Henshaw Ogubike, the Director, Information, Press and Public Relations, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Idris said this when he received the management team of the Agency,  led on a courtesy visit by the Executive Director (Finance and Account),  Mr. Abiodun Adeniji.
The NMDPRA was created in September 2021 after the scrapping of three hitherto oil regulatory agencies – the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF). The Agency is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of the midstream and downstream operations in Nigeria.
The Accountant General of the Federation reaffirmed the readiness of the Treasury to extend to the new agency the seamless, mutually beneficial relationship and cooperation it had with the three defunct agencies.
He expressed optimism that such cooperation will help secure the necessary finances for the government and help grow the economy.
Idris, who made a case for treasury officers to be co-opt as internal auditors in the Agency, pointed out that statutorily, treasury officers serve as internal auditors in all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), adding that such should be applicable in the agency.
He congratulated the management team on their appointment and charged them to uphold the ideals of transparency, accountability and zero tolerance for corruption.
In his address, the Executive Director (Finance and Accounts) of the NMDPRA, Mr. Abiodun Adeniji said the management of the agency was poised to work assiduously to fulfill its mandate.
While commending the Accountant General of the Federation for providing visionary leadership for the Treasury, Mr. Adeniji solicited the cooperation of the Treasury to help the Agency succeed in its operations.
Online Editor by — December 16, 2021 in News 0
Oyo Ready To Improve Education-Commissioner

Oyo govt shuts five private clinics over quackery - Tribune Online
Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr. Wasiu Olatunbosun has said the Oyo State Government’s allocation to education in the 2022 budget shows its seriousness in improving the sector.
He said adding this was part of the Seyi Makinde-led administration’s steps to increase expenditure on education between 2022 and 2023.
He spoke  at the 6th Annual Re- Union of Urban Day Grammar School, Elekuro, held at Government Technical College Pavilion, Orita- Aperin, Ibadan, the Oyo State,where he  said Governor Makinde allocated 18.37% of the 2022 budget to education, hinting that this does not fall short of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) benchmark of 15 to 20 per cent of the annual budget.
According to him,Seyi Makinde’s administration is committed to ensuring Oyo State keeps meeting up with the UNESCO international benchmark.
Olatunbosun said the present administration has made spirited efforts to ensure that Oyo State Government’s investment in the sector meets the globally accepted standard of 20 percent of budgetary allocations.
He appealed to the Old Students Association of public schools to support the Government’s efforts in rebuilding the standard of education.
Olatunbosun urged Old student associations to invest in their alma mata by building a solid foundation that will meet up with the modern standard in educational advancement of the State.
Olatunbosun said, as a way of building morals in students, the State Government  has revived some clubs that would return values to schools.
Speaking at the event, Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, CP Fatai Owoseni (rtd) also admonished old students to help their School in all ramifications and make it better than when it was established.
Online Editor by — December 16, 2021 in News 0
Police To Enjoy New Salary Next Year

The Federal Executive Council (FEC)  has approved peculiar allowance for the police in the country.
The disbursement of the new allowances will begin from January 2022.
The allowance will increase police personnel take-home pay by 20 percent of their present earning.
The FEC meeting also approved the review of police duty tour allowance to 6 percent, as well as the release of N1.2 billion for the payment of uninsured benefits.
Besides,FEC  approved the sum of  N1.2 billion for the payment of outstanding allowances.
Minister of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi, told  journalists after the council meeting, that the approval is in consonance with President Buhari’s promise to enhance police personnel pay as demanded by  #EndSARS protesters.
Online Editor by — December 16, 2021 in News 0
TETFund Moves To Stop Plagiarism In Tertiary Institutions

Plagiarism: TETFund To Begin Thesis Digitisation In Tertiary Institutions -Bogoro – Independent Newspaper Nigeria
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has commenced moves to  check plagiarism through digitizing theses and projects in the nation’s tertiary institutions .
Executive Secretary of TETFund, Professor Suleiman Bogoro, announced this  at a workshop on thesis digitization project for beneficiary institutions this in Abuja.
According to him:”We want to dematerialise and electronic theses and projects by starting with thesis at PhD and master’s levels across our beneficiary institutions and we hope we extend it to the private institutions.The idea is simple, the world has gone digital. We cannot continue to operate analogue. We know that a number of materials from theses at postgraduate level and even undergraduate have literally disappeared.
“Where there are fire incidents, physical papers are burnt and the theses gone. But if we are able to dematerialise them and they are stored in different forms in different repositories, it will be easier to access and the protection of the materials is guaranteed.
“It will also assist us in checking plagiarism. That is a major benefit for digitalisation. We want  to avoid and discourage, and indeed stop plagiarism by researchers at any level.”
Maintaining that the decision of TETFund to fund digitalization of thesis would also shore up ranking of universities and other tertiary institutions in the country, Bogoro expressed severe concern over plagiarism in Nigerians higher institutions.
“If you want to reproduce the outcome of a particular work and you want to claim it. You know that it is unacceptable and a criminal act, even though you are a professor, you can lose your title as a professor, if it is confirmed you plagiarized,” the TETFund boss said.
Bogoro said the workshop was to bring together  Librarians, Directors of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Desk Officers to address key issues on collective academic research output by bringing ICT and digitization to bear.
“With the unprecedented backing of our President, Muhammadu Buhari, and commitment of our Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu’s, as well as synergy with partners, such as the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Council for Colleges of Education (NCCE) and National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), the paradigm shift agenda of the Fund has resulted in the elevation of R&D and innovation to the top of the national discourse, but this discourse must be followed with concrete action.
“Today, we have commenced the first of several physical sensitization events on the digitization of thesis for beneficiary institutions with a view towards seeding our very own National Research Repository, containing academic scholarly works produced by our own students, staff, and eventually the entire academic community at large,” the TETFund boss said.
Bogoro, who  expressed delight at the prospects of the project, said “digitizing our academic research output will lead to increased access and innovation, consequently accelerating the journey between research and commercial application; and this effort is critical to secure the contributions of our fledgling research base to productivity, growth, and social benefits.”
In a presentation, the Director of Education Support Service of TETFund, Mustapha Gotala, said the digitisation project would reposition Nigerian tertiary education institutions for better performance.
Online Editor by — December 16, 2021 in Education 0
Bilingual Education: Osun,Adamawa,Others To Benefit From $98m Islamic Bank Loan

UBEC gets $98m Islamic bank loan to boost bilingual education - National Accord Newspaper
The Board of Executive Directors of Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) has approved a multi-year financial facility programme of $98 million for the promotion of bilingual education in Nigeria between 2022 and 2025.
Nine states,including,Adamawa, Borno, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger and Osun,would benefit from the project,according to Head, Public Relations and Protocol, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), David Apeh.
In a statement on Wednesday in Abuja,Apeh explained that the aim of the project was to contribute to the improvement of the socio-economic condition of Nigeria, ensure inclusive education and promote bilingual education.
He said that the major components of the project were to create access to basic education, improve quality and enhance the management capacity of school administrators.
He disclosed that in all, 30 Bilingual Education Boarding Schools are to be constructed in the 9 States, which would help boost enrolment and reduce the out-of-school-children (OOSC) syndrome as well as expose learners to the knowledge of Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
He added:”Another important feature of this project is the Awqaf and Istisnaa imbedded to provide real estate business for sustainable income for the programme.The project is being coordinated at the National level by Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), National Coordinating Unit (NCU) with supervision by Federal Ministry of Education and Federal Ministry of Finance,” he said.
He disclosed that the National Coordinating Unit has already engaged consultants to design, review and supervise the civil works of the projects and has also engaged the services of a monitoring and evaluation consultant.
He further noted that the office furniture and equipment have been procured for the 9 participating states, adding the process of the civil work has just commenced.
He said a stakeholders meeting was organized to brief the states on the level of the project implementation with the 9 states represented by their Commissioners of Finance, SUBEB Chairmen, Heads of Project Management Units (PMUs) and Tsangaya Arabic and Islamic Education Agencies.
The meeting, which was chaired by the Executive Secretary, UBEC, Dr Hamid Bobboyi, who was represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical), Prof. Bala Zakari, also had in attendance, members of UBEC management as well as the representatives of the Federal Ministries of Education, Finance and IsDB.
Bobboyi in his remark, informed the State Governments that the project was a loan that has to be repaid hence, the need to ensure its effective implementation and prudent management.
Online Editor by — December 16, 2021 in Education 0
 Nigeria Gets $210m Loan From AfDB

AfDB Offers Nigeria $210m Loan for Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone – Arise News
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has approved a $210 million loan to Nigeria to fund agro-industrial processing zones in different parts of the country.
The loan will co-finance phase one of the Nigeria Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone Programme, a statement obtained from the Bank said.
The programme is expected to unlock Nigeria’s agriculture sector potential and create jobs for the citizens. It is conceived to promote industrialisation through the development of strategic crops and livestock.
The agency said  the financing represents one of the Bank’s most ambitious operations in terms of scale and scope to date. The facility is made up of an AfDB loan of $160 million and an Africa Growing Together Fund loan of $50 million.
The first phase of the project targets seven Nigerian states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The states and focal areas are Cross River (cocoa, rice and cassava), Imo (beef and dairy livestock), Kaduna (tomato, maize and ginger) and Kano (rice, tomato, groundnuts and sesame oil).
Others are Kwara (livestock), Ogun (cassava, rice, poultry and fisheries), Oyo (cassava, soybean and rice) and FCT (beef and dairy livestock).
AfDB said the project will support Nigeria’s efforts to raise agricultural output, promote investment, create wealth and transform rural areas into economic hubs. It noted that the phase would be implemented with co-financing totalling $538.05 million from other partners.
AfDB Group President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina was quoted by the statement as saying: “This first phase of the programme is not government-driven. It is government-enabled and private sector-led. That is the critical way in which you have the structural transformation of agriculture. It is impressive to see a strong commitment from the Nigerian government – a very strong commitment from the Nigerian Minister of Finance and all of the state governments because they have to give the land, they make sure that all the regulations and incentives are provided.”
“Phase 1 of the Nigeria Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones Programme will mobilise private sector investment in the agro-industrial hubs and agricultural transformation centres. It will impact some 1.5 million households as direct beneficiaries, with a target of creating 400,000 direct jobs and up to 1.6 million indirect jobs,” the Director-General of the Bank’s Nigeria Country Office, Lamin Barrow, was quoted.
The African Development Bank’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, Beth Dunford, was also quoted as: “Equitable employment and economic opportunities are a cornerstone of the Bank’s work. This program will target at least 50 per cent of women’s participation. The gender action plan will help ensure that there is the facilitation of broader lending to women.”
The AfDB’s Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones is a flagship of the Bank’s Feed Africa Strategy. The Bank plans to establish the zones in 18 African countries, including Nigeria. The zones are designed to concentrate production, processing, storage, transport and the marketing of commodities to increase productivity and reduce logistics costs.
The hubs are designed to revitalise peri-urban economies and create jobs for women, men, and young people. It includes a $2 million budget for a gender action plan that will provide agro-industrial hub gender-sensitive guidelines, workshops for women-led agricultural cooperatives and capacity-building training for women, the Bank said.
Online Editor by — December 16, 2021 in Banking&Finance 0
 Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Wizkid ,Mo Abudu, Others Make Y!/YNaija Person Of The Year Nominees List 

Mo Abudu & Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Make Forbes' '100 Most Powerful Women' 2021 List - CELEBRITY PROFILE
Y!/YNaija.com, Africa’s youth-centered web and social media platform, has released its Person of the Year 2021 nominees list.
The Y!/YNaija.com Person of the Year honour is awarded to individuals who have most visibly influenced the Nigerian society for good in the year under review, breaking new boundaries or consolidating gains — and driving the advancement of the public, especially young people.
Nominees for the Y!/YNaija.com 2021 Person of the Year are Dr. Akintoye Akindele [investment], Kamaru Usman [sports], Ayo ‘Wizkid’ Balogun [entertainment], Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala [public service], Mo Abudu [entertainment], Hon. Justice Doris Okuwobi [public service], David ‘Davido’ Adeleke [entertainment], D’Tigress [sports], Abimbola Adebakin [health], and the Nigerian Youth [citizens].
“The Person of the Year Award is a long-standing tradition of Y!/YNaija.com to showcase and recognize those who are pushing the boundaries and making a positive impact, especially at a time when citizens are making efforts to adjust to the new normal occasioned by the pandemic,” said Isime Esene, Managing Editor of Y!/YNaija.com. “With the outstanding nominees shortlisted, this year will be no different, as everyone on the list is deserving of the award.”
The winner of the popular vote will be announced on 30 December, 2021, while the choice of the editorial board of Y!/YNaija.com will be announced on 31 December, 2021.
Online Editor by — December 16, 2021 in News 0