The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) on Tuesday cautioned Northern Elders to guard against utterances that might affect the peace and unity of Nigeria.
The President of the AYCF, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, who spoke on “the North 2015 general elections”, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
“Politics will come and go but the North and Nigeria will remain. So we must remain together and see ourselves as brothers.’’
He said that irrespective of political divide, political leaders from the North should endeavour to see 2015 within the context of sportsmanship.
“Some of us are disappointed by the verbal attacks by Northern leaders on one another’s personality, due to politics.
Yerima noted that most Northern youths were beginning to open their eyes to issues in Nigeria and the past.
“We know each leader’s antecedents and that is what will speak for them during the elections.
“Decisions on who the North will vote will not be influenced by abuses and allegations. We know the truth and our eyes are opened.
“No more shall we be deceived by some people whose days are over and who have no legacy to point to in the North.’’
He said that the AYCF would embark on massive enlightenment campaigns in the North, to educate youths more on the need to disregard utterances detrimental to their future, irrespective of who said them.
Shettima urged Northern politicians to play politics by the rules and let the people and their political parties decide whether they wanted them or not.
“Nigeria must remain united. This is a phase and someday we will triumph.’’
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it had earmarked N2 billion for disbursement to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operators in Nasarawa State.
Mr Usman Sule, the Branch Controller of the apex bank in Lafia, disclosed this at a sensitisation workshop on Tuesday in Lafia.
He said that N2 billion earmarked for the in the state was part of the N220 billion earmarked for disbursement to two million small and medium scale entrepreneurs in the country.
According to him, the fundamental objective of the fund is channelling long-term low interest fund to the micro, small and medium enterprises through the participating financial institutions.
Sule said that the fund was expected to cover over two million micro, small and medium enterprises over a period of 10 years.
He said that 60 per cent of the fund was targeted at women entrepreneurs.
According to the branch controller, the state governments are closer to the people at the grassroots, hence the need to partner with them.
Earlier, Gov. Umaru Al-Makura, who declared the workshop opened, said the workshop was organised in line with the transformation agenda of the present administration to reduce unemployment and restiveness in the state.
Al-Makura, who was represented by Mrs Asibi Umeri, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said government was determined to empower the citizens of the state, especially youths and women.
He commended the apex bank for the initiative, saying that it would bring about economic growth.
The governor urged participants to make use of the lessons learnt at the workshop to achieve the desired objective.
Mrs Helen Agbo, a participant at the workshop said: “Honestly, if they give me the money, I will be able to engage in fish farming because I am a farmer too.’’
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on Aug.16, 2013, the CBN launched the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund with a take-off capital of N220 billion.
The Presidency says it has spent N10.37 billion in three years to boost food security in the country.
In a statement from the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Presidency said that N541 million was expended in 2011, N5.1 billion in 2012 and N4.73 billion in 2013.
The statement was signed by Mr Desmond Utomwen, the Media and Communications Consultant to Dr Precious Gbeneol, the Special Assitant to the President on MDGs, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.
It said that the Federal Government was making every effort to ensure improvement in agricultural production to ensure food sufficiency in the country.
“In 2011, the sum of N541 million was provided for agricultural investment targeted at improving food security.
“In 2012, the sum of N5.1 billion was allocated while in 2013, the sum of N4.73 billion was appropriated in the Federal Budget to foster food security,’’ the statement said.
It explained that the increase in budgetary allocations in 2012 and 2013 was done to support the Federal Government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA).
The objective of the ATA, it further said, was to improve production, processing and marketing infrastructure necessary for selected commodity value chains.
“With the support, the office has been able to train 5,000 youths in 10 different value chains and provided start-up packages for 6,000 youths, including access to credit and other inputs through GES.
According to the statement, 2,500 women were trained in poultry production, bull fattening, sheep and goat production, bee keeping, crop value chains and extension.
It also said that 22,500 farmers were trained in agricultural practices to boost food production in the country.
It stated that the Presidency provided loans to trainees to purchase starter packs and to access the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme and other necessary inputs.
It added that the loans would help the trainees to re-invigorate Extension Support Services through the training of farmers.
It said the loans also covered the procurement of 5,000 potable pesticide sprayers, construction of roads to staple crop processing zones and the rehabilitation of rural feeder roads in crop production clusters.
It explained that GES was designed to provide affordable agricultural inputs such as fertiliser and hybrid seeds to farmers, to increase their yield per hectare, making it comparable to world standard.
Manchester United manager David Moyes vowed on Tuesday that his struggling team’s fortunes will improve if they keep faith with their current methods.
United head into Wednesday’s Premier League match at Arsenal having lost five of their nine matches since the turn of the year.
The 2-2 draw at home to Fulham on Sunday, in a game that United dominated, left the champions seventh in the table, nine points off fourth place and 15 points below leaders Chelsea.
Moyes defended his side’s tactics against bottom-of-the-table Fulham and expressed certainty that United’s luck would turn.
“Football does that sometimes and we have to make sure it doesn’t happen too often, but I do think there have been a few twists this season and hopefully we’ll get them back in the future,” he said.
“You just continue doing the right things. We’re doing the right things, we need to keep going and your luck will change, there’s no doubt about that.”
Moyes also dismissed suggestions that defender Rio Ferdinand would not travel to a training camp in Dubai later this week, amid claims in the British media that the 35-year-old centre-back is due to announce his retirement.
Ferdinand’s contract expires at the end of the season, but Moyes said that the rumours about his future were wide of the mark.
“I can only tell you that what was written was a load of rubbish, complete nonsense,” the former Everton manager said during a brief press conference at United’s Carrington training complex.
“We’ve got a chance to have a few days off and we’ll see. We’ve got a big Champions League game (away to Olympiakos) coming up in just over a week’s time.”
The club subsequently confirmed that Ferdinand will make the trip to Dubai, while the player himself wrote on Twitter: “Must be another slow news day.”
United are not in FA Cup action at the weekend, having been knocked out of the competition in the third round by Swansea City.
United beat Arsenal 1-0 at Old Trafford in November and Moyes is sure that his team can put in a similar performance at the Emirates Stadium despite their recent problems.
“We’ll always go and try to get a good result,” he said. “We got a good result against them here at Old Trafford earlier in the season and we’ll try to do the same again.
“We’ve played better in several games, but in that one we got the goal and sometimes that makes a difference. We’ll go and play. We are a top side and hopefully we’ll go and show that we are, play well, and do everything we can to pick up the three points.
“We played well (against Fulham) and in any other game you would have scored many goals. We didn’t get it on the day. Everybody keeps telling me about the stats and the opportunities we had, so we had plenty of chances to win the game.”
Mr Victor Edoror, member of Edo House of Assembly representing PDP Esan Central, on Tuesday defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Edoror, who officially presented a letter of notice to the speaker during plenary session, said his defection was informed by the crisis rocking the PDP nationwide.
“I write to formally notify you of my decision to defect from the People’s Democratic Party to the APC in the wake of the current crisis in the PDP nationwide.
“My overstretched patience, coupled with the intimidating developmental strides of Gov. Adams Oshiomhole in the state, have motivated and informed my movement.
“By this, Mr speaker and my colleagues, I have ceased to be a member of the PDP; I am now a bonafide member of the APC,” he said.
The Speaker, Uyi Igbe, thereafter welcomed him to the party, adding that the people would always support him.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the defection of Edoror had reduced the number PDP lawmakers in the house from five to four.
NAN
Students of tertiary institutions in the country have appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to end the lingering nationwide strike by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP).
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki on Tuesday, the students said time had come for the president to personally wade into the dispute and bring the strike to an end.
According to them, the seven-month-old nationwide strike had caused serious academic setback to polytechnic education.
One of the students, Mr Ogochukwu Oko of the Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic, Uwana Afikpo in Ebonyi, described the indefinite strike as “unfortunate’’ and appealed to the president to act fast to save polytechnic education.
“The strike is almost seven months old and the government has not come up with any concrete position to resolve the industrial impasse.
“What is happening has created an academic hemorrhage which is detrimental for the nation’s technological development.
“I think this is about time for our dear president to intervene and save the nation from this embarrassing situation,” he said.
Miss Cynthia Uzo of the accountancy department in the same school lamented the loss of one academic year and appealed for actions to end the protracted strike.
According to Uzo, it is rather unfortunate that the government is paying lip service to polytechnic education in the country.
“The issues that our lecturers are demanding for are very critical to functional, effective and qualitative running of polytechnics.
“Since a series of meetings between the union and the government often ended in deadlock, it is wise for our president to personally intervene in the crisis,’’ she said.
She maintained that the quest for industrial and technological advancement would be a mirage if proper attention was not given to polytechnic education.
Mr Malachi Odo and Desmond Iheanacho of Ebonyi State University condemned the government’s apparent insensitivity and poor handling of the strike.
“Agreement is agreement and the law demands that agreements must be obeyed.
“We are shocked that the government will always renege on agreements it validly entered into with labour unions and by so doing give room for industrial action.
“This is unfair and unhealthy for our overall development as a nation and we therefore appeal to Jonathan to quickly intervene to save the situation,’’ they said.
They noted that graduates from the nation’s tertiary institutions were looked down in the international community because of the country’s long history of incessant strikes in the tertiary institutions.
The polytechnic lecturers embarked on a nationwide strike in August 2013, citing the non-implementation of the 2009 agreement it reached with the federal government.
Credit: Newsday
After weeks of intensified pressure to the Leadership of the Senate by defecting members of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, for the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Their hopes has again been dashed, as the Senate President David Mark, Tuesday refused to read the letters of defection of the 11 aggrieved lawmakers.
The Senators led by Bukola Saraki and 10 others were ruled out of order at the resumption of Plenary.
The Senate President has been accused of stalling the reading of the letters of defection of the 11 aggrieved lawmakers.
More details of the proceedings will be available..
CALABAR—THERE is anxiety in Cross River as the United Nations joint commission demarcates boundary between Nigeria and Cameroun.
Cameroon, which is the country’s neighbour alongside officials from the United Nations is already carrying out the demarcation of her border with Nigeria and in the process, carving the villages as part of her territory. The towns involved are the Obudu Ranch Resort, Boki, Ikom and Obanlikwu.
These facts were contained in a petition submitted to the Cross River State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke, signed by leaders of the four Nigerian villages living along the country’s border with Cameroon,
The Village Head of Danare Community, Chief Kekong Mbia was among the petitioners and he confirmed the development in an interview with newsmen in Danare.
Mbia further said that the team which was currently carrying out the demarcation exercise has no official from either the Federal or Cross River State government.
According to him, the team had allegedly shifted some of the 1913 Anglo-German beacons to Christian Ita, he said, “‘Cross River State has not lost any community. There is no cause for alarm as the state government is at the top of the situation. The boundary demarcation committee is still working.”
Photo By FoxNews
Osaron Ifijeh is an advertising practitioner who is a great friend. He is an active contact on my Blackberry Messenger, (BBM). Everyday is refreshing with his poupuri of messages; If you think Osaz, as we his friends call him, will ping on advertising products and services, then you are in for a rude shock. Osaz writes stuffs, you read, nod your head, smile, wink and quickly rebroadcast, pretending as if they originate from you.
His messages include breaking news, celebrity gossips, public service announcements, traffic alerts, stolen vehicles reports, motivationals, advices on marriages — not forgetting those rib-crackers on Akpors.
I have known Segun Aliyu for about a decade. Lately he has become more of a pal online than offline: we connected on all social media platforms – except the ones that have not been created from Silicon Valley or not popular in Nigeria. But unlike, Osaz, Segun is rather a more serious BBM’s messenger as he broadcasts breaking news, even more than Vanguard online – although since he isn’t a trained journalist rumors are sometimes presented as news.
He is also at home with riddles. They are often fresh, apt and intellectually exhilarating. Generally, his messages are not the kind you just read and pass on to your BBM contacts; rather you save such on your phone, forming the bulk of those special messages you constantly read up to feel good.
Well, many of us are like Osaze and Segun. We have loads of interesting materials to share with the world but are unconcisoius of the potential and magnitude of what we’ve got; some people are so creative that the content being shared on BBM, if and when harnessed, will send today’s popular bloggers out of business. For example, have you ever written something from your heart and shared with your BBM contacts and they inturn ask you , ‘where did you get that?’ Then I have good news, you have no business pinging, you should be blogging.
I know there are questions to be tackled: How can I go about blogging? There are too many bloggers already, what else is there to be written? Is blogging not sheer waste of time? Will I get paid? What if nobody reads me? I can’t string words together? Can I afford a blog? How do I compare with established blog in my area of interest? I don’t have the time? Who will advertise on my blog? How do I integrate social media with my blog. The questions are endless.
Not to worry, this is the essence of this column. To grow a legion of bloggers, help those already blogging to improve their game, increase traffic to their blogs, encourage people to make a career off blogging or even as a retirement plan.
We shall also be looking at corporate blogging, new media apps, trends and analyse issues in blogosphere and the internet in general, as they affect our work and leisure.
Before we go on, let us take the basics for the benefits of newbies – like they say.
What is a blog? Is there a difference between a blog and a website?
Blogs are from the word web logs, which according to Webopedia is a “Web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal journal for an individual that is typically updated daily” ; Webopedia added that, “blogs often reflect the personality of the author.”
It consists of free blogging, where the owner creates his/her blog, names it and starts posting content immediately. Also refered to as blogs are websites which are not free as the owner registers (pays) for a domain name, for example, www.blogreading.com and host the site with a hosting service provider. In essence, Linda Ikeji is a blogger on her https://lindaikeji.blogspot.com as much Bellanija on www.bellanija.com. The citizen reports website, Saharareporters is also a blog.
I know these examples mentioned are successful bloggers who have been around for years with dedicated readers and followers. But I tell you there are hundreds of bloggers who are small with few readers, some just family members and friends in their areas of interest who are growing their blogs steadily into the future. You are not alone.
Finally, you have a huge market. According to Internet World stats, Nigeria has over 48 million Internet users, the highest in Africa (Egypt comes a distant second with over 29m users). You can imagine having this huge Internet market waiting to hear your story, your opinion, your point of view! And the good news is, the more people you can attract to your blog, the higher your potential earnings, apart from the fame that comes with being a celebrity blogger.
So, when next you pull out your BB to broadcast a breaking news or to compose those cute lines to share with your contacts, think again, stop pinging, start blogging!
The Kano State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) has begun verification of certificates of primary school teachers as part of efforts to detect unqualified teachers in the state.
The Chairman of the board, Alhaji Wada Zakari, said this while briefing newsmen on the exercise in Kano on Monday.
He said the exercise became necessary in order to find out the exact number of teachers who lacked the requisite teaching qualification.
According to him, the exercise is also necessary to enable teachers who do not possess the minimum teaching qualification to enrol in the relevant institutions.
Zakari said the affected teachers would be given the opportunity to acquire the necessary teaching qualification within a stipulated period or be shown the way out.
“Any primary school teacher who does not have either NCE, Post-Graduate Diploma in Education(P-GDE) or its equivalent must enrol in the relevant institutions,’’ he said.
He said the state government had made arrangements with the relevant institutions in the state with a view to enabling the unqualified teachers to enrol and obtain the requisite teaching qualification.
“The measure is aimed at assisting the affected teachers to improve themselves because basic education is the foundation of education which we cannot afford to toy with.
“About 20,000 out of the 45, 000 teachers on the payroll of the board are unqualified,” he said.
He, therefore, urged the teachers to cooperate with the board in order to achieve the objective.
Inspection of remodeled Port-harcourt international Terminal
The Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah, has directed the contractor handling the remodeling of the Jos cargo airport to complete the project in 30 days or face “severe consequences’’.
Oduah gave the directive on Monday in Jos while inspecting the project.
She said the contract, which was awarded to Waland Services Ltd., had “dragged for too long’’, and declared there was no more time to waste on the project.
“The project is in line with the design of the airport, but we are not happy with the pace of the work,” the minister stated.
She noted that much of the work on the project, aside from the ceiling, painting and fittings, had been completed, saying “there is no need for further delays in completing it’’.
Oduah, however, expressed satisfaction with the quality of work on the job and urged the contractors to maintain the standard.
She said the cargo terminal at the airport would boost economic and agricultural activities in the state when fully operational.
“The value chain that will emanate from the terminal is immeasurable. You are going to have new world-class commodities coming out of different rural areas.
“We are also going to have connectivity that is commercial-based and you are going to have a bottom-up growth in the economy of the state,” the minister added.
Oduah debunked reports that the State Security Service (SSS) officials attached to the airport had been withdrawn.
“It is not true that the SSS officials have been withdrawn from the airport. We need them in our terminals. They are there and will remain there,” she said.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, said on Monday that Nigeria’s food importation had reduced from N2.3 trillion to N1.8 trillion annually, saving the country N906 billion.
Adesina said this in Makurdi when he paid a courtesy visit to Gov Gabriel Suswam of Benue State.
“Agriculture is vital for Nigerians; that is why the President has made it the centre of his economic transformation agenda.
“When President Goodluck Jonathan made the decision, the goal was to add our domestic food supply, 20 million metric tons of rice and create 3.5 million jobs in a period of four years.
“In two years, we have added 15 million metric tonness of food and food importation has reduced from N2.3 trillion to N906 billion.”
He said that the Federal Government had delivered 16,744 tonnes of fertiliser, more than 450 tonnes of hybrid seeds and 738,000 cassava stems to farmers in Benue State.
Adesina added that the Federal Government had also completed two 2,000-tonne capacity warehouses and was committed to developing Staple Crop Processing Zones (SCPZ) that would enable farmers to add value to their produce, with Benue State as a beneficiary.
He said that the SCPZs, when completed across the country, would add N1.4 trillion to nation’s GDP.
The minister said that four agricultural hiring equipment centres would be established in the state, to enable registered farmers to engage in mechanised farming.
He called for greater collaboration among the tiers of government and commended the governor’s support for Agricultural Transformational Agenda.
Responding, Suswam assured the minister of the support of his administration and that of the people of Benue.
He said he was pleased with the establishment of SCPZs stressing that with the development would put Benue on the map of development.
He told Adesina that his name would be written in gold in the history of development in the country.
Suswam said hitherto the coming of the minister, agriculture was only seen as a means to access food and not a business that would fetch a lot of money as it is today.
He appreciated the commitment of the minister to agricultural development in the country, saying: “the quality you brought to the sector is outstanding.”
Suswam suggested that more attention should be given to yam processing as the state was one of the highest producers of the commodity in the country, yet little was known about it.
The governor identified the major problem confronting farmers as land clearing as they lacked proper equipment which made them turn to smallholding.
He said with the agricultural equipment hiring centres, Benue alone would feed the whole of Africa.
The highlight of the the minister’s visit was the inspection of Micap Rice Mills accompanied by politicians and top government officials in the state.
