The Benue State Chapters of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) under the auspices of the Joint Action Committee (JAC), Tuesday, embarked on a total and indefinite strike action over 6-year unpaid allowances.
Professor Tomola Obamuyi, Dean, School of Management Technology, Federal University of Technology, Akure, has been awarded the “Best Professor in Banking and Finance in Africa for the year 2015” by the Africa Education Leadership Awards. The 2015 edition of the awards took place on 9th December, 2015, at the Le Meridian, Mauritius, East Africa.
The Africa Education Leadership Awards are presented to individuals from different disciplines and institutions in Africa, who have distinguished themselves in their chosen profession and served as role models through scholarly research and innovation, as well as contribution to humanity and society.
According to the organisers, the Africa Education Leadership Award is done through an intensely researched process undertaken by the research cell, which produces a shortlist of individuals who are doing extraordinary work and track the record of their achievements. The shortlist is then reviewed by a Jury comprising of senior professionals from across the globe.
Professor Tomola Obamuyi is a world class scholar who has presented conference papers in many countries including Finland, Canada, United Kingdom, Sweden, Ireland, India, Zambia, Ethiopia, Ghana, among others. He is the Nigerian Representative, Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students’ Survey (GUESSS), University of St. Gallen, Switzerland and Nigerian Team Member, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), United States.
Authority of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko has released the Higher National Diploma (HND) admission list for the 2015/2016 academic session online.
Check Oko Poly HND Admission List.
To check your HND admission list, you will need a PIN which is obtainable at Mircrofinance Oko, Microfinance Isuofia, FCMB Oko, Union Bank Oko, Zenith Bank Ekwulobia at the cost of 1500.
*Go to Federal Polytechnic Oko Admission Status Checking Portal,
*Select Your Programmne of Study,
*Select your session (2015/2016),
*Enter your JAMB Reg Number in the space provided.
*Enter your Scratch Card PIN and *Serial Number in the space provided.
*Click on “Submit” and proceed to view your admission status
Four cases of the Zika virus have been confirmed in the United Kingdom.
A public health doctor in England, Dilys Morgan, said four “travel-associated” cases of the virus had been found in the last six weeks.
The main concern surrounding the virus is a possible link between the virus and a rise in cases of microcephaly, a birth defect characterised by an abnormally small head that can result in developmental problems.
Zika is spreading rapidly through Latin America and most people who contract it have either mild or no symptoms.
The World Health Organisation declared Zika a global emergency last month, with some countries discouraging nationals from travelling to Latin American counties.
Students of the Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech) in Lagos State have staged a protest over the death of one of their colleagues.
The students were unhappy with the attention given to a female student, Dazan Charity, who fell ill some days ago and died on Wednesday.
A friend of the deceased alleged that Charity was not attended to because they were unable to get 35,000 Naira requested by the medical attendants.
Another colleague of the victim, Ibraheem Emmanuel, said: “No drug is given by the school medical (you have to go and buy).
“You need to see the stress that was passed through. We were the ones that went to get injections, drugs, in fact drip that were given to Dazan Charity”.
The students maintained that they wanted the school hospital campus scrapped or the institution probed while the medical centre be fully equipped.
Channels Television’s correspondent, Mary Alale-Yusuf, who visited the campus was unable to get through to the school authority, as the students had shut the institution’s main entrance.
She also reported that the deceased student was reported to have been buried at Atan cemetery in Lagos.
Charity, 27, was a final year student of Office Management Technology and was sitting for her final exams.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has again reassured officers and men of the service that their welfare remains a major priority of the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Air Vice Marshal Abubakar gave the assurance on Wednesday at the commissioning of hostel accommodations and other projects at the Nigerian Air Force Base in Kaduna State, north-west Nigeria.
He explained that efforts were also being made to provide decent accommodation, healthcare services and welfare for his men across Nigeria, as a way of boosting their morale in the war against insurgents in north-east Nigeria.
Lack of sufficient and comfortable accommodation for officers and men of the Nigerian military has remained a major challenge officers and men had had to contend with over the years.
Serving personnel especially the rank and file and those undergoing training had provide accommodations for themselves in some cases and when there is one, they may not be conducive.
The Air Force boss having the foreknowledge of this challenge, had upon assumption of office last year, commenced the construction of more accommodations and other projects to ensure a good and healthy life for his men.
The Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Bala Bantex, accompanied by the Chief of Air Staff and other senior officers were at the Air Force Base in Kaduna State to commission some of the completed projects.
The projects include an extended old Kaduna Airport runway, 250 bed capacity hostel for recruits, one million litre water reservoir and two bed room three-storey accommodation for non-commissioned officers. The projects were constructed through direct labour.
After commissioning the projects, the Deputy Governor, who represented Governor Nasir El-rufai, commended the Nigerian Air Force for the successes recorded in the renewed vigour of flushing out the insurgents in the northeast and cattle rustlers in the north-west zone.
According to him, the present administration’s determination to build modern accommodations for personnel is not only a motivational measure, but also in line with the vision of the Chief of Air Staff to reposition the service into a highly professional and disciplined force.
The contribution of Nigerian security forces in contending the Boko Haram insurgents cannot be over emphasised, but for them to effectively discharge this constitutional role, they also need a conducive environment.
The Inspector General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, has described the 4.5 billion Naira overhead budget of the Nigeria Police Force as ‘grossly inadequate’.
This is part of the police chief’s presentation before the House of Representatives Committee on Police Affairs on Wednesday, as he defends the 2016 budget allocation to the force.
The Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau and officials of the Nigeria Police Force were before the Committee on Police Affairs.
Mr Dambazau started with a brief address on a special intervention fund for police formations and commands.
“In this situation we have with the northeast and also other hot spot areas of insecurity. This is why this fund is domiciled within the ministry. It is a special intervention to the police,” he said.
It is a position lawmakers were not comfortable with.
“Grossly Inadequate”
In his presentation, the police boss said more funds should be allocated to the police.
“Because we dismantled the roadblocks, to keep safe the highways, we will have an approximate of 600 vehicles on the road and those vehicles have to be fuelled. The policemen who man those vehicles are entitled to pure water or even one Gala, during the tour of their 12 hours duty.
“If you put all these together the 4.5 billion is grossly inadequate. And if we are fighting corruption the way we are doing now, we should be able to remove those things that would be attractive to our men to engage in unprofessional conduct,” the police boss told the lawmakers.
Appearing before the House Committee on Army, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, also appealed for more funds for the army.
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission also appeared before a committee in charge of the electoral body’s allocation review, where Professor Mahmood Yacoob, said he had seen the need for a supplementary budget for the commission.
The Committee said it would give the commission all the support it needed in order to start preparation for the 2019 elections well ahead of time.
Even though issues have been raised over the 2016 budget proposal and when it may eventually be passed by the National Assembly, committees are still meeting with Ministries, Departments and Agencies on the document.
Suicide bombers have attacked villages that gathered for a funeral in Cameroon’s border town, Nguetchewe.
The attack left six persons dead, while 30 others were injured.
Two suicide bombers were said to have detonated their Improvised Explosive Devices strapped to their bodies, after they joined the gathering.
Some Cameroonian officials told reporters that both bombers were females and that they struck at a funeral wake keep in the village of Nguetchewe which lies a few kilometers in a border with Nigeria.
The villagers had gathered for the funeral when the suicide bombers joined them pretending to be family members.
And when they have settled in for the ceremony, they detonated their bombs.
Several children are said to be hospitalised.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Boko Haram terrorist group is suspected to have carried it out. The group has carried out similar attacks in the past mostly in Nigeria’s northeast.
The attack occurred hours after suicide bombers attacked an Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Dikwa, Borno State, killing at least 51 persons and injuring over 70.
After the attack, the Nigerian government ordered stiffer security measures at different IPDs camps.
An economist, Bismarck Rewane, has identified real issues in the 2016 budget that Nigerians and the parliamentarians must focus on and address in good time.
Mr Rewane stressed the need for the lawmakers to accelerate the budget debate and passage to stimulate the Nigerian economy, saying that there was “no time to be wasted playing around with the budget document”.
He made the comments on Wednesday while giving his opinion on the budget debate and shift of the time of passage by the National Assembly.
“Nigerians and the parliamentarians must understand the difference between what is important and what is urgent.
“There is no pure budget document.
“Approve those things that you are comfortable with and the things that you are not comfortable with, throw them back to the ministries to do what they have to do. We cannot afford to wait.
“You have to stimulate this economy into growth,” the economist stressed.
He agreed that some of the details of the budget could be frivolous, but emphasised that the real issues should be the focus of the government.
“The debate at this time should be; is $38 a reasonable and realistic oil benchmark? Is it possible that we can produce 2.2 million barrels of oil per day when our quota is 1.7 and our actual production is 1.8 million? That is almost a 20 per cent deviation from the estimate.
“Is the deficit going to be 2.2 trillion Naira when the price of oil has dropped and our revenue has dropped by 30 per cent? How are we going to fill the gap? Are we going to borrow? If we are going to borrow almost 2.3 trillion, where is the shortfall going to come from? These are the things we should be talking about,” Mr Rewane questioned, pointing out the contentious areas in the budget.
The spokesman for the House of Representatives, Abdulrazak Namdas, said that the National Assembly would do its best to ensure that the budget that would be passed would be acceptable to all Nigerians.
He said that timing was not much an issue, explaining that the National Assembly had amended the appropriation of 2015 for the capital expenditure to run till March 31, 2015.
“Even if this budget is passed on 25 February, it will not take effect until first of April. I think we still have time on our hands and we are going to work on that very well.
“On Friday, the session with MDAs [Ministries Department and Agencies] will end and committees will start to meet with the appropriation committee and see how this thing will work,” the lawmaker stated.
He said that the parliament had decided to amend the timing and extend it to March 31 in view of the time that the 2015 appropriation would elapse.
Spanish giant, Barcelona FC have cruised to the Final of the Copa del Rey after forcing Valencia to 1-1 draw on Wednesday night.
Barcelona’s defence was wiped out by a long pass as Alvaro Negredo raced onto it, one-on-one with Marc-Andre ter-Stegen to net the ball in the 37th minute.
However, Wilfrid Kaptoum scored the equalising goal minutes after coming on the pitch in the 84th minute.
Last week, Barcelona had beaten Valencia at Camp Nou 7-0 in the first leg before securing a draw at the Mestalla Stadium.
On a 7-1 aggregate, Barcelona go through to the Final of the Copa del Rey.
