Curator

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J ABUJA—The Federal Government has approved the technical audit report on the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, showing that it spent N423 billion from 2009 when it was created to 2015. However, the project execution rate by the ministry was only 12 per cent, an official said. Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Usani, made these known after the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting in Abuja, yesterday Usani added that the meeting also resolved to make those who misapplied the funds face the consequences. He said: “Today, we received approval of the project technical audit report, which was carried out by the ministry in investigating all contracts awarded and projects and programmes carried out in the ministry since the inception of the ministry from 2009 to 2015. “The revealing content of the report shows that over N423 billion had been expended in the region by the ministry alone, not other intervening agencies, from 2009 to 2015. “From this amount proj...

http://ift.tt/2oVWqwk Nnamani • Senate begins consideration of RECs, envoy nominees • Again, Peace Corps’ bill suffers setback The Constitution and Electoral Reform Committee headed by Senator Ken Nnamani yesterday recommended the establishment of a Political Parties and Electoral Offences Commission. The report was submitted to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami.Also recommended was the establishment of a constituency delimitation centre, as well as independent candidacy for electoral offices. The committee’s report further included draft bills for the amendment of relevant provisions of the Constitution, as well as an amendment of the Electoral Act. There were also recommendations on how to strengthen the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the management of political parties. Other recommendations include the use of technology in election, diaspora voting and special access for persons with disabilities...

http://ift.tt/2oab7vq ATCON President, Mr Olusola Teniola For operators to bridge the infrastructure gap in the telecommunications sector, the need for co-location, which is sometimes provided by a third party company that specialises in it. According to the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), the umbrella body for telecommunications companies in the country, co-location has become highly essential if services must improve. ATCON believes insufficient infrastructure built by telecoms operator is hindering the impressive adoption of infrastructure-sharing business model among telecoms companies in Nigeria. For instance, infrastructure already deployed by the telecoms companies, especially in the area of base stations deployment, is still grossly inadequate for operators, which has informed the poor infrastructure-sharing adoption. Co-location is moving or placing things together, and is used to mean the provision of space for a customer’s telecom...

http://ift.tt/2pJva3s The event being packaged by Royal Science, will also see six winners getting scholarship up to the university level. At a time many companies are shying away from their social responsibilities due to the biting economy, two companies, Smart Cab and Sunar Premium Water, have set aside the sum of N12 million as sponsorship package for the maiden Eko Schools Athletics Dash. The event being packaged by Royal Science, will also see six winners getting scholarship up to the university level. Speaking in Lagos yesterday, the Head of Operation of Royal Science, Patrick Joseph, stated that the competition, which will hold at Agege Stadium from May 15-19, would see secondary school children for different parts of the state competing in 100m, 200m and 400m races. Head of School Sports in Lagos State, Wale Adelekan said that each of the six districts in Lagos State is expected to provide between 40 to 50 schools in the competition, adding that every modalities have been...

http://ift.tt/2p6JJuF Yes Mobile, a cosmopolitan high-value retail outfit with a multiplicity of stores in Lagos has been taken over by pioneer composite e-commerce company, Yudala in what industry watchers consider a strategic duplex acquisition.  A senior Management staff of Yes Mobile, Onoidem Idiong, described the Yudala take-over as stylish but very detailed way of modern acquisition.  “The process commenced a few months back and was concluded about a couple of weeks ago. We are happy to see the number one e-commerce and pioneer composite retail company take charge. In a few days’ time, Yudala’s striking fuchsia pink will become our new color and we shall start exciting our customers with other world-class products beyond ICT products and accessories,” he said.   When contacted, Head of Media Relations at Yudala, Gideon Ayogu, confirmed the story, noting that Yudala has indirectly been eyeing Yes Mobile as well as a few other sterling start-ups in her strategy t...

http://ift.tt/2oVNgzE Nigerians generally like White men. They see White men as rich, coming from an orderly civilised society who are here to help Nigeria. The smile of welcome starts from the airport, “welcome oga, weting you bring for me?” The Nigerian expects the White man to dole out money any and every time. Afterall he has dollars and pounds and euros. He knows that the White man would stay in the best hotels or in the most expensive areas of the city – what used to be called GRA (Government Reservation Area) in any city: in Lagos he would live in Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Apapa and lately Lekki, never in Mowe, Iyana-Ipaja, Lakwe, Bogije, Eleko, Ibeju etc. The White man would have a driver, a steward, a nanny, a washerman, and a security man at his gate. For the Nigerian, a White man is anyone who has come from Europe, the Americas, Asia and China. He would eat in the finest restaurants, patronise the most expensive night clubs, and belong to the most exclusive clubs. There is ...

http://ift.tt/2p6Xk4V Potato farming in Nigeria has the potential to generate billions of Naira annually. Towards a successful business relationship with Shoprite The Challenge Potato farming in Nigeria has the potential to generate billions of Naira annually. A baseline survey in 2012 revealed that Nigeria produces about 1.5 million tons of potato per year and has a per capita consumption of about 7kg per year. However, many farmers struggle to sell to formal commercial buyers, mainly due to poor product quality (low yields because of lack of appropriate seeds and poor agricultural practices) and lack of organization. These challenges have hampered the growth of the sector and led to increased importation of crops that could be grown locally and could generate income contributing to economic diversification. Our Approach The “Deepening Economic Development for Peace and Stability in Plateau State, Project” had been commissioned by the European Union through its Instrument cont...

http://ift.tt/2oW3gBN Nigeria has long relied on imports to help supply its significant rice demand; however, efforts to support small-scale famers through training and improved access to credit are expected to boost domestic production and the overall performance of the agriculture industry. To help meet national demand of around 5.2m tonnes in 2016, Nigeria imported 2.3m tonnes of rice last year, according to the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). This heavy reliance on external sources has seen Nigeria – currently the world’s second-largest importer of the grain after China – import around 17m tonnes of rice in the last five years, with the country spending an average of $5m per day on shipments of the grain, Audu Ogbeh, minister of agriculture and rural development, told international media earlier this year. In order to reduce the country’s trade bill and improve self-sufficiency, the government has been working to roll out new training programmes and cultivation te...