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http://ift.tt/2qFoMdT Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai We wouldn’t have attached any attention to it if the news of a purported coup planning from a section of Nigerian soldiers was not credited to the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. T.Y. Buratai himself. And to underscore the seriousness of the matter, the British Ambassador to Nigeria also corroborated the news item. If the disturbing news was credited to other sources, we would have waved it aside as one of the wild rumours. This is because the secrecy surrounding the activities and personalities of some high-ranking public officials made Nigerians to be peddlers of wild rumours. Thus, making the rumour-mill to be a big industry in Nigeria with its dissemination through the social media and some soft sell tabloids. When the public is not regularly briefed on the activities of government and its officials, they will be left with no choice than to scoop up and sniff out information for itself. The public will ther...

http://ift.tt/2pWjDgz Obafemi Awolowo University Following the closure of the hall of residence Mosques of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile –Ife by the university authorities from the Muslim Students for misusing it, the Muslim Alumni body has promised to carry out comprehensive renovation of all the affected mosques. The assurance is contained in a statement issued from the National Secretariat of Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates Association (UNIFEMGA) by Alhaji AbdulWaheed Odeyimka, President and Alhaji Mohammed Buari, PRO. While calling for restraint of all parties involved, UNIFEMGA welcomed the handover of the Mosques in the halls of residence to the Chief Imam of the Muslim Community by the OAU Management. “UNIFEMGA will in conjunction with the Muslim Community urgently embark on the renovation of the Mosques and put in place proper protocol for the use of the Mosques and appointment of the Hall Mosque officials’’. “We urge all members of the Muslim Communi...

http://ift.tt/2sJ6eb4 Amir (President) of the MSSN Lagos, Saheed Ashafa Feed 5000 fasting Muslims. The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria is organizing a prayer session for safe return of the kidnapped Students of Lagos State Model College, Igbonla, Epe. Recall that six Students of the college were abducted recently in their hostel. The Lagos state President of MSSN, Dr. Saheed Ashafa in a press statement announced the annual feeding of 5000 fasting Muslims. He urged Muslims to utilize the blessings of the month of Ramadan to beseech Allah’s mercy on the students in captivity. “ He emphasized that with strong faith and sincere devotion, the students will return safely”. Ashafa said, ‘we have been in fervent prayer in fervent prayer since the Students were kidnapped. We therefore urged all faithful Muslims to join as we stage a public session of prayer for the missing students while the government and security agencies are out executing plans on the field to bring back our stu...

http://ift.tt/2rvRrTG Itse Sagay Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption has expressed its readiness to cooperate with the media in the fight against corruption. Prof. Itse Sagay, the chairman of the committee, gave the assurance at the 12th Annual Ramadan Symposium organised by the Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria on Saturday in Abuja. He advised the media to be more determined and focused in identifying and reporting corruption in the country. He also urged journalists not to be deterred, scarred or frustrated in exposing corrupt practice. Sagay also appealed to media outfits to give their employees a decent salary with a view to make them more ethical and professional. He emphasised the need for journalists to evolve the strategy and use of investigating journalism effectively. In his speech, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, former Chairman, Economic and Financial Crime Commission, said media practitioners had a great role to play in the ongoing fight to em...

http://ift.tt/2qQPKRb US President Donald Trump (L) meets with French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of a working lunch, at the US ambassador's residence, on the sidelines of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit, in Brussels, on May 25, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Peter Dejong One thing about United States of America (USA) is that while as the so-called Policeman of the world, it is highly interest on knowing first hand, if not influence, what goes on around the world, the rest of the world is always interested in policies by its leadership.      It became evident when President Donald Trump’s exited the Paris agreement last week, which jolted the entire world. The Paris Agreement remains a historic treaty signed by 194 and ratified by 147 counties. It cannot be renegotiated based on the request of a single Party.   Exiting the deal makes the United States one of only three countries that will not be party to the accord. Nicaragua ha...

http://ift.tt/2rAneA6 An indigenous construction company, Adkan Service Nigeria Limited, has given away houses worth N700m to 16 its employees for their outstanding performance.The houses are located in Gwarinpa estate,  Suncity Estate and Vintage estate, Karu in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The houses comprise duplexes and bungalows, ranges between N25 million and N50million. Handing over the keys of houses to the staff, Chairman, Adkan Services Limited, Dr. Adeyinka Bibilari said the gesture was in recognition of their contribution to the company over the years. Bibilari who was visibly excited on the successes the company had recorded over the years, thanked employees for the cooperation and commitment towards the achievement of the laudable goals set by the firm. He said Adkan Services would always continue to reward hard work and diligence in the organization. “We are giving out the houses to motivate of staff in order to ensure loyalty and productivity. Sp...

http://ift.tt/2qQO7ix The Federal Government says it has commenced a countdown on the enforcement of the three Executive Orders issued by the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and advised agencies’ heads charged with the responsibility of their enforcement not to be vulnerable as there were grave consequences. The Federal Government says it has commenced a countdown on the enforcement of the three Executive Orders issued by the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and advised agencies’ heads charged with the responsibility of their enforcement not to be vulnerable as there were grave consequences. Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, gave the update in Abuja at the weekend while speaking to reporters on modalities to ensure strict compliance by government functionaries. This is to achieve the vision of promoting the culture of transparency, accountability, express service delivery and patriotism aimed at making Nigeria becoming one of the best ...

http://ift.tt/2rAqGLh Afreximbank Targets more regional trade, financing The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has concluded a record $1.16 billion dual-tenor and dual-currency syndicated term loan facility, structured as $632.9 million and 499.6 million euros. The move will help the multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting intra- and extra-African trade to pursue its avowed regional trade integrations and financing goals, support corporate organizations, as well as repay existing debt and general corporate purposes. The general syndication, which was raised in the Eurocurrency Loan Market, has been signed on since May 12, while the lenders signed into the agreement on May 30, as the facility marked the largest ever of such facility by the bank. According to the bank, the fact that the facility attracted a wide base of lenders from around the globe, but particularly from Asia and the Middle East, is evidence of the confidence, which lend...

http://ift.tt/2rIeCX5 PHOTO: Go Overseas Merit, that “quality of being particularly good or worthy, especially so as to deserve praise or reward,” has a spirit. It is that spirit that compels us to reward or acknowledge the best mind or effort in a competition or an examination or a process of appointment. The spirit of merit is infectious, could be infectious. It could spur people into working harder, aspiring higher. The spirit of merit has a deep meaning for those who subscribe to it; it increases faith in the boundless capacity of the human mind. It helps to build organisations and society. It encourages people to aim for the best in all fields. The spirit of merit is always appreciated by sincere persons, by persons who believe that the man for the job should get it. There are people who always strive towards excellence by working extra hard; such people do more than what counterparts do. They sometimes deny themselves of the pleasures of the world – lack of sleep, no drinkin...

http://ift.tt/2oELOA3 NIA President, Tonye Braide With the application of knowledge and techniques to project activities expanding into a discipline, architects who played leadership role in building construction teams are losing out project management jobs to professionals in that area. Statistics show that between 2010 and 2020, 15.7 million new project management roles will be created globally across seven project-intensive industries. Along with job growth, there will be a significant increase in the economic footprint of the profession; the project management profession is slated to grow by USD$6.61 trillion. This seven-year enormous anticipated growth, along with higher-than- average salaries, has created growth in the membership of the Institute of Project Management in Nigeria and toast of professionals as well as job-seekers who want to build project management skills. However, the advent of project management practice in Nigeria seems to have relegated archite...

http://ift.tt/2pVzWbf A lot of research has been done on the benefits of meditation. Therefore, there’s really no excuse not to sit still for at least five minutes a day—and there’s no right or wrong time to do it. Learning to prioritize yourself and to claim time for your goals is critical for long term success in health and weight loss. Self-care is necessary for our physical and mental health, yet often it’s the first thing we drop when we find ourselves stretched for time. Without adequate self-care, we are less likely to be the best possible version of ourselves, and our relationships, work, and experience of the world, suffers as a result. You’ve probably been there—you get worn out and lose your motivation or you just can’t figure out how to fit it all in your already busy schedule. When life gets busy, personal priorities, self-care, or ‘me-time’ may start to feel expendable and to drift off your radar. Many smart, busy people get stuck in the mindset trap of believing tha...

http://ift.tt/2pikoC7 The Senior Special Assistant to the President on ICT and Senior Personal Assistant to the Vice President, Lanre Osibona, gave the new figure, yesterday in Lagos at the first day of the Mobile West Africa (MWA) 2017 conference with the theme: Defining the Future of Mobile Growth.. PHOTO: GOOGLE.COM/SEARCH Although it is still very low compared to some Africa countries, Nigeria’s broadband penetration has hit 21 per cent. It moved from 14 per cent in 2015 to 20 per cent last December. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on ICT and Senior Personal Assistant to the Vice President, Lanre Osibona, gave the new figure, yesterday in Lagos at the first day of the Mobile West Africa (MWA) 2017 conference with the theme: Defining the Future of Mobile Growth. The implication of this is that the country may as well be on track to achieving the 30 per cent penetration target of the Federal Government for 2018, becoming a plus for faster economic growth. Os...

http://ift.tt/2pkRQqM Okonkwo noted that NRCRI currently has about 28 Donor-Funded projects that include IFAD funded project and urged the participants to learn how to become successful farmers and cassava seeds multipliers such that they would be able to teach others in their areas. The National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) Umudike, Abia State in collaboration with the Federal Government has commenced a two-week training on Cassava Stem Multiplication for 90 youths selected from Anambra, Benue, Ebonyi, Niger, Ogun and Taraba states. The FGN/IFAD Assisted Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP)started in two batches of 45 youths each with a week’s duration for each batch at the NRCRI Conference Center from May 8, 2017 and would end on May 19, 2017. Addressing the opening session of the first batch, Executive Director of the institute, Dr. Julius Okonkwo said that the training falls within its mission to provide the necessary environment for the production, proc...

http://ift.tt/2oT1EZm Ali Modu Sheriff The two warring camps in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have renewed their animosity. The current face-off followed an alleged directive by the Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee asking members to defect to parties of their choices in furtherance of their political ambitions. While the faction outrightly refuted the claim, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), led by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, insisted that regardless of its stance, the Makarfi group remains an illegal body. In a statement yesterday on behalf of the caretaker committee in Abuja, Prince Dayo Adeyeye described as misleading a publication in a national daily wherein Makarfi was quoted to have directed party faithful to decamp to the Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance (APDA). He described the story as a misrepresentation of what the group meant in the statement it issued on Tuesday. His words: The headline is to say the least misleading and a deliberate att...

http://ift.tt/2pSI0cG Information Communication Technology Nigeria may not achieve its dream of becoming a digital nation, if the country’s Information Technology (IT) policies are not effective enough to propel the growth of the sector. Head IT, R.T. Briscoe Nigeria Plc, Keji Olubuade, who said this at the launch of an ICT book: “A Practical Learning Guide To Software Testing”, written by a Chartered Information Technology Professional, Olusola Samuel Fatiregun, in Lagos, said there is no country in the world making progress that has not set good IT policies. He noted that government needs to redirect youths on the path of greatness, as there are lots of data and inventions that the country is yet to tap into in this era of business data, adding that incentives and other opportunities should be made available for IT companies. “We are missing a lot, our youths have been lost to crime, and these are the youths that can propel this nation to greatness. Revenue that should co...

http://ift.tt/2pb1GJ1 Willie Obiano Former local government chairmen in Anambra State who served between 2014 and 2016 have threatened to make public how the local governments were administered for about 30 months they served under Governor Willie Obiano’s government. They said they were planning to address a World Press conference and tell the public everything that happened when they held sway as the councils chairmen. They warned that they would do everything legally possible to get what was due to them, even if it involves petitioning the various anti-corruption agencies against the Obiano-led administration. In a four-page letter addressed to Obiano, dated April 25, the ex-chairmen are demanding the sum of N21, 987,000, which according to them, was the shortfall of their approved take-home pay as approved by the Revenue Allocation, Mobilisation and Fiscal Committee (RAMFC) Law Vol. 1 2007 among others. The chairman of group, Chief Azubuike Iloh told newsmen in Awka at...

http://ift.tt/2qm7baq Kehinde Odeneye Hon. Kehinde Odeneye is a two-term member of the House of Representatives. He represents Ijebu Ode/ Ijebu Northeast/Odogbolu federal constituency of Ogun State. In this interview with Adamu Abuh and Otei Oham in Abuja, the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker, also a chartered accountant, speaks on the various committees he belongs to in the lower legislative chamber, public perception on the National Assembly and the incessant misunderstandings between the legislature and executive over annual budgets, among others. Experiences as National Assembly member since 2007 IT has been a combination of ups and downs, especially for someone like me who was not until lately in politics. I have always been in the private sector as a chartered accountant. At the initial stage, it was a bit challenging, but later on, it became much easier. One good thing about it is that, even when I was not in politics, I knew that when I get there, I will be able t...