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http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Chinonso Alozie Owerri—Two All Progressives Congress, APC, members, Mr Julius Asagwara and Obinna Onuegbu have continued to lay claim to the chairmanship position of APC in Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State. Asagwara is believed to be a loyalist to Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, just as Onuegbu is to Governor Rochas Okorocha. Trouble started after the former chairman, Basil Obialor, was buried. Some top government officials, allegedly acting on Okorocha’s orders led by Special Adviser on Project Monitoring, Mr. Simeon Iwunze, attempted to install Onuegbu as the next chairman. However, piqued by the development, Asagwara, who was already acting as the party’s local government chairman, disagreed and the situation snowballed into having factional chairmen. A source told Vanguard , yesterday, in Owerri, that the ugly trend has further widened the gap between Okorocha and Araraume, adding that with Isiala Mbano being the local government of Ararume, th...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The Microfinance subsector has reiterated its commitment to ensuring affordable financing to Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) especially those at the bottom of the pyramid with regards to access to funding and enhancement of financial inclusion. In this interview, Mr. Valentine Whensu, President, National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB), harps on the subsector’s effort toward alleviating financial exclusion and creating jobs.  Excerpt: By Providence Emmanuel 2 017 has gone far, do you think the micro-finance subsector is meeting up its target for the year? The sector is basically out to take this country and the populace out of recession by providing affordable financing through the micro segment of the MSMEs, that is a major thing that we can achieve, because when people are financially independent, economic activities will improve and the economy will be better and then we will have more employment. The subsector is set to elevate peop...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Johnbosco Agbakwuru  Today, about one million seven hundred and thirty six thousand, five hundred and seventy one candidates who registered for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, including 321 blind candidates will be sitting for the examination, which is a prerequisite for admission to both the universities and polytechnics. For years, there were reported cases of examination fraud perpetrated by the candidates, in some cases with the aide of their parents, sponsors and in collaboration with some staff of JAMB. This year’s examination appears to have some innovations to check exam malpractices. The first step taken by the management of JAMB led by its Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede was the introduction of Closed Circuit Television Cameras and the 624 centres which will monitor movements of candidates and supervisors during the exercise. Prof. Oloyede while briefing journalists recently at JAMB headquarters in Bwari, an outskirt of ...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Elizabeth Uwandu T HE need to separate facts from fiction, have a media development content and create a literate society formed the focus of the first UNESCO National Workshop on Media and Information Literacy, MIL Curriculum Intervention in Nigerian Universities., hosted by Lagos State University, LASU,  Ojo The two-day workshop themed, “Enhancing intercultural dialogue competencies through media and information literacy curriculum in Nigerian universities”, put together by UNESCO and University Twinning Networking, UNITWIN encouraged participants from universities to come up with a draft of MIL curriculum in Nigeria. Dr. Suraj O Adekunle, UNESCO UNITWIN National Coordinator and Sub-Dean, School Communication, Lagos State University, in his opening remarks said the need to enhance competencies in receiving and making sense of information necessitated the theme of the workshop. His words, “In increasingly complex multicultural societies, education mus...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Amaka Abayomi IN her quest to give Nigerians a wider array of options in obtaining foreign education, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria is set to host her first ‘study in Holland fair’, slated to hold on June 10, 2017 at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. The fair is for Nigerians seeking international undergraduate, postgraduate and/or professional education in the Netherlands, and it will provide a platform for them to meet one on one with representatives of several top higher educational institutions from the Netherlands and get direct advice on opportunities available to them for study in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Shedding more light on the upcoming exhibition, the Ambassador at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria, Mr. John Groffen, said “the fair offers Nigerians who desire to study in the Netherlands the chance to get first-hand information about the various study options available at sev...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Peter Egwuatu STANDARD Chartered Private Bank has partnered with Fitch Learning, a pre-eminent training and professional development firm, and INSEAD, a leading business school, to create a training programme for its global front-line staff that will enable them to deliver a higher level of service and advice to private banking clients. “Our Private Banking Academy will deliver a forward-thinking curriculum that will equip our people to offer excellent service and relevant wealth management advice to clients in an ever-changing market environment. The Academy is a core part of our commitment to developing all of our employees, and we believe it will set a new industry benchmark,” said Naushid Mithani, Head of Global South Asian Community, Europe, Middle East and Africa and Private Bank Head UAE, Standard Chartered Bank. Based on its extensive experience, Fitch Learning has designed a customised programme to build the sales skills and product knowledge of the...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Rotimi Agbana WITH the release of his sixth studio album, famous Nigerian saxophonist, Yemi Sax, fondly called ‘Africa’s Sax Oracle, has promised never to disappoint in his resolve to constantly churn out quality music for the pleasure and satisfaction of his fans and lovers of good music. The saxophone extraordinaire and multi-talented musician made the declaration at the album official launch which held last Friday, May 5 in Lagos, while speaking to E-daily in an exclusive chat. According to Yemi Sax, the newly released 21-track album is just a tip of the iceberg, compared to what he has in store. “This is my sixth studio album, it is a 21-track album which consists of instrumental recordings of current hit songs from popular Nigerian and foreign music stars whose songs are currently ruling the airwaves around the world. I actually want to use this medium to promise my fans and lovers of good music that Yemi Sax would not relent in giving them quality music...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J NIGERIAN Grammy award-winning percussionist, Lekan Babalola has unveiled plans for his 2017 concert series tagged ‘Ebo Tour.’ Ebo which translates in Babalola’s native Yoruba language as a ‘traditional offering,’ is a beautiful nexus between the percussionist’s funk music and his ‘Ifa way of life.’ The anticipated concert has been scheduled to tour major cities in the UK from June and will be powered by the Sacred Funk project and his agency, Temple Management Company. The Ebo Tour kicks-off on Saturday June 17, at Somerfest Festival, Somerset, featuring spoken word by Dr. Olu Taiwo. The Sacred Funk train moves to mostly Jazz and Funk Mosley Park in Birmingham on July 9. It makes its next stop in Manchester at Band On The Wall on July 27. Other schedules include Colchester Arts Centre, Essex on Sunday, September 24, Vortex Jazz Club, London on Thursday, September 28, 2017 and The Canteen, Bristol on September 30. A protégé of the late Fela Kuti, Lekan Babalola ...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Spartans FC goal-keeper, Adamu Azeez says he was excited with his side’s progress to the final of the 2017 Lagos State FA Cup. The pro-league side reached the last stage of the tourney following their 4-3 victory over Dominion Hotspur on penalties after the normal regulation period had ended 2-2, and the goaltender feels the victory is a reward for their hard work from the beginning of the championship. “I feel so happy, I feel so great for the victory,” Adamu said.. “The game wasn’t easy at all but we have to thank God that we are in the final in a competition where over 80 teams participated.” Adamu is also confident his side will shock the defending champions, MFM, who are also through to the final after beating Freestan FC 4-2 on penalties. “I believe we can go all the way to win the title, in fact, we will be so happy to play MFM in the final if they qualify because they are a premier league side. The post Spartans ‘ll shock MFM in Cup final – Azeez ap...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Denrele Animasaun “The pursuit of peace and progress cannot end in a few years in either victory or defeat. The pursuit of peace and progress, with its trials and its errors, its successes and its setbacks, can never be relaxed and never abandoned”— Dag Hammarskjöld The 3rd of May marked the World Press Freedom Day. This year’s theme is: “Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media’s role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies”. A tall order, you might say but, in all sense of the word, it is so apt, and sadly it is the sign of the times, don’t you think? It does read like a wish list but these are critical times and it calls for critical thinkers. This is a clarion call for people of conscience. This is the time to question anything and everything that insults one’s intelligence. We have become too reactive and not proactive; we read and listen to respond but not to understand. Malcolm X said: “the media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They h...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Mosuru Olowoopejo FOLLOWING alleged domestic violence case between Nollywood actress, Mercy Aigbe and her husband, Lanre Gentry, it became obvious that domestic violence in homes has become prevalent in Nigeria especially in Lagos State. This prompted the government to establish laws and an agency, Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team, DSVRT, coordinated by Mrs. Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, to provide assistance to victims of the abuse. While the agency strives to ensure the abused get fair judgement from court, report conducted by the State Government showed that evidence for 88 percent of cases recorded within Lagos were either destroyed by the abuser or misplaced by the victim. A report by the Lagos State Government in 2016 indicated that victims of the cases perpetrated within the period under review could not provide evidence that would assist the agency in court or in settling the case amicably between both spouses when the need arise. This further l...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Ola Ajayi WHEN scores of internally displaced persons from North East zone of the country escaped the hostilities of Boko Haram insurgents and took refuge in Ibadan, they thought all would be well with them. But after their escape, some of them are blaming themselves for fleeing the Boko Haram battle ground saying if they had known life would be this difficult, they would have chosen another option. Apart from dying of hunger due to lack of jobs for them, they have no shelter where they can lay their heads. To worsen their case, some residents of Oluyole Estate, Mobil, Ajeigbe and Orita-Challenge areas of Ibadan metropolis see them as security threats even though they have not displayed any trait of violence since they came over a year ago. Apart from influx of the internally displaced people that is a source of worry for the chairman of Ibadan South/West Local Government, Mr. Gbenga Opaleye, their concentration in his local government is another problem. He...