SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
Try "researchers"
Home Blog Page 2702

Edo government releases medical bills for three albinos

Kamila Bello
-
0

The Edo State Government has released N1.5 million to offset the medical bills of three Persons with Albinism (PWA) suffering from skin cancer in the state.

the Assistant Edo Coordinator of The Albino Foundation, Joy Odigie, disclosed in an interview that the money was made available from the N5 million Health Care Intervention Fund approved by Governor Godwin Obaseki to the foundation early in the year.

The beneficiaries includes Priscilla Chikelu, Margret Omorogbe and Doris Olomu, were each entitled to N500, 000 for the settlement of their hospital bills.

However, Ms Odigie, regretted that Ms Omorogbe died on April 12 at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu.

The fund would be given to her family members to offset her medical bills and bring her corpse to Edo for burial.

She also commended the state Ministry of Health for facilitating the release of the intervention fund and urged PWA to always avoid the midday sun, saying it is injurious to their skin.

“PWA can prevent coming down with skin cancer by avoiding the midday sun, using protective clothing and applying sunscreen lotions.”

 

 

Kamila/The nation

 

CBN warns against rejecting lower U.S dollar denominations

Amaka Nliam
-
0

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has mandated all Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Bureau de Change operators in the country to accept both old series and lower denominations of United States Dollars that are legal tender for deposit from their customers.

 

This became necessary following complaints from the general public on the rejection of old/lower denominations of the U.S dollar bills by deposit money banks and other authorized forex dealers.

 

“The CBN will not hesitate to sanction any DMB or other authorized forex dealer who refuse to accept old series/ lower denominations of US Dollar bills from their customers”, the apex bank warned in a circular signed by Ahmed B. Umar, Director, Currency Operations Department.

It further advised all forex dealers to desist from defacing/stamping U.S Dollar banknotes as such notes always fail authentication test during processing/sorting.

 

Amaka E. Nliam

Development Bank of Nigeria: Board gets new appointees

Amaka Nliam
-
0

The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), Nigeria’s primary wholesale development finance institution, has announced the appointments of Mrs. Ijeoma Ozulumba and Mr. Kyari Abba Bukar as Executive Director and Independent Non-Executive Director respectively on the board of the Bank.

 

Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr. Shehu Yahaya, who made the announcement recently noted that the appointments of Ozulumba and Bukar would further strengthen the DBN’s vision to provide adequate and sustainable financing for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises across the country.

 

He maintained that the organization would continually uphold the highest standards of corporate governance, which have kept the Bank on a steady trajectory of progress.

 

“We are thrilled to have Ijeoma and Kyari join the Board and we look forward to them applying their knowledge, experience, and expertise in helping to deliver DBN’s core mandate as Nigeria’s primary wholesale development finance institution, providing sustainable financing to MSMEs across the nation,” Dr. Yahaya said.

 

On his part, the Managing Director of the Bank, Mr. Tony Okpanachi, added, “I am particularly excited by the depth and quality that both appointees are bringing to the Board and ultimately, the institution.

“Together, they bring a combined reservoir of knowledge and expertise in the financial services sector that will add immense value to the Bank and significantly contribute to the Bank’s development impact.”

 

Newly appointed Executive Director, Mrs. Ijeoma Ozulumba once served as Financial Controller at Continental Trust Bank Ltd (Now part of UBA Plc) and MBC International Bank Ltd (Now part of First Bank).

 

Mrs Ijeoma Ozulumba, new Executive Director, Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN).

She was Chief Financial Officer at FinBank Plc and Basel Risk Consultant and Finance Manager at Bank of Montreal and Scotia Bank, both in Toronto, Canada.

 

Mrs. Ozulumba also managed corporate budgeting and management reporting for Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, the largest independent E&P company in Nigeria.

 

A graduate of the University of Benin, Nigeria, and an alumnus of the Lagos Business School, Mrs. Ozulumba is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and a Certified Professional Accountant of Canada. She holds an MBA in International Business from Royal Holloway, University of London, and is a Project Management Professional. She was until her appointment the Chief Financial Officer at the Development Bank of Nigeria.

 

Mr. Kyari Abba Bukar, newly appointed Independent Non-Executive Director, is the Managing Director/Co-Founder of Trans-Sahara Investment Corporation, a Private Equity firm based in Lagos, Nigeria.

 

He had an outstanding career in Engineering and Technology serving as the former Managing-Director/CEO at Central Securities Clearing System Plc, Lagos and ValuCard Nigeria (Unified Payments Ltd), Lagos, respectively. He has also served as an Executive Director in charge of Information Technology at FSB International Bank Plc.

Mr Kyari Abba Bukar, independent non-Executive Director, the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN).

 

 

Before joining FSB International Bank Plc, he served in various roles as Manufacturing Development Engineer, Marketing Program Manager, Senior IT Consultant, and as Manager in various sectors of the Hewlett Packard Corporation in the United States of America.

 

Kyari Bukar was the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and currently serves on several other Boards.

 

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria, and a Master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA.

 

The Development Bank of Nigeria Plc (DBN) is a wholesale development finance institution, established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in collaboration with multilateral development partners (The World Bank, AfDB, KfW, AFD, and EIB) to address the major financing challenges facing Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.

 

The DBN carries out this function by providing financial institutions, predominantly Deposit Money and Microfinance Banks with on-lending facilities.

 

Amaka E. Nliam

Presidency happy with voices speaking against secession – Garba Shehu

Zainab Sa'id
-
0

The Senior Special Assistant to Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu the presidency is happy that some major socio-cultural group in Nigeria are speaking up against secession of the country.

He said this at an interactive session organised by the All Progressives Congress, APC Professional Forum to showcase the achievements of President Buhari’s administration which held at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja.

Mr Shehu noted that those calling for the division of Nigeria are the cause of the country’s problem.

He added that President Buhari will not be intimidated by the call for secession by some persons, pointing out that the country would remain united no matter what.

“For those saying that the presidency has not been talking, our position is clearly that this country is one and will remain united by the grace of God.

“You can’t intimidate Buhari, you can’t bully him, a lot of these people who are calling for secession are the problem of this country, I’m happy that reasonable opinion is now being, reasonable voices are now rising. Is it not only yesterday we are reading Afenifere, the most credible faction of Afenifere saying we’re not for secession? 

“You create secession and break up Nigeria and then you intimidate the sitting leader and then he opens the booth and he brings money to settle people. President Buhari will pay no one.

“The Governors in the southwest, we have all heard them, they have denounced all of these things. So it’s a sham, Nigerians want to be one, they want to continue,” Shehu said.

National Conference

Speaking on the call for a National Conference to address the country’s challenges, the Presidential Spokesman said that there was no need for such as it would not do more than an elected parliament mandated to ensure the sovereignty of Nigerians.

Kidnappings and Banditry

On the spate of kidnappings and banditry in the country, Mr Shehu while noting that it was condemnable development, however, said the act has been on for long and that Nigeria is not the only country experiencing such crime.

Also Read: Clergy urges secessionists to jettison disunity campaigns

While also noting that the deaths recorded in the country are tragic, he pointed out that no country in the world today is crime-free.

“When the question was raised, I was going through my WhatsApp message and interesting conversation recently was around the publication of a New Nigerian newspaper Tuesday, November 16, 1966, and on the front page of this Newspaper There is a story saying: “Midwest police rescue 10 kidnapped men”. If you open the press today and some people are reporting kidnapping you will think that this is the first time in the country.

“I’m not saying it is welcome, please I shouldn’t be misunderstood. Even in the United States of America, two days ago people were shot and killed, eight of them for no reason,” he said.

Unauthorized Weapons

Mr Shehu noted that part of the problem fueling insecurity in the country is the infiltration of weapons into the country as well as some bad eggs in communities that reveal military secrets.

“So, we have problems with infiltration of unauthorized weapons. This is why President Buhari ordered that anyone caught with AK-47 that is not a law enforcement agent, is not authorized, that person should be shot immediately, don’t surrender that weapon,” Shehu said.

He blamed the proliferation of such weapons on the crises in the Sahel and Libya, which has led to the recruitment of people from Nigeria and other distant places into terrorism

“So it’s a big challenge, let us cooperate with law enforcement agencies in the country to curtail these things.

“We also have bad eggs in our communities who reveal the secrets of our military, they had this one in Katsina state before, A tea seller near the airport where they move the aircraft from Katsina Airport to operate against the bandits in Zamfara State.

“This man that sold tea near the airport; the sponsors of bandits hired him, built a house for him, bought him a golf car and gave him money to do bigger tea business.

“Each time an aircraft took off from Katsina Airport to go and operate in Zamfara, he will call them on phone and say they are coming by the time they get there; the target has disappeared.

“So, there are bad people in our communities. What are we doing as citizens to rid ourselves of informants because the military people are as human as we are they have blood running in their veins,” Shehu said.

He said all the military needs to combat terrorism and acts of banditry in the country is time, support and prayers from Nigerians.

 

Zainab Sa’id

President Buhari Presides Over 42nd Virtual Cabinet Meeting

Nnenna Okoronkwo
-
0

President Muhammadu Buhari is presiding over the 42nd virtual meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari are physically attending the meeting, which started at 09:00 GMT.

Six Ministers are physically attending the meeting. They include those of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, Finance, Zainab Ahmed, Justice, Abubakar Malami, Interior, Rauf Aregbesola.

Others are the Ministers of the Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello, and Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola.

The Head of Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan and other Ministers are participating in the weekly cabinet meeting from their various offices in Abuja.

 

Details later

 

Nnenna.O

President Deby’s death: N’djamena residents express mixed reactions

Nnenna Okoronkwo
-
0

The Chadian capital, N’Djamena has commenced another day of uncertainty as the locals come to terms with the demise of their late President Idriss Deby.

President Deby reportedly succumbed to injuries on the frontline with rebels on Monday.

A resident in N’Djamena, Bienvenu Mbairanai says “In other words, it’s a coup d’etat organised by people against the population – it’s not against the president but against the population. I think it’s something that should not be done and I am asking for the support of the international community – to help this country return to a good position.”

For entrepreneur Djegolbe Mbaibekorom, recent developments are unfortunate.

“It’s not how it should work. The President of the Assembly is there so he is the one who should take things in hand – yet we give it again to people in the military. It follows the logic of Idriss Deby, so of course, I’m against it,” he said.

It remains to be seen what the next line of action would be. But as Chadians go about the day-to-day activities, what is clear is that locals yearn for more answers.

“We are waiting for the development of the events; what will happen tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, we will see. He is already gone, he is in debt, he is dead. A Head of state should not go to war. The minister, the militaries, several generals are there,” said N’Djamena resident, Firmin Dobia.

Dono Keleypete is a Pastor and spokesperson for the platform “Servants of God for justice and law in Chad. He thinks this might be God’s destiny for the late president.

“Mr Idriss Déby should not have died in this way but in another way. But maybe it is God’s destiny for him”, Keleypete said.

President Idriss Déby death has opened a period of uncertainty in Chad. Rebels have vowed to march on the capital N’Djamena.

Suzan O/AFN

NADDC: Presidency re-appoints Mr Jelani Aliyu as Director-General

Amaka Nliam
-
0

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has re-appointed Mr Jelani Aliyu as the Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development  Council (NADDC).

President Muhammadu Buhari had in April, 2017 appointed Mr. Aliyu (who was with General Motors as automotive designer) as the NADDC’s Director-General.

 

Mr Aliyu is reputed to be the designer of the car that defined General Motors’ level of achievement after 100 years of existence, and also demonstrated the company’s future direction, the Chevrolet Volt Electric Car.

 

His appointment had ignited stakeholders’ confidence in Nigeria’s automotive industry.

 

Four years down the line, Mr Aliyu has implemented new development policies for Nigeria’s automobile industry  with big players such as Dangote-Sino Trucks, Innoson, Hyundai Nigeria, Honda and others successfully assembling/ producing vehicles in the country.

 

Mr Aliyu has implemented strategic automotive policies that catapulted Nigeria into the global scene, especially with the recent highly successful unveiling of the first Nigerian assembled electric vehicle and solar-powered charging infrastructure.

 

The National Automotive Design and Development Council’s vision and mission are sub-sects of the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment vision, which is to transform Nigeria into a modern industrialized nation.

 

Amaka E. Nliam

DR Congo, France eulogise the late President Deby

Nnenna Okoronkwo
-
0

Among those who eulogised Deby was Félix Tshisekedi, President of DR Congo and current President of the African Union.

President Tshisekedi said he was “appalled” and that the death is “a great loss for Chad and Africa as a whole”.

Deby’s former Foreign Minister Mousa Faki Mahamat is the current Chairperson of the African Union Commission, the secretariat of the continental bloc based in Addis Ababa. Mahamat also sent condolences to the family over the irreparable loss.

The French presidency said Deby was a “courageous friend” of France and a “great soldier” who worked tirelessly for the security of his country.

The statement from the Elysee Palace also emphasised the importance of “stability and territorial integrity” for Chad while urging that the post-Deby transition take place in “peaceful conditions”.

Following Deby’s death, the army suspended the government, the Constitution and Parliament. The army has also installed Mahamat Deby, the son of the slain leader, as the country’s President for 18 months.

Freshly re-elected for a sixth term, Deby succumbed to injuries while leading army operations in the face of a rebellion from Libya, as confirmed by the Chadian army.

The country will be ruled for 18 months by Mahamat Deby, the son of the late President.

Suzan O/ALLAFRICA

COVID-19: Minister calls for vaccine production in Nigeria

Nnenna Okoronkwo
-
0

Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu has called for local production of vaccines to limit the supply of vaccines by other countries to Nigeria.

Dr. Onu made the call during a working visit by the Senior Executive Course 43 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies NIPSS in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Dr. Onu further who said that Nigeria has the capacity and potential to produce vaccines locally to offer solutions to it challenges also stressed the need for Nigeria and other developing countries to develop home-grown solutions to challenges facing them, such as the production of vaccines to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

 “No matter how wealthy and rich a nation can be, in terms of resources, there is need to make sure that many of the things needed in your country are locally provided”

“The vaccine nationalism that is ravaging the world are all in the developed part of the world. In the high-income nations 1 out of 4 of their citizens have been vaccinated but in the developing countries where most of the African countries belong as many as 1out of 500 have been vaccinated, so the gap is frightening, this is because the poor nations cannot manufacture vaccines and the rich countries cannot give out because it is important that they vaccinate people to make sure that they are secured and safe before giving out to others and you cannot blame them, because this involves life and death,” he added.

READ ALSO: “Science, Technology & Innovation have created many SMEs in Nigeria”- Minister

According to the Minister, Nigeria has the capacity to confront all the challenges facing it, adding that all goods and services being imported can be locally produced.

On the issues of security, Dr. Onu said that the deployment of Science, Technology and Innovation, will help the nation overcome many challenges bedevilling her especially in the area of insurgency.

He further said the use of Science technology and innovation will enhance intelligence gathering and facilitate the use of cutting-edge technology to eliminate security challenges in all regions of the country.

Dr. Onu added that the Federal Government is at the implementation stage of the revolutionary Executive Order 5, which seeks to place Nigerian professionals and deployment of Technology as the fulcrum of socio-economic activities, saying that the Federal Government is focused on lifting one hundred million Nigerians out of poverty by the turn of the decade.

“Through the deployment of science technology and innovation a lot of Nigerians will be moved out of poverty and also the Buhari-led administration is committed to creating jobs for over one hundred million Nigerians in the next ten years,” he stressed.

Earlier, the Director of Research, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, Professor Dung Pam Sha, said that the Institute will work closely with the Ministry to ensure the deployment of Science Technology and innovation in solving national challenges at all levels.

He also said that the Institute is on a fact-finding mission, on the contributions of the Ministry to national development which will enable the institute make necessary recommendations to the Presidency on how to improve the role of Science technology and innovation to national development.

 

Nnenna.O

Super League Project Struggles As English Clubs Quit

Chidi Uduma Nwoke
-
0

European football’s breakaway Super League project was in doubt on Tuesday after the six English Premier League clubs involved in the project quit 48 hours after agreeing to join Italian and Spanish teams in the controversial elite competition.

After a storm of protests from fans, players, managers and governments, alongside threats of bans and sanctions from the game’s European and world governing bodies UEFA and FIFA, the English clubs capitulated under pressure and threw in the towel.

Manchester City were the first to back out of the venture and then Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea announced they were following suit.

The Super League issued a statement which suggested they may be suspending their project but stopped short of abandoning it altogether.

“Given the current circumstances, we shall reconsider the most appropriate steps to reshape the project, always having in mind our goals of offering fans the best experience possible while enhancing solidarity payments for the entire football community,” the statement said.

The Madrid-based organisation said the departure of the English teams was due to “pressure” placed on them and said they were “convinced that the current status quo of European football needs to change”.

The league, which was announced on Sunday with 12 founding members, has been championed by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, the new competition’s chairman. It is now left with three Italian clubs — AC Milan, Juventus and Inter Milan — plus Perez’s Real Madrid along with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid from Spain.

Inter Milan look likely to be the next to leave with the Italian news agency ANSA quoting a club source as saying “The Super League project in its current state is no longer considered of interest by Inter.”

UEFA, whose elite Champions League competition was at risk from the proposed new league, threatened to ban the clubs and players who joined the Super League but its president Aleksander Ceferin had earlier urged the English clubs to think again.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin

“I said yesterday that it is admirable to admit a mistake and these clubs made a big mistake,” Ceferin said after the English clubs announced their decisions to leave.

“But they are back in the fold now and I know they have a lot to offer not just to our competitions but to the whole of the European game. The important thing now is that we move on, rebuild the unity that the game enjoyed before this and move forward together.” 

Adding to the drama, Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward announced his resignation shortly before his club gave up on a project he had been influential in bringing about.

REVENUES

The Super League had argued that it would increase revenues to the top clubs and allow them to distribute more money to the rest of the game.

United States investment bank JP Morgan was brought in to finance the new league, providing a 3.5 billion euro ($4.21 billion) grant to the founding clubs to spend on infrastructure, and recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the sport’s governing bodies, other teams and fan organisations said the Super League would boost the power and wealth of the elite clubs and the partially closed structure of the league goes against European football’s long-standing model.

Unlike Europe’s current top-level Champions League competition, where teams have to qualify through their domestic league, the founding Super League teams would have guaranteed themselves a place in the new competition every year.

The magnitude of the split in the game and the strength of feeling it generated led political leaders across Europe to speak out, and, in some cases, to threaten intervention.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his government would consider passing legislation to stop the breakaway, likening the plans to creating a cartel.

The Premier League said it “unanimously and vigorously” rejected the plans. After a meeting with the 14 clubs not involved, it said it was considering “all actions available” to stop the new competition.

Chidi Nwoke/Reuters.

1...2,7012,7022,703...3,318Page 2,702 of 3,318

HEALTH

ENTERTAINMENT & TOURISM

WORLD

NEWS COMMENTARY

NEWS FEATURE

Voice Of Nigeria Mission is “Reflecting Nigerian and African perspectives in our broadcasts, winning and sustaining the attention, respect and goodwill of listeners worldwide, particularly Nigerians and Africans in the Diaspora … making Nigeria’s voice to be heard more positively in the shaping of our world.”

More from CN

Contact

© Voice of Nigeria Broadcasting Service