President Goodluck Jonathan will on Monday embark on a working visit to Switzerland and Ethiopia, Presidential Spokesman Reuben Abati has disclosed. Abati, in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, said the President’s engagements in Geneva and D...
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has worked out plans to enroll Nigerians living abroad in its new identity management project. The Director-General of the commission, Mr Chris Onyemenam, made this known in Abuja on Sunday at the foru...
Former UN Secretary General Koffi Annan has described Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, as an `` impeccable public officer and astute diplomat’’.
Annan stated this on the occasion of the 80th birthday celebration organised for the former Commonwealth scribe on Saturday in London.
He said in an interview with the Western Europe correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that ``the celebrant has done a lot for the world and the Commonwealth of Nations where he gave his best for 34 years’’.
``This is a wonderful celebration for a man who has done so much for his country and the world.
``I am personally happy to be here to honour him, celebrate him, and to wish him another 30 years.
`` He is so youthful. I have never seen a younger 80-year-old man like him and I wish him sound health because the world still needs him,’’ Annan said.
Annan urged young Africans to aspire for greatness by emulating Anyaoku’s exemplary leadership.
`` I encourage young people to begin to assume responsibility, they do not have to be old to be responsible and assume leadership,'' Annan said.
``We are moving on and the next generation should be taking over.
The Chairman of Senate Committee on FCT, Sen. Smart Adeyemi, on Sunday said he would spearhead a nationwide protest to resist moves by State Governors to oppose local governments’ autonomy. He said it was unconstitutional for the governors not to...
Lagos, Jan. 19, 2013 (NAN) President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday in Lagos reiterated his administration’s commitment to moving Nigeria forward through qualitative education at all levels.
Jonathan gave the assurance at the second convocation ceremony of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
The president was represented by the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruquayyatu Rufa’i,
He noted that education played a critical role in any country’s economy, saying that the Federal Government would give priority attention to the education sector, if I must realise its transformation agenda.
``We shall put in more efforts in supporting the tertiary institutions for them to be able to attain their mandate.
``As you are aware, government has approved the establishment of three more universities which will further serve as a means of creating an environment conducive for realising national transformation.
``Efforts are also being made to improve the quality of teachers in our schools in order to give birth to quality products who would drive our economy,” he said.
The president said that the Federal Government would step up efforts in encourage the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode, to facilitate Nigeria’s realisation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in education.
He congratulated NOUN’s graduands and charged them to be good ambassadors of the institution, adding that Nigeria would rely on them to proffer solutions to its many challenges.
``Our doors are always open for suggestions on how to move the country to the next level,’’ he said.
Speaking in her capacity as the Minister of Education, Rufa’i said that henceforth, universities must ensure that graduands’ certificates were ready before convocation.
``We will no longer graduate students without issuance of certificates on the day of graduation.
``It is worrisome to see our young men and women roaming the streets in search of jobs without their certificates,” the minister said.
She congratulated NOUN management for issuing certificates to the graduating students at the convocation arena.
Earlier, the NOUN Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Vincent Tenebe, appealed to the Federal Government to increase the institution’s budgetary allocations, to enable it to tackle its challenges effectively.
Tenebe said that it was in recognition of NOUNs’ contributions to the development of tertiary education, particularly in ODL, that Nigeria’s bid was accepted to host the Pan-Commonwealth Forum (PCF7) in conjunction with the Commonwealth of Learning (COL).
Tenebe said that the forum would hold in December 2013.
Tenebe urged the graduating students to contribute their best to national development.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a total of 7,220 students were conferred with degrees in various fields at the ceremony.
A total of 3,601 graduands received postgraduate awards.
NAN also reports that no first class was recorded.
NOUN did not specify the number that graduated in the various classes.
one of the highpoints of the event was the award of a posthumous `Honorary Causa' to the late Minister of Education, Prof. Babs Fafunwa.
Super Falcons striker Perpetua Nkwocha on Saturday decried the declining standard of female football in Nigeria, attributing it to negligence by the concerned authorities.
Nkwocha told newsmen in Lagos that poor oganisation and neglect of the Nigeria Women Professional League (NWPL) had hindered the growth of various female national teams.
``The quality of the NWPL is affecting the national teams. I say that because it was exhibited at the 2012 Africa Women Championship in Equatorial Guinea where we did not do well.
``The Super Falcons especially do not have quality players anymore.
``If the league can improve, then we can have strong and formidable national teams," said Nkwocha who is currently playing for Sunnana SK Club of Sweden.
Nkwocha also canvassed equality in the administration of the male and female teams, saying that preference should not be accorded to the male teams.
``The Nigeria Football Federation and fans usually focus more on the men when it comes to competitions.
``And in terms of the Nigeria Premier League, the men are even more recognised, it is not fair," she said.
She appealed to sponsors to identify with the NWPL and female football to ensure it grew and become strong like their foreign counterpart
``Why do you think countries like U.S.A, Sweden and Brazil are strong in the world today? It is because they invest in their female teams," she said.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) has warned football fans who are to attend the opening match of the 2013 African Cup of Nations not to bring umbrellas to the stadium. The opening game is between the host nation South Africa and debutants, Cape ...
Gunmen on Saturday attacked the convoy of the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Dr. Ado Bayero, killing three. Those killed are his driver, a traditional guard who tried to protect him and the Management Officer of Kumbotso local government. Two of his sons we...
The Cross River Government on Saturday told border communities in the state to live in peace with their neighbours to end communal crises in the state. The Security Adviser to Gov. Liyel Imoke, Mr Rekpene Bassey, gave the charge in an interview with th...
President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the constitution of the boards of Federal Government University Teaching Hospitals and NAFDAC. This approval is contained in a statement signed by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen. Anyim ...
Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso has decried what he called the overbearing attitude of the National Assembly, saying that the most powerful individuals in the country today are members of the legislature at the federal level. During an exclusive in...
Businessmen and other investors in South Africa seeking visa labels to travel to Nigeria have been facing herculean problems in securing the vital document from the country’s mission in Pretoria and Johannesburg. LEADERSHIP WEEKEND learnt that th...
Nearly two years into his second term in office, Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, speaks on his administration’s achievements thus far, constitution amendment, PIB among other issues in this interview with EDITOR, LEADERSHIP WEEKEND, SA...
Hajiya Maijidda Waziri, widow of the slain member of the Gombe State House of Assembly, Abdulhameed Waziri, yesterday disclosed that her late husband received a threat letter in an envelope containing a GSM number and three bullets. She said her husban...
Details of the reason why the federal government sacked Rosemary Chinyere Uzoma as controller-general of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) emerged yesterday. Insider sources spoke on her tenure in the organisation. Mrs Uzoma, who was appointed the ...