Author: premier radio premier radio

NAN-H-15

Convocation

Lagos, Oct. 9, 2017 (NAN) Fourteen students will graduate with first class honours at the seventh convocation of the Caleb University, Imota in Lagos State on Friday.

Mr Elvis Otobo, the Public Relations Officer of the institution, said in a statement on Monday that the students are among 409, who are graduating with various divisions of degrees.

The convocation will take place at the Multipurpose Hall of the University’s Permanent Site, Imota on Oct. 13.

The week-long activities lined up for the convocation, which began on Sunday, Oct. 8 with valedictory service and prayers, include Caleb and Graduates’ Forum, a seminar on Human Resource Concerns and novelty football match among others.

The theme of the seminar is “Contend for Space, Dominate the Space”.

Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State will be the special guest of honour while the Group Chief Executive of the First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Mr Ladi Balogun, will deliver the Convocation Lecture.

The ceremony will witness conferment of awards and recognition of distinguished Nigerians with track-record of excellence, as well as higher and first degrees on successful students.

There will also be a pre-convocation dinner on Thursday while the ceremony will be rounded off on Friday with the conferment of honours and award of degrees.

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi and other eminent Nigerians, would also be conferred with honorary degree awards.

A breakdown of the class of degrees to be conferred on the graduating students are 14 with first class, 142 with second class upper division, 162 with second class lower division and 47 with third class.

In the postgraduate level, 12 students would bag Master of Business Administration (MBA) while 32 would receive Master of Science M.Sc.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Caleb University is a faith-based institution that was licensed by the National University Commission (NUC) on May 17, 2007, to run as a private University in Lagos State.

The institution began academic activities in January 2008 at its Lagos City Campus but relocated to its permanent site at Imota near Ikorodu in November of 2009. (NAN)

PR/AIB/MEMO

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Edited by Abdulfatah Babatunde/Mike Mbonye

LASU launches digital application to process admissions

NAN -H-50

Application

By Rukayat Adeyemi

Lagos, Oct. 5, 2017 (NAN) Lagos State University (LASU) says it has launched a digital application to process the admission of candidates for the 2017/2018 academic session

Mr Adekoya Martins, spokesman of LASU, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos that the application was developed by its Integrated Data Centre (LIDC) to prevent all forms of manipulation during the exercise.
According to him, the application is in accordance with the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) directives to go digital on admission processes.

He said the application was developed to facilitate easy, faster and merit-based admission process and without interference.

He said the application would ensure that the admission quota for each department and faculty, as required by the National University Commission (NUC), was sorted on merit.

“The application, among other functions and requirements, will also consider the number of indigene and non-indigene candidates required for each department and sort them out by merit,’’ he said.

Martins said a demonstration of the workings of the application was made to the university management by the Director, LASU LIDC, Dr Akanbi Moses, on Tuesday.

“The application is programmed to sort candidates on merit for the admission and LIDC will work in collaboration with the admission office to achieve this.

“With the application, all that is required is for the university admission team to provide the necessary information to be processed and sorted out,
“said the LASU spokesman.
Martins noted that with the application, unnecessary interference in the admission process would beeradicated by the university. (NAN)

RUKY/AIB/WOJ

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(Edited by Abdulfatah Babatunde/ Wale Ojetimi )

NAN-HE-4
Generation
By Yunus Yusuf
Lagos, Oct. 4, 2017 (NAN) The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on Wednesday said it wheeled out 105,535.8 megawatts of electricity in September.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that this was an increase of 10,577.1 megawatts over 94,958.7 megawatts wheeled out in August.

The daily statistics of TCN operations obtained by NAN from the Nigerian Electricity System Operator (SO), a section of the TCN, indicated that the 105,535.8 megawatts were the total generated in September.

The increase in September was attributed to improvement in gas supply and increase in water level in most hydro plants.

Daily power generated from Sept. 1 to Sept. 15 were 3,799.6mw, 3,655.6mw, 2,952.2mw, 3,390.3mw, 3,722.4mw, 3,556.7mw, 3,204.6mw, 3,167.1mw, 3,625.5mw, 3,776.8mw, 2,945mw, 3,740.4mw, 3,375.2mw, 3,826mw and 3,615.9mw respectively.
The generation from Sept. 16 to Sept. 30 were 3,292.3mw, 3,762.8mw, 3,676.5mw, 3,936.8mw, 3,813.3mw, 3,482.8mw, 3,617.9mw, 3,586.7mw, 3,212.2mw, 3,767.8mw, 3,394.1mw, 3,863.6mw, 3,197.9mw, 3,658.1mw and 2,909.7mw, respectively.

Daily power generated from Sept. 1 to 30, 2017

Daily power generated from Aug. 1 to Aug.15 were 2,617.9mw, 3,226.2mw, 3,411.3mw, 2,745.8mw, 2,951mw, 3,393.8mw, 3,292.8mw,3,301.7mw, 3,360.5mw, 3,425.6mw, 3,126.8mw, 3,316.1mw, 2,804.5mw and 3,435.5mw, respectively.

Power generated from Aug.15 to Aug. 31 were 3,443mw, 3,443mw, 4,068.6mw, 3,450.8mw, 3,737.6mw, 3,136.9mw, 3,912.8mw, 3,361.9mw, 2,895mw, 2,900.1mw, 3,126.8mw, 3,288.4mw, 2,579.2mw, 3,579.2mw and 3,328.3mw, respectively.

August, 2017 power generation

The electricity were wheeled out to 11 distribution companies.

The TCN said that national peak demand forecast was at 19,100.00mw in September against the 11,165.40mw installed capacity.

7,139.60mw was the available capacity, 7,000mw was the current transmission capacity, while the network operational capacity stood at 5,500.00mw.

The peak generation ever attained in Nigeria was 5,074.7mw, while the maximum energy ever attained stood at 109,372.01mw.

Nigeria power generation statistics
Mr Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, on Sept. 28, said a new electricity regulation that would boost meter supply for consumers nationwide would become operational in October.

Fashola announced the new regulation at a seminar on “Policy Dialogue on the Power Sector’ organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) in Lagos.

The minister said that the regulation, which would govern meter service providers, would open up the market to more players in the meter supply chain.

It will also strengthen local meter supply and bridge the country’s metering gaps.

“It would enable other businesses that are not distribution companies (DISCOs) to supply meters.

“The core business of the DISCOs is not meter supply, their core business is distributing power, but it needs meters to do so.

“Those who specialise in manufacturing, supplying and installation of meter would now go into that business, subject to licence by the Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC),” Fashola said.

According to the minister, the Power Payment Assurance Guarantee has eased the debt profile of the sector, thereby increasing power production from 2,690 megawatts in 2015 to 6,911 megawatts on Dec 24, 2016.

“We are trying to develop plans on how to put all of those 6,000 megawatts in the grid because, currently, we can only put 4,225 megawatts on the grid.’’

Mrs Nike Akande, the President of LCCI, said that improved power supply was critical to the survival of businesses and economic growth.

“Statistics show that the country generates about 6,700mw of electricity.

“Out of it, 2,000mw is wasted because of the problem associated with phishing and distribution.

“There is an urgent need to reduce power losses and this can be achieved with a more robust engagement and regulation of the power sector,’’ Akande said.

Mr Effiong Edet, the Chairman, LCCI Power Sector Group, emphasised the need to review the privatisation of the power sector, refinance of debts and government’s 40 per cent equity in DISCOs in order to attract more investors.

According to Edet, other issues are enforcement of prepaid meters, need for a cost-effective tariff, need to decentralise the transmission system and more engagement between the government and private sector.

Mr Kola Adeshina, the Managing Director of Egbin Power Station, said the fundamental problems of the power sector stemmed from its pricing.

“We are talking of industrialisation, but we cannot be industrialised if the cost of electricity is high,’’ Adeshina said.

He urged stakeholders to use the country’s vast gas endowment towards reducing the pricing of electricity.

He emphasised the need for holistic review of the power reforms. (NAN)
YO/AIB/TA
Edited by Abdulfatah Babatunde/Tajudeen Atitebi

Red Cross, NYSC sensitise Niger community on ‘first aid’
NAN-HG-5
Aid
By Obinna Unaeze
Paiko (Niger), Oct. 4, 2017 (NAN) The Nigeria Red Cross Society in Paiko Local Government Area of Niger is collaborating with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to sensitise people of the area on ‘Community First Aid’.
Alhaji Hamisu Jankaro, the State Chairman of the society, announced the collaboration while inaugurating the programme on Wednesday in Paiko.
Jankaro said both organisations would embark on sensitisation programme to educate people of the community on the importance of first aid.
“This Community First Aid is timely, considering our peoples’ lifestyle,’’ he said.
He urged volunteers to always discharge their duties in line with the tenets of the society.
Similarly, Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim, the National Youth Adviser of the society, appealed to Red Cross volunteers in the area to be good ambassadors of the organisation.
Ibrahim said the Red Cross was a voluntary organisation aimed at providing humanitarian support when the need arises.
Also, Malam Ibrahim Abdullahi, a youth leader in the area, commended the gesture, saying that first aid is important in the lives of the people of the area who are mainly farmers.
“We now know the importance of having a first aid box in each household,’’ he said.
Mr Umukoro Joseph, President of the NYSC Community Development Service, said the measure was part of efforts by the NYSC Red Cross to assist members of its host community to stay healthy.
Joseph reiterated the need for people to take their health seriously, adding this is what informed the programme initiative.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the sensitisation involved a road show on all the major streets in Paiko and distribution of flyers with educative inscriptions. (NAN)
OCU/AIB/MST
Edited by Abdulfatah Babatunde/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

NAN-H-98
Courses
Lagos, Aug. 29, 2017 (NAN) The National University Commission (NUC) has approved the establishment of postgraduate programmes and full-time mode in five courses for the Caleb University, Imota, in Lagos State.

Mr Elvis Otobo, the Public Relations Officer of the university, said in Lagos on Tuesday that the institution would commence the programme from the 2017/18 academic session.

Otobo, in a statement in Lagos, listed the programmes as Taxation, Environmental Management & Toxicology, Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution, Public Administration and Computer Science.

“I am directed to inform you that the Management Committee, during its meeting from Wednesday, Aug. 2 to Tuesday, Aug. 8, considered and approved the establishment of the following postgraduate programmes.

“The full-time mode of the following undergraduate programmes, to be run at the Main Campus of the University, effective from the 2017/2018 academic session.

“Taxation, B.Sc; Environmental Management & Toxicology, B.Sc; Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution, B.Sc. Public Administration, B.Sc and Computer Science, PGD & MSc.

“The institution will now admit students into the new programmes and those courses in which the university has excelled over the years in the 2017/2018 academic session,’’ he quoted excerpt from the NUC letter of as saying.

The commission had previously approved B.Sc/M.Sc in Architecture, Estate Management, Building and Quantity Surveying programmes in the College of Environmental Sciences and Management (COLENSMA); B.Sc in Microbiology and Industrial Biotechnology.

Others courses include: Plant Sciences and Biotsechnology, Zoology and Aquaculture, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Mathematics, Statistics and Physics among others.

According to him, the university also offers B.Sc. in Economics, Business Administration (with options in Entrepreneurship, Marketing, General Business and Human Resources Management), Accounting, Banking, Mass Communication, Political Science, and Philosophy. (NAN)
AIB/GOK
Edited by Olagoke Olatoye
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NAN-H-83
Tinubu
By Chinyere Nwachukwu
Lagos, Aug. 15, 2017 (NAN) Sen. Oluremi Tinubu on Tuesday called for declaration of a state of emergency in the education sector of the country.

Tinubu, the wife of the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sen. Bola Tinubu, made the call while speaking with newsmen in Lagos.

The senator, representing Lagos Central senatorial district spoke on the side line of the opening of the 12th Annual Research Conference and Fair organised by the University of Lagos.

The senator was reacting to the indefinite strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) nationwide.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the lecturers were protesting the non-implementation of both the 2013 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and the 2009 agreement it entered into with the Federal Government.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had on Monday declared an indefinite strike over Federal Government failure to keep to the 2009 agreement.

According to Tinubu, for a country to excel, its education must be built on a firm foundation.

“We have to declare a state of emergency on education in this country.

“This is what we have been going through, even during the budget process.

“There are lots of shortfalls in our universities.

“Even when I visit universities, when I look at their laboratories and a lot of other teaching materials, they are nothing to be cheerful about,’’ she said.

She recalled that during her school days, she was not from a rich family, “but I went through school and was proud to go through school’’.

She urged the Federal Government to look into the agitation of the union seriously and proffer a workable solution.

“I also want to plead with ASUU to show understanding with the government, and consider the young people.”

Tinubu noted that when a country is filled with more than half of the population, not being properly educated, “it becomes detrimental to the growth of the nation. (NAN)
CCN/AIB/AFA
Edited by Abdulfatah Babatunde/Felix Ajide

NAN-H-63
Reactions
By Chinyere Nwachukwu
Lagos, Aug. 14, 2017 (NAN) Mixed reaction on Monday greeted a fresh strike by the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU), as some stakeholders condemned the action, while others said the Federal Government should address the demands.

The respondents, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, were however unanimous that the Federal Government should use the recovered looted fund to settle the union’s demands.

NAN reports that the national leadership of the union on Sunday declared an indefinite strike across the nation.

Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, the union’s president at a news conference on Monday in Abuja, announced that the strike would be total, comprehensive and indefinite.

Ogunyemi said that during the period, all academic activities such as teaching, attendance of any form of meetings or supervision of examination at all levels would be suspended.

Reacting the development, a former Education Minister, Prof. Chinwe Obaji, called on both the ASUU and the Federal Government to x-ray the lingering issues and find out where they both failed to do the needful.

Obaji told NAN that the previous administration was largely part of the agreement and that it was enough reason why ASUU ought to have ensured something tangible was done even before the general elections.

“I am not saying ASUU is right to embark on strike or not.

“Recall that the whole issue was protracted in 2013 when there was a six months strike and eventually, the union signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the previous government.

“But, both sides ought not to have waited for this length of time for the whole thing to degenerate again to this level,’’ the former minister said.

According to her, Nigerians are hearing of recovered monies looted by some individuals.

“I think the right thing to do is channel most of the stolen monies that were recovered to the education sector and infrastructure.

“I am indeed not for or against this strike, but my sincere take is for both the government, ASUU and other stakeholders to end all this drama by ensuring that they come together.

“They should look at the entire issues critically and seek the way forward.’’

In his view, the National President, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Mr Michael Olukoya, told NAN on the telephone that the issue of a persistent strike in the sector “is further worsening the already bad state of the sector”.

He said that he expected the government to quickly respond as this was not the best of time for the sector to experience any strike.

“I want to call on Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and members of the National Assembly to rise to the occasion and tackle the situation once and for all.

“Government must learn how to respect agreements and show a sincere commitment to the course,’’ Alogba-Olukoya said.

He also said that government should consider ploughing looted monies recovered into the education system because “it is the future of tomorrow’s leaders that are involved.’’

A former Coordinator of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Southwest zone, Mr Eniola Opeyemi said he supported ASUU’s action.

Opeyemi, however, added that the union should have carried the Nigerian students along in its decision.

“ASUU has actually been in this struggle for quite some time now, which I feel it is okay for them to do.

“But I feel the union did not do the needful by carrying the students along in its decision,’’ he said.

He said the union was fighting a just cause but doing it all on its own without consultation with the students was not good enough.

“On the part of the Federal Government, it should rise up to the occasion for the sake of peace and interest of Nigerian students,’’ Opeyemi said. (NAN)
CCN/AIB/GY
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Edited by Abdulfatah Babatunde/Grace Yussuf

(more…)

Don suggests appointment of long serving persons to head tertiary schools

NAN-H-9

Competence

By Stellamaris Ashinze

Lagos, Aug. 4, 2017 (NAN) An educationist, Dr Victor Akinola, has suggested that competent and experienced administrators should be appointed to head tertiary schools to enhance development of those institutions.

Akinola, a former National Public Relation Officer, Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), made the suggestion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.

He said that government should always give consideration to persons who had stayed long in a particular institution for appointment as vice chancellor, rector or provost to ensure efficient administration of the institution.

The unionist said such officer would have acquired relevant cognate experience over the years to run the institution efficiently.

Akinola, who is also a lecturer at the department of Curriculum and Instruction Technology, Faculty of Education, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Lagos, said the wrong choice of chief executives had always retarded the progress of institutions.

He gave the instance of the College of Education at Ijanikin, where Lagos State Government was contemplating bringing somebody from the State University (LASU), a situation he described as improper.

“Bringing someone from the university environment, because he has a doctorate degree, but not familiar with the terrain in the college of education, may bring a set back to the college,” Akinola told NAN.

According to him, there are many competent educationists without a doctorate degree in the college of education system that can administer such college. (NAN)

SKA/AIB/TA

Edited by Abdulfatah Babatunde

NAN-H-18

Experience

By Stellamaris Ashinze

Lagos, Aug. 4, 2017 (NAN) An educationist, Dr Victor Akinola, has called for the appointment of competent and experienced education administrators to head tertiary institutions in the country.

Akinola, former National Public Relation Officer, Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos that such a move would enhance development of the sector.

He said that government should always consider for appointment as Vice Chancellors, Rectors or Provosts, academicians who had stayed long in a particular institution, to ensure efficient administration of the institution.

According to him, such officers have acquired relevant cognate experience over the years to be able to run the institution efficiently.

Akinola, who is also a lecturer at the department of Curriculum and
Instruction Technology, Faculty of Education, Adeniran Ogunsanya
College of Education, Lagos, said the wrong appointment of cChief Executives had  retarded the progress of some institutions.

He decried the practice of bringing academicians who had no experience to head institutions just because they had Doctorate Degrees. (NAN)

SKA/AIB/ASH

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Edited by Abdulfatah Babatunde