Blog

Tourism
By Taiye Baiyerohi
Lagos, Sept. 27, 2018 (NAN) The Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) has urged media to project the tourism sector in a positive way through their reportage.

Mrs Annette Ibe, South West Director of the Corporation gave the advice during the commemoration of the World Tourism Day held on Thursday at Association of Travel and Tourism Writers of Nigeria, Yaba, Lagos.

She said that negative and false stories about the country had negative impact on its tourism sector.

According to her, projecting Nigeria in a positive light would go a long way in promoting the tourism industry, likewise other sectors of the economy.

Ibe explained that most countries have their security challenges like Nigeria, but they still recorded huge revenue annually from tourism activities because they were able to manage their shortcomings.

” Disseminating negative and false stories about us would not help our industry to grow.

” Regardless of our peculiar challenges as a nation, we must learn not to speak ill of our nation, but uphold everything positive we have,” she said.

Ibe urged Nigerians to tour Nigeria more than moving out of the country because Nigeria has most attractive sites than the international communities.

“We must put our house in order; tour Nigeria before we start thinking of focusing on wooing international tourists.

” It is when we have toured our heritage sites properly that we can tell our beautiful stories to attract international tourists.

” Countries like South Africa, Kenya and many others are not totally peaceful, but they live on tourism,” she said.
She also called for better funding of the NTDC to improve on the nation’s tourism industry.

Also, Miss Funmbi Olaleye, Ogun State’s Miss Tourism, urged Nigerians to desist from condemning tourists sites locally, while praising others.

” Ogun State has the highest number of tourist sites, but it was discovered that the turn out for the Ojude Oba festival was very large, compared to attendance at other events.

” This is because we openly express preferences for one festival over another, this should be discouraged,” she said.

Mr Ayo Omotosho, Managing Director Travelogue Communications urged the Federal Government to ensure that basic infrastructures, which would drive the tourism industry, were put in place.

He charged tour operators to change Nigeria narratives in the global world by marketing the nation’s heritage sites through digital tourism.

“Infrastructures, including good roads, electricity, security and more should be on the front burner to realign Nigerian tourism industry,” he said.

Also, Mr Femi Lawson, Managing Director, Skyview Communications, advised Nigerians to explore the potentialities of the tourism industry through various social media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, among others.

According to him, unemployed Nigerians should explore various ways of learning from the tourism industry as it was a major means of revenue earning and employment.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the theme for 2018 World Tourism Day is: ‘Tourism and Digital Transformation.’ (NAN)
PTB/KTO/EAL
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Edited by Kamal Tayo Oropo/Ekemini Ladejobi

Debate

By Oluwatope Lawanson
Abeokuta, Ogun Sept. 27, 2018 (NAN) A total of 40 schools would participate in the second Ogun Inter- Secondary School Debate Competition jointly organised by Park-Inn/Radisson Hotel Group and Kola Obadimu Jr Playhouse.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the debate, themed – ‘Education and the Nigerian Child’ – would begin on Oct. 22 and end on Feb. 28, 2019.

Mr Kayode Aina, General Manager of Park-Inn/Radisson Group, told newsmen in Lagos on Thursday that the competition was the group’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme aimed at  supporting the Nigerian children.

“The group will continue to support the Nigerian child’s curiosity and learning through our CSR  which uses inter-school debates as a tool to rejuvenate healthy competition among secondary schools in Nigeria.

“You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.

“The second edition of the Inter- Secondary School Debate is a bigger competition than the first, with forty secondary schools (public and private), scheduled to participate,” he said.

Aina explained that the debates are aimed at broadening the minds of the children, helping  them to research, think outside the box and exchange views on a wide range of topical issues.

Mr Kola Obadimu, a television and radio drama writer and producer, said the debate would encourage education and and help develop the pupils in critical thinking.

“Basically, it is aimed at developing the intellectual prowess of the students and exposing them to critical thinking.

“The children are the future of any society, it is also a way of promoting educational tourism in Nigeria,” he said.

Earlier, Mr Martins Akinsolu, Director of Education Support Services, Ogun State Ministry of Education, urged corporate bodies and philanthropists to contribute to the development of education sector.

“With the introduction of the Inter- Secondary School Debate Competition, the students will be exposed and it will help them to discover themselves.

“It will encourage the participants  to be bold, confident and be able to think fast,” he said.

NAN recalls that 20 secondary schools participated in the inaugural edition of the debate held in 2017 which produced Victorroti Private Secondary School, Idi Aba, Abeokuta as the overall winner.

Three debaters from the winning school – Taiwo Okeleye, Kehinde Okeleye and Mary-Ann Zubair – won a three-day all expense paid educational tour to Kenya. (NAN)

LAW/OSA/WOJ

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Edited by Shittu Obassa/Wale Ojetimi

BRISIN implementation: FG opens portal for recruitment

Recruitment

By Lucy Nwachukwu

Abuja, Sept. 27, 2018 (NAN) The Federal Government has announced the opening of the recruitment portal for the implementation of the Basic Registry and Information System in Nigeria (BRISIN) scheme in the country.

Dr Anthony Uwa, the Head of BRISIN implementation in Nigeria, discclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

NAN reports that BRISIN is an integrated system for the collection, storage and distribution of information to support the management of the economy.

The Agency also reports that the Federal Government plans to recruit 5000 unemployed Nigerians in the FCT in the pilot phase to drive the implementation of the scheme.

According to Uwa, “the registration into the 5,000 recruitment for BRISINS implementation is now open online.

“Applicants can access the form and register only from www.brisin.gov.ng;  applicants that go through other means are at their own risk.”

According to Uwa, the BRISIN recruitment is not restricted as it cuts across all cadres, from school certificate to PHD holders.

He said it was not also restricted to certain class of persons as speculated by some online media platforms, while urging people with disabilities to apply.

He said candidates qualified to apply were those between the ages of 18-55 years, and that those with knowledge of ICT had added advantage.

“Please note that BRISIN is the best instrument for monitoring and control in all aspects of the economy.

“It has no political party, no colour, no ethnic group, no tribe and no religion; it is for the benefit of every Nigerian.

“BRISIN is a SYSTEM not a Ministry, Department or Agency, but an instrument of self-discipline that will assist Nigeria to the highest height.

“FCT is the capital of Nigeria with 62 wards, six area councils and one central admin head.

“So the 5000 people that will be recruited would serve at the ward, area council and Central Area.

“They will ensure that grassroot data and information are gotten and distributed for use by every MDA according to their interest to better manage their sectors.

“This pilot phase in the FCT will enable Nigerians to understand fully the enormous benefit of BRISIN to the development of the country,” Uwa said. (NAN)

LCN/JEO/SA

Edited by Janefrances Oraka/Salif Atojoko

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NSE: Trading close on bearish trend, market indicators drop 0.61%
Shares
By Lilian Okoro
Lagos, Sept. 27, 2018 (NAN) Equity transactions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed on a negative note on Thursday with Nestle leading the price losers.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the All-Share Index dropped by 199.92 points or 0.61 per cent to close at 32,763.35 against the 32,963.27 achieved on Wednesday.

Also, the market capitalisation shed N73 billion or 0.61 per cent to close at N11.961 trillion against the N12.034 trillion achieved on Wednesday.

Nestle led the price losers’ table with a loss of N62.50 to close at N1, 432. 50per share.

GTBank trailed with a loss of 80k to close at N36.70, while PZ Cussons depreciated by 65k to close at N12.85 per share.

CCNN was down by 50k to close at N23, while Dangote Cement dipped by 40k to close at N14.20 per share.

On the other hand, Total Oil recorded the highest price gain of N1.90 to close at N183 per share.

Nigerian Breweries followed with a gain of N1.40 to close at N91.50, while Custodian appreciated by 24k to close at N5.28 per share.

Zenith Bank added 10k to close at N21.50, while FBN Holdings went up by 5k to close at N8.60 per share.

Fidelity Bank was the investors’ delight, trading 23.304 million shares worth N298.31 million in 156 deals.

GTBank followed with 16.76 million shares valued at N500.25 million traded in 185 deals, while UBA traded 16.223 million shares worth N112.61 million in 171 deals.

Access Bank exchanged 15.50 million shares valued at N12.22 million in 137 deals, while Zenith Bank sold 11.43 million shares worth N10.41 million in 220 deals.

In all, investors exchanged 154.290 million shares valued at N2.70 billion in 2,715 deals.

This is against the 172.196 million shares worth N2.05 billion achieved in 2,866 deals on Wednesday. (NAN)
LUC/TA
Edited by Tajudeen Atitebi

Search
By Chiazo Ogbolu
Lagos, Sept. 27, 2018(NAN) The Country Director, Google Nigeria, Mrs Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor says the social and economic tool known as Google Search has attained 20 years.

Ehimuan-Chiazor in a statement in Lagos said that apart from Google Search being a way of finding information, it had proven invaluable in helping people find jobs, start businesses, and even save money.

“This month marks a major milestone for the world’s most popular search engine, as Google Search turns 20.

“Founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, with the aim of organising the world’s information to make it universally accessible and useful, the Search Index now contains hundreds of billions of web pages and is well over 100 000 000 gigabytes in size.

“It is by some distance, the world’s number one search engine. This is in no small part, thanks to its efforts to ensure that users can instantly access information that is contextually relevant to them and their surroundings.

“From humble origins in a Stanford University computer lab, Search has evolved to become a vital part of most people’s lives.

“People use it for everything ‒ from looking at the weather to plan their outfit the next day, to searching for life-saving procedures in the middle of a medical emergency.

“Search is a very different product from what it was in 1998, far from simply being a way to find information; it has become a crucial social and economic tool.

“This is especially true in Africa, where it has proven invaluable in helping people find jobs, start businesses, and even save money,” she said.

The country director said that even though technology had changed, people’s tastes have remained largely consistent over the past decade, considering the most searched for people on Google in Nigeria since 2008 with many of them still relevant today.

She listed some of them as: Linda Ikeji, Wizkid, Olamide, Muhammadu Buhari, Davido, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and Phyno.

She said that in Nigeria, Google was constantly working on giving people the best possible search experience, listing the latest efforts to include Google Go, Job Search, Recipe Search and Health Symptoms Search.

She also listed some fast facts on search saying in 2017, Google launched more than 270,000 experiments and made more than 2, 400 improvements to its algorithms, and continued to launch new features to make search more useful for everyone.

“When Google began, a new index was rolled out roughly every month. Today, Google generally indexes popular content from news sites and blogs within seconds or minutes of publication. For more static content, Google still updates a large fraction of its index every few days

“15 per cent of searches every day are new, more than half of searches come from outside the U. S., Brazil, India and Indonesia are in the top 10 countries with the highest search volume.

“Nearly one-third of searches came from Next Billion User (NBU) countries like Indonesia, India, Nigeria and South Africa in 2017 and 20 per cent of users in NBU countries search in two or more languages.

“The Knowledge Graph is available in 46 languages: English, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (LatAm), French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Korean, Polish, Turkish, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, Hebrew and others.

“Every year, there are trillions of searches on Google and over half of those searches happen on mobile and Google has indexed over 130 trillion web addresses so far.

“The Knowledge Graph maps out how more than 1 billion things in the real world are connected, and offers over 70 billion facts about them and Google’s average query response time is roughly a quarter of a second.

“Looking forward, there’s little doubt that the evolution of Search over the next 20 years will be as dramatic as the past 20, and with an online population of 103 million, there’s every chance that Nigeria will be at the forefront of that evolution,” she said.(NAN)
CAN/GY
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Edited by Grace Yussuf

CISLAC commends military for securing nation

Military

By Diana Omueza

Abuja, Sept. 27, 2018 (NAN) Mr Musa Rafsanjani, Executive Director, Civil Society on Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), has commended the Nigerian Military for “their noble and sacrificial responsibilities in upholding their mandates by securing the nation both internally and externally”.

Rafsanjani made the commendation at a Civil-Military Relations Accountability forum on Thursday in Abuja.

He said that the nigerian military had a mandate which they had kept up with against all Odds.

‘’We are not here to assess them knowing how very noble and sacrificial their Responsibilities are.We are here to appreciate their efforts thus far and to encourage them,’’ he said.

The executive Director said that the Nigerian Armed forces were saddled with the responsibility of protecting lives, property and the nation against external aggression and to maintain peace and orderliness within its borders.

He noted that there had been meetings initiated by the military to engage civilians in discussions that would further improve civil-military relations.

Rafsanjani said that there had also been engagements initiated by the military in forms of medical outreaches, village square meetings and commissioning of schools for civilians.

“However, it is said that in every twelve there is a Judas.

“The military is not oblivious of the fact that within their midst they have personnel who by their conduct destroy the efforts made at building good civil-military relations and have put mechanisms in place to address such,’’ he said.

The executive drirector expressed optimism that at the end of the forum, participants would be further enlightened and be in a better position to enlighten others on the mechanisms deployed in addressing human rights complaints internally.

‘’This forum will improve citizens’ awareness on the availability of redress mechanisms for reporting complaints against security actors,’’ he said.

On its part, the CLEEN foundation, a civil right group, said there was need to strengthen civil-military relations through sustained dialogues and improved understanding between the military and civilians.

Its Executive Director, Dr Benson Olugbuo, stated at the forum that the issues surrounding improvement in accountability, security and respect for human rights in Nigeria could not be over-emphasised.

‘’The relations between the security personnel and civil society continues to be fraught with mistrust, tension, limited interaction and fear.

Olugbuo said that there had been an increased focus by Nigerians and international communities to spotlight the accountability mechanisms set up by security agencies to address citizens’ complaints that bordered on human rights abuses.

‘’Currently, one of such recent platforms is the Public Complaints Rapid Response Unit (PCRRU) set up in 2015 by the Nigeria Police Force to address complaints from the public as it concerns Police Officers.

‘’The Nigerian Army equally, has also established a Human Rights Desk within the Directorate of Civil Military Affairs in early 2016 and a Call Centre to receive complaints against Army personnel.

‘’Other security agencies also have some internal procedures for holding personnel accountable for actions/inactions,’’ he noted.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that CMR Accountability Forum is a part of CLEEN foundation’s activities for ‘Fostering Civil Military Relations’ Project funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

Similarly, retired Air Commodore Darlinton Abdullahi, said that strengthening of civil-military relations in Nigeria would improve the framework for accountability by the sector actors.

Abdullahi noted that accountability remained at the core of Nigeria’s democracy.

‘’Enhancing the framework for effective oversight of the security agencies will largely improve the accountability of security actors and service delivery to the citizens that they seek to protect and serve,’’ he said.

He said that both civilians and the military went hand-in-hand to create a positive climate for civil-military relations in Nigeria to improve citizens’ confidence in the security institutions.(NAN)

DOM/AMY

Edited by Abdullahi Yusuf

Osun rerun: TMG tasks contestants on spirit of sportsmanship

Sportsmanship
By Taiye Agbaje
Abuja, Sept 27, 2018 (NAN) Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), a coalition of civil right organisations, has called on all the contestants in the Thursday’s governorship rerun election in Osun State to have the spirit of sportsmanship.

Chairperson of TMG, Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, who was on ground to monitor the poll with other observers, said political parties in the contest should realise that in every competition, there would always be a winner and loser.

She spoke on Thursday in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

”My advice for all the stakeholders in this election is to embrace peace and shun violence.

”And for the contestants, I will advise them to have the spirit of sportsmanship. You know in all processes of competition, one wins and another loses.

”So they should make peaceful coexistence of the state their priority,” she said.

Akiyode-Afolabi noted that though communities where the rerun elections were taking place were filled with tension and fear, she appealed to all and sundry to embrace peace.

”The whole place is tensed up; apparently people are very afraid.

”There is fear in the communities where the election is going on because of the tension and fear that anything can happen.

”We appeal to people to embrace peace,” she said.

She, however, condemned the harassment of election observers by security agents in some parts of the areas where the poll was taking place.

”In Kajola area, those who went there early were prevented from getting access to the voting area by the hoodlums. We also got report that vehicles were damaged.

“Presently, the voting is going on. In Orolu, Gbongan and Idi-Iya, voting is going on without any hitches. Voting started at Idi-Iya at 8a.m, I was there in person.

”In Gbongan, voting started around 8:30a.m and there is orderliness. We also have enough security presence,” she said.

Akiyode-Afolabi, who observed that all the electoral materials brought by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), including the card readers were functioning well, urged the people in the state to refrain from violence.

NAN reports that INEC had declared the governorship election in Osun inconclusive following the thin margin of votes scored by the two main contenders.

Rerun elections slated for today, Thursday, in Osun are to hold in seven polling units across four local government areas.

The Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Prof. Joseph Fuwape, said Sen. Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 254,698 votes, while Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) scored 254, 345 votes

He said Sen. Iyiola Omisore of Social Democratic Party (SDP) followed with 128,049.

Prof Fuwape said “Based on the results collated by the Returning Officer, the margin between the two leading candidates is 353 which is lower than the number of registered voters in the affected areas.

Extant law and INEC Guidelines and Regulations provide that where such a situation occurs, a declaration may not be made. NAN
TOA/AFA
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Edited by Felix Ajide

Sack Ngige now, SSANU National Women Leader urges Buhari

Sack

By Mohammed Lawal

Zaria (Kaduna state), Sept. 27, 2018 (NAN) Hajiya Hadiza Kabir, National Women Leader, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, (SSANU) on Thursday, called for immediate removal of the Labour Minister, Mr Chris Ngige from office.

Kabir, made the call in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Zaria, Kaduna State.

She said the call became imperative in view of the fact that Nigerian workers no longer had confidence in the minister and his style of leadership.

“We are not sure as labour organisations whether the minister briefs President Muhammadu Buhari on the outcome of the meetings between government representatives and union leaders.

“Therefore, we are appealing to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari to remove the labour minister, Mr Chris Ngige, with immediate effect.

“We no longer have confidence in him as the minister at all; it seems he doesn’t know his job. I also want to use this medium to appeal to government to give priority to workers’ welfare for the good of the nation,” she said.

On compliance of SSANU members to the nationwide strike, Hadiza, who is also a senior staff at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, said their members had complied 100 per cent.

“In essence, the strike had recorded 100 per cent success.”

While commending the members for their total compliance, she encouraged them to stay at home until government heeded to the demands of labour.

NAN reports that workers at federal institutions, banks and other private organisations in Zaria complied with the strike order.

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who monitored the strike in the area reports that all federal government institutions and financial institutions were under lock and key.

Institutions visited included ABU, Federal College of Education (FCE), Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT) and Nigerian Institute of Leather Science and Technology (NILEST).

Others were the National Research Institute for Chemical Technology (NARICT) and National Animal Production and Research Institute (NAPRI). (NAN)

KLM/KOLE/EMO
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Edited by Remi Koleoso/Ejike Obeta

 Kwankwaso

 By Martha Nyam

 Jos, Sept. 27, 2018 (NAN) Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso, former Kano governor and PDP presidential aspirant, says he will “easily beat President Muhamadu Buhari” if given his party’s ticket to face the APC candidate in 2019.

Kwankwaso, who spoke on Thursday in Jos, during a consultation visit to the North-Central state, said that he had the electoral value to wrestle power from the APC.

“I come from a state which has the highest number of voters that can sway an election in my favour.

 “If I pick the PDP ticket, I will be the next president of this nation.

 “I have the hunger to save Nigeria from its current troubles. I have my plan to make Nigeria a better country for all.

 “I have massive support from the North West and will get even more supporters if given the ticket,” he said.

The aspirant promised to run an all-inclusive government, a leadership virtue he accused the APC administration of lacking. 

“A key solution to Nigeria’s problems is a participatory government that will ward off mutual suspicion and distrust. It will address the gap in communication which is largely responsible for farmer/herder clashes, religious violence and ethnic crisis in the country,” he said.

Kwankwaso accused the current government of failing to eradicate hunger and unemployment, and regretted that there were no jobs for the youths.

Kwankwaso promised to pay special attention to  infrastructure, security and education, if elected,  and promised to build roads and bridges to ease movements.  

“Free education will be my priority just like it was in Kano. As governor, I sponsored more than 1000 students to the best schools in Nigeria and abroad; I want to replicate that, if elected.”

Mr Damishi Sango, State Chairman of the party, in a remark, described the aspirant as a leader with the interest of the masses at heart.

Sango assured Kwankwaso of Plateau delegates’ support at the national convention, and commended him for running a decent campaign. (NAN)

ADY/FF/ETS

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Edited by Fela Fashoro and Ephraims Sheyin

Election
Victor Adeoti
Osogbo, Sept. 27, 2018 (NAN) The Police Command in Osun has arrested 16 suspects over illegal possession of customised INEC tags, face caps and jackets as well as PDP membership cards during the re-run election.

The Police Public Relation Officer, DSP Folashade Odoro, in a statement on Thursday in Osogbo, said that the suspects were arrested by the police during routine stop and search in Orolu Local Government.

Odoro said that the suspects used the ‘’official items’’ to gain access to restricted areas meant for accredited personnel of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“Police team on stop and search duties at Orolu; intercepted vehicles with sixteen persons on board in possession of customized INEC tags, face cap and jackets with the inscription of “INEC Osun 2018 Election Observer” and PDP membership cards,” she said.

Also, Odoro said there was no truth in the reports making the rounds that some accredited INEC observers were arrested or denied access to polling units.

“The Nigeria Police Force wishes to debunk report that some accredited INEC Observers were arrested or denied access to polling units.

“Therefore, assuring the good people of Osun State and other critical stakeholders of its renewed commitment and resolve to ensure adequate security for a free and fair re-run election while investigation continues” the police spokesperson said.

According to the PPRO, the 16 suspects are; Moshood Adejare ‘M’ – People’s Democratic Party (PDP) House of Representatives aspirant in Orolu Federal Constituency, Oyelayo Dayo ‘M’- PDP member Orolu LGA, Olaoye Asimi ‘M’- PDP member Orolu LGA

Others are; Raimi Taofeeq ‘M’-secretary, PDP Orolu LGA, Gbenga Olapade ,Charles Amibiogoiu ‘M’,Ayomide Ayansola ‘M’, Kayode Dada ‘M’, Daramola Segun ‘M’, Tunji Akinroyinmi ‘M’, Kunle ADEDEJI ‘M’, Habeeb Bahiru ‘M’, Yisa Sodiq ‘M’, Adeolu Bamijoko ‘M’, Oladipo Samson ‘M’ and Adeolu Bamidele ‘M’. (NAN)
VE/AOS/EAL
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Edited by Bayo Sekoni/Ekemini Ladejobi