NO ONGOING RECRUITMENT AT FEDERAL MINISTRY OF EDUCATION...Minister

Nigeria's minister of Education, Adamu Adamu has debunked claims that there  is an ongoing recruitment of  personnel into the Ministry.

Please find pres release below..

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

federal Secretariat, Phase III, Abuja

office of the director (press & PR)

Press Release 

EDUCATION MINISTRY NOT RECRUITING

Education Minister, Adamu Adamu has said that the Federal Ministry of Education is not recruiting personnel into the Ministry.

The Minister stated this today in Abuja while briefing some education correspondents in his office.

Reacting to media reports that the Ministry was employing graduate teachers into its schools, the Minister said, by law, the Ministry cannot and does not employ any officer above grade level six (GL.06), adding that it is the exclusive preserve of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) to do so.

For the avoidance of doubt “the last time the Federal Civil Service Commission recruited teachers for the Nations Unity Schools was in 2018” the Minister said. 

Explaining the rationale for the briefing, Adamu Adamu said some fraudsters have opened websites advertising for recruitment into the Ministry, adding that it is a complete scam, and that members of the public should avoid being victims.

Whenever recruitment is to be done into the Ministry, the Federal Civil Service Commission will advertise through its mechanism, following all due processes before posting successful officers to the Ministry, Adamu Adamu reiterated.

Ben Bem Goong

Deputy Director and Head of Press

January 17, 2020

OWED GRATUITY: Pensioners drag South-West Governors to court

The Nigeria Union of Pensioners, South West region is set to test in court, the constitutionality of non payment of gratuity by some governors in the region.

The Union said it has asked its lawyers, one of whom is a senior advocate of Nigeria, to facilitate the court processes.

After a meeting of the caucus, in Osogbo, the Osun state capital, the Southwest Public Relations Officer of the Union, Segun Abatan, said some pensioners still collect five hundred naira as their monthly pension.

Describing this situation as pitiful, Abatan underscored the urgency to conclude all arrangements to meet with the National wages and income commission to address this anomaly.

According to Abatan, the union has begun work on a proposal to the National Assembly on the Minimum Pension Bill.

In addition, he emphasised the need to criminalise non payment of gratuity by some state governors.

The Union appealed to governors still owing pensioners to begin the process of payment in order to cushion the effects of the harsh economic situation on pensioners.

Source: AITNEWS

NEW ECOWAS CURRENCY: Regional Leaders didn't agree

Ministers of Finance and Governors of the Central Banks of the West African Monetary Zone say the move to adopt Eco as single currency is not in line with the decision of Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.

This was made known at an extra-ordinary meeting of ministersY of Finance and Central Bank Governors of the West African Monetary Zone, WAMZ which held in Abuja, Nigerian capital.

Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed who read the communique says the meeting noted with concern the declaration made by President Alassane Quattara of Cote D’ Ivoire on December 21, 2019 in his capacity as Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the West African Economic and Monetary Union

The WAMZ convergence council laid emphasis on the importance for all ECOWAS member countries to adhere to the decisions of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government towards the implementation of the revised roadmap of the ECOWAS single currency programme.

It recommended that an extra ordinary summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the WAMZ member states be conveyed soon to discuss the single currency matter and other related issues

Source: AITNEWS

CHILD BRIDE: Nigerian president supports end to child marraige

President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday in Abuja declared that the Federal Government will sustain on-going efforts to end child marriage and improve girl-child education in the country.

Commissioning the headquarters building of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, President Buhari said it is the collective duty of all to ensure that mothers of today and tomorrow are educated, encouraged and empowered. 

The president noted that the launch of the National Strategy to End Child Marriage, 2016 – 2021 has been the first critical step towards increasing children's access to quality all-round education and enhancing the retention of the girl-child in schools.

The Nigerian leader enjoined the Ministry to continue to champion and coordinate all matters relating to the plight of Nigerian women and the most vulnerable citizens, assuring Nigerian women of his continued support and determination to see that the Ministry delivers on this mandate. 

READ ALSO:  UNICEF Continues campaign against #childmarraige

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The united Nations children fun, UNICEF is calling for an end to child marriage. UNICEF continued this campaign on its LinkedIn platform ...

In her remarks, the Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, thanked the President for recognising the role of women in nation-building, and supporting the completion of the headquarters of the women ministry.

The minister appealed to the President to appoint more women to leadership positions in his government, assuring that her ministry will double efforts to improve girl-child education in the country while advancing the welfare of vulnerable persons and women.

SOURCE: Ait.live

NIGERIAN JOURNALIST FOUND DEAD

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has confirmed the death of a journalist, Mr. Maxwell Nashan.

Until his death, the young reporter worked with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) F.M station popularly known as Fombina FM in Yola.

He was discovered unconscious in the early hours of Wednesday near the station with cuts and bruises.

The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Adamawa, Mr. Donald Dedan, who confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said Nashan eventually died at the hospital.

He called on the police and other security agencies in the state to fish out the killers of the journalist and bring them to book.

Dedan lamented the growing cases of insecurity, particularly kidnapping and banditry in Adamawa, urging for more measures to stem the tide.

The state Secretary of NUJ and a colleague of the deceased, Mr. Fidelis Jocktan, disclosed that Nathan who was single and planning to get married, was picked by his assailants at his resident in Bachure area.

“They did not take anything from his house. They took him away and dropped him near the station tied up and unconscious.

“There are signs of beatings and cuts on his body. Some women going to farm saw him and reported to civil defence operatives at the station who rushed him to hospital,” Jocktan explained further.

Meanwhile, the Adamawa Police Command spokesman, DSP Suleiman Yahaya, said he was yet to be briefed on the incident but, assured that he would make details of his investigations available to the public.

Source: NAN

UBER: Ex Footballer Now a Driver to keep body and soul

Former Blackburn striker Hakan Sukur is in line for a fare play award after rebuilding his shattered life to become an Uber driver.

NAIJALOADED reports that the Turkish striker Sukur, 48, lives in America having been exiled for opposing his country’s hardline president Recep Erdogan.

Sukur says his dad has also been thrown in jail and his assets frozen – driving him to the brink of despair in the US and forcing him to use any means available to grind out a living.

He opened a cafe and bakery called Tuts, where the house specials are dishes like Turkish sausage and Greek-style pancakes, in the wealthy area of Palo Alto in Silicon Valley, on the outskirts of San Francisco.

But it had to close in December 2018 and was replaced by a Turkish restaurant.

The Uefa Cup winner and World Cup semi-finalist said: “I drive for Uber and I sell books. I am starting to work now.

“Everyone that has a connection with me has financial troubles.

“I don’t have anything left. I have tens of millions of dollars of property in Turkey, but everything is confiscated.

“Erdogan took everything from me: my right to freedom, my right to express myself, my right to work.

“My wife’s boutique was stoned, my children were harassed and my father sent to jail.

“When I left for the US, my father was locked up and my assets taken.”

Sukur is widely regarded as Turkey’s greatest ever footballer with 52 goals from 112 caps and he also played for Inter Milan, Torino, Parma and Galatasaray back home.

Ex-Gala boss Graeme Souness took him to Blackburn but his Ewood Park spell was hampered by a broken leg.

Sukur insists he still loves his country – just not its leader.

He said: “I am an enemy of the government, not the state and not the Turkish nation. I love our flag, our country.

“I am an enemy of wrong politics and an attitude that aims to detach from the West.”

Low-emission recycled building blocks invented by Scottish scientists

Scientists at Heriot Watt University in Scotland have developed the world’s first building brick that’s made from 90% recycled construction and demolition waste.

The K-Briq uses less than one-tenth of the energy in its manufacture, creates one-tenth of CO2 emissions of a traditional fired brick, and can be made in any color.

The K-Briq is stronger and lighter than traditional kiln-fired bricks. It is produced from concrete, brick, and plasterboard waste, and it’s compressed without firing.

The brick will be commercially produced by Kenoteq, a commercial arm of Heriot Watt.

Professor Gabriela Medero, inventor of the K-Briq, said:

I have spent many years researching building materials and have been concerned that modern construction techniques exploit raw materials without considering that they are among the largest contributors to carbon emissions. The amount of waste they produce is not sustainable long-term.

The K-Briq looks like a normal brick, weighs the same, and behaves like a clay brick, but offers better insulation properties. It is sustainable and not kiln-fired so it is far better for the environment and represents massive savings for the construction industry in terms of related taxes.

Electrek’s Take

Building and construction are responsible for 39% of all global carbon emissions, according to the World Green Building Council.

So if this brick proves durable, it could potentially revolutionize the construction industry, not only in Scotland but globally. Affordable housing shortages are a chronic problem around the world, and so is the pollution caused by building. So the construction industry is coming up with innovations like tiny housing, net zero housing, and modular housing.

These bricks could be yet another great and impactful solution. Let’s hope they catch on. Well done, Heriot Watt scientists

FIVE AID WORKERS RESCUED IN NIGERIA'S NORTH-EAST

Department State Security Service and other critical Stakeholders have rescued five aid workers from the captivity of notorious terrorists in North-Eastern Nigeria on Wednesday’s evening.

 The aid workers were abducted by the Islamic State West Africa Province, popularly known as ISWAP terrorists on December 22, 2019 along Monguno-Maiduguri Road in Borno State.

 PRNigeria gathered that the rescue operation involved the DSS operatives in collaboration with other critical stakeholders in military and intelligence services. 

Those rescued are: Jennifer Samuel UKUMBONG (Alliance for International Medical Action, (ALIMA); Asabe Cletus MUSA, Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA); Adamu Auwal OZESHI; Arthur Ibojekwe CHIMA ( Solidarity International) and George Danbaba MICHEAL (International Organisation for Migration, IOM).

When contacted by PRNigeria, the spokesperson of DSS, Dr. Peter Afunaya confirmed the development and added that they aid workers are in good health and are being debriefed as appropriate. By PRNigeria

SOURCE: PRNigeria

UNICEF Continues campaign against #childmarraige

The united Nations children fun, UNICEF is calling for an end to child marriage.

UNICEF continued this campaign on its LinkedIn platform

THE PENIS: HEALTH EDUCATION ON THE SIZE AND PPERCEPTIONS

I know this is a very sensitive topic in the society that many people shy away from discussing but unfortunately it is the biggest area that is affecting many homes,relationships and wrecking many marriages.  This made me to break the barrier and the myth  and decide to educate the society on conceptions and misconceptions on penis size in the society.

The following  are research facts about penis size and the society beliefs:

1.  About 90 % of men have what can be referred  to as normal penis while 5 % have what can be referred  to as small penis and 5 % have what can be referred to as big penis.

2. The normal penis size measurements range in an adult is as below: when the penis is fully erect the length is between 12cm-16cm and circumference is average of 12cm. When the penis is not erect ,the average length is between 7-10cm and the circumference is between 9-10cm.

3. Penis is said to be small if it is below the above 👆 measurement.

4. Penis is said to be big if it is above the above 👆measurement 

5. Average length of penis at birth is 2.4 -5.5 cm in 90 % of babies

6. Average length of penis at puberty is 6cm in 90% of adolescents. 

7. Penis grows faster in two periods in life ( from birth to 5 years old,penis grows faster and another rapid growth will occur from puberty at 14 years to 19 years old. 

8. As from the age of 60 years old penis size decreases by 1-1.5 cm.

9. About 85 % of women are satisfied with normal size penis

10. About 45 % of men believe they have small penis without measuring their penis

11. Among most men,big penis size is linked to high self esteem. Many men view their penis as  a weapon so they believe the bigger it is the more powerful they are.

12.  Many factors affect penis erection and they are level of arousal,time of the day, it is common early as men wake up,temperature, the colder an environment is ,the more the penis will shrink, frequency of sex makes penis bigger,sex is the exercise of the penis, the more you have sex,the bigger your penis becomes, the more peaceful your relationship is with your wife,the more you will have erection,the loving husbands have more erections than mean husbands, peace- loving wives give men erections more than a wife that fights and stresses the husbands all the time.

13. The eventual size of penis in life is determined by inheritance from your parents and the hormonal development as you grow up.

14. The longer your wedding ring finger is than your index finger,the longer the penis of the man.

15.  Most women (85 %) hate big penises 

16. Most women are more concerned about the circumference of penis than the length of the penis. Women prefer penis that fill their vagina than a long penis. Women are more interested in diameter and circumference of penis than how long the penis is.

17. Women prefer taller men with a penis with bigger diameter as occasional sexual partners 

18. Women prefer to marry a man with normal size penis for a lifetime as husbands

19. Condom breakage have been associated with bigger penises more than average or small size penis

20. There is a syndrome that men believe is due to using traditional charm on them to remove or reduce their penises,the syndrome is called penis retraction syndrome,but research has shown that this may not be true,that the penis retraction syndrome can just be a penis panic caused by peyronie's disease.

Note: see the picture below to see how to measure your penis size. Do it when it is fully erect and categorise yourself as small,normal or big.

*Share widely this health education to break the wrong beliefs about penis size in the society and if you need more health education on various aspects of your health,then follow me on my health page on Instagram @doctorhealtheducation.*

The writer is Dr Adesida Adewumi,he works in the department  of Family Medicine,Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital,AKTH,Kano,Nigeria

RAPE: 10-year jail term and N1m fine for kane rapist

A Federal High Court sitting in Kano, North-West Nigeria has convicted 36-year-old Abdulkarim Yahaya Danmallam for raping a 9-year-old (name withheld to protect her identity).

The court consequently sentenced Danmallam to 10 years imprisonment and ordered him to pay compulsory fine of N1 million.

Justice Jude Dagat said the offense is a despicable act against a minor and the punishment should serve as deterrence to others.

The convict, according to evidence before the court, had lured his victim with N10 to his apartment and had carnal knowledge of her, committing an offense punishable under Section 16 subsection 1 of Trafficking in Persons Prohibition, Enforcement and Administration Act 2015.

Ruling on pleas for leniency by the defense counsel, Murtala Alimi, Justice Dagat said such act should be discouraged in the society.

The court also sentenced one Francis Igho to 7 years imprisonment for committing advance fee fraud with a restitution order to pay his victims the sum of N850, 000

Source: AITNEWS

MORE TEACHERS WILL BE RECRUITED, PRESIDENT BUHARI TELLS NUT

President Muhammad Buhari says the federal government is ready to engage more qualified teachers to increase the teacher to pupil ratio in the country.

Buhari stated this in Abuja, the nation’s capital on Tuesday when he received the leadership of the Nigeria union of teachers, nut at the presidential villa.

The president acknowledged that Nigeria has a deficit of teachers, which his administration is addressing through the n-power teach volunteers scheme under the national social investment programme, NSIP.

He described the teaching profession as one of the most noble, noting that teachers have been at the forefront of cultivating young minds to be innovative and inventive.

In his remark, the nut president, Idris Nasir commended the Buhari administration’s giant strides in the education sector and appealed to the president to give a presidential assent to the bill on teachers retirement age and the teachers special salary structure, TSSS among others.

The nut leadership also praised the president on the proposed establishment of six federal colleges of education across the geo-political zones of the country

Source: AITNEWS

VAT INCREASE: Trade Union Congress of Nigeria is kicking

The trade union congress of Nigeria has kicked against VAT increase. Read statement below

                     PRESS RELEASE

VAT INCREASE: ATTEMPTS TO OVERBURDEN CONSUMERS WILL BE RESISTED

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) considers the aspect of the recently signed Finance Bill by the Federal Government that hikes the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 5.0 per cent to 7.5 per cent as a deliberate attempt to further overburden the common man and stifle businesses.

Multiple taxation is a bane to economic development anywhere in the world; hence most countries are reducing taxes to encourage Small Scale Businesses. We have heard about Nigeria doing well in the World Ease of Doing Business Index, but the experience in our country does not corroborate that claim. Any law that helps the government to generate more revenue at the expense of the public for us is anti-people and incapable of growing any economy.

According reports by the National Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment and underemployment rate is over 43.3 percent. By implication it means that most parents still feed their able-bodied youth even after graduation from the tertiary institution. It is indeed pathetic that the Federal Government appears to be more interested in collecting taxes than creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. Empirical evidences have shown that the poverty rate in the country has increased abysmally.

We see all these moves as a ploy to get back at the workers for asking for a review of the National Minimum Wage. This contradicts the promise of change the current administration made to Nigerians at the build -up of 2015 elections.

The Congress agrees that government cannot create all the jobs; at the same time a conducive environment should be provided to fertilise the efforts by individuals to set up businesses. Not much can be achieved if investors are daily grappling with taxes.  Government must begin to think out of the box to salvage the economy. Therefore 7.5 per cent increase in tax is a NO for the TUC.

Comrade Quadri Olaleye, FCIA             

President, TUC

Comrade (Barr.) Musa-Lawal Ozigi, mni

Secretary General, TUC

Nigerians will now pay 7.5 % VAT and not 5%

 

President Muhammadu Buhari  has signed into law the 2020 Finance Bill, bringing into effect the 7.5% VAT from 5%.

A statement issued by his special adviser on media and publicity Femi Adesina, With the assent, there will be more revenue to finance key government projects especially in the areas of health, education and critical infrastructure.

The president's assent on monday at the state house, was weeks after the National Assembly passage  and subsequently forwarded to the President.

President Buhari, while presenting the 2020 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly, had also presented the Finance Bill and noting that the Bill has five strategic objectives, in terms of achieving incremental, but necessary changes to Nigeria's fiscal laws.

These objectives are; Promoting fiscal equity by mitigating instances of regressive taxation; Reforming domestic tax laws to align with global best practices; Introducing tax incentives for investments in infrastructure and capital markets; Supporting Micro, Small and Medium-sized businesses in line with our Ease of Doing Business Reforms; and Raising Revenues for Government.

The draft Finance Bill proposes an increase of the VAT rate from five per cent to 7.5 per cent , as such, the 2020 Appropriation Bill is based on the new VAT rate.

IPPIS: oil and gas senior staff association joins workers rejecting the payroll platform

The battle over the implementation of the integrated payroll and personnel information system, IPPIS may just be shifting to another body of workers

It was the academic staff union of universities, ASUU which has persistently rejected IPPIS although 2019, this time the petroleum and natural gas senior staff, PENGASSAN is asking government not to migrate them to the payroll system

PENGASSAN president, Ndukuka Ohaeri said this at a media briefing in lagos where the oil and gas workers also advised the federal government to adopt the nigeria liquefied model to revive the country's ailing refineries

Natural Resources; U.N reports about the West Africa’s wishful gold prospectors

IOM/Alexander Bee

Gold-mining in West Africa is often carried out by hand.

U.N News reports that the mining of gold in unregulated and often hand-dug pits in West Africa, can be a deadly occupation, but one which many impoverished people in the region are pushed into by necessity, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). 

 

An artisanal miner holds a small nugget of gold dug in Sikasso in Mali. IOM/Anna Pujol-Mazzini

Mali is Africa’s third biggest exporter of gold and a third of the country’s total production is estimated to come from artisanal mining in which over one million people are employed. 

Many are farmers who have migrated from neighbouring countries in the hope of supplementing the meagre incomes they earn from what is a seasonal occupation.

But, as demand for artisanal gold increases, so too does the number of people dying in poorly constructed mines.  

Read more here about how this precious metal continues to shine for some of West Africa’s poorest

UKRAINE AIRLINE CRASH: KOGI STATE MOURNS DEATH OF AN EBIRA MAN ON BOARD FLIGHT

 

 

A STORY ON AIT.LIVE SAYS KOGI STATE GOVERNOR YAHAYA BELLO HAS SYMPATHISED  WITH THE IMMEDIATE FAMILY, THE GOOD PEOPLE OF EBIRA LAND, AND NIGERIA AT LARGE FOR THE DEATH OF DAUDA ONORUOYIZA, WHO DIED ALONG WITH OTHERS IN AN UKRAINE INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES FLIGHT 752  ON THE 8TH OF JANUARY.

THE FLIGHT  FROM TEHRAN TO KIEV, WAS REPORTED SHOT DOWN SHORTLY AFTER  THE TAKEOFF FROM TEHRAN IMAM KHOMEINI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, BY THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTIONARY GUARD CORPS OF IRAN, WHICH ATTRIBUTED IT TO HUMAN ERROR.

GOVERNOR BELLO IN A STATEMENT MADE AVAILABLE TO JOURNALISTS BY HIS CHIEF PRESS SECRETARY, ONOGWU MUHAMMED SAID ONORUOIZA, AN AERONAUTIC ENGINEER WORKING WITH THE AIRLINE HAILED FROM OKEHI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KOGI STATE WAS THE ONLY NIGERIAN IN THAT ILL-FATED AIR ACCIDENT.

THE GOVERNOR DESCRIBED THE INCIDENT AS SAD AND UNFORTUNATE FOR THE STATE TO HAVE LOST SUCH A PROMISING YOUNG ENGINEER IN SUCH A MANNER. 

THE GOVERNOR CALLED ON THE APPROPRIATE IRANIAN AND UKRAINIAN AUTHORITIES AND THE WORLD OVER TO CARRY OUT THOROUGH INVESTIGATION ON THE ILL FATED CRASH AND ENSURE THAT ANYONE FOUND WANTING IN SUCH GRIEVOUS AND NEEDLESS ERROR, FACED THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR ACTION.

HE PRAYED GOD TO GRANT THE FAMILY HE LEFT BEHIND THE FORTITUDE TO BEAR THE IRREPLACEABLE LOSS.