News
NDDC Chairman Seeks the Use of ICT to Re-position Niger Delta
Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), Chairman, Governing Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has reiterated its commitment to re-position the region through the development of Information Communication Technology (ICT).
He stated this when Mr Bayo Onanuga, Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), and other management staff visited him on Friday in Abuja.
He said the commission had a programme whereby five optic cables were given to the region to increase internet access.
“You don’t need to be a university graduate to be an ICT guru.
“If we create ICT in the region, it will boost our economy, he said.
The chairman said the commission was also looking at the area of sport, young boys and girls could be engaged competitively.
“Today, sport is a huge industry. What one footballer earns is what a local government makes.
“It is an area that we must engage our young girls and boys competitively,” he added.
Ndoma-Egba commended the effort of the board in the development of the region so far.
“We are committed to doing things right, that is why we have the concept of the four Rs, Restructuring of the balance sheet, Reform of governance protocols, Restore the NDDC’s core mandate, and Reaffirm the Commission’s collective commitment to do what is right.’’
According to the chairman, the commission is being funded largely from proceeds from oil.
“Someday, we don’t know when but the oil will finish. If it thus finishes, Technology will make it less important.
“Today, people are talking of electric cars, while fuel pumps in some places in the world are being replaced by electric and gas pumps.
“So, we must begin to contemplate developing the region beyond oil, and to do so we have to envisage a frame work that can drive development beyond oil,” he said.
Ndoma-Egba said that the commission would set up a development bank that would guarantee development in the Niger Delta region.
According him, the advantage of the development bank is to drive big projects being embarked upon by the bank.
He said the board inherited more than 10,000 contracts, and cancelled more than N200 billion worth of contracts, because they lacked manpower.
“You see one person doing more than 50 projects, so we are trying to streamline to see that everything is balanced,” he said.
The chairman said the commission was a regional development agency that guarantees transparency, which calls for synergy to share responsibility with other stakeholders in the region.
Ndoma-Egba also pledged that the commission would continue its collaboration with NAN, adding that there was no doubt NAN was keeping up with technological trend in the world.
He urged NAN to continue to collaborate with the commission in its efforts to develop the region.
News
Students Loans’ Beneficiaries to Start Repayment 2 Years after Graduation- NELFUND:
Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has said that students in tertiary institutions and approved vocational centres would start repayment of the loan two years after graduation.
However, NELFUND management specifically stated that the repayment of the loan would commence if the students secured a job or went into business.
Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, managing director, NELFUND, said the Act specify a moratorium of two years after graduation for the students to begin repayment of the loan.
Sawyerr said if the students start work, his employer would be expected to remit 10 percent into NELFUND dedicated account.
He added: “The loan does not have a specified repayment tenure. It makes it easy for students to apply for the loan. NELFUND would pay according to the documents provided by the institutions. We cannot put tenure on the loan; some will die, drop out, ‘Japa’ or refuse to pay. While those who went into business would pay into same account.
“It is a revolving a loan. We will not put students under pressure to get the loan and we are not going to state a tenure because it is not a commercial loan.’’
According to him, the loan is meant for students in public universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and vocational institutes, who apply via NELFUND portal and are expected to present their JAMB admission letter, NIN and BVN.
He explained that non-students would not have access to the loan and that NELFUND has put the necessary machinery in place to ensure that beneficiaries can be reached when the need arises.
His words: “We are using technology to run the new system. The process of application is online through our dedicated portal and we are limiting human contact as much as possible. Once you have a Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identification Number (NIN), which are parts of the requirements, we will have access to your data and all your accounts. This will also help us to know if you are qualified or not,” Sawyerr stated.
The MD disclosed that students already in institution are eligible to apply for the loan at any level of their study and must be at the beginning of each academic session.
He noted that such students would have to provide their admission and matriculation details in addition to BVN and NIN.
Sawyerr added that about 1.2 million Nigerian students in tertiary institutions and government-recognized vocational centres would be among the first batch of beneficiaries and that the figure would increase as time goes on.
The NELFUND boss disclosed that the scheme would be funded from one per cent of the total annual revenue by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which would amount to N194 billion if the agency meets its projection.
Sawyerr observed that the loan would be paid in two segments, the first, being the school fees, which would be paid directly to the institutions while stipend would be paid into students’ account for their day-to-day upkeep.
He added that the amount individual students would access varies because of the course of study, school fees and geographical location of the institutions.
“You don’t start paying back the loan until two years after your National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme and you have secured a job or business. A beneficiary can defer repayment if he has not secured a job, but if after due diligence, he/she defaulted, then the student becomes a criminal and we will work with government agency that can help us get the money back, for example, EFCC, ICPC,” Sawyerr stated.
News
GPA Raises Alarm, Says Malaria Vaccine Can Cause Meningitis
Global Prolife Alliance (GPA), global health organization, has told the National Assembly that the intended malaria vaccine currently proposed by Bill Gates, American billionaire, for Nigeria can trigger meningitis in the populace.
Dr. Philip Njemanze, chairman of GPA, gave the warning in a statement released to newsmen in Owerri, the Imo state capital.
Njemanze, known for being pro-health in the Catholic church, charged the national assembly not to be in a hurry to succumb to the pressure of the bill currently before the house.
He said the vaccine may trigger the deaths of millions of Nigerian children prone to cerebral meningitis, especially in the northern part of the country.
Part of the letter read “Among the side effects is a tenfold increase in cerebral meningitis. Nigeria is endemic for cerebral meningitis. A tenfold increase could cause the deaths of millions of children, especially in northern Nigeria.
“Please intervene and call for a public hearing, for an open public discussion on the pros and cons with expert opinions from both sides. This will help the Nigerian people to be better informed about granting or withholding consent for the vaccination.
“Your intervention could save millions of lives, especially in northern Nigeria, where meningitis is most endemic, particularly at this time of serious insecurity,” Njemanze warned.
News
NERC Cedes Regulatory Oversight of Enugu Electricity Market to State Government Agency
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has ceded the regulatory oversight of the Enugu electricity market to the Enugu Electricity Regulatory Commission (EERC), which is owned by the state government with effect from May 1, 2024.
This is the first-ever transfer of regulatory powers from the NERC to a state government electricity regulator.
“On completion of the Transfers under subsections (2) and (3), whichever occurs later in time, the Commission shall have no further regulatory responsibility whatsoever for electricity market activities carried on entirely within the State to which regulatory responsibility has been transferred and for which the Additional Successor Company has been incorporated and conferred with assets, liabilities, employees, rights and obligations,” NERC said in a statement signed by Sanusi Garba and Dafe Akpeneye.
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