World Bank approves $450m for youth empowerment projects in Nigeria

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors, yesterday, approved $450 million (about N67.5 billion) for two projects in Nigeria. The projects are the Nigeria Youth Employment and Social Support Operation (YESSO) and the Nigeria State Education Programme Investment Project (SEPIP) to boost employment opportunities for young people in 20 states and improve quality of education for millions of school children in the country.
Financed by the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), the credit will support Nigeria’s socio-economic development in line with the Federal Government’s Transformation Agenda. The bank said $300 million (N45 billion) would go for YESSO programmes that would focus on poor youth and the poorest 10 per cent of households in participating states, while $150 million (N22.5 billion) would be for SEPIP, to serve millions of children in Anambra, Bauchi and Ekiti improve the quality of their schooling.

YESSO is expected to provide youths aged between 18 and 35 with opportunities for work and skills training, and improved access to social services for the vulnerable as part of efforts to support government in strengthening Nigeria’s social safety net system. Apart from the project linking financing to results achieved through better teacher deployment and school management, the project helps beneficiaries improve measurement of student learning in government primary and secondary schools in the benefiting states, with qualifying households entitled to regular cash transfers to improve family health and schooling.

The World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Marie-Francoise Marie-Nelly, said the bank was delighted to support efforts to develop better schooling and earning prospects for millions of children and young people in Nigeria, while also cushioning some of the poorest families through a stronger social safety net system.

“Investing in people is an essential part of Nigeria’s strategy to reduce poverty and achieve steady economic growth,” Ms. Marie-Nelly said. The World Bank Task Team Leader for the YESSO project, Foluso Okunmadewa, acknowledged the importance of the support by the World Bank, considering that the youth make up over a half of Nigeria’s population of 167million people, with about 38 per cent of them either underemployed or unemployed and their education and skills levels low. “The YESSO Project will help young people earn wages by planting trees or cleaning public spaces, get help with livelihood skills and job placement, and live in less vulnerable households. The project will also help the government create systems that can be used to protect poor households and individuals both now and in future,” she said.

The Deputy Director, Vocational Skills, National Directorate of Employment, NDE, Roslyn Olawunmi, believes the project would benefit poor people, as it would help young people acquire skills and the opportunity to earn a decent living. “Some of the beneficiaries will work for wages, while others will start their own businesses and hire others”, Mrs. Olawunmi said. “At the end of the day, this will reduce poverty greatly among the poorest households.”

SEPIP is aimed at raising the quality of education in the three benefiting states by improving teacher availability in rural areas and for core subjects; introducing standardized state-level testing in English and Mathematics; making technical and vocational education more relevant to the needs of employers and entrepreneurs; and strengthening school-level management and accountability. “Rather than financing the educational system to keep it running, this education project shifts the focus to what the system is actually doing for children, by linking financing to the achievement of agreed results,” said World Bank Task Team Leader for the SEPIP project, Irajen Appasamy.

“The project is designed to make a real difference in the lives of children and youth, particularly girls and those from poor families, so that their education and skills help them join the jobs market as skilled adult workers,” she noted. The innovative and catalytic nature of the two projects helps to establish results and practices which could be scaled up and implemented by the state and federal authorities.

Happy end to Ebonyi ACN crisis

Finally, the protracted leadership crisis, rocking the Ebonyi State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has come to an end, following the emergence of a new state executive, led by Dr. Sylvester Nwambe. The party had been immersed in leadership squabbles, which saw to the expulsion of the former state chairman of the party, Mr. Elder Igwe, by the National Working Committee, which ordered a fresh state congress that produced the new state executive.


The newly elected State Working Committee of the party was elected in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital, under the supervision of officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Speaking shortly after the election, the newly elected state chairman, Dr. Sylvester Nwambe, described the electoral process as credible and promised to bring unity to the party.

Nwambe further stated that the party had been properly repositioned to champion the liberation of the people of the state, adding that his executive would work in harmony to unite members of the party. “Today marks the beginning of a new dawn in the history of our great party in the state as we are witnessing a re-birth of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, which always play the role of a liberator.

Today, just like other states across the country, Ebonyi has been liberated by the party from their oppressors, we have no doubts that we are going to achieve greater things in future.” Nwambe also disclosed that the party would start the process of reconciling members of the party in the state, adding that he would run an open door policy to accommodate old and new members, which he described as being at the peak ahead of next political activities in the country.

The state chairman further stated his readiness to work together with the new state executive committee of the party with a view to fostering unity and cohesion, while insisting that the door is still open for those who have strayed. Earlier, the Electoral Committee chairman and the chairman of ACN in Anambra state, Chief Joseph Obidike commended Ebonyi people for maintaining high discipline in electing the new executive.

He described the election as transparent, adding that the party has been repositioned to win elections and lead the people out of political bondage. Obidike said he was in the state to exercise his powers as enshrined in the constitution of the party as well as the electoral law, to make sure the new executive was elected in accordance with the constitution of the country. He further described the new executive as spectacular, adding that with their vast experiences and great integrity, they will surely make the party a bride for all, and pilot the affairs of the party to the next level, while calling on trouble makers and mischief makers to steer clear.

Another member of the Congress committee, Rev. Dr. Ogwale O. Ogwale also called for understanding and unity among the members of the party starting from the state leadership to the ward levels, insisting that the party would be stronger under the new leadership. Ogwale further reiterated the readiness of the people of the state to co-operate with the new leadership under Nwambe to bring unity and transparency in the party while commending the transparent and peaceful nature of the state congress that produced the state executives.

The INEC Head of Public Affairs, Mr. Sunday Johnson who led other members of INEC in Ebonyi state to monitor the congress also described the election as transparent and urged other political parties to borrow a leaf from the party to conduct elections in credible and transparent ways. He said they were at the venue to monitor the election to make sure it was conductedin accordance with the stipulated laws concerning the conduct of political party congresses and described the state congress of ACN as commendable.

British businessman kidnapped in Nigeria

A British businessman has been abducted from an upmarket district of Lagos, in a rare case of an expatriate being taken hostage in Nigeria's main commercial city.

 

Kidnapping of expatriates by armed gangs seeking ransom money has been rife over the years in Nigeria's oil producing southeast, but in Lagos victims have usually been locals.


Police spokesman Frank Mba said reports indicated the man, who has not been named, was abducted at about 11pm on Saturday night while on his way home from a nightclub in the high-end residential and business neighbourhood of Victoria Island.

"I think they trailed him back to his house and picked him up," he said. "We are doing everything operationally possible to solve this crime."

A spokesman for the British High Commission confirmed an expatriate worker had been kidnapped, but declined to give his nationality or any further details. The spokesman said "there is no indication of terrorist involvement at this stage."
An unnamed security source told Reuters that he was an oil worker.

Nigeria is one of the worst countries in the world for kidnappings, a lucrative criminal enterprise worth millions of dollars a year. Abductions are most rife in the oil states, but sometimes happen in Lagos and the southwest too.

"Lagos has never had a reputation for kidnapping and we want that to remain as it is," said Mr Mba.
The kidnapping comes a week after men claiming to be members of radical Boko Haram Islamic group said they would not free a French family unless Nigeria and Cameroon freed all of their members from prison.

In the north, kidnappings of foreigners for ideological motives by Islamist groups have taken a more deadly turn.
Militant group Ansaru killed seven foreign hostages this month.

Pope to Wash Young Offenders' Feet

 The Pope held his first general audience in St Peter's Square on Wednesday

Pope Francis will wash the feet of prisoners in a youth detention centre near Rome on Maundy Thursday.

Thousands of pilgrims and tourists are arriving in Rome to attend ceremonies during the holy week ahead of Easter.

The washing of feet on the Thursday before Easter is a Christian tradition commemorating Christ's Last Supper.

It is part of a papal calendar of events running up to Easter, the most important festival in the calendar of the Catholic Church, reports the BBC.

On Easter Sunday morning, the new Pope will deliver his first "Urbi et Orbi" message to the city of Rome and to the world.

During his inaugural general audience Wednesday, Francis called for an immediate political solution to the conflict in the Central African Republic after last weekend's coup.

The new leader of the world's 1.2bn Roman Catholics has brought a new sense of simplicity to the Vatican, reports the BBC's David Willey in Rome.

He has decided to live in a small suite in a residence for clerics, eating with other priests in a common dining room, after deciding not to move into the palatial apartments occupied by his predecessors in the Apostolic Palace.

He has again broken with tradition for the foot-washing ceremony, which is normally performed on lay people in one of Rome's basilicas.

This time the Pope will visit the Casal del Marmo detention centre on the outskirts of Rome.

Pope Benedict XVI visited the centre in 2007, but not for the Holy Thursday Mass. Only for the first two years of his pontificate did he perform the feet-washing himself, after which the task was delegated to priests.

During the service, the pope washes and kisses the feet of 12 people to replicate the Bible's account of Jesus Christ's gesture of humility towards his 12 apostles on the night before he was crucified.

Some of the young detainees volunteered to have their feet washed, while others were given an invitation to help them overcome their embarrassment, the Catholic News Agency quoted the prison chaplain as saying.

On Good Friday evening the Pope will carry a wooden cross and pray at a ceremony at Rome's ancient amphitheatre, the Colosseum, commemorating Jesus' crucifixion.

And on Saturday evening Pope Francis will celebrate the main Easter Vigil Mass in St Peter's Basilica.

Pope Francis - renowned for his modest former life as bishop of the Argentine capital Buenos Aires - refuses to be awed by the magnificent surroundings of his new Vatican City home, visited every year by five million tourists and pilgrims, our correspondent says.

Some past popes vaunted their riches, but Francis wants a simpler church mindful of the plight of the world's poor people, he adds.

Tags: News, World, POPE, young offender's feet

Ferguson Eyes Premier League Points Record

Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson has challenged his Manchester United side to beat Chelsea's points total of 95 points set in the 2004-05 Premier League season.

The Red Devils are currently 15 points clear of nearest challenger Manchester City in the league with only nine games left, and would require seven wins to equal Chelsea’s record, with a 101-point haul possible if the club was to win every game, reports Goal.com.

The Scot said if his team was to reach the record he "would be absolutely delighted", and such a points total would see United win its 20th league title.

"The record is 95 points by Chelsea," he told reporters. "If we get to 95 points I would be absolutely delighted. That would be a fantastic season. And if we do get to that position, we have probably won the league."

United missed out on the league title last year on goal difference following a dramatic final-day finish which saw Sergio Aguero score an injury-time winner against QPR to hand the title to Manchester City.

But having signed last season's top-scorer Robin van Persie from Arsenal for 24 million pounds in the summer, United now needs just four wins and a draw to seal the 2012-13 league title.

Microsoft Releases Office 2013 in Nigeria

Microsoft has announced the availability of Office 2013 in Nigeria, the next iteration of the company’s flagship Office product line for consumers. Office 2013 has been designed to work with both touch and a mouse, and works seamlessly in the cloud giving the user an unmatched on- and offline experience.

According to the Office Division Group Lead for Microsoft West, East and Central Africa and Indian Ocean Islands, Mr. Marc Israel, Office, 2013 makes the end user more productive in both a work and home environment.

He said, “With Office you can continue working offline, while the integration with cloud technologies allows you to sync your documents seamlessly allowing you to be far more productive.

Cloud technologies are fast becoming part of everyday life, which is why Microsoft’s Office 365 Home Premium makes sense for the African market. Office 365 Home Premium, one of the offerings within Office 2013, is a cloud service designed for busy households and people juggling ever-increasing work and family responsibilities.”
He added that the new offering of Office 2013 includes the latest and most complete set of Office applications which works across up to five devices, including Windows tablets, PCs and Macs; and comes with extra SkyDrive storage and Skype calling at an affordable rate of rate of N12,800 for an annual subscription.

Speaking at the worldwide launch of Office 365 Home Premium early in the year, the Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, Mr. Steve Ballmer, highlighted that it marked the next big step in Microsoft’s transformation to a devices and services business.

Ballmer had said, “This is so much more than just another release of Office. This is Office reinvented as a consumer cloud service with all the full-featured Office applications people know and love, together with impressive new cloud and social benefits.

Microsoft also announced it will now deliver many new features and services to the cloud first, transforming the company’s traditional three-year release cycle. Now, new features and services stream to subscribers as soon as they are ready, keeping subscribers always up to date while eliminating the hassles of upgrading.

Speaking also, Author and Small Business Owner, David Kroenke, stated that customers believe that the new iteration of Microsoft Office allows them to focus on growing their businesses, rather than IT functions.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my years of doing this, it’s that no small business knows how to run a server.
 Furthermore, they don’t want to run a server. They want to run a business. With Office 365, you can manage your employees, not your computers.

“It has streamlined communications tremendously. It’s so easy to communicate now. I can turn my computer on and see when China’s online. With just one click, I can ask them a question. Office 365 makes the world more accessible,” he said.

Terrorism: US worried about unending killings in Nigeria

The United States (US) Government has begun expressing anxiety over the unending spate of killings in Nigeria, as it yesterday held a crucial closed-door meeting with key players in the country’s military. The meeting, which was held about 48 hours after the explosion that occurred again in Kano in less than two weeks, was at the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence with top military chiefs in attendance at the instance of the Defence minister of State, Olusola Obada. Journalists were barred from the meeting in which the United States’ Ambassador to Nigeria, Terence McCulley, who came with the message from the US government was said to have expressed deep feelings over the continuous bombings, killings, maiming and destruction of property especially in the northern part the country Journalists were earlier invited for the meeting but on arrival, the Ambassador, Mr McCulley had his reservations concerning the arrangement, in view of the sensitivity of the meeting. Conequently, he was led by the Minister to her office in company of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Azubuike Onyeabo Ihejirika and his Air Force counterpart, Air Marshal Alex Sabundu Badeh including the acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Oguche. Daily Sun gathered that the recent continuous terrorists attacks in Kano, Jos and Maiduguri, Gombe amongst other places in the north, which gave serious worries to America, dominated the agenda. A source told Daily Sun that, “the Ambassador told them that his country was displeaed with the continuous killings in Nigeria, with particular reference to the Kano incident where two luxurious buses scheduled to travel to Lagos were bombed which led to the death of about 60 persons, urging the country to take serious actions to tackle terrorists.” Despite entreaties, the Ambassador refused to speak to the press after the meeting as earlier promised. However, the meeting continued with the Service Chiefs before some General Officers Commanding (GOCs), who joined them in the meeting began to come in. A source further disclosed that the Minister made efforts to convince the Ambassador about what the military was doing to contain the Boko Haram Sect, citing the recent successes recorded in the arraignment of one of the Sect’s kingpin, Kabiru Sokoto last week and how the military had been consistently arresting some members of the sect and exposing their hideouts in the country. The service chiefs were said to have cited the military assaults on the Islamic extremists in Mali by the AFISMA as the factor responsible for the upsurge in the terrorist attack and vowed to contain them. Speaking with newsmen later, the Minister, Obada, claimed that the meeting with the Ambassador was a regular one that had to do with the US-Nigeria Bilateral Relations and how to improve upon it especially as it regards the military support and other areas that are of mutual interest to the two. “We have a beautiful meeting with the Ambassador to further deepen the cooperation between Nigeria and the United States and we discussed a lot of issues that are beneficial with both countries. United States of America and Nigeria have come a very long way together in terms of military cooperation, in terms of training and so many other things. We intend to keep our relationship with them to ensure that the two enjoy each other’s confidences. There are other issues that we discussed towards on-going happenings which good explanations have been given.”

LA Times columnist thinks President Jonathan should be impeached

LA Times Columnist, Joel Brinkley (pictured above) wrote that Nigeria is the most corrupt country in the world and feels president Goodluck Jonathan should be impeached. He wrote an article titled Nigeria’s Squandered Opportunity on Friday March 22nd. See it below...

Just outside President Goodluck Jonathan’s office sat 17 ambulances, just in case he or one of his aides fell ill. They were seldom if ever used.

No actual health-care facility nationwide had as many, and in fact a few still have none at all. But as soon as a Nigerian newspaper took a photo of the ambulances and published a story about them, they suddenly disappeared — probably to an underground garage.

Jonathan is president of Nigeria, which should be among the world’s most prosperous nations. After all, it produces an estimated 2.4 million barrels of oil each and every day. With oil now selling at $93.61 a barrel, that’s $224 million in income daily. And yet many hospitals can’t afford to buy an ambulance. The reason, in my view: Nigeria is the most corrupt nation on earth. Sure, Transparency International lists almost three dozen states as more corrupt — Chad, Haiti, Laos, Yemen, Cambodia and the like. But are any of those nations as wealthy as Nigeria — taking in $81 billion annually, just from the sale of oil? No, not even one of them. So Nigeria steals and squanders more money than any other nation, making it the world’s most corrupt, by that measure. Nigerian journalist Musikilu Mojeed finds all this so discouraging.

“With its geopolitical power, economic resources and middle class,” he laments, “no country (with the possible exception of Saudi Arabia and Egypt) has the power to change the course of black/African civilization like Nigeria.” After all, Nigeria is Africa’s most populous state — and large, twice the size of California.

So Nigerians are living an opportunity squandered — particularly now. Egypt is in turmoil. In just the last few days, in fact, many Egyptians have been calling for a military coup — anything to rid the state of its widely despised Muslim Brotherhood government. And a new report by the World Economic Forum ranked Egypt the least safe and secure tourist destination among 140 tourist nations evaluated.

Egypt has lost its place as the Arab/African worlds’ leader, and Saudi Arabia never had it. So for Nigeria, the time is ripe. But its leaders seem interested only in stealing the state’s money to make themselves rich beyond imaging. Think about it: $81 billion a year just from the oil, while most every local government official still tells his people the nation just doesn’t have enough money to fix the roads, schools or hospitals. (Roads are in such terrible shape that government officials generally travel any distance by helicopter.)

And Nigeria’s people — well, they are as mistreated as any on earth. In only nine nations — among them Liberia, Sierra Leone and Somalia — do more mothers die during childbirth. And in only 10 states, including Chad, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, is the average life expectancy lower. Right now the average Nigerian’s average life span ends at 52. That may be why the median age of Nigerians is just 18.

A few months ago, the Economist Intelligence Unit published an evaluation of the best places for babies to born in 2013, given their probable welfare as children and the chance for a safe, comfortable, prosperous life. Switzerland, Australia and Norway were the top three. The United States came in at 16th, largely because “babies will inherit the large debts of the boomer generation.” Dead last: Nigeria. “It is the worst place for a baby to enter the world in 2013,” the report said.

Even with all that wealth, only just over half the population has access to clean drinking water, and one-third to a toilet, UNICEF says. Two-thirds live below the poverty line. Only one child in four who contracts pneumonia is given antibiotics, and only about half the population is literate.

The CIA also cites endemic “soil degradation; rapid deforestation; urban air and water pollution.” All this in a county whose gross domestic product stands at $236 billion a year, in the same league as Denmark, Chile, Israel and the United Arab Emirates — prosperous, successful states to be envied.

Goodluck Jonathan is certainly aware of all of this. After all, taking the oath of office, he swore to “devote myself to the service and well-being of the people of Nigeria. So help me God.”

Well, just last week he demonstrated who he really is and what he stands for when he pardoned a former state governor who’d been convicted of embezzling state funds and laundering the money. That pardon triggered a broad, angry uproar. Good luck, Mr. Jonathan. It’s time you were impeached. (Joel Brinkley is the Hearst professional in residence at Stanford University and a Pulitzer Prize-winning former correspondent for The New York Times.)

..Prof Chinua Achebe is dead

Professor Chinua Achebe, one of the world’s most celebrated writers, is dead.

Achebe who was based in the United States had been hospitalised in recent days in Boston, Massachussets where he passed away at 82 years.

                                                                  Chinua Achebe
Professor Achebe  was best known for his classical novel ‘Things Fall Apart’ which is the most widely read book in modern African literature.

 He also authored several novels, short stories and poems.

His last book, ‘There was a Country’; A personal history of Biafra, was published last year. He was a professor at Brown University in the United States since 2009. More details later…

APC: ACN replies Jega, says merger plans on course

LAGOS—The Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has assured that plans towards the formation of the All Progressives Congress, APC, were still on course irrespective of reservations expressed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC that a change of name would be required.

While assuring that the parties were on course, the party said that it and other parties in the merger plans were fully conscious of the legal processes involved and adhering to same.

The party’s assurance was on the heel of suggestions by INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega at the weekend that the merger parties would be required to adopt a new name upon the fact that the APC acronym had been adopted by another party seeking registration.


Jega had also said that he received the notice of intention of merger from the parties only last week.

Plans by three opposition parties including ACN, the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC and the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP to collapse into the All Progressives Congress, APC, have lately been challenged by the aspiration of two other political associations seeking registration with the same acronym.


The two other associations are the African Peoples Congress and the All Patriotic Citizens.

ACN National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, however, disagreed, yesterday, with Jega’s claim that the ACN only wrote to INEC of its plans for a merger last week.

Mohammed said that the letter claimed by Jega as a notice of merger was actually a letter inviting the commission to their national convention where the merger process was expected to be ratified.

Asserting that the process was wholly in conformity with the requirements of the law, Mohammed said that there was no reason to doubt the progress of the opposition parties towards their merger.

“So, if you want your application to be considered, go and change your name because it is not possible to register three groups with the same name.”

We have not even reached the stage of registering any group. When we get to that stage, we will take the appropriate decisions,” Jega had said during a radio interview last Saturday. He had also been quoted as saying that a notification to merge only came last week.

Responding yesterday, Mohammed said:

“What he is referring to is the notice of our convention, not notice to merge. We sent him a notice that we are going to convention where we are going to talk about the issue of our merger and invited INEC as the law provides.

“We understand what we are doing and the only time we are supposed to notify INEC is provided for in Section 84 (3) which states that the written request must be accompanied by the resolution of the party at their convention and since we have not gotten there how can we write them a letter.”

“There is no provision in that law that says that  we must notify INEC before that time. The only other section is 84 (2) simply states that the merging parties must notify INEC of their intention at least 90 days before a general election and we have more than two years before that election.”

“If you read the provisions of the law very well you will understand that the only time that we are expected to notify INEC is only after a convention and section 3 is very clear that such written requests shall be addressed to the national chairman of INEC and must be signed by the chairmen, secretaries and treasurers of the merging parties,” Mohammed added.

Mohammed also rejected Jega’s claim that he had written to the parties in the merger plans on the need to seek another name as he said the ACN as at last night was yet to receive such communication.

“That cannot be referring to us as we have received no letter as at today and we are aware that they have written to African Progressive Congress and All Patriotic Congress,” Mohammed said.

Mikel Obi set to wed Delta Soap beauty queen, Sandra Okagbue?

This is according to City People. Below is how they are reporting it:

"The two love birds who have been dating for almost 3 years now have decided to seal the relationship. Their introduction comes up next Sunday March 31 at Sandra's family home in Onitsha. This development will definitely not come as a surprise to most of their friends. This is because their romance has grown stronger by the day that Sandra has been a live-in-lover of the Chelsea midfielder in his UK home".

They met about three years ago during one of Mikel's visit to Nigeria and they've been together ever since. According to family sources, Mikel is so in love with Sandra that he has invested millions to settle her family, most especially the family's residence located at Ajao Estate, which had Mikel's financial blessing

Sandra Okagbue won Miss Delta Soap beauty pageant in 2010 and she's the daughter of the late Obi of Onitsha, Obi Ofala Okagbue.

Sen. David Mark denies buying the Chevy Corvette for 2face & Annie

The card on the car clearly says 'wedding gift from Senator David Mark', but the senate president's senior adviser on media, Kola Ologbondiyan, has released a statement denying it. Ologbondiya said:

Senator Mark did not visit Dubai for Tuface wedding rather he attended the 128th Inter parliamentary Union (IPU) conference currently holding in Quito, Ecuador. He was also not represented at Mr. Idibia's wedding. It is also instructive to state that the President of the Senate, Senator Mark, did not make a car donation of any kind to Tuface before departing Nigeria for Ecuador neither did he purchase nor send any car to Dubai as a wedding gift for the musician or his wife. Who made the donation on behalf of the President of the Senate?

It is therefore a puerile lie for anybody to state that Senator Mark bought a Ferrari car worth N47m for Tuface. The allegation is wicked, ridiculous and irresponsible. Signed: Kola Ologbondiyan Special Adviser, Media & Publicity to the President of the Senate David Mark The Chevy Corvette is worth about N7m and if the Senate president says he didn't buy it, then we should give him the benefit of doubt. I doubt a man of his caliber will buy a wedding gift and then publicly deny buying it. I'm sure 2face Idibia's team will address this when they get back from Dubai.

2face and Annie Idibia on their wedding da

First look: 2face and Annie Idibia on their wedding day... True love...so beautiful to see...

Osun State senior secondary school students get computer tablets

Osun State government last week commenced the distribution of the Computer Tablets of Learning (Opon Imo) to the students of government-owned secondary schools in the state. The distribution of the tablets started at the Ataoja School of Science, Osogbo on Monday with 385 students in the Senior Secondary School 2 (SSS2), each receiving the technological device.The project, an initiative of Governor Rauf Aregbesola, specially designed for the students of public secondary schools in the state to improve their performance in internal and external examinations.

2013/2014 PTDF Scholarships in Nigeria & Overseas (UK & France) for Undergraduate, Masters & PhD

Introduction:
The PTDF Scholarship scheme 2013/2014 is now open for application for Undergraduate, Masters and PhD students to study in Nigeria and Overseas

Eligible Field of Study

List Of Approved Courses For Sponsorship

A. MSc
Scholarships will be offered for admission into the under listed courses (for overseas MSc). Candidates are advised, to apply for admission into Universities in the UK and France that offer these courses, while applying for the Petroleum Technology Development Fund Scholarship.
1. Asset Management (Engineering Asset Management)
2. Basin Evolution and Dynamics
3. Diving and Underwater Technology
4. Energy Systems Engineering
5. Environmental Engineering
6. Environmental Remote Sensing
7. Fire & Explosion Engineering
8. Health Safety and Environment
9. Marine Computational Fluid Dynamics
10. Maritime Operations
11. Occupational Health and Safety
12. Offshore and Ocean Technology
13. Offshore Engineering
14. Pipeline Engineering
15. Purchasing and Supply Chain Management
16. Refinery Design and Operations
17. Subsea Engineering
18. Thermal Power (Gas Turbine Option)
19. Welding Engineering
20. Design of Rotating Machines
21. Control Systems
22. Hydraulic Engineering (France)
23. Fluid Mechanics and Energetics (France)

B. PhD Priority Research Areas
The PhD research areas in addition to the afore-listed MSc program areas may also include any of the following related areas:
1. Environmental Studies and HSE (Health, Safety and Environment).
2. Marginal Fields Development.
3. Flow Assurance and Pipeline Engineering.
4. Geology and Petroleum Geology.
5. Civil and Marine Engineering.
6. Renewable Energy.
7. Reservoir Engineering/Production Technology.
8. Refining Technology.
9. Ship Building & Marine Technology.
Scholarship Type: Undergraduate, Masters and PhD scholarships in Nigeria and Overseas
Selection Criteria and Eligibility

A. UNDER GRADUATE (Nigeria Only)
1. Possession of 5 credits in WAEC/SSCE/NECO including English Language and Mathematics
2. Must have concluded the 1st year of their study in any of the PTDF upgraded Federal Universities listed above.
3. Must have scored a minimum CGPA of 3.0 on scale of 5 or 4.5 on a scale of 7 in their 1st Year.
4. Must scan and attach a copy of their admission letter
5. Students admitted into the University through Direct Entry i.e. 200 level must have either of the following:
i. Minimum of Upper Credit at the Diploma level
ii. Minimum of 10 points in interim Joint Matriculation Board (I.J.M.B) examination.
iii. Minimum of 8 points at the Advanced Level General Certificate of Education (G.C.E).

B. MSc (Overseas)
1. A minimum of Second Class Upper (2.1) in an Oil and Gas related field OR a 2.2 with oil and gas industry experience
2. National Youth Service (NYSC) certificate
3. Applicants must be computer literate
4. Possession of O/level with Credit in English Language in WAEC/SSCE (C6) or NECO (C4);
5. Applicants must not be above 30 years of age
Applicants without credit in English language as in (4) above but possess any of the following may apply
i. Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
ii. G.R.E ( Graduate Record Examination)
iii. GMAT –for Management related courses
iv. International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
C. PhD
I. Applicants must be in the academics in Nigerian Institutions, teaching an oil and gas related discipline;
II. Applicants must possess minimum of 2.2 in their first degree and a good second degree certificate;
III. Applicants must submit a research proposal relevant to the oil and gas industry (of not more than 5 pages) to include: Topic, introduction, objective, methodology and mode of data collection;
IV. Applicants must include a valid admission letter;
V. Applicants must not be over 40 years of age; and;
VI. Applicants must include their masters degree project

Number of Scholarships: Several
Value of Scholarship
Full fee financial award and expense
Duration of Scholarship: for the duration of the degree programme
Eligible Countries
Nigeria
To be taken at (country): Overseas and Nigerian higher institutions
List of Nigerian Universities:
African University of Science and Technology – Petroleum Engineering
Institute of Petroleum Studies, Port Harcourt
University of Port Harcourt- Gas Eng
University of Ibadan- Petroleum Eng
University of Nigeria Nsukka- Geology
University of Benin- Chemical Engineering
University of Jos- Mining & Geology
University of Maiduguri – Geology
Ahmadu Bello University – Chemical Eng
Usman Dan Fodio University – Industrial Chemistry
University of Uyo – Chemical & Petroleum Eng
Bayero University Kano – Electrical Eng
Application Deadline
Closing date for applications is 26 March 2013.
Offered annually? Yes
How to Apply
Application Forms can be accessed online at APPLICATION WEBSITE .
Documents To Scan And Attach To The Application Form
Applicants are advised to scan copies of the following documents and attach to their online application forms:
First Degree Certificate or Statement of Result
NYSC discharge certificate
WAEC/GCE/SSCE/NECO Results or provide PIN numbers on the application forms to enable PTDF view the results on the relevant website.
Recent Passport Photograph
Local Government Identification Letter
Master’s Degree Certificate (PhD Applicants only)
Admission Letter (PhD Applicants)
Sponsors
The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF)

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