FG flags-off Graduate in Irrigated Agriculture Schemes in Kano

                            

The Federal Government of Nigeria has officially flagged-off the Graduate in Irrigated Agriculture Schemes (GIAS) Program, at Kadawa Integrated Farm in Kano State with the plan to extend it to all 109 senatorial districts of the country.

The Graduate in Irrigated Agriculture Scheme is an initiative whereby selected participants in batches of 50 who will be trained in various agricultural activities including crop farming, aquaculture, dairy farming, animal husbandry for food processing and other sustainable agricultural activities.

Minister of Water Resources, Engineer Suleiman Adam who spoke at the official flag-off of the scheme on Friday expressed hope that a successful outcome of the first 12 pilot projects will be accomplished before the end of the year.

He said beneficiaries will subsequently be empowered through other government intervention programs to establish their own agric ventures or to become trainers.

“President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is a complete overhaul of the structure of our economy which has largely been dependent on crude oil for decades by largely diversifying from single export commodity to more productive activities.”

He said less than 10% of 3.12 million Ha potential of irrigable land was being developed and utilized and “ I have no doubt that the step we are taking are timely and appropriate under the situation the nation find itself today, and will eventually lead Nigeria to greater economic prosperity.”

The  Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Development Authority ( HJRBDA) oversees 4,500 square kilometers of land and irrigation potential of 2,400 Ha for irrigation, that developed irrigation schemes, provides direct job to 55,810 for farmers while indirect jobs are created for 781,430 people annually.

He said, “I wish to appeal to all levels of government within the beneficiary localities of the schemes to provide maximum support to this significant government investment through active participations in the operation, maintenance and management not of the schemes.”

Earlier, Engr Adamu who inspected the completed Galma Multipurpose Dam in Kaduna State and Tiga dam, Kano State which is scheduled to be completed around September 2017, said that apart from the irrigation component of the project, the multipurpose dam with a reservoir capacity of about 186 million m3 could also generate 2.2 megawatt of electricity and supply water to 2.2 million people in the surrounding communities up to the ancient city of Zaria.

He said the dam is capable of providing job opportunities for over 1.1 million people living within its environs.

The building of the dam which started in 2006 and it has reached 100 percent completion.

He commended the level of job done and charged the company to facilitate the construction of the roads for easy access.

Senator Mas’ud Doguwa, Managing Director, HJRBDA said the initiative of the Federal Government to commence (GIAS) Program, will generate employment for the youth and ensure food security.

 “It is apparent that there is no other better alternative than to optimally harness the potentialities in irrigated agriculture,” he said.

He noted that for sustainable employment and income to youth all year round, that arrangement had been concluded to commence Tomato and Aquaculture component of the scheme in November, followed by wheat production component in December.

He indicated that under the initiative, indigenous private investors had keyed to the scheme by engaging the farmers as out growers, or providing assurance for ready-made market for the produce.

Husman Saliu, a participant of graduate in Irrigated agriculture schemes said, ”when I have acquired skills on fish farming under Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Authority, my dream is to become a fish farmer, so one day I will become an employer of labour.

“There is no white-collar job, so the government is creating this opportunity for us to be an entrepreneur and my advice for other youth is to be creative and not to depend on white-collar jobs.”

Also, Yusfu Adbulahi, a  participant of GIAS, said, ”because of the current situation in Nigeria, a lot of graduates are just sitting at home jobless, but with this, any graduate who is serious should go into farming. My father is a farmer. I’m a computer science graduate from ABU Zaria University.

“My father advised me that if I venture into farming, that things will be alright. After my graduation in 2010, I started farming in 2012. Today I can produce 200 bags of rice which is 100kg. When I sell 200 bags of rice at N10,000 each, it will fetch me N2 million, so why would I need to be looking for government job?”

 

Latter Glory Rocks Tommorrow As Prophet Arole Abass Celebrate Birthday

                        
One of the most popular popes of all times, Pope John XXIII once said: "men are like wine, some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age." Over the years, these golden words have proved to be true in the lives of many and one of such example is that of celebrity pastor, Prophet Rapheal Arole Abass who leads Latter Day Glory Ministries, a parish of Celestial Church of Christ (CCC). Remarked as a man of intergrity and civility, the vibrant shepherd who will tommorrow Sunday, October 16 will add a year has continued to endear himself to many with his fine character, selfless nature, magnanimity and purposefulness. No matter how old he gets, he never lose his beauty, especially on the inner side. Prophet Arole Abass as many prefer to call him, is a man loved by all, and this has been evident in the way people swarmed around him like bees. Tommorrow's shindig has been planned on high pedestal as several members have swung into action to celebrate their anionted spiritual father to high heavens. According to information made available to us, The birthday soiree will hold at the church's auditorium at Church Street off Yaya Adamoh Street, Ogba,Lagos. The celebration will be mixed with ministration and fun as top rated gospel artistes such as Aduke Gold, Dare Melody, Bata Jesu and others have been to thrill the congregations and well wishers. Prophet Isreal Oladele Ogundipe, the celebrity pastor and sheperd in charge of Genesis Model International, a parish of Celestial Church of Christ is expected to lead the ministration among other invited respected men of God.

Nigeria: Minister challenges National Water Resources Institute on capacity building, job creation

                         

Nigeria Minister of Water Resources, Engineer Suleiman Adamu, has challenged the National Water Resources Institute, Kaduna to providing water supply equipment to other African Country and to create a window for unemployed youth to acquire craft in plumbering.

Speaking during the commissioning on Thursday, Adamu said, National Resources Capacity Building Network Project, is been identified by UNESCO as a centre of excellence and in partnership with World Bank.

He said, NWRI is more relevant to the country, “am aware of the collaboration with six universities. We hope to see a time when people can come to NWRI from other countries to buy drilling rigs, irrigation water pump rather than importing, so we can conserve foreign exchange.

 “I understood the vital role of the institute to Kaduna, and am happy because there is a strong collaboration between the NWRI and the Ministry of Water Resources.

He informed the ministry on the need to engage in training manpower for that will run the ministry, “more people especially those coming from the administration that need to be trained to have an idea of the ministry properly.

“I am aware that as part of its collaborative research, NWRI is making efforts to undertake the study of sedimentation levels in all our dams in the country in other to have a good estimate of the impounded water for multipurpose uses.

However, the minister challenges the Management and students of the institute to redouble their efforts in achieving set goals in line with the present administration, and to make the institution a place to African countries as centre of learning and capacity building.

As parth of is familiarization tour, was a visit to Challawa Gorge Dam Model Site; Rural Water Supply Sanitation Centre; fabricated rig and workshops; Water quality laboratory; UNESCO Category 2 Regional Centre for IRBM.

He noted that the ministry will continue to support and encourage NWRI in delivering on its mandates and ensure its reputation is sustained.

According to Dr Emmanuel Adanu, Executive Director NWRI, Kaduna, he said, the status of the institution in recent years has been on the rise and its activities continue to attract wilder recognition both nationally and internationally.

“Presently, it is host to three specialized centres, established in collaboration with international bodies such as UNESCO, JICA and the World Bank to address specific needs of the water sector.

To fulfill its mandates, he said NWRI has and continue to carry out activities that impact directly on the society. “Some of these activities include development of curriculum for National and Higher National Diploma courses in water resources engineering technology, in collaboration with the NBTE; Drinking water quality assessment in eleven states of the federation including lead poisoning in Zamfara State; youth empowerment training programmes.   

Meanwhile, Eng Adamu, also inspected the Galma Dam in Kaduna. The dam has a hydro power capacity of 2.5MW, 2,500 irrigable lands and provides water to water treatment plant in Zaria. That the dam will create over 1.1million job for people living within it environ.

He noted that the dam will create opportunity for investors to engage in irrigation, and challenged the contractors to ensure everything is put in place before handing it over.

Crisis Rocks Tito Da.fire’s Marriage, Wife Relocates Child Abroad

                       

There is nothing done in secrecy that will not at one time or the other see the light of day, such is the hush-hush wedding embarked upon by Tito Da.fire with his then heartthrob, Ify on November 2, 2013, little did he know that the marriage would only have a short life span, it lasted just a little over a year. 

As you are reading this, the subtly publicized marriage of the On-Air-Personality who manages brands under G2M Creatives has crumbled irreconcilably and the wife has relocated abroad with the only child of the union, Ebuka. In an exclusive telephone conversation with the multi-talented CEO of Grinding Records, Tito Da.fire took us through the journey of the recent development concerning his career and marriage.

According to him, marriage which ought to have a happy –ever after tale was filled with loads of issues. The now estranged couple obviously never understudied themselves before saying ‘I Do’. Hear him, “Initially I thought she was disposed to entertainment, however overtime I realized she was not, it is one of the major lessons I learnt from my failed marriage. For example I remember that I  would record songs at home and she would not make a comment, till I told her hey, I'm going to stop doing this because it seems you don't like me doing this...And she said oh no, not that, and after then she would say, that song you were working on, the one that has Haruna Ishola's voice ( because I was working on a remake of his classics), it’s nice, but I packed it all up and won't talk about it after then because I felt she wasn't cool with me singing. Sadly, we separated about a year and a month after our marriage.”

 

He also said about his son, "I miss my son a great deal and would love to pMeanwhile, after the collapse of his marriage, Tito Da.fire dusted his lyrics diary; hit the studio to record a song, Imagination where he featured the late music icon, OJB Jezreel. Now, Tito Da.fire has shot the music video of the song as directed by Matt Max and it’s indeed one of the best things to come out of the entertainment scene this year. 

The reason for his choice of Matt Max as director is not far-fetched, as he has this to say, “Imagination was one of two songs I recorded with my long-term friend and brother, the late Ojb Jezebel, and losing him just before releasing the audio was painful, and I wanted a director who could bring the energy alive. I spoke with a couple of directors and Matt Max's treatment deeply connected with the soul of Imagination. Once I explained those thoughts and ideas, he was totally in sync with it as he was able to see the broader picture, and the rest is now history as the video for Imagination will drop in November signaling the flagging off of a series of events to culminate in the actual release.”

 

The accountant turned workaholic all round entertainment artiste would love to imbibe the practice of having a deserved rest after putting in long hours of work into his hobby cum work and want nothing more than to leave a lasting legacy for generations coming after him in terms with his passion of making an impact on the entertainment scene.

 

Arms scam: FG converts Badeh’s N1.1bn mansion to office

                         

N1.1bn mansion seized from the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (retd.), has been converted to an office to be used by the Federal Government, The PUNCH has learnt.

Our correspondent, who visited the property located on Plot 6 Ogun River Crescent, Maitama, a highbrow area in Abuja, learnt that the property is being used by the Presidential Committee on the North-East Intervention headed by Lt.-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, a former Minister of Defence.

Our correspondent observed that the warning, ‘EFCC, Keep Off!’ which was written in red ink on the fence, had been wiped off.

However, a second building (although uncompleted) seized from Badeh, which is located directly opposite the one converted by the Federal Government, still has the EFCC inscription on its fence.

Some gardeners and other domestic workers were seen clearing the grass and sweeping the compound when our correspondent visited the place.

Our reporter, who entered into the main building, noticed that the rooms had been converted into offices while desks had been set up at strategic positions.

When our correspondent approached one of the workers, he said, “The property was given to us by the government to work. I know that the EFCC seized the property some months ago but it was given to us to work.”

The EFCC is prosecuting Badeh alongside a firm, Iyalikam Nigeria Limited, on 10 counts of money laundering bordering on alleged fraudulent removal of about N3.97bn from the Nigerian Air Force account.A former Director of Finance and Account of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Aliyu Yishau (retd.),who is a prosecution witness against Badeh, had informed the court that while Badeh was the Chief of Air Staff, he routinely helped Badeh to divert the sum of N558.2m by converting it to its dollar equivalent.

He said he personally helped Badeh to buy the N1.1bn property which has now been converted to Federal Government’s use.

He had said, “Sometime in January 2013, when I was taking the normal amount to him (Badeh) in dollars, he directed that we should pay for the house. So, he brought out the balance in dollars and made up the equivalent of N1.1bn.”

The EFCC lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), had told the court that the EFCC searched the property and recovered $1m in cash.

Jacobs said although Badeh had denied ownership of the property, his belongings, including photographs, were found in it during a search by the operatives of the commission.

Our correspondent learnt that the decision to convert Badeh’s property may be connected to the Federal Government’s plan to convert seized properties to government use and save cost.

It will be recalled that the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, had disclosed at the opening of a meeting with the members of the National Steering Committee of the Efficiency Unit on June 10, 2016, that the Muhammadu Buhari-led government was planning to convert some of the seized properties to offices in a bid to save money spent on rent.

UBA Grows Profit To N62 Billion In Nine Months

                                 
Leveraging its expansive footprint, pan-African banking group, United Bank for Africa Plc (“UBA” or “the Bank”), announced its unaudited Third Quarter Financial Results, showing a 7% year-on-year growth in profit before tax to N62 billion despite the challenging macro-economic environment. This represents an impressive 18.2% annualized return on average equity.

The Bank recorded an appreciable growth in both funding and fee income lines.

"I am pleased with our performance in the first nine months of the year. Notwithstanding the negative economic growth in Nigeria, we maintained growth in earnings and sustained our asset quality. Increasingly, we are leveraging our unique pan-African platform to drive new customer acquisition and grow market share across our African subsidiaries” said Kennedy Uzoka, Group Managing Director and CEO of UBA Plc. Furthermore, the Bank’s level of impairment in its overall loan book was moderate. The Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio of 2.5% and 0.9% cost of risk remain one of the best in the industry. 

UBA Plc’s third quarter results also show significant efficiency gains with appreciable growth in operating income by 11% to N183 billion while profit after tax rose by 8% to N52 billion within the period. Though partly driven by the depreciation in the value of the naira, UBA also recorded a significant 21% year-to-date growth in deposits and a similar 26% growth in total assets. The bank also ensured that cost-to-income ratio remained flat year-on-year at 65% despite   external cost pressures which masked the positive results of its cost efficiency initiatives.

 Also speaking on the results, Group CFO, Ugo Nwaghodoh, said “the growth in deposits and total assets reflects the Bank’s increased share of customers’ wallet and deepening banking penetration across all its chosen markets in Nigeria and Africa which again accounted for a third of the Group's earnings.”

The Group GCFO assured that UBA will continue  to balance its  appetite for growth and profitability with the strategy of sustaining strong liquidity and capital ratios. The Bank maintained 43% liquidity ratio and 17.6% BASEL II capital adequacy ratio, well ahead of regulatory requirement.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc is a leading financial services group in sub-Saharan Africa with presence in 19 African countries, as well as the United Kingdom, the United States of America and France.

From a single country operation founded in 1949 in Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, UBA has emerged as a pan-African provider of banking and other financial services, to some 11 million customers globally, through one of the most diverse service channels in sub-Sahara Africa; 632 business offices, 1,798 ATMs, some 13,500 PoS, and a robust internet and mobile banking platform.

European Investment Bank and UBA Agree Record EUR 60 million New Private Sector Investment Programme

                     
The European Investment Bank and United Bank for Africa (UBA) have agreed a new EUR 60 million lending programme to support private sector investment across Nigeria. This represents the EIB’s largest ever loan to UBA and will allow UBA to provide longer term loans than currently available to private companies in Nigeria.

 

The new private sector lending programme was formally agreed on the side-lines of the World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington DC by Ambroise Fayolle, Vice President of the European Investment Bank and Kennedy Uzoka, Group Managing Director and Sola Yomi-Ajayi. Head of Global Financial Institutions at UBA.

 

“Private sector investment is crucial for creating jobs and ensuring sustainable economic growth. The European Investment Bank is committed to unlocking investment across Africa and we are pleased to build on past success to strengthen our partnership with UBA that will benefit projects across Nigeria.” said Ambroise Fayolle, Vice President of the European Investment Bank.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Kennedy Uzoka, Group Managing Director, UBA said “Our growing partnership with the European Investment Bank underlines our long term objective of facilitating the development and growth of African businesses.  This facility will enable UBA bridge critical financing gaps for Nigerian companies and deepen our capacity to support their growth aspirations in the local and international market place”

 

Ambassador Michel Arrion, Head of the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, described the programme as an example of the catalytic role the EU and its institutions like the EIB are playing to support Nigeria's economic development. "We look forward to more fruitful partnerships with Nigeria, and particularly with the private sector, which remains the engine of economic growth".

 

This represents the first Nigerian operation under the European Investment Bank’s new dedicated Nigeria Private Enterprise Investment Facility, a wider million lending scheme intended to support private sector investment in the country. Under the new initiative private sector entrepreneurs and companies will be able to use loans with a longer tenor than traditionally available to invest and expand activities across a range of sectors.

The new loan will also fund capital expenditure by UBA to strengthen their support for private investment, through expansion of their branch network and improving information technology.

 

The European Investment Bank has supported infrastructure and private sector investment in Nigeria since 1978.

 

The European Investment Bank is the world’s largest international public bank and over the last five years has provided EUR 12.8 billion for investment across Africa.