The Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle, has restated his administration’s commitment to providing quality education for children especially the girl-child.
Matawalle made this known yesterday in Gusau while hosting High-Level Women Advocates (HILWA) who visited him.
He said the education of children tops the list of priorities for his government, especially the enrolment of out-of-School children and equip them with sound and quality education at all levels.
He noted that the provision of quality female education is of greater value and benefit considering the roles they play in developing societies.
Matawalle also said educating a woman is just like educating the entire society, promising to create a more enabling environment for women to have access to quality education through the involvement of education-based non-governmental organisations.
He stressed that his administration would continue to welcome development partners that will advocate for more participation of women in education and the enrollment of girls in schools in the State.
Matawalle donated an 18-seater bus to the organisation and urged the members to continue with their crusade of mentoring women and girls in the education sector.
Issues bordering on security and education formed the plank of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s discussion with Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja it was learnt.
Ganduje, who spoke with reporters at the State House, said he came to brief the vice president on efforts being made to address the challenges.
He said that military was putting in its best and was being supported to keep criminals away from the Falgore Forest.
The governor said: “Just to brief him about the security issues in Kano State, especially pertaining to kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery and other criminal activities in the zone.
“I submitted a report to him that it is all well; we are managing; there is high coordination of the security agencies in Kano; they are working very hard.
“The only problem we have is the Falgore Forest for which we are providing infrastructure for military training in order to prevent the bandits from colonising that particular environment.
“We are working very hard on that; so, briefly, that is what I have come to discuss with him.’’
He said that the vice president was happy and felt encouraged with the report.
On the Kano Economic City, he said that Kano was a mega city; therefore, commercial activities must be encouraged.
According to him, all the markets in Kano are filled to capacity, hence the need to expand to other places.
“So, to create a new economic city is the answer; it has reached an advanced stage; there are so many facilities there.
“Apart from the shops there, there are mega hotels, there are banking halls and also there are trailer parks and so many other things that you expect to see in an economic city.
“The work has reached over 70 per cent; so, we are happy; even the drug sellers are being allocated a place there to avoid selling drugs indiscriminately.
“You know the Federal Government’s policy on drugs now; and those who are in corporate business, there is premises for them.’’
Ganduje also spoke on the N880 million recently distributed to the 44 councils in Kano state for the renovation of primary schools.
He said that the main essence of that programme was to encourage community participation in the development of education in the state.
The governor said that his administration had designed a package for direct labour, rehabilitation and renovation of schools.
“Now, we have created what we call education promotion committees and we have given them N20 million each with identified schools to be renovated, with the scope of work to be undertaken.
“We have given them three weeks to complete that project; so that they will come and report and our supervisors and engineers will also give the same report.”
Fifty eight of the 257 public schools in Rivers State will lose the government’s sponsorship of this year National Examinations Council and National Business and Technical Examinations Board examinations.
This government in a statement on Wednesday quoted the Director, Secondary Education, Mrs Sokari Davies, as saying that the affected schools did not summit the names of their students.
The statement reads partly, “The Rivers State Ministry of Education directed all principals of public schools to submit the names of their candidates latest on 28th August, 2020, to the Director of Secondary Education in the Ministry.
“This deadline was later extended to 31st August, 2020. At the close of submissions at 6.30pm on 31st August 2020, 199 schools had made their submissions.
“These are the only ones (schools) that can be sponsored, as the Ministry of Education considers that other schools/candidates are not interested and the ministry cannot reasonably wait to move on to the next stage of the process, which was concluded on 1st September 2020.”
Meanwhile, residents of Luawi community in the Khana Local Government Area of the state have appealed to Governor Nyesom Wike, to rehabilitate their secondary school vandalised during cult clashes in the area.
Speaking on Wednesday, a leader of the community, Dan Nwietih, said the school was no longer suitable for academic activities.
He said, “We are calling on the Rivers State Government to renovate our secondary school or build a new one for us because all the equipment and infrastructure had been vandalised, the school is no longer suitable for learning anymore.
The OSUN State Government in South-West Nigeria, has directed principals and heads of public elementary schools to revert to the old names of their various schools before the reclassification effected by the administration of ex-governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, in year 2013.
The directive was contained in a circular titled, ‘Reverting: Reclassification nomenclature of schools to old status,’ signed by Dr. Taiwo Adeagbo, for the Coordinating Director, Ministry of Education and addressed to principals, head teachers of elementary schools, Inspectors of Education and Zonal Inspectors of Education.
The circular dated August 27, 2020, recalled approval given to the recommendations of Policy Review Roundtable Summit on some extant policies in the education sector held in February, 2020 and directed the affected officials to immediately comply with the directive.
The circular read in part, “Recall that at the policy review roundtable summit on some extant policies in the Education Sector held between 20 and 21” February, 2020, His Excellency, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola, approved that schools should revert to their pre-reclassification names and nomenclatures.
“Sequel to the above, all schools are hereby directed to revert to their old names with immediate effect as approved by the Osun State Government.”
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), says it has paid over 5.910 million U.S dollars (about N2.28 billion) for tuition and stipends owed stranded scholarship students in the United Kingdom.
Mr Charles Odili, NDDC Director of Corporate Affairs, said in a statement in Port Harcourt on Monday that the commission disbursed the sum to 197 scholarship beneficiaries of 2019. He added that the commission had also begun processes for the payment of school fees owed 94 scholarship beneficiaries for the 2018 batch. “Among the 197 beneficiaries are 43 scholars for Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D), comprising 12 for 2016 and 31 for 2019.
“The beneficiaries under this category got 30,000 dollars (N11.56 million) each, amounting to 1.29 million dollars (N496.65 million). “In the Master of Science (MSc), category, 154 beneficiaries of 2019 were paid 30,000 dollars each, amounting to 4.42 million dollars (N1.702 billion). “In addition, the payment processes for 94 beneficiaries of 2018: 40 for Ph.D. and 54 MSc beneficiaries are ongoing,” Odili stated. Odili said the Interim Management Committee (IMC), of the NDDC, commend the determination of the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, in seeing to the payment of the students.
The NDDC spokesman blamed the delayed payment to the death of Chief Ibanga Etang, the then acting Executive Director of Finance and Administration (EDFA), of NDDC. “Under the NDDC finance protocol, only the EDFA and the Executive Director of Projects can sign for the release of funds from the commission’s domiciliary accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria. “The NDDC foreign scholars represent the future manpower and professionals that we are building to help transform the Niger Delta region. “The foreign scholarship scheme started in 2010, with the objective to address the dearth of qualified professionals in the oil and gas sector,” he said. (NAN)
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that some NDDC-sponsored scholarship students recently took to the streets in the United Kingdom to demand payment of their tuition and stipends. After the protest, President Muhammadu Buhari on Aug. 5, directed the immediate payment of the fees owed to the students.
The Lagos State High Court in Igbosere has dismissed the preliminary objection filed by the University of Oxford, England to challenge a N10m lawsuit filed against it by a Nigerian lawyer, Ogedi Ogu.
Ogu, in his suit before Justice I.O. Harrison, alleged that the words “mortgagee’’ and “mortgagor” were wrongly defined in the Oxford Dictionary, published by Oxford University Press.
He claimed that he was embarrassed and suffered a loss of reputation as a lawyer when he relied on the definitions of the words in the Oxford Dictionary to offer legal advice to a professional colleague.
He said the professional colleague later pointed out to him that the words were wrongly defined in Oxford Dictionary and since then all his professional colleagues stopped seeking legal advice from him.
Ogu asked the court to order the University of Oxford and Oxford University Press to pay him N10 million in damages.
But the defence counsel, Mrs Funke Adekoya (SAN), filed a preliminary objection, urging the court to dismiss the suit for being incompetent.
Adekoya contended that Ogu did not comply with Section 97 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act in issuing and serving his writ of summons.
She described the writ as “incurably defective,” adding that it was “liable to be set aside.”
The SAN further contended that Oxford University Press, which was joined as 2nd defendant, was a non-juristic entity, which could not be sued because it was only a department under the University of Oxford.
But in her June 30, 2020 ruling, Justice Harrison partly disagreed with Adekoya and dismissed one leg of the preliminary objection.
Contrary to Adekoya’s contention, Justice Harrison said, “The writ was validly issued and service was lawful and regular.”
But the judge upheld the SAN’s submission that Oxford University Press was not a juristic entity and struck its name out from the suit.
The judge held, “The court finds that not being a juristic person, the 2nd defendant can’t be sued and since they are a department of the 1st defendant, whatever affects the 1st defendant will naturally affect and bind on their departments.
“The notice of preliminary objection succeeds partially.”
Ogu, in his suit, claimed that Oxford Dictionary wrongly defined the word “mortgagee’’ as the borrower in a mortgage transaction; and “mortgagor’’ as the lender.
He said this was contrary to the definition of “mortgagee” as lender and “mortgagor” as borrower in many other dictionaries.
The Nigerian lawyer said when he wrote to the University of Oxford to complain, the university admitted the error but refused to admit liability.
According to him, the university told him that “Our dictionaries are made available as a reference tool only; they are never held out by OUP as being an alternative to seeking independent legal or financial advice, and we cannot take responsibility for an individual’s decision to use them as such.”
Authorities of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, on Tuesday, disowned a circular purportedly “issued and signed by the University Registrar” on reopening plans.
A release by the Public Relations Officer of the University, Abiodun Olarewaju, sent to our correspondent, said the Federal Government that shut the institution in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has not reversed the order.
The statement was titled ‘OAU yet to resume’.
The statement read in part, “The university management wishes to officially inform our students at all levels, their parents and guardians, that the said circular is fake and malicious both in content and context and it should be disregarded in its entirety.
“Obafemi Awolowo University is a Federal Government-owned institution and the instruction to go on recess in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, in the month of March 2020, by the Federal Government has not been reversed.
“Accordingly, we want to use this medium to urge our students to remain calm, and await authentic information from the university management as soon as the Federal Government gives the go-ahead to reopen the University.”
THE Bayelsa State Government has suspended the Principal and Vice Principal of the Epie National High School, Yenagoa, the state capital, Mr Fabingha Simeon and Mr Morgans Agagaowei, for alleged absenteeism during school hours.
The state Commissioner for Education, Mr Gentle Emelah, ordered their suspension when he paid an unscheduled visit to their school and the Bishop Dimieari Grammar School on Monday.
Emelah, who was among the 24 new commissioners sworn in by the state Governor, Douye Diri, on August 25, said that he discovered during the visit that the affected principal and vice principal were absent from work.
He, therefore, directed the senior teacher of the school, Mrs Dakolo Timinipre, who was on duty, to run the affairs of the school until further notice.
The commissioner said, “I was there (at ENHS) and surprisingly, the principal and vice principal were not on the ground, apart from the fact that the WASSCE is ongoing in their school.
“I have directed the principal and the vice principal to be placed on suspension while we look into their case.”
A Gombe State Epidemiologist, Dr Bile Nuhu, on Tuesday said the state had established school isolation spaces across 16 boarding schools in the state.
He said the isolation spaces were for the management of mild cases of COVID-19.
He said, “Out of the 20 boarding schools in Gombe State, we used the checklist that looks at the structures on the ground and the components in the structures that are ideal that can serve as isolation spaces for just mild cases not severe cases. Severe cases have to go to isolation centres.
“So we have established 16 isolation spaces out of twenty 20 boarding schools because the remaining four didn’t meet up with the criteria for school isolation spaces.
“We looking at how to upgrade the other four that have not been able to meet the criteria, both the ministries of health and education are collaborating to see how the basic minimum criteria needed for establishment of school isolation spaces are attained.”
He added that “19 out of the 22 final year students” who contracted coronavirus had recovered.
The Kogi State Government on Tuesday announced the reopening of schools at all levels, including primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in the state.
The state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Wemi Jones, who spoke during a press conference on Tuesday in Lokoja, said this would take effect from September 14, 2020.
He said, ‘’You will recall that His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello, directed the closure of all schools from primary to tertiary institutions in the state from March 23, because of the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic.
‘’Subsequently, upon the directive of the Federal Ministry of Education, exit classes were opened for Primary 6, JSS3 and SS3 in Kogi on August 10, to particularly allow the SS3 classes to prepare and write the WAEC examination.
‘’Therefore, upon further review having had several meetings with relevant stakeholders, His Excellency has directed that all schools in Kogi State should fully reopen on September 14, 2020’’, he said.
He, however, advised all heads of schools to ensure full compliance with the COVID-19 protocols as set out by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.
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