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THE GUARDIAN, Saturday, May 25, 2013
NEWS Women Vibrant Human Resources, Says Ezekwesili By Debo Oladimeji ORMER Vice President of the Africa Region of the World Bank and former Minister of Education, Mrs. Obaigeli Ezekwesili has said that women’s involvement in the decision making of the government and organisation where they work is vital for national development. Speaking on the topic “Women’s Leadership: Why Africa Is Rising,” at a forum organised by Vital Voices Global Partnership (Africa Programs) in Lagos on Thursday, said that it was clear that Africa is doing better than it used to do in the area of women empowerment. She said that, “as long as only 30 percent of formal labour force in Africa is women, you have a problem. If 70 percent of Africa informal sector are woman you have a problem because the informal sector does not function at the level of productivity that enable people to lift themselves out of poverty.”
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‘Excessive Litigations Hinder NDIC Settlement Capacity’ By Ibe Uwaleke, Head, Judicial Desk IGERIA Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), said yesterday, that it is capable of fulfilling its statutory mandate as a financial net player to operate the deposit insurance scheme in Nigeria and to cushion the effect of financial losses of depositors of bank accounts, if lawyers will desist from unnecessary court actions, which frustrate these efforts. The managing director and chief executive officer of the corporation, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, said this at a one-day sensitisation seminar organ-
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ised for the corporation’s external solicitors in Lagos with the theme, “Challenges to Deposit Insurance Law and Practice in Nigeria.” Ibrahim, who was represented by the corporation’s executive director, corporate services, Honourable, Lola Abiola Edewor, said that apart from excessive litigations by lawyers, the corporation also faces the problem of execution of court judgments against its assets as the liquidator of failed banks based on the misunderstanding of its role as a liquidator.
He added that another problem is the lack of proper understanding of the distinction in the legal status of NDIC as a liquidator and deposit insurer by legal practitioners, courts and the general public, noting that the difficulty on the part of the corporation in recovering debts owed to failed banks due to inability to trace the debtors and lack of collateral, are other related challenges facing the organisation. According to him, the seminar is to put the problems on the front burner so that lawyers who defend their cases in
courts will become aware and better equipped with information regarding the operations of the corporation. “We recognise that the corporation cannot achieve much in addressing the legal challenges without the full understandingbyoursolicitorsofthe issues involved. This seminar is one of the steps being taken by the corporation to sensitise lawyers handling cases for the corporation, and an avenue to put heads together to enable the organisation to address the challenges and realise its mandate,” he stated.
LHAJI Afeez Ijaye has been A elected the new President of Apongbon Committee of Friends. Other elected executive members in the election, which took place on April 28, 2013 are: Alhaji Shamsideen Akinlusi, Vice President; Alhaji Alamu Lasaki, General Secretary; Alhaji Gaheeb Gatta, Asst. General Secretary; Mr. Matthew Adelekan, Treasurer; Alhaji Shakiru Alao, Financial Secretary; Alhaji Fatai Abdulahi, Auditor; Alhaji Babatunde Durojaiye, Social Secretary; Otunba Adetayo Oyebanjo, Welfare Officer; Alhaji Shakiru Tyson, Chief Whip; Alhaji Aremu Nollah, Ex.OfficioI,andPrinceHameed Ololade, Ex Officio II.
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LISCO, manufacturers of V the original Hollandais colorful fabric, is set to launch their latest collection tomorrow at the prestigious Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Lekki. Dubbed the Hommage a l’Art collection, the new artful series will be launched with a fashion show in conjunction with Moms Media, a PR and marketing consultancy firm with a bias for the female segment of the society.
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Apongbon Committee Elects New Officers
By Victor Olushola HEADof the 2015 election, a civil society group, Enough Is Enough Nigeria (EIE), has called on the media to continuously awaken the consciousness of the public on electoral proceedings. Speaking to newsmen at Alausa, Lagos, a board member of the group, Adebola Williams, bemoaned that there were not enough advocacy issues on the pages of newspapers in the country. Williams said that 2015 is around the corner and all efforts must be put in place to ensure free and fair election, informing the people to register on time, select wisely and protect their votes.
Vlisco Launches new Collection Tomorrow
Selling Babies Abominable, Says Mrs. Orji From Gordi Udeajah, Umuahia ORRIED by the practice of selling babies even by their own mothers and parents, the wife of Abia State governor, Mrs. Mercy Odochi Orji Thursday asserted that such an act it was an abomination. Speaking at the flag-off ceremony of this year’s Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW), which featured delivery of integrated health care packages for mother and child, she said that those that sell babies for money or other reasons should note that the sold babies could become prominent personalities in future. According to her, a lot still needed to be done to drastically reduce maternal and infant mortality rate and drew attention to the report that one million children die before the age of five due to malnutrition, while 26 percent is as a result of neo-natal deaths.
Group Challenges Media On Advocacy
Foundation Gives Women Vaccines HE Optimal Cancer Care T Foundation will give subsidised Human Papiloma Virus
General Manger, Ogun State Printing Corporation, Mrs. Oyinkansola Cole; Ogun State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Barr. Yusuph Olaniyonu; Special Assistant to the Ogun State Governor on Information, Mr. Yemisi Fadairo and General Manager, Ogun State Radio Corporation, Eng. Tunde Awolana, during the Ministerial Press Briefing as part of activities to commemorate the state governments second anniversary …yesterday.
Borno Reduces Water Supply To 40 Million Litres From Njadvara Musa, Maiduguri HE supply and distribution of potable water to the 2.8 million residents of Maiduguri metropolis in Borno State, has dropped to 40 million litres a day due to rehabilitation and maintenance of water works at the Kirkasama and Dalaram Water Treatment Plant (DWTP) plants. Residents of the city need about 70 million litres to meet
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the daily water requirement, the state Commissioner of Water Resources, Alhaji Mai Sheriff disclosed at a press conference on Thursday to commemorate Democracy Day and second year in office of Governor Kashim Shettima at the Water House complex, Maiduguri. Sheriff said that despite the challenges facing the Water Resources personnel and directors to meet the water
requirements of residents, the “Water C Project” near the stadium has reached 65 percent completion to supply seven million litres of potable water a day. Sheriff also assured the people that the completion of Water C Project, along with the renovations works on the Maiduguri Water Treatment Plant at Dalori and Kirkasama Water Works project will collectively increase the daily
water supply to 70 million litres. He, however, lamented that following security challenges, the Water Resources Ministry suffered the loss of one of its directors to the Boko Haram gunmen and the kidnap and eventual rescue of General Manager of Water Board, Alhaji Baba Gujbawu, in addition to displacements of five other directors from their respective residences this
FERMA Introduces Monitoring Units On Roads From Niyi Bello, Akure NEW approach to fixing federal roads across the country “before the cracks turned to ditches,” to reduce the cost of maintenance and reduce carnage, has been devised by the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), according to authorities of the agency. The new approach, as disclosed by the agency’s Managing Director, Engr. Gabriel Amuchi, involved setting up of inspection teams to monitor the state of the roads and the establishment of a quick action squad that repairs spots that have been identified to be failing. The FERMA boss, who spoke
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through the agency’s Secretary and Legal Adviser, Mrs. Stella Anukam, disclosed this at the palace of the Aro of Akure, Chief Adeyemi Adedipe during a courtesy visit yesterday, added that the squad has enough financial, personnel and material support to carry out immediate repairs before the identified bad spots deteriorate further. Anukam, who was in Ondo State as the leader of a team of officials of the agency on inspection tour of on-going rehabilitation works in the three states of Ondo, Delta and Edo, said the management of the agency had discovered that lack of immediate action
in road repairs, was the major cause of the bad states of roads in the country. According to her, “FERMA started the quick intervention programme because we discovered that if these roads have been fixed at the initial notice of failure, a lot of money and energy that are dissipated at the failed stage would be saved. Prevention, as they say, is better than cure. “The surveillance teams that have been put together cover the whole of the country and they bring progress reports on the states of the roads to the management regularly. That is why we have been able to prevent new failures to a large extent in the last few months.”
In his address to the team, Adedipe, who was described by Anukam as one of the major stakeholders in FERMA, by virtue of his being a former member of the agency’s board, tasked governments at all levels to show more assistance to the body to ensure smooth maintenance of roads across the country. He said that, “Government should also pay more attention and commitment to giving the roads to concessionaire who will be saddled with building and maintaining the roads, but not to the detriment of Nigerians by way of cut-throat toll fees. This will reduce the burden of road maintenance on the neck of government.”
(HPV) vaccine to women and childrenonChildren’sDay,May 27. This was disclosed by the Medical Director of the foundation, Dr. Femi Olaleye who said it his own way of finding solution to the horrible healthcare statistics in Nigeria, especially intheareaofcancerprevention. The vaccine, which was formerlygiventolittlegirlswhoarenot yet sexually active, according to Olaleye, has now been certified safe for women as well. Olaleye, who also does a free cancer screening for women on Fridays, said further that the vaccine, which goes for N7,500 will be given at N3,500 to women and children on Children’s Day.
Firm Gets Operation Licence By Daniel Anazia S part of its logistics plan for Christian pilgrims to Israel this year, Hadur Travel and Tours, a leading international travel company with specialised interest in executive group tours, agro tours and pilgrimages has announced its latest packages for the second quarter of 2013. The new package, according to the firm’s Chief Executive Officer, Olufunke Taiwo, starts with the receipt of Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission’s Private Tour Operator License. With the introduction of our new five-day low budget Jerusalem pilgrimage package, busy executives longing to visit Israel to fulfill a lifelong dream and enrich their spiritual life now have a great opening to realise their goal at affordable prices.
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