The Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LSUBEB) recently held a workshop for variation officers to enhance their performance on the job and ensure accountability.
The programme was themed ‘Efficiency in Handling of Staff Salary Variation’.
Speaking at the maiden edition of the programme, the chairman of the board, WahabAlawiye-King, urged the participants to pay attention “so that they will have the necessary skills to make their job easier and ensure that they are relevant in today’s world.”
He added, “The issue of the wellbeing of our staff is very imperative. If you walk in and your salary is not calculated appropriately, you will be discouraged. Part of the welfare package is to ensure that they are motivated. As variation officers, they are in charge of making adjustments and identifying changes to be made.”
A permanent board member in charge of planning and research, Dr Akeem Shittu, said the programme was to keep the officers abreast of modern ways of doing their job.
Head of Revenue Unit SUBEB, Elizabeth Oladunni, applauded the state government for approving the workshop for the officers.
Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina has sacked his cabinet.
His office gave no reason, but on Rajoelina says there had been failures in government and – “like in a football team” – change would be needed.
The dismissals follow reports of a foiled plot to kill the president who’s a former coup leader in Madagascar.
More than 20 suspects – including 12 from the army – have been arrested.
Rajoelina became the island’s president two years ago – after a disputed election and a court challenge.
Prosecutors in Libya have issued an arrest warrant for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, over suspected ties to Russian mercenaries.
An investigation has revealed links between the shadowy Wagner group’s activities in Libya and war crimes committed against Libyan citizens.
Russian fighters first appeared in Libya in 2019 when they joined the forces of a rebel general, Khalifa Haftar, in attacking the UN-backed government in the capital Tripoli. The conflict ended in a ceasefire in October 2020.
The Wagner group was first identified in 2014 when it was backing pro-Russian separatists in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Since then, it has been involved in regions including Syria, Mozambique, Sudan, and the Central African Republic.
The order for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi’s arrest was circulated internally to Libyan security bodies by prosecutor Mohammed Gharouda on 5 August, but was only made public after the BBC’s investigation was broadcast.
As a move to further boost economic activities in the Niger Delta, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said the current administration would complete the development of all the seaports in the area.
The vice president, at Gbaramatu Voice 6th Anniversary Lecture in Lagos said: “The theme you have chosen, ‘The Dwindling State of Crude Oil Demand in the Global Market: The Way Forward’, is especially timely. It is no secret that revenue from crude oil accounts for about 90 per cent of our foreign exchange earnings.
According to him, “the Federal Government is developing a number of deep seaports across the region, including the Bonny, Warri and Ibom Deep Sea Ports, among other development projects such as the establishment of Export Processing Zones to boost economic activities, which will be operational soon.
“Thus, the current situation, more than ever before, calls for a creative and holistic approach to the task of fostering economic growth.
“Beyond its oil wealth, Niger Delta is incredibly blessed with diverse human capital across education, sports, technology, creative arts, entertainment, economy and many other sectors.
“Even before the onslaught of the pandemic, the imperatives before us had become clear and we had responded accordingly. Right from the inception of this administration, we have demonstrated a commitment towards the challenge of creating economic opportunities for our fast-growing population in a post-oil future.
“Our entire strategic outlook has been shaped by the concept of ‘Nigeria Beyond Oil’ – a paradigm that encompasses measures aimed at repositioning our economy by taking advantage of global trends in the energy sector.
“As part of our drive to encourage investments in gas production and optimize our nation’s enormous gas potential, the Federal Government declared the period of 2020-2030 as the decade of gas.
“To this end, last November, the Federal Government launched its National Gas Expansion Programme, a component of the Economic Sustainability Plan, which focuses on the distribution of Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas, LPG, across gas stations operated by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
“By the end of this year, this administration will commence distribution of CNG as part of our strategy to gradually replace the high sulfur petrol. Our objective is two-fold.
“Concurrently, we have also invested significantly in Niger Delta as the region that holds the energy resources that have powered our progress for six decades as well as the keys to an emergent gas economy.”
“In 2017, following my tour of Niger Delta, which involved extensive consultations with key stakeholders in the region, the New Vision for Niger Delta was birthed in response to the various challenges, which had been plaguing our people.
“The objective of this New Vision is to ensure that the people of the region benefit maximally from their wealth, through promoting infrastructural developments, environmental remediation and local content development.
“So far, three modular refineries have now been completed, these are the Niger Delta Petroleum Resources, NDPR, Modular Refinery in Rivers State; OPAC Modular Refinery in Delta State and Walter Smith Modular Refinery in Imo State, whilst there are several others at different stages of completion across the region.
“The remediation exercise happening in Ogoni land, under the recommendations of UNEP is another milestone we are proud to announce as an administration. The clean-up commenced in January 2019, with the handover of the first batch of sites to the selected remediation firms.
“A total of about 57 sites have so far been handed over to contractors by Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, under the Federal Ministry of Environment. It is important to note that the Ogoni clean-up is the first of its kind in the history of Niger Delta. Indeed, this is the first time the Federal Government is directly involved in remediation activities within the region.
“The Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri Rail Line project, which was commissioned by Mr President in September 2020, and has the capacity to handle both passengers and freight services, is connecting several communities and promoting commerce within the region
In 2018, the National Universities Commission, NUC, approved the commencement of undergraduate degree programmes at the Nigerian Maritime University in Okerenkoko, Delta State. President Buhari approved a N5 billion take-off grant to support this university, which happens to be situated in the great Gbaramatu Kingdom.
The university currently has students spread across 13 undergraduate programmes in three Faculties, namely: Transport, Engineering and Environmental Management.
Today marks 32 years that you slumped and died at the mainbowl of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos while playing for Nigeria against Angola enroute Italia 1990 World Cup.
THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT OKWARAJI.
1. He was a qualified lawyer. Okwaraji who was born on May 19, 1964, in Orlu, Imo State. Apart from his football exploits, he was a qualified lawyer who had a Masters in international law from the University of Rome.
2. Multi-talented footballer and midfield maestro On the field of play, Okwaraji went for the tackles, aerial balls and in fact did more than his fair share of safe guarding the perimeter of the 18-yard box. This earned him a place in Nigeria’s first Olympic team in 1988. Debuting on January 30, 1988 in a match against Algeria, at the Nnamdi Azikwe Stadium, Enugu, Okwaraji with amazing skills played himself into the consciousness of Nigerians.
3. He played for top European clubs.
4. Okwaraji’s football career in Europe started in 1984-1985, in AS Roma. After which he had a career playing for NK Dinamo Zagreb (1985-1986), Austria Klagenfurt (1986-1987), VfB Stuttgart (1987-1989), SSV Ulm (loan) (1987-1988).
5. Scored one of the fastest goal in African football history Okwaraji, who made the Green Eagles squad in 1988 at the African Nations Cup in Morocco, scored one of the fastest goals in the history of African football against Nigeria’s perennial rivals, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon. Shining like a million stars in that tournament, Okwaraji was named man of the match twice.
6. A Patriot par excellence Okwaraji’s was indeed seen as a patriot. At one occasion, when he had the chance to play for his fatherland but his club would not agree. His club manager was said to have asked the Nigerian Football Authorities to pay an estimated cost of $45, 000 for their star player’s match bonus and an expected loss in the club’s gate taking for the period in which he would be on national duty.
7. Hearing about this agreement, this patriot hit back at his club saying: “I signed to play football for you on certain conditions, but I don’t think it includes reselling my services to my country. You cannot stop me playing for my country and let me tell you, I am going to represent my country in the World Cup in Italy whether you like it or not and I would very much like for you to be there.”
8. No doubt, Okwaraji paid his way to play for Nigeria without asking for a dime. He would come to camp uninvited and beg the coach to throw the jerseys on the floor for players to fight for. It was this move that heralded the era of throwing the camp open. He was not afraid to put his career on the line for his country. He put his life on the line too.
One of the most prolific strikers in European football, Lukaku has returned to the club he supported as a young boy and where he has unfinished business.
The Belgian has signed a five-year contract and will add attacking firepower to Thomas Tuchel’s squad of European champions.
‘I’m happy and blessed to be back at this wonderful club,’ said Lukaku. ‘It’s been a long journey for me: I came here as a kid who had a lot to learn, now I’m coming back with a lot of experience and more mature.
‘The relationship I have with this club means so much to me, as you know. I have supported Chelsea as a kid and now to be back and try to help them win more titles is an amazing feeling.
‘The way the club is going fits my ambitions perfectly at 28 and just coming off winning Serie A. I think this opportunity comes at the right time and hopefully we can have a lot of success together.
‘Since I left Chelsea, it’s been a long journey with a lot of ups and downs, but these experiences made me strong and the challenge is to try to help the team win some more trophies. I can’t wait to get started and to help the club achieve more success.’
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia added: ‘Romelu Lukaku is quite simply one of the world’s best strikers and goalscorers. We are absolutely delighted to be bringing him back to the club he loves, and are excited to be adding his talent to our Champions League-winning squad.
‘We are of course looking to build on last season’s success, and Lukaku will play a big role in achieving our targets. I’m sure all Chelsea fans will join me in saying welcome home, Romelu!’
Lukaku is back at Stamford Bridge a decade after he originally joined the club.
He has netted 80 goals for club and country in the past two seasons alone, adding a ruthless streak to the tenacity and touch that have defined his game for so long.
A formidable forward who is equally adept at holding the ball up with his back to goal as well as running into channels with purpose and intent, Lukaku has eight years of Premier League experience under his belt.
During that time, he scored 113 goals in the division, taking him up to 20th place on the list of all-time Premier League goalscorers.
Aged just 18 when he arrived at Stamford Bridge from Anderlecht in his homeland in the summer of 2011, he made 15 Chelsea appearances in three seasons, two of which were largely spent on loan, before moving on to Everton, Manchester United and Inter Milan.
While at Inter, Lukaku was named the Europa League Player of the Season in 2019/20, before playing an integral part as the Italian side won Serie A last season. His 24 goals and 11 assists earned him the competition’s MVP award.
Now 28, he was named in UEFA’s team of the tournament for Euro 2020, during which he netted four times in Belgium’s run to the quarter-finals, where they were knocked out by eventual champions Italy.
Lukaku has long impressed on the international stage and has scored 64 times in 98 games during a golden period for his national side. He is by some distance Belgium’s all-time top goalscorer, and now rejoins the Blues aiming to help us win further domestic and continental honours.
1121 Battle of Didgori: the Georgian army under King David the Builder wins a decisive victory over the famous Seljuk commander Ilghazi
1480 Battle of Otranto – Ottoman troops behead 800 Christians for refusing to convert to Islam
1851 American inventor Isaac Singer patents the sewing machine
1908 Henry Ford’s company builds the first Model T car
1981 IBM introduces its first Personal Computer (PC & PC-DOS version 1.0)
Aug 12 in Film & TV 1927 “Wings”, one of only two silent films – the other being The Artist in
2011 – to win an Oscar for best picture, opens starring Clara Bow (Outstanding Picture 1929) Aug 12 in Music
1991 Heavy metal band Metallica release their 5th album “Metallica”; debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 chart
Do you know this fact about today?Did You Know? The last quagga (zebra subspecies with less slashes) dies at the Artis Magistra zoo in Amsterdam.
Would you believe this fact about today? Would You Believe? Self-proclaimed Emperor Joshua Abraham Norton of the USA issues edict abolishing the Democratic and Republican parties
Private school owners across Uganda have asked President Museveni to come clear on their Shs2.5 trillion bailout request.
Addressing a press conference this week, the chairperson of the National Private Educational Institutions Association (NPEIA), Hasadu Kirabira, said the President early this year promised to respond to their request for a Shs2.5 trillion stimulus package.
President Museveni had also in March 2020 pledged a Shs20b relief package for private teachers who had gone months without pay but the teachers are yet to receive the money.
According to Kirabira, private schools admit 100 per cent of all nursery students, 66 per cent secondary and 40 per cent of primary school pupils.
He said it is necessary that government fulfils its pledge of Shs20 billion stimulus package as bailout for the schools.
The proprietors of private schools also said they were dismayed by remarks of government officials that they sell their institutions and pay loans.
Finance minister Matia Kasaija, while appearing before the Parliament’s Committee on Trade, Tourism and Industry last week, asked private schools to sell their properties to pay loans, saying government does not have money to bail them out.
Kasaija was quoted as saying “If you do not have another property to sell and save your school, go to the bank and negotiate.”
Private schools owners urged the Finance minister to stop from underestimating the role played by private schools in Uganda’s education sector.
According to Kirabira, private schools enrol more than 6 million learners across the country and employ more than 800,000 teaching and non-teaching staff.
He added that private schools also contribute 4 per cent of the national GDP and contribute Shs200b in taxes every financial year.
The deputy secretary general for NPEIA in-charge of Kampala region, Alex John Sseruwu, also asked government to waive taxes on private schools.
According to Sseruwu, government continues to impose ground rent, income tax, and pay as you earn on private schools even during closure.
Private school owners also tasked the government to come out and tell the country when schools will be reopened for all learners.
The Lagos State task force on counterfeit, fake drugs and unwholesome processed foods has shut 20 pharmacies and patent medicine stores at Shomolu, Bariga, and Oworonshoki areas of the State.
The state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, in a statement on Thursday, said the affected pharmacies and patent medicine stores were shut for contravening regulations guiding the operations of pharmacies and patent medicine stores.
Other reasons for closing the pharmaceutical outlets, according to the commissioner, includes indulging in illegal practices and failing to comply with the regulatory standard.
Abayomi was quoted to have said this after reviewing the report of the recent monitoring, inspection, and enforcement exercises carried out by the task force.
He said, “The sealing of the affected pharmacies and patent medicine stores was in accordance with the provisions of Section C34 of the Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods Miscellaneous Provision Act of 1999.”
The Commissioner added that the affected pharmacies and patent medicine shops were also sealed for offences including inappropriate storage conditions of drugs, absence of licenced pharmacists during business hours, selling of drugs not on the approved list and the display of expired drugs for sale.
Abayomi noted that the law prohibits wholesaling of drugs by patent medicine vendors and also prohibits wholesalers from operating beyond their scope.
He promised that the activities of the state task force on fake drugs would not only be sustained but intensified until stakeholders in the pharmaceutical value chain appreciate the need to adhere strictly to the provisions of the law.
Coalition of youth organisations in Nasarawa State are in support of Federal Government’s proposed conversion of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Keffi to a teaching hospital for Federal University Lafia. Malam Muhammad Lawal, Convener of the coalition and Leader of North Central, Arewa Youth Assembly for Good Leadership (AYAGL), made the declaration in a statement on Sunday in Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Minister of Health, Dr Osage Ehanire, recently disclosed Federal Government’s plan of upgrading FMC Keffi to a teaching hospital. He stated that FMC Keffi have all the major equipment, personnel, medical experts and facilities that would facilitate a smooth take-off of the proposed teaching hospital. Lawal added that FMC Keffi has facilities which would facilitate the clinical training of medical students in line with international standard to compete with their contemporaries worldwide. He noted that the proposed teaching hospital in Keffi would cover for not only medical students but the dense population of Mararaba, Masaka and other communities in Karu Local Government as well as the country in general. He said the decision of the Federal Government was well thought because the centre was strategically located in Keffi which serve as a gateway to the North East, a substantial part of the South East and the North Central. “Most of Federal Government’s civil servants, who come from various states of the federation and reside in Masaka, Mararaba, Ado, and New Nyanya communities under Karu Local Government in Nasarawa, access medical services at FMC Keffi. “We also observed that many of them who enrolled in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) use FMC Keffi as their health service provider. “Therefore, the proposed upgrading of FMC Keffi to a teaching hospital for Federal University Lafia is a good decision that will benefit all Nigerians,” Lawal said. He disclosed that already there was a call for the establishment of a National Trauma Centre at FMC Keffi to provide effective psychosocial support to the growing number of accident victims admitted at the centre. “People traveling to Abuja from all the six states in the North East, South East and North Central passed through Keffi Highway and whenever they have an accident officials of Federal Road Safety Corps rush them to FMC Keffi. “That’s why stakeholders are calling for the establishment of National Trauma Centre in Keffi to provide effective care for accident victims. Therefore, upgrading the FMC, Keffi to a teaching hospital will address that demand.” Lawal, however, thanked the National Assembly, particularly Sen. Tanko Al-Makura, representing Nasarawa South Senatorial District, for sponsoring the bill seeking the establishment of Federal University Teaching Hospital Lafia. The youth leader also thanked Nasarawa stakeholders who contributed either in joint capacity or individual capacity to actualise the establishment of Federal University Lafia teaching hospital. The other members of the coalition are: African Visionary Leaders Association (AVILA), Partners for Nasarawa Youth Development (PANAYD) and Nasarawa Youth and Students Leaders Forum.
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