N-Power graduates welcome President Buhari to Jalingo in March this year. 500,000 graduates will be enrolled on the programme from 1 August
The Muhammadu Buhari administration has concluded arrangements to deploy 300,000 new beneficiaries in the second batch of its N-Power Volunteers Corp. The deployment will be effective from 1st August.
With 200,000 beneficiaries currently benefitting from the programme, this means that by August, 500,000 unemployed Nigerian graduates will be beneficiaries of the scheme, which is a crucial part of the administration’s National Social Investment Programmes (N-SIP).
The N-Power Volunteer Corp scheme is designed to benefit all Nigerians irrespective of their backgrounds and is currently in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), according to Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media and Publicity.
“President Muhammadu Buhari made it clear that the SIP would be a major programme of the administration because he was concerned about poverty and unemployment,” Vice President Yemi Osinbajo once said.
Osinbajo, left, with N-Power trainees in Enugu in May this year
In conjunction with all State N-Power partners, the new beneficiaries will be promptly deployed to their assigned Primary Places of Assignment (PPA) on or before the said date.
The final selection lists broken down in States/Local Government Area (LGA) for each of the (3) N-Power component would be circulated to all focal persons in the states and FCT by July 20, 2018.
All successfully deployed N-Power beneficiaries in the second batch will be engaged for two-years starting from August 1, 2018 to July 31, 2020.
In order to qualify for their first monthly payment stipend of N30,000 by August 31, 2018, all deployed volunteers are expected to upload on their N-Power portal page their stamped and signed confirmation of resumption on or before Friday, August 10, 2018.
Through the N-Power scheme, hundreds of thousands of young, unemployed Nigerian graduates have been empowered through training and skills acquisition in different areas of public services, including education (N-Teach), health (N-Health), agriculture (N-Agro), and building/construction (N-Build).
Each N-Power beneficiary learns entrepreneurial skills to enable him become a business person and become a professional on his own, while beneficiaries are given electronic devices to enhance their work and paid a N30,000 monthly.
State-based N-Power partners comprise, but are not limited to the following: N-Teach – State Universal Board for Education (SUBEB); State & Local Government Area (LGA) Offices for Adult Education Centres; State & LGA Offices for Nomadic Education; N-Agro – State & LGA Offices for Agriculture Development Programme (ADP); and N-Health – State & LGA Offices for Primary Health Care Board.
France set to ban use of mobile phones by students while in school because of distractions
French lawmakers have secured a deal on a bill that would outlaw the use of mobiles phones in schools starting in September, one of Emmanuel Macron’s pledges during last year’s presidential campaign.
Senators and National Assembly deputies reached the agreement late Wednesday on the ban for all three tiers of French education (primary, middle and high school), except for educational purposes.
Students will now have “the right to disconnect,” Cathy Racon Bouzon, a deputy in Macron’s Republic on the Move (LREM) party, tweeted on Thursday.
Teachers have been calling for the ban to curtail a growing distraction in classrooms, with nearly nine out of ten French teens aged 12 to 17 now owning a smartphone.
Besides cutting down on screen time, the bill also aims to protect children from dangerous online content such as violence or pornography, as well as cyberbullying.
It also makes it easier for teachers to confiscate phones if necessary.
Each school will decide how to apply the ban, for example by making students hand them over when entering school premises or requiring them to keep them turned off in their backpacks.
Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer had defended the government’s plan in June as “a law for the 21st century” and the “technological revolution”.
Critics have called the bill a “purely cosmetic” attempt at resolving the battle schools face against mobile phones, pointing out that schools already have the option of banning phones.
But research shows that many pupils admit to having broken such rules.
And an extensive US study released Tuesday found that heavy use by teens of digital media such as texting, streaming and social networks could be linked to a rise in symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The bill is scheduled for final votes in the Senate on July 26 and the National Assembly on July 30.
out Nigerian midfielder Kelechi Nwakali for the third time, since he was recruited in 2016.
This time, he is being shipped to Portugal’s team Porto, where will spend next season on loan at Porto, according to a short statement by Arsenal on Thursday.
Nwakali, 20, joined the Gunners during the summer of 2016 and was first sent on loan to Dutch side MVV Maastricht.
During his time in the Eerste Divisie, the Nigeria international made 34 appearances, scoring three times.
Last season Kelechi remained in Holland – stepping up to the Eredivisie with VVV Venlo – during which time he made 11 appearances and scored once.
Nwakali has said he intends to make the most of his opportunity at Porto, according to the club’s website.
“My main goal is to develop, improve my qualities and the other aspects I know I need to correct to grow in the way I play,” he said.
“I think FC Porto is the right place to evolve as a player. There are good players, young people, and I think I’ll grow up here.”
Arsenal are also reported to be on the verge of finalising a deal for 16-year-old left-back Joel Lopez, who recently made it clear he would be leaving Barcelona.
New head coach Unai Emery is set to take the senior squad on a pre-season tour of Singapore, which will include Germany playmaker Mesut Ozil as well as Mohamed Elneny and Alex Iwobi following their break after the World Cup.
Arsenal fly out on July 22 and will face Europa League holders Atletico Madrid as well as Emery’s former club Paris St Germain as part of the International Champions Cup.
Eritrea has pulled troops back from the heavily militarized border with Ethiopia as a “gesture of reconciliation” with its giant neighbor and long-time foe, the pro-government Eritrean Press agency said on its Facebook page.
“It is imperative for all those who care about the long-term stability and economic viability of the
region to do everything they can to help the two countries move beyond the senseless war that wrought
so much suffering on both people,” the agency said.
NAN reports that the Eritrean–Ethiopian border conflict was a violent standoff between Eritrea and Ethiopia as part of the violence in the Horn of Africa.
This included sporadic clashes of their militaries, some of which took part in the larger Second Afar Insurgency.
The border conflict had been ongoing since the Eritrean–Ethiopian War of 1998 to 2000, and included multiple clashes with numerous casualties, such as the 2016 Tserona clashes.
Ethiopia eventually stated in 2018 that it would cede Badme to Eritrea, which effectively ended the twenty-year conflict.
The two countries formally ended the conflict at the 2018 Eritrea–Ethiopia summit on 9 July 2018, by signing a joint agreement to resume peaceful diplomatic relations.
Eritrea achieved independence from Ethiopia in 1993, following a long armed struggle.
The two countries fought again between 1998 and 2000 over the disputed territory of Badme, costing an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 lives.
Also on Thursday, Ethiopia appointed its first ambassador to Eritrea in two decades in the latest sign of rapprochement after a border war, the state-affiliated Fana news agency said.
An online report from Fana said Redwan Hussien, formerly Ethiopian ambassador to Ireland, had become Addis Ababa’s representative in Asmara.
Since signing an agreement in Asmara on July 9 to restore ties, Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders have moved swiftly to sweep away two decades of hostility since conflict erupted between the two neighbours in the Horn of Africa in 1998.
The rapprochement was triggered by the coming into office of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in April who announced he wanted to implement a peace deal that ended the war.
Both leaders have visited each other and Eritrea’s Isaias Afwerki this week reopened his country’s embassy in Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia’s national carrier Ethiopia Airlines on Wednesday made its first flight to Asmara in two decades and was greeted by dancers waving flags and flowers as families separated by the war and the ensuing hostilities made an emotional reunion.
The European Union says it is already preparing measures to retaliate against the U.S. if President Donald Trump imposes tariffs on imported cars and auto parts.
EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said Thursday that the 28-nation bloc would be forced to impose more “rebalancing measures” if Trump escalates trade tensions with the auto tariffs.
They would come on top of tariffs the U.S. put on steel and aluminum imports, which the EU responded to with duties on U.S. products.
Malmstrom said: “If the U.S. would impose these car tariffs that would be very unfortunate.” She said the EU was preparing “a list of rebalancing measures there as well. And this we have made clear to our American partners.”
Malmstrom and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will visit Trump next week.
President of the Senate Dr Bukola Saraki and Deputy Ike Ekweremadu
By Ifeanyi Nwoko
The Senate on Thursday, directed its committee on Federal Character to probe all appointments of President Muhammadu Buhari, to establish alleged lopsidedness or otherwise.
The decision of the Senate followed a point or Order raised by the Deputy President of the Senate Ike Ekweremadu, alleging that Buhari’s appointments were focused more on a particular region of Nigeria.
Ekweremadu was reacting to a letter from President Buhari seeking Senate’s confirmation of the appointment of a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Tunde Lemo, as Chairman, Federal Emergency Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) as well as six others.
After the President of the Senate read the letter, Ekweremadu immediately raised a point of Order to challenge the appointments, saying that most of the appointments of the current administration were not in line with the Federal Character Principle.
According to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the federal character principle stipulates: “The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few State or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies”.
Sen. Chukwuka Utazi who supported Ekweremadu’s point of order, argued that the appointments of the current administration had been so lopsided and favouring a particular region of the country
Also relying on a point of order, the Leader of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, countered the DSP’s allegation saying that he should look at all other appointments before jumping into such conclusions.
He said that even where appointments in a particular agency may seem to favour a particular region, he urged the DSP to look at all other appointments in other agencies before alleging that the Federal Character Principle was being violated.
In his reaction, the President of the Senate Dr Bukola Saraki, said that the observations could only be considered as the personal opinion of those raising them.
He argued that there was no clear document from which the senators could draw such conclusions and therefore suggested that the committee on Federal Character be mandated to carry out a comprehensive inquest on the appointments of President Buhari.
Saraki said that when the committee submits its report, then the lawmakers would have a basis to make allegations if it is established that there was need to.
Saraki’s intervention however did not douse the lawmakers’ agitation as the upper legislative chamber was thrown into a rowdy session with senators arguing on the top of their voices for, and against Ekweremadu’s arguments.
As the senate moved to begin the confirmation of the appointment of chairman and commissioners of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Sen. Mao Ohuabunwa also relying on a point of order, called on the Senate to suspend the consideration.
He argued that since the senate had agreed to investigate all the appointments of the current administration, the confirmation should be stepped down until the committee on federal character submits its report.
However, the President of the Senate over-ruled him saying that the screening should continue pending when the Committee on Federal Character submits its report.
Saraki insisted that the Thursday’s condideration of the Senate was not the final confirmation of the nominees, stressing that before they are confirmed, the senate would already have received the report of the Characters’ committee.
The second intervention of Saraki still did not put paid to the rowdy session or the agitation as Sen. Utazi, also relying on a point of order, went on to argue that if the appointment of the Board of FERMA was kept until the Character’s commission report is presented, it would only be fair that all screenings and considerations be suspended as well until the report is presented.
Again Saraki intervened saying: “We are all just speculating, we are on the same page. Let us first get a document from Federal Character then we can take action, if the Federal Character Reports suggests that the DSP is right, then we suspend the consideration.
Still fuelling the argument, another Senator, Obinna Ogba also stood on a point of Order to argue on the issue of the appointment. It was another round of rowdiness as Ogba’s alleged that his state, Ebonyi state was being shortchanged in appointments.
The senate remained in a rowdy session as Ogba spoke on the top of his voice, attempting to suppress the voices of many other senator who were either supporting or rejecting his argument.
In a final intervention, Saraki upheld that the screening of the Civil Service Commission’s appointees be continued and directed the Committee on Federal Character to present its report in one week.
Coincidentally, both Sen. Tijjani Kaura, Chairman of the Federal Character Committee and the Vice Chairman were not present at the plenary.
Saraki therefore mandated other members of the committee who were present to pass the directive to the chairman and the vice chairman and ensure that they conclude their investigation and report back to the Senate at plenary on Tuesday.
Federal Government’s youth empowerment scheme, Npower on Thursday revealed when 300,000 applicants will receive their deployment letters.
The empowerment scheme in a tweet on its verified page advised all applicants to log on to their profiles on the portal to print deployment letter on July 20, 2018.
The Scheme also instructed candidates to submit employment letters before August 10th, 2018.
The tweet read, “Dear 300k peeps about to be deployed, Please follow the steps listed in the image CAREFULLY. It is very important.
“final selection list of deployment will be circulated to all focal persons on Friday, July 20,2018.
“All deployed beneficiaries are to upload on their Npower page their stamped and signed confirmation of resumption on or before August 10, 2018 in order to qualify for their first stipend due by August 31.”
It was a stormy session at the senate on Thursday over the executive communication on the appointment of Commissioners for the Federal Civil Service Commission, as the lawmakers argued that the nomination was lopsided.
Lawmakers who were already charged following ill-feelings that President Muhammadu Buhari had in various appointments of boards of government ministries and parastatals favoured his kinsmen from the North angrily said, they would not allow the development any further. .
The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu through a point of order raised concern of biases in Federal Road Management Agency (FERMA). The order was adopted and referred to the Senate Committee on Federal Character for investigation.
Meanwhile, lawmakers could not take it when the list of nomination of the Federal Civil Service Commission was read by the Senate leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan as they insisted that it must be stepped down till the outcome of investigation by the Committee on Federal Character Commission.
“That the Senate do consider the request of Mr. President on the confirmation of the nomination of the following persons for appointment as Chairman and Commissioners for the Federal Civil Service Commission in accordance with the provisions of Section 154(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigerian, 1999 as amended”, Lawan submitted.
Irked by the development, Senator Chukwuka Utazi (PDP) Enugu North Senatorial district through order 15 of Senate rules insisted that the list should be stepped down pending report from the Committee on Federal Character Committee.
Supporting Utazi’s submission, Senator Obinna Ogba representing Ebonyi Central Senatorial district stressed that Ebonyi State was denied in the list, saying that the Senate should reject the nomination.
The Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki in an atmosphere of rancor pleaded that the list should be referred to the relevant Committee for screening pending the previous report for want of time.
“Distinguished Colleagues, we are still saying the same thing. Let’s refer the list to the committee for screening because we will soon go on holiday.”
A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mr Tunde Lemo has been appointed as Chairman of the Federal Emergency Road Maintenance Agency(FERMA).
President Muhammadu Buhari in a letter seeking legislative approval also appointed a new managing director and six members of the board of FERMA.
President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, read a letter from Buhari at Thursday’s plenary.
Magarya 