NIGERIAN NOTCH

The Honorable Minister of State Education, Hon Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba led today led a high powered delegation in birini kebbi for the National Campaign on Out-Of-School Children. A drive to get more children into schools and off the street in line with the Ministerial Strategic Plan (2018-2022). The Ministry is set out to identify children of school age who are not in school and ensure their enrolment. The Minister urged stakeholders to work together to ensure that all children especially the indigent ones within our communities are given support and sponsored in their various vocations to achieve a better,reliable and safer society for all. He further charged all States to take giant strides and follow the path laid by the Federal Ministry of Education.  In attendance were the Director, Basic Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Dr. Folake Davids, the Commissioner for Education, Kebbi State, Alh. Watagara, Chairman Kebbi SUBEB Prof Suleiman Khalid, the Secretary to the Kebbi

  By Jones Fcc Onwuasoanya   As an ardent campaigner for the next president of Nigeria to come from the Southeast, I should have been ordinarily excited with the news of Owelle Rochas Okorocha’s upcoming World Press Conference where he is expected to formally declare his intention to vie for the highest office in the land. But, it is quite unfortunate that the man from Ogboko who is on his fourth presidential voyage is set to have what is certain to be his worst ever political outing, in his over two decades of active political involvement. Apart from other relevant questions that have been raised about the viability and even morality of his presidential ambition, the Imo West Senator’s willful affront on Ndigbo’s collective authority which is demonstrated by his romance with a discredited impostor parading himself as the President-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, a certain Mr. Chidi Ibeh, clears every doubt, that Okorocha’s comical ambition to govern Nigeria  is both anti-Igbo an

  ......ASKS SECURITY AGENCIES TO INVESTIGATE HIM A group known as Imo must speak, has called out Rochas Okorocha to stop sponsoring insecurity in Imo State just because his in-law is not the Governor of the state. They said that the continuous sponsorship of unrest against Imolites with their commonwealth stolen by himis as callous as a demonic practice.  "No matter how hard you try, you cannot wriggle away from the complicity." The release signed by its convener Barr. Clifford Odionyema futher stated that "the over 3,600 pump action rifles and 235 Sienna can purchase to empower your security unit during your tenure in office as the Governor, remains unaccounted and these are the tools used by your demonic agents to unleash unrest on Imolites." The group however called on Imolites to rise in their numbers, under one voice and condemn in totality, Okorocha sponsorship of insecurity in Imo. "Ndi Imo must demand for the prosecution of Owelle, let him be held acco

  ... Leads three other Govs for a meeting with AfDB President in Cote d' Iviore Governor Hope Uzodimma has pledged the commitment of Imo State to the highest standards in infrastructure and management that would be required to attract global, regional and national investors for the successful delivery of the Special Agro-Industrial  Processing Zones(SAPZ) Programme. Imo was one of the States chosen for the African Development Bank (AfDB) - sponsored SAPZ Programme in collaboration with other development banks and the federal government, as a veritable strategy in the transformation of the Nigerian agriculture sector, through industrialization. Other States include: Kaduna, Ogun and Oyo. Senator Uzodimma as the focal Governor for the programme reaffirmed Imo State's commitment to the scheme in his remarks on Tuesday in Cote d' Iviore during a meeting with the President of the AfDB, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina and his team as well as representatives of the development partners and

Sometime in 2017, the world apex bank introduced a performance based programme  that would make them monitor and rate the fiscal performance of states. To that effect, world bank entered into a mutual agreement with the Federal Government which gave birth to a programme known as The State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme. The rationale behind the State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme is informed by the current serious fiscal challenges faced by the states with many unable to pay backlog of salary arrears of  several months due to poor fiscal governance occasioned by high cost of governance, profligacy poor revenue drive amongst others. Most states with the exception of a few have weak fiscal transparency and accountability structure characterized by unpublished budgets & financial statements, lack of timely budget implementation reports, very high budget deviation (between 30% to 55%) and their Citizen