Jerry Rawlings

The funeral of Ghanas late former president, Jerry John Rawlings, will be held on Dec. 23, his family announced on Monday.

James Victor Gbeho, Head of the funeral planning committee, in a press statement on Monday, said the family, in consultation with government, has agreed on the date.

The funeral rites for the 73-year-old will come off at the Independence Square in Accra.

Mr Gbeho said, The family is working in conjunction with government on the finer details of the funeral ceremony and will communicate the arrangements in due course.

Rawlings, Ghanas longest-serving head of state and founder of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), died on 12 November at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra after a short illness. (PANA/NAN)

Source: NAN News

Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa

By Ifeanyi Olannye

Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta on Monday in Asaba assented to the states 2021 Appropriation Bill of N383 billion.

The bill tagged Budget of Economic Recovery is made up of N210 billion capital expenditure and N173 billion recurrent expenditure

The Delta House of Assembly increased the budget figure of N378.48 proposed by the governor to N383 billion.

Signing the budget, Okowa assured the people that the state would strive to recover from the economic challenges engendered by Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The governor commended the state house of assembly for the speedy passage of the bill.

He said that signing the budget before December would avail the state government the opportunity to further plan towards its implementation from January, 2021.

He said that the state government would remain focused on the implementation of the budget as passed, for the benefit of the people of the people.

The governor noted that there was a warm working relationship between the executive and the legislature in the state.

You have just witnessed my signing into law, the 2021 Appropriation Bill, and as I said on Oct. 27, during the presentation of the bill, we are in very difficult times this year.

The second wave of the pandemic will create further challenges for the recovery of the economy of our nation.

However, we are optimistic that in the 2021 fiscal year, things will gradually improve and we will be able to get back to the desired levels of infrastructural and human capital development for our people.

There is a lot of unemployment and our people are generally getting restive nationally.

I pray that God will help us and this nation to rediscover ourselves and to commit every work of our people and our state and nation for the common good of all our citizens.

The budget is termed budget of economic recovery because we are very much aware of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on both our health systems and the economy of the country.

The pandemic obviously impacted negatively on our budget in 2020 that we had to reduce it twice in the year.

I want to appreciate our contractors who have continued to stay in their various sites to work even when it is becoming increasingly difficult to make payments on contractual agreements already made.

We will continue to be very responsible as a state and we will continue to work with them to deliver on our projects, he said.

The governor expressed delight that some of the key projects in the state, including the new state secretariat building and the Ughelli-Asaba dual carriageway were still on course.

I want to reassure you, Mr Speaker and Delta people that the executive will keep focus on the development of projects that we are involved in, he added.

He disclosed that work had commenced at the Ogwashi-Uku Agro-Industrial Park, and reaffirmed that the state government was committed to delivering the project on time.

Okowa said that the state would continue to focus on entrepreneurship programmes, and take them to higher levels in the 2021 fiscal year by engaging more youths.

He said that the state government was also paying attention to the girl-child development and the empowerment of women.

Presenting the appropriation bill, the Speaker of the state assembly, Sherrif Oborevwori, said that the bill went through all legislative processes before being passed.

He said that the bill was presented to the house on Oct. 27 and was passed on Nov. 17, after it was considered sector by sector.

The quick passage of the bill was necessitated by Your Excellencys vision to bring the state out of the economic challenges posed by the pandemic, he said.

According to him, the increase in the budget size was to provide for some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that were not captured in the proposal. (NAN).

Source: NAN News

By Justina Auta

A six-member joint committee consisting of personnel from the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) has been inaugurated to create awareness on blood donation nationwide.

The National Coordinator, NBTS, Dr Omale Amedu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja that the joint committee was to complement its efforts in the provision of social services to Nigerians.

Amedu said the collaboration would ensure that the appropriate messages on blood donation got to people in rural areas faster.

He added that the joint committee is made up of six members from both agencies. One of our objectives is to design a framework of partnership between the NBTS and NOA to disseminate messages on blood safety and voluntary non-remunerated blood donation to the Nigerian public.

This framework is to inform, educate and counsel Nigerians on the need for safe blood donation to save lives, reduce death rates, and increase life expectancy and other human development indices.

The framework is designed toward the realisation of the next level agenda regarding health in line with Universal Health Coverage and Sustainable Development Goals, the NBTS boss said.

He disclosed that the Director, Human Resource Management of NOA, Mr Kehinde Ogunkuade, would chair the newly inaugurated joint committee.

Amedu further said that the committee was expected to develop a tool for grassroots advocacy and community engagement for blood safety across Nigeria.

Members of the committee are expected to forge a strong collaboration between NOA and NBTS toward achieving the mandate to ensure national availability and accessibility of safe, quality blood and blood products to all who may need it in the country, he said.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, had said on the occasion of theWorld Blood Donor Day in June that about 24,483 units of blood were collected and screened from volunteer blood donors through the 17 centres of the NBTS network in 2019.

Ehanire also said that the countrys estimated blood need based on its population was about two million units per year. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Members of executive of the Anambra FA, during its General Assembly

By Chimezie Anaso

The Anambra State Football Association (AnSFA) has dismissed an appeal by Chikelue Iloenyosi, a Chairmanship Candidate in the Oct. 30 board election, on the ground that it was not validly filed.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recallsthat Iloenyosi, who ran as a sole candidate, was not returned as winner.

He was adjudged not to have polled the simple majority of votes cast at the election as stipulated in the electoral guideline.

Dissatisfied with the development, Iloenyosi petitioned AnSFA, arguing that as a sole candidate in the election, he should be declared winner.

He also claimed to have scored the only valid votes cast in the election.

But rising from its 2020 Extra Ordinary General Assembly in Awka on Monday, AnSFA threw out the petition, saying that Iloenyosi did not pay money either in cash or electronically to the FA.

The assembly held that the lapse contravened Article 244 of the AnSFA statute 2015.

It further resolved that a by-election be conducted to fill the five vacant positions of the nine-member electoral board and three Local Government Football Councils by February 2021.

Meanwhile, the Election Appeal Committee had earlier declared the election valid but ruled that Iloenyosi did not win.

It rather called for a runoff to be conducted within 14 days, with effect from Nov. 16.

The committee further resolved that only candidates, who were cleared for the election, should stand for the second ballot.

Earlier, the Vice Chairman of AnSFA, Victor Aniekwena, assured Anambra football community of a busy and competitive football in 2021.

He said the state Football League, with the theme: My Anambra football Super 8 Tournament, would be executed to develop grassroots football.

According to him, from the first quarter of 2021, we will set the ball rolling, engage our elite clubs and get them adequately prepared from the beginning of each season.

The Anambra State Gold Cup will commence from next pre-season. We have plans also to train referees and coaches in the state.

There are plans for youth tournaments as well as schools tournaments for boys and girls.

We are promising that there will be no dull moment for the game in Anambra, Aniekwena said.

It is important for this congress to embrace the new dispensation because it will help focus our energies more on football development and less on discussing football politics and issues of bad governance, he said.

NAN reports that the AnSFA general assembly was attended by Aniekwena, three other board members and 20 of the 23 congresss members. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

NSE

By Itohan Abara-Laserian

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday announced the migration of four companies from the Alternative Securities Market (ASeM) to the Growth Board.

The companies are Chellarams Plc, Living Trust Mortgage Plc, McNichols Plc and The Initiates Plc.

The NSE also launched the associated Growth Board Index on Monday.

The migration of the companies followed receipt of their applications to be migrated from ASeM.

This led to the screening and approval by the National Council of The Exchange.

Mr Oscar Onyema, Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, said the migration affirms the notable efforts of the four companies to meeting corporate governance standards and underpins the robustness of our market.

Congratulating the companies, he said they would have access to a suite of value added services at the board, that would give them a competitive edge beyond access to capital.

We believe that the inclusion of these companies on the All Share Index and the Growth Board Index of the NSE will provide increased visibility that will attract global investors.

The migration of the four qualified companies was commemorated with a virtual Closing Gong ceremony where top officials of the firms were given the honour to close the market.

The NSE Growth Board was launched to assist Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) and growth-oriented companies looking to raise capital and promote liquidity in the trading of their shares.

It offers relaxed entry criteria with less stringent listing requirements, making it easier to attract capital flows along with reduced pre and post listing obligations.

The NSE Growth Board was launched on Jan. 29, 2020. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Aisha Gambo

National Orientation Agency (NOA), in collaboration with the National Population Commission (NPC), on Monday, started community dialogue in Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State on the importance of birth registration.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the dialogue is supported by the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and the Kaduna State Government.

Yusuf Muhammed-Balarabe, UNICEF Focal Person, NOA in Kaduna, said that the dialogue was aimed at reorienting communities on birth registration and urged the people to register children aged zero to five years.

He said that NOA would support NPA in ensuring that 18,000 children were registered in 30 local communities of Jemaa, Kaduna South and Zaria.

He urged participants to bring their children for registration and pass the information to their families and friends who were not able to make it for the community dialogue.

Nasir Muhammad-Shafii of the NPC in Zaria, said we are here to sensitise people to register their children aged zero to five years and get birth certificate.

According to him, the birth certificate issued by NPC is the only constitutionally recognised document that will help government to get accurate data on the number of births in the country.

He added that Zaria has 10 wards where parents are being sensitised on the importance of acquiring a birth certificate from the NPC.

Aminu Alhassan, the NOA Community Mobilisation Officer in Zaria, said that 10 communities would be reached in the local government and children who were not registered due to the COVID-19 lockdown would be registered.

He mentioned the communities as Kwarbai, Gyallesu, Dakace, Bizara Tudun wada, Unguwar Alkali, Kaura,Unguwan Juma, Tukur-Tukur A and Tukur- Tukur B, with 11 registration centres.

Umar Lawal, a community member, said many people were not aware of the birth registration done by NPC but with the coming of NOA, people are now aware and will register their children.

Another community member, Aisha Shitu, said she assumed that the birth certificate issued by hospitals after birth was sufficient, adding that she now realised the need to register her children with the NPC.

By the grace of God, I will take my two children to the NPC office and get them registered, she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the exercise will last for 10 days. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Emmanuella Anokam

The Federal Government has inaugurated the Commodity and Export Department Young Professionals Programme (CED-YP) to spur competency and expertise in public administration.

Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, inaugurated the programme organised by the ministrys Commodity and Export Department.

He said it would serve as a continuous career development strategy to trigger speedy economic growth.

Adebayo explained that the programme would broaden the perspective of the young professionals and add to their skills and knowledge base, to keep pace with dynamism of public administration.

The initiative will also provide an avenue to link up with other international sponsored professional development programmes such as World Trade Organisation (WTO), UNICEF, New and Emerging Talent Initiative (NETI) and World Bank young professionals programmes, he said.

He underscored the importance of well trained and mentored youths in economic growth and development globally.

According to the minister, Nigeria and other African countries are facing some challenges in their efforts to achieve sustainable economic growth.

He said in spite of being resource rich countries, major macro-economic variables such as unemployment, balance of payment, exchange rate, balance of trade, GDP/debt ratio and inflation had not been favourable as expected.

Adebayo expressed confidence that the knowledge to be gained from the programme would assist in improvement of decision making and policy implementation, especially in this dynamic era of globalisation.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Sanni Gwarzo, said the programme had been identified as a veritable platform to provide skills development, coaching and mentoring.

He said it would also provide networking opportunities to emerging leaders.

Globally, young professional programmes are used for human capital development, which is an essential component in nation building.

Skilled human capital has been pivotal and considered to be one of the fundamental solutions to challenges of economic growth and development, Gwarzo said.

According to him, it is the right platform of molding emerging professionals.

*We are looking forward to seeing the work plan going forward, as well as witnessing the exploits of this great plan, he said.

Gwarzo called on the young professionals to be committed, dedicated and to imbibe valuable partnership skills. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

COVID-19 Vaccine Research

announcements of discovery of vaccines to tackle novel coronavirus pandemic, mass production of the vaccines is still far.

The centre said that for the reason, Nigerians must continue to observe non-pharmaceutical measures against COVID-19.

We must take this into consideration as we make our choices.

We are even very far from having one with a licence; so, we have to tighten our belts and get through this month of December.

he said.

Ihekweazu said that Nigerians mustof COVID-19.

all non-essential domestic and international travel. This is especially important for intending travellers from countries recording a high number of COVID-19 cases.

According to him, NCDC advisory can be seen on https://covid19.ncdc.gov.ng/media/files/AdvisoryforVulnerableGroupsV2June2020. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Survival Fund: FG releases registration schedule as portal opens Monday

By Chijioke Okoronkwo

The Presidency says that small business operators are not required to undergo any form of training before accessing the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Survival Fund.

Mr Tola Johnson, Special Assistant to the President on Micro Small and Medium and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Office of the Vice President, made the clarification at the inauguration of the Transport Track of the fund on Monday in Abuja.

The Survival Fund Scheme for MSMEs is captured under the National Economic Sustainability Plan drafted by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo-led Economic Sustainability Committee and approved by President Muhammadu Buhari on July 1.

He said the programme was being run in a direct and transparent manner, adding that the beneficiaries could be reached for confirmation

To state very clearly, for the MSMEs Survival Fund, we are not training anybody; we believe you are the owners of your businesses; you have been running them for years.

What we are doing is just to support you; you are not required to do any training to qualify; what you need to do is to apply; it is on first come, first serve.

There is no element of audio money in the scheme; the contacts of the beneficiaries are available to be contacted for confirmation.

The Federal Government has started getting it right with schemes like this; what we need is more schemes that are traightforward. People are calling that this be replicated in every other government programmes; let the money go straight to the users, he said.

Johnson said that the Transport Track would give a one-off N30,000 grant to self-employed transport workers.

According to him, the track targets self-employed individuals in the transport sector who include, but not limited to, Uber, Bolt, Taxi drivers, Keke Napep, Okada riders and cart-pushers.

Earlier, while performing the inauguration, Mariam Katagum, Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, said that the Transport Track was part of the Artisans and Transport Scheme.

Katagum, who is also the Chairperson, Programme Steering Committee, said the MSMEs Survival Fund and Guaranteed Off-take Schemes had five different tracks approved under ESP.

The minister, represented by Mr Adewale Bakare, Director, Industrial Development Department in the ministry, said the Transport Track targeted 4,505 beneficiaries in each state of the federation. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Asanda Biyana, Realness Partner and Project Manager of the Episodic Lab

By Babajide Awoyinfa

South Africa-based Realness Institute has called for submissions for its latest offering, Episodic Lab, a series development lab presented in partnership with Netflix.

The institute said in a statement on Monday in Lagos that the Lab would take place remotely from June 1 to Aug. 31, 2021, and is targeted at writers from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa with authentic and original stories of all genres.

The initiative, the statement said, was only open to writers from the three countries where Netflix is currently focusing its African Originals strategy, adding that selected writers would work on developing pitch documents for their story concepts.

It explained that six writers would be selected to spend three months in a Writers Room format.

These participants will work with a script consultant and a creative producer to fully develop their story concepts into an episodic pitch. Along with creative training, the writers will receive feedback from the Netflix Originals development team.

A stipend of 2,000 dollars per month will be paid to the participants to cover living expenses during the training.

Each writer will have an opportunity to pitch their finished product to Netflix and have their series developed for production, it said.

It noted that if Netflix does not commission further development and/or production, the rights to the developed material default to the authors. Creators should not be committed to a producer or director to participate in the Lab.

Potential applicants can be a writer/writing team with either film or television experience, but one writer only will be able to participate if selected.

Entries can be in any genre of fiction, in English and/or local language and concept must be set in South Africa, Kenya or Nigeria. No producers or directors should be attached.

Speaking from Cape Town South Africa, Asanda Biyana, Realness Partner and Project Manager of the Episodic Lab says, Series give writers the space to make bigger worlds and more layered stories.

There is no limit for what can be submitted, and we believe that with the pool of talent on our continent, and our incredible ability to tell stories, that we will see some extraordinary talent emerging from this process.

We are excited and are preparing to work really hard to select the first cohort for the Lab.

The statement said applicants must fill out the online application on the Realness Institute website at, and were advised to read through the form before submitting.

Interested participants are required to pay a submission fee of 30 Euros via Paypal or 55 Euros via international wire transfer to cover the banking charges. The deadline for submissions is Jan. 31, 2021.

It that for questions about the programme or application, the concerned person should emailor contactCommunications onand Asanda Biyana, Realness Institute

The New Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the institute is inspiring a new wave of African Cinema with the mission to unearth the wealth of African stories stories from the continent, told with an honest and unapologetic point of view by African filmmakers.

It first programme, the Realness Residency, which started in 2016, has gone on to launch 30 film projects across 16 African countries in only five years.

The critical success of brave films such as The Wound, Rafiki, Akasha, I Am Not A Witch and Flatland is testament to the artistic and creative contribution that African filmmakers can make to the industry.

In 2019, it launched its second programme, the Creative Producer Indaba. This ambitious programme has been designed, in collaboration with international partners, to catalyse producers across the continent, and in doing so help transform the landscape of African and international independent cinema. (NAN)

Source: NAN News