Month: July 2023

The Northern Regional Electricity Distributor (NORED) has renewed its strategic partnership, in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding, with the Rundu Vocational Training Centre (RVTC) on Friday.

The five-year agreement is aimed at enhancing bilateral collaboration and cooperation in the field of technical and vocational education and training.

NORED and RVTC officially inked this MoU in July 2015, and to date, over 100 electrical trainees have received internships at NORED through this agreement.

NORED Chief Executive Officer Fillemon Nakashole said technical and vocational education and training are crucial for sustainability and socio-economic development.

“Therefore, the signing of another MoU today between the two institutions affirms our clear joint commitment and ambitions on skill development and capacity building to ensure that we produce superior human resources who are competitive and ready to enter the global workforce,” he said.

Additionally, the signing of the MoU is a huge incentive to both NORED and RVTC, as it will strengthen the collaboration mainly in the areas of education, research and development, and practice, he added.

The MoU includes amongst others, assisting RVTC in equipping their training workshops through sponsorships, and provide guest lectures to RVTC in order to inspire and motivate general electrical trainees or any other trades where it may be required.

NORED staff will also attend short courses for capacity building and basic skills upgrading purposes at a favourable (agreed) rate on the course fee.

Currently NORED employs four electricians from RVTC.

On his part, RVTC Manager Kornelius Lukas expressed appreciation for NORED’s contribution to the institution and for having extended the term of industrial attachments from six to 12 months.

“Today marks a new chapter in this partnership journey. RVTC commits to assisting NORED staff members without qualifications through recognition of prior learning. In addition, we have designed new short courses that will assist those who would like to acquire skills and knowledge in a particular field, which will be open to NORED staff at a reasonable fee,” he noted.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Youth Activist, Queen Pieter has discouraged learners from bullying one another, citing bullying robs the community of many pupils that ought to be productive but are lost to suicide and not having the self-esteem to achieve their dreams.

Speaking here on Friday during a bullying awareness talk at PK de Villiers Secondary School, Pieter said that learners should create safe places for others at schools because some learners come from homes where domestic violence prevails and schools are supposed to be places to feel safe at and not to be bullied.

“These learners have so much already happening in their lives and now you as a bully you are picking on them, so that builds a lot of emotions in them. It starts with you deciding that you are not to pick on someone that is not your size, let us choose kindness, let us choose to save a life, you do not want to be responsible for someone giving up on life. We should also stop bullying our teachers, we all have roles to play to stop bullying and we have the responsibility too to stop it,” she said.

Also speaking at the event, Pastor Zezito Epifanio from a local church while urging learners and teachers to stop any form of bullying at school and beyond, said the damage done to those bullied does not end at school but in most cases continue into one’s adulthood.

“Bullying does not happen between learners only but teachers also bully learners, and this affects our children badly, someone that was supposed to be a president, a doctor or a productive citizen – if bullied that person can turn into an unproductive citizen because they feel they are worthless. All forms of abuse follows a pattern that if unchecked will only increase over time, break the cycle of bullying today, it starts with you,” he stressed.

Speaking to this news agency Lapakasheya Shapaka an AS level learner who experienced bullying herself implored victims of bullying to stand strong, pray about it and speak up citing that it is important to communicate.

“From my own experience of bullying I was not aware that I was being bullied until I had a sit down with my life skills teacher after attempting to take my own life, it was only then that I realised that it was bullying that led to the build-up of the negative emotions that made me want to take my own life,” she said.

“I myself I was a bully, at first, I didn’t know that I was bullying my friends and all that, we really need to be aware of how bullying occurs for us to recognise because if we do not it will be too late when someone else takes their own life because of what you have said or done,” said Rauha Shikwaya, the deputy head girl at the school.

Similar talks are expected to take place at other schools.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Civil society organisation, Patriotism Awareness Forum (PAF), has commended Nigerians for their understanding, resilience and patience on the aftermath of the fuel subsidy removal.

The Convener, PAF, Mr Nelson Ekujumi, said this in a statement on Saturday in Lagos.

Ekujumi commended Nigerians for their understanding on the foreign exchange unification policy, amidst falsehood and misinformation by anti-democratic elements to mislead, confuse and incite Nigerians for political capital.

He said some persons were trying to destabilise the country by peddling fake news and misinformation, over the recent rise in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit due to market forces.

According to him, they are trying to incite and cause bad blood between the people and the government over the biting economic conditions.

“It is an indisputable fact that Nigerians across all divide have spoken in unison with one voice to commend and congratulate President Bola Tinubu for the courageous economic decision of fuel subsidy removal.

“Nigerians have also spoken in unison on the introduction of a single foreign exchange system to stop the hemorrhaging of our commonwealth and free resources for the three tiers of government to be able to deliver the dividend of democracy to our teeming masses.

“This bold economic policy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has earned it commendations not only from financial experts and bodies at home, but also from international financial experts and institutions.

“This has increased the potentials of Nigeria as investor’s haven to be sought after in the global business environment, with the attendant creation of wealth and mass employment,” he said.

Ekujumi said that the outcome of the economic policy of fuel subsidy removal though painful and inevitable to come with economic pains and hardship for all irrespective of social status, has also brought in significant gains.

He said that the fuel subsidy removal had brought in savings of over N400 billion in June alone, with the World Bank projecting fuel subsidy savings of N3.9 trillion by December 2023.

According to him, it has resulted in an increased FAAC allocation of N1.959 trillion, to the three tiers of government in the month of June, which is unprecedented in Nigeria’s political and economic history.

“As a result of the fuel subsidy removal and forex reforms, investors in the stock market raked in N5.3 trillion in the first quarter of 2023, which represented a gain of 18.9 per cent, which is the highest in 15 years.

“We are also aware that as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy, daily fuel consumption in the country has dropped drastically from 66 million litres to 40 million litres and has in a way curbed the menace of smuggling of the product, which remained intractable till now,” he said.

Ekujumi, however, called on the organised labour to drop its confrontational approach against the policy of the Bola Tinubu administration.

He urged the organised labour to apply rationality and embrace dialogue, putting national interest above any other interest.

Ekujumi commended the National Economic Council for coming up with far reaching decisions to cushion the effect of the pains of the policies on ordinary Nigerians.

He also urged the citizens to remain resolute and unwavering to holding the three tiers of government accountable on the palliatives and other measures.

Ekujumi also urged the three tiers of government to activate their information machinery for aggressive education and sensitisation of the citizenry on the fuel subsidy removal policy.

Ekujumi urged the governments to educate the citizens on their policies and programmes in order to deepen and sustain democracy in the country.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Gazprom, Russia’s energy company, on Friday said its 1.5 million tons capacity Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) complex in Portovaya, St. Petersburg, Russia, was aimed at redefining the country’s energy security and safety.

The Chief Executive Officer of Gazprom LNG, Mr Stukov Anton, said this while receiving African journalists and energy experts on a tour of its facilities.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the team was conducted round the LNG production, storage and shipment complex in Portovaya in the Vyborgsky District of the Leningrad Region, on the northeastern coast of the Gulf of Finland.

It is operated by Gazprom LNG Portovaya LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom.

Mr Rustam Shafier, Process Engineer, Gazprom NLG, said the complex had a design capacity of 1.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas per annum, and that the plant, which was inaugurated in September 2022 marked its first one million tons of LNG production in May 2023.

“The complex includes core and auxiliary process equipment intended to receive, treat and liquefy feedstock gas, as well as store it in liquefied form for subsequent shipment to consumers.

“Russia’s Unified Gas Supply System delivers gas to the complex while it receives the required treatment in the plant’s units and is then sent for liquefaction.

“The produced LNG goes into a storage tank from where it is shipped to consumers by sea or by land.

“For offshore shipment, LNG is pumped from the onshore storage tank into the Portovy tank vessel via a cryogenic pipeline,” he said.

He added that the company’s ground storage facility had a capacity of 42,000 cubic metres, while 138,000 cubic metres could be stored in the its ship, and the entire production volume adequately catered for the country’s energy need and the needs of its clients.

According to him, the company’s LNG services the network of gas filling stations along the federal highways between Moscow and St. Petersburg: ?-10 Russia and ?-11 Neva.

He said one of the key equipment at the LNG plant was the Ladoga Gas Compressor Units (GCUs) produced at Nevsky Zavod in St. Petersburg.

“The Ladoga GCUs are designed to compress the multi-component cooling agent used in the natural gas liquefaction process,” he explained.

The team also visited the plant’s central control room powered with softwares made in Russia and a floating cryogenic storage pipeline of almost four kilometres, said to be one of the longest in the world.

The team had earlier visited the Bovanenkovskoye oil, gas and condensate facilities, comprising 18 fields, 770 Wells (700 in operation) with 57 clusters accounting for 20.4 trillion cubic metres of gas and one billion tons of gas condensate and oil per annum.

The Gazprom Bovanenkovskoye field is located in the Northwestern part of Yamal Peninsula, beyond the Arctic circle, spanning 1,780 square kilometres.

Gas production from the field is performed by three gas production facilities.

In Dec. 2021, for the first time since the inception of development operations, the annual gas production rate exceeded 100 billion cubic metres of gas.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The National Agricultural Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) has advised farmers to cultivate Genetically Modified (GM) crops to reduce the use of pesticides and save production cost.

Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, NABDA Director-General, disclosed this at a biotechnology and biosafety sensitization workshop for senior editors of national media outlets in Abuja on Friday.

He said many farmers who planted GM beans seed on their farms had recorded significant drop in the number of times they sprayed chemicals to control pests.

“Already, we have testimonies from farmers across the country who are benefiting from products of modern biotechnology in the country.

“This includes the Pod Borer Resistant (PBR) cowpea, which is helping farmers overcome the devastating impacts of marcuca vitrata that causes 80 per cent destruction on the farmers’ field.

“Today, our farmers are applying only 2 insecticide sprays as against between 8 and 10 sprays previously as a result of planting the PBR Cowpea.

“Our farmers are also planting Bt. Cotton, another innovative product from modern biotechnology, that is changing the game in cotton farming, and the hope of the textile industry revival is on course,” Mustapha said.

The director-general said the workshop was aimed at enlightening the editors on new trends in biotechnology, in line with the Federal Government’s determination to improve the agricultural sector of the economy.

“Biotechnology is a transformative force that holds immense potential to address some of the most pressing challenges facing Nigeria and the world at large.

“From healthcare to agriculture, energy to environment, biotechnology offers solutions that can significantly impact on the well-being of our citizens and the sustainability of our resources.

“As editors, you play a pivotal role in shaping public opinion and disseminating information. The power of media in shaping narratives and public perception cannot be overstated.

“Hence, your role in communicating agricultural biotechnology to the masses is crucial for fostering understanding, dialogue, and informed decision-making”, he said.

Dr Rose Gidado, the agency’s Director, Agricultural Biotechnology, said editors were selected to add value to general reportage on biotechnology and biosafety.

“We have to bring in the editors to educate them because most times we deal with reporters and sometimes the reporters may not get what they want after their stories have been edited by the editors. So the editors too need to understand this technology,” she said.

Mr Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation, the Nation Newspaper, said his perception about biotechnology crops changed after attending the workshop.

“I came here with bias; I have never been a believer in biotechnology products. I used to see biotech experts as tempting God, but I have a different perception now.

“If we want to increase our yield, then we should look the biotechnology direction,”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the aim of the sensitization workshop was to provide accurate and up to date information about advances in the agricultural biotechnology sector since its adoption in Nigeria.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has placed its emergency response team on high alert over an anticipated heavy to moderate rainfall on Sunday.

The Director-General of the Agency, Dr Abbas Idriss, stated this in a statement signed by the agency’s Head of Public Affairs, Ms Nkechi Isa, in Abuja on Friday.

Idriss said that a weather forecast by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMET), had indicated that FCT and its neighbouring states would experience heavy to moderate rainfall on Sunday.

He added that the forecast also predicted moderate to heavy rains in parts of Katsina, Kano, Bauchi, Plateau and Taraba states.

He said that NiMET also warned of possible flash floods, riverine flooding, strong winds, and soil erosion as well as thunder and lightning due to the anticipated heavy downpour.

“The forecast also anticipates displacement of people due to floods, outbreak of water borne diseases and damages to infrastructure,” he said.

To ensure a quick and effective emergency response, Idriss said that the agency had placed its search and rescue team on high alert.

The D-G said that he had equally directed an update of the agency’s flood contingency plans to ensure maximum results.

He appealed to residents to heed to the early warning and avoid driving or wading into a pool of water during the rains.

He also said that all blocked drains should be cleared, and advised people who reside on water channels to relocate.

“I advise residents to always dial the 112 emergency toll-free number in the event of an emergency, to enable us to respond on time,” he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria