Day: May 24, 2024

Deputy Minister in The Presidency Kenny Morolong will launch the Loeriesfontein Thusong Service Centre in the Hantam Local Municipality in the Northern Cape on Friday.

The launch of this Thusong Centre will bring government services and information closer to the people of Loeriesfontein.

The establishment of Loeriesfontein Thusong Service Centre is one of the initiatives made possible through the private partnerships established between the Northern Cape Office of the Premier, Loeriesfontein 2 and Khobab Wind Farm and the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS).

To date, there are 197 Thusong Service Centres countywide and 121 of those are fully operational and have thus far reached approximately five million beneficiaries every year.

The launch of the Thusong Centre takes place against the backdrop of the country’s commemoration of 30 years of freedom under the theme: ’30 Years of Democracy, Partnership and Growth’.

The Deputy Minister will be accompanied by the Mayor of Namakwa District
Municipality, Mervyn Cloete and the Mayor of Hantam Local Municipality, Koos Alexander.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Mr Olugbile Holloway, Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), said efforts were underway to digitise the nation’s museums, monuments and heritage to boost tourism.

He stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sideline of an event to celebrate the 2024 International Museum Day (IMD) on Thursday in Abuja.

According to him, the nation has rich cultural and historic heritages, as well as artifacts which need to be showcased to the world to make Nigeria a choice tourists destination.

He said that Nigeria needs to take advantage of digital platforms to showcase its rich history, and that was what NCMM seeks to achieve.

‘It is time for us to start to celebrate our culture, celebrate our heritage, control our own narrative and tell our own stories so that subsequent generations can take pride in being Nigerians.

‘The museum space is a very good opportunity to boost tourism, by showcasing our heritage because people are very interested in Niger
ian culture.

‘If we can get our museum to the standard where people can fly in from other parts of the world, definitely that will boost our economy,

‘These tourists are coming to spend money as they stay in hotels, they are going to restaurants and they will even experience other things besides the museum.

‘That is why we need to digitise to showcase that our culture is as good as any other culture in the world, and that we do not always have to look outside to find inspiration.

‘So with digitisation, we have started 3D scanning of a lot of our artifacts, and what that does is it to allow you experience an object anywhere in the world online.

‘We are also revamping our website to become more user friendly and creating virtual tours, so that on your phone you can walk around museums and have experience as if you were there in real life,’ he said.

Holloway added that the commission was presently working towards revamping museums across the country in line with the ‘renewed hope’ mantra of President Bola
Tinubu’s administration.

He, however added that because of the huge funding required for the projects, the commission was seeking public-private partnerships for the projects.

‘There is the infrastructure upgrade and is the hardware, so for us we can achieve this only through partnerships with the private sector because funding is also a big part of any dream you have.

‘We are currently building a world class storage facility in Benin, and these are just some of the things that we are doing to reposition our museums,’ he said.

NAN reports that International Museum Day (IMD), coordinated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM).), is held annually on May 18.

IMD provides the opportunity for museum professionals to meet the public and alert them as to the challenges that museums face, and raise public awareness on the role museums play in the development of society.

It also promotes dialogue between museum professionals and highlights a specific theme which changes every year reflecting a relevant t
heme or issue facing museums internationally.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

By Chukwuemeka Opara

Gov. Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi has said that his administration will conclude the Chuba Okadigbo Airport at Onueke despite harsh economic climate in the country.

Nwifuru made the declaration on Friday while inspecting renovation works on the airport’s runway as part of activities to mark his one year anniversary in office.

The governor said the airport was a monumental project captured in the people’s charter of needs mantra of his administration and would benefit the people.

‘The people take the centre stage in our administration and we must do all possible to give the state the facelift it deserved.

‘We are happy with the quantity and quality of asphalt being applied on the runway by the contractor as it is above what we agreed inside the contract.

‘Officials of the Federal Ministry of Aviation have inspected the work and declared that it is one of the best in the country,’ he said.

He noted that when the previous administration in the state commenced the airport project, its in
tention was to give Ebonyi, a state of the art facility which includes the runway.

‘It was still the same divine mandate platform which we are still operating on and we didn’t know that concrete-pavement was not good for runways.

‘When we took over, we awarded the contract for the renovation to the Infrastructure Development Company (IDC) because it had its asphalt plant in the state.

‘The project has over 220, 000 square metre, 82,000 tonnes with a total coverage area of 3.1 kilometre by 75metres,’ he said.

Nwifuru noted that the state government had paid N9.6 billion out of the N13.5billion for the runway by the time the contractor sought a review of the project.

‘We negotiated with the contractor which wanted a review but we rejected such because it had already generated a certificate for the project.

‘We insisted that the review will be based on the balance of N4.7 billion and after the negotiations, we agreed at N17.8 billion.

‘We have paid over N15 billion out of the sum and has an agreement with
the contractor to pay the balance at the end of the project,’ he said.

He noted that the government had paid an additional N1.4billion for the completion of the airport’s control tower and also undertaking the airport’s security lights project.

‘We agreed that the project will be concluded by the end of May but surprised that the contractor is asking for an additional 10 days,’ he said.

The Site Manager of the project, Mr Youseef Zhaib said the project will be completed within a fortnight and commended the governor for making funds available for the projects.

‘We have nearly finished the binder cause which remains about half a line and have entered the wearing cast that is the last layer.

‘We are praying that rain does not disrupt the work as the raining season is a serious issue,’ he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Transition Committee of the Labour Party, on Thursday, promised to reposition it toward becoming a force to reckon with in Nigeria’s political space.

The Committee Chairman, Mr Abdulwaheed Umar, said this at the official inauguration of the committee put together by the Political Commission of NLC and other stakeholders in Abuja.

Umar, also a former President of Nigerian Labour Congress(NLC), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on the sideline of the inauguration that the inauguration of the committee marked an end to all LP’s crisis .

‘We are going to lay down a very solid foundation so that we can conduct our elections right from the ward to local governments, to states and then the national convention levels.

‘We are doing this in preparation for the off-circle elections as well as the 2027 General elections.

‘This is because unless you have a party with solid leadership and valid leadership that is transparent you cannot prepare for any election.

‘This will prepare us to face the 2027 electi
on especially with a sitting government, it is not is not a tea party,’ he said.

Umar added: ‘It is the hope of the committee that when Nigerians see that the Labour Party is on the right path, they will rally around it,’ he said.

He added that the party was hopeful of clinching the whole electoral positions in Nigeria, in the absence of which it would emerge as the major opposition party in Nigeria.

He said that to achieve this, the committee would organise congresses from the ward, local government and state levels which would culminate into a national convention.

‘The national convention will elect national leaders and we will hand them over to them.

‘As far as we are concerned, the crisis in the Labour Party has ended because Julius Abure is no longer the chairman of the party based on so many things.

‘In fact, he has not followed any legal procedure to warrant him to be in the office.

‘Therefore we are following this very carefully so that we will take over as much as possible and as peacefully as
possible, ‘ he said.

Umar called on LP members to exercise patience because whatever was happening was temporary as it would end very soon by the grace of God.

NAN reports that in March, Julius Abure was elected as the National Chairman of LP during the party’s national convention held in Nnewi Anambra, however, the NLC rejected the convention’s outcome

The transition committee headed by Umar had the task of revitalising the party toward a national convention within 90 days .

Other committee members included Sam Amadi and Abiodun Olamosu appointed as Co-chairmen to work with Omar while Nnawuihe Nwauwa is expected to serve as the secretary.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

By Oluwatope Lawanson

Dr Stephen Akintayo, a Real Estate Expert and Chairman of Gtext Holdings, says there is need for President Bola Tinubu to quickly rejig his cabinet to actualise his ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’.

Akintayo made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday while reacting to Tinubu’s first year in office as Nigeria’s 16th President.

‘There’s a need to rejig the system.

‘We have seen some few agencies of government under the new administration doing exceptionally well, while others have gone to sleep.

‘The President definitely needs to sanction some that are below expectations so that they sit up,” Akintayo said.

Urging Nigerians to be patient, Akintayo said he believed the President would reposition the country for the better.

He added: ‘The president has implemented significant reforms to stabilise the economy, reduce inflation, and attract foreign investments among others.

‘Overall, the president has shown some desire to get things moving forward.

‘
We have seen certain decisions that show that he is sincere and really wants to change this nation.

‘We need to be patient with our President. We don’t even have a choice till another three years before the next election,’ he said.

NAN reports that Tinubu was sworn-in on May 29, 2023, as the 16th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Senior Staff Union in Colleges of Education (SSUCOEN) has appealed to the Federal Government to stop incessant conversion of the Colleges of Education to universities.

Mr Danladi Msheliza, President of SSUCOEN said this in a communique jointly signed by Nwenyi Isioma, National Secretary of the union on Thursday in Abuja.

The communique was issued at the 38th National Delegates Conference of the union held at Federal College of Education (Technical) Bichi, Kano State.

Msheliza said that the Conference viewed recent decision to convert some Colleges of Education (COEs) to universities as a misguided and short-sighted move.

According to him, this will have far-reaching devastating consequences for the education sector.

‘This conversion will not only lead to the erosion of the unique identity and purpose of COEs, which have historically provided high-quality teacher training but also threaten the very existence of these institutions.

‘Moreover, it ignores the critical need for specialised teacher train
ing and development, and will likely result in a watered-down, generalised education that fails to meet the specific needs of our students and educators.

‘We urge the Federal Government to recognise this ill-conceived decision and prioritise preserving and strengthening our COEs, rather than dismantling them under the guise of a so-called upgrade,’he said.

He also noted that the conference expressed concern on the removal of subsidy on fuel and electricity tariff.

He noted that this had caused untold hardship for Nigerians and therefore called for immediate reversal of the anti-masses policies.

Msheliza also noted that conference strongly condemned the government’s proposal to impose a cybersecurity levy on the already overburdened citizens and businesses.

‘This move is nothing short of a draconian measure that will only serve to further suffocate the struggling masses and stifle innovation and growth in the digital economy.

‘The government should focus on investing in robust cybersecurity measures, pro
moting digital literacy, and supporting the development of a vibrant and inclusive digital ecosystem that benefits all Nigerians,’he said.

He said the conference however called for the re-enactment of the Act establishing Federal Colleges of Education.

On minimum wage, he said the conference called for approval and support on what organised labour was pushing forward as the new minimum wage.

He also said other demands of the conference include the payment of revitalisation fund, mainstreaming of staff of Demonstration Schools, among others.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria