The Presidential Amnesty Office said on Sunday that it planned to train about 200 pilots under its youth empowerment programme.

The Presidential Adviser on the programme, Kingsley Kuku, made the disclosure at a pre-departure ceremony in Lagos for the first batch of 21 pilots to be trained in the programme.

Mr. Kuku said that the training was part of efforts to address the gap in manpower development in the aviation sector.

According to him, the pilots are to be trained for 15 months at the JetStream Aviation Academy in Athens, Greece.

“This will bring to 215 those that have been trained in aviation-related fields by the Amnesty Office since its inception,” he said.

Mr. Kuku added that the Amnesty Office had also noticed a gap in ground staff and aircraft maintenance engineers.

He noted that some of the people undergoing training under the amnesty programme for ex-militants have had to switch over to areas of manpower needs.

“Thus, they have diverted to courses like airport management and ground handling, where they will earn a degree in South Africa, Greece, Dubai and Jordan,” he said.

Mr. Kuku said the quest by some Nigerians to acquire private jets had brought to the fore the need to train more pilots and other aviation personnel to man the growing sector.

“If you go to the General Aviation Terminal wing of the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, you will see that there are more private jets than commercial jets so, there is a space to be filled,” he said.

He also said that there were plans by the Amnesty Office to collaborate with the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology at Zaria in Kaduna State.

“The college would be giving further training for delegates that had already qualified as pilots in South Africa for the processing of their pilot conversion and aircraft rating licence.

“The management of the aviation college has assured the Amnesty Office that it can bring some of its delegates to Zaria for all round training in aviation,” he said.

Mr. Kuku told the students to be good ambassadors of Nigeria during the training programmes.

“The Federal Government will no longer tolerate any act of indiscipline by the delegates. The new policy is that if any of you run foul of the laws of the countries where you are undergoing training, the laws of the affected countries will take its course,” he said.

Culled from Premium Times

Speaker, State of Osun House of Assembl Honourable Najeem Salaam, has urged the executive arm of government in the state to exploit the natural advantage of fertile land and invest more on agricultural development.
The speaker stated this during the public presentation of N183.1 billion budget by the state governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, at the hallowed chamber of the State House of Assembly.
Salaam added that various developmental projects of the state government require huge resources, which could be sourced through mass production of food in the state.

He then stressed the urgent need for the state to build a strong economic base to sustain the recent pace of infrastructural development and secure a better future for the incoming generation.

According to the Speaker, the 2012 budget implementation and overall performance has shown the quality leadership of the governor in providing “authentic quality of democracy dividends.

“I make bold to say that the people of the State of Osun are the target of all projects and employments springing up in all nooks and crannies of the state. And this is a statement of fact.

“Let it be known that Osun is our collective patrimony. So, I propose to you, Mr. Governor that winning the future for the majority of our people must be the next. Let’s step up our campaign on agriculture, let’s double up our effort on food production. Let the State of Osun encourage massive production of the cash crops peculiar to each town like the State of Georgia boasts of cotton wool in the United States.”
“Let our state encourage exploits of abundant tourism potentials like what obtains in the State of Florida, where Disney World is bringing close to eighty per cent of the government revenue to the table every year.
“Our state must be rich and self-sufficient. Our dependence on Abuja for survival must be reduced. Our forest must be secure from unscrupulous loggers and our march to prosperity must begin now. That is the next,” Salaam said.
He also commended the governor for changing the face of the parliament with the renovation of the chamber with modern canteen and e-library, saying the chamber has changed from analogue to a state-of-the-art, which could compete with any legislative chamber in the world.
Salaam also urged the members to expedite action on the 2013 appropriation bill, by scrutinizing the figures and facts, so that the ship of the state would not be grounded for lack of energy and resources.

story II
O’ School To Organise Training For Painters
The Osun School Infrastructure Developmen Committee is set to organise a capacity improvement training programme for artisans in the state from Monday, 4th to Saturday, 9th of February, 2013.
According to a statement made available to OSUN DEFENDER by the Secretary of the Committee, Prince Agunlejika Taiwo Adeniran, the programme was developed in accordance with the policy of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on the need to execute all the projects in such a way that it would be beneficial to the citizens and also to improve the human capacity of the citizens of the state.
“To this end, the committee has planned a series of capacity improvement training workshop for artisans starting with capacity improvement for painters”, the statement added.
He explained that the committee had met with several paint manufacturers who had indicated their interest to participate in the programme.
Agunlejika maintained that the training programme was for 300 painters that spread across the state.
The training programme would be divided into four batches.
In each batch, there would be a day of technical briefing, lecture and demonstration by the resource persons.
The second day, according to the statement, was for practical painting works by the participants.
At the end of the training, certificates of participation would be presented to the certified artisans at a finale at the Government Technical College, Iwo Road, Osogbo by the Governor at 11:00 a.m.

story III
Osun To Link GRA, Oke-Oniti, Others
The State Government of Osun has disclosed its decision to provide access road for communities around Oke-Oniti GRA extension in the state capital.
It also stressed the need to provide potable water and electricity for the people occupying government land around Lopin Plastic Industry along Ikirun road in Osogbo, comprising Irewole, Atiba, Salako and Koju Drive communities.
This was disclosed by the State Commissioner for Lands, Physical Planning and Urban Development, Architect Muyiwa Ige, during a meeting meant to engender peace and progress among residents of the areas held at the Local Government Service Commission Hall, Osogbo.
The commissioner, at the meeting, said 1000 square metres or at least two plots of land serve as the requirement for an individual to secure land at the GRA and urged the residents to quickly get approved plans for their lands.
He warned them to desist from attacking field officials of the ministry whenever they visit the area.
Speaking on behalf of the residents and other stakeholders, Elder Ajeigbe promised that the spirit of Omoluabi will be embraced by the residents.
He also lauded Ige and top officials of the ministry for their mutual understanding in the implementation of communal peace and progress as one of the six–point integral action plan of the current administration in the state.

It was gathered that at the end of the assessment, they would call on the Federal Government to compensate them because most of the sites damaged were carried out by terrorists.

The President, Association of Licensed Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo who spoke to reporters yesterday said it was too early to estimate the damage, since the damage was huge.

He said the attacks on the BTS was rather unfortunate and had caused serious damage and worsened the interconnect debt of N20 billion in the sector. The President emphasised that after damage assessment they would seek for FG’s support.

In his words, “At this stage, we are still evaluating the magnitude of the losses we have suffered. Do not forget that in some of the sites that were damaged in the northern part of the country, we have to carry out integrity test to ascertain the integrity of those sites. In some cases, we have to out rightly replace the entire site while in other cases, the foundation would have been seriously affected and may need to be decommissioned and reinstalled.

“At this stage, we are at the level of information gathering, once we have all the facts in, we will know what to do and how to approach the government. We are not ruling out the fact that we may need to go to the government for intervention on behalf of members of the association,” he said.

He said part of the problem was caused by the flood that seriously affected the country, “We are hoping that we can get some interventions from the Federal Government in certain ways because the problem that we face (was not our making). We have the issue of attack on BTS. Our losses were quite significant. We lost money because of the wilful attack on the infrastructure. We also had losses because of the flood that swept some of the BTS across the country”

“We are hoping that at some point, we can have some intervention from government to address this wilful and unwilful attack on these infrastructure because added to this is what you have seen about the state of the industry. Some of the players are actually struggling with the issue of the interconnect debt. So, it is not as rosy as some people feel it is with the industry,” the ALTON chief said.

Culled from Naij

General Carter Ham, head of US Africa Command, met President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, where Islamist extremist group Boko Haram has been carrying out a deadly insurgency in the country’s north and centre.

Ham recently spoke of concerns over indications of collaboration between Boko Haram and an Al-Qaeda affiliate in northern Africa, which he warned has found a safehaven in northern Mali, where Islamists have taken control.

A statement from Nigeria’s presidency said Jonathan discussed issues including Boko Haram and asked for US support in resolving such problems.

“President Jonathan also briefed General Ham on his visit to Mali and the efforts by ECOWAS to resolve the conflict in that country, adding that the situation could still be contained if the right steps are taken quickly,” it said.

Jonathan attended an October summit in Bamako to discuss winning back northern Mali from the Islamists.

ECOWAS, a 15-nation regional bloc, says it wants to deploy 3,300 troops to reclaim northern Mali and is waiting for approval from the UN.

Meanwhile, Malian Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra quit Tuesday under pressure from influential former putschists who are opposed to a military intervention.

Ham recently told an audience in Washington that he was concerned about indications of growing links between African extremist groups that could pose a threat across the continent as well as to Europe and the United States.

“We have seen clear indications of collaboration amongst the organisations,” he said.

“In one instance … we believe and have seen reports that Boko Haram is receiving financial support, probably training, probably some explosives, from Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, and in a relationship that goes both ways.”

There has long been intense scrutiny over whether Boko Haram is forming operational ties with other extremist groups.

Diplomats have said previously that there has been evidence of Boko Haram members seeking training in northern Mali, but not of operational links.

The US has declared three Nigerian extremists “global terrorists,” but has declined to label Boko Haram as a whole a terrorist group due to its nebulous nature and domestic focus, among other factors.

It is believed to include various factions with differing aims, in addition to imitators and criminal gangs that carry out violence under the guise of the group.

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil producer. Its 160 million population is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south

culled from Vanguard

Wyane Miller, a globally-acknowledged tourism investor from Australia visited the waterfall on feasibility study for possible investment.
Miller, in company of the Chairman, Honourable Adetilewa Sijuwade, Honourable Adetilewa Sijuwade, expressed interest in collaborating with the state government to develop the waterfall.

Miller and his team were in the state in search of investment in gold mining, tourism, agriculture and animal husbandry.
Speaking at Olumirin, Miller described his experience at the waterfall as a “fantastic opportunity, which should be shared with the rest of the world,” saying the environment really showcased the beauty of nature.

He stated that the present condition of the site requires the intervention of “worldwide suitable partners” to develop the site with modern facilities that will attract investors across the globe.

He stated that his technical team will study the site properly to conclude their areas of partnership and stages of investment with the state government as soon as possible.

Chairman of the House Committee, Honourable Sijuade, said that the state government in August this year sent a delegation to Australia to source investors in mining, where they met Miller.
He said: “The primary aim of that trip was to source for investors in gold Mining, but as luck will have it, we met miller, who is vast in investment and capital ventures and we exposed him to over 65 tourism centres in the state “.
He added that the government will assist them in the area of logistics to secure their partnership, saying the government was committed to the timely development of the site by foreign investors.

Meanwhile, Miller during the investment tour, announced his intention to establish an abattoir in Ile- Ife, State of Osun, soonest and requested for 5,000 acres of land to site the abattoir.

He made the declaration at the palace of the during a visit to the palace in company of Honourable Adetilewa and the state Commissioner for Home Affairs, Culture and Tourism, Alhaji Sikiru Ayedun.

He stated that when the abattoir is established, it will have the capacity to produce in large quantity, preserved beefs for exportation and local consumption.
Miller added that five per cent of profit from the abattoir will be used to support secondary education in the state.

Responding, Oba Sijuwade, who commended the state governor, Ogbeni Aregbesola for his commitment in developing the state, stated that Osun has a lot to learn from Australia as a nation, which started building its economy “from the scratch and now a developed nation politically and economically”.

He added that Ile-Ife community and its environs will give the necessary support to Miller for the building of the abattoir.

By Kehinde Ayantunji

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday said it had not been stopped from arraigning Dr. Wale Babalakin by any court order contrary to reports by a section of the media.

According to a statement by EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, the ruling by Justice Mohammed Idris of a Federal High Court, Lagos which many have construed as a restraining order, merely granted leave to the applicant to apply for an order of prohibition preventing the EFCC and the Attorney General of the Federation from going ahead with his arraignment.

This was one of three prayers sought by Babalakin through an ex-parte application. But Justice Idris turned down the two other prayers, which included an order to restrain the respondents from prosecuting the applicant.

Their motion on notice for interlocutory injunction against the EFCC and the AGF is scheduled to be heard on December 12, 2012.

Babalakin was to have been arraigned on Thursday November 30 before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo of a Lagos State High Court, Ikeja on money laundering charges but failed to show up, claiming sudden illness that necessitated his hospitalization at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital.

The businessman and four others, Alex Okoh, Stabilini Visioni Limited, Bi-Courtney Limited and Remix Nigeria Limited are facing a 27-count charge for fraudulently transferring various sums of money on behalf of the former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, through third parties to some foreign accounts under the guise of purchasing a Challenger Jet Aircraft.

Culled From: worldstagegroup

He spoke at the premises of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital, Osogbo last Thursday on the occasion of World Diabetes Day.

According to him, the state government has been making efforts to give Glucometer to diabetes patients, which they would be using to check their status and know how to handle it.
Urging diabetes patients not to be depressed or see their predicament as a curse, he said, “Diabetes is not a punishment from God, but a disease that is common among the blacks.
“Some findings have shown that this disease is common among those who do not exercise their body and consumption of junk foods also determine it” he added.
Aregbesola stressed further that apart from general care that would be given to diabetes patients, the government would soon be visiting the elderly ones among them in their houses to give them appropriate treatment.

According to him, in addition to 774 Primary Healthcare Centres inherited by his administration, additional 72 have been constructed, while the 55 Comprehensive Health Centres are being equipped with state-of-the-art equipment to ensure effective healthcare delivery.

The governor noted that as the government is making frantic efforts to get rid of diabetes and some other related diseases, the people should also imbibe the culture of exercising their bodies and desist from consumption of junk foods.

He stressed: “After all our efforts, you are diagnosed of this disease, don’t be depressed, just do all what you need to do and leave the rest to God”.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr (Mrs) Temitope Ilori, revealed that the state government is concerned about the health of its people, saying that the current administration in the state would not rest on its oars to make Osun a model in terms of prevention and healthcare delivery.

The President, Diabetes Association of Nigeria, Dr. Sunny Chinenye charged government at all levels to ensure availability and affordability of essential medicines and equipment for people living with diabetes.
Highlight of the event was a road show, led by the governor, from Ajegunle end of LAUTECH to Idi-Seke end in Osogbo.

By Kazeem Mohammed

Governor Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola of the State of Osun

This, he said, is the first major victory and breakthrough of his administration.
The governor stated this last Tuesday in his state-wide broadcast to the people of the state on the occasion of the second anniversary of his administration, saying that at inception, the greatest challenge of his administration was the infrastructure of the mind.

He said: “Our philosophy and directive principle of governance have been that the basis of political power is commitment to the welfare of the people through selflessness, integrity and sacrifice. It is therefore a great privilege for me to have provided leadership for the greatest people on earth for the past two years.

“I was not under any illusion that our journey would be a bed of roses, but because I have you behind me, I was confident that we would weather any storm and overcome any obstacle. I told you at my inauguration that we were resuming our journey to greatness, I am happy that we have made giant strides together”, he stated.

The governor added that his administration recognised that no aspect of governance can be freezed and has worked round the clock in order to have even development.
According to him, the administration considers education and agriculture as two major areas, recalling that it was through governor added that his administration recognised that no aspect of governance can be freezed and has worked round the clock in order to have even development.
He added:

“There is no nation that is ever great, whether in contemporary or antiquity, that did not pass through the path of great education. That was why we quickly carried out the education summit, where stakeholders critically looked at what went wrong with our education and proffered solutions to them.”
He added that his administration has been able to transform the education sector and working towards making it a model all over the country.
On agriculture, Governor Aregbesola said that in his administration’s drive to revolutionise agriculture, it has been able to make giant strides within two years.

Under the Osun Rural Enterprises and Agricultural Programme (O’REAP), he said; “we have organised our famers into functional cooperatives and we are distributing thousands of hectares of already-prepared lands along with farming inputs to boost food crop production.

“We have not stopped there, because our approach to agricultural revolution is an integrated, multi-level system that encompasses other areas, which include animal husbandry under the O’Beef Chain Development Project, poultry farming under the Broiler Production Scheme (O’BOPS), fish farming, and bee-farming”, the governor added.
Governor Aregbesola also mentioned youths employment, commerce, massive road construction and security, as some of the areas where his administration has made marks.

While expressing the commitment of his administration to continue to serve the people and improve their welfare in every way possible, the governor viewed his achievements as modest.

He added: “Our focus rather is on the challenges of transforming our land and leading our people to greatness. We are not resting on our oars, rather, we are renewing our strength and refocusing on our goals”.

by kazeem mohammed

By kazeem mohammed

THE Senate was yesterday told that Nigeria as a country loses in the excess of N1 trillion yearly to substandard products that enter into the country, just as the average Nigerian importers were described as killers and unscrupulous.

The National Assembly was also told that 85 percent of imports that enter the country through the porous and expansive borders were fake and sub standard.

Speaking yesterday when he appeared before the Senator Esther Usman Nenadi led Joint National Assembly Committee on Trade, Investment, Commerce and Industry, the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Standard Organizations of Nigeria, SON, Mr Joseph Odumodu, stressed that the situation with fake and sub standards products have become terrible in the country that everywhere one goes and whatever one touches was a sub standard product.

Meanwhile, Senator Nenadi has urged SON to purchase and install first class laboratory equipment to enable it test and detect substandard products that were being imported into the country, adding that the agency could source money from the Bank of Industry, BOI to realize this.

Senator Nenadi who decried the activities of smugglers as counterproductive, said that law makers will work harder to update the country’s legal apparatus that would lead to the reduction of smuggling activities across the country’s boarders.

She said, “Since you are facing problems in the course of carrying out your constitutional mandate, I advise that you apply for loan from the Bank of Industry to buy laboratory equipment. Here people will be paying for their goods to be tested. I think this is the best way since government is not doing anything about it there.’’

Speaking further, Odumodu Odumodu who explained that a survey conducted last year revealed that besides the health implication of fake products, the country was losing millions of jobs annually due to these smuggled goods.

According to him, these were very common in areas like electrical materials, cable wires and electrical bulbs, adding, “An average standard bulb is supposed to last 1000 hours, but the situation in the country is that the bulbs hardly last up to a month.”

The SON boss who noted that the problem of substandard products in the country has taken a dimension as over 50 million sub-standard tyres were in circulation, just as as he explained that such tyres, not necessarily used ones (popularly called tokunbo), caused 20 per cent of road accidents across the country.

According to him, over 200 lives in the last five years were lost to building collapses in several parts of the country due to the use of sub-standard building materials, adding that over 80 per cent of the sub-standard products have their sources from mainly Asia nations and were in Nigerian market up till last early last year, just as he said that buying the right bulbs would have saved the country about N500m annually.

Culled from VANGUARD