AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

Some bluechip companies and organisations are supporting hosting the Realnews 12th Anniversary Lecture at the Sheraton Hotel on Tuesday, November 19, starting at 10 am.

The organisations include the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board, NCDMB, the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Shell Nigeria, the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Zenith, and Access Bank Plc.

Expressing Realnews’ appreciation to the organisations, Maureen Chigbo, its publisher, prayed to God to bless them and give their management the wisdom to lift their organisations to greater heights and prosperity.

Chigbo also expressed her deep appreciation to all the banks, institutions, companies, and other organisations that have placed online advertisements on the Realnews website in the last 12 years. “Without their support, we would not have remained in business all through the years to do what we love best – investigative journalism,”   

The theme of Realnews 12^th Anniversary Lecture is “Africa in World Shifting Geopolitics: Matters Arising on Democracy, Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Natural Resources”. The Lecture which will be chaired by Ms. Beatrice Eyong, Country Chair, UN Women, will be delivered by Ambassador Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, former Chief of Staff of former President Muhammadu Buhari. Dr. Karim El Aynaoui, Executive President of Policy Center for New South, Rabat, Morocco, will keynote the conference.

The lecture, which will be held at the Sheraton Hotel by 10 am will feature Mrs Hadiza Bala Usman as the Special Guest/discussant along with Engr. Shehu Tijjani, Managing Director, Amal Technology Ltd.

Chigbo, the publisher of Realnews, said there will be an investiture of all the speakers into The Realnews Hall of Fame immediately after the Lecture. Chigbo explained that the Realnews Hall of Fame was established to honour only those who played key roles during the anniversary lectures.

Realnews, a general interest magazine, is an online publication that thrives on investigative journalism. We have expertise in reporting the oil and gas sector with its attendant environmental challenges. We aim to unearth exclusive stories about real people and the challenges they face in their day-to-day activities. We do this bearing in mind that government can only act to influence the lives of people positively if they are aware of their true situation. Hence, our objective is to use our investigative skills to ferret out information in the sectors we focus on and produce an unbiased report that will influence the government and decision-makers to take actions that will make society better.
 
Realnews is populated by seasoned journalists who believe strongly in the tenets and ethics of the profession. The online publication believes that journalism as the fourth Estate of the Realm can contribute its quota towards building a fair and just society where fundamental human rights are respected and citizens have the freedom to pursue their interests anywhere in the world without hindrance. Its editors have a combined experience of several decades in active journalism practice and are highly dedicated to serving humanity. Hence its motto: “For God and Humanity.”
 
The Realnews Anniversary Lecture Series was established to commemorate our society’s best minds and tap into them to enrich the discourse on our national development.

The 11^th Anniversary Lecture of Realnews was delivered by Edwin W. Harris Jr., Director General of the ECOWAS Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), Senegal, on the “Threats of Illicit Funds Flow to the African Economy”.

The 10^th Anniversary lecture in 2022 on “Drug Abuse among Youths in Africa: Implication for Nigerian Economy and 2023 Elections” was delivered by Brig General Buba Marwa, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA; 9^th Anniversary Lecture of Realnews in 2021 was delivered by Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board on “Nigeria in the Unfolding Integration of the African Market: The Oil and Gas Perspective”; 2020 Eighth Anniversary Lecture of Realnews was delivered by Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 on Managing COVID-19 Pandemic in Africa: The Nigeria Experience; Former President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana gave the 2019 Lecture on Beyond Politics: An Economic Narrative for West Africa while Prof. Mahmood Yakubu spoke on Political Transitions and Africa’s Economic Development: Preparations for Nigeria’s 2019 General Elections at the 2018 Lecture. The 2017 Fifth Anniversary Lecture on African Leadership in a Turbulent Era was delivered by Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, former minister of Education and former World Bank Vice President. The 2016 Fourth Anniversary Lecture on Security and National Development in Plural Democratic Society was delivered by Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, former United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative to West Africa and Sahel; the 2015 Realnews Third Anniversary Lecture was delivered by Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on November 19, 2015, under the theme: It’s The Nigerian Economy, Stupid? The Second Realnews Anniversary Lecture on Nigerian Democracy: Getting it Right in 2014 was delivered by Professor Maurice Iwu, former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

No directive for workers to change salary accounts — FG

AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation has clarified that no instruction has been issued for federal workers to switch the financial institutions linked to their Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System salary accounts.

According to a statement released by Bawa Mokwa, Director of Press and Public Relations, on Monday, the OAGF assured employees that IPPIS prioritises their welfare and would not implement any measure likely to cause confusion or undue alarm.

The clarification follows concerns over potential directives that could require employees to change their bank accounts for salary payments, as some banks undergo system upgrades.

The OAGF stressed that any request to change salary accounts remains a personal decision for each worker and that the IPPIS Office has not issued any general order to this effect, as there is no justification for such a directive.

The OAGF also urged financial institutions to enhance customer confidence by ensuring consistent and reliable service delivery to individuals who have opted to domicile their salaries with them.

It highlighted the role of designated agencies in assessing the health and stability of financial institutions and expressed confidence in these agencies’ capacity to fulfil their duties.

The statement read, “The OAGF explained that any application for a change of salary account is always a personal decision of the worker concerned, adding that the IPPIS Office has not issued any general directive to this effect as there was no reason to do so.

“The OAGF tasked financial institutions to implement necessary strategies to boost customer confidence and guarantee efficient fulfilment of their obligations to persons whose salaries are domiciled in such financial institutions, as well as to Nigerians in general.

“The OAGF noted that there are agencies statutorily mandated to determine the health and viability of financial institutions and expressed optimism that these agencies are up to the task.”

Employees with legitimate reasons to update their salary accounts on the IPPIS platform were advised to adhere strictly to official procedures for such changes.
Culled from Punch

AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

As part of its continued efforts at reforming the economy for sustained inclusive economic growth and actualising the presidential target of equipping 70% of Nigerian citizens with digital literacy and skills by the year 2027, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), through its National Digital Literacy Framework (NDLF), has launched the Digital Literacy For All Initiative(DL4ALL) at the Nassarawa State University, Keffi towards incorporating digital literacy into the institution’s curriculum.

DG NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, Prof. Saadatu Liman, VC, NSUK alongside dignitaries, members of management staff of NITDA and NSUK, officially flagging off the DL4ALL initiative at the Nassarawa State University Keffi, Nassarawa State.

This initiative, launched in collaboration with CISCO and Nasarawa State University Keffi (NSUK), aims to ensure that students at every educational level achieve digital literacy before graduation and to support the presidential target of 70% digital literacy amongst its citizenry by 2027.

Giving his special address at the launching ceremony, the Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, expressed his excitement at the remarkable milestone achievement, that the ecosystem collaboratively made in ensuring inclusive access to digital literacy for all.

“It is a pivotal moment for our relationship of building the ecosystem in terms of bringing the industry, the academia and the government to work together,” he noted.He stated that with Cisco’s support and government-backed frameworks, digitally proficient graduates who will plug seamlessly into the workforce would be produced rather than mere degree holders.Citing projections from the World Economic Forum which estimates a global talent shortage of 85 million people by 2030, potentially resulting in 8.5 trillion dollars in unrealised annual revenue, Inuwa averred that Africa and Nigeria in particular, have a tremendous opportunity to fill the gap.

While emphasising the President’s directive of driving economic transformation through technology and skills development, Inuwa stated that it was essential to build a digitally skilled workforce that would accelerate the country’s economic growth and development.

“In a world we live in today where digital is a lifestyle, digital literacy is no longer optional, but it is a necessity because we need it to be included in everything we do. Today, to be digitally included economically, and financially, you need to be digitally literate, so you need to have the fluency to navigate the digital world,” he mentioned.

Speaking on the NDLF that was developed which birthed the DL4ALL initiative, the NITDA DG mentioned that the initiative would help build a digitally savvy population that cuts across all sectors because Information Technology is pervasive.

Enumerating the core competencies of the framework which are; device and software operation, information and data literacy, collaboration and communication, digital content creation, safety, and lastly, problem management, Inuwa asserted that the competencies will allow students to safely and effectively use technology in creating content, managing data, solving problems and collaborations with students in other universities.

He explained that the launch of the DL4ALL at NSUK aligns with Nigeria’s mission of achieving digital sovereignty and would empower students not just to secure jobs but to create them, particularly through entrepreneurship programs that encourage students to start businesses before graduation.

While urging the students to embrace technology as a limitless platform that will inspire them to be innovative and fearless, Inuwa said “I believe with technology, your limitation is your imagination because with the ubiquitous data we have today, unlimited connective and massive processing power, you all can achieve whatsoever you imagine.

”Earlier in her welcome address, the NSUK Vice Chancellor, Prof Sadaatu Hassan Liman described the partnership between the university and NITDA as a transformative one that will allow students at the university to leverage the DL4ALL programme in acquiring digital skills that will enable them to thrive in the 21st-century global landscape.

She noted that the programme is not only empowering the students but positioning the university as a regional leader in Information and Communications Technology and emerging technologies.

“This strategic integration of cutting edge technologies into our academic offerings will open up a lot of opportunities to our students and staff as well, allowing them to develop critical thinking, problem-solving and innovative mindsets required to navigate the rapidly evolving digital world,” she said.

The highlight of the ceremony was the unveiling of the DL4ALL in NSUK emblem which was done by the dignitaries at the event.