NEWS- Buhari approves New travels measure for public office holders

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President Muhammadu Buhari has approved for immediate implementation, additional cost saving measures aimed at instilling financial discipline and prudence, particularly, in the area of official travels.

Willie Bassey, Director Information, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) in a statement issued on Wednesday said with the new measures said, “Henceforth, all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are required to submit their Yearly Travel Plans for statutory meetings & engagements to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and/or the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation or express clearance within the first quarter of the fiscal year, before implementation.

“They are further required to make their presentation using the existing template and also secure approvals on specific travels as contained in the plan, from the appropriate quarters.
“All public funded travels (local & foreign), must be strictly for official purposes backed with documentary evidence. In this regard, all foreign travels must be for highly essential statutory engagements that are beneficial to Nigeria’s interest.

“Except with the express approval of Mr. President; Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Chairmen of Extra-Ministerial Departments, Chief Executive Officers and Directors are restricted to not more than two (2) foreign travels in a quarter.
“Also, when a Minister is at the head of an official delegation, the size of such delegation shall not exceed 4 including the relevant Director, Schedule Officer and 1 Aide of the Minister. Every other delegation below ministerial level shall be restricted to a maximum of 3.

“For Class of Air Travels, the President has approved that Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants to the President, Chairmen of Extra-Ministerial Departments and Chief Executive Officers of Parastatals who are entitled continue to fly Business Class while other categories of Public Officers are to travel on Economy Class.

“Also, travel days will no longer attract payment of Estacode Allowances as duration of official trips shall be limited to only the number of days of the event as contained in the supporting documents to qualify for public funding.

“The Auditor-General of the Federation has been directed to treat all expenditures

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FG Commissions Africa’s Largest Off-Grid Solar Power Plant in BUK

The Federal Government has commissioned the largest off-grid solar hybrid power plant in   Bayero University, Kano under the Energising Education Programme (EEP), aimed at providing sustainable decentralized energy to the nation’s university  campuses.
The Vice-President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, GCON, SAN, who   commissioned the project said it was the second in the series after a similar one at Alex Ekwueme University, Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi State.
He said the energise education programme of the government was a project aimed towards providing a conducive learning environment in Nigeria universities in the next four years.
  Professor Osinbajo said that as a result, 55,815 students and 3,077 staff of BUK now have access to electricity supply from the university’s 7.1 mega watts solar hybrid power plant.
He explained that the EEP project under implementation by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) focused on developing off-grid dedicated independent power plants and the rehabilitation of existing distribution infrastructure.
“The overall goal is targeted at supplying clean, safe and reliable power to 37 federal universities and 7 affiliated university teaching hospitals,” he said.
He reiterated that the BUK commissioning included the launch of 11.41km of solar powered streetlights as well as a world-class renewable energy training centre.
The Vice President charged Nigerians to embrace the emerging renewable off-grid energy sector, saying it was poised to generate significant impact for the Nigerian market, as well as the un-served, underserved communities and higher institutions of learning.
Prof. Osinbajo stated that with the growing solar generation, there was need for more private sector participation in collaboration with the federal government.
The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Mrs. Damilola Ogunbiyi, described the project as the largest off-grid solar hybrid power plant in Africa.
She said “It is one that as Nigerians, we should be very proud of the project, thanks to the commitment of the Federal Government towards sustainable energy and education and education”.
In his remarks, Vice Chancellor of BUK, Professor Mohammed Bello re-echoed that students and staff of the University could now experience learning and teaching in a safer, cleaner and more conducive academic environment.
It would be recalled that EEP is a Federal Government initiative under the Rural Electrification Agency aimed at providing an off-grid captive power that is reliable and sustainable across 37 Federal Universities and seven Federal Teaching Hospitals.
In addition, the EEP was meant to provide street lighting for illumination and safety as well as a component for workshop/ training centre for each of the EEP beneficiary institutions.
The Phase one of the EEP cut across nine Federal Universities and one Teaching Hospital which is located across the six geopolitical zones of the country.
The phase one is fully funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and will train 180 Female STEM students.
Within this phase there are seven solar hybrid projects currently benefitting from funding from the Green Bond issued by the FGN. The phase one projects was estimated to benefit 127,000 students and 28,000 staff of universities and 4,700 staff in Teaching Hospitals including  Doctors, and power 2,850 streetlight.
Further analysis of the BUK power plant also showed that the project catered for 277 academic buildings, 120 commercial buildings and provided comfortable support accommodation for 478 staff. It is estimated that about 16.5 mw of existing generators and Carbon Dioxide emission would be conserved, thereby causing this quantum of mega watts capacity of petrol and diesel generators to be removed with the EEP become fully operational in the University.
Available statistics also showed that the solar of power infrastructure had a total capacity of 8.1mwh (mega watts per hour) battery storage, total capacity of 2.4mw backup generators, about 10,680 solar panels installed, with a total capacity of the solar panels at 3.5MWp.
On the street lighting and distribution infrastructure, the contractors Messrs. METKA provided a total of 694 installed street lightings, covering about 11.41km and with 9.636MW capacity of transformers. 
The power project has a distribution infrastructure of eight transformers, nine distribution panels and about 2.65km length of distribution cables. The solar power project also houses a world class renewable training centre, where some research training courses would be undertaken by staff and students. Already about 20 female STEM students have undergone Solar Energy and Metering Training in the facility, while an additional 182 direct and indirect jobs had been created so far, including jobs for six Project Managers, three construction managers, two power systems engineers, five mechanical engineers, four civil engineers, 10 renewable experts, 11 designers, 12 electrical engineers, 40 brick layers and 89 laborers.

NPMCN Collaborates with NUC in Medical Training

The Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abubakar Adamu Rasheed, mni, MFR, FNAL, has expressed satisfaction with the partnership  between the Commission and the National Postgraduate College of Nigeria (NPMCN) on the  improvement of medical education in Nigeria.
Receiving the President of NPMCN, Professor O. B Olalilly  Taria and his team in his office last week, the executive secretary  described the existing relationship between the NUC and NPMCN as critical, stating that the postgraduate medical college had been a very relevant partner in the commission’s guest to review the curriculum of medical.
Professor Rasheed stated that NUC was concluding the  review of universities curriculum including that of medicine for which the Commission reached  out and borrowed ideas from countries like Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, whose universities have very strong medical education.
The NUC scribe gave the example of  Iran which run a five-year programme in medicine and upon graduation the students seamlessly move into their house job whereas that in Nigeria  students were left to search for where to do their house job after graduating from the medical college.
He said that Nigeria needed to study these countries to put things right and expressed dismay on the rivalry between the different medical bodies which led to unnecessary frictions.
Prof. Rasheed also said that  government was not investing enough in Medical Education but    expressed delight that things were now getting better with government’s renewed interest in building more universities of medical sciences which, he described, as a welcome development.
He agreed that it was a good idea to have more medical universities in the country provided they would be properly funded and assured that NUC would on its part encourage more investments in medical universities.
He urged NPMCN to visit the existing ones to see the facilities  on ground and to discuss with the owners of the universities and the students on ways to improve and report back to the commission.
Professor Rasheed further assured the team that NUC would visit the Post Graduate Medical College with a high-powered team to see  how they are conducting their affairs.
He reiterated that NUC does not intend to criminalise or abolish Masters Programme as its acquisition was eligibility for obtaining PhD which must be in clinic sciences, insisting  that the Senate of a university was the only body to approve the award of PhD’s.
He added that admission into the Doctor of Medicine (MD) programme should be restricted to Fellows or those undergoing Residency Training.
He argued that the reason many Nigerian doctors travel out of the country was because of the roadblock they encounter after graduating from the universities.
He stated that the country was under investing in Medical Education and that there was the need for NUC and NPMCN to broaden collaboration which would incorporate Directors in the Ministry of Health.
Responding, Professor I. A. Yakasai, Provost College of Health Sciences, Bayero University, Kano, thanked the executive secretary for motivating them and sending them on tour of Egypt and Sudan.
He said the trips to Egypt and Sudan were very revealing because of the experience they gathered on how things were done the right way in their medical schools, adding that  Basic Medical training was not as robust as it should be in Nigeria when compared to the countries visited.
He noted that the number of doctors Nigeria produced was still not enough, but said the medical schools could be more efficient with the right things done in the country.
The Provost  agreed with Prof. Rasheed that NUC and NPMCN should meet often to deepen collaboration.
In the delegation of the College were its Registrar, Professor Owoidho Udofia; Vice-President, Professor Borodo Musa; Treasurer, Professor Anyanwu. 

Stakeholders want teaching of leadership, entrepreneurship as subject in schools

With continuous decline in moral values and lack of good virtues among Nigerian youths, stakeholders have called on managers of the country’s educational system to facilitate the teaching of leadership and entrepreneurship as a subject in all schools.

They made the call at the launching of a book titled, Leadership and entrepreneurship series, co-authored by Chief Executive Officer, Crystal Marketing Centre Ltd, Dipo Ojedeji and creative director, Manners and Conduct, Aderonke Faseru.

The stakeholders regretted that social vices and societal ills are multiplying by the day, thus the need for government at all levels to begin to redirect the minds of the youths and expose them to good traits of leadership and entrepreneurial education.

Vice chancellor, Caleb University, Prof. Ayandiji Aina, who described the attitude of most Nigerian youths as unsatisfactory, pointed out that majority of them lack skills, mentorship and moral values, which he described as a threat to the country.

Citing so many nefarious acts the contemporary youths usually engage in at homes and in schools, he stated that from all indication parenting has gone wrong in the society.

He said, “We recently had conference on revitalising Nigerian education system, and I have come to realise that we cannot revitalise without doing something in the feeder system.

If the foundation is wrong, there is nothing we can do at higher education level.

Thus I recommend this book for all schools as it has lesson plans that will enable teachers inculcate leadership traits and stimulate entrepreneurial spirits of leaners at early age.”

Tobi Lawal, who chaired the event, said Nigerian youths are highly intelligent and hard working but lack mentorship and direction.

Teaching of leadership and entrepreneurship in practical terms is key.

They must be made to understand that attitude, integrity and passion are imperative to living a responsible life.

The book reviewer and education consultant, Busola Adegbaju, said the 17-chapter book, which is divided into two segments-leadership and entrepreneurship, regretted that Nigerians are known for high intellectual prowess, but applying it to realities of life is a challenge.

Describing lack of application of knowledge to real life as a huge gap, which must be bridged, she said issues of leadership and skills must be prioritised in Nigerian schools.

“I have read a lot of books, and I have not seen one with this volume of activity pages. This will encourage collaboration among pupils.

The author was able to develop a curriculum in the book and this is laudable, as it will stimulate hands-on activities and enable learners to be explorative.

This is the standard in developed climes but unfortunately it is lacking in our schools.”

The authors urged both the federal and state governments to ensure that leadership and entrepreneurship is separated from civic education and prioritised in teaching and learning.

We resorted to illegally escorting goods since 2015 - Dismissed military personnel

- They were arrested for allegedly hijacking a truck carrying N13.5 million worth of goods - They were dismissed from the military in 2015 and have since resorted to escorting goods for survival Two dismissed military men arrested in Lagos for allegedly hijacking a truck carrying N13.5 million worth of goods have allegedly confessed to be involved in illegal escort of goods since 2015 as a way of surviving after their dismissal from military service. They were described by the Lagos state police command as leaders of an armed robbery gang that had been hijacking trucks and diverting goods on highways, Daily Trust reports. NUCBLOG.com gathers that the military personnel were identified as Moses Johnson, a former lance corporal in the Nigerian Army, his counterpart in the Nigerian Air Force, Akintola Abiodun. Another suspect identified as Osegbu Chidi, was allegedly parading himself as an Army lance corporal. 

Speaking with newsmen on Wednesday, September 5, Johnson said: “I never knew that this one was hijacked. I only got a call as usual from Oje Oloja to escort a truck from Ajah to Epe. They have not even paid us before our arrest. What happened was that a truck ran into our vehicle. "While we were arguing, Oloja came and ordered one man to drive the truck away. I was at home when someone called to say that I should come for another escort job. I was arrested on arrival." According to the police,on September 2, 2018, the suspects intercepted a truck registration number LSR 266XW, laden with groundnut oil and valued at N13.5 million at Epe, Lagos. The commissioner of police, Imohimi Edgal, said: “At about 22.30 hours, policemen on stop-and-search duty saw the truck coming and intercepted it. In the process, Monday and Emeka were arrested, and during interrogation, they mentioned Johnson, Abiodun and Chidi as part of the people that hijacked the truck. The truck and goods were recovered intact and the suspects had been identified by the victims. They will soon be charged to court.” 

Air Force launches Operation Thunder Strike 2 against Boko Haram

The Operation, which commenced on Monday, 3 September 2018, is an independent Air Interdiction Operation targeting selected BHT locations within the fringes of Lake Chad and Sambisa Forest in Borno state, with a view to further degrading the remnants of the insurgents, curtailing their freedom of action and denying them bases from which they could launch attacks against our ground troops’ locations. On Day 2 of the Operation, September 4, 2018, air strikes by NAF aircraft resulted in the destruction of BHT hideouts and neutralization of scores of insurgents at 3 locations namely; Tumbun Rego, Sabon Tumbun and Tumbun Allura, all on the fringes of the Lake Chad. Tumbun Rego, which is located about 140Km Northeast of Maiduguri, has been identified as a major logistics/communications base and staging area for the insurgents. Accordingly, the ATF detailed F-7Ni and Alpha Jet aircraft to attack the identified BHT logistics/communications hubs. 

The identified hubs were subsequently destroyed by the strikes. Similarly, a number of solar panels were spotted and destroyed during the attack. The attack on Sabon Tumbun was undertaken based on Human Intelligence reports, which were later confirmed following several days of Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions, indicating that the settlement was a BHT tactical operations base. The settlement also had some equipment and vehicles cleverly concealed under thick foliage. Accordingly, the settlement was attacked in successive waves of strikes by Alpha Jet, F-7Ni and Mi-35M Helicopter Gunships, leading to the destruction of BHT facilities, equipment and structures in the settlement as well as the neutralization of several insurgents. Tumbun Allura, another major BHT operations base on the fringes of the Lake Chad, was attacked by Alpha Jet and F-7Ni aircraft. Overhead the area of interest, several of the BHTs were observed and the objective attacked leading to the complete destruction of one of the specific target buildings under a tree. Many of the fleeing insurgents were also mopped up by subsequent follow-on attacks.

Only 4 varsities approved to run e-Learning degree programmes —NUC

The four universities as listed by the commission are the University of Uyo; National Open University of Nigeria; Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, and University of Maiduguri.

Director, Information and Public Relations of NUC, Mr Ibrahim Yakasai, however, warned that the commission maintains its stand that online degrees are not accepted in Nigeria at the moment.

He added this ban does not include the four universities earlier mentioned, which have been duly approved by the commission as the pilot institutions for the Nigerian universities e-Learning programme run within the shores of Nigeria.

NUC had blacklisted about 57 illegal universities in Nigeria, with some of them running online degree programmes in affiliation with some foreign universities.

But Yakasai said the Nigerian Universities e-Learning Programme is a legitimate and well thought-out pilot e-Learning initiative. It is a public-private-partnership between NUC, Park Associates e-Learning Group and the four federal universities.

He added that its goal is to provide new opportunities for students to access university education in Nigeria.

He said the students enrolled for the programme could select any of the following undergraduate degree programmes: Economics, Banking & Finance, Accounting, Business Administration and Marketing, for which they have requisite qualifications.

NUC in its weekly bulletin obtained by the Nigerian Tribune in Abuja said: “The Commission wishes to use this medium to allay all fears and doubts concerning the legitimacy or NUC endorsement of the Nigerian Universities e-Learning Programme.

“This is one of the avenues that the National Universities Commission is exploring to increase access to university education without compromising quality.

“Students in the programme are therefore advised to continue to pursue their studies without fear, and prospective applicants are encouraged to enrol.

“Concerned parents, guardians, students and the general public may contact the commission for further clarification on the programme,”