EDUCATION: KOGI STATE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, ANKPA, RECOGNISES HON AKUS WITH AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

The Honourable member representing Ankpa1 state constituency, Kogi State House of Assembly, Hon Akus Lawal has bagged 'Award of Excellence' from Kogi State College of Education (KSCOE), Ankpa.

The award was presented by the Dean of School of Education, Dr Ejiga, during its second International Conference held at Kogi State College of Education Ankpa recently in recognition of Akus overwhelming efforts towards the development of education in his constituency.

The Dean appreciated Akus for granting a full scholarship to over 30 students from Ankpa LG who are schooling in the College, enjoining other public office holders to emulate him.

It would be recalled that Akus's love for education and its accessibility to all and sundry led him into creating "AKUS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION" upon assumption in office, through which he has donated educational materials to various schools in his constituency, organised quizzes among students to unravel their hidden talents, granted scholarship to numerous students from Primary schools to tertiary institutions

Full to joy, Hon. Akus thanked the College for recognising his efforts, promising to do more, in cash and in kind for the school and Ankpa1 students.

AKUS MEDIA TEAM

The Federal Government has allocated N47.5 billion for the initial phase of upgrading 50 chosen senior secondary schools nationwide.

Dr. Iyela Ajayi, the Executive Secretary of the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC), revealed this information during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Government Science Secondary School (GSSC) Koton Karfe, Kogi State on Wednesday.

He said, “This is just the first phase, when this phase is completed then we can then report to the President Bola Tinubu and Minister of Education and say we have finished completion of this phase.

“This will allow them to come and complete this project and we will move unto the next phase.

“So those schools that are not going to benefit from the first phase, I want them to be patient because after the first phase we will come to them.

“The intervention for the first phase will cover about 47.5billiin for the 50 schools,’

Taiwo Oyedele, the chairman of the presidential committee on fiscal policy, has said that the committee has put forth a recommendation to the FG to eliminate taxes on essential items such as food, public transportation, housing costs, and other necessities vital for the well-being of Nigerians.

He said, “What we have taken into account is what are those basic necessities of life—food, accommodations, transportation, education and health. We’ve deliberately identified those items. And we’ve removed almost all the taxes applicable to them, including no VAT.

“We think that from the fiscal policy and tax perspective, we can make it more affordable for the Nigerian people to be able to afford those basic necessities. Share-passenger transportation is completely tax-free.

“However, if you hire a taxi, we assume that you’re not the poorest Nigerian so you have to pay the tax. Whereas if you get into a bus, that will be completely tax-free. That’s what we’ve done so far.”

The governor of Kaduna state, Sen. Uba Sani and Huawei Technologies Company,
today signed MOU for the actualization of the SMART CITY PROJECT in Kaduna State.

The Governor said: “Today, I had the honor and privilege of signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the Kaduna State Government and Huawei Technologies Company, Nigeria Limited at the Huawei Technologies office in Beijing, China. Chris Lu, CEO, Huawei Technologies, Nigeria Limited signed on behalf of the company. The ceremony was witnessed by our dear President, H.E. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, my colleague Governors, Ministers and other senior government officials.

“The MOU is for the actualization of the SMART CITY PROJECT in Kaduna State. It is geared towards enhancing security, efficiency and transparency in public service, competitiveness, city management, and attracting talents and investments. The ultimate goal is the establishment of a safer and smarter Kaduna State.

“As the strategic partner of the Kaduna State Government, Huawei will provide comprehensive leading solutions and professional technical support for Kaduna State in the following areas: (i) State-Level Unified Command Center (ii) Enhanced Security (iii) Intelligent Traffic System (iv) E-Government and Office Automation (v) Smart Education (vi) Smart Healthcare (vii) ICT Talent (viii) Renewable Energy, and (ix) Public Transportation

“The Kaduna State Government and Huawei will establish a joint committee to flesh out details of the Implementation Plan, Funding Arrangement, and the Technology to be Deployed. We want to ensure that the project is deliverable, sustainable, and valuable.”

The Federal Government has granted a 50% electricity subsidy for public hospitals.

Dr. Tunji Alausa, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, has shared that the Federal Government has approved a 50% subsidy on electricity for public hospitals nationwide.

He stated that this initiative is intended to minimize operating expenses for public hospitals and lessen the burden on patients.

He said, “We are going to change the names of our Federal Hospitals to Specialist Hospitals to expand care delivery and destigmatize hospitals so that everybody can come here. While the core services will remain psychiatric, this re-naming will allow for the continuous expansion of services,”

“We know they are development institutions, they are social institutions. But inside the health and educational institutions, private businesses are hiding under them. These people charge their customers commercially and they expect to be subsidised because they are located within the territories of these institutions.

“We said no, go and do a proper search and meter everybody. For the ones that are properly health and education-related, we are ready to subsidise them, even if they are on Band A. We are compiling our data, DisCos will collect a certain amount and the government will pay the balance. But we must get the data right so that we are not subsidising a private business that is charging its customers commercially. That will be an abnormal profit and it is unfair,”

From next year, JAMB is going to insist that anybody applying to go to university in Nigeria meets the required age which is 18.

NECO and WAEC, henceforth will not be allowing underage children to write their examinations - Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman.