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Npower Beneficiaries to be Compensated as FG Approves NSIP Bill

The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to clear July and August payments of Npower beneficiaries soon.

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The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development has disclosed that the ministry will soon clear both July and August payments of all affected Npower beneficiaries. 

The Federal Ministry through the National Social Investment Management System stated that the need to institutionalise Npower and other social investment programmes is part of the reason for delaying July and August payments to all affected beneficiaries. 

It will be recalled that the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, approved the National Social Investment Programme, NSIP (Establishment) Bill, 2022. 

This bill will ensure NSIP is backed by the necessary legislation to ensure its continuity and sustainability. 

The  Bill seeks to establish the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) which will manage and implement all National Social Investment Programmes.

If the bill is passed by the National Assembly and signed by the president, it will provide the necessary statutory backing for the existing NSIP, making it live beyond the present administration. 

In her presentation to the Federal Executive Council, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Sadiya Umar Farouq described NSIP as a reliable tool for solving poverty problems in Nigeria. 

She further disclosed that the National Social Investment Programme (Establishment) Bill, 2022 is in line with the government’s agenda to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by the year 2030. 

To ensure its sustainability, NSIP will be implemented in full partnership with all 36 State Governments and the FCT. The Federal Executive Council also approved a budgetary allocation status for NSIP while 5 percent of all recovered and repatriated funds will be additional funds for all NSIP programmes.  

NSIP is a federal government social initiative established in 2016 to cater for the unemployed youth, the poor, the displaced and elderly people. It has four cardinal programmes which include NPOWER, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) and the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme (CCT). 

 

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FG Abolishes 18-Year Age Benchmark For Admission Into Tertiary Institutions

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The new Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has abolished the controversial 18-year admission benchmark for tertiary institutions in the country.

This is coming as the minister indicated interest in reviewing the nation’s education policy.

However, Alausa stated that there would be no reversal of the Federal Government’s decision to void over 22,700-degree certificates obtained by Nigerians from some “fake” universities in neighbouring Togo and the Benin Republic.

Alausa spoke on Tuesday at his inaugural ministerial press conference in Abuja.

He stated that practical education will help to address the unemployment situation in Nigeria, as tertiary institutions will not continue to churn out graduates every year without providing jobs for them.

He disclosed that the Federal Government will collaborate with private sector operators to train students in order to discover and unleash their potential.

Alausa added that universities of agriculture will be empowered to adopt commercial farming practices to combat food insecurity.

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Outrage in Equatorial Guinea: Government Restricts WhatsApp Multimedia Sharing Amid Scandal

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There is outrage in Equatorial Guinea as the government restricted its citizens from downloading and sharing multimedia files using mobile data on WhatsApp.

This decision followed the guidelines that the country’s government gave to telecommunications operators when it urged them to implement measures to restrict access to inappropriate content.

The country’s Director General, National Financial Investigation Agency, Baltasar Engonga, has been involved in a sex scandal involving the wives of notable people in the nation.

The scandal emerged in the course of a fraud investigation against the 54-year-old economist which resulted in the search of his house and office on impromptu notice by ANIF officials who came across several CDs that later revealed his sexcapades with different married women.

It was reported that the over 400 videos include encounters with high-profile individuals, such as his brother’s wife, his cousin, the sister of the President of Equatorial Guinea, the Director General of Police’s wife, and about 20 of the country’s ministers’ wives, among others.

The footage, discovered in his office, was said to have been recorded with consent and has since been leaked online, causing a media uproar.

But, in a new development on Tuesday, it was reported that the citizens have been lamenting their inability to share photos, videos, and audio when using a mobile data connection, leading users to rely exclusively on WiFi networks to share such content.

Sources revealed that the restrictions have been affecting business and academic activities in the country.

Citizens wonder why the actions of a few individuals would result into holding thousands of other innocent ones hostage.

Earlier, the Vice President of Equatorial Guinea, Teddy Nguema, announced plans to install surveillance cameras in all state body offices.

This sweeping measure is part of an ongoing effort to ensure strict adherence to public service laws and combat misconduct among officials.

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NCC Confiscates ₦23 Million Worth of Pirated Books During Bookstores Raid In Uyo

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The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) on Saturday, November 2, confiscated ₦23.1 million in pirated books from local shops, including Academic Needs and Zion Bookshop during a raid in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

The raid was by the Deputy Director of Operations, Mr Macfoy Akachukwu, representing the NCC Director General, Dr. John Asein.

Akachukwu, who stated that the raid was a significant operation to combat the rampant sale of pirated books, listed the books seized during the raid to include: Basic Civic Education by Dr Merry Ukaegbu, Spectrum New Further Mathematics by T.R. Moses and Essential Christian Religious Study for Senior Secondary Schools by Orovwuje B.O and Okolie E.U.

Other books included Macmillan Brilliant English for Junior Secondary Schools by Wale Ossianwo, New General Basic Science for Junior Secondary Schools by S. Ajayi, New Oxford Secondary English Course for Secondary Schools by Ayo Banjo and New Concept Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools by H.N. Odogwu among others.

Major publishers affected by the raid included Evans, UPL, Lantern, Longman, TONAD, and Pearson among others.

According to Asein, the operation is important as it was part of a nationwide initiative to protect authors’ rights.

“What we have done is part of the commissions mandate to protect and promote the rights of authors and other genuine investors in the copyright book industry,” he stated.

He reaffirmed that the NCC is committed to “eliminating the sale of pirated works and to establish a robust copyright framework in Nigeria”.

Asein emphasized that authors deserve to benefit from their creative work and not run into financial losses because of piracy.

“It is our duty to ensure that authors get rewards for their creative work. I have under my watch, zero tolerance for piracy and infringement of Copyright Laws,” Asein said.

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