Author: darelasisi@gmail.com

The University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo, Ondo State, on Thursday matriculated no fewer than 557 students for its 2019/2020 academic session. Prof. Friday Okonofa, the Vice-Chancellor of UNIMED, made this known in his speech at the 5th matriculation of the institution. Okonofa said that 139 students were admitted into the Faculty of Science, 122 students into the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences and 120 into the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences. According to him, 85 students were also admitted into Nursing, 70 students into Medicine while 21 were admitted into the Faculty of Dentistry. He, however, said that some…

An Iseyin community-based social group, Ebedi Frontliners, on Thursday commended the Federal Government in making life easier for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), operators in the state through the provision of revolving loans to them. The group’s public relations officer, Mr Biodun Bambi, who made this known in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Iseyin, said the disbursement of loans to SMEs operators must be commended. “I know some of the beneficiaries who have been lamenting over high-interest rate on loans obtained from various microfinance banks because they were unable to meet up with the repayment schedule.…

President Muhammadu Buhari says the Federal Government will sustain the deployment of Geographic Information Services (GIS) and similar technologies to help farmers achieve increased production. The President made this known when he received a delegation from the Surveyors Council of Nigeria (SURCON) led by the President of the International Federation of Surveyors, Prof Rudolf Staiger, at the State House, Abuja, on Thursday. He expressed delight that many states had adopted GIS for both urban and rural development, noting that government was also on track in using similar technologies to support farmers to increase their yields. Buhari said his administration would…

Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue on Thursday vowed to prosecute all violators of the state’s Anti-Open Grazing Law. This was contained in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr Terver Akase and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Makurdi. The governor warned all pastoralists wishing to come into the state to be mindful of the anti-open grazing law still in force and that all livestock owners must adopt ranching. According to him “Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law 2017 is sacrosanct and must be obeyed by everyone, irrespective of ethnicity, religion, and…

The Senate on Thursday mandated its Committees on Finance, Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions to investigate rationale behind huge difference between deposit and lending interest rates among commercial banks and other financial institutions. The Senate’s resolution is hinged on a motion: “Urgent Need to Reduce the Gap Between Lending Interest Rate and Deposit Interest Rate among Commercial Banks and other Financial Institutions.” The motion was sponsored by Sen. Solomon Adeola (APC-Lagos). Adeola in his lead debate noted that there was a huge divergence between the deposit and lending rates in Nigeria. He said data from Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN)indicates…

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it will re-introduce anti-corruption clubs in secondary schools to sustain the campaign against corruption. The ICPC Commissioner in Enugu State, Mr Sule Amedu, said this on Thursday during the Inter-Secondary School Anti-corruption Debate among selected schools in the state. The debate, entitled ‘Prevention of Corruption is Better than Enforcement’, was organized by a non-governmental organization, called Global Society for Anti-Corruption (GSAC), in collaboration with the ICPC. Amedu, who was represented by the Head, Education, and Public Enlightenment, Mr Godwin Achile, said that it had become necessary to fight corruption…

Dana Air has introduced additional flights on its Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Uyo routes as part of its route consolidation and expansion project. Mr Kinglsey Ezenwa, the Media and Communications Manager of the airline, made this known in a statement in Lagos on Thursday. Ezenwa said the additional flights which would be operated by the airline’s latest Boeing 737 aircraft, would bring the total number of flights operated by the airline to 36 daily. Speaking on the route consolidation efforts of the airline, Ezenwa said: ‘’We have created additional flights in commitment to our strategic route expansion programme. “Our…

Dr Bakari Wadinga, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment, has stressed the need for tree planting following its importance in the provision of oxygen as a necessity for life. Wadinga made the call during a familiarisation visit to the National Park Service Headquarters in Abuja on Thursday. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Wadinga recently took over from Mrs Ibunkun Odesote as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry. Quoting environmental science experts, he said that there were just two ways of creating oxygen either by tree planting or the scientific way of sinking carbon in the high…

The Kwara Government says it will begin renovation of 193 Primary Health Care (PHC) centres across the 16 Local Government Areas of the state. Dr Raji Razaq, the state Commissioner for Health, said this at the cancer screening programme in Ekiti Local Government Area. Razaq said the renovation was in line with government commitment at improving access to quality healthcare delivery. According to him, rehabilitation of the health centres will cut across all 193 primary healthcare facilitiies in the state. He said that the present administration was working tirelessly to reposition the sector, which would create sustainable healthcare delivery system.…

Security has been beefed up around the Enugu State Independence Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) headquarters in Enugu ahead of the local government elections on Saturday. News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports that the police mobilized their bomb squad unit to routes around the commission headquarters in Enugu. Apart from other routine checks on anyone around the office, vehicles were also screened with specialized gadgets. It was observed that as at 6 a.m, security agents had commenced general checks on all vehicles in Enugu metropolis, including school buses and students going to school. The security agents were strategically positioned at points around…