From Magnus Eze, Abuja
The Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) yesterday said that oil palm could drive the economy of about 25 states in Nigeria, if a proper development strategy that would boost production is religiously pursued.
The institute also disclosed that Nigeria has a deficit of about 500,000 metric tonnes of oil palm from its yearly requirement of about 1.2 million metric tonnes.
According to Executive Director of NIFOR, Dr. Omorefe Asemota, the nation has relied on importation to close the gap.
He expressed optimism that the gap could be bridged in a few years, given access to land, simplified and ‘cheap’ funds, large-scale holders and extension workers to reach the farmers and assist in technology application.
Asemota noted that state governments have serious roles to play in achieving this objective, as they control the land and have the capacity to raise oil palm growers.
He, therefore, urged each state to set aside at least 50,000 hectares of land and involve youths in oil palm production, because, they learn faster and are ready to adapt to new technologies.
“All the states in the oil palm belt, the coastal states all the way to Niger, Taraba, Adamawa and in between, should be involved in oil palm development programmes. We have seen sparks in Abia and Delta states, but we would like it to become a proper flame,” Asemota said.
NCC:NCC moves to protect subscribers
From Walter Ukaegbu, Abuja
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reiterated its readiness to protect subscribers from the nuisance of unsolicited text messages and calls from mobile network operators.
According to the Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, despite earlier warnings to telecommunication service providers to activate their “Do-Not-Disturb” facility, which gives subscribers the freedom to choose the messages they receive, the commission is still inundated with complaints by subscribers over continuing text harassment by operators.
He said that the directive issued to the operators to activate the 2442 “Do-Not-Disturb” short code took effect from July 1, 2016, while the networks had been mandated to take immediate action, which would allow the subscribers to take informed, independent decisions on what messages to receive from the networks.
Ojobo observed that industry compliance does not seem to have matched the seriousness of the directive, compelling the commission to issue a final warning to the operators. He stressed that the NCC was ready to protect subscribers from unsolicited text messages from operators.
According to him, the directive takes into cognisance the broad range of services, which include banking/insurance/financial products, real estate, education, health, consumer goods and automobiles, communication/broadcasting/entertainment/IT, tourism and leisure, sports, religion (Christianity, Islam, others), and directed the operators to give the necessary instructions and clarifications that would enable telephone users subscribe to a particular service of their choice.
EDUCATION: FG decries dearth of teachers
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Federal Government has decried the dearth of committed teachers at the basic education level, while expressing fear that the trend would have negative effects on the academic career of Nigerian children.
However, the registrar of the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, has expressed optimism that the proposed recruitment of 500,000 teachers by the Federal Government would cover the deficit in basic and secondary education in the country.
Recently, a professor of English Education from Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Prof. Sunday Agwu, challenged government to priortise the welfare of teachers, so as to make the profession more attractive for interested young people.
Speaking at the induction of teachers in the state, Agwu said that a breakdown of the nine-year admission record in Ebonyi State University, for example, showed that only 2,255 candidates applied to study education-related courses in the school, compared to thousands of applicants who sought to secure space in other faculties.
According to him, only seven candidates applied to study education in the 2004/2005 academic session, while in 2005/2006, there was a little improvement, with 20 candidates indicating interest in education courses. He noted that in the same session, 3,105 opted for Medicine; 1,117 for Law; 2,343 for Business Administration; 1,001 for Humanities and 1,573 applied for admission into the Social Sciences.
ENVIRONMENT: Minister warns against neglecting environment
From Magnus Eze, Abuja
The Minister of Environment, Mrs. Amina Mohammed, has warned that unless adequate attention was paid to the environment, human lives would be at risk.
The minister also advised that efforts be intensified towards creating more awareness on what is happening to the environment, to engender appropriate policies for sustainable environmental management.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 6th Annual Meeting of African Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions Working Group on Environmental Auditing (AFROSAI-WGEA)in Abuja, through the Director of Forestry, Mr. Philip Bankole, Mohammed highlighted the challenges posed by the impacts of climate change, massive deforestation, loss of biodiversity, land degradation, desertification and flooding.
She stressed that environmental audit complements environmental impact assessment, which, “enables us perceive what is likely to go wrong in the future as a result of the implementation of a proposed development project, and proffers precautionary measures to avoid negative impacts on humans and the environment.”
The minister, therefore, commended the body on the successful cooperative environmental audit on the drying Lake Chad by the four Lake Chad Basin Commission member countries of Cameroun, Chad, Niger and Nigeria.
SON: SON raises the alarm over sub-standard imports
From Walter Ukaegbu, Abuja
The Acting Director-General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Paul Angya, has raised the alarm that sub-standard goods in the country would impact negatively on the economy, as it has crippled local companies.
Angya, who made this disclosure during a stakeholders meeting in Lagos, stated that the circulation of substandard goods was still a problem to the organization, and the influx of such goods poses great dangers to the economy.
“Sub-standard goods are flooded everywhere and, therefore, prevent the local industries from competing. This results in the local industries not making impact on the country and not doing well. Before now, companies went to universities to compete in the employment of graduates students, but, currently, it is not the case because companies are closing down,” he said.
The Director-General regretted that most of the products find their way into the country through the seaports. He noted that, for years, SON has not been allowed to check the goods as its officials are no longer at the ports of entry.
“This was as a result of a calculated conspiracy mounted by fraudulent importers against the return of SON to the seaports because they were the beneficiaries of sub-standard goods. Most times it was being resisted by the community of importers, who associate such resistance with violence,” he said.