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Intel Partners USAID on Kano Teachers’ IT-Assisted Learning
To remarkably improve the standard of primary education in the country, Intel Nigeria and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have jointly organized a first of its kind training for teachers in Kano and donated a fully equipped computer centre.
Intel Nigeria in conjunction with the Community Participation for Action in The Social Sector (Compass), a USAID-sponsored organization jointly coordinated a five-day training program for lecturers of Saadatu Rimi College of Education on the use of information technology for teaching and also donated 20 sets of computers to the department of Primary Education Studies of the college to kick off its computer centre.
Speaking on the initiative, Bunmi Ekundare, Corporate Affairs Manager, Intel West Africa, expressed the company’s commitment to equip teachers with necessary IT skills and tools to ease knowledge transfer chain and boost the overall learning process.
Ekundare said the partnership was borne out of a good understanding between the partners and a genuine desire to offer skills which can improve teaching and learning real time. The college is the first of its kind to receive this training in Nigeria.
“For Intel, this is a significant launch of the pre service training for teachers. Hitherto, Intel has been running programs for in service teaching but this is first for pre service section. This whole model forms a strong integral of the Intel Teach program, a sub unit of the Intel World Ahead scheme designed to enhance accessibility, connectivity, education and contents” he stated.
The Intel representative restated that, “Our goal in Intel is to see this training inculcated into the curriculum for the college. This ensures that the teachers while in still school would have acquired some skills usually after school. This gets them better prepared for the challenge and this will no doubt ease teaching and make learning more exciting and interactive. We have trained 50 teachers who will train the students who are teachers to be and also the other teachers. We have also trained technology champions who can handle basic troubleshooting of the computers should there be any”.
He said: “The donated computers have been upgraded and tailor-made to cater for specific needs. The five-day training is an intensive getting started program. Within the five days, a teacher who has never touched a computer before can now use the PC easily in his discipline be it for preparing lesson notes or assignments for students. For continuity, the program has been designed in a train the trainer cascading system order requesting that a trained teacher trains ten others for a minimum. This has been gaining momentum gradually even with the Federal Government through the Universal Provision Fund (USPF), an arm of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). It has just commissioned about 550 schools for such service though it’s for the in service”.
Ayo Oladini, Senior Education Advisor and a coordinator for Compass expressed strong optimism on the partnership which according to him was for improving education and development in Nigeria. He stated that the organization was reputed for providing stakeholders involvement in education more so grassroots adding that it is a public private partnership that can impact lives.
“The FG has reiterated quality assurance but how can it ever come true without training and retraining for teachers who transfer knowledge. There are challenges for teachers to teach the usually large number of students in the classrooms which looks unrealistic but with the aid of IT tools and skills it becomes easy. That is a noble cause that we are dedicated to”, he remarked.
He noted that: “the partnership was borne of the MoU that exists between the two organisations as concerned parties who are ready to make meaningful contributions. It is not only about donation of computer, it is also about the skills. There is no way to improve quality of education without equipping teachers. This donation is the first here but would be scaled up. The participants can teach better, more interactively and easily. We are committed to in service and pre service training and infrastructural grants and instructional materials”.
Participants at the training also commented on their experience. Salihu Gigiyun, Head, Department of Primary Education Studies said the training was very educating and would be passed down to the remaining over 200 lecturers of the college. He added that “it is much easier to teach exclusively with the PC and it makes teaching highly interactive. We are delighted to be the first college of education in the country to benefit from this. It makes teaching simple, easy, scientific and offer students opportunities to go back to class lectures on their own”.
Mohd Umar, a lecturer and participant said he has worked for 13 years and lectured for 3 years but has never touched a computer. He expressed joy at the opportunity of using the computer adding that it makes him very relevant. He said nowadays everything is going online and if you are computer illiterate you will miss out.
Hakama sidi Alli, another lecturer and participant commended the organizing partners. “For me, this is exceptionally good. It makes you lure the students into learning without them realizing it. It helps especially the shy students by offering a two way flow, faster and easier learning, graphical and pictorial presentations. This is a good PC assisted learning I enjoy having lectured for 5 years´.
Oladipupo Adebutu, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, has alleged that all state governors in Nigeria are benefiting from and misappropriating local government allocations.
Oladipupo Adebutu
Adebutu made the remarks at the Ake Palace in Abeokuta during a meeting with the Egba Traditional Council, where he sought the support and blessings of traditional rulers for his governorship ambition.
He was accompanied by his running mate, Lateefat Sowunmi-Kolapo; the PDP senatorial candidate for Ogun Central, Iyabo Obasanjo; the Ogun State PDP Chairman, Abayomi Tella; and other party leaders and candidates.
Addressing the traditional rulers, Adebutu declared that granting full financial autonomy to local governments would be one of the defining policies of his administration.
“I will do something that will stun this nation and put us in the right direction. Local governments shall get their own money,” he said.
He added: “We must make sure we get local government autonomy. I have been reiterating to you that I, Oladipupo Olatunde, son of Adebutu, was at the National Assembly twice, and I can boast that I didn’t embezzle public funds. How many politicians can say this?”
Adebutu accused governors across party lines of diverting local government funds.
“It’s not a party thing. Both APC and PDP, all the governors are embezzling local government allocations. It’s not a secret,” he said.
He argued that local councils were able to deliver more development when they had greater control over their finances.
On infrastructure financing, Adebutu said governments must adopt new approaches rather than relying on borrowing.
“You don’t borrow money for infrastructure anymore,” he said, while promising to construct roads that would improve connectivity between Ogun State and Lagos.
In his remarks, Abayomi Tella, State Chairman of the PDP, lamented that the local government system in the state is in a state of collapse, recalling that as a former council chairman, he received N200 million as an allocation and used it to construct four roads within his local government.
He expressed concern that the current local government chairmen cannot point to any project of similar impact, attributing the situation to a lack of financial autonomy.
The PDP chairman said he strongly believes in Adebutu’s advocacy for local government autonomy, stressing that Adebutu is prepared and ready to lead the development of Ogun State.
Sowunmi-Kolapo, deputy governorship candidate, called on her kinsmen to support her political aspiration, noting that she has continued to support the development of Egbaland.
Also speaking, Iyabo Obasanjo, PDP candidate for Ogun Central Senatorial District, said that after leaving the APC following her unsuccessful governorship bid, she came to believe that Adebutu has the vision and political will to actualise her aspirations and manifesto for the people.
Obasanjo further noted that no political party has a more formidable team in Egbaland than the PDP, urging Egba monarchs to throw their weight behind the party in the interest of the people.
In his welcome address, the Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, described Adebutu as “trustworthy and reliable,” declaring his support for the party’s flag bearer ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
The Alake recalled his long-standing relationship with Adebutu’s father and expressed confidence in Adebutu’s character and leadership qualities.
“The son of a lion must resemble the lion. In fact, he is an even better version of his father,” Oba Gbadebo said.
Federal high court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of N941,994,079.86 linked to suspected ghost workers uncovered in the integrated payroll and personnel information system (IPPIS) to the federal government.
IPPIS is a centralised payroll system the federal government introduced to manage the salaries of federal public sector employees.
Binta Nyako, presiding judge, gave the order following an application filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
“That an Order is hereby made for the Final Forfeiture to the Federal Republic of Nigeria the Sum of N941,994,079.86 seized during investigation into the IPPIS Payroll scam in the year 2024,” Nyako ruled.
Okor Odey, ICPC spokesperson, announced the forfeiture in a statement issued at the weekend.
The ICPC spokesperson said investigations by the commission uncovered “large-scale payroll fraud involving hundreds of non-existent public servants, with a total sum of N941,994,079.86 traced to accounts linked to the scheme”.
Odey said a review of the IPPIS conducted in 2023 revealed the “existence of numerous “ghost workers” embedded within the payrolls of several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)”.
According to him, following the findings, President Bola Tinubu approved a “comprehensive audit” of the IPPIS.
He added that a joint investigation between the ICPC and the office of the accountant-general of the federation in April 2025 led to the discovery of 587 suspected ghost workers on the IPPIS platform.
“Investigations revealed that fictitious IPPIS identities had been created for non-existent personnel across multiple MDAs, with salaries paid over extended periods into accounts belonging to individuals and companies,” Odey said.
“In many cases, the account names did not correspond with those of the purported employees, while some accounts received multiple salary payments simultaneously.”
The ICPC spokesperson said the agency placed post no debit (PND) restrictions on all identified accounts to freeze the funds suspected to be proceeds of fraud.
He said the affected MDAs include the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), federal ministries of defence, education, agriculture and rural development, works, water resources, and interior.
Others are National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Benin, University of Calabar, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, University of Maiduguri, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and the office of the accountant-general of the federation.
The ICPC spokesperson said 120 civil servants were cleared after their identities and employment status were confirmed following a verification exercise in 2025.
He added that 467 bank accounts remain linked to unverified individuals with holders yet to be identified.
He noted that the N941.9 million currently frozen in the 467 bank accounts has been forfeited to the federal government.
He disclosed that the agency published the names of the 910 individuals suspected to have benefited from the purported fraud in two national dailies on March 18, 2026.
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has introduced the Blue Economy Accelerator Programme, a strategic initiative designed to identify, nurture, and accelerate innovative startups that will contribute to the sustainable growth of Nigeria’s marine and blue economy.
The Blue Economy Accelerator Programme is aimed at attracting young, vibrant minds with innovative ideas capable of transforming Nigeria’s maritime ecosystem.
Dr. Dayo Mobereola, Director-General of NIMASA, said that through the initiative, participants will receive structured business development support, industry mentorship, and technical guidance to convert promising concepts into viable ventures that address critical challenges and opportunities within the blue economy.
“The programme reflects NIMASA’s commitment to supporting the implementation of the vision of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in unlocking the immense potential of the blue economy by empowering young innovators, entrepreneurs, and technology-driven enterprises. We at NIMASA want to provide a platform for investors to identify young talents and invest in them”.
Mobereola, who commended the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola for codifying the Marine and Blue Economy Policy as a clear roadmap for the sector’s development, urged young Nigerians to embrace the programme which has the potential to transform raw talents into big investments in the maritime sector.
Applications are open to startups and innovators developing solutions across several strategic sectors, including marine waste management and the blue circular economy; aquaculture and sustainable fisheries; maritime technology and logistics innovation; ocean energy including wave, tidal, and offshore renewable energy; marine tourism and coastal recreation; marine biotechnology such as, ocean data and analytics; green shipping, including vessel decarbonization; smart port solutions; autonomous marine vehicles; biofouling prevention technologies; and coastal resilience through nature-based coastal defencesolutions.
The first phase of the programme is expected to attract a minimum of 150 high-quality applications from within and outside the country provided they are Nigerian citizens.
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