News
UNESCO, FCTA Train 100 on ICT, Entrepreneurship Programmes
UNESCO in collaboration with the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) yesterday graduated its second batch of 100 trainees on Information Communication and Technology (ICT), entrepreneurship skills.
The training, which lasted for two months and held in Abuja, was aimed at empowering youths, providing them with the skills to be economically self-reliant.
The project tagged: `YouthMobile Project’ was targeted at empowering 400 youths in software, hardware, entrepreneurship programmes and creating mobile applications and is to take place from Sept.2017 to March 2018.
It would be recalled that the first batch of 100 trainees graduated in Sept.
Mr Olushola Macaulay, National Information Communication Officer UNESCO, said that the programme was to empower youths for employment.
According to Macaulay, the organisation will create a hub that will allow the trainees opportunity to interface with their facilitators after the programme for sustained knowledge.
“The hub that we have promised you will be on for operation by Wednesday, we know that a whole lot of you don’t have the money to start a business now.
“We want to keep you and monitor you for a period of time, you can come to the training centre, have access to your facilitators to get clarifications on things you don’t understand,” he said.
The UNESCO official said that the organisation was working with stakeholders to provide loans for the trainees to start their own businesses.
“We know that some of these trainees will not need more than N100, 000 to start up a business.
“We are working with stakeholders like the Bank of Industry, African Development Bank and other key partners to see if we can get loans for them to establish themselves,” he said.
He said that the final graduation for the 400 youths would be on March 5, 2018, adding that certificates would be issued to the graduates then.
Mr Segun Fatigun, an official with the FCTA, said that the training involved youths across the country.
Fatigun noted that the administration was benevolent in ensuring that youths were empowered.
Mr Akindayo Akindolani, Managing Consultant, McAnderson Associates, said the programme was to teach the participants how to be entrepreneurs.
“The programme is not only to empower youths but to show the youths how to make money for themselves and create impact in the society.
“When they are effective in the society, they will as well create jobs,” he said.
Akindolani, who was the key facilitator at the programme, enjoined the trainees to sustain the process of learning, adding that it was only through continuous learning that they could become relevant in the ICT world.
He also said that they should be ready to serve in technological outfits, adding that it would be through serving they could advance.
Ms Blessing Emmanson, a trainee at the programme, said that the knowledge acquired would enabled her secure a job, while the programme was still on.
Emmanson noted that such programmes should be sustained for the engagement of more youths in the country.
She, however, said that the government and partners should as well provide the trainees with the facilities to start up small businesses and ensure that they retained the knowledge acquired.
Ogba Ogbaga, an Abuja-based lawyer, has said that he has been instructed to institute legal proceedings against MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom, 9mobile and MultiChoice Nigeria, operators of DStv, over what he described as unfair consumer practices relating to expiring data bundles and television subscriptions.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Ogbaga said his law firm, GIMBG Legals, received instructions from its client, KAA, also known as KaaTruths, to challenge the companies’ subscription policies in court.
According to him, the proposed suit will question whether telecom operators and DStv’s subscription models comply with provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018 and other applicable laws.
Ogbaga alleged that telecom providers operate internet data services that are unfair to consumers, claiming subscribers sometimes do not receive the services they paid for but still lose their subscriptions once the validity period expires.
He also criticised DStv’s subscription model, arguing that consumers lose paid viewing time due to factors such as power outages, adverse weather conditions and service interruptions, while subscriptions continue to count down regardless.
“Our clients have complained that MTN data services are unduly one-sided,” Ogbaga said, adding that the legal action would also extend to other telecommunications providers and DStv.
He said the court action would seek judicial determination on whether the companies’ subscription practices comply with consumer protection laws.
The lawyer also invited interested legal practitioners to collaborate on the case, saying his firm would provide updates as the matter progresses.
In a separate Facebook post on Wednesday, Ogbaga said previous policy discussions, town hall meetings and debates at the National Assembly had failed to address the concerns raised by consumers.
He argued that telecom operators regularly carry out maintenance and network upgrades that temporarily disrupt services without extending customers’ subscription periods, while DStv subscribers also lose viewing time because of electricity outages and weather-related disruptions.
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has commenced the issuance of new licence certificates to insurance companies that successfully met the industry’s new minimum capital requirements, marking the formal beginning of a new regulatory era aimed at strengthening the financial capacity, governance and global competitiveness of Nigeria’s insurance sector.
At a ceremony held at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja, the Commissioner for Insurance, Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, presented the new licence certificates to compliant operators, describing the exercise as a major milestone in the industry’s recapitalisation programme.
According to the Commission, a total of 43 insurance companies declared compliant with the new capital requirements are expected to receive the new licence certificates in phases.
Omosehin congratulated the successful companies, saying the issuance of the new licences signals the beginning of a stronger regulatory framework anchored on improved capitalisation, sound corporate governance, innovation and sustainable growth.
He urged operators to leverage their enhanced capital base to develop innovative insurance products, improve operational efficiency and deepen insurance penetration across the country.
The Commissioner said the Commission expects the recapitalised companies to deliver stronger financial performance while maintaining high standards of professionalism and customer service.
He also announced that NAICOM’s next major regulatory initiative would be the implementation of the Risk-Based Capital (RBC) framework, under which insurers’ capital levels would be aligned with the risks inherent in their respective business portfolios.
According to him, the new framework will further strengthen the industry’s resilience by ensuring that insurers maintain capital commensurate with the risks they underwrite, thereby enhancing policyholder protection and boosting market confidence.
Omosehin reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to removing regulatory impediments where necessary while maintaining effective oversight to safeguard policyholders and strengthen confidence in the insurance market.
The issuance of the new licence certificates marks the commencement of a phased transition to higher capital standards aimed at improving the financial capacity, solvency and claims-paying ability of insurance companies operating in Nigeria.
Management of Nigeria CommunicationsWeek Media has withdrawn its publication titled “Adefolarin Ogunsanya and the Allegations of Shareholder Interference and Self-Dealing at Pan African Towers,” which was published on its platform.
The decision to retract the story follows an editorial review to ensure that the platform maintains the highest standards of accuracy, fairness and responsible journalism in reporting matters that are the subject of ongoing judicial proceedings.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek acknowledges that the issues raised in the publication remain before the courts and have not been finally determined.
Accordingly, the organisation has decided to remove the article from its platforms pending the conclusion of the legal processes or the availability of additional verified information.
The publication regrets any inconvenience or misunderstanding the report may have caused to readers or any individuals or organisations mentioned in the story.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek remains committed to the principles of balanced, factual and ethical journalism and will continue to uphold professional standards in its coverage of judicial and corporate governance matters.
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