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General news

Jos collapsed building: We’ve skills gap of 17.9% in Construction – D-G ITF

Jos collapsed building: We’ve skills gap of 17.9% in Construction – D-G ITF
Photo:

The management of ITF and the entourage of the GOC of 3rd Armoured Division, Jos, Maj.-Gen. Nuhu Agbanzo, during their courtesy visit to ITF Headquarters in Jos

By Martha Agas
Training
Jos, July 17, 2019(NAN) Mr Joseph Ari, the Director-General, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), says Nigeria has a skills gap of 17.9 per cent in construction leading to many defects in buildings.
Ari was reacting to the Jos collapsed building on Monday evening at Dilimi Area of Jos North Local Government Area in Plateau, that claimed 14 lives with four injured.
The director-general disclosed this on Wednesday in Jos during a courtesy visit by Maj.-Gen. Nuhu Agbanzo, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 3rd Armoured Division, Jos, to the ITF Headquarters.
He said ITF in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) had conducted a survey on skill gaps in Nigeria, noting that jobs are available without requisite skills.
“We have available jobs in Nigeria but no requisite skills for it. The construction jobs are being taken over by expatriates who exceed their one per cent quota as stipulated by the law.
“We should declare a state of emergency in skills acquisition in the country and call for more collaborations from organisations and state governments in training Nigerians on vocational and technical skills,” Ari said.
The director-general congratulated the GOC for the peaceful conduct of elections in the state and promised to support him in motivating his personnel through training and empowering their family members on skills.
“We will bring one of our ‘training on wheels’ van to the barracks to train housewives of army personnel on prolonged operations on skills and empower them with starter packs.
“We trained 200 Air force officers on mechatronics and autotronics through our Model Skills Training Centre in Abuja,” he said.
Earlier in his remarks, Agbanzo said the visit was to seek support in developing its human capital especially for families of personnel on prolonged operations.
“We want a unique synergy with ITF to assure our personnel of their welfare and their families in case of eventualities such as injuries and to empower both serving and out of service personnel with life skills to become self sufficient,” he said. (NAN)
MAA/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

North: NGO attributes frequent marriage collapse to drug abuse

Alhaji Fahad Ahmed-Chikaji, Chief Executive Officer of Arewa Youths Trust Foundation (AYTF).

North: NGO attributes frequent marriage collapse to drug abuse
By Mohammed Lawal
Dugs
Zaria (Kaduna State), May 6, 2019 (NAN) A Zaria-based NGO, Arewa Youth Trust Foundation (AYTF) has attributed the incessant collapse of marriages in Northern Nigeria to drug abuse.
This is contained in a statement signed by the Executive Director, AYTF, Alhaji Fahad Ahmed-Chikaji, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Zaria, Kaduna State, on Monday.
Ahmed-Chikaji, who is also the Coordinator, Kaduna State Gender Ambassadors, stated this at a town hall meeting with youths in Zaria.
He observed that abuse of drugs and other banned substances was on the increase, especially among unemployed youths in the region.
The executive director urged the youths to shun drug abuse, noting that it has destroyed lives of many young people, apart from leading others to madness.
“In Northern Nigeria, drugs and substance abuse has reached an alarming stage; the scenario is ravaging the vulnerable population of youths of both sexes which culminate into separation of marriages.
“Drug abuse remains the main cause of broken marriages and homes, armed banditry, kidnapping and religious extremism, among other violent crimes.
“The alarming situation if not urgently checked will have a negative effect on our families and indeed the entire society, it is worthy to note that intervention of government alone cannot solve the problem.
“As members of the society, we have to join hands with government at all levels to reduce, if not eradicate the menace amongst the people,” he advised.
According to him, parents must be alive to their responsibilities of ensuring proper child upbringing, and advised members of the society to also assist in shaping children’s attitude by monitoring their movement and activities.
He blamed Nigerian elites for their unnecessary arrogance and selfishness such that the attitude had impacted negatively on the society.
“Attitude of some of our elites makes us to continuously loose the positive culture, identity and values at the expense of other cultures and tradition.
“As Africans, we must stick to our good values and traditions, where a neighbour can discipline the child of his neighbour without necessarily the knowledge of his father or mother.
“This is what is lacking today; a neighbour has no right to discipline a child other than his; that is why moral decadence is so rampant in our society.
“For our society to be what it used to be, we must go back to the old values and traditions where every member of the society is a stakeholder towards ensuring a descent, humble, sound and reliable society,” he noted.
Ahmed-Chikaji lamented that some of the drug victims falsely believe that they feel free, high and assumed that they were on top of the world whenever they consume hard drugs without knowing its adverse consequences. (NAN)
KLM/KOLE/MST
Edited by Remi Koleoso/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

No corps member was killed in Owerri building collapse-NYSC

NAN-HG-4
Collapse
By Yashim Katurak
Abuja, Aug. 18, 2017 (NAN) The Management of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) said no member of the corps was killed in the building collapse in Owerri on Aug. 13.

Mrs Bose Aderibigbe, the NYSC Director of Press made the clarification in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday.

She said that there was a need to correct a misinformation in news reports by some national dailies regarding the identities of two of the deceased persons in the incident.

“Chinedu Isiogugu and Ngozi Oformezie were not serving corps members as stated in the news reports.

“To put the record straight, Chinedu Isiogugu, a graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka indeed served on the platform of the NYSC during the 2016 Batch ‘A’ service year with state code number IM/16A/3803.

“However, the deceased completed the service and was officially discharged on May 4, 2017. Ngozi Oformezie as at date is also not identified as a serving corps member.

“We commend our media friends and stakeholders for their efforts at informing the citizenry.

“We equally want to appeal for cross-checking of facts with the scheme on matters of this nature, especially to ascertain identities of serving corps members,” she said.

She said that the corps condoled with the government and people of Imo over the loss of lives in the building collapse.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that some persons were reportedly killed when a building collapsed at the Fire Service Junction, Owerri on Sunday Aug. 13. (NAN)
KRY/JPE/GY
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Edited by Joseph Edeh/Grace Yussuf

General news

Reigners building collapse: Panel orders release of Structural Engineer

Reigners building collapse: Panel orders release of Structural Engineer

NAN-H-28

Church

Uyo, Jan. 3, 2017 (NAN) The special panel of inquiry constituted by the Akwa Ibom Government to investigate the collapsed Reigners Bible International Church building has ordered the release of structural engineer who handled the project.

The Chairman of the panel, Justice Umoekoyo Essang, gave the order on Tuesday in the first business unit sitting of the panel after an appeal by the counsel to the General Overseer of the church in High Court Complex in Uyo.

The counsel to the General Overseer, Apostle Akan Weeks, Mr Ini Ekpo, had appealed to the court to give an extension of time to enable him find necessary documents which would aid the progress for the release of the structural engineer who is in possession of the building documents.

According to him, the engineer was in possession of the valuable documents that would aid in the case.

Ekpo said it was necessary for the engineer to be released to enable his team have access to the documents of the building.

Also speaking, Mr Ekanem Ekanem, Counsel to the structure engineer who commended the panel for ordering the release of the engineer, said that all his efforts to get his client’s release from police had proved abortive.

The Akwa Ibom Commissioner for Justice, Mr Uwemedimo Nwoko, had also appealed to the panel to approve the release of the bodies to the families of the deceased after inspecting the corpses.

He said that the release of the bodies to the families of the deceased would reduce the pressure on the state government by the families of the deceased for the release of the corpses.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Commission of Enquiry had received memos from the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).

NAN also recalls that the state government set up the panel of inquiry on Dec. 2016

The case was adjourned to Jan. 6 to enable complainant access the necessary documents. (NAN)

SDB/MST

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola