By Ahmed Ubandoma

The Surveyor-General of the Federation (SGoF), Mr Abudul-Ganiyu Adebomehin, has announced plans to host the 2023 Conference on Geographic Information System (GIS) on Nov. 14 in Abuja.

Adebomehin disclosed this on Thursday while briefing newsmen on the preparations ahead of the event in Abuja.

“The GIS day is a remarkable day and a day that we have not had before in Nigeria, so we are planning it big so that people will know the importance of GIS.

“When you say GIS is everything you think-of, its because that is where you have the data, keep data and how you run analysis of data, showcase what you have in the data and use it for informed decision making.

“That’s why we are planning to give it a kind of attention where professionals will come and display what they have been able to achieve.

“So that at the end of the day we would have a remarkable GIS day, so come November 14 to 15 we would kick-start the the programme” he said.

Adebomehin said, the event is expected to attract stakeholders from formal and informal sectors of the nation’s economy.

The Surveyor-General said, the stakeholders would meet and brainstorm on the possibilities of having a unique systems that guarantee data harmonisation.

He stressed the need for professionals in the sector to support efforts in strengthening capacity towards achieving effective National Geospatial Data Infrastructure (NGDI) for Nigeria.

According to him, having effective and efficient NGDI is the surest way to sustainable development in terms of accuracy in database which would assist government in development planning.

“Because, when you talk about Geospatial Repository is sole responsibility of the office of Surveyor General of the Federation.

“When you go outside the country you will appreciate that having National Geospatial Data Infrastructure (NGDI) for Nigeria is everything you can think of.

”Because it would contain information about everything even the road, health institutions among others.

“Because anything you want to talk about is Geospatial Information when you keep it as repository then dissemination of that information is what makes the pool out of it” he said.

The press briefing was attended by stakeholders from the National Population Commission (NPC), and other partners from the private sector.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that,  the Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer system for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on Earth’s surface.

NAN also reports that, GIS helps individuals and organisations to better understand spatial patterns and relationships, especially in land administration, security among others.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng).

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Edited by AbdulFatai Beki/Ekemini Ladejobi

By Collins Yakubu-Hammer

Our Beloved Girl Child Global Foundation, a Non-Governmental Oragnisation (NGO), has commended the efforts of Gov. Hope Uzodinma on women empowerment and promotion of the rights of the Girl-child.

President of the Foundation, Dr Lilian Agbazue, gave the commendation at a media conference on Thursday in Abuja

Agbazue said the first term of Gov. Uzodinma was characterized by initiatives and tangible deliverables that promoted women empowerment and the rights of the girl-child in Imo.

According to her, the Governor of Imo has done well in terms of the requirements of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.

“This is also known as ‘The Maputo Protocol on Women’s Rights’. The Protocol guarantees extensive rights to women, including the right to take part in the political processes, to social and political equality with men.

“In addition, it has improved autonomy in their reproductive health decisions, and an end to harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation, among others.

“Without empowerment, women, as the largest proportion of our population will be vulnerable and impoverished due to the challenges caused by social, economic, cultural and political marginalisation,’’ she said

According to her, Uzodinma’s appointment of women to serve in different capacities in his administration is a clear demonstration of his desire to foster women’s right in the political processes and decision making processes.

She said Uzodinma’s 3Rs of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Recovery has indeed supported women economic empowerment and the rights of the girl-child in Imo.

“The governor has rehabilitated 305 Health Centres in the 305 electoral wards in the state; most of them equipped and provided with solar generated power.

“He returned peace to the state by tackling insecurity challenges with synergy from security agencies in the State.

“He constructed over 1,000km of roads across the state, including the Orlu/Owerri and Okigwe/Owerri roads and many ongoing constructions of roads in each of the 27 Local government areas of the State.

“Uzodinma has also revived the Ben Uwajumogu College of Education at Ihitte-Uboma and instituted a governing council to ensure its continuous function.

“The governor recruited and training 10,000 Primary school teachers in the State among many other projects,” she said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Vincent Obi

By Rukayat Moisemhe

The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) says the institute is determined to tackle Human Resources (HR) management quackery to address its fallouts across various sectors of the Nigerian economy.

The President of CIPM, Mr Olusegun Mojeed, said this during a news conference in celebration of the Institute’s 55th anniversary and 55th International Conference and Exhibition on Wednesday in Lagos.

Mojeed noted that the event slated for Nov 13 to 16 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja would be declared opened by President Bola Tinubu.

He said for regulatory bodies to ensure global best practices, everyone engaged in quackery must be brought to books to bring out the best in every sector of the economy.

Mojeed noted that one major challenge beguiling the human resources profession remained the issue of quackery where unqualified, uncertified people practiced people management.

According to him, organisations that do not value the people element and they think they can just put anybody to run human resources.

Mojeed also emphasised the need for people running both government and private sector affairs to be properly certified.

“You do not put a non-accountant in charge of your finances, a non-engineer to come and be building your houses or a non banker to run a bank for you, so why do that to run people management?

“When a quack is caught in the act, the first thing is to go to court as the law of the land stipulates.

“And you know, the funny thing is that if this quack repents, and they come through the proper channel, they too will be licensed to practice.

“We are not looking for monopoly; what we are saying is that let things be done the way it should be done and as an institute, we have now decided to wake up to our responsibilities to stop quacks from defrauding innocent people.

“This is because by the law of this land, the CIPM is the only recognised professional body to manage, to develop, and to regulate the practice of people management,” he said.

Mojeed also emphasised the need for HR professionals to become employee advocates, credible activists, as they liaise between employee and management.

He noted that while the HR professional is not a unionist nor a business owner, he must be able to balance the role between the two by employing strategic thinking abilities in the affairs of any organisation.

Addressing the institute at 55 years, the CIPM president said though a lot had been done to grow the institute, they had just begun scratching the surface of growth.

“In the last three years, there has been a lot of expansion moves by the institute via the creation of the CIPM United Kingdom branch, Canada branch and soon to be the United States of America branch.

“We recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in the U.K. and that covers a whole and brings about a lot of benefits for our members.

“Going forward for the HR profession is that recognition that as a profession, we cannot act in isolation and so, it’s important for us to work in collaboration with other organisations across the public and private sectors of the economy,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

By Angela Atabo

Connected Development (CODE) said 47 projects worth $2.8million have been tracked by communities in Kaduna State through its Deepening Citizens’ Interest in Government Spending and Addressing Accompanying Corrupt Practices (DeSPAAC) project.

Mr Hamzat Lawal ,Chief Executive Officer, CODE made this known at the closeout of the DeSPAAC project in Abuja, funded by the MacArthur Foundation.

According to Lawal, the project is a testament to the power of collaboration and the impact a committed group of individuals can achieve in their communities.

He said that CODE leveraged on its FollowTheMoney model to embark on the DeSPAAC project, with a clear vision to promote transparency and accountability in the management of public resources.

Lawal said that the aim was to also ensure that government spending directly translated into meaningful development in Kaduna State.

He said, “We set out on a journey to engage with both citizens and government, fostering a sense of shared responsibility and a collaborative approach to governance.

“Since the project’s inception in 2021, we have made significant strides, tracking an impressive NGN 9,397,800,000.00 (USD 2.8 million) across 47 projects.

“We directly reached 30 communities with a total population of approximately 990,000 people from the three senatorial zones in Kaduna State.

“These numbers are more than just statistics; they represent lives touched, needs met, and a shared commitment to a better future.

“During our journey, we encountered a common challenge ;projects nominated by legislators often did not align with the actual needs of their constituents. ”

According to Lawal, in response, CODE developed the “constituency nomination and monitoring tool”.

He explained that the model allowed constituents to actively participate in the project selection process, thus ensuring that the projects truly addressed their needs.

Lawal added that it has also enabled legislators to exercise more effective oversight functions over the projects.

“The impact of our collective efforts is best reflected in the tangible improvements experienced by communities.

“In Chikaji, Sabon Gari, Zaria, a community without a Primary Health Centre (PHC) and forced to share one with a neighboring community, now has a fully functional PHC worth N50,000,000.00.

“In Sabon Gari, a classroom block valued at N12,500,000.00 now stands, providing much-needed educational infrastructure,”he said.

Lawal said that another significant transformation tool place in Pala, Ikara Local Government Area, where a previously under-equipped Primary Health Centre now boasts access to over 80 medical equipment.

He said that they included hospital beds, mattresses, examination couches, syringes, needles, forceps jars, weighing scales, and diagnostic sets, greatly improving the community’s access to quality healthcare.

The CEO said that the organisation’s approach, the ‘Constituency Nomination and Monitoring Tool’, has empowered constituents to play a more active role in project selection and implementation.

Lawal said that CODE brought legislators and their constituents together, fostering collaboration, transparency, and accountability in the governance process.

“Today, we stand on the cliff of change, where the lessons we have learnt and the successes we have achieved can pave the way for a more transparent, accountable, and efficient governance system.

“I call on legislators, governments’ representatives, and citizens to seize this opportunity to forge innovative ideas, bridge gaps, and promote greater transparency in our journey towards enhanced governance transparency,”he said

Lawal said that the DeSPAAC project was just the beginning,as CODE would continue to build on the foundations to actively engage citizens, legislators, and government representatives in a united effort to “strengthen the ties that bind us.”

He said ,”We all have a responsibility to ensure that the resources dedicated to various constituencies result in meaningful development are equitably distributed and efficiently managed.”

Rep. Hussaini Jallo, representing Igabi Federal constituency in the state, reiterated the commitment of his colleagues to sustainable development.

Jallo said that the developments in their constituencies would be in the areas of infrastructural developments like roads, electricity, education, health, water and security, among others.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Funmilayo Adeyemi

The Unity Schools Old Students Association (USOSA) has tasked the Federal Government to channel bulk of the education budget to basic and secondary education.

The President General of the association, Mr Michael Magaji disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja to herald the 40th Plenary and 2023 Annual General Meeting of the association.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme for the Plenary is tagged: ” The Journey To Nationhood: 50 Years of Unity Schools”.

Magaji said that basic education required adequate attention adding that not until the country begins to give priorities to basic education, the other layers of education would not improve.

According to him, it is easy to build on tertiary education if the foundation is solid and any country that does not apply adequate funding to education is going to be threatened by the challenges of the future.

“The government has a constitutional obligation to fund public education and any type of funding is not too costly for the sake of our country and national development.

“Any amount of money you spend on education, no matter how much, will give you the desired results. We cannot afford not to fund education.

“Interestingly this years budget, I know education featured third highest which to me is a good sign that the federal government is showing more concern in education, our issue really is about the balance in the allocation of basic, secondary and tertiary.

“We feel the emphasis on the bulk of the budget should go to basic and secondary education which is the formative year of a child, once you have that pedagogy right it’s easy to build on tertiary.

“But if we are doing the reverse, then we will have challenges and that has been the case for a very long time.

“Apart from budget of the federal government on education, we have interventions from agencies like TETFund who are doing tertiary education, the education tax of three per cent goes to TETFund but it is only for higher institutions,” he said.

Magaji explained that not until few years ago that an act to establish a National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC) was passed in the parliament.

He said that hopefully when the intervention line for secondary budget commenced in 2024, there would be great improvement in the sector.

In the areas of capacity building, Magaji said there was need for continuous strengthening of the various institutions to train manpower fit to teach students in the schools.

“In terms of capacity, educational planning, resourcing and training of those managing the process, we must continue to strengthen the institutions that train teachers.

” We must provide training for teachers and strengthen the examination bodies so that they can use the modern tools to deliver our exams and prepare students also.

“We need to build strong institutions and that has not always been the case because of so many reasons around corruption but if we continue to strengthen these institutions, we will be able to deal with it.

“Our people must be educated because it is very key to national,” he said.

On the state infrastructural deficit in the schools, he said that mainstreaming the alumni associations would help in strengthening public education as well as support the government in providing infrastructures for the benefit of the students.

Also speaking on character formation, he said that celebrating 50 years of second generation of the schools had greatly helped in forming Nigerian students to be great ambassadors of the country anywhere they found themselves.

“We as USOSANS are showing good examples through our strong mentoring skills we do to help strengthen students formation and character formation in their own school.

“We do this as part of our responsibilities as leaders, we attend the Monday and Saturday assemblies of the schools to talk to the kids, inspire them and hopefully that will help remold them in the area of character formation,” he added. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Ekemini Ladejobi