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(FLOWERBUD NEWS) Kaduna, Aug. 24, 2019 (NAN)  Kaduna State Government said on Saturday that it would train 6,828 Primary One teachers on how to improve literacy and numeracy among primary one pupils in public primary schools.

Malam Habib Alhassan, Acting Director, School Inspection and Monitoring, Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna.

Alhassan said the training would be conducted under the World Bank-supported Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) designed to improve enrolment and learning outcomes in public schools.

He said the process had begun with the selection of 321 master trainers and teacher facilitators for Reading and Numeracy Activities (RANA).

He added that the RANA initiative would be carried out across the over 4,226 primary schools in the state under Result Area Two of the BESDA programme, which sought  to improve literacy.

He explained that the master trainers and the teacher facilitators would train the 6,828 primary one teachers and monitor their performance and efficiency in improving literacy among primary one pupils.

“We have received over 500 applications from Federal College of Education, Zaria, Kaduna State College of Education, Gidan Waya, Ministry of Education, SUBEB and others from Local Government Education Authorities.

“We are currently conducting examination and interview for the selection and appointment of the 321 master trainers and teacher facilitators out of over 500 applicants.

“After the selection exercise, 107 will be appointed as Master Trainers and 214 as Teacher Facilitators.

“Hopefully by next week, the master trainers will be trained, who would then train the 214 teacher facilitators.

“The teacher facilitators will then step down the training to the 6,828 primary one teachers in the state,” he said.

The director added that the master trainers and teacher facilitators would closely monitor teachers’ delivery in classrooms to ensure improved literacy, including the use of Hausa language.

The director explained that the board had begun mobilisation of 2,000 influencers across relevant stakeholders for massive enrolment campaign to enroll about 145,000 out-of-school children by end of the year.

He said the enrolment campaign was the Result Area One of the BESDA programme that focused on increasing access to equitable and quality education for the 727,764 out-of-school children in the state.

“The Result Area Two will then ensure that after the successful enrolment of the out-of-school children, the teachers are well equipped to teach the children how to read, write and manipulate numbers and figures.

“We will then follow the teachers to the classrooms and monitor their activities to ensure that the expected result of improved learning outcome is achieved,” alhassan said.

NAN reports that the Federal Government had in 2018 secured a 611 million dollars World Bank grant for the BESDA programme in 17 states with highest number of out-of-school children.

The programme was  to support the Universal Basic Education Commission in addressing Pillar One of the Ministerial Strategic Plan that seeks to address the problem of out-of-school children in the country.

The specific objectives are  to increase equitable access to education for out-of-school children, improve literacy in focus states and strengthen accountability for results through system strengthening. (NAN)

(FLOWERBUD NEWS )  Paul Adegbola, the Pastor in Charge of Teens Assembly, Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Medaiyese Regional Headquarters, Garki, has urged government to exlore teenagers talent for national development.

Adegbola gave the advice on Sunday in Abuja at the graduating ceremony of the church’s 2019 Rhema Bible School.

He said there was need for government to create enabling environment for teenagers to explore their hidden talents.

“If government create enabling environment for teenagers to make use of their talents, this country will move forward.

“If Nigeria teens can put their minds in great things, God can use them to revive the country.”

The pastor also advised teenagers to seek God, know and fear Him at their early stage in life.

“A lot of teenagers have bundles of talents but they don’t know that they have something.

“It is critical for them to seek God, the giver of that talent so that they can channel their energies, passions to God and grow up fulfilled.”

Adegbola said that the bible schools which began 17 years ago had positively impacted on people who passed through it.

“Today, many of them have graduated working and above all we are seeing changes spiritually.”

He said that the school was established when the church noticed that some teenagers were not purposefully engaged during schools holiday.

In her sermon, one of the teenagers who preached during the church Sunday service, Miss Dorcas Awotunde, titled “Triumphant Teenagers in the 21st century”, advised teenagers to prioritise God.

Awotunde said that teenage life is made up of spiritual, academic, social and emotional aspects that must be balanced.

She said that achieving success in each of the aspects required playing of key roles by the teenagers themselves, their parents and the church.

Awotunde urged teenagers to have faith in God, trust in Him and develop their spiritual life to be able to conquer challenges of life.

“The social aspect focus on your relationship with other people. At this stage a lot of teenagers focus on the reigning styles, music and others.

“At this stage you want to know the kind of friends you need, you try to realise your inner self and where you fit into society. The internet is also part of the social life.

“In this stage I beg our parents not to shun us, instead they should be close to us, to guide and encourage us,” Awotunde said.

The Coordinator of the School, Mrs Monisola Fadoju, said that the school was established to cater for spiritual, psychological, sociol, and educational need of teenagers during school vacations.

According to Fadoju, some of the activities carried out during the two weeks camp includes theological studies, English Language,  devotional studies, ICT, Mathematics, undergraduate studies and general studies.

“To explore their skills, this year we also have vocational studies like soap making, lunch bags, hand bang, fascinator, popularly known as hats. We also did sport and talent shows like singing and drama.

“We are believing God that just like Oxford University, Leed University started, one day this school will grow to become a seminary or university that will be reckoned with worldwide.”

Fadoju said that the 2019 programmes had over 160 attendance of teenagers not only from CAC, but from other denominations within Abuja.

“Last year we had children from seven other denominations, for this year we will later meet to analyse the attendance.”

Highlights of the  occasion includes exhibition of vocational skills’ products such as soap and hand bags produced by the children.

There was also presentation of gifts to overall best teenagers and those that had outstanding performance in each of the courses offered. (NAN)

(FLOWERBUD NEWS)  The functions of the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mallam Abba Kyari, with respect to ministers has not changed the Presidency says.

Reacting to media criticisms of President Buhari’s directive to ministers to channel all correspondence through the Chief of staff, the Presidency stressed that it was just a verbalisation of the same role performed by Kyari in the first term of President Buhari.

According to a statement issued by Garba Shehu, SSA to the President on Media, the presidency said that Buhari merely pronounced one of the primary functions of the Chief of Staff.

“Recent media and social media reports on the responsibilities of the Chief of Staff to the President have suggested that the role has changed. This is not the case”, Garba said.

“Today, under the Buhari II administration the role of Chief of Staff remains the same as it was under Buhari I.

“It is worth stressing that the role and responsibilities of the Chief of Staff and the method of communication and arranging scheduling between Cabinet members and the President are, in Nigeria, based on the US model, where the same system operates – and has done for decades – in precisely the same way.

“That role is to act as the head of the presidential administration at Aso Rock; to be an adviser to the President on any and all matters; to be the line manager for all staff at Aso Rock; and to manage appointments and scheduling for the President.

“In the traditional presidential system, it is a primary function of a Chief of Staff, which may vary according to the needs and desires of each President, to supervise key State House Staff, control access to the office and the person of the President, manage communications and information flow and this includes that which binds the relationship with the two other arms of government.

“During the President’s first term those were the responsibilities of the Chief of Staff, and they remain the same responsibilities today. There is no change.

“When President Buhari explained to ministers that they would be expected to communicate with him and arrange scheduling to meet with him primarily via the Chief of Staff, he did so as many of the Buhari II Cabinet ministerial appointments are new appointments and cannot therefore be expected to know how matters of liaising with the President operate.

“This is to stress that access to the President is open to ministers. It is not true that this is denied them in the Second Term.

“The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) on the other hand is responsible for ensuring the effective coordination and monitoring of the implementation of government policies and programmes. All cabinet matters must go through him.

“Under this dispensation, a performance evaluation of ministers and Permanent Secretary will be maintained by the SGF. Two weeks after assuming office, they are expected to sign mandate acceptance documents.

“It is time to end the unnecessary controversy, for the key appointees of the President to carry out their jobs.”

(FLOWERBUD NEWS)  The Police Command in Enugu State said no police station was burnt in the state as being speculated in the social media.

The Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Ebere Amaraizu, said this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Sunday.

Amaraizu, however, said that some hoodlums that pretended to come to report a matter in Ikirike Police Station, suddenly attacked the station located within Enugu South Local Government Area at about 8 a.m.

“It was ay some people suspected to be hoodlums, who had come with the pretence of laying complaint in the early hours of today. Under that guise, they attacked our men.

“Although, there was no death among police personnel on duty in the station, but our injured personnel are responding to treatment.

“The quick intervention of reinforcement team as dispatched by the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Sulaiman Balarabe, could not give the hoodlums the opportunity to have the upper hand,’’ he said.

The police spokesman said the commissioner had directed an investigation into the incident with a view to unmasking the culprits. (NAN)

(FLOWERBUD NEWS) Iranian women will be allowed to attend a men’s football World Cub qualifying match in the Islamic Republic of Iran in October, the official IRNA news agency quoted a Sports Ministry official as saying on Sunday.

While foreign women have been allowed limited access to matches in Iran, Iranian women have been banned from stadiums when men’s teams are playing since the Islamic revolution in 1979.

FIFA wrote to the Iranian Football Federation in June asking it to provide a timeline towards women being able to buy tickets for the qualifiers, or face consequences.

“Women can go to Tehran’s Azadi stadium to watch the match between Iran’s national team and Cambodia in October for the Qatar World Cup qualifier,” Deputy Sports Minister Jamshid Taghizadeh said.

The Asian football governing body (AFC), which has 47 members including Iran, said it was working to help FIFA find an “amicable solution” that would allow Iranian female fans to attend future games in Iran.

“There is no legal ban for women to watch the football matches in the stadium. The activation of the infrastructure is underway,” Taghizadeh said.

Iranian female fans have long campaigned to be allowed to watch men’s football and occasionally a limited number of women have been allowed into the stadium.In June, some women were detained by security forces when they went to the Azadi Stadium for a friendly against Syria.Last year, some women risked arrest by donning fake beards and wigs to attend a major game in the stadium. Their pictures and videos were posted on social media.

The 2022 World Cup will be held in Qatar.

(FLOWERBUDNEWS)  Alhaji Ibrahim Goni, Conservator-General (CG), National Parks Service (PKS), says the seven National Parks across the country are fully equipped and prepared for fun seekers and persons wishing to have enjoyable holiday.

“The parks are ready; they are being upgraded to meet international standards. Nigerians seeking fun are welcome,” Goni told the Nigeria News Agency , on Saturday in Abuja,.

Goni spoke further: “We have facilities that will make visitors comfortable at Gashaka Gumti, Cross River, Kamuku, Okomu and Old Oyo parks.

“Oli Tourist Camp at Kainji Lake National Park in Niger State covers an area of 5,340.82sq.km with 52 standard chalets. We boast of 24-hour electricity supply, a conference centre, two swimming pools, a restaurant and bar.

“Chad Basin National Park, located in the extreme North-East of Nigeria between Borno and YobeStates, has 12 chalets well furnished, en-suite facilities for people out for sport fishing, boat cruising and bird watching at night.

“Our facilities at the Cross River, Kamuku, Old Oyo and Okomu National Parks are also superb. We have same facilities that showcase nature at its best,’’ he said.

He said that the parks were good for summer holidays, urging Nigerians to rethink their tendency to undertake trips abroad this summer and turn to any of the National parks to enjoy the ambience of nature that God had blessed Nigeria with.

According to him, patronising the parks will go a long way to help develop them to acceptable global standards.

“It will also enhance the revenue drive of the parks and contribute to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“We are working to preserve and protect the nation’s natural heritage and the cultural edifices for unborn generations. If we don’t patronise them, they will go moribund,” he said.

He assured Nigerians that despite the security situation in some parts of the country, the parks would continue to serve as an embodiment of the nation’s biodiversity conservation and ecotourism destinations.

“I assure Nigerians that adequate security has been put in place to ensure the safety of visitors and tourists intending to visit the national parks during the celebrations.

“We have adequate security and surveillance patrol at all the national parks in the country, so they won’t become hiding places for criminals this season of celebration.

“Our intention is to rid the parks of criminals and hoodlums who may want to take advantage of the Sallah celebrations to perpetrate nefarious activities in and around the parks,’’ he said.

(FLOWERBUD NWEWS)  Senator Dino Melaye said on Friday that he will appeal the judgment of the Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal which nullified his election as senator representing Kogi West in the Nigerian Senate.

It would be recalled that Melaye was declared the winner of the Kogi West Senatorial election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in February but the tribunal nullified it on Aug. 23 (Friday) and ordered for fresh election.

A three-man panel led by Justice A. O. Chijioke in a unanimous judgment ruled in favour of Adeyemi’s petitions and ordered for reelection into the Kogi West senatorial district.

However, Melaye in a tweet shortly after the annulment by the tribunal vowed to appeal the judgment noting that his challenger would have also challenged the ruling if he was in his shoesr.

“On Tribunal judgment: No cause 4 alarm at all. Even if it went my way they will still go to the Appeal Court. Our mandate cannot be taken.

“We will get judgment at the Appeal Court. There will be fresh election in Kogi West bc I will be Governor. For my Senate mandate no shaking.”