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Army Begins Recruitment into Special Forces
The Nigerian Army Headquarters said it has embarked on mass recruitment of personnel into its Special Forces Concept Training nationwide.
The Director, Directorate of Army Recruitment, Resettlement and Reserve, Brig.,-Gen Emmanuel Akpan, made this known on Friday, saying it was in line with global best practices to reinvigorate the force.
He spoke in Ado Ekiti at an advocacy visit to Gov.
Kayode Fayemi.Akpan said the sensitisation and enlightenment tour would take him to all the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
He said the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Tukur Buratai, had directed that the Special Forces concept be integrated in all Nigerian Army training institutions.
The exercise, he added, had already commenced and would end on April 29.
He said the nationwide tour had become imperative to enable states fill their quotas
” This new approach to training implies that all new recruits must undergo special forces training
” The current approach, apart from ensuring that all Nigerian Army personnel can adopt and function seamlessly in any operating environment, is also expected to imbue in personnel special skills that enable them win battles,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the army chief, who later met with a group of youths at the Government House, educated them on the pride in serving their country.
He urged them to get the information across to their mates and colleagues by enlisting in the army, saying a fulfilling career awaited them.
Akpan assured them that it was an opportunity that required no god-father’s help to be recruited.
” I can assure you that contrary to insinuation and rumours, you do not need a godfather to join the Nigerian Army
” It is your army, it is our army, every able bodied Nigerian without criminal record is free to join so that they can serve without having to know anybody as a precondition.
” Whoever is taken must have been taken on the basis of fulfilling all normal requirements,” he said.
Earlier in his address of welcome, Fayemi, who was represented by his deputy, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi, thanked the army chief for the visit.
He pledged the state government’s commitment to encouraging all willing youths to participate in the recruitment exercise.
The governor also advocated adequate supply of sophisticated weapons for the army to enable it confront all security challenges in the country.
(NAN)
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Bandits Invade Niger Local Market, Village Head, 20 Others Killed
From Dan Amasingha, Minna
After relative peace since the start of the Ramadan fast,daredevil Bandits invaded a Niger local market and killed the Village head and 20 traders in Madaka, Rijau local government areas of Niger State.Rijau Local Government which borders neighbouring Kebbi State, has experienced consistent banditry attacks in the past one year.
Eye witnesses inform our Correspondent that the suspected bandits riding on motorcycles stormed the market on Thursday afternoon around 3. 30- 4pm when activities at the market were at its peak.According to the source, the invading bandits who shot sporadically into the air to scare away traders later started ransacking big time traders by carting away food stuffs and Cash.Villagers who had the pandemonium at the market square fled into nearby bushes to take cover and the Village head who attempted to find out what was happening was shot dead at close range.”At the end of the confusion, we discovered that twenty one persons including our Village head were wasted,The Source maintained that, the bandits before leaving later set about 50 houses including commercial shops on fire, and a number of cars and motorcycles were burnt down during the incident.”After killing innocent victims and burning down the market they also went away with an unspecified number of the villagers to an unidentified destination”Confirming the incident, Madaka District Head, Alhaji Isah Bawale said it was a black Thursday evening in a telephone interview on Friday morning.He further recounted that the Community had come under similar attack some times ago when his predecessor was killed without any resistance from security agencies.When contacted, Niger State Command of Police Public Relations Officer PPRO SP Wasiu Abiodun assured to verify and get back but he couldn’t revert at the time of filing in the report.Meanwhile, the Niger state government, especially the commissioner for security, General Bello Abdullahi Mohammed (retired) is yet to speak on the incident.Uncategorized
Women Are Nation Builders, Bayelsa NAWOJ
From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa
The Nigerian Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ, Bayelsa State chapter has described women as society builders hence they should be empowered to harness their potentials for nation building.
Chairperson of NAWOJ Bayelsa, Mrs Grace Orumieyefa handed down this during a one day program to commemorate the 2024 International Women Day held at the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ Press Centre in Yenagoa, the state capital.
Mrs Orumieyefa noted that NAWOJ has over the years been at the forefront of advocacy for women rights as the empowerment of women brings empowerment for everyone around her which makes a better society.
Also speaking, Chief Executive Officer, Eunice Nnachi Women Advocacy Foundation, ENWAF, Lady Eunice Nnachi urged women to take advantage of technological advancement to improve their learning and training in order to empower themselves.
“You can learn almost anything using the internet, through YouTube, women should use this medium to learn many things and train themselves.”
While responding to questions, she said, women should not be desperate to get life partners but should ensure that they have partners who can help them to achieve their dreams.
The Keynote Speaker, Mrs Ebi Kakandar who delivered a lecture on “Harnessing the Prospects and Potentials of Women” called on women to shun all forms of laziness, be determined and courageous to pursue their life ambitions.
Mrs Kakandar pointed out that factors such as building a growth mindset, improving your emotional mindset, developing willpower, cultivating strong social support, aspiring for greatness and setting achievable goals are some of the keys to achieving success as a woman.
She encouraged women to seek more knowledge and inspire themselves to be self-reliant.
Various organizations such as NUJ, FIDA, NLC, MWAN, Starzz Initiative, DO Foundation, POWA and other women organizations as well as NGOS delivered Goodwill messages for women advising to aspire for higher achievement.
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Students Loan: FG Explains Delay in Take-off, Sets New Date
The Federal Government has set the month of March for a definite opening of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFund) portal for eligible students.
Dr Akintunde Sawyerr, Execute Secretary NELFund, who disclosed this in an interview with newsmen on Thursday in Abuja urged eligible students to register to access the fund.
President Bola Tinubu on June 12, 2023, signed the Access to Higher Education Bill into law to enable indigent student access interest-free loan to pursue their education in any Nigerian tertiary institutions.
The scheme was slated to commence between September and October 2023, but because of unforeseen circumstances, there was a revised timeline to January.
Giving reasons for the delay in starting the scheme as earlier scheduled, Sawyerr explained that the process is technically driven and necessary measures needed to be put in place for proper execution.
“The take-off date is this month (March) and the reason for the delay is that we are trying to get it right.
“This is not a political programme where we say, oh! we are just going to do it, it doesn’t matter how it works.
“This is a programme that will, probably run beyond me as a human being, not even as a Secretary. This is something that we want to run adequately, so we have to get it right,’’ he said.
Sawyerr, reiterated President Tinubu’s commitment to ensure that lack of finance should not be a reason for any student in Nigeria to halt education at a tertiary level.
According to him, the scheme was designed for indigent Nigerian students in tertiary institutions and applications would be done online.
“We have decided that, all applicants should be able to access this scheme regardless of where they are, who they are and who they know.
“We want this to be a process that is fair to all and we will advertise the portal widely so that applicants will be able to go to the website to fill series of forms and answer certain questions.
“Base on the data they input and their answers to the questions, the system will be able to determine appropriately, whether they are eligible to apply or not,’’ Sawyerr explained. (NAN)