NEWS UPDATE: UNESCO empowers 60,000 Nigerian Women and Girls in ICT, and Other Stories in Today’s News Update

Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward me a small commission – at no extra cost for you.

UNESCO to empower 60,000 Nigerian women, girls in ICT

Professor Hassana Alidou, the Regional Director of UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), on Tuesday in Abuja stated that educating women and the girl-child in ICT would have positive impact on national development.

She said this at the inauguration of National Monitoring and Evaluation Committee and Training of Non Formal Education Facilitators in Abuja, with the theme: “Empowerment of girls and women in literacy and skills development through the use of ICT’s in Nigeria”.

She further added that the project was aimed at providing 60,000 Nigerian girls and women with basic literacy and life skill and beneficiaries of this project will be centered mostly on girls and young women who cannot read or write because they did not attend school.

“We are partnering with the Federal, State and Local Governments but also as you can see we also have private sector like Procter and Gamble to really address the issue of illiteracy, particularly among girls and women, we really thank our partners, Procter and Gamble, for bringing up to one million U.S. Dollars so that we can have over three years’ projects to empower girls and women in the FCT and Rivers State”.

For more on this news, visit The Nation

 

FG, states to cut cost over oil slump

Due to decline in crude oil prices in the International market, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the commissioners of finance and accountants-general of the 36 states of the federation have begun moves to reduce the high cost of governance in the country.

According to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, it is necessary to prune the Country’s expenditure due to the persistent drop in oil prices, which has continued to have a negative impact on the revenue of government.

The minister in Abuja on Tuesday at the opening session of a three-day national treasury workshop, with the theme: ‘Optimum funds management in the midst of cash flow challenges’ called on states to align their spending with the austerity measures recently announced by the Federal Government.

The workshop was attended by head of accounts of the Ministries, Commissioners of Finance, Departments and Agencies of the government and other relevant stakeholders in the finance and accounting subsectors of the nation’s economy.

Represented by the Minister of State for Finance, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda, said Okonjo-Iweala predicted a tough fiscal year for the country but added that the Federal Government’s economic management team had the capacity to address the challenges.

The minister said, “The idea of the workshop is to discuss the challenges that we are having due to the fall in the revenue of the government

“This is the best time for us to be applying more of the knowledge that we have so that we should be able to navigate through the challenges we are having, and I believe that after this workshop, we should be able to come up with measures that align with what we have started already.”

Mr. Jonah Otunla, the Accountant-General of the Federation, who was also at the workshop said the aim of the workshop is  not only to add value to the government’s effort in keeping the treasury functional at all times, but would also assist in addressing the challenges of resource management.

For more on this news, visit Punchng.com

 

85-year-old community leader beheaded in Benin

The Aruogba village in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State has been thrown into confusion following the murder of an 85-year-old community leader, Goodluck Uwumahongie, by unidentified gunmen.

It was gathered that the late octogenarian was shot several times by the attackers before he was beheaded in Irhirhi and his headless body was found in his native community at about 5:30am.

The wife of the deceased, Julie explained that she had hid her husband in her father’s house as a result of death threats received from a rival faction in a land tussle in Aruogba community.

“After we ran away from the village to seek refuge in my father’s village at Irhirhi, a member of the rival faction saw him here and said he would still kill him because they have been fighting over the community land.”

Joseph Edoigiawerie the Edo State Police Public Relations Officer has confirmed the reort to be true.

He said, “The matter was reported on Monday at the Airport Police Division by one Rufus Omoruwa that his in-law was shot dead and beheaded and some persons have been arrested in connection to the incident.”

 

For more on this news, visit Punchng.com