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SMEDAN'·plans rating database for small, d·1urn ent · me erprlses T
HE Small and Medium Enterprises D eve lop men t Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN),saysitwillcreate Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) rating database.
This is contained in a was made available to the statement signed by Mr ' News Agency of Nigeria Levi Anyikwa,assistant (NAN) on Tuesday in director (Corporate Af- Abuja. fairs) in SMEDAN, which The statement said
that the MSMEs rating database would be done in collaboration with Dun and Bradstreet, a world leading source of commer-
-Prom left, Public Relations Officer (PRO), Ekiti SUite Okada Riders Assodation, Mr Oloworo Adelegan; Sole Administrator, Mr Martins Ademo and the secretary, Mr Kunle Ashaolu, at a news conference, where members were warned against being used as thugs in the rescheduled general election in Ado-Ekiti, on Tuesday.
Niger govt spends over Nl.363bn on pensioners Dipo Laleye, Minna
T
HE Niger State gov,ernm e nt has put smiles on the faces of retirees from the state civil service, with over Nl .363 billion being spent on the payment of their pensions and gratuities. Of the amount, N558 million was committed to the settlement of 378 retirees under the old PAYEE system. The permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Alhaji Mahmoud Kpako Bello, who disclosed this in Minna .on Tuesday, said N305 mil-
lion was paid to 102 retired civil servants as terminal benefits under the new contributory pension scheme. In addition, Kpako said of the amoun t, over N299 million was set aside for civil servants who retired compulsorily under the old scheme, to avoid the new contributory scheme, adding that the retirees would soon be paid the entitlement. Explaining the state government policy on retirement from the public service, the permanent secretary said that the state retirees who were
apprehensive of the new scheme and ordinarily would have retired in 2012, were allowed to leave the civil service within the transition period from March 3, 2007 to March 3, 2010, to benefit from the old pension scheme according
to their wish. Kpako said 168 pensioners were involved in this category of pensioners, adding that over N201million was spent on the settlement of their entitlements .
cial information and would provide a common standard for evaluatIOn. It ~ald that the database would also be used in categorising and monitoring the performance of SMEs in the country. . The statement said that the proposed database would serve as a catalyst for SME growth, access to finance and job creation in Nigeria. The statement quoted the SMEDAN DirectorGeneral , Alhaji Muhammed Umar, as saying that it was the objective of the agency to promote free information flow among stakeholders. SMEDAN said that free flow of information between comm~rcial and other banks specialised fund ing agencies would help in providing credit t.o MSMEs. "The rating da tabase . will institute a r e liable process and benchmark to assess and rate Nigerian MSMEs based on standardised criteria and policies, thereby provid; ing reliable database for funding decisions by financial institutions," it said . The statement added that already SMEDAN was in partnership with _ the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and was putting all mechanisms in place to formalise SMEs in the informal sector.
NEWS Briefly Welfare of Ogun, our priority --DxnrnimH OGUN State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Hon.ourable Tomi Soboyejo, has stressed that the fundamental responsibility of the government is to boost the socioeconomic status of its citizenry by embarking on various developmental and human capacity building programmes. Soboyejo stated thi s while receiving the monitoring and v e rification team from the Federal '¥inistry of Women Affairs and Social Development (FMWASD) and the Nigeria Agricultural, Cooperatives and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB) in Abeokuta recently . Re presented by the ' new permanent secretary oi the ministry, Mr Muyiwa Adenopo,the commissioner said the present administration in the state had initiated various policies and programmes that had improved the living stan- . dard of the people. By Sulaimon Olanrewaju
NCC develops guidelines to curb scam messages THE Nigerian Communications Commission
Adamawafannersexpress worry over FADAMAllI
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programme in the area. A spokesman for the farmers, Malam Ibrahim Buba, made ,the observation on Tuesday in Fufore in an interview with the
curb the menace of unsolicited message s, mails and calls. Mrs Mary Uduma, director, consumer affairs, NCC, told the News
F
ARMERS in Fufore . Local Government Area of Adamawa State have expressed concern· tha t the non-payment. of counterpart furtd for partiCipation in Fadama III might lead io cessation of the
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) noting that the
stressing that it provides opportunity for farmers to empower themselves, as well as serves as a poverty alleviation tool. . "I appeaho the state government, particularly Governor Murtala Nyako to personally intervene to save the situ·a tion. "If the programme is stopped, hundreds of farmers who had benefit, ted from it, to reduce their level of poverty would be
Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
in Abuja on Tuesday that NCC had engaged the service providers to ensure that standards and code of practice R Remi (BUTH) in Ogbomoso, would enhance the upgiad-' were complied with. 01 owu d e, Chi e f Oyo State. said that the mg . process 0 f the d',agnosOlowude "I will not say that the Executive of Intic centre to train worldservice providers have dustrial and General In- equipment would assist class medical personnel. b surance (IGI) Pic, said the hospital to solve the ernment to intervene, devastated," Buba said. een complying comthat the company had ex- problem of moving papletely wi'th the directients in critical cond,'tives but when they are tend e d its Corporate Sodal tions from the hosp,' tal to Okodili Ndidi, Onitsha dergraduates of a notable on the newly admitted b reac h e d , we advis e Responsibility (CSR) activih ties to education and health the X-ray centre outside. Nigerian university. students of the institu- t em to comply. areas. '1t is also in line with the Anambra State The matriculation, tion to avail themselves " It is a challenge to us Olowude told the company's commitment to University last which was described by of the unlimited oppor- but we hope that th e News Agency of Nigeria ":effectiveJake-off of Bowen week held its 11th both the students and staff tunities that their admis- challenge will soon be (NAN) in Lagos on Tues- Tea&ingHospital," he said. matriculation 'ceremony of the institution as the sion into the university taken care of," Uduma day that this was in add iOlowude said the com- for about 2,500 fresh un- best in recent times, was had offered them to be- assured . lion to its current activities pany was hopeful that the dergraduates, with the done at both campuses of come outstanding in Uduma, however, exhospital would ' th e institution at UIi and t h eir career, discipline pre sse d ho pe th a t byth in sports development. th grow to be- VI' ce chan cellor of the 111e comeofone of eexcellence leading cellstitution, Professor Fidelis lgb ' t' ve I y an d ch aracter, a d vising time the pr.o)· ect would 'd that the CO'll- !res medical in anam respec, He sal pany donated ultra-mod- Nigeria and AfriCa. . Okafor; charging the fresh with inler-denomina- that they should con- be implemented fully , ern mobile X-ray equip"The mobile X-ray is an students to compoct them- tiona I church services . stantly put their goal of the network operators ment to the Bowen Unive r- importanttooltothehospi- selves in a manner befitIn his matriculation university education would adhere strictly to s ity Tea ching Hosp i ta.J..... .!.al," he ",sat",'d""",a",d",din",',-",-,th=at"i"t__tin-=g_th_e_ir_n_ew_s_ta_tu _ s_a_s _u_n - _ a_d::.d::.:..re:.:s:.:s:...,_O=-::k.::::a:.:fo:.:r:...::c.::::a:.:l1.::::e.::::d:.....::::a::.:h-:e::a.:::d__o"'f~t..h-:e::.:m...:...._ __ -+_th_e-=gu _ id_e_li_n'_e_s_._ _ _ _
IGI adds education, health to its CSR
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non-paymen(of the ' N2 million counterpart fund by the local government council might compel the World Bank to stop the programme in the area. He urged the state gov-
Anambra varsity matriculates 2.,500 students
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