2023 UTME: JAMB extends registration to February 22

By Maryam Abeeb

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has extended its 2023 UTME registration exercise by one week.

A statement signed by JAMB’s Head, Public Affairs and Protocol, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, explained that the sale of ePINs would end on Monday, 20th February, 2023, while the UTME registration ends on Wednesday, 22nd February, 2023.

The statement also stated that at the close of the sale of ePINs on Tuesday, 14th February, 2023, 1,527,068 candidates had successfullyl registered for the 2023 UTME exercise inclusive of the 168,748, who indicated their interest to take the Mock-UTME.

Recall that in line with the Board’s 2023 Schedule of Activities, as earlier released, the closing date for the sale of both the ePINs and the 2023 UTME application documents was slated for Tuesday, 14th February, 2023.

The statement said, “It should also be noted that the Board, based on its projections, had expanded its capacity to register up to a hundred thousand candidates per day. With this, it was possible to register all desiring candidates within the space of a few days.

“However, less than fifty thousand candidates were turning up for registration which is less than the installed registration capacity.

“Surprisingly, in the last two days before the closing date, the pace picked up remarkably with over a hundred thousand candidates registering on a daily basis.

“Furthermore, the Board,

Group provides water, sanitation services to 7.5m Kaduna residents

as a responsive and proactive agency, took cognisance of the reports from across the country indicating some difficulties being faced by many Nigerians in using their electronic channels to purchase the ePINs or obtain cash readily within the stipulated period.

“It has, as a consequence, granted this extension to ensure that all candidates who desire to register for the 2023 UTME are given the opportunity to do so especially when the extant challenges are not of their own making.”

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

TheSustainable Urban and Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (SUREWASH), Kaduna Implementation unit, will provide portable drinking water and sanitation services to 7.5 million residents of the state.

The programme’s Social Safeguard Consultant, Mr Leonell Echa, stated this at the opening of a two-day training and inauguration of Grievance Redress Committees (GRCs), in Kaduna on Tuesday.

Echa explained that a total of 6.1 million people would be provided with clean drinking water services, while 1.4 million would be provided with improved sanitation services through the World Bank-supported programme.

He added that 2,000 schools and healthcare facilities would be provided with improved Water Sanitation and Hygiene facilities, and would also support 500 communities to attain Open Defecation Free status.

According to him, the objective of the programme was to increase access to WASH services and strengthen sectoral institutions in seven pilot states in the country.

He identified the benefiting states to included; Kaduna, Delta, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Katsina and Plateau.

“The SUREWASH programme was designed to enact necessary policy reforms and enhance the capacity of institutions required for effective and sustainable service delivery in urban and rural areas, as well as small towns.

“This includes development of priority infrastructure to improve water supply and WASH infrastructure in institutions such as schools and healthcare facilities as well as markets and motor packs,” he said.

Earlier, the Project Coordinator in the state, Mr Esau Ambinjah, explained that the project was designed to eradicate water, sanitation and hygiene related diseases in the state.

Ambinjah said that the programme was being piloted in six out of the 23 local government areas (LGAs), of Soba, Sabon Gari, Chikun, Igabi, Jema’a and Jaba in the state.

NDDC, centre trains 70 staffers on policy formulation, security management

The Niger Delta Development Commission, in collaboration with the Savannah Centre for Development and Training L.td., on Wednesday in Abuja trained over 70 staffers of the commission on policy formulation and security management.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the training was: ” A management Implant on Policy Making in a Dynamic World and Security Management.”

Speaking to newsmen during the training, the Executive Director of the centre, Amb. Sani Bala, said that the aim of the training was to enhance the performance of the commission’s personnel.

Bala also said that the training would equip the staffers to have a better understanding of security issues in the Niger Delta, with a view to enabling them collaborate with the security agencies to ensure the security of the entire communities in the region.

He topics of the training centred on policy formulation, ”because all activities of organisations are largely dependent on the policies they produce to achieve our objectives and goals.

Bala said: “So, if you don’t have the right policy definitely you are going to have difficulties in attaining your goals and objectives and that is why we trained them on how to formulate policies.

” If you look at the content of the presentation on policy formulation it is very rich, comprehensive and garmane. The other aspects is on management. There is going to be a presentation management.

“How do you plan, organise, coordinate and also direct or implement the policy direction of the organisation? Then the third aspect is the issue of security because security is a very serious challenge, particularly in the Niger Delta region.

” And for any organisation that is going to operate in the Niger Delta region must be conscious of the security. So it is very important we equip the staff of NDDC on the issues of security challenges. How do you management, prevent the situation that may challenge the security of the region.”

Also, a Deputy Director at NDDC, Mr Chris Ekah, affirmed that the training was designed, among others, to equip the staffers with the relevant knowledge on policy making and assist them on how to deliver on the mandate of the NDDC.

“The second aspect of the training is on security management. As you are aware Niger Delta is a very volatile area unlike Abuja here, so we are training our staffers to be very mindful of the environment.

”It also focuses on how to guard themselves in the area as well as safeguard our information in terms of our work tools, information flow within the system and the commission,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the participants, an Assistant Manager, Abuja Liaison Office of the commission, Mr Utin Archibong, said the training had been very incisive, educating and it brought to fore what policy formulation in context should look like.

He said: “It simply means that our policy should be more domesticated here, within our environment, the Niger Delta region and the country at large.

”And that it should be more inclusive because when we have a lots of inclusiveness, the outcome will be much more better than we see now.” (NAN)

He explained that the benefiting LGAS were selected after declaration of interest and adjudged to be the best among the other LGAs.

He added that the training was part of efforts to mobilise critical stakeholders and community members towards success of the programme.

Also, Mrs Jummai Ibrahim, a Social and Gender Officer, said that the objectives of the programme was to train stakeholders in the six benefiting LGAs on GRCs, and inaugurate same at that level.

Ibrahim added that the training was also organised to deliberate on gender perspectives and GenderBased Violence that may arise at the course of the implementation of the programme.

She added that at the end of the training the GRCs, designed to resolve issues on the spot in a fair, effective and credible manner, would be inaugurated in the six benefiting LGAs.

“The GRCs will be providing a voice for beneficiaries of the project, resolving environmental and social related complaints, reducing the likelihood of escalation of grievances and promote “do no harm,” Ibrahim said.