World Taekwondo confirms NTF Board

More than three months after assumption of office the 15-man board of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF) has officially been recognized by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF).

Under the leadership of its first ever female President, Mrs Margaret Binga, the taekwondo board has taken giant stride since taking charge.

In an email to the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, Yeni Lee, who is designated as “Member Relations”, Development & Legal Affairs of World Taekwondo wrote, ““This is to notify you that the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation has finished the report and recognition of the newly elected board members. The information has been uploaded on World Taekwondo Website and Directory according the provided information.”

Binga, a two-time African champion was elected as the President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation and inaugurated by the Minister of Youths and Sports in August.

Since the Federation’s inaugural board meeting on September 26in Lagos, the board has organised seven major programmes across the country – three national coaching workshops in Maiduguri, Makurdi and Abakaliki; the taekwondo event of the National Youth Games in Ilorin; a National Referee Course, Korean Ambassador’s Cup and 1st ever Nigeria Open Taekwondo Championships in Abuja.

Also, delegates at the first ever congress of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation voted to hold a special congress in March 2018 in order to deliberate and pass the constitution of the Federation.

The end of year congress, which was chaired by Binga, had delegates from 20 states in attendance.

Other NTF board officials present were: Mrs Pat Anyanwu, Alhaji Sani Lawal, Mr Anthony Anafulu, Mr Chika Chukwumerije Maccido Mohammed and the NTF Secretary-General, Mr Taiwo Oriss.

Other discussions that came up included para taekwondo, the 2018 NTF calendar and the NTF constituition.

Chairman of the NTF Technical Committee, Alhaji Sani Lawal, explained the rationale and purpose of the Calendar.

 “You will see from the Calendar that 17 states are covered with a variety of programs – referee, coaching, competitions of all grades- seniors, juniors, cadets and kiddies. Our intention to cover all states in the course of our tenure, in line with the vision of our NTF President. So please we urge everyone to be part of the process so there is uniform development”

Delegates commended the Federation for having such a rich program for the development of taekwondo in Nigeria.

With regards to the constitution, the NTF President Binga explained why it was not being deliberated at the congress.

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Breaking News : No fewer than 26 states to participate in Calabar carnival – Official

Calabar Flex

No fewer than 26 states to participate in Calabar carnival – Official

No fewer than 26 states will be participating in the 2017 Calabar carnival, scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Mr Gabe Onah, Chairman of the Carnival Commission has said.

Onah who disclosed this on Sunday in Calabar during the `Technical Recce’ inspection of the carnival routes and the special booths, also said a 30-man horse crew from the Estu Nupe, will participate in the carnival.

According to him, the participating states and local governments will showcase their rich cultural content and what they have to offer to the world.

“The 2017 cultural carnival will feature 26 states and all the 18 local government areas in Cross River. The essence is to allow the people showcase their rich cultural content to the world.

“Culture itself is dynamic, and what we have done over the years through training is to develop art and craft and taking them to the next level.

“We are satisfied with the Technical Team, the Very Important Persons booth at target by Mary Slessor is 80 per cent ready and the booth at the High Quality by Marian Road is as good as ready too.

“Worthy of note also is the road rehabilitation programme for smooth dancing and movement of the tourists’’, he said.

He further said that the content of event had remained cultural, adding that the 2017 theme `Migration’ was global and unique.

The Chairman said that the carnival had provided a unique job opportunity for unemployed youths to be gainfully engaged in the production of arts and crafts and other fabric used in the occasion.

He said that no fewer than two million tourists from Nigeria and abroad are expected in the state to witness the “largest street carnival” in Africa.

He assured all those visiting the state of adequate security had been put in place to ensure a hitch free carnival celebration.

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Ryan John Seacrest birthday. American Idol co-host

Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American radio personality, television host, and producer. Seacrest is known for hosting the competition show American Idol, the syndicated countdown program American Top 40, and the KIIS-FM morning radio show On Air with Ryan Seacrest. He began co-hosting Live with Kelly and Ryan on a permanent basis May 1, 2017.

Seacrest received Emmy Award nominations for American Idol, and won an Emmy for producing Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.

Early life

Seacrest was born on December 24, 1974, in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Constance Marie (née Zullinger), a homemaker, and Gary Lee Seacrest, a real estate lawyer. His mother told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Instead of playing with G.I. Joes or Cowboys and Indians, Ryan would always have a little microphone and do shows in the house."

At age 14, he attended Dunwoody High School. At age 16, while still attending high school, Seacrest won an internship at WSTR (FM), in Atlanta, with Tom Sullivan, who trained him in the many aspects of radio. When the regular DJ called in sick, Sullivan put him on the air for the very first show of his broadcasting career. Seacrest was given the weekend overnight shift at WSTR.

Seacrest continued to work on air at WSTR until graduating from Dunwoody High School in 1992. Seacrest went on to study journalism at the University of Georgia in fall 1992. He continued his radio show at a local Athens station. Seacrest left the university at age 19 and moved to Hollywood to pursue his broadcasting career.

Career

Television hosting

In 1993, Seacrest hosted the first season of ESPN's Radical Outdoor Challenge. He also hosted three kids' game shows, Gladiators 2000from 1994–96 (a spinoff of the television show, American Gladiators), Wild Animal Games in 1995, and Click in 1997. 

Seacrest appeared as the host of the fictional game show Lover's Lane on Beverly Hills, 90210 in "The Final Proof".In the fall and winter of 2000, Seacrest was the host of The NBC Saturday Night Movie. During commercial breaks, he offered trivia on the film and a chance to win prizes by answering online on NBCi. In 2001, he hosted a reality television program, Ultimate Revenge, where elaborate practical jokes were played on family and friends instigated by their own relatives and friends. It was shown on TNN (now Spike) from 2001 to 2003.

American Idol

In 2002, Seacrest accepted the position as co-host of a new Fox reality television series American Idol with comedian Brian Dunkleman. American Idol went on to success, putting Seacrest in the national spotlight. The following year, he became the sole host. When the show increased in popularity, seen by some 26 million viewers weekly, Seacrest became recognizable around the world. In 2003, Seacrest hosted the spin-off show, American Juniors. 

In July 2009, Seacrest inked a deal with CKX for $45 million to continue to host American Idol, making him the highest paid reality television host to date In April 2012, he signed a two-year, $30 million deal to stay on as host of American Idol. In May 2014, Deadline.com reported that Seacrest had signed a one-year deal with the option of another year. He remained host of the series until the end of its run in April 2016. An announcement was made on July 20, 2017 that Seacrest would be the host of an Idol reboot.

New Year's Rockin' Eve

In August 2005, it was announced that Seacrest would become executive producer and co-host of ABC's Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. On December 31, 2005, Seacrest performed much of the show's hosting duties. Dick Clark's role was limited by speech and mobility issues due to his recovery from a stroke. Seacrest also occasionally served as a substitute host on the CNN television program Larry King Live, and co-emceed Larry King's final show with Bill Maher on December 16, 2010.

In 2009, ABC renamed the program Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest, to reflect Seacrest's role. The 40th Dick Clark’s New Year's Rockin’ Eve, co-hosted by Ryan Seacrest, delivered ABC’s biggest New Years' numbers in twelve years, with 22.6 million viewers.

When Dick Clark died, Seacrest publicly remembered his mentor's impact on his life in a special tribute in The Hollywood Reporter. After Clark's death, Seacrest hosted the 2013 edition of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with co-hosts Jenny McCarthy and Fergie paying tribute to Dick Clark in the pre-show. In October 2013, Seacrest signed a multi-year contract extension with Dick Clark Productions to continue as host and executive producer of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.

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Best Breaking News: Libya returnees: Edo commences payment of stipends

The Edo State Government, on Friday, commenced the payment of N20,000 monthly stipend to four sets of Libya returnees in the state.

Speaking at Idia College, in Benin City, where the returnees converged to receive the stipends, Chairman, Edo State Taskforce Against Human Trafficking, Prof. Yinka Omorogbe, said the stipend would be paid for three months.

Prof. Omorogbe said “When the first set of returnees arrived the state, the governor promised to pay them monthly stipend. This is the first of the payment and it will be for three months.”

She added that the payment commenced after the state government completed the processing of the data of those captured in the first phase.

Some of the returnees expressed their appreciation to the government for the gesture, noting that the move to rescue and reintegrate them into society was laudable as it afforded them another chance at life.

Other recipients of the stipend appealed to the state government to increase the amount, noting that they were ready to participate in the vocational training programme.

Recall that the state government swiftly swung into action to reintegrate its indigenes in the wake of global outrage against the alarming trend of human trafficking, after a CNN report revealed that Black Africans were being sold into slavery in Libya for $400.

The state had earlier set up the Taskforce Against Human Trafficking to fast-track action against the ugly trend.

The taskforce has tendered a bill for passage at the State House of Assembly to give bite to the campaign and set effective punitive measures against those fuelling the illegal trade in the state

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Mutiu Adepoju Birthday. Nigeria Footballer. Headmaster.

Mutiu Adepoju (born 22 December 1970) is a Nigerian retired footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder.

He played most of his career in Spain, amassing La Liga totals of 175 games and 22 goals over the course of seven seasons and mainly representing Racing de Santander and Real Sociedad.

A Nigeria international for 12 years, Adepoju appeared for the country in three World Cups and as many Africa Cup of Nations.

Club Career

Born in Ibadan, Adepoju (also called by his first name in Spain) left Nigeria in 1989 to join Real Madrid, but never made it past its B-side. His first professional season was impressive as he scored 11 Segunda División goals to help Racing de Santander return to La Liga, and he continued to feature and net regularly for the Cantabrians in the next three years.

Mutiu left for Real Sociedad for 1996–97 but, after a solid first campaign, struggled heavily to hold down a regular place with the Basques. In 2001–02 he represented Saudi Arabia's Ittihad FC, but quickly returned to Spain where he featured rarely for second level club UD Salamanca.

After two more weak years, in Turkey and Cyprus, Adepoju retired in 2006 in Spain's lower leagues. He subsequently returned to his first team Shooting Stars FC, as chief administrator.

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Miss World Agbani Darego Birthday is now. Celebrate this African Lady. We are proud

Agbani Darego, MFR (born Agbani Asenite Darego, 22 December 1982) is a Nigerian model and beauty queen, best known as the first native African to win Miss World.

Early Life

Darego's family roots are in Abonnema, Rivers State. She was born in Lagos to a family of eight children. At age two, she relocated to Port Harcourt and was raised in D-line. Darego attended Bereton Montessori Nursery and Primary School. At ten, she was sent to a boarding school in a bid to shield her from her mother who had become very ill with breast cancer.

 Darego's mother died two years later, and her daughter has spoken of how the loss prepared her for the future. As a teenager, Darego longed to be a model, and despite her conservative father's wishes, she auditioned for the M-Net Face of Africa modelling competition, but was not chosen as a finalist. After finishing her secondary education, she attended University of Port Harcourt where she studied Computer Scienceand Mathematics.

Pageantry

In 2001, Darego was crowned Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria. Contrary to popular belief, Darego did not replace Valerie Peterside after the latter was dethroned, as she had won Miss Nigeria. A few months later she was a contestant at Miss Universe, and became the first Nigerian to place among the top 10 semi-finalists, finishing seventh overall. She was the only one to wear a maillot as opposed to a bikini during the swimsuit competition.

In November that year, she became the first native African to claim the Miss World title (Although past winners such as Penelope Coelen and Anneline Kriel are South African, they are of European descent, and Antigone Costanda, who represented Egypt in 1954 is of Greek heritage). Darego's victory was widely welcomed in her home country, and her one-year tenure included goodwill trips and scheduled appearances on behalf of the pageant, and a national honour of MFR.

Modeling

Prior to winning MBGN, Darego featured in print commercials for boutique chain Collectables, and following her stint at Miss Universe was invited by Naomi Campbell to participate in Frock 'n' Roll - a charity fashion show in Barcelona and soon negotiated a modelling deal with Donald Trump's management to establish links with modelling agencies in America.

Shortly after her reign as Miss World she was represented by the London and Paris branches of Next Model Management and landed a three-year contract with L'Oréal, becoming only the second Black model to accomplish this feat after Vanessa Williams, and was photographed by Annie Leibovitz for Vogue. Other brands she has modelled for include Avon, Christian Dior, Sephora, Target, and Macy’s.

Darego has also appeared in Elle, Marie Claire, Allure, Trace, Stitch, Cosmopolitan, and Essence magazines, working with numerous designers including Oscar de la Renta, Marc Bouwer, Tommy Hillfiger, Ralph Lauren, and Gianfranco Ferre.

In her homeland Darego has appeared in advertising campaigns for hair care brand Gentle Touch with model Oluchi, and is served as the face of Arik Air. She has also graced the covers of Complete Fashion, Mania, ThisDay Style, Genevieve, True Love, and TW Magazine

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Nigeria Politics : New PDP faction emerges, opens secretariat in Abuja

New PDP faction emerges, opens secretariat  in Abuja

A group made up of five men on Wednesday “opened” a new secretariat for the main opposition party,  the Peoples Democratic Party, in Abuja.

The five men are Prince Obi Nwosu, Alhaji Hassan Adamu, Chief Olusola Akindele, Chief Godwin Duru and Franklyne Edede.

The office is located at Asokoro District of Abuja.

Only two flags of the party are taped to the building to indicate that it is a party office.

The Independent National Electoral Commission-recognised national headquarters of the party is located at Wuse, Zone 5, Abuja.

Nwosu, who is the leader of the five-man faction, said that members of the National Working Committee of his group would be announced in January next year.

The new PDP group said it is emerging due to the imposition of a unity list on members on December 9.

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Good for Nigeria:Governors, State Assemblies agree to hold public hearing on 1999 constitution

Governors, State Assemblies agree to hold public hearing on 1999 constitution

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the Speakers of the State Houses of Assembly have resolved to hold public hearing on ongoing efforts to amend certain sections of the 1999 constitution.

The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Abdul-Aziz Yari, and the Chairman, Conference of Speakers, Ismaila Kamba, made this known when they addressed newsmen at the end of an emergency meeting between the forum and the Conference of Speakers.

The meeting was held on Tuesday at the old conference hall of the State House, Abuja,

They stated that the meeting had agreed to approach the amendment of the 1999 constitution with maturity and the future of the nation’s democracy at the back of their minds.

The communiqué read: “We, all the governors of the 36 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, under the platform of the Nigeria Governors forum and the Speakers of the states houses of assembly, under the auspices of the Conference of Speakers at the end of a consultative meeting regarding the ongoing efforts to amend certain sections of the 1999 constitution resolved as follows:

“The meeting agreed to approach this amendment with maturity and the future of our democracy at the back of our minds.

“The meeting agreed that the State houses of Assembly should consult all stakeholders and hold public hearing on all the items transmitted to them by the National Assembly in a bid to promote our democracy and strengthen its institutions.’’

They also disclosed that the meeting agreed to constitute a committee to look at all the issues pertaining to the constitutional amendment and revert to members within a reasonable time.

Yari, who fielded questions on the recently approved one billion dollars by the National Economic Council (NEC) to fight insurgency in the country, said the State Houses of Assembly would soon back up the approval through appropriate resolutions.

“We (governors) agreed to forfeit one billion dollars of our own share of excess crude which we are going to back up with state assembly resolution at a later time.

“This is not the first time a decision like this is being taken. It happened during former President Jonathan’s era when they took two billion dollars.

“We all agreed at that time collectively in the same chamber to withdraw the two billion dollars to procure equipment for the military and also for logistics for the military because they were telling us whether it was true or false that our soldiers were being killed.

“Some (of the soldiers) were on the social media saying that they were being killed like rats because they didn’t have the training and the equipment, that was what generated discussions at the same Chamber and there was no controversy, there was no opposition to the decision at that time.’’

Also speaking on the issue, Gov. Ayo Fayose of Ekiti, said he not in support of one billion dollars and will never be in support.
“In my state we have agreed to go to court to contest this. It is our legitimate right, all accruals to the federation must be shared by the three tiers of government and for me to get justice I have to go to court,’’ he added. 

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Joel James Gretsch Birthday is today.American Actor-Celebrate him

Joel James Gretsch (born December 20, 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on The 4400, Taken and on V.

Gretsch was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota and grew up in Albany, Minnesota, the son of Russ and Barb. He has a sister, Jane, and a brother, Steve. Gretsch was raised Catholic.

Gretsch studied acting at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis before moving to Los Angeles in 1989. His stage work includes roles in Molière's Tartuffe and John Patrick Shanley's Danny and the Deep Blue Sea.

He started his television work in the early 1990s, appearing in episodes of Married... with Children, Melrose Place, Friends and Saved by the Bell: The New Class. Since then he has appeared in episodes of JAG, Silk Stalkings, CSI: Miami, Burn Notice, and NCIS. More recently, he played a wealthy advertising executive and husband of a supermodel on an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. He also had two guest appearances on NBC's Journeyman, playing the father of protagonist Dan Vasser.

Gretsch has also had supporting roles in a number of films including playing Bobby Jones in The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000), Minority Report (2002), The Emperor's Club(2002) and National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007).

In 2008, Gretsch had a recurring role as Pete Raynor, Lindsay Boxer's love interest, on the television series Women's Murder Club.

Some of his notable roles include Tom Baldwin on the USA Network series The 4400 and Owen Crawford in Steven Spielberg's 2002 science fiction miniseries Taken. Gretsch reunited with Scott Peters (creator of The 4400) on his remake of V. Gretsch played priest and resistance fighter, Father Jack Landry in the series.

He guest starred in the new Diablo Cody created Emmy Award nominated Showtime Comedy-Drama The United States of Tara in the 1st season's last two episodes.

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Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio Birthday is Today. Celebrate Him............

Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio, CON (born 19 December 1962), is a Nigerian lawyer and politician who is a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Senate's Minority Leader. He was also Governor of Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria from May 29, 2007 to May 29, 2015.

Godswill Akpabio is the son of Chief Obot Akpabio and Madam Lucy Obot Akpabio (née Inyangetor) of Ukana, Ikot Ntuen in Essien Udim Local Government Area. He was born on 9 December 1962. He lost his father early in life and was raised by his mother, who inculcated in him the values of hard work, discipline and honesty.

Education

He was educated at Methodist Primary School, Ukana, Essien Udim LGA, Akwa Ibom State; the prestigious Federal Government College, Port Harcourt, Rivers State; and the University of Calabar, Cross River State, where he obtained a Degree in Law.

While at the Federal Government College, Port Harcourt, he was appointed the General Senior Prefect. In the University of Calabar, his charisma endeared him to the students and he was elected the Speaker of the Students’ Parliament.

Family and personal life

Godswill Akpabio’s grandfather, Okuku Udo Akpabio, was the 1st Warrant Chief in Ikot Ekpene province. His uncle, Dr. I. U. Akpabio, was the Minister of Education/Internal Affairs in the then Eastern Nigeria. Justice Nsima Akpabio, his cousin, was a senator in the Second Nigerian Republic.

He is a Christian of the Catholic faith. Godswill is married to Ekaette Unoma Akpabio, the founder of Family Life Enhancement Initiative (FLEI), a non-governmental organization providing a platform for redirecting the focus of development efforts on the family as a strategy for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Akpabio and his wife have four daughters and a son. Also a son from another woman, Glenn Udosen.

Career and employment

Akpabio had a brief stint as a teacher and as an associate partner with Paul Usoro and Co., a leading law firm in Nigeria.

He also worked with EMIS Telecoms Limited, a pioneer fixed wireless telecommunications company in Lagos, Nigeria. 

In 2002, he rose to the position of the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the company. In this position, he helped in shaping the future of the burgeoning telecoms industry. He had earlier served as the National Publicity Secretary of the Association of Telecommunication Companies in Nigeria, (ATCOM), while a director of EMIS.

Appointments and politics

In 2002, he was appointed Honourable Commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources in Akwa Ibom State. Between 2002 and 2006, he served as a Commissioner in three key ministries: Petroleum and Natural Resources, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, as well as Lands and Housing.

In 2006, he aspired for the governorship of Akwa Ibom State in a hotly contested primary election and defeated 57 other aspirants to emerge the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). His campaign with the slogan, “let God’s will be done” received mass support and was elected Governor in 2007. He was re-elected for a second term in office as Governor of Akwa Ibom State in 2011.

In 2013, he was elected Chairman of the newly formed PDP Governors Forum.

In 2015, he contested and won the Senate seat of the Akwa Ibom North West (Ikot Ekpene) Senatorial District to represent the district in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Running under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), he polled 422,009 of the 439,449 to defeat Chief Inibehe Okorie of the All Progressive Congress (APC) who recorded 15, 152 votes to be declared elected by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He was nominated for the position of the Senate Minority Leader by the South-South caucus of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), ratified by the caucus of the PDP in the Senate and announced by the Senate President as Senate Minority Leader on 28 July 2015. The PDP lost the majority to the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the 2015 general elections.

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Osinbajo: Buhari and I poorly paid

        Osinbajo: Buhari and I poorly paid

The President’s and the Vice-President’s pay is low, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday.

He criticised the private sector for not respecting the national minimum wage law, which puts the lowest pay at N18,000.

Speaking at the end-of-year seminar of the State House Press Corps at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Prof. Osinbajo said he earns about N1.5m as Vice-President; President Buhari earns about N1.75 million.

To him, the pay is not commensurate with the offices they occupy.

The vice president also expressed misgivings about the remuneration of journalists and lawyers, saying journalists’ case is unique because many media owners make big revenue but simply refuse to pay good wages.

He recalled his brief encounters working with media houses as legal adviser and how in all the months he worked he was not paid despite the irregular hours he put in.

Osinbajo spoke of entry into journalism as not rigorously regulated or enforced by professional bodies because untrained persons are allowed in.

He added:  ”I realised first of all that this (journalism) is not a profession from which one could make a decent living in the first place unless you find a really good way of doing so.

”But more importantly for me is that you are just on your own. Journalism as a profession is so wide open.

”There are a few reasons in my view why remuneration is poor.

”The first is that it is just simply cheating.  There are owners of media that are just cheats. They just want to get something from nothing and that is not uncommon, it is a general malaise, it is not necessarily restricted to the media.

”It is also the same in the legal profession. There many lawyers if they tell you what they earn, you will certainly not want to be a lawyer.

”The private sector does not respect the minimum wage. Even if a minimum wage is set nationally, it is not necessarily respected by the private sector and this is something that should be factored in to the status of a company and whether a company is even complying with the requirements.”

The Vice-President urged journalists to brighten their prospects and future by always seeking ways of improving themselves and getting better job opportunities with attendant improved income.

Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura, represented by the Commissioner for  Information, Mohammed Kwara, was the chairman of the ceremony.

He said: “It is important to note that a good retirement plan starts the very day you are employed, knowing that whatever has a beginning has an end; 35 or 60 mandatory years of service are certainly not eternity.

”It must also be stressed here that it is not too late to plan even where you have just few years to retire from service.

”The most important thing is that you have a plan either of money saved or of the job you intend to carry on after retirement. Put every other factor in place such as your age, strength and the mental capacity to carry on.” he advised.

He added “It is important to state, therefore, that the uncertainty on payment of entitlements has continued to worry Nigerian workers, making them fear retirement.

”This has led to prospective retirees falsifying their age just to enable them stay put in the service.

”In this regard, a lot of corruption induced activities have continued to infiltrate the MDAs and the organised private sector responsible for managing pension,” he said.

Kwara listed 10 ways to prepare for retirement, including saving, knowing your retirement needs and contributing to an employer’s retirement savings plan.

Others, according to him, are learning about employer’s pension plan, considering basic investment principles, not touching your retirement savings, asking employer to start a plan, think of creative ways to be self sustaining, find out about one’s social security benefits, and asking questions.

The guest lecturer and Chairman of Elumelu Foundation, Tony Elumelu, said retirement should not be synonymous with being tired or giving up as it should be a stepping stone.

He advised working journalists to pursue their purposes with passion, stressing the need to increase capacity in readiness for the next phase

He said: “Entrepreneurship is not a function of age.  Set your milestones and work towards accomplishing the milestone.

”Entrepreneurs are resilient; they persevere to succeed. You don’t need to give up easily, it requires sacrifice, discipline.”

Others who presented goodwill messages were Minister of Information Lai Mohammed; Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi and Special Adviser (Media & Publicity) to the President Femi Adesina.

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Breaking News: NDDC Personnel Shot in Warri

NDDC Personnel Shot in Warri

One Francis Agba, an employee of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), narrowly escaped death on Sunday when he was attacked by suspected armed robbers.

Agba, who had taken his wife for medical care at the General Hospital, Ekpan, Uvwie council area of Delta state, was suddenly faced by the gang of armed men as he was coming out of the hospital premises. He was reportedly shot at pointblank.

Although eyewitnesses who confirmed the incident to the Nation in Warri yesterday had reported that Agba was a target of suspected assassins, who shot him dead, official sources confirmed that he was injured, but survived the attack.

When contacted, the Director of Corporate Affairs  of the NDDC, Ibitoye  Abosede, confirmed that Agba is an employee of the commission, but clarified that the the victim survived the attack, adding that it was still believed to be an armed robbery attack.

“Yes he was attacked by armed robbers and not assassination..He is alive and being stabilised in the hospital. He went to drop his wife in the hospital before the attack”, Abosede said.

Meanwhile, when reached for an official confirmation yesterday evening, the spokesman of the Delta state police command, Andrew Aniamaka (DSP), told the Nation that he was yet to get any situation report indicating such an incident.

“You are about the second person who would be calling me over this, but the DPO of Ekpan has not given me any sitrep to indicate any such incident. I’ll reach back to him and get back to you soon”, Aniamaka said.

Last week Tuesday, a gang of armed men had killed one Obaro Oji, an employee of an old generation bank branch in Warri, around the Ekpan Bridge, less than 500 metres away from where Agba was attacked on Sunday. His killers took nothing from him.

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