From Uche Usim, Abuja
West African Gas Limited (WAGL), the joint venture company of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Sahara Energy, at the weekend took delivery of two vessels to ensure the steady supply of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly known as domestic cooking gas.
The vessels, with a combined tonnage of 38,000 cubic meters, were built at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) in Ulsan, South Korea.
Speaking at the delivery ceremony, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, thanked all the partners, who helped to actualise the ship acquisition vision of the parent companies and the management of WAGL.
“I am particularly delighted that the venture we started a few years ago has achieved this enviable milestone today, as we take delivery of these vessels,” Dr. Baru enthused.
According to the GMD, WAGL was established in March 2013 while the shipbuilding contract for the two LPG carriers was entered into in May 2014.
Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Y. S. Han, said the naming ceremony was the first at HMD this year, upbeat that it was with its new customer, WAGL.
Han thanked the managements of NNPC, Sahara Energy and WAGL for their cooperation and support throughout the period of construction of the vessels and prayed that the vessels would perform their intended services successfully and bring good fortune to WAGL and their parent companies.
In her address as the godmother of the vessels, Mrs. Hajja Maikanti lauded HMD for its shipbuilding expertise, which helped in translating the vision into the two magnificent LPG carriers.
She expressed the confidence that the carriers would be a great asset to West African Gas Ltd., NNPC and Sahara Energy.
Mrs. Maikanti said she looked forward to a day when Nigerians would possess the expertise and build such carriers within the shores of her country.
JAMB: NUC policies not yielding result –Registrar
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has lashed out at some institutional rules and guidelines set by the National Universities Commission (NUC), saying that such guidelines are not yielding the desired result, and have been responsible for poor quality and standard of Nigerian universities.
Oloyede’s statement was in response to the discrimination by Council for Legal Education (CLE) and the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC), which had stagnated the academic and career destiny of graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
Oloyede, who spoke in Abuja on Friday, accused the apex universities regulatory body of focusing all its energy and attention on enforcing uniformity instead of promoting standards that would arm students with toolkits to become effective global citizens.
The JAMB helmsman said that such practice had obviously blinded the Commission from appreciating the uniqueness and achievements of some universities as reflected in the improved academic performance of students.
He thus advised the Commission to consult and accommodate the views of all stakeholders in its proposed review of university curricular, which will focus on Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) in order to suit the 21st century system of learning, which is fast tilting towards the application of technology in the learning process.
Tech: FG, Ukraine to partner in space management
The Federal Government will collaborate with friendly countries ready to assist the country bridge perceived technological gaps in its bid to improve the standard of living of Nigerians
The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, who disclosed this when he received the Ambassador of Ukraine to Nigeria, Dr. Valeri Aleksandruk, in Abuja at the weekend, also said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was determined to diversify and improve the economy by bridging technology gaps through exchange of ideas.
According to him, “Nigeria is succeeding in sustainable diversification process through ensuring that we tap and harness the natural resources coupled with the abundant human resources that will make it a technology hub, especially in the area of space management.”
The minister said government was disposed to Ukraine, coming to build indigenous capacities through cooperation and mutual assistance, as a key component of the diversification process of the economy of the current administration.
Dr. Aleksandruk said part of his mission in the country was to get best cooperation and exploration through sharing of ideas in various areas of science and technology, especially in space management.
He said Ukraine had huge potentials in the science and technology sector as well as human resources, which, when explored, could boost technology in Nigeria.
However, he reiterated the need for basic agreements and collaborations with the Nigerian government to achieve this goal.
NUC: FG directs varsities to summit quarterly reports
From Fred Ezeh , Abuja
the Federal Government has expressed determination to end corruption in tertiary institutions, which many educationists claimed had been responsible for the significant drop in quality of university education in Nigeria.
To this end, the government has directed all federal universities to summit its financial and administrative report quarterly through the federal ministry of education.
Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), who represented President Muhammadu Buhari as Visitor at the sixth convocation ceremony of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in Abuja said that a template for such report will soon be circulated to the universities by the Ministry of Education through the NUC.
Buhari warned that henceforth, any university council or management found wanting in relation to financial mismanagement, gross moral or ethical violations would be made to face the wrath of the law.
He appealed to universities to promote the culture of transparency and accountability, as that would be seen as steps to support government’s move to address the existing needs of the universities.
He congratulated the management of the school for being consistent in pursuing its mandate to taking education to the undeserved, challenging other institutions to take lessons from NOUN, particularly in the use of ICT in its learning process