All is not well in the IT Department of Covenant University, Otta, our source can authoritatively report.
A guru in information technology (IT) attached to that department is in the police net after he was found to have devised a means by which he diverted funds meant for the university into his private pocket. By the time the university woke up to his antics, he had succeeded in siphoning a whopping N180 million!
Before the bubble burst, not a few people were said to have wondered how the loved and trusted official was managing to get the funds with which he maintained a lifestyle the Chancellor of the university and Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo, would call “riotous living.”
He was said to have bought some flashy cars which he kept in a mansion he bought with stolen funds in highbrow Lekki part of Lagos, even though he had a house in the school where he lived with his wife.
Every Friday, he would cruise with his wife to the posh house in Lekki to enjoy the weekend. But what really gave him away was the habit of flying back to his duty post in Otta in a chopper that landed at the premises of The Bells University, which is only a stone’s throw from Covenant University.
Tongues began to wag from onlookers who started to wonder who the big boy could be. Word about his lifestyle soon got to the authorities of Covenant University who decided to put him under surveillance and realized that he had stolen the university’s money amounting to more than N180 million. The funds were mainly school fees paid by students.
The fees were paid into the accounts of the university in designated banks but the disingenuous inventor found a means of diverting the money into his private account. The discovery alarmed the authorities of the school. Oyedepo, sources said, was flabbergasted.
The IT guru was promptly reported to the police, who arrested him. Covenant University authorities expected the police to fast track his prosecution but that was not forthcoming.
Words got to the university that the suspected fraudster was greasing the palms of the police. Again alarmed by the development, the authorities sidelined the police and handed the suspect to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Upon interrogation, the suspect admitted stealing the said sum and even agreed to refund N56 million in cash immediately. Sentry will keep you posted on further developments.
Source
TheNation
On Friday, May 3rd, UK graduates were invited to reconnect with their former institutions and to find out more about career opportunities in Nigeria.
The event, dubbed “Nigerian talent, UK educated” was organized by a group of 19 UK universities as an extension of the alumni and career support typically offered in the UK. Following a first edition of the event held in Lagos in April 2018, the organizers deemed it appropriate to move to the nation’s capital for the second edition, which held at the Ladi Kwali Conference Centre at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.
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| Emma Tarrant Tayou (University of Nottingham) and Deve Omiunu (representing Cardiff University and Cardiff Metropolitan University). |
Alumni were able to hold one to one interactions with employers such as Nigerian Breweries, Jaiz Bank, Phillips Consulting, and Stutern, who were all present at this edition of the event. Gabriel Negbenebor, who is Head of People & Organisational Development at Nigerian Breweries and a graduate of Cardiff Metropolitan University, explained the event was beneficial to employers who need to fill roles requiring international experience. Other employers joining the event in Abuja included Amnesty International, Centre for Studies of Economics in Africa (CSEA) and Norrenberger.
Alongside the one to one interactions, former UK graduates shared useful insights with fair attendees on topics such as developing a career in the legal sector and working within Public Health. Aramide Abe (alumna of University of Nottingham) brought Naija Startups to the event, offering both ongoing advice throughout the fair and a master class on entrepreneurship and the business start-up process aimed at helping those looking to set up their own businesses in the future.
The majority of the graduates in attendance had completed master’s level studies and some were also keen to understand future prospects in research and academia. A session on insights into Ph.D. study was offered by a well-qualified team of academics: Dr Terry Cousens, Senior Lecturer (School of Civil Engineering) University of Leeds; Dr Gareth Roberts, Lecturer in Remote Sensing and Programme Lead for Applied GIS and Remote Sensing University of Southampton; Winfred Dotse-Gborgbortsi, PhD researcher and previous MSc Commonwealth Scholar, University of Southampton; Professor Jim Baird, Chair of Waste and Resource Management (Faculty of Engineering), Glasgow Caledonian University.
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| UK university representatives worked together to organize the event. Back row: Sergine Monple (University of Central Lancashire, Annabel Mitchell (Nottingham Trent University), Adebisi Adekola (University of Salford), Oyedapo Oyeyemi (University of Leeds), Alicia Butterfield (Loughborough University), William Kelly (University of Glasgow), Tom Williams (UCLAN), Francis Ojo (University of Birmingham), Pamela Armstrong (University of Glasgow), Alexa Jones (Cardiff University), Chinelo Konwea (University of Portsmouth), Fern Williams (Cardiff Metropolitan University), David Lennon (Newcastle University)Front row: Ifeanyi Udofia (University of Sussex), Emma Tarrant Tayou (University of Nottingham), Jenny Hyde (University of Portsmouth), Ajoke Olakunle (University of Glasgow), Claire Grant (University of Stirling), Yusuff Kaffo (University of Salford), Melissa Gibson (University of Southampton), Deve Omiunu (Cardiff University), Charlotte Greenwood (University of Kent). |
Attendees of the event benefited from networking with employers as well as reconnecting with representatives from their universities. Graduates were also able to meet and network with other alumni from their previous institutions who may have graduated in different years as well as make new connections with graduates of other institutions but with whom they have a shared UK experience.
For graduates of the universities involved looking to stay connected with their institutions, or for enquiries about future studies at the institutions involved, relevant contact points are listed below:
- University of Birmingham — j.maurice@bham.ac.uk or f.ojo@bham.ac.uk
- Cardiff Metropolitan University — westafrica@cardiffmet.ac.uk
- Cardiff University — ominiud1@cardiff.ac.uk
- University of Central Lancashire — smonple@uclan.ac.uk
- University of Essex — arinze@essex.ac.uk
- University of Glasgow — ajoke.olakunle@glasgow.ac.uk
- Glasgow Caledonian University — lorna.campbell@gcu.ac.uk
- University of Kent — c.greenwood@kent.ac.uk
- University of Leeds — o.a.oyeyemi@adm.leeds.ac.uk
- Loughborough University — a.c.butterfield@lboro.ac.uk
- University of Newcastle — david.lennon@newcastle.ac.uk
- University of Nottingham — emma.tayou@nottingham.ac.uk
- Nottingham Trent University — annabel.mitchell@ntu.ac.uk
- University of Portsmouth — jenny.hyde@port.ac.uk
- Robert Gordon University — a.adebusuyi@rgu.ac.uk
- University of Salford — y.a.kaffo@salford.ac.uk
- University of Southampton — nigeria@soton.ac.uk
- University of Stirling — Claire.grant@stir.ac.uk
- University of Sussex — I.A.Udofia@sussex.ac.uk
More photos below
The Kogi Coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Mrs Oludolapo Ahile, has died in an auto crash.
The Assistant Director, Public Relations, Kogi NYSC, Mr Adedapo Tayo said that the coordinator was involved in a ghastly accident alongside her husband on Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia highway in Nassarawa State.
Tayo said that the accident occurred at Lafia axis of the highway at about 2 p.m on Thursday, May 16, after her vehicle somersaulted twice and veered into the bush.
Tayo added that the late coordinator and her husband with two other occupants were on their way to Tiv land in Benue for the burial/funeral of her father-in-law.
He said that the four occupants of the vehicle were rushed to the hospital and that it was unfortunate that Ahile died the early hours of Friday, May 17.
Tayo disclosed that her husband, Mr Michael Ahile, the driver and the other persons survived the crash but were injured.
He said that the late Coordinator’s husband whose injuries were more severe was transferred to a hospital in Abuja.
According to Tayo, the late Mrs Ahile left Lokoja around 6 a.m on May 16, to join her husband in Abuja in preparation for the funeral of her father-in-law.
”Her husband, Mr Michael Ahile picked her in Abuja and they embarked on the journey to Tiv land in Benue through Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia highway.
”The accident occurred at Lafia in Nasarrawa State at about 2 p.m, and they were quickly moved to the Lafia Specialist hospital for medical attention.
”By 2 a.m this morning (May 17) we received information that she died at the Specialist Hospital Lafia,” Tayo said.
He said that the NYSC management had directed that the husband Mr Ahile, who had retired as its Director, be moved to a Specialist Hospital in Abuja for adequate medical attention.
Tayo added that the NYSC Directorate Headquarters had also swung into action concerning the sad incident.
”Appreciation goes to Gov. Yahaya Bello, who sent Mr Sani Ogu, the Chairman, NYSC State Governing Board and Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, on a condolence visit to the state secretariat of the NYSC.
“Oludolapo Ahile immensely contributed to the growth of the NYSC scheme in Kogi. She initiated the ongoing construction of NYSC Multipurpose Hall project that is about to be completed. She had also pressed on the state government for the renovation of the NYSC camp.
”She was a woman of peace and had brought peace in the management and the staff members of the scheme. She had been a motivator to corps members especially on skills acquisition and general counseling.
The entire corps members in Kogi will really miss her. Her last assignment was to present about six corps members for national presidential and honours award, and she celebrated with them in Abuja at the Presidency recently,” Tayo said.
As part of the efforts towards bridging the manpower deficit in the manufacturing sector, Lafarge Africa, one of the giant cement manufacturing company in Nigeria has graduated a total of 51 Nigerian technicians trained under its capacity development initiative programme.
The 51 graduands, which comprised of young school leavers, were drawn from among the host communities of Sagamu and Ewekoro where Lafarge is operating.
Trained at company’s Technical and Industrial Training Institute located in Ewekoro area of Ogun state, the year 2019 batch of the graduates were, however, made to undergo a 36-months in conformity with the prerequisite knowledge for industrial operations, as well as National Business and Technical Education Board (NABTEB).
Speaking at the 2019 graduation ceremony held yesterday in Ewekoro, Head of the Human Resources and Industrial Relations, Femi Adekunle disclosed that the increasing manpower deficit noticeable in the manufacturing industry in the country necessitated the idea behind the training programme.
“It is an idea geared towards empowering science-oriented secondary school leavers in our host communities – first, to offer employment opportunities for them and second, to provide a platform for them to further their academics to the University level”.
In her comment, the company’s Director of Organization and Human Resources, Fidelia Osime said the technical apprentice programme was aimed at checkmating the undue influx of semi-skilled workers from neighbouring African countries who have taken over industrial operations in many manufacturing firms in Nigeria.
She further explained that the capacity development initiative was part of the company’s commitments towards empowering the young school leavers, as well as preparing them for possible admission into the Nigerian universities to further their studies.
“We have designed the Cement Professional Technician Programme (CPTP) and Technical Apprentice Programme to adequately train youths in the cement manufacturing process”.
“It is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative hinged on five pillars: health, safety, education, infrastructure as well as a clean environment”.
“We believe that programmes like these will help to bridge the skills gap in the cement production industry”.
Speaking on behalf of the Federal Government, Stella Ogbuishi, Area Manager, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), said government would continue to support efforts such as these that are geared towards improving entrepreneurial skills and self-reliability of young Nigerians who remain the bedrock of any economy that desires growth and development.
Folusho Samuel, Director of Projects, Nigerian Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), celebrated the initiative, revealing that some of the trainees have already received provisional job offers from multinational companies. She pledged that NECA would continue to work with the private sector in order to ensure that all the graduating technicians are fully engaged.
People suspected to be cultists on Tuesday went on a rampage in The Polytechnic, Ibadan, unleashed mayhem and destroyed six vehicles and two tricycles.
Our sources gathered that they vandalised six cars and two tricycles were owned by some staff of the institution and commercial operators.
The attack came few hours after the institution’s management directed the students to resume for academic activities.
The institution had said the resumption became necessary in order for the students to continue their academic exercise for the remaining part of the first semester 2018/2019 academic session.
The directive was contained in a statement signed by the Registrar. Mrs Modupe Theresa Fawale, who disclosed that a town-and-gown meeting held on Monday, 6th May 2019, with parents, guardians, communities surrounding the institution as well as traditional rulers, religious leaders and landlord associations yielded positive results which culminated in the decision to re-open the institution forthwith.
Unfortunately, as they resumed it was gathered that the unknown gunmen invaded the institution some minutes before 4.pm on Tuesday and attacked anyone found in the institution.
A management staff of the institution said, “There were rains of gunshots as some unknown men disrupted the peace at the South campus entrance of the institution on Tuesday afternoon, 7th May, 2019.
"The incident began some minutes to 4pm in the afternoon, where various properties were damaged ranging from private cars, tricycles, the commercial bus, and the security house at the entrance of the Institution.
“Those people were three with two holding guns, and one with axe. They were in blue top and black beret. When they came, the security men manning the gate ran for their lives as they were shooting in the air as well as destroying cars with the axe.
“Before the security operatives would reach the venue of the situation, the perpetrators of the acts have left the scene”.
Another staff of the institution confirmed that,’
’the incident occurred at the South Campus of the institution where the assailants vandalised six cars and two tricycles.”
When contacted, the institution’s Public Relations Officer Alhaji Soladoye Adewole said he was yet to be ‘briefed’ about the incident.
Source
LEADERSHIP
No matter the size of the company, managing well means managing the processes, the employees and the time of the execution of the activities in the best possible way. Here are some tips on how to better manage the various aspects of a business to make your business more productive. Zoetalentsolutions.com will provide you all management courses.
1. The first thing is to be aware that being an expert in a business is not necessarily going to make you ready to run a business. You will need help to get customers to come to you and your sales flow. You will need good communication and administration, at a minimum.
2. One tip for setting up your team is, for example, to fill in the gaps in fields where you have less knowledge, surrounding experts in each area.
3. Here is another tip. Not always the most appropriate people for the team will be your friends or relatives. Most of the time, in fact, this is not at all suitable for the smooth running of the business.
4. Be prepared to take risks in managing the company. Do not be afraid to get out of your comfort zone, especially if you are facing fierce competition, which is very common these days.
5. For more security in decisions, always take into account the practical effects of what your company does. If you are able to anticipate the consequences of action then you will be better equipped to deal with them when an eventuality happens.
6. Do not make decisions right now. Having a planning strategy is key. Put your ideas on paper and always have your real business indicators as a basis.
7. Monitor and measure your progress. In large companies, the results, sales, technology, human capital, etc., are constantly monitored. Thus, managers can be aware of what is wrong and make corrections. The same should be applied in SMEs.
8. It is essential that the manager closely monitors the company's cash flow and financial processes. If you do not already have a business management system (ERP), maybe it's time to get one. With an ERP system, the entrepreneur can optimize the work of analyzing spreadsheets and reports, also facilitating the collection and recording of information that will provide more agile decision making.
9. Stimulate the loyalty of your team. Employees are more committed to the company when they have a sense of loyalty.
10. Remember: As in personal life, problems will arise at every stage of the company's development. The manager's mission is to think of solutions. To do this, you need to stay focused and work together to solve the most pressing problems of the moment. To do so, it is necessary to set goals and stipulate processes and deadlines for results to be achieved.
Marketing with videos is definitely trending in the business world. In fact, more and more companies are choosing to incorporate it into their marketing strategies in 2019. Regardless, if you are an upstart, small business or a large corporation, video marketing will be a great addition to your existing plan. However, you must be creative when it comes to developing marketing videos. If you combine engaging marketing videos with an effective plan, the results will be astonishing. Below, you will discover three great video marketing strategies that should put you on a competitive edge with your biggest competitors.
Tell Your Story
Most consumers are really interested in how businesses get started. Look at Amazon for instance, which begin as a small business operating out of a garage. These are stories that people want to hear. With that said, it is crucial to utilize your marketing videos to tell your story. Make it where your audience feels the need to support your company through purchases.
Marketing videos that tell stories are on a more personal level than those that do not have a story tell. If you really want to draw more traffic to your website, you will need to incorporate this effective marketing strategy into your existing plan. To avoid any backlash, it is crucial to not make the story all about you. Instead, tell a story that demonstrates all the hard work that you put into building your business. Also, be sure to include your successes and future goals. Keep it short because most people will not spend more than a few minutes watching a marketing video.
Let Your Customers Tell Their Stories
Businesses how now become aware of how important customer reviews are for their brand. Most consumers will not even consider making an online purchase without reading customer reviews first. Another thing that consumers are looking for is interactions between customers and companies. Since you are planning to produce videos to draw brand awareness, it would not be a big deal to include one or more of your existing customers' stories in the videos. If you make this habit, you will notice an increase in traffic to your website and improvement in your conversion rate.
Include Tips And How-To Guides
Like customer reviews, how-to guides and tips can be effective marketing tools. When consumers want to learn more about a product they will instantly start conducting online research for the best available guides and strategies, such as these marketing guides from video app maker Swish. These videos will give them a better understanding of how your products work and if they work as guaranteed. Including tips is also a sure way to encourage consumers to buy from you.
The idea is to show consumers that you are an expert in your field. Besides that, it will show them that you know your products from top to bottom. In the meantime, you are also providing your existing customers with important information that are guaranteed to make their experiences better, if not great.
Afterword
Once your videos are posted to social media, it is a good idea to monitor their progress. Answer viewers' questions and comments in a timely to show them that you are still involved.
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