The Federal Government has commissioned the completed Ecological Project Works at the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC), Orientation Camp in Jalingo, Taraba State, stating that the intervention project would create a more conducive environment for the socio-economic wellbeing of the Corps Members and officials , particularly during the mandatory orientation camp exercise held regularly at the camp ground.

Speaking at the event, the President, Muhammadu Buhari, represented by the Hon. Minister of State, Works and Housing, Hon. Muazu Jaji Sambo,, disclosed this during the official commissioning of the Erosion and Flood Control Works project at the Orientation Camp in Jalingo, Taraba State, Friday 27th May, 2022.

The Minister noted that the project was an index of the Buhari-led Administration in taking proactive steps to boost infrastructure development for the wellbeing of the citizenry, adding that the project was well envisioned and positioned to address the perennial problems in the area.

Hon. Sambo commended the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and the Permanent Secretary, Ecological Project Office, Dr. Habiba Lawal for their determination in ensuring timely and speedy completion of the project and many other projects across the country which he said has fulfilled government’s infrastructure promises to the people.

He urged the benefitting residents of the camp and other users to exercise ownership over the project and ensure its proper maintenance and sustainability.

In her welcome speech, the Permanent Secretary, Ecological Project Office, Dr. Habiba Lawal, represented by the Assistant Director, Soil Erosion and Flood Control Department, Mr. Baaba. Bomoi .pointed out that the project was executed by the Ecological Project Office, cognizance of the need to tackle the erosion and flood problems in the country.

She further explained that the project is to enhance the road sustainability by construction of concrete drains network within the Camp, noting that it was heartwarming to state that the Contractor and the Consultant worked assiduously and conscientiously to ensure that the project was completed on time and in accordance with the specifications as contained in the contract documents.

Dr. Lawal disclosed that the project was approved on 6th August, 2020 and was awarded on 3rd November, 2020 and handed over to the Contractor, Messrs Peters and Partners Inter-Global Limited on the 28th January, 2021. She commended the efforts of the contractor, Messrs Peters and Partners Inter-Global Ltd and the Consultant Messrs Prispat Engineers Consultant Ltd for the timely completion of the project.

“The Commissioning and handing over of this project to the benefitting Community is expected to achieve the dual purpose of enabling the host community to take over and exercise ownership of the project to ensure its care, protection as well as sustainability”, she admonished.

The Permanent Secretary urged the residents of the Orientation Camp and its environs to, “jealously guard the facility so that the resources which the Federal Government had committed in the project would not be a waste.”

In his remarks, the Director-General, NYSC, represented by the Taraba State NYSC State Coordinator, Mr. Anthony Nzoka, expressed deep appreciation to the Federal Government and the Ecological Project Office for its timely intervention. He recalled that in recent years, the permanent camp facility has been affected by, “serious and uncontrolled erosion and flooding that was destroying the beautiful landscape and threatening the walls and foundation structures of many offices, hostel blocks and other buildings within the camp”..

Mr. Nzoka noted that since the completion of the project, the camp facility has become secured and free from dangerous effects of erosion. While commending the efforts of the Federal Government and the EPO for the project, he assured of the proper maintenance of all water channels constructed .

He informed that over one thousand trees which include: Economic, Ornamentals, wind breakers and other environment and ecosystem preserving trees have been planted to further secure the facility.

Present at the occasion included: the Secretary to the Government of Taraba State, Hon. Anthony Jellson, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Environment, Taraba State, Town Planner (TPL), Mr. Jonah G. Febuins, Secretary, Youth and Sports, Taraba State, Mrs. Napia Kaura, NYSC officials, Corps members and members of the Press.

Cyber threats are becoming increasingly difficult to detect. Cybercriminals are also becoming experts in deception. What does this mean for your business? How can you keep your family members safe online and reassure your customers you are protecting their data?

Our threat research analysts have complied the latest threat intelligence data to bring you the most cutting-edge and insightful information about the most recent cyber threats and what they mean for you.

Below is a summary and sneak peek from the full report.

Malware

Whether you operate a business or spend time online surfing the web, malware remains a concern. In the last year, 86% of malware remained unique to a PC, which has been consistent for the past few years. This implies attackers are obtaining a level of consistency in what they do to avoid being caught.

While the goal of spreading infection is top of mind for a bad actor, infection rates are not equal. When we examined the trends between businesses and consumers, there are some marked differences:

• 53% of consumer PCs were infected more than once, but businesses lag behind migrating from Windows 7, leaving them more suspectable to infection.
• For medium-sized organizations (21 to 100 licensed PCs) infection rates are just over one-third (34%), infecting nine PCs on average.
• The manufacturing, public administration and information sectors experienced higher-than-average infection rates.

If your business falls within these industries or if you’re concerned your personal PC could be prone to infection, read the complete section on malware in the 2022 BrightCloud® Threat Report. It’s chock full of insights into the differences in infection rates by type of PC, region and industry.

Skyrocketing ransomware payments will cost more than just your revenue

If you’re a small business owner, you don’t need to be told that you’ve suffered immensely throughout the pandemic. Exposure to ransomware is just another element you’ve had to consider. Ransomware continues to plague small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). While this is not a new revelation, the smallest organizations, those with 100 employees or less, accounted for 44% of ransomware victims last year.

That’s nearly half.

Why do cybercriminals focus on SMBs? Attacks on larger enterprises and state-owned entities bring a level of publicity and attention that makes it harder for bad actors to achieve their goal of a financial payout. SMBs, given the lack of resources to respond, are more likely to pay and pay a lot. The year-end average for 2021 more than doubled the 2020 average, reaching $322,168. With limited resources at their disposal, the smallest of organizations are faced with tough decisions ahead when it comes to making ransomware payments and disclosing their decision to do so.

Law enforcement agencies are starting to gain headway on ransomware gangs. To learn how countries are banding together to shutdown notorious groups like REvil and DarkSide, check out the ransomware section of the full report.

High-risk URLs are phishing for your data in the most benign of locations

We discovered four million new high-risk URLs were in existence in 2021. To make matters worse, almost 66% of them involved phishing. Cybercriminals look to certain times of the year to execute their attacks. They are also keen to impersonate well-known brands to lure you into clicking on malicious links. Our complete list of top brands that are most impersonated is available in the phishing section of our full report.

­­­Thwarting cyber threats through cyber resilience

“Businesses’ ability to prepare for and recover from threats will increase as they integrate cyber resilience into their technologies, processes, and people,” said Mark J. Barrenechea, OpenText CEO & CTO. “With security risks escalating worldwide and a persistent state of ‘unprecedented’ threats, compromises are inevitable. This year’s findings reiterate the need for organizations to deploy strong multi-layered security defenses to help them remain at the heart of cyber resilience and circumvent even the most creative cybercriminals.”

Our full report helps you uncover the latest cyber trends powered by our BrightCloud® Threat Intelligence platform.

To learn more and empower your cyber know-how, download the 2022 BrightCloud® Threat Report.

By Grayson Milbourne

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said BUA Cement’s massive increase in production, especially since 2015, was made possible by the conducive business environment provided by the Federal Government.

The Minister, who stated this during a media tour of BUA Cement’s Sokoto Plant on Wednesday, listed the favourable conditions as including the granting of Pioneer Status which enables BUA Cement to enjoy tax holiday; the ban on importation of cement; backward integration policy and the divestment of government shares from cement companies.

”Thanks to these conditions, BUA Cement has recorded more than 300 per cent increase in production between 2015 and now. That’s from 3.5 million tonnes per annum in 2015 to 11 million tonnes per annum now,” he said

Alhaji Mohammed said the Sokoto Plant has created 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, and is also earning foreign exchange for the country by exporting its products to Niger, which is just 100 kilometres from the location of the plant, as well as Burkina Faso, especially during th raining season when construction work is at its lowest point.

He commended the Chairman of BUA Cement, Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu (and his entire team), for his undying belief in Nigeria, saying: ”There is no better indication of BUA’s support for the government’s economic diversification and job creation agenda than the company’s massive investments in Nigeria.”

The Minister said that in the last five years, BUA has completed four new cement plants of similar capacity in different parts of the country and is set to complete two more plants soon. It is expected that total production for BUA Cement will amount to 17 million tonnes per annum by 2023.

Alhaji Mohammed, who was taken on a guided tour of the Sokoto Plant by the Managing Director of BUA Cement, Engineer Yusuf Binji, said the 3 million tonnes per annum line IV of the Sokoto Plant, which was commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari in January this year, has taken the combined installed capacity of the factory’s Lines 2,3 and 4 to 5 million tonnes per annum.

The Minister described the Sokoto Plant as one of the most modern cement plants anywhere, with gas analyzers used in regulating carbo emissions released into the atmosphere; air purifying mechanisms set up to enhance the quality of air released from the cement manufacturing process and filters that are capable of capturing 99.9% of dust in order to make the environment healthy and conducive for the workers and customers alike.

He said the Sokoto Plant is the first cement plant in Nigeria to use Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to generate power, thereby replacing coal in its kiln, adding that the plant generates 50MW of electricity to power its production machinery.

”This has made the plant environmentally friendly to also curb climate change. I am sure when the AKK gas pipeline project is completed, it will drastically reduce the time and cost of transporting gas, which is currently being trucked from Port Harcourt to the plant. At least 20 trucks of LNG are brought here daily from Port Harcourt. Imagine the costs and the logistic challenges involved in this,” Alhaji Mohammed said

The Minister, who was accompanied by about 30 journalists, said the tour of the BUA Cement’s Sokoto Plant is his fifth media tour of public and private sector projects across the country in the past two months, with others being the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals as well as the Dangote Fertilizer in Lagos; the Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos and the Duchess Hospital, also in Lagos.

In his presentation, the Managing Director of the company, Engineer Binji, said the Sokoto plant is operating at over 90 per cent of its installed capacity and loading between 250 and 270 trucks per day. The plant has a total of 700 trucks for cement distribution.

He said BUA Cement, which is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of N2.5 trillion, is the fourth largest company on the NSE; the second largest cement producer in the Nigeria with 25 percent of the market and the largest cement producer in the country’s North West, South South and South East.

Engineer Binji said BUA Cement has also invested heavily in Corporate Social Responsibility, noting that the company is involved in the provision of health services, scholarship for students, provision of housing, roads, electricity, etc.

Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) has described his appointment as the Chairman World Summit on Information Societies Forum (WSIS) as a win not just for Nigeria, but the African continent as a whole.

The Minister made this remark today, Monday 30th May 2022 at a meeting with the Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Mr Houlin Zhou at the Union’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. “We are very pleased about the recognition accorded us based on our modest achievements within the sector particularly on our continent and by extension, we consider the appointment not as a personal or national recognition but as a continental achievement because Nigeria is strategically the leader of the continent, the most populous country in Africa with the biggest and the largest economy on the continent among other things, so occupying this position as the giant of Africa is an honour for Africa and an opportunity for us to continue to contribute our quota to the success of our sector globally. We assure you that we will give the maximum attention it requires.”

Professor Pantami also noted that “the sector has the support of the Federal Government of Nigeria and particularly President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) whose interventions have made the achievements in the sector possible. Recall that the Honourable Minister was appointed as forum chairman for the 2022 Summit and is to retain the position for a year.

In its efforts to check and reduce illegal migrants into the country,the Federal Government through the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has charged the newly commissioned Officers to live above expectations in ensuring that all forms of Insecurities in our land borders are completely eliminated or reduced to the barest minimum.

Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola stated this during the passing-out parade of officers of the 47 superintedents Basic Course for Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) held at the Immigration Training School Kano, Kano State today.

The Minister noted that without securing our land borders no security apparatus will work,stressing that, the security of lives and properties are not safe if the nation’s border is not secured.

The Minister who was represented by the Honourable Commissioner of the Civil Defence,Fire,Correctional and Immigration Service Board in charge of Appointment & Promotion (A&P) ,Maj.Gen. E.E. Bassey (rtd) charged the commissioned officers to maintain the nation’s border which is the core mandate of the Nigeria Immigration Service, adding that, more attention should be paid to the land border so as to secure our nation.

The Minister noted that “You are coming when the service of Nigeria Immigration has improved and your appointments were based on merits and such merits have to be effectively discharged during your service years”.

“You have paid the price both in characters and also, in your performance” Aregbesola added .

“I appreciate President Muhammad Buhari for his positive developmental changes in Immigration Service and other Agencies under the Ministry of Interior”, the Mijister stated.

Aregbesola expressed his appreciation to the Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje for providing enabling environment for the Nigeria Immigration Service in the State .

Earlier in his welcome address, the Acting Controller General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Alhaji Isah Idris Jere, noted that “Today is his happiest day in his tenure as an Acting Controller General of the Service for the successful completion of this training”.

Isah Jere added that NIS has made the staff training a basic and mandatory to ensure that commissioned officers are exposed to all the security challenging areas.

He advised the officers that will be posted to the border areas to face their job with utmost seriousness since the Federal Government has removed various difficulties involved in the issuance of passport with the introduction of e- passport regime .

He charged all the commissioned officers to chide away from all crimes and criminalities , corruption that may endanger their careers, and he wished them a successful and prosperous service in the Nigeria Immigration Service.

In his address , Commandant of Kano State Nigeria Immigration Service Training school, Ado Sani Rano,on behalf of the officers of 547 Basic Course appreciated all that contributed to the successful completion of the course particularly the Ag Controller General, Isah Jere for providing an enabling environment for the success of the training which started on 29th November 2021 and lasted for six months.

Ado therefore appealed to the Controller General of Immigration Service to provide more office accommodations for officers to enhance their learning during their training programme.

Other important dignitaries at the event included; Commandant of the Kano Immigration Training School ,Ado Rano; Controller Kano State NIS Command, Ismaila Abba Aliyu; Controller General Nigeria Custom Service of Kano / Jigawa Command ,M.A Usman;

Brig.Gen,S.Nicodemus Commander 3 Brigade Kano , Hajiya Aisha Rufai , Secretary of the Civil Defence,Fire ,Correctional and Immigration board and other stakeholders.

…set to strengthen strategic collaboration with NIM

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has once again reiterated its stance on professionalizing its workforce and strengthening collaborations with strategic partners such as the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) in order to enhance operational efficiency.

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of NCC Prof. Umar Danbatta, stated this while receiving a delegation led by the Acting Registrar and CEO of NIM, Jude Iheanacho, who paid a courtesy visit to the NCC Head Office recently.

Director, Human Capital and Administration, Usman Malah, who represented the EVC at the event, noted that the Commission places a high premium on capacity building and is implementing policies geared towards achieving this vital objective. Malah also said that it was in the Commission’s best interest to deepen its collaboration with NIM, through strategic partnering, so that NCC can improve organisational efficiency and regulatory excellence.

Speaking further, Malah declared that the Commission’s faith in the transformational capacity of skilled human resources is demonstrated by the Commission’s support to staff who are members of the Institute. The support includes prompt payment of membership fees for its staff; and subscription to and participation in NIM’s mandatory capacity building programmes for members.

Malah promised to make recommendations to the Management of Commission to take additional steps in solidifying the strategic relationship, such as setting up a joint committee of the two bodies to draw up modalities for inter-agency collaboration.

Iheanacho, in his response, lauded NCC for its positive contribution to the telecommunications sector and also said a highly-skilled, highly professional workforce was needed to regulate the dynamic, competitive, and highly intellectual world of telecommunications. The NCC, Ihenacho observed, has been an exemplary public sector institution noted for its proactive, all-inclusive engagement of stakeholders in the telecoms sector.

The NIM Chief Executive, who acceded that there was a need for strategic partnership between the two organisations, also declared that there were a variety of emergent upskilling programmes by NIM aimed at ensuring that Nigeria was in tune with global trends.

Iheanacho also informed the Commission that programmes such as the Mandatory Continuing Professional Education Programme; and the Continuing Learning and Development programmes were examples of programs that dealt with contemporary issues in management which NCC can leverage for improved workplace efficiency.

The Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) was established in 1961, though the enabling Act, the Nigerian Institute of Management (Establishment) Act was enacted by the National Assembly on July 19, 2003.

The objectives of the institute include the development of good management, professionalizing management, and improving and standardizing management in Nigeria.

The reception of the NIM team and the interaction took place at the NCC Conference Hall and was attended by the Head of Administration at NCC, Ibrahim Aliyu; Head of Human Capital, Safiya Jijji, who was represented by Folorunsho Mesele, a Principal Manager in the Human Capital Department.