Human Capital Development, Key to Investment Attraction - Ahmed Joda

From Left: Nasir El-Rufai, Alhaji Ahmed Joda,

Arch. Barnabas Bala Batex and Hajiya Amina Mohammed

Elder Statesman, Alhaji Ahmed Joda has said that education and human capital development are key to any government to drive investments.

Speaking at the two-day Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit yesterday, Joda said, "Kaduna state belongs to all of us, it belongs to no one because it is a place where we can feel at home, so as a Northern Nigerian, our key for development lies in agriculture, which provides our food.

"The north was self-sufficient in the past, unfortunately, today, we are dependent on food; nothing has changed, we still have the farmers, we have the land and it will take us back to where we came from.

Education, human skill development and cooperation between the states and the agencies of the Federal Government is necessary in order to drive investment."

He urged Nigerians to chart a way forward for a better future.

The Minister for Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi said "Nasir hit the ground flying when he became governor of Kaduna State because he aims to transform the state from a sleeping civil service entity to a growing dynamic business-oriented state.

"Oil has blinded us from looking in any other direction and focusing on looking for another revenue diversification from oil to non-oil sector including agriculture and mining," the minister added.

I never signed budget without details - Obasanjo

Former President Obasanjo in handshake with President Muhammadu Buhari

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has denied ever signing national budgets without getting the details.

He spoke to State House correspondents yesterday shortly after meeting behind closed-doors with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja. He was responding to media reports quoting the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation as saying that budgets were signed in the past without the details.

"Eh en? I signed budget without details? Anybody who told you that, go and ask him again," Obasanjo said. He said before he could comment on the 2016 national budget, he had to read it and know its contents.

He said: "The constitution allows you to continue with the budget provided you did not go beyond the previous year. That can be done up to the middle of the year".

Once cash-rich Angola, hit by the dip in oil prices, goes before IMF's for aid

Angola said Wednesday it had asked the International Monetary Fund for help after the crash in oil prices ravaged government finances.

The IMF said discussions would begin next week in Washington on what could be a three-year support plan for the government.

“The sharp decline in oil prices since mid-2014 represents a major challenge for oil exporters, especially for those economies that have yet to become more diversified,” the Fund said in a statement.

“The IMF stands ready to help Angola address the economic challenges it is currently facing by supporting a comprehensive policy package to speed up the diversification of the economy, while safeguarding macroeconomic and financial stability.”

Angola has depended on oil production for 95% of its export earnings and more than half of government receipts.

Magufuli cancels celebrations marking Tanzania's key Union Day to 'save money for road project'

Tanzanian President John Magufuli cancelled Union Day celebrations in the country, saying one million U.S. dollars could be saved for a road project.   

The President said in a statement earlier this week that the money would be used to expand a road stretch from Mwanza Airport in northern Tanzania to the city centre. The project is aimed at easing traffic jams in Mwanza, a city on the shores of Lake Victoria.

“The money was earmarked to buy food, drinks as well as paying allowances to those who will be involved in the celebrations including parades and mass plays,” said the statement.

Tanzania will mark its Union Day on April 26 to mark the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania.

Notorious Criminal in Benue dead

News reaching our desk has it that one of the notorious gangsters popularly known as Pastor who was among the individuals granted amnesty by the Samuel Ortom's administration is dead.

He was purportedly  murdered before noon today and his remains have been deposited in mortuary in one of the health facilities in Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State.

Details of his death have not been uncovered at the time of this bulletin.

One year after Garissa's Attack

In their numbers, thousands of Kenyans drawn from all walks of life on Saturday gathered at Garissa University College to mark the first anniversary since the deadly terror attack that left 148 people dead, majority of them students.

Security was tight in and around the university college, with those entering subjected to thorough frisking and screening by armed security personnel.

Al Shabaab had on April 2, 2015 attacked Garissa University College, in northeastern Kenya.

Hundreds of people turned for a memorial marathon that kicked off at 7:45am.

Local political and religious leaders, led by Garissa Township MP and National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale, participated in the five-kilometre marathon.

Organisers said the marathon was aimed at bringing cohesion and integration between Kenyans after one of the worst terror attacks in the country.

Speaking after finishing the marathon, the Garissa Township MP said the fact that people of different walks of life turned up at the memorial was a true testimony that they were united against terrorism.

Mr Duale told a battery of local and international journalists that the Garissa University attack was one of his darkest moments.

He said the attack was not exceptional as terror acts could occur anywhere in the globe, citing the recent Brussels attack that left scores dead.

Mr Duale, however, appreciated the effort done by the government after the terror attack in Garissa.

He noted that the posting of top security chiefs who hail from the region had largely led to improvement of security in the area.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all Kenyans for standing with Garissa at their hour of need, this clearly shows that we are united to defeat this menace by the name Al-Shabaab.

Apple is 40 years old

A desire to actualize postulations rumbling in our minds begins with a determined step.

On April 1, 1976, 40 years ago, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne founded Apple Computers in the garage of Jobs’ parents’ house in Los Altos, California.

Ronald Wayne had sold his 10% stake in the company for $2,300 on April 12th, 1976. Ronald Wayne says he made the “best decision with the information available to me at the time” when he chose to sell his shares in the emerging technology firm. Unlike counterparts Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Wayne had capital on the line and stood to lose his assets if Apple went under.

Had he retained his full stake in Apple to this day, it would currently be worth about $60 billion. Wayne went on to enjoy a long career as an engineer with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and other firms, Wired reports, and he later opened a stamp shop before retiring to Pahrump, Nevada.

Apple is currently the most valuable company in the world and as of recent close, the company’s market capitalization totalled just a bit above $600 billion.