The NNPC Foundation, in partnership with Kudimata Nigeria Limited, a financial education outfit, have trained the Batch C members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in basic financial literacy skills.
A statement today, November 10 by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the NNPC Limited, Femi Soneye said that the training scheme has been designed to build the capacity of youth towards making them employers of labour.
He said that the training, which aligned with the objectives of Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) scheme of NYSC, had its maiden edition featuring Batch B stream in the past months.
“So far over 118,000 youth corps members have been trained in financial literacy, while about 70,000 are being trained across the 37 NYSC orientation camps in the country.
Soneye quoted the Managing Director of the NNPC Foundation, Emmanuella Arukwe, as describing financial literacy as not only the bedrock of all successes in the ever-competitive labour market, but a journey towards attaining self-actualization, thereby heralding the trajectory to sustainable prosperity of the nation.
Arukwe implored the corps members to leverage on the knowledge garnered from the training to avert white collar job syndrome, adding that the NNPC Foundation is committed to impacting the youth corps members to become employers of labour.
“We are partnering with both NYSC and Kudimata to bring financial literacy to the corps members, as this will help them make better-informed decisions. We are very passionate about young people and NYSC is a veritable ground as it cuts across 20 to 30 years old youth, thus, making it the right demography.
“This programme cuts across the 36 states of the country including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This is the first step towards a series of programmes that will culminate in instilling entrepreneurship in the Corps members. After this training, those who pass the examination by 70 percent will move to the next stage. The next stage will keep them better informed on how to run businesses to ensure success in their businesses.
“Thereafter, we will do a pitching where those who are properly trained will be selected and be given start-up kits to go ahead and be on their own.”
The MD noted that unemployment has remained the greatest problem of young graduates, saying: “We are aware of unemployment as a challenge plaguing young graduates and we recognize the need to empower the youths through capacity building of this magnitude for them to empower the whole nation.
“This training will help reduce unemployment and underemployment in Nigeria, thereby making the corps members employers of labour.”
Speaking also, the FCT Coordinator, NYSC, Shokpeka Winifred expressed profound gratitude to both NNPC Foundation and Kudimata Nigeria Ltd for their unwavering support to empower the corps members to enable them to become self-reliant individuals and wealth creators.
Winifred described the training as a platform for young people to learn the best ways of managing their finances, while also grooming them to become good managers of resources.
“Going forward, I’m confident that they will put what they have learnt to use by utilizing their funds well as they are now aware of how to earn, maintain and multiply their finances. “We are striving to see them becoming business owners tomorrow through further mentorship.”
One of the corps members at the NYSC orientation camp in Abuja, Prudence Enema said: “I’m thrilled that the NNPC Foundation took their time to train us on financial literacy, we are aware that financial literacy is very important, and we have learnt a lot on how to multiply our money in order not to suffer in the future.”
Another corps member, Okeke Ugochukwu said that the training is worthwhile as the importance of saving and categorization of finances were taught effectively.

A senior lecturer in Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Professor Umar Ka’oje has voluntarily returned the sum of N1,153,953.36 wrongly paid to him by the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).
According to information, the money was paid to the don after expiration of his teaching contract with the nation’s apex military academy.
The Commandant of the NDA, Major General John-Ochefu Ochai, visited the Professor in Zaria yesterday, November 8, to deliver a letter of commendation from NDA to him, dated Sept. 11.
The Head of the Department of Political Science and International Studies, Dr. Rahanatu Lawal, who received the Commandant: said: ”Only a few people today could exhibit Professor Ka’oje’s uncommon moral courage stressing such exemplary character should be emulated.”
This was even as the commandant said that he had to follow up the letter of commendation earlier written to the professor with the physical visit to further show appreciation for such act.
According to him, the act exhibited by Ka’oje was extremely rare in Africa’s clime.
He pledged the NDA’s readiness to further honour the professor at an appropriate time.
The commandant also expressed gratitude to the department for its well established culture of training leaders to be honest and accountable.
In his response, Ka’oje commended the academy, saying: ”the Commandant equally deserved commendation for recognising and rewarding honesty.”

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of twenty Nigerians to serve as Federal Commissioners in the National Population Commission (NPC) with nine current Federal Commissioners being appointed for a second term in office.
They are:
(1) Hon. Emmanuel Trump Eke for Abia State
(2) Dr. Clifford Zirra for Adamawa State (reappointed)
(3) Mr. Chidi Christopher Ezeoke for Anambra State (reappointed)
(4) Barr. Isa Audu Buratai for Borno State (reappointed)
(5) Bishop Alex Ukam for Cross River State
(6) Ms. Blessyn Brume-Ataguba for Delta State
(7) Dr. Jeremiah Ogbonna Nwankwegu for Ebonyi State
(8) Dr. Tony Aiyejina for Edo State (reappointed)
(9) Mr. Ejike Ezeh for Enugu State (reappointed)
(10) Mr. Abubakar Damburam for Gombe State (reappointed)
(11) Prof. Uba Nnabue for Imo State (reappointed)
(12) Ms. Sa’adatu Dogon Bauchi Garba for Kaduna State
(13) Dr. Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa for Kano State
(14) Hon. Yori Afolabi for Kogi State
(15) Hon. Olakunle Sobukola for Ogun State
(16) Hon. Temitayo Oluseye Oluwatuyi for Ondo State
(17) Sen. Mudashiru Hussain for Osun State (reappointed)
(18) Ms. Mary Ishaya Afan for Plateau State
(19) Mr. Ogiri Itotenaan Henry for Rivers State
(20) Mr. Saany Sale for Taraba State (reappointed)
The President charged the new and returning NPC Federal Commissioners to successfully implement all measures taken by his administration to produce and effectively appropriate accurate population data with which lasting solutions to Nigeria’s socio-political and economic challenges can be conclusively developed and executed.

The Senator representing Kogi Central senatorial district, Senator Natasha Akpoti – Uduaghan has sponsored a motion in the Senate, asking the federal government of Nigeria to immortalise late Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji, Dr. Ado Ibrahim by naming the Federal College of Education (FCE), Okene after him.
In moving the motion today, November 8, Senator Natasha briefed her colleagues on the demise of Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Dr. Abdulrahman Ado Ibrahim, on Sunday, 29th October, 2023 at an Abuja Hospital at the age of 94.
She said that the late King, who until he became Ohinoyi on June 2, 1997, was an industrialist of international repute, succeeded Ohinoyi Sanni Omolori who died in 1996 after being on the throne for 40 years and 40 days.
Late Ado Ibrahim, according to Senator Natasha, was one of the sons of the first paramount ruler of Ebiraland, late Ibrahim Onoruoiza.
In the motion, Senator Natasha described late Ohinoyi Ado Ibrahim as a bridge-builder, peacemaker and a social scientist who was more at home with analysis and actions.
She told the Senate that the late paramount ruler of Ebiraland, until his death, always dismissed the acrimonious exchanges between the contending parties in the overall political contestation of Ebiraland.
“Even when the Supreme Court in August 2015 affirmed his appointment as the Paramount Traditional Ruler of Ebira people, he chose
to remain magnanimous in victory.
“Recalls that since he ascended the throne on 2nd June, 1997 as Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, His Royal Majesty proved to be a veritable bridge-builder, peacemaker and a social scientist who was more at home with analysis and actions.
“In several private conversations with illustrious sons of Ebira, he always dismissed the acrimonious exchanges between the contending parties in the overall political contestation of Ebira land.”
Senator Natasha described the demise of Ohinoyi Ado Ibrahim as a great loss to his family, the people of Ebiraland, Kogi State and Nigeria in general.
She said that the late Ohinoyi Ado Ibrahim will be remembered for his vast business empire, which provided employment opportunities to several thousands of Nigerians.
She requested the senate to observe a minute silence in honour of the late king, send a letter to commiserate with the family and the good people of Ebiraland and that the federal government of Nigeria should immortalize him by naming the Federal College of Education Okene after him.

Publisher and Editor of Realnews magazine, Maureen Chigbo, has expressed worry over Nigeria’s annual loss of $18 billion to illicit financial flows (IFF), through the banking sector, despite the efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and other regulating institutions in the sector.
Speaking at the Realnews 11th Anniversary Lecture yesterday, November 7, in Lagos, Chigbo, who is also the President of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), said that Nigeria is one of the 23 countries that have been tagged as non-co-operative in the combined efforts to fight money laundering globally, since its establishment in 2003.
According to her, Realnews has developed zero tolerance to the Threats of Illicit funds flow to the African Economy.
This, she sai, has caused “our deep concern about the nefarious effect of illicit funds flow on the economy, resulting in dwindling revenue for Africa governments.”
Chigbo recalled that the executive director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, on October 22, painted a gory picture of impact of illicit funds flow.
She quoted him as saying that Nigeria lost $18 billion yearly to illicit financial flows (IFFs) through the banking sector despite the effort of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other regulating institution in the sector to curb it.
“Rafsanjani also the head of Transparency International (TI) Nigeria said that Nigeria was one of the 23 countries ranked as non-co-operative in the combined efforts to fight money laundering globally, since its establishment in 2003.
“According to Rafsanjani, The banking sector has been largely implicated in money laundering where they have been instrumental in the initial entry or placement phase that involves the initial movement of an amount of money earned from criminal activity into some legitimate financial network or institution.”
Chigbo said that this illicit act embedded into a legal trade has pervaded both the national and international business and banking industry with unabated vigor. She said that Rafsanjani is of the view that adequate measures is needed to sanitize the nation’s financial system by helping to prevent money laundering and illicit financial flows (IFFs) through which terrorism is largely funded, to effectively tax bank executives, and to expose illegal financial transactions by full disclosures.
Maureen Chigbo said that the anniversary lecture series is one way Realnews contributes to nation-building and development by providing a forum for policy change-oriented discussions by professionals, scholars, technocrats and decision-makers on the way forward for our great nation and Africa in general.
According to her, the lecture series since 2014 have focused on elections, economy, security, challenges of Leadership in Africa, Africa’s political transitions oil and gas, unfolding integration of the African Market, and drug abuse among youths in Africa.
“Based on these facts, we began a search for the best brain to deal with the theme.
“We narrowed it down on our Guest Lecturer today, because of his pedigree. I have no doubt that he will do justice to the topic of this lecture.
“We have also a carefully selected panel of discussants with relevant expertise, knowledge and experience to shed more lights on the topic,” she said.
Chigbo appealed to her colleagues to ensure that the message from the lecture today is heard in Africa and beyond, assuring that Realnews will ensure that it will do its part by giving the widest publicity to this important lecture and the discussions.
“Realnews boasts a crop of seasoned journalists who believe strongly in the tenets and ethics of the profession. We are convinced that journalism as the Fourth Estate of the Realm can contribute to building a free, fair and just society where fundamental human rights are respected and where citizens enjoy the freedom to pursue their interests without let or hindrance. Our motto at Realnews is: “For God and Humanity”, she added.