Fomer Sierra Leonean president, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, dies

Former President of Sierra Leone Ahmad Tejan Kabbah has died after a protracted illness. He died yesterday March 13th at his home in Sierra Leone.

Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah was the third President of Sierra Leone from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2007.

An economist and attorney by professions, Kabbah spent many years working for the United Nations Development Programme President Kabbah would be remembered for helping to bring peace back to war torn Sierra Leone during his tenure. He was 82 years old. May his soul rest in peace. Amen.

'I'm not gay so my son will never be gay" - Bauchi Governor fires back

Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda was a guest on BBC Africa radio show yesterday where he talked about the anti-gay law. He supported the bill and declared that he's not gay so non of his sons can be gay.

When asked what he would do if any of his sons confessed to being gay, Governor Yuguda exclaimed 'God Forbid!' then said "What will I do? Well, I may have to resign to my faith that I have a son who is a gay but I'm assuring you I'm not gay so my son will never be a gay. Gay blood doesn't flow in our family. I will never have one" Is homosexuality hereditary? 

TB Joshua Reveals Yet Another One! Missing Malaysian Plane Is Deep Inside The Sea

Prophet TB Joshua has said the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 which left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on Saturday, and has been declared missing is deep down in the sea.

The prophet said all the 239 people on board and crew members are all dead. Here is how he made the revelation;

 ''The plane concerned is deep inside the sea. Some of the particles will be seen on the surface of the sea any moment from now. May their souls rest in peace; we pray the Lord gives the family and loved ones the strength to bear the loss. Our prayer and love are always with them, the nation of Malaysia and other countries that had passengers on this flight''.

 Funny enough, most of his prophecies have turned out to be true.

Respond To Charges Against You And Stop Misinforming The Public- Presidency Tells Sanusi

Here is a press statement sent in from the State house;

 We have noted with disappointment, the unrelenting attempt by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi to falsely portray his recent suspension from office as an attempt by the Presidency to bury his allegation that huge sums of money due to the Federation Account are unaccounted for by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

 The Presidency wishes to reaffirm that Mallam Sanusi’s suspension has absolutely nothing to do with his unproven and inconsistent claim that $49.8 Billion, $12 Billion or $20 Billion is missing from the national treasury. As was clearly stated in the letter suspending him from office and confirmed by President Goodluck Jonathan in his last Presidential Media Chat, Mallam Sanusi’s suspension was wholly based on the need for him to step aside while the weighty charges of financial recklessness, gross misconduct and persistent disregard for laid down rules and regulations in the management of the Central Bank made against him by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and others are properly investigated.

 It is most unfortunate that instead of trying to provide some reasonable response to the clear and unambiguous query of his official conduct as Governor of the Central Bank, Mallam Sanusi has cynically chosen to whip up public sympathy for himself and anger against the Federal Government by deliberately misleading unwary Nigerians and the international community into believing the falsehood that he is being punished for exposing corruption. In recent days, the suspended CBN Governor has, following in the footsteps of others who have an axe to grind with the government, taken to spreading his false claims and allegations through gullible foreign media correspondents, telling them among other things that his threat to force commercial banks to open up their books to unravel the whereabouts of the “missing” funds whether $49.8 Billion, $12 Billion or $20 Billion, ultimately led to his suspension.

 He also continues to make the mischievous claim that the government is somehow involved in a scam to divert huge sums of money from the Federation Account through the misappropriation of kerosene subsidy funds. Mallam Sanusi’s allegations are patently untrue. But Government is making no effort to bury them as he falsely claims. Relevant committees of the National Assembly are still investigating the claims and the suspended CBN Governor remains free to give evidence before them in support of his allegations. Furthermore, in keeping with its avowed commitment to full transparency, openness and accountability in governmental affairs, the Federal Government has authorized the engagement of reputable international firms for the recommended forensic audit of NNPC accounts.

 The Presidency condemns Mallam Sanusi’s resort to playing politics with serious national issues. His suggestion that the phantom missing funds may have been diverted to fund campaigns for next year’s general elections is mischievous, irresponsible and designed to incite other political parties and members of the public against the Federal Government. The claim which amounts to cheap blackmail against the government and was clearly made in furtherance of a selfish personal agenda is most unbecoming of someone who still holds the High Office of Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

 The Presidency would not ordinarily have wished to join issues with Mallam Sanusi who as CBN Governor remains an appointee of the President, but the very unacceptable manner in which Sanusi has been misinforming the public made it imperative that this statement be issued.

Blue Mahogany - Personal Assistant to the MD ** APPLICATION DEADLINE : AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE **

Blue Mahogany interior design is dedicated to providing bespoke interiors for residential and commercial clients. We believe that good design is not only beautiful, but functional.

We encourage you to “Be whatever you want to be”. We work closely with the client to produce design schemes that reflect their taste and personality, allowing clients to have as little or as much involvement in the design process as they wish and producing designs that are uniquely about YOU.

At Blue Mahogany we will meet your design needs whether it is for one room in your home, office or a 5 star hotel.

Blue Mahogany Limited is recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Personal Assistant to the MD

Location: Lagos

Job Description

• As personal assistant to the MD you will be working closely with the MD on a daily basis, providing administrative support, on a one-to-one basis. Your job will be to help MD make the best use of her time by dealing with secretarial and administrative tasks.
• You will need extensive knowledge of the organisation, including the company’s aims and objectives.
• You will be expected to know names, numbers and context for all the major clients, suppliers and artisans that MD works with.
• MD will be relying heavily on you, trusting that work will be handled efficiently in her absence. Discretion and confidentiality are therefore essential attributes you must display in all your activities. 

Typical Work Activities:
You will often act as MD ‘s first point of contact with people from both inside and outside the organisation. Typical work activities include:

• Screening telephone calls, enquiries and requests, and handling them when appropriate;
• Meeting and greeting visitors at all levels of seniority;
• Organising and maintaining diaries and making appointments;
• Dealing with incoming email, faxes and post, often corresponding on behalf of MD;
• Taking dictation and minutes;
• Carrying out background research and presenting findings;
• Producing documents, briefing papers, reports and presentations;
• Organising and attending meetings and ensuring MD is well-prepared for meetings;
• Liaising with clients, suppliers and other staff;
• Deputising for MD, making decisions and delegating work to others in her absence;
• Devising and maintaining office systems, including data management, filing, etc.;
• Arranging travel and accommodation and, occasionally, traveling with MD to take notes or dictation at meetings or to provide general Assistance during business trips.

In addition to supporting MD, her team and departments, you will also have your own personal workload and responsibilities. The scope of the PA’s role can be extensive and additional duties may include:

• Carrying out specific projects and research;
• Responsibility for accounts and budgets;
• Taking on some of MD’s responsibilities and working more closely with management;
• Being involved in decision-making processes

Some of the more practical tasks you will carry out include:

• Ensuring the office is cleaned, AC on, candles lit and daily schedule on the desk before the time MD gets to the office
• Ensuring that MD’s phone bill is paid on time
• Taking note of birthdays of clients, staff, family, friends and other important contacts (organising for gifts and cards to be sent out)
• Note of other important dates and events in the calendar
• Finding out important events and functions MD should be aware of and may want to attend including meetings, outings, exhibitions and conferences (both local and international)
• Make sure all air miles are claimed for trips MD makes
• Researching topics for the weekly article
• Checking and topping up MD’s stationery supply
• Maintain and update a catalogue of books , magazines and all other source materials for MD
• Keep updated list of suppliers and manufacturers of goods and services that might be relevant to our work and this will involve checking newspapers and relevant magazine adverts regularly. Also you will point out publications or interesting and relevant articles that MD should read and archiving said articles.
• Assisting in other official or personal tasks and errands as they may be assigned
• Going to the market, visiting suppliers to seek out samples, verify materials, etc on behalf of the MD.

Requirements

• B.Sc in any related discipline, 1- 3 years experience.

Application Closing Date
28th February, 2014.

How To Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their CV’s with cover letter to: winnie@bluemahogany.com

Procurement Assistant Internship ** APPLICATION DEADLINE : AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE **

Alcatel-Lucent is a global provider of fixed, mobile, and converged networking hardware, IP technologies, software, and services.
 
Alcatel-Lucent are recruiting in their Nigerian office for the post of Procurement Assistant(Intern).

Job Description
Procurement Assistant(Intern)-1300000CTJ

Description
To assist the Procurement Manager in conducting basic daily tasks such as Shopping Cart checking and validation, follow up on simple tasks and keeping records of all on-going activities.

Qualifications
Successful candidate has to be at least in final year of his/her university studies and preferably from Finance, Law or Engineering background.
Job: Networks Operations
Primary Location: Europe, Middle East, Africa-Nigeria-Lagos
CLICK HERE TO APPLY : https://aluperf.taleo.net/careersection/10001/jobdetail.ftl?job=1300000CTJ

Federal Department of Rural Development - Agricultural Production Advisor (APA) ** APPLICATION DEADLINE : AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE **

Federal Department of Rural Development (FDRD) – The Federal Government of Nigeria has secured a credit from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for the implementation of Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP).

The VCDP will address the constraints along the cassava and rice Value Chains in Anambra, Ebonyi, Benue, Taraba, Niger and Ogun States. The programme comprises three complementary and mutually reinforcing components viz: Agricultural Market Development; Smallholder Productivity Enhancement: and Programme Coordination and Management.

The specific objective of the Programme is to enhance on a sustainable basis, the incomes and food security of poor rural households engaged in production, processing and marketing of rice and cassava in the participating states.

For effective programme take-off, the FMARD is constituting a National Programme Management Unit (NPMU) at the Programme Headquarters in Abuja. Consequently, part of the proceeds of the VCDP credit will be applied to engage the services of the following officer at the Programme Headquarters, Abuja.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Agricultural Production Advisor (APA)

Location: Abuja

Responsibilities

·         The Agricultural Production Advisor will be responsible for the overall management of the activities related In productivity improvement of Smallholder farmers.

Specific Duties:

·         Provide guidance to the Agricultural Production/FFS and Rural institutions and Gender Mainstreaming Officers at state level in
periodic meetings convened by the National Programme Coordinator and during periodic field visits.

·         Liaise With other relevant programmes and technical departments in the public sector such as the Federal Fertilizer Department, the National Agricultural Seed Council, the National Root and Tuber Crop Research Institute, the National Cereals Research Center.

·         Liaise with any other stakeholder such as IITA, Africa Rice, seed companies, agro-dealers at the Federal level.

·         Design and set up the overall distribution scheme of certified seeds/improved cassava cuttings, fertilizers, and herbicides as
well as of equipment at state and LGA level.

·         Manage the procurement procedure of fertilizers, foundation seeds and cassava cuttings, certified seeds and improved cassava cuttings, herbicides and equipment(threshers, power tillers, seed processing plant. sprayers).

·         Oversee the contracting of the service provider responsible for implementing the activity pertaining to, promoting and
disseminating sustainable agricultural practices through the FFS approach.

·         Manage the procurement procedure of service providers for FOs’ capacity building.

·         Consolidate state progress reports and contribute to the drafting of periodic project progress reports of the NPMU.

·         Consolidate the state annual work plans and budgets for component2.

·         Contribute to the design of TORs of impact evaluation, beneficiary assessment, mid-term review and final evaluation of the project.

Terms of Appointment:

·         Two year contract, subject to renewal for a maximum of 6 years, based on performance.

·          

Qualification and Experience

·         Masters or Higher Level University Degree in Agronomy, Agriculture and other relevant discipline.

·         Minimum of 10 years post-qualification experience including at least 7 years in implementation of productivity enhancement projects using participatory approaches and gender mainstreaming.

·         Proven record in the field of project implementation of productivity enhancement project.

·         Good writing skills and computer literacy will be an advantage.

Application Closing Date
18th February, 2014.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their applications to:

The Director,
Federal Department of Rural Development
No. 30 127, Algiers Street,
Beside PDP National Secretariat,
Wuse Zone 5, Abuja, FCT.

Note:

·         This position is open to serving public officers as well as other interested candidates.

·         Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. All applications must bear the positions applied for, on the top right hand side of the envelopes.