NITDA’s Taraba Smart City Project Gets World Recognition

Head, e-Government, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Bernard Ewah (left); Director of IoT Smart City Strategy and Market Development for Intel Corporation, Susan Tauzer and Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder of US Ignite, Dr. Glenn Ricart, during a cheque presentation to Jalingo Internet of Things (IoT)-based Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Tracking and Monitoring project at the Global City Team Challenge Expo in Austin, Texas, United States

The Jalingo City’s Smart IDP Tracking and Monitoring project, designed and implemented under the tutelage of the National Information Technology Development Agency’s (NITDA’s) Nigeria Smart City Initiatives has won a global recognition.

The project was awarded the Global City Teams Challenge (GCTC) a $10,000 Leadership Prize at the just- concluded Smart City Innovation Summit in Austin, Texas, United States.

The Internet of Things (IoT)-based solution offers hope to thousands of Nigerians displaced in Jalingo, Taraba State with a medium to long term plan to implement the solution throughout the North Eastern region.

The project will also provide more accurate data to government agencies and support groups as well as enable citizens receive quicker and better quality response before, during and after displacements.
The Global City Teams Challenge (GCTC) is a collaborative platform enabling local governments, nonprofits, academic institutions, technologists and private corporations from all over the world to form project teams or “Action Clusters” in order to work on groundbreaking Internet of Things applications within the smart city environment.

Across the country GCTC Action Clusters are working to address the country’smost pressing problems in the areas of transportation, public safety, health, education, waste management, internal revenue collection and so much more.

The Jalingo IoT based IDP Tracking and Monitoring System Action Cluster consists of the NITDA, Hope Afresh Foundation Jalingo, Jalingo Local Government Council, IDEA Hub, Land Gate Consultancy and a host of telecommunications companies in Nigeria.

Source: Guardian

Taraba Speaker’s Driver Dead, 2 Other Missing In Boat Mishap

A senior driver of Taraba State House of Assembly's Speaker, Peter Diah, is one of the three persons pronounced missing as a neighborhood vessel, conveying nine travelers and three cruisers, apparently overturned at Ngira town crosswise over River Donga in Sadauna Local Government Area of the state. 

The mishap, which happened at a universal course connecting Nigeria and the Republic of Cameroon, killed one of the travelers. The driver was said to be headed from Gyembu, where he had gone to a wedding of the child of the Special Adviser to the Governor of Taraba State on Political Matters, Abubakar Bawa, to the Speaker's town, Vakunde, in the same Sadauna Local Government.

The Speaker, Peter Diah, who addressed Vanguard through his Personal Assistant, Muhammed Harris, faulted the mishap for over-burdening of the nearby vessel and absence of open streets inside the zone. He facilitate uncovered that the quick past executive of Sadauna Local Government Area, Dawood Joduwa, and a previous Councilor from the nearby government region, were among the five that survived the mishap.

Vanguard gathered that the mishap happened in the early hours of Saturday and most travelers in the pontoon were headed to pay tribute to the Speaker, who was in the town for the weekend. Diah likewise disclosed that endeavors were still on to locate the missing persons. He begged government at all levels to build streets inside the territory to facilitate the sufferings of local people and lessen such accident.

Credit: Vanguard

SEND STORY: DO YOU HAVE A STORY, ARTICLES OR EVENTS, THAT YOU WISH TO SHARE?

Tarabasquare management encourages visitors and readers to send their stories.

Where ever you may be within Taraba or outside and you have any story to report, send it to us. Breaking news from your locality, campus news if you are a student, events, workshop, seminar.

Send your story to our email: tarabasquare@gmail.com or whatsapp/sms to 08036994226

Kwararafa Uni.V. C, Advocates Special Fund For Private Higher Education

For private Higher Education to effectively grow in Nigeria, a special intervention fund, as suggested by the Vice Chancellor of Kwararafa University, Professor Yakubu Aboki Ochefu, must be establish for both public and private higher education.

More to that rather than restricting the TETFUND to public education, the need to as well extend such olive branch to private higher education, as opined by him, would as well assist in accelerating the growth of private education in the country.

Ochefu, who made this known during the  commissioning of the Rufkatu Asibi Kuru Danjuma E-Liberary, located in the university premises in Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba state, sees education as a ” prime mover of society” hence the need for government to as well herald smiles on the faces of private higher education through the aforementioned suggestions.

Citing the Nollywood industry, Airlines, Automobile, Taxtile, Small and Medium Enterprises, that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has in the past provides special intervention funds for, such gesture, extended to private higher education, he said would further boost the education standard of the country.

” Such a fund” according to him ” will enable resource-challenged institutions like us to access credit at concessionary rates and help reduce our cost of providing service.

Though aware that the ” existing law does not allow”TeTfund to extend helping hands to ” private university financially” but the need for the fund to allow private university ” access to research grant rather than the current practice of insisting that we pair with public institutions” he believed is not good tidings

Believing that the much desired educational goal for the country can be reach by both private and public higher institution, the need for the authority assigned with educational responsibility to desist from discriminating against private university, he believed can no longer be overemphasized.

In his word ” they can also lend us money at concessionary rate, the repayments of which will contribute to improving the portfolio of the Fund.”

Believing that the former Minister of Defense, General T.Y Danjuma is a ” confidant of the President of the Republic of Nigeria” he pleaded with him, to draw the attention of Mr. President to the above suggestions, stressing that ” you may wish to share these ideals with him.”

The said e-library which was named after the late mother of General T.Y Danjuma, has a seating capacity of about 300. The e-library, as gathered by Naija247News, has a physical collection of 10,000 books, journals and other publications ” it gives us access to 1.5 million publications across globally recognized channels such as science direct, EbscoHost and AJOL etc” according to the VC.

Apart from the financial problems presently confronting the university that have relocated from its temporary site to its permanent site in the same council, the V.C was optimistic that the much desired dream of the institution would be actualize hence the need for the people of the community, the local government and the state at large to contribute their quotas to its growth.

Overwhelmed by the rapid growth of the university, Danjuma, whom Naija247 News learnt has contributed so much to the development of the school, went ahead to made a pledge of N200million for the institution.

The commissioning as noticed by our correspondent herald the presence of dignitaries from the nooks and crannies of the country among which is the former Minister of Information. Professor Jerry Gana, former Minister of Commerce and Industry, Alhaji Idris D. Waziri, traditional rulers from far and near to mention but few.

Credit: Naija247news

Sick Minister, Aisha Alhassan, Attended FEC Meeting On Crutches

The Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Alhassan, on Wednesday, attended a meeting of the Federal Executive Council on crutches.

Dressed in a flowing gown, Alhassan was helped into the venue of the meeting inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja, by her security aide.

At the end of the meeting, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, the minister also joined the Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Chief Audu Ogbeh; and the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, to brief journalists on the outcome.

Immediately she took her seat, her security aide collected the crutches from her.

At the end of the briefing, the female security operative quickly returned the crutches to the minister to enable her to leave the venue.

Our correspondent learnt that the minister had undergone a knee surgery in the United States.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal, had, during the FEC’s meeting on June 8, confirmed that Buhari and three of his ministers were indisposed at the time.

Lawal disclosed this while saying the opening prayer at the beginning of the meeting, which was presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

Buhari was at the time in London on a 10-day vacation during which he saw Ear, Nose and Throat doctors in relation to what the Presidency described as his “persistent ear infection.”

Lawal had disclosed that Alhassan “is recuperating in the US after a surgery.”

He also prayed for the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, who he said “is down with back pain.”

Shortly after he concluded his prayer, the SGF was reminded that he did not mention the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibril.

Lawal quickly added Jibril’s name to his list of sick cabinet members.

He, however, did not disclose the nature of Jibril’s sickness.


Source: Punchng

Two Kidnapping Suspects Arrested By Taraba State Police Command

Men of the Taraba State Police Command arrested two suspected kidnappers on Thursday in Iware village of Ardo Kola Local Government Area, after a successful abduction of two people in some Fulani settlements in the area.

Confirming the arrests, the State Police Public Relations Officer,PPRO, Joseph Kwaji said the suspects were brought to the State Police Command by the Divisional Police Officer, Ardo Kola Division adding that investigations are ongoing towards arresting others.

Kidnapping is becoming rampant in some parts of the State mostly involving well to do people in the society and the PPRO assured  the public of police commitment to safeguard lives and properties of Tarabans.

When contacted the State Chairman Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Taraba State Chapter, Sahabi Jauro Mahmuda decried  the attitude of such ungodly people in the society stressing that his association will not leave any stone unturned in fishing out bad eggs in the society.

He revealed that he summoned all his members from Ardo Kola Local Government  Area for general meeting next Saturday to deliberate on issues bordering on the peace and development of the State.

An eyewitness from Iware said one AK 47 and locally made double barrel were confiscated from the suspects as well as one point five million naira.

Those arrested are Musa Abdullahi and Isa Yahaya both from Mayo Kam and Jatau villages in Bali Local Government Area while victims of the abduction are Alhaji Dabo and Alhaji Ruwa of Gonan Alhaji Abba Area.