NITDA SCHOLARSHIP

2015 NITDA Postgraduate Scholarship Application – Apply Now Posted By: Idaerefagha Allisonon: April 23, 2015 The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) with its mandate of transforming Nigeria into an IT driven economy for global competitiveness and the dire need to bridge the digital divide, has since 2010 established a scholarship scheme for Masters (MSc) and Doctorate (PhD) degrees in relevant areas of Information Technology (IT) obtainable in Nigeria or Foreign/Overseas universities. Criteria The Scholarship award is strictly based on merit and is equally distributed between the six geo-political zones for PhD and the 36 states and the FCT for MSc. Duration The Masters program will run for 1 year while the Doctorate program is expected to run for 3 years. Eligibility PhD : University lecturers with MSc in any Information Technology related field are eligible to apply for sponsorship. MSc : All citizens of Nigeria with First Class or Second Class (Upper) Honours Bachelors degree (BSc) in Information Technology related field. Application Deadline : 31st May, 2015. How to apply : Interested and eligible candidates should click on Note : A comprehensive aptitude test will be conducted to determine successful candidates for the award. Only candidates found eligible will be invited.

Irate youths attack MTN office 0 By Our Reporter on April 22, 2015 COVER, National From FRED ITUA, Abuja The growing xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other African nationals in South Africa, yesterday re-echoed in Abuja, as some youths, who went wild during a protest, attacked the regional office of MTN in the nation’s capital. According to eyewitness account, the youths converged on the premises of the expansive South African firm at about 1pm, carrying placards with different inscriptions. One of the witnesses, a security guard in one of the nearby offices, who did not want his name in print, told Daily Sun that more than 100 youths participated in the protest. Checks revealed that the protesting youths gathered at the Maitama office of the company under the aegis of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). This could not, however, be verified as at the time of filing this report. Speaking further, the security guard said the youths, who were chanting solidarity songs went violent minutes after arriving in the facility. He said many of them jumped the perimeter fence and immediately vandalised some facilities before security agents intervened. He revealed that other protesters forced their way through the entrance gate, adding that the private security guards, who were overpowered by the protesting youths, appeared helpless as the irate youths carried out their attacks. “At about 11am, some protesters came here. They were very peaceful. They dropped their letter with management. We did not witness any violence. But this particular group came and was very violent. “From the inscriptions on their banner, they are students. I saw NANS. Before we could even call them to order, they went violent and jumped the perimeter fence. Others went through the main gate. We are lucky that nobody was injured during the protest,” the security guard said. Apparently worried that more attacks might follow, the MTN office, which services the entire Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and some northern states, immediately shut down its operations. Customers were turned back and told to return when the office would be reopened. When Daily Sun visited the office, one of the workers confirmed that no date had been fixed for resumption of services. The staff stated that services would be suspended until the xenophobic attacks abated and normalcy returned to troubled South Africa. Meanwhile, a combined team of security agents has condoned off the facility and armoured vehicles stationed in and around the area to forestall further attack.

KASHAMU TO KEYAMO: YOU’RE IGNORANT By Our Reporter on April 24, 2015 Politics • Says U.S Govt never asked for his extradition By AKEEB ALARAPE Embattled senator-elect for Ogun East, Prince Buruji Kashamu, has picked holes in the outburst of a Lagos-based lawyer, Festus Keyamo, that his election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was morally wrong. Keyamo, who faulted Kashamu’s nomination by the PDP during a programme with the title, ‘Legal angle on Nigeria Info FM,’ had said the senator-elect may not have time to represent his people as he would spend more time facing probes over alleged drug trafficking than attending sessions as a senator. But in a response, yesterday, through his lawyer, Kashamu said Keyamo’s outburst was politically-motivated and not from a legal point of view. The statement, signed by Kashamu’s lawyer, Ajibola Oluyede, specifically stated that Keyamo displayed “a total ignorance of the incontrovertible facts of the matter,” adding that he made the statement “without regard to his learning as a lawyer and his undoubted proficiency in the profession. “Buruji Kashamu is not just merely claiming that he is innocent; two different courts in England, in two different judgments, have found and declared that Buruji Kashamu is innocent of the allegations made against him in the US court: The first is the English High Court of Justice (Kings Bench Division) in its judgment of January 2000 in which it said that the US Authorities Actually knew that Kashamu is innocent when they suppressed evidence of an identification parade in which the ring leader of the gang (that allegedly confessed that they had a West African link called “ALAJI) said that Buruji Kashamu was not the man involved with them. “The English High Court for this reason nullified and set aside the favourable judgment obtained by the U.S authorities against Kashamu on the basis of this suppressed exculpatory evidence,” he said. “The second judgment is that of 10th January 2003 in which District Judge Tim Workman expressly found (after 3 years of trial involving extensive oral evidence from both sides and copious documentary evidence) that the U.S Government had provided false evidence and eventually held that Kashamu was not involved in the crimes alleged and should be discharged. The U.S authorities did not appeal against these judgments and have made no move whatsoever in the last 11 years to extradite Kashamu,” the statement read in parts. The senator-elect said as at 23 April 2015, neither the U.S Government nor any of its agencies has asked for his extradiction, which Keyamo alluded to in his speech. “The second significant error in Festus’ outburst is the misrepresentation to the Nigerian public that the US Government has asked for Kashamu’s extradition. “The truth, which the Attorney General has himself confirmed in a case pending in the Supreme Court of Nigeria and by letter issued on 25th January 2015, is that the U.S Government has never asked for the extradition of Kashamu at any time up till today 23rd April 2015 (yesterday), the statement added.

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