The Director General of the Industrial Training Funds ITF Dr Afiz Oluwatoyin Ogun has disassociated his agency from a fake advertisement circulating on the Internet of a fraudulent program titled “Boys Industrial Training Initiative 2024 Undergraduate Technical Internship.”

Despite the website’s professional appearance and use of the ITF logo and Name, authorities confirm that no legitimate internship or scholarship program exists under this initiative. The organisation behind the posting is falsely promoting opportunities that do not exist. While the site provides detailed information including deadlines, Application procedures, and the Use of The ITF logo and Name, it is entirely fabricated and Misleading with no association to the Industrial training fund or any recognised company or Educational institution.

Note that the industrial training fund runs programs and services that include research and Development, Direct Training, Curriculum design and development, student industrial work experience schemes (Siwes), Technical and vocational Skills Development, ICT training and Service, MSME development and Support Services, and bespoke and special intervention programs.

The industrial training fund is currently engaged in training Nigerians, to register, upskill, license, and empower 10 million Nigerian Artisans with skills and certification in 20 different trades under the Skill Up Artisan (Supa) program, which will enable them to work both locally and internationally.

The people behind the fake advertisement are inviting unsuspecting individuals to apply for a Non Existing program,

The industrial training fund hereby dissociates itself from such online advertorials. Members of the public and individuals are urged to avoid applying for this program as there are no real opportunities or benefits offered, it is important to verify the legitimacy of any internship or scholarship before submitting personal information to avoid falling victim to fraudulent schemes.

Please kindly
channel all enquiries regarding activities of the ITF to the industrial training fund official Website https://www.itf.gov.ng/ for any update or clarification, or call 08097772103, 08097772104, 08097772105,
08097772106.

Anyone who deals with these touts does so at his or her own risk.

The Nigerian equity market gained N607bn in market capitalisation in the past week, on the back of buying interest in large-cap stocks like Access Corporation and MTN Nigeria. The All-Share Index appreciated by 1.06 per cent to close at 97,456.62, while the market capitalisation rose by 1.10 per cent to N56tn.

All other indices closed higher, except for the Growth Index, which saw a depreciation of 0.03 per cent, while the Alternative Securities Market Index remained flat. The upward trend was driven by investor interest in major stocks, such as Access Corporation, which gained 2.39 per cent, and MTN Nigeria, which rose by 7.37 per
cent.
Across various sectors, the performance was bullish, with gains recorded in consumer goods (1.47 per cent), insurance (1.59), industrial (0.17 per cent), banking (5.12 per cent), and oil & gas (two per cent). In terms of activity, the financial services industry led the charts, accounting for 1.71 billion shares valued at N26.99bn traded in 19,277 deals, contributing 66.05 per cent and 52.71 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.
Following closely was the oil and gas industry, which saw 332.83 million shares worth N12bn traded in 9,956 deals.
The services industry ranked third with 146.189m shares valued at N530.544m traded in 3,404 deals.

During the week, 43,535 units valued at N13.476m were traded in 122 deals, up from the 23,881 units valued at N8.240m transacted in the previous week. Overall, 52 equities appreciated, an increase from the 36 equities recorded in the the previous week, as 31 equities saw price declines, compared to 46 in the prior week, while 68 remained unchanged, slightly lower than the 69 recorded earlier. Meanwhile, the Federal Government’s savings bonds were listed on the Nigerian Exchange on September 12.

Dr Shakirat Kareem Abayomi, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Whiterose Group, has rebuked the coordinated effort by her detractors to spread false allegations against her through the media. She emphasized that the allegations are baseless and part of a deliberate strategy by her competitors to tarnish the reputable image of the property brand she has diligently built over the years.

Addressing the recent misinformation against her, Dr Shakira stated that the allegations stem from envy, hate, and resentment from individuals threatened by her success in business. Despite facing unfair attacks in the media, she remains steadfast in her commitment to the real estate sector. Ordinarily, she would have ignored the attention-seeking cheap blackmailers because they could not support their baseless allegations with any shred of evidence; however, for the sake of her concerned friends, numerous clients, and benefactors, she needed to put out a rebuttal as she believes that the negative press will only serve to strengthen her resolve and make her a better person. She also emphasized that the recent media scrutiny may be a result of biased elements using the media to undermine her achievements as a successful woman in a predominantly male-driven industry in Nigeria.

The philanthropist known for her innovative design work in reshaping the Lagos skyline with luxurious condominiums and other impressive buildings dismissed the allegations made on certain sponsored blogs and social media platforms. She emphasized that the claims are unfounded and do not reflect her reputable standing as a respected businesswoman with years of experience and a track record of serving top clients with a commitment to excellence.

She also expresses her disappointment at the sponsors of the fake news, whom she believed should have made it an issues-based argument rather than resorting to name-calling and cheap blackmail. In the purported falsehood being spread around by some faceless bloggers, it was alleged that the light-skinned business coach was allegedly involved in some fraudulent dealings but contrary to the claim, she averred that, since her foray into the real estate business, she has never been caught in the web of fraud. She further disclosed that her company was built on key elements like; fidelity, consistency, quality, eye for detail, relationship-oriented, hard work and truthfulness.

She also said most of her clients are referral-based as she ensures customer experience and satisfaction which has kept her brand a formidable one with numerous projects to its growing portfolio. In other to prove her innocence of the said allegations. She has challenged anyone with substantial proof of defrauding to come forward and present it as she is ready to face the full wrath of the law if she is found culpable. She also vehemently disassociated herself from other allegations which include; land-grabbing, assassination attempts, blackmail and others noted in the sponsored syndicated press statement.

She has also called on stakeholders within the pen-pushing profession on proper regulation of the media space as many who hide under the guise of ‘free speech‘ have constantly pushed hateful and disparaging statements of no fact for clickbait to malign her which is against the ethics of the journalism profession which gives opportunity for fair hearing and a balanced story reportage rather than resorting to blackmails using media platforms to peddle misinformation. To clear her name off the series of allegations and falsehoods being spread around by detractors, she has ordered her legal team to seek legal redress and do anything within the ambit of the law to hold anyone culpable of defamation and cyberbullying face the wrath of the law.

Dr Shakirat has disclosed that she is a law-abiding Nigerian and a practising Muslim with a business conglomerate currently employing over three thousand direct and indirect workers. She also said she will do everything to protect her brand jealously and won’t condone anyone hiding under any guise to peddle misinformation about her and her brand by sabotaging her hard work as she is ready to go head-on with anyone culpable in line with the cybercrime section of Nigerian law to further prove her innocence.