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Four Female Niger Delta Teen App Developers For World Tech Summit In USA

Published

1 year ago

July 12, 2024

Editor

Between October 15 and 19 this year, the four female students from Nigeria who developed an android application named AgriConnect, meant to deal with hunger issues in the country, will be attending this year’s World Technovation Girls Challenge holding in Silicon Valley, California, in the United States of America.

The JSS2 students-Oghenemaro Tejiri,12, Salome Akhabhau,11, Excel Barile-Nwika,11 and Goodness Nwonanne-Chima,12- are students of a Port- Harcourt based private secondary school, Jacob’s Well High School, who developed an android application called AgriConnect to combat hunger in Nigeria.

The girls were under the tutelage of Code Ambassadors, the consultants engaged to groom students in the school to become shining stars in the evolving tech world

The AgriConnect was among the 3,200 android applications developed by about 11,000 girls from 69 countries, including the USA, UK, Japan, China, Canada, and Spain.

The four girls who call themselves the Smart Elite, fell into the beginners division of the contest, whose age bracket falls between eight and 12 years; the other categories being the junior division (ages 13-17) and Senior Division (ages 18 and above).

After series of assessments by several judges drawn from various disciplines, 15 android applications were selected as finalists (five android applications for each division), while three android applications were selected for special awards, which virtual ceremony took place on July 9.

For their outstanding app, the young Nigerian female developers who were given special recognition, are being invited to the all expenses paid technovation summit where the grand awardees would be selected.

Coordinator and proprietor of the school, Mrs Egondu Jacob, told journalists that it was not surprising that her students were putting Rivers State, the Niger Delta and Nigeria on the list of nations of the world whose students are outstanding in apps developments at a very young age.

She said: “The news of the exceptional performance of our girls and the special award for combating hunger was received with lots of excitements by the board chairman, Engr. Unwana Jacob and the entire school.

“This achievement is a dream fulfilled because having seen our biological children- Miss Ukemeabasi Unwana Jacob (with 8A1s and 1B2 result in the 2023 WASSCE) and Master Uwakmfon Unwana Jacob (a young maths Icon with over 40 national and international medals in mathematics)-receiving national and international accolades in their secondary school education, we had challenged ourselves that under God, children from other families should equally be trained to stand out and be recognized nationally and globally through the facilities and programmes of the Jacob’s Well Schools International.

“We are grateful to God for the enormous support received from our consultant, Mr. Somkenechukwu Mamah, the founder of Code Ambassadors (an organization dedicated to training kids & teens in technology, problems solving and entrepreneurship), amazing staff and also from parents in the school. We are optimistic that greater achievements are on the way and Nigeria and Africa would be made proud through the achievements of our students.

“It is interesting to note that AgriConnect was the only android application from Nigeria that made it to the final round as well as the only android application in Africa that got a special award out of the three mobile applications recognized for a special award, globally.”

She added that in today’s world that was being driven by technology, it was important for Nigerian leaders to invest in and encourage children to grow in their knowledge of technology, adding that it was for that reason that Jacob’s Well Schools decided to introduce coding and robotics and ICT to pupils from primary one.

“As at date, students and pupils in the school have created over 12 android applications to solve societal problems and some of these apps have received international recognitions. Five android applications created by the five teams of female students in the school were registered for the 2024 Technovation Global Competition, an annual event where girls from various countries in the world register in teams in order to showcase their tech-based solutions to community problems created by their teams in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” she said.

The school’s tech consultant expressed the hope that the female quartet app developers would stand out “as the youngest startup co-founders who leverage technology to solve more problems, especially in the agricultural sector.

“In the next five years, they should have gained experience building business models around their solution, gaining more traction, attracting funding, and inspiring more young minds to start their tech journey early enough. I hope the country supports them by providing all the resources and access they need to get their solution into the hands of Nigerians.”

Nation

Related Topics:app developer Niger Delta

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FULL LIST: US To Review Green Cards From 19 ‘Countries Of Concern’ After Washington Shooting

Published

1 day ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it will review the immigration status of all permanent residents, or “Green Card” holders, from Afghanistan and 18 other countries following the attack on National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.

U.S. officials identified the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting as a 29-year-old Afghan national who previously worked alongside American forces in Afghanistan.

The individual was granted asylum earlier this year, not permanent residency, according to AfghanEvac, an organisation that assists Afghans resettled in the United States after the Taliban takeover in 2021.

“I have directed a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” said Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), on X.

The review follows a June executive order from President Trump classifying 19 countries as “of Identified Concern.”

The order banned entry for nearly all nationals from 12 countries, including Afghanistan. The full list of these countries is:

Afghanistan

Myanmar

Chad

Congo-Brazzaville

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Haiti

Iran

Libya

Somalia

Sudan

Yemen

A partial travel ban applies to seven additional countries, though some temporary work visas remain allowed: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

Headline

Romanian Defence Minister Quits After Admitting Error In Academic Record

Published

1 day ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

Romania’s defence minister resigned on Friday after saying he made a “mistake” on his CV about his university education, as controversy swirled over alleged lies on his resume.

Ionut Mosteanu – who has admitted to writing on his CV that he graduated from a university he never attended – said he did not want the row “to distract” the NATO member at a time when it and Europe are “under attack from Russia”.

Romania has repeatedly seen drone fragments fall on its soil since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and reported a number of drone incursions.

On Tuesday, a drone crashed in eastern Romania, which borders Ukraine.

Romania has also accused Moscow of “hybrid attacks”, including meddling in presidential elections last year that were subsequently annulled.

“Today, I resigned from my position as minister of national defence,” Mosteanu said in a Facebook post, adding he wanted the country to be focused on its “difficult mission”.

“Romania and Europe are under attack from Russia. Our national security must be defended at all costs,” he added.

Mosteanu had come under pressure after a media investigation published on Thursday revealed that he wrote in a CV that he graduated from a university which he did not actually attend.

That same day he apologised for what he called “a mistake”.

“In a CV I quickly put together in 2016 using a template I found online, there is a mistake that I admit embarrasses me. I didn’t pay much attention to these details at the time,” he said on Facebook.

Mosteanu was appointed defence minister in June of this year, when a new pro-European government was formed after months of political turmoil.

Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said in a press release that he would propose economy and tourism minister Radu Miruta take over the defence portfolio in the interim.

AFP

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Russia Insists Ukraine Must Cede Land Or Face Continued Military Push

Published

3 days ago

November 27, 2025

Editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he would end his Ukraine offensive if Kyiv withdrew from territory Moscow claims at its own — otherwise his army would take it by force.

The Russian army has been slowly but steadily grinding through eastern Ukraine in costly battles against outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces.

Washington has meanwhile renewed its push to end the nearly four-year war, putting forward a surprise plan that it hopes to finalise through upcoming talks with Moscow and Kyiv.

“If Ukrainian forces leave the territories they hold, then we will stop combat operations,” Putin said during a visit to Kyrgyzstan. “If they don’t, then we will achieve it by military means.”

Russia controls around one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory. The issue of occupied land, which Kyiv has said it will never cede, is among the biggest stumbling blocks in the peace process.

Another important issue in the talks are Western security guarantees for Ukraine, which Kyiv says are needed to prevent Moscow from invading again in the future.

Washington’s original plan — drafted without input from Ukraine’s European allies — would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region and the United States de facto recognise the Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk regions as Russian.

The US pared back the original plan over the weekend following criticism from Kyiv and Europe, but has not yet released the new version.

Putin, who has seen the new plan, said it could be a negotiation starter.

“Overall, we agree that it could form the basis for future agreements,” he said of the latest draft, which the US is thought to have shortened to about 20 points.

US negotiator Steve Witkoff was expected in Moscow next week to discuss the revised document, Putin said.

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is meanwhile due to visit Kyiv later this week, Ukraine’s top presidential aide Andriy Yermak said.

– ‘Little can be done’ –

In his remarks Thursday, Putin repeated the claim that Russia had encircled the Ukrainian army in Pokrovsk and Myrnograd in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region — the most fiercely embattled area and a key target for Moscow’s forces.

“Krasnoarmeysk and Dimitrov are completely surrounded,” he said, using the Russian names for the cities.

Moscow was also advancing in Vovchansk and Siversk, as well as approaching the important logistic hub of Guliaipole, he added.

The Russian offensive “is practically impossible to hold back, so there is little that can be done about it”, Putin said.

Ukraine has denied Pokrovsk and Myrnograd are encircled, insisting its forces continue to hold the enemy along the front line.

Putin also questioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s legitimacy and said signing any agreement with him would be legally “almost impossible” at the moment, a suggestion that has drawn groans from Kyiv and its allies.

According to data analysed by AFP from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian forces have conquered an average of 467 square kilometres (180 square miles) each month in 2025 — a step up from 2024.

Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the worst armed conflict in Europe since World War II.

The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced millions to flee their homes.