The study investigated the impact of Federal Government Amnesty Programmers on youth empowerment in Warri North Local Government Area in Delta State. Five research questions were raised to guide the study. The descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised of one hundred and thirty eight thousand and five hundred and seventy(l38,570) youths in Warri North Local Government while the multi stage sampling technique was adopted by the study to select a sample size of 200 youths which constituted the sample for the study. A structure questionnaire titled: Impact of Federal Government Amnesty Programmers on Youths Empowerment Questionnaire (FIGAPYPQ) was used for data collection. The questionnaire was validated by the researcher 'supervisor as well as two other experts in the Department of Adult and Non-Formal Education in University of Benin, Benin-City The test re-test reliability method was used to ascertain the reliability of the instrument while data collection was analyzed using simple percentages and frequency counts, In conclusion, Federal Government Amnesty programmer was seen as a veritable tool for alleviating poverty and equipping the youths with skills for self reliance thereby contributing to national development. The study therefore recommended that there should be increased funding from government to facilitate the effective delivery of the amnesty programmer. Also, that governments ix should place emphasis on economic empowerment programmers like access to free interest loans as start up capital and skills acquisition training programmers in the Niger Delta area.

This paper investigated pronunciation difficulties encountered by Yoruba-speaking learners of English with a view to determining the causes and types of error committed by Yoruba learners of English. The sample for this study were 10 Yoruba speakers of the Ibadan standard variety selected randomly. For gathering data, phonemic chart of English and Yoruba language were juxtaposed in which five consonant phonemes of English that are non-native to Yoruba language were selected and 15 words each containing the target phonemes were formed for the first four consonants while 24 words containing the target sound/phonemes were formed for the last consonant phoneme. The words were later given to our participants to pronounce and the pronunciations were recorded and transcribed according to how they were pronounced Data for this paper are analyzed using Dulay’s surface strategy taxonomy (1982) this theory classified error into four types they are : (i) error of omission (ii) error of addition, (iii) error of misformation, (iv) error of misordering. In order to ascertain the types of error Dulay et al (1982) claimed that learners may commit error by adding an unnecessary linguistic unit or omit necessary items, they may also misform or misorder them. The findings of this research revealed that Yoruba-speaking learners of English mispronounced certain consonant phonemes of English and mother tongue interference is the major contributing factor to this problem.

The objective of this study is to determine the physiochemical composition and microbiological analysis to determine the storability of Sweet potato tubers, sold at New Benin Market, Edo state. Two cream skinned sweet potato tubers were obtained at New Benin Market, Edo state and stored in a laboratory for a period of time . In the laboratory, physiochemical tests were conducted on the potato samples to determine the moisture content, dry matter content, acidity, titratable acidity, and vitamin content. Microbiological evaluation of the sweet potato tubers was conducted in the laboratory, using laboratory techniques of isolating fungi, this involves the preparation of PDA, the physiochemical and microbiological assessment was carried out on one of the potato tubers the day it was obtained and the results was used as control for the experiment ,after 40 days the same physiological and microbiological tests were conducted on the stored sweet potato tuber in the laboratory. There was a slight decline in the physiochemical composition of the sweet potato tuber after 40 days of storage. The microbiological test confirmed the presence of spoilage inducing fungi on the sweet potato tuber after 40 days of storage, the occurrence of these fungi confirmed that the potato tuber stored has undergone spoilage. Through this research it was determined that sweet potato tubers exhibit a good storage capacity, as evidenced by the minimal variance in their physiochemical composition even after a 40-day storage period.

This paper assessed the impact of the oil and gas exploitation of the xyz in the Niger Delta region. The Niger Delta region is best known as a region that sustains much oil exploration and exploitation by the agent of western economic power. The Niger Delta region basin is considered as the mainstay of the Nigeria economy for its significantly high level of the oil reserves. The revenue and incomes generated by the petroleum industry have contributed to the well-being of Nigeria. There have been cases of oil spillage reported leaving the people completely impoverished with no meaningful alternative source of livelihood. This study was designed to investigate the impact of crude oil exploitation in producing communities by accessing the extent to which it has led to environmental degradation such as heavy metal exposure. This investigation was done by carrying out a comparative study on the producing and non-oil producing communities. To achieve this objective the soil, plant and produced water[effluent] were collected from the oil and non-oil producing communities and analyzed using atomic absorption spectrometry for copper, iron, cadmium, lead, zinc, and magnesium respectively and comparing with WHO standard. The result showed a significant relationship between oil exploitation and environmental degradation in the community. In view of these finding remediation method must be adopted to safeguard the communities. The data will be useful for future monitoring of heavy metal exposure in the communities.

Costume is a very important aspect of the people cultural identity. It is one amongst others ways you can identify the culture and personality of the wearers. It function serves more than covering of the body, it is a unique identity that is particular to the people it is identifying. The researcher observed that costume is not mere a fashion but rather as an indispensable tools in cultural reflection thereby showing its element of culture and a means of identifying class, status, group, position, as well as religion. This research is aimed at examining the traditional Benin society, in general and studies the costume use at 2016 coronation ceremony in particular. The research method adopted in carrying out this study is qualitative method of research, using pictorial representation and analyses. The findings of the study reveals that costumes communicate meaning and beauty of the Benin people and it reflect their social, status, and cultural heritage, it therefore recommends that there should be a platform where citizens especially youth should be educated about the significance of costume in cultural practices.

The conventional media journalists have diverse experiences since the influx of new media technologies especially web 2.0 applications in journalism practice. Therefore, it becomes necessary to examine journalists’ experiences in conventional media organizations in the face of emerging new media in Edo State. The tenets of agenda setting, technological determinism,
and social presence theories were used in this study. Descriptive survey design was employed with the aid of 12-item questionnaire. The sample for this study constituted 300 journalists in Edo State through the purposive and proportionate stratified sampling technique. The sample reflected and represented all the journalists in Edo State. Data generated were presented and analysed in frequency tables, simple percentages, mean scores, standard deviations and Pearson’s Product Movement Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC), which aided the answering of the research questions and testing of the hypothesis formulated. The study found that conventional media journalists make use of new media technologies to make their work easier. Also, the study revealed that new media has had a profound effect on the activities of conventional media journalists as they with the help of new media technologies have greater access to a wider global audience, easier processes of news production and the boundaries of journalism has been falling as more people are engaged in the processes of news gathering more than ever before.
The study also found that ethical, governance, the loss of advert revenues, infrastructural, and technical challenges have emerged with the new media dominance. It was also discovered that new media has profound effects on conventional media news production as the new media provides multiple advantages for conventional media operations and there is a significant change in the experiences of conventional media journalists in the face of the emerging new media in Edo State. The study concluded that new media technologies constitute necessary tools for conventional media journalism practice. Therefore, it was recommended that the conventional media organizations should put in place measures to own the necessary new media organ/infrastructure. Also, that a raft of careful legislative policies be put in place to mitigate the occurrence of ethical breeches in news production

This study assessed the perceptions of lecturers in colleges of education in Edo State on the challenges of managing business education programmes. Four research questions were formulated to guide the study. The population consisted of fifty-four lecturers in colleges of education in Edo State. The survey research design was employed for the study. The instrument used was validated by three experts Pearson's Product Moment Correlation coefficient was used to compute reliability of the instrument which yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.87There was no sampling as the entire population was used for the study and also for data analysis. Questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection Data collected were analysed using the descriptive statistics From the results of the analysis of data it was discovered that the challenges in managing business education programme in colleges of education in Edo State are poor funding, lack of instructional facilities, insufficient manpower and lack of infrastructures Consequently, it was recommended among other things that the development of departmental internally generated revenue should be a major option for the funding of business education programme in Edo State. Institutions should liaise with corporate entities on the provision of instructional facilities for the teaching of business education programme. A robust staff training scheme should be given top priority by the federal government through NUC to enable lecturers to access training funds as this will increase their efficiency in the workplace Finally recommendations were made for further studies.

NIL

Microplastics have become an emerging pollutant of concern in aquatic environments due to their persistence, potential toxicity, and ability to bioaccumulate in aquatic organisms. However, limited information exists on the extent of microplastics contamination in Nigerian freshwater systems, especially in the Ovia River. This study aims to assess microplastics contamination in surface water and some fish species (Notoptera's afar and Heterotriches BI dorsalis) of the Ovia River in Benin City, Nigeria, with the goal of determining pollution levels, potential sources, and associated health risks. Data were generated through the collection of water and fish samples from four stations along the river from January to June, 2024. Physicochemical parameters of the water were measured using standard procedures, and microplastics were extracted from both water and fish digestive tracts using density separation and wet peroxide oxidation methods. Polymer types were identified using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), while elemental composition was analyzed using Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX). Particle size distribution was examined using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and ImageJ software was used for image analysis. Pollution indices such as Water Quality Index (WQI), Contamination Factor (CF), and Carcinogenic and Non-carcinogenic Risk Indices (CDI, HQ, HI, CR) were also applied. The analysis of physicochemical parameters in the Ovia River revealed generally acceptable
levels with no significant differences (P > 0.05) across the study stations, except for copper, chromium, and manganese which showed significant variation (P < 0.05). Heavy metal concentrations were ranked: Fe > Zn > Cr > Cu >Mn > Ni > Pb, while arsenic and vanadium were below detection limits. Water Quality Index (WQI) and Comprehensive Pollution Index (CPI) classified Station 1 as having good water quality, while others were rated poor. Health risk assessment using Chronic Daily Intake (CDI) identified iron as the most prominent exposure risk. SEM revealed spatial variation in microplastic particle sizes in both water and fish, with the
highest mean sizes observed in station 2 and in Notoptera's afar respectively. Polymer analysis identified polyvinyl alcohol and nylon as the dominant microplastics in surface water, while LDPE (Low-density polyethylene) and polypropylene were most prevalent in fish samples. However, Heterotriches BI dorsalis exhibited a more diverse and complex microplastics polymer profile, indicating greater ingestion and exposure compared to Notoptera's afar. The xxii elemental composition in water and fish samples identified Cl, N, Na, C, Ca, Mg, Si, P, K, Al, Fe, S, Ti, Ag, and Mn as additives to microplastics with high intensity peaks of chlorine and carbon. Overall, the Ovia River ecosystem is moderately polluted with microplastics, and there is evidence of bioaccumulation in fish, necessitating urgent environmental management strategies. xxiv

This study is being carried out with the aim to investigate the influence of parents' socio- economic status on the academic performance of students' in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. The descriptive survey research was adopted for the study. 100
Students from Secondary Schools in Oredo Local Government Area, make up the sample for the study. The instrument for the study would be questionnaire titled "Questionnaire on influence of parents' socio-economic status on the academic performance students" Simple percentage method of data analysis was used in analyzing the data gotten from respondents. The results indicated that parents' socio-economic status has a great influence on the students' academics. It was found that parents' occupation, home environment, location of school, family size, parental income, parental educational background has a significant influence on students' academic performance. Recommendation made include Based on the findings, the following recommendations have been made:
1. Parents should give maximum financial support to their children to enhance their academic performance 2. Parents without education and those with low educational qualifications should endeavour to send their children to home lessons after school hours, by weekends and during holidays to improve their academic performance. 10 Government should provide books, laptops and other educational facilities for schools to enable all students to have equal access to academic facilities. This will bridge the gaps between the rich and the poor students academically. Government should formulate policies such as scholarship for students from low socio-economic status and soft loans for the parents to enable such students to have equal opportunity to education as children from high socio-economic status. 3. Parents should enroll their children in close by Schools to discourage educational ills such as lateness to school and absenteeism and Government should make School Buses available for students who live afar.