Premium Times applauds solidarity over office raid, arrest of 2 journalists

ITRealms:

The management of Premium Times has expressed profound gratitude to all who showed support and solidarity with them when two journalists, namely Dapo Olorunyomi and Evelyn Okakwu, were arrested by the Nigerian Police Force on Thursday, January 19, 2017, reports ITRealms.

The Managing Editor, Premium Times, Idris Akinbajo, told ITRealms in a press statement that during those hours when their offices were raided and colleagues detained, “the world rose in solidarity and stood firmly with us, with everyone not only condemning the attack but also calling for the immediate release of our staff.”

They, thus, expressed thanks to the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), civil and human rights organisation, non-governmental organisations, clergymen, legal practitioners, political leaders and officials of government at different levels who played roles, openly or discreetly, in ensuring that our colleagues were freed.

“We thank local and foreign media organisations who reported the event as it unfolded and pressured authorities to do the right thing,” he said.

Akinbajo also extended gratitude to all human rights groups and other global organisations which in one form or another helped pressured the police, the army and the Nigerian government to let the detained journalists go.

“We thank individuals at home and abroad who also called in not only to express their support for our work but also demanded that our colleagues be freed,” he said, stressing that they cannot forget their esteemed readers who stood by them during those dark hours.

“We truly cannot thank you all enough,” Premium Times management said, pointing out that their solidarity and support showed that Premium Times has become a public trust that should continue to play active roles in the affairs of our nation and the world at large, especially as an agent of social change and justice.

“We will continue to do our best in helping to make our nation and the world a better place to live in. Despite the ordeals of our colleagues, our spirits remain unbroken in our commitment to strengthening our democracy and promoting good governance in our country,” Akinbajo assured.

Emphasising that Premium Times will not be intimidated by any individual, group of individuals or institutions of government into giving up its quest for a country with strong and transparent institutions, and governed in the best possible way.

“We will continue to do our business legally, professionally and with undiluted patriotism. We will continue to adhere to the ethics and tenets of the journalism profession. As usual, in our reportage of events, every side will be always be reflected,” he declared.

Maintaining that Premium Times is in partnership with all political authorities in promoting the welfare and security of all Nigerians, insisting, “They should see us as partners who will continue to hold them accountable rather than as adversaries.”

Nonye Dom/GEE

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Why Gov. Dickson inaugurated physical planning, urban dev board

ITRealms:

The new Bayelsa State Physical Planning and urban Development Board has been saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that land developers in Yenagoa, the state capital, comply with the development control laws and regulations of the state, reports ITRealms.

To this end, the state government has advised those, who have already built structures in Yenagoa, without recourse to the government approved permit to regularize them, as failure to do so, would attract demolition of such structures.

Governor Seriake Dickson, who gave the advice while inaugurating the Chairman and Executive Directors of the board in Government House, Yenagoa, stressed that, the board also has a vital role to play in the government’s efforts to generate revenue for the state.

Describing their functions as crucial to laying the physical planning and development of the state capital, he condemned the practice of some individuals, who construct their houses haphazardly thereby defacing the capital city.

Governor Dickson, who also called on the management team of the board to update his office with their activities on a monthly basis, said the board is expected to enforce the development control laws and regulations towards actualizing the dreams the government has for Yenagoa.

His words: “Yenagoa has to be a planned city where development is regulated; where there must be order and discipline in regulation. We don’t want Bayelsa and particularly our state capital to be a slum. 

“We don’t want people to just carry out development anyhow without any recourse to government and without any planning. We don’t want our people to continue to think that for you to have a house, you just come anywhere there is a forest; and then begin to build the house. That is never done; that is chaos and that is the type of situation we presently have. 

“The reason Yenagoa City, even with the investment government and individuals are making, the beauty is yet to come out very well because the development is not taking any planned or structured manner. Development is haphazard. Now, all that has to stop.

“This board is a mixture of two critical bodies. You are going to perform the duties earlier performed by the Capital City Development Authority. You will also perform development control as well as embark on revenue generation. So this board is very important and that is why we took time to select you all and amend the law. We took time to even draft the initial legislation and to cause an amendment to be made until we are where we are today.

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America to harness technologies of tomorrow – Donald Trump

For the Records@ITRealms:

Full Transcript of The Inaugural Address Of The United States President Donald Trump Delivered On Friday 20th January, 2017. Excerpts:

Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans and people of the world, thank you.

We, the citizens of America, are now JOINED in a great national effort to rebuild our country and restore its promise for all of our people.

Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for many, many years to come. We will face challenges, we will confront hardships, but we will get the job done.

Every four years, we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power, and we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent. Thank you.

Today's ceremony, however, has very special meaning because today, we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the people.

For too long, a small group in our nation's capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered, but the jobs left and the FACTORIES closed. 

The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories. Their triumphs have not been your triumphs. And while they celebrated in our nation's capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.

That all changes starting right here and right now because this moment is your moment, it belongs to you.

It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone WATCHINGall across America. This is your day. This is your celebration. And this, the United States of America, is your country.

What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people.

January 20th, 2017 will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again.

The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.

Everyone is listening to you now. You came by the tens of millions to become part of a historic movement, the likes of which the world has never seen before.

At the centre of this movement is a crucial conviction,  that a nation exists to serve its citizens. Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighbourhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves. These are just and reasonable demands of righteous people and a righteous public.

But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted out FACTORIES scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge; and the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential.

This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.

We are one nation and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams. And their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny. The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans.

For many decades, we've enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry; subsidized the armies of other countries, while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military. We've defended other nations' borders while refusing to defend our own.

And spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas while America's infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay. We've made other countries rich, while the wealth, strength and confidence of our country has dissipated over the horizon.

One by one, the FACTORIES shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions and millions of American workers that were left behind. The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed all across the world.

But that is the past. And now, we are looking only to the future.

  We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it's going to be only America first, America first.

Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs.

Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. I will fight for you with every breath in my body and I will never ever let you down.

America will start winning again, winning like never before.

We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams.

We will build new roads and highways and bridges and airports and tunnels and railways all across our wonderful nation. We will get our people off of welfare and back to work, rebuilding our country with American hands and American labour.

We will follow two simple rules; buy American and hire American.

We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world, but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first. We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example. We will shine for everyone to follow.

We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate from the face of the Earth.

At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other. When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.

The bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity. We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.

There should be no fear. We are protected and we will always be protected. We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement. And most IMPORTANTLY, we will be protected by God.

  Finally, we must think big and dream even bigger. In America, we understand that a nation is only living as long as it is striving. We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action, constantly complaining, but never doing anything about it.

The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action.

Do not allow anyone to tell you that it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America. We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again.

We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the earth from the miseries of disease, and to harness the energies, industries and technologies of tomorrow. A new national pride will stir ourselves, lift our sights and heal our divisions.

It's time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget, that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots.

We all enjoy the same glorious freedoms and we all salute the same great American flag.

And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the wind-swept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they will their heart with the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty creator.

So to all Americans in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, from ocean to ocean, hear these words. You will never be ignored again.

Your voice, your hopes, and your dreams will define our American destiny. And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way.

Together, we will make America strong again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And yes, together we will make America great again.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America.

Thank you.

God bless America.

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Glo offers access to calls, data easier with Flexi Recharge

ITRealms:

The Globacom has launched a new initiative, known as Glo Flexi Recharge, which allows customers to use data and voice without having the compulsion of buying a fixed data and voice bundle, reports ITRealms.

Globacom officials told ITRealms in a press statement that the Flexi Recharge gives subscribers credit for calls and internet-related services, which means that its subscribers will no longer need to purchase separate data bundles for internet connectivity and calls.

According to officials, all subscribers need to do is dial *123*PIN# to enjoy Glo Flexi.

“With Glo Flexi Recharge, subscribers will get data benefit by default. Subscribers do not need to worry about buying data plans. Once they are on Glo Flexi Recharge, they will be able to make calls, send SMS, browse, or use social media network platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc., just like subscribers who purchase data bundles. We have made data access very simple for our customers,” Globacom said in a statement.

“Glo Flexi Recharge is consistent with our determination to deliver unbeatable value to our esteemed subscribers regardless of their lifestyles. We go to great lengths to create special packages to suit the lifestyles of our various subscribers,” the company said.

The foremost telecommunications company said Glo Flexi Recharge is a product of serious and careful planning and is aimed at making life easier for subscribers.

Globacom has enjoyed steady growth in terms of the number of data subscribers joining the network. This feat has been attributed to its massive investment in infrastructure, including the Glo 1 undersea cable and the company's extensive fibre optic cable that criss-crosses the length and breadth of the country.

This has enabled the company to deliver unmatched data capacity anywhere at the most affordable prices. Globacom has also launched several attractive and user-friendly packages which offer a lot of appeal to data users.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Botswana scores first in support for Adama Barrow of Gambia

ITRealms:

The Government and people of Botswana have scored first among African 54 States to drum support for the Gambian President-elect, Mr. Adama Barrow, reports ITRealms.

This is coming as Botswana government today, Thursday, January 19, 2017 supposedly the handover date, proclaimed it no longer recognises Yahya Jammeh as the Gambia’s president consequent upon his refusal to hand power to Adama Barrow who defeated him in presidential election on 1 December, 2016.

Here is detail of Botswana's government position as contained in a press statement made available to ITRealms, thus:

RE: The Gambia – Botswana no longer recognizes Mr. Jammeh

Following Mr. Yahya Jammeh’s refusal to hand over power to the President-elect Adama Barrow, in accordance with the expressed will of the Gambian people, the Government of Botswana announces that it will no longer recognise Mr. Jammeh as the President of Gambia, together with his Government. This decision which takes effect immediately is consistent with Botswana’s position as articulated through the Press Release of 16th December 2016. 

Mr. Jammeh’s decision not to respect the will of the Gambian people undermines the ongoing efforts to consolidate democracy and good governance in The Gambia and Africa as a whole. This is also in direct contravention of the spirit and aspirations of the African Union Constitutive Act. 

The Government of Botswana therefore continues to appeal to the international community to do all within its power to exert pressure on Mr. Jammeh to hand over power in order to ensure a smooth transition.”

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Pix: President Ian Khama of Botswana

Buhari leaves for UK on vacation, routine medical check-ups

ITRealms:

The President, Muhammadu Buhari has left for the United Kingdom (UK) today on a short leave, which is part of his annual vacation, reports ITRealms.

Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity), Mr. Femi Adesina, said President Buhari is expected to resume work on February 6, 2017.

During the vacation, he also said, the President will undergo routine medical check-ups.

ITRealms gathered that in line with Section 145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the President of the Senate, and Speaker, House of Representatives, have been duly communicated.

Adesina further hinted  that while President is away, the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, would perform the functions of the Office of the President.

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8 things that make group chat effective

ITRealms:

There are 8 things that have been identified to make a group chat active:

1. Always learn to appreciate other people's posts even if they may not be your friend: it makes them feel important and encouraged.

2. Never run people down on a group chat; you will cause them to withdraw.

3. When you see something you don't like, inbox (personal chat with) the person ... don't attack him/her publicly.

4. Never settle scores with anybody on a general group chat, you will make others want to take sides, thereby causing the other(s) to withdraw.

5. When anyone is celebrating, he/she may not need to be your friend before you celebrate with that person.  It’s the spirit of brotherliness to share in their celebration. It makes people feel welcome.

6. Nobody has the gift of talking and others the gift of reading... Learn to contribute in the group, even if it is just using the symbol 👍 it makes people know you appreciate the group.

7. There are 4 types of posts you will see on a group chart ....

(a) Offensive posts

Don't attack the person, attack the posts.

(b) Inspirational/ Educative posts

Commend the person. Don't just read and keep quiet

(c) Meaningless/ Wrongly uninformed posts

Start by appreciating the writer, then correct the information, and

(d) Jokes

Even if it is not funny, or you have seen it before; just encourage the person by at least a laugh symbol 😀.

(8) If it’s a professional group, try to keep to the terms | objectives | goals of the group. And if you must share something not too sure it falls within the group’s premise, start the post with ‘Apology.’

Above all, everyone posting must try to make their posts as brief as possible for people to enjoy.

I hope these highlights will be meaningful enough to somebody to make our group a better one.

Thanks and God bless you as you make a digital SENSE!

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Scientists explain why you must chew your food

Scientists explain why you must chew your food: NaijaAgroNet : Scientists have explained the essence of chewing your food properly and how it could boost your mouth’s immune system to...

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

Psychologists identify how little ‘we know about each other’s intentions’

ITRealms:

The Psychologists at The University of Manchester have shown how difficult it is for people to guess the true intention of each other’s behavior, reports ITRealms.

The study, published today in Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics, has important implications on public policies designed to impact on areas such as smoking, obesity, eating disorders, self-harm, alcohol use and gambling.

Clinical psychologist Dr Warren Mansell, who led the study, says policy makers need to accurately understand what a person is trying to control using their behaviour, rather than trying to change the behaviour itself.

He said: “We think we know what someone is doing just by observing them. For example if we see someone move a steering wheel of their car, we assume they are aiming to keep their car in the centre of the lane.

“But our study shows that it is incredibly easy to be mistaken – and that has important implications on anyone whose task is to change human behaviour.

“In psychological research, for example, this study suggests that some behaviour studied may be no more than a side effect of participants’true intentions.

“We should therefore avoid focusing on people's behaviour itself . That would lead to multiple and inevitably futile interventions for each and every problem.”

He added: “In terms of public policy, we frequently we see money spent on another new initiative for 'behaviour change'.

“Yet if these behaviours are just side effects of people trying to exert control, then this multi-pronged approach to health is highly inefficient and fails to address the common root cause of people's difficulties.

“You need to ask people what they want in their life and how they solve their problems. Smoking, for example, is just one of many different ways in which a person might try to control something important to them – such as their social confidence, or emotional state.”

Dr Mansell’s team were able to fool over 350 people into thinking that a person they saw in a video controlling the location of a knot in a rubber band was doing something completely different.

The study participants wrongly thought it showed someone drawing a picture, exposing the phenomenon of 'control blindness'.

Most participants failed to correctly infer the person’s intention, instead inferring complex but non-existent goals, such as ‘tracing out two kangaroos boxing’, based on the actions taken to keep the knot under control.

The effect persisted with many participants even when their awareness was successfully directed at the knot whose position was under control.

Much of the work was carried out by Andrew Willett, an honorary research assistant who spent three months at Manchester on secondment from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie.

The results were modelled on a computer by Dr Rick Marken, based at Antioch University.

Dr Mansell said: “It might surprise some, but this study backs up what we have found in studies of people’s health and well-being. What’s more, if control blindness is apparent with the simple behaviour in our study, then it is even more likely in everyday life where people’s actions can be sophisticated or subtle.

“Observers with control blindness appear to be unable to guess what the true intention of someone's behaviour is, even if their attention is drawn towards it.

“Seeing the unintentionally produced pattern of pen movement as intentional is an example of what has been called’the illusion of control’

“Our study shows that the side effects of intentional behaviour that create the illusion of control can be so compelling that they blind people to the true intention, leading to control blindness.”

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Lai Mohammed says ‘Tragic Accidental Bombing Not True Reflection of NAF's Professionalism’

ITRealms:

The Federal Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has described as utterly tragic the accidental bombing of a civilian community in Rann, Borno State, by a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) jet, causing deaths and injuries, reports ITRealms.

In a press statement in Abuja on Wednesday, the Minister through his Special Assistant on Media, Segun Adeyemi, sent his condolences to the families of those who died in the unfortunate bombing and prays for quick recovery for the injured.

Alhaji Mohammed, who recently led members of the BBOG and the media to Yola, where the Air Component of the fight against Boko Haram is based, said he was particularly saddened because the accidental bombing is not a true reflection of the level of professionalism that he witnessed during the visit

''One of the things we went away with after spending some two days at the Tactical Air Command in Yola is the strict adherence to operational guidelines and the high level of professionalism of the officers and men, especially the young pilots who fly high-risk missions day and night.

''Among others, we witnessed pre- and post-mission briefings for the pilots, the high attention paid to details, especially concerning emergencies and weather, and the evacuation plan in case of accidents.

We heard that on several occasions during their sorties, fighter pilots have had to hold their fire after observing the movement of women and children in Sambisa. We also witnessed the same careful disposition when we flew to Sambisa with the pilots.

''It therefore came to me as a rude shock to learn, a few hours after leaving Yola, that one of the fighter jets has accidentally bombed civilians, including aid workers,'' he said.

The Minister urged the NAF to continue to take the necessary measures to avoid civilian casualties, as it carries out its challenging task of keeping Nigerians safe

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Backdoor encryption controversy persists on WhatsApp

ITRealms:

The suspected ‘backdoor encryption’ saga has continued to trail WhatsApp, a company of Facebook, reports ITRealms.

This is coming as some online security professionals refused to buy into the excuses of Facebook and WhatsApp, that the ‘Backdoor' is really a feature for ensuring messages are not lost in certain situations.

ITRealms recalls that despite WhatsApp denial of having backdoor for decrypting messages, the much WhatsApp’s much touted end-to-end encryption capability has become the subject of considerable scrutiny following a report by The Guardian Friday of a ‘backdoor’ in the messaging service that apparently allows for encrypted messages to be intercepted and read, according to DarkReading.

Also, the Guardian’s report was based on a vulnerability disclosure that Tobias Boelter, a PhD student and computer scientist at the University of California made a few months ago and precisely on April last year.

Boelter claimed that he had found a serious weakness in the manner in which the latest version of WhatsApp handles messages that are sent to a recipient who might have swapped or reset their phone, or might simply have been offline when the message was sent.

In such situations Boleter said, WhatsApp holds the message and retransmits it when the recipient comes back online but using a different encryption key than the one that was originally used to encrypt the message.

This approach gives attackers an opportunity to spoof the recipient’s phone on the WhatsApps server, use their own public key, and intercept messages that were intended for the recipient.

The Guardian described Boelter’s discovery as a security backdoor that governments could use to snoop in on the communications of targeted and unsuspecting WhatsApp users.

WhatsApp’s practice of creating new encryption keys for offline users without the knowledge of the sender and then rebroadcasting the message, effectively allows Facebook to intercept and read the messages of users communicating with each other under the assumption that their messages are impenetrable, the paper warned.

In an updated blog post, Boelter Friday expressed uncertainty over whether the issue he discovered is a bug or a backdoor. “In other words: Is this flaw put deliberately into the WhatsApp messenger to allow them or the government to look at targeted messages?” he wrote. “Or is the flaw introduced through a simple programmer error? Or is it even a useful feature?”

According to Boelter, Facebook showed little interest when he first reported his discovery to them last April, but recently claimed that it was not a bug but a feature for ensuring messages got through as intended to offline users.

In an emailed statement to Dark Reading, a Facebook spokesperson described The Guardian’s claims as patently false. “The design decision referenced in the Guardian story prevents millions of messages from being lost,” the spokesperson said. “In many parts of the world, people frequently change devices and SIM cards. In these situations, we want to make sure people's messages are delivered, not lost in transit.”

In addition, WhatsApp has a security notifications option that people can use if they want to be notified when a contact’s security code or public encryption key has changed, the WhatsApp spokesman said.

Jon Geater, chief technology officer of Thales e-Security said the concerns raised by Boelter are not as serious as they might appear.

“Indeed, there is almost no hack here. One might argue that WhatsApp has elected to provide an insecure default configuration,” Geater said in a statement. “Users who care about the authorities intercepting their messages are quite likely to turn on security notifications, and then the problem is almost entirely diminished,” he said.

Dissidents and those using WhatsApp in repressive countries might need to take additional precautions like using an out of band method to ensure that a user has really changed devices, he said.

Chris Perry, COO of Secured Communications says the most troubling aspect about the whole controversy is the lack of full disclosure by Facebook WhatsApp.

“When a company builds into its system a failsafe, such as this feature, there should be full disclosure to their customer base that it exists and how and why it would be activated,” Perry says in comments to Dark Reading.

As it is, only the sender is informed of the encryption key change and that too only if the sender has opted-in to the notification warning, he says. “There should be a warning notification for both sender and recipient that is default activated advising when they are no longer in a secure encrypted environment.”

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Awba-Ofemili commends Gov. Obiano on road

ITRealms:

The people of Awba-Ofemili town in Awka-North Local Government Area of Anambra State have commended the efforts of the Governor, Chief Willie Obiano and well-meaning indigenes and Ndi-Anambra in ensuring that the town not only have good road at just ended festive period of Christmas and New Year, but also for creating the enabling environment for availability of public power supply, reports ITRealms.

Speaking at his Palace, at the weekend, the Igwe Ofemili 1 of Awba-Ofemili, His Royal Highness, Ezekwesili Maduagwuna, told correspondents, that the town is very grateful to the administration of Gov. Obiano for all the good works they have initiated and even consolidated existing projects since coming into office.

He also expressed delight that most projects started by his predecessor, Chief Peter Obi, have seen the Obiano’s effect in the state.

The Igwe Ofemili was particularly excited that the Amansea-Ebenebe-Ugbenu-Ugbene-Awba-Ofemili road has finally touched base with his immediate environs, making it possible for them to reach Awka, the Anambra State capital in about 15 minutes-drive.

According to him, the Awba-Ofemili people, reputed for mass rice production, were very excited to use good road for both 2016 Christmas and 2017 New Year, just as he called for its logical conclusion by ensuring that this road is adequately worked on and tarred.

In addition, he said it will gladden his heart to see the road extend beyond Umuosite community in Awba-Ofemili onto the Umu-Anyamelum, stressing it would too boost the economy of Awba-Ofemili and surrounding rice producing communities in the state.

Igwe Ofemili noted that if this road is linked to Umu-Anyamelum, it means his people of Awba-Ofemili can maximize the road by using the Onitsha-Nsukka Expressway effectively to connect to Abuja within a short trip, especially by extending the rice produce effectively to neighboring towns and markets to enhance the ‘Anambra Rice’ effect.

He prayed for all well-meaning indigenes of Awba-Ofemili and Ndi-Anambra, especially the religious and precisely the Christendom for their untiring efforts and co-operations in making certain required development reach Awba-Ofemili in good time.

He further drummed support for Gov. Obiano’s second term agenda, saying it would ensure that most of the on-going projects will not suffer unnecessary political will to see them to logical conclusions, so as to bring the required socio-economic advancement as expected in the state.

Uju. N. Dominic/GEE

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Pix: HRH Ezekwesili Maduagwuna, Igwe Ofemili 1 of Awba-Ofemili

ICANN NextGen Policy Forum @ J’burg seeks applicants

ITRealms:

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has opened call for application for its Next Generation participants at the forthcoming Policy Forum, slated for Johannesburg, South Africa, reports ITRealms.

According to information reaching ITRealms, showed that Public Forum meeting has been slated for Johannesburg, South Africa between June 26 through 29, 2017.

This call, ICANN said, is for those between 18 and 30 years old and interested in the domain name system, Internet governance issues, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) public policy work.

In addition, ITRealms gathered that the NextGen application time frame which commenced on Monday, January 16 is expected to close by February 24, 2017.

The outcome of the selection process, ITRealms gathered will be announced by March 27, 2017.

Chuks Egbune/GEe

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Promoting entrepreneurship among youths

Commentary@ITRealms: 

Providing adequate funding for entrepreneurs remains a priority for Heritage Bank Plc. The lender has not only partnered the Bank of Industry (BoI) to promote wealth creation and curb unemployment among the youth, it has also secured $150 million support from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to boost the financing of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) expected to quicken economic recovery, writes COLLINS NWEZE.

Every lender with eyes on the future and commitment to getting the economy out of the woods thinks entrepreneurship and wealth creation.

The need to stimulate the economy has become more pronounced now than ever, after the price of the country’s mono product, crude oil, crashed in the international market, throwing the economy into its first recession in over 25 years.

But banks have critical roles to play in reversing the trend, and putting the economy on a sustainable path of growth, via entrepreneurship development and funding.

For Heritage Bank Plc, entrepreneurship development and funding, are at the hallmarks of its market growth plan. The lender has, therefore, sought critical partnerships and collaborations to realise its vision for the economy and commitment to entrepreneurship, seen as the engine block of all thriving economies.

For instance, Heritage Bank and the Bank of Industry (BoI) have sealed an entrepreneurship deals that would promote wealth creation and curb unemployment among the youth. The bank also secured $150 million Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) funding support from African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank), a frontline African financial institution.

Afreximbank says it believes in the uniqueness of the business strategy of Heritage Bank, especially the Small Growing Business focus of the lender which aligns with its founding mission.

Speaking at the opening of Live Well Bia Foods Outlet in Surulere, Lagos, the Managing Director of Heritage Bank, Ifie Sekibo, said both institution’s support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)-supported programmes would take the country out of ongoing recession.

Represented by the bank’s consultant on SMEs, Mrs. Raliat Oyetunde, Sekibo explained: “It is in time of recession that new millionaires emerge. This is an opportunity for the young ones between the ages of 18 and 35 to key into the various financing channels provided by Heritage Bank and BoI.”

According to him, the documentation and financing of this project were concluded with due diligence within six weeks. “We need more young entrepreneurs, such as the Managing Director, Bia Live Well Outlet, Fadesola Adedayo, to take Nigeria to the next level because the outlet will be opened in 47 other locations across the country,” he said.  He added that passion, mentorship and finance were critical to budding entrepreneurs.

BoI’s Acting Managing Director, Waheed Olagunju, affirmed that the support of BoI and Heritage Bank to further empower young entrepreneurs would lead to the recovery of the economy.

He said improved investment would activate a quick recovery of the economy that has been in a state of decline. According to him, supporting young entrepreneurs through funding is necessary to improve the quality of life of many Nigerian youths with desire to be self-reliant.

“BoI will continue to support youth with innovative projects like this venture because he has not just created a job for himself but for many others in the value chain. The visionary and talented youths with viable business plans would be supported by banks to drive the industrialisation of the country.

In a statement announcing the Afreximbank deal, Heritage Bank’s Divisional Head, Corporate Communications, Olusola Longe-Okenimkpe, said: “HBCL Investment Services Limited (HISL), a major shareholder of Heritage Bank Limited, has executed the term sheet for the issuance of guarantee for its $150 million Convertible Bond with the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) to support Heritage Bank PLC in its next phase of growth.’’

Support for budding entrepreneurs

A budding entrepreneur with unique business idea of turning trashes into beautiful furniture, Mrs. Marvis Marshal-Idio has won the Heritage Bank’s sponsored entrepreneurial competition show, Next Titan Season 3. The star prize was N5 million from Heritage Bank, which is the official sponsor of the competition and a brand new car from Coscharis Motors.

The Next Titan is Nigeria’s entrepreneurial reality TV show, a brain child of Mide Kunle-Akinlaja, where ambitious young entrepreneurs compete for a grand prize of N5 million and a brand new car to start his dream business.

At the grand finale in Lagos, four finalists: Ronald Ajiboye, a first class graduate of a Russian University; Marvis Marshal-Idio, who came with a unique business idea of turning trashes into beautiful furniture; Victoria Mamza, founder of Wangarau Foods andSunday Ewolabi, founder of Naija Peanuts, competed for the star prize N5 million and a brand new Ford Eco Sport.

The panel of judges made up of Chris Parkes, Chairman/CEO, CPMS Africa, an integrated marketing communications firm; Tonye Cole, CEO of Sahara Group and Lilian Olubi, CEO of Primera Africa Securities Limited evicted Ajiboye and unanimously upheld Marshal-Idio as the star prize winner.

The four finalists emerged from the top 16 contestants with the brightest ideas that were shortlisted from 50 aspiring entrepreneurs that were selected from auditions held in Abuja, Port-Harcourt and Lagos.

The 16 contestants lived together and competed among themselves by carrying out weekly business tasks and challenges around Lagos for nine weeks on television and with weekly evictions in the boardroom by the judges.

Divisional Head, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) of the bank, Mrs. Ori Ogba, said Heritage Bank sponsored the project because of its unrelenting desire to ignite the entrepreneurial spirit in Nigerians, adding that the bank which is just three years old, started out by recognising talents in youths.

She said besides the Next Titan, the bank was also working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Youth Service Corp (NYSC) on the Youth Innovative Entrepreneurship Programme (YIEDP).

The YIEDP is aimed at empowering youths between 18 and 35 with particular focus on serving National Youth Corps members (NYSC) and post-NYSC members (not more than five years post service) towards harnessing the latent entrepreneurial drive among the youth.

Mrs. Ogba said about 310 applicants have  been approved by CBN as beneficiaries of the programme in this first phase of the scheme.

Lender takes empowerment of Rivers

River State government praised Heritage Bank for its role in enhancing youth entrepreneurship development and engendering self-employment through its various initiatives and products.

The government lauded the bank’s effort at administering and management of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s N3 billion Youth Innovative Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YIEDP) and its partnership with the Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL), which recently graduated 100 young entrepreneurs in the CVL Young Entrepreneurship Training Programme (YETP).

Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Ipalibo Banigo stated this at the one-day Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Development (LEAD) Summit, hosted by the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) in partnership with the Second Opportunity Africa Foundation and Heritage Bank Plc.

Speaking on the summit, titled: “Youths leading entrepreneurs in non-oil economy,” Banigo said Heritage Bank has shown good faith to the youths which goes on to portray the welcoming  nature of the Rivers man personified in their son, Ifie Sekibo.

The wife of the Governor, Justice Suzzette Nyesom-Wike, affirmed that the LEAD Summit was the first in the state. She commended the bank for its support to youths.

Sekibo, represented by the General Manager, South Bank, Davidson Regha, said the drive to continue in the support of youths was to create, preserve and transfer wealth across generations.

He explained that the entrepreneur schemes of the bank in the support for business had always focused on dependable job-creating sectors, such as agricultural value chain (fish farming, poultry, snail farming), cottage industry, mining and solid minerals, creative industry (tourism, arts and craft), and Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

Moody’s, Augusto okays Heritage Bank’s capitalisation

Moody’s and Augusto & Co. have affirmed that Heritage Bank’s capitalisation remains sound in relation to its low asset risk model and can generate income from its core business and settle its obligation as at when due.

According to Moody, under the new methodology, the bank’s credit metrics’ ratings remain consistent with an a3 BCA when measured against Australia’s macro profile.

In a statement, the bank said this was meant to furnish investors with objective analyses and independent assessments of its securities, bonds and credit assets. It was also meant to engage the services of Moody and Augusto & Co. to provide superior information on credit risk and other investment instruments.

“The international and local ratings investment metrics is a welcome development to the bank and, in light of this sterling achievement, we swiftly need to improve on our performances in order to boost our subsequent ratings,” it said.

Also, Agusto & Co, Nigeria’s first Credit Rating Agency and a Pan African leader in credit ratings and credit reports, affirmed same rating with Moodys on all rated assets and instruments.

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