Nobody is imposing me on PDP-Uche Secondus

ITREALMS:

The Secondus Campaign Organisation, has denied any imposition of Prince Uche Secondus on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), reports ITRealms.

According to Taiye Garrick of the Secondus Campaign Organisation, their attention have been drawn to news reports alleging clandestine moves by some powerful forces to impose Prince  Uche Secondus as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party.

"We want to categorically declare that there is no iota of truth in that reports. Our candidacy depends on endorsement and votes of delegates at the forthcoming national convention.

"We want Nigerians and members of the party to note that the position of National Chairman was zoned to the Southern region comprising of three zones .Prince Secondus has every legitimate and legal rights to aspire for the office of National Chairman.

"We also want to put on records that since launching his ambition,Prince Secondus has been reaching out to delegates across the 36 states ,seeking their votes and presenting his agenda for revival of the party ahead of 2019.

"Throughout this period, no member of Board of Trustees has openly endorsed him as SOME have done for some other candidates .We repeat that nobody is imposing anybody. There is no plot to impose Prince Secondus on the PDP.

"Just recently, some members of Board of Trustees openly endorsed some aspirants. The Secondus Campaign Organisation did not raise any eyebrow. Rather than waiting for any group endorsements, we have been campaigning day and night across the six zones, selling our redemption messages to PDP delegates.

"We urge all aspirants to get ready for the National Convention and stop game of distractions. The delegates assembled will cast their votes for an aspirant of their choice in the full glare of the public. Nobody can impose any aspirant in a free and fair contest.

"We also want to affirm that Prince Secondus remains the most qualified for the chairmanship going by his antecedents before and after the crisis that nearly killed the party.He is bold and pushful alongside with his great blueprint to return the PDP to power in 2019.

"The forthcoming convention is our great opportunity to complete the redemption started at the Portharcourt mini convention. We must elect real committed party members into the upcoming National Working Committee. In this clarion call, we urge delegates to support Prince Secondus ,the man of undilluted loyalty ,unflinching determination for PDP revival and unparralled qualification for PDP leadership."

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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Positive Value Initiative for launch in Lagos

ITREALMS:

A new children and youth-focused re-orientation programme, tagged Positive Values Initiative, will be formally launched in Lagos on November 30 at LTV Compound in Agidingbi, Ikeja, reports ITRealms.

The event, ITRealms gathered would be chaired by the Chairman, Coscharis Group, Dr. Cosmas Maduka.

 The outreach programme, ITRealms reports is a joint venture of Oraks Konsult and Superkids Publications, which advocates and inculcates positive values in children in order to make them better leaders and followers tomorrow.

According to the coordinator of the programme, Mrs Franca Orakwue, the goal is to inspire youths and children to attain their best by pursuing, living and sharing positive values which include courtesy, integrity, diligence and godliness wherever they go.

“We believe that values influence one’s thinking which in turn shapes relationships, behaviours, choices and sense of self-worth. We are therefore determined to impart these value set in our youths and kids to prepare them for the challenges of society” she said.

Mrs. Orakwue, who is also author and certified etiquette specialist from Etiquettemoms, United States is also a product of the International Association of Professions (IAP) Career College, USA. With over 14 years of experience in etiquette and speech training especially among children, she is deploying her knowhow to transform youths and kids especially those of school age into role models of excellence and integrity.

The mass mobilization outreach which is already running in some schools and worship centres has attracted the attention of UNICEF and Lagos State government. The pilot programme in some select schools has achieved very good result and has been well received by the pupils and students.

Uju N. Dominic/ED, Ops 

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Experts say structural reforms, political risk crucial to Nigeria’s future

ITREALMS:

The economists at the office of Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) Nigeria believe the economy is on track for a broad-based recovery, but were quick to add that the management of political risk is crucial to Nigeria’s future, reports ITRealms.

The PwC experts in a new report Nigeria's economic recovery - Defining the path for economic growth’ an extract of which is made available to ITRealms.

The report, ITRealms gathered, noted that asides the improvement in real GDP following the exit from recession in the second quarter (Q2) of 2017, the performance across several other macro-indicators suggest that the economy has turned a corner.

“Some of these indicators include: headline inflation at a 16 month low at 15.9 per cent year-on-year in September, maintenance of trade surplus for 3 consecutive quarters, Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) remaining above the 50 points threshold for 6 consecutive months and the foreign reserves up to a 34-month high.

In addition, PwC further assessed the fundamental determinants of economic growth, with findings suggesting that economic freedom, consumption growth and investment share in GDP are significant drivers of the Nigerian economy.

The Partner and Chief Economist PwC Nigeria, Dr. Andrew S. Nevin, said, “We find that an increase in the economic freedom index by 1 point could lead to a 1.7 percentage points increase in Nigeria's economic growth. This underscores the role of economic policies as a major catalyst for economic development. Similarly, a one percentage point increase in investment share in GDP and consumption growth were found to be associated with 0.2 percentage points and 0.7 percentage points increase in economic growth respectively.”

To show Nigeria's potential economic performance over the next 5 years, the report, he said, presents three scenarios in which PwC examines the impact of political shocks, and the implementation of structural reforms and economic diversification on key economic indicators in Nigeria.

ITRealms equally reports that PwC in its analysis, assumed that oil continues to be the main driver of fiscal and export revenues over the forecast period.

“As such, the extent to which the Nigerian economy moves towards its near-term development aspirations is dependent upon the success of its import substitution policies,” part of the report read.

Andrew declared that in scene 1, real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth peaks at 7.0 per cent in 2022 and remains in line with trend, reflecting the implementation of structural reforms, and successful traction in the execution of import substitution policies.

“The resultant improvement in the macroeconomic environment leads to increased investment and per capita GDP. However, in scenario 2, the implementation of key reforms evolves at a slow pace and economic growth averages 3.3 per cent over the forecast period, reaching 5.0 per cent in 2022. A mix of political and security shocks in scenario 3 which bring about a significant decline in revenues result in no growth (0.0 per cent) in 2019. Subsequently, growth recovers to 4.3 per cent by 2022,” he submitted.

Chuks Egbune/GEE 

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Winners emerge @7th Orange Social Entrepreneur Prize

ITREALMS:

The winners of the 2017 Orange announced the winners of the 7th Orange Social Entrepreneur Prize 2017 in Africa and the Middle East during the AfricaCom Awards in Cape Town, South Africa, reports ITRealms.

Each year this Prize rewards innovative projects based on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) which help improve the living conditions of local people through digital, in fields such as education, healthcare, farming, mobile payments or sustainable development.

A new feature in this year’s 7th edition was a national phase during which each of Orange’s 17 subsidiaries in Africa and the Middle East taking part in the contest studied the projects submitted in their country and appointed local winners. These 49 local winners were entered into the international contest.

Open from February to June 2017, the call for applications received nearly 1,200 innovative project entries, which was 60% more than 2016. These projects illustrate the diverse ideas from local entrepreneurs and the potential of ICT in the development of Africa and the Middle East. Amongst the 49 local winners, 11 projects were selected and submitted to a jury made up of professionals, investors, external organisations and Orange organisations. The three winners will receive bursaries of €25,000, €15,000 and €10,000 and the Special Content Prize winner will receive €5,000. The finalists of the Orange Social Entrepreneur Prize will also enjoy priority support for six months from the NGO Grow Movement and Orange experts.

Bruno Mettling, Deputy CEO of the Orange Group and Chairman and CEO of Orange MEA (Africa and the Middle East) stated that “The Orange Social Entrepreneur Prize is now a staple part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Africa and the Middle East. It is a great example of our contribution to digital transformation on the continent, a transformation which we would like to be inclusive and sustainable. Congratulations to these entrepreneurs and particularly the winners, I wish them every success in their professional endeavours. "

The winning projects this year were:

1st prize was awarded to Manzer Partazer in Madagascar 

The objective of the Malagasy start-up is to reduce food waste by sharing excess food from restaurants, hotels or supermarkets with partner organisations such as orphanages and disadvantaged populations. A collaborative platform will allow direct communication between different stakeholders.

2nd prize was awarded to City Taps in Niger

CityTaps has developed a solution which bridges the gap between water services and the most disadvantaged citizens: a pre-payment service which includes a smart water meter and billing software.

The beneficiaries use their mobile to prepay for running water with any mobile phone, at any time, for any amount, which improves their household budget.

3rd prize was awarded to eFret.tn in Tunisia 

eFret.tn is a website based on the freight exchange principle. It links up senders, whether private individuals or companies, with transport and transit professionals in Tunisia. The senders publish adverts describing their needs and receive free quotations from carriers, movers, and international transport companies and customs forwarding agents.

Furthermore, this year a Special Content Prize was added, which was awarded by Orange Content.

The Special Orange Content Prize was awarded to: Génie Edu in Cameroon 

This is an e-learning platform which aims to help students having problems by providing online video courses. The startup wants every student, including those in remote areas, to have access to high-quality courses at a very low cost, anytime and anywhere.

Internet users were also invited to choose their “User Favourite” project. This project automatically qualified for the international final.

This was the Malgasy project Majika which received over 2,800 votes out of 12,242 votes online. Majika is a social company aiming to facilitate economic development conditions in rural zones. It is based on two areas: access to renewable electricity and support for rural entrepreneurship. Majika works on an autonomous and ecological power plant in the village of Ampasindava.

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No death in taxi driver, police clash in Abuja - FCT Minister

ITREALMS:

Normalcy has been restored to the Wuse Berger axis of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, following the clash between taxi drivers and policemen over the mobbing of officials of the Task Force on FCTA on Wednesday, reports ITRealms.

The Minister for the Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello, have denied any killings in the violence.

Bello, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Cosmas Uzodinma, urged Nigerians to disregard any rumour on death from task force operations.

The Minister said the situation is now under control and appealed to residents to go about their normal activities without any fear of molestation.

The Secretary for Transportation Comrade Kayode Opeifa, in a telephone chat in Thursday, also assured residents of the FCT. He said a number of reforms to sanitize the transportation sector and reduce friction in the FCT is in the offing.

A graphic details of the incident as contained in the statement issued by Uzodinma said two unauthorized vehicles were arrested during routine operations of the Ministerial Joint Task Team on the Enforcement of the Ban and the Restriction of Unpainted Taxis, Unauthorized Vehicles and other sundry public nuisance in the FCT on Wednesday.

“As result, it was reported that some touts attacked the members of the task team and were arrested. The arrested vehicles and persons are with the police currently undergoing further investigations. Calm has returned to the Wuse Market after the minor incident,” he said.

He alleged that the rumour was spread by persons who thrive in illegalities with the aim to blackmail the task force team.

“The FCT Administration thanks members of the public for their understanding and support in the efforts of the Administration to ensure sanity on our roads, check the use of illegal taxis, unauthorised parks and criminal activities especially in the ember months,” the Minister was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of Transportation for the FCTA, Comrade Kayode Opeifa has warned all taxi operators in the FCT to respect the rule of law.

Opeifa who said the FCTA would not be intimidated, blackmailed or cowed, however assured the public that the alleged excesses of the Task Force would looked into with a view regaining the confidence of the public. The Secretary maintained that the capital belongs to everybody and that no group of people should disregard the traffic rules of the city.

He called on all vehicle users to respect the rights of other road users by operating within the confines of the law.

The Secretary of transportation also disclosed that the Transportation Secretariat will soon meet with all relevant stakeholders in the transportation industry, with a view to properly designate and delineate the operational modules of each operator.

While shedding more light on the violence that swept through Wuse market on Wednesday, Opeifa said incident occurred when the FCT Law and Order Enforcement team on Traffic tried to arrest a taxi driver at the Wuse area. The offending taxi driver became violent in the process of arrest, resulting in touts and drivers mobbing the team.

Police reinforcement, he further stated however subdued the crowd and arrested four persons and impounded two vehicles which were taken to Wuye office and later to the police command. Thirty minutes later, false messages were sent out by the Taxi drivers Transport Union at Wuse alleging the enforcement team shot dead one of their driver whose corpse had been carried to Wuye.

“Phone conversation with the Chairman of the Taxi Drivers Union revealed there was no killing,” Opeifa said. 

Further Investigation confirmed that no driver or person was shot or died during the incident adding that the four people are arrested alive by the Police who brought the situation under control. 

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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Lagos to host Sporting Excellence awards 2017

ITREALMS:

The Nigerian Awards for Sporting Excellence (NASE) has been scheduled to hold on Saturday, December 2, 2017 at Airport Hotel, Ikeja Lagos, reports ITRealms.

A statement issued in Lagos on Tuesday and signed by Prince Isidore Oduah, Chairman of the Award Committee, explained that the awards is designed to reward sportsmen and women of Nigerian descent or based in Nigeria, who excel in any given year.

“The idea is to motivate such outstanding sportsmen and women to do even better, and to inspire others to work harder to excel – thus contributing to the rapid development of Nigerian sports,” Prince Oduah, a former Executive Committee Member of the Nigeria Football Association (now known as NFF), said.

The Award Committee Chairman disclosed that NASE would hold annually and would equally honour excelling sports administrators as well as corporate bodies contributing significantly to the development and growth of Nigerian sports.

Prince Oduah noted that the Nigerian Awards for Sporting Excellence, a brainchild of Nigeria’s pioneer all-sport online daily newspaper, Daily Sports (dailysportsng.com), “has been enthusiastically embraced by critical stakeholders of the Nigerian sporting community.”

“Nominees for the maiden awards, as well as some of the dignitaries expected to grace the award ceremony onDecember 2 would be unveiled in due course,” the Award Committee Chairman stated.

Banji Boye/GEE 

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Konnect Africa takes SmartWiFi to rural communities

ITREALMS:

The Eutelsat-owned satellite broadband service provider, Konnect Africa, has unveiled SmartWIFI, a new hotspot service, as part of its ongoing commitment to bring digital opportunities to Africans, reports ITRealms.

This new service, ITRealms reports, leverages Konnect Africa’s powerful, reliable satellite broadband network to enable sales outlets (retailers, hospitalities, gas stations, etc.) as well as healthcare centres or schools to become a connectivity point and digital gateway to opportunity for the surrounding population. Users will be able to access the internet from a distance of several hundred metres around the hotspot. Access can be extended to several kilometres through off-the-shelf Wi-Fi repeaters.

Konnect Africa CEO, Laurent Grimaldi, said that users could access the SmartWIFI service through vouchers or mobile payment schemes. In addition, SmartWIFI comes with a unique local data storage system, enabling users in remote areas to access smart digital content free of data charges, including online courses and education programmes, sports and entertainment. Mobile and computer applications will also be available to help support daily business activities.

“This new Wi-Fi hotspot solution is designed specifically to address the needs of the majority of the African population that lives in rural areas, where there is a need to reduce the digital divide. In leveraging the ubiquity of our satellite network and locally operated hotspots we will foster more productive uses of digital technology to make everyday tasks easier for individuals and allow businesses in more remote areas to expand their footprint – let’s just think of weather apps to assist farmers, mobile phones to display bus timetables, or better information on market days that can help small producers enlarge their catchment area”, he said.

SmartWIFI will be available in all countries covered by Konnect Africa’s satellite broadband service. The new hotspot service will be deployed in partnership with local Internet service providers and telecom operators in strategic areas across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Ayo Midele/GEE

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ANA is here to revive writing – Uka

ITREALMS:

The current Vice president of the Association of Nigerian Authors who is also the national coordinator of the association’s National Young Writers Scheme, Mr. Camilus Uka has said that the association is determined to revive writing among Nigerian youths, reports ITRealms.

A press statement he issued in Owerri, the capital of Imo state, Uka said that one of the important projects on the association’s agenda is the revitalization of ANA cells in tertiary institutions across the country.

“The National Young Writers Scheme was established by Denja led ANA presidency last year. It was set up with the major aim of giving young writers the opportunity of enjoying the mentorship from established writers, in addition to having their writings published and read by their mates and others at the young age. It is also an avenue of enhancing, mentoring  and honing their literary skills irrespective of tribe, color, gender, religion and sect.

“The Association has many branches or cells in different tertiary institutions across the country. Some are still functioning while others ceased to exist but we have plans to revive the ceased cells. It is part of our agenda under this scheme next year”.

To supervise and coordinate the scheme, ANA President, Mr. Denja Abdulahi last year appointed a seven-man committee, headed by ANA VP, Mr. Camilus Uka, Khalid Imam, Sueedie Vershima Agema, Wole Adedoyin, Halima Aliyu, Ekaette George and Amarachi Attamah as members.

Uju. N. Dominic/GEE

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Ezekwesili leads Ekpo, Baru, Kuru, Olagunju to Realnews Fifth Lecture

ITREALMS:

The Realnews Magazine and Publications Limited will hold its fifth Anniversary Lecture on Thursday, November 16, 2017, reports ITRealms.

The lecture entitled: “African Leadership in a Turbulent Era” which will be delivered by Dr. (Mrs) Oby Ezekwesili, former Nigerian minister of education, will take place at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, by 10 am prompt.  

 Ezekwesili, former vice president of the World Bank and co-founder of Transparency International, was last week, appointed democracy ambassador by the Swedish-based International Institute for Electoral Assistance, International IDEA.  She is the first female to give the Realnews Anniversary Lecture series.

The Lecture will be chaired by Professor Akpan Hogan Ekpu, director general of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management, WAIFEM.

Immediately after the lecture, a panel of discussants will leverage on the topic to speak on how leadership crisis is affecting different sectors in Nigeria and the way forward. The panellists are Mr. Ahmed Kuru, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, executive director, Bank of Industry, BOI, and Dr. Maikanti Baru, group managing director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. Both the lecturer and all of the panellists have confirmed their attendance at the event.

Realnews choice of topic in 2017, according Maureen Chigbo, publisher/Editor, is informed by emerging global trend, especially the emergence of Mr. Donald Trump, as America’s 45th President, with Russia and China increasingly wielding more influence on Africa. “There is also the looming threat of nuclear war in the Korean peninsula. This is coming at a time when African countries are struggling with ceaseless political and socio-economic turbulence, high youth unemployment and hundreds if not thousands of young people from the continent perishing in the Mediterranean Sea on perilous journeys to Europe in search of so-called greener pastures.

“From South Sudan where warlords appear bent on disintegrating the country, to the lingering Boko Haram insurgency in West and Central Africa, coupled with a rash of uprising by separatist groups including the Niger Delta militants and Independent People of Biafra in Nigeria and the increasing wave of terrorism in other parts of Africa, the prognosis looks bleak, to say the least,” she said.

Chigbo said that after the panel and interactive session, there will be an investiture into the prestigious Realnews Hall of Fame, exclusively reserved for only Guest Speakers, Discussants, Realnews Book Reviewers and Chairpersons at our Anniversary Lecture Series.  Former inductees into the Realnews Hall of Fame are Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, United Nations Special Representative to West Africa and Sahel; Mr. Alex Cummings, Liberian Presidential Candidate; Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps; Ibrahim Idris, Nigerian Inspector General of Police; Alhaji Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, founder and chief executive officer, Alpine Investments Ltd, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Professor Maurice Iwu, former chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mr. Roberts Orya, managing director/chief executive officer of the Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM), Dr. Ngozi Anyaegbunam, president, Media World, Mr. Benjamin Dikki, Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises and Professor Joe. I. Ezigbo, Managing Director, Falcon Corporation Limited.

“They (inductees) all played key roles during our anniversary Lectures and the induction into the Realnews Hall of Fame is just a token of our appreciation for the honour they did to Realnews Magazine and Publications Limited,” said Chigbo, publisher/editor of Realnews.

Realnews, she said, is a general interest magazine and an online publication thrives on investigative journalism debuted November 19, 2012. It focuses on oil and gas sector with its attendant environmental challenges as well as issues relating to business and economy, politics, power, health, women and youth. Its aim is to unearth exclusive stories about real people and the challenges they are facing in their day-to-day activities. It does this bearing in mind that government can only act to influence the lives of people positively if they are aware of their true situation. Hence, its objective is to use its investigative skills to ferret out information in the sectors it focuses on and produce an unbiased report which will actually influence the government and decision makers to take actions that will make the society better.

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Yudala storms Ikorodu, Ajah, Festac, Agege for offline Black Friday deals

Sponsored@ITREALMS: 

In line with its Yu Live Well promise, Yudala has finalized plans to storm major locations within the Lagos metropolis every weekend from November 11th, bringing the amazing deals lined up for its Mega Black Friday promotion tagged 11/11-12/12 to the doorsteps of millions of Nigerians in these locations while its online platform will take orders 24 hours to meet the needs of Nigerians this season.

The locations include Ikorodu, Trade Fair Complex in Alaba, Ajah, Mafoluku, Agege, Shomolu, Ajao Estate, Iyana Ipaja, Ejigbo, Festac, among others.

The strategy, according the Head of Offline Retail, Ms. Oyeronke Atoyebi is to reach the unreached and under-served members of the public.

Equipped with a mobile store, two 40-feet trucks and buses accompanied by dancers, music and digital entertainment; the Yudala 11/11-12/12 Offline Mega Black Friday train will visit each identified location on Saturdays with an eye-catching line-up of genuine products at the best prices unmatched in the marketplace, with shoppers in line to enjoy bundled offers, raffle draws, freebies and other special giveaways at each venue.

The massive movement kicks off this Saturday November 11th 2017 at Sara Stadium, Festac town and Trade Fair Complex at Ojo Alaba simultaneously by 9am to 5pm, with other locations expected to experience the shopping frenzy on succeeding Saturdays.

On Saturday November 18th 2017, it will be the turn of Agege and Ita Ilewa, Ikorodu to enjoy the Yudala 11/11-12/12 deals galore while Saturday, November 25th will see the action move to the Ajah Complex in Ajah and the Sports Complex in Iyana-Ejigbo.

For residents in Shomolu and Gowon Estate in Iyana-Ipaja, Saturday December 2nd will see Yudala storm both locations simultaneously from 9am while the following weekend, Saturday December 8th will be the turn of eager shoppers in Ajao/Mafoluku and Ojodu-Berger to take advantage of the massive promotion.

Among the wide-ranging categories of products lined up for shoppers are Home Appliances, Computing, Electronics, Mobile devices, Gaming, Lifestyle/Consumer Goods, Power Solutions, Food, Wines/Spirits, among others.

For millions of Nigerians caught up in their weekly busy schedules, this is a unique opportunity to enjoy the loads of amazing offers lined up for the 11/11-12/12 Mega Black Friday promotion for which Yudala has boldly claimed to have the best prices for genuine products nationwide.

“Our mantra at Yudala is Yu Live Well, so we are offering you a chance to live the good life by bringing our 11/11-12/12 Black Friday deals to the comfort of your homes. So, we urge you to choose the good life. Remember, you can only get guaranteed genuine products at the best prices this Black Friday at Yudala. If you find a lower price for a genuine product, we will refund the difference,” noted Atoyebi Oyeronke, Head of Offline Retail at Yudala.

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InsuranceMarket kits practitioners with digital skills

ITRealms:

An insurance industry focused technology company, InsuranceMarket, has commencement series of training programmes for insurance practitioners in Nigeria on e-Insurance, reports ITRealms.

The Executive Chairman of InsuranceMarket, Engr. Lanre Ajayi, said at the kick-off of the exercise in Lagos that the training is a follow-up to the successful hosting of the maiden edition of the e-Insurance conference and clamour by a number of people in the insurance industry for a deeper understanding of the application of e-Insurance to insurance business growth.

Ajayi also said the workshop is focused on an aspect of e-Insurance that enables the use of Information Technology for the creation, promotion and marketing of Insurance Products.

According to Ajayi, at the end of the training, participants are expected to acquire the skills to migrate their operations online. Stressing that the training will equip them with the capacity to create and enlist Insurance products online, integrate various e-Payment gateways, including credit/debit cards, drive traffic to their products and grow sales through adoption affiliate program and promotional programs, like discount codes and coupons.

He further said that the training is targeted at all staff of insurance companies, particularly staff from Underwriting, Marketing, Risk management, IT departments to enable them master how to market their company’s insurance products through digital channels like social media, email marketing and blogs.

He also said participating insurance companies would be offered free enrollment on InsuranceMarket.ng, an online insurance products trading platform, where products from various companies are made available to the buying public.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Paradigm condemns Nigeria attempts to clamp online newspapers

ITREALMS:

Paradigm Initiative has expressed serious concern over alleged Federal Government’s secret attempts to block the domain names of several identified websites accused of threatening national security in Nigeria. These attempts are an unacceptable violation of constitutionally and globally guaranteed rights of expression and information.

According to a report published in the Nigerian Tribune, the Federal Government is alleged to be currently carrying out this operation through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), ostensibly hiding behind Section 146 of the NCC Act 2003. The section, which provides generally on the duties of a network licensee to assist the Commission in preserving national security and preventing the commission of a crime, must not be used by the Federal Government to intimidate online news providers and infringe on their rights.

As said by Paradigm Initiative’s Program Manager Magoyi (ICT Policy), Adeboye Adegoke, “Section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria expressly provides that every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides similarly that everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice”

While commenting on the development, Paradigm Initiative’s Director of Programs, Tope Ogundipe says that “whatever process is underway by the influence of the NCC and the NSA would result in a violation of the Constitution and should, therefore, be halted. The Federal Government should desist from covert acts as such and should instead release a list of such sites purportedly threatening national security and follow the due course of the law in handling this matter transparently.”

Mrs Ogundipe further states that in an already declining society which pays minimal regard to the freedom of expression and press freedom, a dangerous precedent would be set if the NCC goes ahead with this plan to restrict access to certain websites in the Nigerian Cyberspace.

While speaking further on the development, Program Manager, Magoyi (ICT Policy), Adeboye Adegoke said that, “The right to receive information and the right to give information is expressly codified in legal instruments recognized in Nigeria and so it would be sheer defiance by the NCC to attempt to make a derogation in such a manner.”

Paradigm Initiative has noted the denial of this censorship plan by the Minister of Communications, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu, stating that he was not aware of any plan by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) to gag online newspapers. The Honourable Minister should go a step further to investigate this claim and make a commitment to press freedom and unhindered internet freedom. On its part, Paradigm Initiative will continue to monitor the development and will deploy every legitimate advocacy tools to get to the root of it in ensuring that fundamentally guaranteed rights of citizens are safeguarded.

Ogo Nebenanya/GEE

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Crisis in Cross River PDP: National Assembly caucus tackles Gov. Ayade

ITREALMS:

Indications are rife over unhealthy crisis in the Cross River State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over claims by the state’s National Assembly Caucus of highhandedness and non-inclusive congresses by Governor Ben Ayade, reports ITRealms.

The lawmakers from the state in a letter to the National Chairman of the PDP dated October 12, 2017 warned that unless something urgently is done to remedy the situation, the party stands a poor chance in the 2019 elections.

The letter signed by nine legislators led by Senator Rose Oko (Cross River North) accused the governor of hijacking the state congresses to the exclusion of stakeholders.

“We bring to your attention the state of the structure of the PDP in Cross River State. The 2016 party congresses ostensibly saw the election of new officials for the state, local government area and ward executive officers for the party. There was however an aberration in the manner the congresses were done, as it excluded party stakeholders and elders across the state that became tantamount to a selection rather than an election. The implication of this is that there is now a general apathy (sic) and despondency among party members in the state, most of whom have felt the need to move out of the party to other parties, and indeed have done so,” the petition reads.

The aggrieved lawmakers stated that despite several meetings with the governor and which had in attendance Sen. Ben Obi, National Secretary of the PDP, former Governor Liyel Imoke and the three senators from the state, Ayade had remained unmoved to make the process more inclusive and transparent.

According to them, Senator Owan Enoh decamped to the APC for the non-inclusive congress, fearing that if the situation is not addressed, members of the party could leave for other parties.

The petition was signed by Senator Rose Oko, Senator Gershom Bassey, Hon. Ayibe Ngoro, Hon. Bassey Eko Ewa, and Hon. Daniel Asuquo.

Others include, Hon. Eja Mbora, Hon. Jarigbe Agom, Hon. Essien Ayi and Hon. Legor Idagbo.  

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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AFRICMIL belittles FMBN over refusal to reinstate whistleblowers

ITREALMS:

The African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) has belittled the management of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) over refusal to reinstate whistleblowers, reports ITRealms.

FMBN, ITRealms gathered had refused to comply with the directive of Mr. Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, ordering the immediate reinstatement of two officers who were unjustly punished for blowing the whistle on corruption at the bank.

ITRealms also gathered that Mr. Murtala Ibrahim, Head of Special Investigation/ICT in the Audit Department was sacked on May 8, 2017, while his boss, Mr. Taslim Anibaba, Head of Internal Audit department, was placed on indefinite suspension on August 25, 2017.

Reacting to the situation, the Coordinator of AFRICMIL, Chido Onumah, told ITRealms these gentlemen committed no crime other than refusing to be coerced to cover up a doctored 2016 half-year financial report and other mind-boggling acts of corruption in the bank, including the N2.2billion contract for the renovation of Mamman Kontagora building.

“The bank used the manipulated 2016 financial report to fraudulently earn the commendation of Mr. Fashola, the supervising minister of the institution who was misled into believing that the bank recorded profits in the stated period when in fact it recorded a loss,” he said.

Accordingly, Fashola had ordered an investigation of the case and issued an order of immediate reinstatement of Messers Murtala Ibrahim and Taslim Anibaba but the management of FMBN has brazenly flouted the minister’s directives, refusing to reinstate the sacked and suspended staff while offering no explanation.

“It is unfortunate that the bank has refused to obey the minister’s directive. We view this as an act of gross insubordination and grave insult to the person and office of the Honourable Minister of Power, Works and Housing,” Onumah noted.

He said the bank’s attitude constitutes serious threat not only to the successful implementation of the whistleblower policy, but also endangers the anti-corruption campaign of the current administration.

Onumah reiterated the need to ensure the safety and protection of whistleblowers, adding that if people do not get protection they are not likely to report wrongdoings. This, he said, would render the whistleblower policy ineffective.

Ayo Midele/GEE

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Durex, PPFN sign deal on sexual health

RB Durex in partnership with PPFN on sexual health...: NaijaAgroNet : In accordance with RB’s continuous commitment to being a socially responsible organization, RB Durex has signed an agree...

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

I'm will unseating Obiano - ACPN candidate declares

ITREALMS:

The candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) in Anambra State governorship election, Comrade Akunwata Ejoh Ojiba has said he was not in doubt of being elected as governor of the state on November 18, 2017, reports ITRealms.

He made the declaration while speaking with some supporters and canvassers involved in the parties door-to-door campaign in Ogbaru local government of the state. 

He was accompanied by his running mate, Mrs. Angel Onyinye Ebele; the state party coordinator, Comrade Sam Anumba, and other party executives. 

Comrade Ojiba said "I am not in doubt of being in government house. The government will be yours and you will have access to the government house to make your needs known to the government at all times. 

Also speaking at Okija in Ihiala local government when he visited young people at different locations in the area, Comrade Ojiba noted that "What is happening in Anambra is frightening. When you are sponsored in an election here, your sponsor will now nominate 15 commissioners while the governor will nominate only five. 

"At the end of the day, can you have the courage to tell the commissioners that they are not doing well? Can you sack him? The answer is no", he observed. 

According to him, "The problem in Anambra state is not lack of funds. There is enough money to work for the people but the obstacle to development in Anambra state is sharing of the state resources at the godfather's table every month", he lamented, disclosing that he has no godfather except the God Head. 

Explaining that governance is very simple, he noted that the governor is a supervisor-general; he is the administrator-general. He is to delegate and supervise to make sure that job is done to specifications. 

"For him to know your most important needs, you must have access to him. So, you should have access to your governor. The government house will be open to you."' he said. 

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What Operation Lafiya Dole troops told Buhari, Buratai

Commentary@ITREALMS:

Members of the Nigerian troops in north eastern part of the country under the operation tag, ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’ have written an emotional letter to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai in response to his recent letter  to  the team.

The army chief had in a recent letter sent to the troops in the battle field encouraged them never to give up on their quest to bring back lasting peace to the volatile region.

Buratai subsequently promised to off-set the two months’ allowances owed soldiers involved in Operation Lafiya Dole.

The troops in the letter on Monday evening asserted that the COAS’ recent letter to them in the battle field was a boost to their muscles.

The letter jointly signed by Pte Samson Okwudili, Sgt. Aliyu Bala, WO2 Bode O. Ola assured president Buhari and the army chief that the  troops won’t relent until the battle over insurgency is  totally won.

The letter reads:

“Sir, on behalf of Nigerian troops of the “Operation Lafiya Dole,” we acknowledge with joy, the receipt of your endearing letter of encouragement, commendation and assurances to the Nigerian Army troops on special assignments’ within and outside Nigeria, dated, November 5, 2017.

“Similarly, we are extending our heartfelt appreciation to the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, President Muhammadu  Buhari (GCFR) and the Minister of Defence, Gen. Monsur Dan. Ali (rtd) for their endless support and encouragement of the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian military generally in the face of the daunting and multifarious insecurity challenges confronting our dear country, Nigeria.

“We also, seize this unique opportunity to send our special salute to you, the Corps Commanders and Commanders of Nigerian Army Training Institutions in Nigeria.

 “Sir, we cannot conceal our excitement over the good news conveyed by your letter to us at the warfront. We are disarmed and encouraged by the soothing words of encouragement, commendations and assurances from your splendid and patriotic leadership of the Nigerian Army in the last two years.  We dare say, your mail to us is timely, comforting and a morale booster to greater determination and result-orientated military expeditions by the troops of “Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduiguri.

“We cannot pretend that your humble message to us has enlivened our spirits and energized our strengths to unfathomable depths. It has again,   reactivated our sense of patriotism, loyalty, commitment and rededication to our professional duties. We are indeed motivated and in high spirits to defiantly pursue the cause of the defence of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our beloved country,  Nigeria, by ensuring the  final termination of Boko Haram Terrorism and other sects of  armed local conflicts  afflicting the nation.

“Sir, may you be informed that troops are not unmindful of the tendency of insurgents to attempt a bounce back anytime to undermine the successes so far recorded by the military in the counter-insurgency operations. We are not unaware that some unscrupulous elements within and without, may set out to mastermind such aberrations’ by sowing seeds of discord among troops and their commanders.

“Please, you have our assurances, never to neither let you down or allow terrorism in whatever guise sprout or fester in any part of the country. We are prepared never to accept unwholesome influence in our fold, until collectively; the final song of victory against terrorists is chorused.

“We further wish to specially acknowledge you, our Chief Commander and   COAS, for your sterling leadership qualities and purposeful leadership of the Nigerian Army. We have all come to know you as not just as astute leader of Nigerian troops, but a reformist, performer, comforter, a humanist, a welfarist, an exceptional officer.

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