Shame to NBC for shutting down AIT, Raypower says NGE - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) hereby condemns in very strong terms the indefinite suspension of the licences of the African Independent Television, AIT, and Ray Power by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), reports ITREALMS.

The two stations belonged to Daar Communications Limited.

The Guild demands in clear terms the revocation of the suspension order as it runs contrary to the ideals of free speech and the fine tenets of press freedom. This is a case of Executive highhandedness and it paints our dear country in the darkest tar of dictatorship.

The Fourth Estate of the Realm remains the watchdog of society and any attempt to gag it in any guise is an affront on democracy and the people. The NBC must and should rescind this ignoble and despicable decision.

The Guild strongly believes the NBC action is  a draconian forms of regulation, being out of tune with democratic principles.

The Guild through its President, Funke Egbomode and Secretary Mary Atolagbe, is concerned about the violation of the  constitutional rights of DAAR Communications and absence of media freedom, independence and the stifling of operations of media outfits which are preforming their roles as the watchdog of the Nigerian society.

The NGE condemns in strong terms the barbaric crackdown on the broadcast outfit and demands immediate cessation of this atrocious repression and excessive show of power by the NBC, whose duty is to regulate and not kill the media.

Muzzling the media and throwing thousands of Nigerians into the already saturated labour market should not be the trophy for good corporate governance of a regulator; it is something to be ashamed of and NBC should be ashamed at its action in a fledgling democracy in the 21st Century.

The Guild is strongly of the opinion that the  NBC, in exercising its regulatory powers, should concentrate on implementing policies that will position Nigeria’s broadcasting to compete in the global spheres, rather than engage in witch-hunting and unnecessary show of excessive force.

The Guild hereby expresses its solidarity with the  AIT/Raypower family, urging the staff and management  to remain calm as the Guild liaises with  and other media professionals as well as well  meaning Nigerians  to get justice.

The NGE appeals to President Muhammadu Buhari, to use his good offices to call NBC to order.

It is to be recalled that NBC had, before the 2019 general election, shut down Joy FM in Jos for violations of the broadcasting code. Last year, the NBC shut down Ekiti Radio/TV station. Shutting down stations and withdrawing licences are too extreme in the circumstance. There must be humane and saner ways to resolve disputes bordering on violation of the Broadcasting Code.

Nenye Dom/Editor

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GOCOP urges NBC to reconsider stance on AIT, Raypower - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) has expressed grave worries over the sudden revocation of the operating licence of DAAR Communications, owners of African Independent Television and Ray Power FM, by the Federal Government, reports ITREALMS.

A press statement issued by its Publicity Secretary, Olumide Iyanda, and made available to ITREALMS, GOCOP urged the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to reconsider its stance in the interest of free press and Nigeria's growing democracy.

While GOCOP also advised all media practitioners to operate with every sense of responsibility, advising NBC to resolve its differences with DAAR Communications through dialogue, which it described as the most acceptable channel in a democracy.

In the light of the foregoing, GOCOP called on the Federal Government to mandate the NBC to rescind the decision against DAAR Communications in order to pave the way for dialogue.

It said despite the court order that AIT and Ray Power should be reopened, there is still the need for decorum to be the watchword of government agencies in taking decisions that will affect the lives of many and the country’s image abroad.

Chuks Egbune/Editor

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Media NGOs condemn suspension, urges NBC to reverse self immediately - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Three media sector non-governmental organizations today condemned yesterday’s suspension by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) of the broadcast licence of Daar Communications Limited, owners of the African Independent Television (AIT), Ray Power FM radio and Faaji FM radio, describing the Commission’s action as unwarranted, unjust, and a violation of the right to freedom of expression and media freedom.

In their joint statement in Lagos signed by Mr. Edetaen Ojo, Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda (MRA); Mr. Lanre Arogundade, Director of the International Press Centre (IPC); and Mr. Richard Akinnola, Director of the Media Law Centre (MLC), the organizations accused the NBC of constituting itself into the accuser of Daar Communications, the prosecutor and the judge, in violation of the rules of natural justice and the right to fair hearing.

Announcing the suspension of Daar Communications’ broadcast license at a press briefing in Abuja on June 6, Mr. Is’haq Modibo Kawu, the NBC Director General, accused AIT/Raypower of embarking on the use of inflammatory, divisive, inciting broadcasts, and media propaganda against the government and the Commission.

Mr. Kawu said: “Recently, NBC monitoring reports on AIT and Raypower indicate the use of divisive comments accredited to the segment of Kakaaki, tagged, ‘Kakaaki Social’ where inciting comments like, ‘Nigeria is cursed,’ ‘we declare independent state of Niger Delta’, ‘Nigeria irritates me’, ‘this country is gradually Islamising’ and other similar slogans are used without editorial control in breach of the broadcast Code.”

But the media NGOs disagreed, arguing that the content referred to by the NBC does not violate any legitimate international professional broadcast media standard as the comments are not hate speeches and are not inciting.

They stressed that it is not the role of a broadcast regulator to protect a government from scrutiny or criticism, adding that by seeking to shield the government from embarrassment contrary to acceptable standards of media regulation, the NBC had become too partisan, thereby exacerbating its obvious lack of independence and concerned only with ingratiating itself with the political party in power.

The media NGOs expressed concern that the NBC as currently constituted is obviously being held hostage by the government with its immediate past Chief Executive Officer and the current Director-General both facing trial on charges of corruption under this same government, adding “under these circumstances, it is difficult to see how the Commission can perform its functions independently, fearlessly and with credibility when it continues to operate under such a cloud.”

They argued that the role of the media is to serve as the marketplace of ideas with a clear responsibility under Section 22 of the Constitution to hold the government accountable to the people and provide the government with unvarnished feedback from members of the public who rely on the media to express their views on all issues relating to the management of their affairs..

They described the NBC’s action as an attempt to muzzle the media and unduly restrict freedom of expression, adding that it is unacceptable for the Commission to attempt to punish a media organization for providing feedback to the government from members of the public by airing opinions which though potentially embarrassing to the government, were not illegal or prohibited under any law.

The organizations contended that even if the NBC was correct in its claim that the airing of certain content in a single programme on AIT was wrong, that could not justify the closing down of the entire station and other sister radio stations which had not been accused of any wrongdoing.

They called on the NBC to immediately reverse its decision by lifting the suspension of the broadcast license of Daar Commission, saying if it failed to do so within one week, they would approach the court to enforce their right to receive information and ideas through the media under section 39 of the Constitution.

Nenye Dom/Editor

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Sophos acquires Rook Security to managed detection, response - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Global leader in network and endpoint security, Sophos, has acquired Rook Security, a pioneer and leader in managed detection and response (MDR) services, reports ITREALMS.

The Rook Security, ITREALMS gathered, provides a 24/7 team of cyberthreat hunters and incident response experts who monitor, hunt for, analyze and respond to security incidents for businesses of all sizes.

The privately-owned company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind.

Sophos is creating re-sellable MDR services by combining Rook Security’s threat detection, investigation and response capabilities with its recently acquired DarkBytes technology platform.

As a channel-first, channel-best security provider, Sophos will deliver the new MDR services through its network of approximately 47,000 channel partners worldwide.

“Cybercriminals are relentlessly trying to exploit organizations with techniques ranging from tried-and-true phishing emails to the more recent trend of ‘hacker pen-testing’ to find weaknesses in their surface area. As a result, businesses need 24/7 monitoring and management of what is happening on their network, yet many of them do not have the expertise, can’t keep up or don’t have the security teams in-house to optimally configure and manage security around-the-clock,” said the Chief Technology Officer at Sophos, Joe Levy. “With MDR, Sophos’ channel partners will be able to provide businesses of all sizes with expert services that continuously detect, hunt for and respond to security incidents.”

In addition, Sophos plans to align its synchronized security technology and product portfolio with Rook Security’s 24/7 services for MDR customers.

Rook Security experts will also be able to review these customer security postures to ensure optimal policy configurations for Sophos products across estates.

“Rook Security provides managed detection and response services to detect and eliminate cyber threats. Through threat hunting and data analytics, Rook Security’s experts rapidly detect and mitigate active attacks,” said the Founder and CEO, Rook Security, J.J. Thompson. “We are excited to bring our experts and service delivery innovation to Sophos, a global leader in next-generation cybersecurity. Together, we can implement faster, more effective threat detection and response capabilities to better protect businesses.”

Shell expands domestic gas distribution in Nigeria - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG), the country’s first and wholly-owned subsidiary of an international oil company involved in domestic gas distribution in Nigeria, increased its gas distribution capacity by over 150 per cent following the safe completion of its second gas train, the Agbara-Ota Capacity Increase Project, reports ITREALMS.

The world class facility enables SNG and its partners to achieve regular gas supply to subscribed industries in Ogun State while efforts are ongoing to reach more states.

Managing Director, SNG, Ed Ubong, said, “Apart from increasing the distribution capacity in existing states where it operates, SNG is maturing opportunities to expand its gas distribution network to new states. On completion of its expansion projects, over 1,000 megawatts equivalent of energy will be directly supplied to various industrial parks and manufacturing companies in Nigeria.”

Ubong spoke with journalists at the recent media launch of the 2019 edition of the Shell in Nigeria Briefing Notes, an annual publication detailing the activities of the business interests of the global energy giant in Nigeria covering Shell Nigeria Gas, The Shell Petroleum Development Company, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company and the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company.

SNG completed the first phase of its pipeline expansion in Abia State, connecting manufacturing industries in the Osisioma area directly to pipeline gas. It will also deliver pipeline gas to the IPP consortium that provides electricity to the popular Ariaria market in Abia State – one of the largest open stall markets in West Africa, with over 37,000 shops. The 1st Phase of the Ariaria IPP project commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 currently provides electricity to over 4,000 shops.

Ubong said, “Shell as a leading energy company is committed to supporting the Federal government’s aspiration to grow the domestic gas market, making domestic infrastructure investments under the right commercial conditions and continuing to birth domestic gas projects that will be major game-changers in Nigeria’s quest for cleaner energy sufficiency, industrialisation and economic growth.

SNG currently supplies natural gas to over 100 industrial and commercial customers, mostly in Ogun, Abia, and Rivers States. This drives industrialisation, providing employment for the skilled and unskilled local population in addition to directly improving internally generated revenues in these states, he said.

In 2017, SNG entered into an agreement with the Rivers State Government for the distribution of gas to industries in the Greater Port Harcourt area and its environs. In 2018, it explored opportunities to distribute gas to the Lagos State Government as part of the embedded power ‘Lights Up Lagos’ initiative. Efforts are on-going through partnerships to develop opportunities for natural gas distribution to wholesale and retail customers in Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki and Epe areas of Lagos area.

He said, “This year, in collaboration with the Nigerian Content Development & Management Board and the Bayelsa State Government, SNG has signed commercial agreements with customers to supply gas to industrial clusters and parks in Bayelsa State, close to the SPDC JV Gbaran Ubie world class gas facility. Agreements have also been signed for offtake of the Assa North gas project in Imo State”.

SNG has implemented various social and community development projects covering education, community health, road safety and livelihood in areas of its operations, donating and renovating schools, providing information communications technology centres, equipping science laboratories and launching Road Safety Education and Awareness campaigns.

With a reputation for safety, credibility and reliability, SNG has maintained a 14-year streak of successful ISO 14001 certification and recently achieved 10 years of operating without any lost time injuries.

Uboshe Uboshe/Editor

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Breaking News: Instagram launches new data saving features for users - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Starting today, Instagram has launched a new feature designed to help users continue to enjoy the content they love on Instagram while reducing the amount of data used on Andriod phone, reports ITREALMS.

With this opt-in mode for Android only, Instagram users could view their favorite content on Instagram with reduced image loading time, by reducing the amount of data that Instagram uses on mobile phone.
ITREALMS gathered that how it works entails that "You’ll now have three customizable options when for viewing high-resolution media and pre-loading videos. Go to "Settings," then "Account," then "Cellular Data Use” – and then you will be able to turn this setting on, which will prevent the loading of videos and high-resolution media in advance. Once this setting is enabled, you’ll be able to choose among three options for how Instagram will show you high-resolution media including "Never," "Wi-Fi Only," and "Cellular + Wi-Fi".

Further, ITREALMS gathered that users know that people have different data usage patterns and plans, "so our hope with this new feature is to give more people the ability to connect with the people and interests they love on Instagram and provide an uninterrupted Instagram browsing experience to people in slow internet areas, while using less data. 

"This feature will be globally available on Android in the coming days. More info in the Instagram Help Centre.

Chuks Egbune/Editor

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NGE condoles Eniola Bello over wife's death - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has condoled with the Managing Director, ThisDay newspaper, Mr. Eniola Bello, over the death of his wife, late Mrs. Helen Eniola-Bello in London, reports ITREALMS.

A condolence letter to Bello signed by the NGE President, Mrs. Funke Egbemode, said the Guild received with shock and disbelief the news of the demise of “your loving wife, Mrs Helen Eniola Bello in London.”

NGE also said, “We commiserate with you and your entire family on this unfortunate and traumatic incident. Our thoughts and prayers are with you, even as we take solace in the Lord, who loves her more than we mortals and called her home to be with Him.

“We pray to Almighty God to comfort you and give the entire family the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss. Please, accept our heartfelt sympathies.”

Ayo Midele/Editor

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ITU, UNU, Global e-Waste partner on comparable data - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Global E-waste Statistics Partnership has launched globalewaste.org to help address global e-waste challenge
comparable national data on e-waste is to help track progress towards global e-waste legislation and recycling goals, reports ITREALMS.

ICT for Sustainable Development
​​​​​​​​​​​The Global E-waste Statistics Partnership, of which the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a founding member, has launched globalewaste.org, an open source portal that visualises e-waste data and statistics globally, by region and by country, for policy-makers, industry, academia and the public.

Discarded equipment, such as phones, laptops, fridges, sensors and TVs are referred to as e-waste. E-waste contains substances that pose considerable environmental and health risks, especially if treated inadequately.

On the other hand, e-waste presents an opportunity worth over 62.5 billion dollars per year if treated through appropriate recycling chains and methods, with the potential of creating millions of decent new jobs worldwide.

On globalewaste.org, users can access e-waste data from Global and Regional E-waste Monitors for most countries on Earth. Data include: the amount of e-waste generated in total and per capita and discarded prior to any collection, reuse, treatment, or export; the amount of e-waste formally collected in total and per capita and regulated by environmental protection laws specifically designed for e-waste; and e-waste legislation by country, where applicable.

“Reliable and official data and statistics on e-waste provide the foundation for sound e-waste legislation and management at the national level," said Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary-General.

“To date, 41 countries report compiling comparable national statistics on e-waste. Better e-waste data will help track progress towards global ITU e-waste targe​ts[1] that Member States have set for 2023. With its extensive private-public membership, ITU is pleased to be part of the Global E-waste Statistics Partnership, and the new portal is a vital step towards addressing the e-waste challenge."

The Global E-waste Statistics Partnership comprises ITU, the United Nations University (UNU) and the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA).

“Our research and advocacy on sustainable e-waste practices are helping to place this issue on the global political agenda, but more action is needed to stem the ever-increasing tide of e-waste," said David Malone, United Nations Under-Secretary-General, Rector of the United Nations University. “We need to develop innovative e-waste policies, establish and monitor waste-reduction targets, and forge new multi-stakeholder partnerships for action including with the private sector. We hope the Global E-waste Statistics Partnership and the new interactive online platform will support these needed next steps."

Antonis Mavropoulos, President of the International Solid Waste Association said, “ISWA welcomes the new globalewaste.org portal as the next step for the development and the increase of the added value of the Global E-Waste Statistics Partnership. We hope that this new initiative will further stimulate the on-going efforts to tackle the e-waste challenge and drive resource recovery policies and activities towards a circular economy in the IT industry." He added, “we know that our capacity to deliver sound e-waste management is also measure of our response to the new waste streams that are already delivered by IND4.0, thus, we consider that the Global E-Waste Statistics Partnership demonstrates a role model for other industrial sectors, too."

Latest estimates[2] show that the world now discards approximately 50 million tonnes of e-waste per year, greater in weight than all of the commercial airliners ever made or enough Eiffel towers to fill Manhattan. Only 20 per cent is formally recycled.

The portal globalewaste.org also details how countries can be supported through capacity building activities of the Global E-waste Statistics Partnership to enhance e-waste data collection.

Increase the global e-waste recycling rate to 30 per cent and raise the percentage of countries with an e-waste legislation to 50 per cent.

Remmy Nweke/DoP

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Waida, Gitagama join IPI board for Africa - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Nigerian and Kenyan candidates have been elected into the International Press Institute (IPI) Board at the just concluded 2019 IPI World Congress in Geneva, Switzerland for Africa, reports ITREALMS.

The publisher People’s Daily Newspaper, and Chairman, Board of Management, News Agency Of Nigeria (NAN) Alhaji Maida Waida and the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Nation Media Group, Kenya, Stephen  Gitagama were elected to represent Africa on the board of the International Press Institute (IPI), reports ITREALMS. 

Specifically, for Nigeria, Alhaji Wada replaced Mallam Kabiru Yusuf, who was hitherto on the board.

ITREALMS correspondent in Geneva also reports that the General Assembly of IPI ratified the election of  Maria  Ressa of Rappler.com into the new Board and nine journalists were re-elected from Slovakia, Norway, South Korea, United Kingdom, Turkey, Germany, Japan, Spain and Switzerland into the board. 

ITREALMS gathered that earlier, the Chairman Board of Management, Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Mallam Ismail Isa and Alhaji Kabiru Yusuf were sighted rallying support for the Nigerian candidate ahead of the opening ceremony and General Assembly of IPI at the UN headquarters in Geneva.

The new Management Board Of IPI are expected to work assiduously towards the goal of Press Freedom and add values to the ideals of the global media organization in their countries and the collective across the world. 

The Assembly approved the entry of  Tanzania and Czech Republic into IPI community and equally accepted resolutions on press freedom in Egypt as well as the abuse on Espionage Act over Wikileaks case. It condemned in strong terms all charges under the Espoinage Act against Julian Assange. 

The General Assembly further agreed to issue statements on the Freedom of the Press and Journalists harassment as well as intimidation of Journalists in Cameroon and Sudan. 

It observed a minute silence in honour of two IPI heroes who died recently in South Africa and South Korea, namely Raymond Louw and S-Whan Hyon respectively.

The Nigerian delegates to the 2019 IPI World Congress was led  by Mallam Kabiru Yusuf, Managing Director/CEO cum Board member Daily Trust Newspaper and President, IPI Nigeria. 

Others were Alhaji Wada Maina, Former Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Sir Folu Olamiti , Former Editor Nigerian Tribune Newspapers  and Media  Consultant,  Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, Alhaji Muhammed Idris , Publisher Blue Print Newspapers , Steve Ayorinde,Former Lagos state Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr. Qasim Akinreti, Chairman Nigeria Union Of Journalists, Lagos State Council, Muhammed Mustapha Shehu, Publisher The Politico Magazine, Eniola Bello, Managing Director THISDAY newspapers and Osawaru Okunzuwa, MD Community Media based in Benin, Edo State. 

IPI World Congress 2019 was supported by over 20 media organizations including European Broadcasting Union, EBU Channels Television, Nigeria and Aljazeera Media Network among others. 

10 presentations were made based on the theme of the Congress “ Building Alliances For Independent Media" while two  awards on World Press Freedom Hero 2019 and Free Media Pioneer Award  2019 were presented to Cyril Almeida, Columist and Assistant Editor , Dawn Pakistan and Lina Attalah, Co founderwand Editor in chief , Mada Masr, Egypt.

*Qasim Akinreti reporting from Geneva, Switzerland/Editor 

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Enugu massacre: Tragedy of Internal migration - Na...

Naija AgroNet: Enugu massacre: Tragedy of Internal migration - Na...: Feature@NaaijaAgroNet : In this piece, REMMY NWEKE, revisits the Enugu massacre of 2016 and called for justice for the victims forced into ... ... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

GSMA Innovation Fund for Agro digitisation debuts - ITREALMS

The GSMA Innovation Fund for Digitisation of Agricultural Value Chains

ITREALMS:

The GSMA Innovation Fund for Digitisation of Agricultural Value Chains has open for entries, reports ITREALMS.

The fund, ITREALMS gathered aims to scale digital solutions for the agricultural last mile and improve smallholders’ financial inclusion, livelihood and climate resilience.

The priorities of the fund is for enterprise services targeted at organisations (e.g. agribusiness, cooperatives, etc.) procuring from smallholders with the focus on those living on less than USD 2 per day.

Up to eight grants of £220,000 each are being made available to support projects of 24 months duration. In addition, the GSMA will provide in-kind support and consultancy to assist the development of business plans, and service implementation through market research, user-centric design, business intelligence, user-testing with agribusiness staff and smallholders.

ITREALMS gathered that grants are available across two categories of application, namely Mobile Money Driven Category and Data Driven Category.

Applications for funding across both categories, ITREALMS gathered are assessed through a two-stage application process.

"Concept Note: The first step will be to submit a Concept Note, which outlines the project objectives, lists proposed partners, demonstrates the consortium’s capacity to deliver the project and explains how the project fits within wider strategy of the business owner.

"Business Plan: A short-list of applicants whose Concepts Notes meet the objectives and eligibility requirements of the Fund will be invited to develop a Business Plan which will further outline the strategy for implementing and scaling the service; provide a budget projection with an indication of how the grant is to be spent, and a workplan for the 24 month implementation period.

All eligible applicants at Concept Note stage, irrespective of whether they ultimately receive grant under this Innovation Fund, will be invited to join the GSMA AgriTech Priority Learning Partners Initiative, where they will gain access to a number of knowledge sharing resources and events, including webinars on the topic of enterprise solutions for the last mile.

Further, ITREALMS gathered that submission of Concept Note applications by 31 July 2019 is ideal.

Video link:

Chuks Egbune/Editor

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Fayemi signs 8 bills into law - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, on Tuesday signed eight bills into law, including the Ekiti State Development and Investment Promotion Agency Law 2019, which is designed to attract investors to the state, reports ITREALMS.

Other laws that were assented to by the Governor were: the Ekiti State Administration of Civil Justice law 2019; Ekiti State Property Protection (Anti land grabbing law) 2019; College of Agriculture and Technology, Isan Ekiti Re-enactment Law 2019; Ekiti State Security Trust Fund Amendment Law 2019; 2019 Local Government Appropriation Law; Ekiti State Change of Government Official Logo Law 2019; and Ekiti State Waste Management Authority Repeal Law 2019.

The Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeniran Alagbada, accompanied by the Clerk and other members of the House presented the documents to the Governor for his assent, in what he described as the last assignment of the outgoing Assembly.

Speaking after signing the bills to law, Governor Fayemi emphasised the significance of each of the new laws, which according to him, were aimed at repositioning the state towards delivering benefits of democracy to the people.

“The Ekiti Development and investment promotion agency law for example, will enable us to utilize all of the resources that are at our disposal to interest those who want to help us restore Ekiti as a destination for investing into reality. The administration of civil justice law is actually the very first one in Nigeria, so you are making a history in that way. And this Assembly will go down in history as the pioneer of that bill.

“All of these laws are extremely important to help us as a state to toe the path of rule of law and to ensure that whatever we do we are doing it in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Dr Fayemi commended the lawmakers for their unrivalled cooperation and commitments to the course of Ekiti project since the inception of his administration in October last year, describing them as a group of very patriotic Ekiti sons and daughters, who put the interest of the state above partisan interest.

Describing the occasion as a valedictory ceremony for the lawmakers, Governor Fayemi said the robust relationship between the executive and the legislature was unparalleled in the history of the state, adding that he their legacy of service would stand the test of time, even as they bow out of office in lass than 24 hours.

The Governor said: “It gives me great pleasure to be at this altogether valedictory ceremony of the Ekiti State House of Assembly. History is made in different form, but I consider the partnership between the executive and the legislature in our state as an historic partnership. I have a lot to thank the honourable members for their extra-ordinary cooperation. I always say that the Ekiti party is quite different from the traditional party and you are all exemplar of the party.

“This is also unprecedented, I cannot recall any occasion in the last twenty years of our democratic experience where at one go we are signing into law eight bills at an occasion, we may have done four or five but not eight.

As you complete your assignment, in this last four years, I know that this is not the end of the road for you and I’m convinced giving the way that you have taking your assignment in the last seven to eight months of our partnership that the best is yet to come for all of you.” He said.

Earlier the Speaker of the House, Hon Alagbada, had lauded the Governor cordial relationship that exist between the executive and legislative arms of government in the state.

He said Governor Fayemi had demonstrated the spirit of statesmanship in handling the affairs of the state, adding that the governor provided conducive atmosphere for them to perform their statutory duties, hence their massive support for the administration.

The highpoint of the brief ceremony was the presence of four members of the House that were recently recalled from suspension following the Governor’s intervention. The four lawmakers, appreciated the Governor for his intervention which made it possible for them to join their colleagues for the concluding part of the fifth Assembly.

Ayo Midele/Editor

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Medallion, NOTAP advocate adoption of tech-trends to boost tourism - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Thought leaders from Medallion Communications Limited and the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) have advocated the adaption of latest technology trends to boost tourism, reports ITREALMS.

The two organisations in the private and public sector of Nigeria’s technology industry advocated for the deployment of technology in the nation’s tourism and travel space as a panacea for boosting businesses in the sector, reports ITREALMS.

In two separate keynote addresses delivered at the Maiden Edition of Tourism and Technology Summit held in Lagos, South West Nigeria, organised by Brandworld Media and  online technology news, TechnologyMirror, both noted the essence of technology in the tourism and travel business.

President/CEO of Medallion Communications Limited, Mr. Ike Nnamani, a telecoms engineer in his keynote address disclosed that technological advances has changed the way people travel, and these new innovations offers an interactive and exciting experience that were unprecedented.

Nnamani who was represented by the Chief Financial Officer of Medallion Communications, Mr. Olatunji Sulaiman said that the mobile technology has brought about the significant changes in revolutionising tourism and hospitality industry noting that mobile phone has become “our tour guide, travel agency, best restaurant locator and maps.”

According to him, the IoT promises to bring significant changes to the tourism industry saying, “They include integrating sensors connected to the internet items like cars, suitcases and luggage's, building and home equipment. All these enhance the security of the travelers which makes an holiday spent with relaxed minds.”

He also said with the virtual assistants technology insight into what the weathers brings exciting moments on vacations and that it is now it is possible to “teleport” to the most remote corners of the globe without getting off the couch.

Sulaiman stated that Medallion core business is to provide infrastructural support to enable stakeholders in the tourism and technology industries to tap into evolving business opportunities that all technological innovations require.

Delivering a keynote address on behalf of the Director-General, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Dr Dan-Azumi Ibrahim, his representative, the Principal Technology Officer of NOTAP, Mr John Omesili said that there were six trends to watch out for in the tourism industry.

He said that the six trends included: Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Voice Technology, Wi-Fi Connectivity and Wearable Devices.

He disclosed that Nigeria has the best brains around the world and it must use them stating the country could be the first to sell or franchise Virtual Reality software for the Digital Tourism in the world.

He added that the agency was working towards ensuring that all technologies in the country would run on Nigerian software saying that “Today using pay stack, we can directly charge cards and allow payments to be made to local businesses”.

“We have an online travel websites such as Wakanow and hotels-finding service, hotels.ng. These brands use software to run their businesses; they show how ICT and Tourism can work together to bring desirable products to the market place,” Ibrahim said.

Quoting GlobalData 2018 Report, Technology Trends in Travel and Tourism, he said that technology is fostering a change in the travel and tourism industry regarding how companies interact with customers.

“Consequently, travel companies are adopting various technologies to improve operational efficiencies and meet customers’ expectations at every stage of their journey,” he said.

The NOTAP boss said that Nigerians could leverage on these trends to create new realities in the tourism space and that using real time location sensors, the country could create digital experiences never imagined.

Also speaking Jemi-Alade,also the Chief Executive Officer, Jemi-Alade Associates Ltd., a Travel Agency, said that disruption by technology was forcing travel agencies to innovate or die.

According to him, technology is radically transforming the way travel and tourism business is conducted around the world, saying that Africa was not an exception.

“The rapid growth in the travel and tourism sector across regions of Africa is largely driven by technology and numerous initiatives across the continent to attract more tourists,’’ he said.

Jemi-Alade said that tourism industry players were beginning to realise that tourism and travel space had become a technological business and were adapting to the new reality.

“African countries are discovering the need to develop and market their tourism potential, and technology is making it easier and cheaper to promote destinations and showcase various tourism endowments.

“Technology has helped reduce operational costs, cost of travel and also simplified visa procurement systems.

“Sustainability of growth in the travel sector is dependent on the sector’s ability to recognise the key drivers and respond to challenges facing it.

“The online movement is the next big wave in travel and is now shaping the way Africans travel within Africa, and how the travel business is conducted on the continent.

“It is daily transforming the entire value chain bringing with it new products, services and experiences,’’ the tour and travel chief said.

He said the online and mobile app travel booking were the new trend, adding with over 200 million smartphone users in Africa, the trend was sure to expand.

Jemi-Alade said that African continent was well endowed with various tourism assets and products that attracted tourists from around the world.

He said that there were factors against tourism growth and development on the continent, but with the advent of technology, the narrative was changing.

“Recent trends in information technology are changing the narrative by providing cheap and affordable solutions.

“With vast unexploited potential, the future of tourism in Africa is brightly enabled by technology,’’ the chief executive said.

Earlier in a welcome address, the Managing Director of Brandworld Media, Clara Okoro the tourism ecosystem in Africa is evolving rapidly and it was time to connect and attract the best brains using technology as a launch pad to change the narratives.

She said the key interests at the tourism and technology summit includes ensuring fostering education, excellence, inclusion, knowledge and experience of Africa’s abundant offerings in tourism through our professional tourism consultancy as well as strategic partnerships with government and other professional bodies to take the tourism industry in Africa to the levels where they should be technology.

“We have decided to settle for this specific niche on tourism and technology and already have a 10 year blueprint as a framework to implement,” she asserted.

Chuks Egbune/Editor

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Pix: R-L : Nisham, Chabra, GM, Netcore Solutions Nigeria, Clara Okoro, Brandworld Media, Muky Emelda, CEO, Instyle Ventures, Chukwudi Nwokike, Client Success Manager, Netcore Solutions Nig at the Tourism/Technology Summit organised by Brandworld Media in Partnership with Technology Mirror in Lagos, recently.

MFM suspends David for 'indecent relationship' with female teenager - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) has slammed an indefinite suspension on Mr. David Onyekachukwu of its Life Camp branch, Abuja, over a reported indecent relationship he had with a 16-year-old girl.

The indefinite suspension, according to a statement by the Church's spokesman, Brother Collins Edomaruse, is in line with the rules and regulations of MFM which forbid such acts and frown at them.

He also said that Onyekachukwu's indefinite suspension is a result of an investigation carried out by the Church that established that he was culpable of the reported offence of rape, which resulted in the reported pregnancy of the female teenager.

Confirming the incident, Regional Overseer (RO) Gwarimpa region of the church, Pastor Babalola Niyi, said: He (Onyekachukwu) is not an ordained pastor in Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries.

"He is just a member/worker in that Life Camp branch and he has been suspended from the branch immediately.

"The church can not stop the law from taking its course as doing so will amount to condoning evil and being an accessory after the fact."

He added: "After investigation, we confirm that the raping and impregnating of the girl is true and the matter is currently being handled by the Police.

"However, we want to say that the alleged person is not an ordained Pastor or an officially appointed Pastor in MFM Gwarimpa Region. "This is therefore a personal issue between the Brother and the innocent victim.

"It has nothing to do with Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries.

"In MFM, the leadership does not condone indiscipline.

"Absolute holiness within and without is our hallmark in Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries.

"This is of a priority in all our trainings and teachings to our Pastors and members.

"The alleged brother is already in the Custody of the Police to allow the law to take its course."

Ayo Midele/Editor

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US ban: IEEE reverses restriction on Huawei employees - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has reversed itself with respect to the recent export controls on Huawei Technologies Ltd and 68 of its affiliated companies by the United States government, reports ITREALMS.

IEEE is a professional association formed in 1963 from the amalgamation of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers and the Institute of Radio Engineers with corporate office in New York City and operation center in Piscataway, New Jersey.

This development, ITREALMS reports, follows IEEE issuing of what it called “guidance on actions required to comply with these controls” and led to a number of volunteers resigning and global condemnation of this guidance despite claim as non-political.

Also, the guidance, ITREALMS reports had among others restricted editorial and peer review activities of Huawei employees.

IEEE on Sunday reversed itself according to reports reaching ITREALMS newsroom and confirmed by the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), José M. F. Moura.

In a press statement also made available to ITREALMS, Moura explained the IEEE roles with respect to protecting volunteers and members from potential legal risk that could have involved significant penalties.

“We acted promptly because we wanted to protect our volunteers and members from potential legal risk that could have involved significant penalties. As a non-political, not-for-profit organization registered in New York, IEEE must comply with its legal obligations under the laws of the United States and other jurisdictions. We also engaged the U.S. government to seek clarification on the extent to which these export control restrictions were applicable to IEEE activities.

“I am pleased to report that this engagement was successful and we have revised our guidance to remove any restriction on the participation of the employees of these companies as editors or peer reviewers in the IEEE publication process. To reemphasize, all IEEE members can continue to participate in the open and public activities of the IEEE, including our scientific and technical publications.

“Many members expressed apprehension with respect to IEEE’s initial guidance and its impact on editors and peer reviewers based on their employer affiliation. I understand the concern this raised for many of you and appreciate the feedback that IEEE leaders and I received.

“As an international organization operating in 160 countries, IEEE supports the free and open exchange of scholarly and academic work and the global advancement of science and technology. IEEE is committed to enabling an environment of international cooperation and the sharing of our members’ wealth of knowledge to drive innovation.

“We appreciate the patience of our members and volunteers as we worked through a legally complex situation,” Moura submitted.

Remmy Nweke/DoP

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Fayemi convinced of improved prosperity, felicitates Buhari, VP - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, is convinced that Nigerians would witness a higher level of development and prosperity in the next four years and felicitated with President Mohammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on their second term inauguration, reports ITREALMS.

Governor Fayemi also congratulated his colleague-governors, returning and newly elected, who were inaugurated across 29 states of the federation.

Dr Fayemi in a congratulatory message, described latest inauguration of the President and the governors as a positive development and a demonstration of the collective wishes of the Nigerian people for the entrenchment of democracy in the country.

Governor Fayemi, who recently assumed office as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), also congratulated Nigerians on 20 years of unbroken democratic governance, saying that the milestone was achieved by sheer determination of the Nigerian people to make democracy work, in spite of inherent challenges.

“Today is significant in so many ways. The President and the Vice President are taking oath of office for a second term in office, just as returning and newly elected governors are being inaugurated in 29 states. This has been the tradition since 1999.

“As a people, we have every reason to be happy today as we witness 20 years of unbroken democratic governance in our country. We owe this to the commitment and determination of the Nigerian people, who have come to see democracy as the most viable option.

“So, while we say a big congratulations to the President, the Vice President and the governors, the biggest congratulation go to the Nigerian people- the true hero of our democracy.

“Now, the task of taking Nigeria to a higher level of development and prosperity has begun. We wish Mr President and our governors a successful and impactful tenure.”, the statement added.

Ayo Midele/Editor

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ARB Apex Bank renews contract with Temenos for rural banking - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Temenos a banking software company, has announced that ARB Apex Bank has chosen to renew its contract with them to continue banking and non-banking services for Ghana’s Rural and Community Banks (RCB’s) and their customers, reports ITREALMS.

Using Temenos banking software, ARB Apex Bank serves over six million customers with almost seven million accounts, processing an average of 220,000 daily transactions and empowering Ghanaians with modern day financial services.

The bank, which acts as the “mini” central bank for Ghana’s RCBs, connects 144 rural and community banks in Ghana, totaling 700+ branches. ARB Apex Bank has opted for Temenos Infinity, the breakthrough digital banking product and Temenos T24 Transact, the next generation core banking system as well as a host of additional solutions including Risk and Compliance and Temenos Payment Hub.

ARB Apex Bank was recently recognized as part of the “Best in Banking Awards” held at the Temenos Community Forum in The Hague in April 2019 and awarded the “Best Inclusive Banking” prize. This award recognizes ARB Apex Bank for delivering a truly customer-centric experience and for passing on its operating costs efficiencies to its end-customers in the spirit of financial inclusion.

Established in Ghana in 2000 and receiving its banking license in 2001, ARB Apex Bank became a Temenos client in October 2009. The bank currently has 11 branch offices throughout the country and hosts over 140 Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) on a private cloud, run from their premises in Accra, Ghana.

Nenye Dom/Editor

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Low-cost solution to boost global climate action - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The renewable power is the cheapest source of electricity in many parts of the world already today, the latest report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows, reports ITREALMS.

The report contributes to the international discussion on raising climate action worldwide, ahead of Abu Dhabi’s global preparatory meeting for the United Nations Climate Action Summit in September. 

ITREALMS gathered that with prices set to fall, the cost advantage of renewables will extend further, Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2018 says. This will strengthen the business case and solidify the role of renewables as the engine of the global energy transformation.

Further, ITREALMS reports that costs from all commercially available renewable power generation technologies declined in 2018. 

The global weighted-average cost of electricity declined 26 per cent year-on-year for concentrated solar power (CSP), followed by bioenergy (-14 per cent), solar photovoltaic (PV) and onshore wind (both -13 per cent), hydropower (-12 per cent), geothermal and offshore wind (both -1per cent). New bioenergy, hydropower, onshore wind and solar PV projects now commonly undercut new fossil fuel-fired power generation.

Onshore wind and solar PV will soon offer less expensive electricity than any fossil-fuel option, without financial assitance. Within the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) database, over three-quarters of the onshore wind and four-fifths of the utility-scale solar PV project capacity that is to be commissioned next year shows lower prices than the cheapest new coal-fired, oil or natural gas option.

New solar and wind installations will increasingly undercut even the operating-only costs of coal-fired plants. The total lifetime costs of new onshore wind and solar PV projects installed in 2020 and beyond are set to cost less than the operating costs of existing coal‑fired plants, with system-wide planning keeping integration costs to a minimum.

Low and falling technology costs make renewables the competitive backbone of energy decarbonisation – a crucial climate goal. All countries need to cut carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, which aims to keep the rise in global temperatures “well below 2oC” this century. Beyond the power sector, cost decreases can unlock decarbonisation for industry, transport and buildings. IRENA’s analysis sees electricity use growing from less than one-fifth of energy demand to nearly half by 2050, largely on the back of cost-competitive renewables.

In many parts of the world, renewables are already the lowest-cost source of new power generation. As solar and wind costs keep falling, this will become the case in even more countries. Global weighted-average costs of electricity from bioenergy, hydropower, geothermal, onshore and offshore wind have been within the cost range of fossil fuel-fired power generation since 2010. Utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) power fell into the fossil-fuel cost range in 2014 and concentrating solar power (CSP) in 2018.

Cost forecasts for solar PV and onshore wind continue to be revised as new data emerges, with renewables consistently beating earlier expectations. At the beginning of 2018, IRENA’s analysis of auction and PPA data suggested that the global weighted-average cost of electricity could fall to just under five US cents per kilowatt-hour (USD 0.049/kWh) for onshore wind and five and a half cents per kilowatt-hour (USD 0.055/kWh) for solar PV in 2020. A year later, the potential value for onshore wind in 2020 has dropped a further 8%, to four and a half cents per kilowatt-hour (USD 0.045/kWh), while that of solar PV drops 13%, to less than five cents for kilowatt-hour (USD 0.048 /kWh).

Remmy Nweke/DoP

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FRSC kicks off Eid El Fitr special patrol with 36,000 personnel - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

With tradition of organising special patrols during festive periods to avert road obstructions, crashes and deaths due to heightened traffic movement, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has commenced 2019 Eid el fitr special patrol with deployment of 36,000 of its personnel, reports ITREALMS.

Disclosing this to ITREALMS the FRSC Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem in Abuja, said the special patrol was to put necessary measures in place to ensure that the 2019 Eid el fitr celebration expected to take place early next week is observed under an atmosphere of peace, safety and free movement of people and vehicles across the country.

Kazeem also stated that the special operation was to ensure free flow of traffic, provide prompt rescue services and timely clearance of obstructions on all major roads and critical corridors across the country during and after the festive period as well as minimising the occurrence of road traffic crashes on the nation's highways.

He equally said that the focus would be on light sign violation, overloading violation, driver licence violation, fake/expired; lane indiscipline, removal of rickety vehicles on the roads and other obstructions as well as driving with expired/worn out tyre and without spare tyre.

To ensure the effectiveness of the operations, 52 critical corridors across the country have been identified to be covered within the period, while commanding officers operating along such corridors were given specific directives to ensure that the routes are properly manned. As part of the strategies, mobile courts would also be in full sitting to promptly try traffic violations.

The FRSC spokesman enjoined all motorists to cooperate with the personnel of the Corps and other security agencies who would be engaged in traffic management to ensure free movement of traffic.

The special operation would last from 31 May to 8 June 2019 with active participation of regular and special marshals while monitors from the FRSC National Headquarters Abuja would be deployed to Field Commands to ensure compliance to the operational order. The Corps Marshal of FRSC of the FRSC, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi is the overall Commander of the special patrol.

Remmy Nweke/DoP

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