Sophos discovers Trickbot attackers leveraging Coronavirus spam mails - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

In the last 24 hours, SophosLabs has uncovered a new email spam attack targeting Italians with a document containing a macro loaded with Trickbot malware, reports ITREALMS.

The email takes advantage of COVID-19 fears by offering up a clickable document that allegedly includes a list of precautions to take to prevent infection. Unfortunately, the document is weaponized.

According to SophosLabs, the COVID-19 twist to the spam message may be new, but the mechanisms used to deliver it (including the spam “bots” that send the message, the enclosed scripted Word document and the JavaScript dropper) are similar or identical to those used in Trickbot campaigns that have been active for at least six months.

“The cybercriminals behind Trickbot are likely skilled attackers who leverage the concern of the day to scare people into clicking. While this is in Italy now, we would expect a similar attack in other countries where fears of COVID-19 outbreaks are high. 

"The best approach to avoid this type of cyberattack is to turn off macros, be extra cautious about what you click, and delete email that is suspicious or from an unexpected source,” said Chester Wisniewski, principal research scientist, Sophos. “Whenever there is a topic of public interest like COVID-19 or the Australian bush fires, we see cybercriminals try to manipulate our concern into an opportunity. We must stay vigilant and be distrustful of incoming communications during times of crisis and only obtain advice from our public health authorities."

Nenye Dom/Editor

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Re: When desperation comes to roost @NBET - ITREALMS

Commentary@ITREALMS:

Our attention has been drawn to a cheap and fake propaganda against Mrs Itohan Ehiede titled ‘’When Desperation comes home to Roost at NBET’’ written by one Gbenga Ojo of Premiumnewsnigeria.com who made various false and negative accusations, some libelous in nature to defame her character.

The purpose of this rejoinder is to set the records straight and debunk all such false claims as the work of despicable characters with evil intentions to undermine the person of Mrs Ehiede. It is such a shame that some people will descend so low to behave in such an unscrupulous manner.

Mr Ojo’s claim in his article that the movement of Mrs Ehiede was part of a comprehensive upgrading and re-posting of staff in the agency is a complete lie.This along with all the other claims he has made in his write up show that Ojo has perfected the art of twisting issues to meet his nefarious goals. For example, the case of the ‘’magnificent movement to Project Monitoring Department’’ happened as a result of the report of a threat of physical attack and verbal assault made by Dr Marilyn Amobi on Mrs Itohan Ehiede whom she hysterically barked on in the presence of two other staff on Friday the 6th of December 2019. Dr Marilyn Amobi stated to the hearing of all that she would slap Mrs Itohan Ehiede and does not care if she loses her job. This was not a one-off incident. On several occasions, she has verbally abused Mrs Ehiede, using very derogatory words which are better imagined.

On the particular day, the threat to slap Mrs Itohan Ehiede was made, Dr Marilyn Amobi was in her office berating Mrs Itohan Ehiede and another Executive Management staff of NBET. The reason for this outrage was the two (2) days leave duly approved and granted to a member of Staff to enable him attend a relative’s burial.

With Mr Ojo reference to treasury bills, himself and his cohorts have displayed a high level of ignorance as those who understand the workings of Treasury Bills know how difficult it is to manipulate.

The so-called staff mentioned by Mr Ojo as being indicted by DSS has it on record that the MD is aware of his fraudulent activities and decided to play it down. He also has it on record that the MD promised to send him abroad and this record is contained in the report of the DSS investigation and forwarded to the MD by the DG, SS.

In January, 2018, it was time to process the six (6) years upfront payment for housing and furniture allowance duly approved by the Board and paid to staff on a first come, first serve basis. When it was time for the payment, Dr Marilyn Amobi using her official position made sure she was paid this mortgage, the consequence of which resulted in no one else being paid. The MD achieved this payment by striking off all the names of the eligible staff for that year and replacing their names with just hers. She simply instructed that all the staff be stepped down and herself be paid. This made some of the affected staff petition her (the MD) to ICPC who faulted the 6 years payment to a political appointee whose tenor was 4 years and who had already spent a year and a half on the position. Rather than honourably refunding the funds to the company, she asked for the restructuring. It is strange that before she collected her mortgage, there was no problem with the structuring of the mortgage request but till date that no one else has been paid after her. However, Mr Ojo claims in his write up that the EFCC had a problem with the structuring of the mortgage loan. One wonders since when EFCC became involved in the structuring of mortgage loans of government agencies.

A brief mention of the work history of Mrs Ehiede is apposite at this start. She started her career in 1997 with Citizens Bank (Now Heritage Bank) where she held various positions for the Nine (9) years she worked there. Throughout the time she was in Citizens Bank, she never received any official query or letter of insubordination, indiscipline or act of financial misappropriation.After Citizens Bank, she worked in Intercontinental Bank (Now Access Bank) for 3-4 years where she was promoted twice and was even made the pioneer manager of their flagship Maitama branch which under her leadership was one of the most profitable branches in the Northern Region of the Bank. Again, throughout this period, she never received any query or letter of insubordination, indiscipline or for any act of financial misappropriation. Rather she had several commendations and awards for service excellence.

Before coming to NBET, Mrs Ehiede worked for four (4) years in Standard Chartered Bank, a British bank with one of the highest ethical standards in the Nigerian Banking Industry. She was the pioneer manager of the newly opened Garki Branch in Tswanya centre. Within this period, she never received any query, letter of insubordination or indiscipline, or any query for misappropriation of funds. Rather,she won various awards and accolades including but not limited to:

The Gulliver’s Contest for Wealth Management who deliver at least 150% of their performance target culminating in the entire team being sponsored on an all-expense paid trip to any international destination of their choice (2011)

Best Supporting Manager in the Northern Region

Professionally, Mrs Ehiede is a:

Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Finance and Control (FCIFC)

Member of the Nigerian Institute of Management ( NIM)

An Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIBN) in which she won the award as the overall best student in International Trade and Finance (2016)

Member of the Institute of Service Excellence and Good Governance based on her exceptional customer service skills

Also, in all of her professional working life including the first 3 years of her time in NBET with the pioneer MD, Mr Rumundaka Wonodi and the first 2 years of Dr Marilyn Amobi, Mrs Ehiede did not receive any query. Her first query ever in her Professional Career spanning a period of 21 years was when Dr Marlyn Amobi gave her one.
*Contributed by Johnbosco Bankong, Attorney-at-Law

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Most valuable banking brand is Zenith says Bankers mag - ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

The Nigeria’s leading financial institution, Zenith Bank Plc, has once more emerged as the Most Valuable Banking Brand in the country, in the recently released Banker Magazine Top 500 Banking Brands 2020, reports ITREALMS.

For the third consecutive year, Zenith Bank has been ranked as the number one banking brand in Nigeria with a brand value of $287 million and market capitalisation of $1.62 billion, ranking 392 in the 2020 global ranking of banks.

The ranking was published in the February 2020 edition of The Banker magazine of the Financial Times Group in conjunction with London-based Brand Finance.

According to the publication, brand value is the licensing rate that a third-party would need to pay to use the bank’s brand. All brand values in the report are for the year ending December 31, 2019.

Zenith Bank has clearly distinguished itself in the Nigerian financial services industry through superior service quality, unique customer experience and sound financial indices. The bank, with a knack for setting the pace and raising benchmarks, is a clear leader in the digital space with several firsts in the deployment of innovative products, solutions and an assortment of alternative channels that ensure convenience, speed and safety of transactions.

In an apparent show of its resilience and market leadership, Zenith Bank recently announced an impressive result for the year ended December 31, 2019, with profit after tax (PAT) of N208.8 billion, achieving the feat as the first Nigerian Bank to cross the N200 billion mark.

Consistent with this excellent performance and in recognition of its track record of exceptional performance, Zenith Bank was voted as the Best Commercial Bank in Nigeria 2019 by the World Finance and the Best Digital Bank in Nigeria 2019 by Agusto & Co. The bank was also recognised as Bank of the Year and Best Bank in Retail Banking at the 2019 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BOFI) Awards. Most recently, the bank emerged as the Bank of the Decade (People’s Choice) at the Thisday Awards 2020.

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AfDB appoints Ms Tshabalala senior VP - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The African Development Bank Group President, has Appointed Ms. Bajabulile “Swazi” Tshabalala as Acting Senior Vice President, reports ITREALMS.

Ms.Tshabalala will replace Mr. Charles Boamah, the former Senior Vice President of the Bank, who retires effectively from the Bank today after 23 years of meritorious service

The President of the African Development Bank Group (), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Bajabulile “Swazi” Tshabalala as Acting Senior Vice President of the Bank with immediate effect.

Ms. Tshabalala, currently the Vice President for Finance and Chief Finance Officer for the African Development Bank Group, joined the Bank on August 1, 2018.

Ms. Tshabalala will replace, in this acting capacity, Mr. Charles Boamah, the former Senior Vice President of the Bank, who retires effectively from the Bank today after 23 years of meritorious service to the institution.

Commenting on the appointment, the President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said “Ms. Tshabalala has demonstrated highly commendable senior leadership management qualities and brings a strong perspective on results orientation and delivery that will be important as the Bank moves ahead with the delivery of its programs and commitments. I am very pleased to appoint her to step up into this role as Acting Senior Vice President, as the Bank manages this senior leadership transition, to ensure stability and continuity of our work and operations. I am confident she will do very well. She will continue to hold simultaneously her position as Vice President for Finance and Chief Finance Officer in this interim period”.

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Covid-19: Dangote donates N200m to fight Coronavirus in Nigeria - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Aliko Dangote Foundation has earmarked N124 million that will support facilities to help prevent, assess and respond to health events at Point of Entry to ensure National Health Security, reports ITREALMS.

The Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) yesterday pledged a whooping sum of N200 million to support current effort of the Nigerian government towards curbing the spread of Corona Virus or Covid-19 in the country.

ADF’s intervention is considered the largest single donation by a corporate organization in the country to contain the spread of coronavirus since Nigeria recorded its first index case last month in Lagos, Nigeria.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Aliko Dangote Foundation Ms. Zouera Youssoufou, represented by the Health and Nutrition Programme Officer Maryam Shehu-Buhari, at a donor coordinating meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 said the donation was part of the Foundation’s cardinal objective of partnering with governments at all levels against the dreaded disease in Nigeria and the rest of Africa.

The Foundation is also the only Nigerian donor that attended the meeting and made monetary pledge.

To this extent, she said the Aliko Dangote Foundation has earmarked N124million that will support facilities to help prevent, assess and respond to health events at Point of Entry to ensure National Health Security.

Ms Youssoufou also highlighted other areas of intervention to include surveillance and epidemiology, where facilities worth N36million will be provided by the Foundation to support government’s effort.

According to her the ADF will also donate N48million for case management training of health workers.

Speaking at the meeting facilitated by World Bank, the Country Director represented by the Operations Manager Ms. Kathleen Whimp identified four thematic areas to tackling the spread of COVID 19. These are: Regular communication with the public, contact tracing, training of volunteers and international co-operations.

Speaking also, the Director, Health Emergency Preparedness and Response of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Dr. John Oladejo said some of the challenges, going forwarded include lack of enough isolation centres, contact tracing, training of volunteers, international cooperation, fake news and panic, among others.

Mr. Noel Chisaka of the Regional Disease Surveillance System Enhancement Project commended the Aliko Dangote Foundation for the contribution and encouraged others to join in the fight against Covid-19.

Other donors invited to the meeting include: WHO, UNICEF, BMGF, RTSL, EU, USAID, US CDC, DFID, Public Health England, GIZ, JICA, Africa CDC, WAHO, PHI, MTN, Red Cross, IFRC and AFENET.

According to reports there are a total of 90,936 confirmed cases worldwide – although more than half of those (47,995) have already recovered. The biggest numbers are still by far in mainland China (80,151), followed by South Korea (4,812), Italy (2,036) and Iran (1,501). Japan has 274 confirmed cases, France 191, Germany 165, Spain 120, Singapore 108, US 106, and Hong Kong 100. There are also cases in South America, Africa and Australia.

The total death toll stands at 3,117 with 2,936 of those coming from China. The countries with the next highest numbers are Iran (66), Italy (52) and South Korea (29).There have also been deaths in Japan, the US, France, Australia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand.

It would be recalled that the Aliko Dangote foundation also committed N1billion in the fight against the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Africa, helping to build resilience and strengthen Nigeria’s health system in a manner expected to endure beyond the Ebola crisis period.

The foundation’s support during the Ebola crisis ensured the establishment of the National Ebola Emergency Operations Centre (EEOC) in Yaba, Lagos; provision of 12 units of thermal cameras across Nigeria's International Airports with training for 160 staff/personnel of the Federal Ministry of Health, Port Health Services Department, on the use of the thermal cameras; provision of W.H.O-certified Personal Protective Equipment, PPEs and comprehensive logistics support for the returnee volunteers on Ebola intervention across countries ravaged by Ebola.

President Muhammadu Buhari had then commended Mr. Aliko Dangote for what he described as “remarkable sacrifices in eradicating Ebola virus disease and polio in Nigeria.”

*Ayo Midele/Editor

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Africa Energy Indaba: GE reinvents steam power technology for low-carbon future - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

As discourse concerned on the implementation of carbon neutral sources continue to make headlines, also increasingly rife, is the energy industry’s endeavour to explore a broader array of renewable energy sources including biomass, reports ITREALMS.

Great strides have been made in Africa’s development in biomass. Interestingly, Africa has the highest portion of bioenergy, at 45 per cent of the total energy mix, thereby validating the continent’s potential to capitalise on this renewable energy source. Furthermore, there are currently industrial scale biomass and waste-to-energy plants being explored in Angola, Tanzania, Cote D’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria and Ethiopia.

Within a global context, using GE’s renewable steam technology (www.GE.com/power/steam), the Kamisu Biomass Power Generation plant in Japan will run on 100 percent biomass to generate 50 megawatts (MW) of reliable energy. According to GE, this is one example of how the company is adapting its technologies to meet market demand to support more renewable fuel sources like biomass.

Lee Dawes, GE Steam Power Sub-Saharan Africa CEO says the South African context will be different. While biomass and waste to energy are considered in the latest IRP, there has been no clear determination on how it will be implemented. “A consideration to reduce CO2 emission could be a coal to biomass conversion. Depending on the size of a plant, typically, existing power plants can be adapted to utilise a wide range of biomass fuels up to 20% to supplement or displace coal providing additional benefit to reduce CO2, NOx and Sox”.

Notwithstanding, in accordance with the Paris Agreement and mounting concerns for the adverse effects of climate change, South African policies are striving to accelerate decarbonisation while meeting the need for rapidly growing demand for reliable, affordable and environmentally sustainable power. He also argues that while biomass is considered a renewable energy source, its sustainability will depend on continuous growth and the cultivation of the biomass sources to ensure a carbon neutral state. Where the biomass is a secondary revenue stream, it often contributes to the commercial viability of such projects”.

With all these developments in energy, it remains imperative to note that, despite the energy source employed, maintaining a sustainable balance between developmental as well as environmental national needs while managing current challenges to ensure energy security, economic stability and jobs, remains high on government’s agenda. Policy makers will have to devise and implement strategies to ensure a successful transition, taking into consideration the various implications of such a shift, such as the interdependencies of fuel sources along with impact of renewable penetration on the grid.


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Gender Summit: Fayemi rallies support for women to bridge gender imbalance - ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

... Bags UNICEF FGM award

The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi; has called on women to utilize the opportunity of their participation in economic and political activities to advance gender equality and sustainable development for women empowerment.

Dr. Fayemi made the call Tuesday in Ado-Ekiti while declaring open the 4th Ekiti Gender Summit. organized by the office of the Wife of Governor and the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, themed: “Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Post Beijing: Political Will and Impact”.

The Governor said women's participation in leadership, decision making and community representation were pivotal to the promotion of gender equality and achieving sustainable development. He added that the unequal participation of women in decision making and their unequal access to resources have compounded and widen the existing gap of inequality in the country.

Fayemi, who lamented that a lot of women still live in abject poverty and lack basic rights and freedom, called on men to be conscious of gender- related issues and rally support to fight against gender imbalance in such a manner that women would enjoy same freedom, privileges and opportunities to flourish and reach their full potential in all strata of life.

The Governor told the gathering that the tone of the theme of the summit was in tandem with the various programmes designed and implemented for the attainment of sustainable gender development in the State.

He noted that the demonstration of his administrations strong political will in the fulfilment of the provisions of the Beijing Declaration had led to the enactment of gender friendly laws like the Gender Based Violence (GBV) prohibition law, 2011 which was amended in 2019; Gender Equal opportunity law in 2013 and the domestication of the National Gender Policy in 2012.

Governor Fayemi said aside the recent appointment of the first female Head of Service in the state, Ekiti had the largest number of female lawmakers in the country, in addition to having other women appointed as commissioners, special advisers, chairmen and members of boards and commissions in actualization of the affirmative action policy that allocated 35% of appointments into position of authority to women.

Fayemi, who is the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), assured participants of more commitments from his administration to gender empowerment and gender equality. He said a series of economic empowerment programmes have been successfully implemented in which empowerment tools like grinding machines, sewing machines, hair dryers and others were supplied to indigent families across the State.

He explained that the state recently increased the maternity leave for working mothers to six months in order to allow female civil servants in the state have sufficient time to take care of their babies. thereby enhancing their productivity at work.

Earlier, in her address, the wife of the Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, who is also the convener of the summit, said Ekiti State has a reputable legal framework designed to promote gender equality and empowerment, adding that a compendium of all the laws has been put together and would be distributed to participants in the summit.

The wife of the governor regretted that the political will and supports women empowerment received during the first term of Fayemi administration suffered set back immediately he left office in 2014.

A major highlight of the event was the presentation of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, (UNICEF) Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Award to the Governor by UNICEF representative, Dr Tushar Rane for being committed to the fight against gender based violence.

Dignitaries at the summit were the First Lady of Ondo State, Mrs Betty Akeredolu; First Lady of Osun State, Mrs Kafayat Oyetola; Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Funminiyi Afuye; his Deputy, Hakeem Jamiu, Guest lecturer, Prof Bisi Aina of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife; members of the State Executive Council and their spousess, members of the House of Assembly and their wives, female political office holders, female representative from security agencies, representative from the Southwest states and other critical stakeholders drawn from all walks of life.

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Pix: L-R: Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, his wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi; Chief Field Officer, UNICEF, Akure, Dr. Tushar Rane; Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF Abuja, Mrs. Olasunbo Odebode; Social Policy Officer, UNICEF, Akure, Mrs. Foluke Ojelabi; at the opening session of the 4th Ekiti Gender Summit, themed: “Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Post Beijing: Political Will and Impact” in Ado-Ekiti….on Tuesday.

Argungu Festival: Lai Mohammed becomes Kakakin Kebbi - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Emir of Argungu in Kebbi State, Alhaji Samaila Mohammed Mera, has bestowed the traditional title of ‘Kakakin Kebbi’ (Ambassador of the Kebbi Culture) on the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

The Emir announced the conferment of the title on the Minister in Abuja on Tuesday at a press conference to unveil the programmes lined up for the 2020 Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival, which comes up 11-14 March.

While reading out the letter of conferment, the Emir said: “Our decision (Argungu Emirate Council) is based on the recognition of your efforts to project the cultural heritage of the diverse peoples of Nigeria to the world and create jobs, income and positive awareness for our youths though Festivals, Arts and Cultural Exhibitions.

“We admire your loyalty to our country and your fearless defence of our national identity and integrity through the discharge of the responsibilities of your office.”

The Emir said it was under the watch of Alhaji Mohammed that the Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

“I don’t know of any individual outside the Emirate who has shown so much enthusiasm towards working with us to achieve success,” he said.

While thanking the Emir for the honour bestowed on him, the Minister expressed delight at the revival of the Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival, considering the fact that it is one of the most widely attended festivals in Nigeria and the oldest festival of its kind, dating back many generations.

Alhaji Mohammed said his Ministry will ensure that the festival receives global visibility and publicity.

“For us at the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, we attach a great importance to this festival, just like many of our great festivals nationwide. This explains why we are leaving no stone unturned in ensuring the maximum publicity for the forthcoming festival.

''We are going to Argungu next week with a battery of journalists from here in order to help raise the profile of the festival. We will be using the new and traditional media to put the 2020 Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival on the national and international map. The festival deserves no less,” he said.

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Portugal set to host EurAfrican Forum in search of common ground - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The city  of Cascais, Portugal is warming up to host the 3rd edition of the EurAfrican Forum slated for July 2nd and 3rd, reports ITREALMS.

Cascais, ITREALMS gathered would be hosting over 700 European and African key actors from more than 60 countries; 2020 edition will look for new opportunities for both continents as it unveils its theme In Search for a Common Ground.

The program, ITREALMS gathered, will focus on key topics as Africa and Europe relations, Free Trade Agreements, Climate Change, African Arts and Culture, Infrastructure, Connectivity and Off-grid solutions.

The annual meeting will gather over 700 African and European changemakers such as entrepreneurs, artists, activists, public and private decision leaders, in Cascais, Portugal, on July 2nd and 3rd 2020.

“It is now time to establish a structured cooperation between Africa and Europe, engaging not only public decision makers but creating a denser network, embarking in the discussions entrepreneurs, young people, women, artists, scientists...” José Manuel Durão Barroso, Chairman of the EurAfrican Forum.

Hosted by the Portuguese Diaspora Council and the Municipality of Cascais, with the High Patronage of the Portuguese Presidency, this third consecutive edition will focus on main issues such Africa and Europe relations, Free Trade Agreements, Climate Change, the influence of African Arts and Culture, Infrastructure, Connectivity and Off-grid solutions, under the theme In Search for a Common Ground.

“2020 is a pivotal year for Europe and Africa as this new decade marks the unavoidable collaboration between our continents at a time when climate change, demographic challenges and the technologic revolution are central pieces of Africa and Europe’s sustainable development puzzle”, said Filipe de Botton, Chairman of the Board of the Portuguese Diaspora Council.

As Europe and Africa face common challenges, the EurAfrican Forum exists as a platform to work on future partnerships for sustainable solutions. Exploiting synergies and promoting business opportunities with mutual benefits, the event will be sharing initiatives, in search for a common ground.

Nenye Dom/Editor

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FirstBank CEO Adeduntan @global industry leaders annual Fintech, InsureTech Summit - ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

The Chief Executive Officer, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan participated as a keynote speaker in the Annual FinTech & InsureTech Summit held at Sofia Event Center, Bulgaria, reports ITREALMS.

The FirstBank boss, ITREALMS gathered, delivered a keynote speech on the topic “Banks and Clients, the New Story of Empowerment, Value Creation and Technologies”

The summit, which held on 27 February 2020, ITREALMS also gathered, served as a platform for in-depth knowledge sharing, networking, partnerships and collaborations amongst participants with a view to showcase products across various industries thereby promoting foreign investment amongst countries. The summit had over 700 global leading finance practitioners, decision-makers from the financial sector notably; banks, payment providers, insurance and pension companies, IT experts, founders of FinTech companies, government and regulatory associations from all over the world.

Deliberations in the course of the conference centred on various topical issues that would deepen financial inclusion and innovation capabilities, improve speed to market with digital innovation product and services and sustainable financial system where finance delivers positive ecosystem.

In delivering the keynote address, Dr. Adeduntan highlighted that; “FirstBank is at the forefront of banking industry innovation, making sure that it leverages innovation to deliver shareholder value and improve customer experience with the latest FinTech innovations and new trends in the Financial Services space.

“In other to deepen innovation capabilities and improve speed to market with digital innovation product and services, FirstBank established its digital innovation lab to adopt agile development approach in its operations. The Bank has also developed a robust telco-agnostic mobile money wallet to potentially defend its business from the incursion of BigTechs and FinTechs into the core banking space. I believe that there is a significant opportunity for value adding strategic cooperation and collaboration between Nigerian and the Bulgarian Banking and FinTech communities”.

*Editor

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Pix: Rumen Radev, President of Bulgaria and Adesola Adeduntan, Chief Executive Officer, First Bank of Nigeria Limited following a courtesy visit by Dr. Adeduntan to the Bulgarian President at Sofia, Bulgaria.

Coronavirus in Nigeria: Lagos patient improves tremendously, new cases in Jos, Abuja - ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

The Lagos State Commissioner of Health, Dr Olajide Idris has disclosed that the Italian Coronavirus patient has been moved to a better and more comfortable facility in Lagos, reports ITREALMS.

Speaking Saturday, Dr. Idris said, the patient's condition has "improved tremendously " without any more traces of the virus spreading within his body.

As said by him, further test will be carried on the Italian this week and after 3 days if the result comes out negative "he'll be released and allowed to go home to continue with his daily business and activities."

Meanwhile, CKN News reports that some three Chinese miners who were confirmed of infection of COV19 have been quarantined in Jos after they arrived Abuja via Ethiopian Airways .

Nenye Dom/Editor

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FRSC redeploys 3 deputy Corps Marshals, 1 ACM - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Following the decoration of Deputy Corps Marshal Joshua Kayode Fanola, the erstwhile Assistant Corps Marshal in charge of Policy, Research and Statistics (PRS) at the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) National Headquarters, Abuja, the FRSC Board under the chairmanship of Mallam Bukhari Bello, the Corps Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi have approved the redeployment of three Deputy Corps Marshals to take charge of three strategic departments of the Corps, reports ITREALMS.

According to Bisi Kazeem, the Corps Public Education Officer, FRSC, the new Deputy Corps Marshals are: Ojeme I Ewhrudjakpor, formally of the Department of Operations who has been redeployed to Admin and Human Resources, Deputy Corps Marshal Shehu Zaki, the erstwhile Head of Admin and Human Resources Department who now moves to Training Department, while Deputy Corps Marshal Joshua Kayode Fanola, takes charge of Operations Department.

In the same vein, Assistant Corps Marshal Kehinde Adeleye formally, the Zonal Commanding Officer, Zone RS5 Benin is now the new Head of Policy, Research and Statistics Department at the FRSC National Headquarters, Abuja.

According to Kazeem, the Corps Marshal while congratulating the new appointees stated that the new postings were aimed at rejuvenating the Corps and strengthening it for improved service delivery in line with the positive service orientation of Mr President. He therefore charges them to remain focused to the vision of the Corps, saying they must rededicate themselves to the vision of the Corps as reward for hardwork is more work.

He wishes them well in their new positions while stating that the postings must be seen as a call to more dedication to duties and service delivery.

Uboshe Uboshe/Editor

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FirstBank wins 2019 Oil & Gas Banker Award - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The First Bank of Nigeria Limited was recently presented with the Oil and Gas Banker of Year 2019 award at the Patrons' Dinner and Industry Awards of the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit held recently at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

The four-day event, comprising conference and award dinner, is acclaimed to be Nigeria’s Government official platform for the petroleum industry gathering which has evolved to become Africa’s premier business and technology conference for not just oil and gas but for other industries in the economy, notably; maritime, automobile, banking and finance, power (electricity), pipelines, LNG, infrastructure, engineering and construction amongst others.

Speaking on the award, the Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan said, “we take pride in this recognition, as it represents the nation’s identification with our leading role in promoting the growth of the oil and gas industry. We remain steadfast on being the financial partner of first choice to Nigerians and, indeed across Africa as we collectively strive towards the continued growth of the economy at large”

The event had in attendance; Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, represented by Mrs. Bashirat Odunewu, the Bank’s Group Executive, Energy & Infrastructure as a panelist to deliberate the topic “What are the key challenges when it comes to managing risk and generate sustainable long-term in-country value development environment”. Other speakers in the panel were Mrs. Olayemi Anyanechi, Managing Director, Partners Sefton Fross; Bank Anthony Okoroafor, Chairman, Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN); Mr. Bitrus Bako Nabasu, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources; and Patrick Olinma, Executive Director, Oil & Gas Commercial, Total E&P Nigeria Ltd.

Over 5000 individuals and Corporate bodies from across 43 countries including; Dr. Sun Xiansheng, Secretary, General, International Energy Forum (IEF); Jean-Marc Thystère Tchicaya, Minister of Hydrocarbons, Republic of the Congo; Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, OPEC Governor for Nigeria; Jens FrolichHolte, State Secretary, (International Development) Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway; Carri Lockhart, SVP Portfolio and Partner Operated Development and Production International Equinor; Gabriel Mbaga Obiong Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons Republic of Equatorial Guinea and Magda Chambriand, Former CEO, National Agency of Petroleum Natural Gas and Biofuels Government of Brazil amongst others, participated in the event.

FirstBank has over the years supported public and private players in the oil and gas industry which has been the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, post-independence. With its “Oil and Gas Contract Finance products”, the Bank finances the Oil & Gas value-chain by providing Advisory/Agency services, Acquisition Finance/Reserve based lending to indigenous oil producing companies, trade Finance for crude oil export and refined product import and contract finance for oil service companies ranging from simple hospitality to complex turnkey Engineering, Procurement and Construction, amongst other tailor-made treasury and cash management solutions.

PIX 3… L-R: Group Head, Corporate Banking Group (Energy), Oluwatoyin Aina; Group Executive, Energy & Infrastructure, CBG, FirstBank, Bashirat Odunewu and Business Manager, CBG, Stephen Oshai following the award of Oil and Gas Banker of the Year 2019 to First Bank of Nigeria Limited at the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit held in Abuja.

Junior Imaji wins LG Electronics 7th OLED Tv national gaming challenge - ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

LG Electronics (LG) at the weekend hosted the grand finale of its 7th OLED Tv Gaming Challenge in Lagos, with Professional Gamer, Junior Imaji emerging as the star prize for the country, reports ITREALMS.

Imaji, who won the season 7 LG’s OLED TV gaming challenge, went home with a cheque of N1 million naira along others goodies including sponsorship participation at the international TV gaming challenge later in the year.

The event which took place Saturday at Eko Hotel saw LG driving the gaming experience of its customers to a new height with the grand finale.

ITREALMS gathered that LG is the first consumer electronics brand to independently launch a gaming campaign-LG OLED Gaming challenge, making it one of the largest e-sports competitions in Nigeria for game lovers. 

Also, ITREALMS  learnt that the was initiative was birthed in 2018 which marks the 1st season of the competition for gamers. The challenge has since then turned out to be an annual contest for gamers to show their skills, experience the fantastic features of OLED and battle with one another for a prize- OLED TV.

The company thrilled its teeming customers with its newest OLED TVs which offer blazing speed and stunning colour reproduction through NVIDIA G-SYNC. LG’s OLED TVs are the first and only in the market today that are G-SYNC Compatible.

The grand finale event saw the contestants- winners of the 6 seasons compete for an OLED65c9 TV and a cash prize of one million naira.

According to Mr. Vanjamin Kim, General Manager, Home Entertainment Division, LG Electronics West Africa, the initiative is for lovers of video game to demonstrate the beauty and the uniqueness of the ‘depth of black’ in OLED TV, especially when gaming on it.

“We intend to have more of this kind of gaming challenge to engage more of our consumers who love gaming. It's an avenue to reward our customers and promote LG OLED TVs as the best TV for gaming. With exceptional picture quality, low input lag and an ultra-fast response time, LG OLED TVs have already earned a reputation for delivering an optimized gaming performance”, he said.

Mr. Hari Elluru, Head of Corporate Marketing, LG Electronics West Africa also added, “the addition of NVIDIA G-SYNC Compatibility raises the bar once more, guaranteeing even more immersive big-screen PC gaming on the company’s industry-leading 4K OLED models, available in 55 to 77 inch screen sizes. G-Sync and other VRR technologies help eliminate flicker, tearing or stuttering on displays when used to play games that are built using VRR”.

The company's latest OLED TV models support a variety of popular HDR formats that further elevate the gaming experience. Users can play compatible titles in dynamic HDR10 or Dolby Vision (at up to 120 frames per second for Full HD content) taking advantage of HDMI 2.1 specifications such as auto low latency mode (ALLM), enhanced audio return channel (eARC), and variable refresh rate (VRR).

"With the G-SYNC firmware there is no lagging, tearing or stuttering while playing super-fast Games and watching fast moving contents", he mentioned.

The grand winner, Junior Imaji, Pro-gamer said, “ It was quite tough and an interesting battlefield but I am elated to emerge as the winner. The 0ne million naira cash is the in-thing and the OLED TV is dope! I hope this platform that LG has created for gamers continue to grow stronger and birth more opportunities for professional gamers and amateurs.

The OLED TV Gaming Challenge has been held in different states - Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan and Port Harcourt and the season 7 ended in style as winners exalted LG for creating such exciting platform for gaming and TV lovers.

Remmy Nweke/DoP

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PIX 1: L-R: Head of Corporate Marketing , LG Electronics West Africa Operation, Mr Hari Elluru, Pro-Gamer, Winner of the season 7 LG’s OLED TV gaming challenge, Junior Imaji, Nollywood Actor/producer, Mr. Bolanle Ninalowo, and Managing Director, LG Electronics, Mr. Taieck Son at the just concluded season 7 LG’s OLED TV Gaming Grand Finale held at Eko Hotel Lagos.

PIX 2: L-R: Head of Corporate Marketing , LG Electronics West Africa Operation, Mr Hari Elluru, Nigerian Songwriter and singer, Praiz Adejo, Pro-Gamer, Winner of the season 7 LG’s OLED TV gaming challenge, Junior Imaji, , Nollywood Actor and producer ,Mr. Bolanle Ninalowo, , Managing Director, LG Electronics, Mr. Taieck Son and Nigerian Rapper/Singer/Actor , Vector Tha Viper, at the just concluded season 7 LG’s OLED TV Gaming Grand Finale held at Eko Hotel Lagos.

NITRA rides on DigitVote for successful e-Voting, gets new exco - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

A landmark election conducted through electronic voting (e-Voting) by the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters’ Association (NITRA) gave birth to election of new Executive Committee (exco) to man its affairs for the next three years, reports ITREALMS.

SSS invades home of Mojeed, Premium Times Editor-in-chief - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Plain-clothes men have breached security at home of PREMIUM TIMES editor-in-chief, Muskilu Mojeed with their invasion, reports ITREALMS.

Two men suspected to be officers of the State Security Service (SSS) on Sunday morning invaded the home of the Abuja residence of Muskilu Mojeed, the Editor-in-Chief of the PREMIUM TIMES, reports ITREALMS.

The plain-clothes men, ITREALMS gathered came to Mojeed house with 2008 Toyota Camry car (Muzzle brand) on Sunday morning and told Haulat, the wife who answered the knock on the gate, that they had a message for her journalist husband, requesting that she opened the gate to receive the message.

The strangers had told Haulat that they knew that the husband was not at home but insisted that they had a “very important message” to deliver to him and persuaded her to open the gate to receive it, but she instead asked them to pass the message through the opening in the gate.

The two men, one wearing a black T-shirt and the other in a corporate suit, pressed further, insisting that she had to open the gate and sign for the message they came to deliver but Haulat maintained she could receive and sign for the message without opening the gate.

Noticing that the men were adamant, the journalist’s wife told the men that she would have to go inside the house to phone her husband and ask for permission before she could open the gate. It was at this time, the source said, that the men turned and left, driving off in a heavily tinted black Camry car.

SSS, ITREALMS equally gathered, launched a manhunt for a reporter of the PREMIUM TIMES, Samuel Ogundipe, over an exclusive report which exposed the rift between the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno and Abba Kyari, the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Inside sources at the presidency confirmed that the members of the kitchen cabinet of the president were very angry over the matter and had sworn to make Ogundipe reveal the identity of his sources.

PREMIUM TIMES editor, Idris Akinbajo, confirmed yesterday that the reporter is concerned about his safety and has since then gone into hiding.

“The encounter has left my wife traumatized,” Mojeed was quoted as saying.

*Uboshe Uboshe with additional report from ICIR

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Faniran prescribes essentials for Catholic Media Practitioners in digital era - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Dean, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, Catholic Institute of West Africa, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Msgr. Prof. Joseph Oladejo Faniran, has prescribed some essentials for the Catholic Media Practitioners in the country to thrive in a digital era, reports ITREALMS.

Speaking at a one-day conference at McGovern Hall, St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland, Lagos on Saturday on “Communication Apostolate in the Mission of the Church: Mobilizing Catholic Media Practitioners in Lagos Archdiocese.”

According to him, the starting point is for each Catholic Media Practitioner to possess that single-minded commitment to proclaim the Good News that is born out of a personal encounter with the Risen Lord.

“We see that in the example of Paul of Tarsus and, of course, in the supreme example of Jesus Christ Himself who on several occasions would go off on his own to commune with the Father.

Also, he said, nowadays, “without a strong interior life of faith and prayer, and a message coming out of this experience, Christian communicators cannot really transmit the experience of the Good News of redemption into the lives of the people who today sorely need that Good News.”

ITREALMS reports that in addition, Msgr Faniran pointed out that the act of communication is an innate capacity given by God to enable persons to express themselves and create relational culture.

“There is, therefore, the need for the Catholic Media Practitioners to assist in training individual members of the Church to commit the media of interpersonal communication at their disposal in carrying out the mission of the Church on their level of interaction.

At the parish levels, he pointed out that, there are people with various gifts that are waiting to be harnessed for the mission.

“For example, the poets in those communities can be encouraged to turn their faith experience into poems, stories and songs; the playwrights can write plays with religious meaning; both fine and performing artists can be assisted to celebrate their faith in Jesus through their talents,” he said.

With some of the aforementioned, Msgr Faniran said that members of such parishes or communities will then be transformed from passive churchgoers into men and women of vision, ideas, faith, love and hope who are ready to commit themselves and their talents to the service of Jesus and His Kingdom.

“The various social media platforms are waiting to be used for the same purpose especially among the youth who increasingly turn to the world of cyberspace as a window on the world,” he said.

Equally, he charged Catholic Media Practitioners on professional competency, stressing that they themselves need doctrinal and spiritual formation to assist others on the interpersonal and group levels of social interaction mentioned above.

“This can be done by the Archdiocesan Directorate of Social Communication by organizing workshops and seminars to assist them in this important aspect of the mission of the Church in Lagos Archdiocese,” he submitted.

Remmy Nweke/DoP

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Yellow House emerges winner of Home Science inter-house sports - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Yellow House has emerged as the champions of the Home Science Association Secondary School, Alakuko, Lagos State inter-house sports, reports ITREALMS.

The House won the contest with 15 Gold, 4 Silver and 2 Bronze medals.

The event, held on February 14, 2020, saw Red House coming in second with 8 Gold, 9 Silver and 9 Bronze medals.

Third was Blue House with 7 Gold, 7 Silver and 11 Bronze medals, with Green House emerging fourth with 5 Gold, 15 Silver and 13 Bronze medals.

In the Girls invitation relay, Sebis School, Alakuko, Lagos State came first, while The Bells Secondary School, Ota, Ogun State and Divine Scroll Secondary School, Lagos came in second and third respectively.

For the Boys invitation relay, The Bells was first, while Sebis School came second and Goldbeam School third.

Uj. N. Dominic/Editor

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