Oke Ogun PDP stakeholders pass vote of confidence in Makinde - ITREALMS

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Leaders and stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 10 Local Government Areas of Oke Ogun in Oyo North Senatorial District have passed a vote of confidence in the Oyo State governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde.

This was as they unanimously declared their loyalty and commitment to the party and the leadership of Governor Makinde, noting that all efforts would be made to ensure that the party continues to record success in all local governments of Oke Ogun and the state at large.

Stable Internet: ICANN expresses confidence on AFRINIC Receiver, reiterates commitment - ITREALMS

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The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) with the global mission to help ensure a stable, secure, and unified global Internet, has reiterated its commitment to the revitalization of the African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC), declaring its confidence on the Official Receiver, Mr. Vasoodayven Virasami, reports ITREALMS.

"We have confidence in the Official Receiver's progress to date," ICANN official declared.

This became evident with the appointment of ICANN Vice President and Chief Technology Officers, Mr. John Crain as a resource available in Mauritius, and as necessary going forward, to support the Official Receiver.

Gov. Ambode reiterates confidence in Interswitch ability to collect digital revenue

ITREALMS:

The Lagos State revenue collection will be fully digitized, according to the Executive Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi  Ambode, reiterating confidence in Interswitch ability to collect digital revenues for the state, reports ITRealms.

This was contained in a press statement by Interswitch, and made available to ITRealms, revealing that the government's vision is to actualize extensive adoption of electronic channels in the payment of taxes, levies and other government payments.

"To ensure that the government improves on the quality of service delivery to our people, effective 1st March 2018, no payment or taxes will be made by cash henceforth across the State. Tax payers should be able to pay all legitimate taxes and bills through all payment channels at their own time and convenience. The transaction process is now going to be everyday, anytime and on weekends," he said.

It was revealed that this full digitization will be made possible through a partnership with Interswitch.

Elucidating further on what informed the Lagos State Government's resolution to partner with Interswitch to digitize payments and collections in Lagos, Governor Ambode added that;

"Interswitch has been at the forefront of efficient and secure public sector payments and collections at National and State levels for quite a while now, and we are confident in their ability to provide strong support and the state-of-the-art payment infrastructure, comparable to such obtainable anywhere in the world as well as the capabilities required to facilitate seamless implementation of this policy in a state like Lagos."

Commenting on the announcement, Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer, Interswitch, Mitchell Elegbe expressed Interswitch's commitment to providing omni-channel payment infrastructure which will facilitate seamless transaction processes in revenue collection to make it easy and convenient for the good people of Lagos who can now pay every day, any time and online.

"Over the last few years, we have invested extensively in building and continuously developing a variety of payment channels which facilitate real-time transaction through any means desirable by all parties within the payment process. Our vision at Interswitch is an Africa where payment becomes a seamless part of our everyday lives, and we are resolutely committed to working with Lagos State to embrace a fully digital future, in line with our resolve to continue to create digital transaction solutions that enable individuals and communities prosper across Africa."

In view of this partnership with the LASG, government payments will now be possible through multiple channels including physical payments in any branch of any bank, and using Interswitch solutions such as Interswitch Paydirect, Interswitch Payment Gateway, Quickteller Paypoint, and Mobile Apps/USSD codes of LASG MDAs, thereby encouraging real-time cashless payments directly to the State Treasury.

Observers have lauded this development as a welcome breakthrough in public sector finance, accountability and service-delivery as it essentially underscores the unwavering and forward-thinking dynamism of the Lagos State Government, with effective public-private collaboration at its heart.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Tinubu expresses confidence in Buhari-Osinbajo ticket, debunks reports

ITREALMS:

The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has expressed confidence in Buhari-Osinbajo ticket for the 2019, debunking a newspaper report speculating he may be picked by President Muhammadu Buhari as his running mate in 2019, reports ITRealms.

According to a press statement made available to ITRealms by his media office, entitled “Asiwaju Tinubu Debunks SUN Report on 2019 VP Slot” the APC chieftain said he and the people of the South-west “have absolute confidence and are exceedingly proud of the excellent job Professor Osinbajo is doing as Vice President of Nigeria.”

ITRealms recalls that SUN Newspapers in a front page lead story on Wednesday claimed that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was considering returning to full church work and that Tinubu was being mooted as a replacement for him, “as a way to have a solid South-west support for the APC, in the face of a South-east/South-south alliance in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)”.

Reacting, Tinubu said in Lagos said “There is no empirical or logical basis for this mischievously speculative story. Is it even conceivable, as the story recklessly insinuates, that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo would be considering returning to full church work rather than run with his boss, President Buhari for a second term if the latter so decides without as much as discussing such a sensitive issue with his party and with Asiwaju Tinubu? In any case, is this story not entirely unwarranted and indefensible as the Buhari/Osinbajo ticket has an electoral mandate of four years out of which it has spent only over two years and a half years?

“This is clearly an attempt to distract the APC Federal Government from the yeoman’s job it has been doing in rescuing the country from the deep rooted socio-economic, political, security and moral mess inherited from the PDP’s 16 years misrule of Nigeria, instigate crisis within the party, stoke dangerous embers of religious disaffection within the party and the country generally and stem the remarkable progress being made in the reinvention and revitalization of Nigeria” part of the press statement read.

Ayo Midele/GEE

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Buhari to Nigerians: I feel your pains

ITRealms:

President Muhammadu Buhari has urged Nigeria not to lose confidence in the ability of his administration to bring about the change they so much desire, reports ITRealms.

Speaking at the 2015 Vanguard Awards in Lagos on Friday night, where he was honoured with the Personality of the Year Award 2015, the President said he is keenly aware of the difficulties that Nigerians are facing at this time, resulting mostly from the fuel scarcity, poor power supply, inflation etc.

''As a government that was propelled into office by the power of the people, we cannot but feel the pains of our compatriots, and we deeply empathise with them. We are working round the clock to ease the pains of Nigerians, and the efforts of the government have started yielding fruits as we seek to make the petroleum products available nationwide, restore gas supply to the power generating firms, reflate the economy and put Nigerians back to work,'' he said.

President Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said he understands that Nigerians have started questioning whether this indeed is the CHANGE they voted for, while some have even gone as far as saying that by voting for the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nigerians have entered ''One Chance''.

''Well, I can tell Nigerians that our CHANGE AGENDA is real, and that indeed, they will get the change they voted for. Nigerians have not entered 'One Chance', because the 'One Chance' drivers and their conductors have been driven out of town,'' said the President. ''''Change is a process, and that process has begun...The pains of today are temporary, and will soon give way to abundance joy as we put our country firmly on the path of sustainable growth and development.''

The President said all Nigerians, the Civil Society Organisations and the media are the real heroes of the last general elections in particular and the country's democracy in general, adding: ''And they, more than anyone or group of people, deserve all the accolades.''

He went on to commend the media for the role it played in ensuring the relative success of the last general elections, and the resilience of the nation's democracy since the beginning of this Republic.

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Pix: Buhari, Nigeria President

MasterCard Index scores Nigeria 91.4 points

MasterCard says Nigerian consumers are still very optimistic on its products and have a high level of confidence in the country’s economic overall, scoring Nigeria 91.4 points.

This position was contained in the MasterCard Worldwide Index (MCWI) of Consumer Confidence, using the company’s five key economic indicators, namely, regular income prospects, quality of life, economy, employment prospects and stock market.

The aforementioned indicators were rated 97.9, 94.9, 93.9, 92.0 and 78.6 points in that other, based on a survey which measured consumer confidence on prevailing expectations in the market for the next six months.

According to the Country Manager, West Africa, MasterCard Worldwide, Omokehinde Ojomuyide, the Index score is calculated with zero as the most pessimistic, 100 as most optimistic and 50 as neutral.

She elucidated that the most recent survey was conducted between 24 April 2012 and 10 June 2012, and involved 11,376 respondents aged 18 to 64 across 25 markets spanning the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions. 

On the African continent, the survey was conducted in Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa.

Although the index and accompanying reports may not represent MasterCard financial performance, globally, the Country Manager, noted that the company carries out this Index in order to provide informed understanding in the shifts of Nigerian consumer sentiment, as well as to assist in the identification of market trends over time.

“Nigerians remain one of the most optimistic groups of consumers among those surveyed by MasterCard on the continent, with an Index score of 91.4 points in this latest set of results – over 12 points higher than the average of the five African countries surveyed,” she says.

 

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