Boosting Business: Hydrogen, Lagos State partner on 'Healthy Heart, Healthy Business' initiative - ITREALMS

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To promote the growth and sustainability of Nigerian businesses, Hydrogen Payment Services Company Limited teamed up with Ikeja Local Government Area and the Office of the Medical Officer of Health to organize the inspiring “Healthy Heart, Healthy Business” outreach on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, at the Ikeja Local Government Secretariat, reports ITREALMS.

The initiative successfully engaged a wide range of business owners through a combination of in-person participation and extensive digital awareness campaigns.

Terror herdsmen attack Sacred Heart Minor Seminary Jalingo

ITREALMS:

Armed men suspected to be terror-herdsmen at the early hours of Monday, attacked the Sacred Heart Minor Seminary in Jalingo, with scores injured, closed for a week reports ITRealms.

Confirming this, the Rector, Sacred Heart Minor Seminary, Jalingo, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Atsue with the permission of the diocese, Bishop, Most Rev. Charles Hammawa of Jalingo, told ITRealms, that the seminary was attacked in the early hours of this morning 28/05/2018.

“… At about 12:30am by sophisticated armed Fulani Herdsmen, at least, we heard their conversation,” he said.

According to him, “They shot sporadically at the Rector's residence, broke window glasses in the process, littered live bullets were collected by police, windscreen of one of the vehicles belonging to one of the priests, they shot and injured one of the priests Rev. Fr. Cornelius Kobah on the leg, beat up Fr. Stephen Bakari.”

Also, Rev. Fr. Atsue noted that from their conversation, “we were able to understand that their grievances against us is that the security men in the seminary have been challenging their decision to graze right inside the Seminary: around the classes, football field, laundry etc.

“They said even inside the church if they see grass their cows will graze. Normalcy has temporarily been restored thanks to the prompt response from the Nigerian Police, Army, Civil Defense and local vigilantee.”

All the students, he said, were complete, as none was missing.

“Two of them who were showing them the way to the Father's house suffered injuries from the sticks of the herdsmen,” he said.

Fr. Atsue further told ITRealms he had a meeting with the officials of the Parents Teachers Association PTA and the bishop has equally approved one week break for the seminarians to enable them manage trauma for a while and to show themselves to their parents that they were safe.

“For now this is the situation. Let us continue to pray for and work for peace in Nigeria,” he said.

Uj. N. Dominic/GEE

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Nwankwo Kanu unveils N1bn jackpot lotto to support Heart Foundation

ITRealms:

Nigerian football legend, Nwankwo Kanu has unveild N1 billion jackpot lotto to support the Kanu Heart Foundation (KHF), reports ITRealms.

KHF, ITRealms gathered, since inception in 2000, has assisted people from all walks of life beyond Nigeria, and paid for 538 children to be treated at facilities throughout the world, even as Kanu, also a philanthropist has help to build a specialist cardiac hospital in Abuja.

The KHF lotto, ITRealms also gathered offers a jackpot starting at N1bn in conjunction with AfroMillonsLotto, which promises to twice-weekly draws with bigger jackpots than all the lotteries in Nigeria combined, as well as being the largest jackpot anywhere in Africa. 

Just as 20 per cent of every ticket sold will go directly to KHF to help it continue work by ensuring underprivileged children across Africa with heart problems get the treatment they deserved.

Kanu said “We are excited to launch this major fund-raising initiative for the Kanu Heart Foundation and hope people support it by buying tickets, helping us to build a new heart hospital for Nigeria."

He reassured that "Not only could people change their own life with the potential to win the jackpot of over N1 billion, they can help to change the lives of other people by supporting our Foundation."

ITRealms reports that the first KHF.AfroMillionsLotto.com draw takes place on Wednesday 18th October and the website also offers nine, ‘Candy Crush’ style, Instant Win games, which could be played for fun or to win cash prizes of up to N12 million. If there isn’t a jackpot winner, the prize money rolls over, increasing by N100 million with each draw until it reaches a maximum of over N2 billion.

He called on those who would like to support KHF, to visit KHF.AfroMillionsLotto.com and give their selves the chance to win a life-changing prize whilst supporting a worthy cause at the same time.

Banji Boye/GEE 

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Scientists discover oxidants aren’t always ‘bad’ for heart

ITRealms:

A group of scientists funded by the British Heart Foundation have discovered that oxidants, which have historically been blamed for heart disease, have a vital role at ensuring the heart pumps blood around the body effectively, reports ITRealms.

The discovery by researchers working collaboratively in Manchester and London, ITRealms gathered, opens up the potential for new treatments thereby offering hope for potential new treatments for high blood pressure and heart failure.

Also, ITRealms reports that the researchers now hope to develop drugs based on their discovery that could lower blood pressure and treat conditions caused by the heart not pumping properly, including certain forms of heart failure.

The study, published, Tuesday in Nature Communications, found that when the heart relaxes oxidants are released which activate an enzyme called Protein Kinase G (PKG), in a process called oxidation. The oxidation of PKG helps to ensure the amount of blood entering the heart is the same as the amount pumped out. This is vital in the functioning of a healthy heart.

However, when the researchers looked at the hearts of mice with a form of PKG that cannot be oxidised, they found that their hearts did not fill with blood properly and that their heart function was compromised.

The findings in the heart were complemented by BHF-funded research on arteries published recently in Science Signaling. The BHF researchers found activation of PKG by oxidants is also critical for the way arteries sense high blood pressure and then relax.

The researchers, led by BHF Research Fellow Dr Adam Greenstein from The University of Manchester, found that when arteries sense high blood pressure inside them they generate oxidants which activate PKG. The activation of PKG in response to pressure then relaxes the arteries. In mice with PKG that cannot be oxidised, the arteries constricted more strongly and this caused high blood pressure.

The scientists believe that dysregulation of the activation of PKG may occur in several cardiovascular diseases. They now hope to develop drugs which can mimic the oxidant-induced relaxation of the heart and arteries, to treat patients with problems in the way their hearts fill and pump blood around the body. This may also be valuable in lowering blood pressure.

“Our research supports the really exciting concept that oxidants, traditionally viewed as ‘the bad guys of the cardiovascular system,’ are increasingly appreciated as integral to normal heart and arterial function," said Dr Adam Greenstein of The University of Manchester, who is an author on both papers. “This ties in with lots of misinformation about commercially available antioxidants and heart disease which takes focus off the real risk factors, such as weight, cholesterol, blood pressure and smoking.”

“These new papers demonstrate just how important PKG is in the regulation of the heart and blood vessels," said Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, which funded the research. “The studies provide strong evidence that new drugs which target PKG activation are likely to be useful in patients suffering with heart failure or with high blood pressure.”

Nenye Dom/GEE

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Nigerian students hail Glo’s 11k per second rate

  ITRealms

Nigerian students all over the country have demonstrated their enthusiasm over the re-launch of Globacom’s special tariff package formulated for the young and young at heart, reports ITRealms.

Globacom’s Chief Marketing Officer, Mr. Ashok Israni said that the product tagged Glo Bounce,was aimed at significantly enhancing the communication experience of Nigerian youths, hence it allows subscribers to exchange calls at the pocket friendly rate of 11 kobo per second, ITRealms gathered.

Besides the heavily discounted rate of 11 kobo per second, Glo Bounce has many other interesting features which have already endeared it to the hearts of trend-setting young individuals in schools and those in formal or informal employment, according to Israni.

ITRealms also learnt that some of the features include ‘Campus Zone’, which enables subscribers to call other lines at the rate of 11 kobo per second once activated.

Information reaching ITRealms further disclosed that subscribers on the platform also get 15MB of data free for every recharge of N200 and above, as well as unlimited, free SMS.  To get on the Bounce platform, subscribers are requested to dial *170*4#. To opt for Campus Zone, they are required to dial *170*9#.

Speaking on the package, ITRealms learnt, Hafsat Adejumo, a 200 level student of University of Ibadan, said although she has another line, she uses the Glo line more these days.

Cyriacus Nnaji/ GEE

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We’ll use our votes to protect our interest, says Anambra People in Lagos

DigitalSENSE Business News:

Anambrarians resident in Lagos under the aegis of the Anambra United Assembly of Nigeria (AUAN), have unequivocally stated that they will use their votes to vote in any political party or candidate that has the interest of their people at heart, DigitalSENSE Business News reports.

The group made this known at a press conference held at Uruagu Hall, Orile, in Lagos on Thursday, insisting that Anambra people are the biggest investors in the economies of Nigeria and Lagos in particular, and statistically constitute about 65 per cent of Ndigbo in Lagos.

Also, AUAN noted that they own so much that huge part of the corporate, personal, business revenue taxes collected are from their operations in Lagos State. 

The group equally stated that any political office seekers that do not specifically consult with them to protect their interest have not bargained well and may lose their votes in the elections nationally or at state level, even as AUAN admitted that up till now none of the political gladiators have consulted with it to know what the group wants done or rectify in the next dispensation toward protecting their group interest as residents in Lagos State, particularly. 

AUAN President, Barrister Emeka C. Nwosu, accompanied by the National Secretary, Barrister Okwu Udoagwu, Director of Finance, Chief Mike Okwuma, Comrade Chinedu Agina, Director of Operations; and Matron Adaora Umenduka (Eze Nwanyi), told newsmen that support for the candidates will be based on first come first serve, urging Anambra people to make sure that they collect their Permanent Voters Card (PVC) while advising the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be fair in the distribution of the permanent voters’ card.

The group further admonished Lagos State government to curtail henceforth the excesses of its organs that descend on Ndigbo that are doing legitimate businesses in Lagos and fraudulently exerting huge sums of cash from them in the name of carrying out official functions.

On political offices exclusively reserved for Ndigbo and massive infrastructure denial wherever Ndigbo locates their businesses, Barr. Nwosu pointed out that these will form part of the deciding factor in casting vote. 

“It is the person that will address these issues that will get our support” he declared.

Nwosu, who was also joined at the press conference by Mrs. Victoria Ezechukwu, Matron; Mrs. Kosy Udechukwu, Woman Cordinator, commended President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration for signing the N10billion for the take-off of the second Niger bridge, stressing, however on essence of rail lines from Lagos to the Eastern part of the country.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE       

 

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