Ogazuma: Government should provide security for students - ITREALMS

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Nigeria's quest at grappling with several security challenges that directly impact on its economy and lives of citizens, Government at all levels have been called to provide profound security for students especially the females.

Edutainment Communicator and Veteran Broadcaster, Ms Debrah Ogazuma made the call Thursday in Lokoja at the 8th Annual Conference of Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) with the theme: “Nigeria: Tackling Insecurity, Power Deficit, and Transitioning to Digital Economy.”

Mbelede charges KSM members: Look beyond Nigeria’s situation, provide poor with succour @Christmas - ITREALMS

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The Supreme Knight of the Order of Knights of St. Mulumba (KSM) Nigeria, Sir Charles Mbelede, has charged members to look beyond the situation of the country and ensure they provide succour for the poor in the society, reports ITREALMS.

Sir Mbelede in his 2022 Christmas message available to ITREALMS, noted that as Christians and knights of the church, KSM members should look beyond the very stressful and frustrating situations in the country.

Police: Provide physio-social support to frontline personnel, reduce depression - ITREALMS

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The Borno State Police Command has disclosed that strengthening capacity and provision of adequate psychosocial support to the personnel at the frontline would reduce depression among security agencies fighting insurgency in the northeast region.

The State Commissioner of Police, Abdu Umar disclosed this during a three-day workshop organised for personnel of the Nigeria Police Force(NPF) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) by the Management of Conflict in Nigeria(MCN) held in Maiduguri.

Minister launches project to provide satellite TV for 1,000 villages - ITREALMS

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The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has launched the 1,000 Villages Satellite TV Project, which is part of the Chinese government-sponsored 'Access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Villages Project'.


Launching the project at a ceremony in Kpaduma village, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Monday, the Minister recalled that Chinese President Xi Jiping announced the 'Access To Satellite TV For 10,000 African Villages' during the 2015 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Johannesburg, South Africa.

He said under the project, each of the 1,000 carefully-chosen villages in Nigeria will receive 2 sets of solar powered projector television systems and 1 set of solar 32-inch digital TV integrated terminal system.

Alhaji Mohammed also said 20 recipient families with TV in each village will be provided with 20 sets of direct broadcast satellite terminal system free of charge, adding that viewers in each village provided with the projector TV system will enjoy 21 satellite channels free of charge, while each of the 20 recipient families will have access to 33 satellite TV channels free of charge for two months.

After the expiration of the two months, he said, viewers can continue to enjoy access to the 33 channels by paying N900 per month, or enjoy limited access without payment.

The Minister said the project complements the efforts of the Buhari Administration at democratizing access to information and entertainment through the Digital Switch Over (DSO) for television which has now been rolled out in the several states and the FCT.

He urged the satellite TV implementation agency, StarTimes, to expedite the installation of the TV satellite system to cover the entire country in order to give the people opportunity to be informed on the policies and programmes of the candidates for the various elective positions in the 2019 general elections.

“The 1,000 villages project could not have come at a better time. In just a little over one month, Nigerians will be voting in the 2019 general elections. They need access to information now, more than at any other time, to know about the over 70 political parties that will be participating in the elections as well as about their various candidates,” Mohammed said.

The Minister commended the Chinese government for the project which, he said, will undoubtedly strengthen the already very cordial China-Nigeria relations.

In his remarks, the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Zhou Pingjian, who pledged the commitment of China to implementing the outcome of the FOCAC, said Nigeria and China are working closely to ensure access to information through television and satellite technology.

“StarTimes is now working to ensure access and besides access, China and Nigeria are also working very closely on TV and on Satellite. We are building the Made-in-Nigeria TV sets,” he said.

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of StarTimes, Mr. Justin Zhang, said the implementation of the project will create more jobs as Nigerians across the 1,000 villages have been trained on how to install, recharge and operate the Satellite TV system.

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Pix: The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed (second from right); The Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Zhou Pingjian (second from left); Chief Executive Officer of NTA-StarTimes, Mr. Justin Zhang (extreme left) and the Director General of NTA, Mallam Yakub Ibn Mohammed (extreme left), at the launch of the Access to Satellite TV for 1,000 villages in Nigeria in Kpaduma, FCT, on Monday.

Google Station debuts in Nigeria, provides free high speed Wifi - ITREALMS

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The Google Station has made its debut with the launch in Lagos, to provide free high speed Wireless Fidelity (Wifi) to millions of Nigerians, reports ITRealms.

This came at the second Google for Nigeria event hosted at Landmark Event Centre, Lagos, which the firm used to unveil a number of big announcements aimed at helping more people in Nigeria, and across Africa, benefit from the opportunities the web has to offer.

In a bid to make the internet more easily accessible to people in Nigeria, Google is launching Google Station for Nigeria: a program to provide high quality, high-speed Wi-Fi hotspots in partnership with 21st Century, one of the largest fibre network providers in Nigeria.

“Google Station will be rolling out in 200 locations in five cities across Nigeria by the end of 2019, bringing Wi-Fi to millions of people,” says Google Nigeria Country Director, Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor. “Sites include markets, transport hubs, shopping malls, universities, and more. Nigeria is the fifth country to get Google Station, after India, Indonesia, Thailand and Mexico.”

Google is also making search more powerful for ordinary Africans. Job search launched in March in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, and is now rolling out in 29 new countries. In Nigeria, Google is launching a search experience that allows users to explore health conditions based on symptoms, as well as recipe search for anyone who needs a little food inspiration.

StreetView’s Discover Nigeria gallery has been expanded to include more of Nigeria’s wonders including the National Museum in Lagos, Olumo Rock in Abeokuta, Millenium Park in Abuja, and Lekki Conservation Centre.

Additionally, Google announced the update of several products from its “Go” initiative, which were launched in the past year. The Go product suite aims to give people with low bandwidth connections and low-RAM devices the best possible Google experience. These new features include:

Google Go: will soon read web pages out loud and highlight each word so users can follow along.

YouTube Go: users will be able to browse downloaded YouTube Go videos, saved as .yt files, right from the gallery on their phones.

Google Maps Go: will now provide users with turn-by-turn directions, whether they’re travelling by car, by bus or on foot.

Android Go: Launched in Nigeria and 29 other African countries earlier this year, the Go OS gives people coming online for the first time a powerful and reliable smartphone experience. Across Africa, Transsion, Nokia, Huawei, and Mobicel have launched various devices, starting at just over 17,000 Naira.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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PIDA wants Africa to provide opportunities for youth, accelerate job creation

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The Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) ended its 2016 Week in Abidjan with a call for accelerated job creation through infrastructure development for Africa’s transformation, reports ITRealms.

Africa, PIDA said, has to provide employment opportunities for its youth if it is to harness their potential and contribute to the desired economic growth outlined in the vision of Agenda 2063.

The call was made by officials from the African Union (AU), the NEPAD Agency and the African Development Bank (AfDB) at the opening of the second annual Programme for Infrastructure Development (PIDA) Week which ended weekend in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

This year’s gathering organized under the theme, “Creating Jobs through Regional Infrastructure Development,” had over 250 participants and stakeholders representing Member States, private sector, development partners and project owners.

PIDA, a multi-sectoral programme covers transport, energy, transboundary water and ICT, is dedicated to facilitate continental integration in Africa through improved regional infrastructure.

PIDA week 2016 will showcase and validate the relevance of regional infrastructure (PIDA) projects and the impact thereof on the socio-economic development of Africa and particularly on job creation for the youth.

H.E. Dr. Elham M.A. Ibrahim, AU Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, said, “PIDA should play an important role in narrowing the gap between job creation and unemployment. To that end, public decision-makers and private sector management are urged to actively undertake training and skills acquisition in infrastructure development, particularly in building roads, rail systems, power generation and power transmission systems in order to enable young Africans to be well prepared for the implementation of complex programmes such as PIDA.”

The week’s events intend to build on the achievement of the inaugural event held in 2015 to increase the visibility of PIDA projects, reach out to the global infrastructure investor community, development finance institutions, export credit agencies, project sponsors (public and private) and governments.

NEPAD Agency CEO, Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki underscored that if Africa is to be successful in increasing the number of regional and domestic infrastructure projects and their impact, changes are needed in mind-set, policy pronouncements and programme implementation. He indicated that there is a need to continue with the positive streamlining of trans-boundary infrastructure projects as highlighted in PIDA and complementary initiatives.

“Africa stands to benefit from its critical human resources, the young people, who must be nurtured to enable their meaningful participation in national development efforts and I believe that infrastructure development is central to this,” said Dr Mayaki.

In his address, AfDB acting Vice President Stephan Nalletamby, outlined, “PIDA’s continued importance for Africa’s transformation and insisted that the programme was “solid, sustainable and attainable objectives for 2030.”

“We have selected our destination and we are going to get there, as long as we can be assured of excellence in our infrastructure and total reliability in its implementation and operation on the ground. The PIDA programme is at the front of our thinking. We consider it to be critical for Africa’s integration agenda,” Nalletamby told participants. “PIDA has the unique feature of being the first African infrastructure development agenda, designed by Africans and fully owned and endorsed at the highest level by African Heads of State and Government. So it has to succeed,” he concluded.

PIDA Week 2016 will also focus on reporting key achievements. The PIDA Progress Report 2016, shared after the opening ceremony, highlighted the need to de-risk infrastructure and PIDA projects to solicit interest from private sector investors as well as domestic and international investors. The Continental Business Network, CBN, has provided the platform to engage private sectors stakeholders. The 2016 report also give an overview of progress made with the 16 priority PIDA projects agreed upon at the 2014 Dakar Financing Summit.

In addition to progress and successes, the report presents a candid review of the challenges and lessons learnt to ensure continued accelerated implementation of PIDA projects.

Chuks Egbune with agency report/GEE

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FG promises enabling environment for insurance growth

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The Federal Government (FG) has promised to provide the enabling environment for the growth of the nation’s insurance industry, reports ITRealms.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun gave this assurance in her remarks to the National Insurance Conference in Abuja, saying that the current administration would lead in the reforms of a more vibrant Nigeria insurance market.

She explained that a developed and active insurance market would bring about increase in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), accumulation of long-term funds for infrastructural financing, job creation, and an improved standard of living.

She added that the development would also attract foreign investment into our country.

Dwelling on the ongoing efforts of industry stakeholders to reposition the insurance industry for growth, the Minister said the Federal Government was ready to lend its support, saying “There is a need to immediately address the decline in the Nigerian Insurance Industry as it is lagging behind global and African peers. Despite being the largest economy in Africa, the Nigerian insurance industry remains largely underdeveloped. The industry has under-performed the Banking sector and even the recently established Pensions sector."

Emphasising the resolve of the Federal Government to stimulate extra-ordinary growth and unleash the potential of the insurance industry in Nigeria, the Minister listed some factors necessary for the change. These, among others include the needs to:

"Recognise our true stage of development- we are an industry that despite its age remains in its infancy. This means that Government must act as a nurturer and incubator of the industry. We have also seen the success of the pension fund industry as a text book example of where government policy set clear parameters for participation, led by example and enforced legal obligations. 

"If we are to use the Pension fund success story as a template for the Insurance Industry, then we can jointly identify the required road map."

She also stressed the need to strengthen the capital base of insurance companies.

She recalled that in 1981, the minimum capital requirement for banks was N1million while that of composite insurance companies was N0.8 million. By 2014 Banks had grown theirs to N25 billion and Composite Insurance Companies to N5 billion showing that Banks had grown capital requirements 8x faster. The industry needs to recapitalise. Capital levels were last raised in 2007. To take true advantage of the opportunity for the industry we must recapitalise and reposition. The top 3 banks have capital in excess of N300 billion each! The top 3 insurers have capital of between N14 billion to N25 billion.

"The insurance sector needs to raise minimum capital requirements in a manner that is comparative to what happened to the banking sector in the last two to three decades. Increased capital will provide funding for publicity and product development. It will raise the clout of insurance companies in policy formulation and will enhance our capacity to hire the best people and deploy the technology and marketing, product awareness and investment needed to support the industry.”

According to her, the current administration firmly believes that the economy has only one direction to move in and that is upwards as true change means doing things differently with the full expectation of different outcomes. “Our confidence in the future of our economy is not based on the statistics that have consistently detailed its potential but rather the deliberate policies and actions that will ensure a robust and sustainable recovery.

“Our economic focus is built on pursuing a disciplined approach to our financial management, reducing the cost of governance and increasing its impact. This is being attained by efforts to maximise revenues and minimise leakages through corruption, waste and inefficiency. This will release the headroom needed to fund our essential infrastructure, which will in turn lead to the increased growth of the non-oil sector and a more diversified revenue base. Our days of reliance on oil as a principal source of revenue must be put firmly in our nation’s economic history. That process of adjustment is painful but like “’ good medicine” is the only effective cure.”

She said a key element of the enabling environment is the de-risking provided by the insurance industry.

Quoting NIA sources, the Minister said that Nigeria with a penetration of 0.3% recorded total industry Gross Written Premium (GPW) of N350 billion in 2015. “If we collectively set a 7-year target of achieving Africa’s average penetration of 3.5%, we can transform our industry into one with GWP of N4.5 trillion by 2023. 

To achieve this, the industry will have to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 44% from 2017 to 2023. This is in no way an impossible target and in fact represents the type of ambitious objectives we need to set for ourselves as several sectors in Nigeria including Telecoms, Banking and Pensions Management have been able to record such impressive growth through the collective support of all stakeholders. It is also consistent with the Change mandate of His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari. We have no reason to be different.”

She reiterated the need to act urgently, as the development of the Nigerian insurance industry will come with other attendant benefits that are critical  to achieve the type of growth and change for the economy and for the large number of Nigerians who have been deprived of the financial stability, protection and business growth that developed insurance markets have provided for their citizens for centuries. All successful economies are characterized by a strong investment culture of which insurance plays a key role.

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Pix: The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun (3^rd left) holding a plague presented to her at the National Insurance Conference 2016, in Abuja, Monday. To her right are Commissioner for Insurance, Alhaji Mohammed Kari and Chairman, the Nigerian Insurers Association, Mr. Eddie Efekoha. To the Minister’s left are Chairman, National Insurance Conference Planning Committee, Mrs Yetunde Ilori; President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Lady Isioma Chukwuma and President, Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria, Mr. Ralph Opara.

Etisalat boosts primary education in North East with kits

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In efforts towards achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on education in the country, Etisalat Nigeria, has partnered with a non-governmental organisation, Abuja Global Shapers Community and the Governments of North-Eastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa to provide free educational support to primary school pupils in the states, reports ITRealms.

The initiative tagged, “Community School Support Programme (CSSP)” features donation of Back-to-School kits, including school uniforms and bags, to pupils drawn from 10 primary schools in the states.

This, ITRealms gathered, is part of the company’s multi-faceted CSR programme that is committed to giving value to communities through various intervention programmes covering education, health, among others.

The benefiting schools are Yerwa Practising Primary School, Abbaganaram Primary School and Bulumkutu Primary School all in Borno State; Katuzu Community School, Gashua, Central Primary School, Potiskum and Lawan Kawuri Primary School, Geidam, all in Yobe State; and, Wuro Hausa Primary School, Yola Town, Community School, Demsa and Tudun Wada Primary School, Mayo Belwa in Adamawa State.

Speaking at the formal presentation of the kits to these schools in Maiduguri, Borno state on Monday, the Vice President, Regulatory and Corporate Affairs, Etisalat Nigeria, Ibrahim Dikko, said the partnership is intended to enhance ongoing efforts aimed at making basic education available and sustainable.

Mr. Dikko, who was represented by the company’s Head, Government and Community Relations, Mohammed Suleh-Yusuf, reiterated the commitment of the telecommunications giant to sustainable development initiatives that impact on the wellbeing of the populace across various sectors.

“Etisalat Nigeria is committed to delivering sustainable community support programmes that will complement public services and extend benefits to the grassroots across Nigeria. We are proud to be able to contribute positively to achieving the objective of improving our partner states especially in the area of Education. We will continue to collaborate to move the states and indeed the nation forward,” he assured.

Also speaking, the Borno State Commissioner for Education, Hon. Musa Inuwa Kobo represented by the Permanent Secretary, Borno State Ministry of Education, commended Etisalat for pursuing causes that serve the interest of the societies in which it operates. He identified investment in education as one fundamental way to secure a progressive future while advancing the cause of the larger society.

“Today, if we are not mindful of the education sector, tomorrow, we will have incompetent lawyers and as a result, people will lose their liberty, we are going to have incompetent doctors, and as a result, people will lose their lives, we are going to have incompetent engineers  and as result, bridges will collapse, roads will fail. If we are to be called a civilized society, we should take time and make sacrifices for the future. This is the lesson Etisalat is teaching us. Etisalat as a corporate organisation is mindful of its social responsibility,” he said.

Uj. N. Dominic/GEE

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Pix: (L-R) Head, Government and Community Relations, Etisalat Nigeria, Mohammed Suley-Yusuf; Permanent Secretary, Borno State Ministry of Education and Member, Borno State Education Board, Engr. Mohammed Gamboni presenting to a pupil of Yerwa Practising Primary School, Borno, one of the Back-to-School kits donated by Etisalat Nigeria in Maiduguri on Monday.