Boycotting Anambra election, invitation to anarchy - SERG Warns

ITRealms:

The South East Revival Group (SERG) has called on all eligible voters in Anambra State to come out enmasse to exercise their civil rights to vote in the Saturday's governorship election in the state to avoid the declaration of state of emergency in the state, reports ITRealms.

The National Coordinator, SERG, Chief Willy Ezugwu, said in a press statement made available to ITRealms, that the pan-south east pressure group is warning the people against what he described as "moves by anti-Igbo elements to foist on the region an emergency rule, with a military administrator as over seer of the state.

"This must be avoided at any cost as the south east would be the worst for if the election was boycotted by the people."

He observed that the beauty of democracy is that if offers the electorate unique opportunity to vote out bad leadership in a state.

"Therefore, a state of anarchy must be avoided at any cost in the south east at this time.

"And we advise the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to thread with caution to avoid a repeat of the 1967 to 1970 civil war in the country.  We appeal to IPOB to sheath their swords and embrace dialogue.

"Every temptation for bloodletting must be vehemently resisted by all south easterners as we urge South East leaders to speak up now. We have been killed enough.

"Therefore, we urge all eligible voters in Anambra State to troop out and exercise their franchise to make a statement that Ndigbo are not lawless people or terrorists", SERG warned.

Ozo Nweke Ozo/GEE

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Nigeria still desire broadband capacity - Akinlola

ITREALMS:

The chief executive officer of Ntel, Mr. Ernest Akinlola has said that Nigeria is still very much desirous of broadband capacity, reports ITRealms.

Akinlola made this known at the 2017 Telecoms Executiveand Regulator Forum (TERF) at Oriental Hotel in Lagos, weekend, where he was represented by the Director, Regulatory and External Affairs at ntel, Mr. Osondu Nwokolo.

TERF is organised by the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and powered by InstinctWave.

He also noted that Nigeria is still in need of broadband capacity anchored on synergy by relevant stakeholders.

In addition, Nwokolo decried the fact that many at times, the decision affecting directly on the telecom sector is taken outside the industry without core industry players participating.

This, he said, does not argue well for the development and growth of the sector, especially in the telecom sector who are supposed to use the supposed infrastructure.

Equally, he said that spectrum trading is a good idea but content to drive it should be looked into as well.

He advised government to always include the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and operators who deliver based on requisite OEMs tp the end user.

Further, he canvassed for the OEMs to be part of the beneficiaries of any tax incentive to afford to domestication of their factories in the country, thereby creating jobs for Nigerians and reducing the cost of acquiring such equipment or devices by end users.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Niger Delta TV, pride to Bayelsa says Information Commissioner

ITRealms:

The Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson‎ on Monday visited the state owned Niger Delta Television‎ (NDTV) in Gbarantoru‎, describing it as one of the organizations that is so dear to the government, reports ITRealms.

According to him, the significance of NDTV accounts for why everything was being done to make it fly higher.

During the visit which was part of familiarization tour to agencies under his ministry, the Commissioner met with the management and staff of NDTV for over four hours also inspected its facilities.

Iworiso-Markson stated that with its wide reach and personnel, the television station has a great advantage over others.

‎He therefore charged the management and staff to work harder to sustain the pride of place it occupies and the huge investment the government has made so far.‎

The Commissioner said, "I have no doubt that you have the personnel to do the job but I want you to improve on your capacity and content, use your programmes to create a positive mindset on Bayelsans about the various government policies that have impacted positively on the lives of the people.

"You have the advantage because you have a wider reach. I understand people in far flung communities in our state view your programmes‎ and even those in other states, so that is clearly a plus for you. So I urge you to be up and running."

Iworiso-Markson who acknowledged some of the current challenges facing NDTV, admonished‎ the staff not to be deterred as ‎the government would take steps to address them.

He stressed that Governor Henry Seriake Dickson had been very passionate to see the station compete with others on the global‎ stage.

‎"Running a ‎television station is not a tea party, you all deserved to be commended but you must justify the need to address some of your demands as His Excellency, Governor Dickson wants to see this place move to the next level". iworiso-Markson said.

Earlier in his address, the General Manager of the Station,Tamarakuro Oweifie had intimated the Commissioner that since assumption of office in 2012, the present management has done a lot to change the face of broadcasting in the state.

He appealed to the Commissioner to look into the challenges facing the station which includes equipment, studio, utility buses and power to enable the staff perform more.

In her vote of thanks, the Head of Programmes, Mrs. Binna Nengi Ilagha, thanked the Commissioner and his team for finding time to visit the station, stating that the visit has given them a new sense of belonging and to look forward to a better future.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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ANA inaugurates four-man committee for mentorship

ITREALMS:

The Osun State chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) has inaugurated a four-man committee to handle the issues of teen authorship in the state, reports ITRealms.

The committee headed by Mr. Tunji Adepoju was set up with the aim of giving young writers the opportunity of enjoying the mentorship from established writers, in addition to having their writings published and read by their mates and others at the young age.

Mr. Muriola Awosemo, ANA Osun Chairman during the inauguration said “ANA Osun Young Writers Mentorship Scheme hopes to hone, enhance, nurture and publish works of teen and young writers between the ages of 9 and 17.”

The four-man committee, ITRealms gathered, include Mr. Bunyamin Zakariyah, Bada Yusuf and Mr. Adelowo Quadri as members.

Ayo Midele/GEE

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Electronic, video game festival opens

ITRealms:

The Electronic and Video Game Festival of Abidjan (FEJA) opened at the Palais de la Culture in Abidjan, Ivory Coast., reports ITRealms.

The festival which opened on November 11th, ITRealms gathered, brought together thousands of gaming enthusiasts from all over Africa, around the theme: Video Games in Africa, it is Possible.

ITRealms also reports that during the month of September, avid gamers participated in qualifying tournaments, with a total of 256 players from 6 African countries selected to compete and try to win rewards of more than 10.000 euros.

The event, ITRealms reports, has attracted participants from the entire eco-system of gaming in Africa including those working in animation, game design and sales of gaming technology.

The nascent gaming industry in Africa is experiencing a boom with ever more African themed games, local studios and rapid growth in mobile game revenues.

Uma Ahmadu/ED, Ops

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Anambra Decides 2017 - Obiano says life in danger over withdrawal of security details

ITRealms:

The Executive Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano, had Tuesday in Awka, the state capital, raised alarm over the sudden withdrawal of his security details by the Nigeria Police Force, early Tuesday, reports ITRealms.

The governor who staged walked out protest before the election stakeholders meeting at the Dora Akunyili Development Centre (DADC), Awka, after raising the alarm and having waited for hours without the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris presence, declared that “his life is in danger.”

Describing the development as unacceptable and dangerous signal on what would happen ahead of the governorship election, immediately demanded for the return of his security details to avoid untoward incidents.

“I want my security details returned immediately because I am going to start a fight from there. I am the sitting governor of Anambra State and all the paraphernalia of my office must be there.

“This is unacceptable and a sign of what will happen. Those behind this would be disappointed because we are very ready for the election.”

Addressing newsmen shortly after outside the Centre, Obiano said, “My life is in danger, this morning they withdrew my senior police aides, that is what I am saying and it is unacceptable. I am the governor and the chief executive officer of the state and we will fight this because we are not going to allow that to go.

“I don’t need any replacement. I want to work with the people I have worked with.”

In a related development, ITRealms reports that the governor had earlier complained of not being accorded recognition by the moderator when he walked in, despite several insistence, said he had wanted to speak with the Inspector General of Police who was to be at the meeting but was not around and he was not aware when he would come.

Responding, the National Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said the event was a stakeholders’ meeting, and as such no candidate would be accorded any special treatment regardless of his position.

He said the commission insists on equal treatment of all candidates in the election and should not only have equal standing, but must be respected.

Reacting to the governor’s alarm when he eventually arrived the meeting when almost all the candidates and majority of the stakeholders had left, the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris the withdrawal of the governor’s ADC and policemen attached to politicians was routine and the police do that during elections and was not in any way done to target the governor.

Police he said decided to withdraw the policemen attached to politicians because of previous experiences where such cops worked for their masters to truncate the process.

He said police have deployed 21,000 officers that would complement the 5,000 in the state, 303 patrol vehicles, three helicopters, one for each of the three zones, 15 gunboats and many more to ensure the safety and peace of the election.

Ozo Nweke Ozo in Awka with additional report from The Sun/GEE

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Savings! Savings!! Savings!!! That's all we hear from Peter Obi

Commentary@ITREALMS:

Savings ! savings !! savings !!! Thats all I hear. Saving in a state that lacks every imaginable basic amenities.

Yes , it is absolutely stupid to save money when basic infrastructures are lacking. It is the same naive thinking that made Peter Obi made ndi Anambra to believe that borrowing is a sin, and alas, most people bought into it. 

Biko tell me how much Lagos which is the 5th largest economy in Africa saved within the same period? 

They have largest debt profile in Nigeria. Ironically people  who should know actually key into this drag our state back. 

Obiano shied away from borrowing massively because of this same nonsense, they will say that Peter saved and hes borrowing. Yet we all are the loosers because instead of borrowing heavily to improve the infrastructural base of the state, which in turn will help the improve the economy and make it viable, we're busy waiting tiny IGR and paltry FAAC allocations to develop the state. 

Onowu has said it all. The other write up did justice to it. Biko there are no sentiments here. It was so wrong to save money the time he did. It might look like it was the right thing to do, but was it the best thing for the state at that particular moment? 

The answer is a capital NO. Besides the money in question is not Peters money, it belongs to ndi Anambra. People voted Obiano to pilot the affairs of this state  and that includes overseeing the saved money. 

He has every right to make use of the said money for the benefit of the state. I have not said that Peter Obi didn't do his best for the state. That will not be right because he did, but this penchant of certain people believing that it's either Peters  way or no other way begs the issue. He made some big mistakes while administering Anambra part of which is the savings issue at a time the state lacked basic amenities. 

The so called savings by Peter Obi was not a smart move. Modern economics abhor that. We are better educated here  to be debating this on this forum.

*Chief Oguguo Osakwe
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Two Nigerians shine @Shell global entrepreneurship prize

ITREALMS:

Two Nigerian business owners, Mr. Precious Adeho and Mrs. Ngozi Deborah Atalor, have emerged winners in the 2017 Shell LiveWIRE Top Ten Innovators competition, a global contest open to beneficiaries of Shell LiveWIRE, and aimed at rewarding shining cases of innovation in businesses supported by the programme, reports ITRealms.

A press statement made available to ITRealms by the Media Relations Manager at Shell Nigeria, Bamidele Odugbesan, said they emerged at the merit prize along with four others in the same category, while businesses from the United Kingdom and Pakistan took the top and runner-up awards. The winners were announced during the Global Entrepreneurship Week holding November 13 – 17 in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

“We congratulate the Nigerians on this feat,” said General Manager, External Relations, The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC.)  “Three Nigerians came up with creative ideas on energy efficiency and access to chemical and paint products, and were among 22 entrepreneurs from nine countries who vied for the prestigious prize. We are happy that young Nigerians have deployed the skills and funding assistance in our LiveWIRE training schemes and made a mark for themselves and our country.”

Adeho and Atalor won $5,000 each, the only Africans to clinch the prize. The overall winner received $15,000 while the three runners-up got $10,0000 each. Shortlisted businesses for the LiveWIRE Top Ten Innovators competition were judged by an international panel of business leaders, chaired by Mark Gainsborough, Executive Vice President of New Energies at Shell.

Trained by Shell LiveWIRE Nigeria, Adeho got a start-up grant to reposition his company, Emobella Engineering Nigeria Limited, which provides engineering services with a USP of 24-hour availability and high-quality customer service. The business model integrates a training programme for young people facing employment challenges in the region. Mr. Adeho said: “This is the best thing that has happened to me and my business. Shell LiveWIRE has taken our business to the global stage, and I want to thank Shell for the opportunity to showcase our vision.”

Atalor, a 2016 Shell LiveWIRE grant recipient, offers affordable solar energy solutions on a small scale to empower families and businesses in rural areas to adopt the technology. Her company, De-rahbs Energy Services, installs, services and repairs solar energy equipment, and provides a low-cost solar energy payment plan and training to future engineers and energy entrepreneurs. She said of the Merit prize: “I see the award as an encouragement to pursue my dream of taking solar energy to every home in Nigeria.”

Since its introduction in Nigeria in 2003, the LiveWIRE programme has trained 6,550 Niger Delta youths in enterprise development and management, and provided business start-up grants to 3,313.

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Corruption, Whistleblowing: Falana, Ribadu for summit

ITREALMS:

Lagos-based prominent human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana and pioneer chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu will on Tuesday headline a national summit on whistleblowing and the fight against corruption in Nigeria, reports ITRealms.

The event is being put together by the African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), in conjunction with House Committee on Financial Crimes, Socio-economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ).

The theme of the Summit scheduled to begin at 9am at Rockview Hotel in Abuja is FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION: HARNESSING THE WHISTLEBLOWING OPPORTUNITIES.  

According to Chido Onumah, Coordinator of the Centre, “The event is designed to interrogate the whistleblower policy and engage critical stakeholders responsible for promotion of the policy and its implementation.”

Aside Falana and Ribadu, other papers  will also be delivered by Waziri Adio, Executive Secretary, Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and Professor Abdullahi Shehu of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

The Summit is part of activities under the Corruption Anonymous project of AFRICMIL aimed at building public confidence and support for the whistleblower policy of the Nigerian government.

The project is supported by the MacArthur Foundation. 

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