Facebook in $5bn fine, ordered on oversight layers for data collection - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The United States Federal Trade Commission recently imposed a $5 billion penalty on Facebook, over the violation of consumers’ privacy, reports ITREALMS.

Also, ITREALMS gathered that the penalty handed out in late July, mandated Facebook to undertake a privacy review of every new product or service that must be submitted to the chief executive officer (CEO) and third party assessor every quarter.

On May 15, 2018, it was reported that the US Department of Justice (DoJ) & the Federal Bureau of Investigation had opened an investigation into Cambridge Analytica over alleged misuse of data collected from Facebook. 

ITREALMS also gathered that in April 2018 several countries including Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom launched investigations into Facebook and the alleged data misuse.

On July 24, 2019, Facebook in a blogpost stated that the “agreement will require a fundamental shift in the way we approach our work and it will place additional responsibility on people building our products at every level of the company.” 

Equally ITREALMS noted reports that critics of the settlement argue that the agreement does not impose any meaningful changes to the company’s structure of financial incentives. It is also reported that privacy groups have filed a motion to intervene with a US district court to file comments on the fairness and adequacy of the settlement. 

Chuks Egbune/Editor
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Okere unveils 5 forces for social and global impact - ITREALMS

TuesdayCommentary@ITREALMS:

Being a keynote address by Austin Okere at the ACT 2019 Breakfast Dialogue on the 25th of July, 2019.

With Tunde Falawiyo at 3rd ACT Foundation breakfast dialogue in Lagos,
 where the "Austin's 5 Forces Model for Analyzing Sustainable Growth" was unveiled.

Good Morning distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, it is indeed an honour and a pleasure to share my thoughts and insights at this third ACT Breakfast Dialogue.

I do commend the ACT for the good work they are doing in the multi-stakeholder platform to build relationships and leverage on core knowledge, skills, resources and assets of all sector players to facilitate the necessary scale needed to drive social development in global progressive order.

The leadership challenge is clear. It will be impossible to achieve true social and economic development without collaborative action by business, government, NGOs and civil society, while Effective governance creates frameworks for stronger institutions, transparency and respect for rule of law.

After Founding and listing CWG as the largest Security in the Technology sector on the NSE, I turned my effort towards enabling shared prosperity through mentoring Businesses to scale geometrically to optimize the jobs they create through the Ausso Leadership Academy.

Being a Consultant at the SDG Africa Centre in Rwanda has opened my eyes to the global framework for economic growth that protects the fundamental pillars of humanity and the planet. The SDGs are about People, Planet, Prosperity and Peace – and about driving development in an inclusive way that leaves no one behind.

I am pleased to announce that I will be using this platform to launch the new model that I have developed called Austin’s five forces model for analyzing sustainable growth (A5F) – You will be the first to see it (of course besides my son, Omimi Okere who helped me with the artwork of the diagram).

I see Five Forces driving sustainable growth as follows – Organisations, Population, Enablers, Infrastructure, Socio-Political Environment. I will use the A5F to talk through my presentation and end with a short video on Champion testimonies at the Ausso Leadership Academy.

Organizations

The more and of scale in the polity, the more jobs they can provide, and the better for social mobility and sustainable growth

Many of those in a society stuck at the wrong end of the Gini-coefficient is majorly locked out of the ‘consumption pool’ for a variety of reasons; including affordability, availability and awareness.

According to Efosa Ojomo, a research fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, the way we define competition, and the method employed by companies to assess the competitive landscape leaves out the most important competitor of all - non-consumption.

And nowhere is this feisty competitor more prominent than in emerging markets. While companies compete for the few people in the consumption pool, their fiercest competition is the huge segment of society that is not consuming.

Finding ways of including this large demography will not only boost production, sales and distribution but will also provide additional jobs to meet the increased demand. This sets off a self-sustaining cycle of growth and further inclusiveness.

Entrepreneurs, investors, and managers can invest in what Harvard Business School Professor, Clayton Christensen calls ‘market-creating innovation’ to transform complicated and expensive products into simpler and less expensive products, making them accessible to significantly more people in society, for instance, Indomie Noodles

Market-creating innovations pull people from non-consumption into the consumption pool. Companies that engage in these types of innovations are the engines of economic growth in an economy.

A perfect example of a market-creating innovation is Henry Ford’s Model T car. Henry Ford was able to manufacture a car that was inexpensive enough for an American with a modest income to purchase.

He also made the car easier to drive so that owners would not have to hire a driver or need special expertise. Some of Ford’s innovations were the assembly line which reduced the Model T chassis assembly from 12.5 hours to 1.5 hours.

Ford passed on the cost savings to the new class of consumers of automobiles such that by 1925 the price of his car had plummeted from $825 to $260.

Most developed economies are built of the back of the deep entrepreneurial activity

Just imagine if we could mentor each of the 36,994,578, micro-business to scale to the point of adding just one more employee - this will absorb all the 21m unemployed in the working-age population with much more leftover for immigrants

Population

While society in the past was split between the haves and have nots, society today is split more along the lines of those who are included and those left behind. This inequality is most heavily felt in emerging markets, where 80% of the world resides.

Take for instance fast developing India. While globalisation has significantly increased GDP, it has also expanded the already wide chasm between the rich minority and poor majority.

For instance, seven companies on Fortune’s 2016 Unicorn List were in India, mostly in the e-commerce sector. That’s more than South Korea, the Netherlands and Canada combined.

However, the 12.5m employed directly and indirectly by the ICT sector and contributing 25% of India’s export revenue, accounts for only 2.5% of the national labour force.

The bottom line is that India is an agrarian society with more than half the population engaged in agriculture and allied industry. By cutting subsidy on irrigation and other rural needs and switching farm output from food crops to fertiliser intensive cash crops, the poor have gotten poorer.

On the other end of the chasm, dollar billionaires in India have jumped to 110 in 2015; the third-largest after the US and China, while dollar millionaires have crossed the 250,000 marks.

This is what the Canadian political philosopher, Crawford Macpherson describes as the ethic of possessive individualism.

In his book, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, famed author Peter Drucker wrote about an entrepreneurial society and its impact on economic development. An entrepreneurial society is one that it is either prosperous or on a path to prosperity; different from mere growth.

Economies can grow without becoming prosperous. We saw this happen in the 2000s when many African economies, such as Nigeria, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea, were the fastest growing in the world but failed to create prosperity for millions of their citizens

A close examination of those left behind shows that they are mostly the youth of our society. For example, while the unemployment/underemployed rate in Nigeria is 32.6%, the rate among the age bracket of 15-24 years is as high as 58.3%.

The sheer size of unemployed youths is surely a time bomb waiting to explode, as they are left to be seduced by terrorist ideals or other antisocial proclivities out of desperation.

A highly engaged Labour Force earn salaries for an expanding stable middle class, that ensures purchasing power, and they pay taxes for Infrastructure development and social welfare

By 2050, Africa’s population will double, reaching 2.5b people – just about the current combined population of India and China. In Nigeria, the working-age population increased from 111.1 million in 2017 to 115.5million in 2018

What is worrisome is that while the population was growing at a rate of 2.6%, the GDP growth rate was just 1.9 %, lower than that of the USA 3.1% in Q1 2019 and 6.9% and 6.6% China and India respectively

Enablers

Enablers refer to Regulators, Technology, Education, Healthcare, Financial Institutions and Social Impact Organisations

While Regulators can either be a source of tailwind or headwind depending on your clime, Technology such as Artificial intelligence, Machine Learning, Virtual, Augmentation, Virtual Reality and Big Data has drastically disrupted the landscape, with the most impact felt in technology platforms

The biggest impact of technology has been in Platforms, such as Facebook, Google, Amazon, Uber and Airbnb. There is hardly an area of economic and social interaction that is left untouched by these Platforms in some way or form.  -Source: BTC Manager.

Two major areas in which the Platform Czars have riled the establishment are in transportation and hospitality; the major ‘culprits’ being Travis Kalanick of UBER and Brian Chesky of Airbnb.

UBER, until recently a relatively unknown company out of Silicon Valley in California, employs 3m drivers and 75m riders globally today. This transport services disrupter is now valued at $82.4b and operates in many major cities across the globe.

Airbnb, a previously obscure company with similar roots, has over 5m listings worldwide and is now valued at $35b.

These Platforms provide a means of significantly extending services at low-cost efficiencies, and as a result draw many people into the consumption pool, while also creating many jobs along the value chain which would otherwise simply not exist

The ubiquity of broadband and the proliferation of smartphones has extended the life of Platforms and made services that were hitherto unavailable to a large section of the population possible.

This heralds an era of unprecedented inclusiveness. For instance MPESA today has more than 60% of Kenya’s 33 million mobile users and in 2015 transacted $28m on her platform – equivalent to a whopping 44% of their GDP. Similar applications have metamorphosed across Africa, and Mobile Money services are today generating 6.7% of Africa’s GDP.

While Platforms will bring inclusiveness and bring a lot of people into the consumption pool, there are major regulatory challenges that have to be surmounted as a result of issues that were not foreseen when the governing statutes and regulations were enacted.

To fill the regulatory gaps these Platform behemoths have resorted to what could be referred to as spontaneous deregulation, which has arisen as a result of Platform disrupters ignoring laws and regulations that appear to preclude their business model.

Believing in the efficacy of their utility model and its appeal to pent-up global demand, these disrupters seem to see many rules and regulations as belonging to the past and impractical for today’s innovative clime.

They therefore simply ignore them, opting for their own version of self-regulation, usually based on a mutual rating system between service providers and consumers. Facebook has had to face Regulators in the US and Europe over this, while it has claimed UBER Founder Travis Kalanick

A bigger dilemma perhaps is the placement of regulation. For instance, who should regulate the plethora of Fintech companies springing up globally and providing Platforms for financial inclusion; should it be Central Banks or the Communications Commissions? The jury is still out on this.

Another major worry is the issue of the Platform provider having an undue advantage by also being players on their Platform. This makes them the judge and jury in their own case. A glaring example will be Facebook and her Libra Cryptocurrency which is threatening to replace the US Dollar as the global reserve currency

Education one area where there is a need to reach far more than our traditional schools can cater to. Here again, leveraging on online learning Platforms to provide Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are coming to the rescue.

Research and Markets forecasts that e-learning will grow to $325 Billion by 2025 from $107b in 2015; perhaps becoming the future of education

Infrastructure

Infrastructure speaks to Power, Ports, Transportation, Communication and Housing. By 2050...the infrastructure needed for the for 2.5b Africans will be unprecedented in the history of humankind.

700m housing units, 300k schools, and 100k health centres. Can you imagine Nigeria without a significant network of Rail or a functional underground transport system in 2050?

The UK has Underground Tube system moves 1.35b people annually and has been operating for about 150 years. African countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya are making strident advances in rail transportation

Socio-Political Environment

Nothing impacts the attraction of Capital and rapid Economic Development like a stable socio-pollical environment. Nigeria is a classic example of a nation rich in-laws but weak in enforcement. The blind application of the law without regard to status, colour or creed is what enshrines deterrence and increases the value of the real estate of the postcode.

There is no doubt that the recent imposition of a hefty $15b fine by the US Government on German carmaker, Volkswagen, for emission results falsification will cause contemporaries to think twice before yielding to any similar yearnings for shortcuts.

It is the pursuit of deterrence that drives developed countries from sparing any high ranking members of the society who fall foul of the law, not least their Presidents, who are held to a higher account. The celebrated case of former American President, Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal is a good example.

On this score, we have a lot to do to change the negative perception of the Nigerian (and indeed African) postcode. The rule of law is more about enforcing existing rules than creating new laws. Any society that does not abide by some code of conduct whether in public or private matters tend to become chaotic, and virtually ungovernable.

The whole society eventually descends into a macabre dance of impunity. Conscience is thrown out, and justice is on sale to the highest bidder. According to Yury Fedotov, Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime,

“Corruption represents a major threat to the rule of law and sustainable development the world over. It has a disproportionate, destructive impact on the poor and most vulnerable, but it is also quite simply bad for business”

CONCLUSION

Notice that I have not included natural resources such as Oil and Gas or other commodities as a significant factor in sustainable development. These are a bonus that the state can capitalize on to accelerate growth but are no means a necessity

There are many successful nations with no significant natural resources that have done very well, such as Singapore and Dubai, and some with significant natural resources that have also done well such as Norway

The difference between the poor and rich nation does not depend on the available natural resources, there is, therefore, no substantiation to the notion of substantial natural resources as a curse – otherwise, why is Norway not cursed?

Japan has limited territory, 80% mountainous, unsuitable for agriculture or farming, but is the second in the world's economy. The second example is Switzerland, it does not grow cocoa but produces the best chocolates in the world

Executives from rich countries who interact with their counterparts from poor countries show no significant intellectual differences. The good news is that racial or colour factors also do not evince importance: migrants heavy in laziness in their country of origin are forcefully productive in rich European countries.

What then is the difference? The difference is the attitude of the people, moulded for many years by education and culture.

When we analyse the conduct of the people from the rich and developed countries, it is observed that a majority abide by the following principles of life: Ethics, as basic principles, Integrity, Responsibility, The respect for Laws and Regulations, The respect of the majority of citizens for the rile of law, The love for work and pride in their work, the effort to save and invest, The will to be productive and Punctuality.

In poor countries, a small minority follow these basic principles in their daily life. We are not poor because we lack natural resources or because nature was cruel towards us. We are poor because we lack the right attitude

According to the ancient Greeks, the founders of modern civilization, there are three kinds of people in any society

Idiots - all out for his personal pleasures and his personal treasures

Tribesmen - does not necessarily mean belonging to a certain tribe; which is not bad in itself, but people with a tribalistic mentality; their primary, only and ultimate allegiance is to their tribe. Their tribe is their god and their religion is tribalism

Citizens - the ideal person, they called the citizen; someone who has the skills and the knowledge to live a public life, who is able to live a life of civility.

The citizen recognizes that he or she is a member of a commonwealth and thus strives for the common good. The citizen knows his right in society but also knows his responsibility to society

The citizen can fight for his right but always with an awareness of, and with the respect for the rights and interest of others. Of their neighbours, of the smallest minority and of the worst of his enemies

Indeed, no sovereign can make any significant advancement when the number of idiots and tribesmen far outnumber the number of citizens... take a guess at what percentage of Nigerians behave like idiots, tribespeople and citizens. Do the results shock you?

"Law of Sovereign Advancement"

Nigeria is her people; If we want to see change, we have to start by being citizens of our country.

Let me end with a quote from Maria Robinson that says, "Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."

With initiatives such as this by ACT, we can indeed start today to make a new ending towards engaging for growth for social and global impact.

Thank you and God bless you!

*Austin Okere is the Founder of CWG Plc, the largest ICT Company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange & Entrepreneur in Residence at CBS, New York. Austin also serves on the Advisory Board of the Global Business School Network, and on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Innovation and Intrapreneurship. Austin is a Consultant to the Sustainable Development Goals Africa Centre in Kigali and now runs the Ausso Leadership Academy focused on Business and Entrepreneurial Mentorship

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Incessant killings of Catholic priests and Buhari's silent mode - ITREALMS

MondayCommentary@ITREALMS:

The Catholic Priesthood is a unique vocation not only within the Church, but also among other religious preachers & ministers. A Catholic Priest receives Holy Orders, which is a sacrament, meaning that he receives special graces to fulfill his ministry.

The continuous killings of Catholic Priests in different communities in the country keeps receiving attention based on the dastardly act carried out by Fulani herdsmen.

Fulani herdsmen are seen by the Global Terrorism Index as the fourth deadliest terror group in the world. Hardly does each day pass without stories of Fulani herdsmen popping up.

Life under Buhari's watch has remained on the negative dimension, as the Fulani herdsmen under the guise of cattle grazing, the herdsmen keep carrying out notorious acts because lives are always wasted.

The killing of Rev. Fr. Paul Offu as the recent one & last week Friday, angry Catholic Priests marched to the Government House, Enugu with different inscriptions such as: " enough is enough, government should rise to defend Nigerians".

Protection of lives & property of citizens is a constitutional responsibility which can't be shoved aside. I must say here that insecurity has remained a major problem in a country that Buhari promised Nigerians about his plans to tackle insecurity. Human life is so cheap now, as the number of deaths keeps increasing.

The Fulani herdsmen (killers) saunter away from the scenes of massacres unchallenged.

Killing a Catholic Priest is evil & satanic. Some see it as an act capable of stoking up religious conflict in the country & plunge the communities into endless bloodletting.

Buhari should stop any blame game for now, he has his work cut out, should stand up & put an end to these killings. Enough of his lacklustre performance. The pains of his unfulfilled promises during his first term are still visible. He should give Nigerians hope & not leave them with the dot of despair.

On the killings, in an homily by Rev. Fr. Joseph Osunde, OP, he said, Nigerians are only good at reactive means, rather than to be proactive and than the onus lies on us to turn things around, if we agree to say " Yes We Can".

The worrisome dimension is now the killing of Priests, the Priests are now at the receiving end due to government's ineptitude. Nigerians now live in fear, as they don't know the next point (place) of attack & the next victim.

The gory pictures of killed Catholic Priests are all over the place. In the hour of need, leaders lead. Is Buhari leading?

For Catholics, we all need our Priests to carry out their vocation, help us all in the journey of faith & we don't want these sorry tales of killings by Fulani herdsmen.

Buhari, your silent mode is no longer acceptable, because this madness must stop by taking decisive measures & also nipped in the bud timely.

This is not an animal kingdom. May God bless Nigeria!

*CHRIS URUAKPA contributed this from Lagos.

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Looming Anarchy: 406 groups warn Buhari, 36 governors - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

A coalition of 406 indigenous youth groups in Nigeria and the Diaspora on Saturday called on President Muhammdu Buhari and the 36 state governors to immediately save the country from collapse, reports ITREALMS.

The groups, under the aegis of the Nigerian Ethnic Nationality Youth Leaders Forum (NENYLF), also appealed to Buhari to order the immediate release of Omoyele Sowore, who was detained for allegedly planning a 'Revution Now Movement' protest.

The groups spoke on the state of the nation in a joint statement signed by Alhaji Yerima Shettima of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), who doubles as chairman of NENYLF, Aremo Oladotun Hassan, President of the Yoruba Council of Youths Worldwide, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, President General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide and Barr. Pereotubo Oweilaemi, President, Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide.

According to them, the country now faces obvious signs of anarchy and no responsible government and its leadership can continue to fold their arms pretending that all is well.
They listed some of the challenges facing the country to include "serial political imbalance and hydraheaded government's policies."

They demanded for 'a new people's national dialogue document master plan' to immediately to "salvage the ailing ship of the nation from imminent total collapse, in view of the ongoing premeditated and inciteful actions from various groups intended to cause full breakdown of law and order."

The coalition decried the crippling effect of corruption on the economy, political rifts, continued attacks by armed bandits and terrorists, kidnappings and killings of peace-loving Nigerians across the nation.

"We are more informed and learned to see daily threats as an invitation to anarchy and civil disturbances precipitating our further urgent and immediate call on President Muhammadu Buhari alongside 36 states governors to jointly proffer short and long term goals and objectives, aimed at rebuilding confidence and patriotism, developing economic master plan and innovative poverty alleviation programs in Nigeria," the coalition said.

According to the groups, steps must be taken urgently to show the will power of democracy at work, and protect the civil rights of the citizens, preserve constitutional authority and sovereignty of the government.

They urged the authorities to ensure that the various regions of the country do not remain breeding grounds for terrorism, wanton kidnapping, daily killings, corruption inflicted economy and nepotism.

"We shall be demanding that President Muhammadu Buhari set all machineries of government in motion to kickstart the convocation of a National Dialogue ahead 30th September to 1st October, 2019. 

"This is a no holds bar National Dialogue predicated on discussing critical areas of our national lives, in order to guarantee national security, peace, economic growth and political stability and development of Nigeria," the groups said.

While urging the government to go after criminals irrespective of their ethnic leanings, they warned the perpetrators of insecurity to desist forthwith from any actions capable of causing national commotion under whatsoever guise with immediate effect.

Uboshe Uboshe/Editor

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#RevolutionNow protest: Gunshots @National Stadium Lagos

ITREALMS:

The air around the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, on Monday morning, showed several gunshots with armed policemen and soldiers hunting and dispersing members of the hashtag RevolutionNow movement who converged at the venue, Surulere, Lagos, reports ITREALMS.

“The protesters, who arrived at the stadium around 7am on Monday, for the kick-off of the protest met a detachment of policemen at the entrance of the stadium. And some soldiers later joined the policemen,” reports TheCable.

The report further quoted a protester, who gave name as Eliaz Ozikpu, lamenting that he was discussing the protest plans with others when security operatives crossed over the road to meet them.

“We were standing here, while they watched us from the other side. Suddenly, they moved on us and said we can’t talk to the press. We weren’t even talking to the press yet. We were addressing ourselves,” he was quoted as saying.

In addition, he said, “The protesters, however, started chanting calling for the release of Omoyele Sowore, convener of the movement who was arrested Friday night by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).”

ITREALMS gathered that both the Police and the Presidency had categorised the protest as treasonable felony and warned the organisers to abandon the venture but lawyers and activists disagreed, saying that street protest cannot be regarded as treason.

Although there were series of gunshots at proposed venue but the incident has been recorded.
Ayo Midele/Editor

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Ekiti Bishop advocates capital punishment for rapist - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Bishop of Ekiti Diocese of Anglican Communion, Rt. Rev’d Christopher Omotunde, has called on Ekiti State government to enact a law that will attract maximum punishment for anyone convicted of rape or child abuse, reports ITREALMS.

The cleric, made the call at the weekend during a sermon at the burial ceremony of Chief Thomas Olonisakin in Igbemo Ekiti. Rev Omotunde said such laws would put an end to wanton abuse of children and women in the state.

The Bishop lamented the rate at which minors are being violated in the country. He said such acts should be condemned in its entirety. He urged Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, to encourage the state Assembly to come up with a law on capital punishment for rapists, so that other states can also follow suit.

Rev Omotunde who hailed the child rights law and the Gender based violence laws of the state, said a more strident penalty must be meted out to sex offenders in order to stem the ugly trend.

Bishop Omotiunde in a direct appeal to Governor Fayemi, who was in attendance at the burial service said: “I want you to push it to the assembly to legislate capital punishment for those who abuse children, for those who rape either young children or adult. We want it, we want sanity, you have started it, I want you to push it until it becomes law for us here.

“And what can make life comfortable for our women, unfortunately, I’m a man, but most of our men abuse women, they misuse them, I’m not saying equality now, but there must be a measure of respect for our women in the society”.

Bishop Omotunde commended Governor Fayemi of Ekiti state for his efforts at ensuring that Ekiti becomes safer for investors, through collaboration with the security agencies and the traditional institution..

He stressed the need for more development projects from private sector that will complement all the efforts of government aimed at bringing more development to the state.

He said, “I pray that the security policy the government is trying to make will work for us in Ekiti state, because if there is security, people will love to come to the state. We pray that the move you are making towards security in the state to attract people to come and invest will be possible for you in Jesus name.”

Ayo Midele/Editor

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Flood: Imo deputy governor visits affected communities - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Deputy Governor of Imo State, Rt. Hon. Gerald Alphonsus Irona, weekend, visited some communities in the state ravaged by flood, assuring them of the determination of the State Government to bring succor to them, reports ITREALMS.

Addressing residents of the affected communities in Orsu Obodo in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State, the Deputy Governor described the development as unfortunate, even as he reiterated the state government’s commitment to ameliorating their sufferings.

“On behalf of the Government of Imo State, led by our Governor, His Excellency, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, we are here to see things for ourselves. It is unfortunate. It is a natural disaster, but Government will take steps to assist you and other affected communities. It is a pity. We have gone round all the affected communities and we have seen the level of damage.”

“We shall send experts to see how to ensure that this is controlled and that it does not happen again. I am here to commiserate with the victims of the flood. We have seen and appreciate the extent of the damage. We have seen that most of the communities have been submerged. People have lost property, but we are very lucky that no life has been lost so far. We shall try to give palliatives to the victims.”

Expressing happiness with the Deputy Governor’s visit, one of the jubilant community leaders, Rtd. DSP Andrew Anele Anyiwo commended the Government of Imo State for its timely intervention, reiterating the people’s confidence in the administration of Chief Emeka Ihedioha.

“Your Excellency, you have shown us love. We are hopeful that this your visit will bring about positive results. We trust you and we will continue to support you. Please, extend our appreciation to the Governor, Chief Emeka Ihedioha. We are suffering. Our farmlands are also affected by the flood. Please, come to our aid.”

Among the flooded communities visited by the Deputy Governor are: Orsu Obodo and Oguta, both in Oguta Local Government Area, as well as Mgbidi in Oru West Local Government Area affected by the flood.

In the Deputy Governor’s team were: Hon. Barr. Frank Ugboma, member representing Oguta state Constituency in Imo State House of Assembly, Managing Director, Imo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission- ISOPADEC, Engr. Anthony Okwuosha, Chairman, Interim Management Committee of Oguta LGA, Hon. Hilary Eberendu, Communication Adviser to the Deputy Governor, Dr. Walter Duru, Environmental and Disaster Risk Management Specialist, National Emergency Management Agency-NEMA, Evans Ugoh Ignatius, among others.

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NNPC/SNEPCo cancer machine reduces treatment waiting time by 80 percent - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The new cutting-edge cancer treatment machine just installed at the National Hospital Abuja will reduce patient’s treatment waiting time from 16 minutes to two minutes, the Chief Medical Director of the Hospital, Dr. Jaf Momoh, said Friday at the inauguration of the equipment by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, reports ITREALMS.

The Elekta Synergy Linear Accelerator radiotherapy machine donated by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) enables treatment to focus on the cancer tumor and not impact other organs in the patient.

Momoh described the intervention by NNPC and SNEPCo as timely noting that first cancer treatment equipment in the hospital became disused in 2017 after 17 years of use which caused the hospital management to set out for two state-of-the-art replacement machines.

According to him, the first replacement machine was installed and inaugurated in December 2017 and has since “treated 850 patients in over 25,000 cycles of radiotherapy sessions”.

“With this new machine, the hospital is poised for effective and efficient cancer treatment with no interruption during periods of routine equipment maintenance,” Momoh said, adding that indigent patients would enjoy subsidised treatment.

In his speech, Vice President Osinbajo said cancer prevention initiatives should be promoted, noting that many cases of the disease could be prevented.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Alhaji Abdullahi Mashi, Osinbajo said “The increasing trend in the prevalence of cancer may be a reflection of lifestyles which goes to show that lifestyle modifications may go a long way in curtailing the scourge. This underscores the importance of awareness creation at all health facilities and provision of screening facilities.”

The Vice President charged well-meaning Nigerians and organisations “to replicate what NNPC and Shell Nigeria have done in other health facilities to make cancer treatment easily accessible to patients.”

SNEPCo’s Managing Director, Bayo Ojulari, said the intervention by NNPC and SNEPCo was to support government to widen treatment access, reduce waiting time significantly, and provide world-class facility that boasts of precision.

“The Elekta Synergy LINAC offers a unique radiation therapy technique that accurately shapes the radiation dose to the tumour with very little or no adverse effect on the surrounding organs, he said.

According to him, the cancer support was one of the five critical health projects being executed across the country by NNPC, SNEPCo and their co-venture partners.

He listed other projects to include Medical Emergency Response Improvement Programme in Lagos; Health System Strengthening Project at the Primary Healthcare Centre in Ogijo, Ogun State; Community Care Programmes – Health in Motion – across Nigeria; and Integrated Humanitarian Assistance Project for internally displaced persons in Dikwa, Bornu State where over 50,000 persons have so far enjoyed a broad range medical services, with over 826 children delivered.

Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mr. Mele Kolo Kyari, who was represented by the Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, pledged the commitment of the corporation to any initiatives aimed at touching the lives of Nigerians and stemming medical tourism out of the country.

Also at the equipment inauguration were former Speaker, House of Representatives and Chairman of the Governing Board of the National Hospital Abuja, Mrs. Patricia Etteh; Managing Director of JNC International, the equipment solutions partner, Mrs. Clare Omatseye; Director, The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Mr. Bashir Bello; and representatives of SNEPCo’s co-venture partners: Esso E&P Nigeria (Deepwater) Ltd; Total E&P Nigeria Ltd; and Nigeria Agip Exploration Ltd.

Uboshe Uboshe/Editor

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Pix: L-R: Chief Medical Director, National Hospital Abuja, Dr. Jaf Momoh; Chairman of the Governing Board of the National Hospital Abuja, Mrs. Patricia Etteh;Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Abdullahi Mashi; Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), Bayo Ojulari; Group General Manager, Public Affairs of Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Ndu Ughamadu; and Deputy General Manager External Relations of Shell Nigeria, Dr. Alice Ajeh, at the inauguration of a Linear Accelerator Radiotherapy machine donated to the hospital by NNPC/SNEPCo in Abuja on Friday.

Internet Subscriber base: Glo leads MNOs in June acquisition - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Globacom has been named top among the Nigeria's Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in the latest statistics of Internet subscribers released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for the month of June, reports ITREALMS.

The month of June was reportedly difficult as the total number of internet subscribers dropped by a whopping 332,338 from 122,624,417 in May to 122,292,079 in June.

The bulwark against complete free fall came from Globacom and Airtel who recorded subscriber gains, while the other operators recorded a loss.

Globacom gained a total of 196,816, moving from 28,825,533 data subscribers in May to 29,022,349 in June. Airtel gained a total of 42,510 subscribers in the corresponding period.

On the other hand, MTN lost 178,103 subscribers, dropping from 52,433,020 in May to 52,254,917 in June. Nigeria’s fourth largest telecommunications operator, 9Mobile lost 310,924 data subscribers, dropping from 9,350,477 in May to 9, 039,553 in June.

Globacom has proven to be the favourite of internet subscribers over the years on account of its customer-friendly data packages and fast internet connectivity. The operator became the first network in Nigeria to launch nationwide 4G in 2016. With the launch of the service, millions of subscribers on the Glo network have been able to enjoy instant, efficient broadband internet connectivity.

Remmy Nweke/Editor

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Partnering agribusiness investors to enhance Oyo economy - ITREALMS.

ITREALMS:

The Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, has said that the recent partnership with some agribusiness investors will enhance the economy of the state, reports ITREALMS.

This, he also said will encourage investors in the agriculture sector to expand the economy of the state as well as surmount challenges facing their operations therein.

The governor stated this during a visit to inspect the abandoned 10,000 metric-tons silo project embarked upon by the immediate past administration and the Ajila Value Adding Ventures Limited in Aawe.

In the governor’s entourage were the Chief of Staff, Chief Bisi Ilaka; the Head of Service, Alhaja Amidat Agboola; and the Executive Adviser to the Governor on Agribusiness, Dr. Debo Akande, among others.

Governor Makinde, according to a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, while speaking at the Ajila Value Adding Farms, Aawe, where he was conducted round the poultry, hatchery, egg powder processing plant and palm trees plantation of the farms, described the facility as world-class.

The Governor, who was received by the Alaawe of Aawe, Oba Cornelius Abiola Taiwo; Chairman of Ajila Farms, Mr Philip Olutayo; Managing Director of the farm, Mr Dotun Odekeye; president of Bond Group of Companies, Chief Debo Omotoso, and a foremost poultry farmer, Chief Lai Amoje, expressed his joy at the developments he witnessed at the Ajila Farms.

He maintained that it was the intention of his government to encourage Ajila Farms and other investors in the agriculture sector by addressing their challenges and, where necessary, providing incentives to help them expand their operations so that they could provide employment for the teeming youths of the state.

“Just as we have said in our manifesto, we want to drive our economy through agriculture and agriculture value chain. Most of the things I have seen and heard here are music to my ears: they want to process eggshells into egg powder and export it; they want to generate foreign exchange for the state and that is consistent with our idea of expanding the economy.

“We will encourage them. Some of them may have challenges; security challenges, some of them may have challenges with access to the market. We will look at their challenges and make sure that we solve them. And we may even give incentives to some of them to expand their operations and employ our youths,” Governor Makinde said.

The governor, while speaking at the site of the abandoned silo project, expressed displeasure at the pace of work, which he noted should have been completed within 10 months, making it clear that his government was ready to explore all options to make sure the project is delivered so that farmers and the state could derive value from it.

“We have had court cases over the project, so we intend to solve all these challenges because the state has expended so much money on that project and we have not been able to get any value from it. So, if we will need to spend a little more to make sure that we derive value from it, we will do it.

“The case is in arbitration right now, but I will encourage the contractor to come to sit down with us so that we can explore options of out of court settlement. We are not arrogant about this thing. This is a project that should bring value to our farmers and to the economy of the state and that is what we set out to achieve", he stressed.

Earlier, Phillips, chairman of the company, stated that the farm was focused on agriculture value chain and backward integration to provide direct and indirect employment for youths and other business concerns.

He maintained that the company was ready to partner with the Oyo State Government to boost agricultural development in the state, explaining that “our business is focused on agricultural value chain and backward integration, providing direct and indirect employment for youths, growing numerous other business concerns as the hub to ensure sustainable development and other indirect employment for our youths, vendors, suppliers, and contractors.”

Ayo Midele/Editor

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