– Praises Hamzat for his dedication to service of Lagos
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, says the State remains proud to have Dr. Obafemi Hamzat as its Deputy Governor.
Dr. Obasa said this on Sunday in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Eromosele Ebhomele, celebrating Dr. Hamzat, who clocks 58 on Monday, September 19.
According to the Speaker, the Deputy Governor has shown, consistently, his commitment, dedication and passion to the goal of making Lagos an enviable State in Nigeria and one admired by the world.
He added that Hamzat at 58, remains a perfect example of a technocrat who is not only effective in the discharge of his duties, but uses all within his powers to ensure the good of the majority.
The Speaker further noted the seamless running of the Lagos government made up of the Executive, legislative and judicial arms, attributing this to the knowledge, wisdom and zeal of leaders including Hamzat to make the State constantly habitable for the residents.
“I congratulate Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, my brother and friend in the service of Lagos and the nation as he marks his 58th birthday.
“To say Lagos is not tired of him is just saying the obvious. He has helped, over time, to lift the civil service of our dear State to an enviable height.
“We are happy to have him serve Lagos as Deputy Governor at this time, especially with his knowledge of how our dear State works.
“Again, it is noteworthy that our Deputy Governor has consistently shown beyond every reasonable doubt what a dependable ally in the scheme of progress he is.
“He has always been a loyal team player with fantastic knowledge and managerial skills. His records of service and achievements cannot be under-emphasised and have been sources of encouragement for many.
“We remain proud of him as we wish him more divine knowledge, wisdom and vitality to carry on in the service of Allah and the people.
“Happy birthday tfrom me and my colleagues at the Lagos State House of Assembly,” the statement read.
Eromosele Ebhomele
Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
FIRSTBANK: THE EMBODIMENT OF CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY
Who should corporate responsibility and sustainability lessons be taken from? Some companies are still unclear about the concept but latching onto the sustainability mantra anyway, because it has become a marketing buzzword for business? Or a company through whose creed and deeds, over the many decades it has been around, people can see corporate responsibility and sustainability lived (first) and preached (subsequently)?
If the above set of questions constituted a question in an examination hall, it would be one of the easiest of questions to answer. Not one person would fail it. Outside the examination hall, the answer to this question that seems as easy and simple like the question of 2 + 2 may not be as easy and simple. It may be complicated by all the cleverly arranged noise and claims projected at people to make it difficult for them to see and accept the obvious.
So, it is incumbent on people who know, and care enough (like this writer), to keep stating and restating the obvious. This is in the hope that doing so would help others to take full cognisance of the obvious and not allow themselves to be bamboozled by image without substance and rhetoric without pedigree.
The concept of corporate responsibility and sustainability is not about the clever or manipulative use of marketing buzzwords by corporate citizens. It is about impact, net positive impact, in the lives of real, not imagined, people through the deliberate and well-planned activities of socially-responsible corporate citizens.
Even if history is no longer taught in most schools in Nigeria, the records are there. The records show that Nigeria has been blessed to have standing by her, at all times, a corporate citizen which understands the concept of corporate responsibility and sustainability.
This corporate citizen has been standing by Nigeria before the country’s founding, through its amalgamation, Independence and all the conflicts and crises Nigeria has gone through and still faces. Today, the corporate citizen still stands by Nigeria.
FirstBank of Nigeria Limited, a lender of unmatched pedigree, a bank with a history of unparalleled support to Nigeria and Nigerians (right from the colonial era to date, even serving as Nigeria’s central bank at some stage of our national development), has been a corporate citizen like no other.
A brand that has backed innumerable groundbreaking projects across Nigeria and beyond, FirstBank has demonstrated that real impact that can be seen and felt by all, and not mere marketing buzzwords, is the real measure of an institution’s understanding of corporate responsibility and sustainability.
It is incontrovertible that whichever way corporate responsibility and sustainability is understood or defined, FirstBank is sure to tick all the boxes. Just name every parameter for assessing a company’s efforts in corporate responsibility and sustainability and match each against what FirstBank has been doing. Is there any parameter that FirstBank has not surpassed?
FirstBank has been living corporate responsibility and sustainability for most, if not all, of its existence as a going concern. Knowing it cannot do it alone, the bank has also devoted resources to efforts that will enable it to preach or pass the message so other corporate citizens, groups and individuals will emulate it.
One platform the bank has used effectively for this purpose is its Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CR&S) Week. The CR&S Week is a full working week that the FirstBank Group, in-country and across the world where it operates, dedicates to the promotion, execution and celebration of social responsibility initiatives.
The Sustainability Week also includes a huge kindness campaign to reorient citizens towards the right values and reignite acts of kindness in society. It is only one of the many ways FirstBank is living true to its brand promise to always put customers first.
And the Sustainability Week seeks to invite others (individuals and corporate citizens) to follow the bank’s example and begin to intentionally create positive impact in their immediate communities.
From the inaugural edition in 2017, where the theme was “Promoting Kindness: Putting You First”, the Sustainability Week has helped to reinforce FirstBank’s role as a nation-builder that is driving sustainable development across communities where it operates. It was an opportunity for the bank to encourage others (individuals and corporate citizens) to follow in its steps, even if all they can afford to take are small steps.
Taking small steps may have informed the choice of theme for the second edition of the Sustainability Week in 2018: “Touching Lives: You First”. The bank sought to debunk the notion that touching lives in meaningful ways and making an impact on society require big-ticket projects, whilst emphasising the power in the little things people do and the small steps they take.
After all, is it not little drops of water that make a mighty ocean, like the saying goes? And does the journey of a thousand miles not begin with a (small) step, like another saying puts it?
Just take a look at SPARK (Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness), a values-based initiative that raises consciousness promoting kindness to one another in society, which the bank started during the inaugural Sustainability Week in 2017.
Aimed at reinforcing FirstBank’s corporate culture of encouraging giving and volunteering among its staff and the larger society, its magnitude today and the many kind initiatives it has sparked off across the country could not have been imagined when the seed was planted five years ago. Incalculable manhours and financial resources from FirstBank staff and partners have been contributed willingly.
Children in orphanages, internally displaced persons (IDPs) in various IDP camps, widows and other underprivileged or vulnerable groups have been visited and their challenges alleviated if not totally eliminated. Scores of career counselling sessions with secondary school pupils across Nigeria has also been organised as part of the Sustainability Week, which has been the first of its kind in Nigeria’s financial services industry.
In 2019, the third edition of the Sustainability Week with the theme: “Ripples of Kindness: Putting You First” enunciated the values (or pillars) of the SPARK initiative to include Compassion, Civility and Charity. FirstBank believes that these values and the acts of kindness that flow as a result of embracing the values are critical to promoting and building peaceful co-existence and prosperity in society.
Among the key highlights of the 2019 Sustainability Week was a “Nice Comments Day” that was a day set aside to foster words of encouragement, support and kindness to people around one, regardless of ones’ familiarity or close ties, in recognition of the instrumental role kind words play in lighting up people’s day and bringing out the best in them.
Another highlight was the SPARK School Engagement that promoted the SPARK initiative in schools, with the objective of embedding the values of SPARK amongst school children at a young age so the values become part of, and habitual to, them as they develop into adulthood.
Due to COVID-19 pandemic and government-imposed lockdown, the year 2020 witnessed no edition of the Sustainability Week. Any attempt to stage the kinds of activities and events that usually accompany the Sustainability Week would have been counterproductive, spreading infections and possibly deaths instead of kindness and joy that the Sustainability Week has become synonymous with.
However, FirstBank’s avowed commitment to corporate responsibility and sustainability would not allow it fold its hands and just watch while COVID-19 and its debilitating effects tried to make living and learning difficult for most Nigerians.
Working virtually or remotely and, where it could not do otherwise, physically but in strict adherence to COVID-19 safety protocols, FirstBank executed several initiatives meant to ameliorate the very difficult situation in Nigeria then.
The bank contributed to efforts to provide palliatives to vulnerable Nigerians, announced a moratorium on repayment of loans, set up a special loan fund for businesses run by women, established another for school proprietors in collaboration with a state government and drove an e-learning initiative that sought to move one million school children to a safe online learning platform so their educational progress would not be set back due to COVID-19 restrictions, government-ordered lockdown and the closure of educational institutions for the greater part of 2020
“Kindness: A Way of Life” was the theme for the fourth edition of the Sustainability Week held in 2021. Highlights of activities of the 2021 Sustainability Week, designed to entrench a culture of kindness, included a practical-oriented training webinar for staff to embed a culture of kindness in the bank by driving understanding of how kindness (or the lack of it) can impact the workplace, the marketplace and the communities in which staff live and work.
Another important feature of the Sustainability Week was the “Kind Comments Days” that ran all week to inspire a consciousness of kind choice of words and consideration for others. There was also a dedicated programme in secondary schools designed to institutionalise SPARK by using school SPARK champions (including students and teachers) alongside other partners such as Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN) and Lagos State government to inculcate the SPARK values in school children.
One other feature was the ground-breaking ceremony for the Lagos State government’s OCAAT (One Community At A Time) initiative to provide the Primary Health Care Centre at Ijedodo community in Alimosho LGA. Set up as an initiative to improve the health and welfare of the members of various communities in Lagos State, FirstBank partnered the government on the project as part of its contribution to global efforts to meet some specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
There were also webinars: a general webinar with the sub-theme: “Education: Does Kindness have a Role?”; and a millennial webinar with the sub-theme: “Making the Cyber World a Kinder Place” which sought to proffer solution to the question of how people could become kinder on social media platforms.
All the past editions of FirstBank Sustainability Week highlight the longstanding and relentless commitment of FirstBank not only to continue to live but also to preach the message of corporate responsibility and sustainability.
Given its unmatched pedigree in corporate responsibility and sustainability, FirstBank has earned the right to address all other corporate organisations as well as individuals and groups on matters of sustainability. The bank has earned its right to the people’s audience.
It is against this backdrop that FirstBank’s forthcoming 2022 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Week should be welcomed by other banks and corporate citizens, irrespective of industry, as an opportunity to come together and take lessons from Nigeria’s foremost corporate citizen with regard to corporate responsibility and sustainability.
FirstBank does not consider itself too big to take lessons from other corporate citizens in areas where they have distinguished themselves. So other corporate citizens should not feel too big to take lessons from FirstBank in this area where the bank stands highly distinguished.
Or can anyone claim not to know that if the concept of corporate responsibility and sustainability were to be represented by one corporate citizen per country on a world map where countries are denoted by their foremost corporate entities, it is unarguable that FirstBank would be the company eminently representing Nigeria on that map?
FIRSTBANK HOSTS THE FINANCIAL MARKET DEALERS ASSOCIATION (FMDA) QUARTERLY MEETING
FirstBank of Nigeria Limited has announced that it will host the Financial Markets Dealers Association’s (FMDA) quarterly meeting scheduled for 5pm on Friday, 16 September 2022, at Federal Palace Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos. The event themed “Nigeria Macroeconomic Developments and Outlook: IMF View” will have itskeynote address delivered by Ari Aisen, IMF Resident Representative for Nigeria.
In a statement issued by the Acting Executive Secretary, Mrs. Mary Gbegbaje, “The FMDA quarterly meeting serves as a platform for in-depth knowledge sharing, dissemination of information and fostering of business relationships of members in treasury market practice which consists of Treasurers, Analysts and other market players from insurance, pension funds, government and regulatory bodies in Nigeria. Participants at the event include delegates from all banks and invited guest and customers.”
According to Ini Ebong, Executive Director, Treasury, Financial Institutions & International Banking, First Bank of Nigeria Limited “at FirstBank, we are delighted to host the 2022 quarterly meeting of the Financial Markets Dealers Association of Nigeria (FMDA), a platform we consider pivotal to the continued growth of the financial market in the country. We are excited with the successes so far achieved by our noble Association – FMDA – as with the right regulatory and risk management framework, we have beenable to impact and promote fairness in the activities of members, whilst providing the enabling environment to promote business performance and positively impact the national economy”.
With the knowledge and insights shared in the course of the quarterly meeting, we would further deepen our resolve towards the unrelenting role we play in the economy”, he concluded.
FMDA is the principal interface with the monetary authorities through policy advocacy and engagement aimed at promoting sound markets and ethical conducts comparable to international standards that facilitate liquidity, transparency and price discovery and engendering market deepening.
UBA Records Strong Double Digit Growth In Top and Bottom Lines, Declares N0.20k Interim Dividend
Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has announced its audited financial results for the half year ended June 30, 2022, recording double-digit growth across key income lines as well as significant progress in the contribution from its subsidiaries.
At the end of the first two quarters of the year, the Bank was able to deliver a 12.6 per cent appreciation in profit before tax(PBT) to N85.7bn, up from N76.2bn recorded in the same period of 2021.
Despite numerous business, economic as well as geo-political environmental challenges including continued supply-chain interruptions due to Covid, the Russia and Ukraine conflict, and the resultant rise in prices of global commodities, that characterized the first six months of the year, the tier1 lender delivered impressive numbers, with gross earnings hitting N372.4bn, a solid 17.8 percent growth when compared with N316billion that was posted the same period in the prior year.
Operating income also grew by 20.1% to N256bn in the period, while the firm’s profit after tax closed the first half stronger at N70.3 billion, up by 16.1 percent compared to the N60.6 billion same period in 2021.
A further breakdown of the Bank’s half-year result, which was filed with the Nigerian Exchange Group(NGX), in the early hours on Thursday, September 8, showed total assets continued on an upward trajectory, increasing 5.4 percent to about N9 trillion.
The bank also delivered on its core mandate of extending loans to credit-worthy customers for the overall economic development, as loans and advances increased by 4 percent to N3trillion; while deposits rose by 7.9 percent to N7.6 trillion at the end of the period.
Shareholders’ funds however declined marginally by 2 percent to N788.5 billion, owing majorly to the decline in its foreign operations translation reserve as well as fair value losses suffered from the investment securities valuation occasioned by the increasing interest rate regime across the globe.
With the strong double-digit growth in profit after tax (PAT) vis-à-vis the marginal decline in shareholder’s fund, the Group’s return on equity (RoE) closed the period stronger at 17.7%, whilst return on assets (RoA) came to 1.6%, up by 9 basis points.
Reaffirming its commitment to shareholders and the investing public, the Board of Directors of UBA Plc declared an interim dividend of 20kobo per share for every ordinary share of N0.50 each held by its shareholders.
UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, while commenting on the result, said the stellar performance was in line with management’s expectation, adding that the Bank’s continued focus on its Customer 1st philosophy to pursue the mission of providing superior value to our stakeholders had increased low-cost customer deposits, and boosted the growth of its payment and transaction banking.
“The financial year 2022 showed initial signs of recovery of economies across the globe, despite continued COVID-induced supply-chain disruptions. However, geopolitical challenges including the Russia and Ukraine conflict, resulted in escalation of global commodity prices, particularly grains and crude oil, which have taken a toll on several economies. Notwithstanding these developments, our half-year numbers came out stronger than the prior year, with top and bottom-line reaching new record highs,” Alawuba said.
According to him, The Group’s profitability increased by 12.6% to N85.7 billion, with double-digit growth recorded across key income line. The Bank also recorded a decent 20% growth in net interest income as it continues to moderate cost of funds whilst improving yield on assets, thereby contributing to the strong 20% growth in operating income. “Our investments in state-of-the-art technology continue to yield expected results, evident in the huge boost of our digital banking income, which grew 22.7% year-on-year to N36.3 billion. These gains have enabled us to optimize net earnings amid the accelerating inflationary pressure, the currency devaluation, and increased regulatory-driven cost,” he said.
The GMD also noted that he is delighted at the strides made by the Bank in growing its market share across Africa. In his words, “Our retail business has continued to grow, as we ride on our agency banking network, trusted brand, competitive product offerings and quality service delivery to deepen our retail penetration,”
Alawuba who also commented on his recent appointment as Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, alongside five other Group Executive Directors, assured the investing public of his relentless commitment to the growth of the business. “Together, with our highly motivated workforce, we are poised to usher the business into a new era of growth that will deliver superior values to all stakeholders,” he said.
UBA is a leading pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than thirty-seven million customers across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries.
With presence in New York, London and Paris and now the UAE, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance and ancillary banking services.
African Researchers hold Symposium on Africa’s Development
A group of African researchers under the name Alafarika for Study and Consultancy had recently on August 26 and 27, 2022 organized a virtual symposium titled “Knowledge Creation and Dissemination in Africa”, which researchers in African affairs from Morocco, Nigeria, Mali, Mauritania, Egypt, and the Central African Republic participated to come up with model for African Development. The participants commended the initiative for giving great importance to knowledge, its creation and dissemination, and considering it an initial and basic building block for developing and progressing in Africa.
The two-day session which dealt with a series of issues related to influencing African policy and politics with knowledge, the process of knowledge management for development; the role of the media in creating knowledge societies; and the challenges facing academic publishing and its potential solutions. The symposium also touched on the relationship between philosophy and human development in the African context and how revolutions and movements demanding change can be directed based on the knowledge that provides answers to the state-building and development that the continent needs in the twenty-first century and the digital age, in addition to the potential of investigative and data journalism to contribute to Africa’s prosperity.
Talking about creating knowledge societies and influencing African politics, the speakers revealed that consultancy institutions are one of the means of influencing knowledge creation processes if these institutions are rooted in local issues and are experts in initiatives that touch the needs of the population and citizens. The speakers stressed that civilizations and advanced societies throughout history have depended on knowledge and actors in disseminating human sciences. Despite the lack of interest of some current African governments in knowledge, its means and tools for its dissemination, the history of Africa, its civilizations and kingdoms in different regions confirmed that Africa has rich experience in this regard. What is required today is to study these historical achievements and support the creativity of young people that may limit the brain drain in many African countries, in addition to attaching the utmost importance to educational institutions and their outputs.
They stressed that knowledge management is a necessary process for development because it relates to many sensitive areas and is an essential means of successful management and that it elevates knowledge to the forefront of any government or political system’s success by emphasizing the knowledge capabilities of individuals, universities, and research institutions that facilitate access to knowledge, participation in it, distribution, preservation, and retrieval.
Talking about the impact of globalization and the rapid technological change in human societies, the speakers make knowledge the basis of domination and influence. Stating that all indicators show the strength of tomorrow’s world will be determined by the interest in human capital and the exploitation of the energies and capabilities of the continent’s population in sustainable human development. In terms of knowledge management and development, they are of the belief that there is a need to move from theories to real-life applications to meet the challenges of the continent and the rapid transformations in all fields without neglecting data technologies, which collect and categorize information to enable users of knowledge systems and services to access them when necessary. Pointing that all of these can be achieved through interviews and dialogues with experts and actors in national development policies, humanities, and modern methods that reflect positively on African societies and enable African countries to compete globally.
African Media Institutions are tasked with the process of creating knowledge society at a time when global media ignore the role of Africans in crystallizing global knowledge and the information explosion, without overlooking the fact that digital media plays some of the roles of traditional media, influencing different African societies and stages. Media roles are however agreed not be limited to the use of various means to highlight developments and experiences in African countries, their civilizations and history or to publicize their tourism sectors. Taking the information revolution and technological innovations the continent’s youth seize today in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, and other African countries to develop the financial, agricultural, and health sectors into consideration, the relationship between the media and the dissemination of knowledge shows a relationship of mutual influence that can be observed in concepts related to human values, the crucible of communication and understanding.
Another means of developing and changing society is the process of scientific research and academic publishing. It was also agreed that one of the tools through which sustainable development can be achieved thereby addressing the challenges facing academic publishing in Africa and the weak governmental attention to the results of research projects and recommendations of conferences and research sessions that may contribute to promoting development.
While one of the crisis facing academic publishing in Africa is lack of publishing and distribution centres for works, academic books, and scientific journals within Africa, without forgetting that education curricula and teaching methods in several African countries are rooted in the colonial era and ideas that strengthen Western scientific institutions while weakening African scientific institutions that are already short of the necessary infrastructural resources.
Speakers in the “Knowledge Creation and Dissemination in Africa” symposium also pointed out that African philosophy can help us understand the problems facing the creation of knowledge and enhance the patterns of knowledge production that the continent needs. Furthermore, studying African history and philosophy may determine the African position towards modern science and contemporary issues, especially since knowledge based on African philosophical foundations may transform African societies into freer societies and can provide answers to the most important factors contributing to political, social, and economic inequality.
The COVID-19 crisis has shown the repercussions of the lack of independent and effective scientific research, sufficient scientific and technological resources, and the lack of manufacturing capabilities in the global south in general and Africa in particular. As a result, most African health care systems relied on the so-called “goodwill” of the global north and foreign vaccines.
The symposium also highlights that recent protests and political transformations in Africa indicated that most movements calling for change were not based on knowledge foundations that meet the state-building processes Africa needs in the twenty-first century. This is despite the fact that between 2005 and 2014, 40 out of 54 countries on the African continent witnessed widespread protests and uprisings in their various forms at the local and national levels. The knowledge equation lies in the repeated mistakes of these movements and that some of these uprisings often exacerbate the situation in the countries where they occur. Knowledge gaps can also be seen in the ideologies and parties that refuse to bring about the continent’s desired social and political changes.
In conclusion, the participants praised the role of investigative and data journalism in promoting African prosperity based on knowledge, as data and statistical information should contribute to achieving good governance and revealing corporate and institutional corruption and social injustice, in addition to presenting powerful and influential stories and revealing the truth. Thus, data is a mirror to confirm or deny a particular phenomenon or issue and a means of exploring its direction and foreseeing its future trend.
Microsoft’s Senior Program Manager, Yemi Orimolade To Speak at EnterpriseCEO Media Masterclass
Communications Expert and Microsoft’s Senior Business Program Manager, Africa Development Center, Yemi Orimolade and Member Forbes Coaches Council and Founder, LIMB-simple academy, Ezekiel Solesi are the latest facilitators that will be speaking at the EnterpriseCEO Media Masterclass, a media improvement program.
‘Yemi, with over fourteen years of experience has delivered strategies to advance corporate reputation, and effective government and stakeholder relations. He is passionate about unlocking emerging markets immense potential, through advocating for the relevance of young people in Africa to acquire digital literacy with the effective deployment of technology for social & economic impact.
Solesi, a strategy consultant, member Forbes Coaches Council through his LIMB-simple academy has worked with over 3,000 businesses and helped 34 of them exceed 1 billion naira in revenue.
LIMBsimple is an acronym for Life, Investing, Money and Business made simple. It focuses on providing simplified technical, inspirational and motivational knowledge in helping to break down complex issues in life, investing, money and business in order to make them simple enough for the everyday person.
The media masterclass themed “Platform – Content – Monet – IZATION” is designed to set the pace for media practitioners in the digital era on how to monetize their qualitative and in-demand media contents for the success of their platforms.
A-list successful journalists and top-notch media entrepreneurs in the industry are billed to facilitate sessions at the one-day media masterclass program, including Managing Director, Quest Times, Victor Ogunyinka; Founder, Mosron Communications, Tolulope Olorundero, Founder, LIMB Simple, Ezekiel Solesi and founder and CEO First Founders, Lanre Messan.
The joint media improvement program fee is #10,000 for participants as certification of participation will be awarded and lunch will be served in the course of the program.
Notably, the EnterpriseCEO Media Masterclass is slated for this Thursday, September 8th, 2022 at 9:00 AM at NECA House, Plot A2 Balogun Street, CBD, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.
Optima Care Centre MD Femi Olaleye in Wife’s Little Niece Sexual Harassment Mess
A popular Nigerian medical practitioner and cancer care advocate, Femi Olaleye, has been accused of sexually violating a minor. He is the Managing Director of Optimal Care Centre, Surulere, Lagos, was accused of harassing a niece of his wife, Remi Olaleye, for one year and nine months.
The caregiver was also accused of threatening to deal with his wife, who reportedly informed the police of the incident and is now pressing charges.
The Lagos State police command said it is aware of the case and that the file is currently with its legal unit for legal advice.
Popular Nigerian actresses, Kate Henshaw and Damilola Adekoya, who is known for her stage name, Princess, recently released videos about the matter.
Ms Henshaw in her video said the accused once confirmed the allegation to her during one of the cancer care outreaches held recently by the doctor’s organisation.
The actresses have, therefore, called on the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team, (DSVRT) and various non-government organisations, (NGO) involved in cases of rape and sexual abuse to do more in protecting children from sexual abuse and sexual violators.
Mr Olaleye could not be reached for his stance as he did not pick calls or reply messages sent to him.
Henshaw’s account
Ms Henshaw, who said her post was necessary based on her relationship with the accused, said she was surprised that Mr Olaleye who had earlier confessed to her of “falling into a trap allegedly set for him by his wife,” later denied a few weeks after via short text messages they both exchanged.
She said; “I have known Dr Femi for many years. He had approached me to help in his advocacy for breast cancer screening. For years I have supported his vision and even put in money towards helping women get screening.
“On the 9th of July we met again at another advocacy event where he partnered with Reddington Hospital on Victoria Island, Lagos.”
Ms Henshaw said, at the event, she asked after his wife and Mr Olalaye said they were now separated and “that she kicked him out of the house.”
“He went on to say, ‘I will admit to you Kate that she set me up and I fell for it.’ When I asked what happened he said she brought a young girl to the house and he did stuff with her. He blamed his wife for knowing his weakness and still went ahead to bring the girl to the house.
“He even said she arrested him at that time and told me when I probed further that he had sexual affairs with the girl but didn’t mention that she is a minor or that she is his wife’s niece. He just told me other things and I said alright take it easy and resolve it with your wife,” she said.
Ms Henshaw said the doctor’s wife later reached out to her after a while and told her what really transpired.
She said Mrs Olaleye sent her videos confirming that Mr Olaleye had been sleeping with the minor for a long time but claimed she could not post the video due to the minor involved.
“I sent him a message to express my disappointment and told him to go to submit himself to the authorities but his response was that he totally understands and added that he cannot remember admitting to me that he had sexual relations with anyone,” Ms Henshaw added.
Alleged threat
Meanwhile, in another viral video on social media, Princess said she has also known the doctor for a long time and has joined in his advocacy against breast cancer and has learnt a lot from him.
Femi Olaleye
She said she also just found out that he has been abusing his wife’s niece and was threatening her as well.
Princess said; “He would threaten her with all these fetish stuff that the day she talks she would die, then he started giving her some pills to prevent pregnancies.
“The worst of it is that the case was reported and the next day, he was supposed to be charged to court but because he made an undertaking that it will not happen again he was detained and released.”
Princess said the doctor started going to his wife’s house to threaten her and sent people after “her to kill her.”
Doctor’s mother too
In another audio that Princess played online, a voice allegedly belonging to Mr Olaleye’s mother, was heard threatening another person in the conversation that her son should be spared because “doing such is not a new thing.”
The other party in the conversation was said to be Ms Olaleye.
The voice said; “Is it a big deal to molest a minor? Why do you want to take the case too seriously? Is my son the first person to rape a minor? Why do you want to take the life of my son?
“My son came home and told me what he did and that you are not supporting him but instead want to kill him. In the name of Jesus nothing will happen to my son. It is you that will die and it is you that will be cursed.”
Princess claimed that Mr Olaleye was in London before but was accused by patients of sexual molestation and was sacked. The development, she alleged, led to the crash of the doctor’s first marriage.
Accused unreachable
Apart from switching off his personal line, all telephone lines on the website of Mr Olaleye’s known organisations including the hospital have been switched off.
Meanwhile, the doctor has also reportedly changed his status profile on some social media platforms to “private” to avoid the public reaching out to him via messages.
Police confirm case
When PREMIUM TIMES contacted the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, a superintendent of police, he confirmed knowledge of the matter.
He said: “The case file has been sent to the Legal unit for legal advice. Awaiting response.”
Popular Prophet, Israel Oladele Ogundipe (Genesis) Sets To Shake Lekki, Lagos Island With Standout Conference ‘5G’ Season 3
Its here again. The event which promise to shake Lekki axis and its environs to its very foundation will hold on Friday, the 9th of October 2022. This season 3 of standout conference according to Prophet Israel Oladele Ogundipe fondly called ‘Genesis’ when speaking to his media aide Oluwaseun Fabiyi said this year edition will be taking another dimension as youngest proactive keynote speakers would be dishes out their God’s gift talent to engage their target audience It will be recalled that this event made its debuts few years ago at Lekki area and was well attended by the WHO IS WHO in Lagos Island.
According to Prophet Israel Genesis who said he caught the vision of ‘5G’ few years ago and ‘Without hesitating, I keyed into the vision and use it as an avenue for all Christian to come together in arousing.
And in his words confirmed that many who were in attendance under the roof of season 1 are still to the great wonders that took place at the events respectively.
This year’s edition of standout conference which is tagged ‘ 5G’ will take another dimension because it will be viewed live on every social media as top Nigerian celebrities and great anointed men of God will be in attendance. When asked what’s special about season 3, the amiable man of God said the fact that the Top popular Nigeria Gospel artiste, Mike Abdul, Beejay Sax who will be there to showcase their talents giving quality worship and praises to God includes others.
We also have three (3) resilience keynote speakers such as Dr. Stephen Akintayo who is an expert in real estate business, also Mr. Niyi Adesanya, and youngest Hon. Dayo Israel while Prophet Genesis remain the real host speaker likewise some prominent Nigerian presenters would be on grand to drive this memorable event which is targeted to come up between 5pm at the popular Lagos Oriental Hotel, Grand Ball Hall, 3, Lekki-Epe Express Road. Victoria Island
Prophet Israel Oladele Ogundipe therefore stand on behalf of Genesis Global as he beseech everyone to put on the garment of praise and their dancing shoes because there will be showers of blessing upon everybody who will be attending this year edition
Considering the amount of experience he had acquired over the years, this indeed is a golden choice.
However, naysayers had taken to the hill and beyond to downplay his competence. Hoping that invented propaganda to smear his career in order to score points will overshadow everything he had done to merit this meritorious milestone.
It is unambiguous but daunting nonetheless to see the facade behind the trolls. When a son of the soil attains certain height, of course some spectators will have different views. But make no mistake, for many reasons, the former manager at Zenith Bank deserves his job at NSPM.
More than fastidious, to say the least, is to allege as well as pin a political undertone to this worthy milestone.
Mr. Halilu, a professional banker, has master’s degree in business administration from Ahmadu Bello University in 2001. He returned to the same institution in 2008 to earn another Master’s degree in international affairs and diplomacy.
He had earned several other professional and diploma certifications that proved his wealth of knowledge.
His managerial experience is not in question considering his 15 years of managerial and financial portfolio. His first working experience post-nysc in 1992 was at African International Bank at Kano State.
Ahmed Halilu would thereafter become a deputy manager in charge of Foreign Exchange department in 1998.
Furthermore, his earliest managerial position was his two-year stint at CBN Kaduna Branch as the manager in charge of Corporate Banking Loans and Advances Recovery.
A transformative and visionary leader like the fufore-born product of prestigious ABU is deserving of this job. Also, considering that he had garnered admirable and decade-long experience in the financial sector, he is a good fit.
In his long career as a financial expert, he had attended not less than 17 high-value courses. It is unfair to overlook all these achievements and focus on the fact that he is President Muhammadu Buhari’s in law, insinuating that that is the only yardstick for his appointment. Again, it is an unjust assumption which can only be purported by mischief makers.
Princess Aminat Elegushi offers free medical outreach to Eti-osa indigenes
Princess Aminat Elegushi with some recipients
In an effort to make healthcare accessible to Nigerians and improve health conditions of her immediate communities, Princess Aminat Elegushi through her non-governmental organization; PAE Foundation recently concluded a three-day free medical outreach to people living in Eti-Osa and its environs.
The medical outreach which Princess Aminat Elegushi foundation is holding in collaboration with Eti-Osa Indigenous Students Association, commenced on Thursday, August 25, 2022 at Gbara Junior Secondary School in Gbara, Eli-Osa LGA which afford residents of Eti-Osa free medical consultancy services.
At the Gbara Community School, scores of indegenes and residents were tested and checked in different areas like cancer Screening, HIV Screening/Counseling, HIV Test, Malaria Test, Hypertension Test, Hepatitis Test, Tuberculosis Test, Drugs, Covid-19 vaccines and refractive errors in the eyes.
According to the founder of the foundation and convener, Princess Aminat Elegushi who is the chief executive officer and publisher of the Eti-Osa Newspaper, a bi-monthly community magazine published solely dedicated to projecting the beauty, culture, heritage and anesthetics of the community Eti-Osa, said the aim of the medical outreach is to allow the teeming residents and indigenes receive free medical consultancies in the local government area which according to her, accounts for forty percent of revenue of entire Lagos.
Princess Elegushi said, “As a proud Indigene of this community, it pleases me to hold this medical outreach here where I am from. I salute the royal fathers, dignitaries and local government Chairman. We are rendering these medical services because health is wealth and our people deserve the best.
She announced that in addition to the free medical services available during the three-day program, a hundred persons will have the opportunity of receiving a year medical consultancy from the state clinics.
Dr. Tunde Ajayi, the Special Assistant to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Health commended Elegushi for the initiative, saying that it would in no small way make people conscious of their health, particularly the insurance aspect of the mission.
“You see, insurance is paramount on the list of services you must subscribe to in any environment at all and bringing insurance here is an amazing thing, it’s super amazing.
“So, I would like to commend her again, more grease to her elbow, and obviously encourage more people who are able to bring innovative and key interventions like this to the community they came from,” he said.
Olasupo Adedimeji, the National President of Eti-Osa Indigenous Students’ Association, also a partner of the medical outreach, urged the people to keep their environment clean to prevent getting infected with diseases.
A beneficiary, Mr Hakeem Aribidesi commended the initiative, saying it had always been part of what the indigenes wanted. Another beneficiary, Taibat Ariyo, a petty trader, also commended the foundation and the health personnel for the free health services rendered.
Other destinations for the medical outreach are Baale of Badoore Palace and the Iru/Victoria Island LCDA, EtiOsa, Lagos.
