Toks as he is fondly called garnered 124 votes to beat his rival, Prince Foluso Mayowa Adefemi, who polled 93 votes.
The PR guru who contested but lost in the primaries for the same position four years ago, was the Ondo State campaign director of the Goodluck Jonathan presidential campaign for the 2015 election.
He sits atop TPT International, one of the leading PR agencies in Nigeria.
The CEO, Heirs Oil & Gas, Osa Igiehon, in a comment, laid out the steps being taken by the organisation to ensure the implementation of the plans to meet the commitment.
“Decades of underinvestment in the asset cannot be corrected in a few months, since taking over the asset, we have been working arduously on this objective with the execution of flare reduction projects such as follows: AGG (Associated Gas Gathering) compressor uptime improvement, Facility upgrades, provision of gas gathering solutions and Facility off-gas utilisation initiatives,” he stated.
In line with the set objectives, since the acquisition, Heirs Oil & Gas have more than doubled the gas production capacity of OML-17 from 50 to 120 mmscfd within the short period we have operated this asset. All this gas goes into the eastern Nigeria domestic gas market to enhance power generation and create the much-needed feedstock for gas-based industries, sustaining & creating jobs and improving lives.
On the social front, HHOG continues to make meaningful contributions towards improving the livelihoods of Africans. We believe that understanding and addressing the interests of our host communities is critical for achieving success in our operations. We continuously seek opportunities to create a positive impact through community infrastructure development and empowerment initiatives.
As a leading indigenous operator, HHOG remains committed to making a positive impact in Nigeria, Africa, and the world at large.
Various prizes including, N1,000,000, N40,000, N10,000.00 cash prizes, N40,000 Airtime, LED Televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioning systems will be won in the course of the three months campaign. A minimum of two bills payment worth N1000 and five airtimes of at least a total of N2000 in a week qualify a customer for any of the prizes. The promo is open to new customers and existing users of the FirstMobile app.
FirstMobile customers who do a minimum of 6 transactions weekly on the FirstMobile app, will be eligible for the respective rewards: N10,000 cash for 200 winners; Gift items (TVs, Refrigerators and AC) for 10 winners; N10,000 airtime for 340 winners.
On the other hand, 500 customers that carry out a minimum of 10 transactions monthly will win N30,000 cash. The Grand Prize of N1,000,000 will be won by 2 lucky customers who carry out a minimum of 20 transactions or a minimum of two bills payment of N1000 plus five airtime transactions of at least a total of N5000 in a week.
Speaking on the campaign, Chuma Ezirim, FirstBank’s Group Executive, e-Business & Retail Products said, “as the leading financial inclusion services provider in Nigeria, we are delighted to partner with Interswitch, an Africa-oriented technology-driven company, to reward our customers for their continuous patronage. Together with Interswitch, we remain committed to ensuring the continued safety of customers’ funds across multiple electronic payment channels irrespective of where our customers may be across the world. FirstMobile remains another obvious step towards leveraging evolving technologies to bring fast and convenient digital banking solutions to our customers”.
FirstMobile is built to reflect FirstBank’s resolve at reinforcing the digitisation of payment systems, whilst putting customers at an edge to conveniently meet their everyday needs at any time, irrespective of where they are. The app provides convenient access to both financial and non-financial transactions by FirstBank account holders via their mobile devices. It is sleek and convenient to use – evident in its easy enrolment process as all FirstBank customers with Verve and Naira Mastercards can begin using the app without having cause to visit a FirstBank branch. It is also poised to offer a more reliable and more convenient overall digital banking experience.
To set up the FirstMobile app, customers with android phones should visit the Google Play store to download and install the FirstMobile app. Customers with Apple devices can download it from the Apple Store. Once installed, customers are required to open the app, tap the register button, and use their FirstBank issued Naira MasterCard or Verve card to activate the app. After details have been inputted, an OTP code will be sent via an SMS to your phone number that is linked to your bank account and you are then required to Input a 5 digits code that will be your login password, select two security questions and answer them, create a personalised 4 digits transaction pin that will help your confirm transactions. Upon the conclusion of these steps above, click Done and start enjoying the app.
The event, which would be the fourth edition of the bank’s CBN RT200 FX Sensitization seminars following successful outings in Kano, Ondo and Plateau States in February, March and April 2022 respectively, is part of the bank’s initiatives to help importers pivot to exports.
According to the Divisional Head, Export and Agriculture, Fidelity Bank Plc, Isaiah Ndukwe, Fidelity Bank’s decision to partner ESIPO and GIZ is borne out of the need to help exporters to build their business management capacity and is further proof of the value the bank provides to export-oriented businesses in Nigeria.
“At Fidelity Bank we are known for empowering our customers with the necessary financial and non-financial services to upscale their businesses. We consider the CBN RT200 FX scheme an amazing opportunity for businesses to bolster their FX earning capacity and we are delighted to collaborate with ESIPO and GIZ to host businesses in and around Benin City to a workshop to help them take advantage of the scheme”, explained Ndukwe.
Launched on February 10, 2022, by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as part of measures to reduce the increasing demand for foreign currency by importers, the RT200 FX scheme is designed to help Nigeria achieve $200 billion in FX repatriation from non-oil exports over the next five years. The policy has been hailed by stakeholders in the export sector as an initiative capable of stimulating the growth of non-oil exports in Nigeria.
“The goal of the roundtable is to identify and promote viable non-oil export opportunities, provide financing options, and proffer steps to removing the identified bottlenecks in the export process for non-oil products from Edo State to the global market. It will provide a platform for the exporters to meet with the export regulatory bodies and express their challenges which hinder exports. The event will also serve as an opportunity for the regulatory agencies to address the challenges on the spot and provide solutions to them with a view of enhancing Nigeria’s capacity in the African Continental Free Trade Area deal”, commented Marcus Unuebho of the Business Development Support and Export Unit, ESIPO.
On his part, the Technical Advisor for Edo State, Local Economic and Value Chain Development, GIZ SEDIN, Nosakhare Omon Aigiomawu stated that, “Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises are the drivers of local economic development. Collaborating to provide market linkages and access to finance would address major constraints to these groups and ensure more employment creation as well as higher income”.
Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged commercial bank operating in Nigeria with over 6.5 million customers serviced across its 250 business offices and digital banking channels. The bank was recently recognized as the Best SME Bank Nigeria 2022 by the Global Banking & Finance Awards. The bank has also won awards for the “Fastest Growing Bank” and “MSME & Entrepreneurship Financing Bank of the Year” at the 2021 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards.
The Summit which was the seventh edition of the bi-annual event, also recognized TeamApt for Excellence in Digital Banking, PiggyVest- Excellence in Savings and InvestTech, Flutterwave-Excellence in Fintech Infrastructure, while Excellence in Blockchain Technology went to Appzone Group. Others are Excellence in Fintech investment – Future Africa, Excellence in Cryptocurrency – Paxful, Excellence in Ecosystem Research – Briter Bridges, Excellence in Cross-border Solutions – PAPSS, Excellence in Payments – Paystack, Excellence in InsurTech – Turaco, Excellence in Fintech and Lending – Payhippo, Excellence in Embedded Fintech – Cellulant and Excellence in TradeTech – AFEX.
Dr. Tomisin Fashina, Group Executive, Operations & Technology, Ecobank, who received the award on behalf of the bank, said the award is well deserved as it was attributable to the Pan African Bank’s unparalleled influence in Africa and its unwavering support and numerous initiatives aimed at fostering relationship with fintechs to jointly win in the marketing place, stressing that the bank have put structures and initiatives in place to collaborate and cooperate with fintechs to facilitate the bank’s vision of financial integration of Africa.
According to him, “As a bank, one of our strategic objectives is to bank 100 million Africans, across Africa. We won’t go out there with account opening documents to do this. We believe we can achieve that by collaborating and cooperating across board, and the fintechs come into that space. We came out with ‘Ecobank as a service’, this is at the heart of why we published our sandbox to encourage fintechs, big techs and any player that want to do business in Africa to ride on our platforms and help facilitate our vision of a financially integrated Africa. We see ourselves as a key player in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and we believe we are the ultimate bank to facilitate trade across Africa.”
Ecobank has many initiatives to support growth of fintechs on the continent. The Ecobank Fintech Challenge launched in 2017 identifies and partners with fintechs that are ready to scale, providing them with mentoring, networking, support, and opportunities to access Ecobank’s 33 African markets, as well as opportunities to integrate with existing Ecobank digital offerings. This has recorded significant results and success stories since its inception.
Ecobank’s Pan-African Banking Sandbox allows partners and Fintechs across 33 African countries gain access to its application programming interface to develop innovative financial solutions. As an avenue for collaboration between Ecobank and fintechs to develop the fintech ecosystem in Africa, Ecobank’s sandbox is an era-defining game changer for Africa’s financial sector.
Africa Fintech Summit, since 2018, has held six times, and has supported: Over $20 million in capital raise efforts for African startups; The launch of strategic partnerships and new businesses; Policy guideline creation; The growth of local tech and startup ecosystems; Knowledge sharing for African banking/fintech operators and regulators.
Leo – UBA’s AI-powered chatbot, which enables customers to make use of their social media accounts to carry out key banking transactions – was first introduced in January, 2018. It has since evolved to become a custom-fitted, personalised virtual banker to several UBA Customers across its 20 African countries. Before now, UBA’s Leo was servicing customers on Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp and Apple Chat.
The bank also announced an interesting upgrade to the existing features of Leo, where customers can now carry out their activities in a 3D animated format. Armed with this upgrade and with its recent expansion to Instagram and Google Business, customers will now be able to carry out more transactions from the comfort of their homes and can now perform more activities such as funds transfer, checking balances, buying airtime and data, and getting their bank statements with ease, from any of these social media platforms.
UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Kennedy Uzoka, who spoke about the upgraded features of Leo, explained that the bank was always on the lookout for innovative ways to develop strategies aimed at easing transactions for the bank’s numerous users, while ensuring utmost safety of their transactions.
He said, “At UBA, we have been working with technology giants that have the global capacity to ensure not only seamless but also effortless banking for millions of our customers across Africa. We at UBA, have collaborated with the very best to actualise this unbeatable innovation that is capable of revolutionising the way banking is done in Africa.”
He disclosed that Leo’s activities has aptly spread across Africa, changing the face of e-banking in other key African locations including Cameroon, Zambia, Cote D’Ivoire, Senegal, Congo DRC, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Gabon, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Benin, Mozambique, Zambia, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali.
Uzoka emphasised that the uniqueness of Leo lies in the convenience. “Customers can initiate transactions without leaving their favoured phone applications. By bringing Leo to the comfort zone of its customers, UBA’s chat banking became a pioneer innovation and has since enjoyed leadership status in the chat banking space,” he explained.
Since inception, Leo has been effortlessly enhancing the digital customer experience in banking and also achieving a range of other benefits like 24/7 availability as the chatbot Leo stays available round the clock to assist customers and handle the common financial queries asked by the customers.
United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than twenty-five (25) million customers, across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries. With presence in New York, London and Paris, 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.
“On behalf of the HHOG team, I would like to thank PFI for this great honour which recognises the OML 17 acquisition deal, while also acknowledging the efforts of the entire team involved in the transaction.” said Executive Director, Heirs Oil & Gas, Samuel Nwanze.
The deal, which was announced in January 2021, saw Heirs Holdings, the leading African strategic investor, in partnership with affiliated company Transnational Corporation (Transcorp), acquire a 45% participating interest in Nigerian oil license OML 17 and related assets from the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Limited, and ENI.
While acknowledging the award, Chief Executive Officer, Heirs Oil & Gas, Osayande Igiehon said “This great recognition reiterates our commitment to excellence in our bid to fulfil Africa’s unique energy needs and ensure that Africa’s natural resources are directed toward value creation on the continent.”
The PFI awards is organised by Project Finance International (PFI), a leading source in global project finance reporting, covering all the major sectors, including transport, power, oil & gas, infrastructure and mining.
According to Mrs. Odunfa, the shortage of general digital skills at all levels is expected to become more critical as economies grows, noting that supply of digitally skilled labour must also increase to meet anticipated labour market needs. She observed that highly skilled African professionals have been emigrating African countries to pursue lucrative cultural and socio-economic opportunities on other continents leading to brain drain and skills gap on the continent. Whilst proffering solutions, she went further to recommend intentional development of digital skills at all levels, smart technology support, collaboration with the Diaspora and strategic supply to Africa and Western economies. “These young Africans are looking for higher-paying jobs outside Africa to escape socio-economic limitations such as poverty, limited infrastructure, and rudimentary jobs. They look for enabling environments in developed countries that provide rewarding businesses and obtain lucrative jobs, matching skilled individuals’ aspirations and expected socio-economic recompense. Many highly talented African students that obtain opportunities and scholarships of training abroad do not return home after completing studies.”
In his welcome address, President, ISSAN, Dr. David Isiavwe, said the brain drain in Africa as well as the digital skills shortage currently being experienced around the world calls for concern. According to him, “The cyberthreat landscape is still evolving. Cybersecurity space keeps getting very busy by the day. We have seen how daring cybercriminals can be, targeting both national assets and that of highly reputable firms. Even individuals are not left out. Consequently, it becomes imperative that organizations never relent in upholding and reinforcing information security best practices.”
The Information Security Society of Africa – Nigeria (ISSAN) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the protection of Nigeria’s cyberspace. They are significantly involved in ensuring the security of Banking Systems and applications, ATMs, e-government systems, and the entire cyberspace in Nigeria. ISSAN also seek to achieve its objectives through awareness heightening measures including the promotion of appropriate legislation and best practices. Membership cuts across both public and private sectors of the economy including Banks, Telecommunications Operators, Government parastatals, switching companies, IT and IT Security Consultancies, Legal Practitioners with a keen interest in cyber-related matters, Regulators.
ISSAN, which has existed for over 10 years in Nigeria, has proven to be a veritable platform for collaboration and exchange of ideas by members of the Banking and e-commerce public especially regarding safekeeping of PINS, controls over passwords, access to the internet as well as steps organizations should take to always keep their systems healthy and safe. ISSAN, therefore, performs a critical role in ensuring that Information Security professionals find their voice on matters of Information Security and that all stakeholders are duly informed of the steps to take to contribute their little quota towards ensuring a safe society for us all.
For the APC, the 2023 presidential elections present a real test of its ability to survive and forge a unified front as a political organisation. The Buhari era is about to end, and the hitherto unifying figure of a Buhari that appears to have glued the disparate tendencies in the party together will no longer be there. Already, the commencement of the process of picking the party’s candidate for the 2023 contest has shown glaringly that the contest will be brutal and acidic, unless a miracle happens. Since the party’s initial objective of booting out PDP and gaining power has been achieved in the Buhari two-term presidency, 2023 will signal for the party the real wheeling and dealing of ruthless ambition driven by self-aggrandizement among its contending power blocs.
Even now, allegations of betrayal, vociferous proclamation of personal ambitions and dirty innuendoes about imposition of candidates have started reaching an uncomfortable level in the party.
Regardless of the drama and subplots that have started unfolding, it is for the party and Nigerians generally to zero in on a candidate that has the right mix of persona, charisma, vision, discipline, awareness and courage to keep the party and the country in good shape post 2023.
The task may be daunting but what the party needs to do is clear cut. This is because the problems a post Buhari president will confront are already here with us now.
One, with continuous fall in oil prices and a general lull in business activity since the outbreak of COVID-19, the economic realities have been worsened by the growing poverty and unemployment which has made upward social mobility unachievable for the wider population. The Nigeria Bureau of Statistics has continued to record staggering inflation rates, with food inflation and general cost of living growing out of hand and, according to the World Poverty Clock, nearly half of the Nigerian population currently subsist in extreme poverty. In fact, the Brookings Institute has predicted the figure to rise to 110 million by 2030.
Gobet247, a Nigerian company, said it is committed to rewarding the passion of Nigerians by creating a world-class and hassle-free experience for the betting populace.
With more bonuses, great odds and instant payouts, the firm said Gobet247 is raising the bar in the Nigerian betting industry, with offerings that are mouth-watering and the delivery that is stimulating.
The company noted that fans would get a N250 welcome bonus once they sign up via the user-friendly platform; https://gobet247.com with no deposit required. Upon first deposit, punters would also get a 100% bonus.
According to the General Manager of the betting firm, Damian Okosun, “Gobet247 online platform is an easy-to-use on desktop and mobile phones as bookmakers can seamlessly register, deposit, place their bets and withdraw their winnings without hassles.
“We are committed to providing the fastest payout in the industry and that is an experience our customers will find out by the time we roll out nationwide on May 14.”
“We are creating a brand that the gaming populace will trust; a platform that offers the pundits the opportunity to access their winnings in a twinkle of an eye. More so, punters can earn more using our platform for their gaming activities because our odds are highly competitive.”
He said the customers can’t be worried about the security of their identities and funds, insisting that the top-class technology deployed by the firm makes the platform among the most-secured betting websites in the country.
“Choosing Gobet247.com, one of the most secured online betting sites in Nigeria, you can be sure of getting 250% accumulation bonus and sign up bonus with no deposit required,” the online gambling platform manager noted.
Okosun added that although Nigerians are more passionate about football, the platform covers many sports including volleyball, tennis, basketball, ice hockey, boxing, MMA, and table tennis among others.
“Our offerings also capture those who like to play casino; there is an opportunity for those that play lotto. They can play these games live. We certainly have more markets and our customers are going to enjoy more matches and leagues compared to our competitors,” he added.
