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Equip Neighbourhood Watch officers, Lagos Assembly tells Sanwo-Olu

The Lagos House of Assembly on Monday called on the Governor of the state, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to increase the number of officers in the Neighbourhood Safety Corps.

The lawmakers also urged Mr. Sanwo-Olu to equip the Neighbourhood Saety Corps, the state’s security agency so that it can adequately protect the lives and property of residents.

The House further resolved that the Governor should call on the commissioner of police in the state to intensify efforts to secure the state and look at ways to inculcate the Neighbourhood watch to stem crime.

The resolutions of the lawmakers resulted from the attempt on the life of Hon. Olawale Rauf Age-Sulaiman, the state’s legislator representing Amuwo Odofin 2 on July 8, during a political rally ahead of the forthcoming local government election.

While the lawmaker escaped death, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), whose name was given as Kayode Samuel and who stood beside him, was hit and later confirmed dead.

Raising the issue as a ‘matter of urgent public importance’, Hon. Age-Sulaiman narrated how he escaped death from gunshot adding that the incident occurred in Oriade Local Council Development Area (LCDA).

“I heard some people making noise while the campaign was on and I called for calm but I didn’t know that there were some elements who came with another intention.

“We were about going out when somebody told me not to go out and two persons stood beside me and right there I heard a gunshot sound and the next person beside me shouted my leg with blood-stains,” he said adding that he escaped by the whiskers.

Commenting on the incident, Hon. Rotimi Olowo, condemned the use of thugs to settle political matters. He also urged that security in the county be given more seriousness through the establishment of state police, while supporting the equipping of the Nieghbourhood Watch to stand in.

“The commissioner of police should investigate the issue,” he said adding that politicians and other Nigerians are not safe at this period.

While Hon. Yinka Ogundimu suggested that the Governor should be called upon to protect lives and property by asking the commissioner of police to intensify efforts, his colleague, Hon Tobun Abiodun, urged people to desist from crime.

“Killing one individual can cause a family eternal sorrow,” he said as he used the opportunity to call for the establishment of state police.

“I know our government is very responsible, but we want to use this opportunity to call on the Governor again,” he said.

Hon. Adedamola Kasunmu, noted that with the increasing crime rate in the society, the call for the establishment of state police for the protection of lives cannot be over-flogged, while admonishing the government to in the meantime make do with properly equipped Neighbourhood watch.

He urged the other Houses of Assembly in the federation to start calling for state police so that the National Assembly would take it serious.

In his contribution, Hon. Setonji David said those against state police are enemies of the country.

Other lawmakers who spoke included Desmond Elliot, Kehinde Joseph, and Rotimi Abiru.

Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Wasiu Eshilokun-Sanni, who presided over the sitting on behalf of the Speaker, Rt. Hon. (Dr) Mudashiru Obasa, said the incident was shocking. He also commiserated with the family of the deceased.

Primate Ayodele’s Warnings To South Africa Comes To Pass Few Days After Release Of Prophecy Book

The nation of South Africa is currently under security threat after protesters and rioters took to the streets to perpetrate violent and criminal acts. In the last few days, shops have been looted, people have been killed and generally, there is tension everywhere, whereas this much was revealed earlier by Primate Ayodele in his Warning to the Nations book.

This is according to information made available due to the persecution of the former president of the country, Jacob Zuma who was sentenced to prison for issues relating to corruption.

Meanwhile, a popular Nigerian prophet, Primate Ayodele had prophesied this current situation being faced in South Africa. His prophecy on South Africa is contained in his 27th annual book of prophecy titled Warnings To The Nations released on Friday, 10th Of July 2021.

On page 220 of the book, Primate Ayodele noted that if charges against Jacob Zuma isn’t properly handled, it will lead to protests, violence, destructions of lives and properties.

Just as Primate Ayodele said it, the situation in South Africa now is scary due to the violence, killings, properties that have been destroyed so far and this is because of the jail term handed to the former President of the country, Jacob Zuma. The president has deployed the military to the streets yet no positive outcome has been made yet.

Read His words below

Of a truth, Primate Ayodele his one of the greatest prophets to have come out of Africa. He isn’t one who gives prophecies without them coming to pass

HOW CUSTOMERS’ INCREASED TRUST IN FIRSTBANK’S *894# USSD BANKING CAN BOOST THE FINANCIAL INCLUSION DRIVE

**HOW CUSTOMERS’ INCREASED TRUST IN FIRSTBANK’S *894# USSD BANKING CAN BOOST THE FINANCIAL INCLUSION DRIVE**

The path to financial inclusion holds different marketplace barriers and opportunities in different countries, but the push continues because of proof that an increase in economic activities among the financially vulnerable can reawaken a comatose economy. For Nigeria, the last three years have seen significant growth of the financial inclusion rate from 56.8% in 2016 to 63.2% in 2018. FirstBank’s *894# USSD banking service is playing a key role in it.

FirstBank’s *894# USSD banking initiative is already averaging about 99 million transactions monthly, with a naira worth of (N’m) 370,543 on these transactions. This figure includes the undergraduate doing a mobile airtime recharge; the trader receiving a mobile payment from a customer; the IT person hurriedly buying a data bundle to keep business afloat; the anxious father paying his daughter’s hospital bills for treatment to commence, and the busy worker in Lagos transferring money to his parents in the village since he cannot get to a banking hall.

This is just a rough sampling of the financial transactions that amounted to over N3.6 trillion in transaction value on the *894# USSD banking service in 2020. There is practically no financial emergency that the USSD service does not come in.

The problems that the *894# USSD service from FirstBank of Nigeria Limited is solving is the only justification for the rapid traction it has gained since it was introduced in 2015. It is easy to see Nigerians trust and confidence in the USSD system, with the Bank rapidly growing from 9.5 million customers on the USSD feature to 12.26 million customers within the last year. Over 1.02 million of the figure, are customers who registered in the first 6 months of 2021.

The first and perhaps the most attractive feature of USSD banking has got to be that it can be done from any kind of phone and without any form of internet connectivity. Although smartphones are getting more common, there is still a high poverty rate and many financially vulnerable people who cannot access internet banking. The internet penetration in Nigeria is still below the ideal, so users have to deal with poor internet connections in some areas.

That is why this kind of banking service that can be accessed without internet connectivity is ideal for the financial inclusion drive. The *894# USSD feature can be used across the four major GSM network operators in the country, meaning there is no added demand on the users.

Getting started on the service is as easy as dialling *894*0#, and creating a pin. With that done, you can do airtime and data purchase for yourself and other parties, transfer funds to other accounts, make a BVN enquiry, check your account balance and get a mini statement.

For non-customers, this feature allows you to open a bank account in a couple of minutes without having to visit the banking hall. You can open a bank account, receive your account number immediately and start transactions on it right away. The claims of “instant banking, anytime, anywhere” can’t get more real than this.

There is even an added security step, requesting a second-factor authentication (2FA) for transfers above N20,000 as a way to secure customers from being ripped off their funds. There is a cumulative maximum daily transfer limit of N100,000 to both FirstBank and other banks accounts.

Onyeali-Ikpe’s Seven Point Agenda: Building A Future-Ready Fidelity Bank

John C. Maxwell, an American author and speaker, is a widely acknowledged thought leader. Maxwell asserts in one of his most famous quotes, which encapsulates the true essence of leadership, “The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails”.

Fidelity Bank CEO, Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe is leading the financial institution through a significant evolution of business culture with the primary objective of improving operational efficiency and expanding market share. Mrs. Onyeali-Ikpe is adjusting “the sails” to ensure that her colleagues at Fidelity Bank have the wind at their backs as they work toward common goals and individual successes.

Currently, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe has her sights fixed on positioning the bank as one of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions, which leverages automation and robotics to replace manual and repetitive processes. The global lockdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic was a messenger unlike any other, signaling that Nigeria’s traditional and over-the-counter banking systems are no longer viable.

Since assuming office in January 1 2021, the bank’s first female CEO and MD, has outlined a seven-point agenda to move the bank further in its quest to become a tier-1 bank that is well-positioned to outlive the competition and serve well into the future.

Overview and timeline

Fidelity Bank’s seven-point agenda focuses on brand architecture, brand building and refresh, talent development and transformation, product and service delivery, agility and performance discipline, digital transformation, and regulatory compliance.

In accordance with this, here are the bank’s strategies for ensuring that it attains its objectives:

1. The bank intends to embark on an Innovation Drive through the implementation of new processes, techniques. The bank is also executing fresh ideas to ensure continuous process improvement, reduce cost to serve, increase competitiveness, improve brand recognition and value, build new partnerships and relationships, drive turnover, and increase profitability.

2. Brand refresh with the aim to increase top-of-mind awareness of the Fidelity brand by external and internal stakeholders.

3. Workforce Transformation to create a future readily supported by a high performing and empowered workforce. This will be achieved by deepening the skills and competencies of staff across the bank, entrenching a culture of high performance, and embedding new ways of working in the bank. So far, the commencement of capacity building training for staff and senior management training are some of the initiatives implemented.

4. Service Excellence which is intended to build brand loyalty through personalized and seamless customer experience delivery. This is already underway with the award-winning virtual assistant IVY. This revolutionary chatbot handles simple tasks like account opening to complex tasks such as complaint resolution, bill payment, transferring users to a live agent, loans, fixed deposit applications, and answering random questions.

5. Digital Transformation involves an end-to-end digitization across all facets of the business. In line with this, the bank has launched a novel digital service —Pay Yourself —which revolutionized payday for salary earners and SMEs.

6. Performance Discipline to ensure focus on strong fundamentals, asset quality, and strategic cost management. Initiatives already carried out in this regard include;

– The Policy Familiarization Program —a capacity-building project geared towards building a knowledgeable and versatile staff network/raising subject matter experts in all business areas that kicked off in March.

– The One Culture Project- which was initiated to reinforce enabling behaviours and value systems towards fulfilling the bank’s goals

– Project Alpha- aimed at helping the bank develop a robust and holistic learning and development framework for all staff.

7. Accelerated Growth which will drive aggressive market penetration and business diversification. This will be achieved through deeper penetration in key retail markets.

Other initiatives geared towards deepening growth include by the Onyeali-Ikpe led management includes; accelerated play in the SME segment, renewal of institutional banking, and drive for transaction-based propositions in corporate banking.

With this seven pronged agenda, Onyeali-Ikpe led Fidelity Bank is well on its way to leading the sector while revolutionizing Nigeria’s financial landscape.

Paternity Mess: FCMB Finally Replaced Suspended Nuhu Adam With First Female Managing Director

Yemisi Edun, who took over the reins of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) in an acting capacity in January after the immediate past Managing Director Adam Nuru proceeded on a leave, has been appointed the tier 2 lender’s new chief, the FCMB Group said Tuesday.

She becomes the first female CEO of Subomi Balogun-backed FCMB, the appointment having received the blessing of the industry regulator, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the financial services group said in a note to the Nigerian Exchange Limited seen by PREMIUM TIMES.

In January, the bank’s board appointed Ms Edun, who was the bank’s executive director/chief financial officer at the time, to hold the fort for Mr Nuru, to allow for an investigation into a paternity scandal involving the former CEO, Moyo Thomas, a one-time FCMB employee and Tunde Thomas, her late husband.

The high-profile misconduct probe, the culmination of a petition signed by over 1,400 Nigerians, followed an allegation that Mrs Thomas, who had informed her husband of her decision to leave for the United State with the kids, called Mr Thomas on arrival that none of the two kids, who had known the 45-year-old as their father, was his

– PREMIUM TIMES

Buhari To Have Security Discourse Dinner With 109 Senators

President Muhammadu Buhari will tonight at 8pm meet with the 109 Senators of the National Assembly at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

This follows a resolution of the Senate on April 27, 2021, mandating the leadership of the upper legislative chamber to schedule a meeting between the president and the 109 senators to discuss the high rate of insecurity across the country.

The meeting was conveyed in a letter received from the State House and read during plenary on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, by President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The invitation letter for the scheduled meeting from the statehouse reads, “I write to inform the Distinguished President of the Senate, that President Muhammadu Buhari will host a dinner of Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Tuesday, July,13, at 8 p.m.

“The venue is at the State House Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.’’

Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, read the President’s letter on the floor of the Senate at the commencement of plenary.

Lawan asked his colleagues to arrive the Senate wing of the National Assembly for take off to the Villa by 7pm.

At Last! Senate Rejects Onochie As INEC Commissioner

The Senate on Tuesday said the nomination of Lauretta Onochie, an aide to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), was rejected because of her partisanship and breach of federal character principle.

In a statement titled, ‘Senate confirms five nominees as INEC Commissioners, rejects Lauretta Onochie’, by Ezrel Tabiowo, Special Assistant (Press) to President of the Senate, on Tuesday.

The statement quoted Chairman of the Committee, Senator Kabiru Gaya (APC, Kano South), as saying that the committee also received several petitions against the nomination of Onochie.

He disclosed that the petitions against Lauretta Onochie were against the backdrop that her involvement in politics and alleged membership of a political party.

He explained further that her nomination violated the Federal Character Principle as there is already a serving National Electoral Commissioner from Delta State, Barr. Mary Agbamuche-Mbu who was screened and confirmed by the 8th Senate.

“In the case of Ms. Lauretta Onochie’s, having studied her curriculum vitae and other relevant documents, followed by exhaustive interaction around the petitions against her nomination which she responded to accordingly, including attesting that she is not a registered member of any political party”, Gaya said.

According to the lawmaker, the Committee bound by the provisions of Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amendment) on Federal Character Principle, refused to recommend Onochie for confirmation.

“Therefore, based on the provisions of Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended) on Federal Character Principle as earlier stated, and in order for the Committee and the Senate to achieve fairness to other states and political zones in the country, the committee is unable to recommend Ms. Lauretta Onochie for confirmation as a National Electoral Commissioner for the Independent National Electoral Commission,” he explained.

However, the Senate confirmed five other nominees followed the consideration of a report by the Senate Committee on INEC.

The Red Chamber also suspended the nomination of Prof. Sani Muhammad Adam (North Central) for further investigation by the committee.

Those confirmed include Professor Abdullahi Abdu Zuru (North-West), Prof. Muhammad Sani Kallah (Katsina), Prof. Kunle Cornelius Ajayi (Ekiti), Dr. Baba Bila (North-East), and Saidu Babura Ahmad (Jigawa).

On the nomination against Prof. Sani Muhammad Adam, the committee recommended that “his confirmation be stepped down pending further legislative action by the committee.

“Accordingly, the Senate while confirming the five nominees, adopted the recommendations of the Committee by rejecting Onochie’s nomination and stepping down that of Professor Adam for further action.”

– PUNCH

Commotion As Oniraniken, Oba Adewale Adeniji Stockpiles Arms For Land Grabbers — Invades, Unleashes Mayhem On Ogun Community

Commotion As Oniraniken, Oba Adewale Adeniji Stockpiles Arms For Land Grabbers – Invades, Unleashes Mayhem On Ogun Community

The residents of Okerala Odofin, Okelara Apena Seriki village, Okerala Tarogun village, IpaVillage, Ososa Village, Simawa in area of Sagamu, Ogun State are currently living in fear over series of attacks by unknown gunmen disguised as land grabbers which reportedly have backings of the traditional ruler, Oniraniken Of Iraniken, Oba Adewale Adeniji.

It would be recalled that Family members of the Oniraniken, Sagamu, Ogun State, have disagreed with the traditional ruler over his alleged claim that a disputed farmland around Okerala, Simawa area of Sagamu, measuring 4,000 hectares, was an inheritance from his forebears.

While some residents have fled the areas for safety, others who have no place to go were forced to live in fear.

However, a source has confirmed to our reporter that the monarch takes pleasure in unleashing mayhem on these communities simply because of a bogus court verdict in his possession.

“The usual way of land grabbers hoax is to divide themselves into two; to represent two families in court, and they always attend every court proceeding without the consent or knowledge of the main family they took to court; whereas the inhabitants of those areas he said he got judgment were not even informed about any court case”. This is how Oniraniken, Oba Adewale Adeniji and his cohorts got their supposed 1,000 hectares of land, but duplicitously translated the verdict to be 4,000 hectares; and then started confiscating other people’s land”.

‘In quest for justice, Indigenes of the community staged a peaceful protest to the Governor’s Office, also to Akarigbo of Remo and some other significant quarters.’

Oniraniken of Iraniken, Oba Adewale Adeniji Resorted To Self-Help:

The recent Judicial Staff Association of Nigeria (JUSUN) closure and court embarking on strike caused a delay in various positive actions.

Our source said: “The court ambiguity gave the monarch a fortuitous audacity to take laws into his own hands. He started giving some mobsters weaponries and other dangerous objects to terrorize and sack the people from their farmland. Using land grabbers to forcefully take over about 4,000 hectares of farmland belonging to 14 Makun communities”.

When our reporter visited the region, some of the residents shared their ugly experiences in the hands of the hoodlums even as they made it clear that their lives is no longer safe as kidnappings, robberies and other heinous attacks are main areas of focus for these criminals just to force them vacate the community belonging to them.

Divine Intervention:

On receiving an intelligence report, special strike force from the office of Inspector General of Police came to rescue and apprehended three of the gunmen who allegedly took part in the ill-fated land grabbing exercise at Oke Rala village, Simawa area of Sagamu, Ogun state.

The Police force special squad said: “It received distress calls from residents of Shimawa over killings, kidnapping, banditry and armed robbery which made them swing into action. During the operation, One locally-made pistol, two caliber pistols, several live cartridges and expended cartridges were recovered from the land grabbers while others are at large”.

The three suspects arrested are Afeez Sunday; 41yrs old “m” of Ikorodu LGA, Surajudeem Isiaka; 33yrs old “m” of Ikorodu, and one Muranikeji Ogunkeye; 32yrs old “m” of Lagos state. They have since on Thursday whisked away to Abuja by the special force for questioning. Their alleged sponsor, Oba Adewale Adeniji was also declared wanted by the Police force after searching his palace but noticed the troublemaker had absconded.

– Culled Conquest Magazine

Hope rises for the world as billions anticipate Healing Streams Live Healing Services with Pastor Chris Day 2

Shouts of Joy and renewed Hope filled the air as a blast of God’s healing power rippled out across the globe through the ongoing revolutionary Healing Streams Live Healing Services with world renown healing minister Rev. (Dr.) Chris Oyakhilome. Slated to run for 3 days; Friday 9th July to Sunday 11th July, 2021, this second edition of the historic crusade is being beamed live to an unprecedented global audience across all continents via the Healing Streams TV at www.healingstreams.tv, the Healing School mobile app and various social media platforms, daily at 6pm GMT+1.

And the Day Arrived
It had been almost 4 months since over 4 billion people tuned in from all over the globe to witness the Gospel of Jesus Christ come to life.

For four months, accounts of mind-blowing miracles had poured in from all over the world as the healing power of the Word made distance, language and every other obstacle irrelevant, reaching people right in their homes.

All over the world, people gathered in healing centers and connected via internet-enabled devices, through all of them waiting to see the awesome power of God at work.
The Director of the Healing School, Pastor Deola Phillips, declared the Healing Streams Live Healing Services with Pastor Chris open, and the people worshipped, singing and extolling God’s amazing love and grace. Then came the testimonies from the first edition, and you could tell just by being there, everybody’s faith was stirred for the miraculous. Then the Loveworld Singers led the people to worship, and you could feel the anticipation like electricity in the air, building and all over the Healing Centres across the world.

When the Man of God, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, arrived, it was explosions of joy. This was the moment everyone had been waiting for.

Opening the scriptures and starting at John 20:30, the man of God taught that Jesus was God in the flesh, and how it is God’s great desire to live in us as He lived in Jesus. This, he taught, was the true purpose for which we were created. He further expounded that the one who believes can do the works Jesus did, and even greater. No one was left in any doubt of the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit at the end.
And then the miracles started
Starting from the auditorium and then all over the globe, the sick were healed instantly, demons came out of people they had oppressed for years and the scenes! Paraplegics rose up from their beds, jumping and praising God. It was a joy and a wonder to behold.

That was just the first day. There are two more days to come.

You will recall that characteristic of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s healing crusades, the first edition of the Healing Streams Live Healing Services with Pastor Chris which held in March of this year left in its trail an avalanche of mind blowing miracles that are still being testified about till date, With over 4 billion people participating globally.

While these earlier sessions are being relished, the ongoing edition has heralded gigantic impact, bringing with it a tide of prevailing faith, diverse miracles, an exegesis of the undiluted Word of God and numerous testimonies of salvation, healing and blessings.

Now, in anticipation of Day 2, a spiritual ecstasy has clothed the atmosphere as the whole world through online connection, singles into an auditorium where the power of God has been greatly manifested for the second day.

Brace yourself for a special time of the miraculous in the presence of the Lord at this Day 2 of the largest ever healing crusade to be witnessed by the world. Register now to participate at www.healingstreams.tv/3days and clear your schedules to participate in this ongoing momentous programme poised to grant you more grace to walk in divine health and blessings.

JOURNALIST WHO ESCAPED FROM KIDNAPPERS’ DEN, OLUWOL E OBAFEMI NARRATES HIS EXPERIENCE

A freelance journalist, Oluwole Obafemi has regained his freedom from his captors as he managed to escape from the camp of kidnappers who picked him along seven others on Benin/Ore Expressway, Society Gazette can report.

Obafemi and other passengers of a vehicle that was Ondo State bound were unfortunate to have been kidnapped on dreaded Benin/Ore expressway. The incident happened on 25th June, 2021. Obafemi was however lucky to have seen an escape route after five days in the kidnappers den.

Oabafemi, a former staff of popular media organization, MITV/Star Fm, narrated his ordeal in the hands of his captors whom he said were young Fulani men.

“I was going to Akure in Ondo state and I boarded the Bus from Ojota. The journey had been smooth until we got to Benin/Ore road. The driver noticed a barrier on the road and slowed down, and before we knew it, some armed men numbering about five jumped out from the bush. They collected all our valuables and picked eight of us from the Bus and marched us into the bush.” Obafemi explained.

He narrated to Society Gazette the young Fulani boys were basically out to make money. He however said they kidnappers didn’t ask them to contact their families until following day, after they had been made to walk long miles away from point of abduction.

“Our abductors were young Fulani men and they were out to make money. From the point we were abducted, we were made to walk several miles so as to beat security operatives who might been on their trail. It was in the afternoon of the following day that we were properly settled. The worst experience was the torture they meted on us so we could put pressure on our families members to pay the demanded ransom on time.”

Obafemi said he was unlucky to have got tortured than others because his family were only begging the kidnappers to let go of him and that they had no money to pay.

“My case was a peculiar one because I was seriously beaten because my family could not raise 10million naira they were demanding or even less. Two of us had were released three days after, when their families paid their ransom. They could not pay the demanded amount but they bargained and paid what they had. I was constantly getting beaten because my family could not raise the money. I was however lucky on the fifth day when the abductors led other abductees to go and drink from a stream in the bush. They considered me too weak to walk out of beaten I had received, so while they were away, I mustered the strength I could and escaped. I walked for hours before I got to a settlement where the dwellers assisted me to locate the main road.” Obafemi said.

The lucky freelance photo/camera journalist who travels around the country to source for materials for his job urged the government to pay attention to the issue of kidnapping because of the alarming rate it is assuming.

It is on record that thousands have been victims of kidnappers around the country and paid huge ransom for their freedom. Many have equally been unlucky not to return. Some die as a result of torture, long trek, while some were killed by their abductors for not been able to pay up ransom. In the same way, many have not recovered from encounter of such horrific experience.