A representative of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier-General Ahmed Ibrahim Taiwo on Saturday said President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the deployment of soldiers to Lekki Tollgate on 20th October.
He said this under cross-examination by counsel to the Lagos State Government, Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN), while testifying before the Justice Doris Okuwobi Judicial Panel of Enquiry and Restitution on the alleged atrocities of the disbanded Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS).
The army general admitted that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu does not have the authority to give order to troops. He said he could only have made the request for them to be deployed.
General Taiwo also said it was not true that the Nigerian Army was looking to nab entertainer DJ Switch over the role she played in giving the impression that people were massacred at at the Tollgate plaza.
“Some people take delight in misrepresenting Nigeria and particularly the Nigerian Army to the international community and our fellow Nigerians. This, I believe is done for pecuniary gains.
“Quite recently, a Nigerian, Catherine Udeh, also known as DJ Switch, claimed the Nigerian Army was looking for her. There is nothing further than the truth.
“My Lord, we have bigger fish to fry; and that is how to stabilise Lagos. We can’t be bothered chasing one or two people. Where she got that from, I do not know, ” he said.
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Friday, November 13, 2020, unveiled the first Nigerian electric car named Hyundai Kona.
The car, which is a product of Stallion Group, was launched at the VON Automobiles Nigeria in Ojo, Lagos State where the car was manufactured.
The new Kona, an Electric car is regarded in European motoring industry as the world’s number one, with the cost, put at about N24 million
While speaking during the unveiling of the product, Sanwo-Olu observed that VON has over 40 to 50 years of vehicle manufacturing history, when they were assembling various Volkswagen products.
The governor was full of commendation for Stallion Group for the noble initiative, just as he promised that Lagos State Government will make provisions for electricity charging points for the vehicle across the state, to make it easy for users to enjoy their Electric Vehicles (EV).
Hyundai Kona
The Governor also promised the completion of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, which was started under the administration of former governor of the state, Babatunde Fasola, in order to facilitate business activities in the state.
Sanwo-Olu said, “Lagos-Badagry Expressway which has been expanded from 2 to 10 lanes will soon be complete, we are not rushing the road; we are building a first-class road construction project.’’
The Managing Director, VON Automobiles, Mr Rohtagi Manish, while explaining the essence of the launch, pointed out that Kona will change things positively in the Nigerian auto market.
According to Manish, the changes in global temperature and weather patterns are seen today are caused by human activity. Kona, he said, is one way to respond to the global weather challenges, so as to achieve a greener environment.
This appears to be a huge boost for the promoters of more environmentally friendly automobile and subsequently promote a green environment. This will also help to drive the Federal Government’s efforts to shift focus from petrol-based automobile to vehicles with a cheaper source of energy.
Warner Music Group has announced a new licensing agreement with artist-first music streaming platform Audiomack, making the record company’s diverse catalogue available on the service across Africa, Canada, and Jamaica for the first time.
Audiomack, which boasts more than 16 million monthly active users, will also provide support for WMG’s A&R research activities across these territories.
Alfonso Perez Soto, EVP, Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa, for Warner Music, says: “This deal is another important step in growing Warner Music Group’s presence in Africa. Under the new deal, not only will our teams benefit from a range of key A&R, marketing, and data commitments in Africa, but it will also help support our African artists’ international expansion into the US and western markets.
“Audiomack is incredibly popular and influential in global youth culture scenes and in the process of breaking new artists worldwide, so I’m excited to see our African artists become part of the platform.”
Allan Coye, Senior Vice President, Digital Strategy & Business Development, for Warner Music Group, adds, “We launched our first partnership with Audiomack in the US a little over a year ago. In that time, we’ve collaborated to create a lot of value for WMG artists and for Audiomack. We look forward to extending the benefits of this partnership to our many artists across these key regions.”
Among the key regions covered in this partnership are Nigeria, Ghana, JamKenya, South Africa and Tanzania. “The expansion of our partnership with WMG represents the next phase of Audiomack’s consistent investment in the African market,” says Vanessa Wilkins, Director of Music & Data Partnerships at Audiomack.
“Leveraging our robust presence in the region, Audiomack will arm WMG A&R teams with the data-based insights they need to identify rising stars and bring new opportunities for growth to the thousands of creators that Audiomack serves,” she continues.
Dave Macli, CEO of Audiomack, concludes, “We’re delighted to bring the Warner Music Group catalog to Audiomack’s millions of listeners across Africa. Audiomack’s goal has always been to provide every artist worldwide with a no-cost platform to launch their careers and connect with new fans.
“As a result of this deal, African artists on Audiomack who decide to partner with Warner will remain on Audiomack and connected to their earliest supporters.”
Over the past few years, Warner Music Group has made many strategic deals and investments that have seen the company become a key player in the African market. In 2018, it launched Warner Music Middle East, which covers Arabic North African countries and is led by Managing Director Moe Hamzeh.
In 2019, WMG announced a pioneering partnership with Chocolate City, the most influential independent record label in Nigeria. And earlier this year, WMG announced its investment in Africori, Africa’s leading digital music distribution, music rights management, and artist development company.
Earlier this year, Audiomack, in a quest to bolster its presence across the continent of Africa, opened its first international office in Lagos, Nigeria.
First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s premier and leading financial inclusion services provider has announced that its mobile banking application, FirstMobile, has been awarded the 2020 Best Mobile Banking App award 2020 in the Global Finance Best Digital Bank Awards 2020. The achievement of this feat is largely attributable to the Bank’s relative strength and success of its web products and services, notably FirstMobile.
Speaking on the 2020 Global Finance awards Joseph D. Giarraputo, publisher and editorial director of Global Finance said; “This year, a global pandemic accelerated the transition to digital banking, but forward-thinking banks were already on that road. The Digital Bank Awards hone in on the institutions that are leading the shift toward a new world of banking.”
According to Global Finance, winning banks were selected based on various criteria, including strength of strategy for attracting and servicing digital customers, success in getting clients to use digital offerings, growth of digital customers, breadth of product offerings, evidence of tangible benefits gained from digital initiatives, and web/mobile site design and functionality. winners chosen from entries evaluated by a world-class panel of judges at Infosys, a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing. The editors of Global Finance were responsible for the final selection of all winners.
Appreciating the award on behalf of the Bank, Gbenga Shobo, Deputy Managing Director, FirstBank said “the Global Finance 2020 Best Mobile Banking App award is testament to our continuous commitment to putting our customers first which was demonstrated in our recent upgrade of the leading mobile banking application, FirstMobile. The upgrade on FirstMobile is designed to suit the social pattern and lifestyle of all our customers.
“We dedicate this award to all customers and appreciate Global Finance for the recognition.”
Only recently, Global Business Outlook awarded FirstMobile with the 2019 Best Mobile Banking App.
Access Bank has restated commitment to deliver superior service to its customers.
The Bank in a statement said it is concerned by the inconvenience that some of its customers are currently experiencing and would play its part to ensure that they have access to their accounts as quickly as possible.
“We want to express our sympathy for the inconvenience that eight of our customers are going through due to the restrictions on their accounts as mandated by a Federal court order. We are eager for this to be resolved as soon as possible.”
The Bank noted that “It is common knowledge that we and the entire banking industry are regulated entities and therefore operate under the authority of our regulators and law enforcement agencies. As such we are compelled to comply with regulatory directives”.
“While acknowledging the concern of all well-meaning parties, we urge that enquiries and views be channeled to the relevant regulatory and judicial agencies where the matter is receiving attention. It is therefore surprising that some individuals still choose to target Access Bank in a negative manner despite not being the source of the action.
The Bank has always been at the forefront of innovative efforts in support of the development of our country. We embrace this role as we are also the largest employer of labour – a sizable number of which are youth.
Access Bank has always led the way with regard to support for young Nigerians in terms of capacity building and development of SMEs. Recall that Access Bank launched an initiative to boost the creative industry with loan facilities aimed at capacity building and employment for individuals and businesses in movie production and distribution, fashion, IT and music. Our commitment also extends to the support of small business owners through initiatives that provide access to finance for growth and expansion.
We continue to be concerned by the inconvenience that our affected customers are experiencing. We stand ready to play our part to remedy the situation and have them using their accounts as quickly as possible.
Oyewale Femi, a media entrepreneur and publisher Sahara Weekly, has taken oath of office as President, National Association of Online Security Reporters, NAOSRE.
Femi, alongside other executives, emerged elected in an election conducted by the association on October 29.
The oath taking ceremony held in Lagos on Thursday, November 12.
Speaking, Oyewale rationalized the strategic importance of NAOSRE as a partner in the promotion of the spirit and letters of Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which unequivocally provides for every citizen to live a secured life within Nigeria’s approximately 923,768 sq km land mass.
“As a foremost association that parades the finest hands in security reporting, NAOSRE will play its professional role in Nigeria’s defence and security mechanism,” he said.
He however urged members to rededicate themselves to objective security journalism in line with the set mission of NAOSRE especially at this challenging times.
Continuing, Femi congratulated Lagos Police Command Public Relations Officer, Superintendent Muyiwa Adejobi who marked his birthday on November 11. He also assured members of transparency and accountability saying “I congratulate Superintendent Muyiwa Adejobi who marked his birthday yesterday.
“Muyiwa and Commissioner Hakeem Odumosu are credible security officers I have come across in recent time. To our members, I will operate an open door policy and serve as a servant leader,” he stated.
Before the handover, Favour Benson, immediate past President of the association, thanked members and excos for the supports extended to her regime which resulted into some landmark achievements especially in the area of increased membership and a successful election of the new executives. “I thank you all for supporting me to pilot this association at a most challenging time. I urge you to extend same supports to the new leadership,” she said.
Shola Adeyemo, the association’s Chairman Board of Trustees, took members and guests down memory lane on the conceptualization of the online security union early 2020 and submitted that “It has been a tortuous task nursing and nurturing a baby association. But I have no doubt in my mind that NAOSRE has come to stay and it would continue to play its frontline role in the promotion of balanced information for a safer Nigeria,” he assured.
Nigerian Guild of Investigative Journalists represented by its Vice president, Mr. Israel Bolaji and a team of CMC media group led by Cornell Udofia described NAOSRE’s out going and incoming executives as credible persons in the media industry whose credentials are welcome addition to Nigeria’s security media space.
In her remarks, the association newly sworn in Vice President, Mrs. Love Oyedokun assured members of remarkable journey in the important task of promoting peace in Nigeria through unadulterated professionalism.
Apart from Oyewale Femi and Love Ikuku Oyedokun, those who were sworn in as elected executive members were Dayo Bamgbala, Secretary, Mrs. Azuh Lilian, Financial Secretary, Gbenga Shaba, Registrar.
Others were Adetogun Olakunle, Treasurer, Edwin Usoboh, Provost and Abiona Adenike, Welfare.
The list of newly sworn in executives includes Abayomi Obatinuadeyo, Online Director and Idumonza Isidahomhen, Public Relations Officer.
The PS5 is finally here and while games are undoubtedly the most important part of any console launch, the PS5’s new user interface is a treasure trove of pretty cool new options. We had an in-depth look at the options and found a few tips and tricks to help supercharge your PlayStation experience.
Some are handled seamlessly during set-up but others are buried in a mountain of settings and options. We thought it was worth breaking down.
Here’s what we think is worth doing when you first turn on your PS5, to help tailor your PS5 experience to your own specific preferences.
PlayStation 5
1. Check out your privacy settings
During the initial PS5 set-up you’ll be asked to select from a series of four different privacy settings with names like “Social and Open” or “Solo and Focused”. It’s essentially letting you control your online profile and what others can see.
But those settings can be broken down further within those categories, giving you complete control over whether you’ll show up in search results, or who can add you as a friend, etc.
These settings can be found under the “Users and Accounts” tab in settings.
2. Select your power settings
The PS5 gives you the ability to better control how much power your PS5 is pulling, mostly when you put it into “rest mode”. As with the privacy settings, you’ll be able to choose between profiles during set-up, with presets that can be broken down further if you feel like diving deeper. Those presets determine how long it takes for your PS5 to power down when idle and also whether or not the console will automatically download updates — very useful if you want to avoid the dreaded system update when you want to play something online.
3. Mess around with HDR sliders
If you have a TV that’s HDR capable, you’ll definitely want to make sure you have these settings right.
Again, the PS5 allows you to tinker with the contrast and brightness during set-up but, personally, I went back and forth with these settings a few times, mainly because if you change the settings on your TV after set-up (say, to a Game Mode) those HDR settings will be affected. It makes sense to go back and optimize. Especially if you’re as picky about picture quality as I am! (I’ve spent an embarrassing amount of time fixing these settings.)
4. Experiment with the sub-menu
Possibly my favourite parts of the PS5’s UI is the sub-menu you can bring up whilst in-game. Basically if you push the big PlayStation button in the middle of the controller this sub-menu pops up in game. Very nifty.
Older consoles have had some variation of this feature for a while now, but I’m a huge fan of the PS5’s version. It’s unobtrusive, subtle and allows for customization.
You can access settings, mess around with sound levels and add additional devices like headphones. You can even link your Spotify account and choose music from the sub-menu. VR options are also available from here, which will be a big help for those trying to fix VR issues on the fly.
You can easily switch between recently played games in this sub-menu as well, negating the need to go to the homepage to start a new game.
But my favourite part: It’s possible to customize your sub menu. You can even add the PS5’s accessibility options to the sub, which I’d imagine will be incredibly helpful for disabled gamers.
5. Choose between performance and resolution
Those of you with a PS4 Pro will most likely be aware that games are going a bit PC. Games like God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn let you choose whether you’d prefer the PS4 Pro focus its extra processing power on resolution or performance (which essentially means frame-rate).
Personally, I always prefer a focus on performance over resolution. And if you have a TV that doesn’t do 4K, you’ll definitely prefer performance over resolution.
Either way, to save you the hassle of selecting your preferences anew with each game, the PS5 allows you to select a default choice in the settings. Head to Saved Data Game/App settings and select game presets.
6. Pick your default difficulty
In the game presets section, there’s a lot of good stuff — you can even choose which difficulty you prefer as a default.
Personally, that’s not something I’d be doing. I reckon game difficulty is way too subjective and differs wildly between games. But I know there are folks out there that like to immediately crank to the toughest setting straight away and, vice versa, people who just like to play games for the story.
7. Check your controller settings and have a tinker
This is an absolute must.
This isn’t exactly a new thing, but the PS5 lets you set up default controller settings that are applicable to all games. First and foremost, you can make “invert” your default on first-person shooters or in third-person games with camera controls.
I am constantly having to dive into game settings to change that, so that’s a must for me.
You’ve probably heard that the PS5 DualSense controller is a big leap forward in terms of its adaptive triggers and vibrate functions. You can also make changes to the intensity of the effect. Personally I wouldn’t touch it. I’m very happy with the default, but it’s there if you want to tweak it.
8. Choose your spoiler settings
I couldn’t believe this one exists but it does!
You can actually control the level of spoilers you will see when navigating through the PlayStation Store. You can select between eliminating “all” potential spoilers, or eliminating spoilers as determined by the developers of the game.
So if you happen to be incredibly sensitive to spoilers, you can head to the Saved Data Game/App section of the settings and click on Game Presets. The option is in there.
Music a universal language and one artiste that is speaking it in clear terms to the listening joy of his fast growing fans and Nigerians at large is Damian Wan also known as Afro Casano. His recent effort titled “Table Turn” is a fusion of good melody and morally sound lyrics. The singer is a golden ray of hope in the gloomy dark cloud of Nigerian morally deficient music industry and it is a matter of time before the ray turn to a full blown sun pouring on the ever increasing thirst of youths across the world. Damian whose songs are usually not just great melody but also songs that will stand its ground amongst the people for impactful meaning recently dropped a new song that has been enjoying massive airplay across Nigeria, the song which featured one of Nigerian music genius in the person of “Musical Taliban” Oritsefemi. The song comes handy during this period as it is song to pray for better time for everybody and the country especially during this trying period.
Alibaba’s Singles Day sales were over $74 billion, the Chinese retail giant reported shortly after midnight.
Singles Day on November 11, or Double 11, is a Chinese shopping holiday started by online retailer Alibaba to celebrate single people, in opposition to Valentine’s Day, although the day mostly revolves around the online deals available. Sales each year surpass Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined, making it the world’s single largest shopping event.
This year, Alibaba has adopted some of the same strategy as US retailers around Black Friday, expanding the sale. Some sales started between November 1-3, including American brands like Adidas, Nike, and Apple. Alibaba didn’t release sales numbers for the first Singles Day window, but it said in a statement that sales “indicate strong consumption rebound and higher-than-ever demand in China.”
Alibaba Group Executive vice chairman Joe Tsai said in a livestreamed event that the Chinese economy has bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, pointing to the 17% growth year over year of ecommerce in China. As of 11 p.m. in China, US businesses passed $5 billion in sales, the most of any country outside of China.
L-R- Victor Amakwe, Group Head, Private Wealth Management; Christiana Chukwu; Idowu Ilesanmi, both winners in the social media challenge of recitation of National Pledge in Pidgin English; and Cynthia Ndukuba, Head, Head Office Compliance Assurance, Compliance and Transaction Assurance during N1million cheque presentations to four winners of the videos recitation of “National Pledge” in Pidgin English, in celebration of Nigeria @ 60th at the bank’s head office.
Heritage Bank Plc, Nigeria’s Most Innovative Banking Service provider has rewarded the winners of the rendition of the October 1st National Pledge in Pidgin English in celebration of Nigeria’s 60th Independence Anniversary.
The four patriotic Nigerians, who emerged as the winners are Idowu Ilesanmi (Lagos); Christiana Chukwu (Lagos); Onovo Chukwuebuka (Edo) and Paul Eze (Abuja) received cash prize of N250, 000 each.
The bank slated an online competition for customers to make videos recitation of them presenting the “National Pledge” in Pidgin English and the four best videos were rewarded with total cash prize of N1million.
This was to commemorate the independence and inculcate patriotic spirit in the citizens on the importance to reflect on the past, what led them here and the bright future that awaits Nigerians.
Speaking on the reasons why they participated in the online pidgin language competition, Ilesanmi, one of the winners said having being brought up in Benin City where Pidgin English is natural to them and adopted by all and sundry hence, it was golden opportunity to participate as a patriotic Nigerian.
He commended Heritage Bank for the initiative, as Ilesanmi disclosed that the information of the competition was sourced from a colleague’s page owing to the fact that he was never a customer to the bank.
He advised that, young people should grab opportunities such as this which speaks to something they would do and get rewarded for. “Anyone who is interested in things that will encourage them to do what they have interest in, then Heritage Bank is where they should be,” Ilesanmi stated.
Another winner, Christiana Chukwu also appreciated Heritage Bank for picking her as a winner and she mentioned being fascinated with the Bank’s online applications in the likes of HB Padie and *745#, which has made transactions easier and seamless to her and other customers.
In a statement by the Divisional Head, Corporate Communications/Product Management, Fela Ibidapo said that the bank considered use of Pidgin English as a marker of identity and solidarity, also as means to promote local content use of language.
He affirmed that the importance of reciting the National Pledge in Pidgin English would help invoke in every individual their national pride of love, devotion and sense of attachment to out fathers’ land and alliance with every citizen who share same sentiment. This attachment could be a combination of different feelings relating to the country in terms of socio-cultural, ethnic, political and historical interests.
He reiterated, “We are not just excited, but we are also reflecting on what our commitment as individuals has been to our great country Nigeria. Looking inwards at our journey over the last 60years, we believe as an institution that this is the best time to reflect on the National Pledge and what it means to us as a Nation.”
To this end, Heritage Bank championed the movement to keep our commitment as a nation by rewarding those who recited the “National Pledge” in various creative ways.
L-R- Victor Amakwe, Group Head, Private Wealth Management; Christiana Chukwu, winner in the social media challenge of recitation of National Pledge in Pidgin English; and Cynthia Ndukuba, Head, Head Office Compliance Assurance, Compliance and Transaction Assurance during N1million cheque presentations to four winners of the videos recitation of “National Pledge” in Pidgin English, in celebration of Nigeria @ 60th at the bank’s head office.L-R- Victor Amakwe, Group Head, Private Wealth Management; Idowu Peace Ilesanmi, winner in the social media challenge of recitation of National Pledge in Pidgin English; and Cynthia Ndukuba, Head, Head Office Compliance Assurance, Compliance and Transaction Assurance during N1million cheque presentations to four winners of the videos recitation of “National Pledge” in Pidgin English, in celebration of Nigeria @ 60th at the bank’s head office.
![Damian Wan x Oritse Femi - Table Turn [Official Video]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IXa2fB1_SAA/hqdefault.jpg)
