A frontline grassroot politician in Alimosho, youth development enthusiast and managing director of Upright Agricultural Services, Babatunde Adegoke, aka Mata has rallied the youth constituency in Egbe Idimu to pass a vote of confidence on the Senator representing Lagos West in the National, Sen. Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, YAYI FCA and the leader of the All Progressive Congress, APC in Alimosho, Alhaji Abdulahi Enilolobo.
Mata who is an agribusiness expert while hosting some youths of the party at a dinner yesterday, reiterated that Senator Yayi and Enilolobo are the supreme leaders that have the qualities to pilot the affairs of running a democratic and progressive party like the APC in Alimosho.
‘It smacks ofsheer mischief, wickedness and infantile scheming for any right thinking person to question the quality of leadership as produced by the duo of Senator Yayi and Alhaji Enilolobo within Alimosho, and Egbe Idimu in particular’
Adegoke also charged politicians to imbibe peaceful engagement and strategic lobbying rather than resort to violence, destruction and cheap propaganda.
‘APC is a big party, so interests will sure abound. But it is advisable that we imbibe in peaceful politicking, strategic lobbying and human empowerment, rather than violent disruptions, destruction of properties and unwarranted blackmail’.
In clear terms, Mata also firmly expressed it that the youths of Egbe Idimu, ditto Alimosho won’t allow miscreants masquerading as politicians take over the running of the party. He however counsel every party men to be law abiding, peace loving and dutiful to part hierarchy.
I join millions of friends, associates and well-wishers to celebrate a dependable and dedicated, jovial youngest Nigerian activist, Barrister Micheal Sijuade Bandele, as he clocks another age.
Michael’s birthday presents us a great opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the wonderful gift of nature he symbolises and I’m pleased to share the joy of this moment with him.
I’m exceedingly proud to identify with Sijuade on this auspicious occasion, which is filled by accomplishments, in lifetimes and business endeavours, while not forgetting to laud his contributions and sacrifices for a greater Erukucity.
On behalf of my family and well- wishers good people of Erukucity both home and abroad I congratulate Barr Michael Sijuade Bandele, on his auspicious Special (birthday) anniversary and I equally pray that God grant him sound health, abundant blessings and fulfilment of every aspirations.”
Have a blast our own Barrister
Wish you many happy returns
The Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan has said the bank is prepared to partner with other organizations to explore the opportunities available in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Akinwuntan in his remark at an event in Lagos pointed out that the pan African bank was set up primarily for the economic integration and development of Africa, stressing that the bank was ready to deploy its capacity, platform and network to achieve the AfCFTA objectives.
According to him, “Naturally for us as a pan African bank, we are set up to support the economic integration and development of Africa. We have a commitment, capacity, network to support the realization of AfCFTA objectives. We understand the regulatory environments, cultures and have the technology and innovation platforms. We will support Fintech to push Africa to benefit from the global market.”
Also speaking, AfCFTA, Mene Wamkele expressed satisfaction that Nigeria is ready to deposit the instrument of ratification of the AfCFTA, noting that he is looking forward to Nigeria’s leadership in AfCFTA.
He observed that for a long time the African continent has focused on security and political issues, noting that focus is now being shifted towards trade and investment-related matters.
“Whatever decision we take at the secretariat would be informed by what Africa wants. We will not put up any design that will not support what Africa wants. We would employ digitization, and fintech will drive financial inclusion. We would drive trade inclusion through fintech that would be affordable, accessible, and available,” adding that “Border closure and xenophobic issues have to be addressed according to the rules of the trade agreement, foreigners have to be protected by the agreement. All foreign entities must be treated like domestic players. Discrimination of any kind that will be tolerated. AfCFTA has improved on the WTO requirements on trade facilitation, and we would ensure that countries meet up with their obligation to ensure smooth trade,” Wamkele pointed out.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Godfrey Onyeama, has revealed that the landlord of the property where the Nigerian Embassy in Hungary is located, is threatening to evict them.
Onyeama made this disclosure while defending the ministry’s 2021 budget at the House of Representatives in Abuja on Tuesday.
The Minister also claimed the ministry needs N1.6billion to move ambassadors and pay officers N3.7billion.
“Just on Monday, the ambassador in Hungary called to say they are going to throw them out from the chancery building. That the landlord is coming and that they do not have the money to pay,” NAN quoted him to have said.
“And we get that from a lot of missions across the world and that is not a sustainable way of running foreign service.
“Then this exchange rate differential with the CBN is really something we need to address once and for all.
“It is not so easy, all of these things are computed in naira and all the payments abroad are in dollars and once the exchange rate is changed, it never goes the other way, it always goes up, it never comes down vis-a-vis the dollar.
This means immediate shortfall for all our missions
The Lekki Concession Company, operators of the Lekki toll gate, has submitted video footage recorded by its surveillance camera on the night of October 20, 2020, when soldiers allegedly opened fire on #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate.T
The Managing Director of LCC, Abayomi Omomuwa, submitted the video footage on Tuesday to the Judicial Panel of Cnquiry set up by the Lagos State Government to probe the Lekki shootings as well as complaints of human rights abuses against members of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
Tendering the video footage to the panel, Omomuwa said, “I can confirm that inside here is the video footage that our CCTV was able to record for the 20th of October.”
Explaining why the camera stopped working, Omomuwa said, “The major cause is because of network.”
“I can confirm categorically we never, ever, tampered with the CCTV. That is why we can get the footage.
“It remained there until about 8pm when it was tampered with and we couldn’t get anything.”The panel had last week paid an unscheduled visit to the Lekki toll gate as well as the military hospital in the Ikoyi area of Lagos. An official of the hospital, Brigadier General AI Taiwo, who took the panel members round the facility, said the morgue has been under renovation since October 2019.
The controversy about the ownership of Lekki Concession Company (LCC), the organization running the Lekki toll-gate where Lagos former Governor, Fashola recently find a hidden camera need to be put to rest. Though the ownership of the LCC has been linked to many but we can tell you for a fact that the Chairman of the board of the company that was established in year 2006 is occupied by Dr. Tunji Olowolafe, a very close friend of the former Governor of Lagos State and current Minister of Works and Housing Barrister Babatunde Raji Fashola.
Dr. Olowolafe is a 1984 graduate of Medicine from the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, after which he worked as in the health care industry across various parts of South Western Nigeria before he co-founded Deux Project Limited, a Nigerian civil engineering, construction, consultancy, and maintenance company as a partnership with Dr. Olatunde in 2000.
He’s a major investor and leader in Public Private Partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects and this include him serving as Chairman of Lekki Concession Company and Eko Rail. He’s also the Chairman of GZ Industry Limited, the only can manufacturer serving the Nigerian market.
Sources close to the government of former Governor Fashola can attest to the two forming a bound that sees the then Governor entrust the medical doctor turned contractor with many things. The governor is said to have made popular a statement over the years whenever any major developmental contracts comes up for mention in Lagos Council Meetings then which is, “I think Lafe can do it, I trust him”.
Dr. Tunji Olowolafe
Those in the government then says Dr. Lafe as he was fondly called in the corridor of power then was Lagos biggest contractor during Fashola’s time as Governor and we can confirm they are still pretty close going by the heartfelt message he penned during this year birthday celebration of the Minister of Works and Housing in June.
Olowolafe in his piece of eulogy to the former governor “As governor and minister, BRF always championed a Pan-Nigerian, development-oriented style of leadership, everything he does revolve around this idea. I am yet to observe so closely any leader in his generation possessing such passion for making life better for as many people as possible”.
With the event that happened in a past not too long ago and the relationship between Fashola and Dr, Lafe, the feat to miraculously discover a camera on the premises of the toll-gate is seen as a deliberate attempt by the minister to take the heat off his friend.
One of the leading prophetic voices in Christendom, Prophet TB Joshua has finally open up on the forthcoming presidential election in America between Joe Biden and Donald Trump
The clergy Said: “What is happening in the American election is as a result of the power in the tongue. The word we speak determines the life we enjoy (Proverbs 6:2). The tongue can either work for us or against us – death and life lie in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21).
We Christians would have loved it to go the way we wanted. But the Bible says it is never proper to base our faith on our improvement after prayer. We should not worry. The joy is that the new Supreme Court Judge, Amy Coney Barrett, will be an instrument of check.
Finally, let us learn how to believe that God hears us when we pray – it is a much greater blessing. There is likely going to be pockets of resistance here and there but nothing will change. Let me reserve what I am seeing until the inauguration of the new president.”
– Prophet TB Joshua (November 1, 2020
Nigerian music star, Tiwa Savage, has revealed that she attempted to kill herself twice.
Tiwa Savage in a Black Box interview with media personality, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, on Monday, said the incident happened while studying in London.
The ‘Koroba’ crooner said she almost took her own life due to bullying she received as a black kid in London.
She narrated that her strong Nigerian accent was mocked by her classmates and she had to get a Police escort.
“I moved to London with my mum at age 10. I was teased so badly. They used to call me ‘African girl’, ‘Foo foo’, ‘Your food smells’ and so on. It was terrible. It was so bad that I literally tried to kill myself two times. I was really depressed.
“I was really bullied; they will flush my head down the toilet during lunch break. I had to have a police escort me sometimes because after school they would rush me on the bus.
“These were gangs of girls, it was really bad. I wanted to bleach to be lighter and was growing my hair. The bullying went on for three to four years.”
Last week will go down as one of the most challenging weeks, if not the most challenging, Nigeria has faced in 2020. What started out weeks before as very well-organised peaceful protests by young Nigerians campaigning to #EndSARS, was supplanted by hoodlums engaging in wanton looting, arson and destruction of public and private properties across many states at an unprecedented scale. By the end of the week, many lives had been lost, many properties and businesses completely destroyed and Nigeria has been left reeling from a shock that dwarfs any the country felt even at the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak.
In keeping with the Nigerian spirit of being one’s brother’s keeper, equally unprecedented efforts by individuals, groups and corporate organisations to try to provide assistance for people and businesses affected by the crises of the past week, have followed. Individuals and groups have announced donations of cash and materials, set up helplines to offer psychological counselling and support, and started online crowd-funding efforts in support of victims. Among corporate organisations, we have seen banks take a leading role. Some banks, such as Access Bank and Stanbic IBTC, have announced funds or desks they have set up to receive requests from, and process assistance for, affected individuals and businesses. One of these banks’ efforts include pledged interest-free loans and grants that affected businesses and individuals can access.
Another bank has seen thousands of requests for assistance pour in through the online channel it set up for the purpose. The requests have flowed in, not only because of the victims’ desperation for help, but also because of the humane approach to banking that this institution adopts. Always putting the customer at the heart of its business, FirstBank has been showing empathy with all those who have experienced one loss or the other as a result of the crises. Since last week, the bank has been seeking every opportunity to identify with people who are currently grieving and hurting.
Although the largest and most prominent member of Nigeria’s leading financial powerhouse, the FBNHoldings Group that is a one-stop shop for financial services ranging from commercial and investment banking to financial advisory, insurance brokerage and pensions custodianship, FirstBank is neither immune nor removed from the challenges people face. It is a human institution with thousands of humans working as employees to provide bespoke banking products and services to millions of other humans whose pulse the bank feels through its employees. Being part of a group with expertise across the broad spectrum of financial services, makes FirstBank the banking partner with the broadest shoulders to assist SMEs buffeted by the wave of violence witnessed across the nation last week.
Given the interconnectivity between Nigeria and FirstBank’s history, it is no surprise that a tumultuous week in Nigeria is giving way to one with stories of hope and optimism by Nigerians badly affected by the crises of the past week, who are looking to FirstBank for assistance. These Nigerians have been encouraged by the strides FirstBank has made over the years in the SME space as the bank of first choice for small businesses. Built around seven strategic pillars – of connect to infrastructure, connect to talent, capacity building, policy and regulation, connect to resources, connect to market as well as connect to finance – considered essential for the sustainability and growth of SMEs and intended to promote a healthy business interaction and adaptability of the SMEs with their immediate environment, FirstBank’s involvement with SMEs, through SMEConnect (the bank’s branded bouquet of empowerment initiatives, products and services tailor-made for SMEs), has been one that has sought to facilitate their growth into future economic powerhouses playing ever-increasing roles in Nigeria’s economic development.
Since its maiden SME National Conference in 2014, FirstBank has annually engaged small businesses and SME owners in series of empowerment seminars and workshops designed to improve their business capacity. Only this year, FirstBank held its inaugural SME Business Clinic in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja with many SMEs in attendance. The SME Business Clinic featured Abayomi Adewumi, CEO of the Global Leadership Institute and an industry expert and business growth consultant with vast experience working with SMEs. He engaged participants on the FirstBank SME diagnostic tool designed for SMEs to check the health of their business, better understand it and drive profitability.
In 2019, FirstBank organised a weeklong SME event which had owners of SMEs in different sectors mentored across multiple states in the country. It was the first of its kind in the industry. Organised in partnership with SME Traction, a leading business coaching platform, it was aimed at empowering SMEs to make informed choices about their businesses, thereby facilitating growth and bolstering their contribution to the development of the economy. At the event, FirstBank’s Deputy Managing Director, Gbenga Shobo, underlined the importance the bank attaches to SMEs. He said: “At FirstBank, we recognise the impact SMEs have in promoting growth of the economy and are excited at the opportunity to continue to enable them prosper by strategically contributing to the sustainability of their business. We remain the trusted financial partner of SMEs and reiterate our resolve to be known as the brand that enables their success; much the same way that we have for over 125 years enabled Nigerians and the economy at large.”
This same point was elaborated at another FirstBank SME event, “Food Souk”, convened in 2019 in partnership with Eventful Limited, an events management firm, where the bank restated its commitment to the Federal Government’s diversification drive, promising to continue to support the agricultural value chain from production to consumption to create opportunities for SMEs in the food sector so they could in turn create job opportunities. The bank also extended its hand of partnership to all small businesses involved in organising different trade fairs and exhibitions. A food vendor at the event, Ms Ijeoma Ebeneme, the Chief Executive Officer, JEM N Iris, commended FirstBank for putting the event together. Ebeneme said she was at the food fair to make profit, meet new clients as well as create the needed publicity for her brand. It is for people like Ebeneme that FirstBank maintains an SME website (https://smeconnect.firstbanknigeria.com) with rich resources to help SMEs build capacity and improve how they run their business. On the website is a blog featuring business articles and tips, SME business toolkit, SME products, Microsoft 365 Business Basic and a whole lot more.
In support of owners of SMEs operating in the education sector, FirstBank, in partnership with the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), set up a matching fund scheme of ₦5 billion LSETF-FirstEdu Loan. Officially launched in September by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and Dr Adesola Adeduntan, Managing Director/CEO of FirstBank, the scheme aims to cushion the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on low-cost private schools by ensuring lending at an attractive interest rate. Speaking at the launch, Dr Adeduntan said: “At FirstBank we recognise the indelible role played by the education sector in the growth of any economy and this underscores our partnership with Lagos State Government for continuous development of the education services in Lagos State and the nation as a whole. The commitment by the Lagos State Government – including this partnership – to enable schools is quite commendable as this will mitigate the challenges caused by the lockdown on the education sector following the COVID-19 pandemic.”
It is for efforts like all those highlighted above and many more that the 2019 edition of KPMG’s Annual Banking Industry customer Satisfaction Survey named FirstBank as the biggest mover in the SME space. The 2014 edition of the Survey had named the bank as the most popular bank among MSMEs for both deposit transactions and credit/loan facilities with 26 per cent of the SMEs surveyed identifying the bank as one where they had an ongoing loan facility or had obtained one in the recent past. It is also for the same reason that the unfortunate events of the last week have reignited the bond between Nigerians and FirstBank, a partner that they can bank on in times of need. The bank’s track record leaves no one in any doubt of its unwavering commitment to continue to weather all storms with Nigeria and Nigerian SMEs with whom it shares a common destiny.
The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Hakeem Odumosu, today Sunday 1st November, 2020, visited some police formations and vehicles that were burnt by the hoodlums during the recent EndSARS unrest in the State.
The stations/formations visited included Ebutte Ero, Makinde, Layeni, Ilasamaja, defunct SARS Office at Ajegunle, Amukoko, Orile, Defunct Anti Kidnapping Unit, Surulere, Onipanu, Alade, Pen Cinema, Isokoko, Igando and Ikotun.
The inspection was initiated to embark on on-the-spot assessment and having first hand information about the burnt stations/formations and vehicles, both official and personal, across the state; and put in place strategies of returning policemen to the affected stations for routine police duties with a view to providing adequate security for lives and property of the people in the communities where the hoodlums wrecked havocs.
The Lagos CP reiterated that despite the trauma and challenges the policemen in the command experienced, the police will leave no stone unturned in maintaining law and order and projecting public safety within the state, particularly, during the ember months which is usually characterized by security challenges.
The Commissioner of Police was accompanied by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Department of Operations, DCP Mohammed Ali, Area Commanders Area F, ACP Ali Zongo, Area B, ACP Soji Akinbayo, Area C, ACP Fatai Tijani, Area G, ACP Ibrahim Zungura, Area M, Ifaeyin Ohuruzor, Officer In-chrage of the State Intelligence Bureau and some affected Divisional Police Officers.
During the tour of inspection, CP Hakeem Odumosu ordered that the Divisional Police Officers and men attached to the burnt stations return back to their duties since the government as well as some concerned communities have provided temporary office accommodations pending the general reconstruction of the burnt stations across the state. He said “wherever there is temporarily office accommodation, take over and continue your duties”.
The Police Chief, emphatically, reassured the general public of adequate visibility policing and regular patrols across the length and breadth of Lagos State to curtail any security challenges in the state. Similarly, the Commissioner of Police encouraged members of the public to relate with the police and support them to discharge thier duties as expected.
SP OLUMUYIWA ADEJOBI(mnipr)
POLICE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
LAGOS STATE COMMAND
IKEJA.
