Please be informed that you are now required to pay a fee of N6.98 to your mobile network provider for every banking transaction carried out on all Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, USSD banking platforms.
This means that when you access any banking service using Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, a fee of N6.98 will be charged to your bank account, which is in turn remitted in full by your Bank, to your mobile network provider.
Please note that Airtime and Data purchases via USSD are exempt from this charge.
FirstBank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s premier and leading financial inclusion services provider, has been ranked the second ‘most admired financial services brand’ in Africa – for the second straight year – at the 2021 Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands Event, held on Africa day, 25th May 2021.
Brand Africa is an intergenerational movement to inspire a great Africa through promoting a positive image of Africa, celebrating its diversity and driving its competitiveness. It is a brand-led movement which recognizes that in the 21st century, brands are an asset and a vector of image, reputation and competitiveness of nations.
With over 127 years of being woven into the fabric of society, FirstBank has been at the forefront of promoting growth and development in the country, extending its financial services footprints – through its subsidiaries – to over half a dozen countries across 3 continents. The Bank’s international business presence includes FBN Bank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Senegal, as well as a Representative Office in Beijing.
Through the years, the Bank’s leading digital banking services and innovative products like FirstMobile, USSD, Firstmonie Agent amongst many others, have been essential to promoting cashless transactions in today’s digital age. FirstBank’s digital savviness extends to the social media platforms where it has been ranked by Financial Brand as the number one on Instagram in Nigeria and second globally based on the highest number of fan base/followers and it’s clearly poised to reclaim number 1 position across all parameters.
Appreciating the recognition on behalf of the Bank, the Chief Executive Officer, Dr Adesola Adeduntan, said, “we are grateful to Brand Africa for the back-to-back recognition as the ‘Second Most Admired Financial Services Brand in Africa’. This is a testament to the impactful role we are playing in promoting socio-economic development in Africa, which includes being at the forefront of bridging the financial inclusion gap as well as our commitment to supporting Small and Medium Enterprises because of the critical role they play in economic growth and development”. He further noted that FirstBank has created a functional ecosystem for SMEs to thrive through various value adding solutions and value propositions.
Only recently, First Bank of Nigeria Limited was awarded the 2021 ”Retail Banking CEO of the Year Nigeria”, ”Most innovative Retail Banking App Nigeria” and ”Best CSR Bank Nigeria” awards by Global Banking and Finance magazine.
Fidelity Bank remains committed to putting smiles on its customers’ faces by enriching their lives through its ongoing savings loyalty program. To mark this year’s Children’s Day, the bank doled out N150, 000 to 62 Sweet Account (SWEETA) holders across the country, a whopping total of N9.3 million. As part of its efforts to deepen customer engagement, the bank readjusted its approach with respect to the loyalty scheme.
Under the auspices of the loyalty scheme, the bank presented cheques to the beneficiaries of the loyalty scheme at various children’s events organised by Bounty Kiddies Bites & Event, Katsina; Zeelove Event Management; Pamvilla Primary & Secondary School; Refiner School; Ilupeju Junior & Senior Secondary School; Orphanage Home, IDP camp throughout Katsina, Niger, Abuja, Lagos, and so on.
Commenting on this initiative, Fidelity Bank CEO, Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe pointed out that all round quality education remains a strong anchor in raising tomorrow’s children and breeding exceptional children who can compete globally. “This is why we have decided to contribute our quota as a bank by offering school fees support to select Nigerian children.
Mrs. Onyeali-Ikpe urged well-meaning Nigerians and corporate entities operating in the country to continue to support positive causes that would ensure a secure future for children. In the same vein, Richard Madiebo, Head of Product Development, encouraged prospective and existing customers to open SWEETA accounts for their children and wards to participate in this initiative.
It is worthy to note that the bank has given out N4.1bn to 10,280 customers (7,367 FPSS & 2,913 SWEETA) from the inception of the loyalty scheme to date. In keeping to its promise of rewarding N500,000 “extra income” and N150,000 “School Fees Support” to all active FPSS and SWEETA holders every quarter, the bank conducted random electronic selection of the loyalty beneficiaries across Regional banks/branches for quarter ended March 31, 2021.
During the week, the bank conducted a virtual cluster loyalty selection for Fr. Hillary Group of St. Peters Catholic Church, Awka, and Mrs. Ngozi Cynthia was the recipient of N500, 000 in “extra income.”
The Head, Agency Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, Olanike Kolawole has said there are many inherent rewards and benefits of being an agency banking partner, also known as Xpress Point agent of the bank. Kolawole, who was speaking on the bank’s ongoing mouthwatering gifts presentation to its Xpress Point agents across the six geo-political zones of the country for their increased transactions on the bank’s platforms, stated that apart from helping to drive Ecobank’s financial inclusion strategy in Nigeria, the agents were being empowered to create wealth and enjoy financial freedom.
She disclosed that the bank currently parades 30,000 agent locations across the country, stressing that the agency banking scheme is driving entrepreneurship, providing employment opportunities and supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“We are happy with our Xpress Point agents, knowing they are playing a crucial role in helping us reach out to the unbanked and underbanked in the society. That is why we have designed a reward system for them. They are bringing more people to the banking space through their services. They carry out financial transactions on our behalf and earn commission on every transaction processed. The customer experience is very good as customers can do simple deposit, payment, and transfers in their own neighbourhood rather than travel for hours to a bank branch. The Xpress Point is also a channel that is being used for the deployment of national social intervention programmes of the government,” she said.
Further, Kolawole listed the services offered by the Xpress point agents as: cash in, cash out, fund transfer, bills payment, airtime recharge, remittances and account opening, among others. She added that the services are available for MSMEs, sole proprietors, partnerships, co-operative societies, microfinance banks, companies with large distribution network – like petrol stations, FMCGs, telecommunication companies, super agents, aggregators and unregistered businesses such as petty traders, hair saloon and others.
She enjoined the youths and owners of small businesses (both men and women) to use this initiative to expand their revenue streams while offering this value-added service to customers. “Are you looking for a business opportunity? Do you have a business and need an easy way to earn extra income? Xpress Point is the way. Become an Ecobank Xpress Point Agent today and enjoy financial liberty. Xpress Points are Ecobank approved agent locations that bring easy banking services closer to your neighborhood. Ecobank Xpress Point Agents offers simple banking services to solve your financial needs without you having to visit the bank.”
Ecobank boasts of a bouquet of digital channels comprising solutions aimed at delivering convenient, accessible and reliable financial services. The USSD platform, *326#, makes it possible to open an Xpress account and Xpress Save account instantly. The bank’s mobile banking app, Ecobank Mobile offers the option of generating a virtual card among other functions; this comes in handy as customers are continually turning to web payments for their shopping. The Ecobank virtual card offers the flexibility and convenience of creating a shopping card that is not linked to a customer’s account but is fully capable of carrying out online payments. The virtual card can also be shared with loved ones as a gift card for their own shopping.
All is now set for the 2nd edition of the Ecobank Agribusiness and Food Security Summit organized in association with Vanguard Economic Forum Series. The primary content objective of summit is to discuss the role of technology and digitisation across the agricultural value chain. The virtual summit with the theme: Digitizing the agricultural value chain for unlocking productivity, economic growth and food security, is scheduled for June 3rd 2021 by 11am prompt and will be broadcast and streamed live via zoom and across vanguard newspapers and Ecobank social media channel platforms.
Strategic Partners to Ecobank on the summit are Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the Nigerian Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (NASME). Others include the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG). The speakers and panelists are carefully drawn from government, development finance institutions, banking, trade associations, civil society, non governmental organisations and subject matter experts in technology and agriculture.
Confirmed speakers include Kenton Dashiell, Deputy Director General, Partnership for Delivery, IITA; Aliyu Abdulhameed, MD/CEO, NIRSAL; Dr. Emmanuel Ijewere, Vice President, NABG; Ndidi Nwuneli, Co-founder/Managing Partner, Sahel Partner; Akin Alabi, Co-founder, Corporate Farmers International; Ayodeji Balogun, Country CEO, AFEX Commodities Exchange and Patrick Akinwuntan, Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, among others.
Announcing the conference in Lagos, Head of Agribusiness at Ecobank Nigeria, Mrs Mojisola Oguntoyinbo said the Summit is part of the bank’s determination to further showcase the potentials in the agricultural sector of the nation’s economy in partnership with Vanguard newspapers, the Economic Forum Series and Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG). According to her, the summit is also part of the bank’s continuous contribution to the growth and development of the agriculture sector, stating that a pool of notable thought leaders and industry experts have been assembled to address how technology can aid the entire agriculture value chain to bring about economic development and food sufficiency in the country.
Mrs Mojisola Oguntoyinbo explained “This virtual conference is part of Ecobank Digital Series which is in line with our vision to consolidate a modern pan-African market, contribute to the economic development and financial integration of the continent. The summit would amongst other things examine the potential impact of agriculture technology investment in fixing low productivity in Nigeria’s food production; evaluate existing traditional agriculture finance models in Nigeria and the role and impact of technology enabled commodity exchange trading across the agriculture value chain, and the role of developmental partners and international agencies in driving funding and investments across the agriculture value chain.”
She noted that the Agribusiness Summit would help Ecobank communicate and connect with Nigeria’s entrepreneurs in the agric value chain, farmers and other investors, adding that the bank will also showcase its strength in the digital banking space such as its innovative digital payment channels like the OmniPlus, Omnilite and digital sales collections channels like Ecobankpay NQR amongst other financial service offerings to close the large financial Inclusion gap and a direct response to mitigating the economic challenge post-COVID-19.
Also speaking, Jude Ndu, Director, Vanguard Conferences and The Economic Forum Series said: “we are indeed pleased and delighted with the ongoing high-level strategic partnership with Ecobank Nigeria in the area of concept development, synthesis, design and execution of high profile thematic bespoke events. The upcoming conference speaks to the strong sense of confidence the bank has in us to help curate thought leadership content and context for the brand in line with its marketing objectives. “As a media organisation, this is our own way of contributing to the growth prospect of the sector through audience engagement by bringing together critical stakeholders to discuss solutions to the issues of low productivity and food insecurity in the country.
The Ecobank Digital Series is a virtual programme organised by Ecobank to educate and enlighten the public on crucial issues of public interest, especially as it relates to their financial empowerment.
L-R: Certificate recipients of Ynsprye Project- Oluwasegun Ikoya; Deborah Johnson; Ozena Utulu, Head, Brand Management and Sustainability Heritage Bank; Fela Ibidapo, Divisional Head, Corporate Communications; Uchenna Mike Olisa, Head Product Development, Heritage Bank; other recipients- Derrick Ugwuegbu; Ayomide Soloja and Abayomi Bello, during the graduation and Certificate presentation to the 1st batch of Project Ynspyre graduates, as the bank partners Silverbird Group in Lagos.
Heritage Bank Plc, Nigeria most innovative banking service provider has joined forces with Silverbird Group to empower and deepen its supports to young entrepreneurs in the Nigeria creative and entertainment industry.
This, the bank said, is in line with its culture as timeless wealth partners, which would impact positively on the nation’s socio-economic development, as the graduates are empowered with job and mentorship opportunities at the Silverbird Group.
During the first batch of the Ynspyre Project, Heritage Bank and Silverbird graduated five young talented minds in a three (3) months rigorously internship training programme to equip them with the necessary skills for their future engagements.
Over 3000 people sent their entries but only five were picked and trained in their different field of choice. Amongst the lucky interns are: Derrick Ugwugbu–Reporter/Anchor; Deborah Johnson–Radio Presenter; Oluwasegun Emmanuel Ikoya–Disk Jockey (DJ); Ayomide Solaja–News Presenter and Abayomi Bello–Cinematographer.
Speaking during the handover of certificate of completion, Fela Ibidapo, Divisional Head, Corporate Communications of Heritage Bank said as a forward looking financial institution its strength lays in the ability to spot and mould talents into great professionals.
He noted that the Ynspyre Project was established to train, nurture and arm young employees with the right skills needed to fast-track development and enable talents to flourish.
He urged prospective interns who have interest in participating in the Ynsprye Project to dial *745# to open a savings account with the chance to be amongst the next set of interns, whilst staying tune to Heritage Bank’s platform and Silverbird Television.
Meanwhile, Ibidapo explained that the aim of Heritage Bank being at the forefront of youth empowerment is to emancipate the latent entrepreneurial spirit in the teeming youths to unleash their support to the growth of the economy.
Ibidapo stated that being at the forefront of investing in human capital development for critical economy recovery, “we will continue to up our game to empower Nigerian youths who is one of the bedrock of any vibrant economy,” he added.
He disclosed that one of the channels churned out in partnering the youths to leverage their talents and contribute their quota to the growth of the economy, was the use of financial inclusion strategy which would be adopted to boost entrepreneurship development, as this is critical to Heritage Bank’s mission to create, preserve and transfer wealth across generations.
Uchenna Mike Olisa, Head, Producgt Development, Heritage Bank, who admonished the trained entertainers to make good use of their acquired skills, affirmed that platform would enable young creative minds to be more imbued with the requisite talents.
Mike Nwadike, Head, Silverbird Television hinted that lots of resources have gone into the training with series of creative sessions, strategy sessions, brainstorming meetings and re-evaluation, with the aim of ensuring that the participants are grounded in their respective skills.
Iyke Chinke, Head of Programmes, Radio commended Heritage Bank for their continued efforts to empower youths in the country. According to him, it is hard to find banks out there to give young people the opportunity but Heritage Bank has been championing it.
First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s premier and leading financial services provider, has been awarded the 2021 ‘’Retail Banking CEO of the Year Nigeria’’, ‘’Most innovative Retail Banking App Nigeria’’ and ‘’Best CSR Bank Nigeria’’ awards by Global Banking and Finance magazine.
The respective awards conferred on the Bank are in recognition of the indelible roles it plays in deepening financial inclusion in the country; advancing the digital banking eco-system as well as impacting people in its host communities with technology to make learning available to individuals of all ages, amongst many others.
The Global Banking and Finance Awards reflect the innovation, achievement, strategy, progressive and inspirational changes taking place within the Global Financial community. The awards were created to recognize companies of all sizes which are prominent areas of expertise and excellence within the financial world.
With its over 750 branches and 100,000 Firstmonie Agent banking network spread across the nook and cranny of the country, FirstBank’s robust retail banking framework has been at the forefront of bridging the financial exclusion gap, thereby empowering Nigerians to carry out their financial and business-driven activities in contributing to national growth and development.
Also, in order to put customers ahead in enjoying state of the art digital banking services, the Bank’s industry-leading banking application, FirstMobile, is configured with modern banking functionalities which are regularly upgraded and designed with self-service features to ease the navigation capability and proficiency of customers to carry out their respective transactions with no hassles.
The smart banking application is also embedded with a card protection service for customers to enable and disable cards on channels, account switch off as well as second-factor authentication and device registration. With the upgraded FirstMobile, customers can remotely initiate the request for a new debit card as well as the replacement of a lost or damaged one.
Woven into the fabric of society for over 127 years, overcoming challenges and remaining a dominant player in Nigeria’s financial services landscape, FirstBank has been partnering and supporting various sustainable activities towards the continued growth of its host communities and the nation at large.
As a responsible corporate organisation committed to supporting all its stakeholders in the most sustainable manner possible, the bank partnered with various state governments through the private sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) intervention to promote the readiness and efficiency of health care professionals and other compatriots at the forefront of fighting the pandemic.
The Bank also forged a formidable partnership with the Lagos State government, Robert & John, IBM and Curious Learning amongst others to promote e-learning of school children that were affected by lockdown at the height of the pandemic. The initiative is still enjoyed by thousands of individuals, irrespective of age.
Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, the CEO of FirstBank commenting on the awards said ‘’we are proud to be recognized with these awards, which speak to the investments we have made over the past years in bolstering our electronic platforms for our customers; enhancing financial inclusion through agent banking as well as empowering our communities in the education space especially by bridging the digital divide through e-learning initiative.
These awards are dedicated to all our customers, as the trust they reposed in us being their bank of first choice in meeting their business and financial needs has been instrumental to the success we have achieved in our existence of over 127 years. We remain committed to putting You, our customers First as we contribute to the growth and development of our host communities” he concluded.
Wema Bank Plc, the creators of Nigeria’s first fully digital bank – ALAT– and one of Nigeria’s leading commercial banks, is hosting a creative essay competition for children.
The 2021 Royal Kiddies Essay Competition tagged “Write & Win”, will test the creative writing abilities of young school children in Nigeria aged 5 – 12. It aims to develop writing skills, promote creativity, imagination capabilities, reward creativity, and drive them towards excellence in their learning process.
Ten kids will emerge from a transparent, credible, and thorough screening process. The top three Essays will each get Huawei tablets and Royal Kiddies branded T-shirts. The seven other finalists will each get a N20,000 prepaid gift card for school supplies in addition to a branded T-shirt.
The essay competition is open to children of parents/guardians who have opened and funded a Royal Kiddies Account for their children/wards. Eligible kids will develop a creative and imaginative essay reminiscent of the eventful year 2020.
To get your kids to join the fun and get them rewarded for their creativity in the Wema Bank Royal Kiddies Essay Contest, follow the steps below:
Send an essay written by your ward(s) with the topic “2020 A year to Remember” along with their royal kiddies account details to retail.products@wemabank.com.
Essay submission entries close by May 24, 2021. Besides other terms and Conditions that apply, only Royal Kiddies Account holders with up to N20,000 in their account qualify to apply.
A Wema Bank Royal Kiddies Account gives your kids an early start to financial freedom. It is for kids between ages 1 to 12. Other benefits of opening a Wema Bank Royal Kiddies account for your children are access to school fees advance, scholarships, life assurance to fund their education and many others.
If you wish to enter your kids but do not have a Royal Kiddies account, visit the nearest Wema Bank branch to open an account.
S&P Global Ratings said changes to the boards of First Bank of Nigeria Limited and FBN Holdings (FBNH) Plc, recently directed by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), addressed the banking group’s corporate governance challenges and ensures the Nigerian banking sector’s financial stability.
In a statement, it stated that its ratings on FBN and other Nigerian banks remain constrained by shortcomings in corporate governance and transparency, among other factors.
The CBN recently replaced the entire boards of FBN and FBNH, and reinstated the former executive directors and CEO, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan.
The CBN had also requested FBN unwind certain exposures and divest from its participation in a non-permissible company, also pointing to potential corporate governance lapses at the bank.
“However, Dr. Adeduntan’s reinstatement and the re-appointment of the other executive directors underscores the CBN’s confidence in the existing management team to continue the turnaround of the third-largest banking group in Nigeria, which has total assets of Nigerian N7.7 trillion.
“We are of the view that the CBN’s historical approach has been more reactive than proactive, as illustrated by the Skye Bank episode. That said, recent actions, while disruptive in the near-term, may signal a more direct and possibly decisive supervisory approach to alleged failings in the management and governance of regulated institutions,” it stated.
It, noted that FBN’s overall credit profile has gradually stabilised since 2016, with a capital adequacy ratio of 17 percent in 2020, as against a 15 percent minimum requirement.
Similarly, the bank’s asset quality indicators improved significantly, with Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) reducing to 7.7 percent in 2020, from 20-25 percent since 2016.
One of the key metrics that well defines a truly 21st century brand beyond profit making is its ability to connect with customers and stakeholders as a complete enabler, touching on vital aspects of their lives, creating exciting memories and enabling them to access more enjoyable and convenient lifestyle, in shopping, studying, working, traveling, family living, entertainment and aspirations.
Its ability to also give back to the community through tangible corporate social investment programs that significantly translate to improved living and not just mere formality and publicity stunts is also pertinent.
First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is giving a good account of itself in this regard not only as a truly financial powerhouse but also as a life enabler, helping Nigerians live better and achieve their dreams.
In retrospect, banking, decades ago, was essentially about providing financial services and products to merely aid customers’ financial transactions. However, the smart ones are indeed changing the game. Not only is the envelope being pushed to ensure that the unbanked are banked through financial inclusion offers even to the remotest villages, FirstBank has taken banking to another level. Backed by superior technology firepower and capacity, it is assisting not only adults but also Nigerian youths to live better and fulfil their dreams.
The Nigerian nation and the most populous black nation of the world indeed has a youths bulge as observed by many experts with a growing army of young and vibrant people below 25 years of age constituting over 60% of its 200million population! While an unrelenting rate of unemployment, weak economy, soaring inflation and despair appear to dominate the national mentality, many youths are finding solace in entertainment, breaking the ceiling with their creative ingenuity, shunning out award winning hits and in fact making global headlines in music and other entertainment offshoots like movies, comedy skits and contemporary dance.
Nigeria’s 29 year old singer, Damini Ogulu popularly called Burna Boy in March shocked the world winning the world’s most coveted Grammy Award in the Best World Music category during the 63rd annual edition in Los Angeles Atlanta while another 30 year old Nigerian artiste, Ayo Balogun aka Wizkid was also a co-winner in the Best Music Video category for Beyonce’s Brown Skin Girl. These young Nigerian global music icons were raised and honed their skills in the suburbs of Nigeria through home grown competitions and platforms.
Music reality shows have also unveiled and nurtured music and entertainment talents like Timi Dakolo, Iyanya, Praise, Omawumi and other A-list musicians in Nigeria. This is why FirstBank’s intervention and sponsorship of a music and youths talents harnessing platform like The Voice Nigeria is strategic and instructive, and quite capable of helping to harness and nurture music and entertainment talents into celebrated musicians, make global stars of Nigerian youths, and truly help them achieve their dreams. Obviously, Firstbank has been a prominent force visibly empowering talents and the nation, and without the much-needed lifeline, many young talents would be taking to crime or other vices.
For over 127 years, the premier bank has been at the forefront of nation building; supporting through resourceful partnerships to build the Nigerian creative industry value chain which contributed 2.3 per cent (N239 billion) to Nigeria’s GDP in 2016 (NBS).
The bank’s support for the Voice Nigeria is also a demonstration of its commitment to contributing to the projected revenue of US$86m by 2021 from the Nigeria’s music industry aimed at promoting a diversified economy in line with the Federal Government’s diversification policy.
The bank assured that it has given voice to Nigerians for the past 127 years, and will continue to give voice to Nigerians by creating employment, economic empowerment in the country through its products, services and initiatives and it remains committed to strengthening the creative industry which is fast growing into a multibillion-dollar business, with potential to be a leading contributor to Nigeria’s GDP in the near future.
In fact, FirstBank has the network; reach and digital capability to enable the Voice. With its agent banking network across the nooks and crannies in country, it is helping in the search for the talent that will become a true inspiration to all.
True to the name, the Voice Nigeria has lived up to its promise, as it offers exciting and relaxing entertainment to families, music lovers, and other entertainment loving Nigerians who look forward to fresh seasons and episode of the well-crafted music program.
Now in its season 3, the Reality TV show has been a masterpiece in the last six episodes of the current season as viewers are serenaded by several awesome performances and display of raw talents on the show’s blind auditions which ended on Saturday, May 1. The episode ended with raging emotions, exhilarating sensations and blistering anticipation as the four judges – Falz The Bad Guy, Waje, Yemi Alade and Dare Art Alade had one final opportunity to forge their winning team.
So far, the coaches, hosts, producers and amazing talents have been a great delight to watch. They have been awesome with their good-natured banters, hilarious drama, top-notch fashion, electrifying opening performances, talent courting speeches, and chair turning and bell thumping spectacle. The optics is exciting! The expectation on the show has been so intense; you could cut with a butter knife. The coaches’ approach at winning talents over to their team has been fun and a fine blend.
There were no holds barred, as the judges were very warm, animated, upbeat, inspiring and full of energy. They were definitely not a team of avuncular examiners waiting to pass judgments. They brought much gusto and effect to the big stage! While Falz threw up his magical comic card severally, Dare maintained the cool dude posture while Yemi and Waje both brought on the alluring feminine appeal with Waje sometimes speaking in Igbo to convince a talent. In all, they fared well, each getting a fair share of talents to mentor and their combination depicted a perfect combo.
The talents on their part have not disappointed viewers. They came in different shades across both genders, with varying voice textures, mix and pitches – smooth, silky, velvet, shrill, husky, coarse or simply rough. And to the best of their abilities, they did justice to many songs, including some classic tunes and old hits. The creative fusion of multiple genres of music by some smart talents who beautifully delivered unique blend of music made good impressions which won the judges hearts. The awful looks on the faces of those who the judges would simply not behold, having failed to captivate their attention with the voice. The uncontrollable joy of those who got the bell ring and standing ovation and the incredible looks on their loved ones who came to show support. Not forgetting the jazzy presence and reassurances from the co-hosts including Toke Makinwa and Nancy Ikime which also complimented the soothing potpourri.
Interestingly, FirstBank made some smart moves on the show, with the bold inscription of “This is the moment you have been waiting for, Time to put You First”, clearly displayed at the entry of the contestant for the stage performance. This reinforces the bank’s thrust as an inspiration to motivate the talents and youths at large to excellence. It has also promised viewers mouth-watering prizes just by watching the show regularly and following updates on FirstBank verified social media handles.
Now that the Blind auditions stage has come to an end, it is game on! The next phase of the show is the highly anticipated Knockout Stage which starts on May 8. In this stage, the coaches will select the most outstanding talents to proceed to the battles. In this stage, there is so much to come and fans will certainly not be ready for all that is in store.
More than ever, the show’s fans are hopeful that the knockout stage will even be more entertaining but that will certainly not be a challenge with the dexterity of the handlers so far.
With all that has been seen so far, it is difficult to believe that this is only the beginning; it is certain that there is so much more to come.
