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Polaris Bank announces New ‘Save & Win’ Promo, commits Millions of Naira in Prize Money to Nigerians

Polaris Bank has commenced a nationwide savings campaign tagged: Polaris ‘Save & Win’ Promo to give away Millions of Naira in cash rewards to its loyal and prospective customers who would partake and emerge winners in the promo.

Four millionaires will emerge alongside 4,379 Nigerians who will be rewarded with other cash gifts from N100,000.00 up to N500,000.00 per person in a monthly, quarterly and special draws over a period of 12 months.

The ‘Save & Win’ promo is aimed at making millionaires of everyday Nigerians by encouraging current customers of the Bank to grow their existing accounts by N5,000.00 in 30 days while prospective customers are encouraged to open and save in their account, a minimum of N2,000.00 and grow it to N5,000 within a month to qualify for the monthly draws, and stand a chance of winning N100,000.00. For the quarterly draw, existing and prospective customers stand the chance of winning N1m in rent as first prize; N500,000.00 for first runner up and N250,000.00 for second runner up within the promo period. The Campaign started from October 1, 2022, and will run till September 30, 2023.

The first draw, which will herald the first set of winners for the month of October, will be announced in the first week of November. On that day, the first set of winners, 62 in all, will receive N100,000.00 as their reward in commemoration of the 62nd Independence Anniversary of Nigeria.

The same process will be repeated in subsequent months where 100 Nigerians will win N100,000.00 each. In December however, the 1^st quarter of the campaign draw will hold where 3 winners will go home with N1m in rent prize: N500,000.00 and N250,000.00 cash prizes alongside 100 winners of N100,000.00 each across the six geo-political zones in the monthly reward draw.

There will also be Special draws for Nigeria’s Independence, Xmas, Valentine, Easter and Eid-el-Kabir seasons. Additionally, the campaign has a targeted draw component where 200 winners comprising of artisans, trade association members will emerge per month (10 winners per cluster with 20 clusters activated every month).

The Group Head, Product and Market Development, Mrs. Adebimpe Ihekuna while kicking off the campaign, noted that “the essence of the exercise, is to give back to customers and encourage savings amongst Nigerians”. The campaign, she further explained, is a reward for the traders, artisans, public servants and indeed professionals who in spite of the challenging times, are able to put aside some money.

She reiterated that in challenging times such as we are now, there is a compelling need to save, not only to win a prize, but also to plan for the rainy day.

Explaining further on the dynamics of the campaign, Mrs. Ihekuna, noted that” both current and new savings account customers of the Bank are eligible to participate in the promo.

She disclosed that the joy of winning lies in the ability to continuously grow savings to have greater chances of winning.

According to her, “Winners will emerge from four routes or reward categories namely, Monthly draws, Quarterly draws, targeted draws and Special draws through a transparent electronically generated process that will be supervised by relevant regulatory institutions.”

Opening a Savings Account is simple and swift in Polaris Bank. Prospective customers can dial *833*0# on their phones to follow the prompt or simply download VULTe on iOS and App store. If you have a dormant Account with the Bank, you can reactivate it from your devices by visiting https://accounts.polarisbanklimited.com/reactivate/ or any of the Bank’s branches across the country.

Polaris Bank, adjudged the Digital Bank of the Year, is a future-determining Bank committed to delivering industry-defining products to individuals and businesses.

Kogi State Government Accuses Dangote Of Planning To Cause Chaos (Details)

The Kogi state government has accused Dangote group of companies of planning to cause chaos in the state.

The commissioner for information and communications in a statement released noted that the company held a meeting yesterday to perfect plans to cause chaos in the state.

This is coming after the state government sealed Obajana Cement Company which according to the government was illegally obtained by Dangote group of companies.

Read full Statement below

KOGI STATE GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA

PRESS STATEMENT

PLOT BY DANGOTE TO CAUSE CHAOS IN KOGI UNCOVERED

1. We have uncovered certain plans by the Dangote Group at a meeting held last night to cause chaos across the state as a fight back strategy against the State Government’s decision to get its own legally supported equity from the Obajana Cement Company. The latest strategy stems from frustrations occasioned by the failure of the Dangote Group to misinform the general public and its shareholders as the State Government has consistently and continuously present the facts of the matter to the general public.

2. A top Management Staff of Dangote Group erroneously called a top Government official as the meeting was going on to hatch their satanic plans against the Government and people of Kogi State. The call which came in at 10.06pm went on for 28 minutes, 12 seconds, detailing how they intend to doctor documents to prove they own the cement company 100 percent; how they intend to use the DSS and other security agencies to arrest top Government Officials on frivolous charges; how they intend to use the EFCC to arrest some Government officials in order to cow them down; how they also intend to use the media to promote falsehood against the Government and people of Kogi State and sundry other satanic plans against the people and Government of our dear state.

Below are the resolutions at their meeting:

* Obliteration of the Agreement between the Kogi State Government and the Dangote Group.

* A plan to use the press to attack the Governor and the Government of Kogi State. They planned to deploy people to the major TV Stations in the country to attack the Governor and the Government of Kogi State.

*They planned to call the EFCC and DSS today to claim those who sealed the company on the orders of the House of Assembly stole the sum of N207m and that those agencies should arrest them.

*They also resolved to initiate both civil and criminal proceedings against certain Government officials.

*Lastly, they resolved to block all the major highways across the state with their trucks to make it impossible for the Governor to move out of the state capital. In their words, they said “we will prove to him that his madness cannot match our own”. They said at the meeting that Dangote owns Nigeria and that there is nothing anyone can do to stop him.

3. The over 28 minutes recorded meeting typifies the mindset of economic oppressor who thinks he could use every apparatus of the Federal Government to fight our dear state into submission. Nigeria is what it is today because certain individuals think they own the country and can get away with any attrocity they commit.

4. We make bold to say that if the Dangote Group attempts to carry out any of his threats or deny our claims above which are supported by facts, we will release visuals and audio of the said meeting and the whole world will see the mindset and modus operandi of Alh. Aliko Dangote and his conglomerate. We are a people that cannot be destroyed by the whim and caprices of the capitalist dominance that the Dangote Group stands for.

5. One of the plans hatched at the meeting was to use Dangote trucks to block all major highways in Kogi State from today to make life unbearable for the people of the state and also launch attacks on commuters across the state in order to cow the State Government into submission in the ongoing ownership determination battle for the Obajana Cement Company.

6. We wish to inform the people of Kogi State that the State Government will stop at nothing legal to defend their rights to movement and safety. We will take steps that are legal to resist the act of cowardice of the Dangote Group to harass, intimidate or harm the people of Kogi State for demanding their rights.

7. Let it be clear to all that the Government and people of Kogi State are united against economic oppression under the leadership of Governor Yahaya Bello. Our resolve to right the wrongs of the past is bigger than those who think they own Nigeria and can get away with anything they do.

8. We call on security agencies to be on red alert to forestall any breakdown of law and order. It is our wish to ensure the agitation to reclaim our equity at Obajana is non-violent as we have all that is required to win the battle. Security agencies should resist the temptation of being used by the Dangote Group to be used to harass officials of Government and our people as hatched at the I’ll fated meeting.

9. We also want to sound a note of warning to the Dangote Group that Kogi State will not condone any act of lawlessness and that perpetrators will be made to face the full wrath of the law, no matter how highly placed.

9. Let it be clear to all that the present administration has overseen the heaviest influx of investments into the state as a result of the enabling environment created. But in as much as we crave investments and economic expansion in our dear state, it is our responsibility to protect the interest of the people in those investments.

10. Our stand is just and fair. Our decision is to give what belongs to the people to the people and not seek pecuniary interest. That is why Dangote Group is being repeatedly exposed. The Group should do what is right and just to stop further drowning in the murky waters of ignominy.

11. We urge the people of Kogi State to remain calm as the Government they elected is capable, ready and equipped to fight this economic battle successfully.

Glo Joins The PSB Fray As MoneyMaster PSB Launches With G-Kala

Telecom industry transformational leader, Globacom, has announced the commencement of its payment service bank business with the official launch of MoneyMaster PSB on October 6, 2022. The PSB commenced commercial operations on May 30, 2022.

A statement released by the company noted that: “Our over-arching business objective remains to empower Nigerians by providing them with unlimited opportunities. MoneyMaster extends that objective as it targets the unbanked and under-banked with G-Kala its flagship product in order to deepen financial inclusion in Nigeria.”

MoneyMaster PSB was granted a payment service bank license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on August 27, 2020. Payment service banks can, by virtue of their licenses, facilitate payment and remittance services within Nigeria, accept deposits from individuals and small businesses, issue debit and prepaid cards, operate electronic wallets, inbound remittances, and carry out other services in line with CBN regulations. They however differ from commercial banks in the fact that they cannot grant loans.

MoneyMaster will be leveraging Globacom’s pan-Nigerian spread and pervasive agents’ footprint in the rural and urban areas as it begins its massive roll-out.

To open an account, all the customer needs to do is dial *995# then follow the prompts from a Glo line or from any other telecommunications network as MoneyMaster PSB is network agnostic.

Just as Globacom revolutionized the telecom industry with cutting-edge technology and unique products when it started operations in 2003, MoneyMaster PSB is poised to redefine the payment service banks’ landscape while driving financial inclusion in Nigeria.

“One key feature of MoneyMaster’s G-kala product is that the customer’s phone number will be used as his or her account number,” the statement continued.

“We are grateful to the CBN for the opportunity to deepen financial inclusion in Nigeria using our cutting-edge technology and vast network.”

With 133.5m bank accounts in Nigeria as of December 2021 according to figures released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and with only 54 million BVNs registered as of April 10, 2022, there is a huge gap of about 79m Nigerians and potential for PSBs like MoneyMaster to help bring many unbanked and under-banked into the financial services ecosystem.

FIRSTBANK COMMEMORATES 2022 CUSTOMER SERVICE WEEK

FirstBank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s premier and leading financial inclusion services provider has announced its commemoration of the 2022 edition of the Customer Service Week scheduled to be globally celebrated on 3 – 7 October 2022.

The event themed: “Celebrating Service” will be marked across its FBNBank subsidiaries in over half a dozen countries which include FBNBank UK, FBNBank Ghana, FBNBank Senegal, FBNBank Gambia, FBNBank Guinea, FBNBank DRC and FBNBank Sierra Leone.

Customer Service Week is an international celebration that highlights the importance of customer service and staff who serve and support customers daily to deliver exceptional service to customers.

The Bank’s celebration of the 2022 Customer Service Week will include several activities considered integral to promoting a relaxed atmosphere whilst extending its participation to everyone, irrespective of where they are. The activities include virtual engagement of customers on its social media handles: firstbanknigeria on Instagram; First Bank of Nigeria Limited on Facebook; First Bank of Nigeria Limited on LinkedIn and @FirstBankngr on Twitter.

Others are a video booth and photo frame funfair, then a Virtual Party on the Friday of the weeklong event and a movie date for staff.

Through the last 128 years of its operations, FirstBank has played a leading role in utilizing its robust customer service network and digital banking architecture to support its customers – cutting across diverse cultures, tribes and races beyond the shores of Nigeria – in meeting their individual and business needs. The Bank achieves this through its innovative, interactive, self-service banking platforms like *894# Quick Banking mobile solution, FirstMobile banking application, Firstmonie Agents, FirstOnline internet banking, WhatsApp banking, and ATM amongst many others. The Bank’s electronic banking channels are constantly updated with new and exciting features to expose customers to exemplary services and experience to put them at an advantage in the industry.

According to Folake Ani-Mumuney, Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, FirstBank “for us at FirstBank, celebrating service, the theme of the 2022 edition of the Customer Service Week is a reflection of our brand mantra “You First”. This reiterates the essence of our existence since 1894, centred on putting You, our customers First as we continue to support individuals and businesses to impact the economy.

With our dynamic and vibrant human-led and digital-led customer services operations, we remain committed to rendering the gold standard of services to our customers and stakeholders regardless of where they may be across the globe” she concluded.

Inspirational Musician, Funmi Ayinke To Shut Down United Kingdom For Rugged Fest

Popular and unique inspirational Musician, Funmi Ayinke is set to shut down the prestigious 02 Arena in the United Kingdom for Rugged Fest on Friday, 14th Of October, 2022.

Funmi Ayinke is among the few Nigerian artistes that were invited to come perform at the globally recognized music festival. The likes of Oxlade, Bella Shmurda, to mention a few are also billed to perform at the show.

The organizers of the show when announcing the inclusion of Funmi Ayinke to the list described her as one who would be bring the Afro-soul vibe straight from motherland, Nigeria.

No doubt, this is a huge win for the Nigerian music industry especially the Afro-soul category which Funmi Ayinke represents.

Funmi Ayinke is known for her unique sound and style that talks majorly to the youths in the society. Since her sojourn into the music industry, she has become ‘ a book’ for the youths to inculcate values through her songs.

Funmi Ayinke has released several songs that include Obirin,Open Letter, I Can Make It, It Is Our Time, several others and just recently, Carry Me.

The Jagaban of Borgu is not a saint but the best option for Nigeria 2023! – Hon. Khairat Animashaun-Ajiboye

Just like no one is perfect, Asiwaju is not perfect. Yes he was complacent in many areas of need by the Nigerian masses and some elites too!, Yes he has some advisers who do not genuinely have his interest and the interest of Nigeria at heart and who continues to mislead and shield him from the truth as well from good people for their personal gains ONLY! Alas this man, Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a kind hearted man who had been very good in identifying talents, putting round pegs in round holes, growing economies, people and brilliantly knows our problems as a people and as a nation. He knows exactly what to do to fix it!!

Senator knows that he can NOW become unselfish having had ALL that life has got to give and as Governor from arguably the most populous City in Africa; He is a king maker and a talented strategist, A firm decision maker and a people person! He MUST become more understanding now and intelligently face the National problems with practicable sustainable solutions, where we can start reducing our debts, increasing our capacity in areas of power generation and distribution, “put feathers back on the body of the hens” so that ‘the hen’ can flourish especially where we can simultaneously put GOOD teams together to ensure we STOP miscarriages of Justice, impunity and embolden the LAW, it’s communication and it’s respect.

Bola Tinubu, is a fair person, who must allow the people to own structures and make them accountable. Nigerians are embodiment of brilliance! I however understand that the human mind is unpredictable, the reason some of our leaders are forced to handle governance the way they do – with fear and control, but this man has come a long way and knows by now, the REAL rules of the game! He will have to make changes even to his kitchen cabinet and I mean that literally – provisions of what he eats and drinks.

The unity of our country, as we know it lies in a leadership that understands the good, the bad and the ugly and can sincerely retrace their steps, ask for forgiveness from the people, empathize and sympathize with the plight of our people and then strategically push forward an agenda that will make everyone, not just barely survive but thrive. I know the entrenched and entitled over the past 62 years will throw kicks, but that’s okay.

I want to see a Nigeria where I will not be afraid to ply the roads to any part of our beautifully blessed country, A country that can be fair to its citizens and uphold the rights of the oppressed, no matter what; One where our ‘young’ men and ladies alike turning 40 can be proud to plan for their future without fear; Where ethical values will be upheld and a reorientation by example can become the norm.; A country where our community responsibilities prevails. Frantic and pragmatic decisions should be made about the state of our Federation in terms of what needs to be reset and or corrected. Let us resonate HOPE again and for the right reasons!!

For historical minds, you remember in the Bible that Saul who became Paul was a persecutor of the Christians until his soul was seized by the Creator and he became the defender of good and the Christians. The same can be said in the Quran where the grandfather of the Prophet, Abdulmutalib was a non believer and a persecutor of the Muslims but changed to become a defender of the Muslims. Malcom X was a criminal who was jailed only to become the fighter for the oppressed. Many examples of leaders of history who had to go through the bad side of the people to later gain the trust of the people without fear are not farfetched.

Ahmed Tinubu can bring about these core changes and some others which I have not mentioned here! ASIWAJU, you may want to close shops and take stock of what had been purchased by you albeit humans. Kindly let’s change narratives and salvage our country! I believe you have what it takes! Political party or not! I dare say that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the best option for a United Nigeria at this point of our 62 years history as a country and he deserves our support.

Signed:

Hon Mrs Khairat Animashaun-Ajiboye.

Former Gubernatorial Aspirant

FIRSTBANK PARTNERS VERVE INTERNATIONAL, MAKES CUSTOMERS MILLIONAIRES IN THE FIRSTBANK VERVE CARD PROMO

In partnership with FirstBank – Nigeria’s premier and leading financial inclusion services provider – Verve International, Africa’s leading payment technology and card business, has launched its third National Consumer promo designed to reward users of FirstBank verve card with exciting gifts and cash prizes to appreciate their patronage and use of the card to carry-out their electronic banking transactions.

The ongoing 2-month promo will end on 30 October 2022 as 20 customers (10 customers per month) with the highest transaction count during the promo will be made millionaires, winning the sum of N1 million each. Also, N20,000 will be won by 25 customers monthly.

On the other hand, 2620 FirstBank verve cardholders that double their transactions every week, stand a chance to enjoy 10% cashback capped at N2,000 per customer.

Speaking on the promo Chuma Ezirim, Group Executive, e-Business & Retail Products, FirstBank said “we appreciate our partnership with Verve Card through the years; a partnership of empowerment and opportunities which include growing the economy, supporting new businesses and preventing unemployment. FirstBank verve card holders are encouraged to keep using their cards as it is a card offering that promotes safe, convenient and rewarding digital banking experience with 20 customers standing a chance to be millionaires at the end of the promo.”

Verve card is a secure debit card that allows cardholders to conveniently meet their daily financial needs such as payment for goods and services, airtime recharge, bill payments, funds transfer, etc. Verve card is accepted across all ATMs, POS, Web and Mobile Platforms in Nigeria.

The promo is also opened to new verve cardholders as non-verve cardholders are encouraged to visit the nearest FirstBank branch today to pick up a Verve card and start getting rewarded!

Only recently, FirstBank – in partnership with Verve – rewarded over 2601 FirstBank verve cardholders with various prizes; including N20,000 cash prize, N10,000 cash prize, N10,000 worth of airtime; power generating sets, refrigerator, cooking gas, smart TV and the grand prize of a brand-new car to a lucky winner.

Drama As ‘Yahoo Boys’ Holds Matriculation Ceremony In Edo State (VIDEO)

Newslensng reports that some suspected internet fraudsters aka Yahoo Boys have expressed after their matriculation held in Edo state.

In a video shared on instagram, they were seen reciting some of their slangs while practicing their craft.

Watch Video Below

Abuja Court remands Late MKO Abiola’s Widow, Zainab in prison Over Assault On Police Orderly

The Chief Magistrate Court in Zone 6, Abuja has remanded Professor Zainab Duke Abiola in Suleja Correctional Facility over an attempt to commit culpable homicide.

The police sued the legal practitioner and human right activist with offences bordering on criminal conspiracy and causing criminal hurt without provocation and breach of trust.

The professor, who is a wife to the late MKO Abiola was arrested and arraigned in court over the assault of her orderly, Inspector Teju Moses on Tuesday.

She was said to have instructed her maids to manhandle the orderly over her refusal to execute domestic duties.

Consequently, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command in a short thread on Twitter, revealed the court’s ruling to remand the professor in the Suleja Correctional facility.

The Command disclosed that the case was adjourned to October 5 for the next hearing.

Naira Will Suffer More Depreciation When Political Campaigns Begin Next Week–Experts

Some finance and economic experts are projecting further naira devaluation as election campaigns kick-off in less than a week.

They also revealed that politicians have already begun buying dollars in bulk to fund campaigns.

The Central Bank of Nigeria sells dollars at N436 at the Investor and Importers Window for Foreign Exchange, while the Bureau De Change operators sell for N712 per dollar.

At the peer-to- peer (P2P), which provides an online platform where people can exchange currencies with one another, the currency trades at N720 per USD.

Nigeria is battling its worst dollar crunch driven by drop in oil revenues, while inflation and insecurity are scaring investors that would have injected the needed forex to turn around the economy.

Currently, Nigeria’s apex bank is pursuing $200bn non-oil remittance in the next five years through the RT200 Forex programme and has only raised $1.65bn since its launch in February.

“We are aggressively looking at non-oil exports and it is paying good dividend. Nigeria remains an investment haven based on the size and the economy in Africa and also because of the market in Nigeria,” CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele said during an investor call in New York.

But more pressing for the apex bank is the pressure that the political campaign ahead of the 2023 general elections will exert on the naira.

Campaigns will officially kick-off on September 28, 2022, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission and historical trends have shown how politicians funded campaigns with the dollar.

Alh. Shehu Jega, a forex expert and a dealer at Bani Mbaka Bureau De Change in Zone 4, Abuja told THE WHISTLER that the worst is yet to come, particularly as politicians will exchange huge amount to dollars for campaign purposes.

Jega said, “The campaign is going to influence the exchange rate because the dollar is more portable than the naira and the politicians can carry any amount without it showing.

“If you want to campaign with the naira and you know campaign in Nigeria without other currencies is impossible. So, the politicians will resort to bulk buying and hoarding of dollars so that they can fund their campaign.

“It is a usual thing. So, in whatever way, the campaign is going to influence the price of the currency more.”

He said there has been no reasonable attempt to save the naira, hence the currency will likely depreciate adding “the naira is left on its own.”

According to him, Nigeria being an import economy has seen dollar supply fall to the minimum.

Jega said, “There is bourgeois attempt to hoard the dollar. So, visually, nobody can predict the naira will rise in value.

“The trends going on now is unpredictable by anybody. You can’t exactly say this is why the naira is going down and the dollar is taking advantage. But the most important factor is that the demand is going down.”

He hinted that panic buying is also a major concern which must be addressed to save the naira.

He added, “There is a lot of panicking in the market, people are trying to maintain their economic value and as a result of that, they are resorting to buying dollars to hoard. But I don’t think there is any real attempt to devalue the naira.

“But it is devaluing and the market causing that. The price is going the way it is. Ever blessed day, the demand is going higher and it is a common knowledge that once the demand overwhelms the supply, automatically it will fall.

“People who hold dollar now are hoarding it because they are sure of their value. Those who do not have will love to have it to secure their value.”

For Kalu Aja, the large spread between CBN and BDC “Street rates indicate low volumes.”

“Keep whatever dollars you have close to you. Difficult days ahead. Nigeria needs dollars. It can’t earn enough, because she can’t protect her pipelines. It can’t borrow, because its current revenues can’t service existing debt. We need non-oil exports and remittances plus a devaluation,” he added.