News Archives - Page 126 of 281 - SocietyGazette.com

‘Africans, Nigerians must drive towards excellence’ – Sierra Leone Boardroom Chief, Sally Khatumal

Barrister Sally Hamilton Vinod-Khatumal is the Chairman, NP Sierra Leone, the West African country’s largest oil trade and marketing company. She is also the country’s acting Chairman, Ecobank – the transnational bank that straps the continent like a colossus.

Khatumal is on two weeks personal visit to Nigeria, a part of which she spent as the lead speaker on excellence and the need for Nigerians, and indeed all Africans to eschew mediocre mind sets in politics, parenting, academics, religion, corporate governance and personal living.

Speaking at the annual Celestial Showers 10XBetter Convention in Yaba, Lagos at the behest of the Celestial Church of Christ, PraiseVille on Saturday January 29, Khatumal said, “My intention is to encourage the spirit of excellence in us as Africans, so as to inspire everyone, regardless of your faith or what part of the African continent you may come from. We must all strive to be the best at whatever we do right.

“Excellence is actually work in progress and when you become the best, you cannot be complacent for that breeds mediocrity, which is the enemy of excellence. Young Africans must strive to be the best in academics, their careers, in business, sports, entertainment and different professions. But we should also know that the road to being the best can be hard, painful and sacrificial” said Khatumal.

Mrs. Vinod-Khatumal is also the Founder and Managing Partner, IVY Law Chambers, Sierra Leone and Law Tutor, Council of Legal Education Sierra Leone Law School.

Also speaking at the 2022 Convention, which is its fourth edition, were Ms. Toyosi Ogunseye and Prof. Temitope Jaiyeola. Ogunseye is the new Head of News and Commissioning of the BBC World Service, London. She’s a Mandela Washington Fellow, two-time CNN African Journalist of the Year and Nigeria’s most decorated journalist with over 35 professional awards.

From left Dr. Kunle Hamilton, Mrs. Sally Hamilton Vinod-Khatumal, Ms. Toyosi Ogunseye and Prof. Temitope Jaiyeola at the Celestial Showers 10XBetter Convention 4.0 hosted by CCC PraiseVille, Lagos, recently

Jaiyeola is a Professor of Mathematics at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife and Head, Nigerian Branch of the Neutrosophic Science International Association, University of New Mexico, USA. He won the 2022 Chebyshev Grant for the International Congress of Mathematicians, Russia. He is the Staff Adviser to the Celestial Church of Christ Students’ Parish, OAU.

Song ministers at the Convention 4.0 were Qhemmy Onasanya, CCC PraiseVille Echoes with Aaretivity Toba and the Seyifunmi Olakiigbe-led CCC Ikorodu Central Choir.

The all-day Celestial Showers 10XBetter Convention 4.0 was hosted by the Shepherd-in-Charge, CCC PraiseVille, Dr. Kunle Hamilton over the weekend. In his opening remarks, the veteran media practitioner and life coach said, “All Christians around the world would be wise to see what is special about Year 2022. It is a year of supernatural return into the divine favours of the biblical Garden of Eden.

“The secret lies in the configuration of this year, where the sum of 2+0+2+2 is 6 and the bible records 6 as the number of mankind for man was created on Day 6 when God described His own feat as ‘very good.’ Therefore, for all believers, 2022 is our ‘Year of Goodness’ or if you prefer, our ‘Return to the Goodness of Eden.’

“It is upon this premise of goodness that our wonderful guests from England, Ms. Toyosi Ogunseye and Ms. Yetunde Odebiyi, Prof. Temitope Jaiyeola from Ile-Ife, and our lead speaker from Sierra Leone, Mrs. Sally Hamilton Vinod-Khatumal crafted their thematic spectrum of the superlatives ‘From Good to Better to Best’ and their delivery was impeccably brilliant as our YouTube videos and viral clips show” Hamilton said.

Collective Responsibility can end HIV Transmission – Wigwe

From left: Chairman, Shell Group of Companies in Nigeria, Mr Osagie Okunbor; Chairman, Dangote Group of Companies, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; CEO Access Bank Plc, Dr Herbert Wigwe, during the launch of the HIV Trust Fund of Nigeria at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday

Dr Herbert Wigwe, Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc says ending HIV in Nigeria is possible when Nigerians take responsibility collectively.

Wigwe said this at the launch of 100 million dollars HIV Trust Fund of Nigeria in Abuja.

He urged the private sector to rise up to the occasion by working in collaboration with government in area of ownership in sustaining the HIV response.

“However, the original emergency Plan to fight AIDS must transform into a Sustained Response that prevents new infections and ensures those on treatment stay on treatment.

“The era of sustainability demands that Africans take responsibility and ownership for the end of AIDS in Africa,” he said.

Wigwe who said that Nigeria currently had the third largest HIV epidemic statistics worldwide, said over 80 per cent of the funding had been mainly from international donors.

According to him, the Nigerian private sector currently contributes about 2% of total funds allocated to HIV.

He urged the private sector to collectively join hands in the ownership of the funding to eradicate HIV in Nigeria, asserting the readiness of Access bank to supporting improved health system.

“Access Bank is not known for complacency. We are known for our drive for financial and economic growth, for leadership in national health issues.

“Particularly the national response to COVID, and we are known for our commitment to sustainability, especially relating to strengthening our national health system.

“With less than half of people living with HIV have access to treatment or adequate care, Access Bank partnered with other private sector organizations here from the Nigerian Business Coalition Against AIDS (NiBUCAA)

“To educate our staff, raise public awareness and support individuals living with HIV/AIDS.”

Wigwe explained that the bank had also conceived of this national HIV Trustfund, as a N50 billion private sector-led mechanism to pool our resources to provide significant sustainable inputs required to scale up the impact of the AIDS response in Nigeria.

He expressed the commitment of Access bank and other private sectors to ensuring that mothers were tested and drugs provided to end mother to child transmission.

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chairman of Dangote Group said that it was a collective responsibility of all to bring the number of persons living with the virus to zero.

Dangote said that the money to be realised in the launch would be channeled to getting all pregnant tested and treated.

He called on the private sector to work with the public sector at equal frequency in to end HIV in Nigeria.

Mr Osagie Okunbor, Managing Director, Shell pledged commitment of Shell to the funding to ending the virus in Nigeria. (NAN)

From left: Managing Director, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Dr Lars Richter; Director General National Agency for the Control AIDS, Dr Gambo Aliyu; US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Leonard; Chairman, Shell Group of Companies in Nigeria, Mr Osagie Okunbor; Chairman, Dangote Group of Companies, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; CEO Access Bank Plc, Dr Herbert Wigwe and CEO Total Energies, Mr Mike Sangster during the launch of the HIV Trust Fund of Nigeria at the Presidential Villa in Abuja

Panic As Fire Guts Shops At Veritas Varsity

Students of Veritas University Abuja were thrown into panic in the early hours of Saturday, after fire razed some shops located within the boys hostel.

The incident occured in the early hours of Saturday at the campus located in Bwari Area Council of Federal Capital Territory.

The Veritas University Public Relation Officer, Evelyn Obekpa, who confirmed the incident to THE WHISTLER, said the institution received a distress call in the early hours of Saturday.

She said, “This is to react to the purported story making the round about a fire outbreak in Veritas University Abuja.

“Here is the truth. Five make-shift shops within the university campus were affected in a fire-out break at about 1am today, Saturday, 5th February 2022.

“Those shops are mostly kitchens operated by food vendors within the university. The extent of the damage is yet to be ascertained.

“The makeshifts are on the way that leads to the boys hostel, and among the shops affected is one that belongs to a bean cake seller.

“The person who fries Akara (bean cake) did not put off the fire properly and then took the wood into the shop, and that resulted to the raze. No casualty recorded so far. “

Obekpa stated that they contacted the Federal Fire Service immediately the fire was discovered, adding that the Service swiftly intervened.

The Federal Fire Service Public Relations Officer, Abraham Paul when contacted, confirmed the incident, adding that the cause of the fire could not be immediately ascertained.

He said, “We can confirm that we got a distress call around 1am today and we referred them to FCT Fire Service in Bwari. As to the level of damage and cause of the fire ,our investigators would hit the place and inform us after their investigation.”

Veritas University is a private institution founded by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria through a resolution given at its March 2002 meeting in Abuja.

JUST IN: FG announces creation of new agency, appoints head

President Muhammadu Buhari has ratified the creation of a new government agency, the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB).

The establishment of the agency followed a request made by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami.

In a statement issued on behalf of Pantami, Uwa Suleiman, obtained by POLITICS NIGERIA, his media aide, said the NDPB was established in line with global best practice and will focus on data protection and privacy for the country, among others.

He said the successful implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria has significantly increased the adoption of data platforms and accelerated the ‘datafication’ of the country. “This has increased the importance of having an institution that focuses on data protection and privacy,” he said.

“Furthermore, the issuance of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) in January 2019, as a subsidiary legislation to the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Act 2007, has increased awareness about the need for data protection and privacy.”

Buhari also approved the recommendation of Pantami, for Dr. Vincent Olatunji to serve as the National Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer of the Bureau.

Dr. Olatunji hails from Ekiti State and, at the time of his appointment, was the Director of the eGovernment Development and Regulations Department at NITDA.

Money Ritual: Ogun Teenage Killers Arraigned, Remanded

The four teenagers, who allegedly killed a 20-year-old girl identified as Sofiat Kehinde, have been ordered by an Abeokuta Magistrates Court sitting in Isabo, Ogun State to be remanded in prison for two months.

The suspects, Balogun Mustaqeem, 20; Majekodunmi Soliudeen,18; Abdulgafar Lukman,19; and Waris Oladeinde,18; were arraigned on Thursday on two counts of conspiracy and murder.

Recall that the teenagers were apprehended in the early hours of last Saturday burning the head of Sofiat in a local pot for ritual.

Inspector Lawrence Balogun, police prosecutor, while speaking in the court noted that the defendants committed the offence around 11pm on January 28 at the Kugba area in Abeokuta.

He further stated that the suspects conspired among themselves to kill Sofiat, who was Soliudeen’s girlfriend.

The prosecutor added that the defendants murdered the girl by cutting off her head with a cutlass, adding that they had plans to use her for money rituals.

According to Balogun, the offence contravened sections 324 and 316 of the Criminal Code Laws of Ogun State 2006.

He said, “They unlawfully killed Sofiat Kehinde, aged 20, by cutting off her head, thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable Section 319 of the Criminal Code Laws of Ogun State, 2006.”

The Magistrate, I. O Abudu, who did not take the plea of the defendants, ordered that they be remanded in prison.

Abudu ordered that the defendants be remanded in the Oba Custodial Centre pending legal advice from the Ogun State Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

She, however, adjourned the case till March 14 for mention.

BREAKING: FG uncovers 123 Companies, 33 BDCs funding Terrorism in Nigeria

The Nigerian Government has disclosed that a total of 123 companies, 33 Bureau-De-Changes and 96 individuals have been linked to terrorism financing in the country.

The Country’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed disclosed this in a statement sent to POLITICS NIGERIA on Thursday morning.

The controversial minister revealed that the suspects were uncovered by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit. In his words: “For its part, the analysis by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), in 2020-2021, revealed 96 financiers of terrorism in Nigeria, 424 associates/supporters of the financiers, involvement of about 123 companies and 33 bureaux de change, in addition to identifying 26 suspected bandits/kidnappers and 7 co-conspirators.”

“The analysis has resulted in the arrest of 45 suspects who will soon face prosecution and seizure of assets. Also, from its analysis of tax evasion and tax avoidance linked to corruption, NFIU has identified N3,909,707,678,112.43 in VAT and N3,737,918,335,785.82 in Withholding Tax due to the Government.”

“NFIU has also sent 1,165 intelligence reports on cases of corruption, money laundering and other serious
offences to 27 domestic agencies for investigation, prosecution and asset recovery. On terrorism financing, NFIU had intelligence exchanges on Boko Haram, ISWAP, banditry, kidnapping and others with 19 countries. During the same period, 2020-2021, the organization returned fraudulently-obtained funds totalling US$103,722,102.83, 3,000 Pound Sterling; 7,695 Singapore Dollar and 1,091 Euros to 11
countries of victims who came into the country.”

‘My life is under threat’ – Ogun Governor cries out

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun on Wednesday, said criminals have threatened to go after him, following the anti-crime battle of his government.

Abiodun had on January 21, 2022, re-launched the state joint security outfit, code-named OP-MESA, where he declared war on kidnappers and internet scammers commonly called ‘Yahoo Boys’ in the state.

But the governor, while speaking in Abeokuta, hinted that the hoodlums are feeling the heat of the newly relaunched security outfit.

He spoke at the “Ogun, Oyo Joint Security Meeting”, bilateral session put together by Ogun and Oyo State Governments to finding solutions to the insecurity challenges in their states.

The governor dared the criminals, saying “I am waiting for them.”

He said “After we launched our OP-MESA last week, I understand that they have been working extremely hard, in fact, what I hear is that those criminals are now saying that Dapo Abiodun is making life unbearable for them and that they are going after me, well, let me assure you that I will continue to make life intolerable and unbearable for you and I’m waiting for you.”

Why we restricted accounts owned by some Nigerians – Binance CEO

Binance Chief Executive Officer, Changpeng Zhao, has explained that the controversial restriction of accounts on its platform is due to ongoing measures to prevent fraudulent activities.

In a statement addressed to the Nigerian community, published on Sunday, Mr Zhao said 281 Nigerian cryptocurrency accounts were affected by these proactive measures.

“Some 281 Nigerian accounts have been affected by these personal account restrictions with approximately 38% of these cases restricted at the request of international law enforcement,” he said.

Mr Zhao emphasised that the Nigerian community is one that brings great pride, adding that since the inception of Binance, Nigeria and Africa at large have been “very special markets to us and for crypto.

The CEO’s comment came days after many traders of cryptocurrencies took to Twitter to vent their anger and grievances over the various unusual activities they noticed on their wallets on the Binance platform.

Many users of the platform, especially Nigerians and other Africans, last Wednesday alleged that they had been deprived of access to their wallets (account) without significant reasons.

Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange platform where digital currency holders can transact seamlessly in a peer-to-peer (P2P) pattern.

“On hearing the concerns raised by the community, I decided to write to re-emphasize our commitment to you,” Mr Zhao said in his statement Sunday.

While apologising for the inconvenience caused by delays in resolving customer support requests, Mr Zhao stated that “user security remains our top priority.”

He said: “We love and are devoted to our Nigerian community, but we must ensure that our users are safe. As such, protection mechanisms such as KYC, anti-money laundering measures, collaboration with law enforcement, and account restrictions are in place to ensure our community remains protected and that fraudulent activity is prevented.

“This is a global approach applied in every country.”

Ongoing efforts
According to the statement, Mr Zhao said regardless of the bitter experiences, “we owe it to you, our users, to deliver the experience you deserve.”

In its bid to rebuild the trust of Nigerians on its brand, Mr Zhao said the company is ensuring speedy resolutions of ongoing user cases tied to account restrictions.

“Currently, we have resolved 79 cases and continue to work through others. All non-law enforcement-related cases will be resolved within two weeks,” he said.

He noted that the company is devoting more customer service personnel to the region, and that it will dedicate additional risk agents with a great understanding of the Nigerian market.

“Rest assured, we are working hard to attend to all customer service requests,” he explained.

Newly promoted FIRS senior staff hacked to death by suspected assassins in Lagos

Mrs Ibironke Oluremi Adefila (nee Jobi), a senior staff member of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), was brutally murdered in Lagos by assailants thought to be assassins.

Adefila was reportedly on her way to work in the early hours of Friday, January 28, 2022, when she was confronted by heavily armed assailants opposite Awalu group of schools in Laketu, Ikorodu.

According to onlookers, a voice among the armed men was heard yelling, “that’s her, that’s her,” and they promptly attacked her and chopped her to death on the spot with an axe, cutlass, and knife.

Although some good Samaritans attempted to take her to the hospital in the hope that she would survive the senseless mutilation, she had lost a great deal of blood due to the severe injuries she had sustained on every area of her body, including her head and spine.

The deceased’s family has pleaded with the police and other appropriate authorities to expedite the investigation into their daughter’s death.

Alaba Jobi, speaking on behalf of the family, stated, “What made the crime even more shocking and terrible was that she was scheduled to attend a celebration that day in the office to celebrate her promotion to a new level in her office.”

“Many have wondered, ‘What could have prompted this brutal and heinous murder?’”

“Another surprise was that none of her personal items or body parts were stolen.

“Police must act immediately to apprehend those responsible for this horrible act. The mother of five children should not perish in vain. Mr Adefila, the husband, also seeks justice,” stating that Ikorodu, which was once a tranquil neighbourhood, has been blighted by a slew of criminal activities that has become nearly permanent in the area.

“All relevant parties should assist the Lagos Police command in unraveling the mysteries surrounding Ikorodu’s security concerns, particularly the death of Mrs Ibironke Oluremi Adefila,” he added.

Adekunle Ajisebutu, the state police command’s spokesperson, confirmed the incident and stated that the state’s police are “working vigorously to apprehend the offenders.”

Additionally, he added that Abiodun Alabi, the state commissioner of police, has authorized a thorough inquiry into the event.

JUST IN: Senate approves bill seeking to make Abuja landlords collect rent monthly

The Nigerian Senate has passed a bill seeking to regulate rent payments in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for second reading.

The proposed legislation, sponsored by Senator Smart Adeyemi (All Progressives Congress, APC, Kogi State), specifically seeks to stop yearly advance payment of rents and compel house owners to collect rent monthly in arrears.

Adeyemi said many properties in Abuja were empty because of the outrageous rents placed on them.

“Many residents of FCT are finding it very difficult to cope with huge rent payment, the reason many of the houses built for such purpose are empty.”

He said some landlords always insist their tenants pay one year or two years rent.

“That is wrong. There are many tenants whose salaries are competing with their rents because they live in cities like Abuja,” he said.

Speaking on the issue, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC, Niger), described the proposed law as people-centred and urged his colleagues to support its passage.