₦airaland Forum

OCP Africa, a global leader in the production and exportation of phosphate-based fertilizer, in its avowed commitment to support the development of Nigeria’s agricultural ecosystem has partnered with research institutions in Nigeria to grow wheat production by developing a specialized fertilizer for wheat.

It said the partnership with The Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI- the institute with the mandate to improve wheat production in Nigeria; The Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IART)- the institute with the mandate on soil fertility; and the Centre for Dryland Agriculture, BUK- the Centre of excellence for dryland agriculture will proffer solutions that will increase wheat production in Nigeria beyond the abysmal 5 percent of the local consumption.

OCP Africa - Nigeria Country Manager/Deputy Managing Director, Caleb Usoh, represented by the Business Development Manager- Mr. Akin Akinwande disclosed this over the weekend at the two-day inception workshop organized to mark the start of the project, “Soil Mapping and Fertility Evaluation for Formulation and Validation of Wheat specific Fertilizer in Nigeria”, held in Kaduna.

Usoh said they took the mandate to grow local Wheat production after the Kaduna State Ministry of Agriculture beckoned on it in 2020 for assistance with soil testing. This subsequently led to the development of bespoke fertilizer for about 142,000 hectares cleared for wheat production in the Birnin Gwari area of the state.

He said they felt challenged because of the enormity of work involved as ‘’Wheat production in Nigeria is faced with several problems which include and may not be limited to the following: poor access to improved seed varieties, inappropriate fertilizers & agrochemicals, poor irrigation systems, lack of funding for wheat research systems and poor knowledge of wheat agronomy’’.

He said on the realization that it was a call in the right direction for the phosphate fertilizer giant, and as part of the strategy to leverage collaboration to develop the nation’s agriculture ecosystem, the company called on their research partners to respond to the call with them.

He also calls on all stakeholders in agriculture - governments, donor and developmental agencies, farmers, and the farming community, to support the laudable project that requires collective efforts to achieve the desired result.

In his paper presentation on the Status of Wheat Research and Production in Nigeria, Dr. Oluwasina Olabanji, Former Executive Director at LCRI said, Nigeria requires 5.1 million tons of wheat grain annually, but presently produces only 300,000 metric tonnes (2017) and thus depend on imports to meet the huge deficit.

He said, "Nigeria spends about US$4.7 billion annually importing wheat before the advent of the wheat value chain in 2013 and support to Agricultural Research for Development of Strategic Crops (SARD-SC) in Africa funded by African Development Bank. The intervention of these projects in twelve (12) states of Nigeria, which included: Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Gombe, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Kaduna, and Plateau reduced the importation of wheat by 30 percent in 2017.

"Wheat consumption in Nigeria is bound to increase from the present import level of US$5.1billion between now and year 2050 due to growing population especially at the urban cities if proactive actions are not taken.

In her remarks, Prof. Veronica Obatolu, Executive Director, Institute of Agric Research and Training (IART), Ibadan said for any successful agriculture, one needs to take care of the soil because the soil is the bedrock for increase yield.

She said they have done a lot of research on crop variety genetic improvement and observed that farmers are not getting what they are supposed to get which is bad because the soil has not been taken care of as the first foundation for successful farming.

‘’So, this project now is addressing that, so that we will be able to be crop-specific; test the soil and see what is milting within that soil, because each of the crops needs different nutrients and by testing the soil in different local governments, and different areas, we will be able to determine what that particular soil lacks within a particular community and how we can mix the fertilizer to make inputs to be able to benefit the wheat farmers’’, she asserted.

Representing the President of Wheat Farmers Association of Nigeria, Salim Mohammed, the Kano State acting chairman, Musa Shehu Sheka, said they are happy about the event as it is solely for them.

He said the current capacity of wheat production in the nation is very poor when compared to other countries like Sudan, Brazil, and others where they produce nine tonnes per hectare every year, but in Kano, it is not more than two to three tonnes per year that are being produced.

On how the programme will increase the quality of wheat production, he said when the soil is tested, we are going to have a result and that is what is going to inform the fertilizer to be applied.

OCP Africa, a global leader in the production and exportation of phosphate-based fertilizer, has partnered with the Nigerian Institute of Soil Science (NISS), on a capacity-building initiative to combat problematic soil in the country.
This, as it said providing solutions to one of the farmer's age-long menace will ensure food security and eradicate poverty within the farming population, as the understanding and management of problematic soil by farmers can lead to the development of the nation’s agricultural space and the rebound to sufficiency post-COVID-19.
Caleb Usoh, Country Manager, OCP Africa Fertilizers Nigeria, stated this in Abuja at the inaugural OCP Africa – Nigerian Institute of Soil Science (NISS) workshop on, ‘’Disseminating Innovative Technologies for Managing Problematic Soils in Nigeria’’.
He said that the low productivity per hectare of farmlands in the country can be attributed mostly to soil conditions, a situation the fertilizer giant seeks to correct and has committed resources to find innovative solutions to.
His words, ‘’Problematic soils come in one or two of acidic or alkaline or saline soils. They are soils in which the plant root system does not grow normally due to toxic hydrogen ions; permeability of plant membranes is adversely affected due to low soil pH, and enzyme actions may be altered since they are sensitive to pH fluctuations.
‘’They are soils in which Aluminum (Al), Manganese (Mn), and Iron (Fe) are available in toxic quantities. In problematic soils, phosphorous gets immobilized, which reduces its availability, and the activities of beneficial organisms like Azotobacter and nodule forming bacteria of legumes are adversely affected as acidity increases’’.
Usoh, represented by Oluwatoba Asana, Production and Technical Manager, said the management of the problematic soils would lead to enhanced crop productivity and can be done either through the addition of soil amendments to correct the variances or by manipulating the agronomic practices depending upon the climatic and edaphic conditions.
He, however, calls for a multidisciplinary approach - agronomy, breeding, nutrition, and pedology - as it is required to breed specialized root system types which match the most urgent constraints of the different locations; most of all P deficiency, N deficiency, and aluminum toxicity.
The Country Manager said the event is yet another testament to OCP Africa’s avowed commitment to see to the development of Nigeria’s agricultural ecosystem as they know that the right fertilizer application to the soil will determine the yield to expect at the time of harvest, and this is an area that most farmers are not conversant with, especially those in the rural farming communities.
He said managing soils so they are sustainable for future generations is their collective responsibility, and there is no better time to rise to the challenge than now. He, therefore, calls on all stakeholders in agriculture; governments, donor and developmental agencies, farmers, and the farming community, to support the project as it requires collective efforts for the aim to be achieved.
‘’This project aligns with numerous other OCP Africa farmer-centric projects aimed at bringing precision to the practice of agriculture in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Some of our farmer-centric projects include OCP School Lab (OSL), soil survey and specialty fertilizer development, digital soil map and enhancing distribution of farm input to underserved farming communities through our farm & fortune hubs across the country’’, he added.
The Registrar of NISS, Professor Victor Chude said the aim of the project is to address problematic soils in the country and make them productive.
"We are targeting acidic soils, saline soils, alkaline soil, there are other problematic soils like soils with very thick laterite soil, crops find it difficult to penetrate. But the major problem soils which is the acidic soil, cover about 75 percent of the country, then the alkaline soils, they don't support soils. The implication is farmers facing these limitations suffer from making good yields", he added.
In his speech, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe said the proposed project is focusing on the correction of problematic soils for disseminating technologies.
He said there is indisputable evidence that Nigeria has a large area of land with soils that are no longer productive or have very low productivity.
He asserted that "We have the dry land soils in the extreme northern part of the country and the wet land and acid lands in the South.
"This initiative will certainly address these problems and restore the productive capacity of the soils in this category. We are all aware that the areas of land available for farming in this country are not increasing because of the heavy pressure on land for many non-agricultural purposes as a result of our rapidly growing population.’’

The Nestoil Group has called for an end to gender bias, as it said women should be celebrated for their feats and not their gender.
The group at its 2021 International Women’s Day (IWD) webinar with the global theme, ‘’#ChooseToChallenge’’ seeks for a balanced society where roles should be assigned on performance ethos and not restricted to the women folk based on societal bias.
This as the two guest speakers at the event urged women to continuously challenge and self-develop themselves if they are to be taken seriously by the society as they agreed that a challenged world is an alert world, and from challenge comes change.
Charlotte Essiet, the Director of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, AOS Orwell, who spoke on the sub-theme, ‘’Self Development; A Panacea for Progression of Female Professionals’’, said women will do more for themselves if they focus on themselves by being intentional, accountable and pay attention to their environment.
Essiet said women must always look for ways to self-improvement by investing in their personal development through getting the required education, getting a mentor, and sticking to what the mentor is meant for, and know how to manage their time effectively, especially as they juggle between having kids and a great career.
Temitope Yusuff, an Associate Director and a leader of the oil and industry group at PwC Nigeria who spoke on ‘’Self-Chose to Challenge’’, said gender equality is a big issue in the country and the country has a lot to gain if women are accorded their due rights.
She said with 40 percent of Nigerian entrepreneurs being women, the highest ratio globally, the country’s GDP, according to a McKinsey report, could grow by 23 percent or $229bn if women participated in the economy to the same extent as men.
She said COVID-19 has further exacerbated the bias as ‘’The impact of COVID-19 on gender parity in the workplace is disproportionately hurting sectors with more female employment and amplifying gender inequalities. It has also worsened the already unequal burden of unpaid care and domestic work shouldered by women that could force more women out of the workforce, reversing progress towards gender equality and stunting economic growth.’’
Yusuff said a survey of women working in corporate jobs showed that women are considering permanently reducing the amount of time they allocate to their careers or leaving the labour market for good after COVID-19.
On how women can challenge themselves, she wants them to have their own definition of success, express their choice, sharpen their skills to earn respect, and challenge self-imposed constraints, and the fear of being judged and seeking constant approvals.

Nine languages in Nigeria are already extinct, according to the National Council for Arts and Culture. They are Ajawa, spoken in present-day Bauchi, Basa-Gumna of Niger State, Auyokawa which used to be spoken in Jigawa State, Gamo-Ningi, a Kainji dialect in Bauchi State, Homa of Adamawa State, Kubi of Bauchi State, Kpati, formerly spoken in Taraba State, Odut, which used to be spoken in the Odukpani area of Cross River State, and Teshenawa, formerly spoken in Jigawa State.
While they might not ring a bell, the assertion from UNESCO and linguists that Yoruba, Igbo, and Ishekiri languages are endangered due to declining use should is perhaps unsurprising as little has been done to encourage teeming youths and children to speak local dialects.
Though it has become acceptable that most parents are guilty of not teaching their children their dialect, several government agencies and private institutions have also neglected the call to reawaken the national language policy and protect the sector which contributes immensely to the development of tourism in Nigeria.
Elsewhere in the world, people value their local dialects before they learn or speak any other language. But that is not the case with children growing in Nigerian as the English language seems to have taken away their ability to speak their mother tongue.
Looking critically at the issues and trying to encourage the youths to speak their local dialects, some private citizens have taken it upon themselves to champion the cause of supporting local dialects being taught in schools.
Recently, the Managing Director of Heritage Bank, Ifie Sekibo, reputed for returning moribund businesses to the path of profitability championed a launch of a book titled “Let us speak Ikwerre”, (A KWU IWNUROHHNA), in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The book which was originally written in the English language was authored by Oyintarela Ebiere Umeri and translated to the Ikwerre language by Tony Enyia, an indigene of Rumuor-Ogbakari, Emohua Local Government of Rivers State.
Umeri is the founder and Managing Director of Niger Delta Books Limited and holds a master’s degree in development management from London School of Economics, United Kingdom, and a BSc. in Politics and Modern History from Brunel University, United Kingdom.
She also studied both French and German up to A-levels and has successfully managed the production and publication of other books like Izon Fie, (Speak Izon) book and audiobook CD.
After the successful launch of Speak Izon language, Ifie Sekibo, who said he stumbled on the idea of converting the English language to local dialects, sponsored the Niger Delta Books Limited to launch an audio CD in the Kirike language, (Okrika dialect) titled ‘Speak Kirike’ which was successfully launched in 2017.
Speaking during the launch of the ‘Let us speak Ikwerre’, Sekibo said his support for writing books in all Niger/Delta languages is borne out of the fact that Nigerians must not allow their local dialects to go into extinction.
He said, “The idea of converting English to our local dialect wasn’t mine, I stumbled into it by chance. I was invited by my bosom friend, Timi Alaibe to the launching of Izon fie, a book written in the Izon language, so I felt if people can think of printing books in the Ijaw language, why we can’t do the same for all Niger/Delta languages. And I decided at the event that I will be ready to fund or sponsor the production of these printable books in our language. Not just Izon but in all Niger/Delta languages.
‘’So, I decided to set out with languages in Rivers State and Bayelsa state. So, we did Kirike Fie which is the dialect of Okrika in Rivers state and I found out it was very successful, so I decided to give sponsorship for other languages which include Ikwerre, Kalabari, Ekpeye, Nembe and Ogoni languages”.
Sekibo said there is a need for children to speak their local dialects and the only way it can be done successfully other than speaking at home is to introduce English books into the local dialects and all hands must be on deck to achieve this. To make more local dialect books available, he sponsored the Niger Delta Books Limited to develop and publish books in some local languages, but still need to publish more in other local dialects like Kalabari, Nembe, and several other dialects of Niger Delta.
Realizing the urgency of the mission to save the cultural heritage of the Niger Delta region by preserving its languages, which some might say is easy, he asserted that to achieve the feat of translating English to several Niger Delta dialects is not an easy task as it entails a lot, and ‘’we need to act fast before our dialects go into extinction. So, we plan to introduce the books in other local dialects of different states across the Niger Delta, at least before the second quarter of 2021, we should have been able to achieve six other languages”.
Aside from making the books available in different local languages, Sekibo realised that without getting it to the youths for their usage might jeopardize the whole exercise. On ‘Let us speak Ikwerre’, he said their ambition is to put a copy of the book into the hands of all Ikwerre students and as it presently stands, they need at least 10,000 copies to achieve that feat. He said they have started but they need to print more with speed because the younger ones need to speak the languages.
He stressed that “One of the things we have done is that these books are to be distributed and given free to all the schools and colleges and that is why we need well-meaning Niger Delta citizens to support this cause so our language which is also our identity will not go down. When my son greets me in my dialect, which is Okrika, it is a great deal for me. So, we as parents need to encourage them in speaking our dialects. Some of the children would love to speak but they do not have access to reference books that will help them. This is one of the major reasons we took it upon ourselves to support this cause”.
In his remarks, legal luminary, and Chairman of the event, Onueze C.J. Okocha, (MFR) commended the Managing Director of Heritage Bank, Ifie Sekibo for encouraging the children of Niger Delta in speaking their dialects, as he called on other notable citizens of the Niger Delta to take a cue from Sekibo.
According to him, “This is a very commendable feat by Ifie Sekibo especially in the area of preserving our culture and I think every other VIP in the Niger/Delta should take a cue from him. If you are not proud of your culture, then you are a foreigner. This is a legacy work for humanity, and I must commend it while I call on every parent to encourage their children to learn their language before they are 10 years old. With such in place, we would have helped preserve our languages”.
In his submission, Director General, Rivers State Tourism, Igbo Koko, urged Nigerians, especially the Niger Delta people to value their mother tongue.
According to him, “It is important we value our language and I encourage parents to teach their children because this will help us revive our languages. Languages used to be our way of doing business and it is important we do not forget it. The Corporate world is contributing its quota through the help of Ifie Sekibo, who has single-handedly supported the introduction of English languages to various Niger/Delta dialects. Achieving this feat is not an easy one and we call on all well-meaning Niger Deltans to join us in this course”.
Other personalities present at the event include former NDDC Managing Director, Timi Alaibe, former Minister of Transport, Abiye Sekibo, former Managing Director of Unity Bank, Henry Seminitari, Senator Emmanuel Diffa, Charles Bekee, Social commentator, Eugene Abels, amongst others.

The Chief Executive Officer of Century Power Generation Limited, Dr. Chukwueloka Umeh, says that for Nigeria to meet its National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) target to meter 30 million consumers over two years, local manufacturers must be empowered to enable them to ramp up production in order to meet the demands.

Umeh said that instead of the government procuring the meters, they should let private companies drive the process for efficiency and retain capital in the country. He calls for the creation of an enabling environment where Nigerian manufacturers can grow, and if people want to import meters, the market is big enough.

He spoke as a guest on a television programme where he proffered ways on how the country can meter the citizenry and solve all its power challenges

Umeh, who is also the Chief Operating Officer of the Nestoil Group, on the tariff increment said although power consumers complained about paying more for darkness, they have to be patient as it will, unfortunately, take time for them to see the value of the tariff increment.

He said all issues across the whole value chain of the power sector must be resolved simultaneously and on a large scale, not one after the other if Nigerians are to get regular electricity supply in the foreseeable future.

He urged the government to find a way to grow the income of the populace by creating a conducive investment climate so that small, medium, and large businesses businesses can grow, thereby putting more money in Nigerians’ pockets.

President Muhammadu Buhari had committed that Nigerians would be metered before the end of his administration and that estimated billing would be ended. The free distribution of meters was part of the agreement reached between the Federal government and the organized labour after the government increased the electricity tariff in 2020. Nigerians need to see these promises fulfilled.

Century Power Generation (CPG) is an indigenous company involved in developing and implementing solutions to Nigeria’s local power problems. Dr. Umeh continues to lead advocacy for a robust, stable, and reliable power sector as the most reliable pathway to catalyzing Nigeria's economic growth.

The Chief Executive Officer of Century Power Generation Limited, Dr. Chukwueloka Umeh, says that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (NERC’s) failure to increase electricity tariff in smaller steady steps from 2015 as stipulated in the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) has made the almost 100 percent increase for some consumers very discomforting, especially at this time of unprecedented economic hardship.

Dr. Umeh said for there to be electricity available to every Nigerian, tariff increment is necessary for the power value chain to work effectively. He however admits that the timing for this increase could be better considering the economic situation in the country.

Speaking as a guest on a television program in Lagos, he reasserted that the government’s role in the power sector needs to be solely that of an enabler that provides a conducive investment climate for investors, as well as a regulator that oversees the operation of the industry.

Dr. Umeh, also the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Nestoil Group, held that an increase in the tariff to a cost-reflective level is necessitated by the need for the DisCos to upgrade and maintain their infrastructure, provide the service that people expect, and also make a profit from the power they sell. They also need to generate enough revenue for the other companies in the value chain, including TCN, the GenCos, and the gas suppliers and transporters to get paid. If these investments and payments are not made, people won’t get the power they’re required to pay for.

For electricity to be available, he said, the government needs to create policies that encourage investment, ensure that contracts are respected and are backed by the rule of law. He emphasizes the private sector should be allowed to drive the entire power value chain, competition should be encouraged to grow and drive the right tariff pricing. Finally, the government should desist from trying to regulate a market into existence, but rather, relax regulations enough to allow the sector to grow organically.

According to him, most of the public and even some pertinent persons in government are not sufficiently informed about the power sector, hence the lack of understanding that without a functioning value chain involving gas producers and transporters, GenCos, TCN, and DisCos, most Nigerians will regrettably continue to pay for darkness.
Century Power Generation (CPG) is an indigenous company involved in developing and implementing solutions to Nigeria’s local power problems. Dr. Umeh continues to lead advocacy for a robust, stable, and reliable power sector as the most reliable pathway to catalyzing Nigeria's economic growth.

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Beiersdorf (BDF), manufacturers of Nivea range of products in Nigeria has joined forces with the Lagos Food Bank Initiative by donating N115 Million to mitigate hunger by providing meals to the less privileged and curtail the adverse effect of the food insecurity caused by the Coronavirus pandemic fueled job/income losses in the country.
The donation is part of a regional partnership with the Global Food Banking Network (GFN) and local Nigerian affiliate – Lagos Food Bank Initiative LFBI) and is carried out under Beiersdorf‘s “Care Beyond Skin” Corporate Social Responsibility initiative.
The partnership seeks to impact over 350,000 beneficiaries which include 4,000 schoolchildren in 20 schools per month, vulnerable, expectant mothers, infants, as well as children who are malnourished and living in underserved communities in Lagos state.
As part of the 12-month long partnership, Beiersdorf and the LFBI will fund the Education Enhancement Intervention for Food Insecure Students (EduFood), a school feeding program that started in March 2020 where LFBI provided nutritionally balanced food parcels to 12 primary schools in Lagos and 2,400 school children and their families benefited from it.
Another arm of the COVID-19 Community Intervention program is the 16-month Nutritious Meal Plan Intervention for Vulnerable Mothers and Children (Numeplan) Project that focuses on expecting mothers and infants who are malnourished, vulnerable to malnutrition.
There is also the Family Farming Program, designed to create a food and agricultural system that is managed and operated by a family and relies on partnership family labour to increase the quality of life in dignity, equity and reducing the level of hunger and poverty.
LFBI, through the donation also aims to build its capacity through improved service to its existing beneficiary base, increase service scale exponentially by increasing warehouse capacity and locations, cold chain capacity, fleet, and human resources.
Globally, Beiersdorf is taking a targeted approach to provide effective and direct support where help is urgently needed. Locally, the company is focusing on two areas: financial support for NGOs, production, and donation of hand sanitizers to government health care facilities and vulnerable members of the community.
According to Godwin Harrison, Country Manager – Nigeria at Beiersdorf, “Food banks are powerful interventions which change lives and communities. They are an interconnected lifeline to the hungry and equip communities to feed themselves. We as Beiersdorf recognize the importance of strengthening food banks as it fosters resilience and enhances the community’s capability to fight hunger long term.”
Food banking works by collecting surplus food from various entities such as farms, grocery retailers, food manufacturers and distributors, restaurants, and hospitality organizations as well as government and consumers. Food is collected at foodbanks and is thereafter distributed to community service organizations who deliver onwards to hungry people.
Michael Sunbola, Lagos Food Bank Initiative Founder said the organization is grateful for the donation from Beiersdorf Nigeria as it enables them to reach more beneficiaries with much needed nutrition at this crucial time. He said this will enhance its capacity to support food security resilience in COVID-19 emergency and recovery activities in the country.
Beiersdorf Nigeria is a subsidiary of Beiersdorf AG, a German multinational company that manufactures and retails skin & personal care products globally.

Excite Enterprise, a fully digital Business Development, and Enterprise solutions provider has made its debut into the Nigerian market with various simplified innovations, designed to lead Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) on the pathway to success and sustainability.
Excite Enterprise delivers digital solutions geared towards the automation, promotion, and day-to-day management of business processes for new and old MSMEs.
The Platform is a product of Excite Africa, which is a partner business of Excite Incorporated, a business facilitation platform that helps to optimize business performance in multiple sectors of the economy.
Speaking about the impending launch, a Director of the Company, Bolaji Okusaga said “Excite seeks to help businesses scale by providing them with access to business and financial management services, marketing tools as well as opportunities to list their products and services.”
Okusaga, a Strategic Communications consultant, said that “although the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) noted that the MSME sub-sector provides 85 percent of total industrial employment in the country, the sector is under-optimized due to lack of valuable business knowledge and tools. This is the gap that Excite Enterprise aims to fill.”
Excite Enterprise, he explained, provides innovative services to develop and deepen markets for MSMEs thus providing entrepreneurs across the micro, small and medium business space an opportunity to reach consumers; boost brand names; sales; competitiveness; and improve rendered services. These businesses will also be able to access funding to scale up their potentials while also having entry to a bigger market.
Okusaga further said that the access to funds will mitigate the limitation on the potentials for trade and integration into the formal economy caused by an inability to access funds, trade, and distribution capacity by registered and unregistered MSMEs.
Some of the solutions offered are Excite Market Place - Product Listing, Service Listing and Website, and Showroom Creation; and Excite Marketing where Influencer Marketing services are rendered. The platform also provides Business registration services, SME training, and Access to Loan Facilities.
Okusaga said while there are other businesses involved in the individual aspects of Excite's value offerings, “Our unique selling proposition is that we have aggregated all these services so that our customers can find them all in one place. We are also cheaper than many other providers.’’

The Group Head of Tax at Nestoil, Stanley Ezekobe says if the Federal Government needs to significantly shore up its tax revenue, then it needs to prioritize transaction-based taxes like Value Added Tax (VAT).
Mr. Ezekobe who was speaking at a virtual media roundtable organized by the Nestoil Group said while other tax verticals like Company Income Tax are important, transaction-based taxes hold the key to Government meeting its revenue target for the 2021 budget of Economic Recovery and Resilience.
Speaking on the topic, ‘Maximising Government Revenue through Effective Taxation’ Ezekobe said there is a need for the Tax authorities to seek innovative ways of bringing more people into the tax bracket. He said the informal sector, where most Nigerians play is either heavily under taxed or not taxed at all.
According to Ezekobe, one of the ways to bring the informal sector into the tax bracket is to make the presentation of a tax card a pre-requisite for Nigerians to enjoy specific services from Government. He enjoined the government to also identify key local figures in their different communities that will greatly assist it in identifying and collecting taxes on its behalf. This community initiative, he argued, is crucial if the tax net is to be significantly expanded.
Stanley Ezekobe however argued that political leaders must show transparency in how tax revenues are used to meet the needs of the people. ‘’For tax revenue to grow, the government must maximise tax collection, maximize the use of what has been collected and in order to be fully effective, they need to be accountable to those whom they have collected the revenue from in the first place,’’ said Ezekobe.

Onyeka Onwenu, Nigeria’s music legend reputed for her secretive personal life has said Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable.

This, as she charged Nigerians to play less on tribalism but focus on the positives inherent in the different ethnic groups that make up the country.

Onwenu said this during a virtual pre-book launch briefing ahead of the release of her memoir ‘My Father’s Daughter’, billed for October 1.
Using her marriage to a Yoruba Muslim that produced two children as a reference, the 68-year-old music star known as the stallion due to her exploits in the nation’s polity, enjoined every Nigerian to uphold the country’s unity and stop insulting and denigrating each other.

‘’We are blessed with the richness of our culture and everyone should see themselves as one and not let divisions break the country,” she asserted.
The music icon called on the people of the South East, especially those in the diaspora, on the need to develop the region; which she said had continued to suffer marginalization and neglect.

“It doesn’t take away whatever you are doing in Lagos, Abuja, or Port Harcourt. You are free to live and do business wherever you are but remember back home. We are being marginalized for a long time. And our people have always done things for themselves.
“We built the Imo Airport. I was part of the process. It remains the only airport in the country that was built by the citizens and handed over to the Federal Government.
“My father went to school abroad, people in his home town collected money and supported him. That’s how we do things, we are communal people. So, I’m not afraid to go back home,” she stated.

The human right activist cum politician, when asked for her views on the agitation for self-sovereignty by some groups in the country said she would return to South-East region to contribute her quota to its development if it comes to fruition.

She recalled once joking with her sister-in-law, who is also a Muslim, that she would leave her children for “Biafra” if the country splits and her decision would be due to her commitment to contribute to the development of the South-East, which she said, had been marginalised for long.
“If that happens (referring to Nigeria breaking up), I will go back to the South-East because I want to go back home. And even if we don’t split, I want to do so much there” she said.

Onyeka explained that the new book, titled ‘My Father’s Daughter’, which contains over 450 pages, is designed to give inspiration to the younger ones, especially the younger feminine gender, since it encapsulates her low and high moments, through life.

According to her, the book will also examine aspects of her life which are hitherto unknown to the public and would be formally unveiled on Thursday, October 1, this year.
It would be in e-version and audio and accompanied with some classics of the music legend.

OCP Africa, one of the leading companies in the global production and exportation of phosphate-based fertilizers, in its quest to empower African youths by facilitating their participation in the business of Agriculture partnered with the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) to commence the pilot phase of its Empowering African Youths (EMAY) project in Nigeria.
Empowering African Youth (EMAY) seeks to equip young Nigerians with capabilities to be self-employed and future agriculture-entrepreneurs. The first phase beneficiaries of thirty (30) youths are selected from Sokoto, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Niger, and Bauchi States, having been screened based on criteria ranging from having a certificate in Agriculture, experience with farmer engagement, entrepreneurship drive among others. These participants will undergo bespoke capacity training as developed by the faculty of Agriculture of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University ATBU to enable them function as value creators within the Agriculture value chain.
The Young Leaders – as the youths participating in the EMAY project are called - will be empowered with agronomy technical know-how and agricultural tools, such as mobile digital soil laboratories for soil testing and analysis, Cargo tricycles to reach rural farming communities as last mile retailers of inputs, Electronic Tablets for data gathering using digital solution, and small handheld implements to enable them deliver value to smallholder farmers in rural communities.
Speaking at the commencement of the week-long training held at ATBU, Bauchi, Dr. Donald Madukwe, Head Agronomy for OCP Africa Fertilizers Nigeria Ltd said the participants will undergo specialized training by the credible tertiary institutions of learning, so they become proficient in technical and commercial skills to be able to function as service providers and independent business owners within the Agriculture ecosystem, thereby eking out a means of livelihood for them.
He said that after the training and handing over of the items, the Young Leaders will be supported with monthly stipends for some initial period of time to enable their businesses take root and stabilize until they can become self-sustaining by contributing their quota in creating value to increase agriculture yields and food production for the country.
Dr Madukwe said part of EMAY’s objectives, aside from creating a source of livelihood for the youths in the agricultural sector, is to empower them with the required knowledge needed to be consultants/advisors which will enable them to provide Best Agricultural Practices (BAP), Agronomic and Technical training and support to smallholder farmers in rural communities. The young leaders will be issued Certificates upon completion of training from ATBU.
Talking about future plans with the EMAY project, OCP also intends to increase the numbers of the Young Leaders by additional 60 come 2021, he asserted.
He said the participants will be equipped with sophisticated agro-tools to provide fertilizers and agrochemical recommendations based on soil analysis, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital solutions, adding that they will be given access to farm inputs from the 100 units of OCP One-stop shops currently developed across the country by OCP so that they can supply inputs to smallholder farmers in far rural communities
The Vice-Chancellor, ATBU, Prof. Hamisu Muhammad in his reaction, commended OCP Africa on the initiative saying that this will help increase the participation of youth in agriculture and food production in the country.
In his remark, he wishes the participants all the best and encourages them to be focused and attentive during the training session as knowledge gathered will determine the support and quality of value, they deliver to small holder farmers.

Help to the Ageing Foundation (HAF) in continuation of its welfare support programme and to provide relief in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, has lifted the elderly and vulnerable persons in Abule-Ijoko, Ogun State.
It said the relief was done to fill the gaps in elderly care through the provision of the much-needed services and support to the aged especially at this unprecedented time
Speaking at the outreach done under strict COVID-19 guidance, HAF founder, Jumoke Kolawole said the crisis induced by the pandemic which has plunged countless families into significant debts due to job loss and business closure, necessitated the need for the outreach to bring stability into the lives of those reached.
Over 30 elderly beneficiaries were reached with free health care services, medical counselling with tests, treatments and drugs provision, food stuffs, and business grants to support their trade and also sensitization against the dangers of contacting the Covid-19 pandemic.
The focus on the elderly, according to Kolawole was due to the way most of them are left alone, deserted by their relatives which is not good for any society that values development in all facets of human endeavours, hence why they decided to pull resources together and cater for them.
Kolawole, who has been doing the outreach for more than five years said HAF was birthed by a burning desire to care for, love and support the elderly by providing life enhancing services to them across remote communities in the country.
‘’We have four core initiatives: weekly food serving; business advisory and start-up opportunities; routine medical check-up; and providing friendship and companionship for older people’’, she added.
The HAF team at Abule-Ijoko comprised of medical volunteers-Doctors, Nurses, Ophthalmologist, Pharmacists, and other team members, a feat Kolawole attributed to their collective desire in impacting the society.
She said the life changing support that was provided to the elderly beneficiaries was crucial but the need is still urgent for countless additional deprived elderly people who remain without income and basic amenities. She thus urged the government, private sector and well-meaning individuals to join in reaching more vulnerable individuals.

The Head of Gas Ventures at Neconde Energy Limited, Engr Chichi Emenike has called on all stakeholders in the Oil and Gas sector in Nigeria to embrace a willing-buyer-willing-seller approach in the production and sale of gas across the entire value chain.
Emenike says this approach will attract the needed investment and unlock the sector to healthy competition and growth.
She argued that price fixing has made the sector unattractive despite the abundance of gas reserves in Nigeria making many operators opt for flaring. According to Mrs. Emenike, the sort of liberalisation that led to the boom witnessed in Nigeria’s Telecoms sector can easily be replicated in the energy sector with political will and the commitment of all stakeholders.

Speaking at a webinar on ‘’Gas as a new frontier for Economic Growth’’, Emenike commended the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timpriye Sylva for constituting a team to look into the gas pricing debacle. She hoped that at the end of the various conversations being held, the contentious issue of gas pricing will be resolved once and for all.
She also commended the recently launched Gas Transport Network Code initiative which according to her is a good step towards liberalizing the market.

A multiple Award-winning musical artiste, Dr Tim Godfrey has called on Nigerians to embrace positive energy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic which has led to disillusionment the world over.
He said though the pandemic has resulted in economic woes including job losses and even loss of lives, the situation can be easily overcome through a positive mental attitude.
Dr Tim Godfrey said that was the thinking behind the plan to organize a free virtual concert for all Nigerians tagged the Fearless Concert, 2020, with theme, ‘’The Fight of my Life’’, planned for Sunday August 23, 2020.
He said the annual event could not have come at a better time. He also urged stakeholders in the entertainment industry to embrace the times and organize virtual events that will serve the dual purpose of entertainment and disseminating positive messages.
The gospel singer disclosed that other artistes who have volunteered to perform in the free concert as part of the contribution to lifting the spirit of Nigerians include Panam Percy Paul, JJ Hairston, Dr Tumi and Sunny Badu amongst others.
The Fearless Annual Concert was initiated in 2016 as a platform to encourage Nigerian youths to live Godly lives, overcome fear and resolutely commit to becoming role models through hard work. This year’s event is the fifth in the series.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Heritage Bank Plc, Ifie Sekibo has said his passion for youth mentorship is hinged on his belief that it is the pathway to the economic development of the country and the African continent.
Sekibo, reputed for returning moribund companies to the path of sustained profitability, said he finds it satisfying, mentoring the younger generation which he does with all passion and God-given resources as he was also mentored along the way to where he is now.
Going down memory lane, he said the support and advice he received when he started his career as an Auditor II with the Rivers State government’s Audit department in 1988 before he joined KPMG in Lagos as an Audit Trainee in 1989 provided the direction of his career trajectory.
He later moved to ELF Nigeria ltd as a Cost Controller from where he joined Investment Banking and Trust Co. Ltd, as an Assistant Manager from 1991 to 1997.
Sekibo an alumnus of Harvard Business School, later became the Group Managing Director of International Energy Insurance Plc., from 2003 to 2009 before the switch to Heritage Banking Co. Ltd as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer from 2009 to 2014 when he led the bank to acquire Enterprise Bank and got a national license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to operate nationwide. He has been the MD/CEO since 2014.
It should be recalled that Nigeria’s youthful population has always been touted as her human capital resource and that if well managed, will grow the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and make the country a world leader among the comity of nations in no distant time.
There is a growing apprehension that the country might not benefit from its youthful population with various data revealing that the country’s population is growing faster than its GDP.
The CBN Deputy Governor, Economic Policy Directorate, Mr. Joseph Nnana said recently that the three percent GDP growth rate for the country is inadequate when the population growth rate is 3.2 percent.
This means that the capital growth rate is slightly negative and the economy is not growing fast enough to create the needed jobs for its unemployed youthful population, especially now with the advent of COVID-19 where the economy is facing contraption.
Sekibo said entrepreneurship is the way to go and more youths needed to be mentored on the way to go and how to navigate the various challenges they may encounter while doing business.
This is just as the African Development Bank, in its regional economic outlook report said West Africa’s burgeoning youth population offers a strategic workforce which can be harnessed for employment and economic growth, despite the pandemic that is devastating the continent and global economies.

The Managing Director/CEO, Century Power Generation Ltd, Dr. Chukwueloka Umeh has said that the total deregulation of the power sector will motivate investors to put money into all areas of the broken value-chain which will ensure that consumers enjoy quality power supply.
Dr. Umeh who was speaking at a virtual media roundtable on the power sector in Nigeria called for total deregulation of the sector which must include the adoption of cost-reflective tariff regime.
He said this is the only way power Distribution Companies (DisCos) can attract the needed investment that will improve present infrastructure. He argued that cost reflective tariffs also have a positive ripple effect on the power Generating companies (GenCos).
The Century Power boss said government’s role in the power sector should be limited to setting the regulations that would attract investment into the sector and not regulations stifling it.
He added that poor infrastructure is affecting the operating capacity of the DisCos which was why a large percentage of 200 million Nigerians are not included in the current national grid network, adding that out of the 9 million registered customers across the 11 DisCo networks in the country, only about half of them have meters.
Dr Umeh commended government’s initiative in allowing private firms provide meters for consumers as this has allowed the Discos focus primarily on their core business.
He however added that total deregulation which would attract more players into the sector as evident in the telecom.The implementation of a new tariff by the electricity distribution companies was recently put on hold, a situation he said elongated epileptic power supply in the country.

By Christopher Samuel

That the ravaging COVID-19 which has since the beginning of the year spread rapidly around the globe could leave a very serious public health crisis in its wake is no longer news. In many parts of the world, attention is shifting to how to concretize local, regional and continental health partnerships that focus on not just how to successfully contain or tackle the virus, but, more importantly, to ensure that life saving and essential health delivery services are sustained and maintained to entrench a robust system that maximizes the learnings gained from the current pandemic.
Like other developing countries, Nigeria now, more than ever before, has to seriously confront the challenge of creating a modern health services delivery system that guarantees efficient, fast, and accessible solutions capable of curtailing fatalities associated with common diseases and their devastating impact on families, communities and development.
While speaking recently on the threat of malaria in the country, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, revealed that “though fever testing amongst children under 5 has increased consistently from 5% in 2010 to 11% in 2013, to 13% in 2015 and 14% in 2018, it is still very low when compared with the second objective of the Malaria Strategic plan which is to test all care-seeking persons with suspected malaria using RDT or microscopy.”
According to the World Malaria Report, Nigeria still accounts for 25% of the global malaria burden and 19% of global malaria deaths. Nigeria, it is estimated, accounts for 81,640 annual malaria deaths - about 9 deaths per hour – and the situation is worsened by very low levels of investment in malaria elimination at both the sub-national levels and the private sector.
Apart from the frightening mortality and morbidity data on malaria, lack of access to functional health services delivery system has also been responsible for avoidable havoc caused by many other common but potentially deadly illnesses, such as STDs, diarrhea, hypertension, and diabetes on a large segment of the 52% of the country’s population that live in the rural areas. To compound the situation, the country’s rural areas mostly lack good and functional infrastructure while the unavailability of competent healthcare personnel, coupled with high levels of poverty and illiteracy continue to make public health a daunting task in the country
Despite the country’s strategic position in Africa, it is highly underserved in the health care delivery sphere. Health resources such as facilities, personnel, and medical equipment are inadequate, especially in rural areas.
Latest data from a survey of Africa’s 10 largest economies show that only Ethiopia has fewer hospital beds per capita than Nigeria. The most recent WHO data puts the number of hospital beds at only five per 10,000 people in Nigeria.
Beyond hospital beds, however, public healthcare delivery is hampered more by the inadequacy of healthcare resources particularly personnel, drugs, and other medical equipment needed for holistic patient treatment. For instance, the doctor to patient ratio is currently 1:6000. Most of the available qualified doctors are concentrated in urban cities and towns while the rural areas have next to nothing, thereby leaving room for quacks and other unqualified hands to tend citizens’ health needs. This poor picture makes the healthcare system particularly fragile and always at major risk of being overwhelmed at the breakout or in the aftermath of any pandemic with a serious presence in the country.
Yet, as an important element of national security, the need for public health is non-negotiable. Public health not only functions to provide adequate and timely medical care but also tracks, monitors, and controls disease outbreaks. The Nigerian health care environment has suffered several infectious disease outbreaks year after year. Hence, there is need to tackle the problem decisively now in order to forestall a repeat of the chaotic national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the government has regularly come up with reforms to address the wide-ranging issues in the health care system, implementation has sadly been poor.
According to the 2009 communique of the National Health Conference, health care system remains weak as evidenced by lack of coordination, fragmentation of services, the dearth of resources, including drug and supplies, inadequate and decaying infrastructure, inequity in resource distribution, lack of access to care and very deplorable quality of care. The communique also pinpointed lack of clarity of roles and responsibilities among the different levels of government to have compounded the situation.
To further underline the fact that the Nigerian health care system is poorly developed, experts have often observed that there are no discernible and well maintained adequate and functional surveillance systems in the sector. A successful modern-day health care delivery model requires routine surveillance and medical intelligence as the backbone of the health sector. This is because medical intelligence and surveillance represent a very useful component in the health care system and control of disease outbreak. The provision of timely information aimed at combating possible health menace among many other things is an important function of public health. Hence, inadequate tracking techniques in the public health sector can lead to huge health insecurity, and thereby endanger national development, peace and security.
There is therefore an increasing role of automated-based medical intelligence and surveillance systems to complement the traditional manual pattern of document retrieval in advanced medical setting as seen in western and European countries.
Given the above prognosis, the primary challenge confronting the country’s public health today could, therefore, be framed as how to create and sustain an information-rich and patient-focused health care system that reliably delivers high-quality care.
Learning from experience is crucial, both for effective emergency response and to rebuild for the future.
Past experiences have shown that in the wake of health pandemics, government has often been discovered to have diverted statutory health budget and resources to tackle the immediate challenge of the pandemic. This often leaves the healthcare services delivery sector more fragile, weaker and more overwhelmed, especially in the efforts to contain common citizen health needs.
For instance, in the aftermath of the Ebola crisis, many people died because of the inability of the overwhelmed health systems to treat malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis than from Ebola itself. A similar trend can only be avoided in the aftermath of this fight against COVID-19 if efforts are geared towards putting in place a proactive, revolutionary, and easily affordable and accessible health services delivery model that can ride on the strong deployment of technology to strengthen healthcare accessibility at the grassroots.
Nigeria needs to urgently come up with an innovative approach to creating different layers of health services delivery model that can deliver effective and efficient medical services to the most vulnerable in the society, to achieve the best health outcomes, such that location and socio-economic status will not be a barrier to accessing quality healthcare services. This needs to also be done as cheaply as possible, given the dwindling economic fortunes of the country.
In this regard, the country needs to look towards the innovative and revolutionary Community health hub idea which is capable of leveraging technology to offer a holistic solution to the identified gaps in the existing healthcare delivery systems, particularly in the underserved areas, as a way of maximizing the scarce human resources for health (HRH). The best of these community health hub ideas is grounded on tele-healthcare model and not the anachronistic brick and mortar community healthcare facility model. The growing popularity, spread, reach and utility value of mobile telephony and other digital devices should challenge health administrators and service providers to think out of the box in coming up with solutions that can deliver efficient health services to the majority of Nigerians, especially in the lower socio-economic cadre.
The current pandemic has demonstrated the central importance of health in our national life — without it, we have nothing. It has also shown how we can do things differently as regards to making our public healthcare system truly patient-focused.
We should not expect the world to stand still for us to move at a pedestrian pace when everybody else is sprinting to make their systems better.


Christopher Samuel is the Project Coordinator for Telehealth Nigeria Initiative (TENI) based in FCT, Abuja.

Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state has lauded OCP Africa's palliatives plan to support smallholder farmers to cushion the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuring food security for all.
Tambuwal, speaking at the flag-off ceremony of OCP Africa fertilizer post-COVID-19 intervention package to farmers in Sokoto said, "The palliatives will go a long way in boosting the agriculture sector of the state and country as farmers will be able to plant in time and harvest rich yields for national food security."
OCP Africa, one of the leading companies in the global production and exportation of phosphate-based fertilizers, is working within the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) of the Federal Government of Nigeria, and with Blending plants under the Fertilizer Producers and Suppliers of Nigeria (FEPSAN).
In his remark, OCP Africa Area Commercial Manager, Adam Idris, said, "The palliatives intervention is aimed at supporting smallholder farmers across several states of Nigeria in order to mitigate the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the current farming season.
"This is through ensuring distribution and access to subsidized fertilizers and other farm inputs, and also training and extension services, access to markets, and access to digital technology, all in a bid to increase crop yield and ensure food security as the 2020 farming season commences.
"This initiative underscores OCP Africa’s commitment to the Federal and State governments of Nigeria in the drive to curtail the spread and adverse effect of COVID-19 pandemic across the country."
Idris further said, "The need to support the livelihood and productivity of rural smallholder farmers in this difficult period is uppermost in OCP Africa’s strategy. Under this COVID-19 response initiative, OCP Africa would be reaching over 50,000 smallholder farmers through access to inputs, training and extension, digital technology support and access to markets.
“In Sokoto state specifically, 10,000 farmers would be reached through three outlets in Goronyo, Wurno, and Tambuwal local government areas thus, creating employment and empowerment for at least 65 people in stock management, training and extension service and produce offtake.
"We are supporting each farmer to access two bags of the PFI blended NPK 20:10:10 at N4,500 per bag instead of N5,000 per bag."
Muhammad Arzika Tureta, Sokoto state Commissioner of Agriculture, who represented the governor lauded OCP Africa's efforts to support farmers to boost food production on the state.
Tureta said, "The government will continue to welcome positive initiatives that will assist farmers in boosting their harvest in the state."
OCP Africa created in 2016, OCP is a subsidiary of OCP Group, aims to contribute to the development of integrated agricultural ecosystems in Africa. It works hand in hand with farmers to enhance the agricultural potential of the African continent through solutions adapted to local conditions and to the needs of soils and crops.
Presently in many African countries, OCP Africa, in partnership with a network of partners, including governments, non-profit organizations, and companies, is working continuously to put all the necessary conditions for the benefit of farmers.

Aella, a fintech start-up, has stated its readiness to provide quality health insurance coverage for over 500,000 Nigerians in 2020 by making available to them a 30-day, N800, 000 worth of health care cover whenever they signed up on its Aella app.

The company which recently launched Aella Care, a health insurance scheme in partnership with Hygeia; a foremost HMO in Nigeria to support the Federal Government’s drive in boosting the country’s insurance scheme, said the resolve to make it more attractive to get more people on board was arrived at when they saw the high number of those that signed up in their first pilot week.

This encouraged them to realize that more Nigerians will sign up on the Aella health insurance plan if knowledge about the benefits of protecting them from the rising costs of healthcare services in the country is communicated to them.

It said paid customers and new users will have access to general consultation, pharmacy benefits, antenatal care/delivery services, accidents, and emergencies, dental care, surgeries, and more on them for free for 30 days.

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Akin Jones said to get under the health insurance care, interested persons must download the Aella App; Click on the Insure your Health Tab; Select a Plan; Look through your coverage and verify; Upload a payment method (which can be canceled after the free trial is over) and access is open for one to enjoy the benefits.

Jones said though Aella App was launched as a digital lending platform, the recurrent theme where 25 percent of the loans were being used to pay for medical expenses, second only to small business loans and other bill payments opened up to them the situation in the health insurance system.

The app, he said provides users with a super-fast medium to ensure their health, access loans, and pay bills. Its monthly subscription and credit payment model allows millions of underbanked users access services that have hitherto been inaccessible to them

As of 2016, only three percent of healthcare expenditure in Nigeria was paid for using Health Insurance and to bridge this gap, Aella is using a four-pronged approach which includes trust, access, pricing, and education.

Jones said, “We believe that the reason more Nigerians aren’t obtaining Health Insurance is due to these four factors. (i) Trust: Customers do not trust that there are no hidden obligations and that insurance policies would effectively cover all that they are promising. (ii) Access: Customers do not believe that the hospital networks reach remote areas easily accessible to them in times of need. (iii) Pricing: Customers believe that low-cost insurance schemes do not provide adequate coverage. (iv) Education: Customers are not well educated about the costs and benefits of insurance.”

Aella’s mission, therefore, is to tackle these head-ons by ensuring that customers are aware of all charges associated with their chosen insurance plan and the differences between plans. Its partnership with Hygeia, Nigeria’s most trusted HMO will also allay the fears of many Nigerians regarding access and pricing.

The company said it will also constantly engage the public on its support of the government’s declared goal of Universal Health Coverage through the expansion of its health insurance and financial inclusion services.

Aella Care is a health insurance product that offers a comprehensive and accessible micro-health insurance service that overcomes obstacles that keep millions from accessing financial services. Obstacles such as geographical or regulatory inaccessibility, lack of access to banking institutions, confidence concerns, or needs that existing financial products cannot solve.

As part of its commitment to the fight against COVID19, it said it will be donating anti-microbial nano-coated copper masks to a randomly selected group of 2,000 users in partnership with Hygeia.

Palton Morgan, Nigeria’s foremost property development holding company, in its quest to deliver exceptional real estate projects and drive the exponential growth of Nigeria’s property sector, has appointed former Emaar Pakistan Chief Executive Officer, Nidal Turjman as its new Group Chief Operating Officer.
Emaar Properties is one of the world’s most valuable and admired real estate development companies with diversified interests in real estate covering both commercial and residential property development. Emaar has a collective presence in 36 markets across the Middle East, North Africa, Pan-Asia, Europe and North America; where Mr. Turjman served almost 12 years in multiple leadership roles including CEO for multiple entities and developments regionally and internationally and led the growth and positioning of Emaar in several international markets.
Coming to the job with over 25 years of global experience and proven achievements in real estate development, property management, assets management, and diversified industries, which got him engaged in real estate investments in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, Pakistan, Egypt, Tunisia, Syria and Morocco, with key roles, which played in the decision to bring him on board Palton Morgan Holdings at this crucial time.
Mr. Turjman, will lead the new strategies and push policies that will sustain the growth of Palton Morgan as the market leader in the largest African economy and fuel great innovation within the Nigeria property market.
He holds a BS in Economics, Diploma of International Commercial Arbitration from Equity College, UK, and multiple executive development certificates in Project Management, FIDIC, and Contract Management, among others.
Speaking on the appointment, Palton Morgan Holdings CEO, Adeyinka Adesope said the Group is pleased to welcome Turjman to the team as his career experiences bring further depth to the Palton Morgan workforce and support the continued push for excellence, enhanced customers’ experience and improved performance across all its real estate portfolios.
Adesope said with the new COO having worked under different environments, markets and challenges, which has empowered him to meet up with different business objectives, the Nigerian sector will be lifted adequately.
‘’His coming will lead to the further development of the Nigerian property sector as his experience in the growth of the UAE property sector will be brought to bear on our market. This is a sign of our determination to, not only be the leader in the sector but also to bring development to Nigeria and Africa property space’’, he asserted

OCP Africa, one of the leading companies in the global production and exportation of phosphate-based fertilizers is working within the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) of the Federal Government of Nigeria, and with blending plants under the Fertilizer Producers and Suppliers of Nigeria (FEPSAN), to contribute to the PFI objectives of providing access to locally produced NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer for smallholder farmers.
The palliatives intervention is aimed at supporting smallholder farmers across several states of Nigeria in order to mitigate the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the current farming season through ensuring distribution and access to subsidized fertilizers and other farm inputs, and also training and extension services, access to markets, and access to digital technology, all in a bid to increase crop yield and ensure food security as the 2020 farming season commences.
At the kick-off in Kaduna State where 20,000 bags of fertilizers were distributed to 10,000 smallholder farmers, OCP said the palliatives underscore its commitment to the Federal and State governments of Nigeria in its drive to curtail the spread and adverse effect of COVID-19 pandemic across the country.
Speaking at the flag-off, the Regional Commercial Manager, OCP Africa, Mr. Solomon Tanko said OCP Africa is supporting each farmer to access two bags of The Presidential Fertilizer Initiative blended NPK 20:10:10 at N4,500 per bag as against the recommended N5,000 per bag.
Tanko, who listed the first batch of the benefiting local government areas in Kaduna as Igabi, Kauru, Kachia, and Jaba said, “Besides providing fertilizer to farmers, OCP Africa will provide training on GAP to 1,000 lead farmers, who will further cascade down the training to 9000 farmers, making all of them beneficiaries of the project.
“To ensure that this GAP training is adopted, OCP Africa has engaged the services of a private consultant working with our partner, the Kaduna Agricultural Development Agency (KADA) to carry out monitoring and evaluation that will guarantee good yield’’.
He said that eight extension agents under Kaduna Agricultural Development Agency and four agripromoters would be supported with motorbikes and tricycles to facilitate extension services for the smallholder farmers in farming communities within the four Local Government Area in Kaduna state.
“We are confident to say that the COVID-19 intervention shall create 84 direct jobs in the four LGAs, aside from the countless indirect jobs that will be created along the supply chain for the people of Kaduna state from loaders, security, storekeeper and extension agents’’, he asserted.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Kaduna State, Hajia Halima Lawal, commended OCP Africa for the intervention and called on farmers in the state and beyond to utilise the opportunity.
The State Coordinator of OCP Africa, Mr. Isaac Odey said the planned palliatives would support smallholder farmers to cushion the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security.
Odey said, “In choosing to initiate the COVID-19 response, OCP Africa saw a need to partner with governments at federal and states levels at ensuring that the agricultural sector is supported during this global pandemic and national food security is guaranteed.
“However, the need to support the livelihood and productivity of rural smallholder farmers in this difficult period is uppermost in OCP Africa’s strategy which particularly supports the many efforts of government in ensuring not only an agric-revolution but also food security’’.
He said that under the COVID-19 response initiative, OCP Africa would be reaching over 50,000 smallholder farmers across 11 states of Nigeria through setting up of over 25 outlets situated within agricultural producing zones for the major food supply chains, which include maize, rice, sorghum, tomatoes, and soybeans to create 525 direct jobs for people in the communities.

A new and exciting music challenge to discover, engage, and reward budding live band performers is about to begin, courtesy of Trophy Extra Special Stout, a new product from the stables of International Breweries Plc.

Dubbed the ‘Trophy Extra Special Band’ battle, the music competition which will run online, in adherence to social distancing directives, provide the platform for creative upcoming musicians to display their musical prowess and be gifted with cash prizes, and most importantly, recognition and coaching by the Afro hip hop legend, TuBaba, who is also the Trophy Extra Special Stout Brand Ambassador.

The music competition will not only serve as motivation for local music talents, but it will also provide them with a platform to perform before a wider audience than they are used to, and gain popularity while entertaining the numerous current and potential consumers of the new Trophy Stout brand. The winner of the competition will become ‘The Trophy Extra Special Band’.
To participate in the battle, interested musical bands of not more than 5 players and solo singers from across the nation should do a rendition of any TuBaba’s song and post it on either Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter using the hashtag #TrophyExtraSpecialBand. The legendary TuBaba will watch the entries and select the Top-10 Bands that qualify for the musical battlefield. Now on the field, entries from the Top-10 will be posted on Trophy Stout Instagram page, @trophystout for the audience to watch, grade, and judge. The audience eventually prunes the 10 Bands down to 5 by voting to determine which band stays and which band leaves. TuBaba would select the 6th band using a wild card.

This is the stage at which the battle really gets hot. The Top-6 bands will be coached by Tubaba and thereafter, post another rendition of any Tubaba’s song, and based on the votes of the online audience, the Top-3 bands will be selected. The Top-3 bands will slug it out in an online battle where the winner will be determined, based on vocal prowess, ability to entertain the audience, and ultimately, the number of votes garnered.

Beyond cash and other prizes to be given to participating bands, the Winner of the #TrophyExtraSpecialBand battle will have the unique opportunity of performing as the official live band at brand activities organized by Trophy Extra Special Stout for a whole year.

Trophy Marketing Manager, Bamishe Oyegbami said the Live Band Battle idea was borne out of the need to engage the live band performers who are overlooked in almost all competitions held in the country and to provide a platform for them to thrive. Oyegbami added that Trophy Stout, with its uncanny resolve to always celebrate extra special occasions and moments with its consumers, intends to use the Live Band Battle to discover hidden talents that will grow the entertainment industry.

To avoid disqualification, Oyegbami urged participants to comply with all the instructions, terms and conditions of the game, and play fair. The instructions, he said, include adherence to the social distancing rule and keeping strictly to the stipulated timelines.

For more information on the #TrophyExtraSpecialBand, follow @trophystout on Instagram and Twitter and @TrophyExtraSpecialStout on Facebook.

A new and exciting music challenge to discover, engage, and reward budding live band performers is about to begin, courtesy of Trophy Extra Special Stout, a new product from the stables of International Breweries Plc.
Dubbed the 'Trophy Extra Special Band’ battle, the music competition which will run online, in adherence to social distancing directives, provide the platform for creative upcoming musicians to display their musical prowess and be gifted with cash prizes, and most importantly, recognition and coaching by the Afro hip hop legend, TuBaba, who is also the Trophy Extra Special Stout Brand Ambassador.
The music competition will not only serve as motivation for local music talents, but it will also provide them with a platform to perform before a wider audience than they are used to, and gain popularity while entertaining the numerous current and potential consumers of the new Trophy Stout brand. The winner of the competition will become ‘The Trophy Extra Special Band’.
To participate in the battle, interested musical bands of not more than 5 players and solo singers from across the nation should do a rendition of any TuBaba’s song and post it on either Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter using the hashtag #TrophyExtraSpecialBand. The legendary TuBaba will watch the entries and select the Top-10 Bands that qualify for the musical battlefield. Now on the field, entries from the Top-10 will be posted on Trophy Stout Instagram page, @trophystout for the audience to watch, grade, and judge. The audience eventually prunes the 10 Bands down to 5 by voting to determine which band stays and which band leaves. TuBaba would select the 6th band using a wild card. This is the stage at which the battle really gets hot. The Top-6 bands will be coached by Tubaba and thereafter, post another rendition of any Tubaba’s song, and based on the votes of the online audience, the Top-3 bands will be selected. The Top-3 bands will slug it out in an online battle where the winner will be determined, based on vocal prowess, ability to entertain the audience, and ultimately, the number of votes garnered.
Beyond cash and other prizes to be given to participating bands, the Winner of the #TrophyExtraSpecialBand battle will have the unique opportunity of performing as the official live band at brand activities organized by Trophy Extra Special Stout for a whole year.
Trophy Marketing Manager, Bamishe Oyegbami said the Live Band Battle idea was borne out of the need to engage the live band performers who are overlooked in almost all competitions held in the country and to provide a platform for them to thrive. Oyegbami added that Trophy Stout, with its uncanny resolve to always celebrate extra special occasions and moments with its consumers, intends to use the Live Band Battle to discover hidden talents that will grow the entertainment industry.
To avoid disqualification, Oyegbami urged participants to comply with all the instructions, terms and conditions of the game, and play fair. The instructions, he said, include adherence to the social distancing rule and keeping strictly to the stipulated timelines.
For more information on the #TrophyExtraSpecialBand, follow @trophystout on Instagram and Twitter and @TrophyExtraSpecialStout on Facebook.

Budweiser, the King of Beers, from the stables of International Breweries Plc., is out with ‘Naija Bar Rescue’, an initiative designed to help sustain and keep bars and restaurants in the country alive, during and after the COVID-19 lockdown.

With your 1500 naira, you can help to save a bar during this pandemic. All you have to do is buy a gift voucher now and use it later when your favourite bar reopens. When you buy a 1500 naira gift voucher, Budweiser will match your voucher with another 1500 naira and give the full amount to the bar of your choice.

Visit www.naijarbarrescue.com to learn more and be part of this initiative to save bars and positively contribute to the Nigerian economy as these bars are a part of the micro, small and medium enterprises which contribute to economic growth

International Breweries Plc., (IBPlc) a proud part of the Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) family, has demonstrated its commitment to collaborate and partner with its stakeholders, including government, to reduce the spread and impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria.
Building on the company’s longstanding commitment to its vision of ‘Bringing People Together for a Better World’, IBPlc, in a statement, said its COVID-19 support efforts have been “based on a collaborative approach of gathering insights from our communities and stakeholders so we can provide tailored interventions with the greatest impact”.
Below is a breakdown of the company’s donation to the governments of Anambra, Lagos, Ogun, Osun, and Rivers State; and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) amongst others:
o 30,000 bottles of hand sanitizers are being distributed to the states, hospitals/government institutions, and communities
o 60,000 bottles of our nutritious non-alcoholic beverages (Beta Malt and Grand Malt) have been donated to support the food distribution drive by the government in various states
o Tens of millions of naira committed to providing medical consumables which include:
o COVID -19 test kits,
o Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) for the frontline workers and medical personnel: coveralls, hand gloves.
o Infra-red thermometers.
o N10m donated by the Trophy Stout brand (during an e-concert by 2Baba) to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for the procurement of test kits.
Speaking on the company’s COVID-19 intervention, Mr. Hugo Dias Rocha, Managing Director, International Breweries Plc. said, “As an organization, we are always looking to support our local communities and are positive that our donation will assist and support the government and our communities greatly in the fight against the spread of this pandemic.”
“We appreciate and lend our voice to the various initiatives by the Federal Government of Nigeria, the State Governments, the private sector to which we belong and all other sectors, organizations, individual and players that have all teamed together to assist in curbing the spread of COVID-19. We stand with you, and indeed the world, in the joint resolution to eradicate this virus and its impact on communities and economies”.
Continuing, Mr. Rocha said, “This is an intense moment in global history. The actions we take now will shape the future; so as International Breweries, we are pleased to be a part of the solution for our communities. We will continue to explore with our stakeholders, especially government, on areas of further potential collaboration and support.”
In the same vein, Temitope Oguntokun, Legal and Corporate Affairs Director, said, “Our longstanding commitment to our core values of Health, Safety, Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), readily serves us in this trying time. We will continue to drive COVID-19 awareness and interventions with our employees and in our communities. A number of the donations have been distributed across the states and communities while some are still ongoing”.
Oguntokun said aside from the donations, IBPlc has been supporting its employees with resources and consistent COVID-19 information to stay safe and healthy. In addition, she informed that as part of the company’s other ongoing collaboration against the virus, the company, through its International Breweries Foundation is currently engaging with government and other stakeholders on the production of local face masks. “We believe this intervention will go a long way to reduce the further spread of the virus while also boosting our already challenged economy through youth entrepreneurship”.
“International Breweries appreciates the healthcare workers and all frontline carers who are the true heroes of this time and urge our stakeholders, indeed everyone to continue to comply with the NCDC and WHO - recommended directives which include regular hand washing for at least 20 seconds, use of hand sanitizers and maintaining social distance among others”.
It will be recalled that International Breweries, as part of the launch of its new product, Trophy Extra Stout, recently supported the first-of-it-kind online concert where multiple award-winning hip-hop artiste, Innocent Dibia – known as 2Baba - encouraged Nigerians to comply with the stay at home order to curtail the spread of COVID-19 virus. 2Baba did not only thrill the audience with his popular songs but interspersed every segment of the concert with awareness messages on the COVID-19 pandemic and how to stay safe.

Innocent Idibia, Nigeria's highly celebrated and multiple award-winning hip-hop artist, also popularly known as TuBaba, recently teamed up with Trophy Extra Special Stout, a new product from the stables of International Breweries Plc., to encourage Nigerians to comply with the restriction of movement while the coronavirus pandemic is being curtailed.
At the first-of-its-kind online concert in Nigeria, staged by the Africa Queen crooner, and streamed live on his social media handles as well as that of the new Trophy Extra Stout recently, TuBaba not only thrilled his audience to evergreen songs from his rich repertoire but laced every segment of the concert with well-articulated messages, educating them on the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier on in the day, some lucky fans were gifted airtime and data to enable them participate in the show. That generated a lot of excitement as more fans looked forward to not only seeing their favourite legend partner with Trophy Stout, but also winning more exciting gifts during the show.
Before starting the show, TuBaba and his wife, Annie Idibia, who was the event host, made a demonstration on hand-washing with soap and water to impress on the audience, the importance of regularly practicing that simple personal hygiene act at this critical time of the pandemic.
The show was quite interactive as 2Baba's fans kept tweeting and sending messages through Instagram and taking advantage of the opportunity to request that he performs their favorite songs. Some of them not only got their favorite songs performed but were also lucky to be gifted cash gifts as icing on the cake. By the time the concert was over, many viewers had won exciting cash prizes by commenting and interacting on the Trophy Stout social media pages.
The evergreen songs dished out by 2Baba in fulfilling the desires of the fans included 'African Queen', 'Opo', 'Amaka', and 'Implication', which garnered the most votes to round up the concert.
TuBaba consistently advised full compliance with all the preventive measures being advocated by the government and health authorities for the curtailment of the scourge. He also stylishly remixed some of his songs to convey COVID-19 messages in the lyrics!
According to TuBaba, the surest way to bring COVID-19 to its knees is by immobilizing it, and that could only be achieved by obeying the stay at home order as advised by the authorities.
This was corroborated by Tolu Adedeji, Marketing Director of International Breweries Plc who said that staging of the concert was symbolic in many ways. According to her, that it was possible to bring so much fun and hope to thousands of people in the comfort of their homes, while still complying with the directive on social distancing, shows that COVID-19 cannot stop us, if we all do what we are supposed to do, starting with staying at home as directed.
She added that Trophy Extra Special Stout, by facilitating the concert, was bringing to live, International Breweries corporate vision of bringing people together for a better world, which she explained to be a world without the CoVID 19 pandemic.
Trophy Extra Special Stout and TuBaba also reiterated their promise to donate a sum of N10 million to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to support the fight against the ravaging pandemic.
The concert which lasted for about an hour saw over 50 thousand viewers join in from across the nation, and beyond, via internet connectivity on such electronic devices as computers, tabs, phones, smart TVs, etc. Viewers can still relive all the fun moments from the concert by visiting the Trophy Stout page on YouTube and @trophystout on Instagram.
Rounding off the show after 2Baba's energetic and entertaining performance, Annie Idibia, appreciated Trophy Extra Special Stout and International Breweries Plc for the partnership that made the staging of the e-concert possible.

Innocent Idibia, popularly known as Tuface, will on April 12 hold an e-concert in a bid to rally support and unify Nigerians against the spread of the CoVID 19 virus in Nigeria. The online concert also aims to encourage people to stay safe during this period by supporting the stay-at-home directive by the government.
The e-concert, to be live-streamed on Tuface’s social media handles (@official2baba) and that of Trophy Extra Special Stout (@trophystout), a brand from Internaional Breweries Plc, will create an extra special moment for people to be entertained with the live performances from the African Queen crooner while they stay at home this period.
In addition, Trophy Extra Special Stout together with Tuface will make a N10m donation to support initiatives combating CoVID 19.
Tuface said the idea of the e-concert is for him to lend his voice and call on Nigerians to come together to combat this global pandemic by heeding the stay-at-home request from the government, so that the spread of the virus can be reduced to its barest minimum. The e-concert, for him, will provide a moment of hope, optimism and comfort to everybody in this trying time. He also called on other celebrities, business personnel and corporate organisations’ support in combating the spread of the CoVID 19 virus in any way they can.
Bamise Oyegbami, Trophy’s Marketing Manager said: “We have decided to support Tuface in this quest because as a brand, we acknowledge the importance of this initiative, hence we are fully behind it”.
Oyegbami said a healthy population is key for any nation to grow and develop and with COVID 19 threatening to disrupt the lives of the citizenry, all hands must be on deck to do whatever is possible to ensure it is curtailed.
He said; ‘’We are not in business just for profit, our ecosystem is very key to us based on our purpose of bringing people together for a better world. This can only be attained if necessary support is given to people and the society whenever it is needed, which is what we want to achieve with this e-concert.
‘’We realised that with everywhere being on lockdown and people told to stay home to stop the spread of COVID 19, we can actually make the stay at home more optimistic for consumers at home by supporting our own African music legend, Tuface with a live e-concert”.
During the e-concert, viewers will have the opportunity to engage and interact with Tuface online and also stand a chance of winning freebies which can be helpful to people whose livelihood may have been impacted by the stay at home situation. This is an avenue to encourage as many persons to participate and be a part of the cause.
International Breweries Plc. is a proud member of the world’s largest brewer, ABInBev, and its new product, Trophy Extra Special Stout, made with extra special roasted Barley, is rich, dark and satisfying. The stout has received great feedback from its early adopters.

Innocent Idibia, popularly known as Tuface, will on April 12 hold an e-concert in a bid to rally support and unify Nigerians against the spread of the CoVID 19 virus in Nigeria. The online concert also aims to encourage people to stay safe during this period by supporting the stay-at-home directive by government.
The e-concert, to be live streamed on Tuface’s social media handles (@official2baba) and that of Trophy Extra Special Stout (@trophystout), a brand from International Breweries Plc, will create an extra special moment for people to be entertained with the live performances from the African Queen crooner while they stay at home this period.
In addition, Trophy Extra Special Stout together with Tuface will make a N10m donation to support initiatives combating CoVID 19.
Tuface said the idea of the e-concert is for him to lend his voice and call on Nigerians to come together to combat this global pandemic by heeding the stay-at-home request from government so that the spread of the virus can be reduced to its barest minimum. The e-concert, for him, will provide a moment of hope, optimism, and comfort to everybody in this trying time. He also called on other celebrities, business personnel and corporate organisations’ support in combating the spread of the CoVID 19 virus in any way they can.
Bamise Oyegbami, Trophy’s Marketing Manager said: “We have decided to support Tuface in this quest because as a brand, we acknowledge the importance of this initiative, hence we are fully behind it”.
Oyegbami said a healthy population is key for any nation to grow and develop and with COVID 19 threatening to disrupt the lives of the citizenry, all hands must be on deck to do whatever is possible to ensure it is curtailed.
He said; ‘’We are not in business just for profit, our ecosystem is very key to us based on our purpose of bringing people together for a better world. This can only be attained if necessary support is given to people and society whenever it is needed, which is what we want to achieve with this e-concert.
‘’We realised that with everywhere being on lockdown and people told to stay home to stop the spread of COVID 19, we can actually make the stay at home more optimistic for consumers at home by supporting our own African music legend, Tuface with a live e-concert”.
During the e-concert, viewers will have the opportunity to engage and interact with Tuface online and also stand a chance of winning freebies which can be helpful to people whose livelihood may have been impacted by the stay at home situation. This is an avenue to encourage as many persons to participate and be a part of the cause.
International Breweries Plc. is a proud member of the world’s largest brewer, ABInBev, and its new product, Trophy Extra Special Stout, made with extra special roasted Barley, is rich, dark and satisfying. The stout has received great feedback from its early adopters.

As a further demonstration of its commitment to supporting government and communities in healthcare and infrastructure delivery, International Breweries Plc, today commissioned a N44 million Primary Health Care Centre in Oginigba, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The inauguration of the project was achieved about five months after its ground breaking ceremony held in November 2019.
International Breweries Plc., a proud member of the world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-BuschInbev (AB InBev) invested N44million to build, furnish and equip the health centre which will be subsequently managed by the Rivers State Primary Health care Management Board.
The Oginigba Health Centre is a state of the art health facility equipped with medical facilities such as infant incubators and warmers, nebulizer, anaesthesia machine, suction machine, delivery beds, X-ray new box, oxygen concentrator, facilities for the resident doctor, and autoclave machine amongst others.
The commissioning, which held at the Oginigba Primary School had in attendance important dignitaries and representatives from the state government, International Breweries Plc., the local government council, the Primary Health Care Management Board, the host community and neighbouring communities.
In his speech, the company’s Legal and Corporate Affairs Director, Otunba Micheal Daramola said the commissioning was yet another testament to International Breweries Plc’s commitment to an effective and efficient Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) system, which the company does in partnership with its host communities.
He noted that the dream of bringing people together for a better world as espoused by the company drives the vision to support communities and the people of Nigeria in five CSR interventions areas: Empowerment, Education, Health, Infrastructural support and Responsible drinking.
“The dream of bringing people together for a better world actually led to our vision of supporting the Rivers State government to provide this primary health care facility in Oginigba to cater for the people of the community and environs.
With today’s project, we are also demonstrating our contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 3 on Good Health and Well Being; SDG 6 on Clean Water & Sanitation and SDG 9 which addresses the impact of Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure’’.
Daramola further hinted that aside the health centre, the company also has its footprints in other areas of development in the state.
“Before this project, we renovated the Oginigba primary School borehole which currently provides potable water to pupils, teachers and the community residents. We are also supporting youth empowerment and employment as eight youth beneficiaries from Rivers State would be receiving a total sum of N7, 970,000 as grants from the International Breweries Foundation under the Kickstart Youth Empowerment programme to start their businesses”.
Continuing, Daramola said the company is also driving responsible drinking and sensitization campaigns in partnership with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to stem the menace of underage and binge drinking in communities and among consumers in Port Harcourt.
Outside Rivers state, Daramola listed other CSR projects embarked upon by the company to include: the renovation and donation of vital equipment to the Primary Health Care Centre in Esa Odo, Osun State; a five-room toilet and water facilities in Omi-Asoro Primary School, Osun State and solar powered boreholes for Ilashe community in Sagamu, Ogun State.
The Executive Governor of Rivers State, Barrister Nyesom Wike, in his speech, commended International Breweries Plc for responding swiftly to the medical need of the community after the state government provided the site and location of the health centre.
Wike, who was represented by the Honourable Commissioner for Education, Prof Kaniye Ebeku gave the assurance that government would continue to provide the enabling environment to support the business operations of corporations like International Breweries Plc that are complementing the state government’s efforts at improving the lives of its citizens.
On his part, the President/Paramount Ruler of Oginigba Kingdom, HRH, Eze, Amb (Dr) G.B Odum (JP), said the intervention recorded by International Breweries Plc with the Oginigba Health Centre would serve as an example for other multinational companies in Oginigba kingdom to emulate.
“We are indeed overwhelmed with joy to witness the completion of this ultra-modern health centre, a project embarked upon and successfully completed by International Breweries Plc. Words are not enough to convey how grateful we are to the management as we know that the company has left a great legacy on the sands of time. This landmark is one that will surely serve as an example to other multinational companies in Oginigba Kingdom”, he said.
Continuing, the Monarch said, “it is obvious that the company by this benevolence is committed to social justice and equity as well as the recognition of the fundamental right to the highest attainable standard of health as stated in article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Act that ‘everyone has a right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and that of his family’’.
He concluded by saying that “International Breweries is setting the pace in the history of Oginigba by putting smiles on faces with this laudable project”.
The Oginigba health centre, which is estimated to reach and positively impact thousands of beneficiaries over a period of time, will go a long way to resolve the challenge of access to healthcare as residents will no longer travel long distances for medical attention.

It was a night of fun as Trophy Lager, from the stables of International Breweries, a proud member of AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer, organised a dinner in honour of African football legend, Samuel Eto’o Fils, who is in Nigeria to launch the Castle Africa 5s.
Castle Africa 5s is the continental leg of the Trophy 5-A-Side developmental football tournament, the continent’s biggest amateur 5-A-Side football competition involving grassroot teams from several African countries in which ABInBev operates. Last year, the Nigerian Trophy Five-A-Side team won the Castle Africa 5s competition, hence the decision to launch this year's tournament in Nigeria.
Trophy’s Marketing Manager, Bamise Oyegbami, at the dinner highlighted some of Eto’s career moments and celebrated his achievements, noting that they are worth dreaming about by any upcoming player.
Eto was in the company of Ex Super Eagles’ captain and Super Eagles Assistant Coach, Joseph Yobo who is also a Trophy 5-A-Side Brand Ambassador.
Other Trophy 5-A-Side ambassadors present were Folarin (Falz) Falana and Femi Adebayo.
President General of the Nigeria Supporters Club, Rafiu Ladipo commended Trophy on supporting developmental football with the Trophy 5-A-Side tournament, as he said more talented footballers will be discovered through the tournament.
President of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Tony Ubani, commended Eto’s goal poaching prowess and his heart of gold. He urged him to continue with his philanthropic acts, asserting that touching people’s lives will always elevate him.
Members of the Supporters club, with some super fans and sports editors were also in attendance at the dinner.
The Castle Africa 5s Football tournament is aimed at promoting grassroot football development in Africa.