₦airaland Forum

This palliatives crisis reinforces the need for Nigeria to mass-produce the following food items at affordable cost

1. Rice
2. Garri
3. Noodles
4. Cooking oil
5. Yam
6. Bread
7. Eggs
8. Tea
9. Bottled water
10. Powdered milk

If the minimum wage is N30,000 per month, basically, we need to come up with a formula whereby about 5kg of all these items can be purchased at a quarter of that. For Nigeria to be at ease with herself, a man who is the sole breadwinner of a family of four should be able to feed his wife and two kids on all these items for a month at no more than N7,500.

It is either we find a way to reduce the prices or we increase the minimum wage so feeding costs no more than a quarter of take-home pay. How we step up mass production of food items is a challenge we need to face as a people.

How many Nigerian food companies can churn out 1m kg bags of rice a month? Mass production is what brings prices down and until Nigeria gets around this problem, we will continue to be inflation-plagued.

Across the board, our inability to mass-produce goods is our biggest failing as a people. We have great tailors for instance but they sew suits in ones and twos, whereas a Hugo Boss factory will churn out 5,000 suits a day.

This is not really a government matter as everywhere else in the world, it is the private sector that has pioneered mass production. I want to see private capital injected into the Nigerian economy to churn out these goods in their thousands.

Written by: Ayo Akinfe, born in Salford, Manchester, is a London-based journalist who has worked as a magazine and newspaper editor for the last 20 years. Ayo attended Federal Government College Kaduna and obtained his first degree in history from the University of Ibadan.

Source: https://brandspurng.com/2020/11/01/this-palliatives-crisis-reinforces-the-need-for-nigeria-to-mass-produce-the-following-food-items-at-affordable-cost/

Can the National Assembly please pass the Combined Treasury and Warehouse Looting Bill 2020 that will compel the police to always prosecute looters in pairs?

Basically, it will mean that for every warehouse looter arraigned in court, a treasury looter must be arraigned alongside him or her. Failure to find an accompanying treasury looter will automatically lead to the charges against a warehouse looter being dropped.

Under this equal opportunity looting prosecution, once both charges have been readout, the court will then split into two. Court One will deal with treasury looters and Court Two with warehouse looters.

Both sets of defendants must have access to the same calibre of legal teams.

Both sets of defendants must have access to the same kind of bail conditions.

While in detention, both sets of looters should be made to share cells to familiarise themselves with each other.

They should have access to the same type of medical attention while in detention. If one is allowed to fly abroad for medical attention, so too should the other.

Sentencing should be based on the value of the assets stolen. Basically, someone who stole goods worth N10,000 must serve a sentence about 10 times less than someone who stole $1m.

All sentenced persons must be subject to the same restrictions, prohibiting them from running for public office.

All those who aided and abetted both sets of looters should be charged as accessories. This should include banks, security officials, faith houses, etc.

Written by: Ayo Akinfe, born in Salford, Manchester, is a London-based journalist who has worked as a magazine and newspaper editor for the last 20 years. Ayo attended Federal Government College Kaduna and obtained his first degree in history from the University of Ibadan.

Source: https://brandspurng.com/2020/11/01/all-looters-are-equal-but-some-are-more-equal-than-others/

Lexus Partners with Tosin Oshinowo and Chrissa Amuah to Present Conceptual Design Collaboration This December in Coordination with Des

Tosin Oshinowo, an architect and designer based in Nigeria will work with British-Ghanaian textiles designer Chrissa Amuah to debut a concept design inspired by Lexus’ craft techniques and technology

TOKYO, Japan (October 29, 2020) – Today, Lexus announced its forthcoming collaboration with architect and designer Tosin Oshinowo and textiles and furniture designer Chrissa Amuah that will culminate in the presentation of a conceptual design experiment this December. The project will be in coordination with Design Miami/, which will continue its annual celebration of international design, with adjustments made in consideration of our current global context.

Inspired by the changes this year has brought, the concept will align with Lexus’ craft techniques and technology, explore cues from global history and respond to the current global moment to create a series of objects aimed to inspire innovation and exploration.

Over more than three decades, Lexus, the global luxury automotive brand, has demonstrated its unwavering commitment to bold, uncompromising design, exceptional craftsmanship, and exhilarating performance.

Taking a human-centered approach, Lexus anticipates and understands the future needs and desires of people and society. Its thoughtful design is guided by attention to detail and a focus on craft traditions resulting in high performance innovations, with a focus on comfort and elegance. Prior international design initiatives have included the Lexus Design Award, presented annually to an emerging designer at Milan Design Week, and an ongoing collaboration with Design Miami.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Tosin Oshniowo and Chrissa Amuah,” commented Brian Bolain, general manager of Lexus International, “And are looking forward to presenting their vision and human-centric approach in coordination with Design Miami/ this year, illuminating the various ways design can look to craft and tradition to forge new and exciting pathways forward.”

Based in Lagos, Oshinowo is known for her socially responsive approach to architecture and urbanism and her exploration into the African identity in the modern context. Similarly, Amuah, a British-Ghanaian textiles designer, draws inspiration from her Ghanaian heritage, through Adinkra symbology and a passion to enhance the power of design with proverbial meaning. Both Oshinowo and Amuah have led significant creative careers and been recognized internationally.

Their collaboration will explore our understanding of human existence and respond to current restrictions on individual movements caused by the global pandemic, producing a series of design objects that will iterate on the evolution of ergonomics and elegance during this time.

“We were so energized by Lexus’s prompt to create space for a design thought experiment — to look at the world around us, to explore the experiences that we as a collective humanity have faced this past year in order to find inspiration and new possibilities,” noted Tosin Oshinowo. Chrissa Amuah continued, “We hope that our design exploration will spark joy and celebration, in spite of the restrictions the world now finds itself in, and intend to use this design to make a bold statement towards our new human existence.”

In addition to returning as an Automotive Partner to Design Miami/, Lexus will unveil the collaboration with Tosin Oshinowo and Chrissa Amuah in coordination with the fair, which opens November 27 through December 6 online and in person in the Miami Design District. The presentation will have a strong digital component to audiences worldwide to experience this special collaboration.

Additional details on the collaboration will be released in the coming weeks.

BRIEF - TOSIN OSHINOWO

Tosin Oshinowo is a leading architect based in Lagos, Nigeria, as well as a designer, creative entrepreneur, and founder of Ilé-Ilà, an internationally recognized furniture brand that explores bold colors through period-conscious furniture in a contemporary African context. Oshinowo is a registered Architect in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a member of the Royal Institute of the British Architects.

Since 2012, she has been the Principal Architect at cmDesign Atelier (cmD+A architecture design consultancy practice known for environmentally-conscious and boundary-pushing contemporary architecture in Nigeria and across the African Continent.

Oshinowo is known for her socially responsive approach to architecture and urbanism and her exploration into the African identity in the modern context, in which she has written articles like “The Reclamation of Public Space in Lagos” for the African Artists Foundations. Oshinowo also has a regular column at Omeka online called “Afromodernist: Identity, Architecture & Sexuality”. In addition she has also featured on  TEDx, speaking on “The Identity of an African Building”. Her work in the public space of Lagos includes bringing art and design installations to the city in addition to co-curating the 2019 Lagos Biennial.

In addition to Oshinowo’s many collaborations with creatives, including her project with Victor Ehikhamenor which was documented by Netlix’s “Amazing Interiors”, she has been nominated for the EbonyLife TV Sisterhood Awards for Entrepreneur of the year and received a recognition from leading Ladies Africa as one of 100 most inspiring women in Nigeria.

She also won the 3rd City People Real Estate Awards for Architect of the Year 2017 and in January 2018 she joined the Board for The Lagos Theatre Festival with the British Council.  In March 2019, she was awarded the Lord’s Achievers Awards for Creativity, in celebration of World Achievers Day. Oshinowo also won an award at Lagos Photo, 2011 amateur photography competition, sponsored by Etisalat Nigeria.

BRIEF - CHRISSA AMUAH

Chrissa Amuah is a globally renowned textiles designer based in London, England who draws inspiration from her heritage in Ghana, Togo and Benin. Amuah is the Founder and Creative Director of AMWA Designs, an Adinkra-inspired luxury homeware and interiors textiles brand. In 2017, she established AFRICA BY DESIGN, an online platform and series of traveling exhibitions that showcases talent of sub-Saharan designers both on the continent and living abroad, creating international commercial opportunities for its featured designers.

Amuah’s 2015 installation at Milan Design Week gained global attention and she has been recognized as a “Rising Star” by the Black British Business Awards Consumer & Luxury Category in 2017. 2021 will present the launch of her collection with multi award winning, Bernhardt Design – one of America’s largest and most highly reputed textile and furniture manufacturers.

Subsequently, she will collaborate with renowned architect, Alice Asafu-Adjaye, to represent Ghana for the London Biennale 2021. Just recently, Amuah was announced as a member of the Allgood Collective, as a brand ambassador for sustainable footwear brand, Allbirds.

Amuah is an MA graduate from the world-renowned Chelsea College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London.

Lexus launched in 1989 with a flagship sedan and a guest experience that helped define the premium automotive industry. In 1998, Lexus introduced the luxury crossover category with the launch of the Lexus RX. The luxury hybrid sales leader, Lexus delivered the world’s first luxury hybrid and has since sold over 1.5 million hybrid vehicles.

A global luxury automotive brand with an unwavering commitment to bold, uncompromising design, exceptional craftsmanship, and exhilarating performance, Lexus has developed its lineup to meet the needs of the next generation of global luxury guests and is currently available in over90 countries worldwide.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/30/lexus-partners-with-tosin-oshinowo-and-chrissa-amuah-to-present-conceptual-design-collaboration-this-december-in-coordination-with-des/

As part of efforts to reduce the rate of unemployment in Lagos State, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has approved Internship Programme for 4,000 unemployed graduates in line with the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda of the present administration and the Youth Development Programme of the State.

Speaking recently on the programme with newsmen, the Honourable Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs Yetunde Arobieke, said the Graduate Internship Placement Programme (GIPP) is designed to give candidates the opportunity to develop employability and work-ready skills that are needed in securing gainful employment.

She added that the Internship Programme will be addressing the third and fourth pillars of the present administration’s T.H.E.M.E.S agenda, which are Education and Technology and Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy, while the beneficiaries will be paid a monthly stipend of N40,000 for the six months duration of the internship.

Arobieke informed that at the end of the internship period, interns would have gained valuable applied work experience, built up their professional skills and would have been exposed to possible entrepreneurial opportunities to strengthen their professional skills and interpersonal relationship.

The Commissioner, therefore, implored interested candidates to apply through the dedicated link for the programme, stressing that interested applicants must possess NYSC Certificates or letters of exemption, and must be registered residents of the State with Lagos State Residents Registration Agency, LASRRA.

While informing that over 50 off-takers have shown interest in having the Interns work in their organisations, Arobieke maintained that the selection process will be transparent as successful candidates after taking an online test will be trained on employability skills for two weeks and evaluated; they will, subsequently, be placed on six months paid Internship with Private organisations and selected Public Agencies in line with their qualifications.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/29/lagos-govt-to-begin-internship-programme-for-4000-unemployed-graduates/

28 October 2020 - A milestone anniversary, calls to shut down an allegedly brutal police department, and state election results were among the top trending Google searches in Nigeria during October. These searches partially crossed over into the most asked questions, which concerned a leading activist, the whereabouts of the president, and the winner of Big Brother Nigeria. 

On 1 October, Nigeria celebrated the 60th anniversary of its independence from Great Britain. What would ideally have been a day of celebration instead turned into a day of protest across the country’s major cities as people expressed their anger over corruption and increases to petrol and electricity prices? Nigeria Independence Day was, nonetheless, the top search for the month.

Protests continued throughout the month as the #EndSARS campaign gained momentum. The campaign called for the disbanding of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a unit of the Nigerian Police. After SARS was disbanded, protests have continued over police brutality and other issues. As the protests dominated news headlines, online interest grew. As a result, “end sars” was the second most searched term for the month.

Staying with politics, “ondo election result” was the third most popular term for the month. The poll saw Oluwarotimi Akeredolu reelected as governor of Ondo state. Despite heavy criticism from opposition parties, Akeredolu won by a significant margin.

Other topics trending in October included actress Eniola Badmus, who was falsely rumoured to have been shot during the #EndSARS protests; activist Aisha Yesufu, who has been at the centre of the protests; and rapper Lil Frosh, who was arrested in early October for the alleged assault on his girlfriend Gift Camille.

These were the top 10 searches for the month:

1. Nigeria Independence Day
2. End sars
3. Ondo election result
4. Eniola Badmus
5. Aisha Yesufu
6. Lil Frosh
7. Cavani
8. Room 306
9. Boyfriend day
10. Soro soke / soro soke meaning

Yesefu also featured among the most asked questions for the month, topping the list. Nigerians were also keen to know where President Muhammadu Buhari was. The national leader, who is frequently overseas for medical treatment, waited days before addressing Nigerians on the protest, before finally urging citizens to spurn the protestors’ efforts.

It wasn’t all serious politics, however. Nigerians also took to Google to find out who the winner of BBN 2020 was, as well as to ask practical questions around tracking stolen cellphones and to find out who Anonymous is.

Top ten trending questions for October 2020: 

1. Who is Aisha Yesufu?
2. Where is Buhari now?
3. Who is the winner of BBN 2020?
4. Where is Tinubu now?
5. How to track a stolen phone?
6. Who is Anonymous?
7. Who is Tompolo?
8. How to prepare jollof rice?
9. Who is leading in Ondo election?
10. Who is DJ Switch?

Search trends information is gleaned from data collated by Google based on what Nigerians have been searching for and asking Google. Google processes more than 40 000 search queries every second. This translates to more than a billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year, worldwide. Live search data is available on the Google Nigeria Trends site.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/28/independence-day-endsars-ondo-election-results-nigerias-october-search-trends/

The Taraba state government has relaxed the 24-hour curfew imposed on Jalingo, the state capital and Wukari local government area.

This was disclosed in a press release signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the Deputy Governor on New Media, Musleem Aruwa.

It states that the state deputy governor, His Excellency, Engr. Haruna Manu said the curfew now runs from 6:00 pm to 7:00 am until further notice.

It states that Government will continue to monitor the situation until normalcy is restored completely and law-abiding citizens can go about their legitimate businesses as government and other security agencies have adopted tougher safeguards to protect lives and property.

However, persons with useful information on the criminal elements in our midst, especially those involved in the recent looting should kindly tip the security agencies nearest to them.

Similarly, those who took part in the shameful looting of public and private property should return such items to their ward heads, Village/Districts heads or the local government chairmen as these categories of leaders have been directed to collate these looted items for safekeeping so that they can be returned to government and other private businesses affected.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/28/curfew-imposed-on-jalingo-and-wukari-relaxed-by-government/

10 things Buhari must do if he wants to avoid a repeat of these volatile uprising in 2021

1. As we can all see, Sars was just the catalyst for the uprising we have seen across the nation. It is poverty that has led the Nigerian masses to revolt. Unless the issue of their welfare is addressed, what we are witnessing today will just be a dress rehearsal for a much more violent revolt next year.
Food is clearly an issue as the minimum wage is N30,000 a month and a 50kg bag of rice costs N31,000. Unlike the middle-class youths at the Lekki Toll Gate who were well fed and were charging their mobile phones there, the masses are hungry and bitter people. About a third of Nigeria’s food production goes to waste due to poor storage and transportation. This government needs to come up with a national food distribution plan to address this.

2. As we have seen in several states, there is a total lack of a vibrant private sector. There are no companies that employ young graduates as we see in Lagos and Abuja. President Buhari needs to hold an emergency meeting with the 36 governors to thrash out ways to empower them and make them job creators. When all your educated young people flock to Abuja and Lagos in search of work, it is inevitable that your state will be populated by hoodlums.

3. Nigeria currently generates around $30bn a year in crude oil exports. That is not even enough to sustain Lagos State, so this nonsensical federal allocation rubbish has to go today. Each of our 36 federating units needs to be made an economic hub with a mandate to generate at least $30bn each annually.

4. What we have seen from those running the security apparatus of the government is clear incompetence. I put this down to the nepotistic manner in which President Buhari appoints people into office. He needs to abandon that stance today and start appointing people on merit. A man who talks about “necessary process” and using an iron fist to address intellectual issues for instance has no business within 100km of government. Has he now seen the outcome of his necessary process and I hope Hussaini Coomasie is now proud of himself. In a saner clime, he would have been charged with incitement, as well as aiding and abetting murder.

5. It is totally impossible to live on a wage of N30,000 ($79) a month in Nigeria. In South Africa, the minimum monthly wage is R15,000 ($926). We need to bring salaries up to the level of South Africa at the barest minimum.

6. As we all saw, the riots were particularly volatile in Lagos as the daily existence of people there is a living hell. The government should use this reconstruction to radically revitalise the city. For starters, work should be expedited on the Lagos Metro project in the wake of a scarcity of buses. International experts should be brought in if need be to complete the project before December 31.

7. As things stand, Nigeria lacks the capital to invest in the large scale industrialisation required to double the size of our economy as is needed. President Buhari simply needs to make an international plan for a special Nigerian Marshall Plan that will involve the investment of at least $100bn a year in the economy annually. His case is easy to sell. All he has to tell the world is: “If you do not invest in Nigeria, she will collapse into another Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, Libya or Iraq. If you allow that to happen, the consequences will be devastating for West Africa.”.

8. Were I in President Buhari’s shoes I would travel to China to hold a summit with all those international companies relocating in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. I would get commitments that at least 10% must relocate to Nigeria and set up shop here. Just imagine how many jobs that would create.

9. Given that crude oil prices would need to rise to something like $200 a barrel to enable the Nigerian economy get back to 2015 levels and we all know that is not going to happen, I would set myself a target of manufacturing at least half of all our industrial goods by 2021. The reality is we will not have the foreign exchange for imports, so local production has to be given top priority.

Written by: Ayo Akinfe, born in Salford, Manchester, is a London-based journalist who has worked as a magazine and newspaper editor for the last 20 years. Ayo attended Federal Government College Kaduna and obtained his first degree in history from the University of Ibadan.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/28/10-things-buhari-must-do-if-he-wants-to-avoid-a-repeat-of-these-volatile-uprising-in-2021/

According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G was the world’s bestselling 5G smartphone model by revenue in the first half of 2020. Apple iPhone 12 is expected to take the 5G crown in H2 2020.

Ken Hyers, Director at Strategy Analytics, said,

“Global 5G smartphone industry revenue hit a record US$34 billion in the first half of 2020. Despite coronavirus headwinds, the 5G smartphone market has soared to an all-time high. The 5G engine continues to drive smartphone growth, led by Samsung and Huawei.”

Juha Winter, Associate Director at Strategy Analytics, added,

“Among the 5G smartphone segment, Samsung took 3 of the top 5 positions worldwide in H1 2020. Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G is the world’s number one bestselling 5G smartphone model by revenue and accounts for a dominant 9 percent share of all 5G smartphone revenues generated worldwide in H1 2020.

The S20+ 5G is among the world’s first blockbuster 5G models and is popular across Western Europe, South Korea, North America and elsewhere. Samsung’s top-of-the-range S20 Ultra 5G is in 2nd spot and Samsung S20 5G sits in 3rd place. Samsung is making big money from 5G phones.”

Ken Hyers, Director at Strategy Analytics, added,

“Huawei P40 Pro 5G and Huawei Mate 30 5G were the world’s fourth and fifth bestselling 5G smartphone models worldwide in H1 2020. Huawei’s 5G smartphones are wildly popular in the giant China market. Looking ahead, we expect Apple iPhone 12 to overtake both Huawei and Samsung during H2 2020. The iPhone 12 5G portfolio will deliver tens of billions of dollars of revenue in just a few weeks during the run-up to the Xmas holiday season and beyond. Apple iPhone 12 will soon take the 5G crown.”

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/28/samsung-galaxy-s20-5g-is-worlds-no-1-5g-smartphone-model-by-revenue-in-h1-2020/

The consumer price index, (CPI) which measures inflation increased by 13.71 percent (year-on-year) in September 2020. This is 0.49 percent points higher than the rate recorded in August 2020 (13.22) percent.

The 13.71 per cent inflation recorded in September is the highest increase so far recorded in the last 32 months as increase in food- prices continue to worsen

Increases were recorded in all COICOP divisions that yielded the Headline index.

On a month-on-month basis, the Headline index increased by 1.48 percent in September 2020. This is 0.14 percent rate higher than the rate recorded in August 2020 (1.34) percent.

The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve months period ending September 2020 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve months period was 12.44 percent, showing 0.21 percent point from 12.23 percent recorded in August 2020.

The urban inflation rate increased by 14.31 percent (year-on-year) in September 2020 from 13.83 percent recorded in August 2020, while the rural inflation rate increased by 13.14 percent in September 2020 from 12.65 percent in August 2020.

On a month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 1.56 percent in September 2020, up by 0.14 from 1.42 percent recorded in August 2020, while the rural index also rose by 1.40 percent in September 2020, up by 0.13 from the rate recorded in August 2020 (1.27 percent).

The corresponding twelve-month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index is 13.07 percent in September 2020. This is higher than 12.85 percent reported in August 2020, while the corresponding rural inflation rate in September 2020 is 11.86 percent compared to 11.66 percent recorded in August 2020.

Food Index

The composite food index rose by 16.66 percent in September 2020 compared to 16.00 percent in August 2020.

This rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of Bread and Cereals, Potatoes, yam and other tubers, Meat, Fish, Fruits and Oils and fats.

On a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increased by 1.88 percent in September 2020, up by 0.21 percent points from 1.67 percent recorded in August 2020.

The average annual rate of change of the Food sub-index for the twelve-month period ending September 2020 over the previous twelve-month average was 15.13 percent, 0.26  percent points from the average annual rate of change recorded in August 2020 (14.87 percent).

All Items Less Farm Produce

The "All items less farm produce" or Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce stood at 10.58 percent in September 2020, up by 0.06 percent when compared with 10.52 percent recorded in August 2020.

On a month-on-month basis, the core sub-index increased by 0.94 percent in September 2020. This was down by 0.11 percent when compared with 1.05 percent recorded in August 2020.

The highest increases were recorded in prices of Passenger transport by air, Medical services, Hospital services, Pharmaceutical products, Passenger transport by road, Motor cars,  Vehicle spare parts, maintenance and repair of personal transport equipment, Repair of furniture and Paramedical services.

The average 12-month annual rate of change of the index was 9.77 percent for the twelve-month period ending September 2020; this is 0.13 percent points higher than 9.64 percent recorded in August 2020.

State Profiles

In analysing price movements under this section, note that the CPI is weighted by consumption expenditure patterns which differ across states. Accordingly, the weight assigned to a particular food or non-food item may differ from state to state making interstate comparisons of consumption basket inadvisable and potentially misleading.  

All Items Inflation

In September 2020, all items inflation on year on year basis was highest in Bauchi (17.85%), Zamfara (17.42%) and Kogi (16.66%), while Lagos (11.19%), Abuja (10.59%) and Kwara (10.53%) recorded the slowest rise in headline Year on Year inflation.

On month on month basis, however, September 2020 all items inflation was highest in Bauchi (3.36%), Kogi (2.63%) and Zamara (2.75%), while Nasarawa (0.66%), Abuja (0.64%) and Ondo (0.31%) recorded the slowest rise in headline month on month inflation.

Food Inflation

In September 2020, food inflation on a year on year basis was highest in Zamfara (20.94%), Kogi (19.06%) and Plateau/Yobe (18.90%), while Nasarawa (13.94%), Lagos  (13.87%) and Ondo  (13.59%) recorded the slowest rise.

On month on month basis, however, September 2020 food inflation was highest in Zamfara (3.65%), Anambra (3.19%) and Kaduna (3.15%), while Nasarawa (0.51%) and Abuja (0.15%) recorded the slowest rise with Ondo recording price deflation or negative inflation (general decrease in the general price level of food or a negative food inflation rate).

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/15/nigerian-inflation-rate-rises-to-13-71-highest-in-32-months-nbs/

A Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service Engine Truck was damaged by some #ENDSARS protesters on Tuesday at Alausa, Ikeja area of the State.

Speaking to journalists at the scene of the incident, the Acting Head of the Agency, Mrs. Margaret Adeseye, expressed her dissatisfaction at the unprovoked attack on the truck used daily to assist and support Lagosians in emergency situations.

According to her, the fire engine truck was on its way from Salvation Street, Opebi, where it had been deployed to quell a fire incident in the morning, en route to another emergency call at 10, Thomas Adeboye Street, Olowoira in Ojodu, before it was attacked by some of the protesters.

In her words, “The distress call to Olowoira was received at about 12.08hrs and the Alausa fire truck was en-route the scene from Opebi, where it had just concluded an operation before it was attacked and damaged by some protesters”.

While maintaining that the Fire Engine Truck was still able to attend to the occurrence at Olowoira despite the attack and damage by the protesters, Adeseye advised Lagosians to stop destroying government property since the cost will eventually be borne by the taxpayers in the State.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/14/endsars-protesters-damage-lagos-fire-engine-truck/

Yahoo has announced that its 19-year-old service platform Yahoo Groups will shut down on December 15, 2020, after a steady decline in usage.

Verizon which took ownership of Yahoo in 2017 made this announcement known on Tuesday via the Yahoo Groups website and emails sent to Yahoo Group users.

”Yahoo Groups has made the decision to shut down as of December 15. Yahoo Groups has seen a steady decline in usage over the last several years. Over that same period, we’ve witnessed unprecedented levels of engagement across our properties as customers seek out premium, trustworthy content.”, the group stated in a message on its website.

”While these decisions are never easy, we must sometimes make difficult decisions regarding products that no longer fit our long-term strategy as we hone our focus on other areas of the business, the message read further.

Yahoo Groups was launched in early 2001 as an integration of technology from eGroups.com and Yahoo Clubs but rising competition from social media community platforms like Facebook and Google has led to the loss in its once-massive userbase.

The message further stated that the creation of new groups will be disabled as of October 12 while users will no longer be able to send and receive emails from Yahoo Groups. as well as the inaccessibility of the website from December 15th.

“Thank you for helping us build one of the earliest digital communities — we’re proud and honoured to have forged countless connections over the last 20 years and played a small part in helping build your communities,” the Yahoo Group concluded.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/14/yahoo-groups-to-shut-down-december-15/

Mide3367:
OK... But when will they start processing snakes? Just asking my friend lala

You are not nice

Apple's new iPhone 12 brings 5G, a Super Retina XDR display, multiple colors, plus a new design that includes Ceramic Shield to strengthen the glass.

Apple has unveiled the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 at its September "Hi, Speed" event. The iPhone 12, starting at $799, features flat sides instead of the previous curved design, but continues to be made from glass and aluminum.

The glass element is greatly improved, however, with Apple bringing its Super Retina XDR format to this entry-level iPhone. "The new all display also has a higher resolution, with twice as many pixels, as iPhone 11," said Kaiann Drance, vice president, iPhone Product Marketing. "It now has 460 pixels per inch. So text will be sharper for easier reading, and your photo with more detail."


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sadWopvcE2c

As well as improvements to what the display shows, Apple has strengthened the glass that its front screen is made from. "The coverglass on iPhone 12 is the toughest in the industry," continued Drance. "Our incredible materials engineering team has been working closely with our partners at Corning the leaders in glass technology on a new cutting edge material.

"We call it Ceramic Shield," she said. "[It] goes beyond glass by adding a new high temperature crystallisation step, which grows nano ceramic crystals within the glass matrix to dramatically improve toughness."

The iPhone 12 includes an Apple Silicon A14 Bionic processor which Apple says brings 50% performance improvement over the iPhone 11.

Cameras and video

The new phone continues to have a dual-camera system, but Apple has improved it. "[The iPhone 12] has the ultra-wide camera that people love, and use to take inspiring photos and creative ways," said Drance. "[It] also has a new wide camera... This allows more light to hit the sensor, making every photo better."

Apple says that improved computational photography means the iPhone 12 now has Night Mode. It means brighter pictures, and better contrast, plus more texture and less noise in Deep Fusion shots.

The iPhone 12 is now the first phone camera to shoot HDR video in Dolby Vision. The film industry-standard brings the ability to shoot cinema-grade videos directly on the iPhone 12.

It also features what Apple describes as an end-to-end Dolby Vision experience, meaning that films can be shot, then edited and shared on the iPhone. Editing and sharing can be done in the Photos app or iMovie, and playback is improved with new cinematic video stabilization.

Improved wireless charging

As expected, Apple has revived its MagSafe name, but is using it for a new and improved wireless charging system.

This new system is compatible with existing Qi wireless chargers, but when charging with new MagSafe compatible connectors, the iPhone can receive up to 15W.

MagSafe uses an array of magnets to make sure that the wireless charger precisely aligns with the iPhone's internal wireless charging system. Apple is launching a MagSafe Charger for the iPhone, or a MagSafe Duo Charger for iPhone and Apple Watch.

These MagSafe peripherals, plus cases, will be available or order from October 16.

While adding all of these features, Apple has removed both the power adapter and the wired headphones from the iPhone 12. Apple says that this reduction enables them to make substantially smaller boxes, to the extent that it can ship 70% more iPhones on a shipping pallet.

"Customers already have over 700 million lightning headphones," said Lisa Jackson, vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives, "and many customers have moved to a wireless experience with AirPods, Beats, or other wireless headphones."

"There are also over two billion Apple power adapters out in the world, and that's not counting the billions of third party adapters," she continued. "So we are removing these items from the iPhone box, which reduces carbon emissions and avoids the mining and use of precious materials."

"Altogether, the changes we've made for iPhone 12 cut over 2 million metric tonnes of carbon emissions annually," continued Jackson. "It's like removing 450,000 cars from the road, per year. This is huge. And we're really proud that Apple is taking the lead. We hope others will follow, making this impact even bigger for our planet."

Apple's new iPhone 12 will be available to pre-order at $799 in the US and most territories from October 16. Orders will begin to arrive for customers on October 23.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/14/apple-launches-iphone-12-with-5g-a14-bionic-processor-higher-resolution-display/

The year 2019 has witnessed a record value of football transfer deals, with clubs in Europe’s “Big five” leagues spending €5.5bn, €900m more than the 2018 summer transfer window.

However, with far less money available to football clubs and a steep drop in footballers’ value, the coronavirus outbreak triggered a sharp fall both in the volume of transactions and transfer fees.

According to data presented by Safe Betting Sites, the combined value of 1,381 transfer deals completed in the 2020 summer transfer window hit €3.3bn value, a 40% plunge year-over-year.

Clubs Completed €1.6bn Worth of Deals, 48% of Total Deal Value this Season

As the leading European football league in terms of revenue and brand value, the Premier League also tops the list of completed transfers deals in season 2020/2021.

During the 2020 summer transfer window, Premier League’s clubs spent a total of €1.6bn on acquiring players, almost 50% of total transfer deal value this season, revealed the TransferMarkt and The Guardian data.

Statistics show that Kai Havertz’s €80 million worth transfer from Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea represents the most valuable deal in Premier League and Europe in the 2020/2021 season.

With €882.3 million spent on 353 transfer deals, Italy’s Serie A ranked as the second-leading football league in Europe. On September 1st, a former Lille player Victor Osimhen signed a five-year contract for SSC Napoli with a transfer fee of €70 million, the most valuable deal in Serie A this season, and the third-largest in Europe. Statistics also show the market value of the 21-year old centre-forward player jumped by €10 million in 2020, growing from €30 million in December 2019 to €40 million in August.

Spanish La Liga ranked third among the European football leagues, with its clubs spending €807.1 million on 256 transfers. The TransferMarkt data revealed that Arthur Melo’s €72 million worth transfer from Barcelona to Juventus represents the most valuable deal in Spain this season and the second-most valuable in Europe.

Top Three Football Transfers hit €222 Million Value

The Guardian and TransferMarkt data revealed that football clubs competing in the French Ligue 1 spent a total of €736.9 million on 323 transfer deals at the start of the new season, ranking in the fourth place among the “Big five” European leagues. Bundesliga clubs follow, with €600.7 million worth of transfer deals, respectively.

In 2019, the combined value of the three most valuable football transfers amounted to €323 million. Joao Felix’s €126 million worth transfer from Benfica to Atletico Madrid represented the biggest deal last year. Antoine Griezmann’s transfer from Atletico Madrid to Barcelona and Eden Hazard’s transfer from Chelsea to Real Madrid followed, with €120m a €100m value, respectively.

Statistics indicate the combined value of the top three football transfers in the season 2020/2021 hit €222 million, 31% less compared to last year’s three most valuable deals.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/13/european-football-clubs-spent-e3-3bn-on-new-transfer-deals-40-less-than-in-2019/

Omoluabi Mortgage Bank Plc, a Mortgage carrier company in the Financial Services sector has changed its name to LivingTrust Mortgage Bank Plc.

The change of name was approved by the Bank’s shareholders at its Annual General Meeting held on July 2, 2020. The company made this known via a statement on the Nigerian Stock Exchange platform.

The Mortgage Bank said the name change followed the approval granted to it by the Central Bank of Nigeria and Corporate Affairs Commission.

In the same vein, the Bank also announced the launch of a new mobile app, named TrustMobile, and a new corporate website.

TrustMobile is the official mobile banking smartphone application from LivingTrust Mortgage Bank. It brings a whole new experience to the digital space and provides convenient access to both financial and non-financial transactions by LivingTrust account holders via their mobile phones/devices.
The App is sleek and comes with sophisticated features, highly secure, impeccable user experience, easy and convenient to use.

The Bank's financials:

Omoluabi Mortgage Bank Plc recorded a revenue decline of N231.3m for H1 2020, as against N247.1m recorded in H1 2019, representing a decline of 6.3%

Its interest and similar income for the first half of the year increased to N124.9m from N105m in H1 2019. This represents an increase of 18.95%.

Profit before tax stood at N41.4m, compared to the N62.6m recorded in the first half of 2019. This represents a decline of 33.7%.

Mortgage banks in the country have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the half-year financial results of the companies listed on the Nigerian Stock of Exchange have shown.

Omoluabi Mortgage Bank was incorporated in 1993 as Osun Building Society Limited and later changed to Livingspring Savings and Loans Limited with Head Office in Osogbo, Osun State.

It was established to provide Mortgage banking services, Mortgage Financing, Real Estate Construction Financing and General Financial Services. The name was later changed to Omoluabi Mortgage Bank Plc and in 2014, listed its shares on the Alternative Securities Market (ASeM) of The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); emerging the first company to do so.

In 2019, CFS (Cititrust Financial Services) Group Plc invested into the bank and became the majority shareholder, setting the stage for the bank to be more competitive with wider coverage in our service delivery.

The company is also accredited by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) for the National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme and a subscriber to the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company Plc. (NMRC).

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/12/omoluabi-mortgage-bank-changes-name-to-livingtrust-mortgage-bank/

The All Share Index (ASI) declined by 27 bps closing at 28,337.49 while market capitalization shed N40.68bn to close at 14.81 trillion amidst extended profit-taking and business disruptions brought by ‘ENDSARS’ Protest.

Sector performance was bearish with 4 out of the five sectors closing in the negative territory. Insurance and industrial indices waned by 1.78% and 0.54% respectively on due to selloffs MANSARD AND BUACEMENT.

Similarly, Consumer Goods and Banking indices declined by 0.91% and 0.06% on the back of negative sentiment in the shares of flourmill and GUARANTY. Oil and gas index however advanced by  1.36% as investors scramble for ETERNA and SEPLAT stocks.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/12/equities-market-opened-the-week-on-a-negative-note-amid-nationwide-protest/

Worried by the spate of energy theft and other associated infractions by some customers in the system, the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc., PHED, is embarking on naming and shaming of offenders.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, PHED, Dr. Henry Ajagbawa made this known in a public forum recently in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. Dr. Ajagbawa who decried the negative impact of energy theft on the business continuity of the company said that aside naming and shaming, the offenders would be made to face the wrath of the law.

The MD/CEO warned the offenders to desist from such an unholy and wicked act capable of threatening the sustainability of the company noting that no stone shall be left unturned until every offender is brought to book.

“We are determined to eradicate energy theft in the system and that’s why we are collaborating with the security agencies. Any customer caught bypassing or tampering with our meter will not only be named and shamed but shall in addition face the full weight of law and thereafter made to pay loss of revenue arising from the unwholesome act”, Dr. Ajagbawa said.

Dr. Ajagbawa had in a previous media parley stated that PHED was losing over N2.5billion on monthly basis due to energy theft. During the and improve on our services is when customers pay their bill and stop meter bypass.

We are coming after those who are involved in the meter bypass and we will get back what belongs to us. Those sabotaging the system must be brought to book.

”We need legislation to criminalize energy theft and vandalism of electricity facilities. If you criminalize it and make the consequences severe definitely, we will have it better. Nigerians should learn to pay for energy consumed”, Dr. Ajagbawa concluded.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/12/energy-theft-phed-sets-to-name-and-shame-offenders/

The Lagos State Government will soon establish a processing centre for the fisheries and aquaculture sector to offtake the produce from registered farm clusters and fish farm Estates in a bid to set profit margins for farmers.

The State Acting Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, who made this known at the Quarterly Forum for Fish and Crop Farmers organised by the Lagos State Agricultural Inputs Supply Authority (LAISA) at the Odogunyan Fish Farm Estate, Ikorodu, explained that this became necessary because the State had realised that a lot of the fish farmers had problems with marketing and sales.

Olusanya stated that Lagos strives to add value, especially for agricultural products which would translate to more foreign exchange earnings, food sufficiency, food security, increased Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and subsequently provide more profit and improved livelihood for farmers.

According to her, there are several small clusters of smallholder farmers in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, who lack clarity about profit margins and experience low productivity level, noting that the State Government will support the trade to alleviate poverty among the farmers.

Olusanya explained that the Processing Centre would be on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the capacity to process no fewer than 20,000 metric tons of fish for local sale as well as export.

“This arrangement is on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). The process is ongoing and we hope to be able to start it this year. The idea is for this one facility alone to be able to process at least nothing less than 20,000 metric tons of fish and after processing, this fish can be sent to other States in Nigeria or it can also be exported", she averred.

Disclosing that the developmental objectives for the Agricultural Sector extended beyond providing market access for farmers, Olusanya added that it also includes capacity building and empowerment which the State is currently carrying out under the Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) Project, the Lagos Agripreneurship Programme (LAP) and the Lagos State Farm Service Centre at Oko-Oba where executive programmes are organised for farmers and would-be farmers.

While noting that some of the best students who took part in the Lagos Agripreneurship Programme earlier this year have since been empowered with facilities built for them, the Commissioner explained that with the APPEALS project, over 6,000 people have been trained and under the Women and Youth Scheme while more than 1,300 people have undergone training in the various agricultural value chains towards ensuring that food sustainability and security is top of the line in Lagos.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/12/lagos-to-establish-fish-processing-centre/

- New research from Nokia has found that 5G-enabled industries have the potential to add $8 trillion to global GDP by 2030, as COVID-19 accelerates medium and long-term digital investment and value creation

- The 5G Business Readiness Report finds that 5G mature companies are growing faster and are the only group to have experienced a net increase in productivity (+10%) following COVID-19

- Despite the economic challenges of COVID-19, a global boom in 5G investment will see 71% of companies invest in 5G over the next 5 years

- Significant geographic variations exist among the more advanced 5G nations, with Saudi Arabia and the United States leading adoption

5G-enabled industries have the potential to deliver $8trn* in value to the global economy by 2030 according to new research from Nokia and Nokia Bell Labs. The 5G Business Readiness Report surveys** 5G adoption among businesses around the world, providing a cross-sector view of the path to full 5G deployment.

This landmark report from Nokia underlines the potential for 5G to drive sustainable economic growth and define the next decade of innovation. The COVID-19 pandemic is forecast to further increase the value creation potential of 5G in the medium and long-term by accelerating digitization, particularly among the least digitally advanced industries.

5G set to add $8trn to global GDP by 2030 - Nokia | www.brandspurng.com

The report also highlights a clear correlation between 5G deployment and business performance. Companies at an advanced level of 5G adoption were the only group to experience a net increase in productivity (+10%) following COVID-19, and the only group able to maintain or increase customer engagement during the pandemic.

5G mature companies are also growing considerably faster than their peers: 49% of companies in the expansion phase and 37% in the implementation phase – representing the two most advanced stages of 5G maturity – achieved rapid growth last year, compared with 20% in the planning, 11% in discovery and 5% in passive phases.

These findings show that the companies who are most 5G mature, and therefore likely also the most advanced in their overall digital transformation, are showing the highest impact in business performance.

Despite the economic challenges of COVID-19, a global boom in 5G investment will see 72% of large companies invest in 5G over the next 5 years. The report forecasts a rapid uptick in investment over the next three years as enterprises seek to expedite digitalization. A third of companies across all regions fear being outpaced by the competition should they not invest in 5G within the next 3 years.

Nokia’s 5G Business Readiness Model reveals that across 8 economies  – Australia, Germany, Finland, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the UK and the US – 50% of companies are at the midway level on 5G readiness, between initial planning, trials and deployment, compared to just 7% that are classed as 5G mature.

But significant geographic variations exist; while 13% of organizations in Saudi Arabia and 12% in the United States rated as 5G mature, fewer than one in 20 were classed as such in Germany (3%), Finland (2%) and the UK (4%).

While many organizations are at the Implementation stage, for most this still means trials, pilots or early-stage deployments such as 5G mobile phones or limited 5G connectivity for fleet services or rural locations. Few have yet to realize the true breadth, depth and potential of 5G.

On average, whilst the importance of 5G adoption is well understood, a significant investment gap remains. 86% of decision-makers said they have some kind of strategy for 5G, and over a third fear being outpaced by the competition should they not invest in 5G in the next 3 years. However, only 15% are currently investing in its implementation, and over a quarter (29%) of businesses are not planning any 5G investment in the next 5 years.

Gabriela Styf Sjöman, Chief Strategy Officer at Nokia, said:

“As organizations across the world move faster towards deployment of 5G enabled technologies, those who wish to be the first to leverage its potential cannot afford to lose more time."

"To capture the tremendous opportunities of 5G, organizations must start or intensify their planning now and accelerate business model innovation to remain competitive in a rapidly digitalizing global economy. Beyond the investment in the technology itself, this will require digitalizing operations, processes and ways of working to capture the full potential of 5G.”

“5G adoption is categorically shown to fuel business success. Organizations that have integrated 5G stand to benefit from advantages that go way beyond faster, more efficient and reliable network services. As 5G enables businesses to transform, it will also accelerate wider technological and economic trends, with unimaginable possibilities for global economies and societies."

"The cities, hospitals and factories of the future depend on 5G and the unparalleled ability it offers to move, process and store vast volumes of data. Moreover, the biggest challenges we face as a society – from climate change to the pandemic – can be better tackled through at-scale use of the data and technologies that 5G will unleash.” 

Barriers to adoption

The gap between enterprise awareness of 5G’s benefits and current levels of adoption suggests there are notable barriers to implementation. The research identified five principal barriers to 5G adoption for:

- Ecosystem availability: Limited availability of key infrastructure outside urban centres was cited by 28% of decision-makers.

- Education and understanding: 17% said a key barrier is that decision-makers within their business do not understand 5G, while 14% said they don’t know enough about it themselves.

- Awareness: Over a fifth of technology buyers (22%) said that 5G implementation is not a current priority for their business.

- Cost and complexity: 15% said they were not confident their company would be able to implement the necessary technologies.
Security: Over a third (34%) said that they are concerned about the security of 5G.

A call to action

The report identifies three key catalysts for change in order to bring about improved understanding, confidence and ultimately adoption of 5G. These are improved regulation, collaboration and willingness to innovate.

A third of technology buyers said that government investment in infrastructure or subsidies to drive down costs would encourage them to invest more in 5G. Enterprises will not adopt 5G unless the supply from network operators is presented and priced appropriately, which in turn relies on governments and regulators making 5G spectrum in low, mid and high bands available and affordable.

The lack of understanding that exists within some businesses around 5G must be directly addressed. Companies and consumers alike need more information about the technology and how it can both improve operations and solve real-world problems, ranging from enterprise use cases to telehealth to green technology.

As companies better understand 5G, they must boldly move to overhaul their operations to accommodate it, for example, exploring how they could use 5G to streamline and more effectively monitor their mobile workforce, fleet or supply chain.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/12/5g-set-to-add-8trn-to-global-gdp-by-2030-nokia/

Multi-platinum Afro-soul star Darey marks his first EP release in five years with Way Home, out 9th October.

The follow-up to 2015 project Naked, Way Home is a triumphant return for one of Nigeria’s most revered artists. The upbeat, seven-track release includes recent singles ‘Jah Guide Me’, which went to #1 in the Nigerian charts and entered the Top 20 of the UK iTunes Charts, and ‘Jojo’, the infectious summer party jam featuring reggae-dancehall artist Patoranking which has so far garnered over 1.3 million streams across DSPs.

Forthcoming single ‘Show Me Love’, featuring fellow Nigerian star Teni, is another highlight before things are closed out by the inspirational vibes of title track ‘Way Home’.

“The Way Home EP, being my first music release in a few years, is quite significant to me” Darey explains. “Considering that I have been focusing on other creative business pursuits, this body of work sonically captures a return to my roots…Music! The soundscape throughout the 7 songs is a blend I call Afro & B. It captures a diverse array of musical experiences, from my early days singing in my church choir to the rhythmic vibes of my Nigerian heritage, and fuses Afrobeat and Afropop, with elements of R n’ B, Soul and Reggae.”

On the EP’s message, Darey affirms: “As we navigate these challenging and uncertain times, the underlying theme transmitted through the sound and content supporting the project, is for us as the human family, and particularly for people of African descent anywhere in the world to remember our roots, and find our way home.”

The son of legendary African jazz musician and entertainer Art Alade, Darey Art Alade aka Darey is a multiple award-winning artist and seasoned live performer who has shared stages with the likes of Beyoncé, Wizkid, Jay Z, Ciara, Cardi B, Burna Boy, Sean Paul, Usher, R Kelly, Akon, Lionel Richie and many more. His rich, diverse back catalogue has racked up millions of record sales and streams, helping him amass a loyal following across Africa and beyond.

Also a creative entrepreneur, Darey is the co-founder of Livespot360, a creative collective responsible for last year’s Livespot X Festival which saw Darey bring Cardi B to Africa for the first time as she headlined across its Lagos and Accra events.

Recorded and released while the world is in lockdown, Way Home is a much-needed dose of uplifting musical escapism.

Tracklist:

- Wild West
- Show Me Love Feat. Teni
- Jojo Feat. Patoranking
- Jah Guide Me
- Mo Oh
- Gone
- Way Home

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/10/darey-drops-new-7-track-ep-way-home/

More

- Waits FG Approval for Full Reconstruction, Permanent Solution
- Asphalt work begins on Olomore road in Abeokuta

The Ogun State Government has mobilised resources to carry out palliative works on the Ota/Sango/Oju Ore axis of the busy Ota-Idiroko expressway bordering the Benin Republic. The Federal road leading to the State has been in a state of disrepair giving the residents and travellers a hectic time.

The State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun disclosed this at the State House, Abuja, when he visited President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Governor said he would love to place as part of his achievements a permanent solution to the road in his compendium of achievements.

Gov Abiodun noted that his administration had approached the Federal Government to cede the road to the Ogun and Lagos Governments for full reconstruction.

The Governor acknowledged the hardship faced by the people as a result of the poor condition of the road, which serves as an entry point for individuals and businesses to the State.

He assured the people of the State of his administration's commitment to immediately bringing a permanent solution to the road once the Federal Government approved it.

Meanwhile, as a stop-gap measure, the Ogun State Government, at the time of filing this report, had mobilized vehicles to the site.

"We have sighted trucks offloading and spreading materials meant to put the road in a usable condition", Mr. Afeez Balogun, a resident said.

Also, in line with its promise to permanently address the perennial hardship faced by motorists and other road users on the Olomore-Brewery Road in Abeokuta, the State Capital, Government Monday, commenced drainage works at Olomore.

Engr Ade Akinsanya, the State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, said after the drainage had been fixed, asphalt would be laid on the failed portions of the road.

Akinsanya said drainage was being constructed to channel water off the road, thereby addressing the issue of flooding, which he said, had repeatedly damaged portions close to the Olomore and Brewery roundabouts.

"When the drainage works are completed, earthwork will commence immediately and will be followed by the laying of asphalt", Engr. Akinsanya assured.

He reiterated the State government commitment to the development of road infrastructure across the three Senatorial Districts of the State, towards bringing the dividends of good governance to the people.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/09/ogun-state-begins-palliative-works-at-ota-idiroko-road-photos/

The London screening will create an opportunity for the Nigerian community in the United Kingdom to join in the country’s 60th-anniversary celebration

October 9, 2020 - As part of activities to celebrate Nigeria’s 60th Independence Day anniversary, a film, Eyimofe (This is my desire) is set to premiere in the United Kingdom, at the BFI London Film Festival on October 11. The film, which had its world premiere at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival in February, is also billed to celebrate its U.S premiere at the AFI Fest on October 20.

Ahead of the London screening, which will create an opportunity for the Nigerian community in the United Kingdom to join in the country’s 60th-anniversary celebration, Eyimofe has debuted its official trailer for the festival, which is already generating interest from the global film community.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw9NlHbi6rI

A GDN Studios production, the 114 minutes film directed by twin brothers Arie and Chuko Esiri, features Jude Akuwudike, Temi Ami-Williams, Cynthia Ebijie, Sadiq Daba, Tomiwa Edun, Jacobs Alexander, Tomiwa Edun, Chioma ‘Chigul’ Omeruah and others.

Funded entirely in Nigeria and shot in 16mm and filmed across 48 locations in Lagos, the two chapter drama follows the stories of Mofe (Jude Akuwudike), a factory technician, and Rosa (Temi Ami-Williams), a hairdresser, on their quest for what they believe will be a better life on foreign shores.

A passport, photos and a visa form recurring elements. The characters’ misfortunes are part of their everyday life and they are sketching out the need to leave Nigeria at the same time. At the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, status, money, gender, skin colour and family structures are inextricably connected. The longing for another life is but one thread in this complex mesh, a promise that floats above things at once near and far away.

It would be recalled that Eyimofe is the 2020 official selection for Vancouver International Film Festival, an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/09/nigerian-film-eyimofe-set-for-london-premiere-debuts-trailer/

The Lagos State Government has again appealed to the commuting public to embrace waterways transportation as a reliable alternative means of decongesting the roads, assuring that government will continue to prioritise safety on the waterways.

The Managing Director, Lagos Ferry Services (LAGFERRY), Mr. Abdoulbaq Ladi-Balogun made the appeal during the Greater Lagos Independence Boat Cruise organised by the Agency to celebrate Nigeria’s 60th independence anniversary and showcase the State’s tourism potential on the waterways.

He said, “We are seeing the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu making huge investments and achieving a lot of transformation on the waterways. We want investors and tourists to avail themselves of the progress we have made so far in the sector and the business model we are building”.

Ladi-Balogun stated that the boat cruise, held on LAGFERRY’s 180 tonnages MV ADIMU ORISA, was organised to promote tourism while enabling tourists and social revellers savour the ambience of the Lagos coastline.

“There is no State in Nigeria that can be like Lagos because we have the water, we have the culture and we have the people. We want to showcase the hospitality, tourism and other business potentials the waterways can bring to our economy in Nigeria. We are also doing this to promote our tourism as well as demonstrate that social events can also be held on water”, he noted.

While reiterating government’s commitment to prioritising safety on the waterways and giving assurance that every aspect of LAGFERRY operations is safety inclined, Ladi-Balogun revealed that the Agency has not recorded any accident or mishap since its launch of commercial operations on February 4, 2020, by Mr. Governor.

The Greater Lagos Independence Cruise, held in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Lagos State Waterways Authority and the Lagos State Safety Commission took off from the Five Cowries Terminal at Falomo-Ikoyi and had on board notable dignitaries, government functionaries and winners of LAGFERRY Independence WATERMANIA raffle draw with all participants adhering strictly to the COVID-19 safety protocols.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/10/07/lasg-urges-commuters-to-embrace-waterways-transportation/

The Samsung Mobile Nigeria in partnership with MTN Nigeria donated 500 Galaxy A2 Core devices with and 2GB data for 6 months to  Federal Ministry of Health to curb COVID19 infection rate in Nigeria. July 21st, 2020.

The devices will be used by case managers for data capturing and case reporting in the isolation centres across 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory (F.C.T).⁣

The Managing Director, Samsung Nigeria, Mr Caden Yu said,

"This is an essential part of Samsung’s strategy to support Nigeria on its mission to curb the infection rate and flatten the COVID-19 growth curve.⁣ Our thoughts are with every Nigerian and this donation is a way of using our resources to fight this pandemic."

The items were presented to the government through the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire by Adetunji Taiwo, the head of Mobile Samsung West Africa when he led a delegation on a visit to the minister in his office yesterday.

Ehanire, according to a statement by Olujimi Oyetomi, Director, Information, Media & Public Relations of the Federal Ministry of Health, used the opportunity to express appreciation for the contributions made by individuals and organizations in form of donations of Medicines, Personal Protective Equipment’s (PPEs), which include masks, test kits among others to the Federal Ministry of Health for the containment of COVID-19. 

Ehanire said daily, “he sat with his team to receive situation reports from states, local governments, treatment centres to see how to review treatments of COVID-19 patients, explaining that part of the challenges they face in doing so, “is the challenge of communication, data reporting, etc,” according to the statement.  

He, therefore, revealed that the donation by Samsung and MTN of the sets, SIM Cards and data “comes in useful.”  

He expressed appreciation and desired this appreciation to be sent to the headship of Samsung and MTN wherever they are that “Nigeria is very grateful” pledging that “we shall make the best use” of the items and integrating them into whatever that we have to improve service delivery.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/07/22/samsung-mtn-donates-500-units-of-galaxy-a2-core-devices-to-fg-photos/

Scheduled to open within the next six months following a re-branding, the hotel introduces Radisson Hotel Group’s premium lifestyle brand to Africa

Radisson Hotel Group is proud to announce the addition of six new hotels to its African portfolio, bringing the total to almost 100 hotels across 32 African markets.

Building on the recent announcement of its reinforced African development team structure, the announcement of the six new hotels further demonstrates the Group’s commitment to the continent.

Elie Younes, Executive Vice President & Chief Development Officer, Radisson Hotel Group, said:

“We believe in the vast potential of Africa. The addition of the six hotels, following the announcement of Radisson Hotel Saint Denis earlier this year places us firmly on track to reach over 150 hotels in operation and under development across the continent within the next five years.

The new hotel announcements include our debut in new markets, the introduction of additional brands and the strengthening of our presence in cities we’ve identified for scaled growth. We thank our hotel partners for their invaluable trust in Radisson Hotel Group and its people”

Further commenting on this achievement, Ramsay Rankoussi, Vice President, Development, Africa & Turkey, Radisson Hotel Group, stated,

“Our growth has been well balanced between greenfield projects and strategic take-overs of existing hotels. We aim to further accelerate our presence across the continent through conversions, especially as liquidity remains a critical challenge.

We have revisited our brand architecture to enable us to quickly integrate existing hotels to our network. This strategy will be reinforced as our brands continue to demonstrate a better value proposition to our owners.

Following our revised strategy, we believe we are now geared in providing solutions to the investment community for every type of asset, every segment and at every stage – from funding to construction and repositioning.”

The six new hotel deals include:

Radisson Collection Hotel Bamako, Mali

Scheduled to open within the next six months following a re-branding, the hotel introduces Radisson Hotel Group’s premium lifestyle brand to Africa, as the first Radisson Collection hotel to open in the continent.

The operational hotel is currently rated number one on TripAdvisor for its prime location in the heart of Bamako and proximity to the city’s diplomatic district and great accessibility.

The 200-room affordable luxury hotel will offer exceptional dining experiences across its five food and beverage outlets, from an all-day dining restaurant and a speciality restaurant to a café, a bar and an executive lounge.

The hotel also offers an expansive 1,200sqm meeting & events area consisting of a ballroom and seven conference rooms. For the ultimate contemporary living, guests can stay fit in the hotel’s fully equipped gym or unwind in a serene setting within the spa or alongside the pool.

With the introduction of Radisson Collection in the city, the existing Radisson Blu Hotel, Bamako is expected to commence a full renovation program towards year-end.

Radisson Blu Hotel Abuja City Centre, Nigeria

The Radisson Blu Hotel Abuja City Centre, scheduled to open in 2024, is the Group’s first hotel in the city, complementing the existing nine hotels in operation and under development in Nigeria.

Located in the heart of the central business district of Nigeria’s Federal Capital, the 258-room hotel will boast five different food and beverage outlets from a speciality restaurant and all-day-dining restaurant to a Lobby Bar & Café, a picturesque pool terrace and a premium business class lounge.

The leisure facilities will include a 555sqm wellness spa, a gym and a swimming pool to maintain guest’s wellness.

Radisson Hotel & Convention Centre Johannesburg, O.R. Tambo

Scheduled to open before year-end, the hotel will introduce the Group’s upscale Radisson brand to Johannesburg.

Located on a private estate in Bredell, Kempton Park, the hotel has easy access to major highways joining Johannesburg and Pretoria and is approximately 10 minutes’ drive away from O.R Tambo International Airport, Africa’s biggest and busiest airport, facilitating over 21 million passengers in 2018.

The newly built hotel will offer an array of dining options, including four restaurants, three bars an entertainment deck and an executive lounge.

The hotels 289 modern and timelessly designed rooms comprise of 248 which are newly built and 41 which have been converted from an existing hotel. In addition, it has a large MICE facility, which includes a significant conference centre with a 1,260-seater auditorium and five conference rooms.

The leisure facilities will include a gym, spa & wellness centre as well as three outdoor pools.

Radisson Hotel Addis Ababa

Radisson Hotel Group’s fifth hotel in Ethiopia, scheduled to open in 2021, is located just 4km from Ethiopia’s newly expanded Addis Ababa Bole International Airport terminal, now the biggest airport aviation hub in Africa, expected to accommodate 22 million passengers a year.

The 114-room hotel will boast a wide variety of food and drink outlets, the hotel will offer guests a truly local experience in a traditional Ethiopian speciality restaurant and bar and appease international taste buds in a bespoke all-day-dining restaurant which leads out into a pool bar. In addition, the hotel will also have a third bespoke panoramic bar.

Radisson Hotel & Apartments Accra, Ghana

The hotel, scheduled to open in 2023, is a full renovation of an existing 121 room hotel and construction of an additional tower which will offer 54 hotel apartments, creating a mixed-use development.

The hotel is located on Tema Highway, Ghana’s largest port located to the East of Accra. Within a 3km radius of the hotel is the Kotoka International Airport, Accra Mall and the Airport City complex, a mixed-use development with several Grade AAA office towers and retail outlets.

From an all-day dining restaurant, lobby bar and rooftop restaurant, bar and pool terrace, every culinary preference will be catered for. The versatile meeting and events facilities are made up of 12 different venues with an area of 1,173sqm. The hotel will also include a gym, spa and swimming pool.

Park Inn by Radisson, Durban Intl. Airport, Dube, South Africa

The new-build hotel introduces the upper midscale Park Inn by Radisson brand to Durban and strengthens Radisson Hotel Group’s current portfolio of 15 hotels (3,007 rooms) in operation and under development in the country.

It will also complement the national business circuit with a Park Inn by Radisson in each of the three major cities of South Africa (Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg).

Claiming its foremost milestone, it is the first hotel within Dube Trade Port Special Economic Zone, which forms the heart of the first purpose-planned aerotropolis in Africa, around King Shaka International Airport.

The 168-room hotel scheduled to open in 2022, will have a lobby bar, rooftop all-day dining restaurant and rooftop pool terrace with eight different meeting & event venues.

Radisson Hotel Group is one of the world's largest hotel groups with seven distinctive hotel brands, and more than 1,400 hotels in operation and under development in 120 countries. Its signature service philosophy is Every Moment Matters.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/07/21/radisson-hotel-group-announces-6-new-hotels-in-africa/

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For the second time since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the State, the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, LASEPA, has sealed Farms City, Quilox Pool and Bar, as well as two other facilities in the Ajah area of the State for contravening different sections of the State Environmental Law and the directives of the State Government.

Speaking on the enforcement exercise, the General Manager, Dr. Dolapo Fasawe disclosed that the action by the Agency was in line with the Environmental Management and Protection Law of 2017, which mandated the Agency to address environmental violations that could pose a threat to the wellbeing of Lagosians and affect the environmental sustainability drive of the State government.

She explained that during the exercise, which was carried out in the late hours of Saturday and early hours of Sunday along the Lekki-Ajah axis of the State, two other entertainment and restaurant outlets, namely Page One in Ajah and Bien Mange in Abraham Adesanya Estate were also sealed.

According to her, “Page One was sealed for operating a Beer Parlour and encouraging large gathering, while Bien Mange located at 9B, Dan Suleiman Crescent, Abraham Adesanya Estate was shut for illegally converting a residential building into commercial premises and operating in an unfriendly environment thereby constituting environmental nuisance to other residents of the area”.

On Farms City and Quilox, she said: "The agency acted on a tip from a concerned resident who alleged that the activities at the two facilities have resulted in traffic congestion, flagrant disobedience of the environmental laws as well as non-compliance with the COVID -19 safety protocols”.

The General Manager averred that the operation was aimed at identifying environmental violations across the various facilities visited, but could not afford to ignore the level of non-compliance to COVID-19 protocols in all the sealed facilities.

"Apart from the environmental contravention observed in some of the facilities visited, we saw clearly that there were other violations that needed to be handled by other relevant MDAs such as the Lagos State Safety Commission (LSSC), the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), and the Lagos State Task Force in ensuring that the position of the government in flattening the COVID-19 curve is sustained", she asserted.

Citing the instance of the Bien Mange Restaurant and Bar located in a residential area in Abraham Adesanya Estate, she observed that such development would be a sort of nuisance to other residents within the Estate through noise pollution and discharge of waste materials into drainages.

She, however, informed all residents of the State that the relaxation of the lockdown does not authorise anyone to engage in activities that would accelerate the spread of COVID-19, stressing that the Agency is committed to enforcing the highest levels of compliance with physical distancing laws and all directives of the State Governor.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/07/20/lasepa-seals-farms-city-ajah-quilox-pool-two-others-for-environmental-law-infractions/

The Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) reported a 66% decline in value of foreign investment announced from H1 2019 to $5.06 billion in H1 2020. This decline was mostly due to a decrease in offshore investments which made up 77% of the H1 2019 investments.

90% of the announcements were for investments in the Transportation, Information and Communication and Mining & Quarrying sectors with Kaduna state being the recipient of over 50% of the investments.

The Commission continues to send out its NIPC Intelligence Newsletter 6 days a week and tracked a total of 34 projects across 16 states, FCT and the Niger Delta Region from January to June 2020.

The top destinations during the period were: Kaduna State (US$2.61 billion), Lagos State (US$221 million), Nasarawa State (US$56 million), Ekiti State (US$50 million) and Cross River (US$15 million).

Similarly, the top 5 sectors were transportation and storage (40%), information and communication (32%), mining and quarrying (22%) finance and insurance (68%), agriculture (20%), agriculture (6%) and finance and insurance (3%).

The United States of America was the most active source of investments during the period with 43% of the announcements. The other major sources were South Africa (31%), domestic investors (16%), and the United Kingdom (8%).

NIPC’s Intelligence Newsletter culls Nigerian investment-related news from various sources. The Report is based only on investment announcements cited in NIPC’s Newsletters from January to June 2020 and it may not contain exhaustive information on all investment announcements in Nigeria during the period.

Nevertheless, the Report gives a sense of investors’ interest in the Nigerian economy. NIPC did not independently verify the authenticity of the investment announcements but is working on tracking the announcements to facilitate their progress to actual investments.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2020/07/20/nipc-records-66-decline-in-investment-announcements-h1-2020/