₦airaland Forum

Access Bank Plc through its business club initiative is building the managerial capacity of entrepreneurs to the level they can easily succeed in their respective businesses using information technology.

The programme which held recently at the Las Vencedoras Gardens in Port Harcourt witnessed a lot of SMEs from all walks of life and covered topical areas in capacity building.

Head, Retail Banking, Access bank Plc, Victor Etuokwu, reiterated the commitment of the bank to impact small and medium enterprises positively. “It is something we have to do and take as our primary role in the economy, we are providing a lot of benefits targeted at developing the macroeconomic landscape of the country. The Access Bank business club is designed for SMEs to meet and network with each other in a relaxed atmosphere outside the banking hall which has significantly helped business owners grow their network whilst increasing the bank’s customer base,” Victor said.

In his keynote address, Information Technology investor, Hyacinth Iheanachor, advised Nigerians entrepreneurs to keep up with changing trends in technological innovation to grow their businesses and to avoid being displaced by “disruptive technology”.
Iheanachor who explained disruptive technology as improved innovation which displaces old ways of doing business said the trend has put many entrepreneurs caught unguarded out of business and misery. He said, “The commonest experience we can share in Nigeria was the introduction of GSM or mobile phones which almost immediately collapsed the dependence on landlines and analogue phones.

“We must realise that disruptive technology is not about negativity. It has improved efficiency in banking, education, media, virtually all facets of our lives. All businesses need to maximise its benefits. In a world ruled by technology, you either shape up or fall out in your business,” Iheanachor concluded.

Access Bank goes further to assist its customers adopt technology by providing discounted website development services which gives SME customers a wider reach and broader access to market. The Access business club is a non-financial value added service of the emerging business proposition from Access bank.

The non-financial service is designed to enable MSME customers expand their referral base through interacting with other MSMEs. Please click HERE to know more about the exciting products and services from Access bank targeted at MSMEs and register to take your business to the next level.

There is growing disquiet in the Lagos Judiciary as outgoing CJ of Lagos Honourable Justice Opeyemi Oke seeks to maintain control over the judiciary from retirement.

Usually reliable sources have stated that the newly established Lagos judicial institute is to serve as her control base.

Oke has reportedly appointed a crony to oversee the institute but intends to operate as a consultant on a very juicy contract.

The judicial institute was recently launched with fanfare at the Judiciary recreation club in Ikeja GRA which has been hastily converted into a temporary site by the CJ.

Some senior members of the Ikeja Bar who have been in a war of attrition with Oke over recent steps she had taken on Court rules claimed that they were aware of the developments and would take appropriate action in due course to expose any underhand deals.

Oke was appointed Chief Judge in 2017 and is due to retire on 10th June 2019 when she would have attained the statutory age of 65.

She had reportedly nursed intentions to elongate her term but that ambition was frustrated by the sudden removal of former CJN Onoghen who was one of her ardent supporters.

The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi in Thursday has granted bail to Nigerian musician, Naira Marley.

Justice Nicholas Onweibo imposed a N2 million bail on the artiste with two sureties in like sum.

At the resumed bail application, the singer’s lead defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, apologised for his absence at the initial arraignment on May 20.

Ojo urged the court to accept the bail application prima facie based on the presumption of his innocence in accordance with Section 162 (1).

The defence also pleaded that a liberal approach is taken in hearing the bail application.

The prosecution counsel, led by Rotimi Oyedepo, however, argued that it is not the temporary release of the singer that mattered but the final judgment.

He, therefore, urged the court to grant accelerated hearing rather than bail.

Oyedepo added that since the lawyer of the defendant said the defendant is a celebrity, then his actions and in-actions have a multiplier effect on youths in the entire federation.

Justice Nicholas Oweibo, in a ruling after listening to the defence and prosecution arguments, granted the singer bail to the sum of two million naira and two sureties.

He then adjourned trial to 22, 23 and 24 of October for hearing.

Outgoing Governor of Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Tuesday handed over to the incoming governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the Lagos House in Alausa, Lagos.

Sanwo-Olu made this known via his Twitter account.

He wrote: “Thank you H.E @AkinwunmiAmbode for your kind words today as you officially handed over your stewardship of our great state, Lagos. Life is a succession of moments and today we are at the right place and moment to build #ForAGreaterLagos. #SanwoOluInauguration”

Meanwhile, Governor Ambode has said all the decisions, plans, programmes and policies of his administration in the last four years were taken with the best interest of Lagos in mind and for common good of all residents of the State.

Ambode, in a farewell State broadcast to officially mark the end of his administration, said the driving force with respect to programmes executed was to lift more people out of poverty and make every part of the State economically viable and livable.

“For this administration, policies, programmes and projects aimed at lifting more of our people out of poverty and making every part of the State safe, accessible and economically viable were always the priority; the driving force behind all our decisions and plans.

“A few of our policies might have been unpopular but these were decisions taken with the best interest of our State in mind. With the benefit of hindsight, maybe we could have done some things differently but our intention was always clear, for the good of Lagos,” Ambode said.

He particularly commended the people for the constructive feedback to some of the policies of his administration which, according to him, helped to surmount challenges, saying it had been a remarkable journey to serve the State.

“With a heart full of gratitude, I address you today for the last time as your governor. It has been an honour and a privilege of a lifetime to serve you for the last four years.

“It has been a remarkable journey which has had a lasting impact in my life and I want to thank all Lagosians for the experience of these last four years.

“As in the beginning when we visited every single corner of this state listening to you and asking for your votes, I have felt the power of your support, your collective energy and the endless goodwill that has propelled us to achieve many things,” he said.

Describing Lagos as a place where dreams come true and a home for everyone, Governor Ambode said it was the duty of all residents to continue to ensure that the State remained the true centre of opportunities and growth for all.

“From being just a commercial centre, our State has now become a prime destination for tourism, sports, entertainment and culture. And the future is even brighter with more exciting prospects and possibilities. In the near future, with God on our side, Lagos will take its rightful place in the comity of major city-States of the world.

“Fellow Lagosians, it has been a remarkable journey. One in which we have pushed boundaries and moved our State to another level. A journey in which we have transformed many aspects of our State and set the ball rolling in other sectors. But there is still a lot more to be done.

“But it is a job not for only the government; it is a responsibility for us all. In Lagos everyone counts and we all have a part to play,” he said.

While appreciating the people for the support given to successive administrations in the State, Governor Ambode also urged all stakeholders to support the incoming administration of Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, saying such would be in the best interest of all.

“By tomorrow, there will be a change of guard in our State. I will be stepping down and a new Governor will be sworn in. We will have a new Governor and a new administration with the same objective; achieving a better Lagos.

“Those who have had the privilege of serving our dear State in different capacities especially as Governors owe their successes to your prayers, understanding and support. The same courtesy and cooperation that you gave to my predecessors from the first elected Governor of the State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande to our national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) to my humble self, I urge you to extend same to the next administration of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and ensure that he succeeds. It is in our best interest to do so,” he said.

Besides, Ambode thanked President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the executive, the legislature, the judiciary; leadership, elders and members of All Progressives Congress (APC); Local Government Councils and community leaders, all our security agencies, civil society groups and religious leaders, among others for their immense support throughout the tenure of his administration.

“To my wife, Bolanle and the children, who have had to endure many days and nights without me; I thank you for your love and steadfastness. You will continue to be my pillar of strength.

“To all Lagosians; for your love, compassion, cooperation and support, I am eternally grateful. My love always,” Ambode concluded.

Keystone Bank Limited has again reaffirmed its commitment to providing support for the real sector as it recently partnered Facebook via its partners, Rabbington Media, to organize a capacity building training on digital marketing for its Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) customers in Lagos State.

According to the lender, the training on “Social Media Marketing” held on Tuesday, 7th May and Friday, 10th May 2019, is part of the Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives under the scheme “Boost-Your-Business”.

At the event, participants (comprising of both existing and prospective customers of Keystone Bank) were trained on the advantages of internet marketing through the social media to grow their businesses and achieve their dreams.

Speaking at the event, the Ag. Managing Director, Mr Abubakar Danlami Sule represented by the Head, MSME/Value Chain Management of Keystone Bank Limited, Helen Nwelle, said the bank is providing businesses and organizations the opportunity to expand their customer reach by projecting their message on global platforms like Facebook thereby promoting exposure.

“We are committed to ensuring that our self-employed customers thrive at their various businesses hence we constantly seek ways and means to connect them to the market and ensure they succeed in reaching their customers. Giving them a social media presence will aid their appeal to the emerging middle-class customers in Nigeria who will most likely form a larger percentage of their customer base in the near future and are majorly upwardly mobile youths who connect daily on these platforms at a reassuring rate.

“The capacity building trainings are available to all Keystone Bank customers who seek a competitive edge to transform their businesses and will be coming to other parts of the country with trainings slated to take place in Edo, Port Harcourt and Enugu within this quarter and in the northern parts of the country from the third quarter,” Nwele explained.

She further stressed that the bank recently re-launched her MSME drive to ensure businesses are well equipped with required knowledge and skills for their growth and survival in the heavily underfunded sector.

Keystone Bank is a technology and service-driven commercial bank offering convenient and reliable solutions to its customers.

*Outgoing govs move families out of Govt Houses

*S’East gov removes giant generators to unknown destination

Ahead of the Wednesday, May 29, hand-over ceremony and inauguration of new administrations in Imo, Lagos, Oyo, Kwara and Ogun states, the hustle and bustle which characterised the Government Houses in the aforementioned state capitals have thinned out, as politicians, family members, visitors and hangers on no longer throng them.

Some of the outgoing governors have moved their personal effects, wives and children out of their official residences.

The outgoing ‘tenant’ in Owerri Government House, Rochas Okorocha had since moved out. This is also as traffic of persons, particularly politicians and apologists, to and from the Douglas House has significantly dropped.

Presently, the governor comes to work at the Government House, holds state functions and leaves at the end of the day to his Spibat Home.

It is not very certain the exact day the governor moved out but it could be recalled that Okorocha’s planned moving out of Government House possibly occurred in December 2018, when he hinted that he may soon relocate to his Spibat Home around Amakohia, Owerri North, from where he said he would prosecute the 2019 elections, which ultimately did not favour him.

However, there are clear tell-tale signs of his exit as the Government House now has a deserted look these days; which was rare when Okorocha held sway.

Also, most of the big generators powering key areas in the Government House have also been moved out to an unknown destination.

Council chairmen are no longer regular visitors to Government House as was previously the case. The few that visit these days come in their private cars and not official vehicles, for reasons best known to them.

Most members of the State House of Assembly, who used to visit the Government House about three times a week, have not been sighted in over one month now.

Another sign that Okorocha has entered his lame duck phase of his tenure is the fact that they (Assembly members) have suddenly started interrogating the position of the governor on issues which they dared not in the past.

Much as these are obviously not the best of times for Governor Rochas Okorocha, it is not yet known how many member of his family have fled the state or country.

His wife, brothers and sisters are all in town as at the time of filing this report. All his daughters are in town managing their businesses except for the boys who are currently overseas.

Activities drop at Lagos House

Activities at the Ikeja State House, Alausa, which serves as the official residence and office to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode are on the low ebb with decreasing number or no courtesy visits taking place anymore.

On assumption of office as the 14th governor of the state, Ambode announced that he would not live at the Marina State House, official residence of the governor and where his predecessor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola lived.

Instead, the governor said he would operate and live at the Ikeja State House, Alausa to enable him to attend to files and other state matters as quickly as possible since he would not need to shuttle between the island, where the Lagos House is located, and Ikeja, the seat of government.

Consequently, the State House became a beehive of activities with array of guests, comprising of local and international VIPs, commissioners, special advisers, and heads of agencies, captains of industries, associations, religious leaders and other public figures from all walks of life coming on a visit to the governor.

It was a common site to see some guests with files waiting to see “His Excellency or H.E” as the governor is called at the Lagos House. Some came on official matters; others were on private visits.

Today, things have changed; guests no longer come in torrents, commissioners hardly ‘show face’ at the Lagos House even at State functions, as they used to do. Most head of MDAs no longer hover around the governor’s office. Only the few, said to be members of ‘Ambode’s kitchen cabinet’, are left with the governor.

We learnt that members of the First Family have started moving out of the Lagos House, Ikeja while some packed out months ago, especially immediately after the primary election, when Ambode’s second term bid hit the rocks.

Furthermore, we learnt that Ambode may address Lagosians through a state-wide television broadcast Monday, May 27 on the state of the state.

Also, the governor may officially handover to the governor-elect, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the Ikeja State House Alausa on Tuesday, ahead of the Swearing-in ceremony expected to take place at the Tafawa Balewa Square Lagos, the following day.

Speaking on the governor’s planned program for the handover, a source, who craved anonymity, said that the governor had no time to waste at all, saying arrangements were in top gear for him to quit office as fast as possible.

“After Friday’s commissioning in Epe, he may only show face in Alausa for the state-wide broadcast because he is also preparing to officially handover to Sanwo-Olu on Tuesday ahead of May 29, 2019,” the source said.

Asked why the governor would not wait till May 29, for the handover, the source said: “That is the tradition the official handover will take place before the ceremonial one which is also known as swearing-in-ceremony. That was what his predecessor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola also did.”

Meanwhile, another source at the State House, who also craved anonymity, said that the wife of the governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode moved out of the State House over a month ago.

For the outgoing First Lady, it was suggested that it was better for her to get used to life after the State House before May 29, 2019.

Kwara Government House deserted

At the Kwara Government House, Ilorin, the situation is no different; activities are now at its lowest ebb.

Though Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed’s family is still in the Government House, while there has been no indication of removal of their personal belongings, the usual bustle and hustle of human and vehicular movements that used to be the norm, have reduced drastically.

Noticeable at the gate to the Government House, is the reduction in the number of security personnel manning the place.

Outgoing Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed’s administration has, in the last three days, received bashing and protests from some quarters for appointing an Acting Vice Chancellor in the person of Prof. Kenneth Adeyemi for the Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, Moro Local Government Area.

The tenure of the incumbent Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abdulrasheed Na’Allah, ends in July.

Students, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), KWASU branch, Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU) and Governing Council of the institution have all kicked against the governor’s decision.

This development, pundits said, was borne out of the fact that since Governor Ahmed’s administration is at its twilight, it should not have dabbled into a controversial issue of that nature.

Workers of the state-owned media outfits, Radio Kwara – both AM and FM, Kwara State Television and The Herald newspapers have also protested against the government, over alleged unfair working conditions.

At the recent swearing-in ceremony of two new Justices of the Kwara State High Court, Justices Olalekan Moses Adegbite and Hammed Aliyu Gegele, the attendance was unusually low, devoid of the usual pomp and pageantry expected on occasions of that nature.

Also sworn in were two Khadis of the state Sharia Court of Appeal, Sharafu Hannafi and Abdulraheem Sayi.

Also, activities in and around the Ahmadu Bello Way House of the Governor-elect Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq have remained the same.

But scores of politicians and well-wishers are often seen milling around the governor-elect’s sibling Alimi Abdulrazaq’s House in the GRA area of the metropolis.

Ajimobi operates from private residence

The Governor of Oyo State, Senator Isiaq Abiola Ajimobi had moved his family out of the Agodi Government House a few weeks to the March 9 gubernatorial election. Many of the personal effects of the governor and his family had been moved out since after the election.

For long periods of his eight-year-old administration, Ajimobi operated from his private residence at the Oluyole area of Ibadan.

Naturally, human traffic to the Government House has, since his loss of the Oyo South Senatorial election thinned out, coupled with the loss of the gubernatorial candidate of the APC, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, whom he backed.

Much of the daily activities of the government are now being felt at the Agodi Government Secretariat for the last minute preparations to hand over to the PDP-led administration of Engineer Seyi Makinde on May 29.



Amosun operates from White House

Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, did not wait till the twilight days of his administration to vacate the Government House, Oke-Igbein, Abeokuta. Over a year ago, he moved out his personal effects and belongings to his private residence, a distinctive edifice called White House, located within the serene Ibara GRA, Abeokuta.

From this imposing structure, the governor sometimes conducts the affairs of state; however, he often still attends to state matters at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan.

Similarly, the First Lady as well as the governor’s children and family members have since moved into the new abode.

As a result of the ‘vacancy’ at the Government House, heavy traffic of visitors has since stopped. Party supporters and other guests prefer to head to the personal residence of the governor.

During the 2019 electioneering process, the White House was a beehive of political activities. The situation has, however, changed as Amosun is about to hand over the baton of governance to his successor, Dapo Abiodun, whom he did not support even though they are, supposed to be members of the same party – the All Progressives Congress (APC).

After failing to have his way during the state primaries, Amosun opted to back his anointed candidate, Adekunle Akinlade of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), while he remained in the APC.

Although he (Amosun) was able to get elected as a senator, he was, however, unable to get Akinlade over the finishing line in the governorship contest.

Since then both camps having been having issues, with members of Abiodun’s transition council complaining of not getting the support of Amosun in the run up to Wednesday’s hand over.

https://www.newsexpressngr.com/news/75878-Politicians-friends-desert-Okorocha-Amosun-others-46

First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has rewarded another set of its Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) customers in Season 2 of the Bank’s reward scheme tagged “FCMB SME Race to China Promo”.

The winners emerged through rounds of electronic selection from the pool of qualified SME customers in the first draws of the promo (for the months of March and April) held in Lagos, Kano, Abia and Oyo states.

Among the winners are eight customers who each won the star prize of an all-expense paid trip to China (return flight ticket and hotel accommodation for 7 nights) to participate in the 2019 edition of the Canton Trade Fair, one of the world’s biggest import and export trade fairs, scheduled to hold later this year.
In addition, several other SME customers won various exciting items. These include $500 preloaded shopping cards, business enablers (such as, power generating sets, laptops) and other consolation prizes.
At the Lagos regional draw, Eternal Fabrics Enterprises and Gold Tech Multi-Global Limited, won the star prizes for the months of March and April, respectively, while Jahved Ventures and Sapart Integrated Services Limited in Gombe State emerged winners at the Northern regional draw which took place in Kano.

Similarly, Soupah Farm-En-Market Limited and Lade Olagbenro & Company were the star prize winners at the regional draws for South-west, held in Ibadan, Oyo State. Ife Progress Resources Limited and The Congregation of the Mission emerged lucky winners at the South-east/South-south regional draw held in Aba, Abia State.

Among the winners of $500 preloaded shopping cards, power generating sets and laptops are Suraj Furniture Limited, Smoothie Express Limited, Pisces OEA Multibil Limited, Goldmet Ventures, Exclusive Champion Limited, Kingdom Ideas Integrated Limited and Brands Yard Limited.\

Season 2 of the ‘’FCMB SME Race to China Promo”, which commenced in May and will run till October, is an extension of the first phase held last year following the huge success and impact recorded. It is designed by FCMB to give extra value, empower and reward its Business Banking/SME customers for their patronage and loyalty over the years. The promo is targeted at business customers who operate any of the Bank’s local currency accounts. There will be a total of 6 draws which will hold monthly.

Speaking on Season 2 of the ‘’FCMB SME Race to China Promo” the Executive Director, Business Development of the Bank, Mrs. Bukola Smith, said, “this is part of our initiatives to demonstrate our commitment to the growth of SMEs, which are key drivers of economic development. The second edition of this promo has been enhanced to ensure that more customers have the opportunity to emerge as winners.

“From 43 winners in the first edition held last year, a total of 320 customers will win either a trip to China, $500 pre-loaded shopping cards, business enablers and other gifts that are on offer in the second edition. We will continue to create opportunities and offer the very best of products as well as services that will grow the business of our SME customers in a sustainable manner.”

In their comments, the winners commended FCMB for considering it worthy to reward and empower its SME customers. According to the Managing Director of Ife Progress Resources, Mr. Ezeike Ifechukwu, “I was in shock and at same time very happy when I was called by FCMB that I have won a trip to China. I have never been lucky, not even once in my life to win anything.

So when I received a text message from FCMB telling me about the Race to China Promo, I didn’t really bother. But having won the star prize, I thank the Bank, our Bank. I am a shareholder of FCMB, a customer for more than ten years, and I maintain series of accounts. FCMB has always been my number one Bank. Today, I repledge my loyalty to FCMB. I will ensure that I drive more customers to FCMB”.

Another star prize winner of a trip to China, Mrs. Joyce Ajanah, who is the Managing Director of Gold Tech Multi-Tech Limited, said, “I am very excited, really short of words and extremely grateful to FCMB. This is definitely going to make my business grow significantly. The FCMB Race to China promo is a very good initiative. The Bank is going places”.

A company linked to Benedict Peters, Nigerian billionaire and founder of Aiteo Group, has gotten a concession from the Zimbabwean government for the commercial mining of platinum.

Bavura Holdings, in which the 52-year-old holds a major stake, is to develop the Serui Concession, south of the Hartley complex on the Great Dyke.

Emmerson Mnangagwa, president of Zimbabwe, is expected to oversee the signing event.

newZWire, a local newspaper, reports that the Southern African country had previously announced its intentions to award idle mining fields to new investors.

Aiteo, Bavura’s parent company, is involved in oil and gas and power generation.

It branched out to mining in 2017 when it first received a license in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to the local medium, deposits at Hartley are complex to mine even for experienced miners.

“In 1999, Australian firm BHP abandoned mining after hauling only a third of the budgeted ore output, failing to manage the unstable ground, and suffering a loss of reserves and ore dilution at levels well outside feasibility studies,” it said.

In 2014, Aiteo acquired oil-mining leases from Shell for $3 billion. It also runs Nembe Creek Trunk Line, a 100km pipeline with a capacity of 600 thousand barrels per day.

Union Bank of Nigeria Plc in partnership with MamaMoni empowerment foundation has unveiled its innovation hub for low income women and girls to boost women empowerment, talent development and financial inclusion.

According to the Head of Corporate Communications and Marketing, Union Bank, Ogochukwu Ekezie-Ekaidem, the initiative is part of the bank’s commitment to a dedicated corporate social responsibility aimed at boosting women empowerment, especially those from urban slum communities.

She lauded the efforts of the MamaMoni team at improving the outcomes of women in under-served communities through micro loans and empowerment schemes, saying

“Union Bank is proud to have been a principal partner of the MamaMoni foundation over the years.

“We are committed to enabling the success of the average Nigerian and continue to champion the cause for women empowerment.

“Earlier this year, we inaugurated a women’s proposition, tagged ‘αlpher’, a platform to empower women across all segments of the Nigerian society through capacity building opportunities, networking platforms, scholarships and tailored financial services.

“We identified this initiative as one that will help to amplify our efforts to support women and drive financial inclusion.

“It is our hope that this innovation centre will go a long way to improve the lives of women from low-income communities and their families as they strive for a better future.”

The hub, located at the Amuwo- Odofin area of Lagos State, formally opened for operations on May 21, 2019.

It is anticipated that each year, over 400 under-privileged beneficiaries will receive training in vocational skills such as hairdressing, make up, fashion design, mobile farming and furniture making.

In 2016, Nkem Okocha, founder of the MamaMoni Foundation emerged a winner in the LEAP Africa Social Innovators Programme (SIP) sponsored by Union Bank, receiving a grant of N1,000,000 to expand the MamaMoni operations. Since then, the Foundation has impacted over 6,000 women by providing them with micro loans and basic vocational and financial literacy skills.

Other courses to be offered at the hub include financial literacy, coding and personal branding.

Access Bank Plc yesterday rewarded about 1,016 with more than N59 million in its DiamondXtra season 11 quarterly draw prize presentation held yesterday at the bank’s headquarters in Lagos.

Mrs Nnenna Chukwu was the star prize winner, winning N100, 000 per month for 20 years in the salary for life category. Others included Nwoko Chibuikem, Aliyu Umar and Adewale Adekoya among others.

Chukwu who could not hide her excitement explained that she had opened DiamondXtra account a long time and was not expecting to win in the savings scheme.

She commended Access Bank for providing the opportunity for her to save and win at the same time, noting that the savings campaign would help to foster savings culture among Nigerians.

Executive Director, Retail Banking, Access Bank Plc, Victor Etuokwu, said the DiamondXtra initiative was the bank’s little way of creating and adding value and meeting the needs of its customers.

He said the bank is committed to rewarding its shareholders for their patronage adding that DiamondXtra is the best banking product in the country at the moment.

“This is the 11th edition and the product has been rewarding Nigerians. It is something that we think it is important as every little thing you do help. There is no way a bank can add value to the economy if it does not do things like this, so the products of a bank must add value and DiamondXtra adds value,” Etuokwu said.

According to him, over the 10 years, more than N5 billion has been given out as the bank continues to soar on the goodwill of its customers and their patronage.

“We want every Nigerians to move to the DiamondXtra initiative so that they can partake in the goodies which the product brings. The only way companies remain profitable is by creating value so as long as we keep doing this, our customer base will increase and this initiative will not affect our bottom-line,” Etuokwu said.

In his remarks, Head, Product Insights and Capability, Access Bank Plc, Rob Giles, said that DiamondXtra has positively impacted the bank’s depositor base as customers are more comfortable with having a DiamondXtra account rather than the normal savings account.

“Our business is all about customers and our success is also the success of our customers. As our customers grow, we grow as well and so we have helped millions of people to save with DiamondXtra in the last 10 years and we are still doing that as regards this year which is the 11th edition and in addition to helping people save, they have been winning salary for life, education allowances for five years and senior citizen prizes aimed at helping some of our most senior citizens get additional value among others. So we have been creating magic moments for people and by doing that, it helps Access Bank because people want to continue to save with us and patronize Access Bank,” Giles said.

DiamondXtra is an interest yielding hybrid account, which allows deposit of both cash and third party cheques. Hybrid means a combination of both savings and current account features. The reward scheme which was launched in 2008 and has been running every year since inception, rewarded over 5,000 customers in 2018, and over N5billion has been given away in cash and gift items in the past 10 years. To be one of the winning customers in the monthly and quarterly draws, simply walk into any access bank close to you and open a Diamondxtra account.

Please click HERE to learn more.

Desperate times are here again in Lagos Football fraternity as delegates prepare to go to the polls on May 27th for elections into the Executive Board of the Lagos State Football Association.

With just few days to the elections, there are claims by some stakeholders that the incumbent board led by Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi has resorted to vote buying and intimidation in his bid to win a third term mandate.

According to information made available, Akinwunmi and his group are so desperate to win the next election of the association by directly inducing delegates with money.

Investigation revealed that Akinwunmi led board recently gave FC Robo and Dreams Stars Ladies a sum of 500,000 naira (Five Hundred Thousand) each ahead of the new Women’s football league campaign of which the kick-off date has not even been announced.

It discovered that the money was given to both clubs without the approval of the board which has not meet since January, 2019.

The FA said the money which many described as vote buying mechanism was a soft loan to ease their participation in the yet to be commenced League.

The worried stakeholders said, “Lagos FA election has never gotten to such desperate height in the history of elections into the highest football governing body in Lagos state.

“Such intervention has not been officially given to any club before during the lifetime of this present board until now. This terrible coincidence is very worrisome which is tantamount to electoral malpractice and abuse of office.”

Our source said despite the window dressing attempts to make football look so good in Lagos under Akinwunmi who is also the First Vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation, players have continued to suffer.

“In the last 2 editions of the WGB/Lagos FA Cup, MFM FC did not collect their winnings. The FA successfully converted it to club affiliation fees which has made it impossible for players who are the real actors to benefit from the prize money won by the club.”

Sadly, this things has been happening before now, The current FA cup champions, Smart City FC did not get their runners up prize money last season until it almost became an embarrassment to the sponsors, who make sure they paid the full sponsorship fee before the end of the championship.

Access Bank Plc has rewarded more than 1000 DiamondXtra customers this month in its first quarterly draw in the 2019.

The bank presented the chegues to the lucky winners on Wednesday in Lagos.

According to the Executive Director, Retail Banking, Access Bank, Victor Etuokwu, the bank would, “continue in this spirit as we embark on this exciting retail journey with our loyal customers.

“We rewarded 10 people last month with N1million each at the monthly draw and today we are rewarding more than 1000 lucky customers with cash and other prize categories in the DiamondXtra quarterly draw that took place earlier this month.

“To join our winning train, all you need to do is to save or open a DiamondXtra account with just N5,000 and save multiples of N5,000 to increase your chances of winning.”

The rewards for the quarterly draw include Salary4Life (N100,000 every month for 20 Years); education allowance for five years (N100,000 every month for 5 years) and rent for a year (₦1,000,000).

The Diamondxtra promo has been described as the most rewarding way to save, just as it urged its customers not to, “miss out on this opportunity to become a millionaire or a star prize winner.”

“To participate; open a DiamondXtra account, save in multiples of N5,000 and you stand the chance to win amazing prices in the quarterly draw this month.”

Some of the quarterly winner includes: Nonso Mmeni (N500,000), Emmanuel Izuora (N500,000), Ezeilo Nkechi (N1,000,000), Badmus Morufu, (Rent for a year winner), Chidiebere Chukwu, (representatives/daughter of the salary 4life winner) and Chinedu Nwabuife (N1,000,000 winner).

…Support tech startup with $10,000



Leading financial institution, Access Bank Plc., in collaboration with the Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF), highlighted the importance of digital innovation and strategic partnerships among stakeholders in the financial sector, as the bank hosted industry experts and tech enthusiasts to the third edition of AFF Disrupt Conference on Thursday, 16 May, 2019 at the Landmark Event Centre, Victoria Island.

Themed ‘Digital Goldrush: Building a Sustainable Tech Economy’, the conference showcased the growing value of data as the future currency of the new tech economy through loads of interactive, fun and engaging sessions, world-class speakers and a phenomenal array of exhibitors who are industry and thought leaders in the technology space.

Giving his opening speech, the Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc., Herbert Wigwe recognized the improvement in global financial processes by advancements in technology and assured that the Bank is keeping up with the trends.

“There was a time when payments could only be made through cheques, but with technology, transactions worth billions can be made in seconds. That is how much the world has changed. As a result, Access Bank has continued to innovate through the creation and adoption of modern banking tools and by leveraging on partnerships with FinTechs such as AFF to reinvent and modernize our banking processes,” he said.

A highlight of the conference was the demo pitch session which saw various innovators showcase their applications and new technology, explaining the solutions created to teeming participants. At the end of an intense session, Gricd, whose product, GRICD Frij is an affordable and portable cold chain device for efficient storage of vaccines, blood and other health/agricultural products won, earning a grant of $10,000.

In his keynote address, the Chief Executive Officer of Moven, United Kingdom, Brett King emphasized the importance of technology adoption to banking processes and also addressed the growing fear of robots replacing humans in the banking halls.

He explained that banking no longer depended on physical spaces, which has reduced the friction in banking processes and massively increased delivery.

“Technology is moving faster than ever before and in an environment with such rapid change, you either disrupt or get disrupted. Hence, if you are resistant to change as a banker in an evolving ecosystem like Nigeria’s, we need to start helping you look for a job outside banking,” he said.

At the conference, speakers and panelists identified women as key proponents to ensure the growth and success of financial technology in Nigeria, urging them to be more collaborative and assertive in seeking to disrupt the Nigerian digital space.

Emphasizing the point, the Chairman, Zinox Group Nigeria, Leo Stan Ekeh, during an interactive session with Access Bank’s Deputy Group Managing Director, Roosevelt Ogbonna said, “Women are the smartest money makers and disruptors. Investors are looking to invest in female entrepreneurs and techpreneurs working together. So it has become more imperative that women begin to take advantage of these opportunities and the collective power that they have”.

Other speakers at the event include Bunmi Akinyemiju, Chief Executive Officer, Venture Garden Group; Boye Ademola, Partner and Lead for Digital Transformation, KPMG, Nigeria; Phil Spencer, Executive Vice-President, Gaming, Microsoft, United States of America; Reginald Kawarusa, Executive Commisioner: Legal and Enforcement, Securities and Exchange Commision; Sam Okojere, Director of Payments and Settlements, Central Bank of Nigeria; Funke Opeke, Chief Executive Officer, MainOne; Segun Aina, President, Fintech Association of Nigeria, among others.

…threatens to charge lender with economic sabotage
The Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property has demanded a refund of N7 billion from the Unity Bank. It vowed to slam a charge of economic sabotage on the lender if it refuses to return the money owed the Federal Government.
The sum represents $15,561,769.99 and N1,488,455,810.90 being excess and arbitrary charges on accounts of some agencies of government by the bank before the implementation of Treasury Single Account (TSA) system.

The Head, Media and Communication of the Panel, Ms Lucie-Ann Laha, who gave the warning in a statement in Abuja yesterday, said that the agenciesincluded the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigeria Custom Service (NCS), the Kaduna Refinery and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

“Unity Bank, which had agreed to this amount in February, has neither proffered a payment plan nor demonstrated good faith by actually initiating payments.

“Instead, the bank has severed all communications with the Panel in this regard,” Laha said.

The panel had commissioned a team of experts, including forensic auditors, to look into the operations of accounts of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government in commercial banks within the country prior to the commencement of TSA.

The spokesperson said that the exercise had unearthed some sharp practices and elicited indictments. She added that some of the indicted banks had since agreed to a refund plan and in fact commenced payments.

“Unity Bank has, however, not made any move in this regard. The Panel is unrelenting in its resolve towards ensuring that economic saboteurs are brought to book and looted public property, including money, duly returned to government,” Laha said.

But in a statement by Unity Bank signed by its Head, Corporate Communications, Mr. Matthew Obiazikwor, the lender denied the allegation stressing that the report of the panel is geared towards misinforming the public and misrepresenting the Bank’s position and nil impact resolutions reached during the reconciliation engagements.

Read the full statement below:

Unity Bank has faulted the allegation against it by Special Presidential Investigation Panel for Recovery of Public Property (SPIPRPP) over the ongoing reconciliation of the affected MDA accounts, stating that the report is geared towards misinforming the public and misrepresenting the Bank’s position and nil impact resolutions reached during the reconciliation engagements.

In the ongoing investigation, Unity Bank has conducted itself professionally by providing all evidence of customers’ instructions requested by the panel as it relates to all the MDAs.

Unity Bank had earlier transferred all the balances belonging MDAs to their respective TSA accounts in Central Bank of Nigeria as far back in 2016.

Upon approaching the Bank in 2018 to conduct investigations on the subject of MDAs, Unity Bank, as a responsible corporate citizen, cooperated with the panel accordingly. But out of its own volition, the panel refused to admit further documentary evidence from the Bank when it was obvious that the Bank has no balances kept in its books for the MDAs.

Instead, the panel suspended the investigation as apparently it could not fault any of the evidence presented by the Bank.

The Panel in an earlier letter requested the Bank to accept culpability and pay off a certain sum deemed outstanding which the Bank objected and insisted on completing the reconciliation exercise because the claims presented at this point against the Bank were unfounded and frivolous

It is therefore surprising for the SPIPRPP to turn back and issue a statement alleging sabotage when it abandoned its sitting and investigation midway.

Furthermore, it must be emphasized that, without prejudice to the constitutional power of Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC) as the sole agency of government to investigate, review, reconcile and collect revenue for government, the bank co-operated fully with SPIPRPP and its consultants in the investigation process and it was proven beyond reasonable doubt that Unity Bank has all records to show that it does its banking transactions transparently and in compliance with extant banking regulations and at no time took charges on the MDAs that were outside what is contained in the Bankers Tariffs, which guide banking operations in Nigeria.

The bank therefore maintains that the allegations of SPIPRPP, are superfluous, frivolous ill-motivated and unfounded as falsely presented in a press statement purportedly sent to the public.

We hereby call on our customers and the general public to disregard the allegations which is subterfuge aimed to unnecessarily smear the image of the Bank.

More facts have emerged on the reasons why the defunct Diamond Bank surrendered itself for a business combination deal with Access Bank Plc.

The deal was consummated on April 1.

According to a report obtained by THISDAY, between December 2014 and June 2018, the immediate past management of Diamond Bank under the leadership of Mr. Uzoma Dozie as Chief Executive Officer, inherited a distressed oil and gas portfolio of $1.8 billion (N302.6 billion).

Of this amount, the sum under watch list and non-performing loans (NPLs) stood at $406 million (N68.9 billion) and $73 million (or N12.3 billion), respectively.

In addition, the bank had foreign currency balance sheet mismatch in excess of $883 million as at October 31, 2015, resulting from maturing trade obligations and customer transactional instructions.

Similarly, Diamond Bank had unpaid billions of naira to the federal government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA), resulting to regulatory sanctions and negative public perception and waning customer confidence.

The immediate past management of the defunct bank preserved Diamond Bank’s licence by paying down the inherited forex liquidity mismatch, it stated.

Furthermore, it showed that the inability of Diamond Bank to repay the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation/Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited’s funds to the TSA, “due to the application of those funds in the creation of long-term oil and gas and power loans was a major threat to the bank’s corporate existence.”

Without external management, the then management of the bank employed every legitimate means, including strong negotiation and relationship management skills to have the issue resolved.

According to the report, as at the end of September 2018, this obligation had been fully extinguished.

While resolving this, the Uzoma Dozie-led management built an enviable retail franchise that, stand-alone, can generate sustainable profitability and low-cost deposits.

However, the value of the retail deposit was hidden in bad corporate loans inherited by the then management.

In addition, the management then developed long-term sustainable relationship with global institutions, which has helped to build thrust in its brand.

These included Women’s World Banking, Bills and Melinda Gates Foundation, Afreximbank, International Finance Corporation, Ecowas International and Development Bank, among others.

Commenting on the merger with Diamond Bank, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, had said: “Together, we would have 27 million customers, which is the largest customer base of any bank on the continent. We would have 33,000 point of sale (PoS) terminals, 3,300 automated teller machines (ATMs) and all of that.

“Access Bank has grown over time and has built a very strong wholesale banking capability. We have also shown significant expertise as far as treasury is concerned, risk management as well as our capital management plan.

“We created and pushed a very strong value chain strategy which was our own way of building our retail business.

“This was because we realised that the creation of a large diversified bank is critical, not just for Nigeria, but in Africa and the world. If you go to any part of the world, what you tend to see is that the top three or top five banks technically control market share.”

Speaking further, Wigwe said the combination of Access Bank and Diamond Bank would ensure that “we are able to take and solve customers’ issues right from the wholesale end, down to the man in the village, just because of the use of technology.”

The anti-corruption fight by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government may just be getting a new-improved dimension. This is lent weight to by a big discovery of huge amount of money at one of the country’s agencies.

Following alleged pilfering of over N150billion by top officers of Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC), the anti-graft agency, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is already investigating the matter, which has fingered substantial contracts awarded by former directors of the commission.

Investigations have shown that four principal directors of the commission, allegedly collided to award themselves contracts worth over N150billion, of which payment of N5billion was being paid every week, in the last three years for contracts awarded by the agency.

Four principal directors have already been invited by the ICPC for questioning and these officers include have indicted the former MD, Nsima Ekere, former ED Finance, and Chief of Staff to the MD, who are touted to be culprits behind the deal, even as the humongous amount was believed to have been siphoned through Monogamy.

As the story goes, Mr. Ukeme Nkamare, Director, Design Department, who is still in service, has also been invited for questioning, as to his connection with the looted funds.

The matter of monumental dimension is already at the notice of the Presidency, and the President has consequently ordered the ICPC chairman to get to the root of the matter and prosecute the all culpable offenders.

It is instructive to add here that no matter how close these officers are to the corridors of power, the matter should be seen to a logical conclusion, to serve as a punitive lesson to those who might have other tendencies.

As at press time, sources close to the agency investigating the matter, hinted that findings have shown that the looted funds have increased into a staggering sum of N193billion, as the agency continues with thorough investigations.

According to sources at the anti-graft agency, ICPC quoted that ‘this is direct stealing and had never happened before in the history of NDDC, to withdraw N5billion every week for three years without being dictated, in a row; it is a serious looting, and a daylight robbery’ source stated.

Staffers at the commission are wondering that even the immediate past MD/CEO of the commission, Bassy Dan-Abia came with a softer approach to milking NDDC, but Nsima Ekere came with a subterfuge manner to circumvent all funds accruing to the commission, and this is why all eyes are on theses alleged government looters.

The Chief Executive Officer ofAccess Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, has stated that in order for banks and Financial Technology (FinTech) operators to remain competitive, there is the need for them to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Wigwe stated this while speaking during the Africa FinTech Foundry (AFF) Disrupt 2019 conference. According to him, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Virtual Reality, Robotics, and Cryptocurrency, etc, have all brought immense opportunities for banks by helping to improve the way customers access and manage finances.

According to Wigwe, with automation technology, banks and Fintechs are able to grant credit in seconds. To explain his point, Wigwe stated that the review of 12,000 documents used to take 360,000 hours. Today, this could be done in seconds using AI.

“Leveraging such technology as artificial intelligence and utilising data analytics is imperative if banks and fintechs are to remain competitive. Today, becoming an intelligent bank is not an option, it is a necessity, as technology is redefining the way banks operate.” –wigwe

The Access Bank boss also maintained that robotics technology is used to serve customers in banks, even as there are so much that could be done with data. For instance, big data analytics helps intelligent banks to understand their customers.

Furthermore, Wigwe stated that from a business standpoint, the traditional banking environment did not provide opportunities for scalability. This is because its manual nature was slow and costly, thereby limited growth. However, technology has made it a lot easier to scale.

“Technology has changed everything. Not only is this continuing, the rate of development and evolution is speeding up exponentially. Technology-driven financial institutions will disrupt traditionally-run banks by taking advantage of any inherent weaknesses in their business models. They will do this by offering better value propositions to their customers.

“Today, it is our task to brainstorm these weaknesses and uncover opportunities in our current business models that technology will help us solve. Today is a gathering of the best technology brains ready to re-define the future of intelligent banks and fintechs and create new disruptions for our industry.”

Access Bank Plc is a Nigerian multinational commercial bank, owned by Access Bank Group. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the national banking regulator.

Originally a corporate bank, the company acquired personal and business banking platforms from Nigeria’s International Commercial bank in 2012.

Access Bank Plc is presently one of the five largest banks in Nigeria in terms of assets, loans, deposits and branch network.

The merger of Access Bank Plc and Diamond Bank Plc on April 1, 2019, has made it the largest bank in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The United States Consul-General in Lagos, Mr. John Bray, on Wednesday announced that the home government had secured about 1,000 hectares of land on the Eko Atlantic City in Lagos.

Bray disclosed this at his residence shortly after signing the engagement agreement between the U.S. Government officials and the Executive Chairman of South EnergyX Nigeria, Mr. Roland Chagdury.

The Consul-General said the decision to build a new Consulate in the Eko Atlantic City was to afford Nigerians better and more accessible services.

“This is another demonstration that the United States is committed to Nigeria and her citizens.
“What we currently have as a Consulate General was constructed in the ’70s.

“So, we have acquired a land in Eko Atlantic City to build a new Consulate, better and more accessible to Nigerians and others coming to visit for visas and other services,’’ he said.

Bray said the American government was proud to be participating in the Eko Atlantic City project, adding that the new Consulate would further strengthen the U.S./Nigeria relations.

The envoy, who said the Eko Atlantic City was selected for its world-class infrastructure, reiterated the Consulate’s commitment to working with Nigerians in providing opportunities for economic and development in Lagos.

Mr. Roland Chagdury, the Executive Chairman of South EnergyX Nigeria, said the U.S. government was welcome to the Eko Atlantic City.

Chagdury said that the confidence of the U.S. government in the Eko Atlantic City had reinforced the shared beliefs in the benefits that the city would bring to generations to come.

“We warmly welcome the government of the United States of America to the Eko Atlantic City.

“The signing of this agreement today signifies the dedication that the United States of America has always had for Nigeria,’’ he said.
Chagdury commended the Lagos State and the Federal governments for their continued support in making Eko Atlantic City a success.

Eko Atlantic is an entire new coastal city being built on Victoria Island, adjacent to Lagos, Nigeria.

The city is officially Nigeria’s international commerce city, which is a planned city of Lagos State, being constructed on land reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean.

It is a focal point for investors capitalising on rich development growth based on massive demand – and a gateway to emerging markets of the continent.

Remember him? Kunle Adegbite, the show-off man behind the popular hangout on Obafemi Awolowo way in Ikeja is in the news again and as usual for wrong reason.

Some months ago, rumours were rife in the social circle that Kunle’s landlord temporarily took over the hangout over unpaid rents running to millions of naira.

It was as a result of the incident that left Sidewalk in limbo for many weeks before it was eventually re-opened.

Over the years however, the young businessman has earned himself a title of great debtor in the society, a situation that is said to have made many skeptical in dealing with him as his modus operandi seems to be robbing Peter to pay Paul.

A recent case of obtaining by false pretence was narrated by Massimo’s boss who is gnashing his teeth about a transaction he had with Adegbite that has now gone sour.

According to him, his modest supply of sisha pots and consultancy works have turned out to be a scam as several appeals and consultations failed to make Kunle pay him.

This medium exclusively gathered that a similar incident involving a UK based investor ended unpalatable as he allegedly collected funds without recourse to agreement on shareholding and repayment.

A competent source said the matter was eventually settled in Ibadan like a family matter and substantial part of the invested fund went down the drain.

A particular day the young man would not forget in a hurry was when one elderly man stormed the Ikeja sidewalk with about twelve mobile policemen to take over and locked the fun centre in the middle of jolly jolly.

Several patrons allegedly left with unpaid bills and it was that singular incident that seems to have destined the place for failure. Since then, Sidewalk is said to be on life support to gather it’s usual bubbling nature.

The man who interrupted the event was later identified as one of severals Kunle refused to redeem his financial obligation to.
-To be continued

Union Bank has announced the release of its third Citizenship, Sustainability and Innovation (CSI) report, an annual compilation which details the financial Institution’s strategic focus, initiatives and impact across these three areas during the year.

Highlighting the Bank’s focus on transparent reporting of its CSI efforts, the report was prepared in line with Nigerian Sustainability Business Principles (NSBPs) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards. Assurance of the report was also conducted by independent auditing firm, Deloitte.

According to the CSI report, in 2018, Union Bank continued to expand it efforts in sustainability and citizenship by deepening key partnerships and strengthening its support for charities and local communities.

The report showcases the Bank’s efforts in these key areas by highlighting various projects it embarked upon, including women empowerment initiatives like seminars for female entrepreneurs; the distribution of hygiene care products to girls on International Day of the Girl Child and partnership with Pearls Africa to organize the Girls Coding Summer Camp, among others.

In line with its focus on boosting financial inclusion, Union Bank also provided inclusive banking services to Nigerians through the provision of 430 agent banks across the country. Also, the Bank and its employees joined forces to sponsor and distribute 8,000 care bags to people in underserved communities under the UnionCares umbrella.

During the year, Union Bank made significant progress in its efforts to minimize its environmental impact through expansion of its recycling initiatives and the installation of energy saving facilities across its branches.

Speaking on the release of the report, the Chief Executive Officer, Emeka Emuwa expressed his satisfaction at the achievements of the Bank in the areas of citizenship, sustainability and innovation in the past year and the direction of the bank for the ongoing year. He said;

“This annual report lends credence to Union Bank’s positioning as an institution truly committed to improving the communities in which we operate. CSI is central to our core business and commitment to the triple bottom line of responsible financial, environmental and socio-economic development.”

With innovation as a priority, the bank deployed various innovative solutions and initiatives such as the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology, the first of its kind in the Nigerian banking industry, as well as Ideas Bank and Union X, both in-house initiatives to encourage employees’ contribution to the digital transformation drive of the Bank.

Last year, Union Bank was named ‘Best Company in Environmental Excellence’ at the 2018 SERAs CSR awards, endorsing the impressive strides it made in these areas.

The release of the third edition of its CSI report underscores Union Bank’s commitment to maintaining its leading position as a sustainability champion and a socially driven and responsible corporate organisation.

To view the report, please click HERE.

The federal government has accused former President Goodluck Jonathan and Diezani Alison-Madueke, his former minister of petroleum resources, of accepting bribes for the controversial OPL 245 deal.

These claims were included in documents filed at a London court by lawyers representing the federal government concerning payments made to acquire the licence in 2011.

In the court case filed against Shell and Eni, the federal government said Jonathan and Alison-Madueke broke the law for making a secret profit and sidelining the government from its true share of the deal.

On April 9, 1998, the federal military government awarded OPL 245 to Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd, which was said to be owned mainly by Mohammed Abacha, son of the Sani Abacha, and Etete, who was the petroleum minister at the time.

On July 2, 2001, President Olusegun Obasanjo revoked Malabu’s licence and assigned the oil block to Shell — without a public bid. Malabu went to court, but ownership was reverted to it in 2006 after it reached an out-of-court settlement with the federal government.

Shell fought back and commenced arbitration against Nigeria, but when President Goodluck Jonathan came to power in 2010, the controversy appeared to have been resolved with Shell and Eni agreeing to buy the oil block from Malabu for $1.1 billion.

The oil companies also paid $210 million as signature bonus to the federal government of Nigeria.

However, the deal has been enmeshed in more controversies and trials over allegations of bribery and shady deals by officials of the Nigerian government and their foreign accomplices.

The OPL 245 is reported to be one of the biggest untapped oil resources in Africa with reserves estimated at 9 billion barrels.

“Bribes were paid. The receipt of those bribes and the participation in the scheme of said officials was in breach of their fiduciary duties and Nigerian criminal law,” the court document read.

Reuters reports that Jonathan’s spokesman declined to comment, saying the former president was on duty as an election observer in South Africa.

…MTN fingered in fraud report



When a couple of weeks ago, Jumia made headlines by listing in the New York Stock Exchange, not a few people saw it as a big deal and a welcome development. But no sooner had the company sold itself as ‘Africa’s first unicorn’ to trade in the prestigious NYSE than the fraudulent claim of being an “African company” began to fall flat on its face.

Records submitted by the ecommerce firm indicated clearly it is a German company with corporate structure spread across different cities in Europe. Nevertheless, the firm rode on the controversy of its initial public offer (IPO) as the value of its share rose, but only for a short time.

Besides operating in Nigeria as a business against which a lot of infractions have been reported, the fraud that Jumia is has now assumed a global dimension. Moving from a frim with a lot of skeletons in its wardrobe in that it operates an online travel business without an online IATA licence which is one of the requirements for such operation, and also does not have CBN mobile money licence though it operates like one, the Jumia brand is deeply enmeshed in corporate fraud with dire consequences as the NYSE would launch into series of investigations to mete out the right treatment to the firm.

Citron Research, a US Based online investment Newsletter, has declared Jumia shares as “worthless” and that they had never “seen such an obvious fraud”. Jumia share price was down by over 18% as at closing of trading at the New York Stock Exchange. According to the report by Citron, Jumia forged its numbers ahead of filing documents for its listing in the US. Two of Jumia’s largest shareholders, MTN and Rocket Internet wanted to exit the company after it reported in 2018 that it has a year’s cash left.

The company’s revenue also declined from $145million to $131million while adjusted EBITDA loss went from $161million to $150million. Jumia removed certain information and went ahead to distort the figures and facts in its investment memorandum with a view get its stock overpriced that its actual value.

Citron, in its 18 years of publishing said it “has never seen such an obvious fraud as Jumia.” Cited as material discrepancies deliberately made up by Jumia include: inflating active customer base (from 2.1 million in October 2018 to 2.7 million by April 2-19) and active merchant numbers (from 43,000 to 53,000 between same period) which represented 20% to 30% growth – a claim which Citron suggests cold not have been true.

It also claimed that “the most disturbing disclosure that Jumia removed from its F-1 filing was that 41% of orders were returned, not delivered, or cancelled. This was previously disclosed in the Company’s October 2018 confidential investor presentation,” implying that most of its orders were cancelled in 2018.

The damaging report is an absolute vote of no confidence in Jumia which it accused of corporate fraud. “When a company markets to investors ahead of its IPO and then a few months later omits material facts and makes material changes to its key financial metrics to make the business seem viable, this is securities fraud,” the report says.

Source: TheCapital

– Appoints son major contractor, brother as TA in-charge of procurement

– As fresh N342m financial scandal rocks agency



Fresh crisis is currently rocking the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agriculture Lending (NIRSAL) over allegations of corruption, fraud and lack of transparency by its managing director, Mr. Aliyu Abbati Abdulhammed.

NIRSAL, an initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Bankers Committee (BC) and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (FMA&RD), incorporated as a public limited liability company (PLC) and licensed as a non-bank financial institution (NBFI) is tasked with the primary mandate of facilitating the flow of credit to agribusiness value chain players and collaborating with stakeholders to fix broken agricultural value chains in Nigeria.

As against the mandate of NIRSAL, the managing director, Mr. Abdulhammed is said to have turned the agency into his family business favouring his family members and friends. He is alleged to have appointed his younger brother, Babangida Abdulhammed as his technical assistant, handling all procurement related matters, effectively usurping the functions of the procurement department of NIRSAL. Sources alleged that Babangida singlehandedly decides how contracts are awarded at NIRSAL and who gets them.

As if that was not enough, the son of the managing director, Imran Abdulhammed, is the sole supplier of office equipment including desktop computers, laptops, etc. at exorbitant prices.

Investigations also revealed that the managing director circumvents the usual routes in procurement. A staff of the apex bank, who is one of his relatives, has been fingered in some wild infractions including backdating of documentations for several monies that had been spent to secure board approvals. It was further learnt that Mr. Abdulhammed singlehandedly appoints contractors who work with the company. Nextzone, Blue Accord, Global Knowledge consulting are some of the firms allegedly linked to him by sources.

The lack of transparency in the workings of the NIRSAL leaves much to be desired. Besides the fact that it makes nonsense of the president’s anti-corruption crusade, it further exposes the current government’s inability to adequately monitor public officers. For instance, contrary to government’s directive placing ban on foreign trainings, NIRSAL had sent some staff on trainings abroad, including a particular one in South Africa, described as jamboree by a member of staff who was part of the training.

“It was a shabby exercise and a total waste of public resources,” the staff said. He is also accused of flying in first class on foreign airlines. Amongst other things, the managing director was accused of not keeping adequate records of financial transactions and commitments relating to inflow, expenditure and disbursements. NIRSAL has accumulated bad credit guarantees running into billions of naira, while the farmers are yet to benefit.

Another issue causing ripples in the agency is how the managing director allegedly misappropriated a princely N342 million released to NIRSAL by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under its Anchor Borrowers’ programme (ABP) for a Southwest maize farmers’ cooperative, Hope Concept Investment Cooperatives and Credit Union.

The fund, which was approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria and released in July last year to NIRSAL, for onward disbursement to about 1,800 small holders’ farmers that make up the union, was for preparation of land and planting of maize during the rainy season.

The CBN had reportedly credited NIRSAL on July 18 and 19, 2018 with a first tranche of N246,523,120:00 but instead of NIRSAL to remit the fund to the bona fide farmers who were registered with and approved by the CBN as beneficiaries, Abdulhammed directed that the fund be transferred to NIRSAL’s operations office in Abeokuta.

It was learnt that Abdulhammed tweaked the mandate of NIRSAL from risk management to operating as a commercial bank. The concerned farmers were asked to apply afresh for the fund as a loan, a development they kicked against.

The concerned maize farmers/beneficiaries were subsequently subjected to a long delay that NIRSAL masterminded through a series of unnecessary meetings, trainings and workshops while the fund was idle in NIRSAL’s account, attracting huge interest. Sources familiar with the development hinted that many weeks, which the farmers would have used to deploy in the farms were lost, a development that disrupted timelines for cultivation and harvest of maize for off-taking by companies that make use of maize in the production of their goods.

The off-takers, the biggest of them being the Flour Mills Plc had to source for maize (raw materials) from other farmers when the beneficiary farmers under the aegis of Hope Concept Investment Cooperatives and Credit Union could not meet up with the timelines for supply of maize.

Investigations further revealed that while the concerned southwest farmers waited in vain for their respective accounts to be credited with the funds, officials of NIRSAL asked the farmers to part with some of the funds before disbursing.

Due to the alleged corrupt practices of the NIRSAL officials, the farmers lost over N600 million, excluding funds spent on clearing the lands, interest on loans and other costs. Upon approval of Hope Concept’s request, the group also fulfilled the payment of a requisite N16 million equity counterpart funding, which is five per cent of the financing.

We gathered that the farmers were supposed to supply about 6,000 MT of maize to Flour Mills Plc. One of the concerned southwest maize farmers alleged ethnic bias and deliberate promotion of a northern economic expansionist agenda against Abdulhammed who hails from Adamawa State and whose appointment was said to have been influenced by the first lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari.

Consequently, it became difficult for senior officials in the apex bank to rein in on Abdulhammed over his questionable act and other impunities including misappropriation of funds and abuse of processes in the contract awards.

Meanwhile, the farmers are demanding compensation for time lost, funds spent on clearing the lands, other financial costs including the counterpart funding and interest on loans. NIRSAL under the current leadership has huge reputational problems as it has also been accused of withholding a N1 billion intervention fund in Owerri, Imo State and another in Delta State. At a public event recently in Abuja, farmers from Kojoli Farms in Jada, Adamawa, called for the overhauling of NIRSAL, citing large-scale corruption in the running of the affairs of the organization. The lack of transparency in the workings of the NIRSAL leaves much to be desired. Besides the fact that it makes nonsense of the president’s anti-corruption crusade, it further exposes the current government’s inability to adequately monitor public officers.


NIRSAL REACTS, DECLINES COMMENTS ON ALLEGATIONS

In our fact-finding mission, we contacted the managing director of NIRSAL, Mr. Aliyu Abdulhammed for his and the agency’s angle to the allegations.

In a statement sent to us by the agency’s Head of Corporate Communications, Anne Ihugba, the managing director reeled out the mandate of NIRSAL but declined comment on the allegations raised by our reporter.

Read the full statement below:

Over the past few weeks, there has been an intensification of longstanding attacks against NIRSAL and its current management by entrenched interests and other hostile elements who do not mean well for the country.

The obvious objective of the campaign is to halt the momentum of progress that NIRSAL, working with public and private sector partners, is making in transforming the Nigerian agricultural economy in order to boost productivity, food security and the welfare of the teeming millions of smallholder farmers around the country. We are certain that they will fail.

The attacks are also characterized by desperate efforts to distort and misrepresent NIRSAL’s mandate, role and achievements. For the avoidance of doubt, NIRSAL is a policy tool of the Central Bank of Nigeria deliberately designed as a self-sustaining company with the sole aim of achieving the public good by catalyzing and guaranteeing private finance and investment to the agricultural sector.

NIRSAL’s operations are characterized by the highest standards of good governance and professionalism and these are delivering solid dividends to the agricultural sector and the national economy as can be seen below:

NIRSAL is an investee company of the CBN, a going concern incorporated under the Companies & Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and governed by all standard governance and reporting rules of public liability companies applicable nationally and globally.

Following from the above, NIRSAL files its annual financials every year at the CAC as required by the Companies and Allied Matters Act. Therefore, NIRSAL operates by the highest standards of corporate governance rules coupled with capital preservation and capital growth objectives in order to maintain a robust balance sheet against which it issues its guarantees, provides technical assistance and builds capacities and incentivizes borrowers and lenders in the agriculture finance space.

NIRSAL’s accounts are prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards and audited by Board-approved independent auditors.

NIRSAL’s Board comprises a broad spectrum of respected high profile professionals representing the CBN, Bankers Committee (CEOs of DMBs in Nigeria), the Organized Private Sector (OPS), the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Department (FMARD).

NIRSAL’s operations are solely funded from earnings derived from its meticulously invested seed capital. And, as a result of astute management of its finite resources by its Management, NIRSAL has not only retained its original investment capital but has also more than doubled its balance sheet while

paying its staff salaries and covering its operating expenditures without recourse to any external source of funding. This is a testament to the prudence exercised by the current leadership of NIRSAL.

It’s also to the credit of NIRSAL’s Management that it has maintained a very healthy crystallized Guarantee ratio of about one percent on its Credit Risk Guarantees against the financial industry average that at a point reached 17%.

The bottom line is that NIRSAL is doing justice to its core mandate of serving the public good 100% while preserving and growing its balance sheet.

It is incontrovertible that in just three years, with the robust support of the CBN, NIRSAL has set up strong processes and structures including offices across the country and global partnerships, facilitated significant funding to the agricultural sector and made measurable impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of beneficiary farmers and other players along the various agricultural value chains.

NIRSAL has made measurable progress in reducing the risks to financing institutions while granting agricultural loans by building the capacities of both banks & investors and agricultural value chain actors on good practices in agricultural production, financing, loans/investment utilization and repayment.

NIRSAL has facilitated funds in excess of N85.5 billion for various agriculture sector projects from various sources as at Q3 2018.

Broken down, this translates to the following investments: Agricultural Inputs: N43.8 Billion; Mechanization: N1.7 Billion; Primary Production: N19 Billion; Processing: N20.9 Billion.

Interms of broad impact, this translates to 373,752 direct jobs and 1.8 Million indirect jobs facilitated by NIRSAL.

Having completed our corporate establishment phase within the last 3 years, the agriculture finance space, from 2019 and beyond, should see a rapid scale out of NIRSAL’s interventions on 15 Industrial, Export, Domestic Consumer, Youth-specific and Livestock Agricultural Commodity value chains in Nigeria.

Our core inspiration continues to be the Federal Government’s focus on the agricultural sector and the targets set out in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan and the Agriculture Promotion Policy.

We also owe our accomplishments, sound fundamentals and rigorous processes to the leadership provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria under Mr. Godwin Emefiele.

While there is still a lot to be done, there is no doubt that we have made definite progress in delivering our core mandate to enable the flow of affordable financing and investments to all players across entire agricultural value chains.

Our focus on improving community and individual lives along the many agricultural value chains that we are working on remains strong. And we will keep working — harder – with all partner organizations to deliver more measurable results.

That is our pledge and our commitment.

Signed: Management

The United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) announced today that Mr Abdoul-Aziz Dia will join the bank’s Board of Directors subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Mr Dia, a Senegalese citizen, has over 25 years of banking experience garnered from several countries across the globe, including the United Kingdom, France, Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Senegal, Kenya and Cote D’Ivoire. He has worked in senior management positions at international financial institutions such as the African Development Bank, Citigroup, Standard Chartered, Ecobank and UBA.

Mr Dia has served in the capacity of Executive Director on various company Boards in Africa and in Europe and now joins the UBA Group as a non-Executive Director of the Board. He holds a Master’s Degree in Statistics and Financial Mathematics from ENSAE in Paris, France. He is fluent in 6 languages(French, English, Romanian, German, Wolof and Fulani).

Abdoul-Aziz Dia is a seasoned banker with a wealth of experience. He joins the UBA Board with a global outlook and I am confident that he has a vital role to play in the future of UBA and will add enormous value to the Group’s growth strategy’ said the UBA Group Chairman, Mr Tony Elumelu.

Dia joins the Board almost a year after UBA appointed four new members to strengthen and further diversify its Group Board including two female board members, Erelu Angela Adebayo and Angela Aneke. The other two Directors are Kayode Fasola and AbdulKadir J. Bello.

The United Bank for Africa, Africa’s global bank, was founded 70 years ago in Nigeria and today, operates in 20 African countries and in the United Kingdom, the USA and with presence in France. UBA serves over 17 million customers across the globe with more than 1000 branches and touch points. In 2018, the bank received the award of Africa’s Best Digital Bank by the Banker’s magazine.

Nigeria’s premier financial services provider and Bank of first choice, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, has announced that its Firstmonie network has processed a cumulative transaction value of N1 trillion from its relaunch in January 2018.

The network also achieved nationwide coverage in record time, enabling access to financial services for many locations that never had a way for its residents to access financial services. This is in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s objective of bringing banking services close to all Nigerians, irrespective of where they live.

What you should know about Firstmonie: FirstBank’s Firstmonie service provides financial/banking solutions to rural and semi-urban locations across the country, such as account opening, cash deposit, cash withdrawals, airtime purchase, bill payments and much more.

Through this channel, the Bank is committed to providing convenient services that endears trust and provides ease of access to banking products, thereby saving time and travel costs for users of our network.

According to Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, the Chief Executive Officer, First Bank of Nigeria Limited;

“THE FIRSTMONIE SCHEME IS SUPPORTING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S EMPOWERMENT AND JOB CREATION AGENDA AS OVER 22,000 NIGERIANS, THROUGH THIS SCHEME, CONTRIBUTE TO THE INCREASED ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS. OUR PARTNER NETWORK IS GROWING AND WE ARE PARTICULARLY DELIGHTED ABOUT THE PROGRESS WE ARE MAKING IN ACTIVELY DRIVING NATIONWIDE FINANCIAL INCLUSION, EXPOSING COMMUNITIES TO OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH, JOBS, EMPOWERMENT, AND IMPROVED LIVE CONDITIONS. YET AGAIN, WE ARE DELIGHTED TO SCORE ANOTHER FIRST IN PROMOTING FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN THE COUNTRY.

“WE APPRECIATE OUR PARTNER NETWORK AND REMAIN COMMITTED TO WORKING TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE EVEN GREATER IMPACT ON THE LIVES OF NIGERIANS.”

About FirstBank: First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is the premier Bank in West Africa and the leading banking services solutions provider in Nigeria for 125 years. With some 15 million customer accounts, FirstBank provides a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services with over 750 business locations.

The Bank has international presence through its subsidiaries, FBN Bank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal, as well as a Representative Office in Beijing.

Since its establishment in 1894, FirstBank has consistently built relationships with customers focusing on the fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, optimised risk management and leadership. Over the years, the Bank has led the financing of private investment in infrastructure development in the Nigerian economy by playing key roles in the Federal Government’s privatisation and commercialisation schemes.

With its global reach, FirstBank provides prospective investors wishing to explore the vast business opportunities that are available in Nigeria, an internationally competitive world-class brand and a credible financial partner.

FirstBank has been named “Most Valuable Bank Brand in Nigeria” six times in a row (2011 – 2016) by the globally renowned “The Banker Magazine” of the Financial Times Group; “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria” for seven consecutive years (2011 – 2017) by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards and “Best Bank in Nigeria” by Global Finance for 15 years.

Our brand purpose is to always put customers, partners and stakeholders at the heart of our business, even as we standardise customer experience and excellence in financial solutions across sub-Saharan Africa, in consonance with our brand vision “To be the partner of first choice in building your future”.

Our brand promise is to always deliver the ultimate “gold standard” of value and excellence. This commitment is anchored on our inherent values of passion, partnership and people, to position You First in every respect.

Signed: Folake Ani-Mumuney

Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications

www.firstbanknigeria.com

Tiwa Savage, Nigerian singer, says the deal with Universal Music Group (UMG), her new record label, was all she ever wanted as her music will be distributed to over 60 countries.

The gifted singer, who appears to be on a quest for global dominance, said this during an interview on Arise News.

She said joining the music group is also an opportunity for Afrobeat music to thrive evenly alongside other international genres of music.

“It is just like a natural progression in your career when you conquer your country, then your continent, then the next thing is world domination,” said Tiwa.

“Basically it is having that opportunity to be able to distribute my music to over 60 countries and just being part the Universal Music Group global with Rihanna and other A-lists artistes internationally… is having that opportunity to have afrobeat music have the same opportunity other genres have.”

She noted that a couple of music labels approached her for a record deal but only UMG measured up to her expectations.

“A few labels have approached me and we have meetings with a couple of them, but towards the end of last year, I believe that Universal Music seems to get my brand and medium then we went back and forth between lawyers. I am really happy with the deal I got because there were really certain things I was fighting for and I got them eventually,” the singer said.

The ‘All Over’ singer recently exited Mavin Records for the US music company that boasts of artistes like Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga.

Don Jazzy, Mavin’s CEO and record producer, had described Tiwa as his favourite business partners “of all time” despite leaving his label.

The Chief Executive Officer and Group Managing Director of Access Bank plc, Herbert Wigwe and Australian-born Digital Innovation expert Brett King will be keynote speaker at the 2019 Africa Fintech Foundry Disrupt conference, scheduled to hold in Lagos on Thursday, May 16, 2019.

The one-day conference will focus on the theme “Digital Gold Rush: Building a Sustainable Tech-Economy”, which will attract 30+ speakers, 2 panels, 3 master-classes, 2 fireside chats and 5 thought leadership sessions & debates.

This was disclosed by Executive Director, Digital Operations & IT, Access Bank, Mr. Adeolu Bajomo at a press briefing on the conference in Lagos on Tuesday, May 7, 2019.

Speaking further Bajomo said the Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank, Mr Herbert O. Wigwe, will also speak at the summit.

According to him the “Disrupt Conference” is designed to deepen the Nigerian Fintech ecosystem, asserting that the Fintech industry has the potential to address unemployment and create more economic opportunities in the country.

“It will be a learning experience, an opportunity for fintechs to connect and create an exposure to innovation for participants” said, Bajomo.

On the theme “Digital Gold Rush” the Executive Director, Digital Operations of Access Bank emphasised the fact that in the age of the fourth industrial revolution, every single business must go digital.

He believed that the conference would provide an opportunity for fintechs to innovate and provide solutions, in the financial services industry compliant with set regulations.

The Head, Africa Fintech Foundry, Mr Segun Adeniyi, giving an overview of the forthcoming event noted that what has been termed the largest tech conference in the country, has over 10,000 registered people showing enthusiasm towards the forum.

Adeniyi also informed the press that there will be sessions for regulators, venture capitalists and legal players at the conference. He said that the goal of the Africa Fintech Foundry is to position it and Access Bank as the thought leader in innovation, technology and disruption.

Speaking on the hub, Adeniyi stated that since the inception of the Africa Fintech Foundry in 2017, the platform has engaged and equipped over 1,000 entrepreneurs.

Anita Odiete of the Venture Capital & Incubation Segment of the Africa Fintech Foundry, also gave updates on the “Women In Technology” session that will feature at the conference.

Odiete was of the view that the session will involve a brain-storming session, on how the gender inclusion can be achieved in the Nigerian technology space.

Other notable personalities expected to attend the event include Mr Leo Stan Ekeh, the Founder of Zinox Technologies.

Financial Sponsor for this year edition include: Access Bank Plc, (major sponsor), supported by 20+ sponsors, which are Microsoft, AFEX, 21st Century, Dell, 7up, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Unilever, Kia, Coldstone, Airtel, Templars, Pinkberry, Internet Solutions Nigeria, The Agile Advisors, Konga.com, Bluechip Technologies, United Capital, eStreams, Dominos Pizza, Trium, with the aim of promoting and boosting Fintech activities in Nigeria.

Eutelsat Communications has chosen high-performance ground infrastructure providers to operate its future KONNECT satellite and associated broadband services: General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies has been selected to offer and deploy seven antennas, while Hughes Network Systems (HUGHES) will provide its JUPITER™ ground network system.

With 75 Gbps of capacity, KONNECT is a new generation multi-beam satellite scheduled for launch at the end of this year. Once in service in 2020, the all-electric satellite will serve the broadband Internet market on a large scale throughout Western Europe and Africa.

General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies’ solution will provide seven 9-metre antennas to support traffic exchange between the satellite and its ground network system, ensuring a best in class performance and speed of deployment on a cost-efficient basis.

Eutelsat’s long-standing partner, Hughes, a world leader in satellite broadband networks and services, will provide its Jupiter platform for KONNECT’s ground network system, including baseband equipment and new generation user terminals.

Yohann Leroy, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technical Officer of Eutelsat, said: “Ground infrastructure was the last missing link in our KONNECT satellite programme and this has been bridged thanks to orders placed with Hughes Network Systems and General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies, two trusted partners and references in their respective fields. The satellite, which has just completed its construction and is currently starting its test phase, will thus benefit from high-performance ground and in-orbit infrastructure on a cost-efficient basis to deliver competitive services to our customers.”

Ten days from today and precisely May 16, 2019, the Africa FinTech Foundry (AFF) innovators summit, will create an ecosystem in Lagos where digital services inventors will interface with industry captains to design a roadmap for the nation’s march to knowledge economy.
Recall that AFF is a pan-African accelerator aimed at inspiring, training, mentoring, and investing funding into growth stage technology start-ups operating primarily in the FinTech space.
Details from the event’s programme, lined up activities, confirmed speakers and special invitees showed that whereas Ade Bajomo will deliver the welcome address with special emphasis on “Tech Is All Around Us: The Future Is Digital, The Future Is Gold,” he will back up his presentations with speech on ‘The Future of the Intelligent Bank’ rounding up with ‘The Grand Launch of Tamada’.
Bajomo’s speech will be succeeded by Keynote address on ‘It is not the Technology that changes the World, it is the dreams behind the Technology!,’ to be delivered by the chief executive of Access Bank, Mr. Herbert Wigwe.
Going forward, key presentations and demos will follow from experts including Brett King, Robot Demos and presentation of Drone and Robots developed by CIS Lagos students.

Under the first panel discussion on Technology majoring on ‘Women in Technology: Future Perfect Technology,’ leading industry fellows including chief executive of MainOne Cable Company, Ms Funke Opeke, will chair alongside Barbara Iyayi, Adia Sowho, Hauwa Yabani, and Audrey Mothupi.
Shortly after first networking tea/coffee break, Mr. Uzoma Dozie will hit the stage to deliver analysis on ‘The future of cash in a digital world OR Cash is king; X is its Heir, Find X.’
After another break for Demo Presentation on Start up (Digital payments), Panel Discussion on Venture Capital will begin with perspectives on ‘Securing Seed and Growth Funding for Start ups in Nigeria and Africa’.
Panellists will include Bunmi Akinyemiju, Adedeji Olowe, Omobola Johnson, and Ashwin Ravichandran.
The panel discussion will be followed by Lunch Break, Refreshments and Networking at the end of which, question and answer Q & A with industry Expert on Regulation Technology (RegTech) and Enabling Investments plus making the regulations clearer, will take the floor.
This segment will feature industry regulatory captains including Mary Uduk of SEC and Segun Aina.
On Fireside Chat, leading serial techpreneur and chairman of Zinx Group, Leo Stan Ekeh will drive Demo Presentation on Start Up
As the day runs down, clinical Masterclasses on FinTech and Digital Payments, Cybersecurity, Blockchain and Analytics in Action/Real-time Analytic will take the stage
The Materclasses will be followed by Bayo Adekanmbi’s Hard Talk on Disruptive Banking (Commerciality around banking and APIs) with Brett King and Roosevelt Ogbonna on stage.
Business Hilights gathered the 2019 AFF Conference will be drawing the curtain with the ‘Announcement of demo winners, raffle draw winners and closing remarks’.

A 29-year-old father of two, Akpojivi Joel Onoriode, described as kingpin of cybercrime, has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Uyo Zonal Office, Calabar, Cross River State.

The suspect, during his interaction with the EFCC operatives, said he wouldn’t want anyone to tell his children that he was into cybercrime, which was part of the reason he relocated from Delta State to Cross River State.

He said: “I was really known in my school then as a ‘Yahoo boy.’ I have two kids. I didn’t want to bring them up where people will say, ah! your father is a Yahoo boy. That was why I relocated my family from Asaba to Calabar. When I came out now and saw you people and the bus outside, my mind just told me there was a problem.”

Onoriode is one of the suspects arrested after the EFCC operatives carried out two separate raids of suspected internet fraudsters’ lairs on May 4 and 5, 2019. The EFCC spokesman, Tony Orilade, confirmed the story.
He said: “The Saturday morning operation led to the arrest of a known ‘Yahoo’ kingpin, Akpojivi Joel Onoriode, who is a graduate of Delta State University, Abraka. He is married and has two children.” Orilade said Onoriode was arrested in his lavishly furnished duplex located at Plot 10, Block VI, Unical Satellite Town, Calabar, which he confessed was purchased with proceeds from his illicit ‘Yahoo’ business.

He confessed that he had been in the “yahoo-yahoo” business for a long time and was known as “Blinks” or “Mr. White”. The suspect admitted that he currently operates an offshore account in China.
While conducting a search on the premises, three luxury cars – ZDX Acura car, E 300 Mercedes Benz and a Range Rover SUV – were recovered from him.
The Range Rover could, however, not be moved out of the premises with other exhibits due to mechanical problems. Other items recovered include, two iPhones, one Nokia phone, and documents of landed properties owned by the suspect. Orilade said:

“The morning raid on May 5, 2019 led to the arrest of Ifeanyi Chukwudi, Godwin Joseph and Iluobe Daniel. They were picked up at different locations within Calabar, following intelligence reports gathered by operatives of the commission, as a result of the high rate of cybercrime in the town. Chukwudi confessed that he specialised in love scam, admitting that he had made a lot of money from cybercrime.”
Chukwudi said: “I have defrauded women from United Kingdom. They usually pay me after we get engaged, and then, they will now want me to come over, that’s when they send me money and that’s how I get paid.”

Some of the items recovered from his apartment at Effiong Close, Satellite Town, Calabar include one iPhone 8 Plus, one HP laptop containing fraudulent letters of false claims, and nine SIM cards. Joseph and Daniel were arrested at Itagbor Agbeansa area of Calabar. A Toyota Camry LE, one HP laptop containing scam emails and several exotic phones were recovered from them. They will soon be charged to court.