The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Agency

  • Ndoma-Egba: NDDC isn’t contract-awarding agency

    Ndoma-Egba: NDDC isn’t contract-awarding agency

    The Governing Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has reaffirmed its commitment to make its systems and processes more transparent for sustainable development in the Niger Delta region.

    The board said NDDC is not a contract-awarding agency, as being misconstrued in some quarters, but an interventionist agency for the Niger Delta region.

    The Federal Government’s interventionist agency outlined these in its 21-Point Focus during the board’s inaugural meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.

    The commission’s chairman, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, noted that it was imperative to create opportunities “for public participation to engender confidence in the activities of the commission by all stakeholders in the region”.

    Other points, Ndoma-Egba said, included curtailing the indiscriminate award of contracts and the need for the board’s approval for procurement of projects and programmes.

    He said: “The board must adopt policies that would moderate or streamline the number of new procurements in the commission, given that as at today, NDDC has over 9,000 ongoing projects, most of which are experiencing funding, implementation and other challenges.

    “The board must determine the status of each of the ongoing projects and programmes and put in place a mechanism to re-evaluate the viability of some projects, revise the scope of others, renegotiate the cost of some and relocate or merge others as well as evolve a strategy for settling verified debts.”

    The NDDC chairman noted that because of paucity of funds, it was inevitable to prioritise projects and programmes, adding: “Deliberate efforts must be made to determine the number of projects that can be focused upon and quickly completed.

    “As a matter of urgency, the corporate headquarters building of NDDC and the remaining state office buildings must be given serious attention by the board.”

    The board also said:

    • Appointments and postings of workers must be based on equity, competence and determinable criteria.
    • NDDC will build synergy with all critical stakeholders, especially the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), development partners and security agencies, among others.
    • Efforts must be made to implement an NDDC master plan; ad hoc, “short-term” solutions have proved unsustainable.
    • NDDC to transparently and strategically engage critical stakeholders: governors, Houses of Assembly, the workers, traditional rulers, oil firms, youths (including the agitators) women, the disabled, environmental right activists, etc. Efficient collaboration will make the commission an actual development agency instead of its present perception as a contract-awarding commission.
    • Private sector participation to be encouraged in various developmental activities while development partners will be engaged to ensure delivery of relevant projects in the Niger Delta region.
    • Involvement of the communities in the sustainable clean-up of the environment. Traditional and community leaders must be educated on the menace of pipeline vandalism and its effect on the environment. Communities have to be encouraged on proper waste management and the impact on the economy. The commission will identify beneficial ways of converting waste to wealth.
    • Addressing security concerns will be critical to achieving the mandate of the commission. The Security Agencies must be continually encouraged, as security is needed for the sustainable development of the Niger Delta. Traditional ways of justice administration and alternative dispute resolution may be adopted in some cases rather than relying on force at all times, to redress misconduct. People in the informal economy have to be identified and catered for.  We must put in place a pragmatic youth empowerment policy which will enable the area’s youth to discover their talents and live useful lives.  Training and retraining of the youths will continue to benefit the region. Appropriate training modules have to be identified for training the youth of the Region.  This will be in consultation with the Amnesty office and development partners.  This will improve stability and assure potential investors, local and foreign of the safety of their investment.
    • Empowerment of the indigenes has to be sustainable, based on needs assessment. Enhancing the position of women is also very important. Creating opportunities for women will help in addressing their needs and recognise their role in the community as peace makers.
    • Appropriate medical facilities and personnel will be deployed for the well being of the people of the region. Trained and qualified manpower will be assembled to attend to individual and specific health needs of the various communities.
    • Corporate social responsibilities of International and National oil companies have to benefit the people. These companies will be encouraged to improve their relationship with the host communities under the coordination of a unit of the Commission;
    • mprove transportation infrastructure by providing alternative and cheaper means for efficient movement of people and goods.
    • Work with relevant agencies of government and the private sector to provide appropriate, alternative and reliable supply of Electricity to the communities especially those of the hinterland in the region;
    • Review the scholarship programme to improve local content.
    • Sports development will be encouraged to give our youths a sense of competitiveness.

    Ndoma-Egba reiterated the need to win the confidence of stakeholders in the commission’s development plan, adding that changing the fortunes of the Niger Delta and improving the living conditions of the people rested with everyone.

     

  • Ecobank opens agency banking outlet at Mowe

    Ecobank opens agency banking outlet at Mowe

    Ecobank Nigeria has commissioned an agency banking outlet at Airtel express shop in Mowe Ofada, Ogun state. This is in line with the bank’s determination to convert Airtel franchise locations to agent banking locations.

    In a statement, the bank said members of the public can now carry out their financial transactions such as cash-in, cash-out, transfers to Ecobank and other banks, bill payments and rapid transfer for inflow cash-out and domestic transfers in the outlet.

    Ecobank Agency Banking service which is the first of its kind to debut in Nigeria is aimed at offering affordable access to financial services to promote and deepen financial inclusion in the Nigeria economy.

    According to Head, Consumer Distribution, Ecobank Nigeria, Tunde Kuponiyi, agency banking is a part of the bank’s distribution strategy to take banking service to the door-step of the customer, adding that, it offers greater convenience and accessible financial services in a cost effective and secure manner

    Banking services provided by the agents banking locations include opening Ecobank Quick Account, cash withdrawal and deposit into Ecobank accounts; funds transfers into any bank account in Nigeria, bills payment (utilities, cable subscription, etc), mobile phone airtime top up amongst other services.

    Some of Ecobank agent partners already offering this service in Lagos as Buymore Supermarket chain (in Agungi-Lekki, Kilo Surulere, Ikeja GRA), Kenzo Retail Supermarket chain (in Lekki, Festac and Apapa) and Save-a-Lot Supermarket in Egbeda, among others.

  • Agency to establish sexual referral network in UNILAG

    The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT) has concluded plans to establish a sexual referral network at the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

    Students would be trained and empowered at the centre to act as first responders to sexual assault cases on campus.

    The Guidance and Counseling Department of the institution has already assured the team of their commitment to partner with DSVRT in addressing the issue.

    DSVRT Coordinator Mrs Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi said the decision is in line with the mandate given by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to embark on enlightenment campaigns on sexual assault prevention, rape and domestic violence.

    At an event in the campus organised by DSVRT and the Pastor Bimbo Odukoya Foundation, the students were given tips on how to avoid being victims of sexual assault and educated on how to stay safe in social settings, some of which include making a plan ‘B’ for emergency exits from a place, protecting their drinks, avoiding clubs or free parties.

    They were also informed and educated on the legal implications of committing sexual assault offence.

    The students were informed of their roles as bystanders, in intervening and assisting to prevent sexual assault and were taught to “CARE- Create a distraction, Ask directly, Refer the matter to an authority and Enlist others and for their fellow students.

    “Students were also given tips on how to date, some of which include setting limits and being clear on them, being mindful of behaviours of their partners some of which include degrading mannerisms, extreme jokes or language, violent tendencies, and controlling or overbearing tendencies”.

    Mrs Vivour-Adeniyi distributed a manual on sexual assault prevention to the students.

  • Agency empowers 85 orphans with skills

    Eighty-five orphans and vulnerable children are being trained in various skills for sustainable living, the Akwa Ibom State Agency for the Control of AIDS (AK-SACA), has said.

    Its Programme Manager, Dr. Nkereuwem Etuk, made this known in Uyo, the state capital at the meeting of the state working technical group on Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and AIDS (PMTCT).

    At the meeting, during the week, Etuk said the training was in collaboration with the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, adding that the beneficiaries were trained on skills such as hairdressing, fashion design and catering.

    He said that the training was supported by the World Bank and the trainees would be equipped with starter packs at the end of the exercise in February.

    Etuk said that AK-SACA had formed eight youth-friendly clubs in collaboration with the state Ministry of Youth and Sport on how to stay safe from HIV and AIDS infection.

    He explained that the collaboration with the ministry was targeted at out-of-school-youths, while a similar partnership with the state Ministry of Education was directed at youths and young people in schools.

    The programme manager added that the agency was also  collaborating with some civil society organisations on the uptake of ante natal services by pregnant women in some local government areas.

    The HIV and AIDS Programme Manager, state Ministry of Health, Dr. Ibia Ibia, called for effective engagement of clergymen and opinion leaders in the prevention of HIV and AIDS infection in the state.

    He noted that clergymen, especially in the rural areas have great influence on their members and could help  their behaviour.

    Ibia stated that the 2014 national survey on HIV and AIDS prevalence in Nigeria had placed the state at 10.8 per cent.

    He said the state would conduct its own AIDS indicator survey soon, pleading with all stakeholders to collaborate to scale down the prevalence rate of the scourge.

  • Agency targets N200m IGR

    The Ogun State Agricultural Development Corporation (OGSADC) has set a revenue target of N200 million in the next fiscal year.

    The General Manager of the Corporation, Mr. Femi Soremekun revealed this during the 2017 Budget defence at the Ogun State House of Assembly Complex, Abeokuta the state capital.

    He said the corporation targeted 100 million as revenue this year and was able to achieve N133 million in the third quarter of this year.

    Soremekun, however, reeled off some of the corporation’s plans towards realising its target to include pruning of existing trees and slashing of 350 hectares at Ibara Orile cashew plantation and construction of additional bee hives for honey production.

    Other plans by the corporation, he said, included purchase of 15,000 point of lay birds for its Balekan and Oke-Eri poultry projects, as well as continuous maintenance of existing rubber trees at Remo Rubber Plantation. He said to raise 60,000 sprouted seeds and planting of oil palm and arable crops has also commenced.

  • Agency screens teachers for pension

    The Lagos State Teachers’ Establishment Pension Office (TEPO) has undertaken its yearly pension verification for retirees from the state teaching service.

    The one-week exercise, which started last Wednesday, only screened pensioners who retired under the old pension scheme so as to get accurate figure of existing pensioners to avert fraud.

    The exercise, which took place at TEPO in Old Secretariat, Ikeja, also held in all six education districts in the state.

    The biometric exercise also helped to update the pensions record to know how many retirees are on the pay roll of the State Government as well as give opportunity to those who missed the previous verification and their names were removed from the payroll to get them reinstated.

    TEPO Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Sewanu Amosu, explained that payment of the six per cent and 15 per cent increment on pensions by the state government commenced last year.

    She called on retirees yet to be paid to write to TEPO with all relevant documents so that their increment could be processed.

  • Blood donation is harmless, says agency

    It  is not harmful to donate blood, Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service Executive Secretary Mrs Modupe Olaiya has said

    She spoke at the maiden monthly Rotary Clubs’blood donation camp held at the Rotary International Centre in Ikeja GRA, Lagos.

    She said the aim of the programme was to get enough blood to save lives, adding that only human beings and not animals could do so. Unless people donate, she warned, more lives would be lost. The shortage of blood plaguing most hospitals, she said, was preventable through more blood donation.

    Mrs Olaiya said we need between 70,000 and 100,000 units of blood yearly, adding that with a target of between 5,000 and 6,000 units monthly, we could make it.

    She said the state government was partnering Rotary to mobilise more people to donate blood voluntarily, noting that freewill donation is safer compared to when donors are induced with money.

    She said the Service has stationary units where people could walk in and donate as well as a publicity division for awareness.

    Last weekend, six clubs led by the Rotary Club of Palmgrove Estate held a camp to encourage members for blood donation.

    A former president of Rotary Club of Palmgrove Ramesh Bismal said the event was an initiative of the club during his tenure in 2014. He said the aim was to save lives, adding that one bottle of blood could save three lives. “We are targeting 1,000 bottles of blood in the district. It is a signatory project of the district. So far, or in one and half years, we have 690 bottles of blood from Palmgrove Estate.”

    He said the seven clubs would hold the blood donation camp monthly until they achieved their objective. Later, the programme would go national. “In Africa only few are donating blood, yet more people need blood. We will go to the markets, corporate organisations and media houses, among others to encourage people to donate voluntarily. We need the media to assist to create awareness on blood donation and remove doubts about the matter,” he said

    On the merits of blood donation, Bismal, a notable chartered accountant, said:  “Once you donate, you get a card which entitles you to free blood when you are in an emergency. Or your family members. Also, you are also free to check your blood.”

    Among those who donated blood at the camp was Rotary International District Governor-elect Dr Wale Ogunbadejo. He shares his experience. ”It was nothing new. I have been donating blood for 27 years. Our aim is to make blood donation more friendly. And save lives. We want awareness to be strong.

    “We are partnering the Lagos State government because we don’t have a blood bank for the blood to kept for use at hospitals.”

    Ogunbadejo dispelled the myth about the donation of blood, saying that people should not be afraid to donate. He said before one donates, he would be tested to know if he could. He said any one above 65 and some categories of women are not allowed to donate.

    He warned that more people would die if we stopped donating blood. “Take blood donation as voluntary. It is a life-saver,” he added.

  • 150,000 get loans from Catholic agency

    The Catholic Bishop of Ijebu-Ode, Albert Fasina and Rev. John Ngoyi, have urged government to tackle poverty in the country.

    The clerics said unless Nigerians, particularly women, were empowered, there might not be peace in the land because of hunger.

    The duo spoke in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, at the weekend during the recognition and award ceremony for women, who excelled under the Centre for Grassroots Economic Empowerment (CGEE) scheme of the Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) of the Catholic diocese of Ijebu-Ode.

    Rev Ngoyi, director of JDPC, said about 150,000 women from Southwest states, including Kwara, had benefited from the CGEE soft loan scheme since it began in 1992.

    He said a beneficiary received at least N50,000 take-off loan and tutorial on skills for running small enterprises.

    Ngoyi added that CGEE is the Catholic’s answer to Christ’s call on the church to care for the poor, the downtrodden and widows, explaining that everybody must be involved in the struggle to get Nigeria out of recession.

  • Fed Govt plans cancer control agency

    The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has said the Federal Government plans setting up the National Agency for Cancer Control (NACC).

    He made this known at a meeting with Head of Eastern Europe, Middle East, African (EEMEA) region, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Pharmaceuticals Division, Dr. Peter Hug, in Abuja.

    Adewole said the institution would be responsible for research, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and palliative care for cancer patients. It would also provide leadership and technical direction for cancer control across the country, integrating services provided by the National Cancer Centre and a cluster of public and private tertiary hospitals.

    Other functions expected to be performed by the agency include policy formulation, advocacy and mobilisation, adopt best practices in the Global Non-Communicable Diseases Framework to make the NACC a centre of excellence for cancer prevention and care.

    It is also believed that the agency would develop the national plan for cancer prevention and care, measure burden and impact of cancer and establish registries for routine monitoring.

    He said the ministry and other stakeholders in cancer control was working hard to create awareness in the rural areas on the early detection of cancer.

    Adewole expressed the government’s determination to work with Hug.

    “If you ask me what do I want from Dr. Hug, I will say how we can build a strong  partnership and move from talking to action, what can you bring to the table in terms of partnership that would bring reliable service to Nigerians?”  he said.

    The minister and Dr. Peter Hug agreed that the deal would focus more on Human Papiloma Virus (HPV) and breast cancer.

    Hug said his company was interested in partnering the government on cancer prevention and treatment.

    He said they have the facilities to support Nigeria in the fight against cancer.

  • Noah’s Ark eyes top spot in Africa’s ad agency rankings

    Noah’s Ark eyes top spot in Africa’s ad agency rankings

    Behind every great brand is a great agency.” This statement, an adaptation of a saying: “Behind every successful man is a woman”, appeared in the first paragraph of Loeries website official ranking homepage category.

    Loeries has remained one of the most-vibrant competitors to Cannes’s Lion, a global marketing and artistic award, which holds in France yearly.

    In the recent Loeries ranking by agency 2016-region, excluding South Africa category, Noah’s Ark occupies the ninth spot. It is also the only Nigerian advertising outfit among the top 15 agencies. With its recent global affiliation with Denstu Aegies Network, the firm has, indeed, has a tall ambition of becoming one of Africa’s top agencies.

    Dentsu Aegies, a marketing communication agency with presence in 145 countries, five continents, 35,000 workers, last week said it would enter into partnership with Noah’s Ark  for a year with possible extension.

    Last year, the agency won the Grand Prix at the Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival (LAIF), organised by the Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAN). It has consistently remained in the top five for five years.

    However, ranked among TBWA/RAAD from United Arab Emirate (UAE);  J. Walter Thompson from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Memac Ogilvy- Dubai, J. Walter Thompson- Beirut, FP7/DX8, Cheil Worldwide- Dubai, J. Walter Thompson-Dubai and Memac Ogilvy- Doha, the Group Managing Director of Noah’s Ark, Mr. Lanre Adisa, said “today, we are the most-celebrated within and outside Nigeria”.

    Now in it is sixth year, the Loeries Official Rankings provides authoritative and independent indication of ‘who is who’ in the brand communications industry across Africa and the Middle East.

    “The rankings are calculated on a methodology that allocates points to brands, agencies and individuals based on results from the Loeries Creative Week, held in August,” said Loeries Chief Executive Andrew Human.

    During an interactive session with newsmen in Lagos last week, Adisa said Noah’s Ark decided to embrace global affiliation to play at the top level in Africa and worldwide.

    “Why Dentsu Aegies? At different fora in the industry, I have been a believer of collaboration. If you want to go far, you go together. I believe to go far, you have to collaborate at the global stage. At various points, I have spoken against isolation.

    “For us, Denstu is one of the best global agencies with the highest growth rate. Right from our first contact with their team in Nigeria, we discovered that they are not just here to mark time. We could see testimony in their local media affiliate agency, MediaFuse Nigeria. Today, it is the biggest media agency in Nigeria and West Africa,” he said.

    Adisa believed that having won local and international awards consistently with its creative outputs for local brands, with some of its unapproved and controversial creative jobs such as Boko Halal among declared winners at various international advertising awards such as Loeries, Lueza’s Archive, which is regarded as the world Bible of advertising, Noah’s Ark‘s ambition to become a top player in Africa is because the agency is no more that small agency that started five years ago.

    “We believe this partnership with Dentsu will make us achieve our dream to be the best in Africa,” he said.

    Also, the Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd Managing Director, Emeke Okeke, said the selection of Noah’s Ark, a Dentsu’s affiliate, is premised on the agency’s impeccable credentials.

    He said the agency has displayed determination to play at the global level, a character that gels with the global agencies.