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Tag: award

  • Alomo Bitters bags medicinal herbal drink award

    The Institute for Government Research Leadership Technology has awarded Alomo Bitters, a flagship brand of Kasapreko Company Nigeria Ltd. the Medicinal Herbal Drink of the year 2014  at its African Product Forum, ‘Abuja’ 2014 with the theme: “Building Brands, Handing Competition”.

    Receiving the award, the company’s Managing Director, Mr. Kojo Nunoo, said his firm is pursuing a vision to build a world-class brand, using authentic traditional herbal blends and world-class technology in an environmentally responsible manner to satisfy customers.

    “It is with great delight and humility that we at Kasapreko Company Nigeria Limited receive this award. Recognitions like this further give a lift to our dreams and encourage us to do more research and ultimately produce innovative products for our consumers’ satisfaction” he said.

    He added: “This award means a lot to us, because Alomo Bitters is the only product in its category that is produced with hundred per cent natural ingredients. We are happy that our effort is been recognised in this regards.”

    According to him, since the introduction of Alomo Bitters into the Nigerian market about four years ago, its growth has been driven largely by consumer demand. ”Nigerians love the drink because it is the only drink in its category that is produced with hundred per cent natural ingredients, which make it good for health. We get testimonies for the medicinal potency of Alomo Bitters from consumers,”he said.

    Also speaking at the award ceremony, the company’s Sales Director,  Mr. Sam Osafo said:  “As a reputable company, we are focused on the quality of our product that is why from the point of extraction to mixing and distilling, careful scientific processes have been put in place to ensure that we maintain the high standard we have been known for.

    “The herbs used by Kasapreko is sourced and treated by the Centre for Scientific Research  into Plant Medicine in Ghana. This relationship has been on for over 20years. Our consumers are rest assured that when they drink Alomo Bitters, they are not only drinking to enjoy, but they are also drinking to stay healthy because of the medicinal qualities of Alomo Bitters.”

    Deputy Chairman, Institute for Government Research Leadership Technology, Prof. John NdanusaAkanya, who spoke at the event, advised award recipients to maintain a high level of standard and quality in their production method because it is the only reason they are getting the recognition.

    “Standard and quality in manufacturing are a journey with no destination. There is no alternative to quality. It is either you produce a quality product or a substandard one. I strongly advise that you put in all your best and produce quality product that can compete favourably in any part of the world. There is no compromise to quality, if a company must stay afloat, such company must strictly adhere to international best practises in production,” he said.

    Delivering a keynote address, Chairman Advisory Board, Institute for Government Research Leadership Technology, Prof. E.J Etuk, highlighted grey areas in business and productions peculiar to countries in Africa that can serve as spring board for international business.

    “African countries have a huge deposit of natural, agricultural and human resources that can be exploited to produce unique African products like African prints, wood carvings and figurines, clay pots, animal skin, African drums (most especially Yoruba talking drums) and other local products, which have a huge market in Europe, America and other parts of the world,” he said.

  • SUBEB award: Winners share tips

    It or the 60 recipients of this  year’s Annual Merit Award of Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LSUBEB), it felt good to be rewarded for hard work. To them, one does not get recognised everyday.

    Some of them, who spoke with The Nation, shared the secret of their successes to motivate others to work hard.

    The star of the day was the best teacher, Mrs Funmilayo Akinlade, who teaches at the African Church Primary School, Mosan, in Alimosho.  She got a car and a washing machine for her effort, which she said resulted from intrinsic motivation and the desire to be part of the success story of her pupils.

    She advised other teachers not to be motivated by external factors and treat their pupils with respect, saying that nobody is destined to be low.

    “My advice to others regarding their attitude to work is that they should put in more energy, they should have internal motivation and should not depend on people to motivate them.  A lot of times you do work without motivation coming from anywhere,” said Mrs Akinlade.

    She said her aim was to improve the self esteem of public school pupils.

    Education Secretary, Agege Local Education Authority (LGEA), Olalekan Majiyagbe, whose local government was declared the best among the 20 LGEAs, said teachers must invest in themselves to stand out.

    He said: “I am just appealing to those teachers that have lesser qualifications to develop themselves so that frustration will not set it.  I could observe that some of them, who fail to update themselves, constitute problem in the system.  They should update themselves through the teacher-vacation courses.”

    Head Teacher, Modupe Cole Memorial Home School, Akoka, Mrs Florence Kayode, who won the best special school category, said winning the best special school category  showed that special children can be useful.

    “I am happy and the children are also happy.  It shows that in every disability there is ability.  This is to encourage the parents of special children to bring out their children so that they will have sense of belonging in the community,” she said.

    Administrative  staff at SUBEB Headquarters in Maryland, Ikeja, Lagos were also rewarded at the event.  Mrs Abimbola Okudero, a Quantity Surveyor in the Project Department, who came second in the Senior Staff Category and Mrs Oyewole Adebisi  of the School Services Department, who won the best Junior Staff category, thanked the management for recognising their hardwork.

    The SUBEB Chairman, Mrs Gbolahan Daodu, urged the recipients to work harder and encouraged those who did not win to start working towards next year.

    “I want to congratulate the awardees and also urge them to know that the sky is just the limit. They should not relent and others to buckle up to make sure that they too excel and perform excellently by next year,” she said.

    Chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Busari Gbadeyanka, who was represented by the Director, Public Relations and Corporate Affairs, Murhi International Television, Mrs Olubunmi Windapo,  praised SUBEB for rewarding all categories of workers.

    “This is a great and unique occasion, unique in the sense that messengers, clerks are being recognised alongside senior members of staff.  This bottom-up approach is laudable,” she said.

    Prizes presented included a car (courtesy of Ecobank), flat screen TV, refridgerators, washing machines and water dispensers.

  • The NDDC long service award

    The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, (ICPC), Mr. Ekpo Nta, stood out among the 256 serving and retired staff of the Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC), who were honoured with long service awards on November 17, 2014.

    Although the honour was bestowed on him and others on the basis of their past contributions to the progress and development of NDDC, the event brought to the fore pertinent issues and lessons on attitude to work and conduct in service.

    The Chairman of NNDC, Sir Bassey Dan- Abia, in his speech, said the essence of the awards was “to build staff confidence for career progression, motivate staff and promote excellence through healthy competition for greater service delivery.”

    He said another lesson from the award was on the dignity that any diligent employee could earn on his duty post. In his response, Mr. Nta advised members of staff to aspire to qualify for long service award by staying clean and upright. The award given to Nta did not come as a fluke judging from the silent but far reaching innovations he is adopting to fight corruption in Nigeria.

    As the Chairman of ICPC, Nta has launched new initiatives, anchored on his desire to make the difference in the anti-corruption war in Nigeria, tapping from a bag of ideas which he brought to the table to make the anti-graft war more effective and result-oriented

    Before his appointment as the ICPC Chairman, Nigerians had witnessed an era in which corruption was usually tackled with a high measure of grandstanding by anti-graft officials who seemed to prefer a sensational process of trial of offenders and with banner newspaper headlines.

    Nigerians no doubt got tickled by the sensational approach to the anti-graft war, as they cheered endlessly each time the anti-graft commission made arrests of suspects and interrogated them. Often times, the approach proved less effective because not many of the cases so celebrated in the media fulfilled all expectations of having those arrested prosecuted.

    Ekpo Nta thus came into ICPC with the mind set of changing the game while launching a preventive approach to the war against corruption. He succeeded in putting in place, a bottom-up measure which sought to fight corruption right from the source, targeting schools, institutions, civil society groups and civil servants as soldiers to be mobilised in the war.

    So far, ICPC under Ekpo Nta has succeeded in creating a System Review Mechanism for checking corruption within government establishments, banking institutions, schools and other areas. ICPC had also assisted in reviewing and strengthening the process of admission within Nigeria’s tertiary institutions. In the process, it was able to clamp down on fake tertiary institutions which had long been exploiting unsuspecting Nigerian students with fake admissions.

    The anti-graft commission has also extended its reach towards the secondary and elementary schools in Nigeria. The essence was to build into the school curricula some precepts of anti-corruption for the students to imbibe, with expectations that they could be technically conscripted into the war against corruption, all the same.

    Nigeria can also recall that the ICPC has been blazing the trail in reducing cases of frequent visa scams at the instance of visa racketeers in the country. The commission has entered into a synergy with foreign embassies and security operatives in Nigeria to lower the menace of visa racketeering in the country. This led to many of the visa touts being arrested and handed to the law enforcement agencies for necessary action.

    Not long ago, the ICPC entered into a partnership with not less than 70 civil society organisations, all duly registered and trained to work under the umbrella of the National Anti-Corruption Coalition (NACC), an initiative of the ICPC.

    The award on Mr. Nta is, therefore, well deserved for a man who has done much for his country.

    – Innocent Clifford

    Port Harcourt.

     

  • Pathcare bags award as it turns 10

    Pathcare bags award as it turns 10

    PathCare Laboratories, an indigenous laboratory operating with international standards, has got ‘The Best Enterprise Achievement’ at ‘The Europe Business Assembly (EBA),  in Oxford, United Kingdom.

    This is coming as the company marks 10th anniversry.

    EBA’s the Director-General, John Netting said the ‘Best Enterprise Award’ was established to present the best regional companies to the European society.

    He added that the award selection was based on recommendations of the EBA partners, which includes the European Market Research Centre (Belgium), Baden-Vurtennberg Academy (Germany), the Institute of Quality Standards (Switzerland) and the International Congress of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (Moscow Russia) . The process also included data collection from national and international ratings and is supported by Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce.

    Ms. Bose Oladehin, who received the award on behalf of PathCare said: “We are elated at this recognition, which could not have come at a better time than now because it coincides with PathCare’s 10th  anniversary. We are honoured to work in Nigeria and being recognised on a global stage. We are challenged at this time to increase our level of commitment to the healthcare system in Nigeria. We want to thank all who nominated us and show our sincere gratitude to the Europe Business Assembly for honoring PathCare Laboratories with this prestigious award.”

    PathCare Laboratory has the distinction of being the first laboratory in West Africa to attain International Accreditation (ISO 15189). Well known for delivery of accurate and reliable services, PathCare currently offers the widest range of pathology tests, many of which were previously not available in the country.

  • Brooks+Blake wins award

    Brooks+Blake wins award

    Brooks and Blake Nigeria Ltd, has emerged  the PR Agency of the Year at the fourth  Marketing World Awards organised by the Marketing World magazine.

    This award held at Oriental Hotel, Lagos had in attendance captains of industries.

    Receiving the award, the Executive Director, Brooks and Blake, Mr. Taiwo Ogunwumi, expressed his appreciation for the recognition with a promise to work harder at upholding the tenets of the Award.

    “To be nominated and eventually win an Award of this magnitude validates the fact that hardwork, commitment to purpose and been focused on a vision has its rewards. More so, it indicates the robust and healthy growth within the marketing industry in Nigeria. We are especially delighted as a company, winning the Best PR Agency in Nigeria in just the fourth year of our existence,” Ogunwumi said.

    The Principal Partner of the agency, Mr. Sola Fijabi, said: “This award is a call to action for us at Brooks+ Blake. We have reasons now more than ever before to fortify our efforts at servicing our clients the best way we can, adding value the entities as much as possible.

    “We realise that with recognition comes responsibility; hence we are focused and we promise to continue to deliver exceptional services to our clients and others who present us an opportunity to serve them.”

  • Imo to host Igbo Music Award

    Imo to host Igbo Music Award

    The Imo State government will host this year’s edition of the Igbo Music Award, an event seeking to preserve and promote the Igbo culture through its music.

    It is through Igbo music as produced by the practitioners that its language is documented and stored for generations to come.

    Again, Igbo contribution to world culture is a product of Igbo music and musicians. It is in tandem with this obvious position that the annual Igbo Music Award otherwise, called Ekwe Award has become an important event in the cultural calendar of the Igbo nation. Inaugurated in 2013 by the Ogbakoro Theater Company, Ekwe Award is the promotion and the recognition of the finest in Igbo music, with Igbo language as a vehicle of such rendition and composition.

    The 2014 Ekwe Award, which is the last big item in the Igbo Cultural Calendar, is on. The process for selection and award ceremony has commenced. Billed for the last quarter of the year, it is expected that the 2014 Ekwe Award will be hosted by Imo State. The 2013 Award Ceremony hosted by Ebonyi State took place at the prestigious Women Development Center, Abakaliki. Many multinational conglomerates have shown interest in partnering the organizers in show casing the best in Igbo music and culture since, the award is geared not only in bringing out the best in Igbo music regardless of genre, it is also meant to tell the world that the Igbo peoples language which many fear is going into extinction, is a major contributor to world culture and civilization.

    Meanwhile, call for entries have commenced and voting for winners in the various categories will be announced soon. The organizers have promised to stage a once in a lifetime event, which will not only be promoted in the South-East but will register in the cultural timetable of all lovers of music and culture.

    While we welcome the 2014 Ekwe Award, it is worthy to note the pathetic attitude of South-East government and Igbo leaders towards the advancement and propagation of Igbo Culture, Language and music.

    In 2013, after several promises and pledges it was the far seeing Governor and Government of Ebonyi State that supported Ekwe Award.

    Even Corporate Institutions like the GSM Providers, MTN showed little commitment to this worthy course. It was as if while we lament the onslaught and battering the Igbo language is facing today, the Igbo nation as a people has failed to recognize the very unique role music plays and will continue to play in the sustenance of the language, as one of the body of world languages.

    In 2013 the organisers had to through dint of ruggedness of spirit and vision carried out the epochal arrival of All Igbo music award. It is therefore, hoped that the governments and people of the South East should do the needful in promoting this laudable project which not only chronicles the different genres of Igbo music in their uniqueness but helps in recognizing Igbo music stars and ambassadors with the aim of giving them their rightful place in the Pantheon of stars and legends.

    As Imo state is billed to host the 2014 Ekwe Award, it is gratifying to note the interest shown by the people towards the awards but this enthusiasm can be better complimented if the Imo state government should take interest and contribute towards its success.

    Also, we call on the governments of Southeast states to rally resources in culture promotion and support great and iconic ideas like Igbo music award when they do this, the Igbo language and culture will not only be enriched but archived for posterity.

     

     

  • NB Plc bags CSR award

    Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc has been named the Best Corporate Social Responsible (CSR) Company for this year. The company emerged overall winner of the award amidst stiff competition from other listed corporate organisations at this year’s edition of the annual Social Enterprise Report and Awards  in Lagos at the weekend.

    It bagged a total of four awards in categories including: Best Company in Infrastructure, Best Company in Supply Chain , CSR Practitioner of the Year and the overall Best Company in CSR.

    Its Managing Director, Mr Nico Vervelde said: “Nigerian Breweries will continue to pursue innovative social programmes aimed at lifting the society and enhancing the living standards of the citizenry.”

    Receiving award, its Corporate Affairs Adviser, Mr. Kufre Ekanem, said Nigerian Breweries Plc is delighted and humbled to have been voted the socially responsible company in Nigeria.

    He said: “We are delighted to receive this award in recognition of our humble effort in putting something back to a society we are very proud of. More importantly, we are humbled to have been voted the most socially responsible corporate citizen by the very articulate and critical jury of SERAs. This is a worthy recognition and an incentive to encourage us to do more.”

    Nigerian Breweries received the overall award as the most socially responsible corporate citizen in Nigeria in recognition of the company’s numerous CSR projects and undertakings across the country.

  • Access Bank wins best customer service award

    Access Bank wins best customer service award

    Access Bank Plc has further consolidated its position as a service focused bank by winning the “2014 Best Customer Service Company Award”. The award was presented to the bank by the Nigeria Customer Service Awards (NCSA) at a ceremony held in Abuja.

    The bank won the coveted prize after beating several other contenders in the banking services category. The award recognises the impressive achievement of the bank over the past year particularly as it relates to the bank’s delivery of superior customer service experience at every of its location across Nigeria and Africa.

    Speaking on the award, Executive Director, Access Bank Plc, Mrs. Ojini Olaghere said the award is a product of the bank’s investment in people and its processes which ensure that the bank’s customers are treated to excellent customer experience at every touch point.

    “I want to assure you that Access Bank will not rest on its oars in delivering excellent service. This award will also spur us to meet and surpass our customers’ expectations and remain the bank of choice for all Nigerians,” she said.

    Also speaking at the event, the Coordinator of NSCA, Dr. Aliyu Ilias, said the award was instituted to celebrate outstanding excellent service delivery across all sectors in the country.

    “I want to seize this opportunity to congratulate the winners in this year’s edition; you have served Nigerians efficiently based on the data gathered from your service consumers and we hope this award will propel and motivate you to improve in the area of customer service.”

  • NYSC member gets Best Actor award

    A Corps member, Patrick Ogar, has been adjudged the Best Actor of the Year of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Anambra State.

    Patrick was presented with the award at an event to mark the passing out of Batch “C” Corps members at Chelekwu Hotel in Awka. He was a member of Culture and Tourism, a Community Development Service (CDS) group, during his service year.

    The state NYSC co-ordinator, Mrs. Inyang Bassey-Ekpe, and representatives of Blaze FM and Dufil Foods, makers of Indomie noodles, attended the event.

    The chairman of the event, Mr Ayanda Ayorinde, who is the head of CDS in the state, advised outgoing Corps members to be good ambassadors of the country.

    Mrs. Bassey-Ekpe hailed the youths for the achievements recorded in the 2013/2014 service year, wishing them the best in their future endeavours. She said: “This batch has been one of the best that I have overseen since I got transferred to Anambra State as the coordinator. I expect nothing less than this even as you are passing out into the society. You must ensure that you keep the flag flying.”

    Patrick praised God for the honour, saying the day was special for him. “Today is a special day for me and I thank God for this honour. I never knew people were watching until I got this award. This is in response to my total dedication to the peace and development of my host community,” he said.

    The event also featured breaking of kola nut by Mr Patrick Okoye, the CDS dance instructor, and dance performance by Corps members.

     

  • Paga chief wins entrepreneur award

    Paga chief wins entrepreneur award

    Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Paga, Tayo Oviosu, has been announced as the “Entrepreneur of the Year” (West Africa) 2014. He was named winner at the CNBC Africa ll Africa Business Leaders Awards.

    The organisers recognised his dedication to changing the face of the Nigerian economy  by  founding what is now the country’s  largest and fastest growing mobile payments company.

    Nominated alongside other African game changers Arthur Zang of Cardiopad (Cameroon) and Paola Audrey Ndengue of Fashizblack (Ivory Coast); Oviosu started the company in 2009, due to his frustration of having to carry large amounts of cash around to deal with Nigeria’s unique payment challenges.

    “I simply believed there had to be a more efficient and secure way for anyone, anywhere, irrespective of whether they are banked or not, to pay and get paid. With the support of a great team and the belief of our investors, Paga has become that solution for over 1.9 million Nigerians across the country and that number is growing every day,” he said.

    Oviosu said he and his team strongly believed that efficient payment systems for both individuals and businesses were key to unlocking Nigeria’s latent economic potential.