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Tag: award

  • Wike bags Global Human Settlements Outstanding Contribution Award

    Wike bags Global Human Settlements Outstanding Contribution Award

    In recognition  of his outstanding achievements  in the area of urban renewal , sustainable cities and provision of basic amenities to the residential areas of low-income earners, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike was on Monday night honoured with the “Global Human Settlements Outstanding Contribution Award “.
    Nigeria’s moment of glory peaked  in New York City  on Monday night when the the Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards (SCAHSA) presented the international award to Governor Wike in the presence of international diplomats, development professionals, high-level administrators and  leaders of international non governmental organisations.
    The governor was accompanied to the International Award Ceremony by his wife, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike, two of his children, Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Adama Iyaye-Laminkara, Member Representing Port Harcourt Federal Constituency, Ken Chikere, Edo State PDP Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih,  the Former Minister of Sport, Dr Tammy Danagogo, Rivers State Commissioner of Information, Barrister Emma Okah and and Elder Statesman, Prince Emma Anyanwu, Member of the House of Representatives, Mrs Betty Apiafi among others .
    The 12th Global Forum on Human Settlements & Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards Ceremony (GFHS XII)  was jointly organized by the Permanent Mission of the Gambia to the UN, the Permanent Observer Mission of the African Union to the UN (AU), the Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS), the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment), the University Peace Federation (UPF), the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO) and  the better City Institute (BCI) .
    Wike
    Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike (3rd Left) on the Second Row during the Global Human Settlements Outstanding Contribution Award by the the Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards (SCAHSA) in New York City on Monday night.
    Speaking at the award ceremony in New York , a representative of the United Nations Environment,   Mara Murillo said that the organisation salutes Global Forum on Human Settlements & Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements for having developed the awards and the constituency for which it has been organized.
    The United Nations Environment Representative congratulated the 23 awardees  who were selected for their positive achievements and leadership.
    The Representative stated: “The awards recognise their feats which inspire and encourage others to innovate and replicate similar feats”.
    The Vice Chairman of Global Forum on Human Settlements & Sustainable Cities, Dr Taj  Hamad said all the awardees have made great achievements that merit the awards.
    Permanent Representative of the Gambia to the United Nations, Mamadou Tangara urged all awardees to continue to work  for sustainable cities across the world.
    Ms Mara Angelica of the United Nations Programme lent her voice to the calls for collaborations in developing habitable cities.
    There were 23 awards in six different categories.  The Rivers State Governor received his “Global Human Settlements Outstanding Contribution Award” under the “Individual Initiatives to Advance Sustainable Development Category”.
    The award was presented to Wike by the Vice President of Global Forum on Human Settlements & Sustainable Cities.
    Wike
    In his acceptance speech, Wike pledged that he will continue his landmark projects to improve the living condition of the Rivers people.
    “Let me on behalf of the Government and people of Rivers State sincerely thank the organisers  of this award for the recognition.
    “To also commit ourselves that we will progressively provide infrastructure and  social services that will enhance  the living standards of all Rivers people on a sustainable basis “.
    In a video footage explaining the premise on which Wike received the award,  the governor was commended for reducing urban slums and  bridging poverty gaps .  Wike was also praised for positive leadership, provision of infrastructure and basic amenities.
    The 23 awardees were drawn from different countries including Nigeria, China, Bulgaria, Germany, USA, India and Indonesia.
  • Wike receives award in New York today

    Wike receives award in New York today

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike will today receive the “Global Human Settlements Outstanding Contribution Award“.

    It will be presented by  Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards (SCAHSA), New York, USA.

    As an important event to celebrate the World Cities Day 2017, the 12th Global Forum on Human Settlements & Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards Ceremony (GFHS XII) will hold at the United Nations  headquarters, New York.

    The organisers said GFHS – XII is committed to creating a global platform for high-level dialogues, sharing advanced standards, technology and success experience, enhancing capacity building, fostering partnership and facilitating effective actions.

    The theme of  GFHS – XII is: “Effectively Planning and Managing Urban Spatial Development to Implement 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and New Urban Agenda.”

    The GFHS – XII will be organised by the Permanent Mission of the Gambia to the UN, the Permanent Observer Mission of the African Union to the UN (AU), the Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS), the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment), the University Peace Federation (UPF), the World Association of Non-Government Organisations (WANGO) and  the Better City Institute (BCI) etc.

    Wike is being recognised for his great commitment and contribution to sustainable cities in Rivers State.

    He has developed infrastructure in settlements in  parts of the state, ensuring that people have access to basic amenities.

    The governor is also being recognised  for building Iriebe Medium Housing Estate, Rivers Quarters at the NNS Pathfinder, quarters for junior workers of the DSS and facilitating improved investment in housing by private investors.

  • Philip Morris wins top employer award

    Philip Morris wins top employer award

    Philip Morris Limited has been officially certified as one of the top employers in Nigeria in recognition of the company’s excellent working conditions and commitment to providing best-in-class career experiences to its employees. The annual international research undertaken by the globally-recognised Top Employers Institute, certifies leading employers around the world that provide highest standards in employee conditions within their entire organisations.

    Philip Morris Limited is one of only eight companies in Nigeria to be awarded in 2018 for demonstrating excellence in its human resources practices and employment offerings, which ensure that its employees can develop personally and professionally through second-to-none programmes that are well designed and truly aligned with the culture of the company.

    Top Employers award is a result of a robust assessment process and meeting the required standards in order to achieve the certification. Areas of assessment in the certification process include talent strategy, performance management, learning and development, succession management and organisational culture. This assessment is validated by the globally-renowned auditing firm, Grand Thornton, which demonstrates that this research has verified Philip Morris Limited’s outstanding employee conditions and earned them a coveted spot among a select group of certified companies.

    Philip Morris’ affiliates in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, and South Africa were also certified top employers in their respective countries. At the award ceremony which took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, Philip Morris International was awarded Top Employer in Africa for the second consecutive year. Earlier this year, the company was also recognised as a Global Top Employer.

    “Philip Morris Limited is extremely proud that within two years of its establishment in Nigeria, it is recognised with such a laudable corporate achievement.  Our company is one out of eight companies in the whole country to be certified as a top employer, and also one of only two companies in Nigeria with the global Top Employer Certification. This recognition reaffirms our commitment to become an integral part of Nigeria, contributing to the growth of its economy through tax revenues, as well as contributing to the social network through continuous creation of employment opportunities and investments. Our diverse team is reflective of a work culture that appreciates differences. Our business is conducted in an ethical and sustainable manner consistent with international business standards. The Top Employer certification validates that Philip Morris Limited is a great place to work for people who do great things,” said Managing Director, Philip Morris Limited, Coskun Kagan Dicle.

  • Emefiele wins Forbes Achievement Award

    Emefiele wins Forbes Achievement Award

    Forbes has given the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, the 2017 ‘Best of Africa Achievement Award’

    The Chief Executive Officer, Corporate Council on Africa, Florizelle Liser, said Emefiele merited the honour because the body is happy to see the work that is being done on the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria and “we believe they are going to pay off,” adding, “many of our members welcome it as an opportunity to see how they can trade more with Nigeria and invest more in Nigeria.

    “So, we thank you (Emefiele) for your efforts. We note that you have a number of agricultural related businesses and seen that there is large support for agricultural development in Nigeria at this stage.”

    While presenting the award, the CEO Forbes Business Solutions, Mike Furlong, said the award was to let the CBN chief know that each year, Forbes Emerging Markets honours a person whose achievements falls within the mission of our organisation, which is to promote further investment in Africa by United States investors.

    He listed past winners to include Aliko Dangote, Obama’s Chief of Staff, Bill Delly, adding that today, “we are honoured to welcome Godwin Emefiele to join that club”.

    Responding after receiving the award, Emefiele thanked Forbes for finding him worthy of receiving the award, tagged: “Best of Africa” on behalf of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

    Emefiele said it was most important to thank Nigerians for standing with “us particularly during the very difficult times. I say difficult times then, although I make bold now to say we are out of it. Like you all know, the last three years have been tumultuous not just for Nigeria but the global economy, arising largely from the external shocks that hit, particularly the commodity exporting countries.”

    The shocks, he pointed out, led to the plummeting of Nigeria’s reserves as crude oil price fell to a point where it dropped by February 2016, “to as low as $28 per barrel. If you compare this price to the time when it averaged $100 per barrel for five straight years from 2009 to middle of 2014, you will all agree with me that we have gone through a lot.”

    He said another shock that hit Nigeria like other countries was the United States normalisation to the point that in the last quarter of 2016, about $40 billion left emerging and frontier markets back to US. He said geopolitical tensions also affected flow of funds, including Nigeria, and these, he pointed out, climaxed when “we recorded negative growth. It also got to a point in the third quarter of 2016 where we got negative 2.3 per cent. We also saw inflation hitting us badly. By January 2016, inflation was just nine per cent, but by January 2017, prices have gone up and inflation had hit up to 18 per cent and Nigerians no doubt became uncomfortable.”

    At this point, the CBN chief said, “we at the Monetary Policy Committee felt that at this level, something needed to be done. In a study at the CBN, we came to a conclusion that at the level it would be difficult to stimulate growth. So we decided to take inflation head on.

    “We are happy today that we are doing about 16 per cent now and it would be tamed with other policies in place.”

    He also spoke on the reserves. By June 2014, Nigeria’s reserves stood at about $37 billion. As a result of the shock, by October 2016, with all the measures we have taken, it dropped to about $23 billion,

    “We felt that having taken all the measures so far- currency adjustments three times from N155 to N168 to N197 and above N200, and February this year, a section of the market hit N525, we said something had to be done. But I am happy today that we are here.”

    Emefiele praised the foreign investor community for being very supportive, saying “we took some of the decisions that they didn’t like, but I know that we have taken one this time around that excited them. The opening of the Investors’ & Exporters’ Forex Window has been particularly exciting to them.”

    He said that in six months, the window has attracted about $10 billion in inflows into Nigeria. “We feel so grateful to them for showing the confidence in Nigeria again. But I think all this also is because President Muhammadu Buhari has always said that: we had unfortunately been hit by this exogenous shock and it had resulted in inflation and plummeting in reserves, but that we needed at some point to look at the items Nigeria imports into the country,” he said.

    Emefiele said Nigeria is a big market with 180 million people growing at an average population rate of three per cent annually. “There was a time in Nigeria when we produced everything we were eating. We were producing rice, palm oil etc. Nigeria was the highest producer and exporter of palm oil in the world with over 40 per cent market share sometimes in the 60s and 70s. But unfortunately because we found oil, we decided to take things easy”.

    We are delighted we put FX restriction on 41 items and that has increase patronage for local goods.

    “Today, companies that require starch and glucose for their pharmaceuticals and formulations patronise Nigerians. This has created jobs for us. That is the spirit of Nigerians. This is part of the reasons the President said we needed to patronise Made-in-Nigeria and I am happy that we are doing this. But I think it is also important that we thank everybody, particularly Nigerians. Yes, we have just managed to exit the recession with a fragile growth of 0.5 per cent; we have seen inflation trending downwards, we have seen exchange rate and reserves looking stronger and firmer. But I think we are determined to continue to push further to see to it that Nigeria returns to its historical growth path”.

    He said the new commitment to support agricultural development, will help reduce unemployment.

    “Countries that have progressed have done so because they took the agriculture sector very seriously. We are determined to make agriculture the sector where people make money and we have decided to put in place the Anchor Borrowers Programme. Before we introduced the ABP, farmers go to farm rice and all the yield they were getting was one to 1.5 metric tonnes per hectare”.

    “After we started the ABP, today we are beginning to see farmers getting yield as high as eight metric tonnes per hectare, reducing their costs and making it possible to make their money in rice cultivation. We have seen that there is a need for us to thing about how do we improve the wealth of our rural community. We started that journey and through rice, we have achieved that,” he stated.

    The award ceremony which held on Thursday in Washington D.C, the US capital, was attended by Deposit Money Bank chief executives, including the Managing Director/CEO of Diamond Bank Uzoma Dozie, that of FirstBank of Nigeria, Dr,.Adedotun, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria’s CEO, Ahmed Kuru, former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Sarah Sanders, the Economic Adviser to the President, Dr. Dipeolu and other  leaders in private and public sectors and Nigerians in Diaspora.

  • LUTH gets award

    The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) has been tipped for the Amity Awards.

    The organisers said the awards would hold on October 22 at the Intercontinental Hotel, Lagos to celebrate the personalities who were instrumental to the achievements.

    Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, will be the special guest at the maiden event.

    The award is dedicated to inspiring and complementing positive initiatives, encourage good governance, engender hope and recognise exemplary service, to reinforce good behaviour in the benefiting institutions, especially those in the public sector.

    According to the organisers, Amity Awards and Benefit (AAB), LUTH is the focal institution because of the immense strides and achievements recorded by the management of the institution are quite laudable and has not gone unnoticed.

    It said the management of the hospital put in tremendous effort and took proactive steps to partner Corporate Nigeria and the HNI to revamp their facilities through donations, endowments and projects or programmes.

    So far, they said, there had been no shortage of positive responses, all of which have culminated in the need to have an event to honour the immense, life-changing effort put in by selfless individuals, administrators and organisations like LUTH

    BBA said yearly, the  awards would focus on a benefiting institutions or beneficiaries in helping raise awareness for their partnership. As the platform grows, it might introduce many more innovations to promote its ideals, it said.

    “The aim of this approach is not to assume the responsibilities of government or usurp its ownership of the health facilities; rather it is to seek to complement governments efforts, leveraging existing frameworks to attract development partnership through citizen action and participation.

    ‘’There is no gainsaying that our healthcare facilities need a revamp. It, however, rather than just bemoan the situation. We want to be part of the five percent that are ready to do something we can, to bring about positive change,” BBA stated.

    AAB is a non-governmental organisaion (NGO) exploring opportunities to improve the lot of Nigerians by advocating good support for infrastructural development in the  sector.

  • The Nation’s correspondent wins PwC’s award

    The Nation’s correspondent wins PwC’s award

    The Nation’s Senior Correspondent Collins Nweze has won a top prize in the second edition of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Nigeria Media Excellence Awards.

    Nweze, at the weekend in Lagos, won in the Tax Reporting Category for his story: “Taxation: Endless games…endless controversies”, a special report on the government’s new push to get the citizenry to pay their taxes and resistance  from the people over claims that the government misuses tax revenues meant for societal growth.

    The awards celebrate and reward excellence in business reporting in Nigeria.

    PwC, a network of firms in 157 countries and one of the world’s top 10 most powerful brands in the Brand Finance Index 2017, rewarded this year’s category winners with N500,000 each.

    Finalists got N50,000 consolation prize each.

    Nkiruka Nnorom of Vanguard won in the Capita Market Category with her story: “Furore over conversion of dollar debts into equity”.

    Victor Ekwealor of Techpoint.ng won in the Business and Economy Category with his story: “Can technology help dried fish nourish the Nigerian economy?”

    The SME Reporting Category was won by Isaac Anyaogu of BusinessDay for his report: “Pennies for a piece of the sun”.

    Head of Tax and Corporate Advisory Services at PwC Nigeria Taiwo Oyedele said 123 entries were submitted by journalists in four categories, namely: Capital Market Reporting, Tax Reporting, SME Reporting and Business & Economy Reporting. After review, the reports were pruned down to 83 “very good submissions”.

    Of the 83 reviewed entries, 15 were for Capital Market Reporting; 12 for SME Reporting; 45 for Business and Economy Reporting and 11 for Tax Reporting. The entries for Business and Economy Reporting were further pruned down to 12 quality reports.

    Oyedele said the winning entries were selected by a panel of four judges, who scored the reports based on originality, relevance, grammar/language skills and quality of research/insight as well as objectivity.

    Country Senior Partner at PwC Nigeria Uyi Akpata said PwC had a clear objective to partner with the media to improve the state of the economy and transparency in government.

    He said the award should be a motivating factor for journalists working in Nigeria to develop the country.

    Akpata said the number of entries received this year had tripled when compared with the number of entries received at the maiden edition. The quality of reports submitted, he said, also improved.

    “Our support for the media through the media excellence award is in line with our purpose, which is to build trust in society and solve important problems. It is a demonstration of our strong belief that for the Nigerian people to enjoy good governance, the media must perform its role optimally and professionally and this is reflected in the quality of reporting, in the capacity of individual journalists to carry out research and investigations, in the independence of editorial judgments and in their ability to use technology as an enabler,” Akpata said.

  • Sterling Bank wins award

    Sterling Bank wins award

    Sterling Bank Plc has won the Housing Friendly Commercial Bank of the Year Award for its remarkable impact on housing delivery in Nigeria’s housing sector.

    Receiving the award at the 12th edition of the Abuja Housing Awards in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja recently, Sterling Bank’s Non-Interest Banking (NIB) Group Head, Mr. Basheer Oshodi said, the Bank was delighted at the recognition of the innovative efforts of the NIB group in the housing sector.

    Oshodi said the model of engagement created by the NIB group enhanced the ability of many Nigerians to own houses under a flexible mode of payment, adding that the NIB group has done so much in making affordable housing available to Nigerians.

    According to him, customers who express interest in the home ownership model are made to contribute between 20 and 30 per cent equity over the construction period of 18 months after which the facility is booked for future ownership. He added that rentals in the scheme are less than what would have been paid in a conventional banking arrangement.

    “We have developed an innovative method of home ownership for Sterling Bank customers. The model gives an opportunity to the buyer to own a house without the stress of bulk payment. Where the house is already built, a prospective home owner simply makes equity contribution and is booked for future ownership. Even if there is no house on the ground and the customer signifies an intention to access a mortgage, the next step will be to start contributing equity,” Oshodi said.

    He explained that once off-takers are identified and profiled, current accounts are opened for them so that they can start saving towards meeting their equity quotient while the deposits serve as a liability to the bank.

    He said since the rules do not allow NIB to invest in treasury bills or interest bearing securities, the deposits are normally used to buy off-plans from developers through a lease structure. The lease can be either off-plan, which means the bank books the facilities even before construction starts, or a home finance which leads to ownership.

  • Ilogu, others get award

    Pleased with their contributions to the task of nation-building in Nigeria in particular and Africa in general, the Landmark Africa Magazine has honoured some prominent Nigerians who it considered worthy of its prestigious awards. The event took place at the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

    Those rewarded for their good works were wife of Kwara State governor Mrs Omolewa Ahmed, National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) and wife of Jimoh Ibrahim, Modupe.

    Others rewarded were Prof Guy Chibuzoh Ilogu of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof Archibong Edem Archibong, Prof Samuel Olu Ewoola, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Babcock University, Prof Sunday Owolabi and Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Okon Effiong Munam.

    Explaining why the awards were given to the recipients, Head of Corporate Planning of the magazine Bassey Ubong said they were honoured for excelling in their various professions and for their numerous contributions to nation-building. He specifically praised Mrs Ahmed for her pet project.

    Wife of the Secretary to the Kwara State Government Mrs K.K. Gold, who represented Mrs Ahmed, thanked the magazine’s management for the honour.

  • Stallion bags outstanding rice value chain award

    Stallion integrated rice value chain approach has won the Feed Nigeria Summit “Agro Processor of the Year Award” at the  Nigeria Agriculture Awards.

    The award is in recognition of Stallion Popular Farms & Mills Limited concerted efforts at integrating rice value chain in the Nigerian agrarian economy as well as its dogged resolves to humanise farmed rice and self-sustainability in food production.

    ”We owe this accomplishment to President Muhammadu Buhari’s leadership atitudes and his agrarian-business agenda,” Stallion Popular farms & Mills Group Director Hapreet Singh remarked. He said the farm was leveraging the policy impetus of the Federal Government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda to bring sustainable and scalable growth to farmers.

    The farm’s effort to increase cultivated rice yield began in 2007 and has since been at the forefront of paddy agronomists in the country, working tirelessly to enhance rice production through scientific agricultural practices.

    Singh, while receiving the award,  at the event in Lagos, said it hoped to increase locally farmed rice to 1.5million tonnes yearly from 450, 000 metric tonnes.

    He said the farm has already deployed enhanced milling activities and set up more milling facilities through structured farming techniques.

    While thanking Feed Nigeria Summit for creating a platform to acknowledge real positive change makers in the agrarian sector, Mr. Singh said the creation of integrated agricultural operations such as world-class rice mills at strategic locations would promote milling and paddy cultivation in the captive areas and consequently make Nigeria self-sufficient in rice production.

    Anambra State Commissioner for Agriculture, Afam Mbanefo, who presented the award to the firm’s representative plauded Popular Farms and Mills commitment to the Federal Government’s exhaustive agenda in rice production.

    “You have not only supported the country’s agrarian objective for self-sufficiency in rice production, but have also worked assiduously with local and state governments in ensuring food security. Your efforts are indeed remarkable,” he added.

  • Chi wins ‘Most Innovative FMCG Company’ Award

    Chi Limited has been given the ”Most Innovative Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Company” Award at the Businessday Top 25 Most Innovative companies and Institutions in Nigeria Awards 2017.

    Chi Limited came out tops in a competitive category that included other major FMCG companies like AJE, makers of BIG Cola and Dufil foods, makers of Indomie Instant Noodles.

    According to the Businessday award committee, ‘Chi Limited’s visionary stride in innovating and launching a portfolio of new and existing brands into the consumer market including Chivita 100%, Chivita Active Vegetable & Fruit Nectar, Happy Hour by Chivita Fruit Drink, Hollandia Evaporated Milk, Hollandia Yoghurt and others provide ground-breaking innovations that have resulted, in no small measure, in making commercial and socio-economic impact, as well as value creation for clients and consumers’

    Offering high quality products, Chi Limited is the first company to launch major Mass market Ready to Drink products in aseptic sachet packaging in West Africa. Its flagship brand Chivita 100% is the only locally produced 100% fruit Juice made from real natural fruits with no added sugar, no artificial colours and no preservatives. Chivita Active Vegetable and Fruit is an innovative product that offers consumers in Nigeria for the first time choices in fruit juices made from the goodness of vegetable with the lip smacking goodness of fruit. While Chi Exotic Nectar is the definitive standard in its category in terms of its unique fruit mixes and taste offerings.

    Happy Hour by Chivita is rated the fastest growing juice brand with innovative variants that keeps consumers refreshed. Hollandia Yoghurt’s constant innovation, a peculiar rich mouth feel, variety of flavours and healthy goodness, has seen it rise to become the generic name for drinking Yoghurts amongst consumers, while Hollandia Evaporated Milk is the first Nigerian Milk brand to be packaged in aseptic packaging, which is renowned globally as a benchmark for quality. It is one of the most admired and innovative offerings in its category. These brands have also built enduring consumer loyalty through their impressive array of variants and market promotions.

    Chi Limited’s Managing Director, Deepanjan Roy stated that ‘We have received this Industry recognition as the most innovative FCMG company award by consistently delivering innovative products that have become household names in Nigeria. It also validates our commitment to ensuring that our range of products continue to be admired for its highest quality, nutrition & health standards’

    The Businessday Top 25 Most Innovative companies and Institutions in Nigeria Awards 2017 seeks to acknowledge, celebrate and promote extensively the Organisations and Institutions that have developed the most inventive and ground-breaking products, ideas and services in 2016 and thus, contributed immensely to the sustainability of its customer-base, bottom-line, overall organisational growth, as well as the socio-economic development of our country.