The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boosts

  • NEXIM Bank boosts regional trade through sealink project

    Operators in inter and intra-regional trade in West and Central Africa, whose businesses have long been hampered by poor transportation infrastructure, can now heave a sigh of relief.

    This is because the Sealinkproject, an initiative by Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) to establish a direct coastal link between the two regions, may take off soon.

    The project, expected to promote regional investments in trade, enjoys theendorsement and support of various regional bodies across West and Central Africa, including Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce (FEWACCI), and the Maritime Organisation of Central Africa (MOWCA).

    To realise the project, NEXIM Bank, in partnership with the management of Sealink Promotion Limited and other government agencies in the West and Central Africa Sub-region, announced  a private placement offer to individuals and corporate organisations within the sub-continent. The announcement was made in Lagos at an investors’ forum organised by Sealink to herald its plans to tackle the problem of transportation that has hindered the growth of business within the sub-continent.

    Under the new offer, a total number of 89,036956 ordinary shares will be opened for subscription at a price of $0.70 per share with each private individual entitled to buy a minimum of $14,000 worth of shares. The offer, which strarted since March 24 is expected to close on September 30.

    The Managing Director and Chief Executive of NEXIM Bank, Roberts Orya, explained that the offer was a private placement and not a public offer targeted at institutional investors and high network individuals.

    He said the Sealink project, a public-private initiative, will enjoy some concessions from the governments within the two regions in terms of priority berthing or some other forms of engagements.

    “We are watching it very closely to ensure that we don’t have people that will come from the backdoor and hijack the initiative, so at the end of the day when it comes to the issue of allotment, it is the Board of Sealink that will do the allotment so we will be able to identify who and who have subscribed,” Orya said.

    He also said soon, the shares would be segregated into different classes with class ‘A’ principally reserved for the organised private sector. “It is the private sector that are trading and so they will get priority, then we have some government agencies like Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) or the likes that want to invest in it, we can give them the class ‘B’ shares while the class ‘C’ will be reserved for some foreign investors that want to have a little stake so that at the end of the day we are not just localised,” he explained.

    At the Investor’s Forum,  Chairman of Sealink Promotional Company Limited, Mr Wilson Attah Krofah said the idea behind the project is aimed at ensuring that the barriers that are most common in both land and air transportation are settled through ease of convenience, which sea transportation offers. He added that aside the need for a quick transportation, the essence of the project was to create jobs for people within the sub-region.

    He explained: “The initial share capital we are looking for is 60 million US dollars. This money is intended to buy shipping lines to carry goods, passengers and cargoes along West and central Africa. But part of it will be used as working capital, which runs to a total of $24million. Our target is to get money from private individuals who will be owners of the shipping line because we want the shipping business to be owned and run by private individuals from West and Central Africa so that we can have the control on how the shipping line is run.”

    Krofah noted that the aim was to encourage trade within West and Central Africa to ensure the creation of jobs and wealth for the sub-continent. “As you know, a lot of investors are coming to Africa because they believe there are opportunities here,” he said. adding: “As indigene of the sub-region, we should take full advantage of the opportunities particularly within the sub-region.

    “Otherwise, the continent will be exploited by foreigners and people in other sub-regions. Based on this, Sealink Shipping line has come to encourage us to trade among ourselves.”

    He noted that operators in the sub-region have so far been trading by road, which creates a lot of problems because of numerous barriers cross countries. “Even by air, there are safety issues, but when you go by sea, there are no barriers,” he added.

    However, the Director-General, Nigeria Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, NACCIMA Dr. John Isemede stressed that the benefits of bilateral trade agreements will remain on paper if there were no vehicles and support from the governments in the effective movement of goods and people across regional borders.

    Dr. Isemede praised NEXIM and FEWACCI for the initiative, noting that for countries to trade effectively there must be a multi-purpose vehicle that will promote the cost advantage factor. “Today is a new chapter in the history of Nigeria where we are talking of transformation agenda, which encompasses the transformation of individuals and infrastructure in order to compete favourably with other parts of the world,” he said.

    Chairman, House of Representative Committee on Banking and Currency Hon. Jones Onyereri while commenting on the economic importance of the project and the role of legislation in facilitating trade integration, said it is a project that the government will be fully committed to support. He noted that it is an avenue to generate employment for the teeming unemployed youth in the country. He said: “For this project, as legislators, we are going to look at how our people will be empowered economically despite the challenges that we have.”

    Onyereri noted that since the project is a public-private partnership, it will be well run. “The government is a bad manager. As far as the legislative protection is concerned, we will ensure that we constantly review the Act that established NEXIM basically to give it the legal framework that will ensure that they go ahead of their core mandate,” he promised.

    The sealink initiative is another landmark of NEXIM Bank. It is expected to offer a unique and compelling investment proposition in the fast growing West and Central African region.

  • ‘How technology boosts enterprise’

    ‘How technology boosts enterprise’

    Bankole Cardoso, 25, is the Founder/Managing Director, Easy Taxi, Nigeria. He studied Business Management and Accounting at Boston College in United States of America (USA), and later acquired a three-and-a-half year working experience with a technology outfit, Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), a consulting accounting firm in New York city, among others. In this interview with JOKE KUJENYA he speaks on his passion for entrepreneurial venture which led him to establish a thriving e-tech operated Easy Taxi business in July 2013. 

    Easy Taxi in Nigeria?

    After about twelve years out of Nigeria, what I wanted to do was move back home and start a business to contribute my quota to the economic growth of my fatherland.

    I came home eventually in July 2013 and almost immediately launched Easy Taxi, an online service aimed at hailing a taxi from the comfort of one’s home or office via a mobile device or computer. Before then, I had been exposed to a similar technology like this in USA which I used all the time then. So, I thought it was an idea that could work here especially with the spate of unemployment in the country.

    Prior to that however, I occasionally come home at Christmas. That was when I grasped a little feelings of how things were happening here and I saw the opportunity to fill a gap. I also have friends that told me how hard it was for them to get jobs. Also, when I watched the news on Channels TV via Youtube and saw the sorry pictures painted, I became seriously home sick. I felt if I could return home and try to do something worthwhile.

    Using E-taxi?

    Technology these days make life a lot more easier. People that patronise our services all have the smart phone application on either their Androids, iPhones, PC or laptops. Our programmes are easy to use and free to download. Our duty is to connect passengers to drivers in a very simple way. We use GPS to connect our clients to the closest driver.

    When a passenger request from, let’s say, Lekki, we radio on our GPS to call one of the drivers on our services within a ten minutes’ range. Before the driver arrives, we would send the passenger the driver’s name, the exact car, license plate number with which our clients can use to trace the taxi on a map. You’ll see him as he connects respective streets leading to your location. The passenger sees his or her to be driver’s face and the cars they drive as they come towards them. We help our customers with prompt ways of getting a taxi instead of standing for long by the roadside waving taxis or going through your phones to call their very busy taxi guy.

    Reception in Nigeria’s security-sensitive clime?

    Precisely, security is the main thing that we are trying to sell. This idea was birth because I had been exposed to this kind of technology out of the country. And previously when I visited Nigeria, I saw that people would caution me about using taxis because of safety.

    So, when we were packaging this idea, we decided, in our little way, to use technology to bring safety to bear. When we sign up any driver on our platform, we take all his information, take them through a screening process, check his background, driver license, car registration, license, plate number and insurance documents. We go to their parks and associations to verify and know everything about them before they belong to our taxi bank. So, our customers can actually see the safety upfront. In the case of companies using our services, they would have and see information of the drivers we are sending to them.

    Guarding against falsified information?

    So far, we have not encountered such. And it would really be tough for any of them to attempt such. We rely more on the original government documents and license they provide. We don’t do testing for them. We leave that for the government to do. We also don’t have a link with the government yet. But we make sure we do background checking on them. However, we are confident that what all of our drivers present to us so far have been real. We haven’t had any issue because they all belong to one taxi associations. We don’t approach drivers on the streets. We only go to them through their associations. If a driver is not part of an association, he can’t be a Easy Taxi driver.

    Staff strength and managing the business?

    It has been very daunting. So far, we have about 600 drivers across the country, only in Lagos and Abuja. But it has been capital intensive to manage them. We have the technology in the office because Easy Taxi is a global team. We actually started in Brazil about three years.

    We are having our anniversary soon in some African countries. We only started the Nigeria version last year. So, it’s in Brazil that we have the IT, where they make all the updates to the application, maintain the Apps and ascertain that all the technology are functioning well.

    What we have on the ground here is to recruit the drivers, publicise, promote the business and give the people of Nigeria an E-Taxi experience. Right now in Lagos and Abuja, we have about fifteen members of staff, two customers service engagement teams, an Admin HR officer and our drivers’ recruit team to keep them online and show them how to use our services and as well tell them about the new media. We call them customer engagement because we want them to show Lagosians and Abuja people that this is E-Taxi.

    Making profit?

    We are a start-up business, just a year old. Of course, not many start-ups can clearly articulate their profits in one year. But we are a very low cost business because we don’t own the cars. And we don’t deal with tyres or petrol. We make our money, as in, on every ride that we give a driver, we take roughly about ten percent in commissions.

    Five year projections?

    We want to be the number one E-taxi service in Nigeria and in Africa. By the end of the year, we want to launch in two or three more cities in Nigeria, eyeing places like Ibadan, Port Harcourt and Benin.

    Dealing with sceptism?

    At first, people were like this cannot work in Nigeria. And then, as they kept having the experience, they’ve been like ‘wow’. Now, our customers are the ones telling their friends to try and use Easy Taxi and that is very powerful statement for us.

    On timeliness?

    We don’t disappoint for the most part. This is Lagos where the taxi culture have not been quite amazing. So, I can’t say they don’t disappoint, but it is very infrequent. You know, the infrastructure, the roads, sometimes, cars break down and so on, but with E-Taxi, we have good cars so they don’t break down.

    We don’t see none of those issues.

    Most of our drivers use the official Lagos yellow taxis. And we use the cleaner ones that are not rickety. We also have unpainted car hires because that is what majority of our customers prefer because there are places that the painted taxis are not allowed to enter.

    Fighting unemploy-ment?

    I would say that we are providing jobs and it is clear. With a staff strength of about fifteen people, it is tough in Nigeria. As a young person, I found that rate of youth unemployment is about sixty percent. And that is a really bad record for Nigeria and indeed, for any country. So, I feel that it is up to us, youth in Nigeria, to create employment for ourselves. That is what I try to do with Easy Taxi by creating employment directly. Today, we have about six hundred drivers who are given jobs on a daily basis.

    Funding and breaking-in?

    Major nag is a lot of people, while in the university, are looking for jobs in big companies like Shell, Chevron, ExonMobil and all that. But there are many opportunities outside such places. The main thing is about showing possible financiers your professional strength. You try to highlight what you have done, that you are hard working and you can really do more. What we see now is that while the jobs are available, it is how to match people to the right jobs that is a problem. So then, one thing is selling your strengths, another is projecting that you do have ideas and you can try things. I always tell young entrepreneurs like myself that we should strive, especially as so many things are technology-based and one can just start selling things even from your Blackberry.

    Business potential of E-Taxi?

    I would say it’s a scalable business. I say that because we can effectively run the business across  Nigeria with our staff strength of fifteen from Lagos. All we need to do in Abuja is to recruit trusted drivers and let customers know that we are there and also maintain our relationship with drivers.

    That way, we don’t need a customer service team because we can do it from anywhere. Once we have the information from Abuja, Ibadan, Port Harcourt and other cities, the team in Lagos will distribute the details as needed to other areas.

     

  • Kanu’s visit boosts Team Nigeria’s confidence

    Kanu’s visit boosts Team Nigeria’s confidence

    Former Super Eagles captain, Nwankwo Kanu made a surprise appearance at the Team Nigeria camp for the Milo African U-13 Championship and urged the boys to play with confidence and as a team.

    Kanu’s visit followed on the heels of a similar visit by the coach of the National U-17 team, Emmanuel Amuneke at the team’s International Sports Academy camp in Wasinmi, Ogun State. Amuneke had spent time training the boys on Sunday and offering lectures on team play and encouraging the lads to give their best. Coach Seyi Olaloye described Kanu’s visit as a huge confidence booster for the players and praised the former Arsenal star for making out time to speak with the boys.

    “You know these are young boys who have never travelled out before without their parents and while they try to do what they are being instructed, the feeling of homesickness cannot be completely removed. So having Kanu to come and speak to them, telling them how he grew to become a star was quite helpful, indeed a huge confidence booster”.

    Timilehin Oluwaniyi, one of the players, described Kanu’s visit as “our best day in camp. I have never seen him before but he told us to be determined, focused, confident and to play as a team”.

    The players are from St. Barnabas LGEA, Ilorin and are set to represent Nigeria in the Milo African U-13 four nation tourney starting Friday at the Campos Square, Lagos Island. The other teams from South Africa, Ghana and Kenya are expected in Lagos today (Thursday) and will be hosted to a dinner by the sponsors, Nestle Nigeria PLC.

    The opening match comes up on Friday at 1pm and the finals will hold on Saturday. Ghana are the cup holders while Nigeria won the maiden edition in South Africa in 2010 through Ashegun School, Oyo State.

  • Monarch boosts community policing

    Security at the grassroots level has received a boost following the donation of a patrol vehicle to the Lagos chapter of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN).

    The vehicle was presented to the group by Oba Saheed Elegushi of Ikate land to assist its members’ operations to reduce crime.

    Oba Elegushi urged them to be dedicated to their duties, adding that community policing is essential in checking crime and terrorism.

    “I am presenting the patrol vehicle as members of the VGN have shown commitment to securing lives and property despite the unavailability of vital equipment to make their job easy. It is this commitment on their part that I am donating the patrol van to them so as to ease transportation challenges. With the van, they can hurriedly reach a crime scene, monitor the streets and complement other security agencies to combat crime and insecurity in the neighbourhood.”

    Saying that security is the duty of everybody, the monarch added: “Security should not be left to government alone. The criminals live with people; being the closest to the community, the VGN can easily sense a crime and pass on information to the police and other security agencies. Their duties are necessary if we are to check insecurity. It is this regard that I urge other well-meaning Nigerians, government and corporate bodies to support the VGN in ridding the country of crime. No amount or donation is too small to make them function better.”

    The secretary of the VGN Lagos chapter, Mr Ishola Agbodemu urged Nigerians to emulate the Oba Elegushi and assist the group.

    “We express our profound appreciation to His Royal Highness for the donation. The patrol vehicle will go a long way in making our job easier to complement other security agencies. VGN is recognised by the government and we are committed to ensuring that our communities are crime-free. We appeal for support – logistics and other equipment. The criminals do not live in the sky. They live with human beings; so, they can be exposed through intelligence gathering and our “Know your neighbour campaign”. We are doing all we can to secure people’s lives and property and nothing is too small to support our work in this wise,” Agbodemu said.

  • Chelsea’s tour boosts Moses

    Chelsea’s tour boosts Moses

    Victor Moses has said he has become boosted by the experience on his first tour with EPL side, Chelsea.

    The Nigeria winger, who has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer, is back in action after he was sidelined by injury in the close season.

    “Now I’m delighted to be here, working hard and getting as fit as possible for the new season. It’s my first Chelsea tour and it’s been a good experience for me with the club. When I first came, I arrived after the start of the season which was unfortunate because it makes it a bit difficult to get to know everyone,” he told the Chelsea official website at the squad’s hotel in Jakarta, the last stop on Chealsea’s Asia tour.

    “It’s been great so far. We’ve got a few new players in and others back from loan, and so far I think everyone has done well in achieving their aims.”

    He added: “Also, the fans have been great everywhere and here in Indonesia right from landing at the airport we’ve seen this amazing support we’ve had. There a is nice hot weather too, which I like, so it’s good to be here, and I think we’ve all really enjoyed the experience.”

    The Nigerian forward said he was disappointed he did not feature at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil after he helped the Super Eagles win the 2013 AFCON.

    “When I was in America with the team at the end of last season, I was getting treatment on the injury which was progressing, but I couldn’t make the Confederations Cup,” explained the 22-year-old.

    “I felt disappointed not to have my day with Nigeria. It was a great tournament, they were the sort of games I would like to be involved in, playing against some of the best teams in the world, but that’s football and injuries happen.”

  • NTI boosts teaching in Lagos, Nasarawa others

    Teachers in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Nasarawa states have started receiving training that will horn their skill so as to technically equip their students .

    Director General of the National Teachers Institute (NTI) Ladan Sharehu, whose organisation is motivating the project, expressed satisfaction with the progress so far.

    The new system involves a rigorous monitoring and constant evaluation of students’ teaching practice programme.

    Sharehu said monitoring of the ongoing teaching practice is open to input to correct errors in the programme.

    “We have been to so many states to monitor teaching practice of NTI students. We are satisfied,” he said, adding: “A few errors were noticed and we corrected them. We expect that other visitors, monitors and quality assurance experts that will go will also point out areas of error “for correction.”

    The ongoing programme under monitoring is the second teaching practice students of NTI will undergo ahead of graduating and qualifying to teach in primary schools at least.

  • Japan boosts child survival in Nigeria

    The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has received a grant of about N443 million for the prevention of infectious child diseases in Nigeria. Donated by the Government of Japan, the grant was meant to strengthen routine immunisation, including the cold chain system.

    Although Nigeria is making progress in reducing high child mortality rates, persisting challenges need to be addressed if Nigeria is to achieve the health-related MDGs. Childhood killer diseases are still rampant, though preventable. The level of child mortality can be reduced with simple interventions such as immunisation and other child survival interventions delivered in an integrated manner.

    This year’s contribution from the Government of Japan will be used to procure cold chain equipment such as solar refrigerators to fill existing gaps. This will boost routine immunisation efforts as well as the drive toward polio eradication, especially in the context of introduction of new vaccines.

    In addition, the grant will support the operational cost of strategies to reduce the number of un-immunised children. A strong routine immunisation system is a major foundation for polio eradication and must be on the agenda of all development partners.

    “Japan’s grant to Nigeria to combat infectious diseases in children has been a significant contribution to Nigeria’s efforts to reduce child mortality. This included the expansion of the cold chain system to the health facility level; malaria control programmes; as well as a final push to stop the transmission of the wild poliovirus in Nigeria.

    The support from Japan remains a most valuable contribution to our joint efforts to give every Nigerian child a fighting chance to survive,” said Mr. Jacques Boyer, Deputy Representative and Officer in Charge, UNICEF Nigeria.

    Since 2000, the Government of Japan has been a major donor in support of child survival interventions in general and infectious diseases prevention in children in Nigeria in particular, through the UNICEF/Federal Government of Nigeria Programme of Cooperation.

    “The people of Japan remain committed to the welfare of Nigerian children,” Mr Ryuichi Shoji Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Nigeria said.

    Continuing, he said: “Over 13 years, we have worked with Nigeria and supported the country’s efforts to achieve the MDGs. We will continue to take actions to help Nigeria consolidate and sustain gains made in child survival.”

  • Unilever boosts brand profile

    Unilever boosts brand profile

    Unilever Nigeria Plc has raised its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) profile, using the Close-Up toothpaste brand.

    The brand, in an effort to pull its consumers closer, decided to kick-start a free teeth check campaign to determine the health status of its consumers dentistry in Lagos.

    The campaign enabled consumers to visit The Kots Clinic in Surulere for the free check-up.

    Speaking, Dexter Adeola, Brand Manager, Close-Up, said the company is doing this, because it had shown that only 15 per cent of Nigerians visit dentists yearly.

    He said: “As a leading brand in the paste category, we chose this platform to reach out to Nigerians in need of dental help. This would also serve as an awareness campaign to sensitise people on the need for proper oral care and the importance of regular dental check-ups.”

    On the choice of the location, Adeola said the intention was to strategically reach Nigerians in the two extreme locations of Lagos – Surulere and Magodo.

    On how close-Up was able to achieve the number that turned out, he said that prior to today (last Saturday) the brand had created heavy awareness in these areas and invited many in need of this dental check.

    He went further to say that what informed the initiative was that over the years, Close-Up had given health protection to the teeth and gums of millions of Nigerians.

    “The brand has also worked with health professionals and dentists nationwide to educate Nigerians on the importance of oral care. This free dental check is in line with our commitment to ensure Nigerians have the best solutions and care for their teeth and gums.”

    The Brand Manager pointed out the Close-Up brand has been able to research and find out that accessibility to dentists is extremely low in Nigeria, with only 15 per cent of Nigerians visiting dentist yearly.

    On the impact of the programme, he said, “as Nigeria’s most loved tooth paste brand and have taken in-turn taken it upon ourselves to ensure Nigerians get nothing but the highest level of choice tooth paste and Oral care.

    Every time we reach out like this, the life and joy we give out to Nigerians in need gives the brand extreme fulfillment, while answering the question on the value of the activation on the brand.

    Like one of the beneficiaries, Lucky Agbo, said that he has been having problems with his gums and teeth for about five years, but with the free teeth check he has come to understand how to manage the problem that has made it impossible for him to chew, while promising that the use of Close-Up is now paramount.

    He went further to say that he never believed any company can offer free services to its customers. “This is a good one from Close-Up.” He noted.

    Dr. Sam Obameyi, who checked on Agbo, said the patient has over time had a bacteria that has been destroying part of his teeth, which he called cervical abrassion. “This could be probably the way he has been brushing too hard, using a hard brush and the use of a few chemical agents that may cause the kind of problem the patient had.”

    For another patient, Okwy Akunuba, I had of the free teeth check and decided to come to have my teeth checked, noted that Close-Up is doing a good job by checking on its customers.

     

  • Firm boosts engineering training

    Mechanical/automobile Engineering students of Lagos State University (LASU), Imo State University (IMSU), Owerri and Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, need not seek workshops off campus for practical automobile training thanks to ABC Transport which donated demonstration buses to them.

    Representatives of the three tertiary institutions were presented the buses by Mr Frank Nneji, MD/CEO of the transport company at its headquarters in Lagos.

    Nneji urged the representatives, which included the IMSU Vice-Chancellor and former ASUU President, Prof Ukachukwu Awuzie, to ensure that the buses serve the purpose for which they were given, and not for transportation.

    “ABC Transport will hand over three buses to selected tertiary institutions. The beneficiaries are: Lagos State University (LASU), Imo State University (IMSU), and Federal Polytechnic, Nekede. These buses will not be used for transport purposes, but for practical and demonstrations in the automobile/mechanical engineering departments of these schools. ABC Transport believes education is a public service that demands collective trust and responsibility,” he said.

    He expressed hope that the buses would fill the practical gap in the training of automobile/mechanical engineers in tertiary institutions, which he said has been lacking. He added that Nigeria has produced enough graduates since the company has been in business to assemble its own vehicles.

    Appreciating the gesture, Awuzie said the vehicles would assist hands on learning as well as boost accreditation of the programmes, and may ultimately help Nigerian institutions learn to assemble vehicles locally.

    He said: “This is very good. It means the department will have a full vehicle at their disposal which they can dismantle completely and begin to examine the parts. It becomes hands on learning. This is one of the requirements for accreditation. It came very timely. To teach our students before this came, we were getting the components; we might not get the full system. We also took the students to someone’s workshop for practical demonstration.

    “As the MD said, this can be a beginning for us to assemble our own vehicles. This is a trial for us if we are talking about actually achieving technological development.”

    Last year, the firm instituted the ABC Transport National University Scholarship Award which provided scholarships for 12 students from various Nigerian universities.

    At the event, the firm also launched cameras for security surveillance on all new buses it acquires from now.

     

  • CNPP boosts Akeredolu’s candidature

    CNPP boosts Akeredolu’s candidature

    The candidature of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)standard bearer in Saturday’s election, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) has received a boost from the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties(CNPP), as its Publicity Secretary, Chief Osita Okechukwu, has said their members have been directed to support Akeredolu.

    He said this is the position of the national leadership of the CNPP.

    Okechukwu disowned the local chapter of CNPP for endorsing Governor Olusegun Mimiko and working against the interest of the national body, adding that the state chapter does not have the power to support anybody without the approval of the national leadership.

    The CNPP Publicity Secretary called for regime change in Ondo State.

    He said: “Edo people were in slavery before Governor Adams Oshiomhole liberated them. Ondo people’s call for regime change due to Mimiko’s failure to meet their expectations is welcome and justifiable. Akeredolu, like Oshiomhole, has the pedigree to turn things around for good. We have advised our members to support regime change in the state, given the track record of ACN governors.

    “Akeredolu will not disappoint the people, as he is committed to pursuing a well-thought programme for the sustainable development and transformation of the state. We urge the people to carry out their resolve by sending Governor Mimiko packing from the Alagbaka Government House on Saturday. Akeredolu is a man of honour and pedigree, he deserves your votes.”