The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Mega

  • SPAR Black Friday mega deals: Over 5,000 items on sale

    SPAR Black Friday mega deals: Over 5,000 items on sale

    •Hosts five musical concerts to celebrate wine, spirits & feer festival

    Hypermarket and Black Friday pioneer SPAR Nigeria has officially announced the 4th edition of its Black Friday shoppers delight.

    This year’s edition comes with bigger and better offers than last year’s, with over 5, 000 selected items up for sale. It also comes  with discount offers of up to 80 per cent as well as other benefits. Favourite items like electronics, laptops & accessories, wines & spirits, house hold items, perfumes, wrist watches, mobile phones, grocery and more will be available.

    SPAR Nigeria as the first brick & mortar store of its kind to occupy this event in Nigeria, aspires to always bring happiness to the hearts of loyal shoppers at this traditional event that holds every last Friday of November globally.

    Since inception in 2014, the SPAR Nigeria Black Friday bonanza is said to have blazed the trail by not only being the pioneer of Black Friday sales, but also providing consumers with the best discount offers.

    Management of the Hypermarket is urging shoppers to gear up for the most competitive offers that will be available in SPAR stores nationwide. The bonanza promises to be fun for friends and family, even as the yuletide season approaches when several items which are already on sale are the very necessities shoppers need to have a memorable season.

    Commenting on SPAR Nigeria’s Black Friday, its Head of Marketing , Mr John Goldsmith, stated: “When we started, we took the leap of faith as this was something that had never been done before in Nigeria. The first year was basically meant for testing the market; we were looking to see the response of the Nigerian market towards the sales. In our first year, the promos lasted for three days and we received positive responses across the country that exceeded our expectations. This year the number of items that are up for sale have doubled compared to the last couple of years, so we are pretty excited for the outcome.”

    Speaking further on the sales bonanza, he noted that from the beginning of the year, shoppers had begun making enquiries on when the next Black Friday will come up. “Our customers deserve value along with quality products and we at SPAR Nigeria desire to make sure we fulfill every expectation,” he said.

    Also, as Nigeria’s leading chain of hypermarket stores and organisers of the Wine Spirits & Beer Festival, SPAR Nigeria has brought its exciting drinks festival to a new height with five power-packed musical concerts across the country.

    As part of the Wine, Spirits and Beer Festival 2017, SPAR Nigeria treated shoppers across Enugu, Calabar, Port Harcourt and Lagos to musical concerts parading favourite artists and performers.

    The leading hypermarket partnered with major spirits and beer brands namely Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Campari, Guinness and Nigerian Breweries for the concerts.

    The anchor brands ensured the line-up of major artistes; Smirnoff anchored the musical concerts in Enugu and Calabar with major artists such as DJ Spinall, Ill Bliss, Zoro, Slowdogs and MI to a resounding crowd.

    The musical event in Port Harcourt was co-hosted by Campari, which drew large crowds. 2baba, Duncan Mighty, DJ Jimmy Jatt, Kelly Handsome, Harrysong alongside a host of other artistes entertained the crowd to the wee hours of the night.

    Courtesy of the anchor brands, guests were treated to exotic cocktails, drinks and tasty finger foods as they enjoyed the best hits from their favorite artistes.

    The entry to concerts was linked to purchase of a specific brand of spirits and beer from SPAR stores during the six weeks long  festival. The entry passes were also awarded to the winners of the online contest on the various participating brands.

    Alongside SPAR, all major sponsors of the concerts expressed delight at both the turnout and profound patronage by shoppers throughout the festival. Though hosted individually with SPAR, the brands agreed that collaboration will continue to play a major role in modern retail.

    SPAR’s spokesperson, Mr. John Goldsmith, stated thus: “We are very happy with the success of the wine, spirits and beer festival and delighted with the grand success of the musical concerts across five locations. We express our gratitude to the partnering brands for the support in pulling up such a major concert.

    Participants were completely enthralled throughout the event. They had a great time enjoying mouth-watering cocktails, great food, rib-cracking comedy, mixology sessions and of course, stage performances from various artistes in an electric atmosphere.

    Goldsmith said SPAR looks forward to strengthening the partnership with the brands with many of such festivals in the future.

  • Western Lotto plans second mega draw

    Ahead of the October 5 draw to pick winners in the Mega Upgrade Promo, Western Lotto has paid winnings to 6000 players on its platform since its July launch.

    Winnings include those of players on the many games, ranging from N500 to a jackpot of N15 million.  A young entrepreneur, Dorcas Nwagbara, 27, who hails from Obingwa Local Government in Abia State, won the N15million jackpot in the PowerBall game with just N100 on September 13.

    Earlier, an Ibadan-based undergraduate of the Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, Qadim Soyombo, won N500, 000 in the EuroJackpot draw held on the 25th of August, 2017.  He played with N100 to earn his winning.

    Managing Director of Western Lotto, YomiOgunfowora, said the number of winners on the platform continues to increase by the day.

    “We keep having a huge number of winners daily. Personally, I am glad that someone has won a jackpot of N15million and that is what Western Lotto is all about: to change lives for good.

    “We expect more and more winners on our platform because we maintain our promise of empowering Nigerians economically and our word is our bond at Western Lotto, as we have paid over 6000 winners already. “The next draw for the Mega Upgrade Promo holds on October 5, and to qualify; each player is required to spend a minimum N3000 on any of our array of games at westernlotto.com.”

  • Ekpoma students laud Glo Mega Music tour

    Ekpoma students laud Glo Mega Music tour

    Students of Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, have praised Globacom for bringing the Glo Mega Music Nationwide Tour, to the university.

    The show, which had toured 14 other locations before coming to AAU, paraded music stars such as Olamide, Phyno, Flavour, Runtown, and Omawumi.

    Axterix, a new R & B discovery, was also at the show and opened the event.

    After the show, a cross section of the students showered praises on Globacom for making the evening a memorable one for them with the array of showbiz stars who performed.

    The president of the university’s Students Union Government (SUG), Comrade Cletus Oribhabor, commended the company for deeming it fit “to bring this world-class show to our campus free of charge to the delight of our students and members of the university community”.

    Also speaking after the show, Caring Ogbegie, a student in the Department of Microbiology of the university, said, “in my three-year sojourn on this campus, I have never witnessed this type of show and guess what, when the SUG guys said all these stars would be coming, I for one never believed them”.

    Their thoughts summed up the feelings of the students as the telecommunications outfit literarily brought the roof down on the fun seekers who  gathered at the Cordelia Agbebaku Auditorium.

    The show attracted a large crowd of students and other residents of the university town. Besides the five A-Listers, there were other artistes who added glamour to the evening. Nollywood divas, Uche Jombo and Ebube Nwagbo, were the anchors, while Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD) led two other movie stars, Angela Okorie and Victor Osuagwu, to make celebrity guest appearances at the event.

    The auditorium was filled to capacity, and the organisers of the show had to provide a giant screen outside to enable those who could not be accommodated in the hall to be part of the fun.

    Axterix and Runtown performed in quick succession before handing over to an alumna of the university, Omawumi. She received special applause, and was followed by the Nabania crooner Flavour who capped his performance with his ‘Finally’ hit track. The duo of Phyno and Olamide, the King of the streets, treated the audience to a collabo performance.

    In his opening remarks, Globacom’s National Sales Coordinator, Mid-West, Augustine Mamuro, said the company will continue to meet their needs.

    “This show is at no cost to any of you here and this goes to show how we value and celebrate our subscribers,” said mamuro.

    “In the Globacom family, our subscribers are kings and queens and I can assure you all that we shall continue to attend to your telecommunications needs. Nobody does it better than Globacom.”

  • UAC Foods unveils Gala Mega

    Leading manufacturer and marketer of tasty and nourishing convenience foods, UAC Foods Limited, yesterday unveiled Gala Mega – a brand new addition to its rich basketful of snacks offerings.

    In a statement, the firm explained that Gala Mega, as the name implied, is a larger sized Sausage Roll with the same trusted and satisfying Gala taste, but in a bigger, meatier and more filing size to meet the yearnings of consumers, who want to be easily filled up on a friendly budget.

    Its General Manager, Marketing, Mrs. Joan Ihekwaba who unveiled the Gala Mega at a ceremony  in its Ojota, Lagos office, said it is a product of direct response to the yearnings and desires of Gala consumers for a more filling snack to keep them going as they achieve their daily goals.

    She said having pioneered the sausage roll market way back in 1962, Gala Sausage Roll has kept faith with Nigerians by holding the N50 price point for 10 years and with the new offering, which will in no way hamper the availability of the regular Gala Sausage Roll at N50 retail price, UAC Foods is once again setting the pace in the industry with a new pack size.

    “For over five decades, the Gala brand has believed in and identified with the Nigerian story, a story of perseverance, strong will, and a passion that never gives up. Today the launch of Gala Mega is the reassurance of our commitment to Keep You Going. A stronger devotion to walk you through your success story.

    “The new brand is an addition to existing variants of the Gala Brand, which include regular Gala Sausage Roll, Mini Gala, Gala Chicken and Gala Cocktail.  The regular Gala Sausage Roll is still available at N50,” she said.

  • Buhari to inaugurate Aregbesola’s mega school today

    President Muhammadu Buhari will today inaugurate Osogbo Government High School, one of the 20 schools being constructed by the Rauf Aregbesola administration.

    The state-of-the-art schools demonstrate Aregbesola’s commitment to providing quality education for Osun State youths.

    The 3,000-capacity complex has 72 classrooms of 49 square-metre, each capable of sitting 49 pupils; six offices for study groups; six laboratories, 18 toilets each for girls and boys, a science library, an arts library, facility manager’s office, bookshop and sick bay.

    Osun is also building 100 elementary and 50 middle schools. Of these, 14 elementary schools, 15 middle schools and 11 high schools, including the one to be inaugurated today, have been completed.

    Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy in the Office of the Governor, Mr Semiu Okanlawon, said in a statement that the upgrade of schools followed recommendations of a summit at the start of Aregbesola’s administration in 2010.

    He said: “The administration took some drastic steps in addressing the menace in the education sector and the first assignment was to convene an education summit with a view to reviving and making it a major contributor to the development of individuals and the society as a whole.

    “Before the administration came on board, many had complained about the quality of infrastructure in public schools being in total shambles, including the state-owned tertiary institutions.

    “In fact, critics lamented that most of the schools were turned into mere certificate awarding centres, with the state becoming one of the least performing states among its peers in educational affairs, as only three per cent of its candidates in the 2010 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) had five credits including English Language and Mathematics.”

    Since the government stepped in to improve infrastructure, provide two pairs of unified school uniforms to all public primary and secondary school pupils, provide tablets (Opon Imo) as composite study devices for final year students, and introduce school feeding programme, tagged O Meal, there have been successes.

    The Deputy Governor, Madam Grace Titilayo-Tomori, who doubles as the Commissioner for Education, said through the Opon Imo, the government reduces the burden of buying multiple textbooks.

    “The equipment, designed as a stand alone tablet, called ‘Opon Imo’, contains the entire senior school syllabus, including Yoruba traditions, past questions of the West African Examination Council (WAEC), National Examination Council (NECO) and Joint Administration and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for 10 years in the software design for the system.

    “All these are focused on reducing the phobia associated with learning and increasing students’ interest in learning; and completely turn learning into play in schools and at home,” she said.

    The ‘O’ Meal, which costs the government N3 billion annually, reportedly increased primary school enrolment by 40 per cent in the last academic session.

    Aregbesola also reduced the school fees paid by students in all the five state-owned tertiary institutions. Students at the polytechnic and College of Technology, now pay N25,000 from N42,000; while those at the Osun State University (UNIOSUN) pay N100,000 for Law and Medicine from N205,000; and N75,000 Sciences, Social Sciences and Art from N155,000 and N130,000.

    Also, the government offered scholarship to all 98 UNIOSUN medical students for their clinical courses in far away Ukraine.

    The intervention was said to have gulped N146million at the rate of $7,000 each, comprising the cost of training, accommodation and other sundry matters.  Parents are responsible for feeding only.

     

  • Aba Mega Mall for inauguration

    Aba Mega Mall for inauguration

    The first phase of the $300 million Aba Mega Mall project, expected to stimulate economic activities in the Southeast and Southsouth is set for inauguration.

    The project, which seats on 28 hectares, on completion, would consist of 5,830 ultra-modern shops, in four sizes of 12sq meters, 16sq metres, 24sq meters and 48sq metres.

    The facility will also have provision for banks, security post, 25,000sq meters climate-controlled warehouse space, restaurants, entertainment centres with six cinema screens, children play area and a massive parking space for over 5,000 cars.

    The South East Amalgamated Traders Association (SEAMATA),  an umbrella body of traders in the Southeast region, has endorsed the project, which they described as laudable. Consequently, it has urged its members across the country to support the project, arguing that it is good for the Southeast region, as it is providing the needed infrastructure to ensure that the region regains its pride of place in commerce in Africa.

    Group Managing Director, Geenfield Assets Limited, promoters of the mall, Paul Obanua, while  hosting Abia State Governor Theodore Orji, on a pre-inauguration inspection of the facility, explained that when completed, it would be the first mall with a dry port in Nigeria and Africa as well as the biggest mall on the continent.

    The dry port, according to Obanua, will be a 30,000 square meter bonded warehouse, which affords people of the Southeast the opportunity of clearng their goods on time. This means that they would no longer suffer time wastages due to perennial port congestion at the nation’s various sea ports.

    Obanua said: “We are also going to offer good storage facilities, automated climate controlled facility. So, this mall is going to be a one-stop-shop. And by the second phase, you are going to have a 100-room hotel come up here at the Aba Mega Mall. We are going to have a section that will be called the Aba Business Resort, so that you have your events here, like conferences and when you are in the Southeast, you can also lodge in and do your business. The other aspect of this mall is that we are going to have Aba Mega Mall online. So, the e-commerce of this mall will commence operation at the commissioning.”

    He said what this meant was that shoppers who couldn’t come to the mall to shop could shop online in any part of the country. “Even if you are in Lagos or Abuja, you can shop from anywhere and it will be delivered to you at your door steps by the Orji-led administration that encouraged the company venture into the project,” he said.

  • Mega Plaza shut over tax evasion

    Mega Plaza shut over tax evasion

    Mega Plaza was last Friday shut by officials of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, (FIRS) over tax related offences.

    The owners of the shopping mall on Idowu Martins Street, Victoria Island, allegedly owes tax arrears running into millions of naira, as they have not filled the company’s tax return since 2009, and that several letters written to the company both for demand of returns did not yield any result.

    Following the inability of the company to comply with the FIRS directive, its officials led by the head, special enforcement, FIRS Mr. Nuhu Ibrahim, a Police Superintendent, supported by Innocent Ohagwa, Director, Large Tax Payers Department non – oil, Mr. Kayode Taiwo, Controller, Large Tax Payer, Lagos FIRS and other FIRS officials and police enforcement gang, stormed the popular mall to demand for the payment of the tax areas.

    For about 30 minutes the officials of FIRS shut down all business activities at the Plaza, it took the intervention of one of the company’s tax consultants who followed the team to its Lagos headquarters before the mall was reopened for business.

    The team also visited the ABBNG Limited on Etim Inyang Cresent, Victoria Island, to demand for its outstanding returns for 2011, 2012 and 2013 account.

    The leader of the team, Ohagwa, said the visit to those companies, is to sensitise them and demand for proof of their tax payment which they have failed to remit for a long time, “any attempt for them not to file their returns on time may lead to sealing off of the company and the arrest and prosecution of its management because we have the mandate to prosecute tax evaders.” said Mr. Nuhu Ibrahim

     

  • MEGA: Organisers chart new path for gospel music in Nigeria

    MEGA: Organisers chart new path for gospel music in Nigeria

    Although this year’s edition of the annual interactive music workshop organised by the Music and Entertainment Gospel Awards (MEGA) has come and gone, its beautiful memory will continue to linger in the minds of the participants, particularly because of the salient discourses which were aimed at rewriting the story of the gospel music in Nigeria.

    At the event held last Wednesday, The Coordinator of the workshop, Femi Akintunde-Johnson, aka FAJ, stated that gospel music in Nigeria is lacking in terms of adequate media representation. He, therefore, called on media professionals to rise to the occasion by providing the needed coverage for gospel activities.

    Also, the CEO of Xclusive 2 Divinity(X2D) TV, Deji Irawo, urged Gospel music artistes in Nigeria to eschew conflict and embrace unity.

    According to him, “We claim to sing about the love of Jesus, which is the good news. But how can you give what you don’t have? If we are supposed to sing about love and we don’t have love among us, then, there is a bit of hypocrisy somewhere. We need to address those issues. I think this generation needs to rise and do something different.”

    The first session treated the topic, “Probing the Urgent Question: Why Do We Create Music?”, while the second discussed “Providing the Cogent Answers: Why They Create Music”.

    Present at the workshop were top-rated gospel music artistes and industry practitioners, including multiple award-winning producer and instrumentalist, Wole Oni; veteran broadcaster, Tokunbo Ojekunle and award-winning songwriter and vocalist, Lara George, among others.

  • MEGA holds music workshop

    MEGA holds music workshop

    With a vision to honour and celebrate the best talents in the service of humanity and exultation of the Almighty, the organisers of the annual Music and Entertainment Gospel Awards (MEGA) yesterday held an interactive music workshop.

     The workshop, which held at The Event Centre, Ikeja, Lagos, was designed to discuss important issues within the Nigerian music industry, with particular slant towards gospel music genre.

    According to the coordinator, Femi Akintunde-Johnson, a journalist, publisher and music enthusiast, “The workshop is not only to expand understanding but also help all parties to agree on certain standards and yardsticks that will enhance professionalism and abilities to give our best to the glory of God.”

    The first session treated the topic: “Probing the Urgent Question: Why Do We Create Music?”, whilethe second session discussed another cogent theme: Providing the Cogent Answers: “Why They Create Music?

    The workshop was attended by artistes, producers, label owners, media executives and other stakeholders.

  • Taiwo Oladoye excited over MEG Awards nomination

    Taiwo Oladoye excited over MEG Awards nomination

    FOR Gospel singer, Taiwo Oladoye, this is certainly a season of award nominations, following the release of her single, Mukulumuke.

    The song has been nominated as Best Afro-Pop Single in the forthcoming Music Entertainment Gospel Awards (MEGA).

    Expressing her joy over the nomination, she said: “It is a good thing and we are expecting the best from God. Most of the singles I released this year have been getting nominations and it is a sign that good things are coming.”

    According to the organisers, there are some wonderful success stories in the Nigeria’s entertainment community, especially the faith-based variant; and by recognising and promoting their achievements as well as the organisations and individuals behind them, higher standards can be set.