The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigerian Newspapers

  • Firm sponsors IIDA winner’s brother to India for surgery

    Dufil Prima Foods Plc, makers of Indomie Noodles, has fulfilled its promise to sponsor the surgery of Master Daniel Pepple in India. Master Daniel is diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

    Daniel’s story got the attention of Dufil in 2018 when his brother – David Nengi Ayomide Pepple – won the Social Bravery category at the 11th edition of the Indomie Independence Day heroes award (IIDA), a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative of Dufil Prima Foods. Nine-year-old David from Port Harcourt won the award for using his artistic talent to seek financial assistance for the treatment of his younger brother, Daniel, who needed surgery to able to walk.

    While David went home with a N1 million scholarship money, Dufil Prima promised to fully fund Daniel’s treatment abroad. Today Daniel has travelled to Sir H. N. Reliance Hospital in Mumbai, India, for surgery.

    Chief Operating Officer of Dufil Prima Girish Sharma said the gesture was a promise kept. “Dufil is proud to be a part of the process of restoring the health of young Daniel, and also a way of lending a hand to his family in taking care of him.

    Read Also: Dufil introduces Indomie Relish to corporate world

    “As a brand, we will continue to encourage children, such as David, whose dream is to set up a foundation to cater for those in need of medical assistance, not to relent in their efforts. At Dufil, through our dedication to the growth and development of the Nigerian child, we will continue to cater to their well-being, making them strong and healthy.”

    Daniel’s father Mr. Hamilton Tamuno Pepple thanked Dufil for fulfilling her promise to sponsor his son’s treatment. “Full sponsorship of such an expensive surgical procedure by Dufil within the current economic climate is an indication that the company is indeed out to make life better for everyone. You are our angel of help. God bless you,” he said.

    The surgery and treatment is expected to last for about two months. With the assurance from the team of surgeons, the brand and the Pepples are trusting for a positive response from the treatment.

  • Taraba killings: Families of slain officer, civilian seek independent probe

    THE family of one of the operatives from the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Intelligence Response Team, Inspector Mark Ediale, who was killed by soldiers in Taraba State, has called for an independent investigation of the murder.

    Describing the late Ediale as the breadwinner of the family, the family said his death has shattered the hope of his entire family.

    Also, the identity of the civilian, who was also killed when the policemen came under attack, has been revealed.

    The civilian, who was identified as Olajide Owolabi is said to have worked with the operatives from the IRT for about two years.

    At a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday, the representative of Ediale family, Mr. Andrew Ediale, said anything short of getting justice amounts to conspiracy on the part of the Army who carried out the act.

    He said: “If the laws fail to do the needful, we will resolve that it is an act of conspiracy. That must not happen. We, the family of the deceased, demand justice to the full extent of the law. Anything short of this is a mockery of our democracy and the law of the land.”

    On why the family addressed reporters, he said: “The family of Inspector Mark Philips Ediale called this press conference so that we can call all well-meaning Nigerians and the community at large to voice out our displeasure as to the gruesome murder; the inglorious killing of our brother in Taraba State while he was on official duty for this beloved country that he had served in the past 16 years or more.

    Read Also: The road block tragedy in Taraba

    “We vehemently speak against the perpetrators of this heinous act, the operatives which are the Nigerian Army and we demand a very thorough investigation not only by the Nigerian community but the international and an independent body as well so that justice should be truly served.

    “The reason we called this conference is for justice to be served; there is no other reason, there is no other purpose. The same Army that is charged with the responsibility of protecting the citizens of this country, happens to be the same perpetrators at the helm of this heinous and barbaric act.

    “Our question is: who are the soldiers working for? Whose side are they on? And on whose pay roll are these military personnel? These and many more questions we demand answers to.”

    He continued: “Why was the kingpin kidnapper released? They had done their job of apprehending the kidnapper and were on their way back to Abuja when Army operatives unleashed barrages of gunshots and it was the gunshots that cut down all these gallant police officers. We demand to know why and why the kidnapper was released.

    The auntie of the deceased civilian, Mrs. Joy Danlami, said Owolabi always follow the IRT operatives to wherever they went though she could not ascertain the nature of job he does for them.

    Mrs. Danlami, who spoke briefly at the news conference, said: “The civilian that was killed is my younger sister’s son, Olajide Owolabi. He was working with them and he always moves around with them for the last two years now. We are also demanding justice.”

    Also yesterday, Young Democratic Party (YDP) has urged the public to disregard posts and other information that suspected kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Wadume, is its member.

    The party also dispelled reports that Wadume contested the Taraba State House of Assembly on its platform during the 2019 general elections.

     

  • GOtv boxing NextGen5 forms on sale

    Registration forms for GOtv Boxing NextGen 5, a talent hunt programme scheduled to hold between August 29 and 30 in Ilorin, Kwara State, are now available at designated centres.

    A statement by Flykite Promotions, organisers of the event, said the forms are available to boxers aged between 18 and 25 at seven centres. The centres are Kwara State Boxing Association Office and Referees and Judges Association Office, both at the Kwara State Stadium Complex, Ilorin; Akure Stadium Complex, Akure; Alake Sports Centre, Abeokuta; Oyo State Boxing Association Office at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan; Lagos Boxing Hall of Fame Gym, Surulere, Lagos; and Nigerian Boxing Board of Control (NBB of C) Secretariat, National Stadium, Lagos.

    GOtv Boxing NextGen debuted in 2015 to discover and develop young Nigerian boxers. The boxers will engage in sparring sessions conducted by renowned boxing coaches at the Kwara Stadium Complex in Ilorin.

    Boxers selected as the best among the lot will have their professional licences and pre-licensing medical examinations paid for pay television service provider, GOtv, sponsor of the programme, in addition to being in line to fight at coming editions of GOtv Boxing Night.

    GOtv Boxing NextGen Search has propelled several boxers into the limelight, including reigning West African Boxing Union (WABU) welterweight champion, Rilwan “Baby Face” Babatunde; Ridwan “Scorpion” Oyekola; Prince “Lion” Nwoye, Chukwuebuka “Wize King” Ezewudo, Osamudiamen “Chiso” Goodluck and current national super featherweight champion; Opeyemi “Sense” Adeyemi.

  • Fed Govt moves to harmonise marriage certificates

    The Federal Government has said marriage certificates not issued in accordance with statutory marriage guidelines are invalid and holds no legal value in case of any problem in the relationship.

    Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior Mrs. Georgina Ehuriah spoke  at a one-day stakeholders’ workshop on “the conduct of statutory marriage in Nigeria.”

    The workshop held in Port Harcourt for the Southsouth and Southeast zones yesterday.

    Mrs. Ehuriah noted that most marriage certificates issued in the country were mere paper with no legal importance in divorce cases.

    She said: “…the workshop has become important to sensitise and educate the public on the need to insist on the conduct of marriages according to the stipulated statutory marriage guideline of the country. The truth is that most of the things couples are holding as marriage certificates as issued by churches, and some other marriage centres are not valid and hold no legal value in courts in case of divorce; and it is the women who suffer it because they will lose everything.”

    Read Also: UPU flays Federal Government over insecurity across the country

    Mrs. Ehuriah explained that marriage and worship centres, which conduct marriages without due licence by the Ministry of Interior were issuing illegal certificates that were worth nothing.

    The permanent secretary noted that of 4,725 marriage and worship centres that had updated their records with the ministry, only 314 renewed their licenses to conduct statutory marriages and issue legally-valid certificates.

    “Presently, only about 4,725 licensed places of worship in Nigeria have updated their records with the Ministry of Interior, of which only 314 have renewed their licences to conduct statutory marriages. The implication is that any certificate not printed and delivered by the Principal Registrar of Marriages is illegal and cannot serve the desired purposes,” she added.

    Mrs. Ehuriah, however, urged churches to meet requirements set by the ministry to serve their members better.

    “Accordingly, administrators of places of worship are urged to meet these requirements in order to better serve their members. The ministry is presently building a database of all statutory marriages conducted in Nigeria. It has also developed a database of all places of worship licensed for celebration of marriages.”

  • Foundation donates to orphanage

    The Diran and Amina Foundation has donated food, beverages and gift items to Darlez Care Orphanage in Abuja.

    Mrs. Amina Adetunje, who made the donation for the foundation, said the move was part of its social responsibility drive towards the society. She said: “We are driven by a desire to support the society by providing for the needy. These underprivileged children are humans like us; they should be shown love, care, compassion and sense of belonging. That is what we have come to do.

    “We are extremely happy today to put smiles on the faces of these children”.

    Mrs. Adetunji was accompanied by her husband Adediran Adetunji, a Fellow of the Institution of Estate Surveyor and Valuers; Aisha Adetunji, Hussein Adetunji, Halima Adetunji.

    Also in attendance with gift items was the corrigendum class of 2019 girls of the Nigerian Tulip International School, in solidarity with Aisha, their classmate.

    The children thanked the foundation for the gesture, and appealed that they reach out to them from time to time.

  • Ex-Cross River REC: INEC has no power to sack me

    Former Cross River State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Frankland Briyia has said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) lack powers to sack him.

    Briyia said reports that he was sacked by the commission were fake, as he only resigned his appointment to join politics and participate in the Bayelsa State governorship election.

    At the secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Yenagoa, Briyia said he was at the party office to inform the officials that he was a registered party member and would contest the November poll.

    He said: “… I officially and legally resigned my appointment and INEC will attest to that. Let me state this – the REC is nominated by the President and the President sends the nominees to the Senate. The Senate screens them and if they’re found worthy, confirms them and sends them to the President who eventually gives them appointments.

    “The moment the appointment is given to the REC and the REC does anything wrong, INEC will investigate, send its reports and makes its recommendation …to the President.

    Read Also: Buhari changes Prisons Service to Correctional Service

    “If the President and his team investigate and see that what the REC did contravenes the code of conduct, he will send the report to the Senate. The Senate will debate it, if the two-third majority of the Senate finds the REC guilty, it will rectify it and send it back to the President.

    “It, therefore, means that only the President can sanction the REC. I have contacted INEC headquarters and the news about my sack is fake. INEC said it didn’t say a thing like that. I’m sure you have watched or maybe read INEC’s publication; you won’t find anything like sack because I resigned officially.

    “My departure created a vacuum and in INEC tradition, the moment there’s no REC, the administrative secretary takes over, that was what INEC meant. INEC doesn’t mean that I was sacked. So, don’t misquote INEC.”

    Briyia added that he had mapped out robust programmes for Bayelsa, and if he became governor, he would focus on human capacity and infrastructural development.

    According to him, the people were unemployed, lamenting that most of them could no longer go to school. The aspirant noted that civil servants were not getting their full salary, while most pensioners were languishing without pensions.

    He said: “I came because the people of Bayelsa State called me to contest for governor. We have insecurity in this state, which is caused by so many factors. When we identify those factors, we intend to turn this state around for the betterment of everybody, God helping us.”

  • Ecobank trains graduates

    NEW set of Graduate Trainees have commenced their entry level development programme at the state of the art Ecobank Nigeria Academy in Lagos.

    The programme, launched in July this year is an intensive eight-week medley of learning interventions for fresh graduates. The first set of 67 Trainees will graduate at the end of the month and will be absorbed into different roles in the bank.

    Speaking at the commencement of the training on, Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan said the programme was in line with the transformation agenda to make the Bank the most preferred financial institution in the country, noting the Ecobank will continue to head hunt for brilliant fresh graduates, train them on professionalism and Ecobank culture and inject them into its workforce.

    He further explained that the various bank’s development programmes are part of its talent development strategy to continue to churn out excellently trained banking professionals at various levels of the industry to feed into her talent pipeline and the banking industry, stating that they are founded on global best practice that prepare the participants for banking careers in positions aligned with their potential, competencies and experience at the entry point of functional pre-managerial roles.

    According to him, “Our training programmes are our way as a Bank to invest in creating future leaders for the Nigerian banking industry. We are investing in the people to accomplish our vision both as a Bank and a country. The staff of banks must be well trained and knowledgeable so that they can ensure that funds in the banks are effectively deployed,” stressing that for us at Ecobank, we must also ensure that we deliver on our promise as a financial institution of choice not only in Nigeria but the whole of Africa. We, therefore, take the development of adequately trained manpower as a “must do” in striving to achieve our goals,” he stated.

    He advised the trainees to participate actively in all the training exercises, noting that their future is bright with Ecobank.

    According to the Head, Human Resources, Ecobank Nigeria, Gloria Byamugisha, the first set of Trainees at the Academy demonstrated a high level of commitment and orientation towards the banking profession, noting that the training is essentially to improve the financial literacy of participants who may be coming from other disciplines, or who may have non-financial and banking related academic backgrounds.

  • Polaris unveils collateral-free salary advance solution

    POLARIS Bank has launched a quick credit solution called “Polaris Salary Advance”.

    Polaris Salary Advance is a customer-led product that enables employees to get up to 50 per cent of their net monthly salary to meet basic needs before their next payday. The product is designed to provide short term financing to its customers via convenient and accessible digital channels such as the mobile phone.

    Explaining the key features that set the new solution apart from competition, the Bank’s Group Head, Products and Markets Development, Adebimpe Ihekuna disclosed that the product is designed to provide leverage for consumers to meet pressing financial needs such as paying their child/ward school fees, emergencies requiring funding, bill payments, amongst other needs.

    “Beyond the financial empowerment that Polaris Salary Advance offers to our customers, access to such soft loans improve consumer lifestyle and help them to be in charge of their resources rather than banking on uncertain sources”.

    Continuing, Adebimpe noted, ‘The social impact of the Polaris Salary Advance solution cannot be over-emphasized given its ability to meet customers’ needs on the go”.

    On the process of accessing the funds, she explained that it has been affirmed to be the fastest in the industry as one can easily access the salary advance solution and get his/her account credited in a minute, with no documentation required. Customers can access up to 50 per cent of their net monthly salary capped at N500,000 for a 30-day tenor or next salary date by dialing *833*12#.

     

  • Makinde to swear in 14 commissioners-designate

    OYO State governor Seyi Makinde will today swear in 14 commissioners to serve in his administration.

    Makinde stated this while receiving stakeholders of the Ibadan based state-owned football club, Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC), in his Agodi, Secretariat Office, Ibadan.

    The commissioner-designate, who had earlier been screened and confirmed by the members of the state House of Assembly during a session that lasted about eight hours last week, will take their oath of office and allegiance at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s office, Agodi, Ibadan by 10a.m.

    Read Also: APC chieftain to Ekiti Commissioners-designate: Shun corruption, disloyalty

    After the screening of the nominees by the House of Assembly, the Speaker, Mr. Adebo Ogundoyin, had expressed satisfaction about the calibre, intelligence and educational pedigree of the commissioners-designate.

    He expressed optimism that the new team would give fresh impetus into the Makinde-led administration.

    But, a source close to the government confirmed that the names of three additional commissioner-nominees have been sent to the House of Assembly for screening and confirmation.

  • CBN’s PMI report shows rise in employment

    THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)  Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)  report for July shows   employment level index  on the rise for the 27th consecutive month.

    The index stood at 57.6 points. Of the 14 sub-sectors covered, 10 reported increased employment level, one reported unchanged employment level while three reported decreased employment in the review month.

    The report also indicated expansion in the manufacturing sector for the 28th consecutive month.

    The index grew at a faster rate when compared to the June figure. Of the 14 sub-sectors surveyed, 13 reported growth in the review month in petroleum and coal products; transportation equipment; cement; printing & related support activities; paper products; food, beverage and tobacco products; furniture and related products among others.

    At 58.9 points, the production level index for the manufacturing sector grew for the twenty-ninth consecutive month in July 2019. The index indicated a slower growth in the current month, when compared to its level in the month of June 2019. Twelve of the 14 manufacturing sub-sectors recorded increased production level, while two recorded decline

    Read Also: CBN injects $210m in forex market

    At 57.2 points, the new orders index grew for the 28 consecutive month, indicating increase in new orders in July 2019.

    Eleven sub-sectors reported growth, 1 remained unchanged, while 2 contracted in the review month.

    The manufacturing supplier delivery time index stood at 57.5 points in July 2019, indicating faster supplier delivery time. The index has recorded growth for twenty-six consecutive months. Ten of the 14 sub-sectors recorded improved suppliers’ delivery time, while one remained unchanged and three recorded decline in the review period.

    The July 2019 PMI survey was conducted by the Statistics Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria during the period July 8-12, 2019. The respondents were purchasing and supply executives of manufacturing and non-manufacturing organizations in all 36 states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The Bank makes no representation regarding the individual companies, other than the information they have provided. The data contained herein further provides input for policy decisions.