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  • Access Bank unveils scheme for smartphone purchase

    ACCESS Bank has introduced a financing scheme for procurement of phones for more Nigerians to get connected to more businesses online and deepen financial inclusion.

    Victor Etuokwu, Executive Director, Retail Banking, said in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos that the loan would provide more Nigerians with access to credit under its Device Finance scheme.

    The  scheme is designed to provide customers on salary income with the opportunity to purchase smartphones of their choice and pay over a period of 12 months.

    Read Also: Access Bank issues N30b Tier-2 Bond

    “Access Bank has taken the initiative to lead the digitisation of lending in Nigeria and wants every customer to benefit from the modern connected lifestyle.

    “Through our revolutionary and ground-breaking credit schemes such as Device Finance, we will see more Nigerians get connected to do more business online and enjoy social lifestyle of their choice,” he said.

    Etuokwu said the financing scheme currently includes smartphone devices with prices ranging from N12,500 to N325,000, at competitive market prices, spread across a 12-month repayment period.

  • Lagos, U.S. Consulate to strengthen ties

    THE Lagos State Government and United States (U.S.) Consulate, Lagos have pledged to collaborate on areas of mutual interest.

    Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the new U.S. Consul-General in Lagos Ms. Claire Pierangelo made the pledge yesterday when the latter visited the governor at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja.

    The U.S. diplomat said the visit was to strengthen the consulate’s working relationship with the state government, noting that the U.S. Consulate had been a “great partner” of the government.

    The visit was Ms. Pierangelo’s first official call on any Nigerian public officer since she arrived in Nigeria.

    The new envoy succeeded Mr. John F. Bray and assumed duty on May 29 – the day Sanwo-Olu was sworn in.

    She said: “I am here today on a visit to a friend of the U.S. government and our strategic development partner in Africa. We have had good working relationship and we believe this could be further strengthened for greater impacts on areas of collaborations.

    Read Also: Who is who in Sanwo-Olu’s cabinet-nominees?

    “I am delighted to meet the Lagos State Governor with whom I started work on the same day. Maintaining a cordial relationship with Lagos government is critical to the success of the U.S. Mission in Nigeria. In the coming days, we will be sharing our plans on how to strengthen our shared partnership for the future.”

    She said avenue for cooperation with Lagos government include the areas of education, health and security, reiterating American government’s commitment to deepen bilateral relationship with Nigeria through “active collaborations”.

    Sanwo-Olu said Lagos and the U.S. Consulate shared a long history of collaboration that were beneficial to both parties.

    He said his administration would not hesitate to welcome any plan that would further improve the partnership the state has had with the American government.

    Ms Pierangelo was accompanied on the visit by the consulate’s Political Chief, Mr. Osman Tat, and Protocol Aide, Mary-Anne Onwuchekwa.

  • Oil slumps on weak economic data

    OIL prices slumped on Wednesday on weak economic data from China and Europe and a rise in United States (U.S.) crude inventories, almost erasing the previous session’s sharp gains after the U.S. said it would delay tariffs on some Chinese products.

    Brent crude  was down $2.08, or 3.4 per cent, at $59.22 a barrel, after rising 4.7 per cent the previous day, the biggest percentage gain in a day since December.

    U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down $2.13, or 3.7 per cent, at $54.97 a barrel, having risen four per cent the previous session, the most in just over a month.

    China reported a raft of unexpectedly weak data for July, including a surprise drop in industrial output growth to a more than 17-year low, underlining widening economic cracks as the trade war with the U.S. intensifies.

    “This morning’s Chinese industrial production came in below expectations confirming our expectation that the late-cycle dent likely becomes deeper before year-end,’’ Norbert Ruecker of Swiss bank Julius Baer said, referring to the late-cycle phase in economies that are characterised by slowing growth.

    Read Also: ‘Oil in for short term gain, long term pain’

    “Oil demand should continue to soften,’’ he added.

    The global slowdown amplified by tariff conflicts and uncertainty over Brexit is also pressuring European economies.

    A slump in exports sent Germany’s economy into reverse in the second quarter, data showed.

    The euro zone’s GDP barely grew in the second quarter of 2019.

    Profit-taking after the previous day’s sharp gains also weighed on crude prices yesterday, analysts said.

    Benchmark crude prices surged on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump backed off his Sept. 1 deadline for 10 per cent tariffs on some products, affecting about half of the $300 billion target list of Chinese goods.

    “While Brent crude has recovered back above $60 a barrel, the technical outlook for WTI looks somewhat better after once again managing to find support above $50 a barrel,’’  Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank, Ole Hansen, said.

    “The range-bound behaviour, however, looks set to continue with a focus on U.S.-China trade talks and continued production restraint from OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia.’’

    Data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed U.S. crude stocks unexpectedly rose last week.

    Crude inventories increased by 3.7 million barrels to 443 million, compared with analyst expectations for a decrease of 2.8 million barrels, the API said.

  • Oyo warns firms over evasion of payment for road setbacks

    Oyo State has warned business organisations that built on the mandatory setbacks on major roads to pay for the spaces or have them taken over.

    Its Internal Revenue Service (OYSIRS) Executive Chairman, Aremo John Adeleke, gave the warning yesterday.

    He said the state government was not happy with the attitude of most organisations using these spaces for failing to meet their financial obligations despite being served many demand notices by the Board of Internal Revenue (BIR).

    Adeleke spoke with reporters in his office after an enforcement exercise by the OYSIRS and the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources.

    He stated that for government to be able to provide amenities, organisations and other business owners needed to remit taxes, levies and dues to the rightful place as part of their civic duties.

    He said: “Setbacks in public places are government properties and to use them, there should be payment for temporary use of such places. Most organisations have taken this for granted for so long and that is what necessitated our action at this point.

    “The focus of the first phase of the enforcement exercise is on the banking industry. After that, we will move to other sub-sectors. The government will recover the setbacks unless those affected do what is required.

    “In the past, series of correspondence, plea and stakeholders meeting with those concerned yielded no response. Also, the second phase will come soonest and will reach others that refused to comply with the payment option.”

    Appreciating those that complied, the executive chairman implored other business owners and individuals with outstanding taxes, levies, charges and fees to pay up so as to forestall drastic step against them.

    Among areas covered during the exercise are Total Garden, Agodi and Bodija – all within Ibadan metropolis.

  • Bayelsa gets Content Board’s oil, gas committee

    THE Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has inaugurated a Community Interface Committee (CIC) for the Nigerian Oil and Gas Park Scheme NOGaPS) located at Emeyal 1 in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

    The committee was set up to enhance the interface between the communities, the contractors and the Board and would ensure community participation, cordial relationship and promote compliance to the Community Content elements of the project.

    The Executive Secretary NCDMB, Simbi Kesiye Wabote, inaugurated the committee at a town hall meeting held to formally introduce the contractors that will execute the newly approved work scopes on the industrial park. He explained that the committee would ensure conducive environment for the execution of the contracts awarded for the development of the site at Emeyal 1 NOGaPS. “Hence, the Board deemed it fit to constitute a committee made up of representatives from the communities, the contractors and the Board,” Wabote said.

    Enumerating the roles and responsibilities of the committee, Wabote stated that His Royal Highness Jephthah Ogba Wolisi will serve as the chairman. Other members include representatives of the host communities, contractors and the NCDMB, while Mr. Kelly Olaye of the NCDMB will serve as the secretary. The committee’s existence will terminate at the completion of the project or whenever the management of NCDMB determines that their services is no longer required.

    Wabote commended President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the next phase of the project which entails the key infrastructure for the NOGaPS site. He noted that the Federal Government was impressed with the harmonious manner the contractors have been working with the community since the commencement of the project.

     

     

     

  • NCC: 40m denied access to telecoms services

    ABOUT two decades after the telecoms revolution, over 40 million Nigerians are still unable to access to telecoms services, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said on Wednesday.

    Its Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar Garba Dambatta, blamed this on the refusal of telcos  to spread their services into the rural areas.

    Dambatta, however, stressed the need for a paradigm shift in the communication sector in order to find solution to the challenges in the industry as globalisation has taken over.

    Dambatta who spoke at Emerging Technologies Consultative and ICT Innovation Forum for Northwest in Kano said: “We are addressing this deficit in two ways. One is to address the infrastructural deficit in the long term. In the short term, we need to deploy more and base transiver stations. At the main time, the base transiver stations are stations are about 58, 000; and that is not enough for a population of about 190 million.

    Read Also: NCC warns telcos against interconnect debts

    “At an average of 10 base transiver stations per year, it going to take this country 20 years to bridge the gaps and bring telecoms services to people living in the rural areas. People living in the rural areas don’t have the patience to wait for 20 years. So, we are looking at rural technology solutions that can bridge the gap in two years. This is ongoing.”

    According to him, NCC is driving the local content, using the information communication technology (ICT)  eco system with the resources available such as infrastructure, technology facilities, human intelligence to improve the economy, adding that, ‘if those infrastructures are available, they can now be used to drive wealth for the 40 million Nigerians who are not benefitting from such services.’

     

     

  • ‘50 oil firms owe NDDC N1.2trillion’

    FIFTY oil firms operating in the Niger Delta region are owing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) N1.2 trillion in form of unpaid dues to the Commission, it was gathered yesterday.

    The firm responsible for the collection of the unremitted statutory allocation for  NDDC, Paris Trust Limited,  said it has served the oil firms  letters to that effect since July 26, 2019

    Its Principal Partner, Timothy Bagwams, said since 2015, majority of the firms have failed to remit the statutory three per cent of their annual budget to the Commission, saying the failure to make the payments, is affecting the development of the region.

    In a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, Bagwams,  said the developmental activities of the Commission are funded by monies paid by oil firms in the region, pointing out that the failure by some of these firms to pay their dues meant that the Commission can only achieve little in addressing the developmental needs of the Niger Delta region.

    He said the firm has been authorised by the NDDC to serve letters to the defaulting firms to remit their dues to the Commission.

    Read Also: ‘NDDC committed to delivering quality projects’

    Some of the  firms include Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), National Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Chevron, Shell and Agip.

    Others are African Petroleum, Pan Ocean oil, Petro Bas, Seplat, Moni Pulo Petroleum Development, South Atlantic Petroleum and Zenon, Slumberger and First Exploration, Dubri Oil Company Limited among others.

    In its reaction, the  Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Mr Ndu Ughamadu, confirmed that the Corporation is indeed owing NDDC. He however,  stated that NNPC has started repaying the debts.

    He said: “There is nothing wrong in being indebted to someone or an organisation. We are indebted to NDDC, but we reached an agreement with them (NDDC) on repayment and we have started the repayment few months ago.”

    Bagwams said the NDDC has asked the Federal Government and all the oil and gas firms operating in the region to fulfil their financial statutory obligations to the Commission by remitting all their outstanding remittances to its coffers.

    Bagwams said the Commission has written to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Federal Ministry of Finance requesting for the remittance of the cash.

    Section 14(2)(b) of the NDDC Act, 2014 says three per cent of the total annual budget of any oil producing company operating on shore and off shore, in the Niger-Delta area; including gas-processing companies shall be paid and credited to the fund established by the NDDC for the defrayal of all expenditure.

    He said: “But as I speak with you the companies are owing NDDC more than N1.2 trillion, and this is why the Commission is achieving little in addressing the developmental needs of the region.

    “Since 2015, the Federal Government has not been remitting its statutory 15 percent of the total monthly statutory allocations due to member states of the Commission from the Federation Account as well as the 50 per cent of monies due to member states of the Commission from the Ecological Fund.

    “The 15 percent, according to the provisions of Section 14(2) (a) and (c) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (Establishment, ETC) Act, 2014 represents the contribution of the Federal Government to the Commission.”

     

     

     

     

  • Immaculate Heart emerge champs of Deanery Coordinator’s cup

    Nigerians have been told to embrace sports and regular fitness with a view to keeping away heart attack which has assumed alarming proportion in recent times.

    The advice was given as health experts; stakeholders, Catholic Men Organisation members and sports fans alike converged on Ejigbo Stadium last Saturday for the finals of maiden Isolo Deanery Coordinator’s Cup.

    The championship which was action packed, drew a lot of soccer enthusiasts to the venue that is gradually turning into local Wembley.

    In the highly entertaining finals Immaculate Heart Iba edged out hard fighting Annunciation CMO, Ori-oke by a lone goal scored in the first half.

    Efforts by Annunciation CMO whose brand of football tickled the fancy of many fans at the Venue to turn the table failed as Immaculate Heart held tenaciously to their lead till the final whistle.

    Inspection of players before the match between Immaculate Heart and Annunciation

    Donor of the prestigious trophy and Isolo Deanery Coordinator Chukwudi Oparaku told Sportinglife.ng that the essence of the tournament is to use sports as a vehicle for evangelisation on one hand and foster unity among men within the Deanery on the other, assuring that the next edition will be bigger and better.

    Chairman Local Organising committee for the tournament Alex Iloh scored his committee 80% adding however that there is room for improvement.

    In the third place match, St.John Igando came from behind to beat Maria Goretti 2-1.

    Rev Father Kefas Martins who was very impressive on the pitch for St John Igando, called for more support for the tournament which he noted is not only a vehicle of unity in the Deanery but aimed at motivating  men to embrace fitness  while building good and God fearing families.

    Interestingly when both finalists met in the group stage it ended on a scoreless note.

  • AU, AFRIMA unveil nominees for sixth music award

    The African Union (AU) and the international committee of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) yesterday unveiled the nominees for the regional category of the award’s sixth edition.

    At a briefing in Lagos, the organisers said voting will begin on September 1 and end on November 22.

    Continental and regional nominees in the 36 AFRIMA awarding categories will compete for the coveted 23.9 carats gold-plated AFRIMA Trophy.

    Nominees will depend on their fans and followers spread across the globe to vote for them in an open voting process via the AFRIMA website www.afrima.org

    The 2019 AFRIMA ceremony is scheduled to hold from November 20 to 23.

    The 2019 nominees’ list for regional and continental category was chosen from 8,157 song and video entries received through an online portal, which closed on August 2.

    The remaining 25 continental categories will be released on August 23 after auditing by AFRIMA’s international auditors.

    Read Also: Tiwa Savage, Davido, Simi nominated for 2019 AFRIMA awards

    Entries for the regional category for Best Female Artistes and Best Male Artistes came from Western, Southern, Eastern, Northern, and Central Africa.

    Shatta Wale, Kizz Daniel, Salif Keita and Burna Boy will be competing for the Best Male category in Western Africa; Teniola, Simi, Aya Nakamura, Mzvee, Yemi Alade, among others, will be competing for the Best Female category in Western Africa.

    Dominating Central Africa are Blanche Baily, Charlotte Dipanda, Daphne, Locko, Magasco and Salatiel.

    For Eastern Africa, the contenders including Sheebah from Uganda, Vanessa Mdee from Tanzania, Nikita Kering from Kenya; Tanzanian Rayvanny and Mboso, and Kenyan Khaligraph Jones and Nyashinski.

    Moroccan Yann’Sine, Ahmed Soultan, Amiinux, Algerian Soolking, Cairokee from Egypt and Salma Rachid from Morocco will be battling it out in the Northern region for Best Male and Female category.

    South African artistes on the list include AKA, Nasty C, Cassper Nyovest, Sjava, Black Coffee, Kelly Khumalo, Zonke, Nadia Nakai, among others.

    Amara Brown, Tamy Moyo, Jah Prayzah, and Winky D also lock down few spots for Zimbabwe in the Southern regional category.

    A 13-man jury underwent a week-long process of thoroughly screening and grading the songs, which produced between August 1, last year and August 2.

    A member of the jury, Chris Cyren, said the nominees were rigorously assessed based on quality of works received.

    He praised AFRIMA for its sense of inclusiveness and for using music as a tool for integration.

    AU Head of Culture Mrs. Angela Martins, via a video conference call, said AFRIMA has the capacity to promote the African culture positively.

    She called for more support for the continental initiative.

  • N-Power insulated from corruption, says Fed Govt

    The Federal Government has said the political will demonstrated in the execution of the N-Power programme insulated it from corruption and other forms of sharp practices that marred similar youth empowerments in the past.

    The Communications Manager, National Social Investment Office (NSIO), Justice Bibiye, explained this in a statement yesterday in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

    The communication manager said the transparency in running the programme was also responsible for its huge impact on its beneficiaries and the economy.

    He added that reports highlighting minority views expressed by a few critics, who made bogus allegations bordering on corrupt practices in the implementation of N-Power did not reflect the true picture on the ground.

    Bibiye said N-Power, one of the social intervention programmes of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, remained the most successful government-driven youth empowerment schemes in history.

    He said: “It is either those critics have lost touch with existential realities as they concern this government’s strict approach in implementing its policies and programmes or that the resounding successes recorded, as evidenced in the outpouring of sincere and honest testimonies by the beneficiaries, are lost on them.

    “We are aware that some persons have assumed the role of perpetual pessimists of the SIPs, following the institution of processes and procedures that frown at selfish tendencies and corrupt practices at the NSIO.

    “We, however, owe it a duty to Nigerians to continue to set the records straight whenever naysayers come up with falsehoods to mislead the public.

    Read Also: N-Power’s stipends hit N279bn 

    “We wish to state categorically that there are no N-Power ghost beneficiaries neither is the programme embroiled in corruption as alleged by those who have decided to see nothing good in the scheme.

    “From application, selection, deployment and payment of volunteers, the process is transparent, being technology driven.”

    According to him, at inception, the Bank Verification Number (BVN) of successful candidates are sent to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) for verification.

    Bibiye said NIBSS, being the custodian of the BVN data, authenticated the identity of each and every name, number and account number submitted by the NSIO, and anyone not verified was dropped from the list of successful beneficiaries.

    “For the first set of 200,000 beneficiaries submitted for verification, NIBSS verified 93 per cent, after which only those verified were submitted to the various States, which entities are saddled with the responsibility of physically verifying the beneficiaries and deploying them to their Primary Places of Assignment (PPA).

    “Upon confirmation of the deployments to the PPAs, the NSIO then signs off to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, which makes payment directly to the accounts of beneficiaries through the NIBBS.

    “This process also applies to other components of the social intervention programmes except for the National Conditional Cash Transfer programme, where due to logistics challenges, mobile money agents (MMAs) are engaged to reach out to beneficiaries in the rural areas.

    “The successful MMAs are selected through an open process in compliance with the BPP Act, and even though they pay beneficiaries in remote locations where there is a dearth of banking infrastructure, they each have a backend technology that enables visibility and timely reconciliation of payments, as a pre-condition to engagement,” he said.

    Bibiye said the Federal Government remained favourably disposed to constructive criticisms and the feedback that would aid ongoing efforts to strengthen the execution strategies of the SIPs for greater service delivery to Nigerians.

    The NSIO manager said critics were also encouraged to follow up closely and interrogate the processes of the programme to avoid making remarks that were not evidence-based.

    He added that Nigerians, particularly beneficiaries of the programme and their dependents, should rest assured that the SIPs were not crumbling or coming to an end any time soon as predicted by naysayers.

    The communications manager said that the Federal Government, through the NSIO, would continue to redouble efforts to ensure that the intended objectives of the Social Intervention Programmes were achieved in line with public expectations.