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Tag: Radio Nigeria

  • GTI charts new course to deepen NPFL assets through Radio Nigeria

    GTI charts new course to deepen NPFL assets through Radio Nigeria

    In a strategic move to enhance the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) assets, GTI Asset Management & Trust Limited is making concerted efforts to attract more investors to its innovative initiative, The Nigeria Football Fund (TNFF). This mutual fund, launched at the Stock Exchange Commission (SEC), aims to financially bolster the growth of Nigerian football, reports MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN

    According to GTI Asset Management & Trust Limited, the TNFF is designed to transform Nigerian football into a profitable enterprise and a national asset. In pursuit of this goal, GTI recently convened key stakeholders from the NPFL, the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), and various media agencies in Lagos to discuss the football economy and strategies to promote the NPFL nationwide.

    According to NPFL chairman, Otunba Gbenga Elegbeleye, GTI’s involvement is crucial for the league’s revival. He acknowledged that the NPFL had faced significant challenges in the past but assured stakeholders of a renewed commitment to transparency and reform, essential for attracting investment.

    “ GTI is God-sent to the NPFL,” NPFL chairman, Otunba Gbenga Elegbeleye, said matter-of-factly, assuring that with constant reforms and transparency, the domestic league would in no distant future becomes financially viable and stable.

    He continued: “For investors to come into the system, there must be transparency. “When StarTimes came, they wanted a 10 year deal but we insisted on a shorter period in order to prove our worth.

    “Now, the world can see that we are capable of running a quality league.”

    Elegbeleye highlighted the importance of discipline within the league, stating that strict measures have been implemented for referees and clubs to ensure fairness, which has improved the league’s competitive nature.

    “Any referee found guilty of misconduct will be sanctioned immediately. Likewise, any club that fails to comply with league rules will lose points. For instance, Kano Pillars lost three points after breaching the rules. These steps have helped restore sanity and discipline in our league,” he said.

    He also noted a significant increase in the prize money for league champions, rising from ₦100 million to ₦200 million, demonstrating a commitment to rewarding excellence in Nigerian football. Furthermore, he emphasized the vital role of media in conveying positive narratives about the league, which can facilitate discussions on media rights and attract sponsors.

    “Without journalists, we would not be here,” Elegbeleye further said. “You have projected our league to a confident level and with more positive engagements on the league, investors will take us seriously.”

    Nelson Ine, Executive Director at GTI, stressed the necessity for collective investment in the NPFL through the TNFF, referencing the extensive reach of Nigerian football, with approximately 380 matches held annually across various locations.

    “ We have to pull together for the survival of NPFL and ultimately, the Nigerian football economy,” the well-versed Ine said.“ But if you don’t invest, you can’t expect.

    “But we can all invest (in TNFF) today and reap bountifully in the future.”

    He said with Nigeria’s huge population, sponsors and advertisers can take advantage of reaching out to the masses through the FRCN live commentaries for instance.

    “ Though we all agreed that ‘football is Nigeria and Nigeria is football’ because of the deep emotional attachment to the game yet the NPFL has no single big sponsor and even a small African country, Tanzania, has invested about $12 million USD for five years on their league ,” he said.

    He called on both individuals and corporations to seize the investment opportunity presented by the TNFF and highlighted Nigeria’s large population as an advantage for potential sponsors and advertisers.

    He added: “At GTI, we have accepted to be the ‘burden bearer’ with the launch of the TNFF and it’s about time individuals and Corporate Nigeria, stand up to invest in the NPFL. In tears and pains, we are doing this because we believe that if we don’t stand up, who is going to stand up for Nigerian football as we are currently doing for the NPFL and The President Federation Cup.

    “ Our media agencies, have a lot of work to do because this league, NPFL, is your responsibility and it’s you that can intervene with advertisers and investors because if you continue to tell them positive stories about the league, they would come and invest in the league.”

    The management of FRCN is also on board, promising to utilize its extensive network to promote the NPFL and benefit advertisers. They are broadcasting match commentaries in multiple Nigerian languages to engage a broader audience.

    Meanwhile, Chief Davidson Owumi, a former Nigerian international and Chief Operating Officer of NPFL, underscored the progress made in the league, pointing to positive statistics from the recent season and the ongoing commitment to quality refereeing and fair play.

    “Just this past season (2024/2025), out of the 380 matches played, we had a total of 784 goals scored and we had 286 victories out of which there were 42 away wins,” Owumi explained. “ Altogether we had 76 penalties awarded out of which 60 were scored and 16 missed and a total of 1380 yellow cards and 56 red cards were issued and this is to buttress the fact that our referees are all out there to do their job and this has really bring a lot of sanity to the game.

    “ These are positive trajectory and I want to believe this can well be propagated through the Radio Nigeria Live Commentaries and the media as a whole.

    “ The only thing lacking in league today is sponsorship but we have to thank GTI for bearing the burden of investing hugely in the NPFL,” added Owumi.

    In conclusion, GTI and its partners are dedicated to revitalizing the NPFL, with a clarion call to investors to support their local football scene. The GTI leadership is optimistic about the potential success of the TNFF and the overall improvement of the league, expressing a strong belief in the need for local commitments to advance Nigerian football.

    Quipped the Group Managing Director/CEO of GTI, Alhaji Abubakar Lawal:“ When we started, the language then was that ‘it was not possible’ and ‘what are you guys trying to do’.. and that ‘Nigeria would happen to you’ but we said ‘ if we don’t do it (investing in the NPFL), who would do it?.. if we (GTI) don’t stand up for Nigeria, who will do it?

    “We are Nigerians and nobody from outside is going to do this (investing in our football) for us, let’s all take the baton and I believe, we are going to win,” he noted

  • Nigeria targets 4 million barrel per day production – DPR

    …Says 2.98 billion barrels stranded in Nigeria oil province

    The Federal Government has unveiled plans to produce 4 million barrel of oil daily by 2020, it was learnt on Wednesday.

    The Executive Director, Upstream Monitoring Division, Mrs. Pat Fasali  Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) made this disclosure in the DPR Half Hour on Radio Nigeria. 

    According to her, about 2.98 barrel of oil are stranded and undeveloped in the Nigeria’s oil province. She added that the country also has 6 trillion cubic feet of gas that has not been developed. 

     The Federal Government, she said, has targeted to raised the volume of its oil reserve to 40billion barrel by 2020.

    She said that: “There are so many things that are stranded in the Nigerian oil province. And I can tell you that about 2.98billion barrels are stranded and not yet developed. 

    “Even for gas we still have 6 trillion cubic feet not developed. And government has the aspiration that it wants to have a reserve of 40 billion barrel by 2020. And that it wants to produce 4 million barrel per day. If we don’t make them to unify and start production, we will not achieve government’s aspiration.”

    Commenting on the impact of the activities of the DPR on the nation’s economy, she said that oil is the economic mainstay of the country as it contributes about 80% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

    For the organization to sustain its contribution, she said it has to ensure that it carries out effective regulation of the licensing round, violation, penalty, permit and processing fees to sustain the revenue. 

    Read Also: NBS: Nigeria’s inflation increases

    Speaking, Executive Director Operation, Mr. Babajide Fasina, said that hitherto, the sector had the International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating but there are now indigenous companies operating the marginal oil fields. 

    He disclosed that “now we have 31 marginal oil companies of which about 16 are producing.”

    Fasina the organization is making frantic efforts at reducing the cost of oil production from $27/barrel to $18 per barrel. 

    He added that the DPR is engaging the oil companies to ensure that the country derives more benefits from oil production. 

  • First scientists fair in Southeast coming

    There are plans to bring together for the first time inventors and innovators to showcase their products in the Southeast. A non-governmental organisation based in Enugu, the South Saharan Social Development Organisation is behind that plan.

    The NGO said that over 25 original inventions and innovations from people either from the Southeast or resident there, shortlisted from over 100 applications and entries would showcase their indigenous technological inventions.

    The Programme Manager of the Organisation, Mr Onyinye Nwachukwu said in a statement in Enugu that the fair would promote scientific and technological innovations and inventions in the region.

    According to Nwachukwu, the event is part of the organisation’s response to recession and to promote enterprise and entrepreneurship especially among youths.

    “The programme also aims to halt the disregard for innovation in the country which has been the trend since independence despite the abundance of scientists and technologists.

    “Thus, it will encourage innovation and further boost entrepreneurship in Nigeria in general,’’ he said.

    Nwachukwu said that the programme, which is tagged: “Showcasing the Can-Do Igbo Spirit: Innovations and Inventions from the Southeast’’, is under the organisation’s Ola Ndi Igbo (Jewels of the East) programme.

    He noted that the programme would attract over 1,000 visitors from within and outside of Nigeria including people from the private sector, investors, government officials, the diplomatic community and the general public.

    “This event is having the support of Life Lager Beer, the Ford Foundation, MTN, Ellington Company, Fidelity Bank, Radio Nigeria, NOTAP and many others.

    “It will take place on Dec. 18 from 10a.m. to 4p.m. at the Oakland Centre, Enugu and is open to the public free of charge,’’ he said.

    In addition to N1 million grand prize and other consolation prizes, the shortlisted inventors would receive training on patenting, financial management, how to run a business, marketing and branding of the technological innovative product.

     

  • CLO petitions Radio Nigeria over shutdown of Yenagoa FM station

    The Bayelsa chapter of Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) has petitioned the management of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) over the shutdown of broadcast by its FM station, Creek 106.5 FM, Yenagoa.

    According to CLlO, the station, which started broadcast in 2014  has remained inconsistent on air in the last one year denying the people of Bayelsa access to news and programmes on the station, particularly the network news at 7a.m. and 4p.m.

    In the petition made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday, CLO gave the FRCN management two weeks to resume broadcast in the public station or the matter would be officially reported to higher authorities.

    The petition by the CLO State Chairman, Chief Nengi James, was addressed to the Director-General of the FRCN.

    The CLO wondered why the management of the station would have to rely on the Bayelsa State Government to continue to provide temporary accommodation for its operations in Yenagoa.

    James noted that such monetary assistance from the State government was capable of eroding the true independence of the station and would raise a lot of ethical issues.

    The civil society group said that the impact of the gesture on fairness and independence could only be imagined.

    The group observed that the development was a plot to undermine the people of Bayelsa, adding that the move was unacceptable and would be resisted.

    The group noted that there was ample evidence to show that the state government had since allocated land for the construction of the South South Zonal headquarters and the broadcasting house of the FM station in Yenagoa.

    James frowned at the temporary relocation of the Zonal headquarters to Port Harcourt since 2013.

  • Nigerian journalist wins UN Foundation Gold Prize

    Nigerian journalist wins UN Foundation Gold Prize

    A Nigerian journalist, Augustina Armstrong-Ogbonna has been awarded the United Nations Foundation Gold Prize for Development and humanitarian reporting.
    Armstrong-Ogbonna, a freelance journalist with Radio Nigeria (Radio One) won the Gold medal for her reportage on neglected coastal communities along the Lagos coastline that are bearing the drastic impact of sea rise as well as threats of displacement.
    She was awarded the United Nations Foundation Gold Prize for print (including online media) and broadcast media (TV & Radio), for Development and Humanitarian Reporting.
    The award and gold medal was presented to her by the Secretary General of the United Nations; Mr Ban Ki-Moon on Monday in New York at the 20th United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) Annual Awards for the best print, broadcast (TV & Radio) and online, web-based media coverage of the United Nations, U.N. agencies and field operations.
    The prize was awarded for her report on how climate change and rapid urbanization is affecting coastal communities such as Okun Alfa, Otodo-gbame in Lagos with extinction and eviction respectively.
    According to the UNCA; “Augustina Armstrong-Ogbonna braves dangers to report on Nigeria’s coastal communities ravaged by conflict and degrading environment that affect development and human lives.”
    With almost ten years of experience as a multimedia and Environmental Journalist, Tina has focused her reportage on neglected communities across Nigeria such as Okun Alfa and Otodo Gbame in Eti-Osa local government area, Sagbo Kodji Island and Makoko in Lagos state. Sagbo Kodji has never had power supply despite being located on an island that overlooks high rise of commercial Lagos Island as well as Apapa sea port.
    The report was picked online by a renewable energy company owned by two young Nigerians, whose company approached the community and provided solar power panels and battery to some homes and ventures on the island, thereby lighting up the community for the first time in over a century of its existence.
    Reacting to the prize, Tina said “I am completely humbled by this recognition from the United Nations. It is a major encouragement for me to persist with impacting journalism that affects the common man and development of the environment. I am must obliged for this.”
    Until recently, Tina produced and presented a weekly environmental programme on community development called Community Diary on Radio One 103.5 FM in Lagos. She has also produced content for REUTERS, CNN, German Information Center GIC and EnviroNews Nigeria.