The Nation Newspaper

Tag: redeem

  • Promos:Lottery Commission forces banks to redeem prizes

    As banks try to grow their depositors’ base and help promote a saving culture through lotteries, the National Lottery Commission has intervened in some bank promos to get some banks to redeem their promises to participants.

    Though the  commission boss did not mention any bank by name he urged all banks engaging in promos or planning to engage in one in the future “to keep to their words.”

    This disclosure was made by the Director-General of the National Lottery Commission Adolphous Ekpe at the first Quarterly prize presentation of the “Get Alert in Millions Savings Promo” of Fidelity bank in Abuja.

    Ekpe stated that the commission was set up to ensure that all those who participate in lotteries particularly promos benefit whether they win or not. According to him, “promo operators are mandated to contribute to a trust fund for a good course.”

    The lottery commission Director-General noted that lottery in Nigeria “is an economic activity that can be done by any organisation and I appeal to Nigerians interest in lotteries to participate only in approved lotteries.”

    Earlier in his address, the Deputy Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Mr. Mohammed Balarabe, said the Quarterly prize presentation of the “Get Alert in Millions Savings Promo” was the sixth promo the bank was involved  in in the last nine years and each promo come with a distinct theme.

    Under the “Get Alert in Millions Savings Promo”, Balarabe stated that “there will be 300 winners for this promo that will last till May 2017.”

    Balarabe noted that the presence of the National Lottery Commission to monitor the bank’s promos has given Fidelity bank promos credibility and integrity.

  • Insurers ‘need to redeem poor image’

    Insurers ‘need to redeem poor image’

    Insurance operators need to redeem the industry’s poor image to enable them maximise the untapped potential in the economy, Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun has said.

    The governor, represented by his Deputy, Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga, made this known while declaring open the  Insurance Professionals’ Forum organised by the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

    He stated that the theme of this year’s forum: The insurance industry, national economic shift & new business realities, could not have been more apt, as there were more than ever before in the history of the nation, the need for diversification of the economy.

    He said insurance firms should make maximum use of the investment opportunities available to them to strengthen their liquidity position to enable them meet the claims of policyholders, companies whenever the need arises.

    He stressed that such effort would help restore public confidence in the ability of the industry to deliver and redeem its obligations to clients.

    He observed that many Nigerians were yet to embrace the culture of patronising insurance firms, hence, the need for the Institute to engage in public education and enlightenments programmes that would enlist the interest of the people in the business.

    He called on the operators to extend some of their programmes to the rural areas, to enable them tap the potentials at the grassroots.

    He said: “There is the need too for insurance companies to redesign their products and services in such a way that would meet the need in the ever changing behavioural pattern of our people. In doing so, concerted efforts should be made to ensure that the economic environment and social behaviour of our people are integrated into the policy formulation and marketing strategy objective of the insurance companies.

    “Another area which the insurance industry is yet to fully explore is the life policy and pension insurance scheme. This can really make long term funds available for profitable investment in the insurance sector. It seemed to me that lack of insurance life portfolio has made our insurance companies to be caught in the web of low investments and needless competitions with other actors in the money market”.

    Speaking on diversification, the Governor said it had dawned on everybody of the need to diversify the economy to the non-oil sector and as major players, insurance professionals must come up with robust ideas and policies that could help cushion the fall in revenue in the economic process.

    “Undoubtedly, as the call for the diversification of the economy is on the increase, and investors are being wooed to invest in agriculture, mining, export promotion, among others, this gathering through robust deliberations, must come up with possible template that would not only assure investors of the safety of their investment, but that would ensure them of insurance driven environment which will bring high yields on their investments.

    “Without doubt, the prevailing social economic situation in our economy requires that the Institute should attempt a critical reappraisal of some of the contemporary issues in the professional practice of insurance business in order to promote the industry,” he said.

    Commissioner for Insurance, Mohammed Kari, urged insurance professionals to act professionally, adding that failure to observe this tenet in the past caused the industry so much injury.

    “The time has indeed come for us to speak professionally and act like the true insurance professionals we claim to be in the course of performing or conducting our business. Our failure to observe this tenet in the past has caused the industry so much reputational injury. I am glad to say the current efforts of the underwriters to change the perception of the public about insurance are timely and laudable. All other sectors should join in with their widow’s might to ensure the success of the project,” he said.

    CIIN President, Lady Isioma Chukwu, urged insurance professionals to key into the vision of the government’s economic diversification activities and position the industry appropriately.

  • ‘Buhari ’ll redeem his promises to Nigerians’

    ‘Buhari ’ll redeem his promises to Nigerians’

    Eminent citizens have described the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari as the dawn of a new era in the country.

    They said Buhari’s leadership will engender the process of giving Nigeria a new direction, by halting the drift that has almost plunged it into ruins.

    Afenifere Deputy Leader, Senator Ayo Fasanmi, said after 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leadership, which is characterised by impunity, insecurity and corruption, Nigeria will now witness the dawn of a new era.

    Fasanmi  said: “I am personally happy at the victory of Gen. Buhari at the polls. As the late sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo used to say, there is no known history of unbroken darkness. However long the darkness will take there will be a glorious dawn.

    “Those who thought they could spend millions of naira and dollars to purchase victory, particularly in Yorubaland, would now cover their faces in shame. The Yoruba people have spoken, Nigerians have spoken through their ballot.

    “I am happy to say that if I meet Chief Awolowo again, I have good news for him. His dream about a new era in Nigeria has come true. That the progressives across the country have come together to rescue the nation.”

    Former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, noted that efforts to use religion against Buhari failed. Accorbing to him, in spite all the lies fabricated against Buhari, he triumphed.

    Mamora said his view that no amount of money can swing Yoruba votes in favour of the PDP has been vindicated by the election results in the Southwest. “The Southwest is too sophisticated. They have made up their minds, no amount of distributed largesse will change their minds.

    “No individual or group can dictate to them on how to vote. This they have demonstrated during the presidential election. I salute their courage and perseverance. I commend them for their consistency.”

    Afenifere chieftain, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye said the victory of Gen. Buhari is an indication that God loves Nigeria. He said given the commotion, tension and bloodshed in the country the presidential election was prosecuted to its logical conclusion.

    Durojaiye said but for the composure and magnanimity of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Attahiru Jega, the unruly behaviour of former Minister of Niger Delta Godsday Orubebe would have disrupted the declaration of the result.

    He  advised the President-elect on assumption of office to tackle corruption, insecurity and the epileptic power supply in the country. He believes if the power supply is stable, small and medium scale industries will spring up which will create jobs for unemployed youths.

    To Chief Emeka Ngige (SAN), Gen. Buhari’s victory did not come as a surprise to discerning Nigerians. He said though this victory was long in coming, keen observers  know that it was inevitable.

    Ngige said: “It was a victory postponed, but not denied. It is not in doubt that the last time the PDP won an election freely and fairly was in 1999 under the administration of Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar.

    “From 2003 to 2011, the PDP had not won any free and fair election. It was the judiciary that had always legitimised the shenanigans that characterised the previous elections. It is therefore to the credit of Prof. Jega that he decided to make history by insisting that the 2015 Presidential and National Assembly elections will be free and fair.

    “Nigerians yearned for change: change from a corrupt, clueless, inept, incompetent, hopeless, divisive and hateful government that had been in office for the last 6 years. Nigerians yearned for a change from a government that had divided the country along ethnic, religious and regional lines to a government that will unite, unify and bond all Nigerians. Nigerians yearned for change from a government that had no answer to the collapsing economy, mass unemployment, insecurity and mass poverty to a government that will revive the economy, create employment and empower the masses.

    “Nigerians yearned for a government that will stop the mindless looting of our common patrimony and assets by our fellow country men and women. I am hopeful and optimistic that Gen Buhari would live up to the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians that voted massively for him in the entire North, the Southwest, the Southeast and the Southsouth zones of Nigeria. The process for the redemption of our country under the leadership of Gen Buhari and Prof Yemi Osinbajo has just started.

    “All hands must be on deck to support the incoming government to return this country to the path of glory and progress. I congratulate Nigerians for this historic election in which an incumbent government at federal level has been voted out of office through a free and fair election. I must also congratulate the outgoing President  Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for his spirit of sportsmanship in conceding defeat and thus saving the nation from needless post election tension and apprehension,” Ngige concluded.

  • NECA urges NLC to redeem image

    The re-scheduled Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) election should be about redeeming the image of the organised labour movement, Director-General, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Mr. Segun Oshinowo has said.

    “This time around they just have to get it right. What happened during the delegates conference recently in Abuja has really cast a lot of aspersion on the integrity of the organised labour,” he said.

    While noting that it was the first time organised labour would act in such a manner at any of their gatherings, Mr. Oshinowo described the manner the NLC election ended as shameful, embarrassing, ridiculous and a dent on the image of the movement.

    He said: “What happened at the election eroded their moral credentials to condemn or commend what happens in the larger society, saying it was a minus.”

    The NECA boss, however, commended the members of the trade movement for rising in total condemnation of the act and their readiness to correct the anomaly. “I am happy that our colleagues on the other side have not spared themselves in condemning the shameful act, bearing in mind the position of the NLC in the society,” he said.

    Oshinowo expressed displeasure over the ugly incidenct, which he said happened during the nation’s general election period. Besides, the Congress had, at the opening ceremony of the delegates conference, promised to use its election to serve as model for the nation’s politicians.

    It would be recalled that the NLC 11th delegate conference election held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, ended abruptly when pandemonium broke out due to some irregularities observed on the ballot papers.

  • AMCON to redeem N1tr bonds today

    AMCON to redeem N1tr bonds today

    THE Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) will today, retire N1 trillion, out of the N5.7 trillion of its bonds held by investors. About N3.6 billion of the bonds are being held by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    The bonds were results of long years of insider loan abuses, bad loans and declaration of false profits by banks which took the average non-performing loans (NPLs) for the industry to as high as 35 per cent.

    AMCON Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mustafa Chike-Obi said earlier that investors in the bonds were to decide whether they wanted their money in cash or in treasury bills. That decision was made on November 19. However, it is not yet clear how many of the investors decided for cash or treasury bills.

    However, analysts have insisted that the AMCON bonds related liquidity increase could undermine naira and add pressure on the CBN to raise Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) next year.

    Currencies Analyst at Ecobank Nigeria, Olakunle Ezun said the MPR need to rise to counter higher spending that would stoke inflation in lead up to 2015 election. MPR is the benchmark rate by which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) determines interest rate while Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) is a portion of banks’ deposits kept by banks with the apex bank.

    The CBN has kept its benchmark rate unchanged since October 2011 to help stabilise the naira and keep inflation under control.

    In a quarterly report obtained by The Nation, Ezun said increase of three per cent plus or minus N155 target range for the naira remains possible but currently unlikely. He said further that the fall in oil production would add pressure on the foreign reserves, which in turn would undermine the naira.

    He said stable foreign exchange reserves and CBN’s more aggressive exchange rate policy have driven naira appreciation.

    “Maintaining Retail Dutch Auction System supply of plus or minus $800 million per week will significantly reduce foreign reserves if oil production stalls,” he said.

    Meanwhile, many of the banks with illiquid AMCON bonds are also seen to be under serious revenue threat.

    Looking forward into next year, an investment and research firm, Renaissance Capital, said in an emailed report: “We believe this will remain a challenging year for Access given the nature of its balance sheet (large exposure to illiquid AMCON bonds).

    “We think 2014 should be a year of stronger growth for Access, as most of the AMCON debt matures at the end of this year and will be redeemed for either cash or t-bills – giving Access the opportunity to earn better returns on its assets.”

    It is expected that by 2015, the only holder of AMCON bond will be the CBN with all commercial banks expected to retire their holdings next year.

  • Group urges Jonathan to redeem promises

    president Goodluck Jonathan has been urged to redeem his 2011 election promises to the people of the Southeast.

    In a communiqué in Lagos at the end of its meeting yesterday, the National Chairman of the Enugu Peoples Assembly (EPA), Patrick Mba, complained that the President made a lot of promises, which are yet to be fulfilled.

    The group complained that the Southeast had been marginalised by the Jonathan administration.

    Mba said: “The EPA is at a loss as to why nothing seems to be happening politically in the Southeast, despite the calibre of Ndigbo in the Jonathan-led cabinet.

    “The President promised Ndigbo functional seaports at Onitsha in Anambra State and Oguta in Imo State; dry inland port at Aba in Abia State; power plant at Oji River in Enugu State; completion of the second Niger bridge at Onitsha; fixing of Enugu–Onitsha Express road and Enugu–Port-Harcourt, among others.

    “All these promises are yet to take off in some instances and there is no federal presence in the Southeast, despite our overwhelming support for the President during the last election.”

     

  • Brazil 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP: Oboabona: we’ll redeem our image

    Brazil 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP: Oboabona: we’ll redeem our image

    Super Eagles centre-back Godfrey Oboabona has declared that the players will seek to redeem the team’s image in subsequent matches, especially at the World Cup next year.

    The Sunshine Stars of Akure captain said the coach Stephen Keshi-tutored team will get better starting with the World Cup qualification match against the Flames of Malawi in September.

    The highly rated defender has remained the Eagles’ most consistent player since the last Nations Cup in South Africa and has justified being given a chance in the team despite being a local league player.

    “Nobody is happy with us, because we could not meet up with the expectation of Nigerians. But that is football, you win some, you lose some,” said Oboabona in a telephone chat.

    He continued: “We will get better as a team. We have known our mistakes and we intend to work hard to rectify them.

    “We can’t continue to disappoint our supporters and that is the reason why we will be ready to redeem our image in subsequent matches for the country.

    “We can only apologise for our wrongdoing but we are still a team to be reckoned with any time.”