The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Service

  • He has dedicated his life to service of Nigeria, says NDDC boss

    He has dedicated his life to service of Nigeria, says NDDC boss

    President Muhammadu Buhari has been lauded for dedicating his life to the service of Nigeria.

    In a birthday message to mark Buhari’s 75th birthday, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Nsima Ekere said: “As an officer and gentleman, as military head of state and now as democratically elected President,” his life has been one of remarkable sacrifice and dedication to helping build a great nation.

    “Today, I join millions of Nigerians, friends and family, as well as well-wishers all over the world to felicitate with – and celebrate – President Muhammadu Buhari on his 75th birthday,” Ekere said in a series of Twitter messages.

    Ekere, in a statement by Director, Corporate Affairs, NDDC, Ibitoye Abosede, added: “Over the years, we have been privileged to witness his commitment to building a great nation, driven by patriotic zeal and vision and ennobled by humility, discipline, as well as a deep sense of duty, honour and integrity.

    “The milestones of great men inspire us all to always aspire to do great deeds, so that we may graft our names on the obelisk of time. President Buhari’s life and life’s work remain an inspiration to us all.”

  • IMF: debt service may consume 60% of govts’ revenues 

    IMF: debt service may consume 60% of govts’ revenues 

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that Nigeria and other oil producing countries in Africa may be overburdened with the high cost of debt servicing.

    It said such costs are expected to absorb over 60 per cent of governments’ revenues this year in Nigeria, Angola and Gabon. Public debt, the IMF said, rose above 50  per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 22 sub-saharan African countries at the end of 2016.

    Unveiling a report titled: “Fiscal Adjustment and Economic Diversification”, its Senior Resident Representative and Mission Chief for Nigeria (Africa Department), Mr. Amine Mati said diversification and fiscal consolidation are needed to be implemented in the region.

    “Fiscal pressures pose risks to the weakened financial sector in Nigeria and other sub-Saharan Africa countries,” IMF said.

    It  noted that exchange rates pressures have eased in many countries such as the case of Nigeria but cautioned that debt stocks have risen throughout the region.

    “Diversification offers a path to growth, since the region is imbued with significant potential for raising revenues,” IMF said.

    It said what the region required was getting the policy mix right and playing to their strengths.

    The IMF report noted that growth has picked up but is set to remain subdued with inflationary pressures receding. It therefore forecast a GDP growth of 2.6 per cent in 2017.

    According to the report, broad-based slowdown in sub-Saharan Africa is easing, but the underlying situation remains difficult.

    Hesaid growth is expected to pick up from 1.4 per cent  last year to 2.6per cent this year, reflecting the one-off factors particularly the rebound in Nigeria’s oil and agricultural production, the easing of drought conditions that impacted much of eastern and Southern Africa last year early 2017 and a more supportive external environment

    While 15 out of 45 countries continue to grow at five per cent or faster , growth in the region as a whole will barely surpass the rate of population growth and in 12 countries, comprising over 40 per cent of sub-saharan Africa’s population income per capita is expected to decline in 2017.

    An additional growth of 3.4 per cent is expected in 2018, but IMF said “momentum is weak and growth will likely remain well below past trends in 2019. Ongoing policy uncertainty in Nigeria and South Africa continues to restrain growth in the regions two largest economies.

    “Excluding these two largest economies, the average growth rate in the region is expected to be 4.4 per cent in 2017, rising to 5.1 per cent in 2018-19. But even where growth remains strong, in many cases it continues to rely on public sector spending, often at the cost of rising debt and crowding out of the private sector.”

  • Firm gives 30% discount on service, repairs

    Nigeria’s largest multi-brand automobile workshop has begun  operations in Lagos.

    The hi-tech auto firm can service and repair all passenger and commercial brands – from Ferrari to Toyota.

    TSL offers 30 per cent discount on service and repairs from last Thursday till October 31.

    TSL founder Raju Sawlani said the company will not only be able to service 1000 vehicles in a day, it will also be equipped to service and repair all passenger and commercial automotive brands “from Ferrari to Toyota.”

    He added that corporate bodies that register their fleet with the company between the same period “will receive special pricing.”

    After the promotion date, TSL, he said, will match any reputed workshop in Lagos that has at least 18 service bays.

    The firm will also engage in sale of new and used vehicles.

    “We will provide Gold Certification and peace-of-mind on used vehicles, as well as 24/7 roadside assistance,” he said.

    Sawlani said his decision to set up TSL was necessitated by a need to restore customer confidence in the nation auto market.

    He said: “Having sold over 200,000 vehicles, valued at $7.2 billion in Nigeria over a 21-year period, my customers have voiced their concern to me about after sales issues. For this reason, I needed to launch TSL. I handpicked the best technical personnel in the Nigerian auto industry. These are highly experienced individuals, who I have observed over a 21 years period.

    “The main parameters that define repair quality are quality of workmanship, genuineness of spare parts, lubricants and fluids used and the overall customer experience, which includes a reasonable price and the least amount of downtime.

    “TSL will provide only genuine lubricants, fluids and parts. The downtime and stress caused by fake and substandard motor oil and motor parts drain billions of Naira from the economy. Customers have lost confidence in most high and low workshops.

    “In addition, our machinery and equipment are from the top manufacturers in the world. We will prove to the world that supercars do not need to be flown out of Nigeria for service and repairs. Nigerians are highly talented and capable people.”

  • $5.5b loan: Debt service cost to rise above 62%, says RenCap

    $5.5b loan: Debt service cost to rise above 62%, says RenCap

    The Federal Government’s plan to borrow $5.5 billion through Eurobonds will raise the country’s debt service to revenue cost beyond 62 per cent, Sub-Saharan Africa Economist at Renaissance Capital (RenCap) Yvonne Mhango has predicted.

    The investment and research firm analyst said the debt service/revenue stood at 29 per cent in 2014 fiscal year, even as plans to raise additional fund in the near term imply debt service costs will rise further, albeit at a slower rate.

    In a report released to investors yesterday, titled: Nigeria: Fiscal operations in Seven-month – Capital Expenditure-Light and Debt Service-heavy, she said capital releases for the 2016 budget continued into the first quarter of this year, while public debt has increased by seven percentage points of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) since 2014.

    On the debt service/revenue, she said: “Nigeria’s debt service/revenue has risen sharply in recent years to 62 per cent as at June 2017, against 29 per cent level in 2014. This largely reflects the Federal Government’s low revenue/GDP target of four per cent this year. The Federal Government plans a $5.5 billion Eurobond issuance before year-end, 2017 as part of its efforts to lower local interest rates, by reducing domestic debt/total public debt to 60 per cent, against the over 70 per cent today”.

    Mhango said budget performance in the first seven months of this year and debt developments showed there were no capital releases for the 2017 budget, because it was passed late. She said the Federal Government’s 2017 budget of N7.4 trillion was 6.2 per cent of GDP, and was signed by the executive, after being passed by the Senate in May.

    Of this, N3.1 trillion (2.5 per cent of GDP) was spent in seven months. “Expenditure in seven month was 30 per cent below the (pro-rata) target and was entirely made up of recurrent spending. There were no capital releases from the budget because of its late approval.” she said.

    Mhango said revenue came in on target, at N2.6 trillion (2.1 per cent of GDP) because of a one-off refund from the Paris Club. “When this is stripped out, there was a 20 per cent shortfall in revenue. Below-target spending – due to delayed capital releases – explains the small budget deficit for seven month of 0.8 per cent of GDP, by our estimate, as against the 1.5 per cent (pro-rata) target,” she said.

    She disclosed that the federation account revenue was one-third below target, and that three-quarters of the FGN’s planned revenue for this year is expected to come from the Federation Account, of which two-thirds will stem from oil revenue.

  • AMF Business Service, Safety awards

    Alpha Mead Facilities (AMF) has been adjudged winner of the High Quality Professional Business Service Award, organised by the 9jaSAFE Awards.

    The Award, which is designed to distinguish firms and individuals, who record outstanding results in their industries, recognised AMF, a facilities management (FM) company with operations in Nigeria, Dubai, South Africa, Ghana, Senegal and Cameroun for its outstanding achievements in the FM industry.

    “This is a well-deserved award, which we are convinced is merited, given the amount of time, financial and very high quality human resources that we have deployed to take charge of this aspect of our business,” Femi Akintunde, an engineer and Alpha Mead Group Managing Director,  said.

    He described the award as apt, giving the level of awareness about Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) in most organisations. “It’s quite unfortunate that some people still assume that safety is expensive, when in reality the cost of an accident or fatality far exceeds the initial cost of preventing same,” he added.

    He further explained that as a Health and Safety conscious organisation, the firm has, in its 10 years of operations, implemented strategies that ensure the strict compliance of its HSE policy, which is periodically reviewed to suit the dynamic nature of the business environment. Similarly, the company recently won the achievement award for Outstanding Commitment to Health, Safety, and Environment by the Nigeria Safety Award for Excellence.

    The Awards Co-ordinator, Mr. Jonathan Hicks, expressed pride in the success of the winners: “Working in this vibrant and exciting region offers many challenges and opportunities. Therefore, it is my pleasure to congratulate Alpha Mead Facilities and wish them the best of luck as they look ahead,”he said.

    The 9jaSAFE Awards is one of Nigeria’s most prestigious and respected award for Safety Professionals/Practitioners and organisations across the country. The award aims to recognise outstanding performances and laudable initiatives of companies and individuals, to foster and promote Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) best practices in the workplace and in the nation at large.

  • ‘We‘re innovating ways of providing service to customers’

    ‘We‘re innovating ways of providing service to customers’

    Stanbic IBTC has introduced its Platinum Banking Customer Value Proposition in Lagos. Its Head, Personal Banking, Nkolika Okoli, spoke with Bukola Aroloye about the bank’s revamped exclusive offering and other related issues. Excerpt:  

    Can you tell us what Stanbic IBTC Bank private banking is all about?

    The Stanbic IBTC Platinum Private Banking (PPB) offering is an exclusive platform for servicing our HNI clients consisting mostly of executives in the companies we deal with at the Corporate and Investment Banking and Business Banking levels. Our PPB business is built around our ecosystem strategy, which aims to deliver end-to-end financial services across the spectrum for all our clients covering the corporate entities, the executives that run the corporate organizations, as well as their families. These clients are serviced from exclusive suites located in Lagos (Island and Mainland), Abuja and Port-Harcourt by dedicated and well trained relationship managers as well as our Platinum Support Centre (PSC), which ensures the clients receive top notch service wherever they are. The PSC is manned by experienced transactional bankers who give back up service to ensure a private banking client is never left stranded.

    Private Banking isn’t exactly a new offering from your stable. What exactly differentiates the Platinum Banking from Stanbic IBTC Bank’s previously offered private banking service?

    In reality both are the same. In the Standard Bank Group parlance we use private and Platinum banking inter-changeably. What we have done is to revamp the offering by upgrading the dedicated suites and creating the Platinum Support Centre to ensure that clients in locations where there are no dedicated Private Banking Suites experience the same level of platinum service standards.

    How robust is Stanbic IBTC Bank’s private banking as a niche area?

    Our private banking business is as old as our CIB business. But as an institution, we have always believed that banking is a conservative business. So we have gone about our business in a very quite but professional manner. Our clients can attest to the standard of service they have always received. If you think back, you will remember that IBTC Bank has always been a market leader in the asset management business and our money market funds have been voted the best. These are the backbones of private banking as high net worth individuals (HNIs) have needs beyond transactional banking. So they need a partner that understands wealth management and financial advisory locally and offshore and this is where Stanbic IBTC stands out because with all sense of humility, I daresay ‘we have it all’ in-house, that is, within the group on and offshore.

    Stanbic IBTC Bank has unveiled a customer value proposition for its Platinum Banking service; could you please shed some light on this value proposition and its unique selling points?

    What we did is simply to revamp our offering to suit the needs of the present day HNIs who are busy and have adopted digital habits. The implication is that they make fewer visits to the suites but will rather prefer to communicate with their relationship managers digitally. This is what led to the setting up of the Platinum Support Centre, which ensures clients can reach their transactional bankers to conduct their day-to-day activities remotely and new clients can also be on-boarded remotely. We also refurbished our platinum suites for comfort and to ensure clients can use it for their personal meetings and each suite is staffed to ensure support for the clients. Given the economic recession and high inflation rate, which has seen the cost of living sky-rocket, even HNIs are cutting down on expenses, which include class of travel. So we thought this is a good time to extend a lounge service programme to all our platinum clients and their families so that irrespective of their class of travel locally and internationally, they will still enjoy the comfort and exclusivity of airport VIP lounges for free. Knowing the importance of quality advisory services to HNIs, our relationship managers were re-trained to ensure best-in-class services to our clients. The list is endless and like it’s said ‘The taste of the pudding is really in the eating’. You have to experience the Stanbic IBTC platinum banking service to get the full import of the offering.

    Who are your main target audience for the Stanbic IBTC Bank Platinum Banking service?

    Primarily, we target corporate executives as well as successful business owners and entrepreneurs. We are an organisation with a culture built around ethics and corporate governance; so it’s not just about being wealthy but reputation and credibility.

    Stanbic IBTC Bank has been aggressively pushing a universal banking value proposition in the last few years. Is this just a marketing strategy? How would you appraise your efforts so far in this regard and what exactly is the rationale behind this strategy?

    I think this derives from what we represent as a group. We are a business that offers end-to-end services beyond banking to include asset management, retirement planning, insurance brokerage, trusteeship and legacy services, stockbroking, and so on. This is both at a local and international level being part of the Standard Bank Group. We also have footprints across Africa as the oldest bank on the continent as well as in the United Kingdom. I think it will not be fair to our customers if we limit our offering to them; we are a universal bank, hence the aggressive push to utilise what we have to ensure our customers get the best experience they deserve.

    How does being a member of a full financial services group, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc., a member of Africa’s largest bank standard Bank Group, present value adds and opportunities be it local or international to your private banking clients? 

    Human beings have needs beyond banking transactions and these needs range from business to personal, to family and cover a whole spectrum from financial to lifestyle requirements both for self and family. Nigerians are also very mobile; you will find us earning a living across Africa and in the UK. Stanbic IBTC Holdings, structure provides the perfect platform to fit the lifestyle and behaviours of Nigerians.

    How much of this applies or comes to bear in giving Stanbic IBTC Bank an edge over the competition in providing customised solutions to complex individual needs of your private banking clients?

    As earlier described, the primary need of HNIs is wealth management and helping them to maximise their wealth. This is actually our forte given our historical experience in the money market as well as stockbroking. We draw on our wealth and investment experience to help our customers plan their investment portfolio and where the clients also have investments abroad, we draw on the strength of our parent company, the Standard Bank Group, to meet their offshore needs. So our clients have no need to deal with multiple parties, it’s all in-house from wealth and investment planning to helping them secure their assets under a trusteeship (locally and offshore) to their retirement planning, and many more. We have it all covered under Stanbic IBTC Holdings and this is a great advantage our clients leverage on for peace of mind.

    Stanbic IBTC Bank’s expansion programme has come with the introduction of a wide array of specialised products and services targeted at various segments of the market. Is the market ripe for many of these products such as Personal Teller Machines (PTM) and self service digital branch?

    This is a good question! Remember I had earlier described how clients’ behaviours have changed over time, people now live a more fast-paced life and are adopting digital behaviours. Our Personal Teller Machines and self service digital branch is a response to this. A customer can walk into our full digital branch at Maryland Mall and literally fulfil a transaction end-to-end without any human interaction. You can speak to a teller remotely through a screen for enquiries or help and you can make your cash deposit through a machine. Our clients have embraced these innovations as they are in sync with their lifestyles. We expect to roll out more of these as we digitise our branches and platinum suites.

    Most people are often sceptical about accessing financing from banks because of the hidden charges that trail some of these transactions. How has Stanbic IBTC Bank been able to tackle this challenge?

    Stanbic IBTC Holdings is a fully compliant financial institution with strong corporate governance structures. In addition to this, we hold dear to the time tested values of integrity and transparency. We are not associated with anything hidden as our charges are clearly spelt out in our offer letters. When there is an occasion to revise the charges, we follow the CBN stipulated process to ensure our customers are adequately informed. 

    With every new day comes more innovation in product and service delivery from many of the banks in the country. What measures have Stanbic IBTC Bank taken to ensure that it is not left behind in the innovation race? Are you drawing from Standard Bank’s operations in other markets?

    For us in Stanbic IBTC, it’s about our clients; we are not part of the product race and we rarely push products to customers. Our personal banking business is structured to provide service to specific customer segments, we strive to understand customer needs and behaviours and only come up with products to satisfy these needs. We don’t want our branches pushing products at customers. For us, products are a means of meeting client needs and not an end. However, we are innovating the ways and manner of providing service to our customers. So things like our digital branches, PTM, Bulk Teller Machines, New Mobile Banking App, etc speak to this. It’s good to innovate in order to be relevant, but it’s a very private ‘race’ for us with only our customers as our focus.

    How are you able to design products and services that are targeted at different countries and markets given that the Standard Bank Group, to which Stanbic IBTC belongs, operates in about 20 countries in Africa ?

    Though the Standard Bank Group operates across different countries in and out of Africa, each country has autonomy to create products to reflect the unique environ it operates in. Remember my explanation that the client is at the heart of everything we do and client needs differ across the world; this underpins our product development philosophy. However, we also draw on the learnings across the group to share best practice without losing the need for a local touch.

    Banking is always evolving, and it is more so in Nigeria that is increasingly adopting technological solutions to deliver services across different segments of the economy. Where do you see banking in Nigeria in the next five years in terms of service delivery?

    Digital is the magic word! The cell phone will be the key channel! Any bank that wants to be relevant in the near future cannot afford to ignore the cell phone. I can assure you that Stanbic IBTC Holdings is ready to face this future!

  • Bishop calls for service to humanity

    The Bishop of Osogbo Diocese of Catholic Church, Bishop John Oyejola, has urged Nigerians to imbibe the culture of service to humanity.

    The cleric said this is the only lasting legacy they can bequeath to the society and the best form of faith and worship before God.

    Oyejola spoke at the inauguration of Centenary Auditorium of Saint Nicholas Pro-Cathedral at Otan-Ayegbaju in Osun State.

    It was donated by an illustrious son of the community, Prof Olu Aina.

    Oyejola, who urged Nigerians to always give back to their communities, noted that the donor of the project had remained committed to development of his community and the vineyard of God.

    The cleric said the new auditorium would aid the work of God in the Catholic family.

    Also, the Archbishop of Ibadan Diocese of Catholic Church, Bishop Gabriel Abegunrin Prof Aina was a humble man who cultivated the habit of using his wealth and influence in the service of man and God.

    Prof Aina said the project was part of his family’s contributions to humanity, having benefitted from Catholic Church in the development of the project.

    He said the auditorium would boost the revenue base of the church, adding that it should be well maintained to prolong its lifespan.

  • CPAN: A profile in community service and evangelism

    CPAN: A profile in community service and evangelism

    •Anglican society presents book 

    On Sunday, a book on the history and activities of the St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Idimu, Lagos, will be unveiled. Written by a member of the church, the book is titled: The History of Christian Progressive Association of Nigeria (CPAN). WALE AJETUNMOBI writes.

    For more than 70 years after it was founded in 1914, the St. Peter’s Anglican Church was the lone structure standing on the fringe of Idimu – a hitherto rustic suburb in Alimosho area of Lagos. People started flocking to the area in the late 1970s, changing the rural nature of Idimu community.

    Three years ago, the Anglican Church marked the centenary of its Founder’s Day, but how many of the current members know the history of the church and its contributions to the socio-economic development of Idimu town?

    Any current member of the church, who may want to know this historical background, does not need to conduct extensive research. The church’s involvement in social and evangelical transformation of Idimu has now been compiled in a book titled: The History of Christian Progressive Association of Nigeria (CPAN).

    Authored by Pa Adedeji Komolafe, a retired mechanical engineer and former CPAN’s president, the 85-page book chronicles the association’s active contributions to the spiritual and physical development of the Idimu archdeaconry. It is also a compendium of accounts of stewardship of the CPAN members in the last three decades.

    CPAN was founded in 1981 by nine members of the St. Peter’s Anglican Church, but it was formerly known by Egbe Itewasju Kristi. It had closed affinity with Idimu Social Elite, a social club founded about the same period. Six pioneer members of Egbe Itewasju Kristi were members of the social club and this obviously gave members of the spiritual group an opportunity to contribute to the social transformation of the Idimu town.

    With the arrival of the first trained catechist, S.O. Okeowo, at the church in March 1982, the membership of the Idimu Anglican Church enlarged, paving the way for Egbe Itewasju Kristi to increase its members and activities. In 1991, the woman wing of the church floated Christian Progressive League (CPL), with the purpose to complement the effort of Egbe Itewasju Kristi in entrenching evangelism in the then sprawling town.

    Merging the two spiritual groups in the St. Peter’s Anglican Church in the second half of 1990’s was necessitated by a meeting of societies under the purview of Lagos Diocese of the Anglican Communion. By 1998, Egbe Itewasju Kristi and CPL were merged, and this was followed by a transition period during which a common name – CPAN – was adopted based on the shared spiritual aspirations.

    Since 1982, members of the church associated with CPAN have been playing key roles and championing progressive causes that help in the transformation of the St. Peter’s Anglican Church and its environs.

    According to the author, majority of Egbe Itewasju Kristi were youths in their 30s when the group was founded in 1981.

    Komolafe said: “The pioneer members were young, strong and adventurous. They were willing to spend their money and other cherished resources for the propagation of the Jesus Christ’s gospel. When the society was founded, the church could be likened to a typical African family with CPAN as its first son. CPAN members were involved in all decision-making processes of the church.”

    CPAN members, Komolafe said, became the first elected wardens and church secretaries. The spiritual society extended its tentacles to every part of the church’s administration. Some of its members volunteered as layreaders before they were officially licensed to act as such.

    In 1985, the St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Idimu embarked on vigorous evangelical expansion, instituting a Church Planting Committee with the objective to establish Anglican denominational churches in adjoining villages and town.

    CPAN members played frontline role in this initiative, championing the formation of Idimu Area Group of Anglican Churches. The group, chaired by S.O. Ojo, established eight Anglican churches placed under the superintendence of Reverend J.I. Bangbaiye, who was the vicar.

    The established churches include St. John’s Anglican Church in Ikotun, St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ejigbo, Our Saviour’s Anglican Church in Oke- Afa, St. Stephen’s Anglican Church in Ijegun, All Saints Anglican Church in Okerube, St. Luke’s Anglican Church in Egan, Christ The Saviour Anglican Church in Isheri-Oshun, and Bishop Ajayi Crowther Memorial Anglican Church in Egbeda.

    In his appraisal of the book, Prof N.C. Nwaboku, a senior lecturer of Educational Technology at the Lagos State University, said CPAN members showed leadership in helping to transform the St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Idimu, to a vibrant and progressive God’s vineyard.

    He said: “Many of CPAN members are vibrant workers in God’s vineyard, playing multiple roles in the daily affairs of the church. The women are just as active in their own rights as lay readers, mothers and patronesses of other societies in the church.”

    CPAN president, Chief Temitayo Faloju, described the book as “well-articulated”, saying it provides useful information for preachers, researchers and new comers to Idimu.

    The book, which will be unveiled on Sunday at the church, is divided in seven chapters, which explain the history of the church, history of CPAN, collective contributions made by CPAN members, individual member’s contribution, and membership list, among others.

  • ‘Quality of service in Nigeria poor’

    The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Admini-stration (FCTA), Malam Muhammad Bello has said that emphasis must to be placed on better service delivery if the country were to unbundle the tourism sector and make it a major revenue earner.

    Bello said this when a delegation from the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), paid him a courtesy visit at his office.

    According to the FCT Minister, the complaint generally by most people that visit the country is that the quality of service being provided is not good enough when compared to what is obtainable in other climes.

    He said, “A lot of people get put off by the way we receive them at the airports, the way we treat them in the buses, the way treat them at the hotel reception points, the way we clean their rooms and the way we provide them service generally. I think if as Nigerians we are able to really improve on that aspect, it’s going to be a huge catalyst in trying to revamp and really get the full potential of the tourism sector.”

    Bello said operators in the sector must change their attitude towards service delivery by ensuring that the environment is clean and available facilities work to optimum standards if they were to turn around the fortunes of the industry.

    A statement issued by his Special Assistant (Media), Abubakar Sani, the Minister said: “We have to work on service delivery. It’s not really the quality or sophistication of what we provide. Some of the places you go, you find that really, the furniture is simple, locally made, the buildings are locally made. But the facilities work. The cleanliness is emphasised”.

    He reiterated the willingness of the FCT Administration to partner with the stakeholders in the tourism sector by making available accurate data of all tourist destinations in the FCT as well as facilities for the training and retraining of manpower in the sector.

    He said, “The social secretariat will provide you with all what we have in terms of tourist sites, in terms of facilities that we have that could serve as meeting points as you train, facilities that have some semblance of accommodation that you can house youngsters that you want to train for a week or two.

    “So, any requirement that will involve partnering with you and the other agencies will, we will do it. In the FCT within our agencies, we have units and departments really specifically meant to cater for this and in the past, we’ve had a lot of interventions,” the Minister emphasized.

    Bello while stressing that the FCT Administration shares the vision of achieving a massive turnaround in the tourism sector, however called for synergy among the major players in the industry.

    Earlier in her remarks, the DG, NIHOTOUR, Mrs. Chika Balogun said there is need to reposition the FCT to become a major destination that will attract conferences, not only within Nigeria but from the West African sub-region as well as the rest of the world.

    “We have to be a conference destination that is actually dedicated to going to solicit for those things and doing all the needful for us to begin to attract conferences to Nigeria. It is a sign of very big business and one low hanging fruit that we can very easily pluck.

    “We will like to partner with you in terms of training and retraining the manpower within the FCT. We would like to be your number one partner in terms of training especially within the hospitality and tourism industry,” the DG said.

  • Hospital launches lifescan check-up service

    Hospital launches lifescan check-up service

    In a bid geared towards affordable health for all,  Sub Saharan African leading medical group,

    The Reddington Hospital in Lagos has slashed 25 per cent discount for individuals and institutions using its latest technology, the Lifescan Medical Check-up programme.

    It said the programme is valid till September 30, making its services more affordable to the larger population.

    The hospital’s Group Medical Director (GMD), Dr.  Olutunde Lalude, spoke at the inauguration of Lifescan Medical Check-up services, managed by the Reddington Wellness Centre.

    He said the centre is the first of its kind in Nigeria.

    Lalude said the Lifescan is a total body health screening service, providing early detection of critical conditions and life-threatening illnesses.