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Tag: unveil

  • PenCom to unveil micro pension for celebrities, tailors, others

    PenCom to unveil micro pension for celebrities, tailors, others

    •’Old age poverty may increase’ 

    It is time to bring on board the self-employed including celebrities,  artisans, traders, plumbers, hairdressers, tailors, vulcanizers, food vendors, Okada/Keke riders, among others into the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) through micro pension, Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu has said.

    PenCom also highlighted the need for adoption of pension scheme by the big and small players in the informal sector, noting that study showed that old age poverty will be on the increase following failed family support system in Nigeria and current unemployment rate in the country. As a result of the development, few parents will depend on children at old age while individuals with no pension plan will retire to old age poverty.

    The Director-General represented by the Head, Micro Pensions Department of PenCom, Polycarp Anyanwu, made this known while speaking with reporters in Lagos. She said the micro pension’s guideline, which will soon be unveiled by the Commission has captured these categories of people in the informal sector, noting that among them are  low, middle and high income earners.

    According to her, the informal sector represents 70 per cent of Nigeria’s total working population hence the target of the Commission to extend coverage to a total of 20 million Nigerians by 2019 and 30 million by 2024.

    She stressed that pension funds have grown by over 300 per cent in 10 years while coverage of the working population by the scheme is growing in the public and private sectors.

    She said: “The number of registered contributors was 7.01 million as at March, 2016 representing about 6.9 per cent of total labour force in Nigeria and four per cent of total population.

    “Public sector represents 47 per cent while private sector represents 53 per cent. In the same vein, 26 states have adopted the scheme and are at different stages of implementation, the informal sector is largely uncovered by the scheme and represents about 70 per cent of Nigeria’s total working population. Therefore, there is a need for an expanded coverage.”

    Explaining the rationale for expanding coverage to the informal sector, Anohu-Amazu said study has shown that old age poverty will increase with the current unemployment rate in the country.

    She also said that failed family support system in Nigeria implies that few parents will depend on children at old age while individuals with no pension plan will retire to old age poverty.

    She noted that given the importance of pension as a safety net, there is the need to develop urgent solutions to enable active participation in the informal sector.

    Anohu-Amazu said micro pension is a long term voluntary financial plan for the provision of pension coverage to the self-employed, persons working for organisations with less than three employees and the informal sector workers.

    She noted that micro pension is a pension industry strategic initiative to have an inclusive and expanded coverage. Micro pension has been implemented in India, Kenya, Ghana and other countries.

  • SON to unveil road map on ‘made-in-Nigeria’

    SON to unveil road map on ‘made-in-Nigeria’

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has promised to assist economic players to compete favourably in the global market through improved standards.

    Its Director-General, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, will host a world news conference on Thursday to educate stakeholders on major economic problems and unveil the organisation’s strategic programmes for removing obstacles hindering Nigerian products from competing in the world market.

    Odumodu will also unveil SON’s blueprint, which will put Nigeria on the global map with standard products and services that can compete well in the world market.

    The conference, a part of activities marking the World Standards Day, has the theme: Made in Nigeria for the World: The Transformational Imperatives. It will hold at 10am on Thursday at the Sheraton Hotels, Ikeja.

    The conference, according to a statement by SON Director of Special Duties, George Okere, will also enable  Odumodu to seek stakeholders’ consent to buy into the agency’s programmes and  assure the international community that Nigeria is set to enforce a quality culture in all aspects of its national life

  • 2014 BON Awards: Organisers unveil nominees

    2014 BON Awards: Organisers unveil nominees

    •Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi, Fred Amata to host awards

    Again, it is evident that the organisers of the sixth edition of the annual Best of Nollywood (BON) awards are set to put up a spectacular show on Saturday, October 4, as the nominees were unveiled last Friday at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, amidst palpable enthusiasm.

    The nominees’ unveil, which was one of the pre-awards events to gather momentum for the ceremony in October, was, undoubtedly, the culmination of over three months of very engaging critical reviews by the Screeners’ Committee led by Niran Adedokun, a Marketing Communications expert and entertainment enthusiast.

    Hosted by Nollywood star, Bayray Mcnwizu, who looked dashing in a yellow sleeveless short gown, the nominees’ unveil, a wholly media event, kicked off with the speech by the Founder/ Executive Producer of the awards, Seun Oloketuyi, who expressed gratitude to Governor Rotimi Amaechi for his support towards the coming awards ceremony that will be hosted by both Gbemi Olateru Olagbegi, a popular on-air personality, and Fred Amata, a respected Nollywood star. “It is a day for producers, filmmakers who have worked tirelessly and invested their monies in the year under review to make us happy. It is also to appreciate their hard work and ingenuity to make Nollywood better. Though getting finances to organise the event is very tough, we are focused on what we set out to do. Besides, we are lucky to have people who have always bailed us out at the last minutes,” said Oloketuyi, who is also a publisher.

    According to Adedokun, about 150 films were entered for the 32 professional categories this year, out of which 23 were short films, while 20 were disqualified for various reasons, ranging from inability to meet the terms and conditions set by the organisers to failure to submit the required number of copies.

    Adedokun, who emphasised that the nominees represent the best productions shot or released in Nigeria in the past 12 months, further said: “Over the past years, BON has set for itself a mission of encouraging  various participants in the film industry  to not just be at their best, but to aspire to be the best possible. This, no doubt, shows in the progressive improvement that we have continued to see in the quality of films produced in the country as well as the quality of professionals that have emerged over  the years. The BON idea is that we don’t have to wait until we have the best before we celebrate what we have. The idea is to celebrate what we have currently, while working with every other stakeholder to ensure that we get to where we should be. While we are not where we should be, we certainly are not where we were before. From the entries we got for this year’s awards, we can boldly say that filmmaking in Nigeria has moved from the era of mere mercantile enterprise into an enduring era of competence and professionalism.”

    As part of the vision of the organisers, a new award category has also been created to encourage the development of indigenous movies in the three main Nigerian languages: Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo. Adedokun, however, lamented that only one Igbo film was entered this year. “But we hope the situation will be different in subsequent years,” he added.  Also, another development in the awards, according to him, is the introduction of two new categories: Best Television Series award and Best Documentary award.

    A Nollywood enthusiast, he urged filmmakers, whom he said are now telling good stories, to endeavour to marry the technique and language of filmmaking with their stories.   What we need to do is to find a way to marry our technical and professional capacity with the latent and unused business potentials available to us as a people,” he stated.

    The occasion also offered a peep into the background surrounding the relationship between the organisers and the Rivers State government. In his address, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Tony Okocha, who unveiled the nominees on behalf of Governor Rotimi Amaechi, described the relationship with the organisers as reciprocal. According to him, “When a lot of people thought there was insecurity foisted on us circumstantially and when they thought a situation of self-help had been foisted on us, we said it was not true. We kept saying there was peace and tranquility in the state. But the organisers of BON had the opportunity of coming here to join us in our programmes. They moved from street to street with us to the extent that the Governor agreed to the proposal to host a dinner. So, that allayed the fear of people who thought there was no security in the state. As a result, we were able to regain our lost glory, as nobody was kidnapped or harassed. Therefore, when you came to our rescue, I don’t see why we should not reciprocate.”

    It was, however, a moment of sober reflection when Kingsley James, Head of Organising Committee, announced plans by the organisers to honour the late filmmaker and director, Amaka Igwe, for her immense contributions to the growth of Nollywood. “We have taken it upon ourselves to continue to remember the late Amaka Igwe; so, we have unanimously endowed the award for the Director of the Year in her name. The award category will now be known as the Amaka Igwe Director of the Year category.”

  • Govt to unveil vehicle financing scheme

    Govt to unveil vehicle financing scheme

    The Federal Government is formulating a new Vehicle Refinancing Scheme that will enable Nigerians buy cars and other locally manufactured vehicles at affordable rates, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga said yesterday.

    He said the scheme which is expected to be launched in about four months, would allow Nigerians to buy vehicles of their choice and pay for them over a period of four years, adding that government is in discussion with both local and international banks to set aside a vehicle refinancing fund that Nigerians can access at not more than 10 per cent interest per annum.

    “Buying cars and paying cash is not the best,” he said, adding that finances will be available at low interest rate.”

    Aganga said to ensure that the auto policy succeeds and that local car manufacturers keep afloat, the Federal Government has crafted a policy that will ensure that local car manufacturing plants would be given priority in purchase of vehicles for official uses, stating that it is another way of creating demand for made-in-Nigerian cars.

    The minister explained that reports in some quarters that the policy would lead to the exit of used cars was unfounded, saying that was not the case.

    “I want to reassure Nigerians that we have not banned used cars, so anywhere you hear used cars have been banned, it is not true.” He said reports that put tariff on used cars at 70 per cent, is not true, “used cars are 35 per cent,” he stressed.

    He said under the new auto policy, there are multiple tariff regimes, stating that it would not be entirely correct to even say that new vehicles would attract 70 per cent tariff. He said for those who import CKDs (Completely Knocked Down vehicles), the duty is zero per cent, while those who import SKD1 (Semi Knocked Down) and SKD2, it is five and 10 per cent respectively.

    Aganga said those who are committed to implementing the auto policy, and have acquired land, and have brought in machinery and have assembly plants in place, would import the gap between demand and local production, adding that they can import at the maximum rate of 35 per cent. He said the 70 per cent tariff applies to those with no visible commitment to the new auto policy.

    The auto sector accounts for nine jobs globally, and five per cent of manufacturing and the jobs come from the production of vehicle parts. This is why we should not miss this opportunity, he warned.

    He said Nigeria spends on the average, $3billion to import new cars and another $3.7billion to import fairly used cars and parts. That number in likely to grow and will grow if we do nothing significantly and that will lead to structural adjustments in our economy as a whole.

    It is for this reason that most countries in the world have auto policies, lamenting that until now, it’s only Nigeria and Bangladesh that do not have auto policies.

    He said Nigeria cannot afford to be neutral on the issue because it is a big employer of labour. He said the auto sector accounts for about nine million jobs globally and accounts for five per cent of manufacturing.

    The Managing Director of Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria, Ibrahim Boyi, the Director-General, National Automative Policy and Yomi Idowu of Leyland, were present at the briefing.

  • Organisers unveil nominees for AFRIMMA 2014

    Organisers unveil nominees for AFRIMMA 2014

    Organisers of African Muzik Magazine Awards (AFRIMMA), have released nominations into the 26 categories of the reward scheme, which has been promoting Texas, United States as the next stop for African stars in the month of July.

    The nominations revealed strength of dominance by Nigeria, which has three nods from Flavour, Davido and Wizkid, who are contenders in the Artiste of the Year category. The trio, who will be battling one another in that category, will also have artistes such as Diamond (Tanzania), Sarkodie (Ghana), Mafikizolo (South Africa), Anselmo Ralph – A Dor do Cupido (Angola) and Jaguar (Kenya) to contend with.

    Released by Big A Entertainment, an event’s company, the highly competitive list also has four Nigerian acts: Wizkid, Iyanya, Davido and Flavour; two Ghanaian acts, Sarkodie and Shatta Wale, and an Ivorian act, DJ Arafat, competing in the Best Male West Africa category.

    In the Best Female West Africa category, the battle will be among Nigeria’s Tiwa Savage and Chidimma, Senegal’s Viviane Chidid, Ivory Coast’s Teeyah, Benin Republic’s Sessima and Ghana’sEfya.

    The show, according to Mr. Anderson Obiagwu, Founder/CEO of Big A Entertainment, will also feature spectacular performances from top artistes from Africa, including a duet from Hip hop act, Tuface Idibia and Grammy award-winning rapper, Faheem Najm, alias T-pain.

    During the award show scheduled to take place on July 26, at the Eisemann Centre, Richardson, Texas, the two singing sensations will be thrilling the crowd individually and jointly. Their duet will be the remix of Tuface’s song, Rainbow, which features the American star. The song is Tuface’s popular single on his 2012 album, Away & Beyond.

    Obiagwu said his company was determined to sustain the drive towards a world-class African awards show through what he described as its “crossing boundaries with music.”

    “This event will not only celebrate the music of Africa, but celebrate the unique sounds, culture and artistes who tell the stories of our continent as a whole.

    “AFRIMMA represents growth, celebration and pushing the culture and music of Africa continuously forward for the better. It will be an amazing night while celebrating the artistes who have influenced and impacted the culture as well as the pioneers who laid the framework for the music of today,” he said.

    Other categories of the award include: Best Male East Africa to be contested by Diamond Platnumz (Tanzania), Ben Pol (Tanzania), Bebe Cool (Uganda), Wyre (Kenya), Navio (Uganda) and Jackie Gosee (Ethiopia); Best Male Central Africa with Fally Ipupa (DR Congo), Stanley Enow (Cameroon), Ferre Gola (Congo), Privato “Lill’P” Niyintunze (Burundi), Anselmo Ralph (Angola) and Sine (Cameroon).

    It will be recalled that international airline carrier, Arik Air, has signed on as the sponsor of the AFRIMMA.

    Also, Laura Maczka, Mayor of Richardson, has issued an official proclamation from the city endorsing its support of AFRIMMA.

    According to Obiagwu, the event, which will be hosted by comedian Basket Mouth and actress Juliet Ibrahim, is expected to attract guests from the United States as well as over 17 African countries.

  • Fed Govt to unveil new GDP statistics

    Fed Govt to unveil new GDP statistics

    The Federal Government said arrangement has been concluded to release the new Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the various sectors of the economy.

    The GDP was $451 billion last year, with Agriculture contributing 49 per cent, Services 30 per cent, Manufacturing 15 per cent and Oil 14 per cent.

    Speaking at the end of the Federal Executive Committee (FEC) meeting chaired by Vice President Namadi Sambo, the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, said the new GDP figures would be released on Sunday in Abuja.

    He said, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy (CME), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, briefed the Council on the work done on the GDP by the Ministry of Finance, National Planning Commission, the Chief Statistician of the Federation and international bodies, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the last one year.

    Noting that the last GDP figures were released 15 years ago, he said such figures need to be reassessed and released every five years to ascertain which sectors are doing well and which ones have challenges.

    He said: “We received briefing by the CME and Minister of Finance, that after nearly 15 years, Nigeria is ready to rebase its GDP after more than one year of hard work by the Ministries of Finance and National Planning, the Chief Statistician to the Federation and the international agencies like IMF, AfDB (African Development Bank), IDB.

    “You will recall that the last time Nigeria issued new statistics and GDP figures was 15 years. And this is not supposed to be as we are supposed to be doing this every five years. Every country calibrates its own GDP data to show the progress made or challenges in their economy.

    “Right now, the FEC was briefed today that on Sunday at the Transcorps by 2 pm, Nigeria will formally release its GDP figures for the country which has just been worked by institutions in collaboration with international agencies, whose duties it is to work out GDP figures for the countries.”

  • Granada unveil Issac Success, Agbo

    Granada unveil Issac Success, Agbo

    Spanish Primera Division side, Granada Football Club have unveiled Nigeria’s duo Isaac Success and Uche Agbo after posting images of the ceremony on its Twitter handle, @ GranadaCdeF and the club’s official website.

    In a release posted in both social media on yesterday, Granada confirmed its total commitment to youth development with the acquisition of the Nigerian youth internationals.

    “The club is committed to the youth and talent so as to enrich the ranks of Granada B.

    “They are two great players that will strengthen our reserve team,” the release in the club’s official website read in part.

    Interestingly, 18-year-old Success scored twice at last year’s Golden Eaglets cup run in Dubai, United Arab Emirates , no thanks to the injury he sustained in the early stages of the Championship.

    On the other part, Agbo was part of the John Obuh’s Flying Eagles squad that participated in the last edition of the Toulon tournament in France where they played against the likes of Portugal, Brazil, Mexico and Belgium among others. Both players signed a contract with the club until June 30, 2018.

  • Sharks FC unveil new jerseys

    Sharks FC unveil new jerseys

    The management of Sharks FC have achieved a milestone with the official launch of their jerseys for the new season.

    The Port-Harcourt based club on Tuesday evening carried out the official launch of their home and away kits for the new season at the Sharks Stadium, with a fair number of fans in attendance.

    The event, which was the first of its kind to be carried out by the club since it was founded in 1972, had four of its players on hand to model the new kits, led by the captain of the club, Odinga Odinga, goalkeeper Danladi Issa, Kingsley Patrick and new signing Ajani Ibrahim who joined from Sunshine Stars.

    “I want to say that this is a winning jersey because this has never been done anywhere before and I think this is a good start,” Odinga said.

    “It will go a long way to motivate us to go for the three maximum points against Bayelsa United in our very first game of the season on Thursday.”

    Other players who modelled the jerseys expressed satisfaction with the designs, stating that it will spur them to strive for excellence this season. Coach of the team, Gbenga Ogunbote thanked the fans who came out to support the project.

    “I appreciate the fans they have really shown that they are behind the team, we have seen it for the first time and since we are seeing different things coming our way it shows that it is going to be a fruitful year for Sharks,” Ogunbote said

    General Manager of the club, Okey Kpalukwu, thereafter challenged the players to strive for excellence and ensure the club wins a trophy this season.

  • FirstBank, FBN Life unveil First Family Shield

    FBN Life Assurance Limited in partnership with First Bank of Nigeria Limited has introduced ‘The First Family Shield’ cover. The product, a statement from both firms said, was developed to give families flexible plans to cushion the effects of life’s uncertainties.

    The cover is an offshoot of the firm’s Bancassurance products initiative designed to cater for a wider segment of the society.

    FBN Life’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Val Ojumah said the product comes in multiple variants designed to provide protection to families in need. This policy and its variants have been structured to provide succour for majority of Nigerians who are exposed daily to the uncertainties of life.

    They come in Classic, Premium, Silver and Gold Variants. According to Ojumah, the product is in consonance with the underwriting firm’s commitment to deepening market penetration by providing low cost insurance products through multiple distribution channels that would benefit the mass market in Nigeria.

    He explained that the product which takes care of the negative effects of premature death through illness and accidents also pays certain benefits for permanent disability. The policy is convenient, accessible and available in all the branches of First Bank Nationwide.

    “The First Family Shield has been designed to offer that financial security that would give the insured peace of mind to go about his daily activities without fear, and at the same time enable his family continue their life should the unexpected happen,” he said.

    Premium on the policy is N2,000.00, N4,500.00, N7,000.00 and N9,500.00 annually for Classic, Premium, Silver, and Gold variants respectively, while benefits cover amounts to N250,000.00, N500,000.00, N750,000.00 N1,000,000.00 respectively.

  • Samsunspor unveil Umar Aminu Thursday

    Samsunspor unveil Umar Aminu Thursday

    Turkish second division side Samsunspor will present Nigeria U20 striker Umar Aminu to the public on Thursday afternoon.

    The former Wikki Tourists star has been offered a three-year contract after he passed his medical and has been assigned jersey number 20.

    The player’s Germany-based agent Hichem Sahili informed MTNFootball.com: “Aminu will officially sign his contract with Samsunspor on Thursday by 2pm local time, which is 4pm Nigerian time. He has been given jersey number 20 and the league will kick off on August 17.”

    Aminu’s medical was conducted at the Medicana Hospital in Samsun, a beautiful city close to the Black Sea and with a population of 1.2 million people.

    Aminu was Goal King at the 2013 African Youth Championship in Algeria with four goals. He also fired two goals at the 2013 FIFA U20 World Cup in Turkey.

    Former international goalkeeper Ike Shorunmu, Ekigho Ehiosun and Simon Zenke are some of the Nigeria stars who have featured for Samsunspor.