Blog

12,000 Rice Farmers to Benefit from WOFAN, Mastercard Foundation’s RiceAdvice App in Abuja, Kaduna

No fewer than 12,000 rice farmers in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Kaduna are to benefit from an innovative application – Rice Advice App which has been introduced to 200 extension workers in Abuja and Kaduna.

The Rice Advice App is the initiative of the Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN), a non-profit organization focused on women farmers in the country in partnership with Mastercard Foundation.

Speaking in Abuja on recently, at a training on the Rice Advice app, the President of WOFAN, Hajia Salamatu Garba stated that the extension workers have been trained on the use of the App to advise farmers to enhance their performance and annual yield.

“With this app, they can measure the exact sizes of the farm and advise the farmers on the correct fertilizer application. The app is also useful for predictive analysis because it will be able to proffer information such as expected yields from farms and how farmers can leverage this to maximize profits,” Garba explained.

Also speaking at the event, the Program Lead, Agriculture for Mastercard Foundation in Nigeria, Lois Sankey said the training is aimed at building the savvy of the extension workers on the integration of technology and agriculture which is a testament to the Young Africa Works (YAW) strategy of The Foundation.

“Since the extension workers provide services to the farmers, it is important that their capacity to train the farmers in understanding the principles under the Rice Advice is consistently built. This is particularly important as we go into the dry season farming, so constant training is necessary to increase the extension workers’ capacity” Sankey said.

The WOFAN President noted that the extension workers were part of a total of 200 that are working with WOFAN in the four Northern states of Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa and FCT adding that they were the third batch to be trained.

“We are working in the four states with the Mastercard Foundation. This project encompasses 45,000 farmers who will go back to their various farmers better equipped and more knowledgeable on twenty-first-century strategies of farming. Through this project, we are anticipating a new generation of farmers who will leverage technology to achieve great things”, she noted.

11 October 2021
Laurence Smith Joins Lekki Port as Chief Operating Officer

Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited (Lekki Port) has announced the appointment of Laurence Smith as its Chief Operating Officer with effect from 15 October 2021.

Laurence Smith joins Lekki Port with a wealth of experience of over 20 years in the maritime industry, during which he has held strategic positions in different organizations including DP World Limassol, INTELS and APM Terminals in Nigeria, Cyprus, Southampton and Spain.

Mr. Smith is experienced in the day-to-day management of terminals, quality assurance, health & safety and strategic deployment of labour.

As Operations Manager for DP World Limassol in Cyprus between 2018 and 2020, he was responsible for the restructuring of the Companys operations department to meet the needs of the customer, whilst also reducing the fleet equipment rental costs.

During his time with APM Terminals Apapa as Chief Operating Officer, he oversaw the strategic landscape for the terminal. In 2016, he worked as the General Manager, Operations for INTELS where he introduced analytic measures to reduce cost inefficiencies of the organization.

He holds certifications in Port Management and Terminal Management from Middlesex University and Kent University respectively. He is also well-grounded in Port safety having received an International Safety Certificate through NEBOSH.

Mr. Smith will lead efforts in collaboration with the Executive Management of Lekki Port, the EPC contractor, China Harbour Engineering LFTZ Enterprise and the Container Terminal Operator, Lekki Freeport Terminal, to get Lekki Port ready to start port operations before the end of 2022.

11 October 2021
More Winners Emerge In 7th UBA Bumper Savings Account Promo

Pan African financial institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has again rewarded its loyal customers in its Bumper Savings Promo in line with its unwavering commitment towards prioritising its customers’ financial well-being as well as boosting savings culture in Nigeria.

The promo is open to account holders of the bank from the six geographical zones in Nigeria, as customers only need to open a UBA Pan African financial institution.

Since the bank commenced the promo in 2020, over 200 winners have emerged from the initiative that continues to reward loyalty and encourage customers to cultivate a savings habit that helps to stay afloat especially during challenging times.

Customers only need to open a UBA Bumper account and save a minimum of N5000 in a month to qualify. The more multiples of N5000 they saved, the higher their chances of winning cash prizes and other juicy benefits.

The electronic raffle draw, which is the 7th since inception, was held at Kairo’s Hub on Wednesday, and was witnessed by relevant regulatory bodies including the National Lottery Regulatory Commission and Consumer Protection Council who were on ground to ensure transparency and accountability.

Winners who emerged from the draw, include, Olunwa Osita Ambrose who smiled home with the star prize of a whooping N2m, while Saheed Adeshina Adediran won N1.2m rent for a year. Adewunmi Olaniyi Sobowale, another lucky winner got 500k shopping allowance.

Others who equally smiled home with N100,000 cash prizes were; Bayode Peter Oluwaseun, Archibong Unyime Gift, Yakubu Fali, Alaegbu Promise Uchenna, Onyenwenyi Chidimma Confidence, Maria Obianuju Onyeneke, Emmanuel Kalu, Aramide Afolabi Temitope, Ijeoma Juliet Okika, Taiwo Micheal Odofin, Daina Ochekema Egbe, Ighodalo Thompson, Mercy Effiong, Alice Gabriel, Imrana Bello, Onyedika Promise Umeji, Uzoma Chibuike Timothy, Adewole James Idowu, Opeyemi John Kolawole and Israel Ojima Daniel.

Olunwa Osita Ambrose who won N2m could not hide his excitement when he was contacted over the phone. He screamed, “Thank You God” over and over and took time to appreciate UBA for the wonderful gesture saying; “This is indeed great. Thank you UBA. You people cannot understand the great impact you have made in my life with this reward. It will transform my life greatly. May God almighty bless this bank and all those who conceptualized the UBA Bumper Account Savings Promo,” Ambrose gushed excitedly. “I am committed to UBA for life,” he concluded.

UBA’s Head of Personal Banking, Ogechi Altraide, who presented gifts to some of the winners who were physically present at the event told customers that UBA places them at the very heart of its business which, according to her, is why the bank remains passionate about their overall success and added that this has consistently been proven in numerous ways which is why the bank has continually invested in cutting-edge technology to improve its service delivery and its overall aim of delighting customers.

She said, “With customer-centric promos like the UBA Bumper promo, we have created an ever-increasing list of millionaires who continue to join the UBA customer millionaire club. For this edition of the promo, we decided to pick the month of October, which is the month of independence commemoration so we can give more Nigerians reasons to cheer while celebrating the country’s independence anniversary”.

“We know that this promo will put lasting smiles on the faces of our customers and will also assure them that UBA truly values them’” Altraide said.

Head, Marketing, Diana Ubah also spoke of UBA’s passionate commitment to give back to its customers especially during these challenging economic periods, where people need all the support they can get to make life more meaningful.

“I have witnessed a lot of events like this and I must say the happiness and live changing moments that comes with a customer getting an unexpected reward is indeed a special one! To this end, I encourage those who are yet to join the winning team, should do so quickly. Without any iota of doubt, you always win with UBA” said Ubah.

United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than twenty-one million customers, across over 1,000 business offices and customer touch points, in 20 African countries.

With presence in the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail; commercial and corporate banking; innovative cross-border payments and remittances; trade finance and ancillary banking services.

11 October 2021
Price of 12.5kg Cooking Gas Could Increase to N10, 000 By December, Marketers Warn

Marketers of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, otherwise known as cooking gas, have warned that the 12.5kg of cooking gas, which currently sells between N7, 500 and N8, 000 might increase to N10, 000 before December if the current crisis in the sector is not addressed.

The marketers have expressed concerns over the supply shortage which is rocking the sector and has led to recent series of increases in the price of the commodity.

The rise in prices of gas has driven more Nigerians to seek alternative sources of fuel like charcoal, firewood, sawdust, among other energy sources whose prices have started rising as well.

This was disclosed by the Executive Secretary of the National Association of LPG Marketers (NALPGAM), Mr Bassey Essien, during the weekly e-discourse organised by a leading Pan-African forum, Platforms Africa, according to a statement on Saturday by the organisation’s Team Lead.

Essien insisted that the Federal Government needed to review the recently introduced import charges and Value Added Tax or else, the price of cooking gas may as well get to N10, 000 for a 12.5kg cylinder.

Essien said, “Today (Saturday), the price has risen to N7, 500 and N8, 000. The skyrocketing price of gas is our fear and what we are trying to avoid. Early in the year a 20-metric ton of gas was selling for below N5m but today, the same tonnage sells for N10.2m. As long as there is that supply shortage, the available quantity and the dynamics of supply-demand will keep pushing the price higher.”

Lamenting poor patronage of NALPGAM by customers due to the high price, Essien said the association was concerned that more Nigerians were being forced to return to coal, sawdust, kerosene, and other dirty fuel as “the price of the cooking gas has suddenly gone up.”

The NALPGAM Secretary said despite the current challenges, the association was discussing with the government, stakeholders, producers and importers to see how the situation could be addressed in addition to trying to persuade marketers not to take advantage of the crisis to inflict more pains on citizens by increasing the cost of gas in their locations though they are equally expending huge cost to have cooking gas at their locations.

NALPGAM secretary also expressed worry over the gradual rise in the cost of cylinders over the years, maintaining that all the raw materials used by the two cylinder manufacturing plants in the country were imported.

He said despite Nigeria’s over 180 million population, the country barely had up to 10 million cylinders in circulation amid substandard cylinders in circulation.

He said, “The cylinder ownership structure in the country ensures that owners are in charge of their cylinders. Cylinders expire on the 15th year of usage from the manufacturing date. Because of the high replacement cost, consumers buy what they can afford. This has equally encouraged the proliferation of substandard cylinders in circulation. The regulators are working hard to monitor the standard of cylinders coming into the country.

“The progress in cylinder acquisition still needs government input to ensure that the cost of materials for cylinder production get the necessary exemption from duties but however the state of our local currency still remains a major problem.”

It would be recalled that cost of filling a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas has increased from an average of N6,200 in July 2021 to N7,000 as of September 2021.

Energy experts had expressed concerns over Nigeria’s inability to deepen the penetration and utilization of LPG in the country despite theoretically being in a position to produce sufficient LPG to meet local demand.

In September, oil marketers under the aegis of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), protested the Federal Government’s reintroduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) on imported LPG.

They argued that the introduction of VAT to the already high price of gas which is largely imported due to global gas crisis will negate the government’s policy on the adoption of LPG.

The association, who are major stakeholders in the downstream sector of the oil industry asked the federal government to rescind its decision by removing the 7.5% VAT on the product, warning that the fee will hamper the adoption of gas in the country and create a barrier to the objectives of the ‘Decade of Gas’ agenda of government.

10 October 2021
Agriculture Value-Chain Should Be Enhanced to Increase Attractiveness to Youth, Says Expert

A clarion was made to stakeholders in the agriculture value chain to enhance the sector through mechanization to increase attractiveness for the youth.

This was disclosed during the Sterling Bank Plc’s 2021 Agriculture Summit Africa (ASA) – a platform dedicated to increasing the value of agribusiness in Africa, held on Thursday, September 23, 2021. The event featured several panelists deliberating on the theme ‘Building a New Agro Order’.

The key focus was to address the need for advanced and mechanized farming methods to replace subsistence farming which is prevalent in many parts of Nigeria and Africa.

Speaking on the topic titled “Food Security; Building a Resilient Food Production System” Program Lead, Agriculture, Mastercard Foundation, Lois Sankey urged policy makers in the agricultural sector to enhance the sector through improved access to resources to make it more attractive to the youth because the subsistence approach does not hold much appeal for them.

She further emphasized that the agricultural sector if well managed could reduce the level of unemployment in the country by employing millions of youths along the value chain.

She explained that introducing forward-thinking end to end interventions will attract young people and will align with the vision of Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works Strategy – which is to find solutions to the youth employment challenge and reduce poverty in Africa by creating access to dignified and fulfilling jobs for women and youth.

“Youth should be encouraged to enter agriculture by creating solutions around technology and tools that are labour efficient and would help boost production. This would be an effective way to curb youth apathy towards agriculture,” she stated.

She expressed her gratitude for the partnership between Mastercard Foundation and Sterling Bank Plc which is focused on helping youth and budding agricultural entrepreneurs access affordable finances for their businesses.

Key stakeholders at the summit expressed optimism that Nigeria can provide leadership in the region with a vibrant Agric-ecosystem.

10 October 2021
Coca-Cola Foundation Gives $300,000 Grant To Empower 5,000 Women in Rural Areas

In a bid to improve the lives of women across Lagos State, Nigeria; Karis and Eleos Hand of Hope Foundation has announced the launch of the second edition of its women empowerment programme themed ‘Catalyst for Change 2.0’ – an initiative funded by The Coca-Cola Foundation.

The press briefing had in attendance respectable members of the Nigerian media, the Coca-Cola System leadership and key stakeholders including Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, Director, Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability, Uche Ogbonna, Senior Manager, Social Impact Strategy for Africa Operating Unit, the Coca-Cola Company, Ifeyinwa Ejindu, Communications Manager, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, Jerome Oyebanji, Public Affairs and Communications Manager, Nigerian Bottling Company, community heads and women leaders from the five project locations, alongside other corporate guests.

Karis and Eleos Hand of Hope Foundation is a non-profit organisation with a focus on empowering women and girls, especially those living in rural communities with no access to opportunities. Bukola Bamiduro, Founder/Program Director, Karis & Eleos Hand of Hope Foundation, emphasized the importance of the ‘Catalyst For Change 2.0’ project, stating its role in ensuring the empowerment of underserved women and youth in Nigeria.

She said: “We are proud to continue this impactful programme and make a meaningful contribution to the lives of more women and girls in the country. We extend our gratitude to The Coca-Cola Foundation who has remained steadfast in its commitment to this project”.

Ekuma Eze, Director, Public Affairs and Communications, Nigerian Bottling Company, represented at the press conference by Jerome Oyebanji, Public Affairs and Communications Manager, Nigerian Bottling Company, added:

“We are delighted to continue what has been a fruitful partnership with Karis and Eleos Hand of Hope Foundation. Poverty alleviation and women and youth empowerment remain key priorities for the Coca-Cola System in Nigeria. The Catalyst for Change programme was developed to ensure that these key areas are addressed in the communities we call home and we are truly proud of the results achieved so far”.

As part of plans for a successful edition, Catalyst for Change 2.0 will extend to women and youth in communities across Surulere, Alausa/Agidingbi, Ijora, Agege and Onigbongbo in Lagos state for a 10 month period starting October 4, 2021.

The program, aimed at reducing the harsh economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, seeks to reduce the migration of rural women to urban areas by empowering them with business and life skills that will elevate them from extreme poverty and encourage their migration back to their local communities.

“Empowering women to thrive is a global commitment for The Coca-Cola Foundation”, said Saadia Madsbjerg, President of The Coca-Cola Foundation.

“Our ultimate goal is to lift women out of poverty and into lives of self-sufficiency by focusing on those community programs offering education, skills training, financial literacy and mentoring, such as the Catalyst for Change 2.0 programme”.

The programme plan will adopt two training models which include hands-on training classes (such as baking, bagmaking, shoemaking, hairstyling, makeup artistry, tie & dye design and production of household cleaning items) and business classes which will provide training around the foundations of running a successful business; personal and product branding; accounting; bookkeeping and finance management; recruiting customers; leveraging social media; accessing loans and grants; gender-based violence and recycling.

During the inaugural programme in 2020 themed “Catalyst for Change”, Karis and Eleos Hand of Hope Foundation, funded by The Coca-Cola Foundation, successfully equipped 5,000 women and girls across five communities (Sangotedo, Oworonshoki, Ogijo, Iwaya and Magboro communities) with transformative vocational skills while 1,000 beneficiaries were presented with business start-up kits to kickstart their businesses and earn a living.

The success stories and testimonials recorded during the recently completed monitoring and evaluation exercise indicated a highly successful campaign, which contributed to the funding of the second edition of the programme by The Coca-Cola Foundation through a grant of $300,000 to empower yet another set of 5,000 women across five communities in Lagos State.

The Catalyst for Change 2.0 programme will use education through skills acquisition as an agent of change in the lives of women in Nigeria. Education is recognised as the most effective tool to tackle large-scale poverty entrenched in various parts of the world and this project seeks to leverage education to help eliminate poverty and inequality, reduce unemployment, raise incomes, and improve standards of living.

8 October 2021
CSR: X3M Ideas Refurbishes Oregun Junior High School’s Science Laboratory

In a bid to continue in its Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) and development of public schools over the years, X3M Ideas, a foremost marketing communications agency has shown support to students and teachers of Oregun Junior High School as it recently refurbished a science laboratory in the school.

Making this known, Steve Babaeko, President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) and CEO of X3M Ideas, posted on his social media handles how the school’s science lab has been transformed through his agency’s CSR intervention.

The post read: “Here’s how Oregun Junior High School’s Science lab went from before to after. We renovated the school’s science lab and gave it some life for our 2021 Corporate Social Responsibility.”

At the commissioning of the Lab, the Governor of Lagos state Babajide Sanwo was represented by the Hon. Commissioner for Education, Folasade Adefisayo.

The post continued: “The Governor of Lagos state @jidesanwoolu ably represented by the Hon. Commissioner of @lasgeducation, joined us at the commissioning of the science laboratory facility for Oregun Junior High school, Lagos.”

Speaking in an interview, the agency boss said: “We recognise the importance of the youth in the future of our great nation and empowering them has become a goal for us at X3M Ideas. As a product of the public school system in Nigeria, I recognise the importance in empowering students, enabling their dreams, bolstering their confidence and giving them renewed hope for a better tomorrow.”

He added: “Over 40% of the roughly 200 million residents in Nigeria, Africa’s most-populous country, are youths. Confident, fervid and enterprising, they want to chart their own course and are hopeful for the future of the nation. Considering how important STEM is to the growth and development of Nigeria, the number of graduates in scientific disciplines is horribly low. We’re aiming to drive a change in this regard by enabling the science-related dreams of the students in Oregun Junior High.

“Our business is 9 years old and every year since inception, we have renovated a school; it’s our modest way of supporting the community.”

He concluded: “Finally, to the best team on this side of the continent, TeamX3M, thank you for everything.”

Recall that in 2015 X3M Ideas touched lives at the Lagos State Boys Reform home where it donated brand new toilets and bath facilities with complete lighting system while in last year, Ikeja Senior High School got a brand new library courtesy X3M Ideas’ CSR project 2016.

6 October 2021
Windows 11 is Generally Available Starting Tuesday

Microsoft has announced the availability of Windows 11 around the world beginning from today, October 5, through a free upgrade on eligible Windows 10 PCs and on new PCs pre-installed with Windows 11.

A few of the top features Windows 11 has to offer, according to Microsoft, are “New Features that Bring you Closer to What you Love; Chat from Microsoft Teams is a new experience that helps bring you closer to the people you care about; Microsoft Store on Windows has been redesigned from the ground up to be easier to build for, and make it more seamless for customers to find and browse apps, games and entertainment all in one place; Snap Layouts and Groups offer a more powerful way to multitask and optimize your screen real estate in a way that is visually clean.

Windows 11 is the most inclusively designed version of Windows, built with and for people with disabilities; Built for Gaming – Windows 11 was made for gaming, with innovative new features that can take your PC gaming experience to the next level like AutoHDR and DirectStorage. It also includes the Xbox app built right in, where you can browse, download and play over 100 high-quality PC games from the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC library; The Operating System for Hybrid Work and Learning – Beginning today, organisations can also start moving to Windows 11 on powerful PCs and through the cloud with Windows 365 or Azure Virtual Desktop.

Others are: Chip-to-cloud Protection – Windows 11 was designed with security in mind to meet the challenges we will face in this new work environment and beyond; New Tools and Resources for Developers – Windows 11 is for all developers – whether they are building apps for a PC, web, phone, game console or anything in between – and provides the most seamless development experience. A more open store, deep development integrations and new design are just the start.

Available on the Widest Array of Choice in Devices – Microsoft is proud to offer Windows 11 on the widest array of choice in devices, form factors, and silicon from its valued partners at Acer, AMD, ASUS, Dell, HP, Intel, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Samsung, and Surface.; Additionally, as a reminder, most new Surface devices and accessories – including Surface Laptop Studio, Surface Pro 8, and Surface Go 3 – will be generally available starting tomorrow, October 5 from Microsoft Store on microsoft.com and other major retailers including Best Buy and Amazon.

“Be sure to check out the microsite for all the Windows 11 general availability assets and additional Windows 11 blog posts,” Microsoft said.

5 October 2021
It’s 8-Week Outage, Not Blackout, Says Ikeja Electric

Ikeja Electric Plc has said its customers need not to panic as the upgrade of the 132kv lines embarked upon by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN would not result into total blackout as the power outage would only be between 8am and 6pm for the eight-week period.

Head of Corporate Communications, Ikeja Electric, Felix Ofulue, while making the clarification, told Business Bells that the earlier report of blackout is a misinformation by some online blogs.

According to Ofulue, “It is not a blackout. Blackout don’t happen in the afternoon. The outage is between 8am – 6pm. In the evening power supply will be restored to customers between 6pm and 8am.”

Olajide Kumapayi, chief technical officer of the electricity distribution company (DisCo), had announced that the project will begin on October 11.

The areas to be affected include Oregun, Police Training College, Oba Akran, Oke Ira, Ogba, Magodo, Anifowoshe and Omole Phase One.

He noted that the outage became necessary because some of the 132Kv lines installed over 50 years ago had become obsolete and degraded due to time and usage.

“The TCN is currently embarking on the upgrade of the 132KV lines from Ikeja West to Ota and Alimosho in stages. This is the second stage.

“We will replace all the aluminium conductors with gap conductors which is more sophisticated to withstand heat and has more capacity to carry current.

“The implication of this is that from 8am to 6pm every day, the substations controlling these areas will be switched off which will affect the feeders connected to them,” Kumapayi said.

Also, Maximum Demand (MD) customers such as Ikeja City Mall, Police College, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and the Ikeja High Court will be affected by the project.

The chief technical officer disclosed that the TCN will also move to Alimosho and Agege axis in the next stage.

5 October 2021
Zuckerberg Loses $7bn in Hours As Facebook Suffers Outage –Report

Silicon Valley techpreneur Mark Zuckerberg’s personal wealth has fallen by nearly $7 billion in a few hours, knocking him down a notch on the list of the world’s richest people, after a whistleblower came forward and outages took Facebook Inc.’s flagship products offline, Bloomberg reports.

Since 04:25pm on Monday, users visiting Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp have been confronted with error messages.

At least over three billion online users are frustrated and unable to connect all over the world due to the shutdown.

Chief Technology Officer at Facebook, Mike Schroepfe, tweeted, “Sincere apologies to everyone impacted by outages of Facebook powered services right now. We are experiencing networking issues and teams are working as fast as possible to debug and restore as fast as possible.”

According to Bloomberg, a selloff sent the social-media giant’s stock plummeting around 5% on Monday, adding to a drop of about 15% since mid-September.

The stock slide on Monday sent Zuckerberg’s worth down to $120.9 billion, dropping him below Bill Gates to No. 5 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He’s lost about $19 billion of wealth since September 13, when he was worth nearly $140 billion, according to the index.

On September 13, the Wall Street Journal began publishing a series of stories based on a cache of internal documents, revealing that Facebook knew about a wide range of problems with its products — such as Instagram’s harm to teenage girls’ mental health and misinformation about the Jan. 6 Capitol riots — while downplaying the issues in public.

The reports have drawn the attention of government officials, and on Monday, the whistleblower revealed herself for the first time and accused the social media giant of putting “profit over safety” of its users.

In response, Facebook has emphasised that the issues facing its products, including political polarisation, are complex and not caused by technology alone.

Many social media users are currently on Twitter while the microblogging chief Jack Dorsey is asking how much it cost to buy Facebook’s domain name.

4 October 2021