The Status News: January 2019

Thursday 31 January 2019

"We Joined APC Because PDP Is Dead" ...Ekiti lawmakers

Mr Olarewaju Olayanju, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) representing Emure Constituency in Ekiti State House of Assembly, has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He described PDP in Ekiti as party which had reached its ‘dead end’, saying he could not continue to be in a party which was divided against itself.

Olayanju announced his defection at a news conference at the Assembly on Thursday.

“I have reflected deeply on the current situation and I have informed my constituents that my interest and their interests can no longer be achieved in the PDP.

“PDP in Ekiti is now in disarray. No leader to rally the members together, the leaders have destroyed the party through naked use of powers.

“The party is factionalised in Ekiti with leadership calling on the people to vote for opposing political parties; the party has reached the dead end.

“As a man of integrity, I can not stay and work against the party, therefore, I am willingly defecting to APC,”Olayanju said.

He said before now APC had not won in Emure in Emure Local Government area in long time, but as from now, he assured APC of landmark victory in the forthcoming elections.

The Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Mr Adeniran Alagbada, congratulated the new defector for defecting to the “Next Level of Progress”.

He said that although there were just four APC members in the Assembly, but he was optimistic that in the coming weeks more PDP members would defect to APC.

The speaker called on Ekiti people to vote enmasse for the President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election bid in Feb. 16 and other APC candidates.

Present at the news conference were the State Chairman of APC, Mr Paul Omotoso, his Deputy, Mr Sola Elesin, and the Clerk of the Assembly, Mr Tola Esan.

BUHARI IN KANO: "Why Ganduje Has Not Been Prosecuted"

President Muhammadu Buhari said on Thursday that Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, enjoyed immunity from prosecution as a sitting governor.

He also noted that under Nigerian laws, an accused remained innocent until proven guilty by the courts.

Besides, the President noted that the alleged dollar bribes Ganduje was seen stuffing in his pockets in a video widely circulated on social media, had become a matter already in a law court.

Buhari was reacting to criticisms in some quarters that he shielded his political associates like Ganduje among others, from prosecution in the face of glaring evidence.

Only on Thursday, the President, at an All Progressives Congress rally in Kano, raised up the hand of Ganduje for his second term bid before supporters.

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Thursday, the President dismissed criticisms suggesting that his association with Ganduje was a smear on his anti-corruption stance.

The statement said some high-profile persons, including a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and a former state governor, were being prosecuted for corruption.

The Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Prof. Usman Yusuf, was also cited as another government official serving administrative leave to pave the way for investigation into corruption allegations levelled against him.

“Despite some of the suspects being close to the President, he had not shielded them from investigation, administrative suspensions and prosecution”, the statement added.

Specifically, on Ganduje, the Presidency said, “as a sitting governor, (he) enjoys immunity from prosecution in his own right.

“Furthermore, under Nigerian laws, a suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

“In the circumstances, the matter is in court and the President has no power to dictate to the court or the Kano State House of Assembly, which is already investigating the matter, about what to do with the allegations against Ganduje.”

@thepunchng

CCT Resumes Justice Onnoghen's Trial Feb. 4

Following a request from the Federal Government, the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, in Abuja, on Thursday, fixed February 4 to resume proceedings on the non-assets declaration charge pending against the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen.

The Mr. Danladi Umar-led tribunal, in a statement made available to Vanguard, disclosed that FG had in a letter that was signed by two legal officers at the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, Musa Ibrahim Usman and Fatima Danjuma Ali, applied for continuation of hearing on the charge against Onnoghen.

Onnoghen who was last Friday, suspended from office by President Muhammadu Buhari, is facing a six-count charge bothering on his alleged failure to declare his assets as prescribed by the law. He was in the charge marked CCT/ABJ/01/19, equally accused of maintaining five separate foreign bank accounts, in breach of the code of conduct for public office holders.

In the statement that was signed by the Head, Press & Public Relations, at the CCT, Mr. Ibraheem Al-Hassan, FG, via the letter it sent through the CCB on Wednesday, drew attention of the Mr. Umar’s three-member panel to a ruling of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which cleared the coast for Onnoghen’s trial to proceed. According to Al-Hassan, FG’s request read in part:

“The above subject refers. This case came up for hearing of preliminary objection to the jurisdiction of the Tribunal on the 28th of January, 2019 but the Tribunal could not proceed due to the pendency of the case at the Court of Appeal. “However, in the wake of this afternoon, 30th January, 2019 the Court of Appeal has thrown out the appeal.

“Consequently on the above, we urge the Honourable Tribunal to give us a date for resumption of the trial subject to the convenience of the Tribunal, most obliged my Lord”.

The appellate court had in a unanimous decision by a three-man panel led by Justice Abdul Aboki, declined Onnoghen’s request for his trial to be temporarily suspended, pending the determination of an appeal he lodged to challenge the competence of the charge and the procedure adopted by the CCT.

How Jumia is Using Chatbots To Add Value To Customers Buying Experience

Chatbots are now widely used because getting quick feedback is essential to today's customers. Many businesses have recognised this fact and are deploying chatbots to assist the customer service team to drive customer engagement and interaction. This, in turn, will impact the Net Promoter Score (NPS), thus making customers more loyal. This said, here are 5 ways chatbots add value to the buying experience of customers.

24-hour customer service

Your customer service representative can sometimes be overwhelmed and cannot respond to all requests. This is where chatbot comes in. Because they use artificial intelligence to process information, they can respond and reply accurately to enquiries and queries at any time of the day.

Seamless live chat

The clarity of the response of a chatbot has made so many people think that they are actually chatting with a customer rep. Unknown to them, they are talking to a chatbot. For example, you can use Jumia Bot from the stables of Jumia, Nigeria's no 1 shopping destination to make enquiries about your shopping preference and resolve complaints.

Allows you to personify your brand

With chatbot, you can easily personify your brand depending on your brand vision. Chatbot can feature with various conversational styles that range from being friendly to helpful and playful. These different personalities will ensure that customers keep coming back.

Can handle endless queries

Chatbots have been set up to use human intelligence to sort out customer queries. As a result, chatbots can handle endless queries with little or no mistake. Despite the fact that chatbots can do the job, it doesn't mean you should remove the human touch.

Smoother purchase journey

Chatbot can do so many things that will ensure that the consumer's purchase journey is smooth. The bot can offer relevant information, video content and even voucher code. In addition, chatbots can also assist customers with aggregating information like the item they desire to purchase, the method they want to pay for the order, and how they want the order shipped.

Leadership And Political Participation: The Story of Hon. Nnenna Ukeje-Elendu

BY EMMANUEL AJIBULU

There is growing recognition of the untapped capacity and talents of women and women’s leadership. Over the last two decades, the rate of women’s representation in national parliaments globally has incrementally increased from 11.8 percent in 1998 to 17.8 percent in 2008 to 23.5 percent in 2018.

Some regions have seen particularly dramatic increases, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where in the last 20 years the number of women in parliaments has risen from 11 to 23.6 percent, and the Arab States region, which has seen an increase from 3.1 to 17.5 percent.

Total global representation is still well below the 30 percent benchmark often identified as the necessary level of representation to achieve a “critical mass” a considerable minority of all legislators with significant impact, rather than a token few individuals; not to mention falling short of women’s representation as half of the world’s population.

For a fact, the full and equitable participation of women in public life is essential to building and sustaining strong, vibrant and productive democracies.

Accordingly, the meaningful participation of women in national, local, and community leadership roles has become an important focus on global development policy. Still, some may ask why it matters if women become political leaders, elected policymakers, or civil society activists.

Why does the world need more women involved in all aspects of the political process? Women's political participation results in tangible gains for democracy, including greater responsiveness to citizen needs, increased cooperation across party and ethnic lines, and a more sustainable future.

Women’s participation in politics helps advance gender equality and affects both the range of policy issues that get considered and the types of solutions that are proposed. Research indicates that whether a legislator is male or female has a distinct impact on their policy priorities. There is also strong evidence that as more women are elected to office, there is a corollary increase in policy making that emphasizes quality of life and reflects the priorities of families, women, and ethnic and racial minorities.

Meanwhile, for posterity to be kind to Nigeria and her key stakeholders in decision making, an individual like Hon. Nnenna Ukeje-Elendu should not just be applauded, honoured or awarded with laurels; she needs to be given more national responsibilities where she can explore more of her esteemed potentials. At the National Assembly, her quality representation since the last 12 years in terms of sponsored Bills, Motions, and various presentations and contributions on topical national issues have raised the bar for good governance and legislative representation. Notable among her impacts was the diplomatic policy direction she offered when the infamous xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa and other parts of the world became prevalent.

No wonder Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential standard bearer embraced a gender friendly campaign team involving people of great ideas who are highly disciplined, and with enviable and indelible track records that Nigerians could be proud of.

More importantly, the choice of Alhaji Atiku to have this quintessential female lawmaker, Hon. Nnenna Ukeje-Elendu, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs and member representing Bende Federal Constituency in marketing his candidacy for the presidency has turned out to change political narrative, a move that has incredibly added value to PDP's electoral victory come February, 2019.

Tapping Travel Insurance For A Smooth and Safe Trip

The importance of travel insurance cannot be overstated whenever you travel. Travel insurance is insurance that is intended to cover medical expenses, trip cancellation, lost luggage, flight accident and other losses incurred while travelling. Despite the many advantages of travel insurance, only a handful of travellers buy a travel insurance policy.

Imagine this scenario: you have exited your office and you are on your way to your long-planned vacation. Everything is going smoothly and you are excited and looking forward to it. However, your baggage disappears. To make matters worse, all your travel documents are in your suitcase. This is definitely a nightmare and it is exactly why you need travel insurance.

Where to buy travel insurance

Buying travel insurance is not rocket science. In fact today, you do not need an insurance company to buy insurance. You can buy your travel insurance from Jumia's hotel & flight services. There are pocket-friendly plans like Business/Tourism, Students Plan and Pilgrimage Protection. So, if you are visiting Europe (Schengen), for a business trip, you will pay as low as N2,740.23, if you are between the ages of 0 and 79 years. This covers you for up to 7 days.

How to tap travel insurance for a smooth and safe trip

Your lost luggage will be replaced

A lot of travellers go on tour with different types of items from clothes to home appliances and jewellery. If you do not have travel insurance, you will be the one to bear the cost of these lost items. Due to this, it’s advisable to buy a travel insurance cover so as to prevent any kind of loss of cash theft.

Your medical expenses will be covered

Whether you are on a business or leisure trip, you do not know when you are going to fall ill. If you happen to fall ill, you may be unable to cover your medical expenses because the medical bills may be too expensive for you to settle. To avoid this kind of unpredictable situation, just buy travel insurance.

You won’t pay cancellation fees

Every traveller books a trip in anticipation that nothing will disrupt your travel plans. From nowhere, you got an email summoning you to the office, you have no choice than to cancel your trip. For this, you will be charged a cancellation fee. You do not need to pay this fee if you have travel insurance.

Beyond planning and hoping for a smooth trip, you should have it at the back of your mind that uncertain and unpredictable things happen. To forestall and deal precisely with these uncertainties and actually guarantee a smooth trip, then you should never travel without a travel insurance cover.

Tapping Travel Insurance For a Smooth & Safe Trip

Where to buy travel insurance

How to tap travel insurance for a smooth and safe trip

Your lost luggage will be replaced

Your medical expenses will be covered

You won’t pay cancellation fees

Where to buy travel insurance

How to tap travel insurance for a smooth and safe trip

Your lost luggage will be replaced

Your medical expenses will be covered

You won’t pay cancellation fees

Power Supply Back In Igbokoda As Osinbajo Commissions BEDC, NDPHC Restoration Project

Residents of Igbokoda in Ilaje Ese Odo local government in Ondo South senatorial zone who have resigned their fate to living without electricity for the past five years were enveloped in frenzy of joy on Wednesday as Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo commissioned the restored power project facilitated by the BEDC Electricity Plc. (BEDC) and Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) which jointly completed work on the rehabilitation of the power project in the town.

With the commissioning by the Vice-President flanked by Ondo state Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, Executive Director, Commercial of BEDC, Mr. Abu Ejoor, Chief Technical Officer, (CTO) Engr. Ashok Acharya and officials of NDPHC, 10 out of the 21 distribution substations in the Igbokoda community came on with power supply thus illuminating the town which had been out of supply for so many years. The substations that were energized as at Wednesday include; Larada, General Hospital Secretariat road substation, Ikuomola, Ilara, Orioketilu, Church substation, Okoga College road/Omotehin, GRA1, GRA4/NDDC and Broadstreet substations.

The project which is an ongoing exercise is expected to extend to Okitipupa and other parts of Ondo South senatorial zone in due course.

The restoration achieved by BEDC with the speedy rehabilitation of the power project in conjunction with NDPHC under the national Independent power project (NIPP) will bring positive effect on the social and economic activities in the area. It has always been the central town for inhabitants of the Ondo South senatorial district of Ondo state comprising Okitipupa, Ireless, Ilaje, Ese-Odo, Odigbo and Ile-Oluji/Oke-Igbo local governments due to the presence of several amenities.

The belief by the communities is that if the availability of power supply is addressed, other improvements will follow. Power outage has greatly affected social and economic activities in the area, just as people of the area have resigned their fate to living without electricity.

It will be recalled that federal government had listened to the restive residents of communities under Ondo South senatorial zone over their power rehabilitation project as it directed the National Independent Power Project (NIIPP) to join forces with BEDC for the speedy rehabilitation of the whole network across four local governments namely; Okitipupa, Ese-Odo, Irele and Ilaje local governments in four phases.

Indications to this effect emerged recently after the joint team of BEDC engineers and the NIPP officials worked on the Okitipupa 33Kv overhead line project which covered the aforementioned local government areas in line with the charted out the schedule for the commencement of the whole network rehabilitation.

BEDC it will be recalled, had commenced rehabilitation work on the network but slowed down due to constraints of thick vegetation, and lengthy feeder which made the rehabilitation work prone to faults; a development which accounted for the recent protests by youths of the affected communities. As a step forward, BEDC and NDPHC had collected survey samples of other routes to be used in re-routing the affected lines for the areas under rehabilitation, as a permanent solution to hitches before the NIPP intervention support.

In fact, the BEDC had extended restoration work to Ondo North, South, Odo Aye and Okitipupa, while 19 communities had been connected to the grid in Ondo South including Ore, Odigbo, Adaja and Liyetu among others. In Ondo North, 34 communities have beenconnected including Gedegede, Ikun, Eriti, Oke-Agbe, Ikare, Arigidi, Oba-Akoko and Ikaram among others.

It will be recalled that in fulfilment of its pledge to Ekiti state government, BEDC Electricity Plc. (BEDC) has last December restored electricity supply to some communities in Ekiti state namely; Erinijiyan, Ipole-Iloro and Ikogosi.

Wednesday 30 January 2019

Video: Oyedepo, Suleman, Enenche 'Marked As Nigerian Govt Allegedly Hatches Fresh War Against The Church'

Watch video here;

A video clip is currently circulating in the social media alleging a plot by the Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to restrict the activities of prominent men of God from Nigeria.

A message in the video quoted ‘a source inside Aso Rock’ as saying there was a plan by the government to set up an agency tagged ‘National Faith Relations & Regulation Commission (NFRRC)’ allegedly designed to monitor and regulate church operations. A former police inspector general, Suleiman Abba, has allegedly been penciled to head the agency.

It was revealed that three outspoken Nigerian pastors were the first target of the plan; Bishop David Oyedepo, Apostle Suleman and Pastor Paul Enenche, “who would be accused for engaging in hate speeches.”

According to the video, the agency would also be tasked to regulate church messages against ‘hate speeches’ and ‘scrutinize churches’ accounts’ as well as restricting pastor from maintaining foreign accounts’.

“It is Satan's warfare against the Church, which is the primary subject of Revelation 12 and 13”, notes a Lagos based cleric who confirmed the message video was real.

Around the world today, Christians are protesting alleged victimization and rising genocide that they suggest ought to provoke global alarm. In recent years the violent oppression of Christian minorities has become the norm in Muslim-majority nations stretching from West Africa and the Middle East to South Asia and Oceania.

Sunday 27 January 2019

Hon. Fatee Muhammed Gives Jamb Forms, Free Training To 200 Students

A Lagos female politician, Hon. Fateema Muhammed, has offered to sponsor free coaching in addition to paying for JAMB forms for 200 students.

Noted for her regular philanthropic activities through her Fatee Muhammed Foundation, the increasingly popular politician is contesting to represent Ifako Ijaiye at the House of Representatives on the platform of People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

The Foundation, we gathered, is organizing a three times per week coaching for the beneficiaries until the one-day exam which will be held at Flovick Event Centre, along Jonathan Coker, Fagba, Lagos State.

According to Fatee, as she is fondly addressed, “what is worth doing at all is worth doing well. We realized that while some of the beneficiaries are fresh high school graduates, some are retaking the exam. Therefore, it is expedient to help them through with revisions and lectures. The coaching will concentrate on all the expected subjects and also cover the JAMB syllabus. Trained teachers have been contracted for this purpose. All we need is for the students to show up.”

Meanwhile, a mock jamb examina

tion will take place at the end of the lectures where the two best students will win university scholarships from the Foundation.

Thursday 24 January 2019

"I Aim To Be A Global Brand in PR and Advertising" ...Adron Group's Brand Manager, Oluwakemi Arewa

...shares her 14 years experience

When one take a good look at the TV Commercials, Radio Commercials and some of the media skits of Adron Homes; the groundbreaker homes merchant in Africa, one would begin to wonder if the brains behind them are not Nigeria’s, such quality as believed comes from foreigners who are vast in that aspect but shockingly, the brain behind them isn’t far-fetched, they are all the ideas and contents of Oluwakemi Arewa, the Group Head, Brand and Corporate communications for Adron Group; she also doubles as PR executive and

consultant for the leading real estate merchant.

Oluwakemi Arewa didn’t just come into the business from nowhere; she has been into the Media world for over 14 years of serious practice. She started in 2005 with Eko FM, after having her National Diploma Programme at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, she started three different programs with EKo FM, she later joined Continental TV services; owners of TVC and Radio Continental and got promoted six months later as a presenter on radio, and on TV. She had a radio program called entertainment weekly, a TV program called showbiz weekly, and was also reporting the news, due to her potentials. All these happened between 2007 - 2009.

For her, working for Adron Homes isn’t just about how much she is paid; it’s about adding value to humanity.

In her words ‘’ Adron Homes and Properties is the number 1, I joined Adron because of its vision in terms of meeting shelter needs. I saw the vision and the passion and also the value they add.

I believe in value, it comes before money, if you add value, people will respect you. I calls Aare Adetola Emmanuel (GMD) my dad because whenever I look at him, I see intelligence, I see a mentor, I see an Inventor, because he's is hardworking, and also a philanthropist who has affected our society in a positive way. The upmost trust he placed in my abilities makes me always go the extra miles to get things done, I do overtime because I connect to his vision and objectives. It’s a privilege to be at this position’’.

It would be recalled that Adron Homes held one of the biggest concert of 2018 recently called ‘Festival of Lemon’, the concert remains one of the most talked about and this is due to the kind of commercials that were put out to make people get to know about it even before it took place; the kudos goes to her and her content. She also spoke about how she went about it and also one of the promo she worked on.

“Festival of lemon was big; we had a lot of advantage because we put together the programme for staff and clients. We deployed an emotional approach to advertising and also played with numbers.

We created an exciting and informative content for TV and radio via the use of jingles and of course we also talked about bonuses, benefits and free gifts

Everyone was really interested because everything we talked about on TV and radio was genuine.

It was big, we had to use what we have; we have the A list artists, so we used them to create content. For TV, we used their songs; there's was a voice over that talked about the benefits, aside the fact that we were giving land, we gave home appliances too; everyone would want to benefit.

For the Independence promo, we played on the strategy of product benefit and bonuses while telling stories adaptable to each of our ambassadors, this made it easy for the public to relate with the brand."

However, it is not just out of the ordinary that one cooks up such amazing contents, she talked about what inspires her.

‘’God is my inspiration, I draw my inspiration from him; when I pray, I see things; when I read the bible, I see things, it’s like they are putting a video of things I need to do in my head, I hear things when I’m working, I just feel it, that's why I don’t stop, I don't get distracted, and it's also a matter of exposure. If you are a content person, you need to read wide, look at what people do, I watch what other companies do, I see how they organize their adverts, it might not be the same way but you will get your creativity and put things together’’

She also speaks about her next level

"I want to emerge, evolve and take over, my vision is to be the next big thing in the world of PR in Nigeria and beyond, I’m looking forward to becoming a global champion in the world of PR and advertising. This requires that I constantly upgrade myself, my skills and the knowledge I have right now. It's very important because, to be the light in any sector you have to shine and to shine you need to be connected to constant energy. Energy in real sense simply means information, skills upgrade,and constant education

When you stop learning, you start dying. So for me, I’m constantly taking steps to progress."

Egba Family, Dipeolu Descendants, Host Reunion Party, Pay Homage To Alake

It was a joyful moment on Saturday, 22nd of December, 2018, when members of the famous Egba family, Dipeolu Descendants Foundation, paid a courtesy call on The Alake and paramount ruler of Egba kingdom, Oba Michael Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo (Okukenu 1V) at his palace as part of the activities of their biennial Dipeolu Descendants Foundation reunion.

While receiving the honourable guests, the revered monarch appreciated the family for the visit while he gave them royal blessings as well as encouraging them to continue to imbibe and sustain the spirit of unity and collectivity that has kept the family as one.
Giving his address on behalf of the Dipeolu family of Egba, the outgoing PRO of the Dipeolu Descendants Foundation, Chief Olubunmi Dipeolu, expressed his appreciation for the royal reception, declaring that because Egbaland was created on mutual love, understanding and respect, the Dipeolu family would continue to aid the progress and development of the ancient land and the nation as a whole.

Parts of the activities at the biennial event were presentation of welfare materials to beneficiaries for the year, courtesy visit/homage to the Alake of Egbaland at his palace, family meetings and induction of new members, election and inauguration of DDF new BOT members and new management executives.

The newly constituted board of trustees members include Prof. Adewale Dipeolu, chairman; Otunba Sam Dipeolu, member; Hon. Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu member; Mr. Olanrewaju Dipeolu, secretary; Mrs. Joyce Zachaeus, member; Chief Olubunmi Dipeolu, member; and Edward Ayodeji Dipeolu, member.

Members of the newly elected management executives are Folagbade Dipeolu, president; Olabisi Ajoke Dipeolu, vice president; Martins Olusegun Dipeolu, general secretary; Olubukola Dipeolu, treasurer; Okiki Oludare Dipeolu, PRO; Dr. Olujimi Dipeolu, social secretary; Daniel Dipeolu, historian 1; Oloye Olufela Dipeolu, historian 2.

Also, there was the presentation of awards, gala night/end of the year family funfair party, and more.

ACPN TO EZEKWESILI: "Return All Donations or Face Legal Action" *party endorses Buhari's 2nd term bid

Hours after she announced her withdrawal from the Presidential race in order to form a coalition with other political parties, the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) which is the political party of former Education Minister, Oby Ezekwesili, says it will be supporting President Buhari’s re-election bid.

The national chairman of the party and Ezekwesili’s running mate at the time, Gani Galadinma, spoke to newsmen this morning and said Ezekwesili only wanted to use the ACPN platform to negotiate to become a finance minister whenever a new government assumes office later in the year.

Galadinma added that she never informed the party of her decision to withdraw from the presidential race. He said the party may take her to court as it is obvious to them that she was never serious all along. Galadinma added that Ezekwesili paid N100, 000 for the party’s presidential form which was put at N10.5million.

“The reason for calling this press conference is to let the world know about the presidential aspiration of Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, which in actual fact, is not the truth. I have been put into confidence by one of her aide named Iyinoluwa Aboyeji that she only wanted to use the platform of the ACPN to negotiate to be Nigeria’s finance minister.

If you observe, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili is the only presidential candidate who was so militant in her campaign without any tangible thing on ground to indicate any seriousness in the prosecution of her campaign.

No campaign secretariat, billboard or great commitment on ground to indicate any seriousness. It is on this ground that the ACPN is withdrawing support for her presidential aspiration and endorsing the second term bid of President Muhammadu Buhari to take Nigeria to the next level.” he said

Galadinma added that Ezekwesili is expected to return to the party all the donations “from all over the world” because the party would have to account to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

-Ademola Folorunsho

Wednesday 23 January 2019

PHOTOS: Dangote Meets France President Macron

Nigerian business magnate, Aliko Dangote (left), poses next to French president Emmanuel Macron (R) prior to a meeting as part of the second edition of the 'Choose France' Summit, on January 21, 2019 in Versailles.

"Nigeria's Tourism Sector Needs Stronger Branding” ...Jumia MD, Adagunodo

The players and stakeholders in Nigeria's hospitality industry have been urged to intensify efforts towards branding the image of the hotel and tourism sector as the country continues to gain traction as one of the major tourist destinations in Africa.

This was stated by Omolara Adagunodo, the Managing Director of Jumia's hotel & flight services at a recent new year meet of tourism stakeholders in Lagos.
Adagundo added that Nigerians, as well as tourism stakeholders, should focus more on selling a positive image of Nigeria's tourism sector.

"Over the years, commendable efforts have been to project Nigeria in a positive light to the international community. This brand message now needs to be reinforced by focusing more on broadening the narrative and telling a more balanced, honest story about Nigeria," said Adagunodo.
In her remarks on what impact a stronger branding will have on Nigeria's hospitality sector, Adagunodo said: "Nigeria will automatically become a choice destination for tourists from different parts of the globe and at the same time the contribution of the sector to the country's Gross Domestic Product will significantly increase.”

The Travel and Tourism sector accounted for 1.9% of total GDP as a direct contribution, and 5.1% as a total contribution to GDP according to the Nigeria Hospitality Report. In monetary terms, Travel and Tourism contributed N2.298 billion to the GDP as a direct contribution and N6.205 billion as a total contribution to the GDP.

Adagunodo concluded saying that the contributions and figures can be higher with stronger branding as the sector has proved several times as a tool that can be deployed for brand awareness and recognition.

Apostle Suleman In Suleja, Doles Out N8m To Family, Unemployed Graduates

It would be understating the fact that servant of God and senior pastor at Omega Fire Ministries (OFM) worldwide, Apostle (Prof.) Johnson Suleman, draws his strength from God. By action, he has always reaffirmed the whole purpose of his mission, which is that, if his own life story can help millions of souls across nations, then it's worth spreading."

Because his ideology is premised on the understanding that it is fake love if it does not involve giving, Suleman regularly touches lives physically wherever and whenever he is on mission to restore people’s spiritual lives.

Suleja, Niger State, Nigeria, was the next port of call between Monday 21^st and Tuesday 22^nd of January, 2019. The ever busy Northern Emirate was mesmerized as Apostle Suleman shared messages of hope and restoration to thousands of persons at the ‘Open Heavens 2019’ crusade.

In the midst of several healing and miracles that characterized the two-day crusade, the case of a crippled girl named Aishetu Tijani, a native of Angwagwari, stood out. Aishetu who was reportedly left behind at the crusade ground by her father, Mallam Tijani, got her healing during the morning session of the second day of the crusade. The girl, stunned, left the crusade without her crutches.

Apostle Suleman, putting on display his conviction that the first way to prove that you love someone is by giving, doled out the sum of N150,000 to a man who God revealed to the cleric had planned to auction his personal belongings to raise himself financially.

Noteworthy of Suleman’s latest charity undertakings was doling out the sum of N6.5 million to hundreds of unemployed youth. The remarkable blessing happened on Sunday, 20^th of January, 2019, at the OFM headquarters in Auchi, Edo State.

Speaking as he gave out envelopes stuffed with cash to each of the lucky young men and ladies, the ‘Restoration Apostle’ said his constant act of giving is sanctioned by God and, most importantly, he was helping the young ones so they can help themselves grow without looking onto the government for jobs.

Surviving the Harsh Realities of Setting up a Business in Nigeria: The Story of Jumia

Nigeria, despite being the largest economy in Africa, is one of the toughest places to establish small and medium scale businesses. This is because the economic environment is quite unfriendly as entrepreneurs have a potpourri of challenges to deal with. Some of these challenges include lack of power, limited capital, double taxation, unstable economic policies, and inadequate infrastructure among others.

Consequently, the chances of startups and businesses surviving are very limited or minute in Nigeria

Despite this,

there are a handful of small businesses that are braving these harsh economic realities and have grown beyond their humble beginnings. They are now serving millions of customers across Africa. A very good example is Jumia.

How Jumia started

Every global business did not just scale within months of being established. It must grow slowly, raise capital, break even and eventually become profitable. It can take years to hit the point of profitability in a country like Nigeria.

Jumia is an eCommerce company founded by Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poignonnec in February 2012. The company started operations in Nigeria and Pakistan that same year under the name Kaymu; after receiving an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Rocket Internet. Although Kaymu has been rested, the online platform has become an ecosystem that has different verticals including travel, food, house and cars.

Through the years, it has expanded operations to 14 African countries and does not seem to be soft-pedalling.

The impact of Jumia

When Jumia debut in Nigeria, there was nothing like eCommerce. It was completely a new business endeavour or field that had not been fully exploited. What even made a lot of people sceptical is the possibility of ordering goods online and it will be delivered at your doorstep. Impossible!

But Jumia drove through these hurdles and today the eCommerce platform has millions of customers.

Additionally, Jumia has empowered thousands of Nigerians through its J-force programme and vendors selling on the platform are smiling to the bank.

Since the beginning of 2019, it has been reported that famed online businesses have shut down or left the country. But, Jumia Nigeria’s no 1 shopping destination continues to steadfastly innovate and satisfy the needs of its esteemed customers.

Now the Alibaba of Africa

Alibaba is the Chinese eCommerce platform founded by Jack Ma. Over the years, Alibaba and the likes of Amazon and eBay have tried to enter into Africa but the groundworks that have been done by Jumia is making that entry very difficult. This is because Jumia keeps consolidating its market position in its key markets as well as innovating.

Hence, it was not a surprise when asked during an interview with the Africa Report that if Jack Ma or Jeff Bezos knocked on Jumia’s door with an offer they could not refuse, Sacha Poignonnec, the CEO of Jumia said: “I’d be very proud that they take the time to travel to us and see it. Certainly, we would have to think about it.”

The story Jumia is one of perseverance in a country where it is difficult for startups to survive. The startup is not relaxing as it has said it is here to stay and it is Afrocentric business focus will continue despite the many challenges.

Saturday 19 January 2019

LIFESTYLE: Cannabis Consumption Alters DNA In Sperm

A recent study from Duke University Medical Center, United States reveals that exposure to cannabis or Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) by men in their child-bearing years alters the genetic profile of their sperm.

The study also revealed that many outside factors can effect sperm, ranging from tobacco smoke to pesticides, flame retardants to obesity, all of which can have epigenetic effects.

Epigenetics are inheritable traits that don’t effect DNA sequencing, but typically stem from life experiences.

The new research shows that THC can effect epigenetics, causing structural and regulatory changes in the DNA of users’ sperm.

The study which looked at 24 men discovered that THC appears to target genes in two major cellular pathways and alters DNA methylation, a process essential to normal development

The senior author of the study, Scott Kollins, a Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences said, “what we have found is that the effects of cannabis use on males and their reproductive health are not completely null.

“In that there’s something about cannabis use that affects the genetic profile in sperm.”

The co-author of the study, Susan Murphy, an Associate Professor said “We know that there are effects of cannabis use on the regulatory mechanisms in sperm DNA, but we don’t know whether they can be transmitted to the next generation.”
Murphy added that “In the absence of a larger, definitive study, the best advice would be to assume these changes are going to be there. We don’t know whether they are going to be permanent.

“I would say, as a precaution, stop using cannabis for at least six months before trying to conceive,” she stressed.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Cannabis or Marijuana refers to the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the THC which contains mind-altering chemicals and other similar compounds.