Thirty-seven commissioners of police (CP) including Imohimi Edgal of Lagos have been redeployed today by the Police Service Commission (PSC) in a nationwide shakeup which only affected heads of commands in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT), Abuja.
The PSC did not indicate where Edgal, who recently had a tussle with another CP, Kayode Egbetokun at the Lagos State Command Headquarters, was posted to. His rival will now take charge at Kwara State command.
A few CPs including Ahmed Iliyasu (Ogun) and Galandachi Dasuki (Imo) retained their seats.
A statement from the PSC today listed the CP and their postings thus: Buba Sanusi, Katsina State; Mohammed Wakili, Kano State; Rabiu Ladodo, Jigawa; Ahmed Iliyasu, Ogun; Mu’azu Zubairu, Lagos State; Ibrahim Sabo, Niger; Alkassam Sanusi, Taraba; Garba Mukaddas, Adamawa and Omololu Bishi, Benue.
Others are Olushola David, Bayelsa; Adeleke Yinka, Delta; Austin Agbonlahor, Cross River; Bashir Makama, Akwa Ibom; Awosola Awotunde, Ebonyi; Belel Usman, Rivers; Bello Makwashi, Gombe and Abdulrahman Ahmed, Kaduna State.
Also deplored are Bala Ciroma, Federal Capital Territory (FCT); Egbetokun Kayode, Kwara; Hakeem Busari, Kogi; Asuquo Amba, Ekiti; Galadanchi Dasuki, Imo; Suleiman Balarabe, Enugu;, Dandaura Mustapha, Anambra; Etim Ene Okon, Abia and Ibrahim Kaoje, Sokoto.
The list also include Celestine Okoye, Zamfara; Garba Danjuma, Kebbi;, Abiodun Ige, Osun;, Undie Adie, Ondo; Olukolu Shina, Oyo; Ali Janga, Bauchi; Damian Chukwu, Borno; Sumonu Abdulmalik, Yobe; Bola Longe, Nassarawa State; Isaac Akinmoyede, Plateau and Odumosu Hakeem, Edo.
Lawrence Ani, the spokesman of PSC stated that the Chairman of the Commission, Alhaji Musiliu Smith, has charged the CPs to settle down at their commands and ensure peaceful, free, fair and transparent elections.
He said that the nation could not afford any disruption of the elections as the world was watching Nigeria.
The spokesman said that approval had been conveyed to the acting Inspector General of Police for implementation.
Guarantee Trust Bank (GTBank) on Tuesday said that there was a fundamental shift in the creation and use of financial services.
The Chief Executive Officer of GT Bank, Mr Segun Agbaje, said this while presenting the Habari App to participants at the Social Media Week in Lagos.
According to him, the shift will enhance the future relationship between banks and customers.
He spoke on the topic, “One Africa, One App, Building the Bank of the Future’’.
Habari is a virtual kingdom made up of communities created by people of similar interests, where every activity earns users rewards they can redeem in the real world. The core functionalities of Habari include; socialising, trading and sharing information.
He also added that Habari was their latest effort to help content creators that are also their customers solve issues around distribution band and payments.
“Banks in Africa have one fundamental challenge which is how to carter for the financial well-being of millions of people on the continent.
“The competition that exists for banks in the new competitive landscape, include anyone who can leverage the power of connectivity.
“Presently, everything disrupts, both telecos and other industries, creating room to enhance financial services in the banking industry,’’ he said.
Agbaje said that through the combination of powerful mobile computing devices and wireless connectivity, the digital revolution created an online world for search delivery that was as formidable as the physical world most businesses had built and invested in.
He added that organisations now had to rethink their business models to ensure that they are able to take advantage of the opportunity the shift online has created.
The GT bank executive said that in responding to the new competitive landscape, there was the need to leverage on technology, have a new business model for customer engagement, acquisition and service delivery.
He said that the way the app was designed was that it would evolve constantly, not a complete work because people’s lives keeps evolving.
“Disruption of apps have started and that would make the app do more than one thing, and the Habari app is structured for play, messaging, e-commerce and others.
“The bank has more than 15 million customers and we hope that with the introduction of the app, it will give the bank an exponential growth.
“Telecos and other organisations cannot disrupt us because we have an app that will disrupt others,’’ he said.
Agbaje said that the fundamentals of the ecosystem was an end-to-end customer experience, embedded digital innovation and going beyond the traditional understanding of financial understanding of financial information to become a critical enabler.
He added that for startups, Habari meant not having a structure, no advertising but having a platform to reach more people.
SMW is one of the world’s premiere conferences and industry news platforms for marketers.
It provides brands, agencies and technology providers with the latest insights, trends and best practices, together with access to a global community of marketing decision makers.
The theme of the week is: “Stories: With Great Influence Comes Great Responsibility’’.
Dangote Group, the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG), and four other companies have joined in on the federal government drive to build infrastructure across Nigeria.
The companies, which also includes Lafarge Africa Plc, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, and China Road and Bridge Corporation Nigeria Limited, will build 19 roads, totaling 794.4km in 11 states across each of the six geopolitical zones of the country.
This is made possible with the signing of executive order 007 2019, which was signed by President Muhammadu Buhari to allow private companies construct and refurbish roads across the country.
Following the order, the two-year-old Nigeria Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council (Industrial Council) has chalked a landmark achievement in accelerating infrastructure development for economic growth.
Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, who listed the roads at the signing ceremony said the scheme is the outcome of efforts to think outside of the box and deploy new techniques to develop critical road infrastructure in the country.
THE EXECUTIVE ORDER
The executive order is a Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme that enables the federal government of Nigeria leverage private sector funding for the construction or refurbishment of eligible road infrastructure projects.
It focuses on the development of eligible road infrastructure projects in an efficient and effective manner that creates value for money through private sector discipline; and guarantees participants in the scheme timely and full recovery of funds provided for the construction or refurbishment of eligible road infrastructure projects through tax credits.
This executive order is one of the initiatives midwived by the Policy and Regulation Subcommittee of the Industrial Council, which is focused on implementing initiatives to incentivize investment; and reduce smuggling.
Industrialists in the council expressed their willingness to intervene in road rehabilitation and construction in their areas of operation in a thorough and transparent process that ensures the cost of construction/rehabilitation can be recouped, the Federal Ministry of Finance had conceived the idea. It promptly proposed the scheme for the Industrial Council to develop.
The Scheme is widely viewed by stakeholders who have been engaged in the public and private sectors as a quick-win in road construction and enjoys wide-spread acceptance as a means of accelerating growth within industrial clusters.
DANGOTE: THIS WILL SAVE GOVT BILLIONS
In his speech at the signing ceremony, Aliko Dangote, president and CEO of Dangote Group, stated that, “the impact is huge because it will allow private sector to use their capital, their know-how and also their efficiency in terms of delivering roads in time and the Nigerian government will be saving billions of naira.”
The Federal Executive Council approved the Industrial Council in March 2017 as a vehicle for partnering with the private sector on the industrialisation agenda to address key hindrances to the growth of manufacturing in the country.
The council, chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, aims to increase the contribution of the manufacturing sector to gross domestic product and establish Nigeria as the manufacturing hub for Africa by implementing initiatives aimed at accelerating industrialization by leveraging private sector expertise and capital.
Okechukwu Enelamah, minister of industry, trade, and investment, who is one of its vice chairmen of the council, explained that, “the council’s mandate is to assist the government in implementing initiatives that will enhance the performance of the industrial sector through partnerships with the private sector.”
The leadership of the Industrial Council consists of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo (Chairman); Enelamah (vice-chairman, public sector); Aliko Dangote (vice-chairman private sector); Aisha Abubakar, minister of state, industry, trade and investment, (Alternate vice-chairman, public sector); and Atedo Peterside (alternate vice-chairman, private sector).
Other infrastructure initiatives which the Industrial Council is facilitating their implementation include the ongoing the deployment of 18,000 KM of fibre across the country to improve broadband penetration; and the generation of additional 4.2GW of power to the national grid. (The Cable)
Seventy-two hours after an Agusta AW 139 helicopter flying Vice President Yemi Osibanjo crashed in Kabba, Kogi State, aviation agencies, led by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) have concluded investigations on the accident.
The completion of the investigation came on the heels of gathering of evidence – inspection of the chopper wreckage at the crash site; interview of airline crew – pilots, engineers and other technical personnel, eyewitnesses account, laboratory testing of broken rotor and other parts of chopper.
A source closed to the AIB said the preliminary report of the accident will be released in two days, but he could not give probable cause(s) of the crash.
Another source close to Caverton Helicopters, mangers of the crashed chopper, said its insurers have arrived in the country to participate in the probe.
The source hinted that the insurers, sought permission from the AIB, for access to the crash site to carry out valuation of the wreckage and other relevant activity critical to the accident probe.
Besides the insurers, it was not clear as at Monday if the helicopter manufacturer – Agusta will participate in the inquiry.
According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)-prescribed aviation regulations, the aircraft manufacturers ought to participate in the investigation.
The involvement will enable the manufacturer learn useful lessons in preventing a reoccurrence; if there are issues with the equipment design or other technical hitches.
AIB’s spokesman Tunji Oketumbi said the bureau has concluded preliminary investigation on the crash, which he described as “high profile”, because of the status of the occupant in the ill-fated chopper.
He said an accident could be so described, if the aircraft was carrying many influential people; or there are many multi-nationals.
He said that will not in any way put any pressure on the AIB, which has so far utilised its internal capacity to discharge the onerous task.
Oketumbi said: “So far, the AIB has done what is statutorily required of it. We did not require any foreign assistance. We have carried out the relevant findings at the crash site and interviewed the crew and other people relevant to the operation. So, far, the helicopter wreckage has not been removed.”
He, however, took exception to the remarks attributed to Caverton Helicopters which suggested the probable cause(s) of the crash.
According to him, besides giving flight information – type of aircraft; registration number; number of occupant in the aircraft and circumstances of the accident, the airline should refrain from speculating the cause of the crash.
Doing such, Oketumbi said, will amount to pre-empting the investigation.
Recall that AgustaWestland AW139 is a 15-seat medium-sized twin-engined helicopter developed and produced principally by AgustaWestland.
It was marketed at several different roles, including VIP/corporate transport, offshore transport, fire-fighting, law enforcement, search and rescue, emergency medical service, disaster relief, and maritime patrol.
In addition to AgustaWestland’s own manufacturing facilities in Italy and the United States, the AW139 is produced in Russia by HeliVert, a joint venture between AgustaWestland and Russian Helicopters.
The AW139 was originally designed and developed jointly by Agusta and Bell Helicopters and marketed as the Agusta-Bell AB139, being redesignated AW139 when Bell withdrew from the project.
Since launching operation in 2003, the AW139 has become one of AgustaWestland’s most influential products; it has been subsequently developed into two enlarged medium-lift helicopters, the military-orientated AW149 and the AW189 for the civil market.
The AW139 is a conventional twin-engine multi-role helicopter. It has a five-bladed fully articulated main rotor with a titanium hub and composite blades and a four-bladed articulated tail rotor. It is fitted with retractable tricycle landing gear, the two aft wheels retracting into external sponsons which are also used to house emergency equipment.
It is flown by a crew of two pilots, with up to 15 passengers accommodated in three rows of five.
The Coalition of United Political Parties CUPP says it has uncovered plans by the EFCC to arrest the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen today Wednesday February 6th.
Onnoghen was suspended on Janaury 25th by President Buhari over his non-declaration of all his assets. Justice Onnoghen who assumed office in March 2017, has refused calls to resign from office despite attributing his non-declaration of assets to forgetfullness.
In a statement signed by its National spokesperson, Imo Ugochinyere, CUPP said Onnoghen will be forced to resign after his arrest.
“The secretariat of the CUPP has uncovered the latest plot by the Presidency to arrest the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen tomorrow (Wednesday) being February 6, 2019 and immediately commence their final descent to infamy by forcing him to resign at gunpoint.
“The latest recruit in this plot against the CJN being the Chairman of the EFCC has been given the mandate to execute this plot and has been told there would be no margin for error as the CJN must resign from office or from life one way or the other,” Ugochinyere claimed.
The CUPP spokesperson said the decision to arrest Onnoghen was taken after he allegedly turned down “all mouth-watering offers” made to him.
The EFCC has however denied plot to arrest the suspended CJN.
The trial of President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Paul Usoro, over N1.4 billion fraud, could not proceed on Tuesday before Justice Muslim Hassan of Federal High Court Lagos, following the transfer of the case to a new judge, Prof. Chuka Obiozor.
Usoro is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 10-count charge bordering on fraud.
Also named in the charge, is the incumbent governor of Akwa Ibom, Gov. Emmanuel Udom, who is described in the charge as being “currently constitutionally immune from prosecution”.
Others charged are: the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Finance, Nsikan Nkan; Accountant-General of Akwa Ibom State, Mfon Udomah; the Akwa Ibom State Attorney-General, Uwemedimo Nwoko and Margaret Ukpe.
The defendants were said to be at large.
Usoro was charged on Dec. 18, 2018 before Justice Hassan, and his plea was taken.
Hassan had subsequently admitted him to bail in the sum of N250 million with one surety in like sum.
The court had then adjourned the case until Feb. 5, March 5, and March 6, for continuation of trial.
However, on Tuesday, when journalists approached the court for coverage of the trial, it was observed that the case was not on the cause list.
On enquiry, journalists were informed that the case had been transferred to Justice Obiozor by the Chief Judge, following application to that effect.
Meanwhile in Justice Obiozor’s Court, the case was also not itemised on the cause list, as the judge was said to be away on a workshop.
In the charge marked FHC/418c/18, the anti graft agency alleged that the accused committed the offence on May 14, 2016.
The commission alleged that Usoro conspired with others, to commit the offence within the jurisdiction of the court.
He was alleged to have conspired to convert the sum of N1.4 billion, property of Akwa Ibom State Government, which sum they reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity.
The prosecution said that the unlawful activity include criminal breach of trust which contravenes the provisions of section 15 (2), 15(3), and 18 (A) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.
Popular South African Socialite, pantless dancer, Zodwa Libram Libram, has decided to go coffin shopping as she acquired one for a whooping 150,000 Rands, whichs equals over 4 million naira.
Sharing the photos of her purchase on her social media, Instagram and Facebook, Zodwa stated that she has bought the coffins because she doesn’t fear death.
Because we’ll all die someday and that she doesn’t want to die and it’ll become a problem for her family to buy her common coffin.
She wrote: “Death. Black Society is Scared to talk about Death. My Coffin is 150k. Are you ready or your Family is still gonna Run around? I don’t want Zodwa Wabantu was Famous now there’s no Money to Bury her”
The Gender Section of the Lagos State Police Command is investigating a case of rape reported against one Razaq Oluwaseun Oke, 28, in Blue and Don-Chima George, 25,in Black of Dallankester Hotels, Lekki, Phase one Lagos.
A statement from the Lagos state police command, CSP Chike Oti, states that the duo allegedly took a girl, 23, to a club on Saturday, February 2, 2019, unknown to her that they had ulterior motive. While at the club, they mixed the young woman’s drink with a substance that made her weak and almost unconscious.
Satisfied that the drug was beginning to affect the victim, they quietly left the club with her to Dallankester Hotels in Lekki Phase one, owned by the father of one of the suspects named Don-Chima George.
At the hotel, they took turns to rape her. As if that wasn’t enough, they filmed the abuse.
When the victim woke up from the induced sleep, she confronted the suspects who denied having carnal knowledge of her. Not satisfied, she placed a call to her elder brother complaining that she had been violated. The brother immediately invited policemen from Maroko Division led by the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Isah Abdulmajid to the scene.
On searching the suspects, the DPO recovered their phones and went through their video recordings where he saw a video of the suspects sexually abusing the apparently unconscious victim.
The state Commissioner of Police, CP Edgal Imohimi has directed the Gender Section of the Command to investigate and diligently prosecute the suspects to serve as deterrent to others.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibadan Zonal Office have arrested seven more suspected internet fraudsters. The suspects include, Ola Sam, Demeji Abiola, Segun Isaac, Oyinloye Jubril, Bamidele Adeboyega, Hassan Afeez and Sanni Muyideen.
A statement from the antigraft agenvcy says they were rounded up at Poly Road and Sanyo area of Ibadan, Oyo State, on February 1 and 4, 2019.
Their arrest followed action on a series of intelligence report linking them with various forms of internet fraud.
They were alleged to be involved in love scam on different dating sites, through which they fraudulently obtain money from unsuspecting victims.
At the point of arrest, EFCC operatives recovered two different models of exotic cars, laptops, telephones and several documents containing false pretences, including international passports, and ATM cards.
They will be charged to court as soon as investigation is completed.
United Bank for Africa (UBA Group) kicked off the first session of the week-long Social Media Week Lagos 2019 with the announcement that its chatbot Leo now covers 17 African countries and has one million subscribers.
Leo was launched in January 2018 to enable customers of the bank have access to select banking services including account opening, loan applications, account balance checking, cheque confirmations, bill payment, account freezing and instant notifications.
Described as an “alpha version” by digital enthusiasts, Leo has surpassed one million users on the bank’s mobile app, in just 12 months because of its numerous benefits and acceptability, a feat its close rivals have not been able to attain.
The AI-driven virtual assistant, which also has Facebook and WhatsApp banking capabilities, was first unveiled in January and today, one year later remains the preferred chat banker in Nigeria and across Africa where UBA is present , because it has clinically leap frogged others in every sense of it.
“The formulation of this product is consistent with the bank’s customer first philosophy, where we are doing things not the way we like, but focusing on what the customer want, where they want it and in the exact platform they want it,” Kennedy Uzoka, UBA’s managing director said at the unveiling of the chatbot in 2018.
Founder/ Chairman Dragon Africa, Obi Asika; Group Head, Online Banking, United Bank for Africa, (UBA Plc) Austine Abolusoro; Head, Of Product Marketing, UBA, Lola Obembe; and Group, Chief Information Officer, UBA, Onyebuchi Akosa at the 2019, edition of Social Media week held in Lagos.
The bank’s head of online banking, Augustine Abolusoro, in a presentation titled Game of Bots at Social Media Week 2019 disclosed that Leo is not just the first artificial intelligence (AI) powered chatbot in Africa; it is also a multi-lingual chatbot with capability to speak languages like English, French, and Portuguese. The company plans to include Yoruba and other Nigerian languages very soon.
“Leo was developed with best in class AI technology: Natural language processing and machine learning,” says Abolusoro. “It enables financial inclusion.”
He continued, “As we continue to advance our work on AI-driven developments, it is important that we listen to our users today and further enhance Leo to align to client feedback in order to better meet and anticipate needs and even give them increased value as Leo clocks one,” Abolusoro added.
Group Head, Online Banking, United Bank for Africa, (UBA Plc) Austine Abolusoro; Head, Of Product Marketing, UBA, Lola Obembe; and Group, Chief Information Officer , UBA, Onyebuchi Akosa at the 2019, edition of Social Media week held in Lagos.
This milestone reflects the bank’s continued focus on providing industry-leading digital capabilities as part of its high-tech, high-touch client experience.
Everything learnt over the last one year of Leo’s work will help UBA improve on its digital offerings, says Abolusoro, Head of online banking, who assured customers of “nothing short of the very best innovation in the coming months”.
In May 2018, Mark Zuckerberg thrust Leo into global limelight when he used the chatbot as an illustration of how businesses were leveraging Facebook to connect better with their customers.
“Leo is doing incredible things,” Zuckerberg had said of Leo during his presentation.
Abolusoro noted that as a result of the feature, Leo which is also available on Facebook-owned WhatsApp has gained one million subscribers. Till date it has hosted 70 million conversations.
While 5 per cent of the subscriber population is within the age of 65 and above, an overwhelming 72 per cent are between 18 and 34 years.
“The Leo platform has the same kind of authentication you find on all our digital platforms,” Abolusoro said regarding concerns around privacy and cyber security.
In 12 months since he was launched, Leo has won several awards, including the Euromoney Award which aptly validates his dominance in the digital banking space. Euromoney is a globally renowned organisation which appraises more than 20 global product categories, best-in-class awards and the best Banks in over 100 countries around the world, recognising institutions that have demonstrated leadership, innovation, and momentum in the markets in which they operate.
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