All Posts in "Day: June 26, 2021"

How FG,Friends Abandoned Me-Siasia

FIFA ban: My friends abandoned me, says Siasia - Punch Newspapers
Coach Samson Siasia, former Super Eagles coach of Nigeria has painted graphic details of how he was  left in the lurch  by the the Federal Government of Nigeria, Nigeria Football Federation and fellow legends during his ordeal with the world football governing body Federation of International Football Association,FIFA.
He told newsmen that the Federal Government abandoned him at his greatest hour of need despite has years of service to the country as player, coach and Olympian.
The world football authority had in 2019 slammed a life ban and a fine 50,000 Swiss Francs on the former Super Eagles coach over alleged match fixing claim.
An appeal granted by the Lausanne -based Court of Arbitration in Sports CAS ) has earlier this week quashed the fifty thousand Francs and slashed the life ban to five, two and half of which  has already been served by the coach.
Speaking  in Abuja  on the outcome of his Appeal to CAS, the exe international  expressed gratitude to CAS and Ex Green Eagles captain, Segun Odegbami for believing in him and rallying his friends to pull out of dungeon.
He disclosed that it was through Odegbami the Director General of the Nigeria Governors Forum Dr A.B Okauru and his wife took control of the case , set up a team that pursued the appeal.
The team he said included 2-Switzerland based  Nigerians and two top Swiss lawyers.
He added that the decision by CAS is a huge relief and a vindication of his resolute stance that he never took bribe nor allow an external influence to override his judgement as a coach.
He explained that CAS allowed the five years ban because he did not say no when approached and failed to report the matter, and never on grounds that money exchanged hands between him and anybody.
Siasia said  the government of president Mohammadu Buhari did not do well in the manner it ignore him to struggle like orphan before a global body like FIFA, stating he would not have faced such rejection had chosen to play for USA over Nigeria.
Siasia is a US citizen.
“I want to say something, it is about Nigerian government. This my issue is government problem. I know Mohammadu Buhari is the President. The minister of Sports when he came in I met him, I think he was two weeks in office before my problem . I met him.  All he said was, coach I have heard about your problem, we don’t have money. That was all. We don’t have money.
“I think what these people have done is was very depressing because I am legend; I played for this country ,broke my leg ,I have coached ,I have done a lot for this country. If I am in America, If I had played for America, ( I have American passport,I am an American citizen), but I played for Nigeria.
If I was in America, like Micheal Jordan, they would have taken this problem upon themselves. Or if I was a briton.
“The government has not done well in my case . I’m not happy. I don’t know if Buhari doesn’t watch TV or even don’t know what is going on. Or is it the Minister that faiyl to approach the President, he should approach him , he’s the President, he is a human being. He should approach him if things like this happens .
“The ex-internationals have been neglected, it’s not just about me . Everyone of us . Now they say they are giving us houses after 27years , and you expect us to jump up and clap, twenty seven years ago.
Let’s face the fact , I’m not insulting anyone but I am very, very disappointed. Very disappointed.
“I have trained  ,if not thirty or forty players from here. Bayelsa government gave me fifty thousand dollars,that’s my money,that I used to take players like Mikel and all the rest to training tour, that was my money. If I didn’t do that,where will try these guys be today. Where will they be?”
Siasia said he was more pained that his mates and colleagues never called to ask after his wellbeing following the unjustified FIFA trial that failed to give fair here.
He regrets that the global football body that preach fair play failed to play fair in his case considering that he was investigated for just three months and slammed a life ban.
“Most painful moment is when your colleagues who you played with never called you to know what happened”,
He equally lamented that he was excluded from the legend game that was arranged to support footballers in retirement and wondered what that has got to do with FIFA.
According to him if the Nigerian government had shown interest in the matter FIFA would have been circumspect before slamming him with a sledge hammer.
“People ask where I kept my money , I invested in human beings. I have done something for their good, that’s my investment. What else can you do as an individual that has played for his country and trained so many players. I think I have done the bit I did for Nigeria and I am not happy at all. It pains me .
‘How can I fight FIFA, I don’t have that kind of money. But if Nigerian government was involved,that will shake FIFA and make them to do the right thing. Up till today, I didn’t share,  I didn’t take bribe , why should be banned for even five years ” he added
Online Editor by — June 26, 2021 in Sports 0
Access Bank Boosts Entrepreneurship With Womenpreneur Pitch-A-Ton Season 3

Access Bank Womenpreneur Pitch-A-ton Africa 2021 for women entrepreneurs across Africa (Naira 5 million financial grant & a mini MBA from International Finance Corporation) | Opportunities For Africans
Access Bank Plc has unveiled the third edition of its Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton Africa programme as part of the bank’s mandate to empower female entrepreneurs with financial and business skills,
The  Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton Africa programme  is designed to provide female owned businesses across Africa an opportunity to access finance, world-class business training  as well as mentoring opportunities.
The 2021 Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton Africa programme,which  officially kick off on June 21August 13, 2021 and will offer financial grants, an exclusive certified capacity building program and business coaching aimed at empowering women entrepreneurs.
The bank said interested female entrepreneurs are expected to have an existing business for at least one year with at least 50% female ownership and are supposed to be between the age range of 18 to 45 years.
Ayona Trimnell, Group Head, W Initiative, said: “Access Bank has been a leading advocate for women’s economic empowerment in Africa and this is the key motivation for the ‘W Initiative’ which caters to the women economy particularly in the areas of financing, capacity building and creating networking opportunities for women”.
“This year we are making the programme bigger and better by increasing the numbers to 100 women entrepreneurs who will emerge as finalists.”
She added that the programme would also be opening up to a total of nine African countries – Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, Rwanda, Mozambique, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and the Gambia”.
Online Editor by — June 26, 2021 in Banking&Finance 0
NCC Boss Advocates Improved Reading Culture

Danbatta Explains How ICT Has Impacted World Civilisation And Culture - Digital Times Nigeria
The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of NCC, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta,has expressed disgust over the  dwindling book-reading culture in Nigeria, stressing the need calling for a positive change of attitude in the nations’ reading culture.
He echoed his advocacy when the Commission joined the rest of the world to celebrate the 2021 Library Day with the theme: “Welcome to Your Library”,according  to a statement issued by Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Director, Public Affairs .
 He said while ICT has helped in digitizing a large number of hitherto hard-copy books available to people, efforts must be made to access these materials as well as other hard-copy books to read.
 He explained that the development  become germane because the knowledge economy being driven by ICT requires reading and intellectual development for further advancement.
 He emphasized the import of the library as a great resource with a variety of stocks reflecting the multi-functional structure of the Commission, the significance of which cannot be over-emphasized in the activities of the Commission as well as in a knowledge economy.
He implored private and public institutions to leverage Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to digitise their hard copy knowledge materials to make them more efficiently accessible to their workforce and external stakeholders.
 “As a regulator of a dynamic telecommunications industry, the Commission gives pride of place to library resources to ensure that it is abreast of current information, regulatory trends and international best practice in carrying out its mandate,” Danbatta said.
 The EVC further noted that it is the first ‘Library Day’ celebration holding since the establishment of the Commission’s library in 2003, noting that as an administrator and a Professor with many years of experience in the academia, he fully appreciates the role of a modern library in enabling research and new knowledge for organisational success.
 He added that the NCC’s library was established to provide the necessary literature and knowledge materials to facilitate access to learning and dissemination of information.
 “The NCC library is 18 years now and it is a cutting-edge repository of knowledge and information with over 1,000 technical books in hard and soft copies aside other materials serving both internal and external stakeholders.”
 “It is a reflection of who we are, where we are and the library stock is an indication of the diverse areas of specialisation, expertise and operations of the Commission,” the EVC said.
 While pointing out that various efforts have been made, over the years, to reposition the library to meet international standard, Danbatta noted that remarkable improvements have been made in uplifting the standard of the library not only in stocking it with latest useful books but also in terms of automation for easier accessibility.
 “The NCC has leveraged the power of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to provide the electronic section to enhance the library information system by migrating from analogue to digital, thereby enabling access to remote databases electronically. It is a learning resource that has varieties, currency, quality and content of stock,” he added.
 He emphasised the need to reinvigorate the passion for learning, which he said, will lead to new and better ways of doing things as well as better collaborations in carrying out assigned responsibilities.
 He noted that the library is critical to realising his dream of sustaining the culture of the Nigerian Communications Commission as a respected learning organisation with best-in-class employees.
Online Editor by — June 26, 2021 in IT&Telecoms 0
‘Current PIB Will Fuel More Crisis  In Gas Sector’

SNEPCO's MD Bayo Ojulari Bids Farewell - All of the Latest Oil and Gas News-Find Oil and Gas Jobs
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) has said that  the Petroleum Industry Bill could throw the gas sector into more crisis and further stunt the growth of the sector if passed into law in its current state.
Managing Director of SNEPCo, Mr. Bayo Ojulari, who disclosed this during an online forum organised by the British Nigeria Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), Ojulari stated that the PIB as it is currently is not enabling enough and not fully aligned with the direction that Nigeria has articulated around the “Decade of Gas” as propagated by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said following the condition set for exportation of gas resources by companies operating in the sector, the proposed petroleum governance bill will stifle competition.
According to him: “The terms and prices of gas development, especially for deep non-associated gas, need to be more competitive. Today, it is actually looking worse than it is in the current environment and that’s an area that has not enjoyed a level of emphasis.
“Today, the PIB does not do any justice or to help to unlock the huge potential that we have in the non-associated gas environments. With the potential of gas to power our economy, the focus should be more on competitive discuss that will stimulate gas.
“Currently, the version of the PIB that we have is not sufficient and will not enable us to incentivise investors to unlock the huge non-associated gas that we have.”
Ojulari,who spoke on the nation’s  domestic gas space, said the PIB needs  the fulfilment of domestic gas obligation as a condition to export gas, which potentially puts long-term export gas supply at risk.
He added that the country needs to move away from the “unproductive” debate about satisfying local need before shipping gas abroad.
He called for a delicate balancing between the political drive and the business needs of the PIB, saying that many of those who discuss the matter are approaching it from the point of emotions, rather than reality.
He added: “ A lot of people who talk about the gas business in the gas value chain come from the emotional side. But emotion does not create a business, emotions do not attract investors, emotions do not sign contracts.
“So, I will say that while we recognise those emotional elements, we need to create a platform where the companies and the entities that have these resources will come together in a conference facilitated by the minister of state and let us have that conversation.”
He stated that everybody is currently doing the economics of the gas sector from their own point of view, and there’s no consensus on the way forward for the gas sector in the PIB.
He wondered why the NLNG model was not adopted since it has been tested to be workable, explaining that there is sufficient gas resource that will meet both domestic and gas export.
He advocated the need for further review of the PIB to ensure that it delivers and contributes to the ambition that Nigeria has set for itself to be in the class of Qatar and Australia whose economies are largely run on revenues from gas.
He also demanded for a conference of all stakeholders, to be called by the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, to resolve the differences in the Petroleum Industry Bill.
Online Editor by — June 26, 2021 in Oil&Gas 0
Nigeria To Earn $1.2bn From Advertising Soon-FG

The Federal Government has said that it is expediting to boost the country’s advertising revenue to $1.2bn annually.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,who disclosed this in Lagos at a meeting with the Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN),said the nation barely makes $400million from advertising,adding that the development was not good enough for the stature and population of the country.
Nigeria ranks third to South Africa and Kenya in terms of revenue rating in Africa,he said,adding that it was high time the country change the narrative.
He said he would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that advertising takes its pride of place, adding that  the need to triple the advertising revenue in Nigeria through the introduction of the audience measurement system and the reform of the National Broadcasting Commission.
“We take the advertising industry seriously and that is why we included it as part of our Creative Industry. It always bothers me that with our population, we are third to South Africa and probably Kenya in terms of advertisement revenue and that today we barely make $400 million advertisement revenue and this is not good enough.
“It has always been my passionate mission to ensure that we increase revenue from advertisement in Nigeria to at least three times of what it is now because, given our population and market, there is no reason why we should not be doing better than South Africa or Kenya,” Alhaji Mohammed said.
He  commended the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) over its planned national unity campaign, describing the campaign as a ‘very patriotic move’ on the part of the association.
“What has really impressed me most today is your readiness to partner with the Federal Government to actually run a campaign on national unity. I think this is a very patriotic move, we commend it and we are very eager to partner with you.We must resist the temptation of some very selfish elite, who are giving the impression that Nigerians will not want to stay as a nation,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed said Nigerians should not allow anarchists and unpatriotic people to drive a wedge between them in order to disorganize the country for selfish reasons.
He acknowledged that there are some challenges confronting the country, especially in the areas of security and the economy, but noted that the government is working hard to fix these challenges in order to have a prosperous nation.
In his remarks, the President of the AAAN, Mr. Steve Babaeko, appealed to the Minister to give the advertising industry a pride of place, especially in accessing some intervention funds in the Central Bank of Nigeria and the enjoyment of tax holiday like other players in the Creative Industry.
He also commended the Federal Government over the appointment of Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo as the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), saying he came on board with a huge wealth of experience from the industry and that his appointment will further strengthen the relationship between the government and the advertising industry.
Online Editor by — June 26, 2021 in News 0
FG Begs Chinese To Employ More Nigerians

Ogu Nigeria's consul to Shanghai woos Longrich - P.M. News
The federal government on Wednesday urged the management of China’s health product manufacturing company, Longrich Industries, to train more Nigerians in its artificial intelligence company being constructed in Lagos.
The  Federal Government has  asked for more job placements and opportunities to qualified young Nigerian graduates who  studied in China.
It also implored  the management of China’s health product manufacturing company, Longrich Industries, to train more Nigerians in its artificial intelligence company being constructed in Lagos.
Nigeria’s Consul General to China, Chimezie Okeoma Ogu,who made the plea when he paid a visit to Xu Zhiwei,  Chairman of   Longrich industries,explained that  the gesture would promote and boost bilateral cooperation between both countries.
He said:“This would assist  the Federal  government efforts  to  address unemployment problem in the country.Longrich products are very popular in Nigeria. Every Nigerian family has Longrich products, and the country serves as the biggest market for the company in Africa and next to China in the world. The presence of the company in Nigeria has offered job and business opportunities to young men and women, who before now, were jobless.
“The introduction of the company’s novel  network of marketing strategy  have made many Nigerians  financial stable  and millionaires. Longrich can develop more excellent products to meet the needs of the Nigerian market.With the establishment and construction of Longrich industry in Lagos, it has given opportunity to the transfer of technology and skill.This is the new focus of the present administration in its  drive for  Foreign Direct Investment with its international partners”
Speaking, Chairman of Longrich Industries, Xu Zhiwei, said explained  that as part of  the company internationalization strategy, the management  has signed a contract with Nigeria’s Leki Free Trade Zone  in Lagos state through the construction  of 40,000-square-meter production line, to become the first artificial intelligence factory along the “Belt and Road” in Nigeria.
This is an important step for the realization of the national “Belt and Road” initiative by Chinese enterprises,he said,adding that  the project will not only provide Longrich overseas branch with comprehensive large supply chain, product guarantee, import and export, customs clearance and other overall services, but will also provide  all important local brands in Nigeria, as well as the entire African market.
Meanwhile,the Federal Government has expressed optimism that the forthcoming EnjoyNigeria Expo 2021 would upscale the value chain delivery of the creative, entertainment, travel, trade and cultural industries of the Nigerian economy, as it is expected to generate 100,000 jobs.
Director, Investment Department of the Federal Ministry of  Industry Trade and Investment, Mrs Kemi Arodudu, disclosed this in a statement signed by the Head of the Media Sub-committee of EnjoyNigeria EXPO, Tunde Hassan and made available to journalists in Abuja.
She  said the Expo which would assist Small and Medium Enterprises to be positioned for increased job and wealth creation as well as gain access to global markets would generate 100,000 new jobs in the creative, entertainment, cultural industries, travel and trade sectors of the economy between 2021 and 2023.
Online Editor by — June 26, 2021 in Labour/Human Resources 0