Business

2019: SOUTH WEST YOUTHS ENDORSE UPN

Published

7 years ago

October 6, 2017

Caption: L-R: World President, YOSA, USA, Otunba Soji Adeyemi (standing), UPN National Chairman, Professor Bankole Okuwa, and YOSA National Coordinator, Comrade Eric Oluwole during a press conference in Lagos on Thursday…. Photo: Michael Ogunsiji

Micheal Azeez Ogunsiji, Abeokuta

Youths across the country have declared their readiness to hijack the political structure from Nigerian politicians in order to actualize their political agitation.

The youths under the aegis of “Youths Occupy State Assembly” (YOSA) 2019 on Thursday in Lagos unanimously adopted the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) as a credible political party in Nigeria with youths oriented programmes as encapsulated in the late Obafemi Awolowo’s political agenda in the old western region.

While addressing journalists, the National Coordinator who doubles as the National President, Yoruba Youths Council of Nigeria (YYCN), Comrade Eric Oluwole stated that, the Youth Occupy State Assembly was imperative to fight against the stumbled political system and challenge the old politicians with the motive to reposition the bastardized political system in Nigeria through dutiful involvement in governance and other related governmental affairs.

Comrade Oluwole emphasized that, there resolved in choosing UPN as a political party for the youths was based on the ideologies and philosophy of the late pioneer Premier of the Western region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s political agenda which include; free education, free and qualitative healthcare service, gainful employment, integrated rural development among others.

Oluwole who commended the National Assembly for the recent enactment of the #nottooyoungtorun bill, stressed that their resolve to occupy the political space was to remodify the leadership mandate that has become a bottleneck in delivery of good governance to the Nigerian masses.

He further stated that, their resolved in choosing UPN as a political party for the youths was based on the ideologies and philosophy of the party in the old Western region, urging all other youth assemblies in the country to join the movement for a better Nigeria.

“Hoping to familiarize our thoughts via our general decisions within the ambit of the fundamental rule of law, which ascertained the right to lawful assembly and the freedom of speech, we the teeming members of various youths platforms in South-West, Nigeria who are politically imbued have come under the aegis of Youth Occupy State Assemblies (YOSA) 2019 to rise against the stumbled political system and challenge the old politicians with the motive to reposition the bastardized political system in Nigeria through our dutiful involvement in governance and other related governmental affairs. It is on this premise, we have decided to adopt Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), as the only credible and youth oriented party to be occupied and endorsed for youths political agitation.

“We have chosen the State House of Assemblies as our steppingstone to exhibit our political potentials in order to meet up with the overriding challenges of good governance, misappropriation of funds and high inflation of contracts by the executive arms at the detriment of the states and the common masses in Nigeria.

“Therefore, such aforementioned development suited our decision to merge our interest and to embrace the dignified principles of Awolowo, to serve, implement human based project and to stabilize the society via the recognition of the youths and the repositioning of governmental structures”.

Also speaking, the World President, Youth Occupy State Assembly, USA, Otunba Soji Adeyemi lampooned Nigerian politicians for not providing a healthy platform for the youths to take the centre stage in the political spectrum of the country, stressing the need for more proactive steps to be taken by the youths.

Otunba Adeyemi noted that, the youths movement have the full support of UPN leadership in Nigeria and its ready to give full autonomy to support any youth who are willing to contest on the platform of the youth assembly in the country.

He affirmed that, the youths assembly consensually agreed to adopt UPN as a result of its campaign for free education and free health programme in the country.

In his own remark, the UPN National Chairman, Professor Bankole Okuwa commended the youth assembly for their tenacity and belief in the political party, promising to hand over the structure of the party to them if proven capable and readiness to take the leadership mantle of the country.

Professor Okuwa therefore, declared that, the UPN nomination ticket is free for any youth contesting under the Youth Occupy Assembly in 2019 across country irrespective of their political affiliation.

“The step you have taken today will redefine the political history of Nigeria. It is high time we allow the youths to take the centre of political leadership this country.

“That is why UPN as a political party, is ready to hand over the party to the vibrant youths who are politically inclined to take up the leadership mantle.”.

Business

Wema Bank Announces Grand Finale of Hackaholics 5.0: Set to Reward Winners With ₦75 Million Worth of Prizes

Published

1 hour ago

November 15, 2024

Sahara Weekly

*Wema Bank Announces Grand Finale of Hackaholics 5.0: Set to Reward Winners With ₦75 Million Worth of Prizes

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s foremost innovative financial institution and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has announced the grand finale of the 5th edition of its flagship youth and startup-focused tech competition, Hackaholics.

Launched in 2019, Wema Hackaholics is a groundbreaking initiative designed to harness the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of Nigeria’s youth, providing them with a platform to turn their tech-driven ideas into reality. The highly anticipated Hackaholics 5.0 grand finale will take place on November 27th, 2024, under the theme, “Meta Idea: Capitalizing Africa’s Growth Through Innovation.” This year’s theme aims to showcase how tech-driven solutions can fuel Africa’s development by tapping into the continent’s growth potential through innovation and digital transformation.

The grand finale will bring together the brightest innovators from universities and tech communities across the country. These innovators will pitch their Digi-Tech solutions designed to solve real-world problems and contribute to Africa’s economic and social progress. The event promises to be the culmination of months of intensive competition, collaboration, and mentorship, providing a platform for youth-led tech ideas to reach new heights.

Announcing the date of the grand finale, Moruf Oseni, MD/CEO of Wema Bank, highlighted the bank’s vision for Hackaholics. “Hackaholics is more than a competition; it is a movement to equip Nigeria’s youth with the skills, networks, and resources needed to drive Africa’s digital transformation. The Meta Idea theme for this year is a call to action for young innovators to think beyond the present and design solutions that will capitalize on Africa’s growth. We are excited to see how our participants envision and build the Africa of tomorrow.”

Speaking on the prizes, the MD/CEO said “At the grand finale, participants will compete for exciting cash prizes, grants, and access to Wema Bank’s extensive network of investors, mentors, and industry experts. The total worth of prizes for this year is ₦75,000,000. The winning team will receive ₦30,000,000, the first runner-up will receive ₦20,000,000 and the second runner-up will receive ₦15,000,000 worth of prizes. Additionally, we will be awarding a special grant of ₦10,000,000 worth of prizes to the female-led team to encourage gender diversity in tech innovation.” He concluded.

Wema Bank’s Hackaholics is a testament to the Bank’s commitment to shaping Africa’s future through innovation and entrepreneurship. Hackaholics 5.0 began with a nationwide call for entries earlier in the year and has engaged over 10,000 aspiring tech innovators and entrepreneurs across Nigeria. With 2,297 applications across 8 physical pitch centers and 1 virtual pitch center, 34 innovators across all locations are set to pitch their ideas at the pre-pitch stage ahead of the grand finale scheduled to hold in Lagos.

Through Hackaholics, Wema Bank has provided a platform for youth to channel their creativity and entrepreneurial spirit into actionable tech solutions that address Africa’s most pressing challenges. Over the years, Hackaholics has grown into one of the largest and most influential tech competitions in Nigeria, impacting thousands of young minds.

The competition not only offers winners cash prizes and grants, but also access to mentorship, industry networks, and resources to help scale their innovations globally. This initiative is a key part of Wema Bank’s broader strategy to harness technology as a driver of socio-economic growth in Africa.
Interested individuals can register to attend the grand finale via https://hackaholics.wemabank.com/grandfinale

Business

ATMs empty as banks ration withdrawals

Published

1 day ago

November 14, 2024

Sahara Weekly

ATMs empty as banks ration withdrawals

The Automated Teller Machines of Deposit Money Banks have consistently remained empty in recent months as banks grapple with a sustained low cash supply.

It was also gathered on Wednesday that some DMBs, particularly in the Federal Capital Territory, have begun another round of cash rationing, restricting maximum over-the-counter withdrawals to a daily limit between N5,000 and N20,000.

While banks struggle to get cash, Point-of-Sales operators have been fulfilling the cash needs of customers.

Speaking at the Facts Behind the Rights Issue Presentation of FBN Holdings at the Nigerian Exchange Limited recently, the Executive Director/Chief Financial Officer of First Bank, Patrick Iyamabo, said that the matter was an industry-wide one and not peculiar to a specific bank.

He said, “It is an industry problem. Most customers after exhausting the options available in other banks, tend to settle at FirstBank to address their cash needs. The challenge differs by location but we know it is a challenge that the regulator is looking into to address. But as we speak of physical cash, we must appreciate that the direction of the industry is to go digital.

“A lot of our customers do most of their transactions digitally, and you heard the GMD speak to this, very often people don’t want to transact in cash. In terms of this new order, your bank, FirstBank is very well positioned so if you look at the statistics and I’m speaking to independent statistics, just pick up your NIBSS report, the bank with the most stable platform meaning availability to always transact digitally is FirstBank. So, all our customers have the benefits of having their cash in First Bank and having access to this cash anytime anywhere and as necessary. It’s a huge advantage.”

Speaking anonymously with The PUNCH, a banker at a tier-1 bank put the blame on the Central Bank of Nigeria.

As a result, many people have turned to Point-of-Sale operators, who have become the primary channel for cash withdrawals, albeit often at higher transaction fees.

Major commercial banks visited by one of our correspondents on Wednesday claimed not to have sufficient cash allocation hence the ration withdrawals to serve more customers.

The banks visited include Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank along Airport Road, and EcoBank at Jabi in Abuja.

A bank customer at EcoBank, who spoke without mentioning her name, said she was only allowed to withdraw N5,000 from N20,000 previously allowed.

“I was just informed that I can only withdraw N5,000 from my account. Can you imagine? The amount will can’t even take me home.”

Our correspondent received the same answer when he attempted to obtain cash.

At GTBank and Zenith Bank along the airport road, customers were permitted a maximum withdrawal of N20,000 from N100,000 previously disbursed as a daily limit.

A customer, Mr Faith, who visited the bank expressed shock about the new limit. He said the banks didn’t give any cogent reason for reducing the withdrawal limit.

“I just visited these banks, and I was informed that I can only withdraw N20,000 from N100,000, which was the previous limit. They didn’t even give any reason for reducing, now I have to start looking for cash elsewhere. This country is just so annoying,” He vented.

Cash scarcity became a recurring and widespread issue across Nigeria after the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced a controversial policy in January 2023, which significantly reduced the daily and weekly cash withdrawal limits to N100,000 daily, N500,000 weekly for individuals, and N5m for business entities.

This decision, aimed at encouraging a cashless economy, led to long queues at ATMs, increased difficulty in accessing physical cash, and a general disruption of daily financial transactions for millions of Nigerians.

The policy’s impact was felt particularly by those in rural areas and lower-income groups, who rely heavily on cash for their day-to-day needs, exacerbating economic hardships across the country.

Last week, data from the CBN showed that currency in circulation climbed 56.1 per cent year-on-year to reach N4.31tn, up from N2.76tn in September 2023, reflecting an increase of N1.55tn.

This is just as currency outside banks surged by 66.2 per cent in September 2024, reaching N4.02tn compared to N2.42tn in September 2023, a notable rise of N1.60tn in just one year.

This indicates that the volume of currency retained outside the banking sector outpaced the total released for circulation within the past year.

Compared to August 2024, currency in circulation rose by 4.0 per cent month-on-month, adding N166.2bn from the previous figure of N4.14tn.

The CIC is the amount of cash–in the form of paper notes or coins–within a country that is physically used to conduct transactions between consumers and businesses. It represents the money that has been issued by the country’s monetary authority, minus cash that has been removed from the system.

Earlier in September, the CBN announced plans to sanction banks that fail to dispense cash through their automated teller machines, as part of efforts to improve cash availability in circulation.

The CBN also revealed plans to release an additional N1.4tn into circulation over the next three months to ease cash flow within the banking system.

This strategy aims to ensure that ATMs and bank branches have sufficient cash, addressing ongoing challenges faced by customers over cash shortages.

Efforts to get a reaction from the apex bank on the new situation proved abortive as the acting Director, Corporate Communications, Sidi Ali Hakama, did not respond to enquiries sent to her phone number.

Business

NNPCL Makes New Leadership Appointments

Published

1 day ago

November 14, 2024

Sahara Weekly

NNPCL Makes New Leadership Appointments

The Board of Directors of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has just made fresh leadership appointments.

A communication by Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the nation’s oil company, announcing the development reads…

The Board of Directors of NNPC Limited is pleased to announce a series of strategic leadership appointments. These changes
reflect our continued dedication to enhancing corporate governance, improving operational efficiency, and ensuring long-term success in Nigeria’s energy sector.

The following key appointments have been made:
1. Mr. Adedapo A. Segun has been appointed as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Mr. Segun previously served as the Executive Vice President, Downstream, where he made significant contributions to the company’s downstream operations.
2. Mr. Isiyaku Abdullahi has been named Executive Vice President (EVP), Downstream.
3. Mr. Udobong Ntia has been appointed Executive Vice President (EVP), Upstream.

These appointments align with NNPC Limited’s commitment to building a unified and competent leadership team to drive operational excellence and support the organization’s strategic objectives.

The Board and Management also extend their deepest appreciation to Mr. Umar Ajiya and Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa A. Eyesan for their outstanding dedication and service to NNPC Limited.

NNPC Limited remains committed to achieving operational excellence, enhancing global competitiveness, and ensuring financial sustainability, while prioritizing the interests of the Nigerian public in the petroleum industry.

Olufemi Soneye
Chief Corporate Communications Officer
NNPC Limited
November 13, 2024S