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FIRSTBANK DECEMBERISSAVYBE: TOP 11 EVENTS TO ROCK YOUR DECEMBER

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FirstBank has announced that its FirstEdu product designed to put schools at an advantage in the financing of capital projects such as the acquisition of new property, school expansion and reconstruction has been remodeled to a period of up to a maximum tenor of 48 months.
  • FIRSTBANK DECEMBERISSAVYBE:  TOP 11 EVENTS TO ROCK YOUR DECEMBER

Whenever the conversation is on financial inclusion in Nigeria, FirstBank leads the pack. With over 150,000 banking agents, a full digital banking centre and other innovative solutions, the nation’s premier bank is surely doing a great job connecting Nigerians with access to convenient banking products and services.

But that’s not all. FirstBank is also enabling Nigerians to have the best of the yuletide and holiday season year in year out. The bank is aiding its customers to create exciting memories and enjoy fun time with family and friends through their participation in glamorous musical shows, comedy, dance, drama and other entertainment from A-list superstars and performers.

This is being coordinated via the FirstBank DecemberIssavybe initiative as it bankrolls top entertainment events for maximum pleasure throughout the month of December.

To enjoy the premium concerts, stage plays, fashion and food events; lucky customers and followers of the Bank’s social media pages – Facebook: First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Instagram: @firstbanknigeria should look out for posts on how to participate in the ticket giveaways.

Here are top 11 events that FirstBank is powering to rock your December.

BURNA BOY LAGOS CONCERT

Nigerian Grammy Award winning superstar, Burna Boy will at the Eko Convention Centre on Monday December 27lead other top singers to thrill music fans with many monster hit songs like Kilometre, Questions, Ye, Want It All and others.

DAVIDO 10TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY CONCERT

Davido aka OBO will on Friday December 24, shut Lagos down at his 10th year anniversary concert at the glamorous Eko Convention Centre. David has been in the news for his extreme generosity which has got his fans loving up on him. The show will feature many other superstars.

MAMMA MIA, THE SMASH HIT MUSICAL

A 65 member (All Nigerian) cast and crew licensed adaptation of the global show live in Lagos showing between December 29, 2021 and Jan 2, 2022. It’s a show for the whole family; not just as the Only jukebox musical in Lagos this Christmas; it’s absolutely THE most “Ridiculously enjoyable” show to watch this holiday.

An adaptation of the original musical created in 1998 by British theatre producer Judith Cramer, who engaged British playwright Catherine Johnson, to write a story woven around the multiple hit songs of Swedish pop group ABBA, composed by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. The original story was carefully and skillfully adapted with a Nigerian nuance by seasoned theatre director Najite Dede. The Nigerian production is woven with shades of cultural colours, which are visible not just in the language and gesture but also in the costume, choreography and characteristics, while the original soundtracks remains the same, this production infuses Abba’s music with local drums and percussions to deliver a distinctive Nigerian edition, resulting in an ecstatic euphoria from the Audience!

A TRUE CHRISTMAS STORY BY LIVE THEATRE

Live Theatre Lagos presents a musical stage play titled ‘A TrueChristmas Story’ which is an adaptation of the popular nativity story. This musical speculates how Joseph met Mary and the events leading to the birth of Jesus situating the story in our contemporary African milieu. The romantic comedy explores the themes of love, commitment, devotion and communality. Christmas is a globally enjoyed holiday that traverses religion, gender and age, and the play, A True Christmas Story captures the essence of the holiday which is love and sharing. This free-to- attend play provides fun for the audience and empowerment for the Cast and Crew.

#ATXS would feature brilliant thespians like Hafiz Oyetoro (Saka), Akah Nnani, NeduWazobiaFM. This epic theatre is interspersed with dance and spectacular music renditions ranging from Ballet to Soul, Acapella, Fuji, High Life, Funk, Galala, Shaku-Shaku and Hip-Hop. It held between 16th and 18th December, 2021.

AFRICA FASHION WEEK

Africa Fashion Week Initiative of Nigeria is a catwalk, exhibition and learning platform designed for the promotion of fresh and emerging designers. Africa Fashion Week Nigeria aims to revive the decline of local textile industries in Nigeria by the opening of the Adire Oodua Textile Hub in Ile-Ife, Osun State Nigeria.

The Adire Hub which was opened in March 2021, facilitates the production of natural dyes, locally sourced materials, old ancient methods, new technology to create Adire pieces. The Hub provides training to low-income women and youth in Ile-Ife and its environs. The Hub enables us to promote circular economies – from farm to fabric to fashion, to financing SMEs.

CULTURATI 2021 – THE AFRICA ENTERTAINMENT FESTIVAL

CULTURATI, is a high-status fusion of cultural event, exhibition and award brand – cleverly tailored toward recognizing the tireless contributions of art luminaries in different creative endeavours. The 2021 edition held on 3 December at the Balmoral Centre, Federal Palace Hotel.

 FIRST VIOLA – BLACK TIE CHRISTMAS

The Black Tie Christmas Concert is a charitable event convened to raise funds for the music education of the underprivileged children in orphanages that are of primary and secondary school age. The event was held on 19th December at the Agip Recital Hall, Muson Centre, Lagos.

THE LIVESPOT X-FESTIVAL XPERIENCE

TheLivespotX Festival is a multi-day hybrid convergence of everything X-traordinary, X-citing and X-clusive, thatcelebratesurban pop-culture.We’re bringing adynamicX-periencethat is fully compliant with the current pandemic era we live in and targeted at a diverse audience with each concert day tailor-made to suit each group of attendees.

The festival includes a string of hybrid events (physical & virtual) that feature headline acts performing live, pristine sound, world-class lighting, immersive experiences, exotic cuisine and much more. It is designed to meet and exceed the entertainment cravings of Nigerians especially during DettyDecember

MAINLAND LAUGHS

In a very crowded entertainment market, Mainland laffs offers a refreshing approach to family entertainment. With this second edition, ML is establishing its number 1 position as the only comedy show in the country that is safe for parents and their wards. Tagged Family Comedy Show, it enables the entire family will enjoy an evening of fun, laughter and entertainment with a variety of children virtuoso and comedic performances, stage plays, comic interludes and much more…. Mainland laffs is a vision of the Trevent Company, and it is one of the fastest growing family entertainment events in Nigeria. The event took place on 5 December at D’Podium International Event Centre, off Adeniyi Jones, Lagos

FUJI OPERA 

Fuji: A Opera explores the music genre and its sub-culture through archive footage, costume, memorabilia, and imagery. Fuji music takes centre stage at the maiden edition of Fuji: A Opera, which kicks off on Monday at the Alliance Francaise de Lagos/The Mike Adenuga Centre, Ikoyi, Lagos. Pioneering Fuji founders such as General Ayinla Kollington, K1 De Ultimate, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall, and other icons add colour at the commencement of the week-long event.

KOFFI THE GURU, I STAND CORRECTED (ISC)

I Stand to Be Corrected is a stand-up comedy special targeted at the urban audience. Koffi Idowu-Nuel does a solo routine on subjects that relate on family, love, politics, education etc. The event held on the 11th of December at The Terra Kulture in Victoria Island.

Written by Bolaji Israel

Bank

ZENITH BANK REWARDS HACKATHON WINNERS WITH N77.5M CASH PRIZE AT ZENITH TECH FAIR 4.0

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ZENITH BANK REWARDS HACKATHON WINNERS WITH N77.5M CASH PRIZE AT ZENITH TECH FAIR 4.0

 

A total sum of N77.5 million in prize money was won at the end of a keenly contested hackathon session at the Fourth Edition of the Zenith Tech Fair, themed “Future Forward 4.0: Embedded Finance, Cybersecurity & Growth Imperatives – The Impact of AI “, which held on Thursday, November 21, 2024, at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The prize money was shared among ten finalists who emerged from the over 1,700 contestants that took part in the hackathon, with JumpnPass, a self-checkout technology solution reshaping the retail landscape in Africa emerging as the overall winner and taking home the grand prize of N25 million. This is in addition to a six-week mentorship and incubation program designed to help them grow and scale effectively, which will run from December 2024 to February 2025.

The first runner-up, CreditChek, a credit and verification service provider which leverages AI and open banking to streamline income and credit history verification for financial institutions, won N20 million and a mentorship programme, while the second runner-up, Salad Africa, a start-up which offers seamless integration of credit products for digital platforms and software companies won N15 million as well as a mentorship programme. Other finalists who took home N2.5million each include Regxta, CashAfrica, Middleman, Messenger, Pocketfood, Famasi Africa, Kitovu.

Earlier during the programme, the Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, OON, in her welcome address expressed her appreciation to the Founder & Chairman, Dr Jim Ovia, CFR, for birthing the idea that led to the establishment of the Tech Fair initiative 5 years ago, she thanked him for his vision and foresight in utilizing technology to revolutionize the world of business and banking.

Commenting on the Hackathon, she said, “This prestigious annual event was created to empower and nurture young fertile minds. We hope to produce the likes of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs and Elon Musk from the Zenith Bank Hackathons in the nearest future. According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, 70% of Nigeria’s population are youths which is an economic asset when properly harnessed. This is part of the reason why Zenith Bank is hosting this event to support the development of technology startups. Their success not only fosters innovation and growth in Nigeria, but it also plays a vital role in creating employment opportunities for our youth.” She also stressed on the importance of innovation and embedded finance in ensuring strong and enduring institutions. According to her, “it is paramount that we adapt and adopt technology to stay ahead of the curve. We have seen various cases of companies that failed because of their lack of innovation. It is quite obvious that when companies fail to innovate; they can easily be displaced, so this is not the time to be orthodox, innovation should be a top priority for us.”

In his goodwill message, The Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu called for a global approach to doing business in the country. According to him, “What we need to do is to be able to enhance our product and services in order to compete in the world. We can’t continue to act local, we need to think global. Anything that we’re doing now, we need to be able to know that we are not just serving a local market, we actually want to serve the global market, and that’s why I’m glad that consistently, for the past four years, I have kept up with the Zenith Tech Fair. I am sure 5.0 should be bigger and better than what we have today, but for us as a government, what we need to do is to continue to use platforms like this to reassure you of our readiness to provide an enabling environment for your ideas and innovative solutions.”

Described as a huge success by participants, the Fair featured the launch of the bank’s digital wallet, EazyByZenith, which will help to support the bank’s retail and financial inclusion strategy. The fair also included presentations on the leading technological innovations that cut across different aspects of life, such as Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Risk Management, Compliance, Financial Intelligence, Cloud Computing and Communication Technologies, with the keynote address, “Banking Transformation in a Digital World”, delivered by Robin Speculand, a renowned Strategy & Digital Implementation Specialist.

The event also featured goodwill messages by Jim Ovia, CFR, Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank; His Excellency, Hon. Kashim Shettima, GCON, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (represented by Dr. Tope Fasua, Special Adviser to the Presidency on Economic Matters). Other eminent IT practitioners from top global brands who also made presentations include; Robin Speculand, renowned Strategy & Digital Implementation Specialist; Danilo McGarry, Global Expert on Digital Transformation and AI; Jania Okwechime, Partner, Africa, AI & Data Leader, Deloitte; Rupert Nicolay, Director, Microsoft Worldwide Financial Services.

The panel session had Wole Odeyele, Client Technology Lead for Microsoft Inc. as its host, and featured six discussants including Ada Jabaru, Founder & Director, Nistad Limited; Funke Opeke, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, MainOne; Guy Futi, Chief Executive Officer, Orda; Dr Auwal Adam Sa’ad, Founder, ZamzamPay; Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and Engr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote, Director General/Chief Executive Officer, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

The Zenith Bank startup pitch competition and incubation program seeks to identify and fast-track the growth of high-potential Nigerian startups innovating in key sectors, including Embedded Finance, Cybersecurity, Fintech, HealthTech, Agritech, E-commerce, and more. The program provides an ideal platform for startups to showcase their groundbreaking ideas and gain access to invaluable resources to scale their businesses.

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NEW BPP DG COMMITS TO EFFICIENCY AND STAFF WELFARE FOR IMPACTFUL SERVICE DELIVERY

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NEW BPP DG COMMITS TO EFFICIENCY AND STAFF WELFARE FOR IMPACTFUL SERVICE DELIVERY*

*_…begins review of bureau processes to enhance government procurement systems_*

The Director General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr Adebowale Adedokun, has outlined his vision to drive efficiency, enhance staff welfare, and reinforce the Bureau’s regulatory mandate in alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s renewed hope mandate and his commitment to improving Nigeria’s economy. This was made known during an interactive session with staff of the Bureau at the State House Banquet Hall on November 20, 2024. Dr Adedokun emphasised the urgency of delivering results as well as improving trust in the government procurement system to support President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, declaring, “Let us work together to get value for money for Nigeria’s developmental processes and achieve President Tinubu’s mandate of making Nigeria’s economy better.”

Furthermore, in a bid to strengthen operational efficiency, the DG also announced key reforms, including introducing Service Level Agreements for the bureau’s processes ensuring that letters are treated within 3 (three) days, and ensuring reports are completed within 14 (fourteen) days. He also highlighted plans to secure a sustainable budget that would improve the working environment and provide better welfare for staff.

Dr Adedokun firmly stated the Bureau’s resolve to uphold its regulatory integrity under his watch. He warned that officers are prohibited from visiting Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) unless on official assignments stressing the need for officers of the Bureau to stay above board. He further declared that contractors are no longer allowed within the Bureau’s premises to ensure that officers can perform their duties without undue interference and influence.

Calling for a collaborative approach, the DG urged staff to embody the Bureau’s regulatory values by adhering to procurement guidelines, avoiding delays, and striving for excellence. “As a regulator, you must be seen to be guided by the procurement process,” he stated. He assured the team of an open-door policy, encouraging innovative ideas that could propel the Bureau to greater heights.

The session also featured a visit from former DG, Engr. Emeka Ezeh, OFR, FNSE, who led the Bureau from 2009 to 2016. Engr. Ezeh commended President Tinubu for appointing Dr Adedokun and urged staff to provide their full support to the new leadership. He encouraged staff to focus on leaving a legacy of excellence, saying, “Work in a way that you will be celebrated wherever you go in life.”

Senior Directors, including Engr. Nasir Bello and Engr. Isaiah Yesufu reiterated the importance of supporting the DG’s vision while emphasizing adherence to the Bureau’s operational guidelines. Staff also welcomed the session, sharing their perspectives on improving the Bureau’s operations and pledging their support for the new leadership.

In a related development, Dr Adedokun sought collaboration with the Presidential Office of Digital Engagement and Strategy (PODES) led by its Head, Mr O’tega Ogra, who is also the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital/New Media, during a courtesy visit to his office on November 21, 2024. The DG emphasized the need to enhance the Bureau’s public engagement and visibility in line with the all-of-government communications approach being espoused by the PODES.

Mr Ogra congratulated Dr Adedokun on his appointment and highlighted the key role BPP plays in advancing Nigeria’s development agenda. O’tega further expressed his commitment to collaborating with the Bureau in amplifying its communication efforts and ensuring Nigerians understand and appreciate its critical role in national governance.

Dr Adedokun’s leadership marks a new chapter for the Bureau of Public Procurement, focused on accountability, efficiency, and impactful service delivery. His vision aligns seamlessly with the Federal Government’s goals of economic transformation and sustainable development as well as President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda.

Janet McDickson
Director, Information & Public Relations/Head, Media-BPP

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Abducted Rivers bizman rescued, suspected robber arrested

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Abducted Rivers bizman rescued, suspected robber arrested

 

The Rivers State Police Command said its men rescued a businessman identified as Julius Madabuchi, who was kidnapped by a four-man gang at a filling station in the Oyigbo Local Government Area of the state.

The police said the man was abducted when the miscreants who were driving in a Black Toyota car stormed the area and started shooting discriminately before executing their plan.

The rescue of the man, the police said, followed a distress call sent to the command control room about the activities of the hoodlums on November 17 and immediately mobilised operatives to the scene, saying the abductors engaged the police in a shootout.

The spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, disclosed this in a statement issued in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, on Wednesday.

 

The statement reads, “On the 17th of November, 2014, at about 2023hrs, operatives of the command received a distress call from the Room indicating that a gang of armed men numbering about four operating in a Black colour Toyota Corolla car shot sporadically and kidnapped one Madabuchi Julius at Sabbath Filling Station, Oyigbo.

“Operatives were swiftly mobilised to the scene and the hoodlums on sighting the police operatives drove off, but they were given a hot chase by the operatives and subsequently intercepted along Egbu Street, Oyigbo and a gun duel ensued between the operatives and the hoodlums.

“The hoodlums could not withstand the police’s superior firepower and eventually abandoned the victim and their operational vehicle with registration number RIVERS PHC 938 AH and escaped. The victim was rescued unhurt and the vehicle recovered. He has since reunited with his family.”

 

The state police image maker however said an investigation is ongoing while concerted efforts are being intensified to apprehend other fleeing members of the gang and recover their operational weapons.

In a related development, Iringe-Koko said the following day, precisely on Monday, operatives of the command acted on credible information, coordinated a covert operation at the St Lorinta Street, Oyigbo and arrested one Gabriel Morris, aged 25, at Mercy Ground in Kom-Kom, Oyigbo LGA of the State.

The state police spokesperson stated, “During interrogation, the suspect confessed to being a member of a syndicate that had been terrorising Oyigbo and its environs in recent times.

 

Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police, listed items recovered from the suspect including one locally made pistol and a quantity of weeds suspected to be Indian hemp.

She added, “Investigation is ongoing, while concerted efforts are intensified to apprehend other fleeing members of the syndicate.

“This successful operation further demonstrates the effectiveness of the Rivers State Police Command in combating kidnapping and all other forms of crime in the state.”

 

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