Category: Education & Innovation

Tioluwani Comfort has emerged the 2017 best graduating student with distinction in Law (LLM) at University of Wales, United Kingdom. She is a graduate of the University of Abuja where she got her first degree in law.

According to Tioluwani Comfort:

“I attribute my success to the Lord Jesus Christ because nobody receives anything on earth except it be given to him from heaven because in all fairness, I never expected that I would graduate with a distinction in LLM Law let alone graduate as the best student. Romans 9:16: “So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

I cannot claim that I read a lot but I can claim that I prayed a lot to achieve this. Thus I attribute this success to Jesus, who is the lifter of my head. The prayers of my parents also went a long way to make this happen. It symbolises the fact that Jesus still answers prayers. Also, faith in God with hard work pays.”

Winners have emerged in the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS) Competition tagged: Ennovate Naija.
Eight contestants that made the grand finale were tested on originality, feasibility, innovation, articulation, self-confidence, intellectual capacity and stage of development of idea.

• Charles Atere won the top prize of ₦350,000.
• Odunayo Adesokan and Ayoola Ogunlowo emerged second and third respectively with cash prize of ₦300,000 each.
• Ibukunoluwa Aina and  Sulaimon Bello also emerged winners with ₦250,000 respectively.

The Managing Director, NIBSS, Mr. Adebisi Shonubi said that the initiative came as a result of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) policy on cash-based transactions which stipulated a cash handling charge on daily cash withdrawals.

In his statement:
“The policy is aimed at reducing the amount of physical cash circulating, encouraging more electronic-based transactions (payments for goods, services, transfers, etc.) and to drive financial inclusion by providing more efficient transaction options and greater reach.
It is also aimed at developing and modernising the Nigerian payment system.”

He further explained that as a proactive measure to solve some of the challenge, NIBSS conceived the idea of organising an online crowd sourced contest Ennovate Naija, aimed at generating innovative ideas to drive the policy and generate solutions to overcome the present challenges.
Shonubi also pointed out that the initiative is an online contest to stimulate innovation amongst Nigerians and generate ideas on ways to enhance e-payment in Nigeria.
He further added that the contest is open to Nigerians with no age restrictions, and winners will be rewarded with cash prizes for the best 5 ideas.
The winners, in addition will be given exposure to investors who could help move their ideas forward.

Alexandra Nwigwe, Jesudunta Mercy and Akingbade Gbenga, have emerged winners of the 14th Mike Okonkwo National Essay competition initiated in the year 2004, towards contributing to the development of the education sector.

Miss Alexandra Nwigwe of Vivian Fowler Memorial College Lagos emerged the overall winner for the Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition for secondary school students for the year 2017, with 90 percent in the first round and 80 percent in the second round of the competition.

Continue reading Winners of Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition [2017]

JSP Communications has been awarded the most creative PR agency in West Africa by the West Africa Innovation Awards.

The West Africa Innovation Awards ceremony, which took place in Abuja followed an in-depth examination of the top public relations agencies in the West African sub continent, based on specific yardsticks and an international benchmark. 

According to Adeniyi Olusola, the Project Head of the West Africa Innovation Award, the initiative was based on the need to identify and uplift PR agencies and service providers in West Africa, who think strategically, execute diligently and add a touch of intellect to their service offering.

In his words:

“This award was borne out of the need we felt to recognize and highlight as models, agencies that have not only made an impact in their industry sectors but have also demonstrated a clear commitment to the spirit of innovation, creativity and holistic client satisfaction in West Africa.

We recognize JSP Communications in this direction and lift them up as models in the provision of trusted, consistent and innovative public relations services in Nigeria and West Africa. We challenge JSP and indeed all the award winners to constantly raise their, be exemplary and remain committed to the spirit of excellence, creativity and integrity.”

Speaking after the award presentation, the management of JSP PR company, represented by Executive Director Ronke Adebule, said:

“We feel highly honoured but humbled by this award. We realize that staying at the top can be much tougher than getting there. At JSP, we shall continue to make every effort to work as a team in our relentless desire to constantly exceed our clients expectations.”

The Global Adviser of JSP Communications, Phil Osagie, also noted that:

“In the new world order, the brain is the factory of the future. To remain a leader and a strong influencer, JSP must benchmark itself against the best global PR practices and strive to constantly redefine the PR playing field in Nigeria and West Africa.”

The West African Countries covered in the search scope included Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra-Leone, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Togo, Senegal, Mali, Guinea Bissau, and Cameroon. Some of the other category winners are:

Zenith Pensions Nigeria, Phoenix Insurance Ghana, Big &Bold, Insel, Heidelberg Cement, Halogen Security, Sierra-Leone Port Authority, Portland Paints & Products, and Russelsmith Group.

According to the Head, Public Relations, Thomas Odemwingie of Nigeria’s procurement oversight agency, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), the Bureau has won a Government Innovation Award for pioneering project to ensure openness in government business transactions. The award was announced in London following the Open Contracting Innovation Challenge.

BPP won the award for its initiative to collaborate with civil society and business to use open data sources and make information about the country’s public procurement system more accessible, transparent and accountable to the public.

The competition was run by the Washington DC-based Open Contracting Partnership and the London-based Open Data Institute and was funded by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.

According to Mr. Odemwingie:

“The innovation challenge honours original ideas for managing, analysing, and monitoring how the government procures goods and services as well as cutting-edge approaches to publishing what is procured, when, from whom, and for how much.

As winners of the Government Innovation Award, BPP will receive mentoring and expert support to accelerate the progress and execution of its innovation, which is the first-ever unified public procurement approach, the Nigerian Open Contracting Portal (NOCOPO).

It will also improve transparency to prevent corruption, enhance active citizen participation and feedback towards achieving better service delivery and increase ease of doing business in Nigeria.”

He further said an international panel of seven experts used potential for impact, use of open data, sustainability and the team as criteria to evaluate entries.

88 teams from 40 countries and every continent responded to a series of questions on how to use data to strengthen the integrity and effectiveness of public procurement.

Mr. Odemwingie said the portal would publish open data from over 750 government agencies to the Open Contracting Data Standard.

He said finalists from the non-government sector each received 5,000 dollars in prize money to further develop their projects, while the final pitch for the grand prize of 30,000 dollars would be in September 2017.

He said winners in the various categories of competition and the grand prize winner would be honoured at Open Contracting 2017, a global meeting for open contracting innovators from around the world in Amsterdam in November 2017.

Mr. Odemwingie said as part of its commitment to e-Government Procurement, Nigeria’s involvement in the open contracting initiative began in May 2016 at the London Anti-Corruption Summit.

He said there, President Muhammadu Buhari committed the country to actions to deepen the administration’s anti-corruption reform.

He quoted the Director-General of BPP, Mamman Ahmadu, as saying that:

“The award indicates global appreciation of the country’s commitment to transparency and accountability in its anti-corruption drive.

Given that public procurement is a tool for good governance, Nigerians should expect an improved public procurement system to have a huge impact on the nation’s recovery from economic recession in quick time”.

Gavin Hayman, Executive Director, Open Contracting Partnership, said the organisation was impressed with what the innovators did to make contracting better.

Samiat Owo-Alade, has emerged the best-graduating pharmacy student with the highest score of 75.5 per cent at the Rajiv Ghandi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka, India [2016/2017].

According to her:

“I waited for two years despite having my West African Examinations Council, National Examination Council and the General Certificate of Education results. I was so ashamed of myself after some of my mates had gained admission. Sometimes, I asked myself, ‘Why me?’ I tried all I could just to pass the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. I attended coaching classes, even when I knew I shouldn’t have been there. At a point, I had to learn a trade. It was a trying period for me as a young girl, yet I relied on God. Two years later, my prayer was answered. I gained admission to study in a university in India.

I intend to have an industry, with a standard research and development centre that will involve animals and human volunteers. I realise that Nigerians lack continuous research. Our government does not encourage research.”