CNN African Voices Honours Funke Akindele-Bello

Nigerian actress, movie producer and script writer, Funke Akindele-Bello aka Jenifa is being celebrated in the CNN African Voices, sponsored by Nigeria’s foremost telecommunications operator, Globacom.

Funke Akindele-Bello is best known for her portrayal of Jenifa – in the prominent Nigerian TV comedy show – ‘Jenifa Diary’.
Now working on a new TV drama, which examines the music industry in Nigeria, called ‘Industreet’, Akindele has also founded ‘Jenifa’s Foundation.’ Explaining the programme’s work, she said,

1,200 Children Win Ribena Good Values Awards 2017

1,200 children have emerged recipients of awards for good values in the maiden edition of the Ribena Good Values Awards, an initiative of Ribena, one of the leading nutritional fruit drinks from the stables of Suntory Beverage and Food Nigeria Ltd.

The Ribena Good Values Awards Program is an intra-school program aimed at entrenching good values and healthy living among young ones in schools across Nigeria.

Selected from various participating schools, the 1,200 children were awarded on a pedigree of the good values and exemplary character they have inculcated from The Ribena Bridges to Goodness School Project. Two awardees each were selected from over 600 private schools in Lagos making the total of 1,200 children awarded as worthy ambassadors of Ribena good values and character program.

The Ribena Bridges to Goodness School Project was birthed out of the recently launched new brand positioning campaign of Ribena – ‘Goodness made Fun’. A campaign launched in an effort to inspire children to make the right value-based choices that would mould them into better individuals and citizens in future and have fun while doing so.

First Bank Is Re-elected Into PCI SSC Board of Directors [2017]

First Bank of Nigeria Limited has been re-elected into the Board of Advisors of the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) for the third consecutive time, a reaffirmation of its leadership position in corporate governance and risk management.

The PCI SSC is an open, global forum for the development of payment card security standards which works with organisations around the world to protect businesses and consumers against data theft by continuously developing new payment security standards, cyber security training courses, and certification programmes.

Head of Information Security Operations at First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Lara Nwokedi, has been representing FirstBank on the Board of PCI SSC in the fight against payment fraud and data breaches globally. Nwokedi, a payment card industry professional, security lead auditor and implementer, has many years experience in information security and has led several initiatives in the bank.

First Bank has been the only African bank elected to the PCI SSC Board a feat which no African bank has achieved since its inception. The Bank’s re-election into the Board underpins its commitment to the protection of customer assets and information.

Abocoders Win 2016/2017 Miss.Africa Seed Funding

Abocoders Nigeria has emerged the 2016/2017 winner of the $5,000 Miss.Africa Seed Funding for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Programs.

Abocoders is a startup that provides secure and sustainable livelihoods for young women in Northern Nigeria through ICT training, focusing on software development as a means of empowerment.  The initiative of Aspilos Foundation is headed by Simi Olusola.

Abocoders will use the $5,000 grand prize to reach more lives and open more opportunities.  The Bahir Dar University STEM Incubation Center, Ethiopia and Ubongo Game Lab, Zambia each won $1,000 in the second round of the $7,000 fund that received more than 200 applications from 24 countries across Africa.

Miss.Africa is an initiative of the DotConnectAfrica (DCA), a charitable organization that promotes the advancement of IT education to the African society.

Its pan-African campaign STEM for Girls avails grants to launch or expand the initiatives of women and girls to increase digital opportunities in IT training, jobs and leadership roles on the continent.

Nigeria had the most Miss.Africa Seed Fund applications at 33%; Kenya was second with 11%; and third Ghana with 9%. Tanzania and Cameroon followed with 5%; and South Africa, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe tallied at 4% each.

The third round of the Miss.Africa Seed Fund 2018 will be announced in July 2017.

Ugo Ijeoma Ndianiefo Wins 2017 National Youth Oratory Contest

Ugo Ijeoma Ndianiefo, of the over 1,000 Nigerian youths drawn from 20 tertiary institutions across the country has emerged winner of the 2017 National Youth Oratory Contest with a star prizes of 1 million Naira and one week leadership training in South Africa.

The topic of the competition being: “Nigeria as entrepreneurial hub of Africa” which the orators argued for and against. Ugo Ijeoma Ndianiefo emerged first with 83.3 points, followed by Nwenyi Ogechi, Placid Martins, Eze nwakuba and Anidebe Collins.

Continue reading Ugo Ijeoma Ndianiefo Wins 2017 National Youth Oratory Contest

UNILAG Wins 2017 Young Creative Awards

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) has won the maiden edition of the Young Creative Awards (YouCrea) with a 1 million Naira prize organised by O2 Academy School of Advertising in Lagos.

The competition featured outstanding final year students of UNILAG, Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech) and the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ).

The competitors, who were into three teams – Star Wars (UNILAG), Avatar (Yabatech) and Matrix (NIJ) – were earlier hosted to an all-expense paid one-week boot camp by O2 Academy for “hands-on” training by advertising practitioners.

They produced advertising briefs against smoking in partial commemoration of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) World “No Tobacco Day” marked every May 31.

UNILAG’s 15-minute campaign, with the theme: Go Ahead, Smoke Yourself to Death, was adjudged the best by a panel of judges comprising the managing directors Creative Zone, Extreme Ideas, 141 Worldwide and Black Sea Communications, among other advert agencies.

Founder of O2 Academy, Ozoemene Mbanefo, who presented the award, said the next edition of YouCrea will include competitors from the University of Nigeria at Nsukka (UNN), University of Ibadan (UI) and the University of Benin (UNIBEN).

Mr. Ozoemene Mbanefo added;

“We felt a need to take advertising to higher institutions. The only way we can do so is to bring in some form of competition because competition is very healthy and it inspires people to do more.

So, Young Creative Awards is simply to inspire schools to inspire interest among more young, talented people in advertising, making advertising more ‘cool’ and interesting again.

I think more schools should engage YouCrea because that way we have a platform that connects the town and gown.”

UNILAG’s team of five students comprised Mass Communications students Abidemi Adesokan, Aboaba Tunde, Omomoh Tamara, Misturah Owolabi and Onike Qudus.

Olusegun Adekunle Emerge OPEC Alternate Chairman of 127th EC Board

Olusegun Adekunle has been appointed the Alternate Chairman of the 127th Economic Commission Board of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Mr. Olusegun Adekunle was before this appointment Nigeria’s representative to the Organisation.

The Economic Commission Board is responsible for writing reports and making recommendations to the Conference of OPEC Oil Ministers on oil prices and other economic issues. It also assists OPEC in promoting stability in international oil prices at equitable levels.