Zidane resigns from Real Madrid

Zinedane Zidane has announced his resignation from Real Madrid today. The Frenchman won the Uefa Champions League three times consecutively with the Spanish team. His last Champions League triumph came last week against Liverpool.

Zidane, 46, joined Real Madrid in 2016 when he replaced Rafael Benitez before leading the team to their 11^th Europeam trophy.

He won the LaLiga and the Champions League in his second season when Real Madrid defeated Juventus.Zidane said in a news press conference that it was the right time to leave Real Madrid before he thanked Florentino Perez and the club.

“This is the right moment for everyone. It might seem strange, but it had to be done for the good of everyone, the players, the club, and myself. This team must keep winning, and it needs a change after 3 years, another voice, another method of working,” Zidane said.

“I love this club and the president who gave me the chance to play for this club and manage the club of my dreams, but everything changes and that is why I have taken the decision to leave.”

Zidane was in charge of 149 Real Madrid games, he won 104 games and had 29 draws.

Greywolf Empire Holds PVC Awareness Campaign

Just as the call for more Nigerians to get registered and collect their permanent voters’ cards gains more attention, Greywolf Empire, a media and entertainment based organisation in Lagos has expressed concerns over the attitude of Nigerian youths towards the charge, stressing that most youths are unaware of the power they behold with the PVC.

The organization took advantage of the democracy day holiday to enlighten residents of Alimosho Local Government Area in Lagos, with a ‘walk for PVC’ sensitization rally which caught the attention of residents and passer-by.

The General Manager, Greywolf Empire, Moses Obi, observed that a lot of work needs to be done by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in sensitizing the public on key issues with regards to how the registration process can be done and to also establish communications with interest groups and organisations who are interested in partnering, in order to reduce the numbers of unregistered electorates.

“Sincerely, I don’t think INEC is doing enough to sensitise the masses, if they are, we won’t have to be doing this walk for PVC, the complaints are much and the idea that they move about really does not make sense”. “It is painful to hear people say they will not vote, I noticed that the issue is about the mentality and that is what we are trying to change, let them see that there is a need for them to have their PVC’s for them to have a voice, they need to look beyond recent happenings in the government and vote”.

Corroborating the observations of Obi, fast-rising afro sensation, Frankeyz, who appeared as a celebrity figure during the rally noted that INEC can do more than what it is doing by aligning strategic partnerships in order to record massive success with the PVC. “INEC should look into all spheres in terms of partnership, collaboration to get the sensitization across.

For Greywolf, we decided to do this because we feel that there is a way we can lend our voice to let people know what is happening. There are numerous organizations who would love to buy into our initiative, only if INEC can support in passing the message effectively”.

“It was a success and I noticed that a lot of youths out there are not aware of what is happening in the society as regards who should be voted for. Basically, they don’t know what the PVC is all about, and they are not aware, while some don’t even believe in it. With this awareness, we hope to get more youths who will buy into the idea and believe in the country”


. During the rally, our correspondent enquired from some residents in the area on the status of their PVC, only to discover that a lot of complaints ranged from; people not knowing where the registration centres are located, lost or stolen PVC, relocation and reissued.

Has The Braless Fashion Trend Come To Stay?

The traditional Nigerian woman is believed to be modest in her appearance as well as her manners.

However, in this present day where most women are becoming feminist and demanding equal rights in all spheres, they believe they have the right to do as they please with and to their bodies.

The current fashion trend of going braless, which isn’t so new to the western world, is now being embraced and adopted by our Nigerian women. Nigerian women, amongst many other reasons, say they do this because they have the right to their bodies and no one has the right to tell them what to do.When asked why they go out braless, most say it’s because bras are usually uncomfortable for them. Some say it’s because some outfits don’t look good with bras. Some say they have really small breasts and wearing a bra makes no difference. Others say they just love the freedom that comes with going braless.

We all agree that everyone has a right to decide what to do with their own bodies. However, most Nigerians still consider that as indecent and provocative dressing and believe women should still appear modestly dressed amidst all trends and styles.

The popular saying of “dress how you want to be addressed” would apply here for the Nigerian woman. Dress to suit the occasion. Dress formally when necessary and dress casually when appropriate.

Has this trend come to stay? Are we ready for this?

AFRIMA entry submission opens today for Africa Day commemoration

Following the recent unveiling of calendar of activities for the 2018
edition of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) in Accra, Ghana, which
included a courtesy visit to the President of Ghana, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa
Akufo-Addo by officials of African Union, International Committee of
AFRIMA and African music stars, entry submissions for the annual
continental music awards opens today, Friday, May 25 in commemoration of
Africa Day.


From May 25 to August 1, 2018, the 5th edition of AFRIMA will be receiving
on its online portal www.afrima.org, works, songs and videos recorded or
produced by African music professionals and publicly released within the
eligibility period of August 1, 2017 to August 1, 2018. These entries will
compete for possible nomination by the AFRIMA Jury in one or more of the
36 categories of the awards.


The AFRIMA Jury, consisting of 13 members, with vast experience and
practice in African music and culture is charged with overseeing the
AFRIMA Adjudication process to ensure a thorough and fair screening,
categorizing, assessing and selecting process of AFRIMA 2018 nominees.
Nominees are expected to emerge to populate the Regional and Continental
awarding categories of AFRIMA in different genres of music ranging from
African contemporary to electro, traditional, reggae/ragga/dancehall,
hip-hop, R n B, rap and rock.Furthermore, AFRIMA uses the onset of the 2018 entry submissions to
commemorate the 55th edition of Africa Day, a day set aside annually by
the
African Union Commission to strengthen the idea of unity among African
countries. One of the objectives of AFRIMA is to celebrate Africans who
channel their energies towards various acts of dynamism in the creative
industry and contribute tremendously to the growth of the social
environment.

Music and arts have been one of the core proponents where Africans have
successfully shown immense passion. From the days of traditional folklore
to the present day transition of music into the modern studio recorded
album, Africa has produced world record holders in the music industry,
where music is not only used to promote cultural heritage, but also for
education and entertainment.

Music artistes, managers, producers, record label owners, recording
companies, video directors, publicists and entertainment/music journalist
are eligible to submit their works or submit on behalf of their clients in
any of the relevant award categories. Further details on entry submission
guidelines are available on the AFRIMA website - www.afrima.org.

In partnership with the African Union, the All Africa Music Awards is a
music property that recognises and rewards the work and talent of a myriad
of African artists from the old to the new generation of musicians.
Through its conference, AFRIMA also stimulates conversations among
Africans and between Africa and the rest of the world about the potential
of the creative arts for real humanising enterprise on the continent,
contributing significantly to social cohesion, national, regional and
continental integration as well as sustainable development in Africa.
Annually, the award show is broadcast to over eighty countries around the
world.

***END***

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UBA Foundation Launches “Read Africa” Initiative in Gabon, Mozambique

As part of its mission to improve the lives of the communities in which the United Bank for Africa operates, UBA Foundation continues to encourage African youths to adopt the culture of reading through its ‘Read Africa’ initiative.

Read Africa aims to rekindle the reading culture amongst young Africans. Designed and introduced in 2011 by the UBA Foundation, the initiative has donated hundreds of thousands of books to African schools since its inception.

This past week, The Foundation took its initiative to the francophone city of Libreville to the students of the George MABIGNATH high school in Gabon.

The launch of Read Africa in Gabon saw in attendance, the author of the selected book Sidonie, written by famous Gabonese writer Chantal Magalie MBAZOO.

It was a colorful ceremony that witnessed the CEO of the Foundation, Bola Atta reading to and interacting with the students in high energy in the presence of their Principal, Mrs. BOUDOUNGHOU BIBOUTOU Isabelle and other staff members.

Bola Atta summarized the Foundation's initiative saying "At the UBA Foundation, we are committed to improving the lives of the youths on the continent and one of the ways we can achieve this is to help you read more. I am here to talk to you a little about the importance of reading and how it can radically change your life. Reading encourages you to dream, it expands your knowledge, your vocabulary. It is a path to achieving your ambitions.". 

Chioma Mang, the CEO of UBA Gabon also reiterated the mission of UBA and emphasized the bank’s commitment to the Gabonese community. ‘ I love children and I am happy to be here with you all today. I’d like to encourage you to read very well so that you can reach great heights in your life like me. UBA is going to be there for you all the way. You can count on us’ said Mrs Mang.

The Read Africa initiative then moved on to Zambia to the Horizon Secondary School in Lusaka where the Director in the ministry of higher education in charge of Vocation, Education and Training, Mr Alex Simumba, thanked UBA and the Foundation for the good work that is being done across Africa. He said ‘To UBA Foundation, we thank you for your support to the institution today. We welcome this and many more collaborations in the field of literacy and other higher education programmes. We also further encourage other private sector organisations to take a keen interest in such programmes because the youths who are receiving these literary materials will be benefitting greatly from them.United Bank for Africa(UBA) Plc, Africa’s global bank, is committed to being a socially responsible company and role model for all businesses in Africa. UBA understands that there is a need for a social contract between the bank, the communities in which it operates, and its people. To this end, in 2006, UBA instituted the UBA Foundation. As the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of the UBA group, UBA Foundation is committed to the socio-economic betterment of communities across the African continent, focusing on development in the areas of Environment, Education, Economic Empowerment and Special Projects.

Transcorp Hotels MD Laments Neglect Of Tourism Sector

The managing director/chief executive officer of Transcorp Hotels Plc, Mr. Valentine Ozigbo, has lamented the neglect of the Nigeria’s tourism sector by governments at all levels.

Ozigbo revealed that this was demonstrated by the abysmal marketing of the sector by relevant ministries and agencies of government.

Speaking at a national tourism transport summit and expo in Abuja, yesterday, he advised the relevant ministries and agencies of government at the federal and state levels to spearhead the marketing of the tourism sector in Nigeria, saying doing so would help in leapfrogging the sector into a major revenue earner.

He said: ‘‘If well harnessed,  the tourism sector,  with its vast potential, could displace oil as the nation’s highest revenue earner.’’

Ozigbo, who was a panel discussant in one of the sessions of the event on “Marketing Destinations in Nigeria: What Role for the Transportation and Tourism Sectors”,  stated that everywhere in the world, governments play the critical role of enablers and marketers of the tourism sector while the private  sector  acts as the  driver.

According to him, with the kind of symbiotic relationship between the government and the private sector in the tourism business, the former should spearhead the marketing role while the latter drives the process.

He noted that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, for instance was expected to be the chief marketing officer of the tourism potential in the nation’s capital.

According to him, doing so would equipped the minister with the challenges in the sector and propel him to seek solutions with a view to boosting it.He also explained that with the absence of a potent marketing of the tourism potential in the FCT, Transcorp Hotels Plc had gone out of the way to market and ensure that its customers are availed of the pleasure of visiting some tourism sites in the FCT.

“In Transcorp, we’re not only serving our customers, but selling the city. We’ve been putting together tourism destinations.  Our job will be made easier when the government plays their role,” he said.

He also recalled the strides of a former governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke in marketing the tourism potential of that state, which eventually etched the Obudu Resort and other sites in the state on the global map.

Festus Keyamo Revolutionises Campaign Strategy

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Festus Keyamo would be opening another chapter both in his life and in the history of Nigerian politics going by his recent adventure. The brilliant legal luminary who was recently enlisted amongst Nigeria's privileged senior advocates SANs is the newest political strategist in town with his radical approach to political campaigning already sending jitters down the spines of opinion moulders, experienced big weights and political juggernauts alike.The budding politician known for his daring attitude has began to shake the political terrain, once again,  just as he shook the legal topography with his revolutionary style during his hey days as a rank and file lawyer. The gangling social media crusader of note has no doubt changed the seemingly declining image perceptions of the incumbent President, Gen. Mohammodu Buhari rtd., in just weeks of his being appointed Director, Strategic Communications for the 2019 re-election bid. Like a gallant soldier that he is, Keyamo who's always passionate about everything he does has applied his mojo and no sooner he took center stage than his goodwill and reputation begin to yield positive results for the President's reelection project.Though, the crusade is obviously far from being a child's play, the firebrand legal practitioner who has been described as a round peg in a round hole has vowed to give it all it takes to make sure the President's reelection project is a success, "everything is at stake here,  I've never failed and that's why we must give it our all,  me and my dedicated team of thoroughbred professionals drawn from relevant fields of human endeavours are up and equal to the task,  the President must come back in 2019", he declares. Soundly equipped with an overwhelming oratory prowess, legal backings and loads of goodwill garnered from years of legal practice,  it is therefore needless saying that, his formal declaration to go full blast on image laundering and unique approach for the 2019 political strategy for the President Buhari's reelection has started giving oppositions sleepless nights even though there are no clear contenders in-view at the moment.The man is leaving no stone unturned in making sure his principal,  President Buhari's image is protected and cleaned up in readiness for his second time bid by all means as he's prepared to respond to even the perceived darkest areas his enemies think they can wield any stick.In one of his monitored interviews where he was asked about the health, fitness and age of the President, Keyamo have this to say,  "what are you talking about, the man has just been declared fit by his team of doctors recently,  can't you see how he's looking of late, looking younger and fresh,  at how old was the almighty Americans voted Donald Trump as president, tell me is he the oldest President, age is just a number and as for health and life, all belongs to God, haven't we seen a younger President who died early before, was Abacha sick before he died", he challenged his host. Stating further,  this is a man who Committee of African Presidents have been dimmed fit to lead them as the anti corruption Chairman based on his impressive track records in the anti corruption crusade and as if that's not enough,  the US President has also endorsed him as one of the greatest African Presidents,  is this by mouth or by performance, please tell me,  what else do one need to support his ambition in order to complete his good plans of ridding Nigeria of bad eggs. The vocal lawyer stated further that,  the spreading and drumming of hatred messages in town are just Babbel of voices of looters,  bad losers and those the man have prevented from drawing freely and recklessly from the nation's purse, he nailed it finally.

UBA to Reward Loyal Customers in ‘Refer-a-Friend’ campaign

Pan-African Financial Services Institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc will be rewarding its loyal customers who refer friends and family to the bank in its new diaspora campaign.

The campaign is designed to reward customers of the bank who refer their Diaspora friends/relatives to open a UBA account.

Specifically, this campaign will last for three months and the bank will be rewarding any customer who refers other customers with the reward of N5,000 for every successfully opened new and funded account.

For instance, new and existing customers who refer friends and relatives in the Diaspora to open new UBA accounts will be eligible to grab the reward for as many times as the number of people they refer.

According to the campaign managers, the referrer who must have an account with UBA, will have his/her account number inputted in the provided field by the referred. The account number is expected to serve as a reference code for paying the reward, and once the new Diaspora account is funded with a minimum of $100,  $100, £100, €100 or N50,000, for a one-month period, the reward sum of N5,000 will be automatically credited into the Referrer’s account.

They further explained that the campaign which kicks-off on May 22, 2018, involves no raffle draws, customers just refer, and redeem their cash prizes after successful funding of the new account. 

UBA Innovates with another first ‘UBA Learn’ targeted at empowering students

The pan-African Financial Institution, United Bank for Africa(UBA) has introduced a unique and innovative product, called ‘UBA Learn’ targeted at helping students achieve all round academic success. 

The Product, an online Learning Platform for students powered by Roducate, was launched yesterday, May 17, 2018 with particular emphasis on helping students within the age range of 5-16years and 17-24 attain academic excellence, while ensuring that the parents and teachers keep track and monitor their ward’s educational developments and performance.  

UBA Learn is accessible online, through a downloadable mobile app and  USSD (*919*33#) and is open to both existing customers and non-customers.  Intending customers can have account numbers automatically generated once they enrol on the platform. The platform features academic curricula (e.g. WAEC), NECO, Continuous assessments and tests, financial education, learning/fun games, etc.Speaking at the launch of the Product, Group Managing Director, Kennedy Uzoka said: “United Bank for Africa is a technology-driven company with enormous capability in business. Because education is key to us and is a fundamental human right, we felt a need to extend our capability to education, by revolutionising access to education through technology. “

That’s the main reason we are here today- to bring knowledge to the doorstep of everyone across Africa and other parts of the world, through this Unique innovation, called UBA learn”.

Uzoka continued: “The app is a distinctive and well-tailored product loaded with all the needed learning tools and required subjects put together in a robust manner that is guaranteed to grow with the student early on to when he or she becomes a young adult.“UBA Learn was carefully conceptualised to suit a niche focus of our customers who are mostly students; because more than anything, we are a bank that is particularly passionate about the growth and development of youths especially as it concerns their academic growth as is evidenced in the plethora of campaigns and Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives (CSR) targeted at helping them find their paths in life, e.g.  Read Africa Initiative, Campus Ambassadors, National Essay Competition among others”. said Anant Rao, Group Executive, Digital & Consumer Banking.

Rao further explained: “UBA Learn is unique in the banking industry because it is a product that suits a special need. The app which empowers student through their mobile device  and available in Google play store and app store is a concept where the bank is taking on a mentorship role intended to equip and guide students into a bright future, life of prosperity.” Anant explained.

“That is why there is a conscious effort aimed at helping them grow, because we understand, that the future is only secure when they are empowered”. “The UBA Learn platform is designed to appeal to the young and aspiring youth who is looking to actualise his or her dream likewise get to the exalted height only education can guarantee. UBA is more than aware that there is an urgent need to effectively guide them to actualising success and more, that is why we introduced UBA Learn”.He further said, the benefits of enrolling and using ‘UBA Learn’ are enormous. Apart from preparing them academically it also aids them to becoming financially independent. At this stage, account holders will enjoy exclusive invitations to job and career fairs as well as entrepreneurship workshops.”

Also speaking, Dr. Brai Malik, appreciated the bank for picking International School UNILAG, out of many to officially launch the one of a kind, product. He  also noted that UBA learn is a great initiative deserving of commendation. According to Malik, “UBA as a financial institution and innovator of the wonderful product deserve applause for demystifying learning with this application”.

 Malik also stated that, ISL is a school with  good taste that recognises quality and  in line with its foresight for the future the school will encourage teachers to join the train and also take advantage of the innovation in their classroom activities.”

Account holders will also have access to 24 hour online banking services on UBA’s highly acclaimed internet banking platform, particularly Leo the Virtual banker which is now a hit with students besides other privileges like specially branded debit card, interest bearing savings accounts, career advisory, scholarships, work place experience schemes with the UBA Group, entrepreneurial skills development workshops and social media engagements.UBA was incorporated in Nigeria as a limited liability company after taking over the assets of the British and French Bank Limited who had been operating in Nigeria since 1949.

Otedola denies rumours of governorship ambition

The chairman of Forte Oil, Femi Otedola, has denied claims that he is seeking to contest for Lagos State governorship seat in 2019. Reports started making the rounds that the oil mogul will join politics after posting a video of himself on a popular Molue bus in Lagos. 

The rumours grew following a tweet from a parody account on Twitter stating the Forte Oil boss will seek to dislodge Akinwunmi Ambode from the Lagos House next year.       

“My attention has been drawn to a news piece where false information from a parody account was posted,” Otedola tweeted in the early hours of Friday.

“I am a man of the people and I will always be on the side of the masses but I am stating clearly via this medium that I am not running for office.” 

 Otedola, whose father was once a governor of the state and also hails from Epe Local Government like Ambode, insisted that the current governor is doing a good job and deserve his backing for a second term.

“The Governor of Lagos State is doing a commendable job and Lagosians should be proud of him,” he said.

                                                                     
 
                                                                                                 
                                                                                                 

First Bank MD, Sola Adeduntan, Withers As The Bank Suffers Huge Debt Portfolio

The headship of banking institutions is one job that comes with monstrous challenges, envisaged or unforeseen. Almost all of Nigerian banks’ managing directors/chief executive officers always take over from their predecessors amidst jubilation and cheery smiles.

But no soon had they taken their seat and settled to face the reality and enormity of the task before them than they began showing signs of rapid ageing. So when next you run into the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Sola Adeduntan, chances are there would be bags under his eyes.

The MD has finally burned through his euphoric spells of fantasy to chance on cold, brutal reality. Consequently, this has put the bank MD in a bind. First Bank currently groans under the weight of huge debts portfolio by its A-list customers. The bank’s debtors, comprising Nigeria’s superrich, have failed to refund loans taken from the bank to the extent that some of the loans have to be written off as bad debt.

Consequently, Sola, the erstwhile sinewy and athletically-built MD is losing sleep over the huge debts. He has lost so much weight in the last couple of months, his eyes are sunken and his cheeks have lost their rosy glow. Although many of his business associates and subordinates initially passed his weight loss off as a deliberate effort by the MD to keep fit, now they know better.

The financial situation of Nigeria’s premier bank which he is overseeing is stealthily taking its toll on him. Perhaps, Adeduntan has been having worrying sleepless nights lately; no thanks to unpalatable state of things FBN-Holdings: a decline in the bank revenue in the first quarter of this year and a huge debt portfolio does not like melodious music to the ears.FBN posted N138.9 billion revenue in first quarter, representing 1.6 percent decline from N141 billion posted in the same period in 2017. While the debt portfolio of the bank can only be traced to a time when his predecessor was managing the bank, he has inherited the tough task of retrieving bad loans running into tens of billions of Naira. Generally, Nigerian banks’ principal exposure to the energy sector has hit an all-time high of $12 billion, and recovery of larger percentage of these debts have become a tough task for the lenders.

FBN is said to be one of those with very huge exposure which is fast proving to be unhealthy. Aside from the $500 million in principal exposure to the downstream sub-sector, Nigerian banks have reportedly staked over $11.6 billion into portfolios by local and international investors, who participated in the string of acquisitions in the oil and gas sector between 2010 and 2015 as well as the takeover of assets created from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

Information available to TheCapital suggests that Adeduntan might have adopted an iron fist approach to recover a substantial sum of these loans by resorting to collateral takeover. In fact, our source reveals that he has constituted a team charged with the recovery responsibility with periodic targets, and that the team is already making some progress, though with snail speed.

UBA Kenya to Leverage on Group’s Capacity to Finance Large Ticket Transactions in Kenya

                        United Bank for Africa, a leading pan-African financial institution with operations in 20 African countries has assured the players in the private and public sectors in East Africa’s largest economy that its Kenyan franchise is ready and committed to finance key projects and business transactions capable of galvanising the economic development of the country and upscale the standard of living of its people. 

The Group’s Executive Director and newly appointed CEO for East and Southern Africa, Emeke E. Iweriebor said this while addressing a press conference at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi on Thursday.

According to him, with the realignment of the Group’s strategy on the region, UBA with an asset base worth over $12 billion and presence in key financial capitals, London, New York and Paris is capacitated to support its customers and their businesses across the world, especially those from Kenya. “UBA Group has strong confidence in Kenya and East Africa as their economies have great potential for growth and development.  Consequently, we in UBA Group are convinced that it’s imperative that we dedicate resources, manpower and time to our operations in Kenya, and East African and Southern Africa. That is why we created the region, with the regional office, in Nairobi”. Iweriebor said.Iweriebor while outlining areas of possible interventions by the Bank said that UBA Group and its Kenyan franchise are ready to help the Governments of Kenya in its Big Four Agenda, especially as it concerns infrastructural development, health facilities and housing and increasing the manufacturing base of the country. He also indicated the Bank’s readiness to support SMEs, which according to him is the catalyst to a sustainable economic development and eradication of poverty. “UBA wants to replicate the interventions we have undertaken in some African countries, in provision of financial support to power and energy sectors, road infrastructure, agriculture, small, medium and large enterprises and entrepreneurship,” Iweriebor said.

He added that UBA, leads innovation in banking in Africa and utilizes digital solutions to support financial inclusion and business activities of individual, SMEs and corporates, highlighting that currently more than 80% of the bank’s transactions are processed through digital and electronic channels. Also speaking at the media event, Managing Director/CEO, UBA Kenya, Isaac Mwige corroborated Iweriebor, saying that UBA Kenya, leveraging on the Group’s pre-eminence financial standings has capabilities to finance transactions in Kenya, saying he is encouraged by the recent engagements with both private and public sectors in Kenya.  

“UBA Kenya wants to become more involved in the lives of individuals and businesses of people of Kenya by providing tailor-made products and services that are targeted at all segments of Kenyan economy,” Just recently, UBA Group signed agreements with some international institutions to support Macro and small-scale businesses across Africa, we want to see businesses in Kenya taking advantage of such opportunities,” Isaac said

ALL THE DETAILS AS POPULAR AWARDS, AFRIMA UNVEILS CALENDAR OF PROGRAMMES FOR 2018 EDITION

The 2018 All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) annual calendar of programmes

will be unveiled on Monday, May 21, 2018 by the African Union Commission
(AUC) in collaboration with Government of the Republic of Ghana, and the
International Committee of AFRIMA during a world media event and music
conference scheduled for Accra, the capital city of Ghana.

Part of the agenda for the Calendar Unveiling of the fifth annual
edition of AFRIMA is a Courtesy Visit to His Excellency, the President
of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is set to receive African
delegates and music stars attending the event from around Africa
including the Head of Culture, African Union, Mrs. Angela Martins;
President/Executive Producer, AFRIMA, Mr. Mike Dada; Director, Brand
Communications, AFRIMA; Ms. Matlou Tsotetsi; AFRIMA Regional Director;
Western Africa, Mr. Don Obilor, the Ghanaian-UK AFRIMA Juror,
(representing UK-Diaspora) and BBC-1 show host, Ms. Rita Ray and the
AFRIMA Country Director, Ghana, Mr. Francis Doku.

Also participating at the event are past AFRIMA nominees and winners,
music professionals and executives, creative/culture industry policy
makers, members of the media industry and other award-winning recording
artistes living in Ghana and in other African countries.Commenting on the event in line with government’s objective to develop

sustainable tourism pivoted on Ghanaian arts and culture, Ghana’s
Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Hon. Catherine Afeku, said:
“Arts and culture, as a sector, remains one of Africa’s greatest
strengths. As well as being a source of values, identity and a sense ofIn her statement, the Acting Director for Social Affairs, African Union,

said: “The hosting by the Republic of Ghana of this unveiling event is
very important given that previous events were hosted by the Federal
Republic of Nigeria and it is crucial that the initiative rotates in the
AU Member States to ensure broader popularization and enhance its
Pan-African nature. We thus express our gratitude to the Government of
the Republic of Ghana for hosting the event and call upon all musical
artists to participate in the initiative by submitting their works once
the call for submissions is open”.

AFRIMA, Africa’s biggest music awards property, will roll out the 2018
calendar under the theme “Africa is Music”. The calendar features
back-to-back events traversing several countries in the five regions of
Africa. Some of these planned events include music/culture conferences;
country visits to converse with critical music/culture industry
stakeholders and high-octane music concerts tagged “Turn Up Africa”
which objective is to connect fans and followers of African music with
their favourite Africa music stars of the traditional and contemporary
genres.

belonging, the creative industries have become a driver of economic
growth and job creation. In agreeing to host the AFRIMA 2018 Calendar
Unveiling, the Government of Ghana is motivated by the need to harness
the potential of the creative sector of Ghana to promote national and
regional tourism. We congratulate the African Union for lending its
weight behind this laudable effort”.Hon. Afeku added, “The Government of Ghana recognizes the potential of

the Creative Industries to shape and reinforce the country’s economic
growth. Studies show that by the end of the first decade of this
millennium, cultural activities contributed to 1.53% of the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) of our country. Zeroing in on music industry, it
is reported with some justifiable pride that that sector alone adds
approximately GH¢100 million to GDP”.

Speaking on the collaborative work by the African Union and the
International Committee of AFRIMA to create inventive solutions to
achieving the AU Charter for African Cultural Renaissance and the Plan
of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries, the Acting Director for
Social Affairs, African Union Commission, Madam Mariama Cisse revealed
that partnerships with member AU states such as Ghana further galvanise
the achievement of the AU policy on Africa transformation through social
integration.

Breaking: Aisha Abimbola: “Omoge Campus” Actress is Dead

Barely a year after the death of celebrated Nollywood actress, Moji Olaiya, Nollywood, especially the Yoruba movie industry, has once again been thrown into mourning.

This is because another star actress, Aisha Abimbola, popularly known as Omoge Campus, has just given up the ghost. 

The actress reportedly died after a battle with cancer

The light skinned screen beauty, reportedly died on Tuesday, 15th May 2018, in far away Canada.

Her death was confirmed by fellow actress, Bisola Badmus Adunni, who announced her death on her Instagram page.

Recall that the late Moji Olaiya, also died in Canada, shortly after giving birth to her second  child                  .       

Abimbola shot into limelight with her role in the Bola Igida movie, "Omoge Campus." Her sophmore movie was Eje Adegbenro," a film produced by Jide Kosoko.

She was also popular for her roles in Papa Ajasco, "No Pain, No Gain," "Awerijaye," "So Wrong So Right" and "T’omi T’eje."

She was also a recipient of the City People Entertainment Award for Yoruba Movie Personality of the Year.

Ambimbola got married to her husband Victor Ibrahim in February 2005, and was a proud mother of two beautiful children.

Why I Withdrew From Ekiti Guber Race-Ojudu

My dear Compatriots,
For the past two years we have transversed Ekiti state, knocking on doors,
engaging our people and canvassing for support for our programmes. During
that period, we learned a lot more about this state: the goodness of our
people, the pureness of their intentions, and the tenacity of their
courage. We have worked very hard, but like you all know, hard work is
never the sole prerequisite for success in politics.

Through the embarrassing events of last weekend’s botched Ekiti
governorship primary election, its aftermath in the state, and the efforts
of our revered leaders from the Southwest this week to save our dear party
from ruination in Ekiti State, I have learned many lessons. Key among the
lessons is that you never can tell the man who will attempt to destroy
what many others have built from one who will aspire to elevate that which
is thrust into his hands.From what has happened since May 5 to date, it goes without saying that
this is an unfair contest where the NWC Chairman has clearly demonstrated
that he does not care what happens to our dear party now and in the
nearest future. We saw a Chairman who has conspired with one of the
aspirants in the race to unleash mayhem on others, wreak havoc and
violence on ordinary citizens and exposed the state to great embarrassment
on national television. We saw an aspirant so unpopular to the extent that
delegates called him unprintable names at the voting arena now being
imposed on our people, not minding if this means we lose this state
forever.
We do not believe in engaging in an unfair contest and I am not ready to
step on blood to get to power.  As I have reiterated at different times in
the course of the campaign, this was never about me. It was not about an
ambition but a mission to give a new lease of life to Ekiti State and the
people. It was about safeguarding the future of our children, our
grandchildren, great grandchildren and even generations yet unborn.  There
is no doubt that we all love this land, that every one of you had best
hopes and aspiration for this beautiful state we call ours and that above
all, this state should wear a new look, be adorned with a new reputation
and have a new image of itself.All my life, I have fought injustice and sought the good of the whole.
Therefore, this injustice perpetrated against Ekiti people by the NWC
Chairman cannot be allowed to stand. This is why the fight will continue,
not as an aspirant but as a party reformer. As a leader and party
chieftain, I will inspire a new generation of leaders - of young
professionals, businessmen and technocrats to re-enter our politics and
change this state. Only then can we have men and women of honour who will
take Ekiti out of the wilderness and restore her to her pride of place. At
the national level, I will continue to support Mr. President in ensuring
party reforms. I will work hard to ensure that never again is our party
thrown to desperate men who feed on monetary inducements and undermine
their own party.
This movement continues but I would be stepping down immediately as a
governorship aspirant to focus on this new mission.
I thank the members of the Ekiti Rebirth Organisation (ERO) movement led
by the Director-General, Chief Ranti Adebisi (Opomulero). You stood by me
firmly over the years and I will never forget that. You all occupy a
special place in the future of this state and must never give up. Ours is
a battle for the soul of Ekiti that just and we are going to win! Let’s
get going. Ekiti will never forget. To this end, I urge you all to hold
steadfast. To not give up on the future of Ekiti. Sincere appreciation to
my wife, Omotola, for being a pillar of support and to my children, other
family members and my friends, for believing in me. Yours has been a
labour of love. The future is bright, our sights are certain and our gaze
is steadfast on the future. We won’t relent because the struggle
continues.Let us move forward! Let us keep steadfast!! Ekiti will be great again!!!

God bless you all. God bless the All Progressives Congress. God Bless
Ekiti State