UBA CHAIRMAN TONY O. ELUMELU PLEDGES INVESTMENT IN EASTERN NIGERIA

                            
……….Calls For Regional Approach To Development

During a keynote address at the 1^st annual Enugu Investment Summit, Chairman of Heirs Holdings and United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) Tony O. Elumelu presented a compelling case for a sub-regional approach to economic development for Eastern Nigeria. In doing so, he also pledged to invest more steadily in the region.

 

Elumelu called on governors of the five South East states to harmonise economic policies in order to spur economic development and provide an enabling business environment.

 

“The truth is that the public and private sectors must collaborate strategically to orchestrate the region’s development. We need the combined effort of regional leaders to create Eastern Industrial hubs; the existing state-by-state fragmentation won’t work in today’s economic reality,” he said.

 

Organized by the Enugu State Government, the 3-day summit, themed Beyond Oil: Fostering Inclusive Economic Growth and Sustainable Development State governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, affirmed Elumelu’s strategic steer, noting his mission of transforming the state into an economic powerhouse, and a preferred destination for investment.

 

This first edition of the summit is aimed at showcasing Enugu’s enormous economic potential. The summit will ultimately develop an economic agenda for the five South Eastern states, and promote integration and shared prosperity for South East Nigeria.While urging Eastern governors to offer regional incentives, he also highlighted the responsibility of private sector individuals.

 

“"For so long, we have condemned our government for their inability to meet our developmental goals. We have shied away from playing our own role in making things work," he said. “But wealthy Africans should realise that in the 21st Century, wealth is no longer measured by the amount in your bank accounts. You should invest in industries and infrastructure."

 

Elumelu’s eponymous Foundation is currently investing in Enugu state through the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP). In fact, drawing on the success of the programme – in which 31 youths from Enugu State are among the 2,000 beneficiaries of the $10,000 seed capital provided through TEEP – he made a call to successful people in the eastern region of Nigeria to invest in the youths as a sustainable means of developing the African continent.

 

The summit attracted foreign and local investors including;  the Consul General of the Embassy of France in Nigeria, Laurent Polonceaux; the Nigerian Director of a French Group known as Proparco, Olivier Follin; the Irish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Sean Hoy, as well as director of an Irish organisation, Sustainable Food Systems Ireland.

 

Others were members of a conglomerate made up of Chinese, Singaporeans and Nigerians known as Fit Consult/Yuanda Group, including Mr. Wang Yijun of Yuanda Group, Chief Loretta Aniagolu; Mr. Wang Xingjun, Mr. Jiang Xin, Mr. Ronnie Tan all of the Yuanda, Mr. Paschal Dozie of MTN, Samuel Onyeishi of Peace Mass Transit, Ugochukwu Chime of ECCIMA, among others.

 

UBA holds Annual General Meeting as Shareholders Applaud Performance

On Friday April 8, during the bank’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) which was held at the Eko Atlantic Hotel, Lagos, the shareholders of UBA applauded the UBA for its strong financial performance in 2015 despite the difficult operating environment globally.

They also approved the board’s recommendation to pay a final dividend of 40 kobo per share. UBA had earlier paid an interim dividend of 20 kobo in September 2015 bringing the total dividend paid in respect of its 2015 financial year to 60 kobo per share.Speaking on behalf of shareholders, Sir Sunny Nwosu, President Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN) expressed his appreciation to the bank’s board and management for growing profit and increasing dividend payment at a time when many other banks recorded lower profit and had to cut dividends. He said; “this dividend payment reinforces the resilience of the Bank amidst challenging operating environment and it also shows the quality of the bank’s management”.

Earlier, Tony Elumelu, Chairman, UBA Plc, told shareholders that UBA’s strong performance in 2015 reflects efficiency gains, prudence and best practice in risk management.

“We recorded N315 billion in gross earnings, a 10% growth when compared to 2014 earnings. This was achieved in spite of relatively weak liquidity in the Nigerian foreign exchange market, which reduced foreign currency related business and income lines. Our Bank offset the macroeconomic challenges with improved customer service and balance sheet efficiency” Elumelu said.

Elumelu further told shareholders that the bank successfully managed its costs throughout the year, “thus preserving earnings to deliver a profit before tax of N68.5 billion, which translates to 22% growth over our performance in 2014”.

 

Looking into the future, Elumelu warned that developments in financial technology is changing the game in the financial industry, lowering operating costs and broad customer reach and becoming major disruptors within the banking industry. However, he gave the assurance that UBA is a part of the leading technology change agents, and thus well positioned to benefit from the brave new world offered by advancements in technology. He stressed that leading new technology and innovation is a part of the UBA Group’s DNA.

Also speaking at the AGM, Phillips Oduoza, Group Managing Director and CEO, UBA Plc, explained that management rigorously identified and eliminated fats in the system, improved on contract negotiations, eliminated overlapping functions and structures and continued to leverage technology in its operations, particularly in servicing its over 8 million customers through low cost service channels, which ensured it delivered improved performance to shareholders.On the bank’s operations in Africa, Kennedy Uzoka the group DMD assured shareholders that UBAs African subsidiaries are growing stronger and the group has a target to increase Africa’s contribution to the Group’s profit to over 25% in 2016 from 24% in 2015, without undermining the positive outlook on Nigeria, where he expects to see positive growth from imminent implementation of the 2016 budget.

Uzoka said that UBA market share is increasing in most of its target markets, as it grows loans and deposits in double digits across most of its operations in Africa.

 Shareholders were also informed of the recently announced GMD/CEO-designate, Kennedy Uzoka.

 

Meanwhile, the bank, during the week held a Board Learning Session at The UBA house in Lagos, where all the subsidiary board chairs and CEOs were invited by the group chairman Mr Tony O. Elumelu, to participate in the sessions. Members of the group Board together with the CEOs and Chairpersons of their 18 African subsidiaries converged to discuss ways to best serve customers, as well as the many landmark projects the bank has partnered in, such as the recently concluded financing of student housing at Senegal’s Cheikh Anta Diop University.

On Saturday April 9, the four day week long activity, culminated with the UBA CEO Awards Ceremony that was an opportunity to celebrate in grand style with the live streaming of the event on REDTV, the new lifestyle online channel taking  the entertainment industry by storm and proudly sponsored by UBA. 

 

#PanamaPapers: I won’t resign, says Saraki

                       
Senate President Bukola Saraki on Friday vowed not  to succumb to calls for his resignation by Nigerians amid his corruption trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal and the revelations in Panama Papers.

Saraki, while responding to a Premium Times report on Friday, blamed politicians for the increasing calls for his resignation over his recent scandals.

A text message sent to the online medium by Saraki’s Special Adviser on Media, Yusuph Olaniyonu, said the Senate President would not yield to the growing pressure.

“Those who are contemplating calls for resignation want to circumvent the judicial system. They are obviously being sponsored by some politicians.

“The Senate President is not contemplating any resignation. He will surely have his day in court.”

Fresh documents published by the online medium had revealed that Saraki’s wife, Toyin, is a business front for her husband contrary to claims by the Senate President that the assets allegedly linked to him by the Panama Papers belonged to his wife’s family.

According to Premium Times, new documents it got from the database of the Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, showed that assets in Toyin’s name in tax havens were held in trust for her husband.

It was alleged that about four assets belonging to the Saraki family, whicwhich include Girol Properties Ltd., Sandon Development Limited, and Landfield International Developments Ltd., were tucked away in secret offshore territories.

For instance, the report stated that Girol Properties was registered on behalf of Toyin by Fonsecca on August 25, 2004, in the British Virgin Island, a year after her husband became the Governor of Kwara State.

But the assets were allegedly not part of the ones declared by the Senate President or Toyin when Saraki became governor and after he was sworn in as the nation’s number three citizen.

A German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, had earlier released the Panama Papers, publishing online 11.5 million documents from Mossack Fonseca, which showed how world leaders, celebrities, athletes

Saraki, while reacting to the report, had said that he was not obliged to declare under the law the assets allegedly linked to him because they belonged to the family of his wife.

However, fresh report by the online medium insists that that the assets actually belong to Saraki and not to Toyin or her family estate., FIFA officials and criminals hid money using anonymous shell corporations across the world.

Bayelsa standstill as Alamieyeseigha laid to rest

                             

Commercial, social and all forms of business activities were shut down in different parts of Bayelsa State yesterday, as the heroic state burial for the late former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, entered its second day.

Commercial institutions, government agencies and parastatals, especially in Yenagoa, the state capital, remained shut, as the state stood still in honour of the man, who was fondly referred to as the Governor-General of the Niger Delta.

At about 12noon, an ambulance conveying a shiny white casket bearing the remains of the late Ijaw icon touched down on the soil of Bayelsa.

The ambulance was accompanied by a convoy of vehicles of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Worldwide, led by its President, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, who added colour to the solemn ceremony.

The youths, led by Eradiri, followed the ambulance from the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Rivers State, to Yenagoa.

The youths, who bore banners and emblems of the Ijaw struggle, sang and danced as the white casket, draped in an Ijaw flag and decorated with bouquets of flowers arrived the Executive Chambers of the Banquet Hall in Yenagoa.

The casket was taken to a podium at the center of the hall, where Governor Seriake Dickson held a valedictory session in the honour of the late Ijaw icon.

Though there was no lying-in-state ceremony for the late hero, his remains were expected to be taken to his expansive compound in his community in Amassoma, where a wake had been arranged before his final burial on Saturday.

In Amasoma, business and commercial activities were also completely shut down. Commercial motorcyclists and buses have been out of the road since Thursday.

The town was agog, as residents and students of the Niger Delta University (NDU), Alamieyeseigha’s major achievements, prepared to receive the remains of their hero.

The quiet town became boisterous with gridlock of vehicles in some roads in the community.

Jonathan, who narrated how the late Alamieyeseigha brought him to political limelight, said the late hero believed in the oneness of the Ijaw nation.

Referring to him as his boss, Jonathan said the man, famously called Alamco left the stage when the ovation was loudest.

The former president said the former governor would be missed by not only the Ijaw nation, but the entire Niger Delta.

Also, the leaders of the various levels of IYC, led by Eradiri, gathered at the Ijaw House to reflect on the ideals and virtues of the late Alamieyeseigha and seized the opportunity to take a collective position on national issues affecting the Ijaw nation.

Eradiri said that the council would henceforth organise public lecture every year to immortalise Alamieyeseigha.

He said the public lecture would centre on true federalism and resource control, which were some of the ideologies promoted by Alamieyeseigha.

Eradiri said: “We will be holding annual public lecture on true federalism and fiscal federalism as a mark of honour to immortalise Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

“Every year, on the date he died, we will organise annual public lecture to look at issues concerning resource control and true federalism.”

Eradiri also noted that Alamieyeseigha was a victim of political prosecution and victimization, adding that until his death, he was the unifying factor of the Ijaw nation and the Niger Delta.

“Alamieyeseigha was one governor who mobilised other governors. Today, there is no governor that has been able to mobilise other governors. He possessed incredible leadership qualities that will leave footprints in the sands of time.

“Alamieyeseigha was a man who traversed the entire Niger Delta and Nigeria, and he got a lot of traditional titles across the country. That alone showed that he was a detribalised Nigerian, a peace lover and a build builder.

“We are only trying to put up a smiling face so that we can give him a befitting burial for him to rest in peace. But we are not happy with the circumstances of his demise. He was the hero of resource control and we will continuously keep that flag flying.”

On Thursday night, tributes were heaped on late Ijaw leader by leading Ijaw leaders, including former President Goodluck Jonathan.

How many sexual spots does a woman have?

                             
There are lots of controversies about the many spots in a woman’s body; how many are they? What are their functions? Are these spots real? Well, there are many sexual zones in a woman’s body but only one spot is recognised by sexologists and medical personnel and that is called the ‘G-spot. Yes the G-spot, what on earth is so extraordinary about the G-spot area? A lot! Yes, every woman has one. To achieve the G-spot paradise, all you need is information. And today, I am going to give you t

Even if you have not explored its exclusive power, you must have heard about the G-spot and all its intricacies. The spot is an erogenous zone located inside the vagina. It can produce some pretty intense sensations. At the same time, it can also produce extreme frustrations, disappointment and dissatisfaction because it is, for many women, elusive and mysterious. Although the whole notion of the G-spot is hardly new, sex researchers and therapists have been flaunting it for years in the medical field, though skeptical about whether it really exists.

The G-spot is a real part of the female anatomy. This fact is newly documented in MRI scan and biopsies by medical doctors. Thanks to this new research, one can now realise that every girl is capable of experiencing more concentrated sexual pleasure and powerful orgasm.he details of how you can utilise the stimulating power of G-spot to boost your sex life as a couple.There are disagreements about the actual size of the G-spot. It ranges from a quarter inch to a couple of inches along the upper walls of the vagina; about an inch or two past the female vaginal opening. Underneath are highly sensitive tissues that, when touched the right way, trigger feelings of sexual happiness and contentment.

There are disagreements about the actual size of the G-spot. It ranges from a quarter inch to a couple of inches along the upper walls of the vagina; about an inch or two past the female vaginal opening. Underneath are highly sensitive tissues that, when touched the right way, trigger feelings of sexual happiness and contentment.

The G-spot sensation, as described by most women, is more intense than those sensations they feel via clitoral stimulation. According to most of those women, there is more of a warm flushing feeling that resonates deeply through and throughout their entire body. Even experts who always believed in the G-spot were not sure whether it was a distinct gland or merely a collection of nerve endings extending from the underside of the clitoris. Here is what researchers are sure of: G-spot is its own entity and is actually equivalent to an organ in the body. This is known as female prostrate because their tissues surround an area that produces chemicals similar to that of male prostrate, a gland that creates fluids to nourish the sperm. Another similarity between the male prostate gland and the G-spot is that when the G-spot is aroused, women experience wetness more than they do during other types of stimulation. Some women disclosed that they ejaculate some clean, clear, colourless fluid when they reach orgasm.                                                              Where and how to locate the G-spot? First and foremost, all you need to do as a wife is to lie back and just relax; embarking on your first G-spot mission location can really be wearisome and it will definitely take a lot of patience and persistence. Locating where it is can be done in two ways.The first is the wife locating it by herself, or with the assistance of her husband. When I am counselling others, I always encourage the second way, that is, the husband helping out in locating the spot. If you as a wife want to do it yourself, start by spreading your legs and bending your knees, so that your vagina is open and will be easily accessible. With your palm facing up, insert two fingers inside, pressing your finger tips against the center of the upper vaginal wall. By so doing, you are actually seeking a spongy puckered or slightly ridged area, like the roof of your mouth. If after several minutes you are still coming up empty handed, this is the time to call in for your husband’s assistance. Tell him to caress you the more because when you are aroused, the G-spot is filled with fluid and becomes larger because you have an easy time locating it if you are turned on by your husband. One strange tip-off is that you will experience a sudden need to pee. Because the G-spot is so close to the urethra, touching it often triggers the urge to pee feelings. However,  there is no need to run to the rest room because this is just a false alarm. The urge will go after some time. Now locating the G-spot by yourself is just to let you know you have one and nothing more. But I am always of the opinion that the best way out is to engage your husband in locating this mystery spot to take you to this paradise of serial orgasm.

Top UK Producer In £4,000 Extortion Mess

                       
One of the prominent big players in the UK movie and entertainment business is sure in the center of a serious controversy that's capable of denting his image should he refuses to retrace his steps. Although, we gathered reliably that he's been able to get a soft landing on this, movie makers in the UK have promised to be tougher the next time he's found wanting of such a demeaning situation.

According to the information gathered by National Enquirer, the man in the eyes of the storm is one of the popular movie directors whose works have won many awards in the UK. The name George Kelly Toghanro is not a push over in the London entertainment industry, even though he's Sierra Leonean, George Kelly is more comfortable in the midst of Nigerians simply because of their population and expertise in the entertainment industry.

The CEO of Black Films Academy/Studios is said to be a dynamic businessman who also have interest in music promotions and he has been part of one of the concerts of Nigeria's hip hop rave, Dapo Oyebanji also known as Dbanj. And as for the crush of the matter, tongues have been wagging over George Kelly's alleged clandestinely unethical conducts that border on extortion and other professional vice.

Informed sources told National Enquirer that, the producer of The Lower Cut , a docu-drama on female genital mutilation who has also directed award winning films such as Broken Bride, Ikpaya and so on was said to have allegedly requested the sum of £2,000 each (Two Thousand Pounds) from two upcoming actresses, Ene and Prisca Richards a.k.a Vee Posh before they can be part of a movie production.

The innocent upcoming actresses, we gathered were dumbfounded when nothing happened even after they've been made to part with their hard earned £2,000 each; this was what informed the whisperings until the issue became a public interest.

This office gathered reliably that, an ad-hoc panel was set up by the Actors Guild United Kingdom Nollywood-AGUKN to look into the matter and they eventually summoned George Kelly who later promised to pour oil on troubled water by returning their money.

The estranged George paid up though, we were told he allegedly claimed the upcoming actresses were always eating Kentucky Fried Chicken on him every time they visited during the course of the offer, so they were only able to get between £1,600-£1,800 or thereabout instead of the £2,000 he extorted from them.

In our facts finding mission, we tried to hear from the award winning actor by meeting up with him somewhere in Hendon Central, North London when we got an information that, he might probably be at a movie audition venue but unfortunately he was not there and when we eventualy got his number, he refused to pick calls; he however engaged us on whatsapp chat later and here are the messages: ''Hello bro, did you try to call me'', he asked, Yes, been ringing you for the past one week, we responded. Okay sorry but I couldn't recognise the caller from that photograph, that's why am calling you. He later sent another one, ''please make it easy for me by reminding me who you are. (smiles smiles emoticon) and we replied, am a journalist. ''Great, he said what media outfit do you work for and how did you get my number. I am from Enquirer and we had to come looking for you somewhere in Hendon because we learnt you might possibly be at an audition. Okay thanks a lot. I'm trying to put finishing touches to one or two things. I'll contact you once am through, thanks again, have a nice day. Our chats on whatsapp, we did wait for him to get back to us as promised but he never did till we hit the press.

We went a step further by sounding out one of the top AGUKN members but the response we got is, ''my brother, you know this is a private matter, am not sure I know much about what you're talking about but I think its been sorted and everybody is happy''.

We await George Kelly's side of the story and we shall tell let you have it unedited as soon as he got back to us.

Fiberesima's Life Of Many Battles,Those Behind Her Jail Term Uncovered

                            
Former beauty Queen turned actress, Ibinabo Fiberesima who's going through the greatest trials of her life must have definitely seen it all and no doubt, her autobiography will hit platinum sales mark, anyhow its told, whether in print or visuals. The beautifully bubbly Ijaw lady of Rivers extract has indeed faced more weighty battles and controversies than anyone can imagine.

The English Language & Literature graduate of the University of Ibadan who was born to the influential family of Dr. J. B Fiberesima and an Irish woman has hustled, sacrificed, toiled, suffered and struggle for life, so her progress and success are neither automatic nor inevitable but for the many battles in her life.

The controversy began shortly after her very first claim to fame when she won Miss Wonderland beauty pageant and later first runner up of Miss Nigeria in 1997, the young and fresh graduate who was just 23 then had had to cope with insinuations over the source of a popular hangout, Pyramid which she owned and ran at that time, although so many people believe it was a gift from her ''aristo'' boyfriend who won't show his face because of his marriage squabbles, till date, no one have the details of that sudden wealth, just like the private secret shrouding the father of her first son, Sean.

Like a star destined to shine, Ibinabo began to grow in leaps and bounds in the entertainment industry but not without the accompaniment of this same ''controversy''. As a rising star and fulfilled actress cum dynamic showbiz impressario, the ever effervescent lady woke up one day and decided to have a baby for celebrity photographer and artist, Philip Trimnel and soon after she was done with that, she moved on again to cement an everlasting baby-daddy relationship with handsome actor and current president of the Directors' Guild Of Nigeria, Fred Amata whom she had her third baby for. 

These two episodes that seemed like movie scripts generated serious hulabaloo, more so, it was at a time when Fred and his wife, Agatha were struggling to mend fences of their lives and the resultant effect of her liaison with Philip Trimnel is better told another day.Before her latest predicament which saw her being slammed a 5 years jail term for manslaughter by The Court of Appeal in Lagos presided over by Justice Jamilu Yammama Tukur, the energetic and vivacious Ibinabo was at the fore front of the ill-fated campaign that ousted the immediate past president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan just as she was battling the controversies and several court cases of her reign as the AGN President and the manslaughter trouble.

Although, the actress was said to have tried effortlessly to plead and appeal to the family of the deceased, Dr. Suraj Giwa, a staff of Lagos State hospital who died as a result of Ibinabo's alleged reckless driving on the Lekki-Epe Expressway in February, 2006 for clemency, people in the know are saying there are more to her plight than what people know.

According to sources, there are so many aggrieved parties who saw the unfortunate accident and the attendant crime as an opportunity for a pay back for the actress who they believe is fond of stepping on toes especially as regards her ways of crossing boundaries with married men.

Some of such instances, National Enquirer gathered was the alleged secrecy sorrounding the ownership of that very car Ibinabo drove, wrecked and killed someone with on that fateful day. The car, we gathered relaibly was owned by the Stock Broker wife of popular man about town and raggae musician of yesteryears, Daniel Wilson whose controversial marriage as at then was witnessing serious turbulence. The dirty details of that Daniel Wilson marriage is one story better told on a fresh different page if you can tarry a while.Bubble however burst when disgruntled parties, here and there alllegedly discovered so many shocking ''behind the scene'' facts about the unfortunate incident that sniffed life out of a renowned medical doctor; and while Daniel Wilson's wife was boiling and griefing both emotional and material losses, the Giwa's family was mourning the death of their loved one, and worst still was the fact that, instead of feeling remorseful and sort-out the issues with the families on time, the talented artiste who was alleged to be returning from a nite club from the suspected alcohol stench in her breath was banking on her wealth of influence in the society, to employ the service of human rights lawyer, Festus Keyamo who refused to take up the matter for a total different reasons.

And as if that was not enough, the family got more insulted on the first judgement of a N100,000 fine delivered by a High Court judge, Justice Oluwayemi of the trial Court for a ponderous offence like manslaughter; they saw this as laughable, demeaning and bastardisation of justice and laws of the land, a perception they have simply because of Ibinabo's various bubbly and scintilating moods and in public.

The wounds, we were told continue to hurt concerned parties the more, each time they see her junketting about town brandishing wealth and enjoying life to the fullest when the victim is not just an ordinary citizen but a famous thorouhbred professional, quintessential benefactor, influential personality and bread winner of a descendant.