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(FLOWERBUD NEWS) Fidelity Bank Plc on Wednesday flagged off the maiden edition of its Get Alert In Millions (GAIM) Season 4 savings promo draw in Ibadan, Oyo State, splashing 13 customers across the nation with N15 million and other consolation prizes.

The savings promo, which will end in April 2020, a duration of six mouths, will see customers cart away a total of N120 million in cash prizes.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that lucky cash prize winners for the monthly draw include Ahanna Anayo and Dunu Benjamin who won N1 million each and Ezzama Autonomous Community, Ezea South, Ebonyi State that won N2 million from South-East.

Others are Patrick Adughulu and Emmanuel (South-south) that won N1 million and N2 million respectively.

Uchenna Okonkwo and Onyedikachi Faith (Abuja); Musa Sani and Ghali Muhamud (North); Okechukwu Dazerlington and Chisom Akaeze (Lagos); and Akintunde Nurudeen and Francis (South West) also won N1 million each, among other winners.

Speaking at a the draw, Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo, the bank’s Managing Director, said that the campaign was the ninth in the series of savings promos organised by the bank in last 12 years to promote financial inclusion.

Okonkwo said that under the promo, the bank’s customers would win N82 million in the monthly draw and N38 million in the bimonthly draw, amounting to a total of N120 million, apart from other consolation prizes.

Okonkwo, who was represented by Mrs Chijioke Ugochukwu, Executive Director, Shared Services & Products (EDSS&P), said that the campaign was to reward customers for their loyalty and patronage.

He said that the savings promo remained an integral part of the bank targeted at both existing and prospective customers of the bank.

Okonkwo said that the bank, apart from using traditional channels, would utilise digital platforms such as its Quick Response (QR) code and Virtual Assistant to reach unserved areas.

He asserted that the promo was focused on reaching out to the unbanked population across the nation.

“We embark on campaigns like this to drive financial inclusion in line with the financial inclusion strategy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“This savings promo allows us to take banking services to the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.

“It also gives us an opportunity to promote a savings culture which is critical to building up investible funds for individuals and companies and a key component of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth,” he added.

Also speaking, Mrs Janet Nwabuko, Head Savings Group, urged both the existing and prospective customers to embrace the promo in order to be part of the bank’s success story.

Nwabuko said that to participate in the new promo, new customers were expected to open a savings account and grow it to N20, 000 to qualify for monthly draw to win N1 million.

She said that existing customers would top up with N10,000 to qualify for the monthly draw to win N1 million.

According to her, both existing and new customers will grow their accounts to N20,000 to win N2 million, among others. (NAN)

FLOWERBUDNEWS) (The Minister of and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, says Federal Government will equip 200,000 youths with basic, intermediate and advance digital skills in the areas of web design and management, software training and cloud computing in the next two years.

Dare said this in Abuja at the 2019 Africa Youth Day celebration with the theme “ One Million by 2021, Count Me In.”

He said youths would also be equipped on Artificial Intelligence, App development, mobile device repairs, coding and data processing

The minister said that the African Union decided to dedicate one month this year to the commemoration of this important event.

Dare said it was driven by the desire to mobilise at least one million youths to be among one million Africans who would benefit from direct opportunities in the areas of Education, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Engagement (4Es).

He added that Nov. 1 was observed as African Youth Day, having been recognised and adopted in June 2006 by African Heads of Government at their meeting in Banjul, Gambia.

He explained that “it is important that governments in Africa continue to place the need for increased investments in youths on the front burner.

“I, therefore, commend the African Union for the theme ‘One Million by 2021, Count Me In’ as this will opens opportunities for young people to take personal stake in their development, and in a broader sense, that of the continent.”

He pointed out that in the past, many African governments in their quest for sustainable development invested substantially in infrastructure and economic reforms while paying little attention to the development of their human capital.

He said “decades of these investments still leave us in search of more effective ways to attain our development goals. For me, I believe the way to go is to tilt the scale.

“The cost implication of increasing investment in youth is minimal, when compared with the enormous resources most countries in Africa expend to mitigate the impact of poor investments in youths, peace, security and economies.

“Therefore, many experts believe that if not adequately harnessed, youths could become demographic time bomb rather than resource because a large mass of frustrated young people would likely become potential source of social and political instability.

“It is from this context that I commend the African Union for the theme,’’ Dare said.

According to the minister, it is double celebration in Nigeria as she uses the occasion to launch the pocket size National Youth Policy (NYP) and the National Youth Policy App.

He said the most important was the introduction of the NYP and the commencement of the new DEEL initiative for the Youths.

He explained that DEEL stands for Digital literacy and Skills Acquisition programme, E stands for Employment, L stands for Leadership and mentoring.

Dare said that the ministry would work toward sustaining an ecosystem of state and non-state actors in each thematic area of the National Youth Policy, which would evolve into the National Youth Policy Implementation Network.

He announced that the ministry would also activate its Youth Development Centres in the country for Entrepreneurship Skills training.

He said “today, we begin the new DEEL process through the Work Experience Programme (WEP)”, noting that the DEEl initiative would connect 5,000 unemployed graduates with employers by placing them in the corporate world on internship capacities for a short period in the next one year.

The Minister of State, Science and Technology, Malam Mohammed Abdullahi, said that the two ministries would collaborate to ensure that the country achieved its youths agenda.

Abdullahi said that the most important areas where any country could dedicate more work to achieve better development was communication and technology.

According to him, technology is one major area a country can use to assist youths to develop themselves.

He stressed that the country needed to look inward to solve youth’s problems.

The Minister of Woman Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen, encouraged youths to embrace the Not-Too-Young- To-Run Act to understand what politics was all about.
Tallen said that the ministry would work to ensure that youths were carried along to enable them to achieve their goals.
The Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba, said that the ministry would encourage youths in their long term development plan.
Agba advised the youths to inculcate the habit of good behaviour to move the country forward. (NAN)

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says no voter will be allowed to vote without voter card recognised by the Smart Card Reader in the Nov. 16 elections in Bayelsa and Kogi.

Prof. James Apam, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), told NAN on the sideline of a one-day Training on Election Duties, organised by Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) for its Staff at Kogi Sector Command Headquarters in Lokoja.

Speaking on behalf of Apam, Mr Olugbenga Ajayi, a staff officer of the commission, warned that no person would be allowed to vote without being accredited using the card reader.

“We keep learning everyday; and we want to obey what we have said as electoral umpire; if card reader cannot identify you, you cannot vote.

“It is either card reader or no voting in Kogi and Bayelsa elections; anything apart from the use of card reader for accreditation and voting will be disqualified.

“No manual accreditation would be allowed; it is either card reader or no voting,” he reiterated.

He enjoined all the personnel participating in the elections to conduct themselves very well and not to compromise but respect their dignity and protect the sanctity of the elections.

He further urged other security personnel to adequately secure electoral staff and election materials, saying all eyes are on Kogi and Bayelsa elections.

He also called for timely arrival of security personnel at INEC Local Government Secretariat, who would be escorting their staff and election materials to INEC Registration Area Centre (RAC) for timely dispatched.

“We urged the security personnel to live by the oath they swore to and not chasing after politicians for money,” he said.
(NAN)

A Consultant with Unicef Field Office in Bauchi, Al Amin Barrow, has appealed to parents in Bauchi State to bring out their children for measles and meningitis A vaccination, saying this is the best way to prevent children from dying with the disease. (more…)