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As the Dangote Cement Bag of Goodies promo enters its fifth week, two winners, from Abuja and Kano respectively were presented with brand new saloon cars on Monday by the Management of Dangote Cement Plc.

While Alhaji Sanusi Saíd, a businessman won in Kano, a bricklayer, Mr. Emmanuel Boye

Won in Abuja.

Presenting the car in Kano, the Governor the state, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Cooperatives and Tourism, Hajiya Binta Lawal Umar lauded the transparency of the promo and thanked Dangote Cement for adequately compensating their customers through the promo.

The Governor said, Dangote, being an honest man has further demonstrated his honesty with the way and manner the promo was transparently conducted.

He said the government recognised the immense contributions of Dangote Group in helping the nation to grow from strength to strength, adding that they were very happy and proud with what Dangote is doing in the state.

On her part, the Marketing Director of the company, Mrs. Funmi Sanni said the company will always look for ways to make the customers happy and that this promo is just one of the many other lofty things that have been lined up for the Dangote Cement customers.

“Aside the fact that we have the best quality cement in the market, we also want to pride ourselves as the best company that give more to the customers in terms of what is due to them. We will ensure our customers are happy, we will always come up with ideas to make them proud of their partnership with our brand. “she assured.

In the same vein, the President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Engr. Mansur Ahmed who presented the car to the lucky winner in Abuja lauded Dangote for giving back to its customers’ in a very impressive manner

The winner, who came with a retinue of his kinsmen, business associates and his family members said he could not express his happiness for the “big win”.

“I supply cement and mold blocks but I have not been patronising Dangote cement, so I did not believe the promo was real but the sales team of Dangote Cement visited me severally during the promo to enlighten, and persuaded me to try my luck.

“I sold my Toyota Corolla and invested money in five trucks of Dangote cement, my wife tried to discourage me but I persisted and my life changed for the better.

“Now I know that Dangote means well for the people of the FCT. I now sell 75 bags of Dangote cement every day.”

Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) says it has commenced online registration of customers to be provided with prepaid meters.

The company’s Head of Corporate Communication, Mr Abdulazeez Abdullahi, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Tuesday.

According to him, the website was opened to customers on Monday, saying, “customers can now apply for meters under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme of the company.”

He said that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had approved four meter providers under the scheme for KEDCO.

Abdullahi noted that the meter providers are, Integrated Power Limited, Holley Engineering Limited, Mojec International Limited and Cresthill Limited.

According to an earlier information by the company, Holley Engineering Limited, Cresthill and Mojec shall provide meters for customers in Kaduna, while Integrated Power shall service customers in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states.

Abdullahi said the efforts would enhance efficient power supply to customers by reducing electricity theft, and gradually end the estimated billing system.

NAN recalls that KEDCO, on Thursday, announced that customers wishing to be metered could kickstart the installation process by visiting the company’s website, www.kadunaelectric.com and fill the MAP meter request form.

The company noted that upon filling the form, an assessment of the customer’s  property would be conducted to determine the suitable meter to be installed.

Abdullahi, while referring to the earlier information provided by the outfit, said that customers would  pay for the meter, saying that installation’s would be done within 10 days.

He said the company had earlier sensitised customers on the MAP scheme through series of enlightenment sessions on how to access the scheme.

The official, however, warned customers against fraudulent acts, such as meter bypass and tampering, to ensure the success of the scheme. (NAN)

The Federal Government says it will set up a committee in the coming week to review the revenue sharing formula for Federal, States and Local Governments due to current economic realities.

The Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mr Elias Mbam disclosed this to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, shortly after he received an Award of Excellence from the Nigeria Civil Service Union.

According to the current revenue allocation formula, the Federal government gets 52.68 per cent, State, 26.72 per cent and Local government 20.60 per cent.

Also, 13 per cent of oil and gas federally collected revenue is returned to the oil producing states as derivation revenue to compensate for ecological disasters arising from oil production.

The formula was designed during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.

However, the RMAFC in 2013 saw the need to review the formula for balanced development of the country, hence it embarked on a nationwide consultation and met with notable figures on the issue.

In December 2014, the commission came out with a proposed new revenue formula but for some reasons, it never saw the light of day.

Five years on, the RMAFC chairman said the commission plans to constitute a standing committee by next week to review the revenue sharing formula.

Mbam said the commission would also push for the diversification of the nation’s revenue for a more sustainable growth and economic development.

“My agenda is to expand the sources of revenue for the federation. I will like to expand the cake that we are sharing so that people will get reasonable quantity.

“I intend to do this through diversification in areas outside oil and gas, and that includes solid minerals, agriculture and manufacturing.

“So, we will encourage states and let them know what is available outside oil and gas so they can develop those aspects of the economy to their own benefit,’’ he said. (NAN)

The German Corporation Agency (GIZ) has announced plans to develop about 5,000 businesses in the leather and garment industries in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia.

Mr Yakubu Paiko, Access to Finance Advisor for GIZ, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Aba on Tuesday.

Paiko explained that the company was responsible for the implementation of four year European Union (EU) funded programme called Nigerian Competitiveness Project (NACOP).

The finance advisor said the project was aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of some selected product value-chains across seven states in Nigeria.

“A value chain is a series of activities that a company which specialized in a specific industry performs in order to deliver a valuable product or service for the market.

“The value chains we are to improve within Nigeria are tomato, chili pepper, ginger, leather and garment.

“In Aba, we are just going to be dealing with just the leather and garment sectors.

“Our job with the garment and leather industry in Aba will be to support them in building their entrepreneurship capacity and skills to be able to produce qualitative products and in the right quantities.

“We are going to introduce them to some technology that will improve their productivity and production capacity as well.

“We are going to also be supporting them by linking them to markets because one of the problems they have here is marketing, when you produce, where do you take them to?

“So, one of our programmes is to link them to some of these global names in the industry so that they can sell to them.

“At the end of it all, we would have improved and touched 5,000 businesses in Leather and Garment sectors,” he said.

He said although they had no money to lend the businesses, they were bringing together key stakeholders like the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Bank of Industry and commercial banks to give loans to the businesses.

Paiko said the GIZ/NACOP launch which would include a policy round table discussion would hold in Aba by the end of the August.

He said the agency would be inviting the Abia governor and commissioners, the leather and garment manufacturing communities, the CBN, commercial banks and the media to the event.

NAN

A selected team of visiting members of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) on Sunday in Kaduna beat their Kaduna State hosts 4-0 in an exhibition match.

Olayinka Owolewa of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who was making his debut for National SWAN Selected, opened scoring early in the game.

Abubakar Hassan, the Niger SWAN Chairman, doubled the lead before half-time, after Owolewa who is also Kwara SWAN Secretary had missed a number of good scoring chances.

The visiting side restarted the game better than they played in the first stanza, controlling most of the proceedings till Nasarawa State SWAN member Jesse Adams made it 3-0.

The goal came midway into the second stanza almost as an anti-climax, as the hosts stayed back in their half to play defensively and stop the visitors from scoring more goals.

The SWAN Selected Side’s captain, Andrew Randa, scored as the match dragged to its end.

“We got some things accomplished as we wanted to,” Randa who was voted Man of the Match later said.

“I felt like we passed the ball pretty well. We would have liked to see more quality crosses and finishing, but overall I think it was a pretty good game.”

He however acknowledged that his team’s great start to the match helped them to dominate the game.

His team also had the likes of Sammy Adesoji, Richard Ajegena, Damilola Alagbe, Eche Amos and Promise Pikin-of-God.

Musa Nimrod, the Patron of Kaduna State SWAN and President of Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NBBF), who was the match’s special guest of honour was full of praises for both sides.

“Both sides had a good game, even though my people lost. But it was all interesting, and I praise the players and their officials, as well as supporters, for coming out for the game,” he said.

NAN reports that the match was played on the sidelines of the 2019 National Aiteo Cup Finals, and was meant to strengthen the unity among sports journalists covering the competition.(NAN)

Fatima, a primary school teacher, was transferred to a different school and immediately appointed as a class teacher of a class five .
On her first day in her class, she noticed that a boy named Musa was different from the rest of the pupils because he was always lonely, out of place, dirty and never used to do homework. Fatima also realized that most pupils in the class had a negative attitude towards him.

Fatima decided to investigate and find out the problem. She decided to review the file containjng the records for Musa. She was very surprised by what she found out.

Musa’s class one teacher wrote and said “Musa is a good pupil with a ready laugh. He does his homework neatly and has many friends”.

The class two teacher wrote, “Musa is a good pupil with a ready laugh. He does his homework neatly but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle”

The class three teacher wrote, “his mother’s death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best but his father doesn’t show much interest”.

The class four teacher wrote, “Musa is withdrawn.He doesn’t do his homework and has very few friends”.

By now teacher Fatima had known where the problem was, and she was very ashamed of herself. And from that day onwards she decided to pay much attention on Musa and to assist him as much as possible.

Towards the end of the year, the pupils in the class decided to bring presents to teacher Fatima. All the pupils in the class brought expensive presents which were wrapped in coloured paper except Musa. His present was wrapped clumsily in old pieces of newspaper. The rest of the pupils laughed at him when they saw what he brought.

Fatima felt great pain as she opened the present that Musa had brought.Inside, she found an old bottle of perfume which was a quarter full and an old bracelet which had several beads missing. To stifle the laughter from the pupils, teacher Fatima exclaimed “this bracelet is very beautiful” and wore it. She also took the bottle of perfume, tapped it on her wrist and put it on.

In the evening, when the rest of the pupils were going home, Musa deliberately remained behind, and when he was sure that all the pupils had left, he went to see teacher Fatima. He entered her office, and summoning enough courage he said to her, “teacher, today you smelled the way my mum used to”.When Musa left, Fatima locked herself in the office and cried for more than an hour.

The following year, Musa wrote a letter to teacher Fatima. He told her that she was the best teacher that he ever had in his life.

Six years later, he wrote another letter, he told her that he had finished secondary school and he was the best in his class. He added that “she was still the best teacher he ever had in his life”.

Eight years later, he wrote another letter. He told her that he had completed his bachelor’s degree in medicine was now a doctor. He added that she was still “the best teacher he ever had in his life”.

The following year, he wrote another letter. He told her that he had found a girl and was going to get married. He explained that his father had died one year earlier, and was wondering whether Fatima woukd accept to attend the wedding and sit in the place reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course Fatima accepted and during the wedding, she was putting on the same bracelet with several beads missing and she was also putting on the same perfume that Musa remembered his mother was putting on the day she died.

LESSON: Any kindness you do to someone lasts forever!

Touch a life around you today! Dedicated to all the teachers and individuals who have the special opportunity to touch a life. Is there a Musa in your class or around you who is fighting a secret war? Please, find him!

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) says that meters installation now depends on customers payment.

Meters would be installed for any customers as soon as they make payment for them, Mr Oyebode Fadipe, AEDC’s General Manager, Corporate Communications said.

In an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday, he said that it is only customers who paid that get meters.

“So installation of meters is not Disco-driven but customer-driven. We have meters, so it is for customers to pay and we go install it for them.

“We are working at customers pace as it is after verification that we give permit for payment,‘’ he said.

Fadipe said that 30,204 customers have so far applied for meters and that AEDC had verified 28,136 of the applications.

He said that out of the 28,136 verified only 9,467 have paid and that AEDC had so far installed 7,984 meters from the lot.

He said the reason for the 1,483 difference was because the process was ongoing, adding that AEDC had recorded over 80 per cent performance in terms of those who have paid.

“The difference is also inclusive of some people who had given us wrong data and which is making it a little bit difficult for us to get back to them.

“There are those who did not put their telephone numbers or information on how to get back to them, so there is that challenge.

“But one thing we have done is to further escalate our public enlightenment so that customers who have paid can get back to us if they are not metered,” he said.

Fadipe explained that it usually took 10 days for customers who have paid to be metered except those with inadequate information.

He said AEDC had gone the extra mile to get such customers information by asking them to go to the Area offices nearest to them or AEDC office at Yauonde Street, Wuse Zone 6.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had approved the Meter Asset Provider Scheme to ensure that electricity customers only pay for what they actually consume. (NAN)