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AFR Business

GTCO apologises to customers

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Leading Nigerian financial services group GTCO PLC has apologised to its customers over its patchy services of late.

The group sent an email to its customers saying:

We would like to sincerely apologise for every inconvenience you have experienced whilst using our services recently. We know that we have not measured up on our service promise to you and for this we are truly sorry.

We have been working tirelessly to improve our service channels and as a result of this we have not been able to serve you in the way that we are committed to doing. We are working hard to fix all issues and ensuring that all services on our banking channels are fully restored.

We know the trust you place in us when you choose to bank with us, and we do not take this for granted. Your satisfaction is at the center of everything that we do, and your experience of our service is a measure of our success.

Once again, please accept our most sincere apologies.

We are here to help you with all your enquiries or complaints. You can reach us via our 24 Hours Contact Center; via Whatsapp on 0904 000 2900, as well as our Help Portal on our corporate website.

Thank you for banking with us.

Sadiya Umar Farouq says she will back ICPC probe of N-Power scheme

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Humanitarian minister Sadiya Umar Farouq has pledged to support the ICPC in its investigation of alleged fraud in the N-Power programme.

Ms Farouq also assured beneficiaries of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), especially the N-Power, that despite allegations of fraud, the ministry was committed to continuity.

This is contained in a statement signed by the ministry’s permanent secretary, Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, on Wednesday.

She said the ministry’s attention was brought to a recent publication regarding ongoing investigations concerning fraud allegations in the programme.

“The ministry has deployed a well-rounded mechanism for the selection of eligible beneficiaries from across the country, adding that this has been in place since the inception of the programme. Working with our service provider, programme beneficiaries are onboarded, trained and deployed to pre-selected places of primary assignment,” the minister explained.

Ms Farouq added, “When it came to our notice that there may have been sharp practices by some personnel of the Payment Service Provider (PSP) involved in the payment processes of beneficiaries, the matter was immediately referred to ICPC for a thorough investigation.”

She noted that she was aware that “certain persons have consequently been invited as part of the ongoing investigations” and commended the ICPC for the “remarkable job they are doing to address the issue of alleged fraud discovered in the N-Power programme.”

However, to ensure transparency and accountability in implementing N-Power and other NSIPs, Ms Farouq revealed that the ministry had involved other MDAs, security agencies and civil society organisations in monitoring and compliance checks across 36 states.

Buhari tasks new ECOWAS Management on reforms

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[Buhari Ecowas Reforms]

President Muhammadu Buhari has called on the new management team at ECOWAS Commission led by Dr. Omar Alieu Toure to complete the review and harmonisation of ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening the sub-regional body.

President Buhari stated this Sunday in Abuja in his welcome address at the 62nd Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.

“The Commission must, therefore, work assiduously to complete the review and harmonisation of the Protocols on Good Governance and Democracy, as this would enable our sub-region to sustain our collective efforts to deepen not only Democracy but her dividends through good governance to the Community citizens.

“Related to this is the urgent need to fully bring into operation, the Regional Action Plan on the Fight Against Terrorism and other acts of criminality in the sub- region as enhanced safety will sustain national governance efforts that would ensure the growth and progress of our sub- region,” the President said.

Welcoming fellow regional leaders, President Buhari noted that this year’s Summit was the 8th that Nigeria, under his leadership has hosted:

“All of those occasions, including this one, have brought honour and respect to my country as Nigeria continues to be at the centre of sustained solidarity and collaborative efforts to maximise our relationships in order to address common challenges to our countries and the Community’s citizens.”

The Nigerian leader paid tribute to President Kuffour Addo-Nana of Ghana, the immediate past Chairperson of the Authority for his services and congratulated President Umaro Embalo of Guinea Bissau on assuming the leadership of the sub-regional organization, expressing his confidence in the latter’s ability to “discharge his responsibilities to the sub-region, as well as meet the expectations of the Community citizens.”

President Buhari thanked fellow leaders for the support he received as the Regional Champion on COVID–19 at a time the pandemic ravaged the entire world, ascribing the successes recorded in the region to their cooperation.

“Let me specifically thank you, brother Heads of State and Government, for the confidence you reposed in me to be the Regional Champion on COVID-19, an opportunity that brought me to working closely with sectoral Ministers, ECOWAS Commission as well as the West Africa Health Organization to develop regional mechanisms that mitigated the effects of the COVID-19.

“Without doubt, the commitment shown by Member-States yielded very positive results as West Africa emerged as one of the regions with the least mortality rate, not only on the continent, but globally,” he declared.

The President however, lamented that despite the efforts of ECOWAS leaders towards deepening democracy, the region suffered some unpleasant setbacks:

“Regrettably, some of our gains, especially in fully democratising our governance space have faced and continue to face severe challenging threats from unconstitutional change of government as witnessed in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea.”

Earlier in the day at the official ground-breaking ceremony of the new ECOWAS Headquarters Building, President Buhari expressed his appreciation to the Government of the People’s Republic of China, “for their financial and technical contribution to ensuring that a monument of this nature, is built on behalf of our region.”

The building, to be named the EYE OF WEST AFRICA, with an expected completion period of Twenty-Six months would house the three major ECOWAS Institutions, namely the ECOWAS Commission, the Community Court of Justice and the Parliament.

According to the President, “We have waited for this day, since 10th of July, 2019, when ECOWAS and the People’s Republic of China signed an implementation agreement for this diplomatic gift to the West African States.

“The new complex would represent the unity and brotherhood of the Member-States, as well as signify a re-commitment to progress and regional integration. It will be our home and a regional rallying point.”

In his remarks at the event, the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency Cui Jianchun, said, “to sponsor and construct the new ECOWAS Headquarters is a vivid reflection of China’s support to the work of ECOWAS as well as the traditional friendship between China and the West African countries.”

“We will continue to promote the common development of China and Africa, and are ready to make new contribution to the building of the China-Africa community with shared future in the new era,” he added.

Ambassador Jianchun lauded Nigeria’s leadership role in regional and ECOWAS affairs through its restless efforts to maintain regional stability and catalyze region integration.

NNPC says it has $1.4 billion secured for Chevron, NNPC drilling project

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Chevron Nigeria Ltd. (CNL) says $1.4 billion financing has been secured to fund its joint venture infill drilling project from 2022 to 2026 with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The project includes drilling of 37 wells in the offshore and onshore Escravos area of Delta.

CNL’s General Manager for Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Esimaje Brikinn, made the disclosure in a statement on Friday, adding that the financing arrangement was executed on November 30.

According to him, the project includes the drilling of 37 wells in the offshore and onshore Escravos area of Delta.

“This project will help to monetise reserves and increase production by arresting decline and supporting domestic gas supply.

“The project is in alignment with the NNPC/CNL JV’s lower carbon ambitions and helps support a lower carbon future through increased gas resources for commercialisation,” he said.

The manager said that NNPC/CNL JV recognised the strategic imperative to supplement funding of the NNPC/CNL JV operations to enable high impact projects that could deliver near term production.

He reiterated that NNPC/CNL JV was one of the largest producers and investors in Nigeria.

“CNL has operated in Nigeria for more than 60 years and we are committed to supporting the country in developing its energy resources for the benefit of its people.

“CNL puts people at the center of the energy conversation because it understands that the well-being of people everywhere depends on energy – energy that is affordable, reliable, and ever cleaner to enable human progress,” Mr Brikinn said.

Flutterwave, CeBIH collaborate for 2022 Conference to secure, advance payment ecosystem in Nigeria

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Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, partners with the Committee of e-Business Industry Heads (CeBIH) to host the 2022 Annual CeBIH Conference towards growing and securing the payments ecosystem in Nigeria.

The conference which holds in Lagos on Friday, December 2nd, 2022, promises to chart the course for combating fraud in payments.

This collaboration shows a renewed commitment by Flutterwave to support conversations that create a safe and secure digital payments ecosystem for all Nigerians.

Formed in 2008, CeBIH seeks to achieve the primary objective of promoting electronic banking services in line with global practices by serving as a forum for Heads of e-Business/e-Payments in Nigerian deposit-money banks to share ideas and experiences.

This year’s event, which is the 10th edition, will be a gathering of industry leaders to celebrate the gains, including the giant strides made by CeBIH in the ecosystem.

Commenting on the choice of the theme, CeBIH Chairman, Celestina Appeal said “Solving the payment challenges and fraud risks in emerging markets like Nigeria requires collaborative efforts and strategic partnerships.

“The focus of this year’s conference is very apt considering the menace of the increase in the volume and value of fraud incidents which undermines our collective efforts as an industry.

“The theme also underscores a major focus for the current leadership of CeBIH which is an effective combat against fraud through collaboration with all stakeholders, be it public or private sector”.

Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola, Founder and CEO of Flutterwave, said “We are excited to be working with CeBIH again as it provides us with the opportunity to showcase our passion for making the payment ecosystem safe and secure for everybody out there.

“It helps us network with key stakeholders and partners in the industry where we are able to foster strategic partnerships and collaborations.

“The trend seen globally is that as companies innovate to improve the technology that make e-payment seamless for consumers, cybercriminals also improvise their strategies to commit frauds”, GB added.

The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) statistics showed that about N3.5 billion was lost to fraud-related incidents between July and September 2020.

With speakers such as Premier Oiwoh, Managing Director of NIBSS; Mobibbo Haman Tukur, Director & CEO, Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit; Dr. Peter Obadare, Co-founder & Chief Visionary Officer, Digital Encode; Dr. Blaise Ijebor, Risk Management Department, Central Bank of Nigeria; Wole Oyeniran, Partner, Enterprise Technology & Performance Consulting (West Africa) at Deloitte & Touche, and Emmanuel Efenure, Head of Risk (Africa) at Flutterwave, the conference promises to lay down guidelines for building an ecosystem with zero-tolerance for fraud.