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http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Alhaji Ibrahim Lubega Kaddunabbi, the new president of the  African Insurance Organization (AIO) and the Chief Executive Officer of Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) of Uganda, in this interview talks about various challenges of insurance industry in Africa and the future. Excerpts: By Favour Nnabugwu W HAT is the role of AIO to the communities it serves? AIO works on various initiatives to, among others, strengthen a number of insurance pools to grow African insurance and reinsurance capacity across the continent. It has also worked to develop micro insurance. The AIO hosts an annual conference and general assembly that creates a platform for members to share global experiences on insurance and re-insurance matters with the goal of furthering the development of the insurance industry. The conference is held on a rotational basis and Uganda is hosting it this year. Considering this conference is attracting more than 800 participants from Africa, Europe...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Halal Takaful Nigeria, HTN, the Islamic insurance window of Cornerstone Insurance Plc, last week gave out cheques to some of its customers at the public distribution of its 2015 surplus bonus in Lagos. Group Head of HTN,   Hajia Taibat Adeniran spoke with Vanguard on the benefits of the Takaful insurance scheme. By Rosemary Onuoha H OW does Takaful insurance work? We are the first Takaful operator window in Nigeria approved by the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM.   We have done a lot since we started in 2010 and God has been supporting us. Takaful insurance is based on two principles which are the principle of Islamic investment which give opportunity for surplus, and also the general business which is based on welfare or give away. We have various products under the scheme. We have the family products either for individual or group. The family product is a savings scheme towards the welfare of one’s family and equally in the case of any ev...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By David Odama L AFIA —   GOVERNOR Umaru Tanko Almakura of Nasarawa State, has proscribed the activities of Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools, ASUSS, in the state, after accusing the body of disrupting the last Saturday’s Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, and National Examination Council, NECO, examinations in the state. The Governor,  in a statement through the state Head of Civil Service, HoS, Mr Thomas Ogiri, yesterday in Lafia, claimed the activities of the union had not only posed a serious threat and danger to the educational development of the state, but capable of inciting the people against the government in the state. According to the statement: “The union leaders kept issuing threats letters that disrupted the Saturday’s conduct of JAMB, NECO, MOCK, BECE (JSS3) examinations in the state. “Government has observed with dismay that the activities of ASUSS, an unregistered trade union was posing serious threats to peac...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Bashir Bello KATSINA — A Director in the Katsina State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB,  and a senior staff in the Education Management Information Services, EMIS, (names withheld)  have been sacked over alleged supply of scrap computers and internet facilities of N138 million in the state’s education board. Governor Aminu Bello Masari ordered the sack of the duo following submission of report by a committee that investigated the scam in the supply and installation of Education Management Information Services, EMIS computers to SUBEB in the state. A copy of the report obtained by Vanguard , noted that the Governor also directed that a case be filed at the court against the contractor, for violating the terms of the contracts. Vanguard gathered that the Governor had awarded a contract for supply of brand new computer sets and internet facilities of N138million to the said contractor. cording to the report, the Governor also directed that th...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Favour Nnabugwu AFRICAN Reinsurance Corporation, Continental Reinsurance Plc and 15 other organisations have extended corporate sponsorship to the 44th African Insurance Organisation (AIO) coming in Kampala, Uganda next week. The organisations take part in sponsoring lunch, dinner and other activities embedded in the four-day programme of the AIO  with the theme “Furthering the Financial Inclusion Agenda of African Nations Through Insurance.” Some of the organisations sponsoring this year’s AIO general assembly/conference include ZeP-Re, GIC-Re, Swiss Re Ghana Re, Prudential, Uganda Insurers Association, IRA, Assistance, J.B Boda Group, Uganda Re, IU, Guardian Reinsurance Brokers, to mention a few. A.M. Best and other rating agencies will also be in attendance in Uganda from May 21-24, 2017 for companies that wish to be rated. A.M. Best is the leading specialist insurer rating agency publishing ratings on re-insurance companies in more than 85...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Peter Egwuatu Shareholders of Unilever Nigeria Plc have unanimously endorsed its Board of Directors’ proposal to pay N378 million dividend for the financial year ended December, 2016. The shareholders, though complained that the dividend was too small , commended the Board and management for the performance during the year under review. The shareholders charged the management to put extra effort   and take advantage of the economic growth plan of the government to boost the company’s bottom line. In the year ended 2016, the company increased its revenue by 17.8 percent from N59 billion recorded in 2015 to N69 billion as Profit After Tax (PAT) for the year ended 31st December, 2016 increased significantly by 157% to N3.07bn from N1.19bn reported for the year ended 31st December 2015. Addressing shareholders at the 92nd AGM, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, His Majesty Nnaemeka Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha said that Unilever Nigeria Plc. has once aga...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Sola Ogundipe LAGOS — The Federal Government has waded into the uproar emanating from confusion over the requirement for meningitis immunisation, as recommended by the Directorate of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC. A meeting of the Federal Ministry of Health, FMOH; Nigeria Centre for Diseases Control, NCDC; National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, NPHCDA and NYSC has been called for tomorrow and Wednesday, even as the  Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has assured that the Federal Government would be responsible for immunising all corps members sent to meningitis-prone areas. With this development, thousands of the 2017 Batch A prospective corps members currently facing harrowing time obtaining meningitis immunisation at government and private health institutions may soon heave a sigh of relief. Disclosing this to Vanguard , in a telephone chat, Technical Assistant, Communication, NCDC, Dr Lawal Bakare, said the meeting would provi...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By David Odama L AFIA— DESPITE the  Federal Government bailout last year, salaries of workers in Nasarawa State have been slashed by between 30 and 50 percent and are still being owed for upward of four months. According to the Chairman of the state chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Abdullahi Adeka, “the situation is appalling, hence government delays salaries for up to four months before payment is made for one month. “Another issue of concern is that no worker in Nasarawa State has been promoted in the last six years, no annual increment, while no attention is paid to staff development in terms of training in the last six years.” He added that outstanding salaries, pensions and gratuities had not been paid, in spite of the Paris Club refund that came with a categorical instruction that the payments be effected. Workers’ experiences A senior teacher in one of the state government’s colleges said before the cut, he received N54,000 monthly, but wa...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Bala Ajiya D AMATURU— The release of bailout fund to all the states of the federation to enable them offset backlog of salaries and emoluments to civil servants appears to be yielding fruits in Yobe State, as the government has settled all salaries, gratuity and pension of workers. This was disclosed to Vanguard in Damaturu by Mr. Musa Hassan, Chairman of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE. He said: “The council workers have been paid their salaries up to date. Pensions have also been paid. Payment of gratuities has commenced already.” The Auditor-General of Local Government, Alhaji Yahaya Wakil, corroborated Hassan’s statement, saying government does not owe any local government staff arrears of pension. On gratuities, he said they had been paid up to 2015, adding “there is a monthly disbursement of N85 million to offset outstanding gratuity, which have been effective since October 2016.” The post … as Yobe clears arrears of salaries, pe...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Dirisu Yakubu A BUJA — Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has called for a prioritization of innovation in the development of Nigerian universities’ curricula to avail graduates opportunities to compete in the 21st century global economy. Obasanjo stated this during the second Quarterly Distinguished Lecture organized by the National Universities Commission, NUC, in Abuja. Obasanjo who chaired the event said curriculum is essential to the attainment of the set objectives of any institution, adding that at any point in time, a nation must be able to justify the rationale underlying her educational aspirations. “No matter at what level, no matter the magnitude, no matter the goals to be achieved, there must be curriculum which is the guide that leads to the attainment of the objective of the educational institution. Through the ages, the question has consistently been education for what? Education for knowledge, education for skill, education...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Anino Aganbi & Chris Onuoha W OMAN’s Own in a previous feature on domestic violence titled ‘Celebs: Breaking the silence on domestic violence’ was met with reactions and in this follow-up, we throw more light on the subject noticing that more women are speaking out. Women, including those in the diaspora are taking a stand against domestic violence and have broken the age long code of silence; hence, showing more interest in bringing this fight against women in the homes to the barest minimum. There is no exception of a person or gender as can be seen in the just concluded rulings published in the Tuesday, May 9, 2017 edition of Vanguard of the case involving a 29 year old housewife, Onyinyechi Akunne jailed for seven years by a Lagos court for stabbing and killing her husband, Abuchi Akunne over provocations by the deceased indulgence on lottery betting. Celebrities and non governmental agencies in Nigeria are not left out of this battle of domestic ...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Aliyu Dangida A   magistrate court sitting in Dutse has granted a former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, bail on self-recognition after four nights in detention and fixed July for commencement of trial. The prosecutor, Ikenna Ekpunobi, had argued that Mr. Lamido should not be granted bail as he could jeopardise peace in the state. But the magistrate, Muhammad Lamin, disagreed with the counsel. Mr. Lamin also rejected a police report allegedly linking the former governor to violence by his supporters. Counsel to Mr. Lamido, Felix John, argued that his client remained innocent until proven guilty, contending that the evidence upon which the former governor was being tried was a documentary and as such there was no witness to influence. The magistrate ruled that the charge of inciting violence brought against Mr. Lamido, was bailable. Though he has denied the charges against him, his party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has accused All Progressives ...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J E XXONMOBIL has announced an estimated earnings of $4 billion, or $0.95 per share in its first quarter 2017, Q1’17, financial reports as against $1.8 billion in the corresponding period of last year. The company disclosed that upstream volumes were 4.2 million oil-equivalent barrels per day, a decline of four percent compared with the prior year, primarily due to the impact of lower entitlements due to increasing prices, and higher maintenance. Also, upstream earnings of $2.3 billion improved on higher liquids and gas realisations; while downstream earnings of $1.1 billion benefited from increased refinery throughput and chemical earnings of $1.2 billion were impacted primarily by lower margins,” the company said. The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Darren W. Woods, stated: “Our results reflect an increase in commodity prices and highlight our continued focus on controlling costs and operating efficiently. We continue to make strategic acquisitions, adva...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Ediri Ejoh T he Federal Government has urged private investors to invest in power sector in order to generate, transmit and distribute adequate and stable electricity to consumers nationwide. Speaking at the just concluded Nigerian Association for Energy Economics/ International Association for Energy Economics, NAEE/ IAEE, 10th Annual International Conference in Abuja, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who was represented by Mrs. Folashade Oje, explained that the federal government has put in place mechanism that would help develop the power sector. According to her, “We are trying to make business attractive in Nigeria in a way that the bottlenecks and bureaucracy are minimized. The government is trying to look at ways of attracting power investors to the sector. We are aware of the big gap between the supply and what is needed in the industry. “The country generates over 5000Magawatts, MW, and we know that over 80 percent of t...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Prince Okafor T HE Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has indicated interest to invest in modular refinery in order to increase petroleum products supply in the Niger Delta and other parts of the nation. Consequently, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Mr. Nsima U. Ekere, is leading a strong delegation to this year’s Oil Technology Conference, OTC, in United States of America, to explore partnership opportunities in modular refineries for the Niger Delta region. Ekere said NDDC is attending the conference as it prepares to implement Federal Government’s proposal to replace thousands of illegal refining facilities scattered across the region with modular refineries. He stated: “Our participation in this year’s conference is a proactive strategy to fully prepare the region for a new era of downstream operations by small and new players in line with plans by the Federal Government to convert illegal refineries into mod...