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Keynote speaker arrives for Realnews 12th anniversary lecture
AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM
SPONSORED BY: H&H
KARIM El Aynaoui, Executive President of the Policy Center for the New South, in Rabat, Morocco, who is the keynote speaker at the Realnews 12th Anniversary Lecture, has arrived in Lagos, aboard Air Maroc on Monday, November 18, 2024.
El Aynaoui who was accompanied by Abdelhak Bassou, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, Rabat, Morocco is also the Executive Vice-President of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and Dean of its Humanities, Economics and Social Sciences Cluster.
L-R Karim El Aynaoui, Executive President of the Policy Center for the New South, Maureen Chigbo, Publisher, Realnews magazine, and Abdelhak Bassou, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South in Lagos on Monday.
A team of Realnews Magazine and Publication officials led by Maureen Chigbo, Publisher/Editor, was at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport to receive them.
The Realnews Lecture, which has held consecutively for 11 years beginning from 2014 will centre on “Africa in world shifting geopolitics, matters arising on democracy, technology, artificial intelligence, natural resources” and will be held at the Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, on Tuesday, November 19, 2024.
El Aynaoui’s contributions at the Policy Center for the New South, pcns, a Moroccan Think Tank that works to improve social and economic public policies in Africa and the Global South makes him a perfect fit for this year’s theme.
He is an economist. From 2005 to 2012, he worked at the Central Bank of Morocco where he held the position of director of economics, statistics, and international relations.
At the Central Bank of Morocco, he was in charge of the research department and equally a member of the governor’s cabinet. Previously, he worked for eight years at the World Bank as an economist for its regional units of the Middle East and North Africa and Africa.
El Aynaoui has published books and journal articles on macroeconomic issues in developing countries. His recent research has been focused on growth and the labour market in Morocco, as well as on reforming international development economy. EL Aynaoui holds scientific and advisory positions at various institutions.
He is currently a member of the Malabo Montpellier Panel, the scientific committee of the Italian Institute for International Political Studies, the scientific council of the Moroccan Capital Market Authority, the International Board of Leonardo Medor Foundation, the advisory council of the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy of the American University of Cairo, Morocco’s Chapter of the Confrérie des Compagnons de Gutenberg.
He serves as advisor to the CEO and Chairman of OCP Group and is a board member of OCP Foundation. He holds a Phd in economics from the University of Bordeaux in France where he taught courses in statistics and economics for three years and he is also a Commendatore of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
Realnews, a general interest magazine, is an online publication that thrives on investigative journalism. We have expertise in reporting the oil and gas sector with its attendant environmental challenges.
We aim to unearth exclusive stories about real people and the challenges they face in their day-to-day activities. We do this bearing in mind that government can only act to influence the lives of people positively if they are aware of their true situation.
Hence, our objective is to use our investigative skills to ferret out information in the sectors we focus on and produce an unbiased report that will influence the government and decision-makers to take actions that will make society better. Realnews is populated by seasoned journalists who believe strongly in the tenets and ethics of the profession.
The online publication believes that journalism as the fourth estate of the realm can contribute its quota towards building a fair and just society where fundamental human rights are respected and citizens have the freedom to pursue their interests anywhere in the world without hindrance.
Its editors have a combined experience of several decades in active journalism practice and are highly dedicated to serving humanity. Hence its motto: “for god and humanity.”Realnews anniversary lecture series was established to commemorate the best minds in our society and to tap from them to enrich the discourse in our national development.
The 11th anniversary lecture in 2023 on the threats of illicit funds flow to the African economy was delivered by Dr. Edwin w. Harris jr., Director-General, ECOWAS Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).The 10th anniversary lecture in 2022 on “Drug Abuse among Youths in Africa: Implication for Nigerian Economy and 2023 Elections” was delivered by Brig- General Buba Marwa, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA; 9th Anniversary Lecture of Realnews in 2021 was delivered by Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board on “Nigeria in the Unfolding Integration of the African Market: the oil and gas perspective”; 2020 Eighth Anniversary Lecture of Realnews was delivered by Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on Covid-19 on Managing Covid-19 Pandemic in Africa: the Nigeria Experience; Former President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana gave the 2019 Lecture on Beyond Politics: an Economic Narrative for West Africa while Prof. Mahmood Yakubu spoke on Political transitions and Africa’s Economic Development: Preparations for Nigeria’s 2019 General Elections at the 2018 Lecture. The 2017 Fifth Anniversary Lecture on African Leadership in a Turbulent era was delivered by Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, former Minister of Education and former World Bank Vice President. The 2016 Fourth Anniversary Lecture on Security and National Development in Plural Democratic Society was delivered by Dr. Mohamed ibn Chambas, former United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative to West Africa and the Sahel; the 2015 Realnews Third Anniversary Lecture was delivered by Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on November 19, 2015, under the theme: It’s the Nigerian Economy Stupid? The Second Realnews Anniversary Lecture On Nigerian Democracy: Getting It Right In 2014 was delivered by Professor Maurice Iwu, former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
News
Access Bank Appoints Uche Orji as Independent Non-Executive Director
Access Bank Appoints Uche Orji as Independent Non-Executive Director
AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM
SPONSORED BY: H&H
Access Holdings Plc (‘the Company’) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Uche Orji as an Independent Non-Executive Director of its flagship subsidiary, Access Bank Plc (‘the Bank’), effective from January 7, 2025, following the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (‘CBN’).
This appointment reflects our commitment to enhancing our governance practices and ensuring a diverse and experienced board.
Mr. Orji is a renowned investment banking professional, information technology entrepreneur, and finance expert with three (3) decades of professional and board experience. He is the Co-founder and Partner of Titangate Capital Management, an equity firm that invests in deep-tech, enterprise software, semi-conductors, hardware, and artificial intelligence companies.
He is the Founder and Director of Vitesse Africa Limited, an investment advisory firm focused on African energy, technology and infrastructure sectors. He serves as an Executive Board member and investor in Ultrasafe AI, an artificial intelligence/IT development firm that maintains strategic collaborations with leading technology companies. He also sits on the Board of Private Infrastructure Development Group, London, and chairs the Risk Committee.
Previously, Mr. Orji served as the founding Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority. He held positions as Managing Director and Senior Analyst at UBS Securities Limited New York and Managing Director and Head of European Technology/Semiconductor Equity Research at JP Morgan Securities, London. He also served as Executive Director/Portfolio Manager at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, London. Earlier in his career, he was Acting Financial Controller at Diamond Bank Limited and an Audit Trainee at Arthur Andersen & Co.
He holds a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Port-Harcourt and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Paul Usoro, SAN, the Chairman of the Bank said:
“Mr. Orji has been appointed based on his exceptionally rich professional, academic, and corporate board experience which will be invaluable to the Bank as we continue to pursue our strategic objectives.
We are confident that his addition to the Board would further enrich the quality of our decision-making process, enabling us to deliver even greater value to our customers and stakeholders.
His appointment has been made in accordance with the Bank’s internal policies and has been notified to all relevant regulatory authorities underscoring our commitment to upholding the highest standards of corporate governance.
On behalf of the Board, Management and staff, I warmly welcome Mr. Orji to the Board and look forward to his contributions towards our goal of becoming one of the top 5 African Banks in the shortest possible time.”
News
Go and List Your Challenges, Lagos Speaker tells NANS Member During Courtesy Visit
Go and List Your Challenges, Lagos Speaker tells NANS Member During Courtesy Visit
AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM
SPONSORED BY: H&H
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Lagos State University (LASU) branch, on Friday paid a courtesy visit on the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Princess Mojisola Lasbat Meranda.
The student representatives said the visit was to congratulate Meranda over her emergence as Speaker of the State Assembly.
Meranda, an alumnus of LASU, was elected Speaker on January 13 after the removal of Mudashiru Obasa by the lawmakers over issues relating to alleged high-handedness and financial impropriety.
Describing her as a thoroughbred Lagosian, the chairman of NANS, Abdulraheem Azeez, used the opportunity to list some of the challenges faced by students in the university.
According to him, students have had to read in darkness as the Ikeja campus gets less than two hours of power supply daily.
Azeez also raised the need for the State to make available loans for indigent students as well as for the Assembly to provide opportunities for students to witness the plenary of the House.
Meranda, while thanking the students for the visit, urged them to always attend town-hall meetings in their constituencies where they can contribute and make their opinions known.
She further encouraged them to apply for the loans initiated by the government as done by students in other countries.
The Speaker requested the students to formally send their complaints in written forms to the House for action.
News
EFCC Tasks Corps Members on Corruption
AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM
SPONSORED BY: H&H
EFCC Tasks Corps Members on Corruption
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede charge members of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, to be change agents and strong resisting force against corruption.
He also enjoined them to be active foot soldiers and whistle-blowers or intelligence-gatherers against corruption.
Speaking on Thursday, January 30, 2025 at the NYSC Orientation Camp, Yikpata, Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State, Olukoyede said It is important for youths to realise that, these roles, if performed creditably, will bring up appreciable growth in the economy of our nation. He said that, “creative energies of youths will be maximised when corruption is brought to its knees.”
The EFCC boss whose address was delivered by the Head, Public Affairs Department, Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC, Ayodele Babatunde said that most of the problem confronting the country such as kidnapping, banditry, poor infrastructure, among others were connected to corruption. He added that all hands must be on the deck to tame the cankerworm.
Olukoyede encouraged the youths to embrace the virtues of hard work and shun fraudulent practices such as cybercrime noting that, “it’s profitable to earn dignity and fame through hard work and legit business.”
While calling on the youths to channel their potentials productively and shun crime, the EFCC Chair said that, “Yahoo-Yahoo is not a sustainable way of life.”
“There is no shortcut to wealth and fame. The fact that the rate of unemployment is high should not be an excuse to resort to crime. Act of criminality might deliver wealth in the short term but there will be misery and gnashing of teeth”, he said.
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