News
Airtel Redeems 2015 Range Rover Prize to Winner
Airtel, leading telecommunications company in Nigeria, has redeemed its prize to Mr. Abiodun Adio, a truck driver, who emerged the lucky winner of 2015 Range Rover Vogue’s grand prize of the Red Hot Promo Season 2.
The grand finale of the promo was held at Airtel Head Office, Banana Island, Lagos in the presence of TCQ &A, an independent auditor and journalists from different media organizations.
At the car presentation held in Lagos, winner of the Range Rover valued at N30 million who was contacted through the phone at the event confirmed that he is a commercial truck driver residing at Akute, Lagos.
Also, at the ceremony, seven other millionaires (N1m each) were presented with their cheques.
The Grand Raffle draw was held penultimate week in the presence of Mr. Wale Akingbade, managing director, TCQ & A Associates, an independent auditor to ensure transparency during the draws of the promo.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, managing director and chief executive officer, Airtel Nigeria, congratulated the grand prize winner and others who participated in the promo adding that Airtel is determined to add value to the lives of its numerous subscribers.
He added that Airtel will continue to appreciate loyal subscribers.
Meanwhile, Kenechukwu Okonkwo, head, High Value Segment Airtel Nigeria had said that customers’ recharge and accumulates points to get selected in the top 10 numbers and the numbers are transferred to check their names on the KYC for verifications of the numbers with registered names.
He said, “The Airtel Red hot promo season 2 is arguably one of the best promo ever in the Nigeria telecommunication industry that has change the life of its loyal customers by making their dreams come a reality, in becoming millionaire.
“The Airtel Red Hot promo qualification was open to everyone on the Airtel network and was design to enrich its loyal customers.”
Also, the auditing firm represented by Akingbade, remarked that the draws were to put smiles into the life of hundreds of families.
“The draw is based on transparency and accuracy and no hard coded numbers is involved”.
Akingbade also observed that Staff and family members of the auditors including Airtel couldn’t have emerged winners, as Airtel is the only company conducting promos ensuring testing of the applications and auditing the process.
Adio, who shared his delight over the grand prize, said that Airtel has distinguished itself in the service offerings to the subscribers and has crowned it all with the Red Hot promo.
The winner said he doubted the credibility of the process, not even when he was contacted, but now ‘markets’ the brand in his neighbourhood.
Similarly, Bassey Eya, from Akwa Ibom, said “When somebody from Airtel called me in December that I won N1m, I didn’t believe him. I thought it was a scam; even my family and friends were discouraging me from answering the calls, but now, I can testify that it’s real. Thanks to Airtel Nigeria!”
Following the success of its ‘Red Hot’ promo which was first introduced in 203, Airtel re-launched the second edition of the consumer promo in December 2014, which has created life-changing opportunities for scores of Airtel customers to become instant millionaires.
For the second edition, Airtel Nigeria raised the bar by offering a star prize of a brand new 2015 Range Rover.
The promo, according to Airtel Nigeria, also produced one winner of one million naira daily while 100 lucky customers each won N10,000 daily for 60 days, through electronic draws.
Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has awarded a total of N13 million in grants to three standout tech startups at the 2025 Techpreneur Summit held in Lagos, reinforcing its commitment to innovation and inclusive growth among Nigeria’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The winners include: BuyScrap, a digital marketplace for recyclable materials – N6 million; Qiqi Farms, which connects local farmers to hospitality and export markets – N4 million; Eco-Cyclers, a youth-led recycling initiative based in Enugu – N3 million
Alongside the grant awards, DBN also launched a new digital data asset, a first-of-its-kind platform aimed at enabling data-driven decisions within the MSME ecosystem.
The platform offers deep insights into business trends, sector-specific challenges, and growth opportunities—supporting smarter policymaking and targeted investments.
In his keynote address in Lagos, Tony Okpanachi, managing director/ CEO, DBN, described the event’s theme, “CTRL + SHIFT: Tech Empowered Movement for Naija,” as a strategic call to reimagine enterprise development in Nigeria.
“This isn’t just a keyboard shortcut,” he said. “It’s a mindset reset—powered by technology—to build a more inclusive, innovative, and resilient business landscape. From financing to innovation, DBN remains committed to enabling MSMEs to thrive.”
Okpanachi emphasized that the Summit aligns with DBN’s AMPLIFI Strategy, which integrates digital transformation, sustainability, and scalability into its core programs.
He highlighted initiatives such as the Digital Shift Workshops and the Eco-Innovation Challenge as key steps toward embedding innovation in Nigeria’s MSME sector.
Encouraging young innovators, he added: “The future belongs to those bold enough to imagine and build it. DBN is proud to support the ideas that will shape tomorrow.”
A major highlight was the unveiling of the DBN Data Asset—a digital platform designed to provide real-time, evidence-based insights into Nigeria’s MSME landscape.
The platform combines DBN’s proprietary data with external sources like the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to offer a comprehensive view of MSME performance by region and sector.
Jeremy Dan Okayi, DBN’s Head of Strategy, Policy & Innovation, described the platform as: “A reservoir of insight, potential, and direction—built on two years of collaboration and shared vision. This tool will support informed decision-making across the public and private sectors.”
News
FCCPC Shuts France, Belgium, and Italy Visa Centres in Abuja Over Alleged Consumer Rights Violations
In a bold enforcement action, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), supported by the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), has sealed off the visa application centres of France, Belgium, and Italy in Abuja over alleged consumer protection breaches and obstruction of regulatory investigations.
The affected centres—located at Mukhtar El-Yakub House in the Central Business District and operated by TLS Contact, a Teleperformance Company—were shut down following reports that they refused to accept formal correspondence from the FCCPC regarding a consumer complaint. The Commission cited further infractions, including obstruction of investigation and alleged assault of its officers during lawful duties.
Speaking to journalists at the scene, Mrs. Boladale Adeyinka, Director of Surveillance and Investigations at the FCCPC, explained: “This is an enforcement operation against TLS. On March 25, 2025, we served them a letter to address a consumer complaint, which they refused to accept. Instead, TLS officers assaulted our team, and in a subsequent visit on June 17, they also allegedly assaulted uniformed police officers.”
Citing Section 33 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), Mrs. Adeyinka emphasized that failure to comply with Commission directives constitutes a criminal offense, punishable by imprisonment, fines of up to ₦20 million, or both.
TLS has been ordered to appear before the Commission on June 20, 2025, to provide testimony, submit evidence, and make formal depositions. The company may be held liable for any financial losses suffered by applicants due to the disruption of visa services.
Despite multiple requests for comment, management at TLS Contact declined to respond as of press time.
Adedapo Segun, chief financial officer (CFO), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), has explained why there is a missing sum of N210 trillion in the company’s audited financial statement spanning from 2017 to 2023.
According to Segun, the missing funds are cash calls requested by joint venture (JV) partners and settlement to the JVs.
He spokeat a session of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Aliyu Wadada.
Segun was responding to an alarm raised by the committee over missing N210 trillion in NNPCL’s audited financial statement.
Recall that Wadada issued a one-week ultimatum to NNPCL to account for the missing N210 trillion.
Reacting, Segun said, “The N103 trillion and N107 trillion are made up of joint venture cash calls that have been requested by the JV operators and JV cash call payments made by NNPCL, which are yet to be reconciled because governance procedures were not done at that time.
“That is why you see the description reflecting those two items would be washed out because they are two sides of the same transaction, which is the cash calls by JV partners and the settlement by NNPCL.”
However, Habu Sadeik, a financial analyst, in a post on X on Thursday, said Segun’s response was unsatisfactory.
Saidik faulted NNPCL’s response about the fund discrepancies, noting that something is not right with the audited financial statement.
“Forget about the senators’ lack of knowledge.
“The CFO’s response is not satisfactory. Are you saying that cash calls worth hundreds of trillions are just appearing on your FS only in 2024 without 31 disclosure?
“If it’s a cash call, why hasn’t the disclosure said so?
“Which cash call is over 100 trillion?
“Something is definitely not right, and I hope they retrospectively correct that FS.
“Someone somewhere did a chef’s work,” he wrote on X.
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