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UK Donates Counter Insurgency Training Facility to Nigerian Army

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United Kingdom (UK) has donated a Counter Insurgency (COIN) training facility to the Nigerian Armed Forces, to help enhance the reality of their training and better prepare the force for its future operations.

Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, represented by Major General SG Mohammed, and British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Mr. Jonny Baxter

Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, represented by Major General SG Mohammed, and British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Mr. Jonny Baxter

The training facility was funded by the UK through its Ministry of Defence and built by a team of Royal Engineers from the British Army working alongside Nigerian Army Engineers. The facility will make training more realistic for the soldiers and help prepare trainees to operate effectively during deployments.

Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, represented by Major General SG Mohammed, officially opened the training facility today in Ogun State, alongside the British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Mr. Jonny Baxter, and Brigadier Martin Leach from the UK’s Ministry of Defence.

Attendees also saw firsthand, a demonstration operation conducted by Nigerian Armed Forces. The Deputy High Commissioner was subsequently briefed on the training display.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Deputy High Commissioner, Mr. Jonny Baxter said: “The UK has deep interests in Nigeria’s development, security, and stability.

“We enjoy a long-standing security and defence relationship, underpinned by a shared desire to support regional and international peace and security.

“Our work with the Nigeria Armed Forces seeks to build capacity to address the root causes of insurgency and insecurity and support institutional modernisation and transformation.

“We provide substantial security and development support to Nigeria including capacity building assistance, training facilities and equipment. The British Government will continue to work with Nigeria to respond to the drivers of conflict – and all these engagements we hope, will lead to better security, stability, and enhanced growth partnerships for the good of both our countries.”

The Deputy High Commissioner also paid tribute to the significant sacrifices made by the Nigerian soldiers in working with their counterparts to bring peace and security to the region.


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PalmPay, Jumia Reward Users in Festive Campaign

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This holiday season just got a whole lot more exciting! PalmPay, one of Africa’s leading fintech platforms, operates Nigeria’s most used mobile wallet and has teamed up with Jumia, the continent’s e-commerce giant, to launch a festive campaign that’s all about convenience, rewards, and enhancing your shopping experience.

Running from December 11th to 28th, 2024, this holiday campaign is set to reward shoppers who use the new “Pay with PalmPay” feature on Jumia with cash prizes. Every purchase made using the direct payment method automatically enters participants into a draw, giving them a chance to win exciting cash rewards while enjoying the seamless shopping and payment process.

A Strategic Partnership To Enhance Digital Payments

The integration of the “Pay with PalmPay Wallet” feature on Jumia marks a major milestone in the partnership between the two industry leaders.

Speaking at the media announcement, Mr. Chika Nwosu, Managing Director of PalmPay, highlighted the broader mission driving this collaboration: “We are thrilled to join forces with Jumia to redefine convenience for shoppers. At PalmPay, our mission has always been to drive economic empowerment through accessible and user-friendly financial services. This partnership is a natural step forward in achieving that goal.”

Beyond the holidays, this partnership with Jumia m,k is a signal of bigger things to come. Mr. Chika added: “This is more than just about payments—it’s about creating value for our customers. We are excited about the opportunities this partnership will unlock in 2025, including campaigns and innovative initiatives that will further transform the online shopping landscape.”

Sunil Natraj, CEO of Jumia Nigeria, highlighted the shared vision between both companies, stating: “At Jumia, we are dedicated to creating value for our customers by ensuring a convenient, reliable, and secure shopping experience. This partnership with PalmPay strengthens our commitment to enhancing the digital payments within our platform. By integrating PalmPay, we are providing more options for customers to access affordable and quality goods with the convenience of cashless transactions.”

How to Join the Holiday Fun

Participating in the campaign is simple. When shopping on Jumia, select the “Pay with PalmPay” option at checkout, and your entry into the draw is automatic. It’s that easy!

Bonus Entry: Share a screenshot of your purchase on X (formerly Twitter) using the hashtag #PalmPayXJumia to increase your chances of winning. Additional winners will be selected from participants engaging with the campaign on Twitter.

Whether you are shopping for gifts, or gadgets this festive season, PalmPay and Jumia are making sure your experience is not only seamless but also rewarding.

To learn more about the campaign, stay tuned to the official  X accounts (formerly Twitter) of @palmpay_ng and @JumiaNigeria. for updates, announcements, and more chances to win.


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Corruption: ICPC Threatens Sanctions as 330 MDAs Fail Financial, Governance Tests

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Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC), has revealed that none of the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), in the country complied fully with ethical standards, policies, and anti-corruption measures in the passing year.

Corruption: ICPC Threatens Sanctions as 330 MDAs Fail Financial, Governance Tests

This was following the findings from the Commission’s Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (EICS) for the MDAs.

The Commission warned that henceforth, non-compliant MDAs will face necessary actions, including enforcement, to ensure adherence to government directives.

According to the EICS scorecard released on Thursday in Abuja by Demola Bakare, ICPC spokesperson, no MDA out of 330 MDAs that were assessed through physical deployment by ICPC teams achieved full compliance.

The EICS serves as a preventive tool used to assess and enhance the compliance of MDAs with ethical standards, policies, and anti-corruption measures.

Findings from the report indicated that no MDA achieved full compliance, while 29.55 per cent of MDAs captured attained substantial compliance, and 51.62 per cent had partial compliance.

The report also observed that 15.91 per cent showed poor compliance, while 292 per cent were non-compliant.

According to the report, common gaps included a lack of whistle-blower policies, strategic plans, and effective stock verification units, adding that many MDAs failed to conduct any forms of system studies or render financial and audit reports.

Commenting on the report, Bakare noted: “This year, 2024, the tool covered 323 responsive MDAs, with 15 MDAs non-responsive and categorised as high corruption risk.

“It is imperative to inform you that this initiative has yielded some positive and value-driven impacts, and these are, but not limited to, increased awareness and compliance with anti-corruption measures, enhanced competition among MDAs to meet criteria, and improved procurement processes and data reliability.

“The Commission recognises the MDAs with substantial compliance and will continue deploying these tools to promote integrity and accountability.

“Non-compliant MDAs will face necessary actions, including enforcement, to ensure adherence to government directives. We are certain that these efforts will continue to underline ICPC’s dedication to enhancing good governance and preventing corruption.”


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Dangote Refinery Denies Liquidity Challenges, Dismisses NNPCL’s $1Bn Loan Claim

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Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals (DPRP) has dismissed claims that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) used a $1 billion loan secured through a crude forward sale agreement to support the refinery during a liquidity crisis.

Dangote Refinery Denies Liquidity Challenges, Dismisses NNPCL’s $1Bn Loan Claim

In a statement on Wednesday, Anthony Chiejina, company’s chief branding and communications officer, said the NNPCL’s stance was a distortion of the facts.

“We would like to clarify that this is a misrepresentation of the situation as $1bn is just about 5% of the investment that went into building the Dangote Refinery,” Chiejina said.

Chiejina stated that the refinery’s decision to enter into a partnership with the NNPCL was based on the recognition of “their strategic position in the industry as the largest offtaker of Nigerian crude” and at the time, the sole supplier of petrol into Nigeria.

“We agreed on the sale of a 20% stake at a value of $2.76 billion. Of this, we agreed that they will only pay $1 billion while the balance will be recovered over a period of 5 years through deductions on crude oil that they supply to us and from dividends due to them,” Chiejina said.

“If we were struggling with liquidity challenges we wouldn’t have given them such generous payment terms. As at 2021 when the agreement was signed, the refinery was at the pre-commission stage.”

According to the statement, the agreement would have been cash-based rather than credit-driven if the refinery struggled with liquidity issues.

The refinery’s spokesman said the NNPCL was subsequently unable to supply the agreed 300,000 barrels a day of crude (bpd).

He stated that the shortfall was because the NNPPC “had committed a greater part of their crude cargoes to financiers with the expectation of higher production which they were unable to achieve”.

“We subsequently gave them a 12-month period for them to pay cash for the balance of their equity given their inability to supply the agreed crude oil volume,” he said.

“NNPCL failed to meet this deadline which expired on June 30th 2024. As a result, their equity share was revised down to 7.24%. These events have been widely reported by both parties,” he said.


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