News Wings

Tag: Enugu

  • The Next Titan Season 8 to Hold Hybrid Auditions

    The Next Titan Season 8 to Hold Hybrid Auditions

    Auditions for season 8 of the Nigerian entrepreneurial reality show, The Next Titan, is set to commence next week in six major cities across the country, this was unveiled by the organizers and sponsors of the show at a Press Conference.

    According to the Executive Producer of the show, Mr Mide Kunle Akinlaja, the auditions will start next week in Port Harcourt before moving to Abuja, Enugu, Lagos, Ibadan and Kano.

    He also added that the screening would be hybrid as intending contestants who would not be available for the physical auditions would be allowed to screen online.

    According to him, Season 8 is a Special Edition as it gives an opportunity for funding from Nigeria Investment Youth Fund (NYIF), an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.

    The top 1,000 contestants from the auditions, with good business ideas and with registered businesses, will automatically qualify for N3,000,000 funding while unregistered businesses will qualify for N250,000.

    Mr Akinlaja stated that 50 persons would be selected for the main show and will enter the boot camp, where the number would be pruned to 16 final contestants with the brightest ideas.

     It was disclosed that these contestants would be nominated to live together and compete by carrying out weekly business tasks and challenges around the city of Lagos for 10 weeks.

    As the programme progresses, the number would be reduced through weekly evictions in the boardroom by the judges, leaving the winner will go home with N15 million to start a dream business of choice.

    The Next Titan was designed to assist young Nigerian entrepreneurs by identifying the best business minds and supporting their entrepreneurial acumen through logistical assistance, informal training, knowledge and other requisite services needed to propel them into successful personalities.

    The sponsors for this year’s edition include Heritage Bank, Air Peace, Haven Homes, Sifax Group, Lifemate Furniture, RC Cola, Milky Taurus Limited, Terra season cubes, Cummins Generators, and Premium Box.

    Every contestant is expected to register with Msport before proceeding with the registration of the show as a Msport verification code would be requested.

  • Feature: Resolving traffic gridlock in Nigeria

    Feature: Resolving traffic gridlock in Nigeria

    By Ayo Akinfe

    To resolve the menace of traffic gridlock in our cities Nigerians must be prepared to forgo their cars in exchange for the government coming up with a comprehensive transport policy.

    [1] Earlier this week, Nigeria’s Federal executive Council decided to introduce toll plazas on selected dual carriageways to help fund road maintenance and construction. I fully support this new tax but would rather see that money invested in a railway network and public transport

    [2] With crude oil now considered an unnecessary pollutant we need to reduce car usage. Across the world, more and more cities are going car-free and we need to follow suit in Nigeria. At the very least, every city is phasing out petrol and diesel cars and going for electronic automobiles. Lagos simply has to lead the way with this. It is one of the most congested cities in the world and needs to come up with a radical plan that includes an underground metro, bicycles, electric busses and car-free zones. Other large cities like Ibadan, Kano, Kaduna, Enugu, Benin, Port Harcourt, Maiduguri, etc must them follow suit. Going forward, every state should have a target of building at least one car-free City!

    [3] In late 2016, Madrid’s Mayor Manuela Carmena reiterated her plan to kick personal cars out of the city centre. She confirmed that Madrid’s main avenue, the Gran Vía, will only allow access to bikes, buses and taxis before she leaves office in May 2019 as part of a larger effort to ban all diesel cars in Madrid by 2025. Lagos at the very least needs this

    [4] Oslo also announced plans to permanently ban all cars from its city center in 2019. The Norwegian capital will invest heavily in public transportation and replace 35 miles of roads previously dominated by cars with bike lanes.

    [5] in Chinese city Chengdu, only half the roads in the 80,000-person metropolis will allow vehicles

    [6] In the German city of Hamburg, over the next two decades, The authorities will reduce the number of cars by only allowing pedestrians and bikers to enter certain areas. The project calls for a gruenes netz, or a “green network,” of connected spaces that people can access without cars. By 2035, the network will cover 40% of Hamburg and will include parks, playgrounds, sports fields and cemeteries

    [7] Today, over half of Copenhagen’s population bikes to work every day, thanks to the city’s effort to introduce pedestrian-only zones starting in the 1960s. The Danish capital now boasts more than 200 miles of bike lanes and has one of the lowest percentages of car ownership in Europe

    [8] In the French capital Paris, the mayor plans to double its bike lanes. Already, selected streets are only available to electric cars. Paris also introduced its first car-free day in 2015 and it instituted a car-free Sundays rule in May 2016

    [9] Most streets that surround Brussels’ city square, stock exchange, and Rue Neuve (a major shopping street) have always been pedestrian-only. The roads make up the second largest car-free zone in Europe, behind Copenhagen

    [10] In April 2016, Mexico City’s local government decided to prohibit a portion of cars from driving into the city center two days every work week and two Saturdays per month. It determines which cars can drive on a given day using a rotating system based on license plate numbers

    Ayo is a London-based journalist who has worked as a magazine and newspaper editor for the last 31 years. He was the founding editor of Nigerian Watch, the UK-based paper for the Nigerian community in the UK.  

    He is the current president of Ondo Union UK, the chair of Uncelebrated Nigerian Awards UK and was the chairman of the Nigerian Centenary Awards UK organising committee. He was recently appointed as the Chairman of the Central Association of Nigerians in the UK

    He is also the author of two books on Nigeria. Fuelling the Delta Fires is an expose which reveals the depth of the challenges in the Niger Delta, while Black Ladder is a narrative about the life of a Nigerian immigrant in the UK. In addition, Ayo is a columnist for several publishing houses in both Nigeria and the UK.

    Ayo has a history degree from the University of Ibadan and I did my post-graduate studies in journalism at the University of Westminster.

  • Fidelity Restates Support To Small Business as Enugu First Lady, ABCON Commend Bank

    Fidelity Restates Support To Small Business as Enugu First Lady, ABCON Commend Bank

    Fidelity Bank Plc, top Nigerian lender has reaffirmed its commitment to enhancing the productivity and prosperity of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country by providing capacity building and advisory services, innovative funding options and other forms of relevant support that would significantly improve their overall contributions to national development.

    Fidelity CEO, Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe gave the assurance at the Fidelity SME National Capacity Building Webinar organized by the bank for entrepreneurs in Enugu State, in collaboration with the Enugu State Ministry of Trade and Commerce and the Enugu SME Centre; Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN); Nigeria Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (NASME) and Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA).

    The webinar which will take place across the country on a state-by-state basis, is part of concerted efforts to assist entrepreneurs across all sectors of the Nigerian economy develop requisite capacity to unlock their full potentials and take their businesses to the next level of growth.

    Mrs. Onyeali-Ikpe who during her remarks on Wednesday provided insights into the bank’s unique approach to managing MSMEs, pointed out that SMEs which are businesses with less than N100m annual turnovercontribute about 48% of national GDP, account for 96% of businesses and 84% of employment in Nigeria. She noted that despite the significant contribution of SMEs to the Nigerian economy, challenges still persist that hinder the growth and development of the sector. Chief among these are funding, lack of infrastructure, poor management, low entrepreneurial skills, improper planning, poor digital skills, etc. The Fidelity CEO however noted that the webinar seeks to proffer appropriate solutions to these challenges in a very practicable manner.

    “We have a dedicated SME Desk with innovative products and services to assist your business. Fidelity Bank, in partnership with various private and public institutions provides funding, business advisory services for all our customers. This webinar is an excellent opportunity to network, share information and deepen the SME sector in Enugu State”, she explained.

    Themed “Funding and Financial Management”, the Enugu Edition had in attendance special guests including Mrs. Monica Ugwuanyi, First Lady, Enugu State; Sir Robert O. Anwatu, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Roban Stores and Mr. Chiedozie Atuegwu, Director, Michelle Laboratories Limited, amongst others.

    In her remarks, Mrs. Ugwuanyi applauded the bank for its unrelenting support for MSMEs in Enugu State, stating that the Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi-led administration remained at the forefront of SME development in Nigeria as exemplified by its continuous investments in infrastructure deployment and provision of labor policy frameworks to further encourage investments.

    Speaking in the same vein, President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Dr. Aminu Gwadabe commended the bank for its sustained efforts at promoting MSMEs nationwide. Gwadabe noted that the bank had been very supportive to its 5,000 licensed members nationwide. “The Bureau De Change (BDC) does about N1.4trillion per annum. Fidelity Bank controls 60 percent of these transactions in the country”, he explained.

    Whilst shedding light on the dynamics of the Bureau De Change sector, Dr, Gwadabe revealed that exchange rate stability was determined by the country’s SME structure. Given the immense potentials inherent in the nation’s MSME space, he said that the fledgling sector, if properly positioned, could assist the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) achieve its mandate on exchange rate stability.

  • AirPeace announces Feb 5 for resumption of Dubai Service

    AirPeace announces Feb 5 for resumption of Dubai Service

    …increases frequency to Enugu

    Air Peace has announced the resumption of flights into Dubai via Sharjah on February 5, 2021.

    This is as the airline has also increased its flight frequency to and out of Enugu.

    Spokesperson of the airline, Stanley Olisa, revealed this in a media statement released on Wednesday, January 20, 2021. He stated that the Dubai via Sharjah service will be operated once a week.

    “We are delighted to announce that we shall be resuming flights to Dubai via Sharjah on February 5 and passengers can start booking on the website or the mobile app. Lagos-Dubai will operate on Fridays while Dubai-Lagos will be on Saturdays”, Olisa said. He added that the flight frequency will be increased subsequently depending on observed passenger traffic.

    “We urge our esteemed passengers to comply with all established COVID-19 protocols guiding international air travel”, the Spokesperson stressed.

    Meanwhile, Air Peace has also disclosed that it now operates additional flights into Enugu, as Olisa hinted that “these new flights are in response to popular demand and a reflection of our resolve to reduce the air transportation burden of Nigerians”.

    It can be recalled that Air Peace launched its second international route-South Africa- in December 2020 and has other international destinations in the offing, such as Mumbai-India, Guangzhou-China, Houston-US and London.

  • Air Peace increases daily flights into Enugu

    Air Peace increases daily flights into Enugu

    We are pleased to announce that we have increased the number of flights from Lagos to Enugu starting from today, September 22, 2020.

    According to the management of the airline, “we promises to ensure that Enugu Passengers enjoy seamless flights as we commence a daily second Los-Enugu-Los in the afternoon.

    Passengers can now leave Lagos for Enugu in the morning and still come back to Lagos in the evening, same day with Air Peace.

    While this is going on, we are almost finished with plans to reintroduce our night stop and early morning flights in and out of Enugu to Lagos daily.

    We thank our teeming customers for their unflinching loyalty to the Air Peace brand.

  • FG upgrades Navigational Facilities in Enugu Airport

    FG upgrades Navigational Facilities in Enugu Airport

    As the build up to the reopening of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu gathers momentum, the Federal Government has made good its promise to upgrade facilities at the airport. To this end, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has successfully installed a brand-new CAT 2 Instrument Landing System / Distance Measuring Equipment (ILS/DME) to replace the old system which was installed since 2003. A successful site acceptance test on the equipment has also been conducted by NAMA engineers in Enugu in preparation for its calibration in the coming days.

    Meanwhile, in a bid to address communication blind spots in the Lagos South East corridor, the agency has installed a VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) for satellite communication at the airport. This SATCOM (Satellite Communication) node has further been integrated into the national satellite communication network which is linked to the AFISNET (African Indian Ocean SATCOM Network).

    Also linked to the VSAT is the newly installed Remote Control Air-Ground (RCAG) Very High Frequency (VHF) radio communication system, ensuring that Enugu now has an extended VHF coverage on 127.3MHz  frequency for Lagos South East sector.

    Speaking on the gains of this latest installation, Managing Director of NAMA, Capt. Fola Akinkuotu who noted with delight that radio communication along the Lagos South East sector has “improved tremendously,” said the installation of the VHF radio in Enugu is “particularly significant as the city is strategically located to accommodate over six routes, both local and international.”

    “Enugu being on a higher latitude can cover for Manfe entry/exit reporting point in Cameroun for international flights like Ethiopian, Rwanda Airlines, Kenya Airways, South Africa Airways and the like,”Akinkuotu said.

    The NAMA boss revealed that the new installation has provided AFTN (Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network) link that would enhance effective data communication for transmission of flight plans, NOTAMs and Aeronautical Communication messages, just as it has provided effective coordination between Enugu tower and Lagos Area Control Centre through the ATS/DS (Air Traffic Services/ Direct Speech) for departing and arriving traffic ahead of time.

  • Shopping spree begins at the 2019 SPAR Black Friday Sales

    Shopping spree begins at the 2019 SPAR Black Friday Sales

    It’s going to be a season of massive discounts at the 2019 Black Friday Sales at all SPAR outlets across the country- Lagos; Calabar; Abuja; Port Harcourt and Enugu. There are over 5,000 items ready for purchase by our teeming customers.

    The award winning hypermarket store, winner of the 2019 Retail Brand of the Year at the BusinessDay Nigerian Business Leadership Awards, has promised massive discounts on quality items during the Black Friday Sales.

    The Head of Marketing, Mr John Goldsmith, said, “Customers are invited to enjoy the 8-days Shopping Festival which started six years ago. We have various range of products which include Food, Grocery, Meats, Wine & Spirits, Electronics, Home Appliances, Laptops, Mobile Phones, Watches, Clothes, Perfume and many other products essential for individual and family use.”

    Hurry now to visit the nearer SPAR outlet to you, you can make purchases for the upcoming festive season. The ambience of our stores have always translated the shopping experience of Nigerians and every shopper based on their Choice, Quality, Impeccable Service and Valuation addition to her teeming customers

    “We have continually ensured that our shopping experience delights our customers across all of our hypermarket stores because we give them the opportunity to have a look and feel of the products before buying and they can also take immediate possession of what they have purchased,” he added.

    SPAR provides the biggest save as they are always price competitive. Nigerians have been enabled to quality life through various community and social programs of the brand.