With a record of remittances from Nigerians in Diaspora, Western Union has lauded assessed resilience and spirit of hard work, which it noted, cut across economic spheres globally.
The Regional Vice President of Western Union-Africa, Aida Diarra, while speaking at its 20th anniversary in the country, said Nigeria has become one of the most connected countries in the world when it comes to receiving and sending money.
According to him, the Nigerian spirit of hard work and resilience can be found around the world across all economic spheres.
“Western Union recognises that, at the start and end of every transaction are two people, and they rely on each other, just as much they rely on us to move their money reliably. It is this dual belonging that remains at the heart of our innovation to make it easy for Nigerians to send or receive money,” he said.
Referring to Western Union as the global leader in payments, Diara noted that Nigeria is the fifth largest remittance receiver globally, as attested by the World Bank.
He revealed that more than 195 countries and territories sent money into Nigeria, and 160 received money from Nigeria in 2015, reflecting the extraordinary global connections brought about by the rise in migration of Nigerians to many parts of the world.
“Migration destinations have remained steady since a decade ago, according to Western Union’s own trend analysis. The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Australia, France and Netherlands continued to be the favourite destinations, while United Arab Emirates and Malaysia moved to the top 10, replacing Switzerland and Spain.
“Western Union bridges geographical gaps by diversifying the options to send and receive money with reliability, convenience, and speed. From a single location with the First Bank of Nigeria in the heart of Lagos in 1996, Western Union has expanded its walk-in retail Agent location count to more than 5,200, with a presence in every one of Nigeria’s 36 states.
“The company’s channel diversification focus also allows Nigerians to receive money into 2.2 million mobile wallets and into more than 50 million bank accounts.
“More than 20 majority-owned Nigerian businesses form the foundation of an Agent network that connects Nigerians no matter what distance exists between them and the world.
“It is an honour to have served Nigerians for the past 20 years and connect them to and from nearly every corner of the world, moving the money that funds education, healthcare, everyday living and the dreams and aspirations of their families,” he said.
Monday, November 7, 2016
Minister of Petroleum Kachikwu faults NNPC on fuel price increase
Nigeria Minister of Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu on Sunday condemned the recent increase in fuel price in Nigeria National Petroleum (NNPC) filling station.
Kachikwu made the statement after receiving an award at an event organized by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
“First, I am not aware that the NNPC has increased price. I need to look into that. It is a bit of surprise for me, because there are processes in doing this, if they have done that, it means they are doing it wrongly.
“Let me find out what the facts are,” he told journalists
According to him, the government cannot fix a new price for petrol without putting into cognizance the market variables that gave rise to the current petroleum pricing template.
“What we ought to be doing was watching the prices, making sure that they are not taking advantage of the common man; making sure that the template is respected.
“One of the things I think we had hoped to do, which we should still do, before we embark on any price increase is to work on those templates,” he said.
NNPC had been selling fuel at N141 but on Thursday, increased it by N4 to the government benchmark of N145.
The pump price of petrol in Nigeria rose to N145 per litre earlier this year after President Muhammadu Buhari removed fuel subsidy.
The government said the decision to remove the subsidy was as a result of the fall in oil price and non-availability of foreign exchange.
The government however, said the liberalization of petrol supply and distribution will allow marketers and any Nigerian entity willing to supply PMS to source for their forex and import PMS to ensure availability of products in all locations of the country.
According to the government, the resultant fuel scarcity has created an abnormal increase in price, resulting in Nigerians paying between N150 and N300 per litre as prevalent hoarding, smuggling and diversion of products have reduced volumes made available to citizens.
Kachikwu made the statement after receiving an award at an event organized by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
“First, I am not aware that the NNPC has increased price. I need to look into that. It is a bit of surprise for me, because there are processes in doing this, if they have done that, it means they are doing it wrongly.
“Let me find out what the facts are,” he told journalists
According to him, the government cannot fix a new price for petrol without putting into cognizance the market variables that gave rise to the current petroleum pricing template.
“What we ought to be doing was watching the prices, making sure that they are not taking advantage of the common man; making sure that the template is respected.
“One of the things I think we had hoped to do, which we should still do, before we embark on any price increase is to work on those templates,” he said.
NNPC had been selling fuel at N141 but on Thursday, increased it by N4 to the government benchmark of N145.
The pump price of petrol in Nigeria rose to N145 per litre earlier this year after President Muhammadu Buhari removed fuel subsidy.
The government said the decision to remove the subsidy was as a result of the fall in oil price and non-availability of foreign exchange.
The government however, said the liberalization of petrol supply and distribution will allow marketers and any Nigerian entity willing to supply PMS to source for their forex and import PMS to ensure availability of products in all locations of the country.
According to the government, the resultant fuel scarcity has created an abnormal increase in price, resulting in Nigerians paying between N150 and N300 per litre as prevalent hoarding, smuggling and diversion of products have reduced volumes made available to citizens.
Friday, November 4, 2016
Video - High cost of feed pushes Nigeria fish farmers out of business
Fish farmers in Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos, have had to scale back on production. They say the cost of fish feed is simply too high - making the business unprofitable. Deji Badmus spoke to some that have chosen to hang in there.
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Video - Suspected militants attack yet another oil facility in Nigeria
Suspected militants in the Niger Delta have attacked yet another oil facility - just one day after peace talks held by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Linda Ikeji launches social network
Since starting her blog in 2006, Linda Ikeji has become one of Nigeria’s most prominent online voices.
The 36-year-old former model’s blog, known simply as Linda Ikeji’s Blog, is the 13th most popular website in Nigeria, according to analytic company Alexa—ahead of any official news publications or sites.
Ikeji has more than 1.3 million followers on Twitter—half a million more than Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari—and almost 800,000 on Instagram. Her name was the most Googled term in Nigeria, a country of 180 million people, in 2014.
The blogger has now launched her own social network—known as Linda Ikeji Social (LIS)—which she is marketing as “Facebook meets Linda Ikeji Blog meets eBay.”
Ikeji had announced in August that she intended to expand her media empire into four more platforms—an online television station, an online radio station, a music website and LIS, which she declined to identify until it was launched on Tuesday.
The platform has a similar functionality to Facebook, allowing users to post stories and chat with friends. The twist, according to Ikeji, is that the platform has been monetized for users. The platform will pay users 1,000 naira ($) for exclusive “stories,” which Ikeji said could consist of eyewitness photos or video. Ikeji said that the site would also place advertisements on pages belonging to users with more than 50,000 followers, with the users then earning 20 percent of the revenue.
Ikeji said that the idea for the site came after an encounter with two fans in April, who told her that Facebook and her site were the only websites on the internet that they used. “I wondered, and then the idea came to me: why can’t I have a website that’s a combination of both blogging and social networking? The answer to that burning question is LIS.”
Nigeria has the biggest Facebook user base in sub-Saharan Africa, with the social network saying in February that 16 million Nigerians used the platform each month, with 100 percent of users accessing the site via mobile.
Ikeji shares a variety of content across her platforms. Her Instagram functions as a style and fashion guide for followers, while her blog shares Nigerian news and recirculates international stories.
Google took down Ikeji’s blog—which runs on the Google-owned Blogger platform—for a brief period in October 2014 amid allegations of plagiarism and intellectual property theft, which Ikeji denied.
She has also been involved in public spats with other Nigerian celebrities, including rapper Wizkid—who collaborated with Drake on the hit song “One Dance”—who allegedly threatened to have Ikeji beaten up after she wrote a derogatory post about him.
The 36-year-old former model’s blog, known simply as Linda Ikeji’s Blog, is the 13th most popular website in Nigeria, according to analytic company Alexa—ahead of any official news publications or sites.
Ikeji has more than 1.3 million followers on Twitter—half a million more than Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari—and almost 800,000 on Instagram. Her name was the most Googled term in Nigeria, a country of 180 million people, in 2014.
The blogger has now launched her own social network—known as Linda Ikeji Social (LIS)—which she is marketing as “Facebook meets Linda Ikeji Blog meets eBay.”
Ikeji had announced in August that she intended to expand her media empire into four more platforms—an online television station, an online radio station, a music website and LIS, which she declined to identify until it was launched on Tuesday.
The platform has a similar functionality to Facebook, allowing users to post stories and chat with friends. The twist, according to Ikeji, is that the platform has been monetized for users. The platform will pay users 1,000 naira ($) for exclusive “stories,” which Ikeji said could consist of eyewitness photos or video. Ikeji said that the site would also place advertisements on pages belonging to users with more than 50,000 followers, with the users then earning 20 percent of the revenue.
Ikeji said that the idea for the site came after an encounter with two fans in April, who told her that Facebook and her site were the only websites on the internet that they used. “I wondered, and then the idea came to me: why can’t I have a website that’s a combination of both blogging and social networking? The answer to that burning question is LIS.”
Nigeria has the biggest Facebook user base in sub-Saharan Africa, with the social network saying in February that 16 million Nigerians used the platform each month, with 100 percent of users accessing the site via mobile.
Ikeji shares a variety of content across her platforms. Her Instagram functions as a style and fashion guide for followers, while her blog shares Nigerian news and recirculates international stories.
Google took down Ikeji’s blog—which runs on the Google-owned Blogger platform—for a brief period in October 2014 amid allegations of plagiarism and intellectual property theft, which Ikeji denied.
She has also been involved in public spats with other Nigerian celebrities, including rapper Wizkid—who collaborated with Drake on the hit song “One Dance”—who allegedly threatened to have Ikeji beaten up after she wrote a derogatory post about him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)