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TTP: Nestlé Nigeria Graduates 6th Batch, Celebrates Best Graduating Student

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Oluwadarasinmi Adesakin is a beneficiary of Nestlé Nigeria’s 18-month Technical Training program which aims to bridge the skills gap by equipping youth with the required expertise to support industrialization. He is the best graduating student of Batch 6.

A citizen of Oyo State in Western Nigeria, Darasinmi obtained his National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the Petroleum Training Institute in Warri, Delta State.

Although he was already working, he aspired to develop himself further and was elated to be accepted into the technical training program. He therefore set his mind to make the best of the opportunity and to attain the best possible result.

Darasinmi’s determination paid off as he finished his studies in flying colours, achieving a total of 29 distinctions, out of 36 courses in the City and Guilds examinations, the best result since the program started in 2011.

“Today was a huge surprise for my father, Mr. Adesakin Adeoye, a Mechanical Engineer himself,” Darasinmi said. “He did not know I was the best graduating student or that I would be going to Switzerland for an internship program. He was so elated and could not hold back his joy. This, for me, was very fulfilling.”

Oluwadarasinmi Adesakin was ecstatic as he joined his colleagues at the 6th graduation ceremony which took place at Nestlé Nigeria’s Technical Training Center in Agbara, Ogun State. All of the 20 trainees excelled at the Diploma 3, 4 and 5 examinations of London City and Guilds, obtaining distinctions in Thermodynamics, and the best overall results in West Africa.

Speaking at the ceremony, the MD/CEO, Nestlé Nigeria, Mr Wassim Elhusseini said, “At Nestlé, we believe that young people have a key role to play in building thriving, resilient communities. Young people are our future, they are the entrepreneurs and innovators of tomorrow. They do not only help their communities thrive, but also benefit Nestlé with their fresh ideas, diverse perspectives, and energy. This is why we are passionate about helping them to build the capabilities and skills they need to contribute towards accelerating the industrialization we need to grow our economy.”

In his comments, Thomas Schneider, Consul General, Consulate of Switzerland in Lagos, said, “We are delighted that for eleven years on, this joint training program between the Switzerland Government and Nestlé Nigeria is still making impact on young people within the country, creating job opportunities.”

Inaugurated in 2011, The 18-month intensive program trains participants in machining, mechanical fitting operations, electrical operations, instrumentation operations and automation. The program culminates in the prestigious London City and Guilds technical certification with the top five graduates of each batch undergoing a further three-month internship program at a Nestlé factory in Switzerland, sponsored by the Swiss Embassy in Nigeria.

Over 160 students have benefitted from the program since its inception, with over 90% of them directly employed by Nestlé Nigeria. All the participants of batch 6, 40% of them females, successfully completed the training and the top 5 performers will be undertaking an internship and mentoring program at Nestlé factories in Switzerland in the first few months of 2023. 95% of the graduates, including Darasinmi, have been employed by Nestlé Nigeria.

Parents of the graduates, the Traditional Ruler of Agbara, and representatives of the Ogun State Government present at the event all expressed their appreciation of the value that the TTC has been adding over the past 11 years.

The Ogun State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbagbu, represented by the Zonal Education Officer, Ado-Odo Ota, Mr Olugbenga Kikisuhu said, “Education is the bedrock of any meaningful social and economic development, and we all must accord education the priority it deserves. Nestlé Nigeria PLC has today taken another giant step on her journey of empowering young Nigerians for a better tomorrow by upskilling and employing the graduates. I congratulate the beneficiaries of this laudable technical training program and particularly appreciate the Management of Nestlé Nigeria PLC for her consistent contribution to educational development in the state.”

In his remarks, the Ogun State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Dr. Kehinde Oluwadare, represented by Adetokunbo Salami, Director, Youth Development for the Ministry, said, “I am delighted to witness another batch of young Nigerians graduating from the Nestlé technical training program. Initiatives such as these are well aligned with the vision of the Ogun State Government on youth empowerment. I commend Nestlé for this sustained intervention which not only equips young people with relevant industry skills and expertise but is also providing economic and job opportunities.”

On his part, the Alagbara of Agbara, HRM Oba (Barr.) Lukman Jaiyeola Agunbiade, commended Nestlé for the positive impact the company is making within the Agbara community, especially in capacity development and empowerment of young people. He described Nestlé Nigeria as a valued stakeholder, and congratulated all graduates, encouraging them to maximally utilize the opportunity provided by the company.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, Oluwadarasinmi Adesakin, said, “We are grateful for this excellent platform created by Nestlé Nigeria for young Nigerians. The training program has been an unforgettable journey and a robust experience that has equipped my colleagues and I with knowledge, skills and core values such as integrity, leadership and accountability required to thrive in life.

We are sincerely grateful to Nestlé, the Swiss Consulate and all the partners supporting this program. I commend all my colleagues for the passion, teamwork and dedication that has enabled us to successfully complete the program.”

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Cooking Gas: FG Intervenes, Set to Crash Price

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At a meeting in Abuja, Ekpo told the producers that Nigeria has to find a way to surmount the challenges in the country’s domestic market, expressing President Bola Tinubu’s concerns over how unaffordable the product was becoming. The intervention is coming as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its latest report said in October, LPG prices rose by as much as 14 per cent for a 12.5 kg cylinder.

But a statement by the minister’s media aide Louis Ibah, on Sunday, said the intervention on the LPG issue, better known as cooking gas, followed the rise in recent months in the price of the product per kg from about N700 to above N900 in some parts of the country.Key challenges identified as responsible for LPG price increase, Ekpo said, include FX sourcing for imports and insufficient supply to the domestic market by producers.

The meeting, at the instance of the minister, was held at the NNPC Towers and had in attendance top officials of Chevron Nigeria Limited led by Sansay Narasimi.Others included: The Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) led by its Chief Executive Officer, Farouk Ahmed and officials from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).“Ekpo expressed the concerns of President Bola Tinubu over the astronomical increase in the price of cooking gas and the attendant hardship on majority of citizens,” the statement added.

The minister who noted that Nigeria is abundantly endowed with gas reserves, said the situation where some of the multinational firms were more concerned with gas exports without dedicating huge volumes for the domestic market was unacceptable and should be discouraged.

“With the exponential increase in the price of LPG, there is the need for the federal government to intervene and I am representing this at this moment. We acknowledge that some producers are exporting while we are faced with the challenges of importation.

“Public interest is the overriding interest all over the world for the government, the demand for LPG will increase as we approach December…you have a public service obligation to collaborate with the government to ensure security of gas supply.“We need to therefore bend backwards and find solutions, to ensure that we have sufficient supply and stability in-country and that Nigerians have gas,” said Ekpo.

The gas minister thereafter constituted a committee headed by the chief executive of NMDPRA with a mandate to come up with recommendations on how to boost supplies and crash LPG prices within a week.

However, the NBS in its latest report said the average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of cooking gas increased by 8.89 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N4,189.96 recorded in September 2023 to N4,562.51 in October 2023.However, on a year-on-year basis, this increased by 1.76 per cent from N4,483.75 in October 2022, it added.On state profile analysis, Kano recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg of LPG, with N5,181.43, followed by Adamawa with N5,142.86, and Ogun with N5,093.75.

On the other hand, Ebonyi recorded the lowest price with N3,971.43, followed by Osun and Edo with N4,000.00 and N4,025.00 respectively.In addition, analysis by zone showed that the North-west recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of LPG, with N4,738.20, followed by the North-central with N4,662.62, while the South-east recorded the lowest with N4,088.65.

Also, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg of cooking gas, increased by 14.04 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N9,247.40 in September 2023 to N10,545.87 in October 2023.

On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 4.93 per cent from N10,050.53 in October 2022. On state profile analysis, Edo recorded the highest average retail price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas, with N12,536.88, followed by Jigawa with N12,050.00 and Delta with N11,987.50. Conversely, the lowest average price was recorded in Zamfara with N9,050.00, followed by Lagos and Oyo with N9,071.05 and N9,407.14 respectively.

Analysis by zone showed that the South-south recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas, with N11,480.60, followed by the North-central with N10,683.97, while the South-east recorded the lowest price with N9,847.42.

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Smartphone Festival: Glo Customers to Enjoy Six Months Data Bundle

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Courtesy of another season of its customer reward programme, Glo Smartphone Festival, Glo subscribers, are to enjoy free bundled data for the next six months.

The festival which is tagged “Gloworld Black Friday” runs between November 16 and 30.

Globacom, in a press statement issued in Lagos on Monday stated that subscribers who purchase selected smartphones from any of the Gloworld shops spread across the country will enjoy up to N150, 000 discount as well as 18GB of free data to browse and chat with family and loved ones.

“The festival provides an opportunity for all subscribers (prepaid and postpaid) to visit Gloworld shops to get the best price deals on any handset of their choice. Customers who buy Glo SIMs will also enjoy bonuses on airtime and data”. Globacom said.

The company therefore, called on its subscribers to make utmost use of the opportunity provided by the festival to buy any of the latest devices which come with the bundled benefits.

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Unity Bank Partners Cashtoken to Reward Customers with Millions of Naira

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Unity Bank Plc and Cashtoken, have announced a partnership to deploy a patronage reward product that will see the Bank’s customers winning millions of Naira in cash rewards, guaranteed instant cashback, and offer a life-changing opportunity.

Cashtoken is a Cash Reward-as-a-Service company that operates a loyalty programme designed to power customer engagement and improve customer satisfaction. For Unity Bank, the partnership offers it the opportunity to migrate customers – old and new, to a platform that will continually create exciting rewards and appreciation for loyalty.

To be part of this reward scheme, customers are to onboard onto any or all of the Unity Bank digital banking platforms including the Unifi mobile banking application, the *7799# USSD platform or activate their Unity Bank Verve Card and transact on any e-payment terminals across Nigeria.

Each card transaction, as well as the onboarding on the digital platform, earns customers a cash token, which can be redeemed instantly while qualifying the customer to enter the monthly Cashtoken Rewards draw to stand a chance of winning up to One Million Naira cash.

Speaking at the media launch in Lagos, Unity Bank’s Head of E-Business, Eghomware Iyamu said the collaboration with Cashtoken is meant to boost the ways in which Unity Bank customers are appreciated.

Iyamu said, “We are excited to announce this strategic partnership with Cashtoken which reinforces our commitment to recognizing and rewarding loyalty. Through this collaboration, we are taking customer appreciation to new heights, offering millions in cash rewards as a token of gratitude for choosing Unity Bank.”

He added: “This partnership will create an unparalleled experience for Unity Bank’s customers by leveraging the impressive reward platform built by Cashtoken Reward. This collaboration has therefore set the stage for an exciting journey of appreciation, as Unity Bank customers can now look forward to bountiful cash rewards, making every interaction with the bank a rewarding experience.”

The Bank believes that this initiative will not only reward existing customers but also attract new ones with a rewarding banking experience when they pick up and activate a Verve Card and transact on the Bank’s digital banking channels.

On its part, Cashtoken stated that the fulfillment of its mandate under the partnership allows it to create more excitement for customers, and an even greater bond among families and businesses by constantly rewarding patronage and loyalty.

It further stated the Unity Bank/Cashtoken partnership being launched will, from the outset, begin to deliver brand engagement and customer experience that will, in many ways, replicate loyalty rewards in cash prizes.

The partnership announcement comes on the heels of a similar partnership with the payment processor, Verve Card Services Limited which has seen Unity Bank customers, Nmeregini Chukwuebuka and Sharif Yusuf Mohd winning 500,000 and 150,000 naira respectively in the ongoing Verve National Consumer Promo.

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