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COVID-19: Osinbajo, governors, British PM others popularise digital meetings

Published

5 years ago

April 1, 2020

In the midst of what is increasingly becoming a global coronavirus lockdown, governments’ operations and private businesses are being affected across the world as isolation and social distancing have become the order of the day.

But it would seem Nigerians are leading in adopting technology to beat the situation which ordinarily would have grounded operations of governments and businesses.

In Nigeria, championing this innovation is Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who in the last couple weeks have been holding his meetings and some public engagements through videoconferencing.

For instance, checks reveal that the Vice President as head of the National Economic Council held a meeting with 8 governors and some ministers of the Federal Government through videoconferencing. The meeting would have otherwise been impossible since the Governors could not fly into Abuja with the airspace and land borders also shut.

Besides this meeting, the VP has also held other meetings using technology to beat the shutdown and comply with social distancing at the same time. He also participated in a Google Hangout in Abuja on Monday where young technology innovators across the country discussed solutions, ideas and sharing public information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant implications.

Besides the VP and the Governors, the other international public figure known to hold meetings via videoconferencing this week is the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

For improvising various means to beat the Coronavirus pandemic, the Nigerian Young Tech Professionals based in the United Kingdom have commended the Vice – President of Nigeria for being a model to other world leaders and captains of industry by holding a video conference of from his office.

The Secretary of the group, Chinedu Ogbonna said: “the Vice – President has shown that he can improvise and make things work in any situation using technology. He took the lead by being a model to other world leaders, and they now take a cue from the brilliant idea at this critical moment of the pandemic outbreak”.

The group said it is however not surprising because it’s the same VP who has popularize the use of teleprompters for public speeches and the use of electronic tablets to take note at meetings instead of paper notebooks

COVID-19: Osinbajo, governors, British PM others popularise digital meetings

holding meetings in his office via video conferencing while on self-isolation in accordance to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) protocols, the Vice President has also been worshipping online for the past two Sundays as the Aso Villa Chapel streams the service online with less than 10 people including the Chapel Chaplain and few others on the ground at the Villa Chapel.

Nigerians at home also applauded VP Osinbajo for taking the lead in the support of Nigerian tech professionals and the use of tech while adhering the COVID-19 pandemic rules.

@Cbngov Akin posted on twitter how Osinbajo held the online meeting, while the Lagos State Government and Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of Britain followed suit.

In response, @Ibmojotu99 wrote: “Always an innovative leader he made it look so easy and now the world follows but I can’t help but imagine if it was The UK prime minister that did it first, wailers would label anyone after copycat”

Adewale Adegbola: “Osinbajo has never disappointed, he is so current with the latest tech and he has applied them to his everyday activities so brilliantly”.

On the contrary, Dwight Shrute added: “Someone said all these small companies have been doing it since, but our own just started. The hatred sent ehnnn. Ocho ga”

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BREAKING : Air Peace is set to launch direct flights from Lagos to Brazil, following an agreement reached during President Tinubu’s visit to Brazil

Published

2 hours ago

August 26, 2025

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Air Peace, is set to begin direct flights from Lagos, Nigeria to São Paulo, Brazil following an agreement reached during President Bola Tinubu’s state visit to Brazil

Details later

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Breaking : Panic as Abuja-Kaduna Train Derails

Published

7 hours ago

August 26, 2025

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A passenger train traveling from Abuja to Kaduna derailed on Tuesday morning, sparking panic among passengers and their families.

The incident reportedly occurred along the Kaduna corridor shortly after the train left Abuja around 11 a.m. on its way to Kaduna.

A passenger on board described the situation as “chaotic,” noting that people were “scrambling to safety in fear and confusion.”

The cause of the derailment remains unclear, but official confirmation indicates about six people sustained injuries, with no fatalities reported.

According to security sources, military personnel have been deployed to the scene to help evacuate stranded passengers.

The Nigerian Railway Corporation has issued a statement on the incident.

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Investing in Nigeria’s mining sector highly profitable, says Alake

Published

1 day ago

August 25, 2025

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Nigeria, Japan seal deals to boost mining investment

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has said any company that invests in Nigeria’s solid mineral sector will record good returns on its investment.

The minister described the nation’s mining sectors as highly profitable.

Alake said this in an audience with officials of the Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) on the sidelines of the ninth Tokyo International Conference for African Trade and Development (TICAD 9) in Yokohama, Japan.

Following the minister’s meetings, Nigeria and Japan expressed their readiness to align investment plans to unlock Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.

Alake assured Japanese investors that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reforms, including subsidy removal, a stabilised exchange rate, and major rail, road, and waterway projects, have created a more enabling environment for businesses.

“In terms of economies of scale, producing and processing the critical minerals you need in Nigeria is cheaper and more profitable as the costs of production are lower,” he said.

The minister noted that recent electricity sector reforms would enable industries to generate and manage their own power supply.

He also assured Japanese mining companies of benefiting from tax holidays and duty waivers on equipment, while urging them to invest in local processing of minerals before export, in line with Nigeria’s value-addition policy.

The meetings also featured the Nigeria Solid Minerals Company (NSMC), represented by its CEO, Martins Imonitie. The NSMC, designed to take equity stakes in mining projects, is expected to serve as a trusted partner to strengthen investor confidence.

A statement yesterday in Abuja by Alake’s Special Adviser on Media, Kehinde Bamigbetan, said the meetings focused on attracting Japanese mining companies into Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.

According to the statement, the President of JOGMEC, Mr. Michio Daito, acknowledged Nigeria’s rich mineral deposits but stressed the need for more clarity on economic conditions before Japanese firms commit to large-scale investments.

Daito noted that some issues, such as power supply, tax incentives, labour, free trade zones, and infrastructure are critical to reducing investment risks.

Explaining that Japanese mining firms rely on JOGMEC to make investment decisions in foreign countries, the organisation’s president sought to have information on the state of infrastructure in Nigeria that supports mining.

Earlier engagements with Japanese trading giants, Mitsubishi Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation, and Mitsui & Company, had signaled growing interest in Nigeria’s mining industry, with final commitments expected after JOGMEC’s approval.

The meeting concluded with both parties agreeing to strengthen technical exchanges and foster direct collaboration between JOGMEC and NSMC to accelerate concrete investment outcomes.

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