All Posts in "Day: June 30, 2021"

Vice-President calls on institutions, Nigerians to patronise registered brokers

By Favour Nnabugwu

The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has called on institutions in the country to engage services of registered insurance brokers to ensure safety of their assets

Osinbajo gave advice when a delegation of The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) led by its President, Mrs. Bola Onigbogi paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja yestetday

The Vice- President noted that “it is Important that our assets are insured since insurance is the best way to save money, rather than thinking we could save money by not insuring”

He specifically highlighted the roles of insurance brokers in the insurance value chain and economy, stressing that professionals such as brokers have crucial roles to play in the ongoing revitalization of the nation’s economy.

He promised the support of the present administration to the Council, in all areas where it seeks to accelerate insurance awareness and growth of the profession in the country.

In her speech, the President of the Council, Mrs Onigbogi applauded the Federal Government for releasing the sum of N9.2 billion for group life for Federal Government employees.

She appealed to the Vice President for support in urging the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to maximize benefits of insurance by budgeting yearly for their assets as a prudential financial strategy.

Onigbogi stated that significant progress was already being made in the passage of the insurance Consolidated Bill at the National Assembly and expressed delight at the robust opportunity given to the Council for its input into the proposed law.

Patoma Admin by — June 30, 2021 in Insurance 0
71ear-Old, Ifeyinwa Marinze bags Ph.D as UNILAG graduates 15,753

By Favour Nnabugwu

A total of 15,753 students graduated with   various degrees at the 51st Convocation Ceremony of the University of Lagos, during which a 71-year-old woman, Marinze Ifeyinwa Felicia, is among the 148 to be awarded doctorate degree in various fields.

This is just as the late former Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, will be given the position of Emeritus Professorship (Post-Humous).
Briefing newsmen on Wednesday, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, said a total of 7,754 would be awarded first degree in various disciplines, while 7,999 would bag postgraduate degrees and diploma in various fields also.
Out of the figures, 281 has first class degree, with the highest number of 70 coming from the Faculty of Engineering.

“The best graduating student with the highest CGPA is Alimi Ibrahim Adedeji 4.98 from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering. He has emerged as the Best Graduating Student. He is closely followed by Popoola Victoria Opeyemi with the CGPA of 4.90 from the Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences and also has the best result in the Humanities.

‘The best overall Ph.D thesis for this year’s graduating student was presented by Moruf Rasheed Olatunji from the Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science. Mesagan Peter Ekundayo from the Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences will be awarded the best Ph.D thesis in the Humanities.

“We have a record in the university, Marinze Ifeyinwa Felicia born on 6th March, 1950 (now 71 years old) will be the oldest to be awarded a Ph.D degree in the history of the university. She has just demonstrated to the world that age is no barrier to attaining any height, ” he said.

Mrs Felicia Marinze, a 71-year-old PhD student of the University of Lagos, has emerged as one of the best graduating students from the institution’s School of Postgraduate Studies (SPGS).

The title of Marinze’s thesis is: “Evaluation de la Competence Communicative Orale du Francais Des Apprenants Nationale Diploma Des Polytechniques Seledionness du Nigeria’’.

He added that Olatunji Moruf from the Department of Marine Science and Ekundayo Mesagan of the Department of Economics would also be awarded the best PhD thesis in Humanities, alongside Marinze.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe announced this at a news conference on activities lined up for the institution’s 51st convocation on Wednesday in Lagos.

According to Ogundipe, Marinze (PhD French) with matriculation number 849003042, from the Department of European Languages and International Studies, will be the oldest to be awarded a PhD degree in the history of the university.

He added that the 71-year-old, with the best PhD thesis, had just demonstrated to the world that age was never a barrier to attaining any height.a

The VC announced that honorary doctorate degrees would be awarded Dr Ameyo Stella-Adadevoh ( Post-Humous), Dr Biodun Olusina Shobanjo, Alhaji Mohammed Indimi, and Dr Kessington Adebutu.

The Convocation Lecture will be delivered by the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele on “National development and knowledge economy in the digital age: Leapfrogging SMEs into the 21st Century.”

Patoma Admin by — June 30, 2021 in Education 0
AXA boosts expansion in Nigeria, moves to Algeria, Egypt, 6 other countries

By Favour Nnabugwu

AXA has expressed interest to expand its business investment in Nigeria’s insurance industry, to Algeria, Egypt and 6 other countries.

This will now expand to include the African and Middle East markets of Nigeria and six other countries including Cameroon, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Lebanon, Morocco and Senegal.

Additional Asian markets, namely India, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, will also be added under the umbrella, which will be known as AXA Asia & Africa.

Previously, the AXA Asia business included the markets of Hong Kong, mainland China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

According to AXA, this move is part of its new strategic plan “Driving Progress 2023”, which seeks to harness the rapidly growing markets across Africa and Asia, with special focus on health, as marked by the recent opening of AXA OneHealth and its 16 clinics across Egypt.

This, the company said, reflects its commitment to an inclusive vision of health equity, with improved health outcomes for all.

The AXA Asia & Africa business will also incorporate AXA Emerging Customers, the insurer’s unit focused on closing the protection gap in the low-income to mass market segments.

Customers in these segments are often under-insured due to a lack of access and familiarity with relevant and affordable insurance products.

By 2023, AXA Emerging Customers aims to protect 25 million customers as their first insurer, through partnerships with leading institutions from both public and private sectors.

“I am excited to be taking on oversight of our mature and emerging markets across Asia and Africa, as well as Lebanon,” said AXA Asia chief executive Gordon Watson.

“This will enable AXA to deliver more holistic solutions that span the spectrum of customer needs, enabling us to fulfil our role as being partners in their life journey. We will continue to develop innovative, holistic solutions that will be tailored to meet the unique needs of each market. I look forward to strengthening AXA’s footprint in these key markets and consolidating our leadership in the industry.”

Watson became the insurer’s Asia CEO in 2018, presiding over a period of strong growth in the region. Before joining AXA, he held senior leadership roles in AIA and AIG across multiple continents, including Africa. Gordon is also the founding chair of the Hong Kong branch of Shared Value Initiative, a non-profit organisation that seeks to help businesses in aligning profit and purpose to address social issues.

Patoma Admin by — June 30, 2021 in Others 0
United Airlines place order for 200 Boeing, 70 Airbus

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

United Airlines has placed a massive order for 270 Boeing and Airbus aircraft, 200 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, alongside a further 70 A321neo aircraft

The order is the most significant set by a single airline in the past ten years and the largest in the history of United Airlines.

The order is reasonably weighted in Boeing’s favor, with just 70 of the orders going to Airbus.

For weeks now, we’ve heard rumors that United Airlines was to place a mammoth order. The stories have now been confirmed with the United States carrier placing an order for 200 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, alongside a further 70 A321neo aircraft from Boeing’s rival Airbus.

Let’s look at the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft ordered by United Airlines first. Including 30 aircraft that have been delivered, United Airlines now has commitments for 380 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Of the 200 new orders today, 50 are for the reasonably standard MAX 8 variant. The remaining 150 are for the largest of the MAX family, the MAX 10.

On the other side of the aircraft duopoly, United Airlines has added 70 orders for the Airbus A321neo. The airline hasn’t mentioned if these are LR, or XLR aircraft, suggesting that they expect the standard A321neo variant. Outside of this new order, the airline is already expecting 50 A321XLRs, according to data from ch-aviation.com.

It doesn’t stop there as United Airlines also revealed an updated narrowbody cabin. Of course, all of the new aircraft will be delivered with the new signature interior. However, United Airlines will also be retrofitting its new cabin onto the entire remaining mainline narrowbody fleet.

According to the airline, the cabins will have a 75 percent increase in premium seats, larger overhead luggage containers, entertainment at every single seat, and the industry’s fastest inflight WiFi. These upgrades will be accompanied by LED lighting. United will retrofit the existing aircraft by 2025.

Commenting, United CEO Scott Kirby said, “By adding and upgrading this many aircraft so quickly with our new signature interiors, we’ll combine friendly, helpful service with the best experience in the sky, all across our premier global network… we expect the addition of these new aircraft will have a significant economic impact on the communities we serve in terms of job creation, traveler spending and commerce.”

United Airlines is now planning to take over 500 new aircraft in the coming years. 40 are expected next year, 138 in 2023 and 350 in 2024 and beyond. In 2023, the airline should be taking delivery of a new aircraft every three days.

The aircraft are intended to replace older United Airlines planes. Photo: Vincenzo Pace -Simple Flying

The new deliveries will, in part, replace some of the airline’s older narrowbody aircraft. United has frequently positioned itself as an environmentally conscious airline, and this new order will further its eco-friendly position. According to the airline, replacing its older jets will generate a fuel efficiency increase of 11 percent

Additionally, because United is moving to slightly bigger aircraft, carbon emissions per passenger will also fall. This drop is expected to be around 17-20% compared to the airline’s older narrowbody aircraft.

Patoma Admin by — June 30, 2021 in Aviation 0