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Access Bank, Wigwe Emerge Winners At 2020 African Banker Awards

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Access Bank PLC and its Group Managing Director, Herbert Wigwe, were recognized as winners of the ‘Agriculture Deal of the Year’ and ‘African Banker of the Year’ categories at the 2020 African Banker Awards.

Access Bank was awarded for its role in helping Olam develop their rice operations in Nigeria by using a model hinged on Sustainability. On the other hand, Wigwe was recognized for his efforts in leading Nigeria’s Private Sector COVID-19 response, encouraging other corporate climate change conscious business entities across the country to support the Federal Government of Nigeria towards the achievement of 25% unconditional and/or 40% conditional carbon emission reduction as agreed at the COP24 per the Sustainable Development Goals, amongst others.

Receiving the Agriculture Deal of the Year Award, Wigwe assured that Access Bank will continue to further Africa’s drive towards local food security, saying, “We are particularly inspired by this recognition, as it vindicates our approach to running our organization and indeed, our approach to doing business. As an institution striving to be ‘Africa’s Gateway to the World’, Access Bank is delighted at our capacity to create a platform that furthers Nigeria’s drive towards the achievement of financial inclusion, local food security, increased employment, improved water resource efficiency, among others.”

“In addition to aligning future projects with the Federal Government’s agenda of promoting agriculture as an alternative to oil, conserving foreign exchange through import substitution, and enhancing the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, Access Bank will continue to seek out avenues to innovatively improve our bottom lines and deliver greater value to all shareholders,” he concluded.

Access Bank ranks as Sub-Saharan Africa’s leading retail bank in terms of customer base and Wigwe has been at the helm of the bank’s growth, overseeing the merger with Diamond Bank as well as leading the Bank’s expansion into Cameroon, Zambia, and most recently, Kenya.

The award ceremony which was pushed back to coincide with the African Development Annual Meetings sought to highlight the achievements of companies and individuals that have contributed to the transformation and development of Africa’s financial sector.

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Popular Islamic Singer Ibraheem Labaeka Resigns As Kwara Governor’s Special Assistant

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  • Laments Collecting Salaries “For Doing Nothing”

 

Ibraheem Abdulhameed, popularly known as Labaeka, has formally resigned as Special Assistant, Artiste to Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

Abdulhameed’s resignation was confirmed in a letter dated September 12, 2023.

In the letter, he expressed frustration with his role, citing the lack of a clear schedule of duties and inadequate opportunities to fulfill his responsibilities.

“I cannot continue to break that trust by taking a salary for doing nothing,” he wrote, signalling his disappointment with the lack of clarity surrounding his position.

The letter reads, “I am writing this letter with all sense of humility and gratitude for giving me the opportunity to serve as the Special Assistant, Artiste, in your cabinet.

“Having served in this capacity for a period of 1 year and 7 months, I wish to respectfully tender my resignation.”

He continues, “Your Excellency, as you may recall, I was offered an appointment to serve as your Special Assistant, Artist, on 6th January 2023. I accepted the offer because I saw it as a call to service and an opportunity to showcase my talents.

“Regrettably, I have not been able to achieve any of these things. Aside from the fact that I don’t have a specific schedule of duty, circumstances have not availed me the opportunity to perform my responsibilities maximally.”

He added “since my appointment is based on public trust, I cannot continue to break that trust by taking a salary, for doing nothing”.

“As an Islamic cleric. it is against my beliefs, and I haven’t been at peace with myself. So, I want my salary to be stopped immediately,” he said.

“I am grateful for the confidence reposed in me, and I hope that one day, I will be able to fully utilize my talents for the development of our state.”

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King Charles III Receives President Tinubu At Buckingham Palace

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In a historic meeting, King Charles III welcomed Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Buckingham Palace in London on September 11.

The Royal Family announced the meeting on its verified X handle, @RoyalFamily, stating, “Yesterday, The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria visited His Majesty at Buckingham Palace.”

This significant encounter marks a milestone in UK-Nigeria diplomatic relations, with the two leaders discussing matters of mutual interest and importance.

While specific details of the meeting remain undisclosed, it is anticipated that key issues such as trade, security, and bilateral cooperation were addressed.

President Tinubu’s visit to Buckingham Palace underscores the strong ties between Nigeria and the UK, as both countries continue to foster a strong and lasting relationship.

According to another tweet on his verified X handle, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, recalled that Wednesday’s meeting was the second between both leaders in the last one year.

“President Tinubu visits King Charles in London. They first met in Dubai last November, on the sideline of the COP 28 Climate Summit”, Onanuga said.

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Husband Dismembers, Blends 38-Yr-Old Model With Blender In Switzerland

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Kristina Joksimovic, a 38-year-old former Miss Switzerland finalist, was allegedly strangled and dismembered by her 41-year-old husband.

According to reports, the husband used a jigsaw and garden shears to dismember Joksimovic, and then allegedly pureed her remains in a blender, as stated by the Daily Mail.

The couple, who married in 2017, resided in a spacious semi-detached house in an affluent area of Basel, and had two children together.

Kristina’s body was found in February in Binningen, near Basel, Switzerland.

Kristina had posted pictures of a ‘couple’s getaway’ on her Instagram account four weeks before her death.

Her husband, identified only by the pseudonym Thomas in local media, had his appeal for release from custody rejected on Thursday by the Federal Court in Lausanne after admitting to killing his wife.

An ongoing investigation has revealed ‘concrete indications of mental illness’ underlying the case.

Kristina’s husband is reported to have claimed he killed her in self-defence after she allegedly came at him with a knife, before later admitting he dismembered the former model.

Kristina’s body was found on the evening of February 13.

Investigators determined she had been strangled before dying.

The verdict states the suspect confessed to strangling his wife.

An autopsy concluded that the body was then dismembered in the laundry room with a jigsaw, knife, and garden shears.

Body parts were then chopped up with a hand blender, ‘pureed’, and dissolved in a chemical solution, local outlet Blick reported.

A medical-forensic report also ‘contradicts his description of self-defence’, according to Swiss outlet FM1 Today.

Thomas, a Swiss national, was reportedly arrested a day after her remains were found.

Investigators have said Thomas, a businessman, displayed a ‘conspicuously high level of criminal energy’ in their assessment.

They cited a ‘lack of empathy and cold-bloodedness after killing his wife’, and his efforts to cover up her death, adding that the defendant exhibited ‘sadistic-sociopathic traits’.

The deceased won the Miss Northwest Switzerland pageant in 2003 and was a finalist in the 2008 Miss Switzerland competition.

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