Brand Spur Nigeria reports that the 2021 Bodex Social Media Hangout focused on the theme ‘Digital media: freedom of internet use and the rights of the citizens.
See photos below;
At a time when the Nigerian government’s ban of Twitter and decision to prosecute those who continue using the platform has continued to cause uproar in the country, the 2nd edition of the annual Bodex social media hangout this year focused on the theme ‘Digital media: freedom of internet use and the rights of the citizens.
CEO of Bodex media and convener of the event, Florence Bodex Hungbo, said the theme of this year’s Social Media Hangout came long before the Twitter ban and she felt God was using her to pass across a message through the theme.
No doubt the use of the internet has opened job opportunities for several Nigerian youths and given voice to the voiceless at a time when technology is turning the world into a global village so, suspending any of the media platforms is as good as shutting us out of the world as that’s one of the major platforms to connect with the world
Bodex said she observed that journalists, content creators et media personalities, in general, are not being treated well in Nigeria hence the need for this gathering to create more awareness. It’s was high time media personalities et content creators started having their own voices and avenues where they can come together and strategize.
Bodex assured that the social media hangout was a platform to promote true journalism and reorientate online publishers on how best to use the internet in nation-building and offline publishers on how best to source, investigate and report genuine news. She assured that there will be more innovations to the event each year with amazing sponsors who believe media is the best way to be out there be it product or person
“This event has come to stay as it celebrates the works that media personalities, content creators et all do across Nigeria. I am a PR consultant and also media person so, I called on my colleagues to put this event together to promote one another especially those who want to be in the news for the right reasons. I love to create a very good relationship with people I come across and the result is what you are seeing with the class of people present here today.
She hinted that there is still hope for traditional media platforms only if they are able to look for innovative ways to merge social and traditional media to achieve results. “There is still hope for traditional media. What we need to do is to have a road map that can enable us to co-exist. We need to find out what others do traditionally, and what others do digitally for us to be able to coexist and be trendy. They can be merged together and we will be able to still sell our news without problems.”
The Lagos State Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, CityPeople group CEO, Seye Kehinde, Charles Kalu of, Silverbird and Rhythm’s national head of news and current affairs, Dr Reuben Abati of AriseTv, Mr Jaiye Opayemi, Madam Ify Oyengbule, Madam Kikelomo Atanda-owo, Mr Macaroni, Miss Ariyike, Mr Ezekiel Solesi, Tosin Ajibade, Moji Delano, Lanre Basamta, Olatunji Samuel and lots more were speakers and moderators for the 2021 edition of the Social Media hangout.
Bodex media also honored His Excellency Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu (best tech-friendly man of the year award), the Commissioner for information and strategy Mr Gbenga Omotoso (best government information manager of the year award), Mr Macaroni (best use of social media in entertainment), Mr Dotun of eagle online (best political blog award).
Mr Charles Kalu (best brand manager of the year award) Kiekie (best social media use for the advert), Fatuntele Lukmon Tunde (King of Twitter Trend), Yomi Screams (Best Facebook manager) Silverbird Television (Best entertainment Tv), AriseTv (Best use of social media in crisis), Iyabo Ojo (Most creative TikTok Queen).
Speaking on the essence of the event, which continues to draw several entertainers and society bigwigs to its fold, the convener said, “The aim is to bring under one umbrella the producers, who are publishers of news and the consumers, who are the fans either as followers and readers and other stakeholders to co-exist.
“This initiative will enable all stakeholders to connect, network, share and have fun. More of this kind of interaction can bring sanity to our youths by creating more awareness with a constant reminder of the benefit of using social strengths in nation-building.”
There were awesome performances by Omobaba the comedian, Segun Brown, Princephellar, lavotal entertainment, Ewi, lotto-banks, Badagry dancers, and others. The wow factors were exceptional and we home to see you next year. Wink
This was contained in a joint statement by the Director, Public Affairs Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ikechukwu Adinde; and the Head, Corporate Communications, Nigeria Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Kayode Adegoke.
In the statement titled ‘FG approves July 26 as NIN-SIM verification deadline as enrolment systems increase to 5,410,’ the federal government said the decision to further extend the deadline was made based on a request by stakeholders.
The statement read, “The Federal Government has approved the extension of the deadline for NIN-SIM data verification to the 26th of July, 2021.
“The decision to extend the deadline was made after a request by stakeholders on the need to consolidate the enrolment and NIN-SIM verification process following the rapid increase in the number of enrolment systems across the country.
“As at June 28, 2021, a total of 5,410 enrolment systems are now available across the country and this would significantly ease the NIN enrolment process and subsequent linkage of NIN to SIM. It is worthy of note that there were only about 800 such enrolment systems as at December 2020.
“The Federal Government has approved the extension as part of its efforts to make it easier for its citizens and residents to obtain the NIN and it is important to take advantage of the extension.
“There are now a total of 57.3 million unique NIN enrolments, with average of 3 to 4 SIMs per NIN. With the great number of enrolment centres across the country, every citizen and legal resident should be able to obtain their NINs.”
AMBCN on Monday stressed that the hike in flour is drastically killing their businesses and may render many jobless if action is not taken immediately.
Kabiru Hassan Abdullahi, the national publicity secretary of the association who also doubles as its state secretary, Kano State branch, said that the price of flour was N9,500 not long ago but now it has reached N16,200.
Abdullahi said, “The federal government should please come to our aid. The hike is killing our businesses and it’s sad they have refused to do anything about it.
“The increment is over 50 per cent and it’s even more saddening because even with the dollar exchange rate of N1 to over N500, we still bought flour at same N9,500; but why is it now that the rate has dropped that they increasing the price? This is pure wickedness.
“What Abdulsamad Rabiu of BUA Group, IRS, super and golden confectionery are doing is unhealthy for us and the Nigerian economy. In fact, they are planning to increase it again by N7, 000. Can you can imagine?
“One thing they should know is that if we are scrapped out of the market, the rate of unemployment in the country will double up because many in their thousands will lose their jobs.
“We are still meeting and as things stand, we may have no choice than to embark on an indefinite strike.
Brand Spur Nigeria recalls that bread makers and the Gurasa Bakers Association of Kano state had threatened to embark on indefinite strike if the flour companies (BUA Group – IRS, Super Mill and Golden Confectionery) fail to reverse the price of flour.
Fatima Auwalu, the chairperson of the Gurasa Bakers Association had said nothing has changed since they called off the warning strike, rather, it is going up day by day, prompting them to embark on indefinite industrial action until authorities and stakeholders do the needful.
She further lamented that apart from the increase in the price of flour, the quality of the product has been reduced, saying “this has negatively impacted our business.”
World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union (https://bit.ly/362MTql). World Rugby organizes the Rugby World Cup (https://bit.ly/3dp9VvB) every four years, the sport’s most recognized and most profitable competition. It also organizes a number of other international rugby competitions, such as the World Rugby Sevens Series (https://bit.ly/3h4B1ul), the Rugby World Cup Sevens (https://bit.ly/3AcpLmX), the World Under 20 Championship (https://bit.ly/3jlkGCY), and the Pacific Nations Cup (https://bit.ly/2UIMsyR).
With applications to the prestigious awards running from May 17 to July 17, 2021, the competition is open to journalists and photographers who have remarkably captured the oval ball, green fields, and players in a display of rugby at its best.
The winners will be announced on August 18, 2021, where two front-runners will have the opportunity to walk away with USD1,500 in prize money.
To apply for the competition entries can be submitted to:
Beaumont will chair a jury comprising of high-ranking senior executives of companies active in Africa, current and past male and female rugby players, and male and female rugby referees.
Speaking about the designated chair, General Manager at Rugby Africa, Coralie van Den Berg said: “It’s a great honour that the Chairman of World Rugby, Sir Bill Beaumont, is leading the jury panel of the first Rugby Africa Media and Photography Awards.
It shows World Rugby’s commitment to make the game truly global and to reach out to all rugby nations. It is also a strong signal that Africa is the next market of growth for rugby with its young and booming population eager for more African sports content.”
Dedicated to the sustainable global growth of the sport in Africa, Rugby Africa views the continent as a key region with huge potential for the future development of rugby.
In 2002, there were only six countries with notable participation in rugby on the continent: Morocco, South Africa, Namibia, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, and Ivory Coast. Fast forward to 2018 and an increase by 84%, Rugby Africa, has 38 union members.
Growth in player registration in 2017 was 66% (excluding South Africa) against an overall global increase of 27%. Countries with the quickest growth in total number of players between 2016 and 2017 as identified were Nigeria, Mauritius, Madagascar, Namibia, and South Africa, a fact clearly illustrating the passion for rugby across Africa.
Out of 105 countries playing competitive rugby in the world, one-third are African nations.
As part of Rugby Africa’s work to grow the culture of sport across the continent, the criteria for the awards will be cognizant of submissions that value the promotion and progression of the game as we love it, throughout the continent.
The bearish performance was due to investors’ sell-offs on large and medium stocks like ZENITH BANK, FBNH and 16 others. Hence, the year-to-date (YTD) stood at -6.67%. As a result, the market indicators (NGX-ASI) shed by 0.19%.
Furthermore, the market breadth closed negatively, recording 18 losers as against 13 gainers.
In summary, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 73.01 absolute points, representing a dip of 0.19% to close at 37,585.25 points. Similarly, the overall Market Capitalization value lost N34.32 billion, representing a decline of 0.17% to close at N19.59 trillion. The discrepancy in the ASI and Market Cap was due to the listing of additional 8,888,888,889 ordinary shares of MBENEFIT.
IKEJA HOTEL emerged as the top gainer (by percentage points) for today, with a maximum price appreciation of +10.00 while BOCGAS emerged as a top loser (by percentage points) with a maximum price depreciation of -9.95%.
Today’s market downturn was driven by price depreciation in large and medium capitalized stocks amongst which are; BOCGAS (-9.95%), ROYALEX (-7.94%) MBENEFIT (-4.76%), HONYFLOUR (-4.52%) CONOIL (-4.31%), WEMABANK (-3.33%), STERLINGBNK (-3.09%), AFRIPRUD (-2.42%), TRANSCORP (2.25%), PRESCO (-1.84%), FBNH (-0.69%), and ZENITHBANK (-0.63%).
| CAP | N19,592,515,120,326.94 | One Day (ASI CHG) | -0.19% |
| Index | 37,585.25 | One Week (ASI CHG) | -2.49% |
| Volume | 163,502,582.00 | One Month (ASI CHG) | -1.76% |
| Value | N3,436,621,181.73 | Six Months (ASI CHG) | -3.13% |
| Deals | 3,562.00 | 52 Weeks (ASI CHG) | +51.38% |
| Gainers | 13 | Losers | 18 |
| Unchanged | 66 | Total | 97 |
| YTD Returns | -6.67% |
Source: Ngxgroup.com, GTI Research
| Security | Change Percent |
| NGX30 | -0.03 |
| NGXBNK | -0.02 |
| NGXCNSMRGDS | 0.01 |
| NGXINDUSTR | 0.07 |
| NGXINS | 0.22 |
| NGXLOTUSISLM | 0.01 |
| NGXOILGAS | -0.35 |
| Security | Previous Close | Open Price | Close Price | Change Price | % Change |
| IKEJAHOTEL | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.10 | 0.10 | 10.00 |
| FIDSON | 5.56 | 5.56 | 6.00 | 0.44 | 7.91 |
| LINKASSURE | 0.65 | 0.65 | 0.70 | 0.05 | 7.69 |
| CHAMS | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.21 | 0.01 | 5.00 |
| FCMB | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.10 | 0.10 | 3.33 |
| VITAFOAM | 14.25 | 14.25 | 14.65 | 0.40 | 2.81 |
| UCAP | 6.06 | 6.06 | 6.16 | 0.10 | 1.65 |
| Security | Previous Close | Open Price | Close Price | Change Price | % Change |
| BOCGAS | 10.55 | 10.55 | 9.50 | -1.05 | -9.95 |
| ROYALEX | 0.63 | 0.63 | 0.58 | -0.05 | -7.94 |
| UNITYBNK | 0.58 | 0.58 | 0.55 | -0.03 | -5.17 |
| MBENEFIT | 0.42 | 0.42 | 0.40 | -0.02 | -4.76 |
| HONYFLOUR | 1.55 | 1.55 | 1.48 | -0.07 | -4.52 |
| CONOIL | 20.90 | 20.90 | 20.00 | -0.90 | -4.31 |
| VERITASKAP | 0.26 | 0.26 | 0.25 | -0.01 | -3.85 |
| Security | Close Price | Daily Volume | Daily Value |
| MTNN | 163.00 | 9,207,699 | 1,500,941,027.60 |
| NESTLE | 1400.00 | 428,790 | 600,310,807.00 |
| GTCO | 30.00 | 11,845,318 | 355,409,991.95 |
| ZENITHBANK | 23.65 | 8,811,667 | 208,623,326.75 |
| FBNH | 7.20 | 18,141,262 | 130,423,009.20 |
| DANGCEM | 221.00 | 450,770 | 99,214,479.70 |
| UBA | 7.35 | 13,006,161 | 94,239,063.30 |
| Security | Close Price | Daily Volume | Daily Value |
| FBNH | 7.20 | 18,141,262 | 130,423,009.20 |
| UBA | 7.35 | 13,006,161 | 94,239,063.30 |
| GTCO | 30.00 | 11,845,318 | 355,409,991.95 |
| MTNN | 163.00 | 9,207,699 | 1,500,941,027.60 |
| ZENITHBANK | 23.65 | 8,811,667 | 208,623,326.75 |
| WAPIC | 0.55 | 7,289,160 | 3,914,789.23 |
| INTBREW | 5.40 | 6,583,267 | 35,545,788.80 |
The overnight (O/N) rate closed at 19.25%, representing 3.75% depreciation against Friday’s position. while Open Buy-Back (OBB) rate closed at 18.50%, representing 3.50% depreciation against Friday’s position.
The Investors and Exporters (I&E) FX window opened at N411.08, traded high at N412.56, traded low at N400.00, and eventually closed at N411.28, representing 0.09% appreciation against Friday’s closing position. However, the naira depreciated from N5.00 to N500.00 from N495.00 at the BDC.
Nigeria’s foreign reserve weakened by $27.29 million to $33.52 billion on (25/06/2021) from $33.55 billion on (24/06/2021), representing a 0.08% decline.
The Brent crude increased by $0.31 to $74.81 on (24/06/2021) from $74.50 (23/06/2021), representing a 0.42% increase in price. While Bonny Light declined by $0.34 to $74.74 on (24/06/2021) from $75.08 on (23/06/2021).
In Mar-2017, the Presidency approved a N701.0bn Payment Assurance Guarantee (PAG) to augment the Nigerian Electricity System Industry (NESI) market proceeds and solve the liquidity crisis Gencos faced within the value chain.
The Payment Assurance Guarantee is a credit facility set aside by the FGN and managed by the CBN to make up for the shortfall in Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) remittances from Disco payments to the Gencos. The payment allows Gencos to meet its financial obligations to gas and equipment suppliers, banks and other partners.
The initial Payment Assurance Guarantee was for two years, aiming to guarantee NBET’s payment obligations to Gencos until Dec-2018.
However, given the outbreak of Covid-19, the program was extended to prevent a further deepening of the liquidity crisis in the industry. Data from NERC shows this measure improved collections in 2020, although remittances remained low in 2020. Remittances from NBET to Gencos improved in 2020, to 29.8% (of total invoice), from 26.3% (of total invoice) in 2019.
The growth in remittances stemmed from improved metering and higher tariffs in 2020. For comparison, the recognition of an N80.4bn PAG disbursement in Q1-2020 after the initial outbreak of Covid-19 improved the quality of Genco’s remittances from NBET to 40.8% (of total invoice) in 2020 (vs. an initial 29.8% without PAG).
In the short term, we expect the liquidity crisis in the sector to persist, considering the low metering (which would have improved remittances to NBET from the Discos) and continued AT&C losses due to ailing infrastructure.
However, in the longer term, considering the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), which aims to strengthen transmission, metering, power availability, we remain cautiously optimistic about improving fortunes in the Industry.
Chinese tech giant Tencent increased its stake in Berlin-based studio Yager and became a majority shareholder of the company. Founded in 1999, Yager has come a long way before receiving its first minority investment from Tencent in February 2020.
Let’s walk through some historic context: The studio’s first game was a combat flight simulator, Yager, which was released in 2003/2004 for Xbox/PC.
The game didn’t sell incredibly well and received quite average reviews from both gamers and the press. However, the company received acknowledgment in 2012 when Spec-Ops The Line, a third-person shooter it developed (published by 2K) became a cult hit.
Its next game Dreadnought, released in 2017, once again accommodated its niche players but failed to attract a wider audience. However, this was Yager’s first free-to-play game, which proved that the company could work with a different model of distribution. Soon after the release, the company announced The Cycle — a new multiplayer FPS with PVP, PVE, and battle royale elements.
In 2019, the company released The Cycle in early access on the Epic Games Store (EGS). When Tencent invested in February 2020, some of the proceeds from the investment went to support the development of The Cycle, but the game remains in early access on EGS today.
Given its recent investment, we suspect that Tencent is satisfied with The Cycle and its development process.
With the majority stake, the German developer gets access to Tencent’s vast development and publishing resources, which could ultimately boost The Cycle’s production and distribution. Moreover, Tencent’s multi-platform expertise will help Yager release the game cross-platform and to a global audience.
The Yager strategic investment falls in line with Tencent’s established M&A strategy and helps strengthen the position of the Chinese company in the European market. In this case, Tencent can leverage Yager’s expertise in PC & Console games development.
Tencent is well-known for its diverse strategy of acquiring various-sized companies, as well as making a plethora of big and small corporate investments.
Interestingly, Tencent’s recent focus has seemingly been on PC & Console developers, plus gaming ecosystem projects (Ubitus, Huya, Bilibili, VSPN).
In 2020, Tencent made a total of 28 transactions (including those of its subsidiaries). 15 of the targets were gaming companies outside China with 10 of them being from Europe. This year, Tencent has already struck 50 deals, 11 of which are non-Chinese companies (and 8 out of those 11 hailing from Europe).
We’re tracking Tencent’s continuous interest in the Western gaming market, and 2021 is on its way to becoming one of the most active investment years for the company.
MoneyGram International has prepaid $100 million of principal balance under its Second Lien Credit Agreement, dated as of June 26, 2019, with Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent, the financial institutions party thereto as lenders, and the other agents party thereto.
MoneyGram also paid a required $4 million prepayment call premium plus accrued interest to the lenders for a total payment of $107 million.
The Company used all of the $97.6 million in proceeds that it raised from its recently completed “at-the-market” equity offering program plus cash on hand.
“Following the successful execution of our equity offering, which we completed in under two weeks, we are using the proceeds to reduce our highest cost debt balance by $100 million.
This debt reduction is a significant milestone for MoneyGram and demonstrates our ability to enhance our capital structure and lower our cost of funds,” said Larry Angelilli, MoneyGram Chief Financial Officer.
“With the continuing growth of MoneyGram Online, along with momentum in many other parts of our money transfer business and the conclusion of the DPA, our company is entering a new era of improved cash flow and growth.”
The Government has had a ban in sight for some time and has renewed its focus against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. The new measures, which will be some of the toughest marketing restrictions in the world, will heavily impact the more than £600m spent by brands on all food advertising online and on TV annually.
The 9 pm pre-watershed ban on advertising TV products deemed to be high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) could cost TV broadcasters more than £200m a year in revenue.
The online ad ban would affect all paid-for forms of digital marketing, from ads on Facebook to paid-search results on Google, text message promotions, and paid activity on sites such as Instagram and Twitter. It is estimated that more than £400m is spent on advertising food products online in the UK annually.
Advertising of discount deals for unhealthy foods will also be banned, while people will be rewarded with shopping vouchers for losing weight and exercising under an incentive scheme to encourage healthier living. The legislation will also restrict retailer promotions on food and drink products that are high in fat, salt and sugar from April 2022.
The online ad ban will affect all paid-for forms of digital marketing, from ads on Facebook to paid-search results on Google, text message promotions, and paid activity on sites such as Instagram and Twitter.
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