Business News
GTB to go ahead with AGM, attendance by proxy
Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) Plc has sought and got approval for its Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be attended by proxy.
Against the backdrop of partial shutdown of business activities and capital market operations as precautionary measure to curtail the spread of the coronavirus disease, GTBank Plc has sought and got approval for its Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be attended by proxy.
This is to minimize contact and adhere to the directives of the Federal and Lagos State Governments.
This announcement is contained in a notification, which was sent by the bank to its shareholders and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and signed by the bank’s Company Secretary, Erhi Obebeduo.
The bank, which had scheduled to hold its AGM on March 30, 2020, had expressed its concerns over the health hazards arising from the coronavirus pandemic, which could be exacerbated by the public gatherings.
[READ MORE: COVID-19: NAFDAC to grant emergency approval for necessary products)
As a result of the pandemic, the Federal and State Governments including Lagos, which is the location for the meeting, have placed restrictions on public gatherings, meetings and movements in conformity to the global directive on adoption of social distancing measure.
In order to meet up with its obligations to its stakeholders and be able to exercise its corporate actions, which are predicated on the AGM, GTB Plc had sought for and gotten approval from regulatory authorities to have the meeting attended by proxy.
In the publication, the bank said, “In view of the legal framework and corporate actions predicated on the AGM, such as payment of dividends, election of Audit Committee members, the filing of Annual Returns and approval of the fees of external auditors, which actions will remain in abeyance if the AGM is postponed or cancelled, your company engaged the Regulators with a view to finding a solution that would balance the compliance with regulatory framework and minimize health hazards that could be exacerbated by such large gatherings.
“We are pleased to inform you that the Corporate Affairs Commission has graciously approved that the AGM should hold with attendance by proxy to minimize social contact. To this end, shareholders are encouraged to appoint proxies to represent them at the meeting, as the company would abide by the Lagos State Government directive of not having more than twenty-five (25) people in a gathering (or any number as may be permitted at the date of the meeting).”
The bank noted that as part of the measure, the AGM would also be streamed live on the bank’s website and encouraged shareholders to log in to observe proceedings.
The shareholders that will attend will be required to go through safety/health measures as directed by the National Centre for Disease Control and Lagos State Ministry of Health.
ENDSARS
#EndSARS: Sanwo-Olu gifts families of slain police officers N10 million each
Governor Sanwo-Olu has compensated the families of slain police officers with the sum of N10 million each.
The Executive Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has brought respite to the families of police officers killed during the violence witnessed in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests.
According to the disclosure on the Twitter page of the Lagos State Government, the families were handed a cheque of N10 million each and the children of the slain officers awarded scholarships by the government.
Governor @jidesanwoolu handing over a cheque of 10 million naira each to the families of police officers who lost their lives during the unrest that followed the EndSARS protest and awarding scholarship to their children. @followlsstf @ceolsstf @LagosPoliceng#LASG #SecureLagos pic.twitter.com/XdjPPRsRf7
— The Lagos State Govt (@followlasg) December 3, 2020
What they are saying: Commenting on the recent development, a tweet by the Lagos State Government read thus: “Governor @jidesanwoolu handing over a cheque of 10 million naira each to the families of police officers who lost their lives during the unrest that followed the EndSARS protest and awarding scholarship to their children.’’
Why this matters: The recent effort by the Governor is in fulfillment of the promise he had earlier made to compensate affected victims of the post-EndSARS protest which led to the loss of lives and valuable properties both in the state and the country at large.
The compensation will be viewed by serving officers as a motivation, aimed at promoting patriotism, loyalty, commitment and dedication to national service.
What you should know
Corporate Press Releases
How digital transformation will impact Nigeria’s projected $8.79 billion economic expansion
Businesses will need to invest in appropriately reskilling and upskilling the national workforce to create a better digital Nigeria.
The Nigerian economy is projected to grow by $8.79 billion in the next three years to 2023, driven largely by the ICT, agriculture, health, finance and insurance sectors, according to a new study by global training providers elev8 and the BusinessDay Research and Intelligence Unit (BRIU).
More than half of the projected growth will come from the ICT sector, as companies continue to create innovative products and services leveraging ICT and telecoms. To take advantage of this growth, however, businesses will need to invest in appropriately reskilling and upskilling the national workforce to create a better digital Nigeria.
The research comes off the back of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has laid bare the digital divide, with those businesses having invested sufficiently in their digital capabilities overtaking those firms who failed to do so.
However, this trend of digitally forward businesses outperforming their technology-inferior counterparts isn’t new, the study reveals. Analysis of the data, which went back as far as 1992, showed that the major companies outperforming others in Nigeria are those that spend more on upskilling, research and development, and technology acquisition.
Economic rewards await
In recognition of its benefits, Nigeria has made efforts in the past, and continues to make more efforts at digitalizing its economy. The progress made in Nigeria’s ICT sub sector has had a positive effect on its gross domestic product (GDP). Research shows that the sector’s contribution to GDP has risen from 7.70 percent in 2012 to 14.30 percent by Q2 2020.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government’s National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, launched in 2019, aims to improve digital literacy and skills to build out the country’s digital capabilities.
However, the digital infrastructure readiness in Nigeria is still far below the global average. For this to be upgraded, the current skill set of government employees working in this area will need to be updated. This should warrant the designing of training programs that will help the government raise the level of digital infrastructure in Nigeria in the shortest possible time and at affordable costs.
The high economic rewards from closing the digital skills gap should see this become an even greater priority. If the entire Nigerian economy is digitalized, the country could take a bigger bite of the global digital economy, which is estimated at $11.5 trillion.
Where digital leaders are made
Global training provider elev8 offers training programs focused on the latest technologies, and is uniquely placed to help businesses and the Nigerian government connect to opportunities as highlighted in the report.
Bringing together renowned industry experts, elev8 offers the flexibility of virtual classrooms or face-to-face programs, depending on what’s best for the organization and its learners.
Taking a holistic approach, power skills like communication, collaboration and analytical thinking are embedded into elev8’s technical training in order to develop well-rounded digital experts who can bring the most value to their employers.
Training methods are practical and action-based – built around projects, tackling real business challenges – enabling learners to put theory into practice from the day one.
No matter the technical need, elev8 can design and implement bespoke solutions tailored to a company’s individual requirements.
elev8’s global academy equips business leaders, teams and organizations with the skills they need to leverage the technologies of the future and transform Nigeria into a knowledge-based economy.
To read the report in full, or to discover more about the elev8 training academy, go to www.elev8me.com/en-us/africa.
Coronavirus
Covid-19: WHO says the promise of vaccine is a game changer
The WHO has stated that the promise of Covid-19 vaccines is phenomenal and potentially game-changing.
The World Health Organization has said that the promise of Covid-19 vaccines is phenomenal and potentially game-changing.
This disclosure was made by the WHO’s Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, during a press briefing at Copenhagen on Thursday, December 2, 2020, according to a report from Reuters.
Kluge said there are expectations that there would be limited supplies of Covid-19 vaccine supplies at the early stages and as such countries must decide who gets priority.
However, the WHO emphasized that there is a growing consensus among stakeholders that older people, medical workers, and people that share the virus with some other health conditions will be among the first recipients of the vaccine.
What you should know
It can be recalled that yesterday, UK regulator gave its approval to the Covid-19 vaccine, which was developed by Pfizer Inc in collaboration with BioNTech, moving ahead of the rest of the world, including the United States in the race to begin the most crucial mass inoculation programme in history.
- This follows the announcement by Pfizer that the vaccine proved 95% effective in a final analysis of clinical-trial data for its phase 3 study.
- In addition, Biotech firm, Moderna Inc, also announced that its Covid-19 experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective in a preliminary study.
- The United States and European Union regulators are sifting through the same Pfizer vaccine trial data, but are yet to give their approval.
- The WHO revealed on Wednesday it had received data from Pfizer and BioNTech on the vaccine and was reviewing it for possible listing for emergency use, a minimum condition for countries to authorize national use.
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Covid-19: WHO says the promise of vaccine is a game changer
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