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Friday 29 April 2016
Diamond Bank achieves N6.7bn profit in Q1
Diamond Bank Plc on Friday announced a profit before tax of N6.7 billion for the first quarter ended March 31, 2016.
This is contained in the bank’s unaudited result submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
The report indicated that the profit was against N8.4 billion posted in the corresponding period of 2015.
Its profit after tax stood at N5.76 billion compared with N7.17 billion achieved in the preceding period of 2015.
Interest and similar incomes declined to N35.71 billion in contrast to N40.49 billion in 2015.
The bank’s operating expenses stood at N15.48 billion against N15.61 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2015.
The bank, during the period under review, reported an impairment charge
of N8.81 billion compared to N6.47 billion in the same period in 2015.
Mr Uzoma Dozie, the bank’s Managing Director/Chief Executive, said that
the economic challenges witnessed in 2015 did not abate in the first
quarter of 2016.
He said that the bank’s streams of income remained resilient and considerable growth was recorded in non-interest revenues.
“Our projection of the macro conditions and other external factors for
the rest of the year is that these will remain challenging, and it has
led to higher impairment charges than for the same period in 2015”.
He said that the bank’s continued success in spite of regulatory
headwinds was hinged on implementing strategies that promoted
sustainable growth and profitability in the long term.
He said that the bank would continue to introduce aggressive
innovations, enhanced customer friendly services and retail banking
strategy as strategic road map to sustainable growth and profitability.
This, he said, would enable the bank to focus on driving non-interest
income and thereby strengthening explored opportunities to grow its
market share.
“Diamond Bank’s focus remains on retail banking and providing convenient
and easy banking to the micro, small and medium-scale enterprises
(MSME) segment,” Dozie said.
He said the bank would also focus on growing its corporate and mid-tier
market segment even as the regulatory headwinds blowed tougher and
rougher. (NAN)
Otoobong Ask: Is it true that mosquitoes are more attracted to some people than others or does it just seem that way?
And remember don't forget to leave your COMMENT"
Female mosquitoes can put a damper on any outdoor event when they start to snack on those present.
Certain people seem
to be swatting the insects away or ending the night with more red bites
than others. So is it true that some people really are more
“attractive” to mosquitoes, and, if so, why is this the case?
To answer the first question- yes, some people do attract mosquitoes
more than others at certain times. As for the answer to why this is the
case, there are numerous factors involved. Beyond the several hundred
chemical odours that have been identified to date that the human body
gives off (some of which singularly, or in combination with others,
attract or repel mosquitoes), there are also over 3500 types of
mosquitoes, not all of which are attracted to or are repelled by the
same things. Needless to say, why mosquitoes seem to be more attracted
to one person over another at a given time is very difficult to discern.
That said, in general, we know definitively that seemingly all female
mosquitoes identify you as a potential target for a blood meal via the
carbon dioxide your body puts off, which they detect via their maxillary
palp organ. In fact, mosquitoes can detect you this way from up to
about 100-150 ft (~40 meters) away.
This is one of the many reasons mosquitoes tend to target people who
are in the middle of exercising more- when you’re working out and
breathing hard, you’re giving off more carbon dioxide than you otherwise
would in your resting state. This also contributes to overweight or
otherwise larger individuals being more targeted by mosquitoes than
their slimmer or shorter brethren- the more body mass, the more oxygen
the body needs to maintain it and the more carbon dioxide the individual
will give off. Essentially, the higher your metabolic rate, the more
carbon dioxide you give off and the more you’ll be (at least initially)
attractive to female mosquitoes looking for some blood so they can make
baby mosquitoes. This is also one of the reasons why children are usually less likely to be bitten by mosquitoes than adults, and men more likely to be bitten than women.
Another contributing factor to people exercising being more likely to
be bitten is body heat- the higher your body heat, the more likely a
mosquito is to notice you. This is also generally hypothesised to be a
potential reason that people who are drinking alcohol are more likely to
be bitten.
However, it should be noted that it’s a myth that drinking alcohol raises your body temperature.
Drinking alcohol does make you feel
warmer because it dilates your blood vessels, particularly the
capillaries under the surface of your skin. Thus, the volume of blood
brought to the skin’s surface increases, making your skin a lot warmer,
and sometimes more sweaty. These two factors may result in you being
more attractive to mosquitoes, at least as far as this commonly touted
hypothesis goes.
That said, in one study looking at the effects of alcohol consumption on mosquito attractiveness, while, as the title of the paper suggests, they did find alcohol
consumption significantly increased one’s chances of getting bitten by
mosquitoes, contrary to prevailing wisdom, they found “ethanol content
in sweat and skin temperature did not show any correlation between
alcohol ingestion and mosquito landings.” It should be noted though that
this particular study was performed using an exceptionally small sample
size of only 13 individuals. But the bottom line with this one is that
several studies indicate that alcohol consumption very much does appear
to increase the likelihood of being bitten by mosquitoes, but, as with
so many of the known attractants, exactly why this is the case is still a
matter of debate.
Pregnant women are also more attractive to mosquitoes (statistically
almost twice as likely to be bitten than the rest of the general
populace). The culprits in this case are generally thought to mirror
those of exercisers: carbon dioxide and heat. Pregnant women exhale on
average about 21% more carbon dioxide than when they are not pregnant.
Their body temperature is also typically slightly higher than
non-pregnant individuals, particularly around the belly.
Another factor that potentially attracts mosquitoes from afar is
clothing colour and movement. While it’s not completely understood why
mosquitoes are more attracted to people wearing darker coloured clothing,
the general hypotheses put forth are that it may have something to do
with making you stand out more on the horizon (mosquitoes tend to fly
low to the ground to stay out of the wind as much as possible) and it
may also have something to do with heat, with dark clothing absorbing
more sunlight. Moving around is presumed to make you more attractive to
mosquitoes via motion allowing the mosquito to better distinguish your
body from the surrounding environment.
So that’s the initial attraction. Just because a mosquito is
attracted to you from afar, once they get close up (and even after they
land), they may actually decide not to bite. After all, an idling car
gives off plenty of carbon dioxide and heat, which will initially
attract a mosquito, but once up close, the lack of other markers will
let it know it’s not a potential blood source.
The factors involved in whether a mosquito will decide to land and
then whether they decide to bite essentially comes down to your general
scent and then taste, both in terms of certain chemicals attracting the
mosquito even more and others potentially repelling them.
How sweaty you are at a given moment, and what exactly is in your
sweat, will greatly influence these attractive and repellent factors,
with such markers as lactic acid, uric acid, and ammonia being among the
compounds in your sweat and other skin excretions that attract
mosquitoes. On the other hand, those who naturally excrete the compound
6-methyl-5-heptane-2-one have been found to be significantly less likely
to be bitten owing to this compound acting as something of a mosquito
repellent.
One’s blood type also seems to be one of the markers used by
mosquitoes to determine whether you’re a good candidate for a blood
meal. How? Approximately 85% of people emit certain blood type markers,
something at least certain types of mosquitoes seem to be able
to detect. While significantly more research needs done to determine
whether blood type really makes that much of a difference in likelihood
of being bitten by a mosquito, in one study looking at Asian Tiger
Mosquitoes, it was found that people with Type O blood were nearly twice
as likely to be bitten as people with type A blood. (If you’re curious,
see
It also appears that the blend of microbes living on your body also
effects how attractive you are to at least certain types of mosquitoes,
although research into this is also pretty scant at this stage. That
said, in one 2011 study,
they found that more diverse colonies of microbes on your skin actually
seems to repel mosquitoes, whereas a high density of just a small
number of certain microbes, such as Staphylococcus spp, seems to attract
them.
Beyond certain people actually being more attractive to female
mosquitoes than others, there’s also the fact that some people are more reactive
to mosquito bites. After the mosquito has drunk her fill of your blood,
she leaves behind the cocktail that is her saliva. Your body’s
response to this foreign substance is to produce a variety of antibodies
to bind to the antigens in the saliva, which in turn releases the
nitrogen compound histamine.
Why this is a good thing most of the time is that histamine helps
your white blood cells and other proteins engage whatever is invading
your body by making the capillaries of these cells more permeable. The
downside in the case of mosquito bites is that this triggers an
inflammatory response causing the bite region to swell into a nice pink
bump. If you scratch this bump, this irritates and inflames the area
even more, resulting in your immune system kicking into overdrive to try
to get rid of the foreign substance. So this means more inflammation
for you, resulting in an ever swelling, itchy bump that just won’t go
away.
For some, their body’s histamine response is minimal, meaning they
may not even be aware they were just a blood meal for a mosquito. For
others, every bite becomes swollen and itchy. So if one person’s body
doesn’t really react much, or at all, to a mosquito’s bite, that person
may think they’re one who isn’t very attractive to mosquitoes even
though they may be, and vice versa.
Signs Prince's death was looming
by Otoobong | @Simplenews.naija
The world was shocked when news broke in April 2016 that Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson in 1958, had died at the age of 57 at his home outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota. We've lost a music legend, and it's hard to believe he's really gone. But there are actually a few signs that his end was coming sooner than anyone could have guessed…
He suffered from epilepsy
In 2009, Prince revealed to Tavis Smiley on PBS that he suffered as a child from epilepsy, a neurological condition that causes seizures. He went on to tell a story about how he coped with that as a kid:
"My mother told me one day I walked in to her and said, 'Mom, I'm not going to be sick anymore,' and she said 'Why?' and I said 'Because an angel told me so.' Now, I don't remember saying it, that's just what she told me."
It's unclear if Prince's epilepsy followed him into adulthood. According to an article by Consumer Reports, seven out of every ten children who are diagnosed with the condition grow out of it. However, that same report says that if the condition lasts into adulthood, it can be fatal in some cases.
His faith may have interfered with his health
In 2001, Prince reportedly became a Jehovah's Witness, a faith that can put restrictions on the kind of healthcare a believer receives. According to rumors from 2005, Prince was in need of a double hip replacement, but declined to get the surgery because his faith did not permit him to receive a blood transfusion. Throughout his career, Prince has also sported a cane, though it's not clear if he carried it as a fashion statement or as a necessity for walking. It's possible that his adherence to his faith's restrictions on certain medical treatments may have prevented him from getting important care that could have contributed to his death.
Canceled shows and mid-flight landing
In the weeks before his death, Prince canceled two shows on April 7, 2016, which his reps said was due to his having come down with the flu, but he still performed a show that evening in Atlanta, Ga., despite feeling ill. After flying out of Atlanta early the next morning, he reportedly had the plane make an emergency landing in Moline, Ill., and was admitted to the hospital for treatment. Three hours later, he left the hospital and flew home to Minnesota.
Hours after his passing shocked the world, reports hit that Prince's emergency landing in Illinois wasn't prompted by complications from the flu, but instead because of a drug overdose. The sources for those reports claimed that the star was given a "save shot," which is used to counteract the effects of an overdose of opiates in the body. Whatever Prince was going through, the fact that it forced his plane to make an emergency landing makes it seem a lot more serious than the flu.
'Wait a few days...'
On Saturday, April 16, 2016, Prince showed up to a dance party taking place at his Paisley Park recording studio and home. According to a report from TMZ, he showed off a new guitar and piano, but declined to perform. What he did say, however, turned out to be ominous: "Wait a few days before you waste any prayers."
Multiple pharmacy trips
Another article from TMZ reported that Prince had been making frequent trips to the Walgreens near his home—four times within one week—and that "people at the store were concerned because he looked much more frail and nervous than usual."
His memoir predictions
Finally, TMZ reports that Prince had begun work on a memoir, and had written 50 pages over the span of about a month before he died. It's possible that Prince knew his time was running out and felt motivated to start working on his life story before it was too late.
MUST READ: Tiwa Savage’s hubby loses it on Instagram! Says its over
Take a deep breath as we take you through the 10 posts that'll change Tiwa Savage's marriage forever!
Photo: Tiwa Savage and Teebillz
It’s not quite clear what’s going on in the household of the Baloguns, but the updates Nigerians woke up to see by Tunji Balogun ‘Teebillz’, the husband of Tiwa Savage, is damning.
There have always been whispers from insiders that all is not well
with their marriage, but these 10 posts on Instagram by Teebillz this
morning indicate there is indeed fire on the mountain.
There are some that believe his account may have been hacked due to
the bad grammar and typos in the rant which is unusual for Teebillz but
again no hacker would have that amount of personal information .
Teebillz has not responded to our calls, text messages and emails,
and a source in the Mavin camp has told us they are under instruction to
maintain radio silence on the issue.
This is not the first time their marriage has been reported to been
having troubles. In September 2014 it was widely reported that their
marriage had crashed but they managed to work it out.
Take a deep breath as we take you through the 10 POSTS that’ll change Tiwa Savage’s marriage forever!
''Separated but still repping! Single Nollywood actresses who still got their A-Game''
Photo: Fathia Balogun and Monalisa.
The Nigerian movie industry has seen numerous talented and strong
ladies who despite all they have gone through still manage to stay ahead
of their pairs. They might be single mothers or members of the
spinster’s club, they still manage to keep their heads high.
Here are 10 divorced Nollywood actresses we admire so much…
Fans and colleagues raised eyebrows even at the peak of Funke Akindele’s romance with estranged hubby, Kehinde Almaroof Oloyede.
The duo later went on with the wedding which barely lasted for 12
months. However, Funke Akindele remains one of the biggest thespians in
the industry with mouthwatering endorsements.
Ini Edo Photo: Ini Edo, Instagram
It began with a rumour that beautiful Nollywood actress was having
marriage troubles. Then news went viral that the marriage had broken up
with different allegations raised. Ini Edo however appears to have
gotten her groove back.
Doris Simeon Photo: Doris Simeon
Doris Simeon was formally married to filmmaker, Daniel Ademinokan after the couple met on a movie set in 2006. The couple welcomed their only son, David
on April 4, 2008 but not even that could save the marriage as the
couple separated 2 years later. While Doris has remained single and
focusing on her career. The beautiful Edo born actress is having a swell
time with her television show, Faaji Extra being highly rated while she
also recently renewed her endorsement deal with Ribena.
Beautiful and talented, Monalisa Chinda also has a place on the list
of divorced Nollywood actresses who are yet to remarry. The mother of 1
got married toDejo Richards in 2004. The marriage packed up years later after producing a daughter named Tamara.
The actress cum television presenter has since moved on and was once
linked to Lanre Nzeribe but the romance didn’t last long. She remains
openly single while focusing on acting and her recently launched show.
Many refer to her as one of the most stunning actresses in the industry.
Former beauty queen, Mbong Amata shocked many when she announced her separation from ex-hubby, Jeta Amata
after 10 years and 1 daughter. The duo appeared to be a perfect couple
until the sad news went viral. According to Jeta, ‘I stole her youth and
didn’t let her live her dream so it was better to let her go and find
new adventures. She’s happy and so am I.’ It however appears that many
of their fans are not happy. The ‘Black November’ actress has since
moved on to new flames although she is currently not openly linked with
any man. Mbong is unarguably one of the most beautiful thespians in
Nollywood.
Years after the death of her first husband, Jaiye Aboderin, Stella Damasus remarried Emeka Nzeribe
but sadly the marriage lasted for barely 9 months. The actress has also
been named as the reason Daniel Ademinokan abandoned his former wife,
Doris Simeon although NET cannot independently verify this claim. Stella
has also been linked with numerous men but she appears to have settled
for Daniel with reports having it that the couple has secretly tied the
knots. Stella remains one of the most talked about actresses in the
industry.
Kate Henshaw Photo: Kate Hensahw
Ageless actress, Kate Henshaw was married to Roderick James Nuttal
for over 10 years but the marriage collapsed like a pack of cards after
the actress allegedly uncovered an extra-marital affair between her
hubby and his secretary who was identified as one Angela Gordon.
Kate has since moved on with her life focusing on acting and her
engagement as a reality show judge. Her home in Lekki recently got razed
but the actress seems to have bounced back. And yes, everyone simply
loves Kate.
Ayo Adesanya was married to movie director, Goriola Hassan
for about 10 years before the actress who recently celebrated her
birthday and 20 years on stage called it quits in 2008. It has been
almost 7 years since Ayo moved out of her matrimonial home but
surprisingly the beautiful Ijebu born thespian has not remarried.
Although she has since gotten her groove back, her major focus has been
the upkeep of her son, Farid.
The failed marriage of Fathia Balogun andSaidi Balogun
remains one of the most talked about celebrity union gone sour in the
industry. The couple divorced in 2006 after the union produced 2 kids
although Fathia has another daughter from a previous relationship. Since
the failure of her marriage, Fathia has been focused on her career and
remains one of the most sought after actresses in the industry. The 46
year old Delta state born actress is also one of the turn up queens from
the Yoruba section of Nollywood.
NIGERIA HAS IRON ORE RESERVES OF ABOUT 2BN METRIC TONNES BUT IT IMPORTS ALMOST ALL THE STEEL IT USES
Iron is the major component of steel; usually over 90 percent. Nigeria is the 12th largest iron ore resource country in the world and the second largest in Africa, but about 70 percent of the deposits are yet to be proven, notes Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
The vice president who spoke at the foundation laying ceremony of Kam Steel Integrated Complex at Jimba Oja, Kwara State, Nigeria, said the Nigerian government was “looking at options to solve the challenge, including synergising government capacity and private sector competencies for certifying existing deposits.”
Stressing that Nigeria has about 2 billion metric tonnes of iron ore reserve, Osinbajo said: “we must be extremely ambitious in our industrialization efforts,” adding that the need for increased levels of investment in Nigeria, “has never been more crucial than at this period in time.”
Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in years as government revenues have taken a plunge due to low oil prices, falling toN299 billion ($1.50 billion) in March from N345.095 billion ($1.73 billion) in February. The country depends on oil for about 70 percent of its revenue.
The aim of General Yakubu Gowon when he founded the National Steel Development Authority (NSDA) in 1971 while he was Head of State, to harness Nigeria’s iron ore reserves was to turn Nigeria into a global player in the steel industry; 45 years latter, billions of metric tonnes of the natural resource have not been unearthed. As a result, Nigeria presently imports 90 percent of its steel needs from China and others. Every year, the country consumes roughly six million tonnes of steel.
Alhaji Kamoru Yusuf who together with his wife established Nigeria’s first independently owned cold roll steel complex in the northern city of Ilorin, Kwara State, is encouraged by the ambitions of the present leadership in Nigeria which has made diversification of the economy a key objective and has disclosed two major areas of focus to be agriculture and solid minerals. Yusuf is, therefore, boldly expanding, with a new integrated steel complex.
Prof. Osinbajo stated that steel plays an important part in President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s economic agenda. He, therefore, called on other operators in the steel industry in the country to ensure Nigeria “becomes a net exporter of steel within the shortest possible time”.
Although, like several other commodities, iron ore price is falling, but having enough for local use will take huge foreign exchange burden off the country which has had to introduce restrictions to address its forex crisis.
The vice president also said that the federal Government has been putting in place the right macro-economic policies and is working to ensure an enabling environment for businesses to grow. “This is why the President has given clear instructions that we must make signifiant progress in the ease of doing business ranking this year,” he said.
“Diligent efforts are being undertaken to ensure this goal is achieved, including the setting up of an inter-ministerial committee, which has since commenced work with a very keen presidential oversight.”
BlackBerry PRIV now runs on Android Marshmallow
When BlackBerry introduced its first Android device last year, a
couple of things militated against its adoption by lovers of Google’s
operating system; it ran on v5.1.1 (Lollipop). Despite all its great qualities,
many saw cheaper Android phones that ran on Android OS v6.0
(Marshmallow) as absolutely better. This is partly responsible for the poor market performance of the Blackberry PRIV.
The smartphone maker will be hoping its latest move changes things.
Blackberry has released the Android 6.0 Marshmallow
(M) mobile operating system for PRIV, the first-ever BlackBerry
smartphone fully powered by Android. PRIV with Android M is now
available on ShopBlackBerry.com. Existing PRIV users will be able to upgrade to Android M by downloading the software update on their device.
Android Marshmallow on PRIV brings users more ways to improve their mobile security by providing new opportunities to monitor and control privacy with its unique DTEK app. Users will obtain greater
productivity through enhancements to the BlackBerry keyboard,
BlackBerry Hub, BlackBerry launcher and battery performance. Updates to
the BlackBerry camera will foster their creativity.
“PRIV by BlackBerry is the most
secure Android device in the market and we continue to find ways to
further enhance users’ security and privacy by adding new features with
the Marshmallow operating system update,” said John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO, BlackBerry.
Building on BlackBerry’s legacy of security and
keeping customer data private, DTEK by BlackBerry has been updated to
empower users with more ways to monitor and control their privacy better protecting PRIV from malware, hacks and data breaches.
