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Interswitch Employees Donate Salaries to Fight COVID-19

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Interswitch

In the wake of the novel Coronavirus pandemic, a lot of our realities have changed. New emotions have been evoked in us daily, amidst the disturbing depiction of the disease with all the disruption, death and fear it leaves in its wake.

Gradually we have imbibed new ways of interacting and new hygiene routines, among other things. However, one important outcome of the disease the world over, is a renewed sense of value, especially in relation to fellow humans.

Across the globe we have witnessed how good spirited individuals and organisations have donated to various governments at local, national and international levels, to support the fight against COVID-19.

These donations have ranged from cash donations, to the provision of much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE), medical supplies, logistical resources, infrastructure, and so on. We have also witnessed retired medical practitioners taking the risk to return to work to fill up the manpower gap. The outpouring of love is unprecedented…well, the impact of the pandemic is also unprecedented!

In Nigeria, the private sector intervention efforts started with the Coalition Against COVID (CACOVID), an initiative that was introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The coalition has helped set up isolation centres, renovated hospitals, sourced and provided medical supplies, fed indigent homes and inspired more people to make their honest contributions.

On the corporate side, one corporation that has indeed been inspired and risen to the occasion is the Interswitch Group, along with its employees.

The over 800 employees of the pan-African integrated payment and digital commerce company, agreed to sacrifice 10% of their monthly salaries for 3 months, as their own contribution to the on-going efforts to fight the scourge.

What we had seen prior to this was privileged individuals and corporates making donations, and of course that is to be expected.

What we however did not see coming was the employees of an organization deciding to voluntarily give up a percentage of their remunerations, to help others through these trying times. No, that is unusual. But that was what staff of Interswitch Group did.

The staff of Interswitch together raised N75 million, and then the organization and the board complemented that with their own contributions, bringing the total sum to N305 million. This huge sum will be deployed to support the COVID relief efforts of 23 state governments across the country.

Part of the money is also being used to provide relief food items to indigent members of the Interswitch immediate community.

Yet and another part will be set aside to support health workers on the front lines of the fight against the pandemic.

In a press release announcing this financial intervention, the Interswitch Group stated that its employees agreed to make this unusual gesture because they had the inspiration to make a difference in the fight against the pandemic.

And what a difference they are making! They have pooled together their little amounts of money to build a substantial mass of funds that is being deployed to make significant impacts in the lives of many.

While no individual donation might have amounted to millions, their collective donations amounted to quite puddle, and then attracted further donations from the board and the company, bringing the total amount to over N300 million.

In the bid make a difference, the Interswitch employees have redefined how we could all contribute to support the efforts to curb the virus.

They have shown how every amount of money is significant towards the fight against the disease. They have demonstrated that everyone can contribute, not only the billionaires.

The have made it crystal clear that every intervention worth its salt requires sacrifices, and for them, it is 10% of their monthly earnings for three months!

Mitchell Elegbe, the Group Managing Director/Founder of Interswitch said that the efforts by the company and its employees was consistent with the company’s mission of enabling the prosperity of individuals and communities across Africa.

With such sacrifice, the staff of Interswitch are indeed ensuring that the pandemic is checked, as well as safeguarding enabling environments and interactions that will bring about inclusive prosperity across the continent.

In a time where people are unsure of their future, careful about their spending and saving every extra kobo, these heroes are forfeiting part of their earnings to take care of their fellow citizens, providing support for their government and leaving an indelible mark in the sands of times.

So, as Nigerian workers take the center stage once again, and we celebrate them and their contributions to the economy, let us reflect on the sacrifices of this incredible workforce.

While this year’s celebrations will understandably be devoid of the usual pomp and pageantry, short on the usual speeches and demands from the trade unions, let us lift our glasses to these extraordinary workers of Interswitch, who are not making demands of their government or employers today, but instead are actively providing support.

Let us give it up to these heroes who will not be negotiating with their employers for pay rise, but will rather be voluntarily taking pay cuts, to help the indigent among us.

It is indeed a new lesson in giving which we hope will be imbibed, and further promoted, by many others, even as we all join forces to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via [email protected]

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Why Ad Platform Policy Changes Are a Hidden Risk in Every Outsourced Paid Media Relationship

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The rules governing digital advertising landscapes are never set in stone. Major platforms like Google, Meta, and TikTok frequently update their privacy frameworks, compliance requirements, and algorithmic bidding logic without giving agencies much time to prepare. When a marketing team decides to delegate its active campaigns to an external production partner, these sudden policy shifts can introduce a major element of vulnerability into the relationship. Integrating a professional white label ppc management structure allows your business to scale production and tap into high-level optimization talent without building a massive internal department. However, if your fulfillment partner is not built to monitor, interpret, and rapidly deploy adjustments in response to changing platform guidelines, your clients risk facing sudden account suspensions or massive spikes in customer acquisition costs.

Decoupling Technical Adaptability from Account Ownership

When an advertising platform changes its rules, the changes need to be made away in the live ad accounts. This is so the ads do not stop working. Sometimes there is a problem when one team thinks another team is taking care of making sure the ads follow the rules. The team that is supposed to make sure everything is working thinks the other team is doing this job. This can cause problems like missing information and ads that do not work. To keep your clients happy, you need a plan that says who is in charge of checking for rule changes, who updates the ad information, and who updates the ad text rules when the advertising platform changes its rules. You need to know who does what so everything runs smoothly. Advertising platforms and ad accounts are important for your clients.

Managing the Financial Fallouts of Compliance Delays

The real-world financial cost of failing to adapt to sudden policy changes can ruin an agency’s reputation and cause high client turnover. If an automated ad platform updates its rules for a specific industry—such as healthcare, real estate, or finance—and your campaign structure fails to adjust within the grace period, entire accounts can be paused overnight. While your backend team works to fix the errors, your client loses valuable inbound leads while their fixed overhead costs remain. Agencies must make sure their fulfillment partners don’t just focus on basic optimization but also maintain a proactive stance toward platform compliance to prevent budget waste and operational downtime.

Maintaining Strategic Alignment Through Platform Shifts

Relying on a partner to manage the daily execution of your paid media means you must remain highly aligned on how macro-level platform changes alter your broader strategy. When networks restrict traditional targeting methods, your backend white label ppc management team must quickly pivot to alternative solutions, such as first-party data loops or contextual targeting systems. If your vendor operates on autopilot without adjusting to these shifts, your campaigns will slowly lose efficiency as the old targeting methods become obsolete. Regular strategy sessions are essential to confirm that your optimization partners are actively adjusting their setups to remain effective beneath the latest network rules.

Building a Resilient Operations Partnership

To do well with ad networks, you need to work together with your partners and be able to change quickly. You also need to be open with each other. Ad agencies can not just set up their paid media. Forget about it. They need to keep an eye on it and make changes when needed. If you work closely with the company that provides your white-label service, you can protect your business from losing money. You should expect this company to tell you about changes to the network rules and to take action. The best partnerships are the ones where people work together all the time and make changes fast. This helps your clients make money consistently from their investments even when the rules of the ad networks change. Modern ad networks are always changing, so you need to be able to change with them to do well. Modern ad networks require a lot of work to navigate successfully.

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Atiku Accuses Tinubu of Plot to Turn Nigeria into One-Party State

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By Adedapo Adesanya

Former Vice President and the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr Atiku Abubakar, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu is determined to turn Nigeria into a de facto one-party state, condemning attempts to frustrate the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

Mr Atiku’s reaction followed a ruling by the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, which set aside its December 10, 2025, judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party.

The presiding judge, Isah Dashen, ruled that the Peace Movement Party (PMP) should have been joined in the suit because its interests were affected by the case.

Responding to the judgment in a statement issued by the Atiku Media Office, the former Vice President said he was not surprised by what he described as a disturbing development, warning that it could have grave consequences if what he called a plot to weaken opposition parties in favour of Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid succeeds.

According to Mr Atiku, the participation of citizens in free, fair and credible elections is the foundation of democracy, and any attempt to deny Nigerians that freedom of choice could trigger “chaos and anarchy.”

“Nigerians are now seeing the true colours of President Tinubu, who pretends to be a democrat, but his body language and the sinister activities of his agents contradict his mouthed commitment to free and fair elections,” he said.

He urged President Tinubu to emulate the late President Muhammadu Buhari, noting that despite being a retired military officer turned politician, he never deregistered any opposition party. He also cited former President Goodluck Jonathan, whom he said upheld the principle that political ambition should never be worth the blood of any citizen.

“If you’re truly popular and your policies have positively bettered the lives of the citizens, you shouldn’t be afraid of a free and fair competition,” he explained.

“Tinubu cannot be a champion of democracy under military dictatorship and now become the worst enemy of everything that democracy stands for.”

“You can’t attempt to rule the people against their will and still pretend that you’re committed to free and fair elections in 2027,” Mr Atiku stated.

The former Vice President also urged members of the judiciary to resist political interference, warning judges against allowing themselves to be used by politicians seeking to undermine Nigeria’s democracy.

“Governments will come and go. Hence, the judiciary must guard its integrity as the last hope of the masses. Don’t allow unscrupulous politicians to stain your reputation for their own short-term gain at the expense of justice. The judiciary is the last hope of the people. Let’s avoid anything that is capable of ruining the credibility and reputation of our courts, not for a messy pot of pottage or love of lucre.

“There are great judges in Nigeria, but the unchecked excesses of some who allow themselves to become judicial swords in the hands of politicians are capable of damaging the larger image of the judiciary,” he added.

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Lagos to Probe Alakija Building Collapse, Prosecute Culprits

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By Adedapo Adesanya

The Lagos State Government has said it will investigate the collapse of a three-storey building in the Alakija area of the state and prosecute anyone found culpable, while warning residents against ignoring evacuation notices issued on distressed structures.

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, gave the warning on Friday while commiserating with the families of the victims, describing the incident as unfortunate.

“Our first duty is to commiserate with the families who lost their loved ones in this unfortunate incident. On behalf of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, we sympathise with them and pray that such a tragedy never occurs again,” he said.

Latest update from the state government put the casualty figures at 27 rescued and nine fatalities, including a baby.

He disclosed that 27 persons were rescued alive from the rubble, while nine others lost their lives despite overnight rescue efforts.

“By the grace of God, we have been able to rescue 27 people. Unfortunately, we lost nine persons and this is very sad. We share the pain of the affected families,” he said.

According to the commissioner, the collapsed building had earlier been identified as distressed and marked for evacuation, but some occupants allegedly returned after initially leaving.

“As you can see, these buildings had been marked as distressed and people were asked to leave. Unfortunately, some residents returned after pretending to have moved out, leading to this tragic outcome,” Mr Omotoso said.

He added that other distressed buildings in the area would be demolished to prevent similar incidents.

“All the buildings that have been identified as defective will go down. We cannot wait until another tragedy occurs before taking action. The protection of lives remains our priority,” he said.

Mr Omotoso also condemned the construction and occupation of buildings beneath high-tension power lines, describing the practice as unsafe and unacceptable.

“It is not done in any civilised society. Such developments show disregard for safety regulations and contempt for the law. Government will continue to clamp down on such violations,” he said.

He assured residents that a full investigation into the collapse had commenced, stressing that anyone found responsible would face prosecution.

“The owners of the building are under investigation. Anybody found complicit in this tragedy will face the law. They will be prosecuted because no one is above the law,” he said.

The commissioner said most of the rescued victims sustained no life-threatening injuries, while those requiring further medical attention had been taken to the hospital.

He also praised the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, the police, the military, neighbourhood safety personnel and other emergency responders for their swift response.

“I must commend all our emergency responders who worked tirelessly throughout the night to save lives and bring the situation under control,” he said.

Mr Omotoso urged residents to prioritise safety over economic considerations.

“The most important lesson from this incident is that nobody should prioritise livelihood over life. Once life is lost, everything is lost. No business is worth risking human lives for,” he added.

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