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Ambode Okays N8m Seed Funding for 5 Interns

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By Dipo Olowookere

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has approved the payment of N30,000 stipend to Ready.Set.Work (RSW) interns who have been placed in various organisations for six-month paid internships.

The Governor also approved N8 million in seed funding for the top five winners of the RSW Business Pitch Competition, whose businesses will be placed in incubation, while the beneficiaries will commence their internships and incubation, respectively, on March 1, 2018.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mr Obafela Bank-Olemoh, in a statement on Sunday said the interns were part of the 2,000 final year students from six tertiary institutions in the state who took part in the 2017 edition of the 13-week intensive Entrepreneurship and Employability training programme.

He said that the Ready.Set.Work programme, which held its pilot in 2016 with 500 final year students from three tertiary institutions in Lagos State, was scaled up in 2017 to 12,000 Students from six institutions including Lagos State University, University of Lagos, Lagos State Polytechnic, Lagos State College of Health Technology, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, and Michael Otedola College of Primary Education.

“In 2016, we placed 76 students in internships with partner organizations like PwC, SystemSpecs, Total, GTBank, FCMB and Access Bank, to mention a few, who provided 6-month paid internship opportunities for RSW graduates.

“His Excellency, the Governor, further expanded the scheme by approving funds to place an additional 100 RSW graduates in internship positions with SMEs across Lagos State, with monthly stipends provided by the government.

“In 2017, we were able to scale up and secure internship slots in about 180 organisations across the State for 1,000 top performing RSW graduates.

“The placement process involved a series of Internship Fairs at which companies had the opportunity to interview and select their interns from a pool of qualified candidates,” Mr Bank-Olemoh said.

He also disclosed that preparation for Ready.Set.Work 2018 has commenced, adding that the programme would be expanded to train 25,000 while 5,000 final year students would participate in the 13-week face-to-face classes and that 20,000 students in their penultimate year would take part in the RSW Online Academy.

Besides, Mr Bank-Olemoh said the programme was also increasing the number of participating schools to accommodate more students in the programme, among which are Yaba College of Technology, Federal College of Education (Technical) and a private institution, Caleb University.

The Special Adviser added that the inclusion of new schools was in line with Governor Ambode’s commitment to ensuring that every student that graduates from any tertiary institution in Lagos State is prepared for the world of work as an employer of labour or a value-adding employee.

The Governor’s aide also called on professionals from different sectors to join the RSW Faculty, the largest volunteer faculty in Nigeria, as facilitators for the 2018 training programme, adding that the RSW Faculty recruitment would kick off officially on February 22nd, while the application portal will be accessible on the programme website, www.readysetwork.com.ng.

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 dipo.olowookere@businesspost.ng

Jobs/Appointments

Working Capital Lender Zvilo Hires Peter Maila as CEO for Africa

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Peter Maila Zvilo

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Mr Peter Maila has been appointed as the chief executive of Zvilo Africa, with the mandate to strengthen the company’s market footprint on the continent and help the business go for growth.

The working capital lender provides funding support to businesses in the European Union (EU), Türkiye, Africa, and the Middle East.

Zvilo services local and cross-border trade finance needs of entire supply chains, ensuring businesses have the working capital they need, when they need it, for sustainable long-term growth.

“I am thrilled to join Zvilo at such an exciting time, as Zvilo seek to strengthen its market footprint into Africa and help drive its expansion across the continent.

“The senior team at Zvilo – led by my old colleague Admir Imami – is determined to go for growth, which is why we have both dedicated ourselves to the business,” Mr Maila said of his appointment.

“We are thrilled to welcome Peter Maila to the Zvilo team as our CEO of Zvilo Africa.  He will bring exceptional experience and depth of expertise in in investing and building a book of business, both from an African perspective but also from risk, regulatory and governance perspectives.

“His appointment will dramatically strengthen the leadership team by adding deep strategic insight, which will be pivotal in driving growth in the African continent, attracting impactful partners, maximising value and helping reduce the African 120bn trade gap,” the chief executive of Zvilo, Mr Admir Imami, stated.

Mr Maila brings 30-years of finance and investment experience to Zvilo, where he worked for African and international banks, where he has been instrumental in investments worth over $2 billion in Africa and South Asia over the last 15 years in FMCG, Infrastructure (incl. renewable energy), Real Estate and TMT (incl. FinTech) using both debt, mezzanine and equity instruments.

He joined the firm from FMO, the Netherlands-based entrepreneurial development bank where he was Co-Chief Investment Officer covering its private equity and emerging markets team.

Zvilo has ambitious plans to help reduce the 2.5 trillion global trade gap, of which $120 billion is in Africa.

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PZ Cussons Appoints Idigbe to Board as Independent Non-Executive Director

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Anthony Ikemefuna Idigbe

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Anthony Ikemefuna Idigbe, has been appointed to the board of PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc as an independent non-executive director.

A regulatory notice to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by the company disclosed that the appointment of Mr Idigbe took effect from Thursday, March 27, 2025.

However, this appointment, according to the statement signed by the company secretary, ALSEC Nominees Limited, is subject to ratification at the next Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the organisation.

The appointee, a Senior Partner at PUNUKA Attorneys and Solicitors, has over 40 years of experience in corporate governance, insolvency, business restructuring, arbitration, dispute resolution, privatization, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and oil and gas.

The graduate of Law from the University of Ife in 1982, was elevated to SAN in July 2000.

He is a member of the Board of Directors (Trustees) of the Canadian Association of Nigerian Lawyers (CANL); Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Dominican University, Ibadan; Fellow of the Institute of Directors Nigeria (IOD), INSOL International, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London, the Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN) and the International Bar Association (IBA).

In addition, he is a member of the Association of International Energy Negotiators (AIEN), London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA); Lagos Court of Arbitration (LCA), International Chamber of Commerce, Nigeria (ICCN), American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) and International Insolvency Institute (III).

Mr Idigbe chaired Capital Hotel Plc from 2017 to 2022 and currently chairs Ikeja Hotel Plc and The Tourist Company of Nigeria Plc, all listed on the NGX, until two were delisted, according to business strategy.

He is a director of Royal Exchange Plc, listed on NGX and chaired the Statutory Audit Committee of Seplat Energy Plc from 2015 to 2023, which is listed on NGX and the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The new board member was elected the President of the Asaba Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ASACCIMA) in 2022, and President of the Delta Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (DACCIMA) on 12 December 2022.

He was appointed the National Legal Adviser for the National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) in May 2023.

He established the Capital Market Solicitors Association (CMSA) and chaired the 2017 Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Legal Profession Regulation Review Committee, which reviewed the regulation of the legal profession in Nigeria.

In 2013, he was appointed the National Coordinator for Nigeria, World Bank Global Forum of Law, Justice, and Development Project on Treatment of Shareholders’ Rights in Insolvency of Companies (2013 to 2014); and in 2012 a Member of the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force set up by President Goodluck Jonathan.

In addition, he chaired the Technical Drafting Committee for the Bill that became the Investment and Securities Act 2007. He recently chaired the review committee for the same law, resulting in the Investment and Securities Bill now Act. As a consultant to the Bureau of Public Enterprises, he and the now Hon Justice Nnamdi Dimgba drafted the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission Bill now Act relating to anti-trust and competition law in Nigeria.

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Tinubu Okays Nasir Naeem Abdulsalam as Ajaokuta Steel MD

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Nasir Naeem Abdulsalam

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Mr Nasir Naeem Abdulsalam as the Managing Director of the Ajaokuta Steel Company, Kogi State.

A statement from Mr Segun Imohiosen, the Director of Information and Public Relations on behalf of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr George Akume, disclosed the appointment took effect from Thursday, April 3, 2025, and is in accordance with the provisions of the Certain Political and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc) Act 2008 as amended.

Mr Abdulsalam, according to statement, has been tasked by Mr Tinubu to leverage his wealth of experience in the steel industry in his new assignment in revolutionising the company to generate important upstream and downstream industrial and economic activities that will position the nation as the industrial hub of Africa in line with the diversification drive of the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Until his appointment, the appointee served as the Technical Adviser to the Minister of Steel Development, Mr Dele Alake, as well as the Special Assistant on Academics to Director General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Professor Abubakar Sulaiman.

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