Facebook changes name to Meta
Facebook is changing its name to Meta, Mark Zuckerberg said on Thursday at the company’s Connect event. According to Zuckerberg, the name Facebook does not fully represent what the company does which is to build technology that connects people. With the rebrand, the company, he says, can begin to put people at the centre of its technology.“Right now, our brand is so tightly linked to one product,” he said. “But over time, I hope we are seen as a metaverse company.” The rebrand is part of the company’s efforts to shift attention from being known as just a social media company to focusing on Zuckerberg’s plans for building the metaverse. The metaverse is a digital reality that combines aspects of social media, online gaming, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and cryptocurrencies to allow users to interact virtually. In the future, the metaverse is expected to create online spaces where user interactions are more multidimensional than current technology supports. What it means is that instead of just viewing digital content, users in the metaverse will be able to immerse themselves in a space where the digital and physical worlds converge. Zuckerberg said during his presentation that the rebrand is merely recognising a shift that has already taken place in the company. “I think we’re basically moving from being Facebook first as a company to being metaverse first,” he said. Although it is yet to be confirmed, a unified account system is going to be introduced to span all of the company’s social apps, the Oculus Quest headset, Portal, and future devices. That means you won’t need a Facebook account to use the Quest.
‘85m Nigerians do not have access to electricity’
The group managing director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, at the Energy Sustainability Conference (ESC) hosted by Energy Institute, Nigeria, in partnership with the Department for International Trade, UK, said 85 million Nigerians do not have access to electricity. The GMD was represented by Bala Wunti, group general manager (GGM), National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS). Kyari, in his keynote address ‘Accelerating Sustainable Energy Solutions through Policy Formulation: Prospects and Limitations,’ said the energy poverty level was devastating. In terms of energy consumption, Nigeria is still below 1kilowats per capita of electricity, which is low hence energy poverty is raging in the country. Kyari told the audience at the ESC conference that stakeholders must recognize the fact that oil and gas is still relevant with fossil fuel. The global energy crisis is an eye opener that the world needs fossil fuel without having credible replacement for it, hence it is overstepping its bounds in a hurry to exit hydrocarbons. Also at the conference, Chimwemwe Chalemera, country director, UK Government Department for International Trade, Nigeria, said the £1.5 billion financing set aside for Nigeria by the UK Export Finance, the UK government’s export credit agency, has remained largely untouched. According to her, UKEF financing is provided either via a bank guarantee, where UKEF acts as a credit enhancer, or in limited circumstances via direct lending. She said as a collective global problem, tackling climate would require collective action, adding that the UK had asked other countries to do a huge amount to reduce carbon emissions as well as provide support for developing countries.
CBN updates eNaira wallet app amidst user complaints
The eNaira application designed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and launched on Monday, October 25, 2021, in Abuja by President Muhammadu Buhari is back on the Google Play Store after it went missing on Wednesday, 27th October 2021. Contrary to reports that it was pulled down due to incompetence on the part of the regulatory board, the app went through an upgrade and is functioning properly now, CBN spokesperson said. Before the app went missing, negative reviews were gotten from Nigerians who were disappointed with the process of registering for the app as required by the CBN. The main complaints about the eNaira app ranged from issues relating to errors occuring after signing up, date of birth not correct, customer support not found, information not matching, among others. Many users encountered problems linking their email to the app which is a major requirement to be granted access. However, representatives of the CBN responded to users’ complaints in the comment section of the review. “The challenge was a technical one because the desired result was not gotten, that is why the app was down and efforts have been made at the backend to get it resolved. The eNaira wallet has a major advantage, which is one can send the actual amount they need to without extra transfer charges, and the issue of failed transfer is not associated with the app,” a source at Sterling Bank who will not be named told BusinessDay. While some experts are optimistic about the initiative, others shared their concerns. “If you ask me, the CBN should have simply given the eNaira to the Telcos to run with. Let them compete with banks, consumers will be better off with lower cost,” Kalu Aja, a financial analyst tweeted. With the recent upgrade, Nigerians are expectant to see the digital currency app operate without further glitches.
Read also: CBN updates eNaira wallet app amidst user complaints
COVID: Lagos alerts to 4th wave, begins mass vaccination of residents
The Lagos State government on Wednesday alerted residents to the possibility of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, as it flagged off mass vaccination targeting 4 million residents ahead of the festive season. The state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who launched the mass vaccination campaign at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, said it was to stave off the re-emergence of the viral infection. Residents of the state who are 18 years and above are eligible to be fully immunised with the COVID-19 vaccine. The accelerated vaccine rollout is tagged: “operation count me in 4 million Lagosians vaccinated against COVID-19”. It is being undertaken by the state government in partnership with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA). Sanwo-Olu believed the mass vaccination campaign would help bolster the state’s response to the threat posed by the pandemic. Sanwo-Olu said the joint committee set up by the Lagos State and NPHCDA to oversee the implementation of the campaign would be opening vaccination sites in high traffic locations as part of the strategies to expand vaccine access in underserved communities. Mobile vans, the governor added, would be deployed to move round boundary settlements in order to reach individuals in areas with limited access to health facilities. Sanwo-Olu said the state had successfully vaccinated 800,000 residents with the first dose of Moderna vaccine and 310,000 persons fully vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine. This, he said, brings the total number of residents vaccinated with the first dose of either AstraZeneca or Moderna to 1.2 million, and raises the number of fully vaccinated individuals to 550,000, which accounts for about 4 percent of the state’s population.
Rising gas prices threaten domestic market growth
Recent uncontrollable northward movement in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) market price curve is a major threat to the domestic LPG market. Shina Luwoye, CEO of Ecogas Energy Resources Limited, stated this at a press briefing. “Ecogas had steadily pursued LPG adoption and penetration within the localities of its gas refilling plants as well as cost-cutting measures aimed at making the product more available and affordable,” Luwoye said. He however attributed the price hike to the introduction of 7.5 percent Value Added Tax on imported LPG, the devaluation of the naira and the scarcity of dollars. He further stated that Ecogas had steadily pursued LPG adoption and penetration within the localities of its gas refilling plants as well as cost-cutting measures aimed at making the product more available and affordable. “The Federal Government’s efforts to deepen adoption of LPG have been yielding results. We can boldly see this through the high demand for the product. Even my aged mother who hitherto forbids her tenants from using cooking gas now uses LPG for cooking. He also indicated that the naira devaluation and the subsequent forex shortage had become a serious issue for importers of the LPG who need dollars to effect their imports. Earlier at a different forum, Colman Obasi, national president, Oil and Gas Service Providers Association of Nigeria (OGSPAN), said, “As a stakeholder in the sector, we were delighted when the Federal Government previously excluded operators in the LPG sector from paying VAT.
Cristiano Ronaldo and partner Georgina, expecting twins
Cristiano Ronaldo has announced that his partner, Georgina Rodriguez, is pregnant and expecting twins, sending the football world into a frenzy. The 36-year-old Manchester United superstar posted an image of himself and Rodriguez in bed on Instagram and captioned it: “Delighted to announce we are expecting twins, our hearts are full of love – we can’t wait to meet you.” The birth of the twins will see Ronaldo become the father of six children. Rodriguez already shares daughter Alana, who is three, and Ronaldo has a son named Cristiano Jnr, 11, and twins Eva and Mateo, both four. Meanwhile, this would be the second time (or third child) Georgina Rodriguez is carrying for CR7. She had Alana Martina for him in 2017, the same year Ronaldo told France Football that he wanted seven children. “My desire for motherhood is stronger than anything,” Rodriguez said last year. “I hope to have more children.” Ronaldo’s mum Dolores was among the many to offer congratulations. “May these grandchildren come with health, which is what matters most,” she wrote.
