Broadcasting
Konga Kares, Med-Direct Africa Roll out Free Delivery of Quality Drugs, Others to Nigerians Nationwide
Konga, Nigeria’s leading e-commerce giant and Med-Direct Community Pharmacy, a 21st Century online retail pharmacy have announced a partnership to support the free delivery of highly discounted, quality drugs and medications to millions of Nigerians nationwide starting from Monday, August 15, 2022.
The project, a humanitarian initiative will be executed under the auspices of Konga Kares, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of the Konga Group, through which it has identified with and empowered critical segments of the population in need of a helping hand.
Through this initiative, Konga Kares and Med-Direct Africa are hopeful of crashing the cost of accessing quality medicare for millions of Nigerians by a minimum of 10% irrespective of their location nationwide, especially those on managed health conditions and reliant on routine prescription drugs and other medications at this challenging period globally.
Mr. Gideon Ayogu, head of Corporate Communications for the Group, disclosed that the mandate is to reduce the cost of quality drugs by a minimum of 10% off its current retail prices plus free deliveries to patients nationwide. Also, he stated that interested and public-spirited Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora can seize this opportunity to purchase quality drugs and have same delivered at no cost to friends, families, the less privileged and communities of their choice across Nigeria.
‘‘We plan to extend additional incentives to Nigerian civil servants: retired and current, military and paramilitary service men, women and their families, lecturers in institutions of higher learning, civil servants, teachers and those who are above 60 years of age so that they can get genuine drugs at affordable prices delivered on time. We plan to save a minimum of three million Nigerians huge cost on quality drugs by the close of year 2023.
‘‘These include a variety of prescription drugs for diabetics, high blood pressure patients, cholesterol and asthmatics, among others. Also available are nutraceuticals as well as an array of high-performing supplements for people who wish to enhance their health, lifestyle and beauty goals.
“For prescription drugs, shoppers can use the live chat feature to interact with experienced pharmacists and upload their prescriptions via same channel for verification before supplies are made. For those on daily prescription drugs, we have deployed appropriate technologies and logistics to make sure their drugs are replenished one week before they run out of their supplies,’’ he affirmed.
The drugs are available for purchase on Med-Direct Africa’s e-Pharmacy portal: https://meddirectafrica.com/ or on Konga.com.
Also commenting on the partnership, Ifeanyi Ogbolu, head of Retail Operations, Med-Direct Africa, expressed delight with the impact the deal with Konga Kares would have on improving the health and well-being of Nigerians. In addition, he revealed that the partnership would equally benefit local and international donor agencies who wish to leverage this initiative to ensure free deliveries of medical supplies to the last mile for needy or less privileged Nigerians.
‘‘Swift and cost-effective access to genuine drugs and other routine medications is one of the obstacles to quality healthcare delivery in Nigeria. Through this partnership with Konga Kares, Nigerians can now enjoy free delivery of quality prescription drugs, supplements, lifestyle products and other medications to their doorsteps nationwide.
‘‘We are delighted with this landmark development. It is in line with our mission of reducing the cost burden of drugs for Nigerians, while also providing quick access to these medications,’’ he enthused.
Continuing, he stated: ‘‘Donor Agencies – local and international – can also take advantage of this partnership to deliver drugs and other medical supplies in bulk to needy or beneficiary communities or to target groups and other users in record time and free of charge, wherever they may be in Nigeria.
Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON) has established six committees to help strengthen and modernize the country’s broadcasting industry.
The committees will focus on content creation, skills development, digital transformation, sustainability, policy and commercial opportunities
The initiative aims to support industry growth and improve collaboration between broadcasters, regulators and media experts
The official launch recently, was led by Tony Akiotu, president, BON and attended by media professionals, program directors, former journalists and heads of specialized media organizations.
The event brought together several prominent figures in Nigeria’s media industry, including veteran broadcaster and trainer Bimbo Oloyede, Tony Uyah of M4S TV, Kingsley Uranta of Channels Television, Ismael Sani of Platinum TV and Ibrahim Shehu of Trust TV.
Together, they are expected to help drive innovation and support the growth of Nigeria’s broadcasting sector.
According to Akiotu, the committees are intended both to help shape industry policy and to provide a forum for dialogue between BON and broadcasting experts.
Akiotu said the ad hoc committees were intended to strengthen BON’s work and ensure that the umbrella body for Nigeria’s broadcasters played a more direct and meaningful role in developing the country’s broadcasting sector.
The six committees reflect the sector’s main priorities. The first focuses on collaboration and innovation to promote content creation.
The second is dedicated to training and talent development, while the third focuses on industry sustainability by improving the sector’s long-term financial viability.
A fourth committee will focus on digital transformation and work with the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on regulatory issues.
The remaining two committees will oversee public policy advocacy and the development of sports and commercial rights to help broadcasters increase revenue and attract more investment. Together, the committees are expected to guide BON’s efforts to modernize and strengthen Nigeria’s broadcasting industry.
The committees, chaired by members of BON’s General Assembly and supported by the organization’s Secretariat, have an initial 12-month mandate that may be renewed if necessary.
They are required to submit a progress report within three months and implement approved recommendations within the following six months.
The arrangement is intended to ensure close oversight and the timely implementation of their work.
Akiotu also reminded committee members that Nigeria pioneered television broadcasting in Africa and urged them to carry out their work with greater effectiveness and efficiency.
Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says it is investigating about 34 tertiary institutions over allegations that they failed to refund students whose tuition fees were paid twice under the Federal Government’s student loan scheme.
The Managing Director of NELFUND, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this during an interview on Arise Television.
Sawyerr said the agency had deployed a five-member investigative team, including operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and internal auditors, to examine the allegations.
According to him, the investigation was prompted by numerous complaints received from affected students.
“As of right now, there are 34 institutions that we are looking at closely with respect to this issue,” he said.
Sawyerr explained that the double payment issue arose because President Bola Tinubu directed that the student loan scheme commence in the middle of an academic session instead of at the beginning.
He said the decision compelled many students to pay their tuition fees to meet registration deadlines while awaiting approval of their loan applications.
“What happened is that a lot of schools got double payment; some from the students and some from us,” he said.
“The refund process is entirely out of our hands. It is the recipient of the double payments that is obliged to make refunds to the students.”
The NELFUND boss noted that many students had borrowed money from family members, friends and other sources to pay their tuition with the expectation of receiving refunds once the loans were disbursed.
He said while some institutions had promptly refunded affected students, others had failed to do so.
“Some have been very good at this. Others haven’t been so good at it,” Sawyerr said.
“I reserve judgement on the intentionality around it because, for some of them, they just didn’t have the process to make refunds.”
Sawyerr disclosed that NELFUND was exploring a tokenised payment system that would enable students to authorise tuition payments directly to their institutions, thereby reducing the likelihood of duplicate payments.
He said the agency deliberately chose not to disburse tuition loans directly to students to minimise the risk of fund diversion.
“Paying the funds to the students could really lead to the temptation for them to divert and do other things,” he said.
The managing director, however, acknowledged that NELFUND lacked the statutory powers to compel institutions to refund students or prosecute officials found culpable.
He added that many frustrated students had submitted complaints not only to NELFUND but also to anti-corruption agencies, including the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Sawyerr also expressed concern over increases in tuition fees by some institutions following the introduction of the student loan scheme.
He said NELFUND had declined to pay institutions that increased their tuition fees beyond acceptable levels.
“Some schools, because they get paid easily, started to put up their fees. We refused, point blank, to pay institutions who had hiked their fees beyond a certain level,” he said.
He reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to investigating every reported irregularity and strengthening the implementation of the student loan programme through continuous monitoring and internal reviews.
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