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GTBank, British Council Unveil First Outdoor Sculpture by Yinka Shonibare in Lagos

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Africa’s foremost financial institution, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, has partnered the British Council, the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, to sponsor the installation of the Wind Sculpture VI by renowned British-Nigerian artist, Yinka Shonibare MBE in Ndubuisi Kanu Park, Ikeja, Lagos.

 

The installation of the Wind Sculpture VI will be the first time that Shonibare’s work has gone on public display in Nigeria. The fibreglass artwork, six metres high by three metres wide, forms part of a series of important large-scale works that marked a new departure for Yinka Shonibare by working in fibre-glass and steel. Using these materials, Shonibare investigates the shifting movement of wind passing through fabric and through these grand sculptures, he encapsulates the sheer volume of wind three-dimensionally with exquisite dynamism. As part of the unveiling of the sculpture, Shonibare will give a talk to students and attend a screening of his work at the site of the installation.

 

Yinka Shonibare is a Nigerian-British artist renowned for his exploration of the issues of race and class through the media of painting, sculpture, photography and film. His trademark material is the brightly coloured ‘African’ batik fabric and one of his most famous works is ‘Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle,’ which, in May 2010, was unveiled on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, London with the support of GTBank. In 2013, the Bank also supported Yinka’s Wind Sculpture “FABRIC–ATION,” one of his largest and most comprehensive exhibitions.

 

The Bank’s support for the installation of the Wind Sculpture VI is the latest of its sustained efforts to promote African and Africa-inspired arts locally and internationally. It closely follows the Bank’s launch, in September, of ART635, a foremost online repository of African artworks and the leading platform for the promotion of indigenous artists across the continent. Arts is one of the four pillars of GTBank’s Corporate Social Responsibility policy and the Bank’s support for Arts over the years ranges from collecting art work from Nigerian artists,  to partnering institutions to promote the value of African Art in Africa and the international markets through project-lead initiatives.

 

Commenting on the Bank’s unveiling of the Wind Sculpture VI, Mr Segun Agbaje, the Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, said; “With its bright colours of traditional African fabrics, Yinka’s Wind Sculpture VI reflects the creativity of an artist who is incredibly proud of his African heritage. As a proudly African and Truly International Bank and an ardent supporter of Art, we are delighted to co-sponsor the exhibition of this magnificent work of Art and we hope it will intrigue and inspire everyone who views it.”

 

GTBank has consistently played a leading role in Africa’s banking industry. The Bank is regarded by industry watchers as one of the best run financial institutions across its subsidiary countries and serves as a role model within the financial service industry due to its bias for world class corporate governance standards, excellent service quality and innovation.

 

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House Of Representatives Issues Warrant Of Arrest On Central Bank Governor, Cardoso, Accountant-General, 17 Others

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The House of Representatives’ Committee on Public Petitions has asked for a warrant of arrest to be issued on the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Oluwatoyin Madein, and 17 others over refusal to appear before it to answer questions on their operations.

It was gathered that the issuance of the arrest warrant was sequel to the adoption of a motion moved by Fred Agbedi, representing Ekeremo/Sagbama Federal Constituency of Bayelsa State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the committee’s hearing on Tuesday.

Agbedi, while moving the motion, said that the arrest warrant had become imperative following the attitude of the invitees, adding that the parliament worked with time and the CEOs had been invited four times but failed to respond to the invitations.

Agbedi said that the CBN Governor, the AGF and the rest of the invitees should be brought to appear before the committee by the Inspector General of Police through a warrant of arrest after due diligence by the House Speaker, Rep Tajudeen Abbas.

The Chairman of the Committee, Micheal Irom (APC-Cross River), in his ruling said that the Inspector-General of Police should ensure the invitees were brought before the committee on December 14.
It was gathered that the petitioner, Fidelis Uzowanem, had earlier said that the petition was anchored on the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) 2021 report.

Irom said, “We took up the challenge to examine the report and discovered that what NEITI put together as a report is only consolidation of fraud that has been going on in the oil and gas industry.

“It dates back to 2016 because we have been following and we put up a petition to this committee to examine what has happened.

“The 2024 budget of 27.5 trillion that has been proposed can be confidently funded from the recoverable amount that we identified in the NEITI report.

“It is basically a concealment of illegal transactions that took place in NNPCL; they have been in a sink with some oil companies where some companies that did not produce crude were paid cash core, an amount paid for crude oil production.”

 

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FCTA uncovers illegal oil refining warehouse in Abuja

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In continuation of the city cleaning exercise, Authorities of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) with operatives of security personnel have uncovered an illegal oil refining warehouse in Mabushi, opposite Mobile filling station on Ahmadu Bello way in Abuja.

 

The Director, Department of Development Control, FCTA, Mukhtar Galadima after the operation on Thursday, said the illegal refining site was discovered during the continuation of the city cleaning exercise.

 

According to him, about three to four plot of lands designated for commercial purposes have been converted to an area where oil and diesel are being adulterated and circulated to other parts of the city.

 

Galadima explained that the city sanitation task force will look into the provision of the law and make necessary recommendations to the FCT Administration for further actions on the plots used for the activity.

 

He said there was no arrest but the items used in carrying out the illegal refining have been impounded.

 

Galadima said, “During the continuation of our city sanitation exercise in Mabushi opposite Mobile filling station on Ahmadu way, we discovered an illegal refining site where oil and diesel are being adulterated, we have done the needful by moving the items to Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.

 

“From what we have seen so far, about three or four pilot of lands designated for commercial purposes have been converted to unapproved activities, which we believe the owners are fully aware, there will be consequences.

 

“We are going to look at the provision of the law and make necessary recommendations to the FCT Administration”

 

He said the administration will continue to go tough on activities being carried out without government approval,  especially revocation of the titles.

 

Collaborating, Head, operations FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Service (DRTS), Deborah Osho said the city management team during the exercise also discovered that most of the areas in the Nation’s capital have been converted to illegal car mart and motor parks.

 

She disclosed that fifteen vehicles have so far been impounded since the operation commenced about two days.

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Central Bank To Freeze Accounts Without BVN, NIN From April 2024

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said on Friday that it will freeze accounts without a Bank Verification Number (BVN) or National Identification Number (NIN) from April 2024.

This is according to a Friday circular by the apex bank which said a BVN or NIN verification will be “conducted shortly”.

It also said all BVN or NIN attached to accounts/wallets must be electronically revalidated by January 31, 2024, according to the circular by the CBN Director of Payments System Management Department Chibuzo Efobi, and the Director of Financial Policy and Regulation Department Haruna Mustapha.

More details later….

 

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