THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE) will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 8-10 November in Vienna, Austria.
In addition to addressing issues of concern to Nigerians in diaspora, the event will discuss the outcome of the first-ever Nigerian Diaspora Global Project & Investment Summit UK, which took place in July 2018 in London. The objective of the conference is to support the Development Roadmap for Nigeria especially with regard to business and investment.
Ecobank, the partner bank of the NIDOE meeting, will register interested persons and issue them Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) during the 2-day event.
Moreover, attendees of the AGM will have the opportunity of opening Diaspora Accounts (bank accounts for Nigerians resident outside the country denominated in foreign currencies, such as euro, dollars or pound sterling) with Ecobank as well as accessing other services of the bank.
The BVN was launched on 14 February 2014 for the purpose of registering all bank account holders in Nigeria using biometric technology, which involves recording a person’s unique physical traits such as fingerprints and facial features.
Each registered person is then given a BVN number that is unique to him/her.
The objective of the registration, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria, is to protect bank customers, reduce fraud and strengthen the Nigerian banking system.
Account holders without a BVN registration risk losing their deposits in Nigeria banks as a federal high court had in October 2017 granted a temporary forfeiture order on such accounts. The court, sitting in Abuja, also restrained commercial banks from operating such accounts until their owners get a BVN.
In a related development, the chairman of NIDOE, Hon. Kenneth Gbandi has congratulated all Nigerian presidential candidates for their victory at the recent primary elections of their respective political parties.
In a letter sent to the candidates, Gbandi invited political parties participating at the general election to the Vienna meeting.
“There will be a session at the AGM in Vienna devoted to the 2019 polls, which provides an opportunity for the political parties to engage with the Diaspora audience on their plans for Nigeria,” Gbandi wrote in the letter.
“The session will enable the Diaspora to hear first-hand what the different political parties are offering and how they intend to collaborate with the Diaspora for the advancement of our nation.”
Femi Awoniyi
NIDOE Annual General Meeting
8-10 November 2018
Hotel Lenas Donau
Wagramerstr. 52, 1220 Vienna,
Austria
CONTACTS to NIDOE:
Engr. Oluyemi Ogundele, Chairman of NIDOE Austria; Tel: +436644941020; Email: oluyemius@yahoo.com
Engr. Abiodun Ogunshakin, Secretary-General, NIDOE; Tel.: +447949783640, +2348102441400; Email: secretariat@nidoeurope.org
Hon. Kenneth Gbandi, Chairman, NIDOE; Tel.: +491709878495; Email: chair@nidoeurope.org
