Pan African financial institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Plc is set to change the face of digital banking services with its new mobile banking app aimed at delivering first-rate services to customers.

The new UBA mobile banking app, has been armed with benefits and features designed to give its customers increased control and accessibility to carry out transactions with ease.

UBA’s Group Head, Digital Banking, Kayode Ishola, who spoke about the new banking app to members of the press during an international virtual media parley on Monday, explained that apart from being able to decide where they want their cards to operate and block, view, or request new cards straight from the app to suit their specific needs, the app has been tailor-made to give customers what they want, how and in the way they want it.

Reeling off some of the features and benefits of the app, he said a lot of investment in cutting edge technology and attention to details was put into the new UBA mobile app.

Ishola said, “The new UBA Mobile App is your personal finance manager built with a distinctive user interface that will change the face of banking. With this app, we are reimagining banking as our engagement has moved from being channel-based to being platform-based. The speed of the platform has been made to match the speed of light as we have cut down significantly on the number of processes expected to carry out your transactions.

“Interestingly, we have worked towards creating behavioural insight for our customers and working around this to address the real needs of our customers using the Omni channel platform and running on our open digital platform, which is very interactive and armed with lifestyle services. It is sleek and trendy with seamless user interface” Ishola stated.

UBA’s Head, SME Banking, Sampson Aneke, said that apart from the fact that the app has been created with journey that has a high-level of intelligence - as it can work based on frequent transactions, it can also speak to the specific country where it is being used as the new mobile app runs concurrently in the 20 countries of UBA’s operation interacting in the different languages and cultures in line with the specific needs and regulation of the country in focus.

“This all-encompassing platform which boasts of a new user interface because of its sleek, modern nature of delivering seamless experience across several devices; can be used as a budgeting tool, loan application and also allows customers view their expenses according to their various categories such as the amount spent on data within a particular period;” Aneke added.

On the security features of the app, UBA’s Group Chief Information Officer, Onyebuchi Akosa, said that security of the app are best in class adding that the new platform, which will revolutionise the way banking services are offered, promises to deliver increased personalized banking via a watertight and highly-effective security system.

“The new app has also been built with the best-in-purchase security features and has been modelled appropriately to ensure that all the features are working properly to secure transactions maximally. It is also important to mention that the bank took into consideration the virtually impaired, and thus has used voice recognition as a channel for transaction which suits both convenience and the visually impaired customers,” he said.

United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than twenty million customers, across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points, in 20 African countries. With presence in New York, London and Paris, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance and ancillary banking services.

United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than twenty-one million customers, across over 1,000 business offices and customer touch points, in 20 African countries. With presence in the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail; commercial and corporate banking; innovative cross-border payments and remittances; trade finance and ancillary banking services.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has congratulated the Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), on the occasion of his 64th birthday.

Governor Sanwo-Olu in a statement issued on Monday by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, described Osinbajo as a seasoned administrator, legal luminary, university don and religious leader who has used his skills and positions in different capacities for national growth.

Sanwo-Olu wished Prof. Osinbajo more years of joy and good health for a continued service to the country and humanity as a whole.

He said: “On behalf of the good people of Lagos State and my adorable wife, Ibijoke, I heartily congratulate Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on the occasion of his 64th birthday celebration. Professor Osinbajo has sacrificed the greater part of his adult life in service of our dear State and Nigeria.

“Vice President Osinbajo’s contributions to the success of the All Progressives Congress, APC-led administration at the federal level is commendable, considering how he is partnering with President Muhammadu Buhari to steer the ship of Nigeria on the right path.

“I also salute his patriotism, doggedness, dedication, commitment and tireless efforts in partnering and working with President Buhari and other critical stakeholders in addressing insecurity, corruption and economic issues in the country.

“Prof. Osinbajo’s leadership of the National Economic Council (NEC), which I belong to, has provided quality direction and synergy between the federal and state governments in addressing major issues affecting millions of Nigerians as well as working towards the growth and development of the country.”

Governor Sanwo-Olu also hailed Vice President Osinbajo’s contribution to the growth of Lagos State, especially in the judicial sector during his tenure as the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General of the State.

He said: “Prof. Osinbajo is a worthy ambassador of Lagos State and we will always be grateful to him for using his legal expertise to take Lagos judiciary to greater heights. During his tenure as Attorney-General of our dear State, he fought many battles on behalf of the State and today, we are reaping the fruits of those achievements.”

The determination of the Buhari-led APC federal government in ensuring the success of the implementation of the UN Environment report on Ogoni has continued to attract resounding applauses and commendations from analysts and critical stakeholders in the fields of politics and the environment.

The $1billion (USD) implementation which is hinged on a 2011 detailed report from the environmental assessment of sites polluted by oil exploration activities in Ogoni land since the discovery of oil in the 1950s, conducted and released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was launched in June 2016 by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on behalf of President Mohammadu Buhari, after several years of neglect by the previous administration steered by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and allies.

Reacting to the success so far recorded by the federal government on the remediation exercise especially, the approval and subsequent release of N6 billion for provision of portable Water in the four local government areas of Ogoni viz- Eleme, Tai, Khana and Gokana, chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze said President Buhari has shown an appreciable degree of compassion towards the plight of the Ogonis, given the coarse environmental standard to which they have been forced to adapt over the years owing to the poorly regulated model of oil exploration by multinational companies operating on their soil.

Recall that the Federal Executive Council (FEC), a few days back, approved the sum of N6 billion for provision of potable water in Gokana, Khana, Eleme and Tai, being the four Ogoni council areas of Rivers State, affected by the pollution, as captured in the UNEP report.

In a statement made available to media houses in Port Harcourt, Chief Eze said portable water is part of the essential necessaries for human existence and survival and the provision of same for the good people of Ogoni is important given the extensive contamination done to their environmental including rivers and tributaries with pollution penetrating deeper into the soil and destroying aqua life and other sources of livelihoods.

Commending former Rivers Governor and Nigeria’s Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, CON., who prior to the 2015 elections, extracted the promise from President Mohammadu Buhari to implement the UNEP Report abandoned by the then PDP led Federal Government, Chief Eze admonished Ogonis and the entire good people of Rivers State to continue to support the All Progressives Congress, assuring that many more dividends have been proposed and awaiting implementation.

Eze counseled Gov. Nyesom Wike to be magnanimous to Rivers people whose mandate he holds in trust, by building industries, providing jobs and spreading development evenly across all parts of the state, stressing that his narrow-minded and parochial approach to governance does not make a good sense of public service.

With the Ogoni remediation project, adjudged to be the most wide-ranging and long term oil clean up exercise to be undertaken in the world, experts are of the view that restoration of the damaged ecosystems may span over a period of 25 years or little more.

The party Chief called on the good people of Ogoni to be patient and continue to give necessary supports to companies engaged in the remediation work, assuring that President Buhari and Minister Amaechi, through the Ministry of Environment and other supervising agencies, will ensure an effective implementation of the UNEP Report on Ogoni to restore their environment and give them better life.