Edited by Frank Meke
**Lagos state Governor, Mr Babatunde Sanwo Olu has endorsed and promised to bankroll the Awori festival known as “Kitigbe Drum festival” come October. The Governor made the promise when the festival Think Tank met with him in his Alausa office last weekend.
**Usman Alkal, the Inspector General of Police has ordered regular patrols, stop and search and show of force by police tactical commanders to arrest the rising activities of criminals in the country. He specifically instructed and ordered water tight security in all schools, health centers, around health workers and critical national infrastructure across the 6 geo political zones of Nigeria
**The expanded meeting of the Central Working Committee for FTAN World Tourism Day celebration in Lagos, headlined by Association of Tourist Boat Operators andWaterTransportersofNigeria, (ATBOWATON) will hold its meeting tomorrow, Friday, August 20th in Lagos. The FTAN’s WTD Central Working committee headed by Dr. Tarzan Balogun will evaluate all reports of the sub committees set up during its inaugural meeting last week Friday and after due diligence, streamline the reports and submit to the leadership of the Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN).
**Shipments of smartphones to Middle East and Africa Region fell by 7.8% to 38 million units in the second quarter of 2022. Counter Point market monitor service report, revealed that worsening macro head wings on geo political and economic fronts buffeted consumer demands as well as brands enthusiasm to push their foot prints across regions.
**Patrick Illodianya Managing Director SFS capital has unveiled a dedicated fund mobile app to help individuals start mutual fund investment journey with ease. He says that the app is designed for individuals seeking a trustworthy, secure and easy platform for high yield investment.
**Over 2 billion dollars worth of cryptocurrency has allegedly been stolen across 13 separate cross chain bridge hacks. According to chainanalysis an analytics firm, the 2 billion dollars stolen this year were through attacks on bridges accounting for 69% of total funds stolen in 2022 which is a major threat to trust in block chain technology
**Still on cryptocurrency issues, the United Nations conference on Trade and Development says that financial regulation of cryptocurrencies through digital wallets, exchanges and discentralized finance will excite global authorities to tax digital assets. According to the UN agency, balances kept in crypto wallets were untaxed with most third war countries not having tax egulations on digital currencies thus, enabling owners to evade and avoid tax payments.
**The industrial leather hub under construction by Lagos state government has reached 65% completion stage. Located in matori industrial area in Mushin Lagos, the Tannery project conceived in 2020 for the production of leather products such as shoes, belts, bags and upholsteries on completion, would house 42 lockup shops where finished leather goods will be on sale. The hub is also expected to offer training opportunities for youths to learn skills in leather manufacturing with a vision to grow leather businesses in economic cycle and add value to raw leather materials locally produced
**Sport Tourism (Athletics): Okpekpe International 10km road race held every May in Edo state has received a clean bill of health, following negative dope test allegedly recorded at the one day event held recently. The athletics integrity unit confirmed that none of the samples taken at the event tested positive for the use of performance enhancing drugs.
** Lagos state Governor Mr Babajide Sanwo Olu has approved the reintroduction of History as a subject in Lagos schools. The decision has attracted Nationwide commendation, due to National quest to get Nigerian young persons to appreciate and understand the history and culture of Nigeria. Speaking on the development, Otunba Segun Runsewe, DG National Council for Arts and Culture says the decision by the Governor to return history as a subject to Lagos schools is a welcome development, noting that no nation can move forward without its history and culture being properly understood by the people. He added that it’s not a coincidence that the return of History as a subject to schools in Lagos is coming at a time the state is preparing to host the iconic National Festival for Arts and Culture which is a practical vehicle to teach and interpret the values of Nigerian culture, tradition and history.