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The Place Of Technology In Edo State 2020 Gubernatorial Elections

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Governor Godwin Obaseki will continue another tenure after defeating his closest political rival Osagie size-Iyanu, the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate at the Edo State 2020 Gubernatorial Election.

According to the results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Governor Obaseki polled 307,955 while Ize-Iyamu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who had 223,619 votes.

It would be recalled that In 2016, Governor Obaseki won his first as a candidate of the APC, with strong support from his predecessor Adams Oshiomhole, former National Chairman of the APC. In 2020 they became the worst of political enemies after they both fell out.

The squabble between Obaseki and Oshiomhole generated divisions in Edo State and further heightened the political feud between APC and PDP. Obaseki was denied the flag bearer ticket at his time in APC on the grounds of divided interests with party leaders. But eventually decamped to PDP where he was given the ticket to represent the party.

The political saga was becoming alarming that an average Nigerian could easily deduce that Edo election seemed like a political battle between Governor Obaseki and APC godfathers – Adams Oshiomhole and Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The battle got intensified to the extent that Governor Obaseki appeared to have been silenced despite being the Governor of the state.

Role Of Technology

Going into the election, the confidence level of Nigerians were abysmally low due to irregularities that have always crippled electioneering results in the country. While it’s easy for Nigerians to attribute the victory of Governor Obaseki to President Muhammadu Buhari’s continued reassurance and commitment towards a free and fair election. And the warning letters by the US and UK to the Nigerian government ahead of the Edo Election which may have lowered politicians to manipulate the election. However, one major factor that stands out is the technology that was deployed in the electioneering process.

It once again shows that technology has continued to prove beyond every doubt that it’s capable of making a significant impact. Almost all the sectors of the economy have been hugely affected by technology and Nigeria is beginning to feel that same result on elections.

Edo election would be regarded as one of the most successful elections when compared to Kogi election in 2019 where lives were reportedly lost, coupled with electoral manipulations. Elections without the deployment of technology has a potency of making aggrieved parties file a suit in court. However, with President Muhammadu Buhari already commending the INEC for conducting free and fair elections, the likelihood of going to seek redresss in court is undermined.

Transmission of Election Results Electronically

Some Nigerians who were not able to view the polling units result on television logged on to INEX portal (inecelectionresults.com) to monitor and view the results in real-time. With this electronic transmission of results, it becomes difficult for election results to be manipulated. On Saturday evening, Nigerians were already seeing the results and the announcement on Sunday. The timeliness of the results via electronic transmission is something that is quite different from what has been obtainable in the past.

Regardless, INEC has been at the forefront of deploying technological solutions during elections in Nigeria. The Commission deployed the Z-pad Technology to upload polling unit results to the Result Viewing Portal for the Edo State election.

A week before the election, INEC’s National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education, Information and Publicity, Festus Okoye had promised only deploy technological solutions it has tested with small bye-elections and is confident of their performance in bigger elections. ”A responsible Commission will not gamble with a big end of tenure election conducted in the shadow of a pandemic,”

Also, INEC deployed the Smart Card Reader, a veritable tool for verification and authentication in the accreditation process. As a fact, Smart Card Reader has brought credibility to the electoral process and the INEC has continued to deploy it. However, the Commission have a responsibility to make it smarter and more robust and we will continue to improve on it.

PDP Vs APC Strategy

Regardless of PDP electioneering campaigns for Governor Obaseki, the party believes that if Edo election was to have a credible election without unnecessary interference that it would win. The PDP understands that technology was the only way to put some excesses into check. The likes of former vice president Atiku Abubakar and PDP Chieftain Osita Udoka have been on the front burner.

Even during the aftermath of the 2019 Presidential Election, one of Chidoka’s assertions against INEC’s dealings was the absence of promised online computing of votes, to which it’s reported that INEC said it has no server.

Particularly, Chidoka has been pushing a technology-driven agenda into Nigerian politics. Prior to the preparation of Edo 2020 Chidoka said he written to INEC asking about online computing of results online, to which they agreed and promised to provide.

Meanwhile, the APC had a different strategic direction. They resorted to media and publicity games against Obaseki. One of the notable media publicity was the sponsored television broadcast by Tinubu. The APC National Leader had urged the people of Edo State not to vote for Obaseki. ”He is not a democrat, ” Tinubu said. Oshiomhole on the other hand was vigorously campaigning for Ize-Iyamu in every nook and cranny of Edo State.

Obaseki appeared to almost becoming helpless due to the wide publicity pushed by the APC. The intensity was so much that over 35 aides working with Obaseki resigned and endorsed Ize-Iyamu. All hope was high that the APC Governorship candidate would have won.

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The Economics of Product Decisions: Applying Behavioural Economics and Game Theory in PM

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Amarachi Nnochiri
Amarachi Nnochiri

Product managers often need to make a clear-cut decision: what should we build next? But the decisions which hold real importance go beyond adding features.

It’s about getting what makes people tick.

It goes way beyond what you would expect, getting into how people behave and using game theory.

These areas give insight into how users decide and how a product’s design can improve growth and keep people interested.

This is what Amarachi Nnochiri excels at. She is a senior product manager that knows how to use economics and psychology in her job.

She goes beyond simply managing product tasks; she develops whole product systems based on how users think, feel, and use a service. Her background shows how understanding human psychology and behaviour can give you a significant advantage in the competition.

One idea Amarachi uses is  “loss aversion.” In this scenario, people feel worse about losing something than they feel good about gaining something of equal value.

She uses this when designing her products, mostly when it comes to pricing and getting people to try new strategies. For example, instead of giving a free trial, she might use a freemium setup where users get some stuff for free but could lose it if they don’t buy an upgrade. This pushes them to pay.

She might also use progress bars or streak counters, since losing progress gets people to keep using the product.

Amarachi also uses ideas from “game theory” to get how users act and change their behavior. She realizes that users are doing more than operating a product, but are playing a game with other users or with the product itself. She designs things that use ideas like “Nash equilibrium,” where nobody can do better by changing what they’re doing. For a social product, this could mean creating a system where doing something good for yourself (like inviting friends) also helps everyone else. This makes the whole thing stable and positive.

Her know-how in game theory also applies to making strong “network effects.” This means making stuff that gets better as more people use it.

A good example is a social network where each new user makes the product more helpful for everyone else. Amarachi endeavours to make things go viral on purpose, not just by luck.

She might use “commitment devices,” which are things that make a user stick with a behaviour by making them depend on it socially or functionally. For example, inviting team members to a tool makes the user stick with the platform and makes the product’s network stronger.

This way of thinking is better than just following the usual steps. By using these economic and psychological tricks, Amarachi develops competitive advantages which are difficult to replicate.

She knows that a company’s best thing is not just a simple interface, but a product that’s designed to sync with how people behave.

Her product choices aren’t just about the needs of users, but equally focus on motivating them to like the product, use it, and stick with it.

In her work, choosing a subscription price isn’t just a business thing; it’s about behaviour. Designing a social feed isn’t just about the content; it’s about balancing what people want and watching how they interact. Amarachi knows extensively about the economics of product decisions. This makes her products innovative and appealing to human behaviour, which leads to more use, keeps people around, and helps the product grow. She’s a leader in product management, where identifying customer desires is backed by understanding human motivation.

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Glo reduces international call rates 

By Sandra Ani

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Glo and Globacom


Technology Company, Globacom, has announced significant reductions in its International Direct Dialing (IDD) rates, making international calls more affordable for its existing and new customers across Nigeria.

Effective August 10, the new rates began applying to over 15 popular international destinations, including United States which will has moved to ₦30 per minute, down from ₦35, United Kingdom is now N350 from ₦400, while India also moved down to ₦40 from N45.

The rates for China, Saudi Arabia and Cameroon however recorded major reduction moving to N75, N300 and ₦700 respectively.


The reduction was also extended to African countries including Benin Republic which goes for ₦650 per minute, Niger Republic ₦750, Ghana ₦500, and Togo ₦650. United Arab Emirates also moved from ₦450 to ₦325, Germany to ₦550, Côte d’Ivoire ₦700, Libya ₦700, while calls to Malawi is now N1,100 from ₦1,200.

Glo aims to provide more value for its customers through these revised rates, encouraging them to make Glo their preferred network for international calls. New IDD bundles will also be introduced, offering frequent international callers even more attractive deals.

Globacom, which remained optimistic that frequent international callers will benefit immensely from the reductions in IDD bundles, enjoined customers to take advantage of the new rates to stay connected with friends and business associates across the globe.

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Oil subsidy removal freed up resources for infrastructure – Enugu Governor 

By Orji Israel, South East Correspondent

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Oil benchmark

The Executive Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, has attributed the financing of numerous infrastructure projects embarked by the state government to the oil subsidy removal policy of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.

He made this declaration at the Govermment House, Enugu, during a courtesy visit by a delegation of federal government led by Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, as part of activities lined up for the 2-day Citizens’ Engagement Series in the South East geo-political zone.

“For us in Enugu, we are able to accomplish all we promised our people during the campaign, thanks to the bold decision taken by President Bola Tinubu, which has freed up resources needed to execute humongous capital projects,” said Governor, while listing ongoing projects in the state, which include the construction of 7,000 classrooms, 3,300 hospital beds and 2,000-hectare of 260 farm estates across the 260 wards of the state.

Governor Mbah also pledged more support for the policies of the federal government, saying they are in the best interest of the people of the state.

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