TheNewsGuru

Tag: Website

  • Consumers, producers get website for rights protection

    Consumers, producers get website for rights protection

    An independent online website has been formally launched in Lagos for protection of the rights of consumers and producers.

    The website known as Feedbackhall will give consumers and producers the opportunity to send feedbacks on products and services.

    Pat Utomi, a Professor of Political Economics, said at the launch that the platform would relieve many consumers being hurt but lacked outlets to complain.

    “There is the need for people to be assisted to find their voices; in consumer protection, I don’t think that the civil society has done enough, neither has media.

    “Consumer protection needs part of activism from the media and other organised people to help those complaining to find their voices.
    “Getting realistic feedback is critical for competiveness,” Utomi, the Chairman of the occasion, said.

    The professor said that aim of Feedbackhall should be how producers and consumers should get better.

    In a keynote address, the Director-General, Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mr Babatunde Irukera, said that information was key in the protection of consumers and producers’ rights.

    Irukera spoke on: “Information as a Tool of Accountability”.
    “There is no space abused in our country than the consumer space. Full disclosure to consumers is not just the best but the only dimension that would modify content.

    “It is more important now that technology changes everything and improves everything,’’ he said.

    He advised the owner of the website, Dr Catherine Kanu, to determine to overcome any discouragement.

    “You are providing a critical interphase that industries may not necessarily be ready to support.’’

    Mr Mathias Bassey, who represented the Director-General, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), described Feedbackhall as an eye-opener.

    Bassey said that SON’s Feedback Unit would partner with Feedbackhall to promote protection of the rights of consumers and producers.
    The Chief Executive Officer, Feedbackhall, Kanu, said that the aim of the website was to give consumers the power to drive innovation and change products.

    Kanu said that it would encourage sharing and effective utilisation of product experiences for the benefit of society.

    According to her, Feedbackhall would encourage consumers to provide feedbacks on products and services and encourage producers to use feedbacks to develop user-centred innovative products.

    “Feedbackhall believes that these aims have a mutual relationship because, as consumers share experiences, responsive producers could use the information to improve their products,’’ she said.

    According to her, new entrepreneurs will also benefit from the website by using shared experiences as a guide to develop products, while researchers will obtain reliable information and consumers’ protection and regulatory agencies gain insight into consumer issues.

     

  • MUST READ: Inside the N64 million OSGF website

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha on Monday officially launched the redesigned and upgraded OSGF website, with a charge to web managers of government websites to ensure that the contents are continually updated and kept up to date.

    TheNewsGuru reports the website which costs the FG a whopping sum of N64 million, Mustapha is in commitment of the FG to the full operation of the Freedom of Information Act to engender transparency, openness, engagement, and popular participation of the citizens in the governance process.

    He emphasised that a major achievement in the redesign project was the revamped e-Participation platform for citizen participation and engagement in governance, which has been integrated with the website.

    The portal will allow citizens carry out the following: Request for information from Government; Submit an idea to Government; Lodge complaints to Government; Respond to Government; Report issues to Government; and Give compliments to Government.

    The FG scribe stated that the new website was in keeping with the need to lead Ministries Departments and Agencies’(MDAs) compliance with the dictates of Executive Order 001 on the Ease of doing Business, particularly relating to the directive for MDAs to host a functional website.

    He stressed that the functions and responsibilities of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) made it imperative for it to have a functional website that would deliver information about the structure, policy thrust and activities of the administration on a daily basis.

    According to the SGF, the upgraded OSGF N64 million website project therefore has the following three major components: Redesign and upgrade of OSGF website using newer technology platforms (Laravel and October CMS); Capacity development of Web Development Team (Webmasters), Web Content Providers for the Office, and Acquisition and installation of computer hardware.

    He stated that the OSGF obtained a Clearance Certificate from the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) for the project in line with the Agency’s Act 2007 and Local Content Guidelines as well as Federal Government’s Executive Orders 003 and 005.

    Mustapha disclosed that arrangements were being concluded to train nodal officers from MDAs who will manage the portal, while the OSGF will serve as the Coordination Center.

    Major highlights of the upgraded OSGF website include the following: Home Page; About Us; Offices; Agencies; News & Media; Resources and Contact Us.

    The SGF said the old OSGF website did not reflect the status of the OSGF and was characterized with the following limitations: The technology upon which the website was developed was old, hence limited features; Limited security features which made the website prone to hackers; Media files such as video clips were hosted on external server which is contrary to Government policies; The website did not comply with the standards of operationalisation of Executive Order 001; There was the need to train and retrain staff in this area, and there was also the need for acquisition and installation of computer hardware for the office.

    He commended the Permanent Secretaries for actively participating to ensure that their Offices contents were properly captured. He noted that all Offices were actively engaged in the process leading to the upgrade by their membership of the Web Content Providers Committee

    He added that the upgraded website has numerous resources that are available to the public for their consumption and the OSGF will not hesitate to publish any material that would assist the public and improve governance.

     

  • Nigeria launches N64m website

    Nigeria launches N64m website

    The federal government has inaugurated its upgraded website to encourage e-participation and bring governance closer to Nigerians.

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, during the launch of the website, on Monday in Abuja, said the idea of the website was in line with the government’s policy of encouraging transparency in all its dealings.

    The SGF explained that the launch was in line with the civil service reforms strategy, which calls for greater openness, transparency, and public responsiveness in government agencies in their delivery on policies and programmes.

    He added that Nigerians now have the opportunity of interrogating the policies of the government, as they have the right to be critical of government’s policies.

    Mr Mustapha said that Nigerians could now request for information from the government, submit any idea, lodge complaints and ”the government would respond in 72 hours”.

    He also disclosed that the website costs about N64 million, which include the design, procurement of servers, training, provision of consultancy services, among others.

    “E-Participation allows you to play an integral role in government services – from submitting an idea you have to government, requesting for information from government, making a complaint to the government, routing neighborhood issues to the right official; and then receiving a response.

    “Arrangements have been concluded to train people to manage the website.

    ”Governance is being drawn closer to the people in line with the freedom of information act.

    “The office will not hesitate to publish any material, all in a bid to have an open government.

    “We have created a forum for e-participation. We will make sure the website is current so that people can interrogate government,” he said.

    The award of the contract for the website followed the pre-requisites of the Public Procurement Act 2007, before it was awarded on October 17, 2017, he said.

  • 2019: INEC deploys website technology for electorates, candidates – REC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has deployed a website technology to ease its dealings with electorate, candidates, political parties and other stakeholders in the electoral process.

    TheNewsGuru reports that the new INEC website is http://www.inecnigeria.org

    INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Enugu State, Mr Emeka Ononamadu, stated the development in an interview with NAN in Enugu on Tuesday.

    Ononamadu said that the whole essence of the deployment of the website technology was to make the electoral process less stressful and less cumbersome.

    He said people could get the information they wanted it instantly online.

    “The new website is interactive and user-friendly; while allowing visitors to subscribe to INEC’s newsletters.’’

    The REC said the website had detailed information under the following heading – INEC Youth Ambassadors; Electoral Officials; INEC Citizens Contact Centre (ICCC); INEC LGA Offices; Political Activities and The Media.

    Others are Aspirants and Candidates; Election Management Bodies; Registration Area Centres Nation Wide and Check Your Voter Registration Status.

    Ononamadu said Nigerians could use the website to update their knowledge as well as check their status and that of their aspirants and candidates.

    “The new website – http://www.inecnigeria.org, which has improved features that is interactive and user-friend, is made to ease the electoral process by giving usable and up-to-date information concerning aspects of the electoral process and developments to Nigerians.

    “Like in the provision for Checking Your Voter Registration Status; you can check your voter status by entering your details in the form on this page through imputing your state of residence; surname; and Voters Identification Number (VIN) – last 7 digits.

    “We also have provision for our newsletters as well as important online news and articles on special INEC events nationwide or in some states as the case might be,’’ he said.

    The REC said that the commission would continue to do its best to evolve easier, far-reaching and better ways to enlighten and educate Nigerians on their electoral obligations.

    INEC is one of the leading electoral bodies in Africa that had been introducing cutting edge technology to better the electoral process.

    The commission introduced the electronic voters’ registration, which involves electronic data capturing for voters’ nationwide over 12 years ago.

    About five years ago, it introduced the card readers, which is a technological devise that authenticate the voter’s Permanent Voter Card (PVC) against the electronic thumb print of the voter at the polling booth.

    A visit to the website shows that the commission has a countdown clock to he February 16, 2019 Presidential and National Assembly Elections.

     

  • How to remove explicit contents of yourself from the Internet

    How to remove explicit contents of yourself from the Internet

    Finding explicit contents of yourself – that you shared with someone you trusted – online can be incredibly, deeply distressing. You might feel the ground should just open up for you to enter.

    But if you think your private, sexual videos or pictures have been posted on the internet without your consent, there are steps you can take to right it.

    Here’s what you should do if you’re a victim of revenge porn.

    Call the police

    Sharing explicit contents of someone without their consent is a crime, and perpetrators can serve a prison term for it.

    You may feel embarrassed or ashamed, but this is something you absolutely must go to the police about.

    Reporting the crime to the authorities is the first step – it will not only bring the perpetrator to justice, but it will help stop them from doing the same thing to another victim, and in the event the issue should take a different dimension.

    Get it taken down from the website

    After reporting to the police, the next thing to do is get the content off the website of.

    If the photos are selfies, or a video that you took yourself, then you own the copyright. Contact the website and say they were uploaded without your consent.

    You should also mention that you’ve reported the images or footage to the police.

    Get it removed from Google

    Removing the content from the website of origin is not enough. Google has recently made it easier for victims to stop revenge porn from appearing in search results.

    To request that your content is removed from Google, you can fill out this form.

    You just need to provide them with the following information:

    • Your full name
    • Country
    • Contact email address
    • URL for where the content is live, if applicable
    • A sample URL of Google search results where the image or video appears
    • Screenshots of the offending content, which will help ensure that Google is removing the correct results. Use image-editing software to obscure the sexually explicit portions of the screenshots, but ensure that it will help identify the specific content you wish to be removed.

    Get it off Facebook

    If the images or video has been shared on Facebook, you can anonymously report the posts to the site.

    You can also report the individual user to the social network, as long as you provide the URL to their profile and their email address. Do so using this link.

    Talk to someone

    Even though you’re not in the wrong, being the victim of malicious leaks or revenge porn can make you feel ashamed, isolated and depressed. It is an incredibly traumatic thing for anyone to have to go through.

    Given the nature of the crime, you may not feel comfortable bringing it up with friends, family, colleagues or teachers.

    If so, remember that you’re not alone – there are people you can talk to, especially people who are honest with you about the occurrence.