BIG news making headlines on top English sports papers is; Frank Lampard sacked by Chelsea.
The Chelsea legend that took over managerial duties at the club in 2019 has been relieved of his duties just after 18 months.
In a statement following the sack, Chelsea said, “results and performances have not met the club’s expectations, leaving the club mid-table without any clear path to sustained improvement”.
After enjoying a successful spell in his first season as manager, Lampard’s Chelsea has underperformed this season. They sit 9th on the EPL table following 5 defeat out of their last 8 matches.
Lampard, who remains Chelsea’s all-time highest goalscorer led the London club to FA Cup glory in his first season as well as securing them a Champions League spot.
Expectation rose high this season after Chelsea spent over $292 million on signings the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech, and Édouard Mendy; but the big names signings have been unable to link well on the pitch.
Who’s next in for the Hot Seat?
Chelsea is known to fire managers in split-seconds show of underperformance. The BIG question after Frank Lampard’s sack remains, “who’s next in line to take the hot seat at the Blues?”
Rumors have it that formal PSG and Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel is the only candidate on Chelsea’s list to take over from Lampard. While the German is yet to be contacted hours after the sack, papers report that his appointment is a strong possibility.
Source: Emirates FA Cup
Discussions are all over the internet regarding the sack. Some fans had called for Chelsea to be patient and give managers time to build teams. Others seem to agree with the sack and Chelsea’s underperformance under Lampard.
What do you think? Has Chelsea been unfair to a legend in his right, and an all-time goalscorer for this club? Has Lampard truly shown his lack of top football managerial experience?
Stepping into 2020 was exciting as a brand! Just coming off a superb 2019, our teams were fired up to go produce awesome services for customers. And yeah, 2020 was a rollercoaster!
For us, a business year had never been smooth-sailing. Safe to say that it’s these very ups and downs in productivity and customer satisfaction that serves as a background for VTpass to thrive, even in the face of difficulty.
So, we began 2020 with some mad vibes, and here our story of how it went!
N25,000 Weekly Cash-Price
We capped off 2019 with our N25,000 weekly cash price. During this period, over 100 VTpass agents benefited from our program.
Auto-Wallet Funding
In March, we introduced auto-wallet funding; an automatic system that lets you fund your VTpass wallet instantly. With this, we made it easier for customers to fund their wallets, speeding up the time it takes to make a payment on our platform.
There’s nothing better than having more than one way to accomplish a thing. We understand this and added Pay With Bank Transfer to our payment method; giving you not two, but three ways to pay a bill on VTpass.
New Look
Everyone looks a little make-up, why not us? Our creative team and developers came together, brainstormed on how to give VTpass website a look. This is the result!
10,000 Terminal Agents!
An unprecedented growth! Over 10,000 terminal agents now partnering with VTpass across Nigeria. Thank you, partners! 2021 is looking good.
VTpass Give-Away Week
To crown it all, we gave away N30,000 worth of airtime and zero-convenience fees payments in our November Give-Away Week. This is giving back to our customers for loyalty and patronage throughout the year.
Conclusion
Our 2020 SWAG story would not be complete without you, dear customer. As a brand, we appreciate you and hope to see more of you come 2021. Thank you for being part of our 2020 SWAG story!
Things are about to go ‘wooow!’ on VTpass this week with VTpass GiveAway Week in the offing!
You stand a chance to benefit from our two outstanding events:
TREASURE HUNT Wednesday
On Wednesday, 25th November 2020, you get to win up to N30,000 worth of airtime found on VTpass website. All networks are eligible to participate. Simply log on to vtpass.com and search all pages to find and win airtimes!
BLACK FRIDAY
On Friday, 27th November 2020, VTpass is giving away free convenience fees. You get to enjoy up to 3 hours of ZERO convenience fee on all payments made. Simply log in to vtpass.com on said date to participate in this giveaway.
Follow VTpass on Facebook (vtpass), Twitter (@vtpass), and Instagram (@vtpass) to see our winners. Use the hashtag #vtpassGiveAwayWeek to follow events across all social media platforms.
Enjoy VTpass GiveAway Week! Payment is truly at your convenience.
Agreed, there are many fake websites out there claiming to be motor insurers or insurance agents or brokers. One needs to be careful when buying third-party motor insurance online.
The question is, why buy third-party motor insurance online in Nigeria? I mean, why not just go to a physical broker or insurance company and get the business done? Here, we give you three solid reasons why buying third-party motor insurance online is the better option:
Fast certificate delivery: Buying through a physical location, you would have to wait for days before the insurance papers are out. Buying online, however, your insurance papers are ready immediately after payment! No time for stress.
Less paper-work: The last time a friend of ours bought thrid party motor insurance through a broker, we filled and filled and filled proposal forms. Abeg! Buying online, proposal forms questions are significantly shorter yet underwriting quality remains the same. Less paper-work = lesser stress.
Faster renewal process: For some motorists, the biggest challenge of buying motor insurance is the renewal process. That awkward feeling of visiting your broker’s office multiple times during renewal. Buying online, you can simply automate your renewal process so that your wallet is automatically billed the next premium upon renewal.
You get to enjoy these and more right from the comfort of your home and office. All you need to buy third-party motor insurance online in Nigeria is your mobile phone or laptop, internet connection, your funds and a reliable online bill payment platform like VTpass.
How to Buy Third Part Motor Insurance from VTpass
To buy third party motor insurance from the comfort of your home or office, simply:
Fill in the required information: insurance type, insured name, engine number, chassis number, phone number, etc.
Click on Continue to move to the payment confirmation page
Select a payment method i.e pay with card, wallet, or bank transfer
Enter your payment details and confirm payment
Done!
Your third-party motor insurance certificate would be delivered to you immediately after payment. The main policy document would follow only a few days later. Fast and easy.
Driving is a risk on its own, getting a motor cover shouldn’t be risky. Buy yours from VTpass as our quality third-party motor insurance is provided for you by Universal Insurance, one of Nigeria’s most credible insurers.
Drive with complete peace of mind when you buy third-party motor insurance from VTpass!
2020 has certainly not been the best year for football lovers as tournaments and fixtures had to be shifted. Nevertheless, the return of AFCON Qualifiers is enough to lift spirits, especially in African football where fans relish the sport.
AFCON Qualifiers began on 11th November 2020 with Guinea beating Chad in the opening match and Senegal punching a 2-0 blow on Guinea-Bissau.
Yesterday, 12th November was a goal feast for AFCON fans as Cameroon chunked out 4 goals against Mozambique’s 1. Current reigning champions, Algeria, walked over Zimbabwe easily with a 3-1 victory.
Nigeria takes the pitch today, 13th November 2020 against Sierra Leone by 17:00 CAT; and at 20:00 CAT, bafana bafana of South Africa would clash with Sao Tome and Principe. But the most exciting clash of the week rests on the match between Egypt and Togo, Saturday 14th November!
That said, here are our AFCON Qualifiers predictions. Prediction of teams who would make it to AFCON 2021.
2021 AFCON Qualifiers Predictions | Teams to Qualify
A tournament graced by 24 teams all competing for Africa’s Champions Crown would definitely be fierce, but you can expect to see these 12 juggernauts on the pitch come 2021:
Algeria: The current Champions are fast and deadly, recently taking the throne, and wouldn’t be giving it anytime soon.
Egypt: The Pharaohs are AFCON’s most successful champions with 7 titles to their name. Of course, they would make a show.
Senegal: With players like Liverpool’s Sadio Mane, Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy, and Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, Senegal is expected to make it.
Nigeria: Super Eagles of Nigeria have qualified for AFCON year-on-year, 2021 shouldn’t be different. Among them, a gang of young stars.
South Africa: Africa’s most exciting flags to watch wouldn’t miss it. The bafanas are composed of bright players home and away.
Cameroon: Not very consistent over the last few years, Cameroon is yet deadly enough to secure a spot.
Ghana: Nothing short of strength is to be expected of the Black Stars of Ghana.
Morrocco: Another brilliant team from northern Africa. Last competition, they put up a fight. 2021 shouldn’t be any different.
Rwanda: This might come as a surprise to many but Rwanda has been undergoing major sporting changes. Experts predict the result of their sporting project to show in AFCON 2021.
Ivory Coast: They are not called Elephants for nothing! Besides, the orange shirts make a colorful divergence from all the greens and yellows.
Kenya: When a squad of strong legs is on the ship, you just know they would roll through. Kenya would make 2021 AFCON.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, there is still the qualifiers to play after all. So put on your football socks, subscribe your GOtv, DStv, or Startimes, relax into the games, and enjoy the matches!
The #EndSARS campaign which surged from the beginning of October was a call for police brutality and alleged criminal offenses of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad within the country to end.
While speculators wondered if the campaign would come to an end, following the Inspector General of police’s disbandment of SARS on Sunday, 11th, 2020; many protesters changed course, calling for the IG’s proposition of forming a new anti-robbery unit to be put to the sword.
To go by the name Special Weapon and Tactics (SWAT) team, the new anti-robbery police unit is meant to replace the now-defunct SARS. They would be tasked with carrying out the duties previously assigned to SARS.
The IG of police in a statement chipped in that members of SWAT would undergo a psychological and medical examination before admission into the force. He stressed that the unit would be held accountable for abuse of authority or violation of human rights. According to him, the unit would begin training from Monday, 19th October 2020.
But Nigerians took to Twitter just hours after the announcement, calling for the disbandment of SWAT, with the hashtag #EndSWAT trending immediately. According to them, SWAT is just a rebrand of SARS and is not the police reform they request for from the government.
Some of the reasons put forward by protesters for the #EndSWAT campaign include;
The use of ex-SARS operative in forming SWAT
Admission of ex-convicts into the force, and
Lack of disciplinary action drafted for operatives who abuse human rights.
In answer to that, the police have listed the following criteria as the qualification for admitting members into the SWAT team:
No former SARS operative would be a member of the SWAT team.
Only young, smart, and vibrant officers must be selected for training.
Officers must have over seven years of experience and a clean record – he/she must have no pending disciplinary issue, a record of violation of human rights, or a record of misuse of firearms.
Officers must be strong enough to withstand the rigors of SWAT training and operations.
Selected officers must undergo physical fitness tests, medical and toxicology screening, etc and unqualified candidates shall be discharged.
Talks are still been held as to the promised police reforms while protesters continue to make their voices heard.
Stay up to date with happenings and news around you. Top-up airtime or data and subscribe your GOtv, DStv, or Startimes on VTpass. Download the mobile app here.
Innovation never stops at VTpass, neither does growth. That said, we are launching a new website in the coming weeks and want you to be a part of it!
Why asking for your recommendation? You might ask. Very simple! At VTpass, inputs of our customers are valuable to us at launches like this. We exist to serve and satisfy your demands, so why leave you out of the picture when redesigning your reliable platform?
See a short video of our website!
So take this as an invitation to take a look at the new VTpass website. Let us know your thoughts, recommendations, or suggestions via comments on our social media handles and this blog post. Be rest assured that your opinion really counts!
Here’s a look at how we’ve upgraded the website:
Outstanding User Experience
The new website is designed for better user experience. We included modern UX trends as well as internal innovation pent up from years of studying how visitors relate to our website. Compare with the old VTpass website, the difference is clear.
Upgraded Mobile Version
Awesome web experience, more awesome mobile version.
Twice as easy to navigate
Our developers took pain to ensure that the website feels like silk. We simplified all navigation technicalities; ironed out every grey area; broke content into the simplest forms to make navigation really easy. We dare say, even a kid can find his way around it! Haha!
More ways to resolve issues
That’s right. With our new Self-Resolution tool, you now have 4 ways to reach support and get help (Call, Live-chat, support email, and Self-Resolution). Don’t forget you can equally reach VTpass support via our social media handles (Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram) as well as here on our blog.
Seamless transactions as before
Seamless transactions are our promise to you and seamless transactions you would get! Enjoy a faster payment process, prompt service delivery, and zero glitches. Convenience has never been easier.
So go ahead, log on to vtpass.com to check out our new website. You can equally carry out transactions successfully or perform any other actions.
Thank you for partaking in our journey; we are launching soon. Enjoy!
Who says you can’t celebrate seasons like this with customers over a blog post? Certainly, not VTpass. We get in the mood when you are in the mood! Simple as that.
Talking about moods, even though rams, goats, and cow sellers recorded low sales this year as compared to other years’ seasons; Nigerians still have the merriment vibe in them to celebrate. It’s all for the best.
Moments like this are when we ought to forget certain difficulties of life and celebrate with friends and family. That’s where VTpass comes in.
With convenient payment solutions that we offer, catch the best TV entertainment when you can renew DStv, GOtv, or StarTimes subscription. Top-up airtime and data to communicate with those that matter. Pay electricity bills to keep the lights on.
Version v2.02 of the VTpass mobile app is out and available for download from Google Play Store! Download now.
While the previous version v2.0.1 was great, we believe in constantly upgrading our services to serve you better. So head over to Google Play Store and update your app.
Back in the days when we needed little internet activity, you could use your birthday or mom’s address as a password; that was perfectly acceptable. There was no need to create strong passwords or use many of the techniques available today.
Nowadays, with our ever-expanding reliance on the internet for quite a number of things; the best password is one that’s hard to crack and easy to remember.
However, the most commonly used passwords are ridiculously easy to guess. According to a study by Troy Hunt, 25% of password users use passwords that can be found in a dictionary such as “password” or “pencil”.
To protect your online accounts from cybercrimes; here are a few tricks you can use to create strong passwords that are easy to remember:
1. Use initials of a phrase or statement familiar to you
Assuming you have a phrase that always pops up in your head every now and then; for example, “It is what it is”, a password can be IiWiI or iiWII, etc, using the initials of the phrase. However, you might want to add special characters or numbers to strengthen it. No, don’t use your birthday. Instead think of a favorite number or any combination you can easily remember: IIWii%8#, perfect!
2. Rearrange a famous name or familiar word
So you’re a big fan of Lionel Messi or Wizkid or the word “Business” just makes sense to you; why not rearrange these words, say issemlenoil or ssenisub? Even at that, your password is not strong enough, you can apply toggle letters, special characters, and numbers. For example, Business becomes 33eN!sUb and Wizkid becomes K!83iW
3. Use end letters of a favorite song, phrase or whatever
This is similar to our first technique, but this time you’re making use of end-letters. If you love Beyonce’s “Who run the world – Girls!”, nothing stops you from making sdeno! your password. As always, include numbers, special characters, or any other combination. Check this out: on3DsWr7wG100%. I just used end letters plus initials to create that password. A hacker is going to have a real hard time cracking that!
4. Attach different end codes to one password
If you love keeping it simple and can only deal with one password at a time; then we recommend attaching different codes to the end of your password for different online accounts. This is pretty easy to do. Using K!83iW as an example, you can use K!83iWfB for Facebook; K!83iWgM for your Gmail; K!83iWtW for Twitter, etc. Always ensure the combinations are easy to remember but difficult to guess.
5. Use a Password Manger
A Password Manager is an application that stores all your passwords in one place. There are several password managers out there; some perform the sole function of storing your passwords while others equally generate strong passwords when you need them.
If you install a Password Manager on your computer or phone, all you need do is create a master or base password (using any of the techniques above) which would secure the Password Manager; the password manager takes care of generating or storing subsequent passwords you use.
You can download best password managers from Google PlayStore or AppStore for mobiles; or install system password managers such as LastPass on your computer.
6. Update your password regularly
When it comes to top account security, the ultimate advice is to regularly update your passwords at calculated intervals. This is usually the hardest part. Here are a few techniques for updating your password:
Update only your master password (this is easier if you are using a password manager)
Update all your passwords by changing a letter or character or changing their positions
Add the current date of the change to passwords when updating
We hope this helps someone out there get better at creating passwords. Be sure to apply some of these when creating your VTpass password. If you’ve lost or forgotten your VTpass password, learn how to retrieve it right away.
