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Purpose The unhealthy drive for deposit in the banking sector has pushed many banks into unethical practices, thereby resulting in high-level corruption cases in the banking sector. The purpose of this study is to investigate the short- and long-run linkages between bank net interest income and deposit liabilities interacted with corruption, to establish the influence of corruption in deposit mobilisation drive of banks in Nigeria. Also, the study analysed the causal relationship between selected bank variables and fraud. Design/methodology/approach The study used quarterly data on selected variables from 1Q 1993 to 4Q 2017 sourced from Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) annual reports and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin of various issues. Deposit Money Bank various deposit liabilities are interacted with a corruption index and used as the independent variables, while bank earnings serve as the dependent variable. Error Correction Model (ECM) and Engel Granger approach to co-integration technique were used to analyse the data. Findings The findings reveal that various bank deposit liabilities interacted with corruption index has a negative effect on bank profitability in the long run, though only corrupt fixed deposit is statistically significant at the 5 per cent significance level. Bank total asset, total loan and advances and fraud have a significant effect on bank profitability at 1 and 10 per cent significance level. The findings also reveal that banks profit from corrupt fixed deposit and demand deposit in the short run. Social implications Text Originality/value The literature is awash with bank lending corruption and various institutional factors such as competition among banks, credit bureau and information sharing about borrowers, bank supervisory policies, loan loss provisioning, bank ownership structure and regulatory environment and anti-corruption measures. The aspect of deposit mobilisation and corruption has not been well researched in literature; this study, therefore, fills the gap in the literature by examining the extent deposit money banks contributed to corruption in Nigeria through their cutthroat deposit mobilisation drive.

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In line with the Sustainable Development Goal 3:3 of ending the epidemic of hepatitis by year 2030, there is a global call for strategic information to understand viral hepatitis. Existing studies on hepatitis B virus (HBV) in Nigeria have primarily focused on health practitioners and their patients, to the neglect of detailed empirical data on health communication practice, especially as it relates to semi-urban and urban demographic information. The study set to find out the communication strategies employed by government and non-government organisations working on HBV, as well as the preferred health communication channels for hepatitis B by semi-urban and urban residents. The study adopted a mixed method. The qualitative method assessed the communication strategies employed by government and non-government health-related agencies in informing people on HBV in Nigeria while, the survey examined the preferred health communication channels for HBV management among 582 semi-urban and urban residents in Lagos, Oyo, and Ogun States, Southwest Nigeria. Bivariate analyses were performed on demographic variables and preferred health communication channels for HBV by states. This study found that government agencies and non-government organisations working on hepatitis B predominantly make use of interpersonal communication in getting the people informed of HBV. Also, residents of Southwest Nigeria (elderly, Evaristus Adesina ABOUT THE AUTHOR Adesina, Evaristus is a Researcher and a Lecturer of Mass Communication in Covenant University with high enthusiasm for identifying social problems and proffering solutions through positional and empirical research. Evaristus obtained his Bachelor of Science and Masters Degrees from Bowen University and the University of Lagos, respectively. He recently bagged his Ph.D. from

Poor adherence to promoting health behaviours is a significant challenge for prevention and management of infectious respiratory diseases. Non-pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) remain a proven behavioural practice for reducing the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) currently ravaging the world. Studies on Covid-19 have primarily focused on epidemiology, virology, and potential drug treatments to the neglect of behavioural practice of low-income settings. This study examines the extent health belief model predicts the behavior of 405 urban poor residents of Ogun State, which recorded the first index case in Nigeria, towards adoption Covid-19 NPIs. A cross-sectional study was conducted to find out the relationship between study participant characteristics, HBM constructs and unhealthy behavior. Study constructs were assessed on a four point Likert scale and were mean aggregated such that higher scores indicated stronger feelings about a construct. Findings shows that urban poor in the age group 30–40 years were more likely to feel susceptible to contracting Covid-19 (mean score: 2.59 and std. dev. 0.54), they also had a higher perception of the benefit of Covid-19 preventive behaviours than participants in other age groups (mean score: 2.95 and std. dev. 0.71). Also, the most prevalent unhealthy behaviour amongst urban poor residents was the indiscriminate use of facemasks as shown by almost half (47.6%) of participants who agreed that they use facemasks all the time even when alone. The study concludes that though urban poor residents feel threatened by Covid-19, nexus of factors such as low financial earnings, inadequate knowledge, and limited access to basic medical needs hamper the effective adoption of NPIs.

This paper examines financial inclusion penetration in two southwestern states (Lagos and Ekiti) in Nigeria. Lagos has a high concentration of financial Institutions, while Ekiti has few financial institutions. This paper uses survey research design and logit regression analysis to show evidence of a significant difference in financial inclusion penetration in the two states and its impact on the business performance and well-being of the citizens of the states. The study reveals that penetration is higher in Lagos at 81% and lower in Ekiti at 60%. Irregular income/job loss, unknown/hidden charges, long queues in the bank, and high maintenance fees constitute a top threat to 80% financial inclusion achieved in the Southwest zone. The study, therefore, recommends intervention policy that considers state-level characteristics. Also, government policy on employment generation should target low-income earners who are worse-off during an economic downturn.

Abstract:-Gender inequality and poor women empowerment retard improvement in living standards of women and act as a clog in their contributions to governance and economic development. Gender inequality lower quality of life and culminates in limited productivity, hinder economic efficiency and growth. For over three decades, gender issues have been at the front burner of international summits. In spite of much progress in recent times, gender inequalities remain pervasive in many dimensions of life in various regions around the world particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Treatment of women is yet to be fairer and related policies can be more effective to improve the status of women. No-doubt studies have been carried out on gender inequality, but less emphasis has been raveled with respect to hindrances and implications of gender inequality. Hence, understanding the nature of gender inequality will not only promote sound awareness among African countries, but also ignite government efforts as well as NGOs toward effective interventions for reduction of gender inequality especially in the economic and political realms where women are made worse off by the sociocultural milieu. The methodological approach to this paper was based on reviews of published multiple documents to draw up statistical profile of the situation of women in selected countries of low human Development index in SSA to show the existence of gender inequality. The paper found among all the 12 low human development countries and SSA region examined that gender indicators such as human development index, expected years of schooling, mean years of schooling, estimated gross national per capita, share of seats in parliament, population with at least secondary education and labor-force participation rate are all in favor of men. The paper concludes with recommendations to narrow the gender gaps.

This study investigated the influence of agricultural radio programmes in indigenous languages on farmers’ productivity and their implications for agricultural productivity in North-Central Nigeria. It specifically explored how farmers’ knowledge of agricultural radio programmes produced in indigenous languages influences their productivity; how farmers’ acceptance of agricultural radio programmes produced in indigenous languages influences productivity; and whether behavioural changes result from agricultural radio programmes aired in indigenous languages affect farmers’ productivity. Data were gathered through a survey of 663 farmers selected through the three states’ multi-stage sampling technique (Benue, Nasarawa, and Plateau). The hypotheses were tested using regression analysis and structural equation modelling. They revealed that the R value was 0.677, suggesting a highly significant relationship between farmers’ knowledge of agricultural radio programmes in indigenous languages and farmers’ productivity. Results also revealed that farmers’ behavioural changes resulting from agricultural radio programmes in indigenous languages greatly influence farmers’ productivity (F value was 558.358 at the 0.000 significant level). The study concludes that farmers’ knowledge, acceptance and behavioural change towards agricultural radio programmes in indigenous languages significantly influence farmers’ productivity in agriculture. Thus, farmers should be encouraged to continue participating in agricultural radio programmes in indigenous languages to be kept abreast of happenings in the field.