A Nigerian newspaper and Online version of the Vanguard, a daily publication in Nigeria covering Niger delta, general national news, politics, business, energy, sports, entertainment, fashion,lifestyle human interest stories, etc
The 22-year-old, a younger brother of Eden, is an attacking midfielder who started his professional career in his native Belgium, first with White Star Brussels and then Zulte-Waregem. He joined Ujpest in the summer of 2015 and played 42 times for them.
Kylian is the third of his siblings to move to Stamford Bridge, with Thorgan Hazard having spent three years on Chelsea’s books before joining Borussia Monchengladbach in 2015.
He joined Ujpest from Zulte Waregem in 2015 but a knee injury saw him miss the majority of the 2016-17 season.
He joins the Chelsea development squad who are home to Sunderland on Saturday 9 September.
By Evelyn Usman A bullion van loaded with an unspecified amount went up in flames Tuesday under Ojota bridge, Lagos .
Report said that the van was driving inward toll gate, apparently to disburse the money in some banks when the unexpected happened.
The exact cause of the fire which occurred at about 2.30pm could not be immediately ascertained.
An eye witness , Mrs Moji Maitani , said : " I was driving home when all of a sudden the vehicle directly in front of me veered to another lane. I quickly applied the break to avoid what the motorist attempted to dodge, only to discover that a vehicle was on fire. On further observation, it was discovered to be a bullion van. Its occupants rushed out and were flagging other motorists to demand for fire extinguisher. But I could not stop , in order not to be trapped in any disaster."
Some eye witnesses said that the money stalked inside the van was completely burnt as the escorts could not go near the van ,owing to the flames. Others however, said that some cash was evacuated before the van was engulfed by fire.
Managing Director, Lagos State Emergency Management Emergency, LASEMA Mr Tiamiyu Adesina who confirmed the incident, said officials of Lagos State Fire Service arrived the scene to put out the fire
The University of Lagos on Tuesday said its Post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) aptitude test for prospective students for the 2017/2018 academic session would hold from Sept. 18 to Sept. 22
The institution's Deputy Registrar, Information, Mr Toyin Adebule, said in a statement that online registration for the Post-UTME screening exercise for placement into courses/programmes for the new academic session would take place from Aug. 31 to Sept. 15.
Giving a rundown of the modalities for admission into the institution, he said that only candidates who made University of Lagos their first choice in the 2017/2018 UTME and scored 200 and above are eligible for the screening.
In addition, he said that candidates must possess a minimum of five credit passes at one sitting in relevant O/level subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
"Candidates who will not be 16 years of age by October 31 are not eligible and need not apply.
"Candidates who do not participate in this Post-UTME screening will also not be considered for admission.
"The screening fee has been pegged at N2,000 and candidates should follow the registration procedure keenly.
"Eligible candidates should log on to University of Lagos website www.unilag.edu.ng and then take the following steps.
"They should click on admission, then click on Post-UTME application, and login with their UTME number as their username and surname in lowercase as password,'' the statement read.
Adebule said this would generate a print payment advice which they would use to proceed to any commercial bank to make payment or pay online.
He said that the prospective candidates are to return to the university portal to upload their passport photographs and complete the application forms.
According to him, they will in turn print the Post-UTME examination Pass for the aptitude test which will hold from Sept. 18 to Sept. 22.
He urged candidates to adhere strictly to the guidelines and not to hesitate to obtain clarifications where necessary.
Over 500 million people in Africa are estimated to live below poverty line. Yet, many African governments, including Nigeria, despite different policies introduced, have not found solutions to eradicate poverty and hunger. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that 233 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were hungry and undernourished from 2014 to 2016.
Many African countries are highly dependent on agriculture to survive, but due to lack of required resources, farmers still find it difficult to increase productivity.
Goal number one and two of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are to end poverty and hunger. Yet, some countries in Africa are far from meeting these goals. Food security is a huge challenge in Africa and until the right resources are introduced into the agriculture, Africa, in decades to come, will never meet these goals.
Agro-tech
According to FAO, "The world population will reach 9.1 billion by 2050 and to feed that number of people, global food production will need to grow by 70%. For Africa, which is projected to be home to about 2 billion people by then, farm productivity must accelerate at a faster rate than the global average to avoid continued mass hunger."
The population of Africa is growing and it is threatened by low farm productivity exacerbated by weather changes, shorter fallow periods, and rural-urban migration that deprives farming communities of young people. Many farmers in Africa still utilize traditional processes that are dependent heavily on historical norms, or use tools like hoes and cutlasses.
The need for Zenvus
However, Zenvus Technology, developed by Professor Ndubuisi Ekekwe, is redefining the sector with an intelligent solution for farms to use proprietary electronics sensors to collect soil data like moisture, nutrients, among others, and send them to a cloud server via GSM, satellite or Wifi.
agro-tech
Algorithms in the server analyze the data and advise farmers on what to do to maximize yield. "As the crops grow, the system deploys special cameras to build vegetative health to help detection of drought stress, pests, and diseases," said Ekekwe.
The data generated is aggregated and made available through a subscription for agro-lending, agro-insurance, commodity trading to banks, agro-insurers and agro-investors. Zenvus, as an electronic farm diary helps farmers record all phases of farming from planting through harvest to sales.
Ekekwe said that the desire is to: "Exploit the ever burgeoning power of technology and science to revolutionize farming output efficiency and productivity in Africa."
Data is key to the innovation
Zenvus allows farmers and stakeholders make informed decisions by providing real time data for the farmers and stakeholders thus eliminating guesses on timing, procedure, and crops for farming.
Farmers have long relied on opinions and poor forecast to make decisions on agricultural investments and this has affected agricultural yield. The technology also provides data analytics that relates information on the possible outbreak of pests and diseases in farms which usually reduces yield, allowing farmers to initiate preventive measures. Just as Professor Ronald Coase said, "Torture the data and it will confess to anything."
This is a timely innovation for an industry that has been tipped to boost many economies in Africa with many African leaders pledging commitment towards agriculture in the present and future.
"The technology wirelessly transmits the data to a cloud server where advanced computational models help to make sense of what is happening on the farm," said Ekekwe.
It is powered with solar with a battery capacity that can last for days; a farmer interacts with the hardware data via the free Zenvus Web App which is both desktop-and mobile-friendly.
Zenvus rendered services
Zenvus offers various services: "zCapital helps farmers raise capital (loan or equity) by providing independent farm data from sensors to help banks and investors evaluate overall profitability of farms; zInsure helps Zenvus farmers insure their farms by providing independent farm data from our sensors to insurers. This helps them evaluate the risks based on actual farm data.
"zPrices empowers rural Zenvus farmers with real-time produce prices across major cities. It provides farmers with data to effectively negotiate prices with merchants who normally pay them little; zCrowdfund helps Zenvus farmers' crowd fund capital from local donors who they can deliver produce after harvest.
Sensors validate these farms providing partners with confidence; zMarket provides a platform for Zenvus farmers to sell their produce. It is an avenue to expand their markets by removing geographic limitations.
"zManager is an electronic farm diary that helps Zenvus farmers record all phases of farming from planting through harvest to sales. It keeps all records – financial, staff, tools, etc in one secured place, harvest days and buyers connect. zPrices empowers rural Zenvus farmers with real-time produce prices across major cities.
It provides farmers with data to effectively negotiate prices with merchants who normally pay them little."
Due to the falling price of crude oil, the Nigerian government has turned to the agriculture as a viable alternative source of income to ensure that the country eliminates poverty and hunger among its citizens.
The administration President Goodluck Jonathan launched an Agricultural Transformation Agenda which was managed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The aim was to promote agriculture as a business, integrate the agricultural value chain and make agriculture a key driver of Nigeria’s economic growth. While this is in the process of perfection, there is need to bring in data-driven technology like Zenvus into farming to help boost productivity.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Command in Oyo State, has deployed 3,000 personnel to beef up security during the forthcoming Eid-El-Kabir celebration in the state.
The state NSCDC Commandant, Mr John Adewoye, disclosed this on Tuesday in Ibadan during the monthly recap of Security situation for the month of August.
Adewoye said the personnel would be deployed to the praying grounds to patrol all access roads and every part of the state for security coverage before, during, and after the Sallah.
He directed all the divisional officers in the state to see this season of celebration as a challenge and beef up security in their various divisions to ensure a hitch-free celebrations.
"NSCDC has intensified surveillance and patrol of critical infrastructures, flash spots, shopping mall, recreation centres, NNPC right of ways, and Muslim praying grounds in the state.
"The measure becomes necessary to forestall criminality and make the state crime free during the Eid-el Kabir celebration.
"Nigerians should be law abiding, imbibe and practice the lessons of faith, love and unity which is imperative to us as a nation to ensure peace, harmony and stability.'' he said.
He implored the general public to volunteer information to the corps in their neighborhood or calls these numbers; 09055533301, 09055533303, whenever they suspect any strange movement.
…Says Gov Using Creative Industry To Boost Nigeria's Image
Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Mr. Dino Melaye on Monday lauded the various initiatives of Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode towards the promotion of tourism and entertainment, saying that the Governor has demonstrated rare commitment to the sector.
Speaking at the 51st edition of the popular Notting Hill Carnival in United Kingdom, Melaye said Governor Ambode deserved to be commended for his commitment to the development and promotion of tourism and culture as an alternative way of job creation and youth empowerment.
He said it was on record that the Governor had been using the rich artistic potentials of the State as a veritable tool for branding and for polishing the image of Nigeria abroad.
While addressing several thousands of people at the Carnival, the Senator said Governor Ambode’s exemplary achievements in the area of culture and tourism promotion was a shining example of how a State can develop and distinguish itself among its peers.
In its second year running, Lagos State Government supported the Lagos Corner, a section of the Notting Hill Carnival, which is famous world-wide as Europe’s biggest street party that celebrates Afro-Caribbean culture and lifestyle.
“I’m impressed with what Lagos State Government is doing here. This is a huge platform for the promotion of our culture and creative artists. I must commend Governor Ambode for his rare commitment to this initiative and for providing a rallying point for Nigerians in the UK and those visiting to have a voice and quality presence at this extraordinary gathering,” Melaye said.
In apparent reference to The Lagos Street Party, a yearly showpiece that made its debut in December 2016, the Senator said with what he saw in London, Lagos State should organise a carnival that will attract the attention of the world to Nigeria’s rich culture and artistic talents.
“I want to congratulate Lagos State for taking the lead in tourism and entertainment in Nigeria. Thumbs up to Lagos State, thumbs up to Governor Ambode and thumbs up to the All Progressives Congress (APC) party. With this fantastic outing, I also congratulate Nigeria for having a Governor like Ambode. There’s no country like Nigeria," the Senator said.
Besides, Melaye urged Nigerians in the Diaspora to show more interest in the developments being recorded in the country, saying that very soon, they would see that the APC means well in Nigeria.
Similarly, Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, said the huge presence of Lagos State at the carnival and the success it recorded was “a demonstrable evidence of Governor Ambode’s commitment to promote tourism and entertainment as alternative to oil and gas in Nigeria.”
Ayorinde said it was gratifying that Lagos State reverberated throughout the high season of cultural promotions which the month of August represents in London.
He said aside the Lagos Corner at the Notting Hill Carnival, the State also supported the Felabration Initiative, which saw the hosting of a musical float in honour of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti at the carnival to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his death.
The State also promoted the participation of students from public schools in Lagos at the month-long Totally Thames Festival. All this at a time that a Lagosccentric theatre production – Saro the Musical – by Bolanle Austen-Peters is running for a whole week with rave reviews at London’s westend.
“What this portends for Lagos State in terms of brand identity and reputation is unquantifiable. Lagos State is gaining fast traction as a big player in international cultural circles. The State has practically been on everybody’s lips in London in the past one week,” Ayorinde stated.
Fifty five management staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC were affected today in a massive reshuffle ordered by Group managing director, Dr. Maikanti Baru.
NNPC Group MD Baru: redeploys senior management staff
Baru, told NNPC staff shortly before the announcement was made public that the new appointments would not only help to position the Corporation for the challenges ahead but would help fill the gaps created due to statutory retirements of staff.
Under the new arrangement, Roland Ewubare, formerly MD of the Integrated Data Services Limited, IDSL moves to the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, NAPIMS as the new Group General Manager while Diepriye Tariah, former GGM and Senior Technical Assistant to the NNPC GMD takes over from Ewubare as MD of IDSL.
Malami Shehu, Executive Director Operations, of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company, KRPC, was appointed Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, PHRC while Adewale Ladenegan, former MD of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, WRPC was moved to KRPC to assume duty as MD.
In the same vein, Muhammed Abah, until recently, the Executive Director Operations of WRPC succeeds Ladenegan as MD of Warri Refinery.
With the retirement of Alh. Farouk Ahmed as the MD of the Nigerian Products Marketing Company, (NPMC), Umar
Ajiya, former GGM in charge of Corporate Planning and Strategy, (CP&S) now assumes duty as MD of NPMC while
Bala Wunti, former, General Manager, Downstream, GMD's Office takes charge as GGM CP&S.
Other changes include: Usman Yusuf who takes over as GGM/STA to the GMD, Adeyemi Adetunji confirmed as MD NNPC Retail alongside Dr. Bola Afolabi who now functions as GGM in charge of Research and Development Division of the Corporation.
Also on the list is Mrs. Ahmadu-Katagum appointed GGM (Shipping) in the Downstream Autonomous Business Unit while Kallamu Abdullahi takes over as the GGM in charge of the Renewable Energy Division in the Downstream ABU.
Dr. Shaibu Musa was promoted MD of the NNPC Medical Services Limited while Ibrahim Birma is the new GGM in charge of the Corporation's Audit Division now renamed Governance, Risk and Compliance Division.
Kogi State Governor, Alh. Yahaya Bello has urged the people of the state to continue to support his New Direction Agenda for the development of the state.
Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State
The Governor who stated this through his Director General on Media and Publicity at a Media Roubdtable in London said the Thematic Areas of the Agenda is already “sparking a revolution” in the state.
“Before the present administration in Kogi State, there was no direction or succinctly put, we were on an old, negative, corrupt and inept Direction. The emergence of Governor Yahaya Bello has changed the development narrative of the Confluence State of Kogi State.
“Our focus is on Education, Agriculture, Healthcare, Job Creation through Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, Eco-tourism as well as massive infrastructural development across the state. We discovered our roads were in shambles on assumption of office and the Governor has declared a state of emergency on the roads. Kogi is currently a construction hub. The Federal Government has also approved the reconstruction of major Trunk A roads in the state”.
The Governor also urged the international community to support his drive towards education and healthcare development in the state, saying his administration is creating “the right environment” for international support.
“We are reshaping our education. The facilities and the quality of teaching are not good enough.
We are not completely exonerating government from blame. We need to build from the foundation and make our public schools more attractive. That is exactly what we are doing with our Model Primary Education Schools.
It is not about the structure or the environment, but more about the system. We need to rescue the system.
“We undertook a thorough Staff Verification Exercise as the first step of a wholistic Civil Service Reform. The state was dangerously operating a civil service without data, discipline or efficiency. We had to stop that.
Everything is going digital in our civil service. It didn’t come without bashing from people who are resistant to change. But we had to campaign ourselves through months of rigorous and intent screening and digitalization. We are poised for a rejuvenated, rebranded, reinvigorated and refined civil service.
“On Agriculture, we need the world. We need technology import and modern agricultural expertise to turn our state to a world-beating agriculture destination. We have the geographical conditions to be the food basket of Africa. We are working hard to achieve results”.
Governor Bello said his administration is “silently achieving results in revamping the healthcare system in the state”, saying emphasis is placed on “strengthening the primary healthcare system as well as strive to drag down maternal and infant mortality”.
“It is our desire to ensure mothers don’t die in the process of giving birth to life. We are aware no development can be achieved when people have no access to decent healthcare facilities. The Government of Kogi State is working hard to achieve good health for Kogites”, he said.
He expressed shock at the “devastating floods in Texas”, saying the people of Kogi State are in “bond with the international community to show support to the people who are devastated by floods”.
“Kogi State went through devastating floods in 2012. We lost lives, properties and man hours. We know what floods could do. Our sympathies go to the Texas people for the agonizing experience.
“The world must pay increasing attention to the issue of environment and flooding. Our Ministry of Environment in Kogi State is doing a lot in that regard to create awareness and institutional framework to defend our environment. We need the support of the West in this regard”.
The Federal Government is said to be owing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) the sum of N1.8 trillion since its inception 17 years ago.
Mr Ibitoye Abosede, Head, Media and Public Affairs, NDDC disclosed this in Uyo at a one-day Media Capacity Building Workshop for members of the Correspondents' Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Akwa Ibom Council.
NDDC bosss Nsima Ekere
He lamented that non-remittance of the backlog of statutory allocations had hampered accelerated development in the region.
He said the federal government had mandated the Ministries of Niger Delta Affairs, Budget and National Planning to sit with the Board of NDDC with a view to ascertaining exactly how much was owed the commission.
"The federal government has set up a committee to ascertain the exact money owed the commission," he said.
According to him, this is the first time that a sitting President will demonstrate this kind of political will towards ensuring sustainable development of the region.
Abosede, represented by Mr Chijoke Amu-Nnadi of the department, explained that aside the arrears from the commission's statutory allocations, other associated funds for ecology, oil and gas, among others, had not been remitted.
"These problems of funding and the challenges of the terrain in Niger Delta, which prides itself as the third largest wetland in the world, have hindered development in the region," he said.
He said that several projects worth N200 billion were cancelled across all the nine states of the region due to the challenge.
He noted that the present federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to addressing the challenges of funding in the commission.
Abosede said the current NDDC Board led by Mr Nsima Ekere had been doing its best to sustain the tempo of development in the region.
He recalled that due to discontents that translated to arm struggle in the region, the setting up of the NDDC became necessary for sustainable development, economic and socio-political stability of the region.
Abosede said that the NDDC had intervened in no fewer than 64 roads projects, with about 50 per cent already completed in Akwa Ibom.
"Because of funding challenge, it is difficult for the commission to complete some major projects in the region," he said.
He enjoined other development partners to work in tandem with the agency for sustainable development to thrive in the region.
He explained that the commission was heavily complementing the state government administration's development plans for the people.
Also speaking, Mr Samuel Frank, NDDC Commissioner, Akwa Ibom, said that the commission was not at war with the Akwa Ibom Government.
He said that the commission was focusing on providing infrastructure to alleviate the suffering of the people.
Frank said that NDDC had done well in the state by rehabilitating roads in rural and urban centres of the state.
He solicited more cooperation with the media to foster development in the region.
A Federal lawmaker, Sen. Ben Bruce, on Tuesday said there was need to address all fundamental challenges facing the nation's education sector, in order to attain the much-desired development.
Bruce said this in his keynote address at the 4th Lagos State National Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) Stakeholders' Conference on Education.
The theme of his address was: "Media, Communication and the Challenge of Quality Education for National Development.''
According to him, there are a lot of misconceptions concerning the country's education system.
He noted that efforts should be made to seek and discover those critical issues that had persistently bedevilled the sector over the years, in order to move forward.
"Every year, we have not less than 1.5 million Nigerian children seeking access to tertiary education, especially the universities.
"But the truth is that we do not have the capacity to absorb all these graduates from our secondary schools.
"Again, we must realise the fact that we do not have enough resources to even build and equip more universities, just as we do not have enough budget for education in this country.
"We must start looking at ways to increase budgetary allocation to the sector as well as put modalities in place to adequately cater for the welfare of our teachers, otherwise we lose it all.
"Again, there is also the need to change the ways we educate our children and also ensure that our girls are kept in school, rather than give them out early in marriage," he said. . According to him, all hands must be on deck to confront issues facing the education sector as it remains the bane or bedrock of our development.
He said there was also the need for people to be more discerning with the media as we cannot depend on others to tell our stories.
"We must strive to develop our media capacity so that we can project positive things about our country to the outside world rather than allow them to do it for us the way they think," he said.
Earlier in his address, the National President, NIPR, Dr Rotimi Oladele, called on all public relations practitioners to use their professional skills to wage war against hate speech.
According to him, now, more than ever before, there is the need for all public relations practitioners to ensure the total relegation to the background the monster which has recently emerged as a plague against civility, peace, cohabitation and unity of the country.
"To this end therefore, I want to call on governments at all levels and the organised private sector to engage only certified public relations practitioners for effective communication, relationships and reputation management, in order to eschew violence which may arise if the menace of the hate speech syndrome is not curbed drastically," Oladele warned.
The chairman of the institution's state chapter, Mr Olusegun Mcmedal, said that the conference was a viable bridge-building platform for interested parties to interact and proffer solutions to socio political and economic challenges plaguing the country.
He noted that the thematic focus of this year's edition with the theme: Media, Communication and the Challenge of Quality Education for National Development, was premised on the belief that the future of a state or nation was a function of the quality of education obtainable.
"There is an obvious depreciation in the quality of education in the country today when compared to the years past.
"The crisis in our education sector has nothing to do with money or morals but largely poor leadership.
"We must never feel satisfied until all Nigerians have access to quality education to prosper and excel among the comity of nations,'' he said.
One of the discussants at the conference, Prof. Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika, however, emphasised the need for an improved reading culture, especially among students.
Ogwezzy-Ndisika, also Head, Departnent of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, noted that no one can develop without reading, as it builds self confidence in discussing issues.
She added that reading equipped one with skills needed to obtain a satisfactory personal life.
According to her, reading culture will also have a critical role to play in national development, just as it provides access to culture and cultural heritage,'' she added.
Ram sellers wishing to take advantage of upcoming Eid-el-Kabir celebrations have flooded Kano metropolis with their animals, newsmen report.
Some of the traders had established temporary markets in most of the areas within the city in desperate bid to attract buyers following expected high demand for rams and other animals to celebrate the Eid-el-Kabir.
Newsmen investigation showed that the animals brought in the city for sale by the merchants include cows, rams and goats,for both wholesale and retail.
Some of the traders, confessed that their action was informed by the expectation of increased demand for the animals and that they establish the markets without permission or approval from any authority.
Malam Sambo Alkali, one of the sellers, said "We usually come to the city to sell every year and no authority has ever stopped us.
"Its a temporary business so I think the authorities allow our presence knowing that we will be here for the short period that the celebration would last".
others expressed the optimism that they would sell as people would need the animals to perform their religious obligations.
Corroborating their colleague, they said the authorities understood their stay to be short, as they would soon vacate the emergent selling points.
The investigation further showed that the temporary markets have been operating day and night since last week and many people no longer have to expend more resources and time, travelling to the villages to purchase the animals.
Malam Usman Lawan, a customer who spoke with our Correspondent at one of the markets, said that he used to travel as far as Katsina and Niger border to buy the animals every year.
He added however that the emergence of the temporary markets had in the recent, saved him the hassle of such long distance shuttles.
"But when I compared the prices with the ones the traders bring to the city themselves, I felt there was no need going too far. I haven't gone to buy for three years now. I buy here at these small markets.", he said.
Others who spoke anonymously echoed Lawan's opinion, saying it made no sense travelling too far when a good alternative existed nearby.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, has expressed sadness at the demise of Sen. Kanti Bello.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr Turaki Hassan, on Tuesday in Abuja, the speaker described the loss of the elder statesman as painful.
Dogara said that the deceased lived a life of service to the country and embodied patriotic and democratic ideals.
"Alhaji Kanti Bello was a grassroots politician who served the country meritoriously in many capacities including that of distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
"He left behind a legacy of patriotism and service.
"I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to his immediate family, the people and government of Katsina State, and indeed the entire country over the loss of such a great Nigerian,'' he said.
The deceased was the former General Manager of Katsina Steel Rolling Mills, where he served for over 10 years.
He was also an APC chieftain and represented Katsina East Senatorial District in the Nigerian Senate for two terms.
"You made it possible by assembling all these beautiful materials on Igbo sons and daughters; you too can do it for Nigerians in general. A lot of people are hoping to be part of this wonderful project, but they can't find their ways into it, because it's only designed for Igbo people.
When you go back, please have another meeting with your editorial board, see how you can implement the idea of involving all Nigerians.
It worked for Most Influential Igbo Personalities and it has become a brand, I believe with the same effort you can achieve more in making it a national one."
Mr. Ibu
Those were the words of Nollywood actor, John Okafor, popularly known as Mr. Ibu, when he called on the author and editorial board of Most Influential Igbo Personalities to revamp the publication to enable it accommodate the entirety of Nigerians in the compilation he boldly described as worth having at the national level.
After years of rigorous consultation and deliberation, the editorial board of the book and brand, Most Influential Igbo Personalities, otherwise known as MIIP, agreed to rejig the format for compiling the prestigious list, to enable it include other elites at the national level.
Read Mr. Ibu's reaction when his suggestion came to fruition.
What motivated your suggestion for the revamp of this project from Most Influential Igbo Personalities to Most Influential Nigerians?
It's not a bad idea. If you have a concept that has to do with the public, you have to make it explicit enough so they know exactly what the concept is all about. 'Most Influential', the word you used, is okay, but I think everybody is influential in different aspects of life.
The only man that is not influential is a dead man. In fact, even when somebody is dead, he is still influential. His record will be kept, and you will find out that that person has one or two things to contribute in people's lives.
Therefore, I want to commend you for a wonderful idea like this. It's a concept that from the beginning nobody had ever come across. But, for you (the lead writer) to come latch on to it, it means you have something upstairs. I say well done.
How do you think that this project will influence the lives of young Nigerians?
That's if you are consistent. Then you make sure that you are not being selective regarding people. Just go on and meet people, discover them, tell the public who they are, if they are truly influential.
Then, find out the department where they major, that's very important. Like my very self, I am in the entertainment industry and of course, as you all know, I don't disappoint, by the special grace of God. I will try the best I can to make sure that the flag keeps flying.
Congratulations to you on your appointment as member of the Advisory Board for Most Influential Nigerians – MIN. How do you see this development?
Since you took the first advice, why won't I offer another one? Unless you condemned the advice I gave to you, then there is no need to give another one. So, advice must always come.
DELTA State Government has debunked insinuations that the state transport service, Delta Line has been sold, saying that the company has been repositioned for greater efficiency, improved profitability.
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Mr Ehiedu Charles Aniagwu at a well attended press conference in Asaba on Tuesday disclosed that Governor Okowa values the roles the transportation company plays in the lives of Deltans and Nigerians in general and has never contemplated sales of the company, adding that the state government only divested 60 percent of its equity shares to ensure greater efficiency and improved profitability.
Mr Charles Aniagwu,
According to him, it has been discovered that over the years, the management of the company had failed to deliver on the purpose the company was set up but, rather, has incurred huge debts and also, failed to meet with its contractual obligations to workers prompting government to look at better ways to ensure that the desired results of rendering services to Deltans was achieved while the state government makes money from the company.
Mr. Aniagwu who debunked insinuations that the transport company has been sold stated that Governor Okowa’s administration has the intention of divesting government interests in the company by having 40 per cent equity shares while a reputable transport company takes 60 per cent shares.
“Delta State government wants the company (Delta Line) to remain as a going concern, that is why nobody can contemplate sales of the company,” he said, stating, “for anything, the name Delta Line must be retained, so, we are going into a Public Private Partnership (PPP), we are only partnering with the private sector that has demonstrated so much confidence and ability to run the operation of such business; there is no intention to short change the state, rather the decision that was made is for the best interest of the state, the best interest of Deltans, the best interest of the finances of the state and above all, the best interest of the lives of everyone irrespective of where they come from who will take advantage of this transport service to move to and fro their different destinations; in a nutshell, these are objectives behind the decisions in respect of divesting part of state government’s equity holding in Delta Line.”
He continued, “the insinuation that Delta State government has sold Delta Line is false for what was done, was to divest some of government’s equity with a view to bringing-in private hands to efficiently pilot the affairs of the cooperation and are looking at 60-40 equity holding as against 70-30 that was reported in some quarters; this is to ensure that the company comes in, reposition the Delta Line and put it on the path of profitability and when that is done, we can talk about liquidating the debt burden that at the moment has been the bain of the company.”
“The state government is mindful of the need to have a transportation company that is efficient, effective and able to deliver to our people and to have vehicles that can take them to places they desire to go at the most reasonable costs and at the same time the image of the state will remain intact at that high standard”.
Aniagwu stressed that the state government believe that over the years the Delta Line that was set up with very good intentions have not been able to live up to its expectations, both in terms of delivering on its obligation to the staff of the cooperation and also obligation to the state government who have put in enormous amount of funds in ensuring that the entity run as a viable transport company.
. “In the last two years government have taken pain to study the cooperation and how it is being run with a view to properly repositioning it and in the course of that study, it was discovered that it is practically impossible for government to effectively run it in such a way that it brings about efficiency that is desired and at the same time guarantee profitability; having done that review on the processes that run the operations of the company, we felt it was necessary for us to take a second look and in taking that second look, it became obvious that we needed experts and a private sector touch without taking away that aspect of the government’s ownership. And what did we do? We first placed adverts sometime in December 2016 in two major newspapers – ThisDay and Vanguard to invite people to be part of this equity holding and after that we felt the need to still extend the deadline to January 2017, and in doing so, we also advertised in the state owned newspaper, The Pointer; after these adverts were closed and the bids closed and we scrutinized the individuals and organization that bided, we found one to be commercially, operationally and financially competent to be able to meet our recommendations on improving the transport sector and also delivering to our people, but, I can tell you that no Memorandum of Understanding has been signed yet but we have made appreciable progress in that direction.”
On the NLC bid, Mr Aniagwu explained that the union apart from bidding late didn't have the proven technical, operational and managerial competence to run such a company, stressing that the state government was interested in ensuring that Delta Line was run by competent hands that would ensure its continuous existence.
He averred that the MOU which would soon be signed provided for the retention of the company's brand identity and identified competent staff, while ensuring the company was brought back to profitability.
The Naira on Tuesday, appreciated against the dollar at the parallel market.
The Nigerian currency gained N2 to exchange at N365 to the dollar, stronger than N367 posted on Monday while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N475 and N433.
Trading at the Bureau De change (BDC) window saw the Naira closing at N362 to the dollar, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro traded at N473 and N433, respectively.
At the investors' window, the Naira was sold at N359.67 to the dollar, while it exchanged at N305.8 to the dollar at the interbank market.
Traders said patronage was low at the parallel market.
Newsmen report BDCs got the weekly foreign exchange auction from the CBN.
The senator representing Kogi west constituency, Sen. Dino Melaye, was spotted dancing and cheering up with fellow Nigerians at “The Light Up Notting Hill Carnival” in London. The Carnival celebrates mostly West India and Africa cultures in the British capital.
Senator Dino Melaye dancing and cheering up with fellow Nigerians at the carnival
The Senator representing Anambra senatorial district Sen Andy Uba has debunked the rumour of his defection from the All Progressive Congress, APC for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, or a new party.
Uba while addressing newsmen at his country home in Uga, Anambra state, debunked rumours making the rounds that he planned to dump the APC for a new party following the outcome of the Anambra governorship primaries that saw him failing to clinch the party's ticket for the upcoming November governorship election in the state.
Sen. Andy Uba
In a statement issued by his media aide, Joseph Itazi, the senator stressed that he was still a supporter of the party irrespective of the outcome of the party's primaries.
"Let's put the record straight, I have no intention of leaving our great party APC for another party.
"I have always supported the party, so please people should stop spreading false news that I am planning to defect to another party.
"I am still a member APC," Uba said.
Sen Uba emerged second with 931 votes at the just concluded APC primary election losing to Hon. Tony Nwoye.
Both Uba and Nwoye were members of the PDP before defecting to APC to pursue further political careers.
The Chairman of Enugu State Football Association, Chidi Offor-Okenwa, on Tuesday in Enugu described the 2016/2017 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season as the toughest ever.
Offor-Okenwa said his submission was on the basis of the fact that as many as seven clubs were being threatened by relegation in the competition.
He said it was unique that Rivers United, which are in the 13th place on 49 points, are as threatened as the 19th– placed Gombe United who have 43 points.
"We have just two matches to go, which is six points to fight for. But having the team in the 13th position, which is about four places above the relegation zone, being threatened shows us that it is a tough contest.
"While, the 20th-placed Remo Stars have been confirmed for relegation in view of having only 29 points from 36 matches, but the fact that at the end of the season anything can still happen to the seven clubs immediately above them shows that we have at hand a tight race against relegation,'' the Football Association chairman said.
He added that the fact that only one club of the league's 20 clubs had been confirmed relegated after 36 matches has also helped to underline the quality of the competition.
"What I am seeing in the ongoing league contest is a photo-finish, because football is a respecter of nobody. So, for a club to pull off a draw in any away match at this stage is not going to be easy,'' Offor-Okenwa said.
Speaking on Rivers United's inability to impress on the continent after a good start, the football official said it was all due to poor management syndrome.
"It is unfortunate that most of our clubs suffer poor management syndrome, because their participation in any continental competition ought to have been a surplus,'' he said.
Offor-Okenwa said Nigerian clubs often neglected their responsibility of recruiting players that would serve them in the three competitions — CAF Champions League/CAF Confederation Cup, NPFL and Aiteo Cup.
"How can these clubs recruit just between 30 and 35 players, with only 16 being quality players who can play in competitions and the rest being fringe players?
"The human being is not an engine, because at a point those players will get tired and this will leave the club with the problem of lack of depth,'' he said.
The Enugu State FA Chairman then urged clubs to start getting their priorities right to ensure good outings at both the continental and domestic levels.
Some highway robbers, weekend, stormed and seized the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation's NNPC's mega filling station located along Katsina/Jibia road, where they dispensed free petrol to motorists after carting away with the station's sales for the day.
Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred about 8 p.m on Saturday.
Reports said some motorists had driven into the station unknown to them that the robbers were already in operation there.
Gripped by fear, the motorists had submitted to fate on noticing the robbery going but were bewildered when the robbers, after dispossessing the station's attendants of the day's sales, began dispensing free petrol to all motorists.
The report said at least, no fewer than three motorists got free fuel from the robbers who are yet to be arrested.
The report said a witness who claimed anonymity said the operation lasted for "few minutes."
The Katsina state Police command spokesman, Dsp Gambo Isa, could not be reached for comments.
Standings for 2018 World Cup South American qualifying after Bolivia lost their appeal to CAS over FIFA sanctions for fielding an ineligible player (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, against, points):
