Category: General News

Gov.Samuel Ortom of Benue has confirmed the receipt of N14.9 billion, being the last tranche of the Paris Club Refunds from the Federal Government.

Mr Terver Akase, the governor’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS), stated this in a statement on Thursday in Makurdi.

Akase said that 80 per cent of the funds would be committed to payment of salaries, pensions and gratuities.

According to him, Ortom has set up a committee, headed by Deputy Governor Benson Abounu, to work out modalities for immediate disbursement of the funds.

He said the other members of the committee were; the Head of Service, Commissioner for Finance, Adviser on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and the Adviser on Labour Matters.

Others are Chairmen of Nigerian Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress and Nigerian Union of Pensioners Benue State chapters.

He explained that the decision to involve other stakeholders in the disbursement of the funds was to ensure transparency and accountability.

He explained that Ortom had also made public the other refunds from the club that were received by the state.

“It will be recalled that the Governor similarly made public the receipt and disbursement of the N12.7 billion first tranche and N6.4 billion second tranche of the Paris Club refunds respectively.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that workers in the state are being owed between 6 and 12 months salaries. (NAN)

Asian stocks followed global indexes higher on Thursday as investors took a less bearish view on the impact of the U.S.-China trade war on markets.

Brent sweet crude was 0.3 per cent higher at 79.67 dollars per barrel.

U.S. crude was 71.67 dollars a barrel on top of a jump Wednesday that came after new data showed U.S. crude inventories fell 2.1 million barrels last week.

This is its fifth weekly draw down to 394.1 million barrels.

That was the lowest level since February 2015.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan took its lead from gains on Wall Street overnight, rising 0.2 per cent.

Japan’s Nikkei stock index was flat with a recent rally appearing to lose steam as it entered its fifth day.

Australian shares eased 0.2 per cent.

But gains in the MSCI index were tempered as a rebound in Chinese shares faltered with the Shanghai Composite index dropping 0.1 per cent, reversing early gains.

Shares in Hong Kong also turned lower as the Hang Seng index edged down 0.04 per cent.

The broad index fell despite encouraging signals about investor appetite in Hong Kong listings from a strong debut by Chinese online food delivery-to-ticketing services firm Meituan Dianping.

U.S. shares had been boosted Wednesday by expectations that the impact of the Sino-U.S. trade war would be smaller than feared.

The U.S. fiscal policy package potentially outweighed any negative impact.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.61 per cent higher on Wednesday at 26,405.76, its highest close since late January.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped less than 0.1 per cent to 7,950.04, pulled down by a fall in Microsoft.

On Thursday, S&P 500 E-mini futures were higher by a hair, at 2,910.5.

Analysts at Citi cautioned in a note Thursday that U.S. housing data out this week showed signs of weakness despite a headline jump.

Citi said housing starts had been strong, but building permits – an indicator of future activity – were at their lowest since May 2017.

“The housing market remains a specific point of weakness in the U.S. economy and while not in focus, it could be important… housing data on Tuesday wasn’t encouraging on net.”

The rally in global stocks has been accompanied by falls in U.S. bonds and the Japanese yen.

This week’s rise in yields comes ahead of what is expected to be a hawkish meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve next week.

The dollar was 0.1 per cent lower against the yen at 112.12 . The euro was 0.1 per cent stronger against the greenback at 1.1673 dollars.

The dollar index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of six major rivals, was down 0.08 per cent at 94.466.

Meanwhile, safe-haven assets such as U.S. bonds and the Japanese yen slipped with hope the ongoing U.S-China trade spat abates.

Gold was high helped by U.S. dollar low. (Reuters/NAN)

Ghana has accepted to host the 5th All Africa Music Awards between November 21 and Saturday, November 24 in Accra this year. It will be hosted in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the International Committee of AFRIMA.

The host country rights acceptance was conducted on Tuesday at a media announcement at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, Accra.

It followed the official unveiling of the 5th AFRIMA Host Country by the African Union on September 6, 2018 at the African Union Commission Headquarters, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the delivery of the Official Host Country letter to the government of Ghana on September 16, 2018.

Leading the Ghanaian government delegation to the media announcement was the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Catherine Afeku accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr. Ziblim Iddi Barri; Ag. Chief Director, Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture, Mr. Vitus-Otto Langmagne; Director, Creative Arts Council, Ghana, Ms. Gyankroma Akufo-Addo; and Advisory Board Member, Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture, Ghana, Okatakyie Nana Anim 1.

Speaking at the event where she received the Hosting Right Certificate and the 23.9 carat gold-plated AFRIMA Trophy on behalf of the government and people of Ghana, the Minister expressed her delight at the opportunity given to Ghana to host the biggest music event in Africa.

“We want the people of this beautiful country to see this as a call to duty; a call to every creative artiste in Ghana, from the North to the south, to the east and the west. We, the good people of Ghana, would have to show the rest of Africa and the world that we are up to this task and well prepared to deliver a world-class music event in Africa”.

“And I trust in you, seeing the plethora of attendees here today just for the acceptance tells me that we are well prepared and ready to take Africa by storm. The narrative of Africa must change and it will change through music. We can use music as a conduit for peace and send a strong signal to the rest of the world that Africa has its challenges but we have overcome most of them. Our young people are talented, intelligent and they are ambassadors of hope to the next generation”, Catherine concluded.

Dr. Ziblim Iddi Barri stressed that the people of Ghana were excited about hosting AFRIMA while also indicating President Nana Akufo-Addo’s interest in the AFRIMA project.

“The President has personally demonstrated and expressed his interest in this event, following its presentation by the minister to the cabinet, and the cabinet has also embraced it”.

The President/Executive Producer, AFRIMA, Mr. Mike Dada explained the values of AFRIMA with an acronym; FACE IT, which stands for Fairness, Accountability, Creativity, Excellence, Integrity and Transparency.

“We use the power of superstars to communicate the beauty, glamour and positive side of the Africa continent to the rest of the world. AFRIMA not only provides opportunities to the nominees but the host country as well, in showcasing the unique artistic, tourism and economic potentials of her culturally dynamic and beautiful cities”.

Mike Dada encouraged the nominees to reach out to their teeming followers and solicit for votes on the AFRIMA website, explaining that it is the artiste with the highest votes who will be awarded the 23.9 karat gold plated trophy.

Sharing the story of relatively unknown Ghanaian music artiste in the 2014 edition of AFRIMA, Mr. Dada said “Wiyaala, she won two AFRIMA awards based on the votes by her fans and this subsequently opened her up to countless opportunities”.

Members of the International Committee of AFRIMA present included; Ms. Matlou Tsotetsi, Director, Brand Communication; Mr. Ernest Ewane, AFRIMA Regional Director, Central Africa; Mr. Don Obilor, AFRIMA Regional Director, Western Africa; Mr. Francis Doku, Country Director, Ghana; Mr. Kingsley James, Co-Producer/Country Director, Nigeria and Mr. Olisa Adibua, Associate Co-Producer/AFRIMA Jury Member.

The event was also attended by music superstars from Ghana including 5th AFRIMA nominees and past winners such as Domino, an award winning reggae and dancehall artiste; Stonebwoy (2014 winner and 5th AFRIMA nominee for the category of Best Artiste/Duo/Group in African Ragga, Reggae & Dancehall); Kuami Eugene, (5th AFRIMA nominee for Most Promising Artiste in Africa, and Best Artiste/Duo/Group in African Pop); King Promise (5th AFRIMA nominee for Best Male Artiste in Western Africa and Most Promising Artiste in Africa); female rapper and singer Feli Nuna; Afro-dancehall artiste, Epixode; award-winning Jazz Artiste, Steve Bedi and a host of others.

The awards holding from November 21 to 24, to be known as the 5th All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA–Ghana 2018 will have main awards program spanning four days of exhilarating activities which are: AFRIMA Welcome Soiree; Africa Music Business Summit; AFRIMA Music Village; Media Interviews/Meet & Greet; and a tour of the notable sites and landmarks in Ghana.

The All Africa Music Awards is the biggest music event on the continent and the awards ceremony will be broadcast live to 84 countries across the globe.

President Buhari Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said all those who defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the opposition political parties were the selfish and weakest members whose disposition failed to align with the vision of his administration.

Buhari stated this while accepting the Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms to contest the 2019 Presidential election on the platform of the APC donated to him by a group known as Nigerian Consolidation Ambassadors Network (NCAN) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Prominent among those that defected from the ruling party to the opposition PDP were Senate President Bukola Saraki, Governors of Benue, Kwara and Sokoto, Samuel Orton, Abdulfattah Ahmed and Aminu Tambuwal respectively.

President Buhari who expressed gratitude for being honoured by the mainly youth groups drawn from different parts of the country said that his vision to rescue the nation began in 2002, adding that the country reached a hopeless state in 2006, hence his decision to contest for the Presidential position in 2007.

According to him, his decision was predicated upon the state of hopelessness in the country where, he noted, selfish interest of elected leaders superseded national interest, pointing out that the 2007 election in the country was a national disgrace.

“I am honoured today to receive youths from all over the country contributing to buy the form for me. The weakest whose sense of expectation does not align with our vision have exited our party,’ president Buhari said.

Alleging that corruption was fighting back, President Buhari said, “We now have a party of strong and patriotic people who are ready to work for a strong Nigeria.”

The President listed his achievements since assumption of office to include completion of rail projects and new ones under construction, government support to farmers, as well as the rehabilitation of fertilizer plants, introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) he said has helped the administration to tackle the menace of stealing in public service as well as provision of jobs and cash for the most vulnerable Nigerians.

Earlier in his opening remarks, Deputy Chairman of Board of Trustees (BoT) NCAN, Chuckwuemeka Nwajiuba said the members of the group who facilitated the purchase of the Expression of Interest Form for the President where made up of three million Nigerians  after a triple A assessment of the performance of President Buhari.

He stated that the group was convinced to purchase the form on the bases of President Buhari’s commitments in the fight against graft, terrorism and the effort to revive the economy.

The presentation was attended by the Minister of Transportation, Director-General (DG) Buhari Campaign Organisation, Rotimi Amaechi, Attorney-General Of The Federation (SGF) and Minister f or Justice, Abubakar Malami, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha, Spokesman of Buhari Campaign Organisation, Barr Festue Keyamu, Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, and Hajiya Farida Sulaiman.

All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Abia State, Prince Paul Ikonne, has said that if all the stakeholders and the party could settle for a consensus candidate, his party’s victory would be made easy in the coming general election. (more…)

NYG: NSF President wants shooting included to boost medal chances, youth engagement1

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Shooting

By Abolade Ogundimu
Abuja, Sept. 11, 2018 (NAN) Lonsdale Adeoye, President, Nigeria Shooting Federation (NSF), says inclusion of shooting sport in the National Youth Games (NYG) will widen the country’s chances of hitting the podium at international meets and engaging more youths.

Adeoye made the assertion on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) Abuja.

NAN reports that the 2018 NYG officially started in Ilorin on Sept. 10 and will end on Sept. 17 with 3,800 athletes from 33 states participating in 33 sports, including wrestling, gymnastics and athletics.

According to him, the non-inclusion of a multi-medal sport like shooting in the NYG reduces the country’s chances of winning more medals at international competitions.

“There is abundance of raw talents in sports across the country and including shooting sport in the NYG will give young shooters from various states the platform to compete among themselves.

“Like it does to nation’s at international competitions, a very sharp shooter has the tendency to earn five gold, silver or bronze medals which boosts the chances of participating states.

“Also, shooting sport requires high sense of discipline in athletes, especially in the areas of concentration and calmness,  societies stand to gain a lot from widespread of the game.

“International competitions in shooting and other sports are held for young athletes round the year; the NYG would have been a good ground for selection of athletes,” he said.

Adeoye expressed regret that his pleas for shooting to be demonstrated in Ilorin was turned down, saying that could have aroused the interest of potential world champions at the Games.

However, the retired Brigadier-General said his board would continue to search and train discovered raw talents in the game.

“We will continue to search for and train young talents in shooting sport so that the nation can become the hub of the game in the sub-region.

He therefore, urged the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports Development (FMYSD) to ensure that shooting sport was not omitted in the National Sports Festival scheduled for December in Abuja.

“I urge Solomon Dalung, Minister of Sports, to consider giving opportunities to more sports, including shooting in the coming Festival in Abuja where we have one of the best shooting range.

“Most states have athletes in shooting and will be glad to compete with one another which will automatically help the nation’s success at international competitions,” he said.

NAN reports that Ademola Are, Director, Grassroots Sports Development, FMYSD, recently said that availability of facilities and chances of host states are considered in sport inclusion for the Games. (NAN)

Director, Grassroots Sports Development, FMYSD, recently said that availability of facilities and chances of host states are considered in sport inclusion for the Games. (NAN)