Author: Admin

Where is the Nigerian opposition?

Admin

Less than a year to the next general election in Nigeria, the biggest deficit in the political process leading to that moment is the absence of a robust, virile and effective opposition. The role of the opposition in a democracy is to question, criticize, challenge, and audit the governments of the day – local and national – and make them more transparent and accountable, and even if these twin-objectives may not be immediately achieved, the opposition exists nonetheless to put the people in power “on their toes” as it were…

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Umahi vows to drag ex-SSG to court

Admin

Gov. David Umahi of Ebonyi on Tuesday, swore-in Dr Hyginus Nwokwu as the new Secretary to the State Government (SSG) to replace Prof. Bernard Odoh. Odoh tendered his resignation letter to  Umahi on Monday over alleged government’s inconsistent policies, but the governor in a reaction  said Odoh had been sacked. Umahi, while swearing-in the new SSG, vowed that after reviewing Odoh’s resignation letter, he would probe the allegations he made in the letter. “I will find out if he breached his oath of office through the contents of the letter…

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Cristiano Ronaldo scores in record 10th straight Champions League match

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Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo scored in his 10th straight Champions League match on Tuesday, breaking the record previously held by Ruud van Nistelrooy. Ronaldo poked home from a fine Isco assist just three minutes into Real’s Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Juventus in Turin. The goal marked the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s 15th in the historic 10-game run. The streak began in Los Blancos’ 4-1 Champions League final win over Juve last spring. The Portugal captain leads the Champions League in goals this campaign with 13, and has…

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Presidency spurns Obasanjo’s failure assessment

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The presidency has said that former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s failure tag on the current administration is not new. It said that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would, therefore, not join issues with the former president over his comments and assessment. Obasanjo had on Monday night, while addressing a group of youths, who visited him at his country home Abeokuta, described the Buhari’s administration as a failure. Obasanjo also asked the All Progressives Congress (APC) -led government to stop complaining about the challenges it met on the ground. “What we…

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1.7m World Cup tickets sold – FIFA

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FIFA says almost 1.7 million tickets have been sold for the World Cup in Russia after some 400,000 were snapped up in the latest sales stage which ended on Tuesday. The ruling body FIFA said that 394,433 tickets were sold during a first-come, first-served window since March 13. Russians dominated by buying 216,134 of them, followed by fans from the not qualified U.S. (16,462), Argentina (15,006), Colombia (14,755) and Mexico (14,372). In all, 1,698,049 tickets have now been sold for the June 14 to July 15 tournament in 11 Russian…

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Emmanuel Macron: Badly implemented AI could ‘jeopardize democracy’

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France has announced a new national AI strategy, including government funding worth nearly €1.5 billion ($1.85 billion). But the country’s president, Emmanuel Macron, is worried about the damage this technology could do if not properly guided. In an interview with Wired, he said there was even a risk AI could “jeopardize democracy.” Macron is worried about unaccountable “black box” algorithms being introduced into society, making decisions formerly entrusted to humans. He gave the example of an algorithm used to sort students into universities, and said that if its workings were…

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Sokoto intensify efforts in routine polio immunization

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The Sokoto State government said it has increased access to immunization from 2.5% in 2014 to 25% in 2018. State governor Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwal disclosed this during a review meeting on the progress of routine immunization in Sokoto. He indicated that the recent Lot Quality Assurance Survey (LQAS) by the National Bureau of Statistics and partners have clearly outlined the progress made in that direction. “More still needs to be done and we will not relent on our efforts. Within this period under review, Sokoto has come tops on…

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Economist: Nigeria’s economy will not witness meaningful growth in Q2

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An economist, Prof. Sheriffdeen Tella, on Monday advised Nigerians not to expect much from the nation’s economy in the second quarter following continue delayed in the passage of 2018 budget. Tella, a Professor of Economics from Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye in Ogun, spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. According to him, the economy will not witness meaningful growth unless the budget is passed on time to complement the monetary policy to be introduced by the newly inaugurated Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). “It…

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Arsene Wenger: Easter to blame for empty Emirates Stadium

Admin

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says Easter and the team’s poor league campaign was to blame for the many empty seats at the Emirates on Sunday, but insists the stay-away fans will be back for Thursday’s Europa League quarterfinal against CSKA Moscow. At least one third of the seats were empty during the 3-0 win over Stoke, even though Arsenal still claimed that more than 59,000 tickets were sold for the game. It is the third Premier League home game in a row where thousands of Gunners fans have stayed away,…

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Sierra Leone result delayed by 48 hours

Admin

The final result of the Sierra Leone presidential run-off election will not be known until Wednesday, according to Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the UN envoy in West Africa. Chambas told the BBC correspondent that the result will be announced “within the next 48 hours”. The stalemate between the two political parties as to which system of tallying to use has been resolved, Chambas said. “It will be a blend of the existing system and the Excel spreadsheet. Tallying which was halted is to resume”, he said. The two candidates, Samura Kamara…

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