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

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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

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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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Winnie Madikizela-Mandela passes on at 81

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Nomzamo Winifred Madikizela-Mandela‚ a stalwart in the fight against apartheid‚ has died at the age of 81. Her PA‚ Zodwa Zwane‚ confirmed the struggle veteran’s death on Monday afternoon. She said the family would issue a statement later in the day. Born in Bizana in the Eastern Cape in 1936‚ she moved to Johannesburg to study social work after matriculating. She met lawyer and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela in 1957 and they were married a year later. They had two children together. However‚ her marriage life with Mandela was short-lived‚…

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2019: Nwankwo Kanu to run for president

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Nigerian football legend Nwankwo Kanu has been inspired by Liberian icon George Weah’s feat. The former Arsenal FC and Inter Milan forward has announced he will run for President of Nigeria in 2019. Weah, who had a very successful football career in Europe, was elected President of Liberia in the 2017 election, defeating the incumbent Vice President Joseph Boakai, and sworn in on 22 January 2018. “My presence here today is about the future of our country and the happiness of our people,” Kanu said on Goal. “The last 18…

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Separating the wheat from the chaff

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You knew there would be serious trouble when Lagos state had to be shut down – apparently for security reasons – to allow President Muhammadu Buhari visit. Life was made unbearable for millions of Lagosians whose livelihoods were put on hold for the visit. It needs to be said that Lagos is a city where there are real economic activities and where real people make real money doing real business. If Nigeria was a country that appreciates productivity, we would have calculated the losses to the economy before the lockdown.…

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