Day: October 1, 2023

Angolan president João Lourenço reiterated Sunday in Luanda, his country’s commitment to continue cultivating solid relations of friendship and solidarity with China towards the achievement of the common desires of the people for peace, harmony and shared development.

The commitment is expressed in a congratulatory message to the Chinese people and government on the 74th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, ANGOP has learnt.

In the message, the Angolan statesman highlights China’s trajectory in recent decades, which has led it to consolidate its position as an unavoidable protagonist in the international community, committed to building a world security architecture based on the promotion of common progress and economic development at a global level.

Angola/China cooperation

Angola and China are strategic partners, with political-diplomatic and cooperation relations that have grown significantly since 2000, leading to the signing of various legal instruments in the social, commercial and business fields.

According to data, trade between the two countries reached 27.3 billion US dollars in 2022.

Since the start of Angola’s reconstruction and construction of development infrastructures in 2002, trade balance between the two states stood at 150 million US dollars.

China is Angola’s biggest trading partner and remains in the top of the list of the Southern African nation’s largest customers for goods exports, especially oil

Source: Angola Press News Agency

A Nigerian author and novelist, Gbenga Sokefun, has called on African leaders to beam searchlight on human trafficking of the male child.

Sokefun, the author of a fiction, “Adigun”, in a release made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos said that trafficking of the African male child had received far less attention, despite the simple fact that it existed.

According to him, the phenomenon of human trafficking, though as old as human society, is receiving global attention and considerable political effort is being applied to the fight against it.

He said that the focus of these efforts had been primarily on female children in general, including African female children trafficked for purposes of prostitution and other forms of indentured servitude.

He said: “The pressures of poverty and the inherent psychological damage of colonialism have resulted in a brisk trade of young African boys and men under the auspices of narcotics smuggling.

“The perpetrators have created a pathway for the African male child, whose solution to the inadequacies of the continent is escape to the ‘greener’ pastures of the Americas, Europe or anywhere away from the continent of Africa.

“They prey on the dreams and desires of these gullible children who seek a better life on other continents.

“They offer alternatives to the common avenues for illegal migration – stowing away on merchant vessels, walking miles into the Sahara, or visa violations – exploiting the reality that the coming of age of the African child has become indistinguishable from the desire to reach western world.”

Expounding the menace in his book, “Adigun”, published by Europe Books, Sokefun said that human trafficking of African male child has come of age.

According to him, the book, “Adigun”, is his rendition of this reality, while conveying the beauty of the African tradition and picturesque natural environment; showing the world the disparate elements of the coming of age of the African male child.

He explained that the title character, in his mid-teens, felt constrained to head out to the foreign land and was lured into a trap by evil adults.

Sokefun said that he clearly highlighted the harsh reality of the journey and the truth that awaits the trafficked.

He added: “Adigun, is an intriguing novel, playing across three continents, that illustrates the delicate inter-play of diverse cultural influences in a sprawling narrative that spans several decades.

“This story captures the enduring power of friendship, family and human bonding that survives (and often conquers) cultural dislocation.

“Adigun describes the experiences of two West African boys, forced by different (though related) circumstances to spend their late teens and early adulthood in separate Western countries.

“One in the UK and the other in the U.S., they both struggle to discover themselves under the dual burdens of survival in foreign lands, while still contending with the pressures of their native cultures.

“Both stray to the edges of criminality. Both cross the line, each dealing with blurred moral lines in their distinct ways, and end up reuniting with surprising answers to their questions about what is really important in life.”

He said that the the story shifted between the sun-drenched, tropical paradise of the West African town of Jobore and its environs, foggy London, Chicago, Washington, and Maryland, while featuring a suspenseful (and often amusing) adventure in Amsterdam.

According to him, the earlier years are mainly seen through the eyes of the main character, as he grows up in the Nigerian town of Jobore, before going on to secondary school in Tuke.

Sokefun said that series of mishaps led the main character to fall into the hands of hard men who roped him into a murder plot that ended with him also trafficking narcotics to New York.

Explaining the book further, he said that the main character narrowly escaped from the authorities in New York which eventually led him to Washington, where a cartel boss saved his life and takes him in.

Analysing the main character, the writer said, “Adigun is a precocious, energetic child, with an oblivious attraction to adventure and a propensity for getting in trouble.

“He is smart in a distracted way and his energies are untethered by any particular longterm ambitions.

“In sharp contrast is Chike, Adigun’s neighbour in Jobore. Crisp, disciplined, and studious, Chike arouses Adigun’s suspicion and admiration in equal measure, making for a tumultuous, on-and-off friendship that ends when Chike’s family moves away in pursuit of his father’s fortune.

“This is where their paths diverge until their mid-teens, when they meet again under dangerous circumstances, conspiring to execute a deception that will affect their lives for decades to come.

“They part ways once more until fate, or a series of uncanny coincidences throws them violently together again after almost twenty years.”

He explained that both of the main characters faced the fundamental challenges of becoming men under the extended shadows of their fathers.

He said that for Adigun, the challenge included the psychological schism caused by trying to reconcile his loyalties to his biological father and his adoptive father.

Sokefun said that Adigun’s moral compass was formed by his biological father, who fell short of his own standards, betrayed his family and sold out his son.

According to him, on the other hand, his adoptive father, a criminal, has provided Adigun with a safe haven, material security, and a sense of family.

“Even if it is a family of drug peddlers and murderers. Adigun must find his own path to maturity.”

Speaking further, the author said that Chike, the second character, was determined to break free of his billionaire father’s control and build his legacy, reputation, and fortune.

Sokefun said that Chike broke several rules to achieve his success until he discovered secrets about his father that brought him closer to the man, and ultimately back into his inheritance- a multi-billion-Dollar pharmaceutical empire that is riddled with intrigue, betrayal and violence.

“Both of the main characters are forced to confront the consequences of their actions in business and relationships and, in their disparate bids to correct their errors, they are once more reunited in a violent climax that highlights the importance of brotherhood and trust, as well as the dual nature of man.

“This sets the stage for a reset in the main character’s life, the story ending with him facing another moral choice,” the author said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Since the attainment of independence 63 years ago, Nigeria has been battling with development issues, despite its natural endowment in human and material resources.

Several strategies by successive civilian and military administrations have met with limited successes.

Apparently, this position explains the recent gathering of stakeholders in Ilorin to brainstorm on the way forward to local production of the nation’s needs as against what some have described as present waste of foreign exchange on importation.

The forum was organised by one of the major stake-holding organisations in Nigeria’s business platforms – the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).

A former Director-General, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Amb. Ayoola Olukanni, was the guest lecturer at the SMEDAN retreat.

The retreat was organised for a stratum of the agency to diagnose the theme: ‘Enhancing the Institutional Capacity for Greater Impact on the Nigerian MSME Ecosystem’.

Olukanni, a diplomat with practical experiences around the world, did not mince word as he highlighted the reasons for Nigeria’s stunted growth since independence.

He noted that the topic for the discourse could not have been more relevant in the current economic landscape.

Before the discovery of crude oil in Oloibiri in the Niger Delta in the 1950s by Shell D’Arcy, after 50 years of unsuccessful exploration, the mainstay of the country’s economy was majorly agriculture showered with a few other natural resources that dotted various regions.

Apparently, due to the discovery of oil wells in the Delta area, the groundnut pyramid in Kano, coal deposit in Enugu and the natural endowments in Jos like columbite which dates back to the 1940s were sideline for the black gold.

The country has, however, continued to wallow in abject poverty despite development policy reforms in all sectors of human endeavour but which implementation have continued to draw down.

Experts recalled the woeful implementation of the Operation Feed the Nation, a strategy deployed by the Olusegun Obasanjo military regime in the 1970s to boost agriculture, while the situation was same for the Shehu Shagari administration’s Green Revolution that gulped several millions of the nation’s hard- earned revenue in the Second Republic.

However, few significant record of the Buhari-Idiagbon era can be remembered in terms of that regime’s economic policy and war against corruption and sharp practices, both in public and private lives of the Nigerian citizen.

The Ibrahim Babangida leadership flattened the economy with the embrace of the International Monetary Fund’s bait.

This finally brought the economy to comatose despite the oil windfall recorded during the eight-year rule, achieving very little results as a result of the high-grade corruption that characterised that regime.

However, a cursory look at the post-Babangida regime has shown a bit of seriousness as though, the Sanni Abacha government attempted to fight corruption with the establishment of the ‘Failed Bank Tribunal’ , his economic policy was not significantly different from those of his predecessors.

Abacha had been accused of using the machinery and instrument of the State to fight his perceived enemies by hauling them into Kirikiri Prisons and other detention camps across the country, all in the name of clearing the ‘haven of corruption’.

Despite the opportunities, the Obasanjo civilian administration initially showed a green light of seriousness on the part of a regime ready to re-jig the economy for posterity following the reliefs sought and granted by international monetary agencies, on debt forgiveness.

Again, corruption and financial indiscipline eventually eroded the debt pardon.

The Buhari civilian administration did not fare better than the Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan’s, apparently due to lack of economic sense, though there is similarity to the running of public office in other African nations where the economy have been run aground like Nigeria’s.

Nigeria, like other developing nations have been faced with stunted growth and rising debt levels.

The World Bank has also counselled African governments to, without delay, focus on macro-economic stability, domestic revenue mobilisation, debt reduction, and productive investments to reduce poverty and boost shared prosperity from medium-to-long term rescue policies.

Giving credence to the position of the global bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB) headed by a Nigerian, Akinwumi Adesina, notes that Africa presently faces an annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shortfall that can exceed 127.2 billion dollars by 2030.

According to AfDB, this is if current trends in climate finance flow into Africa continues, noting that the continent may lose as much as 12 per cent of GDP.

While statistics by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows the importation of, at least, 10 items, including crude palm oil, vegetable products, animal products, meat, vegetable fats and oil, steel products, plastics, clothes and textiles from various countries worth N18.12 trillion between 2016 and 2022 that drains the country’s foreign reserves.

Experts, including Olukanni, were quick to advise the Bola Tinubu led-administration to evolve what they termed systemic economic recovery agenda, to bail the country out of the doldrums.

To Nigerians, it is now more than ever before that the government should evolve strategies for economic growth and development to eradicate poverty through wealth creation for increased fiscal stability.

Olukanni noted that the issue under focus ‘’underscores the pivotal role that Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play in fostering economic growth, creating employment opportunities, and driving innovation.

Noting that the ‘’theme also acknowledges the essential role that SMEDAN, as a leading agency, plays in promoting and supporting the growth of these enterprises’’.

Olukanni asked the participants to embrace the retreat as a catalyst for transformation agenda driven by a shared commitment to elevating the Nigerian MSME ecosystem.

‘’Let us harness the power of collaboration, innovation, and inclusive growth to shape a future where Nigerian entrepreneurs thrive, jobs are created, and economic prosperity is shared by all.

‘’As we explore pathways to enhance institutional capacity, may we remember that our efforts ripple beyond these walls, influencing the lives of countless entrepreneurs, families, and communities’’, he further charged.

While acknowledging the prime position of the sub-sector, the guest lecturer noted that with over 40 million MSMEs contribution to employment and which account for about 50 per cent of the country’s GDP, the platform equally served as the backbone of the country’s economic configuration.

He said: ‘’Their ability to adapt quickly to market changes, drive local innovation, and foster entrepreneurship makes them a critical force in shaping our nation’s economic future’’.

As direct pathways to enhanced capacity, Olukanni said it was essential to consider actionable corridors that can amplify SMEDAN’s institutional capacity for a greater impact on the Nigerian MSME ecosystem that can serve as guiding principles as the country navigate the complexities of the evolving economic landscape.

They include “Holistic Capacity Building” that will incorporate technical skills that fosters a culture of continuous learning, adaptability, and innovation.

Collaborative partnerships with government agencies, private sector players, academia, and international agencies to leverage expertise, resources and networking for knowledge exchange and cross-sectorial initiatives.

Other areas are partnerships with government agencies, the private sector and the academia while international organisations can leverage expertise, resources, and networks to create a multiplier effect to strengthen SMEDAN’s impact.

Equally, SMEDAN can explore innovative financing models, including venture capital, impact investment, and crowd-funding platforms by connecting MSMEs with funding sources tailored to their needs, the agency can address the financing gap and drive sustainable growth while women and youth empowerment should be embraced for national growth and development.

According to Olukanni, the potential of MSMEs should extend beyond national boundaries by fostering the growth of MSMEs across states and local governments, establishing MSME councils, facilitating ease of doing business, and promoting regional hubs of entrepreneurship for economic growth.

He further explained that interaction with international organisations, tapping into global best practices, and participating in cross-border initiatives could expose SMEDAN to new ideas, technologies, and opportunities that can be translated into local impact.

Asking SMEDAN to adopt robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to assess the outcomes of its initiatives.

According to him, by measuring progress, identifying success stories, and learning from challenges, SMEDAN can refine its strategies and optimise its interventions for the growth and development of national economy.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), on Saturday donated a N30 million ICT centre to the Richard George Foundation (RGF).

The Director- General, NITDA, Mr Kashifu Abdullahi made the donation at the formal inauguration of Gala/ Fund raising of RGF in Abuja.

Abdullahi explained that part of the agency intervention programme, which was also part of President Bola Tinubu ‘s “Renewed Hope” agenda was to provide infrastructure that could be used to promote innovation and entrepreneurship for people.

“We call it digital economy centre. We provide such centres to schools and communities.

“The centre comes with computers, furnitures, internet connectivity, printers, photo copiers, air conditioners, solar power, generators, and all necessary equipment needed for a centre to function,” he said.

The NITDA boss also said that the three strategic pillars of the foundation, which included education, skills and entrepreneurship,connected with his life story.

”I was born and raised in Jigawa, in a community full of artisans. But most of the people don’t go to school.

”But I was opportuned to go to school because my parents, especially my father insisted that we must finish university before we start anything.

”So I was brought up with two core values, which were my home core values, and my community ‘s core values, ” he said.

Abdullahi said that his father instilled that in him the core values, and that in all sincerity, the RGF strategic pillars connected and aligned with that value.

He narrated how he was inspired to become a computer scientist.

“The education I got in school is what gave me the knowledge, and I turned that knowledge into skill.

“But on that skill I needed to stand out and get noticed to become an entrepreneur, and so I did my first job, which was to design a web.

“I gave out the web for free, which eventually led to the people inviting me to design a similar web for them, and I was paid N1.5 million,” he said.

The NITDA boss said that money should not always be the main focus but skills acquisition.

”Try and develop skills, and with skills, money will come naturally.

“My story is to inspire the young people, that its not about the morning all the time, but about the skills, and its not about just education, but also the skill.

“When you have education, you need to have the skills to validate the education, without the skill, you cannot validate.

“And also to be an entrepreneur, you need to have that spirit to start and do something,” the NITDA boss said.

Earlier, Mr Richard George, Founder, RGF, said that the event of the day marked a milestone in his life because it birthed a dream.

According to him, the dream is to give back to his community through mentoring young and talented African graduates with a vision “To Raise Africa’s Change Makers”.

He said that the RGF summarised his humble beginnings.

Meanwhile one of the mentee, Mrs Ibigotemieari Adebiyi, described her journey with RGF as one of self-discovery and transformation.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The University of Benin says some fraud syndicates have been arrested over admission racketeering.

The university announced this in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Dr Benedicta Ehanire, on Sunday in Benin.

According to her, members of the syndicates go as far as collecting school fees from their victims under the pretence of helping them to pay.

“Some admission fraud syndicates at the University of Benin have been uncovered.

“Members of the syndicates parade themselves as admission officers of the university and engage in admission racketeering and falsification of admission documents.

“Some even go as far as collecting school fees from their victims under the pretence of assisting them to pay to the university. Already, some arrests have been made.

“The university management reiterates that the admission process at the University of Benin is free of charge and advises members of the public to be wary of fraudsters,” the spokesperson said in the statement.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Zamfara Chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have called on the workers in the state to unanimously join the planned nationwide industrial action as directed by the national headquarters of the two bodies.

The State NLC Chairman, Mr Sani Halliru, made the call in Gusau on Sunday while speaking with newsmen shortly after a joint state executive council meeting of the two unions.

“From Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023 all the private and public schools will not operate in state.

“Working places including hospitals, markets, filling stations, courts, motorparks, among others will be shutdown indefinitely in the state.

“We therefore urged members of the affiliate unions and the general public to support us as we move to salvage the country,” Halliru added.

He added that pupils and students should remain at home because their security in schools will not be guaranteed during the strike period.

On his part, the State Chairman, TUC, Mr Saidu Mudi, emphasised on the unity of the two unions in the state to succeed in the strike action.

“In Zamfara, we are strongly united in the fight for workers’ rights aimed at ensure reducing the hardships disturbing livelihood of Nigerians.

“I am optimistic that all over the country there would be a total compliance as we have mobilised workers at the grassroots level and they all agreed to join the strike.” Mudi explained.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

A civil society organisation, Women Professional Alliances (NWPA), has thrown its weight behind the reform agenda of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Mrs Oluwatoyin Madein.

The Spokesperson for the group, Mrs Christine Ezekwe, stated this at a news conference on Sunday in Abuja.

She advised the AGF to remain committed to discharging her duties and making efforts toward sanitising the system.

Ezekwe said that all alleged malicious gang up against the AGF by some elements within would fail.

She enjoined Madein not to be distracted in the discharge of her duty but remain resolute in the face of challenges.

The spokesman said the group decided to speak out , following what they termed alleged “unprovoked attacks against a woman who is just doing her professional noble job.

” We read in some sections of the media that some personnel wrote petition against the Accountant-General of the Federation claiming she was not qualify to be on the seat.

” How on earth will people who see her progress in her carrier as a well-bred professional wake up one day to fabricate such gruesome lie.

” When Madein was appointed the AGF, there was joy and high expectations across all facets of Nigeria regardless of gender, religious or ethnic affiliation,”

She said that the emergence of Madein raised hope for millions of young girls across the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.

” Today, few men woke up, wrote petition and wanted to paint her black for not dancing to their tunes,” she alleged.

Ezekwe urged the AGF to go about her duty passionately.

According to her, it will enable the AGF to actualise the dreams of President Bola Tinubu’s administration who promised to give renewed hope to Nigerians.

” One thing we find real disturbing is the fact that women in positions of authority go through a lot.

” Many just believe that because they are women, they cannot take certain tough decisions or be their boss.

” Some can endure incompetence and non-performance from anyone, but when it comes to women working upright in the discharge of their duties, they get very offended.”

The Coordinator of Pro-Impact Initiative, Dr Osamudiamen Isokpehi, said no amount of gang up against the AGF would stop routine posting of personnel in the Treasury House.

Isokpehi cautioned against blackmailing and derailing her from carrying out much needed reforms and cleansing in the system.

” Those behind these acts appear not to understand the extent to which they have exposed their self-centeredness and shallow mindedness in the said petition.”

He highlighted some of the reforms currently being pursued by the AGF to include; bottom-up cash plan which ensures improvement to capital budget execution.

This, according to him, will ensure that respective agencies draw up their own cash requirements monthly as against the practice of just allocating funds to MDAs irrespective of their needs.

He said another reform being championed by the AGF was blocking revenue leakages by setting up of strategic revenue management team to improve internally generated revenues (IGR).

He said the team in turn set up technical sub-committee who would be trained in data analytics, and who can man data of agencies not currently on GIFMIS directly from the AGF’s office.”

He warned that “a system in which people, particularly those at the top are unwilling to accept reforms or changes cannot work.”

Isokpehi called on the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, to disregard the petition against the AGF.

He urged him to focus his strength on the actualisation of a vibrant economy under President Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda.

He also called on the petitioners to immediately withdraw it and tender an apology to the AGF for the overall good of country.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

President Bola Tinubu on Sunday served as the Special Guest of Honour at the change of Guards of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The event was part of the 63rd Independence Anniversary with the theme “Nigeria @63, Renewed Hope for Unity and Prosperity”.

Tinubu led other members of the administration to review the various activities of the event.

The activities included Submission of Parade, Independence Anniversary Parade, and Guards Brigade Silent Drill.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was attended by Vice President, Kashim Shettima, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and Speaker, House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.

Other personalities at the event included the Chief Justice of the Federation, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ministers, Head of the Civil Service and Permanent Secretaries as well as members of the Diplomatic Corps.

NAN also reports that other activities at the event included signing of anniversary register, cutting of anniversary cake as well as releasing of anniversary pigeons.

The president had earlier addressed the nation and spelt out the various reforms put in place by the new administration to turn around the economic and social fortunes of Nigerians.

Tinubu had stressed on the workers welfare, deployment of CNG cars to ease the cost of transportation as well as fiscal policies to attract businesses and employment for the teeming youths.

He said: “Nigeria is remarkable in its formation and essential character. We are a broad and dynamic blend of ethnic groups, religions, traditions and cultures.

“Yet, our bonds are intangible yet strong, invisible yet universal. We are joined by a common thirst for peace and progress, by the common dream of prosperity and harmony and by the unifying ideals of tolerance and justice.

“Forging a nation based on the fair application of these noble principles to a diverse population has been a task of significant blessing but also a serial challenge.

“ Some people have said an independent Nigeria should never have come into existence. Some have said that our country would be torn apart. They are forever mistaken. Here, our nation stands and here we shall remain.”

The president called on all Nigerians to rally round the administration to achieve the various initiatives for a better Nigeria.

Tinubu said: “I am attuned to the hardships that have come. I have a heart that feels and eyes that see. I wish to explain to you why we must endure this trying moment.

“ Reform may be painful, but it is what greatness and the future require. We now carry the costs of reaching a future Nigeria where the abundance and fruits of the nation are fairly shared among all, not hoarded by a select and greedy few.

“ There is no joy in seeing the people of this nation shoulder burdens that should have been shed years ago. I wish today’s difficulties did not exist. But we must endure if we are to reach the good side of our future.

“Fellow compatriots, the journey ahead will not be navigated by fear or hatred. We can only achieve our better Nigeria through courage, compassion and commitment as one indivisible unit.”

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

President Bola Tinubu has approved N35,000 as provisional wage award for all treasury-paid federal government workers for a period of six months.

Malam Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, announced this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

He said that this followed consultations between the federal government and the leadership of the labour unions at the Presidential Villa.

At the meeting, the Federal Government also pledged its commitment to fast-track the provision of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses to ease public transportation occasioned by subsidy removal on PMS.

The Federal Government also committed to the provision of funds for micro and small-scale enterprises as well as waivers on VAT on diesel for the next six months.

It also announced the payment of N75,000 to 15 million households at N25,000 per month, for a three-month period from October to December.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that highlights of the decision reached at the meeting include:

The Federal Government urged the Labour unions not to embark on strike action as the issues in dispute can only be resolved when workers are at work.

Labour Unions made case for higher wage award.

A sub-committee will be constituted to work out the details of implementation of all items regarding government interventions to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal.

The lingering matter of Road Transport Employees Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Lagos State will be addressed urgently.

NLC and TUC will consider the offers by the Federal Government with a view to suspending the planned strike to allow for further consultations on the implementation of the agreed resolutions.

Gov. Abdulrazak Abdulrahman of Kwara and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Gov. Dapo Abiodun of Ogun, participated virtually in the meeting, chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.

Also in attendance were the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, the Minister of State, Labour, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, and the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu.

Others are the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu.

The labour delegation was led by NLC President, Joe Ajaero, Dr Tommy Okon, Deputy President, TUC, NLC General Secretary, Emma Ugboaja, and the TUC General Secretary, Nuhu Toro.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Ilebaye Odiniya has emerged winner of the Big Brother Naija “All Star” reality show.

She defeated other housemates to clinch the N120 million cash prize at slake during the finale of the show on Sunday in Lagos.

Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, the host of the show, made the announcement.

The 22-year-old graduate of Criminology and Security Studies from Kogi was the third housemate to be evicted from Season 7 of the reality TV show in 2022.

Her victory makes her the third female to clinch the BBNaija top prize.

Ilebaye will also be walking away with some other consolation prizes.

Mercy Eke, who was the first runner-up, won the season four of Big Brother Naija in 2019, becoming the first woman to win the reality show.

Mercy bagged N60 million during the ‘Pepper Dem’ edition.

31-year-old lawyer from the ‘Double Wahala’ edition, Cynthia Nwadiora, popularly known as CeeC, emerged the second runner-up.

Adekunle Olopade, a 27-year-old digital consultant and entrepreneur from Lagos State, emerged the third runner-up with Pere Egbi as the fourth runner-up and Cross Okonkwo, the fifth runner-up.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the show began July 23 with 20 housemates, with four houseguests joining later in the course of the show.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Debmarine Namibian Premiership coaches Richard Gariseb and Lucky Shipanga are determined to surpass their previous season’s performance in the Debmarine Namibia Premiership.

Shipanga, who coaches the coastal-based team, Blue Waters, finished the previous season as the runner-up, while Gariseb’s Okahandja United secured the sixth spot out of the 16 teams in the Debmarine Namibia Premiership.

In an interview with Nampa on Saturday, Shipanga acknowledged that losing points in the league is not something that any coach wishes for but is however adamant that his team will work hard to improve on their mistakes and focus more on their defence.

Shipanga added that football is about losing, winning, and drawing games, but if they are to challenge for the Premiership title, they must strive to improve themselves.

Gariseb on his part, expressed his delight for having collected his first points of the season after Okahandja United’s 2-1 win against Blue Waters.

‘Winning the match was crucial, as a loss could have made it difficult to achieve our goals for this season. Our goal for this season is to do better than the sixth spot, which we secured last season,’ said Gariseb.

Following the second round of matches in the 2023/24 Debmarine Namibia Premiership, Okahandja United currently occupies the eighth position on the league table with three points, while Blue Waters holds the fourth spot on the log with the same number of points but a better goal difference.

UNAM currently tops the standings with six points, while African Stars and Khomas NamPol are second and third, respectively but also on six points.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency