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NFF presidential aspirant faults LMC over aborted NPFL
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by emmanuel afonne7 nan reports that election into the executive committee of the nff is scheduled to hold on sept. 20 according to the amended timetable of the sani katu-led electoral committee2 okoye the proprietor of bimo football club of lafiastated this this in an interview with the news agency of nigeria nan in abuja while reeling out his six-point agenda ahead of the forthcoming nff board election2 nan recalls that an emergency joint consultative meeting of the 20 npfl clubs and the lmc met in abuja in august and declared the 20172018 league season concluded after 24 matches2 the meeting said that the decision was against the backdrop of the adverse circumstances in the administration of football in the country which resulted in the indefinite suspension league leading to huge fixture congestion for both league and cup competitions2 the decision meant that none of the 20 npfl clubs would be relegated to the lower league while four would be promoted from the nigeria national league nnl to bring the number of the npfl clubs for the 201819 season to 242 but okoye said that the termination of the npfl with 13 games still remaining while teams were separated from each other with just few points can best be described as match fixing2 this is the first time in the history of nigeria football where the league was concluded with 13 matches to go2 four people just sat down and decided to award lobi stars fc the npfl title2 we all know that we have a problem it is only in nigeria that you know the winner of the league from the beginning of the season. we have to stop this okoye said2 mr chinedu okoye presidential aspirant in the sept. 20 nigeria football federation nff electionhas faulted the decision of league management company lmc to end the nigeria professional football league npfl season with 13 matches left to play2 okoye said if elected president he would tell nigerians what the football secretariat got from sponsors annually2 there is sponsorship money from coca cola and other big companies you cannot run nff like a cabal or your fathers property because it has a mandate to develop football in nigeria2 nff collects 4.3 million dollars every year from fifa for the development of football in nigeria including the payment of state football associations as well as female football but unfortunately these monies get into individual pockets2 is that the way to grow no. we dont need nff president that will go and watch arsenal when his national team is playing a friendly game that is what we have currently in nigeria but it has to stop2 i am talking about transparency and accountability in the nff and i will be ready to answer anybody that will come to me to know how much comes into nff and how much goes out2 in this current administration you dare not ask because if you do you are pushed out the following day okoye added2 the nff presidential aspirant noted that the annual financial grant from fifa was basically meant for the development of football at the grassroots with fa chairmen taking the driving seats and not to be spent on frivolities2 he said there is no facility and there is no age grade competition in nigeria. children from age eight to 18 dont have any competition2 again the issue of doping in our games has to stop. if i become the nff president the people that dope will have no place in our sport2 according to okoye time has come when nigerians should find out how football especially the leagues are run in the country2 -
FCT APC adopts indirect primaries, warns against money politics
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also mr yamawo tanko director satellite town development department stdd said that the indirect primaries would be done by the party delegates2 by jessica dogo2 similarly the party adopted indirect primaries for its elections2 the chairman abuja municipal area council amac mr abdullahi candido said this at a meeting with stakeholders on thursday in abuja2 candido however described the act of using money for elections as unnecessary adding this usually leads to voting of wrong candidates into offices2 we have advised our party members especially our excos to approach this election with no thinking of unnecessary monetary incentives2 if they do our fear is that inducement by aspirants could lead to a party getting a wrong candidate for the election and therefore they should de-emphasise the issue collections of little stipends from party aspirants2 they should identify the best whether he has money or he doesnt have money he said2 candido further explained that the indirect primaries mode was healthier and would curb the excesses of hooliganism during elections2 the fct all progressives congress apc has warned political aspirants against monetary incentives to voters during the 2019 elections2 tanko said that the delegates include party excos from the ward local governments the states and some political office holders2 this will be the indirect primaries not the direct primaries where every card-carrying member of the party will queue up and elect a candidate2 it is going to be purely party excos. i believe it is going to be a hitch free primaries tanko said2 in his remarks abdulmalik usman chairman fct apc said that the constitution of the party allows direct and indirect primaries as well as consensus2 usman explained that the indirect primaries was adopted so as to maintain peace in the fct adding that it has always been like that in the previous elections2 we have been one family since the beginning of crises in apc we have never witnessed crisis in fct he said2 earlier sen. sidi ali who read the communiqu said that the executive and stakeholders unanimously approved the position of indirect primaries2 ali noted that the indirect primaries would help produce credible candidates for the 2019 general elections2 -
Jubilation at Utako market as Osinbajo inaugurates TraderMoni
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by chijioke okoronkwo9 tradermoni is a federal governments initiative aimed at providing two million petty traders across the country with collateral-free loans before the end of the year4 tradermoni which had lagos abia and kano as its pilots states would be inaugurated across the country2 the ecstatic traders cheered and hailed as the vice president went from stall to stall having one-on-one conversations with the sellers2 addressing the crowd osinbajo who spoke partly in pidgin english said that with tradermoni petty traders would be empowered2 there was jubilation at utako market abujaon thursday as the vice president prof. yemi osinbajo inaugurated the tradermoni scheme2 we give n10000 if pay back in six months then you get n15000 if you pay back you get n200002 we want to encourage petty traders so that they will have enough money to do their businesses we have done one before for the bigger traders that one is government enterprise and empowerment programmegeep n100000 to 1200002 if you do well with the n10000 n15000 n20000 then we can increase it everyone can benefit from this the president himself has said he wants to make sure that those who are selling in the marketselling pepper sugarcane tomato get the money2 so when you are given the money we urge you to make sure you pay back there is no interest you just take it and you pay back in six months i want all of us to make sure we register so that we can be given the money he said2 the small small traders no be big traders na small small traders we wan give money make them able to sell well have more money to sell2 -
Ex Budget Officer in ICPC net over N5.5m gratification
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by harrison arubu5 the icpc image maker said however that the suspects would be arraigned as soon as investigations are completed2 icpcs spokesperson mrs rasheedat okoduwa identified the suspect as henry oyibo in a statement issued in abuja2 according to the statement oyibo formerly with the budget office of the federation is at the moment with the ministry of niger delta2 she said that preliminary investigation by the commission revealed that oyibo received the money to facilitate the release of funds budgeted for the federal medical centre lokoja between 2014 and 20152 okoduwa alleged that the inducement came from the director of finance and accounts mr sule otu and three other members of staff of the centre2 the independent corrupt practices and other related offences commission icpc on thursday said it had arrested a former federal budget officer for allegedly receiving gratification to the tune of n5.5 million2 the actions of the officials which border on corrupt offer and receipt of gratification by public officers are contrary to sections 8 9 16 and 19 of the corrupt practices and other related offences act 20002 further investigation also revealed that oyibo owns assets valued far beyond his legitimate earnings in breach of section 44 2 of the icpc law2 all the suspected staff of the federal medical centre who had been in custody before were granted bail and released by the commission2 oyibo who is now in custody will be released upon the fulfillment of his bail conditions she said2 according to her the suspect was at the time acting as the liaison officer between the budget office and the medical centre2 -
Nigeria records N6.57bn foreign trade in Q2 NBS
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by lucy nwachukwu4 this it explained was a 8.36 per cent increase from the figure in the first quarter n2.17 billion and against n471.48 billion in the first quarter of 20172 the bureau disclosed this in its foreign trade in goods statistics q2 2018 report released on thursday in abuja2 it said the figure was 8.9 per cent less than 7.21 billion recorded in the first quarter and represents a 14.56per cent growth from the n5.73billion recorded in the second quarter of 20172 according to the bureau the contraction of total trade in the quarter under review is mainly driven by the decline in both imports and exports2 the national bureau of statistics nbs said the country recorded foreign trade valued at n6.57billion in the second quarter2 this represents a -4.9 per cent contraction over the first quarter 4.70billion and a 43.8 per cent growth compared to second quarter of 20172 likewise the total import component in the second quarter 2.11billion also recorded a decline of -16.3 per cent2 this is lower than the first quarter 2.52billion and -19.9 per cent lower than the first quarter of 2017 the report said2 it said the trade balance in the second quarter was a surplus of n2.36 billion2 the total value of exports in the quarter under review is n4.46 billion2 -
How more than half Worlds population flew in 2017 IATA
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according to the document airlines in the asia-pacific region once again carried the largest number of passengers with 36.3 per cent market share 1.5 billion passengers2 by adekunle williams2 the figure is more than half of the worlds population currently put at 7.2 billion2 the information is contained in the 62nd edition of the world air transport statistics wats the yearbook of the airline industrys performance2 the news agency of nigeria nan in lagos obtained a copy of the document after it was released by iata from montreal canada2 nan observed that the document showed that the 2017 performance represented an additional 280 million trips 7.8 per cent increase by air compared to 20162 it said worldwide annual air passenger numbers exceeded four billion for the first time2 it is supported by a broad-based improvement in global economic conditions and lower average airfares2 at the same time airlines connected a record number of cities worldwide providing regular services to over 20000 city pairs in 2017 more than double the level of 19952 such increases in direct services improve the industrys efficiency by cutting costs and saving time for both travellers and shippers alike2 the international air transport association iata on thursday said that 4.1 billion passengers were transported in 2017 compared to the 3.8 billion passengers recorded in 20162 the documented also showed that europe recorded 26.3 per cent market share 1.1 billion passengers while north america recorded 23 per cent market share 941.8 million passengers2 it also indicated that latin america recorded 7 per cent market share 286.1 million passengers2 also middle east recorded 5.3 market share 216.1 million passengers while africa recorded 2.2 per cent market share 88.5 million passengers2 the document also showed that the top five airlines ranked by total scheduled passenger kilometers flown were american airlines 324 million and delta airlines 316.3 million2 others are the united airlines 311 million emirates airlines 289 million and southwest airlines 207.7 million2 it also stated that citizens of united states of america topped the travellers chart with 632 million passengers followed by the peoples republic of china with 555 million passengers2 also india had 161.5 million passengers the united kingdom recorded 147 million passengers and germany had 114.4 million passengers2 the director-general of iata mr alexandre de juniac commenting on the development said in 2000 the average citizen flew just once every 43 months. in 2017 the figure was once every 22 months2 flying has never been more accessible. and this is liberating people to explore more of our planet for work leisure and education. aviation is the business of freedom2 -
We didnt take bribe to dump APC Kwara Lawmakers
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all 23 members of the 24-member house of assembly in kwara including the speaker have denied financial inducement for their recent defection to the peoples democratic party pdp1 the lawmakers are alleged to have each collected n15 million to defect from the all progressives congress apc to pdp on aug.11 but the 23 members at plenary on tuesday denied being induced with money for their decision to quit the apc1 each of the defected lawmakers in their defence described the allegation as unfounded and a calculated attempt to tarnish their names1 they said that no individual or group gave them n15 million as bribe prior to their aug. 1 defection to the pdp1 they accused the only apc lawmaker in the house saheed popoola as being responsible for the alleged rumour on social media1 the lawmakers claimed that their defection to pdp was purely on personal conviction devoid of any financial inducement1 however popoola apc olomu-balogun in his reaction said he did not speak with any media on the alleged n15 million bribe1 popoola refuted the claim by his colleagues of being the author of the alleged rumour and challenged them to produce evidence or testimonies against him1 concluding debate on the matter the speaker dr ali ahmad urged his fellow speakers in states houses of assembly to resist the temptation of declaring vacant seats of defectors in their states1 -
Shekarau dumps PDP, destination unknown
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you know he will not take decision without meeting the stakeholders which has always been his habit yau sule said1 former governor of kano state malam ibrahim shekarau has finally dumped the peoples democratic party pdp1 sule yau who did no give reasons for the decision however told nan that shekarau had already called for a stakeholders meeting to be held today tuesday1 he explained that during the meeting the former governor and the stakeholders would decide where he shekarau will go1 the former governor has left pdp and has called for a stakeholders meeting today tuesday from where he will decide where to go1 sule yau sule media aide to the former governor disclosed this in an interview with the news agency of nigeria nan in kano on tuesday1 nan reports that the pdp state executive committee was dissolved by the national working committee nwc of the party on friday in abuja1 the decision by the nwc to disregard the earlier court order irked the state leadership supporters and all stakeholders of the party in the state1 the state leadership on monday rejected in totality the purported dissolution of the state executive committee by the nwc of the party1 alhaji sarki labaran a chieftain of the party declared the stand of the party in the state while addressing hundreds of supporters who converged on the state headquarters of the party1 the nwc had yet to give reason as to why it took the action1 -
Man cheated in ransom sharing by gang after arranging his fathers kidnap, murder
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he said the police after interrogating the three suspects discovered that it was the son of the suspect that hired the others and the fugitive prime suspect to kidnap his father1 the osun police command on tuesday announced the arrest of a 27 year-old man isa adamu who allegedly conspired with others to kidnap and later murder his 55 year-old father after collecting ransom from his family1 mr olafimihan adeoye osun commissioner of police while parading suspects at the police command in osogbo told newsmen that on april 27 the senior adamu was kidnapped in his house in ede osun and driven away in his car by a gang of kidnappers1 he said when the case was reported to the police a prime suspect jola-anabi saheed was arrested and charged to court for the kidnapping1 he said the prime suspect later jumped bail 1 adeoye said the action of the prime suspect led to further investigation by the police which resulted in the arrest of three other suspects including the son of the kidnapped victim1 the murdered man was identified as ibrahim adamu1 he said it was also discovered that the suspects killed their victim after collecting n3 million ransom from his family1 he said the suspects confessed to have buried their victims body near a river and it is now believed that the corpse had been washed away by the river1 he said the son of the kidnapped victim confessed to the police that his accomplices promised to give him n500000 from the ransom collected from his family but only gave him n450001 adeoye said another four-man robbery gang terrorising owode ede osogbo and its environs was also arrested by the police and two vehicles electronics and other items were recovered from the gang1 he said a hummer bus that was stolen in osun in august was recovered in abeokuta ogun from the buyer. the recovery of the bus he said also led to the recovery of five other stolen vehicles through sars investigation1 -
Sex, homosexuality stall MTNs music festival
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source63 ugandas nyege nyege international music and arts festival sponsored by telecom giant mtn has been banned because of scheduled open sex noise homosexuality lgbti1 mtn nyege nyege will not be accepted it will not take place. i wanted nyege nyege cancelled last year but they escaped ugandas minister of ethics and integrity mr. simon lokodo warned1 the three-day festival slated to begin on thursday sept. 6 has been banned lokodo announced1 lokodo said the government had information that open sex noise homosexuality lgbti will be part of the nyege nyege1 this ugly thing called mtn nyege nyege is not taking place this year1 we have already evaluated how much losses will come. we shall save the image of this country but not allow this to take place for the two days and one night he said1 this years festival is sponsored by telecom firm mtn. last year bell lager the first ugandan brewed beer by uganda breweries limited sponsored the event1 let foreigners not come to uganda for sex. if you are coming for sexual reasons worse still homosexuality and lgbtq stay away1 there will be nudity and sexuality done at any time of the hour. there will be open sex1 the very name of the festival is provocative. it means sex sex or urge for sex. we have been informed its taking place near owen falls dam. this brings uncertainty and fear1 this is close to devil worshipping and not acceptable1 mr lokodo said he has written to the police to stop the event from taking place1 the festival had attracted over 300 artists from over 30 countries1 the venue was set on a six-acre forest on the banks of the river nile a kilometre away from the source of the river and jinja town1 the activity will be covered by alcohol and music. there will be drugs toxicants not accepted by this country1 -
Ceasefire agreement reached in Libya
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according to the un office of high commissioner for human rights ohchr a humanitarian worker trying to evacuate civilians trapped in a neighbourhood was reportedly shot while one of the armed groups involved was alleged to have confiscated three ambulances1 war lords have reached a ceasefire agreement to end years of hostilities protect civilians safeguard public and private property in war-torn north african country libya1 the un support mission in libya unsmil announce in a tweet posted on its official twitter account1 tripolis meitiga international airport which had been closed since violence flared up would also be opened under the deal1 the accord was signed by representatives of the government of national accord gna military commanders security apparatuses and armed groups present in and around tripoli1 scores of civilians had been killed and hundreds injured across residential areas of the libyan capital since fighting escalated last week1 spokesperson for un high commission for refugees unhcr charlie yaxley said that the use of heavy weapons and shelling in civilian neighbourhoods had caused death destruction and displacement and is of great concern1 we are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with the libyan directorate for combatting illegal migration and un agencies and advocating for all refugees and migrants to be relocated to a safer place yaxley said1 the agreement was reached under the auspices of ghassan salame the top united nations official in libya1 un agencies such as the world health organisation who and unhcr have stepped up their response with who delivering trauma medicines for 200 critical cases keeping another 2000 more units on standby and deploying 10 mobile emergency trauma teams to areas where fighting is ongoing1 similarly unhcr is dispatching emergency items to families seeking shelter at a local school the un said1 in a statement prior to the announcement of the ceasefire syed hussain head of who operations in libya said the agency was working with national health authorities and partners on the ground to respond to increasing health needs1 hussain however said roadblocks remain a major challenge to the delivery of health care especially ambulances that are unable to reach the injured1 with greater numbers of injured civilians expected it is imperative that doctors and other health staff be allowed to move freely so that they can save lives without delay and without risk to their own personal safety he added1 there were also reports that a migrant detention facility was hit causing great concern over the safety of migrants and refugees1 according to un reports there are about 8000 arbitrarily detained migrants trapped in detention centres in areas where fighting had been taking place without access to food or medical treatment1 the reports added that some migrants released from detention had subsequently been captured by armed groups and forced to work for them. nan1 -
PDP takes step to rescue Kano chapter
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fearing more defections of aggrieved members peoples democratic party pdp has resolved to expand the kano state caretaker committee to accommodate all interest groups1 the national working committee nwc of the party took the action in line with its adherence to the principles of all-inclusiveness1 the national publicity secretary of the party mr. kola ologbondiyan on tuesday in abuja said the party was also open to opinions and suggestions from stakeholders1 this according to ologbondiyan is to allow ensure reconciliation and accommodation for all interests within its fold in the state so as to ensure good governance to the people of the state1 ologbondiyan said no stone would be left unturned in the overall quest to bring good governance to kano state while putting in place machinery to hedge the infiltration of fifth columnists into the partys fold in the state1 the party leadership further assures of its preparedness to engage with all stakeholders in kano provided all matters in court against the party are withdrawn as all members work together to build a united pdp that can confront and send out apc governance in kano state and nigeria at large1 furthermore the nwc urges all stakeholders to always emulate our members in benue state in the way and manner they united to resolve all issues concerning party structures of their state1 reports say that the state chapter of the party had been torn apart by intrigues and power struggle1 it was reported on tuesday that a notable member of the party in the state was a former governor and minister has dumped the party because of power struggle with a member who recently joined the party. nan1 -
Angry dog mauls owner to death in U.S.
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a 64-year-old woman in maryland u.s. has been mauled to death by her newly adopted pit bull police has said1 officers reported to the victims home monday night after receiving a call about a female robin conway of columbia getting mauled to death by a pit bull she had adopted only two weeks earlier howard county police department said in a facebook news release1 police said a relative found a wounded conway in the yard with the dog standing over her and called 9111 the individual managed to restrain the animal by tying the animal to the fence police said1 officers found robin conway 64 deceased in her back yard with significant injuries1 the dog still attached to the post was barking and lunging on the leash and had to be subdued by animal control officers and ultimately euthanized police said1 an autopsy will be conducted to determine the womans official cause of death1 a necropsy of the dog will help determine if it had rabies or other medical concerns police said1 details surrounding the dogs adoption were unavailable police said though they said it did come from another state1 -
Trump warns Assad, allies over planned Idlib attack
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the war songs between president donald trump and syrias bashar al-assad has intensified with the u.s. number one citizen warned the syrian president and his allies in the region not to attack rebels in the countrys idlib province1 trump warned in a tweet that hundreds of thousands could be killed if the attack is allowed to go on1 the tweet came shortly after irans foreign minister said terrorists must be purged from idlib the last opposition stronghold in the country1 mohammad javad zarifs comments in damascus came as syrian forces and their allies are preparing for an assault1 syrias territorial integrity should be safeguarded and all tribes and groups as one society should start the reconstruction process and the refugees should return to their homes zarif said according to irans fars news agency1 reports say assad is planning a huge offensive in idlibreportedly with three million live1 syria has been fighting in a seven-year civil war and russia and iran have backed assad1 u.n. officials believe an offensive on idlib would trigger a wave of displacement that could uproot an estimated 800000 people and discourage refugees from returning home1 the u.s. and france have warned an idlib offensive would trigger a humanitarian crisis and warned that a chemical attack in idlib would prompt a western retaliation1 all eyes on the actions of assad russia and iran in idlib nochemicalweapons nikki haley the u.s. ambassador to the united nations posted on twitter1 -
Donald Duke dumps PDP
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mr. donald duke former cross river state governor has dumped the peoples democratic party pdp for the social democratic party sdp1 he made the announcement on tuesday at the national secretariat of the sdp where he revealed that he will be running for the office of the president come 20191 duke was received by the partys national secretary mr. shehu gabam and other officials of the party1 the former governor had earlier showed interest in running for presidency under the peoples democratic party pdp1 details later 1 -
Monica Lewinsky abandons interview for Bill Clinton
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often ridiculed she became an anti-bullying advocate and activist1 twenty-eight years after her affair with bill clinton monica lewinsky appears not to have forgiven her former boss1 lewinsky was sitting for the question-and-answer session after speaking about the pros and cons of the internet at a conference organized by the israel television news company on monday1 the interviewer asked if lewinsky was still waiting for a personal apology from clinton haaretz reported1 recently in an interview with nbc news former president clinton was rather irate when he was asked if he ever apologized to you personally news anchor yonit levi said. do you still expect that apology the personal apology1 lewinsky 44 replied im so sorry im not going to be able to do this before storming off stage1 lewinsky became a household name after her affair with clinton in the 1990s when she was working as a white house intern in her early-20s1 lewinsky on monday stormed out of an interview in israel at a conference after the interviewer asked her a question about the former u.s. president1 she later took to twitter to defend herself saying that there were clear parameters about what we would be discussing and what we would not1 the exact question the interviewer asked first she had put to me when we met the day prior i said that was off limits1 when she asked me it on stage with blatant disregard for our agreement it became clear to me i had been misled1 lewinsky said that walking off stage sent the message that it is more important than ever for women to stand up for themselves and not allow others to control their narrative1 the nbc interview that levi referenced took place back in june. clinton was asked by craig melvin if he ever personally apologized to lewinsky1 ive never talked to her. but i did say publicly on more than one occasion that i was sorry clinton said during the interview1 he also took issue with melvins line of questioning saying someone should ask you these questions because of the way you formulate the question1 -
Crisis in Lake Chad region persists UN
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alongside life-saving humanitarian response addressing the underlying cause is vital to ensure lasting solution to the crisis the un relief chief highlighted1 the un emergency relief coordinator mr mark lowcock has said that in spite of improvements in the humanitarian situation the crisis in the lake chad region is not over1 the top un relief chief at the berlin conference on the lake chad basin region on monday urged greater international support for the region to safeguard the progress achieved1 there is still a big humanitarian crisis. it is not over despite the progress we have made lowcock told a high-level humanitarian conference on the region1 in february the meeting at a un-backed conference in oslo norway donors pledged over 650 million towards emergency assistance programmes in 2017 and beyond1 according to him these resources helped achieve a significant scale-up in the humanitarian response reaching more than six million people with assistance and averting a famine in northeast nigeria1 however he said that humanitarian needs had continued to grow and so do the resources needed to respond1 of the 1.58 billion required for 2018 only about 600 million or 38 per cent had been received as of july 25 he said1 the appeal we had on the humanitarian response plan this year has been generously financed but not to the degree where any of us can be comfortable that we can meet the needs of the people we can reach still less of those we are still trying to reach lowcock said1 the un humanitarian coordinator urged additional funding and resources1 he noted that no fewer than 10 million people across the four countries nigeria cameroon chad and niger remained dependent on assistance1 at the same time relief workers face severe challenges reaching the worst affected due to boko haram violence according to the un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs ocha1 he said that millions of people continue to remain dependent on life-saving assistance1 lowcock noted that there was the need to scale up longer-term resilience and development assistance as well as promoting stabilisation1 if we can make more progress with peace building good governance the creation of jobs and education opportunities and the respect of human rights we work indeed with the underlying issues and this is what we need to do he said1 organised by ocha and the un development programme undp together with the governments of nigeria germany and norway on sept. 3 to 4 in berlin the conference seeks to maintain the momentum from the 2017 oslo conference and increase and expand international support1 it is expected to reinforce an approach combining the response to immediate humanitarian needs with addressing the root causes of the crisis in a way that leads to sustainable resilient development1 education he says is one of the sectors desperately needing resources is education an area that often lacks funds in humanitarian emergencies1 earlier on monday manuel fontaine the director of emergency programmes at un childrens fund unicef said that where there is insecurity education can be both life-sustaining and life-saving1 with some 1000 schools reported to have been closed or rendered non-functional due to violence or unrest across the region ensuring access education can be both life-sustaining and life-saving fontaine said1 education supports children and young peoples life-long learning. it gives them the necessary skills to build a better future for themselves and their families and to contribute to peaceful and prosperous communities1 yet too often overall humanitarian education funding is lacking in emergencies the unicef official said1 unicef had called for 41.7 million to meet the education needs of children in the crisis but has received just eight per cent of this amount in the first half of 20181 other sectoral priorities for unicef include food security and nutrition emergency shelter and non-food items protection health water hygiene and sanitation and early recovery. nan1 -
Millman sees off Federer in shock upset at US Open, Sharapova also out
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it was a sweet victory for the 30 year-old spaniard who also marked her birthday1 john millman has dumped roger federer out of the us open in the fourth round in a stunning upset at the arthur ashe stadium in new york 1 millman will now meet novak djokovic in the quarter-finals1 the australian was dominated by federer in the first set but turned the tables on the swiss to take the second then held his nerve through two tiebreaks to secure the win in three hours and 34 minutes1 second seed federer who had not dropped a set in his first three matches in new york had 77 unforced errors and 10 double faults and landed just 49 percent of his first serves1 millman said the victory had yet to sink in1 im probably in a little bit of disbelief. i have so much respect for roger and everything hes done for the game he added. hes a hero of mine. today he was not at his best but ill take it1 maria sharapova also lost to carla suarez navarro in two straight sets 6-4 6-31 the 29 year-old australian ranked 55th came from a set down to beat world number two federer 3-6 7-5 7-6 7-6 to register his first top ten victory to qualify for the quarter-finals1 sharapova the 2006 champion had never lost a night session match in new york prior to her first grand slam meeting with suarez navarro1 five-times grand slam champion sharapova paid the price for 38 unforced errors and won less than half of her first serve points while committing eight double faults1 i didnt take care of the chances that i had the russian told reporters. by chances i mean the balls that were a little bit shorter1 i hesitated to move forward. the balls where i did attack i made unforced errors especially on that inside-out forehand today1 with her most potent weapon not firing sharapova succumbed in one hour and 31 minutes under the floodlights at the arthur ashe stadium allowing 30th seed suarez navarro to record just her second career victory over the russian in six attempts1 i just tried to be focused. i tried to think about not too much things just my work my job. today it worked1 the spaniard will meet last years runner up madison keys in the quarters and knows she will be the underdog against the 14th seeded american1 it will be a really tough match. she is from the united states so the crowd will probably help her suarez navarro added1 -
Nigeria set to lose 550,000 barrels of oil by ExxonMobil
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he demanded the immediate release and repatriation of over 20 expatriate personnel in the security department who had been engaged and kept in defiance of extant nigerian laws and security directives1 exxonmobil said a blockade by former employees threatens crude production at oil facilities in nigeria adding that disruptions to these operations have the potential to significantly impact revenues1 the protest which began on 17 july was over the sacking of 860 nigerian workers most of whom had worked with the company for over 22 years without regards for the rule of law1 mr rasak obe the chairman of exxonmobil branch of the petroleum and natural gas senior staff association of nigeria pengassan said the union was shocked by the mass sack of security personnel who had faithfully served the company for many years1 he said the management should immediately reinstate the employees of the security department and pay all entitlements due to them1 the union leader also urged the management to immediately reinstate the 16 employees purportedly sacked in dec. 2016 in a similar fashion1 the continued denial of access to lproduction facilities could impact the companys ability to safely continue production operations exxonmobil said1 according to him this was an unfortunate situation which the supreme court of nigeria had corrected with its april 20 2018 judgment1 this underscored the scale of error in companys assessment of the reality after the supreme court judgment1 there are tens more who by the judgment are active employees of mobil producing nigeria unlimited1 to say the least this wholesale sack unambiguously conveys managements disdain for the highest court of the country and mocks its ruling on the subject1 obe said the company was quick to indiscriminately sack nigerians and replace them with expatriates taking jobs nigerians have successfully performed over the decades1 he said expatriate security personnel many of whom were ex-service men were currently engaged in the security department against the directives of national petroleum investment management services napims and the nigerian defence ministry1