President Buhari has nominated Akinwunmi Adesina for re-election as the President of African Development Bank (AfDB).
Akinwunmi, while speaking at an event in Lagos on Sunday, October 6th commended Buhari for nominating him for re-election for a second term as president of the bank. According to Adesina, Nigeria has invested so much in him.
“When asked by former President Goodluck Jonathan to serve as Minister of Agriculture, it was duty calling me to the land of my birth. I served Nigeria to the very best of my ability. I thank God that Nigeria’s agriculture sector witnessed a much-needed transformation at the time.
`With the strong support of President Jonathan and the then President elect, Buhari, we campaigned very hard for the position of the President of the African Development Bank. It was a Nigeria effort, as all hands were on deck. This included our former presidents and heads of state, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Olusegun Obasanjo, former Vice Presidents Atiku Abubakar and Namadi Sambo, and of course my dear indefatigable sister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who ran a spirited campaign for me.
“By God’s grace, I was elected President of the African Development Bank on May 28, 2015, exactly 24 hours after my term of office as Minister ended. The nation jubilated as I became the first-ever Nigerian to be elected President of the bank since its establishment in 1964. Once again, Nigeria gave me air in my lungs.
“At the African Development Bank, we have worked very hard. In my four years as President, we have connected 16 million people to electricity, provided 70 million people with improved agricultural technologies to achieve food security. We have also given nine million people access to finance from private sector companies, provided 55 million people with access to improved transport, and 31 million people with access to water and sanitation.
“In all, 181 million people have directly benefitted from our investments. I am proud of all my staff and the Board of Directors whose hard work and relentless support have helped make this happen. The African Development Bank has continued to maintain its global AAA rating. Last year, the bank was rated the 4th most transparent institution globally.
“There is still much to do. We have gone some way climbing the steep mountainside of Africa’s development, yet there is still much way to go until we reach the mountaintop. Nigeria again is giving me air in my lungs, to keep on climbing. I wish to immensely thank and appreciate President Buhari for nominating me for e-election for a second term as President of the African Development Bank and for being such a wonderful champion and supporter of my re-election,’’ Adesina said.
Mercy has emerged winner of Big Brother Naija 2019 TV reality show.
She becomes the first female to win the BBNaija competition beating fellow housemates Mike, Frodd, Omashola and Seyi to win the coveted grand prize worth N60 million.
After 99 days of excitement, intrigues, suspense and nail biting drama, Big Brother Naija Pepper Dem season came to a rousing end at the final live eviction show on Sunday night.
From the five finalists in the house, Mike and Frodd emerged first and second runner ups, while Omashola and Seyi came fourth and fifth respectively.
Mercy joins the ranks of Efe and Miracle, both of whom are winners of BBNaija seasons two and three respectively.
The live show extravaganza marked the finale of the show’s fourth edition and also featured high-energy performances from award-winning artistes Tiwa Savage, M.I and Patoraking with DJ Obi and DJ SSnatch entertaining the crowd.
Big Brother Naija season four was sponsored by Bet9ja.
Manchester City fell eight points behind Liverpool in the title race on Sunday afternoon after suffering a shock home defeat against Wolves.
Adama Traore scored twice for the visitors, sliding home two cool finishes past goalkeeper Ederson on both occasions.
Manchester City lacked fluidity without the injured Kevin de Bruyne, with Gabriel Jesus’ header clawed away by Rui Patricio and Joao Cancelo shooting narrowly wide from distance.
This victory has moned Wolves up to 11th place in the league following just their second league win of the season.
Elsewhere, Tammy Abraham scored his eighth league goal of the season as in-form Chelsea swept aside Southampton at St Mary’s, thus climbing to fifth in the Premier League.
Chelsea dominated from the outset and took the lead when Abraham’s looping finish from Callum Hudson-Odoi’s pass was adjudged to have crossed the line before Maya Yoshida’s intervention.
Mason Mount doubled the Blues’ lead from close range, before Danny Ings poked home Yan Valery’s cut-back to reduce the arrears.
The visitors restored their two-goal advantage five minutes before half-time, N’Golo Kante’s strike from the edge of the area taking a wicked deflection off Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg on its way past Angus Gunn.
David Luiz scored the only goal as Arsenal edged past Bournemouth at Emirates Stadium to move up to third in the Premier League.
Luiz glanced home Nicolas Pepe’s ninth-minute corner for his first goal since his summer arrival from Chelsea.
Bournemouth improved after the break and went close through Callum Wilson, but they rarely troubled Bernd Leno in the Arsenal goal.
The Gunners move above Leicester, Burnley and Crystal Palace with the win, while Bournemouth stay 10th.
BBCSports
The Kwara State House of Assembly has said it directed the seizure of one of the properties allegedly acquired by the former Senate President, Bukola Saraki because there was no evidence of payment.
The assembly also stated that the property which is Alimi Chalet and an expanse of land, popularly called ‘Ile Arugbo’ belonged to the state government.
Ibrahim Sheriff, Special Assistant to the Speaker of the Assembly, said the allocation of the property to Saraki by the last administration was a “violent violation” of the Kwara State Former Governor’s Pension Law 2010, as amended, which had already taken care of him (Saraki).
The state Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr Kola Shittu, described the legislature’s action as “ill-conceived, malicious and another indication that Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq is out on a vendetta mission.”
But, the Assembly in a statement titled, ‘Our position on the seizure of Alimi Chalet, Saraki’s House’, said there was evidence the property was illegally acquired.
The statement indicated, “The Ile Arugbo had been erected on land originally meant for the expansion of the Civil Service Clinic and Phase II of the State Government Secretariat without any evidence that anyone paid a dime to the government for the land.
“The noise surrounding the affected property is politically motivated, as other public property unlawfully acquired are also being looked into.
“We dare say that allowing impunity to stand, no matter who is affected and how long it has taken place, is a disservice to the state and its people.
“Apart from the fact that the purported sale of the Alimi Chalet did not conform to the Kwara State former Governors’ Pension Law 2010, as amended, which incidentally was the brainchild of Saraki, we contend that there is no record anywhere that Saraki paid a dime to have the property transferred to him. The transfer only fits into what the late Fela Anikulapo called ‘paddy-paddy’ arrangement.”
Housemate, Mike Edwards has won N2 million cash prize as the ultimate arena games champion.
The housemate was awarded for being the most consistent winner of the Bet9ja-sponsored arena games.
The games, which are a mixture of chance and military-style drills, test housemates’ physical and mental strengths, as well as their spirit of sportsmanship.
According to fans, Mike has shown the most sportsmanship as he drums support for other housemates during the games and applied himself to win.
The accomplished athlete and businessman were also known for staying true to himself and keeping out of trouble throughout his stay in the house.
Some fans have taken to social media to applaud his win, while others have argued that Omashola ought to win as he won the last games.
@Nellu said, “Wowww Mike!!! Congrats. I actually thought omashola will win it.”
@Anna tweeted, “The difference is a few seconds.” @DuruObina said, “Unbelievable!, what happened. I thought Omashola should be the winner.”
@Chanty said, “I am really surprised. Omashola will die on this.
Congratulations Mike for your consistency. 2 million captured #BBNaijia”
Residents of Royal Gardens Estate in the Ajah area of the Lagos metropolis, on Saturday, protested against what they describe as the failure of Trojan Estates Limited and Broll Properties Limited, their property developers/managers, to provide services commensurate to what they pay annually as service charges.
The residents accused Trojan and Broll, who manage the estate promoted by one Kola Tinubu, of failing to provide them with electricity, as well as delivering unsatisfactory services, thereby extorting them.
Speaking during the protest, Chairman of the estate association, Gus Wiggle, accused both Trojan and Broll of not being accountable despite collecting huge sums of money from them and have also refused to sign the deed of agreement with plot owners.
Wiggle stated that it was time for both companies to own up to their responsibilities and function effectively.
“We are asking Trojan and Broll to be transparent with us. We can’t be slaves in our own house, we are not tenants here, we bought lands.
“Having succeeded in imposing Broll as facility managers, against the letter of the signed deed of agreement which stipulates that the plot owners enter into an agreement with a facility manager, Trojan and Broll have continued to exploit and profit from their stranglehold in the provision of services to the estate.
He lamented that the estate developers had cut off electricity from some homes, describing it as unlawful action which has exposed them to security risks.
He said: “As law-abiding citizens, we have made complaints to EKDC, NERC and the Nigeria police Ajah in a bid to call Trojan/Broll to order. We have also approached the court to secure an injunction to restrain them from this action but the lawlessness by Trojan/Broll has remained unabated.
“We cannot be denied access to electricity since this is our fundamental right. Our protest today is a non-violent action. It is the beginning of several other actions we shall take to ensure that our rights are never denied us.”
The EKEDC in a letter dated 30 July 2019, had informed Trojan/Broll that their action was improper, and subsequently the developer to take necessary steps to ensure electricity was adequately provided for the estate residents.
The letter partly read: “We wish to stress that we are becoming tremendously discomforted by these unending complaints from the residents of the Royal Garden Estate for your failure to ensure that proper practices are adhered to in relation to the supply of electricity to the residents of the Royal Garden Estate. We, therefore, counsel that you henceforth implement necessary actions and take relevant precautions to avoid further occurrence of like issues and consequent complaints from the residents of Royal Garden Estate.”
Despite the warning, Trojan/Broll has failed to adhere to the directives issued in EKEDC’s letter.
When contacted, Adigun Afolabi, an employee of Broll who serves as the facility manager in the estate refused to comment.
“I think you should write to the organisation,” he was quoted as saying by the cable.ng
The Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) has announced plans to hold its 14th edition of the Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival (LAIF) awards.
This was announced in a statement signed by AAAN Publicity Secretary, Jenkins Alumona. The 2019 LAIF Awards, according to the statement, will hold on 14 December at the Landmark Event Centre, Lagos, with the theme: “Tori Tori of LAIF”.
The LAIF Awards, which commenced in 2006, was instituted by the AAAN with the aim of recognising, rewarding and fostering creative excellence in all areas of marketing communications.
The statement quoted Chairman, LAIF Management Board and AAAN Vice President, Steve Babaeko, as saying that this year’s awards will be centred on storytelling and the authenticity of the African story.
The organisers disclosed that the awards will have three major events, namely the LAIF Seminar/Exhibition, Young LAIFERS Competition and the LAIF Awards Dinner.
The LAIF Seminar/Exhibition is expected to attract practitioners and non-practitioners from the marketing community, who will have an opportunity to engage with local and international brand luminaries as they provide in-depth insight into key marketing and marketing communications challenges and proffer solutions to the posers identified.
The Young LAIFERS competition is a creative contest organised to discover and promote young talents within the industry and among students of higher institutions, while the LAIF Awards dinner will bring together captains of the industry, business leaders and policymakers alike to celebrate the industry’s best of creativity, innovation and promotion of excellence in brand development strategies.
Speaking on the importance of the event, AAAN President, Ikechi Odigbo, noted that the LAIF Awards is the most credible creative rating in the Nigeria creative industry. He also stated that the awards will be expanded to accommodate entries from West Africa by next edition, with the aim of making it an event celebrating the best of creativity on the African continent in the foreseeable future.
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