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Akwa Ibom wins CIRDDOC 2020 best budget transparency award
In a move that gives credence and endorsement of the commitment of the Udom Emmanuel led administration in ensuring openness, transparency and accountability in budgeting and governance, the Akwa Ibom State Government has been ranked one of the best performing states in the 2020 sub-National Budget Transparency Survey. The survey which was conducted by the Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC) to ascertain the level of budget performance by states of the federation revealed that Akwa Ibom and four other states topped the budget performance index for the year, 2020. The Nigerian States Budget Transparency Survey Report also revealed that Akwa Ibom and some other Nigerian States have significantly improved budget transparency and participation, and has improved the ro...
Apple Music pays one penny per stream
Engadget Apple Music’s payment rate for artists and labels is fundamentally a penny per stream, according to a letter from the company posted on its artist dashboard and first reported by the Wall Street Journal. That payment rate is higher than Spotify, which has a confusing variable rate scheme that basically tops out at a half-penny per stream. Announcing a penny-per-stream rate is a nice PR win for Apple Music, since it is 1. very simple and 2. Spotify hates talking about its per-stream payments, which the company insists are a misleading figure. Seriously, it just launched an entire website called Loud&Clear last month designed to help artists and fans understand how payments work, and a good chunk of it is devoted to explaining why per-stream rates are not the right thing to focu...
Chelsea squeeze through to UCL semis after late Porto scare
Chelsea booked their spot in the Champions League semi-finals despite a late goal from Mehdi Taremi for Porto on Tuesday night. The Portuguese outfit tried to set a fast tempo from the off but struggled to break down Chelsea in a first period where neither side had a shot on target. The pattern continued after the interval and it wasn’t until the 65th minute that Edouard Mendy was forced to make a save when he easily kept out substitute Mehdi Taremi’s header. The Blues had the better of the half chances through Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic but seemed content with a stalemate that was broken four minutes into added time when Taremi struck to give Cheslea a late scare. Chelsea, who will meet either Liverpool or Real Madrid in the last four, will now shift focus to the FA Cup semi final ...
Minister calls for transformation of food system
Minister of Environment, Dr. Muhammad Abubakar, has called for the transformation of the food system to aid rejuvenation of soils and forest covers. Speaking at the 14th National Council of Environment virtually held with the theme: “Managing Emerging Environmental Challenges: Need for Strategic Approach to Sustainable Development in Covid-19 Era and Beyond,” the Minister said: “There is urgent need to transform our food system which has been the major factor in the issue of loss of biodiversity, fresh water and deforestation with its attendant effects on climate change. It is therefore, expected that pertinent issues of climate smart agriculture and agro ecological practices that will aid rejuvenation of soils and forest covers, among others,are discussed during this meeting.” He noted th...
APC chieftain writes on ’21 political lies in Nigeria’
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, says his book on “21 political lies in Nigeria” is to educate the electorate on the antics of politicians during elections. Oyedepo said this on Monday in Ilorin while speaking at the presentation of the book. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the 21 chapter, 140 pages book chronicled many lies told by politicians to win votes during campaigns. According to Iyiola, the book is targeted mainly to educate the electorate on how to vote for candidates seeking their franchise, adding that if the electorate votes wrongly, it will live with them for another four years. He said: “I sat down and examined issues through which we win election and I discovered that some of these issues may be there. “They are imp...
Yinka Odumakin: Premature departure of a bright star – Senator Tinubu
Like millions of Nigerians, I received with profound shock the news of the death early this morning of Mr. Yinka Odumakin, spokesman of Afenifere, committed fighter for democracy, dedicated civil society activist, courageous and outspoken defender of whatever ideals and principles he believed in and a patriotic citizen in every sense of the word. Ever since his student days, Odumakin had been fearless and unrelenting in speaking up in promoting the cause of justice and what he perceived as the best interest of the citizens of Nigeria. He participated actively at the forefront in the various students and youth struggles against successive military dictatorships in the 1980s and 1990s. In the process, he was arrested, harassed and even detained several times. Yet, he never allowed himself to...
Rivers government launches new security outfit
The Rivers State Government has launched a new security outfit to help maintain security in the oil-rich state. The security outfit, called C4i, was launched on Thursday in Port Harcourt by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike. Wike, in a series tweets, said the outfit comprises 400 police officers and 200 officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and that they have been trained in “relevant skills to ensure they carry out their duty efficiently”. “We have made appreciable success in the area of security but we wouldn’t rest on our oars. “With C4i, we intend to take it a step further by adopting a proactive policing approach and nipping the effort of criminals in the bud,” the governor said at the inauguration ceremony which was attended the Assistant Inspector General of...
Leicester boss declares Manchester City as champions-elect
Leicester City boss, Brendan Rodgers, has declared Manchester City as champions-elect. Leicester beat Manchester City 5-2 back in September, but City have since built a 14-point cushion at the top of the table and Rodgers is sure his side will be playing the champions this weekend. “I don’t think there’s any doubt they will go on and win the league,” he said. “We, of course, want to make it as difficult as possible but their level of consistency over a long period this season sees them out in front and if they go on and win it, they’ll be very deserving. “But all the teams they have to play want to make sure they have to fight for it and they have to earn it.” Leicester sit third, 15 points adrift of City but more importantly seven better off than fifth-placed West Ham in the battle for Ch...
DPR: Market forces should determine gas prices
File Photo The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has advocated that market forces should be allowed to determine gas prices to guarantee the security of supply and demand of the commodity. Mr Sarki Auwalu, the Chief Executive Officer, DPR, disclosed this while presenting keynote address at the pre-summit conference on “Decade of gas’, in Abuja, on Monday. Auwalu said that the right and market-based pricing of gas was critical, as it would assure producers of returns on their investments. He also outlined five critical levers for gas development, especially as Nigeria moves to leverage its abundant gas resources for national growth, diversification of the economy and to use gas as the fuel for economic transformation. According to him, the levers include availability, accessibility, a...
Naomi Osaka uncomfortable with tight schedule
Naomi Osaka dislikes long and busy stretches away from the comforts of home and so will plan the European portion of her schedule accordingly in the hope of improving her title hopes at the French Open and Wimbledon. Osaka, competing this week at the Miami Open near where she grew up, said that while she chases success relentlessly she is still trying to shape her playing schedule to give herself the best chance of success. “I’m not really sure what a normal schedule is but I’ve never thought of myself to be the type of player that would play week in and week out,” said Osaka. “I personally get homesick quite often and it makes me kind of sad sometimes.” Japan’s four-time Grand Slam champion collected her second U.S. Open title last September and followed that up with a second triumph at t...
Why Wilfried Zaha is no longer taking the knee
Wilfried Zaha became the first Premier League player not to kneel before kick-off on Saturday since top-flight footballers started using the gesture to protest racial injustice last summer. The Crystal Palace winger instead chose to “stand tall” ahead of the match with West Brom, something he had said in February he was going to do but hadn’t started a game since then due to injury. Zaha released a statement ahead of kick-off outlining his intention to do so and his reasons for it. What he said “My decision to stand at kick-off has been public knowledge for a couple of weeks now,” the Ivorian international said. “There is no right or wrong decision, but for me personally I feel kneeling has just become a part of the pre-match routine and at the moment it doesn’t matter whether we kneel or ...
Rumble in Edo as governor runs government without cabinet
Precisely 129 days into his second tenure as governor of Edo State after his election on September 20, 2020 and inauguration on November 12, 2020, Godwin Obaseki, has not formed his cabinet. This has generated some flaks from different quarters, including the opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC), constitutional lawyers, political analysts, public commentators, residents among others. While others feel that Obaseki has not committed any crime or breached any law, others believe that he is running a one-man administration and must go ahead to form his cabinet. They argued that going by Section 192 of the 1999 Constitution, the governor is obliged to form a cabinet, saying this is a circumvention, which the state House of Assembly should take action on. Obaseki had said that his ...