Nigeria Vs Ethiopia: Lucy Arrive Abuja For Paris Olympics Qualification 2nd-Leg Fixture

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October 30, 2023

Nigeria vs Ethiopia will tango in a Paris Olympics qualification 2nd-leg fixture on October 31. Visiting Lucy’ arrived in Abuja 48-hours to the match.

A 35-person Ethiopian delegation arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja for the match, scheduled to take place at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja.

Nigeria’s Super Falcons and the Lucy’ of Ethiopia played a 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Abebe Bikila Stadium, Addis Ababa and so will settle the 2024 Olympics qualification second round contest in Abuja.

According to schedule, the Ethiopia Women’s National team will train at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja on Monday by 4pm.

The Lucy would be hoping they can spring up an upset on nine-time African Nigeria, especially after a decent outing performance in the first leg.

For the Super Falcons, it will be another opportunity to push for qualification for the Olympics games for the first time since the Beijing Olympics games in 2008.

To rally support for the Super Falcons, the Nigeria Football Federation on Sunday announced the gate of the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja will be thrown open for fans to watch the game which is billed to kickoff by 4pm on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.

A win or a goalless draw will send Nigeria into the final qualifying round where the aggregate winner of the match between Uganda and Cameroun, awaits.

Omowunmi Dada Becomes Artist In Residence At University Of Michigan

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Koko Lawrence

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October 30, 2023

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Nollywood actress Omowumi Dada is the latest addition to the University of Michigan’s 2023 Global Artist in Residence program.

The programme is run by the University’s African Studies Center (ASC) and the Department of Afro-American and African Studies (DAAS).

The Global Artist in Residence program was established through a Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education and administered by ASC and in collaboration with DAAS.

The program will see the actress working with DAAS language instructors in developing audio-visual materials for teaching African languages and engaging with the broader University of Michigan (U-M) campus community.

In addition, she will engage with elementary, middle, and high school students and teachers in Southeast Michigan.

She will also make presentations about Nollywood and African filmmaking at events organised in partnership with various U-M school departments and local organisations while educating the next generation about Nigerian culture.

Speaking about the program, ASC Director Omolade Adunbi, a professor, described Dada as a phenomenal actor whose presence in the movie industry in Nigeria and Africa has helped introduce a new flair to how we understand Nollywood and filmmaking on the continent.

The movie star said she is honoured to be the Global Artist in Residence, representing Nollywood, one of Africa’s most vibrant film industries.

Describing it as a unique opportunity, Dada said that she is excited to engage with faculty, staff, and students at the University of Michigan, sharing the rich tapestry of African culture and the incredible journey of the Nigerian movie industry, which she is proud to be a part of.

“Together, we will explore the captivating stories, diverse traditions, and the creative spirit that defines Africa, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of Africa and Africans in ways that promote the culture of collaboration between the United States and the continent of Africa,” she said.

Comprehensive Rehabilitation Of 3rd Mainland Bridge To Begin November 1

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Angel Gimalo

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October 29, 2023

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The Minister of Works, Mr David Umahi, on Saturday, said comprehensive rehabilitation of the 11.8-kilometer Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos would begin on November 1 for a period of three months.

Umahi said this during an inspection of the under deck, lagoon sections of the Third Mainland Bridge and other bridges.

Umahi, a team of engineers, directors of the Federal Ministry of Works and journalists inspected the lagoon sections of the Third Mainland, Carter, Independence and Falomo Bridges.

Umahi also inspected the Marina Bridge in Apapa.

He said the entire stretch of the Third Mainland Bridge would undergo total resurfacing with minimal discomfort to road users, and the repairs would be carried out by midnight during the weekend.

The minister said he carried out inspection of the top surface of the bridge on Friday before embarking on inspection of the Lagoon portions.

The minister explained that patching of various sections of the top surface of bridge had led to undulating surfacing, which was not healthy for its safety, hence the need to remove and relay the entire asphaltic covering.

“We are going to mill out the excess asphalt and retain only two millimetres,” he said.

The minister said the proposed maintenance of Third Mainland Bridge, which would last three months was the first phase meant to secure the integrity as well aesthetics of the upper deck components of the bridge.

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He explained that the maintenance of the aesthetics would include replacement of the railings, installation of solar-powered lights and CCTV cameras for optimal security of the bridge.

The minister assured road users that the three-month maintenance work would be without discomfort to motorists, as it would take place only between midnight and 4am and during weekends.

He added that more than one contractor would be engaged due to the emergency nature of the work, which would end in Phase Four; that will entail the repairs of deflected slabs, bearings, piers and pile caps.

The minister lamented that most of the bridges were about 60 years old and had outlived their design lifespan, hence the need for constant rehabilitation.

Umahi, who is a civil engineer, said the Marina Shoreline had deteriorated and was threatening the foundation of some parts of the Blue Rail Line, hence the need for urgent protection which had begun.

“Marina shoreline is gone,” he said.

The minister warned that henceforth a 10-year maintenance responsibility would be attached to projects for contractors to bear repair costs within the period if the road failed.

He added that contractors who constructed roads that failed within two years risked jail term in line with global practices to curb shoddy constructions.

Third Mainland Bridge was earlier closed for 24-hour repairs from midnight on October 21 to midnight October 22 for emergency resurfacing of some bad portions.

255th El-Classico: Bellingham’s Worldie, Late Winner End Barca’s Unbeaten Start

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Emenike Agu

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October 28, 2023

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Jude Bellingham scored two minutes from time to snatch a win for Real Madrid against Barcelona in the first El-Classico of the season at the Montjuïc on Saturday afternoon.

The England midfielder’s fantastic strike from 40-yards out in the 68th minutes had tied the score after Ilkay Gundugan put Barca in front six minutes into the game.

Bellingham has now scored 13 goals in 16 matches for club and country this season.

It was a game with lots of aggression but few chances, especially in the first half, and both goals seemingly came from nowhere with Ilkay Gundogan picking the perfect time to score his first goal for the Catalan club.

He gave Xavi’s side the lead just six minutes in after Aurelien Tchouameni inadvertently sent the perfect through-ball into his own box, and the German beat a despairing David Alaba to fire home.

Missing Robert Lewandowski, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong and Jules Kounde from the starting XI, a tenacious Barcelona had plenty of chances in the first half with Fermin Lopez hitting the woodwork, but Bellingham made them pay for those missed opportunities with 20 minutes remaining.

Moments after Tchouameni had hit the woodwork from range, Bellingham received the ball outside the penalty area and hammered an out swinging shot under Ter Stegan’s top hand to equalise.

And just when the game seemed destined for a draw, old and new combined with Luka Modric accidentally feeding Bellingham who fired home for victory from point-blank range.

Another Nigerian Sprinter Nzubechi

By

Emenike Agu

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October 28, 2023

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Banned For Doping

Nigerian sprinter Nzubechi Grace Nwokocha has been banned for doping for three years, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced on Friday.

Nwokocha, who won gold in the 4x100m relay at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, tested positive for Ostarine and Ligandrol, two anabolic agents, in a sample collected on 3 August 2022.

The AIU said that Nwokocha has admitted to the doping violation and has accepted the sanction of a three-year ban.

Her results from 3 August 2022 to 2 September 2022 have been disqualified, including her gold medal from the Commonwealth Games.

Official statement

The statement issued by the AIU on Friday read in part: “The AIU, the Athlete and the World Anti-Doping Agency (“the Parties”) subsequently entered into a Case Resolution Agreement in accordance with Rule 10.8.2 ADR pursuant to which the Athlete acknowledges that she has been found to have committed ADRVs under Rule 2.1 and Rule 2.2 of the CGF ADR (and the ADR) by virtue of the CGF Decision, which is final and binding upon her;

“The Athlete agrees to be sanctioned with a period of Ineligibility of three (3) years; the Parties agree that taking into consideration the criteria in Rule 10.8.2 of the ADR, the period of Ineligibility shall commence on the date of Sample collection, i.e., 3 August 2022. Therefore, the period of Ineligibility shall be in effect until, and including, 2 August 2025; and in accordance with Rule 10.10 of the ADR (and to the extent that any results are not already disqualified by operation of the CGF Decision), the Athlete’s competitive results from 3 August 2022 until the date of the Provisional Suspension imposed by the AIU viz. 2 September 2022 are Disqualified with all resulting consequences, including forfeiture of any medals, points and prize money/prizes.”

Worrying trend

This is the latest in a series of doping scandals involving Nigerian athletes. In 2021, Blessing Okagbare, who won gold in the 100m and 200m at the Commonwealth Games, was banned for 10 years after testing positive for multiple performance-enhancing drugs.

Recently, Divine Oduduru was also slammed with a six-year ban for doping violations.

Nwokocha’s ban is a major blow to Nigerian athletics as she is touted as one of the country’s promising athletes expected to take over from the old guard.

After an impressive debut at the Tokyo Olympics where she made it to the semi-final, Nwokocha was expected to improve on her performance at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Sadly, she can only watch the Games from the screens as she will be serving her ban.

Finidi George Blames ‘Inexperience’ As Cause Of Enyimba’s African Football League Exit

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Emenike Agu

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October 28, 2023

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Enyimba coach Finidi George blamed his side’s African Football League exit on costly errors and inexperience after their heavy aggregate defeat to Wydad Casablanca.

The Nigerians crashed out 4-0 overall against the Moroccan giants after following up a 1-0 first leg loss by going down 3-0 away last Thursday.

And George pinpointed their naivety in the opening periods of both legs as decisive to Enyimba’s semi-final hopes being dashed.

“It was not a good match for us especially in the first half and it was because of the way Wydad played,” the former Nigeria international said in the post match press conference.

“They put us under a lot of pressure and my players made mistakes which gave them an early goal. After the early goal, we knew it was going to be difficult.”

Wydad’s fourth minute opener in the second leg left Enyimba with a mountain to climb.

But despite the disappointing exit, George took encouragement from blooding youngsters on the continental stage.

“We have a lot of young players. We are working towards something and I think in the coming years, these players will graduate and will have the experience to play at this level,” he said.

Teenage midfielders Daniel Daga and Adiele Eriuogo were among those handed starts in Casablanca.

“For them it was a big experience playing in such a tournament. We will learn from what we have done wrong,” George added.

Though their African Football League adventure ended prematurely, Enyimba gave youth a chance and can use the lessons to come back stronger

Indonesia Launches 1st Commercial Flight on BioFuel

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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October 28, 2023

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Indonesia on Friday flew its first commercial flight using palm oil-blended jet fuel, as the world’s biggest producer of the commodity pushes for wider use of biofuels to cut fuel imports.

Operated by flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, the Boeing 737-800NG aircraft carried more than 100 passengers from the capital Jakarta to Surakarta city about 550 kilometres (342 miles) away, Garuda Indonesia CEO Irfan Setiaputra said.

“We will discuss further with Pertamina, Energy Ministry and other parties to ensure this fuel is commercially reasonable,” Irfan said during a ceremony, adding the plane was set to return to Jakarta later on Friday.

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Garuda conducted several tests including a flight test on the new fuel earlier this month and an engine ground test in August.

According to Reuters, the palm-oil blended jet fuel is produced by Indonesian state energy firm PT Pertamina (PERTM.UL) at its Cilacap refinery, using hydroprocessed esters and fatty acid (HEFA) technology and is made of refined bleached deodorized palm kernel oil.

Pertamina has said the palm-based fuel emits less atmosphere warming greenhouse gases compared with fossil fuels, and palm oil producing countries have called for the edible oil to be included in feedstock for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), Reuters reports.

“In 2021, Pertamina successfully produced 2.0 SAF in its Cilacap unit using co-processing technology and was made of refined bleached deodorized palm kernel oil with production capacity 1,350 kilolitres per day,” said Alfian Nasution, a director at Pertamina.

Meanwhile, Harris Yahya, a director at the Energy Ministry, said the use of biofuel would lower the greenhouse effect.

The aviation industry, a major emitter of greenhouse gases, is looking for ways to cut its carbon footprint by using alternative fuels.

Experts say the industry will need 450 billion litres of SAF a year by 2050, if the fuel is to account for around 65% of the mitigation needed to achieve net-zero targets

FG to Roll Out 11,500 CNG Buses, Orders 55,000 Kits

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

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October 28, 2023

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The federal government of Nigeria said it has concluded plans to deploy 11,500 gas powered buses across the country from next week, as part of measures to ease current transportation challenges.

The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative ( PCNGI), disclosed this while delivering two CNG buses at the State House.

PCNGI project director, Micheal Oluwagbemi said state governments have already indicated investment interest in the CNG buses, stating that Rivers state government has already acquired some to ease the transportation challenges of the state.

Speaking on the cost of conversion, Oluwagbemi, revealed that the cost varies with the type and vehicle model, but assured that the government was working on reducing costs per vehicle.

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” The President has ensured that as part of PCNGI, the committee will incentivise the cost for the Nigerian populace.

The Project coordinator assured that Nigerians will be able to achieve conversion at a lower cost.

“The current cost of conversion varies from the model and type of vehicle but the President has ensured that as part of PCNGI, we will look into that cost by helping and incentivising Nigerians,” Oluwagbemi added.

He also disclosed that the federal government has already ordered 55,000 conversion kits as part of the immediate palliative, to ease conversion

The committee said: “In the next few weeks, starting from Lagos, the PCNGI will establish the roll out of more conversion centers to enable 55,000 conversions in the next 6 months under the palliative program.”

“In addition to this, over 11,500 CNG fueled vehicles will be rolled out by partnership with private sector, cooperative, state and union operated mass transit operators in the same period.”

Managing Director of OMAA Motors, Chinedu Oguegbu commended the government for the initiative, adding that “asides connecting to the energy transition, we’re also now deepening industrialization by patronizing made in Nigeria vehicles.

” This is going to go beyond the natural gas value-chain, this is going to create thousands of jobs for the youths and not just like basic tech, what we’re talking about natural gas vehicles, as we progress in Nigeria and after coming up, the technology that we’ll develop here, the talents that we’ll build here, we’ll be able to use this and export to other African countries that have similar initiatives.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Zacch Adedeji, Chairman of the Presidential CNG Initiative Steering Committee, represented by Farouk Ahmed, the Authority Chief Executive Officer of the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authourity (NMDPRA), said the handover of CNG buses to the State House, commemorate” a pivotal step in our journey towards a cleaner, more sustainable, and economically sound future.

He noted that the buses are symbol of a new beginning, a journey towards the future, where the power of tomorrow starts today. Let this be a beacon for our country, Nigeria, and an inspiration to the world.

African Development Bank’s Investments in Nigeria Hit $4.4bn

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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October 28, 2023

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The Director-General, Nigeria’s Country Department, African Development Bank, Lamin Barrow, on Friday, said the bank’s portfolio investments in Nigeria is one of the largest among the Regional Member Countries, with a total commitment value of $ 4.4bn.

He stated this at the 2023 Country Portfolio Performance Review Workshop in Abuja.

This performance, however, is a reduction from the $5bn worth of portfolio in 63 operations recorded in 2022.

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Barrow, reiterating the bank’s commitment to promote investments in the country, said 48 separate fundings were evenly distributed between public and private sector operations in the country.

He said, “Currently, the bank’s portfolio in Nigeria is one of the largest among the Regional Member Countries, with a total commitment value of $ 4.4bn. These comprised of 48 operations fairly evenly distributed between public and private sector operations.”

Barrow further noted that the rate of flagged operations had decreased from 36 per cent in January 2023 to 32 per cent in September 2023.

According to him, diligent monitoring of the procurement plans and implementation processes would help the bank achieve 100 per cent compliance.

He said, “We are pleased that the share of start-up delays has been reduced from 32 per cent of flagged operations in June 2023 to 28 per cent in October 2023, and is expected to reach eight per cent by end 2023 with timely and targeted actions for some projects.

“Some of our portfolio performance metrics have also improved. In particular, operations flagged for implementation challenges decreased from 36 per cent in January 2023 to 32 per cent in September 2023.”

Akwa United FC Hold Insurance FC In Benin City To Earn Their First Away Point Of The Season

By

Emenike Agu

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October 28, 2023

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Akwa United FC held Bendel Insurance FC to a 0-0 draw at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City to earn their first away point of the 2023/2024 NPFL season.

Coach Fatai Osho tutored Akwa United FC came into the Nigeria Premier Football League matchday five encounter seeking a turnaround to a poor start to the season.

In the match, Akwa United FC had the first sight on goal when Nigerian International , Edidiong Ezekiel put pressure on Insurance FC defender, Sunday Anyanwu to play the ball out for the first corner-kick of the game.

Akwa United FC left-back David Philip took the resultant corner which was met by a header from young defender Wisdom Ndon but goalkeeper Anas Obasogie was alert to stop the goal bound ball.

Former Remo Stars forward, Edidiong Ezekiel was a pain In the neck of the Bendel Insurance FC defenders while at the other end, youngster Wisdom Ndon was in good form alongside the Akwa United FC defenders to secure their first clean sheet on the road this season.

Both teams toiled in vain search for a goal all through the game and went off with a point apiece at the expiration of regulation time with scores tied at 0-0 at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City.

That was a first away point of the season for Akwa United FC after their other two away games ended with defeats to Bayelsa United FC and Enyimba FC.

The Promise Keepers will take their search for a first win of the season into week six.

For Coach Monday Odigie tutored Bendel Insurance FC, the goal-less draw vs Akwa United FC is their first dropped point at home in the 2023/2024 season .