Awoniyi Wins Nottingham Forest’s POTM, GOTM Awards

By

-

September 12, 2023

Super Eagles striker Taiwo Awoniyi has won the Player of the Month and Goal of the Month Awards for the month of August at Nottingham Forest.

Awoniyi was among those shortlisted for the Premier League Player of the Month award for the month of August.

The 25-year-old striker has scored three times totalling 184 minutes in four games for Nottingham Forest this season, stretching his impressive scoring run from last term to seven consecutive Premier League matches — the third African player to do so after Mohammed Salah and Sheyi Adebayor.

Awoniyi will face competition from West Ham’s Jarod Bowen, James Maddison of Tottenham Hotspur, Rodri (Manchester City), Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford) and Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton and Hove Albion) in the race for the gong.

Announcing him as the winner of both POTM and GOTM awards on Monday, the club in a separate statement on its website, said. “The Nigerian has picked up from where he left off after an excellent end to last season, scoring three goals and producing an assist in four Premier League games so far this term.”

It added, “In August, the striker scored three goals in three matches, becoming only the third African player to score in seven consecutive Premier League matches.

“Awoniyi’s nine goals in seven consecutive Premier League outings saw him become the first Forest player ever to do so, subsequently leading to a August Premier League Player of the Month nomination.

“Having received a whopping 83% of the Player of the Month votes, Awoniyi has also won the August Goal of the Month award for his run and finish against Manchester United.”

Meanwhile, the statement announcing him as the winner of the GOTM award read, “Two of the striker’s three Premier League goals in August were up for the award, with his goal at Old Trafford finishing on top having received 38% of the votes.

“Much like Awoniyi’s start to the campaign, Forest made an electric start in Manchester, with Awoniyi winning possession off Marcus Rashford on halfway before bearing down on goal and producing a composed finish to beat André Onana.

“Awoniyi’s goal at Arsenal, scored after another lung-busting run upfield, finished second, whilst Chris Wood’s last-minute winner against Sheffield United finished third.

“Awoniyi, who has also been nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award, has also been voted as Forest’s Player of the Month for August having received 83% of the votes.”

UK Unemployment Rises as Wage Growth Hits Record High

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

-

September 12, 2023

0

The UK unemployment rate edged higher to 4.3 percent in the three months to the end of July, as wage growth remained at a record high, official data showed Tuesday.

Unemployment had been 4.2 percent in the quarter to the end of June, the Office for National Statistics added in a statement.

Average regular earnings growth, excluding bonuses, stood at 7.8 percent in the three months to the end of July.

Lockdown Aftermath: UK Unemployment Falls Again Under Government’s Jobs Shield

“Wage growth remains high, partly reflecting one-off payments to public sector workers, but for real wages to grow sustainably we must stick to our plan to halve inflation,” finance minister Jeremy Hunt said in reaction.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the start of 2023 said he hoped to halve UK annual inflation when the level stood above 10 percent.

But it remains at 6.8 percent, the highest among G7 nations.

“The tightness of the labour market continued to ease in July,” noted Ashley Webb, UK economist at Capital Economics research group.

“But the wage growth will only add to the Bank of England’s unease and supports our view that the Bank will raise interest rates once more, from 5.25 percent currently to a peak of 5.5 precent” at its regular policy meeting next week.

17 Nigerian States Get MSME Support

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

-

September 12, 2023

0

In a bid to complement the Nigerian Government’s efforts to improve the economy and create more jobs, a group of partners in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) space are set to execute various MSME-focused interventions, targeting 1.3 million beneficiaries across 17 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The MSME and Job Creation Unit of the Vice President’s Office which is coordinating the interventions has disclosed that the interventions are geared towards ensuring the realization of the Tinubu administration’s commitment to job creation and economic diversification with the MSMEs playing critical roles.

The interventions which are to be completed in 17 States and the FCT are Shared Centres for MSMEs providing four markets with 300kva Solar Panels and Mini grids to provide eight hours of electricity a day to six Fashion Hubs and two Furniture Clusters.

Other interventions are for car painting hubs and cold rooms for seafood storage among others.

Following Vice President Kashim Shettima’s directives on the speedy execution of the projects, five of the interventions will be completed and delivered by December 2023.

Nigeria’s VP Expresses Tinubu’s Passion For MSMEs Empowerment

12 other interventions are scheduled for completion before December 2024.

The States to benefit from the interventions include Abia, Rivers, Jigawa, Benue, Borno, Lagos, Ekiti, Niger, Sokoto, Enugu, Gombe, Akwa Ibom, Yobe, Ondo, Osun, Bayelsa, Imo and FCT.

MSME partners collaborating with the Office of the Vice President to execute these interventions include Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control, (NAFDAC), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Bank of Industry (BOI), Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), among others.

Student Unions, Labs And Lecture Halls Shut At RAAC Universities

By

Nzubechukwu Anodo

-

September 12, 2023

0

Lecture theatres, science laboratories and student unions are among UK universities buildings shut down because of crumbling concrete.

Fourteen universities have closed or partially closed areas containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

Some student accommodation has also been affected, as universities make areas safe.

The Department for Education (DFE) advised schools, colleges and nurseries in England to vacate areas known to contain RAAC, unless suitable mitigating measures had been put in place.

Other public buildings across the UK, built or modified between the 1950s and the mid-1990s, are also affected.

More hospitals have also come forward to report that they may have been built using RAAC and the government says it is working quickly to establish the scale of the problem.

Many buildings have been managing and monitoring the situation for years, in line with previous guidance, but some are now taking extra precautions.

South African Parliament Grills NSFAS Over Student Funding Failures

By

Nzubechukwu Anodo

-

September 12, 2023

0

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) were questioned by Parliament and the portfolio committee for higher education over its ongoing failures on the payment of student allowances.

The Chair of the committee, Nompendulo Mkhatshwa (ANC) opened the meeting with harsh words for the funding scheme, saying the failure of the NSFAS is an embarrassment.

Last month, NSFAS announced that its CEO, Andile Nongogo had taken a leave of absence, while the board investigated allegations against him related to his conduct in awarding bids at NSFAS.

According to the Organization Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), NSFAS hired businesses without banking licence registrations to handle direct payment to students and these businesses charged much higher rates than commercial banks.

Mkhatshwa said the fund had disbursed R32-billion to universities and TVET colleges. Its annual budget is just under R50-billion.

NSFAS acting chief operations officer, Vuyokazi Mafilika said the fund has received 170,683 financial and academic appeals from first-time and returning students who were defunded or rejected.

Of these, 58,924 students were funded again, 6,337 applicants were rejected, 28,971 were deemed invalid because of withdrawn, deleted and duplicated appeals.

A further 44,561 appeals are dependent on institutions to load academic results and on applicants to upload missing information, the remaining 31,890 are in progress.

Mafilika said for next year’s application process, NSFAS will take 72 hours to make funding decisions for all students.

It also plans to digitise the application process so that there will no longer be manual applications but parliamentary members were sceptical of NSFAS’s ambitious plans.

Karabo Khakhau (DA) said NSFAS needed to be reminded that the majority of the students they fund are poor.

Students live in communities where they do not have access to cell phones.

Mandla Shikwambana (EFF) said at least 1,300 students at Free State University still haven’t received their allowances since March.

He said the committee had met five times with NSFAS this year about the same issues.

NSFAS acting CEO, Masile Ramorwesi said the fund has received 2.1-million applications from first-time and recurring applicants.

Of these, 24% were rejected, 2.4% withdrawn, 62% accepted and 11.6% pending, largely due to missing information from students, third parties, or institutions.

Ramorwesi said 45,927 students were disqualified for submitting falsified or fraudulent documents.

He confirmed that after NSFAS re-evaluated the applications, 14,703 applications were reinstated, while 31,224 remained disqualified.

The main reason for disqualification was that most first-time entering students had a household income of more than R350,000, while returning students either did not meet the required academic progression – which is 50% of all registered modules – or exceeded the minimum number of years allocated to achieve the qualification.

Ramorwesi admitted the new payment system had caused issues, but said any new system in its year of first implementation experiences challenges.

Ramorwesi said NSFAS plans to resolve all internal appeals by 30 September.

The committee gave NSFAS a two-week deadline to present a plan for how it will resolve the issues raised in the meeting.

Nigeria Postal Service Generates 3.01 BN in 2022- NBS

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

-

September 12, 2023

0

Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has begun a massive overhaul of men and machinery to position it as the biggest e-commerce and e-payment player in the country despite the delay in the passage of the supposed postal reform bill.

The total revenue generated from postal activities in 2022 dropped from N3.63 billion in 2021 to N3.01 billion in 2022, indicating a decline of about 17.05 per cent.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated in its Postal Service Data for 2022 released in Abuja on Tuesday.

F.G Unveils Plan To Unbundle NIPOST Into Courier Services, Others

The report said the total number of Post Offices and Postal Agencies declined by 19.43 per cent from 2,794 recorded in 2021 to 2,251 in 2022.

It stated that the total number of boxes installed in 2022 was 836,731, indicating a decline of 0.08 per cent from 837,428 recorded in 2021.

The report said the total number of PMBs available in 2022 was 20,775, indicating a decline of 8.44 per cent from 22,689 recorded in 2021.

The NBS said the total number of postal articles handled in 2022 increased by 102.05 per cent from 17.7 million recorded in 2021 to 35.7 million in 2022.

“Domestic mail handled was 15,669,072, while mail dispatched abroad was 543,893 and mail received from abroad and delivered in Nigeria was 19,463,153.”

The report indicated that Lagos State had the highest number of boxes installed in 2022 with 143,416, while Jigawa recorded the least with 1,800.

CBN Bans Banks From Utilising Naira Devaluation Gains

By

faith Jegede

-

September 12, 2023

0

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has asked deposit money banks (DMBs) to stop utilizing gains from the revaluation of the naira to pay dividends or finance operations.

CBN said a review of the foreign exchange (FX) regime change showed the banks are in a position to profit from the policy because of its potential to significantly increase the naira value of banks’ foreign currency (FCY) assets and liabilities.

The apex bank gave the directive in a letter, titled: ‘Impact of Recent FX Policy Reforms: Prudential Guidance to the Banking Sector,’ which was signed by Haruna Mustafa, CBN’s director of the banking supervision department.

On June 14, the CBN officially unified the multiple FX rate systems, collapsing all FX windows into the investors’ and exporters’ (I&E) window.

The policy resulted in the depreciation of the local currency by about 63 percent, causing significant levels of volatility in the FX market.

In the letter, the financial regulator said the transition from the multiple exchange rates regime to a single rate could result in varying levels of FX revaluation gains.

The apex bank, however, said the policy could also lead to losses across the industry.

The statement read in part, “Additional implications of the FX policy reforms may include breaches of single obligor and net open position limits, possible increase in asset quality risks and pressure on industry capital adequacy,”

The CBN also issued guidelines on how banks can manage the impact of FX reform.
The CBN said “Treatment of FX Revaluation Gains: Banks are required to exercise utmost prudence and set aside the FCY revaluation gains as a counter-cyclical buffer to cushion any future adverse movements in the FX rate. In this regard, banks shall not utilize such FX revaluation gains to pay dividends or meet operating expenses,

“Single Obligor Limit (SOL): Banks that inadvertently breach the Single Obligor – Limit (SOL) due to the FX policy will be granted forbearance upon application to the CB. The forbearance shall apply only to existing facilities as at the effective date of this policy. Such banks shall be exempted from the regulatory deductions on the excess above the SOL limit in their CAR computation.

“Net Open Position (NOP) Limit: Banks that exceed the NOP prudential limits due to the FX revaluation shall be granted forbearance for the breach upon application to the CBN.

“Existing prudential regulations on capital adequacy, dividend payments and FCY borrowing limits shall continue to apply.”

The apex also directed banks to immediately implement the measures.

Emmanuel Dennis: Super Eagles Striker Close To Nottingham Forest Exit, Turkish Giants Waiting

By

Emenike Agu

-

September 12, 2023

0

Super Eagles striker Emmanuel Dennis is close to leaving Nottingham Forest with Turkish sides Adana Demirspor and Istanbul Basaksehir waiting in line.

Trabzonspor have reportedly completed the surprise loan signing of Emmanuel Dennis from Nottingham Forest.

The Turkish club is said to have acted swiftly to secure the Nigerian striker’s services after a proposed move to Saudi Arabia fell through at the last minute. Dennis had looked set for a transfer to Al-Taee this week, with the Saudi club keen to bolster their attack while the window remained open.

However, the deal is understood to have collapsed in the final stages, prompting Trabzonspor to make their move. The 25-year-old joined Forest from Watford last summer but struggled to make an impact, scoring just twice in 19 appearances. With first-team opportunities limited under Steve Cooper, a loan move emerged as the best for all parties.

Trabzonspor have agreed on a season-long loan for Dennis, fending off competition from elsewhere. This is because, unlike elsewhere in Europe, the Turkish transfer window remains open, allowing the club to complete the eye-catching deal.

The capture of the former Club Brugge forward is seen as a coup for the reigning Turkish champions. Trabzonspor will hope Dennis can rediscover his best form in new surroundings as they look to defend their Super Lig title this season

Osun Students Threaten Protests Over Frequent Closure of Polytechnic

By

Nzubechukwu Anodo

-

September 12, 2023

0

Students of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, have raised concern over the fresh closure of the institution following the leadership crisis rocking the polytechnic.

The institution’s leadership crisis has sent students home for the second time since the controversy erupted in July.

Since the removal of the institution’s substantive rector, Tajudeen Odetayo and the appointment of his replacement, Kehinde Adeyemi, in an acting capacity, the staff and students of the school have continued to protest the government’s decision.

The government, during the week, announced another two-week break following the return of Odetayo to the office after he was granted relief by the National Industrial Court (NIC) in Lagos.

The first closure lasted more than two weeks, from 24 July to 14 August and the government announced another two-week closure.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Osun State chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Joint Campus Committee (JCJ) said it would embark on a peaceful protest should the state government fail to find a lasting solution to the problem on the campus as soon as possible.

The association issued a statement signed by its Chairman, Ogungbe Adedamola, and General Secretary, Afolabi Faruq.

The students described the disruption as unfair, saying it makes students victims of internal disagreements over the appointment of a rector or other administrative matters.

The union said should the government and school authorities fail to find a solution in the next few days, the students threaten a peaceful protest which it said would be confrontational.

NFF Clarifies Randy Waldrum’s Sacking As Super Falcons Coach

By

Emenike Agu

-

September 12, 2023

0

The NFF has denied rumours that the body has sacked Randy Waldrum as Super Falcons coach.

Waldrum’s position as Super Falcons coach has been unclear sincehe called out the NFF just before the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

The American tactician criticized the NFF for failing to prepare the Super Falcons adequately for the Women’s World Cup and also called the organization out for failing to pay his and the players’ wages.

Super Falcons boss Randy Waldrum has a fractured relationship with the NFF

Waldrum took the team to the 2023 Women’s World Cup, leading the team to an impressive round of 16 finish, with the Super Falcons losing to eventual finalist England only on penalties.

Nonetheless, despite his impressive achievement, his future remained uncertain after the tournament.

Reports then emerged earlier this week that the American tactician had been sacked as Super Falcons coach.

However, the NFF has now come out to deny the report, saying the body has not reached a decision on the future of the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh Panthers women’s soccer team.

Randy Waldrum is still Super Falcons coach | Imago

According to popular NPFL journalist Adepoju Tobi, the NFF is still deliberating on the future of Waldrum.

Waldrum’s current contract as Super Falcons coach expires next month, but with the Olympic qualifiers coming up soon, the NFF could consider handling the American a contract extension.

The body has already extended the contract of Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro until after the AFCON and could follow the same route with Waldrum.