Sacked Osun Teachers Stage Protest In Osogbo

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February 14, 2023

Some teachers employed by the immediate administration of Adegboyega Oyetola in Osun State staged a peaceful protest on Monday in Osogbo, asking Governor Ademola Adeleke to reconsider his decision to disengage them.

It would be recalled that about 1,500 teachers recruited into the service between September and October 2022 by the last administration, but sacked through an Executive Order by Adeleke, had written to the governor asking him not to disengage them alongside other workers recruited by Oyetola’s government.

The protesters, who converged on the Olaiya area, carried placards with various inscriptions and also urged relevant stakeholders in the affairs of the state to intervene.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Olufemi Adedeji said their recruitment followed due process and pleaded with Adeleke to return them to their duty posts.

He said, “I am one of the 1,500 newly recruited teachers for both primary and secondary schools in Osun. I was given an appointment letter on September 30, 2022, and the process for this recruitment began in the year 2020.

Senator Adeleke Wins Osun State Gubernatorial Election

Gov Oyetola Approves Gratuity Payment Of 1,887 Retired Teachers

“And immediately we were given appointment letters, and we all reported to our primary places of assignment.

“We have been dutiful, patriotic citizens of this state, and upon resumption, we were gladly received by teachers, students, and the leadership of the Parents and Teachers Association.

“We worked for about four months with no reward for our work until the new government, under the leadership of Governor Ademola Adeleke, ordered a review of our appointment.

“Since then, we have made all efforts to call Mr Governor’s attention and plead for mercy. But we have not received any response from him.

“We are pleading with our Governor and all stakeholders and well-meaning citizens of the state to plead with him to reconsider us and give us a positive response. We are dying in silence.”

The spokesperson to the governor, Olawale Rasheed, could not be reached for comment as calls to him rang out, while a reply to a text message sent to him on the issue was still expected.

New Naira: Apex Bank Insists on Feb 10 Deadline

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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February 14, 2023

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The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has said that there was no need to shift the February 10, 2023 deadline.

He said this during a visit on Tuesday to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss the monetary and currency redesign policy of the bank.

BREAKING: CBN Extends Old Naira Notes Deadline

He said, “The situation is substantially calming down since the commencement of over-the-counter payments to complement ATM disbursements and the use of super-agents.

Old Naira Notes Extension: Reps Reject CBN’s 10-day Deadline

“There is, therefore, no need to consider any shift from the deadline of February 10.”

This comes as the Supreme Court earlier restrained the Federal Government from implementing the February 10 deadline for the currency swap.

A seven-man panel of the apex court led by Justice John Okoro, in a unanimous ruling, granted an interim injunction restraining the Federal Government, the Central Bank of Nigeria and commercial banks from implementing the Friday terminal date for the old naira notes.

However, the CBN governor insisted that there was no need to shift the deadline.

He also said that Point of Sale agents who charge above N200 for the CBN cash swap programme will be arrested and jailed when caught.

The CBN governor further said that the PoS operators can come to the CBN to be compensated for any extra cost incurred in getting the new notes rather than charging a higher fee on customers.

NECO: Kwara Govt Fixes Fee at N22,500

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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February 14, 2023

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The Kwara State Government has vowed to sanction any principal who collects more than N22,500 approved examination fees for the National Examinations Council.

The government also outlawed the enrollment of external candidates for the 2022/2023 NECO Examinations.

The State Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development gave the warning at the formal flag-off of registration for this year’s NECO in the state.

Kwara Govt Pays Another Batch of Pre-2019 SUBEB, LGAs N11bn Arrears

According to a press statement by Press Secretary, Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development Peter Amogbonjaye, said that the Commissioner, Saadatu Madibo-Kawu said that the warning was part of ongoing reform agenda to curb all exorbitant charges on external examinations by some principals in the state.

The statement said that the Commissioner while speaking at St. Anthony Secondary School, Ilorin said that “Each candidate should pay N17,800 as examination fee, N1,050 for E-Registration, N1,100 as Administration charge for the school and N500 charge for the four-figure table.

“The Commissioner gave the breakdown of the approved registration fees and other Charges for Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (NECO) 2022/ 2023 as indicated below:

“The total amount to be paid for NECO examination per candidate, according to the commissioner, #22,450 only”, she said.

Modibbo Kawu emphasised that the ministry would not tolerate any indiscriminate charges from any principal, apart from the fees approved by the Ministry of Education And Human Capital Development.

China says US Balloons Entered Airspace More Than 10 Times In Last Year

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Jamima Joseph

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February 14, 2023

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The Spy Baloon Saga Has Taken Another Turn. Now China Says High-Altitude Balloons From The United States Have Sailed Across Chinese Airspace Without Permission More Than 10 Times Since Last Year.

This Is According To The Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Wang Wenbin Who Said “It Is Also Common For US Balloons to Illegally enter The Airspace Of Other Countries, “Since Last Year Alone, US High-Altitude Balloons Have Illegally Flown Over China’s Airspace More Than 10 Times Without The Approval Of relevant Chinese authorities.

A Number of Other Such Devices Have Since Been Shot Down Over The United States And Canada, Though Beijing Has Only Admitted that the First was one of Its own.

Speaking on behalf of the National Security Council, Adrienne Watson said in Washington on Monday that it is untrue to assert that the United States operates surveillance balloons over China.

Watson said that China was responsible for the People’s Liberation Army’s high-altitude surveillance balloon program for intelligence gathering, which was employed to violate the sovereignty of the US and more than 40 other nations across five continents.

“This is the most recent instance of China trying to repair the harm. It has falsely and repeatedly claimed that the surveillance balloon it flew over the United States was a weather balloon, and it still hasn’t provided any convincing justifications for its unauthorized entry into both our airspace and other countries’ airspace.”

But a Three Year Article Posted By The Guardian, Had The Headline “Pentagon Testing Mass Spy Balloons Across The US. The Article Stressed That The Balloons Promised a Cheap Monitoring Platform That Could Follow Multiple Cars And Boats For Extended Periods.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a trip to Beijing that many had hoped would stop the dramatic deterioration in relations over Taiwan, trade, human rights, and threatening Chinese actions in the disputed South China Sea after the balloon incident.

Also on Monday, the Philippines accused a Chinese coast guard ship of deliberately aiming a military-grade laser at a Philippine coast guard vessel in the South China Sea, temporally impairing part of the crew, and violating Manila’s sovereign rights in a “blatant” manner.

UTME: JAMB Registers 1.1m Candidates

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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February 14, 2023

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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) have disclosed that over 1.1 applicants have so far registered for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, stated this while monitoring the ongoing registration exercise in some computer based test centres (CBT) in Abuja.

Oloyede visited CBT centres at Total Child International School, Dutse, JAMB Abuja zonal office, Life Camp, Global Distance Learning Institute and Sascon International College, Abuja respectively.

He also said the Board would not extend the deadline for applicants to register for the examination, warning CBT centres against extortion of applicants.

It would be recalled that the sale of the 2023 UTME commenced on Saturday, 14th January 2023, and is set to close on Tuesday, February 14, 2023.

Over 817 UTME Registrations Cancelled- JAMB

“UTME is not a school based examination, it’s individual candidates and you can see what that school, Stella Maris is doing, collecting N30,000 from candidates in the name of JAMB and then end up mixing up the telephone number of the candidates.

“So once they keep the telephone number of candidates it is unlikely that the candidates, when we are contacting them if we want to make a change in their timetable, you send a text to them, and it will not get to them. After they have graduated from the school and want to change the course, they don’t have access to it.

UTME 2023: JAMB Inspects Registration Centres, Apprehends 6 Suspects

“And that is a way of extorting the parents. We will take adequate steps to make sure that we stop that. One of the reasons is that we will tell every CBT centre to stop doing bulk purchase of pins and bulk registration. So, if the centre sells more than one pin to a source or collects money for more than one pin from a source then we will sanction such centre.”

He urged candidates to report cases of extortion, saying that there was a code for candidates to reach the board when they come across any case of extortion, while promising there will be a reward for such an act.

Voters Will Receive Text Messages To Know new Polling Units – INEC

By

Jamima Joseph

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February 14, 2023

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The independent national electoral commission (INEC) says voters assigned to new polling units will receive text messages to know their new polling units before the February 25 and march 11, 2023 general elections.

The electoral commission said voters can locate and confirm their polling units before the general elections by sending regular texts or WhatsApp messages to a dedicated telephone number which will be uploaded on INEC social media platforms.

Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of INEC, announced this on Monday during a gathering of political parties in the INEC Conference Room in Abuja.

240 polling places in 28 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will not hold elections because there are no registered voters, according to Yakubu, who also noted that there are currently 176,606 polling places nationwide.

The INEC chair noted, “It is apparent that some voters could not readily identify their polling units from the comments we obtained from our officials and accredited observers during the recent nationwide mock accreditation using the Bimodal Voter Registration Systems (BVAS).”

On election day, this should not take place. As a result, the Commission is urging voters to use a specific website to validate the whereabouts of their voting places.

Additionally, the Commission will send SMS messages to all voters who have been assigned to new polling places identifying their polling places.

Specifically for individuals who might not have submitted their telephone numbers during voter registration or those whose numbers may have changed, he said that the INEC has produced the registry of such voters and that the commission’s state offices will make it widely known.

Champions League Returns With Continent’s Best Out To Stop English Elite

By

Emenike Agu

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February 14, 2023

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The Champions League knockout stage kicks off this week with a blockbuster showdown between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich topping the bill, doubts surrounding all of the English contenders and talk of a breakaway Super League resurfacing again.

Three and a half months have passed since the group stage ended, an unprecedented pause in the Champions League season caused by the break for the World Cup.

Since the tournament in Qatar there has been another transfer window of record spending by Premier League clubs, whose £815 million ($1 billion) outlay on new players in January represented 79 percent of the total across Europe’s biggest five leagues according to analysts Deloitte.

That provides the backdrop to the return of the Champions League, with the financial gulf between the Premier League and the continent greater than ever and the promoters of the breakaway Super League project revealing their new vision of how the competition might look.

Bernd Reichart, the chief executive of the A22 group promoting the Super League, this week told German newspaper Die Welt that “the foundations of European football are in danger of collapsing. It’s time for a change.”

He presented the idea of a Super League with 80 teams, all places based on sporting merit and no permanent members.

– Pressure on Man City, Chelsea –
But there is not yet anything concrete in place, and for now clubs from outside England will be aiming to stop the cash-rich Premier League teams from dominating the latter stages of the Champions League.

There are nevertheless doubts surrounding all the English sides taking part in the last 16, even Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

The 2021 runners-up are desperate to get their hands on the trophy for the first time but are still reeling after being charged with over 100 breaches of financial rules by the Premier League, leaving them at risk of serious punishment including the possibility of relegation.

The Abu Dhabi-backed club will still be favourites to overcome RB Leipzig, but they have appeared flawed domestically of late and perhaps the uncertainty surrounding the future will leave them feeling greater pressure to perform in Europe this season.

Tottenham Hotspur, runners-up in 2019, have been up and down under Antonio Conte but will be fancied against an AC Milan side who have collapsed, going seven games without a win before this weekend –- hardly the best preparation for their first Champions League knockout tie in nine years.

Chelsea spent more than a third of all the money lavished by the Premier League in January. That increases expectations at Stamford Bridge, but only three of their January recruits can feature in their European squad.

The 2021 Champions League winners have won just once in eight games and now face a Borussia Dortmund side who have won six on the bounce, and have Sebastien Haller fit again after treatment for testicular cancer.

Then there is Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, languishing in mid-table at home ahead of their rerun of last season’s final against reigning champions Real Madrid, whose coach Carlo Ancelotti is confident English clubs are not about to have things all their own way.

– Napoli eyeing double –
“I don’t think this will end the competitiveness of European competitions,” Ancelotti said when asked about the Premier League’s spending.

Then again, with key players like Karim Benzema and Luka Modric in the twilight of their careers, Real do not look like the force they were last season, although which of Europe’s superpowers is in peak form?

Not PSG, who have lost four times already in 2023 and are without the injured Kylian Mbappe for the first leg against Bundesliga leaders Bayern.

Elsewhere it would be a stretch to suggest that Inter Milan, who face Porto, look like genuine contenders, while Benfica should beat Club Brugge but have lost their star player, Enzo Fernandez, to Chelsea since the group stage.

Could there be a new name on the trophy?

Napoli are running away with the Serie A title and Luciano Spalletti’s team, who play Eintracht Frankfurt in the last 16, are eyeing what would be an utterly remarkable double.

“You can either stick or twist,” Spalletti said recently.

“We have no doubts on that, we have made our decision to gamble and go for the double.”

Anthony Joshua: New Trainer Offers Tips For Big Comeback

By

Emenike Agu

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February 14, 2023

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Anthony Joshua’s new trainer, Derrick James, has advised that the British-Nigerian does not need more aggression ahead of his comeback fight against Jermaine Franklin at the 02 Arena in London.

The former two-time unified heavyweight champion is keen to get his career back on track by beating the American on April 1 after suffering consecutive defeats to champion Oleksandr Usyk and for that he has enlisted the help of world-renowned trainer, James.

While many have charged him to be more aggressive in the ring, James though, is confused as to why Joshua’s critics have continued to push him to stand and bang. In his view, being a bull doesn’t always lead to stellar results.

“He just has to be the best version of himself,” James told Seconds Out.

“And that’s not necessarily a dog because dogs are not always intelligent. A dog would fight a bear, he’s going to lose the fight but he’s going to fight a bear.”

Currently, James’ stable features some of the boxing world’s most recognisable stars in unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. and undisputed junior middleweight kingpin, Jermell Charlo.

Although both are aggressive by nature, James has helped mould them over the years. The results, of course, have been spectacular. In the case of Joshua, James is hoping to do much of the same. While he fully acknowledges that Joshua has plenty of God-given talent, James believes that Joshua’s brawn, coupled with his brains could lead to another victorious run.

“You have to be intelligent, you have to be smart and choose the right tactics and choose the right whatever to be successful.”

If he’s able to get back in the win column against Franklin, Joshua can look forward to potential fights with Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder or even former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

157Bn Worth Elon Musk Ponders Man U Take Over

By

Emenike Agu

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February 14, 2023

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Money man Elon Musk is reconsidering Manchester United takeover with deadline for bidding getting closer.

Elon Musk reportedly loves money a lot and also loves Manchester United and is one of a select few who could afford to buy them.

According to sources, the tech-billionaire is believed to be monitoring the situation closely, and wondering if there is an opportunity at Old Trafford that he should not miss.

With Friday’s deadline for bids rapidly approaching, there are speculations that the man Forbes rank as the second-richest in the world is about to make his move for the football club they have crowned the biggest?

While associates of the Twitter, Tesla and SpaceX supremo will not comment on any possible interest, sources close to the deal are aware of his attention.

Dozens, it is understood, have expressed an interest and signed confidentiality agreements allowing them to gain access to the ‘data room’.

Among those, are a number of parties from Saudi Arabia, independent of those who own Newcastle United. Should they decide to launch a bid they may well need a dynamic figurehead to front it.

Few would carry the weight of Musk – who already sent his own platform into meltdown when he tweeted that he was going to buy United, before later saying that it was a joke.

At the last count, his fortune was estimated at £157billion. His pockets are deep enough and he certainly has the clout. On Twitter, United boast 34.9m followers. Musk has 128.9m.

UCL: Mbappe Returns To Training Ahead Of Bayern Champions League Tie

By

Emenike Agu

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February 14, 2023

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Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe has made a faster-than-expected return to training ahead of the round of 16 Champions League first-leg home tie with Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

After Mbappe suffered a thigh injury against Montpellier on February 1, the club said he would be out for three weeks.

On Saturday, coach Christophe Galtier said he did not think Mbappe would play on Tuesday.

“I don’t think so. He follows his rehabilitation protocol. He was a victim of a muscle injury,” Galtier said. “We will take zero, zero, zero risk with Kylian.”

But Mbappe trained on Sunday and on Monday was seen in the part of training which is open to the media, participating in an exercise with Lionel Messi, Neymar, Sergio Ramos, goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marco Verratti, Achraf Hakimi and Marquinhos.

Qatari-owned PSG are seeking to stay on course to win the Champions League for the first time in their history.