Romelu Lukaku endured a frustrating night as Slovakia stunned favourites, Belgium 1-0 on Monday night in the second game of Group E.
Romania opened the group with a 3-0 win over Ukraine to go top of the table.
The first upset of the competition was recorded at the Deutsche Bank Park when the less-fancied Slovakia earned a shock win over Belgium.
It was an unforgettable evening for Chelsea striker, Romelu Lukaku who missed three big chances in the first half before his goal was ruled out for Luis Openda’s handball in the second half.
Ivan Schranz took advantage of a terrible Jeremy Doku’s pass to stab home the opener in the seventh minute.
Belgium dominated the game with over 70 per cent possession and seven shots in the first half but they failed to find the back of the net coupled with Lukaku’s wasteful showing.
Just after the restart, Lukaku thought he had scored the equaliser but his effort was ruled out for offside.
48th placed ranked Slovakia held on for a record-breaking win over the third best team in the world according to the latest FIFA rankings.
It was the first defeat for Belgium against a team outside the top 45 of the Fifa world rankings for the first time since 2010.
The Red Devils will hope to bounce back in their second game when they take on Romania on Saturday, while Slovakia will be seeking a place in the next round with a win over Ukraine.
Tobi Amusan has claimed her fourth consecutive national title in the women’s 100 metres hurdles event.
The 27-year-old dipped at 12.78 seconds and was way ahead of her competitors in a one-sided final of the event on Monday at the national Olympic trials in Benin, Edo state.
The victory was Amusan’s fourth national title in a row, having swept to victory at the Olympic trials in Lagos in 2021 before winning twice in Benin in the last two years.
In the women’s 100 meters, Favour Ofili clinched the national title and booked an automatic qualification for the Paris Olympics.
The 21-year-old clocked a season-best of 11.06 seconds to finish ahead of Olayinka Olajide, who came second in 11.37 seconds, and Justina Eyakpobeyan in third.
Kanyinsola Ajayi won the men’s 100-meter crown with a blistering 10.14 seconds.
He defeated Alaba Akintola, who clocked 10.16 seconds, and Usheoritse Itsekiri, who finished second and third.
Chukwuebuka Enekwechi won his fourth consecutive men’s shot put national title. He only needed three attempts to his 21.37 meters mark which was insurmountable by his opponents.
Story Highlights
- African Union ministers have endorsed a Continental Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy for digital transformation across Africa.
- The strategy aims to promote Africa’s AI capabilities and ensure inclusive development.
- This initiative aligns with AU Agenda 2063 and will be submitted for final adoption by the AU Executive Council in July 2024.
African ICT and Communications Ministers of the African Union (AU) said they have unanimously endorsed a “Continental Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy” and “African Digital Compact” to accelerate “Africa’s digital transformation” by unlocking the potential of the new digital technologies in Nigeria and other African countries.
This was disclosed in a statement published on AU’s official website on Monday, June 17, 2024.
Over 130 African ministers and experts virtually convened between June 11 to 13, 2024 for the AU 2nd Extraordinary session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Communication and ICT.
The meeting aimed at igniting digital transformation across the continent amidst rapid evolutions in the sector fueled by artificial intelligence (AI) technology and applications.
Continental Strategy
According to the statement, the Continental AI Strategy guides for African countries to harness artificial intelligence to meet the continent’s development aspirations and the well-being of its people.
It seeks to promote AI’s ethical use, minimizing potential risks, leveraging opportunities and particularly canvassing for African content and context to be featured in the AI governance structures.
“Identifying key priorities and actions to ensure that Africa fully benefits from the huge opportunities AI offers, the strategy calls for Africa-owned, people-centered, development-oriented, and inclusive approach to accelerate African countries’ AI capabilities in infrastructure, talent, datasets, innovation, and partnerships while also ensuring adequate safeguards and protection from threats.
“The Strategy sets the roadmap for African countries to harness the potential of AI to achieve developmental aspirations to education and skills, health, agriculture, infrastructure, peace and security and good governance by developing human capital, strengthening research and innovation ecosystems, and building an AI-ready institutional and regulatory environment to ensure AI works for African people.”
Africa’s success in the global AI arena
At the ministerial session, the African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid explained that in other to guarantee Africa’s success in the global AI arena, African countries should invest in its youths, innovators, computer scientists, data experts, and AI researchers.
The Commissioner commended the endorsement of the strategy, stating if followed by relevant stakeholders, Africa’s diversity would be captured in AI systems.
“Adapting AI to African realities is critical. AI systems should be able to reflect our diversity, languages, culture, history, and geographical contexts. As we aim to create an inclusive AI ecosystem and a competitive African AI market that is adapted to our realities and meets our ambitions, we believe examining and approving this strategy will provide a common vision and path to accelerate responsible AI innovation and adoption in Africa”.
“For us Africans, Artificial Intelligence presents tremendous opportunities. It is a driving force for positive transformational positive change as well as economic growth and social progress,” Dr. Abou-Zeid said as quoted in the statement.
Lending his voice, the Minister of Information, Communications, Science Technology, and Innovation of the Kingdom of Lesotho, and Chair of the Bureau of the technical committee, Ms. Nthati Moorsi emphasised the huge opportunities that stem from the adoption of AI-enabled systems to promote homegrown solutions.
The minister was of the view that the AI strategy would stimulate economic growth and sustainable development towards achieving the priorities outlined in the AU Agenda 2063 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
What you should know
The meeting is a follow-up on the AU’s call for developing countries to have increased representation and influence within global Artificial Intelligence(AI) governance structures.
Nairametrics previously reported that the AU Mission to the United Nations (UN), had disclosed this during a Special meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a month ago.
This endorsed strategy is expected to constitute Africa’s contribution to the Global Digital Compact and the United Nations Summit of the Future in September 2024.
The committee will submit the strategy to the African Union Executive Council in July 2024, for consideration and final adoption in line with AU rules and regulations.
The development is coming after a pan-African telecom company, MTN Group, and Huawei Technologies collaborated to build a technology innovation lab aimed at accelerating digital transformation and sustainable development across Africa.
The Nigerian government is also looking forward to digital transformation across the nation
Some months back, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, visited SecureID Limited state-of-the-art facilities, commending the firm’s role in Nigeria’s digital transformation.
[Nairametrics]
Nigerian-born British heavyweight boxer, Anthony Joshua, has overtaken Tyson Fury in the latest WBC heavyweight rankings.
Anthony Joshua has now moved to number one in the WBC heavyweight rankings, while Tyson Fury has dropped from the first spot to the second spot.
The current undisputed heavyweight title holder, Oleksandr Usyk, is ranked the winner of the rankings.
Fury dropped one spot after losing his WBC heavyweight title to Usyk in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in May 2024.
While Fury suffered a massive defeat to the Ukrainian boxer, Anthony Joshua recorded successive victories against Francis Ngannou and Otto Wallin.
These two victories have qualified Joshua to contest for the vacant IBF title against Daniel Dubois in September.
Agit Kabayel who recently beat Frank Sanchez during one of the under-cards on the Fury vs Usyk bill in May, takes the third spot in the WBC rankings.
Zhilei Zhang who stunned Deontay Wilder with a knockout win earlier this year is the fourth-highest-ranked boxer in the world according to the WBC.
Nigerian heavyweight boxer, Efe Ajagba completes the top five list thanks to the WBC ‘silver’ trinket belt he is currently holding.
Jared Anderson is ranked 6th, Martin Bakole is ranked 7th, Sanchez 8th, Joe Joyce 9th, and Bakhodir Jalolov is ranked 10th in the WBC rankings.
Guinness Nigeria Plc has debunked insinuations that it is exiting the Nigerian market following the sale of the majority shareholding by Diageo, a British multinational alcoholic beverage company.
In a statement, the company which commenced operations in Nigeria in 1950 said it “wishes to correct the recent speculations and false/malicious misinformation alleging a plan to exit from the Nigerian market.”
Recall that last week, Guinness Nigeria entered a deal with Singapore-based Tolaram Group to acquire the 58 percent stake but Diageo will retain ownership of the Guinness brand, which will be licensed to Guinness Nigeria in the long term.
“Contrary to rumours being peddled on various media platforms, Guinness Nigeria remains firmly committed to its operations in Nigeria and is poised for a new phase of growth and innovation.
“Our unwavering commitment to Nigeria is evident in the substantial investments in infrastructure, employment, backward integration and our community development and social responsibility initiatives.
“The recent announcement of the partnership between Diageo and Tolaram Group further reinforces unequivocally that Guinness Nigeria remains committed to Nigeria and has no intention of exiting the dynamic Nigerian market. Our business will continue strongly, and no jobs or factories will be adversely affected as a result of this new partnership.”
Popular singer, Gabriel Oche Amanyi, better known as Terry G, has crowned Grammy winner, Wizkid as the Jay-Z of the Nigerian music industry.
He made the claim when he appeared on the Afrobeats podcast.
According to him, Wizkid is the Nigerian version of Jay-Z.
Jay-Z is a billionaire American hip-hop legend and businessman, known for his business acumen and huge influence in hip-hop culture.
“Wizkid is the Jay-Z of our generation. He’s the first [born child of the new generation of Nigerian musicians] and we’ll always give it to him. One thing I like about Wizkid is his carriage. He has inspired a lot of people,” he said.
The ‘Akpako Master’ recalled how Wizkid came to his house back in 2016 for a recording session with him.
“Wizkid came to my house in Ishaga in 2016 to record a song with me. I was very happy he came. We recorded 4 songs together. God bless Wizkid,” Terry G said.
Nigerian footballer Kayode Olanrewaju has broken his silence through his lawyer following rumours of paternity scandal involving his children.
Kayode was reacting after media reports suggested that he is not the biological father of the three children he shares with his estranged wife, Dora Ezinne.
However, Kayode’s legal team, Alexime Law Associates, has taken decisive steps to address the controversy.
In a statement released on Monday in Lagos, the legal team highlighted the potential emotional distress and reputational damage caused by these allegations.
On May 26, 2024, Kayode’s attorneys issued a comprehensive response, demanding that media platforms disclose their sources.
They argued that the baseless allegations were part of a concerted effort to malign Kayode’s character and disrupt his family life, potentially orchestrated by Dora to divert attention from her own alleged misconduct.
The legal team specifically called out one Dr Ruth Emosiluamhe Agbukor, who tweeted about the supposed DNA test results, claiming none of Kayode’s children with Dora were biologically his.
The tweet, which reached millions, was amplified by other social media platforms.
Kayode’s legal team demanded that Dr Agbukor reveal her information source, delete the false story, and issue a public retraction.
They warned of potential legal action for libel and charges under the Cybercrime (Prohibition and Prevention) Act if she failed to comply.
This controversy is part of ongoing conflicts between Kayode and Dora, which include allegations of forgery, theft of two Mercedes SUVs worth over N700m, immovable properties worth billions of Naira, infidelity involving UK-based Nigerian Pastor Tobi Adegboyega, and financial misconduct.
Kayode’s legal team claimed that since March 24, 2024, Dora has absconded with their children to an undisclosed location in Abuja and attempted to flee the country using new passports obtained illegally. This plan was allegedly thwarted by the Directorate of State Security Service (DSS) in April.
Dora was also accused of conspiring to misappropriate Kayode’s assets as part of a broader scheme to undermine him financially.
Kayode’s attorneys emphasised that their client will not issue a public disclaimer about the DNA report, as this would imply his involvement in spreading the rumour.
Instead, they are focused on uncovering the true sources of the allegation to support Kayode’s case and restore his reputation, working with intelligence operatives to do so.
“We are committed to uncovering the source of this story as part of our broader strategy to shift focus away from the substantive issues of fraud and misconduct by Dora,” the team concluded.
The sacrifical ram of the Chief Imam of the Mista Ali community in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State, Imam Abdulkadir, has been stolen.
The ram was stolen during a heavy downpour in the area on the eve of the Ed-el-Kabir.
An Imam in the community, Malam Haruna Yaqub, who disclosed this during the sermon, shortly after the two Raka’at prayers, condemned the incident, describing it as insensitive.
Yaqub urged the people never to engage in either stealing or any act of criminality, emphasizing that everyone will account for their actions in the here and hereafter.
He said, “The Ram of our Chief Imam, which he purposely bought to sacrifice, has stolen in the night. We are really shocked by the incident. We were surprised to hear this story. This means that people are not God fearing. It is scaring that people have gone to the extent of stealing ram meant for religious activity.
“It is high time people repented and took the path of Allah. It is not too late. People should stop committing bad things and act according to Allah’s commandments.”
South-East Govs, Igbo Leaders Plots To Keep Nnamdi Kanu Detained Untill 2027 - Ohanaeze Alleges
AFOLABI
The apex Igbo socio-cultural body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has alleged that the South-east governors, Igbo leaders, and members of the National Assembly were plotting to prolong the detention of the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, till 2027.
In a statement issued by Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo,, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the body blamed the South-east governors for the deteriorating security situation in the zone
Isiguzoro said, “Ohanaeze Ndigbo decries and brings to light the plots by South-east governors, Igbo elders, and National Assembly members to prolong Nnamdi Kanu’s detention until 2027.
“The failure of some South-east governors to utilise their political ties to advocate for Kanu’s release is regrettable and underscores self-interest over communal welfare.”
The organisation stated that the South-east governors and certain Igbo leaders had not provided the essential assurances required to explore political resolutions for the release of Kanu.
According to Isiguzoro, “Ohanaeze Ndigbo underscores the crucial need for unity and cooperation among South-east governors and esteemed Igbo personalities, such as Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Pa Ebitu Ukiwe, Sen. Ike Nwachukwu, and others, in providing the federal government with assurances regarding Nnamdi Kanu’s future conduct post-release.
“Regrettably, it appears some South-east governors and Igbo elite have chosen to exploit Nnamdi Kanu’s detention for personal gain, political bargaining, and the pursuit of political relevance.”
The body noted that it was disheartening that certain South-east governors and Igbo leaders only visited Kanu at the DSS facility to take photographs rather than actively seeking political solutions for his release.
The statement said, “Ohanaeze Ndigbo expresses deep concern over the behaviour of South-east governors, senators, representatives, religious leaders, traditional rulers, and other prominent Igbo figures who prioritise visits to Kanu in detention over seeking his release and addressing the pressing security challenges in our region.
“It is paramount for Ndigbo to hold South-east governors, Igbo elders, National Assembly members, and traditional rulers accountable for the extended detention of Nnamdi Kanu, and refrain from laying blame on the federal government or President Tinubu.
“The federal government awaits a united stance and commitments from the Igbo community to facilitate a potential release of Nnamdi Kanu.”
Isiguzoro urged all stakeholders in the South-east to set aside personal ambitions and unite in the pursuit of Kanu’s release and the resolution of security challenges in our region.
I Was Attacked And Abused Online For Opening Up On Struggles With Sickle Cell Disease – Adekunle Gold
AFOLABI
Popular Nigerian singer, Adekunle Gold has spoken about how he was dragged online after he opened up on his struggles with sickle cell disease.
The ‘Ogaranya’ crooner disclosed that he was “attacked and abused” on social media following his revelation.
Speaking in a recent interview with CNN, Adekunle Gold said he decided to create awareness about sickle cell disease after summoning the courage to speak up.
The singer said he is on a mission to make people living with sickle cell feel “safe.”
He said, “I want people living with sickle cell to feel safe, to feel like they have help and support.
“They call you a sickler… Recently, when I talked about it [my struggle with sickle cell] on the song [‘5-star’], I saw a lot of tweets from people attacking and abusing me.
“I’m speaking about sickle cell disease now because I just got the courage to come out and speak up openly about it. A lot of people can’t share their stories like I can.”
Adekunle Gold said he has been aware of his diagnosis since he was a child, adding that growing up, he constantly put himself in situations that made him sick.
“I’ve known about my sickle cell disease all my life. I knew since I was a child that I couldn’t do certain things. They said, ‘You know you have sickle cell, you can’t play football in the rain just like your peers.’ And I was like, ‘No, I want to play.’ I’ve always been rebellious,” he recalled.
“I’ve known about my sickle cell disease all my life because growing up, I had crises every time. I was in the hospital back-to-back.
“As a child, I constantly put myself in situations that made me sick. And it affected me a lot. For example, I’m not supposed to be in the rain, so what happened to me was that I would have pains in my joints from being in the rain. But I always knew that I didn’t want this thing [sickle cell] to define me.”
More...
Rema’s ‘Calm Down’ Made History, Becomes First African Song to Earn 1 billion On-demand Streams in US
AFOLABI
Popular Nigerian singer, Divine Ikubor, aka Rema has made history with his hit song ‘Calm Down.’
This is as the song became the first African song to earn 1 billion on-demand streams in the United States.
According to TAmerican Music Stats Company, Chart Data, ‘Calm Down’ has earned over 1 billion on-demand streams in the US.
“REMA’s “Calm Down” becomes the first Afrobeats song in history to earn over 1 billion on-demand streams in the US,” Chart Data tweeted.
In August last year, ‘Calm Down remix’ with Selena Gomez became the first African song to hit the billion mark in Spotify’s history.
The original version of ‘Calm Down’ was recognised by Guinness World Record as the first number one song on the world’s first regional streaming chart, MENA.
Says I’ve been fighting battle all my life, I’m not scared of anything
. Explains how Africa Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA agreement can work. ‘PMS will flow from refinery by the third week of July’
Size
For context, it is a 650,000 barrel refinery, the biggest in the world. It started in 2016.
Inside the plant itself, Aliko Dangote constructed about 126 km of road. There are 54,000 storm columns built for protection. On-site, there are over 200 buildings. Located in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, covering a land area of approximately 2,635 hectares (seven times the size of Victoria Island, Lagos), it is the world’s Largest Single-Train 650,000 barrels per day Petroleum Refinery with 900,000 tonnes Polypropylene Plant. At the peak of construction, there were over 70,000 workers on site.
In the course of the civil works, some 700 piles were drilled daily, and the total number of piles came to 250,000. It has 177 tanks of 4.742 billion litre capacity – you can imagine that volume. He has bought over 2,262 units of various high-duty equipment to enhance the local capacity for site works since even the biggest local civil contractors are unable to handle “even small portions of our construction requirement.” He has also bought 308 cranes to build up equipment installation capacity since the current capacity in Nigeria is extremely poor. What do you do when the biggest crane in the country is 650 tons, whereas you need a 5000-ton capacity crane? Worse, there were only two such 5000-ton capacity cranes in the world, and they were in use. So, instead of hiring a crane for $300,000 a day, what do you do? Dangote bought his cranes. 65 Million Cubic Metres of Sand were dredged costing approximately 300 Million Euros, using the world’s largest, the second largest and the tenth largest dredgers to elevate the height by 1.5/1.75 metres, to insure against any potential impact of increase in mean sea level due to global warming.
That is not all.
The refinery has a 435 MW Power Plant, which can meet the total power requirement of Ibadan DisCo of 860,316 MWh covering five states, including Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Kwara and Ekiti. Dangote Petroleum Refinery can meet 100% of the Nigerian requirement of all refined products (Gasoline, 53 million litres per day; Diesel, 34 million litres per day; Kerosene, 10 million litres per day and Aviation Jet A1, 2 million litres per day) and also have surplus of each of these products for export.
Aliko Dangote On CNN
So, if Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, and Africa’s richest man, says, in retrospect, that had he known the grand scope of what he was getting involved in, he wouldn’t have tried it, you would understand.
According to Dangote, during an interview on a CNN programme, Connecting Africa, “People don’t really understand what we undertook to build the refinery. In fact, we didn’t know what we were getting into. If we knew, we would have run away. We wouldn’t have tried it. It was very, very, very tough. We are sitting on a land that is more than 4000 standard football fields. The significance of this project is that we will be self-sufficient, not just in Nigeria but in West and Central Africa. I feel proud as an African that I’ve been able to prove that it can be done and we have done it.”
$19 billion cost
Speaking on what it has taken to put up the edifice, he said “we spent about $19 billion. It is going to change the game in terms of improvement. If we take in all the crude from Nigeria, it means that we will be taking about 21 million barrels per month. That would also help in terms of reducing the Co2 initiative, rather than ships coming all the way from Europe to bring in products. All the ships going out of Nigeria every month, then you have the products coming into Nigeria. In totality, when you calculate, you are talking about 480 ships of 1 million barrels. That actually will save the environment almost 1.5 to 2 million tonnes of Co2 emissions.”
Asked whether he has started making money from the project, he said: “We will start making money soon. It is not just all about making money, but it also gives us great satisfaction that we are making Africa great. We are making Africa proud.”
AfCFTA & Overcoming challenges
There has always been the issue of crude supply, and this was discussed during the interview. In his view, he agreed “that there are challenges here and there. That is the truth. We have to be very open too.
NNPC has been very, very helpful. They do their own bit. Some of the IOCs are struggling to give us crude oil. Because everybody is used to exporting, and nobody wants to stop exporting”.
Even Aliko Dangote himself asked Eleni Giokos, the CNN anchor, “Why do you think Africa is not growing as it should?”
Dangote answered the question himself: “It is because we export raw materials and import finished goods. It doesn’t matter what it is, whether it is gold or whatever. A raw material is always at a ridiculously priced amount compared to the finished goods.”
Asked how he hopes to battle this legacy system that profits from the ripoff of focusing on Africa’s raw materials instead of building capacity for processing on the continent, Dangote said “I have been fighting battles all my life, so I don’t get scared of anything.”
On the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, Dangote believes it will be beneficial: “The AfCFTA will be very, very beneficial. If you are talking about benefits, our company will almost be one of the top five in terms of benefitting from the free trade agreement. But I have not seen any improvement. We have 3 million tonnes of Urea we export to African countries, and we have petroleum products to export. We have cement to export. We have too many things to export. What makes sense is to have the free trade agreement work. The trade between Africans is only about 16 per cent, which is too low. We have to make sure that all the regional markets have to remove these requirements of visas. We have to allow free movement of people, free movement of goods and services, and the Afcta will work. Without that, it is almost impossible.”
Intra-Africa trade issues
Dangote then shared an experience: “I am going to Egypt tomorrow, but I need a visa. They are saying that they will give me a visa on arrival if I have an American visa. But I am an African, and Egypt is part and parcel of AfCFTA. But they are saying that no, if you have an American visa, we will give you. So, they are discounting me, being an African. So, how do we trade if you’re not allowing me into their country? What I would love to see is a South African come into Nigeria to get a job without hassle. If you don’t integrate, we will never see what we call prosperity. Integration is very important. If you remember, most countries used to have what we call the Ministry of Integration, but I don’t know what happened. Some of the countries have dropped this, and it doesn’t make sense.”
Aliko Dangote has his eyes set on the future with the succession plan of the group well laid. According to him, “by the end of the year, he expects that the group’s revenue should be around $ 30 billion, thereby placing the company among the best 120 companies in the world.”
PMS delivery date
Last week, during a visit by the leadership of the senate, led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, to the premises of Dangote Refinery, some of the legislators who had not visited the site were left to marvel at the size of the complex. The question always asked by Nigerians about the refinery is focused mainly on the delivery day when Premium Motor Spirit, PMS (otherwise known as petrol) would flow. Yes, they should be concerned, not with the price of petrol hovering around N600 and 800 per litre, depending on which part of the country you reside or you are to buy from.
In responding to the question, Dangote explained: “It is good for us to test all the types of crudes that we are receiving. You know sometimes you can buy crude and people can give you the one that has a lot of metal or a lot of sulphur. But the most important thing is that we know West Africa is a home for dumped bad fuel and bad Petroleum products. This lab that we have here you can not even find it in Saudi Aramco because we have the latest and we can test anything be it aviation fuel, diesel, gasoline and kerosene and it will give you the actual result. The longest time a test will take here is 30 mins. As for PMS, it will start coming out by 10/15 of July. We want to keep it in the tank to make sure that it settles, and by the third week in July, we want to be able to take it into the market.”
Revelations from Afreximbank meeting in Bahamas
Last week, Dangote made some disclosures at the Afreximbank Annual Meetings, Dangote likened the oil cartels to a mafia stronger than the drug mafia hell-bent on maintaining their grip on the industry.
He said: “Well, I knew that there would be a fight. But I didn’t know that the mafia in oil, they are stronger than the mafia in drugs. I can tell you that. Yes, it’s a fact. But I’m a person who has been fighting all my life. You know, so I think it’s part of my life to fight. As a matter of fact, during the COVID period, some of the international banks really were looking forward to making sure that they pushed us into the default of our loans so that the project would just be dead. And that didn’t happen with the help of banks like Afreximbank.”
Dangote also disclosed that he has paid off $2.4bn of the $5.5bn borrowed for the Lagos-based refinery.
[Vanguard]
MultiChoice, owners of DStv and GOtv has readjusted its subscription prices for DStv and GOtv.
The company reverted to the old subscription prices following a court order mandating the pay television company to halt its move to hike prices.
The readjustment has reflected on the company's apps according to checks on Sunday, June 16, 2024.
Recall that the company had vowed to challenge the order of the Competition Consumer Tribunal (CCT) after reporting a decline in its subscriber base in Nigeria, where it lost over a million subscribers.
Old DStv prices vs new ones
Checks show that DStv subscribers are now required to pay N29,500 instead of N37,000 for the Premium package, and Compact+ package subscribers can now pay N19,800 instead of the new price of N25,000.
Compact Bouquet subscribers can now pay the previous rate of N12,500 instead of N15,700, while Confam package subscribers must pay the old price of N7,400 instead of the increased rate of N9,300 per month.
Yanga package subscribers' prices have reverted to the old N4,200 per month instead of the new N5,100.
Padi subscribers will pay the former price of N2,950 instead of the N3,600 new price.
Old GOtv prices vs new
GOtv subscribers are now required to pay the old rates of N12,500 for the Super+ package from the N15,700 it increased to.
GOtv Super users have their prices reverted to N7,600 from N9,600, which increased before the court order.
Others include N5,700 for GOtv Max, N3,950 for GOtv Joli, and N2,700 for the lowest package, GOtv Jinja, which subscribers will now pay from the new N3,300 rate.
It is still being determined if the company is also offering a month-free subscription as ordered by the court. No official comments from MultiChoice to confirm the development, as the company's officials could not comment on the issue.
According to reports, the company hiked its subscription prices to align with market realities following high inflation in Nigeria and the naira devaluation.
Mary Grace Fajonyomi, a professor of guidance and counseling at the University of Ilorin (Unilorin) has narrated how a student stole millions from his father's account to play bet9ja.
Fajonyomi said the student hacked his father’s bank account, withdrew over N25 million from his gratuity and used part of the money to play Bet9ja and organised a party for his girlfriend.
The don made disclosed this while delivering a keynote address at a stakeholders’ dialogue themed: “Stemming the Tide of Social Vices Among Students: Panacea for Growth”, organised by the Kwara State Government.
She expressed concern about the level of moral decadence, calling on parents and the government to stand up to the menace.
She said, “I have served as a member of the Anti-Sex for Grade Committee at various universities and chairman of Exam Malpractice Committee at Unilọrin.
“There are many cases we are handling about students who are not able to register because they have used their school fees for gambling, especially Bet9ja.
“We had a case of internet fraud where a student got his father’s ATM card, hacked his account and withdrew over N25m from his gratuity which he used to play Bet9ja and lavished the rest to throw a party for his girlfriend.”
While noting that sexual harassment was becoming an epidemic in tertiary institutions in the country despite measures by authorities to curb it, she said, “The prevalence of the scourge still calls for concern, and the growing trend among lecturers/university workers and students is alarming. All of us are neck deep into it, and there must be collective efforts to fight it for the benefit of the children and society at large.”