Juventus forward, Paulo Dybala, has signed a new contract with the club, committing his future to the Series A champions until 2022.
The 23-year-old joined Juventus from Palermo for an initial €32million (£27million) in 2015 and has now been handed a considerable pay-rise, following a string of brilliant performances.
Dybala scored a brace, as the Italian club beat Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League quarter-final first on Tuesday and has netted 16 times in all competitions so far.
The Argentina international’s new deal is understood to be worth more than £200,000-a-week.
“Juventus Football Club is pleased to announce that Paulo Dybala has renewed his contract until 30 June 2022, extending a journey that began in July 2015,” a clubs statement read.
“Juventus is stepping into the future and they will be doing so joined by La Joya for the next four years.” [myad]
There are strong indications that the demand for foreign exchange by authorized dealers has slumped, as the dealers were said to be able to pick $45 million out of the $100 million offered by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on wholesale spot.
Industry experts attributed the slump in demand to the rate of forex liquidity being pumped into the system by the CBN, and that it is only a matter of time before the dollar begins another round of crash.
The experts attributed the new trend to the general cash crunch in the financial system even as the dollar crashed against major currencies since US President Donald Trump’s declaration that China is not manipulating the value of the yuan.
In a chat with newsmen, the Acting Director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, Isaac Okorafor, said the major injections made by the Bank in the course of the week were aimed at providing access to all stakeholders with legitimate need for forex.
“The CBN remains upbeat that the forex market will remain liquid and that Nigerians who genuinely require the forex will get ample access to the currency,” Okorafor noted.
It will be recalled that the CBN made special interventions in the Bureau de Change Segment of the forex market and capped up an eventful period with the opening of a new window for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). These special interventions are in addition to over $500 million dollars offered to dealers in the wholesale and retail segments in the past week.
Okorafor had disclosed that the new window for SMEs provides small scale importers an avenue to source forex to boost their respective business through the importation of eligible finished and semi-finished items at not more than $20,000 per quarter per enterprise.
Lauding the CBN intervention across the various window of the forex market, analysts expressed hope that the trend would be sustained, going by the current level of foreign reserves. [myad]
A pastor with the Great Overcomers Ministry Church in Abaranje, Ikotun, a Lagos suburb, Okwudili Ozor is alleged to have been sleeping with both with the General Overseer, Prophetess Gloria Udeh and her 15-year old daughter, an act which has landed him in prison.
It was gathered that the alleged sex scandal has put the entire congregation in disarray as some members have left in annoyance because the church’s General Overseer, a female was in the thick of the whole scandal.
Trouble started when Prophetess Udeh accused Ozor of forcefully having a carnal knowledge of her teenage daughter in January.
She reported the matter to the Police at Area M Command in Idimu, Lagos who arrested and detained him for 9 days before he was taken to court but luckily, the court did not sit on that day. He was later released by the Police.
But in a twist, a team of Policemen from Idimu Police Station early Tuesday morning invaded Ozor’s house in Ikotun, Lagos, arrested and charged him before Ogba Magistrates’ Court for raping Gloria’s 15-year old daughter.
The Court’s Chief Magistrate, Mrs Davis Abegunde granted him bail but remanded in prison custody pending when he will perfect his bail condition.
But this latest arrest and the remand of Ozor has led to the opening of a can of worms.
The suspect denied ever sleeping with the teenage girl as alleged by the Prophetess, but instead he admitted he has had affairs with the woman who felt heartbroken that he dumped her for another woman.
According to him, the woman has been married for some years and had four children before she separated from her husband.
He said when he joined her church; the prophetess made him her assistant and asked him to marry her so that they can build the church together.
Ozor said he declined the proposal but told her he already had a woman in his village he wanted to marry and this did not go down well with her.
“She tried to pressure me to change my marriage plans but I refused. I later went ahead to marry my wife in 2015 and that’s when the trouble started,” he said.
The suspect claimed that after he was arrested in January but later released, the prophetess demanded that he should pay her N500,000 before she would withdraw the matter from the police.
He said he pleaded that he had no such amount to give her and she reduced it to N200,000, yet he could not raise the money and that’s when she decided to use her influence to deal with him.
Prophetess Gloria has however denied the claim that she was sleeping with Ozor, saying that the case she reported to the police was that of sexual assault on her daughter.
She claimed Ozor and his relations have been pleading for her to forgive him which she gave him condition which he had accepted.
Gloria said he was only angry with Udeh, who he accused of denting her image and that of her church following his allegations that they were sleeping together which had made some members to leave the church.
On why it took her two years before she reported the sexual assault matter to the police, she declined to speak further and walked away.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has sacked three of its senior officials over their alleged involvement in N11billion missing fuel scandal and has deployed four others to man the vacant positions.
The affected officials according to a statement from the Corporation are Mrs. Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue, Managing Director, NNPC Retail Ltd; Mr. Alpha P. Mamza, Executive Director, Operations, NNPC Retail Ltd; and Mr. Oluwa Kayode Erinoso, Manager, Distribution, NNPC Retail Ltd.
Others are Mr. Adeyemi Adetunji, Managing Director of NNPC Retail Ltd; Engr. Lawal Bello, Executive Director, Operations, NNPC Retail Ltd; Mrs. Affiong Akpasubi, Executive Director, Services, NNPC Retail Ltd; and Mr. Agwandas A. Andrawus, Manager, Distribution, NNPC Retail Ltd.
The statement quoted the Corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ndu Ughamadu, as saying that the affected officials were retired, though no reason was given.
Ughamadu said: “in line with the ongoing reforms in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the management has announced the retirement of some staff and the deployment of others.” [myad]
The immediate past Nigerian minister of environment, Hajiya Amina Mohammed has won an award as African Woman In Politics and Public Office.
This is even as the Gambia’s Minister of Women Affairs and Overseer in the Vice President’s Office, Fatoumatta Jallow-Tambajan, won the African Woman of Year award.
The awards were conferred by New African Woman magazine’s Woman of the Year Award at the ceremony that took place at a glitzy Gala Dinner at the Terrou-Bi hotel in the Senegalese capital, Dakar last night.
The Awards, now in the second edition, recognize, celebrate and honour African women who have made exceptional impact and change in their countries or communities in the past 12 months. Hajiya Amina Mohammed, who is now deputy secretary general of the United Nations in New York, the United States of America, has played key roles in both the current Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), on how both agendas impact Africa – more so its women. Winners were selected by a special panel of judges from 68 shortlisted candidates across 12 categories.
The Award for Women in Health, Science and Technology went to Namibia’s Dr Helena Ndume – a pioneering ophthalmologist and cataract surgeon, who has to date, performed over 35,000 sight-restoring surgeries on Namibians, completely free of charge. Morocco saw serial entrepreneur Salwa Idrissi Akhannouch, take home the New African woman Award in Business. Zimbabwean philathropists and educationist Tsitsi Masiyiwa, received the New African Woman Award in Education for her work with Higherlife Foundation – a not for profit organisation she runs and offers scholarships to orphaned and vulnerable children to give them a better chance in education. Over 250,000 children have benefited from the work of Higherlife Foundation. The much-talked about New African Woman on the Rise (The Next Generation) – a category which received the most nominations – went to the Kenyan girls rights activist and UN Women youth advisor Vivian Onano. The New African Woman in Civil Society was given to Chief Theresa Kachindamoto, who annulled over 300 child marriages in her village in Malawi, a feat that played an important role in forcing the government to ban child marriages in the country all together. Other winners were Nigeria’s Joan Okorodudu (New African Woman In The Arts & Culture) for her services to raising the profile of African models and fashion; Mali’s Binta Touré Ndoye (New African Woman – in Finance); Amira Yahyaoui of Tunisia (New African Woman in Media) and the former African Union Commissioner Agriculture and Rural Development Tumusiime Rhoda Peace from Uganda, is the New African Woman in Agriculture for pushing the importance of food security and adding value chain to African goods while she was at the AU. The New African Woman in Sport went to the Senegal’s Fatma Samoura – the world football body’s Secretary General – a position she was appointed to in 2016, becoming the first African woman to hold the post. The New African Woman Awards is followed by a Forum today, 13 April, under the theme Changing The Game. [myad]
ExxonMobil, has indicated an interest to make fresh investment in the country’s power sector, making it the second IOC to declare such an intention this year.
The oil giant made this known while playing host to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.
A statement by the ministry said ExxonMobil is currently building a power plant in Qua Iboe in Akwa Ibom State.
In January, Eni signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to build a power plant in the country, as well as refurbish the Port Harcourt refinery in Rivers State.
The Ministry said that ExxonMobil recognized the partnership with Nigeria and the work of the Federal Government to ensure the development and growth of the oil and gas sector.
The ministry said ExxonMobil reiterated its commitment to help deliver power to Nigeria and support its gas commercialization programme.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has taken his campaign for International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria to deepen their investments in the country to ExxonMobil in Texas, the United States of America.
A statement from the ministry today, Wednesday in Abuja, said that the minister met with top executives of ExxonMobil at its headquarters in Irving Texas, where he requested that they consider investing in refining of petroleum products in Nigeria.
Kachikwu said that the major IOCs operating in Nigeria needed to invest in building signature refineries to be run on a joint venture basis with the government.
He said that ExxonMobil has had an enduring partnership with Nigeria, and should deepen its commitment to develop the country’s oil and gas industry, especially in domestic refining of petroleum products. [myad]
Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Rotimi Oyekanmi has described Governor Nyeson Wike of Rivers State as a liar and asked Nigerians to ignore him.
The Chief Press Secretary, who was reacting to comment by Governor Wike, that INEC is not ready for 2019 elections, asked Nigerians not to take Wike seriously.
Wike had said that INEC lacked the Nigerians’ trust, insisting that the commission was only deceiving Nigerians and spending the country’s money.
“If we want to get election right in this country, INEC must say where the card readers do not work, elections should be held the next day.
“Nigeria should provide the funds. We should not do the wrong thing because of fund. Some argue that this thing is also done in advanced countries, but they forget that those places have established institutions and there is trust also. Here, there is no institution and there is no trust.
“In 2019, let me tell you, and mark this day, INEC is not prepared for any election. What they are doing is a jamboree to make sure that they are spending money. They can’t deceive me,” Wike had said.
But, Rotimi said: “the Rivers State Governor is entitled to his opinion and I think Nigerians know him too well to take him seriously on any issue of national importance.”
“But as far as INEC is concerned, our preparation for the 2019 general elections is on course. Stakeholders have just validated our Strategic Plan. The Federal Government recently appointed 27 Resident Electoral Commissioners and the Senate, thank God, has also just passed the amendments to the Electoral Act.
“We have the Anambra State governorship election to conduct later this year. Besides, the re-organization of the commission is being carried out. So, we are on course and cannot be distracted.”
“Senate has acted in its own wisdom to say ‘No, we don’t want him’, and we can say, ‘This is our candidate… we like the gentleman and we want him to continue.’”
These were the views as expressed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, a professor of law, at an interaction with news men at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He made it clear that there is no plan to drop the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, even after the Senate had rejected his nomination for the job on two occasions.
The Vice President stressed that the Senate lacked the powers to determine which appointee of the president should go, saying: “the President reserves the right to say, ‘this is who I want.’ I’m fully in support of Magu as the EFCC chairman just as the president is.”
He said that the constitution gives the president the powers to appoint certain heads of government agencies, including the head of the anti-corruption agency, with or without parliament approvals.
“It is up to the senate to make their judgment, and it is up to us what we want to do. If our candidate is rejected, we can represent him. No law says we can’t represent him.” [myad]
A 48-year-old clearing agent, Francis Stephen, has accused his wife of sleeping around with her pastor and his younger brother.
He said: “My wife is sleeping with her pastor. When I got to know of it, I confronted her and she confessed to me.”
Francis told a Customary Court in Lagos while responding to a request by his wife, Ogechi, for the dissolution of their 13-year-old marriage that apart from having sex with her pastor, she was also cheating on him by sleeping around also with his younger brother.
The man also accused his wife of being violent, saying: “there was a day we had disagreement. She picked up a stone and broke the windscreen of my car.”
He said that Ogechi ran away with their children to her village when he told her that he would drag her to his family to confess.
“Last year, my wife absconded with our children to her village without my consent, she later sent me a message that she had gotten to her family in Imo and that she is no longer interested in the marriage.
“The children have stopped school since last term because my wife refused to bring them back to Lagos.
“One of my children who was due to write common entrance missed it.
“Her brother called me and told me that I should come and take the children that if I leave them for my wife, they may die of starvation.
“Please grant me the custody of my children because my wife is not working, she cannot take care of them, she just wants to punish me by denying me access to them,” he said.
Francis begged the court not to grant his wife’s wish for the dissolution of their marriage, saying that he still loves her and the children will need a mother to live with.
The petitioner, Mrs. Ogechi Stephen, had approached the court seeking to end her 13-year-old marriage over frequent beatings and drunkenness.
She said that her husband beat her on slightest provocation, adding: “he always beat me during heated argument. I live every minute of my life in fear. Our marriage has been turbulent and fraught with fights and quarrels. There is no peace of mind.
“There was a day my husband threatened to pour fuel on me. As he was bringing the fuel towards me, I quickly ran for my dear life. There was a night he was inciting incantation calling demonic power to kill me.”
The 42-year-old house wife said that her husband drinks and smokes heavily.
“My husband drinks to stupor and smokes, after which he usually loses self-control,” she told the court.
The mother of four said that her husband packed her belonging to her village claiming that he was no longer interested in the union.
She begged the court to dissolve the union, saying that she was no longer in love with Stephen.
The court president, Adegboyega Omilola, adjourned the case to June 6, for further hearing.
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