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Targets galore on the Bridge

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Our betting expert has prepared Chelsea vs Newcastle United predictions as two teams struggling for consistency meet at Stamford Bridge on Monday evening.

Chelsea vs Newcastle Predictions & Tips

  • Chelsea and over 1.5 match goals @ 2.04 with Bet9ja
  • Over 3.5 match goals @ 2.17 with Bet9ja
  • Chelsea and GG @ 3.00 with Bet9ja
  • Chelsea to win 2-1 @ 9.00 with Bet9ja
  • Goal in 20 minutes @ 2.00 with Bet9ja
  • Chelsea to win @ 1.90 with Bet9ja
  • NG/GG @ 2.70 with Bet9ja

Chelsea are expected to win against Newcastle by a scoreline of 2-1.

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Hosts to secure Stamford Bridge victory

Although Chelsea dropped points from a winning position against Brentford last week, there’s reason to believe they can secure three points back at home.

The hosts have won four of their last five Premier League matches at Stamford Bridge. Three of those saw at least two goals in the match, which validates our first tip as a winner.

Newcastle have lost three of their last five Premier League matches, conceding 12 goals in the process. A 4-1 defeat to Arsenal last time out highlighted their lack of resistance.

Chelsea can exploit their weak defence and claim the three points.

Chelsea vs Newcastle United Predictions Bet 1: Chelsea and over 1.5 match goals @ 2.04 with Bet9ja

chelsea vs liverpool betbonanza boosted odds

 

Plenty of entertainment on show

We expect Chelsea to win, but it won’t be all plain sailing for the hosts. In their last five Premier League matches, they have conceded 12 goals. Despite this, they have scored nine and the neutrals are almost guaranteed to be entertained watching the London club.

Newcastle have also been poor defensively. However, they have scored 13 in their last five Premier League games, which includes a 4-4 draw against Luton Town.

Attacking wise, both teams are far from struggling. It’s their defences that need work. With both teams showing a knack for scoring, we expect plenty of goals in this match.

Bet 2: Over 3.5 match goals @ 2.17 with Bet9ja

An early goal to set the tone

With so many goals being scored and conceded by both Chelsea and Newcastle United, we expect a frantic start in the first half.

When these sides met at St James’ Park, Newcastle scored within 13 minutes. There’s no reason to suggest that can’t happen again.

This bet has landed in three of Chelsea’s last five home matches. Meanwhile, it has won in Newcastle United’s last two Premier League away games.

Bet 3: Goal in 20 minutes @ 2.00 with Bet9ja

Second half to saviour

At slightly bigger odds, we anticipate the first half to be calmer compared to the second. An opening goal in the first 45 minutes should open up the match, especially with both teams desperate for points.

Both defences have been rather weak and so both coaches may aim to settle things down in the opening exchanges. However, with noticeable absences due to injuries, changing their fortunes won’t happen overnight.

An early goal will help land our third tip, yet both teams have the potential to turn things around in the second half. With Chelsea struggling to defend leads, Newcastle won’t give up if they go a goal down.

Bet 4: NG/GG @ 2.70 with Bet9ja

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Troops kill suicide bomber, two others in Sambisa forest

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Troops of the Nigerian Army killed three terrorists during a raid on Sambisa forest in Borno State.

The troops equally destroyed terrorist hideouts in the forest.

Sambisa forest was earmarked by the colonial government as a game reserve but it has become the stronghold of both Boko Haram and the Islamic State for West Africa Province terrorists.

Despite several clearance operations carried out by the military in the forest, the terrorists still operate from there.

A statement on Saturday by the Director, Army Public Relations, Maj. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, noted that after destroying the camp of the terrorists in the forest, two AK-47s and a suicide vest were recovered.

The statement read, “Nigerian Army troops deployed to the North-East as part of the ongoing counter-insurgency operations on Friday, March 8, 2024, conducted a successful raid operation on a terrorists’ camp in the Arra area of Sambisa forest.

“During the operation, the troops gallantly neutralised three terrorists, including a suicide bomber, and destroyed their enclave in the area. After a thorough search, troops recovered 2 AK-47 Rifles and a suicide vest.”

Onyema also said in another operation conducted in the Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno, one terrorist was killed and their enclave destroyed.

He said, “In another operation, troops conducted a clearance operation in the Buluwa Area of Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State, where they uncovered and destroyed another terrorists’ camp.

“In the encounter, troops killed one terrorist and recovered one AK-47 rifle, 14 rounds of 7.62mm (Special), a bicycle, foodstuff, a grinding machine, and other sundry items.”

Onyema said the Nigerian Army was committed to eradicating terrorism and insurgency in the region, adding that it would continue to conduct operations to ensure the safety and security of the populace.

APC strikes to reconcile aggrieved Edo aspirants

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The ruling All Progressives Congress has begun a reconciliatory process to reunite Edo federal lawmaker, Dennis Idahosa, and other aggrieved governorship aspirants who lost out during the state primary of the party.

Recall that Senator Monday Okpebholo clinched the party’s sole ticket when he polled 12,433 votes to defeat Idahosa, Dr Blessing Agbomhere, and nine other aspirants after the previous poll was declared inconclusive.

Idahosa has since challenged the electoral process by dragging the National Working Committee of the party to court for cancelling the initial February 17 primary.

But the APC NWC insisted that there was no foul play in the poll that produced Okpebholo as the winner.

The leadership of the party, however, admitted that they had opened dialogue with Idahosa and other supporters of the APC in Edo State to ensure they had a united front against candidates of the Labour Party and Peoples Democratic Party.

In an exclusive interview with Sunday According, Deputy National Organising Secretary of the APC, Nze Chidi Duru, confirmed that there was an ongoing talk with Idahosa to make him rethink his actions.

He also told our correspondent that as democrats, the APC cannot stop any aspirant or party member from going to court over any contentious issue.

He said, “Your observation is right. Most aspirants have congratulated the Edo governorship and also acknowledged that the primary was free and fair. And, of course, somebody like Idahosa has taken the party to court in protest. But the party is not in a position to stop anybody, otherwise, we cannot be called democrats.

“It is not as if he (Idahosa) is threatening to drag the party to court. The case is already in court as we speak. But the party has made their position known.

“They have made it clear that we conducted a free and fair electoral process. We have also asked him to consider the impact on the party and the position he holds in the House of Reps.

“He should also understand the party is supreme. He must not throw the party under the bus in such a way that will make people wonder if we are democrats. I am sure the matter won’t drag on till September. It must be resolved in the next few weeks.

“It is a matter for the court, and the court does not usually take long to dispose of election petition matters. But as I said, we are democrats and we will continue to plead with him with the hope he will reason with the party.”

The acting chairman of the party in Edo, Jareth Tenebe, also shared his sentiment.

Tenebe, however, stated that aside from Idahosa, virtually every one of the aspirants had aligned with the party’s position and congratulated the candidate.

“APC is a party in Edo State that everybody wants to associate with. That is the more reason why we also had more aspirants, most of whom have congratulated the governorship candidate, Senator Monday Okphebolo,” he said.

Soludo’s spouse donates multivitamin dietary supplements to Anambra elders, others

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Dr Nonye Soludo, the wife of Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo has given out no fewer than 27,000 cartons of multivitamin supplements to over 26,000 elderly people in the 326 wards across the state.

The elderly, comprising octogenarians and those above the age of 50 years, also received healthy living tips and bags of rice at the occasion which took place at the headquarters of Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board conference hall in Awka, on Friday.

Speaking during the healthy living tips, which was also part of the celebration of International Women’s Day, Soludo stressed that multivitamins were designed to tackle poor dieting by supplementing vitamins and minerals the body needs to thrive.

She noted that the gesture was part of her Healthy Living Initiative designed to make Anambra a livable and prosperous homeland both for the young and elderly.

She said, “With this, we are gradually tackling poor dieting in Anambra State. Old age is a blessing. It is a stage of life that we will all get to. It is just a matter of time. So, we need to plan and prepare to do better in taking care of the elderly in our society to improve their lives.

“Many aged persons are lonely, unhealthy, and unkempt; this is why ‘Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo’ as part of its programmes is prioritising care for the elderly.

“These multivitamin supplements will help to increase the quality of life of the elderly in our communities so that they can age gracefully and successfully.

“Multivitamins are designed to fill gaps in your diet. Multivitamins are food supplements that combine different vitamins and minerals. They aim to fill nutritional gaps in the diet and are commonly taken in the form of pills, tablets, capsules, or liquids.

“Multivitamins aim to prevent or correct micronutrient deficiencies or to support the proper intake of nutrients when the diet alone is not enough to provide them.”

The governor’s wife added that the ‘Healthy Living Initiative’ was also initiated in the state to take care of and maintain the elderly and indigent people in respective of political affiliation.

Speaking earlier, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, who appreciated the governor’s wife for her generosity, said, “We made provisions for 80 elderly persons in each of the 326 wards and our councillors will help to distribute the multivitamin supplements at their various wards.

“The multivitamin supplements are essential nutrients that they need for their body and brain to function well. This is part of the ‘Healthy Living’ campaign that our society should not abandon the elderly because they are still very relevant.”

The Anambra State Commissioner for Special Duties, Beverly Ikpeazu-Nkemdiche equally appreciated the governor’s wife for her kind gesture and urged the councillors to efficiently distribute the multivitamins to the elderly people in their wards.

Nigeria leads as African startups raised $217m in February

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After experiencing a sluggish January, African startups witnessed a significant surge in funding in February 2024 with Nigeria topping the fundraisers.

According to The Big Deal’s report, the total startup funding in February reached nearly $217m, marking almost a threefold increase compared to the previous month’s $77m.

The report noted that despite the rebound, funding levels still fell short of figures observed in the same period over the past four years.

In February, 38 startups raised at least $100k last month in equity, debt, or grants, the same number as in January.

However, the total amount they announced was nearly three times higher, at $217m ($156m in equity and $59m in debt).

The report showed that Nigerian fintech, transport company Moove, emerged as the largest contributor, accounting for 51 per cent of the total funding.

Initially announcing a $10m debt for its expansion in India, Moove later became the focus of reports, revealing ongoing talks with Uber for a potential investment of up to $100m.

If successful, the investment could elevate Moove’s valuation from $650m to $750m, the report stated.

It noted, “As you may remember, January was a pretty quiet month with only $77m worth of deals announced on the continent.

“The good news is that things have picked up in February, 38 startups raised at least $100k last month (in equity, debt, or grants), the same number as in January.

“The largest contributor by far (51 per cent of the total) was Nigerian transport tech Moove, which first announced $10m of debt for its India expansion before rumours of an upcoming new round surfaced last week.

“We have been able to confirm directly with one of the investors that the $100m Series B is indeed happening. There were also three announced exits last month: Carbon bought Vella Finance, Auto24 acquired Kupatana, and FairMoney might buy Umba. All in all, funding levels in February 2024 were quite comparable to those in 2020 and 2021.”

With an outlook for startup funding for 2024 YTD, the report revealed that startups on the continent had raised just short of $300m.

It added that 80 startups had raised at least $100k, 38 of which had raised at least $1m.

The continent’s Big Four (Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, And South Africa) had claimed 86 per cent of all the funding, according to the Big Deal’s report.

Nigeria had 42 per cent with Moove alone raking in $233m; Kenya 27 per cent, raising $81m, Egypt 10 per cent getting $28m, and South Africa seven per cent with $22m.

AI can enhance oil manufacturing, says Huawei

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Huawei has said cutting-edge technology and Artificial Intelligence can help Nigeria and other oil and gas-producing countries to increase oil production, efficiently manage energy transition and rapidly recover from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Chief Technical Officer of Huawei for South Africa, Matamela Mashau, said this at a roundtable on the sidelines of the recently concluded MWC Technology summit in Barcelona, Spain.

The side event, themed “MWC Media Roundtable Briefing (Oil & Gas)” was organised by Huawei, a leading global technology and equipment provider, to showcase its oil & gas solutions to industry stakeholders.

The event had in attendance other speakers, which included Yumna Audu, Head of Business and Information Technology from Nigeria’s NLNG and Sana Lallali from Sonatrach, among others.

Huawei CTO, Mashau, in his presentation, said digital and intelligent technologies were becoming the forces that drove the transformation of the oil and gas sector.

He told stakeholders that the use of distributed fibre sensing and AI technologies was ideal for buried pipelines that are impossible for manual or drone inspection.

According to reports, COVID-19 had a significant impact on the extractive industry. In 2020, the epidemic had a significant effect on the world economy during its wave, which led to a historic decline in oil demand and, as a result, a sharp decline in oil prices to just above $20, the lowest levels in decades.

Since then, oil prices have skyrocketed, rising from about $76 per barrel at the beginning of January to $130 per barrel as of 2022, largely owing to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Three years after COVID-19, the global oil market is now recovering to pre-pandemic levels, with a nearly 25 per cent decrease in petroleum consumption globally, according to Deloitte.

This has spurred high economic diversification in the non-oil sector, with the NBS stating that the oil and gas sector accounted for 0.04 per cent of fresh foreign investments into the Nigerian economy in 2022, compared to the banking and production sectors, which contributed 52 per cent.

In Nigeria, where the oil industry generates 90 per cent of foreign exchange earnings and half of the country’s national revenue, GDP growth for the oil sector has been steadily declining. This is partly due to inadequate infrastructure for oil and gas, which further hinders the industry’s efficiency.

Crude oil production and exploration have been impacted by the lack of infrastructure. However, the midstream and downstream petroleum sectors are where the issue is most noticeable.

At the MWC media roundtable, the summit disclosed that Sonatrach and Huawei collaborated to build a joint innovation centre that produced the smart oil and gas pipeline inspection solution, which it said aims at further strengthening oil exploration in Nigeria.

This solution, according to Mashau and Sana Lallali, Manager Sonatrach Joint Innovation Centre, uses cutting-edge technologies to minimise operations and maintenance costs, proactively alert pipeline deterioration, and promptly find fibre cuts.

“During E&P, we need to process a massive amount of seismic data. Generally, the original data of a single unit is dozens of terabytes (TB), sometimes reaching the petabyte (PB) level. Moreover, there are dozens of steps to data processing. Cloud technology enables us to quickly deploy seismic data processing, interpretation, and E&P software, which boosts E&P and operational efficiency.

“Take the most time-consuming prestack depth migration processing as an example. The processing time can be shortened from 19 days to 55 hours, boosting efficiency by 830 per cent” Mashau, who is the CTO of Huawei South Africa region said.

On her part, Audu who is NLNG’s Head of Business and IT Services, said the gas company of Nigeria should be equipped with future-oriented and forward-looking IT systems.

To achieve this, she revealed that NLNG partnered with Huawei and deployed its high-quality Wi-Fi 7 APs on the nation’s campuses.

Audu said, “With upgraded wireless experience, application experience, and O&M experience, we strongly believe that we are capable of building campus network benchmarks in the global oil and gas industry.

“In our office, the speed of Huawei’s Wi-Fi 7 APs reached 3.16 Gbps in actual tests. This impressed us.

“In our golf club, we planned to deploy two APs, while only one Huawei Wi-Fi 7 AP is enough to achieve full signal coverage and high-speed access. Besides, these APs are highly compatible with our devices on the live network. Therefore, we are satisfied with the test results.

Lallali, who is the manager of Sonatrach Joint Innovation Centre, a national state-owned oil company in Algeria, announced that its country has about 43 oil and gas pipelines, accompanied by 14,000 km of optical cables.

The official also noted that while traditional manual inspection is costly and inefficient, it can be difficult to obtain the pipeline running status anytime in real-time.

Lallali said, “We innovated the fibre sensing inspection solution together with Huawei. This solution is based on Huawei’s pipeline fibre warning solution and live-network service management process.

“When external construction occurs around a pipeline, the optical fibre deployed along the pipeline collects vibration information and transmits the information to the optical sensing device deployed in a station or BVS equipment room, thereby achieving precise positioning.

Agency to unveil tech hub in Enugu

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A telecom firm, S Mobile Group, has disclosed plans to unveil an innovation centre in Enugu State, codenamed S Mobile Tech Hub.

The founder and Chairman of S Mobile Group, Kingsley Adonu, disclosed this in a statement obtained by The According.

The tech hub, he explained, was a corporate social responsibility initiative of S Mobile Group to promote skills development, youth entrepreneurship, and job creation in new technology and innovations in the state.

Adonu disclosed that S Mobile Tech Hub was a vision to manifest the group’s deliberate programmes towards building a dynamic and vibrant startup ecosystem in the Southeast region, starting with Enugu State.

The S Mobile Group CEO said that the hub was in recognition of the ingenuity of the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, who had shown the capacity to redefine the economy of the state, “and the creativity of young people in the state, coupled with the need to channel these to more productive and impactful ends, rather than social vices like Internet fraud”.

“Again, it is a demonstration of our support for the visionary leadership of the Executive Governor of Enugu State, Dr Peter Mbah, who has not minced words about his intent to build a resilient city where poverty is reduced to the barest minimum.

“We are keying into that vision, and it is driven by the realisation that tech startups are becoming major economic value creators in the 21st century,” he remarked.

He said that S Mobile Tech Hub would leverage trends to accelerate its programme, especially as artificial intelligence, robotics, big data, etc., become embedded in the daily lives of Nigerians.

“S Mobile Tech Hub is also motivated by the desire to support quality projects with high developmental impact, such as job creation and poverty alleviation, to enhance the socio-economic standard of, especially young Nigerians,” Adonu declared.

He noted that when completed, the hub would have facilities, including high-speed internet access, shared and private office spaces, and a well-equipped robotics training lab, among others.

FG plans analysis, growth fund –Minister

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The Federal Government plans to create an innovation fund for research and development.

The Minister of Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, revealed during an official visit to the Technology Incubation Centre in Agege, Lagos, recently.

He clarified that the R&D Fund aimed to support experts and individuals excelling in technology to advance their research, a crucial element for development.

Meanwhile, the minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to advancing innovation and entrepreneurship in the country’s startup ecosystem.

The minister said, “I just visited the Federal Institute of Industrial Research in Oshodi, Lagos and now the Technology Incubation Centre in Agege. I am observing a significant incubation of industrialists in this space.

“They have trained over 1,000 individuals—bringing them in, providing training, incubating them, and then facilitating their transition to their respective businesses. This process has resulted in the emergence of numerous millionaires,” he said.

The minister’s visit included an inspection of the facilities at the hub, following an earlier visit to the Federal Institute of Industrial Research in Oshodi, Lagos.

Nnaji emphasised the pivotal role of the Ministry of Science and Technology in Nigeria’s economic development.

“With a President from the private sector, there is a serious commitment to generating power, even leveraging solar energy. Just last week, during a visit to the Abuja Technology Village with the FCT minister, we discussed transforming it into a global technology city, comparable to Silicon Valley,” he added.

The minister disclosed that under President Bola Tinubu’s renewed Hope Agenda, there is an acknowledgement that more needs to be accomplished. He stated that all ministers are driven by the directive, emphasising the need for heightened efforts across agencies.

The Director-General of the National Board for Technology Incubation, Patricia Chukwu, said the Technology Incubation Centre in Lagos stood as a testament to the commitment to nurturing and empowering bright minds in society.

She remarked that it served as a hub where ideas flourish, dreams take shape, and innovations come to life.

According to Chukwu, technology plays a pivotal role in addressing pressing issues such as climate change and health concerns, and enhancing digital connectivity.

“It is undeniable that in the swiftly changing landscape of today’s world, progress heavily relies on technological advancements.

“Whether in artificial intelligence, renewable energy, biotechnology, or blockchain, the potential is boundless. Yet, to actualise these opportunities fully, we must adopt a culture that champions innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship,” the NBTI DG stated.

Lagos MWAN urges assist for girls’s inventive abilities

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In celebration of International Women’s Day, the Lagos State branch of the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria has called for deliberate steps to promote women and girls’ creative and artistic talents.

The association also called for actions to forge women’s economic empowerment, support women and girls in leadership, decision-making, and business processes, help women and girls make informed choices about their health, and provide women and girls with access to quality education and training, among other things.

The IWD, commemorated every March 8, is a day to celebrate women who are committed to advancing women’s equality globally.

This year, 2024, the United Nations campaign theme for the IWD is: Inspire Inclusion with the slogan: Invest in women; accelerate progress.

In a statement made available by the President of MWAN, Lagos State, Dr Funmi Ige said, “When we inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion and inclusivity, we forge a better world. When we as women inspire to be included, it imbues us with a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment.”

She said further that including and partnering with women means openly embracing their diversity, such as race, age, ability, faith, and so on.

The MWAN President stressed the importance of understanding the values and seeking out the inclusion of women and girls in all fields of endeavour worldwide.

She said, “Organisations and groups such as ours – the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria, Lagos State Branch – have a lot of roles to play in inspiring inclusion, be it at home, at work, or in the community.

“We must strive to ensure that the needs, interests, and aspirations of women and girls are valued and incorporated into the scheme of things at all levels. We must, at all times, take action when and where women are not equitably treated; we must call out poor practice when they are discriminated against.

“Imperatively, we must be deliberate about forging women’s economic empowerment, supporting women and girls in leadership, decision-making, and business processes, helping women and girls make informed choices about their health, providing women and girls with access to quality education and training, promoting women’s creative and artistic talents, and addressing areas further supporting the advancement of women and girls.”

She joined the United Nations’ call for action for a more inclusive world for women.

“Let’s all resolve to collectively do all we can to support and advance the causes of women,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Association of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria has called on the federal and state governments to include them in palliative distribution, social investment fund, conditional cash transfer, among others.

The National Coordinator ASWHAN, Esther Hindi, made the call on Friday at the occasion commemorating International Women Day in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

Hindi said this year’s theme, ‘Invest in women: Accelerate Progress’ was to empower women with life building skills to reduce their vulnerabilities.

She said, “The International Women’s Day 2024 campaign theme ‘Invest in women: Accelerate progress” is a call to Action for investment in women in all sense of belonging.

“It is also a call to accelerate and

value investment in women and girls living with HIV in all diversities to enjoy their rights and live a descent livelihood.

“Therefore, we call on government both national and states to include women living with HIV in social investment fund, conditional cash transfers, include WLWH in palliative distribution and create employment opportunities for WLWH.

“Our women have been working at the facilities as volunteer Mentor Mothers for over 15 years. Let the Ministry of Health help us employ our women”

Tackle hardship to discourage crime, group urges FG

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A Niger Delta group, Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta, has called on the Federal Government to tackle the prevailing hardship in the country to prevent citizens from resorting to crime as a means of survival.

There had been protests by some Nigerians over the harsh impact of the economy in Kano, Niger, Osun, and Oyo states, among others.

Some warehouses and trucks conveying foodstuffs were also attacked by some residents who carted away food items.

But speaking during the inauguration of the board of partners for peace in the Niger Delta, an initiative of PIND in Abuja, the group’s Executive Director, Tunji Idowu, stated that the situation was worrying, and called on the government to urgently address the hardship.

Idowu, who was inaugurated as the chairman of the board, said, “The current hardship being experienced across Nigeria is worrying.  The FG must find a lasting solution to it urgently.

“People will ordinarily resort to crimes if they cannot find ways to improve their livelihoods or sustain what they already have. The FG should collaborate with development partners to address the issue.

“The government and development partners should stretch available resources and get rid of redundancy as well as duplication to make life easier and meaningful for citizens.”

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