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We’ll make sure Buhari’s new loan request is thoroughly scrutinized – Reps

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The House of Representatives has stated that the N4.89 trillion that President Muhammadu Buhari’s (retd.) administration planned to borrow to cover the budget deficit in 2022 will be thoroughly scrutinized.

Benjamin Kalu, the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, stated this while briefing journalists on the House’s activities on Thursday.

The Federal Government proposed borrowing N4.89 trillion in domestic and foreign loans to cover the N5.62 trillion budget deficit in 2022.

Read also: Fear, concern are growing in Bauchi as the military ‘kills’ terrorists and bandits from neighboring states

The highlights of the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper presented to the House contain this information.

However, Kalu stated that after the details of the loans were provided, the House would conduct thorough scrutiny before voting on their approval.

“There is a projected new borrowing of N4.89 trillion,” he said.

“We are considering approving it on the condition that the details of the borrowing plan and where it will be used are provided because it was reflected in the MTEF.

“Now, when you break down this proposed expenditure for 2022, which is N13.89 trillion, you have a makeup of N6.21 trillion in total recurrence, N6.21 trillion in non-debt, N3.47 trillion in personnel costs by MDAs, and N3.26 trillion in capital expenditure exclusive of transfers.

“Special intervention capital of N10 billion and special intervention recurrence of N350 billion.

” We believe these should be approved, but subject to House debate.

Army, don’t let up on your oars, Ndume warns

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Senator Ali Ndume, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, has praised the Nigerian Army for its achievements in the fight against terrorism, insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, and other criminal activities in the country.

According to him, the Nigerian Army’s current leadership has demonstrated a desire to eliminate insecurity in the country.

According to a statement released by the Director of Army Public Relations, Nwachukwu Onyema, Ndume spoke during a courtesy call on Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, Chief of Army Staff, on Thursday in Abuja.

He urged them not to rest until the country was at peace.

‘Senate committee commends Nigerian Army,’ read the statement.

Read also: UN condemns school attacks and calls for further efforts to protect students

“Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, while expressing gratitude to the NA for the recent feats against the BHT/ISWAP insurgency, banditry, and other criminalities, said the NA under the current leadership has shown commitment and determination to end the country’s security challenges,” it reads in part.

“He went on to say that the NA has had tremendous success in all of its operations, which has resulted in the total disarray of bandits in North West and North East Nigeria, according to him.

“As a result, he urged the NA not to rest on its laurels until the country is free of insecurity. He assured the NA that the Senate would support it in all of its endeavors.

Senator Ali Ndume also urged Nigerians to provide the NA with the necessary support in their operations by sharing actionable information that will help them.”

Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, Chief of Army Staff, responded by assuring the Senate Committee that the NA would provide adequate security for the Committee’s tour of various NA units and formations to assess ongoing NA operations and obtain firsthand information.

Buhari Uses Football to Develop Girls and Strengthen the Nation’s Unity

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President Muhammadu Buhari has stated that his administration is committed to using football as a tool for the development of girls and to encouraging young people to pursue rewarding careers in the sport.
He also stated that his government has viewed sports as a national asset for the past four years.

While receiving the FIFA delegation led by its President, Gianni Infantino, and the President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Patrice Motsepe, in audience at the State House in Abuja on Thursday, the President called on the top echelon of the world football governing body to see Nigeria as one of its greatest assets when it comes to the development of football.

On the subject of women’s football, President Buhari expressed his delight at the fact that Nigeria has produced excellent role models to encourage the next generation of stars to take up the sport.
“Our national women’s football team, the Super Falcons, are a force to be reckoned with, both on the continent and globally,” he said. Some of our female footballers, such as Asisat Oshoala, who with her club Barcelona recently became the first African to win the women’s European Champions League.

Read also: Two friends were arrested for stealing sandals

“Rasheedat Ajibade, Rita Chikwelu, Onome Ebi, the only African to appear in five FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals, Desire Oparanozie, and Perpetual Nkwocha, Mercy Akide-Udoh, Nkiru Okosieme, and Ann Chiejiene are globally recognized stars.”

As a result, Buhari urged FIFA’s leadership to prioritize Nigeria in its support and investment plans.
He also told the visiting FIFA president, who was in the country for the six-nation Aisha Buhari Invitational Football Tournament, that football had been adopted as a national asset by his administration since 2017.
The government is giving sport the highest level of attention possible, according to the President, in order to facilitate the rapid development of the country’s abundant talents.

“I’ve also given my approval to the formation of a committee to draft a 10-year master plan for the country’s football development. I believe that the committee’s recommendations will hasten the development of football. It is my hope that it will help to improve the game’s fortunes on a global scale,” he said.

President Buhari said the Aisha Buhari Cup (ABC), which is currently taking place in Lagos and has the theme “Playing for Good,” could not have come at a better time.

“This Women’s football competition is a novel idea here,” he says, “and I am sure it will be exciting in its execution for our female folk and football fans.” It also confirms what we already know about our female counterparts.”

As a result, the President thanked FIFA for making ABC a ranking tournament, and expressed his hope that more countries would join in the future.

“Our hearts beat as one whenever our teams are playing a football match,” Buhari said, describing football as one of the greatest sources of unity in the country and around the world. When our national football teams are on assignment, our youth are always enthusiastic. Football is, without a doubt, a major tool for national unity.”

He praised the organization’s significant contributions to the development of football as a tool for positive social change and global unity.
The president expressed support for FIFA’s newest initiative, the FIFA Connect program, which aims to use technology to drive grassroots football development, and pledged Nigeria’s active participation in the program.
The President emphasized Nigeria’s extensive experience in international and continental football, saying the country had won numerous international and continental competitions while maintaining a close, cordial, and mutually beneficial relationship with FIFA.

“Nigeria is one of the few countries in the world to have competed in every FIFA competition, at every level, for men and women. Many of our young boys and girls, men and women, have been given opportunities to pursue rewarding careers in the game as a result of these developments,” he said.

Read also: FG signs MoU with KONGA to increase youth employment

Sunday Dare, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, had earlier stated that Nigeria, as the world’s leading black nation, was at the heart of everything FIFA was attempting to achieve in its football development plan.
“We are huge football fans who follow the game with zeal,” he said.

During his speech, Infantino reaffirmed FIFA’s commitment to the development of football in Nigeria, promising to strengthen the organization’s partnership with the Nigeria Football Federation.
“Nigeria is a big football-playing country,” he said. Nigeria, as well as Africa as a continent, must lead the global football movement.”

He thanked President Buhari for his support for the game’s development and urged him to assist FIFA in spreading the message of football as a unifying force.
“There are no divisions in a nation or continent when football is played. Football brings people together, and we need big countries like Nigeria to do that,” he said.

Buhari, APC are selling Nigeria for $4 billion and €710 million in new loans, PDP

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed reports that President Muhammadu Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) is considering a new N2.66 trillion ($4 billion and €710 million) external loan to the country.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said in a statement on Tuesday that because of President Buhari’s reckless borrowing, Nigerians may not have a nation or a patrimony they can freely call their own after the APC leaves office.

With the N33.107 trillion debt that President Buhari and the APC have already accumulated, an additional N5.62 trillion borrowing proposed by Buhari for the 2022 budget, and a new N2.66 trillion external loan, the PDP claims that the APC will be dangling over an N40 trillion debt on the nation with no clear repayment plan.

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The PDP claims that the debts that the APC is imposing on Nigerians are for nebulous projects with ambiguous scopes, utilities, locations, and contractors; a development that confirms fears of a massive swindle on the country at the expense of innocent Nigerians, including future generations.

Individuals who know they will be leaving office in less than two years are accumulating debts instead of seeking ways to reduce the liability they have brought upon our nation, according to the party.

“The APC is well aware that it will not be in power after May 29, 2023. That is why it is driving our country deeper into a financial quagmire with foreign loans that are largely funneled into the personal pockets of their corrupt leaders.

“Given their incompetence, corruption, and apparent indifference to Nigerians’ plights, the APC and its administration have shown no commitment to wealth creation that any responsible government would expect.

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“Rather, they have resorted to reckless borrowing, plundering our national vault, and suppressing our productive sectors; a development that has crippled our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to the point where our naira, which the PDP handed over to the APC at N167 to the dollar, has now collapsed to a dismal and all-time low of N557 to the dollar under the APC.”

The PDP urged the National Assembly to save the country by rejecting President Buhari’s latest request for a new foreign loan, regardless of partisanship.

Read Also:  APC prepared to welcome Good luck to the ruling party

The party also urged the National Assembly to launch an open investigation into all of President Buhari’s loans, particularly in light of allegations that they are being diverted to the personal pockets of APC leaders, the Presidency’s cabal, as well as APC government functionaries and their cronies.

Gov. Ugwuanyi of Enugu signs anti-open grazing bill into law

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At the Government House in Enugu, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State signed the anti-open grazing bill into law.

The Enugu State House of Assembly recently passed a bill prohibiting open grazing, regulating cattle ranching, and for other related purposes.

After the bill was passed, the House Leader, Rt. Hon. Ikechukwu Ezeugwu, explained that it would be referred to as the “Prohibition of Open Grazing and Cattle Ranching Law of Enugu State” after the governor’s signature.

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With Gov. Ugwuanyi’s signature on this bill, the state’s security and peace are expected to improve.

FG signs MoU with KONGA to increase youth employment

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The Federal Government today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with KONGA to empower Nigerian youth through the exploration of Information Communication Technology (ICT) with a view to building their capacity towards self-reliance and employability, as part of its stated commitment to continue to harness youth potentials for improved socio-economic growth and development in the country.
At a signing ceremony in his office at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja, Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare, reaffirmed that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is fully committed to improving the lives of Nigerian youth through various initiatives such as e-commerce and small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs).
He added that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on state economies is expected to prompt governments to consider harnessing youth potentials to combat unemployment, youth restiveness, and other social vices, and that it is in this vein that his Ministry has partnered with KONGA, a leading global e-commerce company, not only in Nigeria but globally.

Read Also:  Nigeria, two other countries may be added to the UK’s COVID-19 travel risk list

”No Nation solves unemployment without leading on entrepreneurship,” he says, adding that “this MoU will open another window through which our youth can explore more sustainability.”
“The agreement will strengthen and support the Federal Government’s deliberate policies of engaging the youth through various initiatives aimed at providing solutions to the burden of youth unemployment and putting them on the path to entrepreneurship,” according to the Minister.
Mr Nebeolisa Anako, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, thanked KONGA for collaborating and identifying with the Ministry earlier in his remarks.

Read Also:  APC prepared to welcome Good luck to the ruling party

He promised that the Ministry would continue to create an enabling environment for the full implementation of the government’s various policies and programs in line with the current Administration’s policy priorities.
Mr. Leo Stan Eke, President of the KONGA Group, also spoke about how the MOU will change the narrative by giving the youth a platform to take a bold step toward self-development.
He stated that the program will benefit at least 500, 000 young people. Mr. Eke continued, “They will be trained in Digital Technology with the long-term goal of wealth creation through the E-Commerce system.” Display the text that has been quoted

Two friends were arrested for stealing sandals

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On Wednesday, two friends appeared in an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court for allegedly stealing N225,000 worth of men’s shoes and sandals.

Abidemi Aminu, 33, and Michael Bello, 31, were charged with conspiracy, theft, and threatening to take property.

They entered a not guilty plea.

The defendants and other persons at large committed the offence on July 17 at 11.45 a.m. in the Agura Gberigbe area of Ikorodu, Lagos, according to the Prosecution Counsel, ASP Benson Emuerhi.

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He claimed the offense was in violation of sections 411, 287, and 301 of the Lagos State Criminal Law of 2015.

The defendants were granted bail in the sum of N100,000 each, with two sureties in the same amount, by Magistrate J. A. Adegun. The case was adjourned until September 29 for mention by Adegun.

BBNaija: I need to do better with Cross next time – Nini

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Nini, a Big Brother Naija, BBNajja season 6 housemate, has expressed regret for her behavior toward Cross.

Remember how Cross and Nini got into a heated argument in the bathroom, leading to Nini insulting Cross?

Cross later apologized to Nini, breaking down in tears.

Nini told Saga later that night that she needed to do better because her outburst was too much, even though she blamed Cross for starting the fight.

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“Considering how we started our week, I didn’t want to get into a fight with Cross,” Nini explained. I need to improve my performance in situations like this in the future.

“I should have just walked away,” says the speaker. That is not how I want to be.

“I’m sure my friends will be surprised,” says the author.

Nini, on the other hand, has yet to apologize to Cross for her comments.

Nigeria, two other countries may be added to the UK’s COVID-19 travel risk list

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Travellers queue with their luggage in the departures hall at Terminal 2 of Heathrow Airport in west London on December 21, 2020, as a string of countries around the world banned travellers arriving from the UK, due to the rapid spread of a new, more-infectious coronavirus strain. - Prime Minister Boris Johnson was to chair a crisis meeting Monday as a growing number of countries blocked flights from Britain over a new highly infectious coronavirus strain the UK said was "out of control". (Photo by Niklas HALLE'N / AFP) (Photo by NIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP via Getty Images)

According to a British data expert, Nigeria, Jamaica, and Grenada are among the countries that could be added to the red list today.

Most international travel was halted for months due to the pandemic, but many of the restrictions for British travelers were lifted in June.

The pandemic, however, is evolving differently in each country, and the British government plans to update its COVID-19 travel list as part of a three-week review, according to Sky News.

Nigeria is currently on the amber list of countries and territories, but if the COVID-19 infection rate does not improve, it may be moved to the red list.

Countries are assumed to be amber unless they present a low public health risk, in which case they will turn green, or a high public health risk, in which case they will turn red.

To assist ministers in making decisions, the Joint Biosecurity Centre has developed a risk assessment methodology. Infection rates, testing rates, positivity rates, rates of variants of concern or variants under investigation, the ability to test for variants (genomic sequencing), and travel links with countries linked to VOCs or VUIs are all taken into consideration.

Read Also:  Fear, concern are growing in Bauchi as the military ‘kills’ terrorists and bandits from neighboring states

Vaccination rates are taken into account as well.

Countries and territories are categorized as red, amber, or green, with each list having its own set of rules.

Jamaica and Grenada, both popular tourist destinations in the Caribbean, may be added to the red list, according to data expert Tim White.

In Africa, the data suggests Nigeria could be vulnerable, White said, adding that St Lucia is at risk because infection rates rose after the last travel review – but they are now declining, and case numbers are low overall, leading him to believe the country will be spared.

Anyone traveling to England, according to the authorities, must:

In the three days leading up to your trip to England, take a COVID-19 test.
COVID-19 tests must be booked and paid for after arrival in England.
Fill out a passenger location form.
Whether you are fully vaccinated or not, you must do these things.
A fully vaccinated traveller must take a COVID-19 test on or before the second day after arriving in England.

This is true if you’ve been fully vaccinated under the UK vaccination program, the UK vaccination program abroad, or an approved vaccination program in Europe or the United States, as not all are recognized in England.

Read Also:  Covid-19 protocol: Nigeria accuses the UAE of applying double standard

In 15 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria recorded three COVID-19 deaths and 299 new infections on Wednesday.

This was revealed in a post on the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control’s Facebook page on Thursday morning.

According to the Nigerian News Agency, the new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday were down from the 519 cases reported on Tuesday.

Nigeria’s total infections have now reached 200,356, with 2,640 deaths, according to the NCDC.

According to the data released on Wednesday, Lagos State had 94 new cases, followed by the FCT with 30 infections and Oyo State with 27 new cases.

According to the NCDC, Bayelsa State came in fourth with 23 cases, followed by Rivers State with 20.

Edo and Taraba each had 17 cases, while Kwara and Benue had 15 and 14 cases, respectively, and Delta had 11 infections.

Read Also:  Third Wave Deaths in Edo COVID-19 Have Reached 33

According to the agency, Osun and Ekiti states each reported ten and nine cases, respectively, while Gombe and Plateau each reported four cases, and Kano and Ogun states each reported two cases.

Nigeria has tested over 2,942,578 samples out of its estimated 206 million population, according to the NCDC.

The center also stated that there are currently 8,799 patients with the disease in its isolation center across the country.

According to the NCDC, 188, 917 people had been treated and discharged as of Wednesday.

Read Also:  COVID-19 kills a nurse and infects another person in Edo

It went on to say that a multi-sectoral national emergency operations center, which had been activated at Level 2, was still in charge of coordinating national response efforts.

Michael Owen picks his favorite clubs to win the Champions League this season

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Michael Owen, a former Real Madrid striker, has tipped Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Manchester United to win the Champions League ahead of Paris Saint-Germain.

Despite having Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe, Owen believes all four Premier League clubs, including PSG, are far ahead of other clubs to win Europe’s top-flight competition this season.

As PSG drew 1-1 with Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday night, the former England international said this while giving his verdict on Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe’s combination.

PSG’s first Champions League group game was against Club Brugge on Wednesday night, and Messi started in a front three with Neymar and Mbappe, but none of the club’s all-star forwards were able to score in a disappointing 1-1 draw.

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“As much as we lust after them [Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe], this PSG team with those forwards are all phenomenal players in their own right,” Owen told BT Sport.

“However, three makes it weaker for me, and I’m not sure why they’re one of the favorites for it [the Champions League].”

“I believe the English teams (Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United) are far and away the best.”

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