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Osun 2018: Tinubu solicits support for Oyetola
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the all progressives congress national leader asiwaju bola tinubu on sunday called for support for the partys candidate in the sept. 22 governorship election in osun alhaji gboyega oyetola1 tinubu said in lagos that oyetola wasthe best man for the job and the one to beat in the race1 he said he was backing the renowned insurance guru and corporate player to help replicate the economic and infrastructure development witnessed in lagos state in osun1 with the impeccable credentials competence and the sterling performance of the outgoing gov. rauf aregbesola the apc flag bearer is the best man for the job and the one to beat in the race he said in a statement by his media officer mr tunde rahman1 tinubu described oyetola as a technocrat shrewd manager and administrator recalling how he single-handedly founded and raised his own insurance company to a place of enviable status1 ogbeni aregbesola has laid the infrastructural foundation for the state oyetola with his experience and expertise in the corporate world will take osun to the next level by raising its economic and investment profile tinubu said1 -
Police arrest Ifa priestess, sons over kidnapping
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by moses omorogieva2 he hailed residents of lagos state for assisting the command with useful information and urged them not to relent1 the spokesman for the command csp chike oti made the development known in a statement in lagos on sunday1 oti said that the suspects were arrested on saturday at their home at no.15 irepodun street egan igando a lagos suburb1 he said that the woman was said to be a chief priestess and custodian of an ifa shrine1 she was alleged to be aiding her sons aged 26 and 32 who allegedly lure their victims with charms to their home1 oti described the suspects as deadly bunch of kidnappers1 he said that they used the social media to lure their victims and put them in captivity until they paid ransoms for their release1 the trio met their waterloo when one bridget obazee came to the divisional police officer dpo of igando police station csp taiwo kasumu on sept. 7 and complained that her brother osahon was missing1 the complainant told the dpo that the kidnappers were threatening to kill osahon if they family failed to pay a n1.5 million ransom1 the police command in lagos state has arrested a 60-year-old ifa chief priestess and her two sons in connection with some kidnap cases in the state1 oti said that the dpo quickly contacted the commissioner of police mr imohimi edgal who deployed men from the intelligence unit of the command to reinforce the dpos team1 he said that the team immediately set out in search of the suspects1 the same day at about 11a.m. through discreet investigation the team arrested the woman and her sons akeem bashiru and ojo solomon he said1 he said that besides osahon the police also rescued two other victims in the home of the suspects which doubled as their hideout1 he gave the names of the other victims as adugbagbe akindele of no.7 peace crescent salolo meiran lagos and one ekwegbalu augustine who was lured from anambra with the promise for a job in an oil company1 oti said the victims have been held for weeks pending the payment of ransom by their families. he said that those rescued had been re-united with their relations.1 he said that during interrogation solomon confessed that he lured the victims with the promise of getting them employment1 he further confessed that he lured some victims for a gay relationship and that their mother empowered him and his brother spiritually oti said1 he said that the mother used charms to intimidate and instil fear in victims1 she added that they warned her not to involve the police otherwise her brother would be killed1 -
Aruna Quadri wins first African tennis championship
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i must express my appreciation to the mauritians for their support their enormous support kept me going throughout the competition1 nigerias aruna quadri on sunday won the mens singles title at the 2018 ittf african championships in mauritius the first time in his career1 in agadir two years ago aruna was the runner up1 aruna in the semi-final in mauritius had beaten compatriot olajide omotayo 11-9 11-6 11-5 11-3 while ahmed ali saleh who will celebrate his 39th birthday next month accounted for nigerias 44 year-old segun toriola 8-11 11-7 9-11 11-8 11-3 11-91 i am so happy that i was able to win this title for the first time having come close in 20161 my next target is the all african games title because the likes of segun toriola and omar assar have won this and i am hoping that i can win this as well1 he beat veteran and three time champion egypts ahmed ali saleh 11-7 6-11 13-11 11-9 11-1. the victory came one month after he won the 2018 ittf challenge seamaster nigeria open in lagos1 it is great again winning another title 28 days after winning the ittf challenge seamaster nigeria open in lagos. aruna told reporters in his post-match reaction1 arunas title will make it the ninth to be won by nigerians in the mens singles events at the african championships. atanda musa blazed the trail in 1985 in alexandria egypt when he beat fellow nigerian yomi bankole 1 nigeria has not won the title since 2002 when segun toriola beat colleague monday merotohun in bizerte tunisia1 toriola followed up winning the mens singles title at the commonwealth games in manchester the first time table tennis was included in the multi-sport event1 although ahmed ali saleh lost to aruna in mauritius he remains the most successful african singles player making five finals and winning three1 he won in addis ababa in 2000 brazzaville 2007 and yaound 20101 -
Train accident kills 52 cattle
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he said no human casualty was recorded1 no fewer than 52 cattle have been killed by a train in kasarami jere axis in chikkun local government area in kaduna state1 the commissioner malam ahmad abdulrahaman refuted reports that the cattle were killed by other means1 there is nothing like attack but purely a train accident so nobody should panic he told newsmen in kaduna1 according to him the cattle were crushed to death at about 1145 this morning by a speeding train going to abuja from rigasa railway station1 he also explained that the 27 cattle that sustained injuries were slaughtered by the chief butcher of kasarami village1 the kaduna state police command on sunday confirmed the accident1 when the information of the accident reached the command i quickly mobilised our men to the scene to assess the situation1 he described the accident as pathetic. he said the herdsmen were moving to funtua local government in katsina state1 they innocently inquired on whether there were rail services on sunday but were misinformed that there was none1 i have summoned the traditional rulers of the area youths and farmers on the need to continue to live in peace and to avoid crossing the rail track indiscriminately with farm produce and animals1 he added that a similar meeting will hold with officials of the railway corporation on how to avert such an accident in future. nan1 -
Naomi Osaka thrashes tearful Williams to clinch New York Crown
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japanese star naomi osaka trounced her idol serena williams to lift her first grand slam in new york winning 6-2 6-41 her victory the second over williams denied the american her dreamrecord-equalling 24th grand slam that would have put her on the same pedestal with australian margaret court1 the match was marred by rantings by serena after the umpire carlos ramos warned her about a non verbal message passed to her by her french coach patrick mouratoglou. he also warned her about her misbehaviour smashing her racket1 but serena was unhinged thereafter shouting expletives on the umpire who imposed the sanction of awarding one game penalty to her opponent. this took naomi 5-3 in the second set1 the sanction brought out tearful emotions from serena. us open officials could not help her and after gathering herself serena held her game to reduce the score to 5-41 thereafter she sank on her seat crying during the short break before naomi served for the match to win her firstrecord grand slam as a japanese player1 she also picked the 3.8 million winners cheque1 osaka and williams had played against each other once before at miami in march and it was the japanese upstart who used her formidable power to topple her idol in straight sets1 she repeated the same feat on saturday night. but more important for her was that she had lived a dream1 even when i was a little kid i always dreamed that i would play serena in a final of a grand slam. just the fact that its happening im very happy about it osaka said after her semi-final win over 2017 runner-up madison keys1 -
Jack Ma says not quitting yet only unveiling succession plan
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his own worth has soared along with that of the company which has added cloud computing films and e-payments to its growing portfolio and was valued at 420.8 billion when the stock market closed on friday1 alibaba co-founder and chairman jack ma will not step aside on monday as widely reported he will only unveil a succession plan the south china morning post reported sunday1 the new york times ran an article on friday based on an interview with ma saying the former teacher turned billionaire planned to use his birthday to announce his retirement as chairman of alibaba to focus on philanthropy1 the paper quoted ma as saying the decision was the beginning of an era1 but an alibaba spokesman told the scmp that the new york times story was taken out of context and factually wrong1 an alibaba spokesman said ma remains the companys executive chairman and will provide transition plans over a significant period of time the scmp wrote1 the paper added that the monday succession strategy was part of a plan for grooming a generation of younger executives to take over the reins of the company1 eileen murphy a spokesperson for the new york times said the newspaper stood by its story1 ma was an english teacher before starting alibaba in 1999 and built it into a multibillion-dollar internet colossus becoming one of the worlds richest men and a revered figure in his homeland1 the scmp which is owned by alibaba said chinas most famous tech billionaire will unveil a succession strategy on monday his 54th birthday but remain the companys executive chairman for the foreseeable future1 the new york times report surprised many in the global business community because of mas comparative youth especially in china where it is not unusual for tycoons to remain in place into their eighties1 alibaba did not return requests for comment on saturday after the story ran1 ma gave up the title of alibaba ceo in 2013 but remains a pivotal figure within the company as well as its most recognisable face1 in an interview with bloomberg tv released on friday ma hinted at his retirement plans saying he wanted to follow in the footsteps of microsoft founder bill gates one of the worlds most prolific philanthropists1 theres a lot of things i can learn from bill gates. i can never be as rich but one thing i can do better is to retire earlier he said1 the scmp report ran quotes from ma himself but they did not address when exactly he would retire. ma said he met with company executives 10 years ago to work out what alibaba would do without me1 anybody who knows me knows i embrace the future. this is not about retiring stepping away or backing off. this is a systematic plan the paper quoted ma as saying1 the scmp said ma would be in russia next week for alibaba business meetings as well as an upcoming trip to south africa and a planned speech at the companys investor day in mid-september1 -
Atiku woos another presidential aspirant
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alhaji atiku abubakar one of the numerous presidential aspirants of the peoples democratic party pdp has taken his campaign to another aspirant sen. ahmad makarki1 abubakar was nigerias former vice president on the platform of pdp from 1999-2007 and makarfi a former governor of kaduna state was also the immediate past national chairman of pdp1 abubakar on saturday visited makarfi at his residence in kaduna to seek blessings of the pdp chieftain ahead of the partys presidential primary for the 2019 general elections1 atiku said the visit was aimed at seeking the support of makarfi who is also a presidential aspirant as the party struggles to wrest power from the all progressives congress apc1 he described the apc government as a total failure and therefore said the party must not be allowed to continue in office in 20191 atiku said he was willing to support any other candidate of the party that emerged through a credible process if he loses in the presidential primary1 on his part makarfi said both himself and atiku abubakar were eminently qualified for the countrys number one seat adding that his presidential ambition was not a do or die affair1 in attendance at the meeting was the director general of the atiku campaign organization and former ogun state governor otunba gbenga daniel as well as close associates of senator makarfi1 other aspirants that abubakar would have to contend with on the platform of pdp are the senate president bukola saraki his predecessor david mark governor of sokoto state aminu tambuwal governor of gombe state ibrahim dankwambo a former governor of kano state rabiu kwankwaso a former governor of jigawa state sule lamido1 others are a former governor of sokoto state attahiru bafarawa a former governor of plateau state david jang a former minister of special duties tanimu turaki a former kaduna north senator datti baba-ahmed and former senate president david mark the latest to join the race1 -
Mo Farah wins 5th consecutive Great North Run
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mo farah delivered a dominant performance to claim a record fifth victory in the great north run on sunday in the latest step in his bid to win a major marathon1 the british runner led from the front to cross the line in 59min 26sec just four seconds short of the personal best he set in winning his second title in 20151 it was also his fifth consecutive win in the race1 farah shrugged off new zealands jake robertson in the final section of the race in newcastle as he set himself up in style for his attempt to win his first major marathon crown in chicago next month1 trainings different now as im not in the track season. ive been doing a lot more long runs and in terms of endurance im definitely fitter four-time olympic champion farah told the bbc1 just coming into that headwind it was so tough i wasnt going smooth i was going up and down. i honestly thought i could beat my personal best today but those last two miles really hurt1 favourite vivian cheruiyot saw off fellow kenyan brigid kosgei to win her second womens title in 67431 -
Phone addiction causes poor performance
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another parent mrs maimuna bala also expressed dismay over phone addition and cautioned that it caused serious distraction1 the addiction to mobile phone from early age could lead to poor academic performance skiving of class sleep disturbances and mental problems in more serious cases a medical doctor in kano state dr tijjani haruna has said1 he said that schools and the family have an important role to play in checking the ugly trend by preventing children from using mobile phones from childhood before they become addicted to it1 some parents in kano have also expressed concern over the addiction of youths in the use of smart phones describing the menace as disturbing and dangerous to their health1 malam ali sadiq a parent lamented that most of the youths who are in the age bracket of 18 to 35 years are addicted to smart phones while few of them who are outside of this age bracket are also in the habit of using mobile phones anywhere they find themselves1 sadiq appealed to parents and other stakeholders in the state to educate their children on the dangers associated with persistent use of cell phones1 haruna who is working with the mohammed abdullahi wase specialist hospital kano told the news agency of nigeria nan in kano on sunday that the trend could make users prone to obesity lack of concentration and other diseases1 many parents are out of touch with the dangers faced by their children on tablets and smart phones she said1 mr gabriel adekoya another parent also said our youths nowadays are always glued to their phones tapping away on whatsapp posting selfies or scrolling youtube for the latest videos some of them hardly relate directly with real people around them because of addiction1 mr abass yusuf an electronics engineer in the city said that one could hardly see young people without smart phones1 the most annoying thing is people over concentrate by surfing through their smart phones while at places of work eateries or places of worship yusuf said1 however dr arikawe adeolu a medical practitioner federal medical centre jabi abuja advised nigerians to develop good phone hygiene as the device had the capacity to hold millions of micro-organism. nan1 -
Air passengers hit 3.7m in 2Q
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the bureau said there was a significant year-on-year decline in air cargo traffic via lagos for both the first quarter 49.8 per cent and second quarter 65.4 per cent1 the national bureau of statistics nbs has said that 3.65 million air passengers traveled through nigerian airports in the second quarter of 2018 as against 3.84 million recorded in the first quarter1 the bureau said the figure declined by 33.51 per cent year-on-year and increased by 15.24 per cent quarter-on-quarter1 the report said there was a consequent 4.9 per cent decline in passengers for the second quarter when compared to the preceding quarter1 the report said the total aircraft traffic declined year-on-year for both the first quarter 1.48per cent and second quarter 10.17per cent when compared to the corresponding quarter in 20171 in the first half of 2018 aircraft traffic totaled 96659 a 5.9 per cent decline from total aircraft recorded in the same period last year it stated1 the nbs disclosed this in its air transport data q1 and q2 2018 report posted in its website1 this the nbs said led to an overall year-on-year decline of 37.8 per cent for the first half of the year1 it said that a growth of 25.6 per cent was however recorded between the second quarter and the preceding quarter1 according to the bureau a 34.2 per cent increase in total mail traffic was recorded in the first half of the year when compared to the same period in 20171 total mail traffic for the first half of 2018 increased from 14779558 kg in half year 2017 to 19831650 kg in half year 2018 a 34.2per cent growth between the stated periods1 total mail for first quarter was recorded at 8313112 kg and grew by 38.56 per cent to 11518538 kg in the second quarter.nan1 -
Speaker lampoons Niger Delta legislators
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we have no road connecting southern ijaw to other places in the state no power supply we are not connected to the national grid we have no good hospital1 the speaker bayelsa state house of assembly mr konbowei benson has lampooned legislators from niger delta and described them as ineffective1 benson a two-term speaker in the state assembly said on sunday when he spoke with newsmen at the peoples democratic party pdp secretariat in yenagoa1 the speaker had on thursday picked a nomination form to vie for the house of representatives seat for southern ijaw federal constituency1 he noted that southern ijaw despite being one of the top most local governments producing wealth for the country has yet to have access road electricity hospital and other basic amenities1 the speaker added that these were reasons he was aspiring to the national assembly to attract federal government presence to the area1 as at now there are many things we are still lacking despite our contributions to economic development of nigeria1 he said that the neglect of the niger delta region by successive administrations was due to the ineffective representation by legislators from the region1 nothing to write home about and those are the things that moved me to aspire to represent the area in the house of representatives1 so i will use my experience in legislation which span more than 12 years to attract development to my area he said1 he decried the continued neglect of southern ijaw and other niger delta communities which he said had nothing to show for producing most of the wealth for the nation1 benson said that with good representatives at the national assembly they can attract federal government presence to the area1 how can we produce so much but have nothing to show its pathetic a big oil producing local government like southern ijaw cannot boast of a road even functional hospitals1 someone will spend four or five hours in the water before getting to yenagoa by the grace of god when we get there we will be able to argue our way out1 niger delta and southern ijaw have to be carried along our people have been neglected for long that is why we need quality people at the national assembly people who will bring development to the deprived areas the speaker said. nan1 -
MASSOB tips Ojukwus Bianca for senate
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although bianca said that her visit to the project site had no significance to her political ambition she however described her visit as home coming1 the identity of late dim chukwuemeka ojukwu to the igbo people has propelled the movement for the actualization of the sovereign state of biafra massob to endorse mrs bianca ojukwus bid to contest the anambra south senatorial election in 20191 he said that he supports bianca because her late husband meant everything to the identity of the igbo people and was his bosom friend and mentor who struggled for the emancipation of ndigbo1 uwazuruike who also doubles as the leader of biafra independence movement said that though he was not from anambra senatorial district but that he would deplore tools available to him to ensure bianca emerged victorious1 bianca already has the backing of more than 15 igbo billionaires for her 2019 senatorial project and i make bold to say that she has my full support and we call on anambra people to look back on our history and support her uwazuruike appealed1 mrs ojukwu had recently declared to vie for the senatorial seat on the platform of the all progressives grand alliance apga a party which her late husband founded in 20031 mrs ojukwu told the news agency of nigeria nan that she commended uwazuruikes zeal and interest in engraving the name of her husband and ndigbo in the sands of time1 when uwazuruike started this ojukwu memorial library project after the death of my husband it was like a bourgeois dream but the project today is almost completed she said1 chief ralph uwazuruike leader of massob made the endorsement when bianca wife of late dim ojukwu and dr godwin maduka billionaire us-based nigerian surgeon visited ojukwu memorial library owerri on sunday1 nan reports that the ojukwu memorial library complex has 2000 capacity auditorium and e-library which on completion would serve as meeting place for discussion on igbo historical heritage and issues affecting them1 also maduka who described the auditorium as magnificent expressed delight on the thoughtfulness of uwazuruike on the library and conference centre1 i am indeed happy to see this kind of magnificent structure that could be likened to aesthetic buildings in the netherlands i will certainly identify with the initiator of this project in seeing to its completion1 i must add that doing this is to demonstrate that i am a core igbo man and i feel any privileged son or daughter of igbo nation should show interest in this project that represents our history and unity he said1 maduka the chief executive officer and medical director of las vegas pain institute and medical centre nevada u.s. criticised what he called the continued marginalisation of a section of the country in favour of others1 he said that the beauty of nigeria was the unity of all segments and urged the leaders to kick against tribalism and nepotism to take the country to the next level1 nan also reports that maduka who recently commenced construction of police academy at his umuchukwu country home had completed a 16-storey skyscraper medical research centre at umuchukwu community in orumba south local government anambra state1 he equally built and handed over high court and magistrates court complex as well as involved in litany of developmental projects in a bid to turn his obscure community to a centre of medical destination in nigeria and entire african continent. nan1