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I was against Tunde Onakoya playing chess — Dad

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Pa Onakoya, the father of Nigerian chess master, Tunde Onakoya, has revealed that he was initially against his son playing chess.

 

Recall on April 17, Tunde Onakoya commenced his attempt to break the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest chess marathon.

 

He achieved the feat on April 20 at Times Square in New York City after playing for over 58 hours and winning every match.

 

He broke the record of Norwegian players, Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad, who played for 56-hour, 9-minute in 2018.

 

Reacting to Tunde’s success on Wednesday in an interview with City Edge TV, his father described him as a resilient person.

 

He admitted that when Tunde was a child, he used to disrupt his chess games to make him focus on his education.

 

He said, “To me, Babatunde Onakoya is an angel because whatever he set his mind on you must succeed.

 

“As a small child, when Tunde was playing chess, I usually packed everything away from him because I wanted him to focus on school. I didn’t know that it was what would make him popular like this.

 

“My advice for parents is that they shouldn’t discourage their children from their passions. I wanted Tunde to be a doctor but I didn’t know that chess would make him popular like this. I thank God.”

The inside story of Tinuade Sanda’s corporate downfall from grace to grass.  

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The inside story of Tinuade Sanda’s corporate downfall from grace to grass.

 

The embattled boardroom lioness, Dr. Tinuade Sanda who was recently removed as the Chief Executive Officer of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EkoDISCO), has now been dismissed from her present position at the holding company, West Power & Gas (WPG).

She was removed from her role at EkoDISCO following a Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC directive aimed at improving governance and operational efficiencies within the distribution sector.

 

Following her removal from Eko Disco, Tinuade was replaced by Rekhiat Momoh as the Acting CEO.

 

Tinuade, who was said to have spent each day rueing her disregard for caution, feeling she understood early enough and now could turn back the hands of time to avoid her current travail.

 

Losing her job with Eko Disco was a great tragedy as she hoped against reason that somehow, she would be reinstated.

 

She fought to be reinstated but contrary to her expectation, she wasn’t restored to her position, instead, she was seconded but later given the boot from West Power & Gas (WPG), the parent company of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), weeks after she was asked to return to the firm (WPG).

 

Tinuade, following a boardroom crisis at the distribution company, was relieved of her duties at WPG via a letter dated April 17, 2024, and signed by the company’s Chair, Charles Momoh.

 

Sources said Tinuade may have been a victim of an internal shareholder jostle for control between the company chairman Oritsedere Otubu and majority shareholder Walter Wagbatsoma.

 

Until she was posted to the EKEDC as a Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO), Tinuade served as the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of WPG, a consortium of local businesses owning a 60 per cent stake and controlling interest in Eko Disco.

 

Her sack from WPG concludes a series of high-profile shifts in leadership within the organization, driven by directives from the NERC.

 

But sources said her journey into infamy started with a step leading to her falling with a stumble.

 

Tinuade’s tragedy may be attributed to her arrogance which has cost her the much dream job.

 

She enjoyed a perfect opportunity to prove her prowess, puncture the anti-female boardroom stereotype, and tower twice her natural size, above her male and female peers but she blew it.

 

So disgusted was the company’s board with her perceived misconduct that all the members allegedly voted for her immediate dismissal as the company’s MD/CEO.

 

Aside that she was booted out of her high offices at EKEDC and WPG as a consequence of high-wired politics and power play that took place over several months, Tinuade, until her removal, carried on like a lioness and roared at will, threatening the peace of both the old and young in her orbit.

 

Although there was initially some vigorous push-back by her supporters, Tinuade, who openly challenged her removal and dismissed it as unacceptable, lost in the acrimonious battle to reclaim her spot.

 

The scariest aspect of being sacked from her exalted positions at EkoDISCO and WPG, is her alleged lack of moral and emotional support at the homefront.

 

Tinuade allegedly looked down on the world, her husband, Sola Sanda, included, thinking how ugly and despicable they all were.

 

The Corporate lioness was said to have deserted her matrimonial home and ended her marriage at the cusp of the ascent of her career ladder.

 

Insiders revealed that Tinuade brazenly called it quits with her husband, Sola, and moved out of their matrimonial home with the kids, into a posh residence in Ikoyi.

 

Thus as her ordeal persists, she has no shoulders to cry on and no one to wipe her tears. And this revealed sources very close to her, has aggravated the emotional strain that she has been experiencing since she became embroiled in the high-wired power play that cost her job.

 

Source: www.airwaysreport.com

MRS Reduces Diesel Price To ₦‎1,050

MRS Oil Plc has slashed the price of Automotive Gas Oil popularly known as diesel to N1,050 per litre across its outlets nationwide.

 

This was disclosed in a flier prepared by the oil firm now trending online.

 

The slash in price from as high as N1,700 in some filling stations last month was said to be in response to the recent decision of Dangote Petroleum Refinery to further slash the price of the commodity.

 

In the flier, the management of the oil firm urged members of the public to report any of its outlets found selling the community higher than the stipulated price.

 

“We are now selling AGO at all MRS retail outlets in Nigeria at N1050 per litre.

 

“Any station not selling at this price, please report to customer service or whistleblower,” the message read.

 

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery had on Tuesday, announced a further reduction in the prices of diesel and aviation fuel to N940/litre and N980/litre, respectively

 

On April 17, Dangote refinery listened to the calls of oil marketers regarding a reduction in the price of diesel, as the refinery reduced the cost of the commodity from N1,200/litre to N1,000/litre.

 

On Tuesday, the multi-billion dollar facility announced a further reduction in the price of AGO but noted that the change was only applicable to dealers purchasing up to five million litres of diesel and above.

 

“The price change of N940 applies to customers buying five million litres and above from the refinery, while the price of N970 is for customers buying one million litres and above,” the firm stated in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Anthony Chiejina.

 

He explained that the new price aligned with the company’s commitment to cushion the effect of the economic hardship in Nigeria.

 

“I can confirm to you that Dangote Petroleum Refinery has entered a strategic partnership with MRS oil and gas stations to ensure that consumers get to buy fuel at affordable prices in all their stations, be it Lagos or Maiduguri.

 

“You can buy as low as one litre of diesel at N1,050 and aviation fuel at N980 at all major airports where MRS operates,” Chiejina stated.

 

He further noted that the partnership would be extended to other major oil marketers.

 

“The essence of this is to ensure that retail buyers do not buy at exorbitant prices. The Dangote Group is committed to ensuring that Nigerians have better welfare, and as such, we are happy to announce these new prices.

 

“We hope that it would go a long way to cushion the effect of economic challenges in the country,” the spokesperson for the refinery stated.

 

The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery announced a reduction in the price of diesel from N1200 to N1,000/litre less than two weeks ago.

 

Tuesday’s price slash marked the third major reduction in diesel prices in less than three weeks. The product sold for N1,700/litre about a month ago but was reduced to N1,200/litre by Dangote Refinery.

 

The facility also carried out a further reduction in the cost of AGO to N1,000/litre before the latest slash to N940/litre. It puts aviation fuel from the plant at N980/litre.

 

President Bola Tinubu had also commended the refinery for the initial price reduction, describing it as an enterprising feat.

Am not afraid of EFCC, neither am I a fugitive. I only want the rule of law to be respected – Yahaya Bello

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Am not afraid of EFCC, neither am I a fugitive. I only want the rule of law to be respected – Yahaya Bello

 

According to a report by Daily Post on Wednesday, April, 24, 2024, Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, vehemently denied accusations of being a fugitive and challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to produce evidence of any invitation extended to him. Bello’s media officer, Ohiare Michael, reiterated the governor’s stance, emphasizing his commitment to upholding the rule of law.

 

Contrary to claims by the EFCC, Bello asserted that he had never been invited for questioning by the anti-corruption agency. He criticized the EFCC’s declaration of him as wanted without prior invitation, calling for transparency and accountability in the process.

 

The statement by Michael reads partly: “Let it be known to all that Alhaji Yahaya Bello is not afraid of the EFCC, he is not a fugitive running from the law. All he demands is that the rule of law be respected.

 

“The EFCC stated that they invited Alhaji Yahaya Bello immediately after his tenure ended on the 27th of January 2024. We challenge the EFCC to publish a copy of the invitation delivered to Yahaya Bello.

 

“They should also tell Nigerians the date the alleged invitation was delivered and who it was delivered to. We are certain that the EFCC will not be able to produce any of the foregoing as to date, they have yet to invite Alhaji Yahaya Bello.”

 

“Indeed, just about the end of his administration, several online news sites published that the EFCC would arrest the Governor as soon as he handed over power to his successor as they intended to charge him for alleged crimes committed as Governor of Kogi State.”

Moses Babatope to launch new media company after departure from Filmhouse Group

The co-founder of Filmhouse Group and former Managing Director of FilmOne, Moses Babatope, is set to launch a new media and entertainment company.

 

News of the media and entertainment company launch was disclosed in a statement as seen by Nairametrics on Wednesday. While the public launch of his new company is still pending, Babatope addressed speculations regarding a non-compete agreement with Filmhouse Group.

 

“There are rumors of a non-compete with FilmOne and Filmhouse, but that is untrue,” Babatope said, debunking the circulating misinformation. “The plan is bigger than Moses Babatope; it’s not just another entertainment venture. The plan is to grow the industry ten times bigger. We’re innovating, disrupting, and creating new revenue lines for the industry,” he added.

Here’s what we know

Babatope’s new venture is focusing on film production, distribution, and cinema, following his departure from FilmHouse Group. People familiar with the matter suggested that internal tensions between co-founders Moses Babatope and Kene Okwuosa may have prompted the departure.

 

The issue stemmed from differences in vision and leadership style between the two co-founders, which had long been a point of contention within the organization.

 

Babatope’s hands-on approach and emphasis on innovation were both admired and met with concern, especially as his accomplishments, such as expanding FilmOne Entertainment and securing major distribution deals. On the other hand, Kene Okwuosa’s leadership style and vision were purportedly at odds with Babatope’s, leading to friction between them.

 

News continues after this ad

 

Insider sources, speaking anonymously, explained that recent discussions surrounding Babatope’s role within the company were influenced by these frictions. Thus, an announcement made to over 100 staff members on Monday, March 11, 2024, hinted at the possibility of one of the managing directors stepping down.

 

When Nairametrics sought comments from FilmHouse Group, they denied the occurrence of any of such events within the company. However, inside sources claimed that there was a strict no-press policy in place regarding the matter at the time.

 

Subsequently, Moses Babatope resigned as Managing Director, paving the way for his new company’s establishment.

 

What you should know

FilmHouse was initially established in 2012 by Kenechukwu Mkparu, alongside co-founders Moses Babatope and Kene Okwuosa, with the aim of addressing gaps in the cinema market.

 

Babatope’s journey in the film industry spans over two decades, marked by his expertise in cinema operations and management. As a co-founder of FilmHouse Group and the pioneering Managing Director of FilmOne Entertainment, his leadership has been instrumental in the production and executive production of over 40 of Nollywood’s most notable titles. These include successful ventures like “Wedding Party” (grossing N452 million) and Funke Akindele’s “A Tribe Called Judah” (earning N1.4 billion), among others.

 

Under his stewardship, FilmOne Entertainment forged significant partnerships with major Hollywood entities such as Disney, Warner Brothers, Sony, Netflix, Prime Video, and Warner Brothers.

 

Furthermore, Babatope played a key role in pioneering corporate financing for films through the establishment of the West African Film Fund. This innovative initiative involved partnerships with Huahua Media of China and Empire Entertainment of South Africa to fully finance or co-finance 15 film projects, marking a significant milestone in the industry.

Dider Drogba: South Africa football League is the best in terms of Infrastructure and sponsors but there is no Talent in their league 

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Dider Drogba: South Africa football League is the best in terms of Infrastructure and sponsors but there is no Talent in their league

Dider Drogba had mentioned South African league is the best league in Africa because they have good infrastructure, like good stadiums and Financial muscles from their league or psl .

 

South Africa might be the best league in Africa than Ivory Coast ,Nigeria, Senegal or Ghana but those leagues from those countries produces far more better players than South Africa. Is painful to see the country that have everything not being able to produce such great players that can play in la Liga, EPL, Series A and French Ligue.

 

If other countries had the same resources or infrastructure South Africa has, their league will been so advanced to even attract more European Clubs to scouts their talents. But that’s life people who have resources don’t know how to use them, and people who have talents dont have opportunities to have those resources to go far in life.

Nigeria abandoned me when I needed them most – Samson Siasia blows hot

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“Nigeria abandoned me at that time of need, that’s my own take on how this thing played out,” Siasia told Athlist.

 

“It’s an allegation, they said bribery. What is bribery? Is it not when money changes hands? was there any proof of that? There was none.

 

“I spoke with someone that was trying to hire me as a coach in Australia. I didn’t know the guy was a match-fixer, but FIFA knew this guy. Why would they allow him to be around any FIFA tournament?

 

“So when they found out through emails, our correspondence about how this guy would take me to Australia. I played in Australia, so I felt it would be nice to go back there.

 

“We talked about how much salaries, transfers, bonuses, sign-on fees, and that was all.

 

“When FIFA was looking for me, I didn’t even know. I am not affiliated to FIFA, their affiliation is with the NFF. So they went to the NFF and told them not to let me know that they were investigating me. But if they didn’t tell me, how was I supposed to defend myself?

 

“Then they sent me a letter, but it went to my spam. It was two days before the ban that I found out that FIFA was looking for me. Then we started to see how we could communicate with them to see how I could have a hearing. But they said the time had elapsed and I should go to CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sports).

 

“For me to do that was like two days. To find a sports lawyer in this country is not easy. You can hardly find one. So we struggled and managed. I can tell you that the boy we took to write the appeal brief for me to get that hearing is suing me up till today.

 

“It has been dragging because he said I have to pay €300,000 even though our initial agreement was in euros. I’m still struggling with that one just because Nigerians couldn’t stand up on their feet and check what was going on.”

 

#latestfootballnews

How Yahaya Bello Declined EFCC’s Invitation for Interrogation – Olukoyede

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The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr Ola Olukoyede has disclosed that he made personal efforts to invite a former governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yahaya Adoza Bello to respond to investigations regarding his alleged involvement in money laundering to the tune of N80,246,470,089.88 (Eighty Billion, Two Hundred and Forty-Six Million, Four Hundred and Seventy Thousand and Eighty Nine Naira, Eighty Eight Kobo).

 

Olukoyede stated this in Abuja on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, while addressing media executives at the Corporate Headquarters of the EFCC. According to him, he had a telephone conversation with Bello offering him ample opportunities to present himself for interrogation by investigators of the EFCC.

 

“On my honour, I put a call to him to honour him as a former governor. He said, I can’t come, claiming that a certain lady has surrounded the EFCC with over 100 Journalists to embarrass or intimidate him and all that stuff. I said if that is your fear, I will make you come directly to my floor. I will invite my operatives to interrogate you in my own office. What could be more honourable than that? Do you know what he said? ‘Can’t they come to my village?’ My Director of Investigations also sent a message to him”, he said.

 

The EFCC’s boss said he was worried at the report of larceny available to the EFCC concerning the former governor. “A sitting governor, because he knew he was going, he moved money directly from the government’s account to a bureau-de-change to pay his children’s school fees in advance, $720,000, in anticipation that he was going to leave government house”, he said.

 

Olukoyede also disclosed that the EFCC, in its bid to ensure the safety and stability of the foreign exchange market, has uncovered a new fraudulent scheme called P2P, peer to peer trading scheme. The platform, according to him, is operating outside the official banking and financial corridors, with more than 300 (Three hundred) accounts linked to it already frozen by the EFCC. He reaffirmed the commitment of the Commission to the economic growth and development of the country,  promising that the EFCC would not relent in the exercise of its mandate. He told the media executives that the Commission has recovered more than N120billion from fraudsters within six months and secured more than 1300 convictions.

 

He called on Nigerians to be more dedicated to the nation,  insisting that patriotic Nigerians should offer more support to the EFCC because the Commission is crucial to the growth and development of Nigeria. ‘’If you support the EFCC, you are working for the growth of Nigeria. We all have stakes in the well-being of our nation”, he said.

Punish my abusers within 48 hours or face lawsuit – Student bullied by her classmates threaten school authorities

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Punish my abusers within 48 hours or face lawsuit – Student bullied by her classmates threaten school authorities

 

A letter from her lawyers, Deji Adeyanju and Co, to the school reads

 

“We are Solicitors to Miss. Namtira Bwala (acting through her next friend), hereinafter referred to as our client, on whose instruction we act.

 

Our client and several other parents in Lead British International School have informed us and we verily believe them that this act of bullying is a reoccurring issue in the school, and despite several attempts to draw the school’s attention to it, the issue has persisted, leaving our client traumatised from the emotional and physical effect of the oppressive acts by these dare devil bullies.

 

Regrettably, our client has once again, been subjected to physical attacks in the hands of these bullies, with the video of the act going viral on social media.

 

Sadly, rather than address this issue head-on by imposing severe sanctions on the student bullies, the school has issued a timid statement lacking in force or recognition of the severity of the situation at hand.

 

Our client completely dissociate herself from the statement issued by the school on April 22, 2024 wherein a case of battery was unconscionably referred to as an “incident between minors.

 

We state that it is this type of statements, coupled with the school’s gross negligence, that has enabled the student bullies, leading to increased incidents of unchecked bullying in the school, an environment that should ordinarily be a safe space for students.

 

Sequel to the foregoing, we have our client’s instruction to demand for the immediate investigation and the pronouncement of the stiffest possible sanctions in the student’s rule book, on Ms. Maryam Hassan, Miss Faliya and nine other students who have formed a cult of bullies in Lead British International School, Gwarimpa, Abuja.

 

Please note that if the school fails to sanction the student bullies within 48 hours of the receipt of this letter, we have our client’s further instruction to seek an immediate and severe legal redress against Lead British International School, Gwarimpa, without further recourse to you.”’’

EFCC Investigation Revealed That 4-Contracts While Suspected To Be Connected To The Brother Of Former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika.

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An investigation by the EFCC revealed that a company called Engirios Nigerian Limited was awarded four significant contracts, which are suspected to be connected to the brother of the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika.

 

The younger brother’s firm received the contracts when Sirika was leading the ministry.

 

As per the EFCC, the investigation has verified that Abubakar is officially identified as the company’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer.

 

It has been mentioned that he is the only authorized person to sign for the company’s two accounts.

 

The company owned by the brother has been awarded four contracts, which are detailed as follows:

 

(1) Construction of the Terminal Building in Katsina Airport N1,345,586,500.00

 

(2) Fire Truck Maintenance and Refurbishment Centre in Katsina Airport N3, 811,497,685.00

 

(3) Procurement and installation of elevators, air conditioners and power generator house in Aviation House, Abuja N615,195,275.000

 

(4) Procurement of Magnus Aircraft and simulator for Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria (N2, 296,897, 404.00).

 

EFCC Suspected that the former Minister, Hadi Sirika, assigned the contracts to his brother, Abubakar, despite being aware that Abubakar holds a position as a civil servant serving as a deputy director on Level 16 within the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, a department he has been a part of since 2000 until the present time.