AfDB President, Akinwunmi Adesina, made this known during a courtesy visit on the Chairman Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt, Clifford Ordia, on Wednesday in Abuja.

Mr Adeshina, represented by his Senior Special Adviser on Industrialisation, Oyebanji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, said discussions with the federal government started in April 2019 on the loan.

Known as Special Agro-Industrial Process, he said it would be similar to the free trade zone, where thousands of direct and indirect jobs would be created for Nigerians across the country.

“We have been engaged with the federal government since April 2019. One of the standout issues in the discussion is the issue of agriculture.

“There is something called Special Agro-Industrial Process. It’s similar to the free trade zone. We are in 15 different countries.

“The idea of the zone is for dedicated agribusiness. Africa is lagging behind. Farmers work hard, but they get very little. When the President of the bank was the Minister of Agriculture, he started about 14 of these zones. A lot was spent. Since he left as a minister, nothing has happened since then.

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“The bank has advanced $500 million to beef up these zones in the next few years. The private sector and others are pledging support. These funds will be used to provide roads and other infrastructure.

“We are tired of people laughing at us in Nigeria. This project is working in other countries. It can also work here. The AfDB is there to support Nigeria.

“Our goal is that, in the next two years, we will begin to see results. Every state will be affected. Nigeria shouldn’t be importing food. We should be at the forefront of exporting food to other parts of the world,” he said.

Responding, Mr Ordia urged AfDB to carry every stakeholder along.

“For us in the Senate, it’s a laudable programme. This programme ought to have started 10 years ago. As a Senate and as a Committee, we will support you.

“The agencies that are supposed to be the main drivers of this programme should be carried along. All the stakeholders should be carried along.

“You ought to have carried us along. You only come here when you need a loan request. Once we have this done in Nigeria, the value chain will be good,” he said.

(NAN)

Source – https://www.premiumtimesng.com/agriculture/

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The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion beat her fellow American 6-3 6-4.

It is the 38-year-old’s first singles title since she won the Australian Open in 2017 and her 73rd WTA title overall.

Williams, in her fourth decade on the WTA Tour, lost the Wimbledon and US Open finals in 2018 and 2019 and retired from the 2019 Rogers Cup final.

She said after her victory that she would donate her prize money in Auckland and a dress she had worn to the Australian bushfire appeal.

“It feels good. It’s been a long time, I think you could see the relief on my face,” said Williams.

“I have been playing for so long and been through so much and I’m happy to be doing something I love.”

The Australian Open begins on 20 January, with Williams bidding to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.

Williams won her first WTA title in February 1999, when she beat France’s Amelie Mauresmo on carpet at the Open Gaz de France.

She made a slow start in Auckland, with Pegula taking a 3-1 lead in the first set, before recovering to win the next five games and close out the opening set.

Williams broke the unseeded Pegula’s serve early in the second set and converted her fourth match point to ensure victory.

She celebrated on court with her daughter, Olympia, with whom she was eight weeks pregnant when she won her last Grand Slam title in Melbourne.

Williams was also in the doubles final with Caroline Wozniacki, but the two were beaten 6-4 6-4 by Asia Muhammad and Taylor Townsend in the doubles final.

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In Brisbane, Karolina Pliskova successfully defended her title with a 6-4 4-6 7-5 win over American Madison Keys.

Singles world number one Ashleigh Barty – who is donating all her prize money to the bushfire appeal – and her doubles partner Kiki Bertens lost their final against Barbora Strycova and Hsieh Su-wei 3-6 7-6 (9-7) 10-8.

Source – https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/51081685

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Bello made the remark while felicitating with the Senate President on the occasion of his 61st birthday anniversary in a press statement released on Sunday.

In the statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Onogwu Muhammed, the governor lauded the Senate President for bringing his wealth of experience to bear on the National Assembly.

He described the Legislature as one of the pillars of democracy anywhere in the world, adding that Lawan had demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to the development of the country by the way he piloted the affairs of his office.

He said that the Senate President had so far demonstrated unflinching commitment to good governance and ensured stability in the Red Chamber since his assumption of office.

The Governor further described the Senate President as one of the “A-List legislators” alive for having been a member of the National Assembly since 1999.

He enjoined the celebrant’s colleagues to rally round him in the efforts to create an exemplary Senate for future legislators.

He, therefore, prayed God to grant the Senate President long life, good health, wisdom and all the wherewithal necessary for him to continue the good work in piloting the affairs of the senate.

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Bello also expressed the readiness of his office and the state to work with the National Assembly under the current leadership to take the country to greater heights.

He said he was proud, as one of the progressive governors in the country, to be associated with the Senate President as he enjoined Nigerians to also join in the good wishes for Sen. Lawan.

Source – https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/

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According to a statement by the state government, the affected secretaries were fired for being unqualified for the position.

According to a report by the committee constituted for the restructuring of the state civil service submitted to Governor Matawalle on the 9th of October 2019, the committee said it is worrisome that the state which has only seventeen ministries and fourteen local government areas could be operating with 47 permanent secretaries.

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Governor Matawalle in a statewide broadcast, also announced that he accepted the recommendations for the restructuring of ministries from the existing 19 to 11.

“It accepted the recommendations for the restructuring of ministries from the existing 19 to 11.

“However, after careful consideration, the government has approved the following ministries:

Similarly, in addition to the existing Directorates, the Government has approved the establishment of the following new Directorates and Bureaus: Directorate of Housing and Urban Development; Directorate of Lands and Survey; Directorate of Chieftaincy Affairs; Directorate of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development; Directorate of Labour Matters; Directorate of Inter-community Relations; Bureau for Public Procurement; Bureau for Public Service Reform.

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“Another thorny issue addressed by the report of the Committee on Restructuring of the Civil Service is that of the number of our permanent secretaries vis a vis our scarce resources. All assessments have shown that our state has a far greater number of permanent secretaries than any of our sister states in the north-west, saying that with 47 permanent secretaries, the system has become saturated and overburdened.”

‘‘The Restructuring Committee, therefore, invited all the permanent secretaries and subjected them to a written test and interview in order to assess their competence”

“Based on the outcome of the assessment, only 25 out of the 47 qualified for retention as permanent secretaries.”

The Committee also recommended the appointment of one additional person, in recognition of his worthiness, as a permanent secretary, bringing the number of the permanent secretaries recommended to 26, stressing that the white paper committee accepted the recommendations

“As for the permanent secretaries who did not qualify for retention government would consider those found eligible for appointment as career Directors General, Managing Directors, Executive Secretaries, Secretaries and other appropriate positions.”

Source – https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/

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The body of the middle-aged furniture maker, Abiodun Tijani, was found dangling from the ceiling of his one-room apartment on Abeokuta Street in the Alagbado area of Lagos penultimate Tuesday.

Sources said Tijani decided to end it all when he suspected that his ‘Cheating’ Wife was indulging in extra-marital affairs.

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It was gathered that the deceased was residing in Abeokuta, Ogun State, until he recently relocated to Lagos to join his wife, who had been living in the house for nine years.

Residents described him as an easy going man, who operated his furniture workshop around the AIT Road in the area.

A source said, “His wife moved into the house they live about nine years ago and she is a quiet woman.

“The man (Tijani) used to live in Abeokuta, Ogun State, until he joined his wife here about a year ago. The couple is blessed with a 12-year-old son named Wasiu.

“Although the man was unassuming, he had been having issues with his wife for some time.”

Wasiu, the only child of the deceased, recalled how his father tricked him out of the house on the fateful before taking his own life.

He said, “He went out the day before the incident and returned home the following morning.

“By then my mother had gone out; he gave me money to go to a barber’s shop to cut my hair. By the time I returned home, I met him dangling from the ceiling.

“He didn’t share his problems with me and I wouldn’t know what could have led him to commit suicide.

“He lost his father several years ago but his aged mother is still alive. He hailed from Ago Ika, Abeokuta.”

The incident was reported to the Alagbado Police Station, while men of the station assisted in evacuating Tijani’s body from the scene.

Source – http://saharareporters.com

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Trump – The ABC has become the unwitting target of one of Donald Trump’s famous Twitter tantrums, with the US president labelling the Australian public broadcaster “fake news”.

But in a classic case of mistaken identity, our ABC has been mistaken for, well, their ABC, after Trump mistakenly tagged the Australian public broadcast in a Tweet meant for the US commercial news network of the same name.

“For the record, I didn’t spend 30 hours with @abcnews, but rather a tiny fraction of that,” Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning Australian time.

“More Fake News.”

The Australian ABC replied with a gif and quick “G’day!” while ABC news director Gaven Morris said he hoped the Tweet would “brighten [Trump’s] day”.

The ABC’s social media coordinator, Gary Kemble, told Guardian Australia: “We often get confused with the US ABC on Twitter, but yes Trump’s tweet has taken it to another level.”

Trump was intending to respond to a (US) ABC news special which aired on Sunday night in the states.

In the interview, the president claimed former White House counsel Don McGahn “may have been confused” when he told the Mueller investigation Trump instructed him multiple times to have the acting attorney general remove the special counsel because of perceived conflicts of interest.

Trump also said he had been treated worse than any US president, including Abraham Lincoln, who was shot and killed, and became visibly upset when an aide coughed during an interview.

The 45th US president has a long track record of finger slips on his favourite social media platform.

 Read more

Only last week, a presidential typo made it seem Trump was suggesting he’d met a royal marine mammal on his trip to the UK when he Tweeted that he’d met the “Prince of Whales”.

Most famous, and most famously overegged, was his May 2017 effort: “Despite the negative press covfefe”, a declarative linguistic snafu of such peculiar force that it prompted its own kind-of cultural revelation.

The post Trump brands Australia’s ABC ‘fake news’ on Twitter identity appeared first on Daily Concord.

The ex-boss of Europe’s soccer governing body had been serving a four-year ban from the sport since 2015, over a $2 million payment he received from FIFA.

He has been brought in for questioning but has not been arrested or charged with a crime, the spokesperson said.

The development again raises questions over the controversial decision to host the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, a small but wealthy Middle Eastern nation which lacks the infrastructure or sporting tradition of previous host countries. The country’s organizers have repeatedly denied allegations of wrongdoing in the bidding process.

Qatar denies claims it ran secret ‘black operation’ to secure 2022 World CupWhispers of foul play over the decision have been heard ever since the country was appointed hosts in 2010, and such allegations have been made more openly after the US Justice Department brought racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering charges against several senior figures within FIFA in 2015.

Concerns over temperatures in the country have since forced FIFA to move the tournament to the winter for the first time, while watchdogs have criticized the Qatari government’s human rights record, the country’s ban on homosexuality and the welfare of workers involved in preparing stadiums for the tournament.

But calls to move the competition to a different country have so far been rebuffed. The tournament — the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East — is set to take place between 21 November and 18 December 2022, in eight locations in Qatar.

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/18/football/michel-platini-2022-world-cup-arrest-intl/index.html

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The 23-year-old Belgian joined The Blues from Hungarian side Ujpest in the summer of 2017, making 11 appearances for our development squad last season, including a goalscoring debut against Swansea City.

A statement on Chelsea official website says: “Hazard has spent the current campaign on loan in his homeland’s top flight with Cercle Bruges, scoring four goals in 21 appearances in all competitions, and will make the move permanent when the summer transfer window opens”.

The club went further to thank the young Hazard for his services to the West London club and wished him well for the next chapter of his career Cercle Bruges.

“We thank Kylian for his service to the club and wish him the best of luck for the next chapter of his career,” Source : NaijaNews

Chelsea Football Club is a professional football club in Fulham, London, England, that competes in the Premier League, the highest tier of English football. The club has won six top division titles, eight FA Cups, five League Cups, four FA Community Shields, two UEFA Cup Winners’ Cups, one UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Europa League, and one UEFA Super Cup.^[4][5][6]

Founded in 1905, the club’s home ground since then has been Stamford Bridge.^[7] Chelsea won its only First Division title in 1955, but saw limited success in various cup competitions until 2003, when the club was purchased by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.^[8] Chelsea then saw heavy investment, and have since won 18 honours under Abramovich, second in that time only to Manchester United.^[9][10]

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