Tinubu for Uzodimma’s inauguration today.

Tinubu for Uzodimma’s inauguration today.

Barring the unforeseen, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will today be in Owerri, the Imo State capital for the inauguration of Governor Hope Uzodimma for a fresh four-year tenure.

The event, which is expected to attract political and business heavyweights, is billed for the Dan Anyiam Stadium, in Owerri.

It was learnt last night that the President will, during the visit, inaugurate some projects, including the upgraded stadium road.

The redesigned Airport Road was upgraded from a dualised two-lane to a four-lane highway fitted with street lights from Owerri-Aba Road to the Airport.

Also listed for launch is the new Twin Tollgate.

Uzodimma, who was declared the winner of the November 11 poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is set to be inaugurated following his victory in all 27 local government areas of the state.

Last night, the state capital was agog with celebration with excited members of the ruling All Progress Congress (APC).

The security arrangements have also been made to ensure a hitch-free handover.

According to plans by a committee chaired by Senator Chris Anyanwu, a thanksgiving mass will precede the inauguration, which will be followed by a state banquet at the Government House.

Anyanwu is co-chairing the ceremony with Chief Cosmas Iwu.

Information and Strategy Commissioner, Declan Emelumba, said dignitaries from all walks of life have been invited to the event.

He also said that party supporters from the 27 local government areas have been mobilsed by their local chapters.

The commissioner said: “It will be a momentous event as Imo people are joyously awaiting the ceremony. We are working hard on crowd control, because our supporters from across the 27 local government areas are all eager to attend.” 

Cape Verde strike late to beat Ghana at AFCON.

Cape Verde strike late to beat Ghana at AFCON.

Substitute Garry Rodrigues pounced in injury time to give Cape Verde a shock 2-1 win over four-time former champions, Ghana, in their opening game at the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday.

The Black Stars looked set to come away with a draw after Alexander Djiku headed home to cancel out a Jamiro Monteiro goal for Cape Verde at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan.

Majeed Ashimeru was also denied a goal for Ghana following a lengthy VAR check, but Cape Verde grabbed three points in the Group B match as Rodrigues found the net at the death.

It was a fine victory for the island nation, who reached the knockout stage at the last AFCON and put them top of the section after group rivals Egypt and Mozambique drew 2-2 earlier.

The evening was also notable for the second-half appearance as a substitute of Andre Ayew, with the 34-year-old becoming only the third player to feature in eight editions of the competition.

He now shares the record with Rigobert Song, currently the coach of Cameroon, and Egyptian Ahmed Hassan.

Yet of far greater concern to Ghanaians is the result for a country whose tally of AFCON victories is bettered only by Egypt and Cameroon.

However, their last title came in 1982 and they went out of the last edition two years ago in the group stage.

Chris Hughton’s team also came here off the back of a 1-0 defeat to the Comoros in a 2026 World Cup qualifier in November, and there are doubts about their chances of making a big impact in Ivory Coast.

Their prospects in this game were not helped by the fact that Mohammed Kudus, enjoying a fine season at West Ham United in the English Premier League, was missing from the line-up and not even on the bench.

Cape Verde went ahead in the 17th minute when Ghana goalkeeper Richard Ofori turned out a shot by Jovane Cabral and Monteiro, who has spent much of his career in MLS, followed in to score.

Ghana, with significant backing among the crowd of just under 12,000, thought they had equalised in the 36th minute.

Ashimeru, of Anderlecht, rifled a shot from outside the area low into the corner, just after an Antoine Semenyo cross was cleared by goalkeeper Vozinha and ricocheted back onto the woodwork off Ghana forward Ransford-Yeboah Koenigsdoerffer.

Yet the goal was ruled out following a long VAR check, with the referee ruling that Koenigsdoerffer was blocking the goalkeeper’s line of sight as he came back from an offside position.

Djiku headed in Jordan Ayew’s delivery to make it 1-1 on 56 minutes, and Ghana then sent on Ayew as well as Ernest Nuamah and Inaki Williams as they hoped to find a winner.

Yet their defence appeared susceptible and the goal that won it for Cape Verde was a horror show for the Ghanaians, as Ofori failed to deal with a low ball into the box and Rodrigues converted to spark wild celebrations.

AFP

Côte d’Ivoire embassy sets up ‘AFCON Village’ in Abuja for live matches.

Côte d’Ivoire embassy sets up ‘AFCON Village’ in Abuja for live matches.

The Ambassador of Côte d’Ivoire to Nigeria, Kalilou Traore, on Saturday, unveiled the ‘AFCON Village’ in Abuja, set up to enable football enthusiasts to watch live matches of the ongoing African Nations Cup competition.

The tournament kicked off in Cote d’Ivoire with 24 countries seeking for the continent’s most coveted football trophy.

Traore said the AFCON village, set up in partnership with Continental Hotels, will transmit live matches till the end of the tournament on February 11.

According to the envoy, the event attended by members of the diplomatic corps, is a testament to the remarkable example of African solidarity and unity.

“I would like to salute the presence of the diplomatic corps and all our guests and the diaspora for your presence alongside us.

“I wish all participating teams good luck in the competition; may this African Cup of Nations be a moment of celebration, fair play and fraternity between African nations.

“I invite you to take full advantage of this evening and immerse yourself in the unique atmosphere of AFCON 2023, the opening ceremony and the first match between Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau.

“May this event strengthen the ties between our countries and leave a positive legacy for African football,” the envoy said.

Goals from Seko Fofana and Jean-Philippe Krasso gave the host nation a 2-0 victory over the African wild dogs of Guinea Bissau late Saturday night at the Olympic Stadium Ebimpe in Abidjan.

Traore assured that the tournament would live up to its billing as the host government and the people of Cote d’Ivoire had fully mobilised to showcase “the most beautiful AFCON ever organised.”

“Massive investments have been made and attendance are already breaking all records. The Cote d’Ivoire Embassy in Nigeria could not remain on the sideline of this great mass.

“Thus, all matches of the competition will be broadcast throughout this month in the AFCON village in Abuja in collaboration with our partner Abuja Continental Hotel.”

He appreciated the hotel management and Nigerian authorities for their support towards the setting up of the AFCON village.

In his speech, the General Manager of Abuja Continental Hotel, Mr Javier Sanchez, said the partnership with the embassy was to contribute to the success of the tournament.

“Embassy of Côte d’Ivoire as the hosting country of this event really pushed us to go ahead with this, we were planning to do it, but they gave us the push to put all these up,” he said.

The event attracted officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, members of the diplomatic community, and private organisations.

(NAN)

I want to be remembered for good work – Fubara.

I want to be remembered for good work – Fubara.

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has said his administration is performing as expected by addressing critical issues of governance and furthering the development of the state.

The governor said he wanted his administration to be remembered for good.

Fubara spoke at the Thanksgiving and Interdenominational Church Service organised in commemoration of the 2024 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration held at St. Cyprian’s Anglican Church, Port Harcourt Township, on Sunday.

He spoke a day after his predecessor and estranged godfather, Nyesom Wike, accused him of abandoning a ring road initiated by him (Wike).

A statement on Sunday by Fubara’s media aide, Boniface Onyedi, quoted the Rivers governor to have said, “As a government, we are performing. My prayer is for the Almighty God to grant us the grace to perform in a manner that when we leave office, people will remember us positively, not for negative purposes.

“It is not an easy thing for you to be on the stage just like we are today, and after performing people will remember you. So, I am happy that we are all associated with the good performance of the armed forces.

“There are those who have performed and gone, there are also those still performing, especially the service commanders that are here with us.

“We also have the ones that are performing at the federal level. But the essence is that we are all performing for one purpose, and that is the unity of Nigeria and the protection of the country.

“For us as a government, we will continue to give our support, not just to the fallen heroes as we are doing, but also to those who are alive to enable them to continue to defend the integrity of our country.”

In his sermon, Bishop of the Diocese of Niger Delta, Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Oko-Jaja, called on the government, captains of industry and all Nigerians alike to reflect on, honour and support members of the military for their various levels of sacrifices in the protection of the country’s territorial sovereignty.

2024 UTME: JAMB accredits 747 CBT centres, registration begins today.

2024 UTME: JAMB accredits 747 CBT centres, registration begins today.

The Joint Admission and Matriculations Board has said registration for the 2024/2025 Universal Tertiary Matriculation Examinations will begin on Monday (today) and end on February 24t, 2024.

JAMB has also rolled out the registration process for interested candidates across the country.

The JAMB Registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, during a meeting with media executives in Lagos State on Sunday, said that measures have been put in place to ensure a smooth exercise.

Oloyede said, “Prior to the commencement of the registration exercise, the Board conducts an accreditation exercise to check the suitability of each CBT Centre for the conduct of its examination.”

Oloyede noted that members of the accreditation team of the CBT centres for the 2024 UTME included the Chief External Examiners (VCs/Rectors/Provosts), Technical Advisors, JAMB state coordinators and JAMB Technical Officers.

As contained in the presentation by the exam body to the relevant stakeholders, part of the procedures for the registration is that candidates are expected to create a profile through the National Identity Number at various Computer-Based Test centres across the country.

To register, candidates are also expected to generate their profile with the use of either JAMB USS codes 55019 or 66019.

The registrar, however, warned that “Only one sort code is allowed to avoid multiple charges.”

This, Oloyede said, is compulsory for candidates, as a unique verification tool to thumbprint to end the registration exercise.

According to the procedure, the registration fee is N3,500 and the payment will be cashless to avoid any extortion.

A document made available to PUNCH Online on Sunday revealed that JAMB accredited 747 CBT centres for the 2024 UTME across the nation as against the 613 approved centres in 2023.

This means there is an increase of 134 CBT centres for the year’s matriculation examinations.

Lagos tops the list of states with the highest number of accredited centres with 80, followed by Ogun with 44 while Oyo takes the third position with 42 centres.

Zamfara has the lowest number of accredited centres – 6, while both Ebonyi and Kebbi States had 8 centres each.

Analysis revealed that there are 226 centres across the South-West geopolitical zone, which makes it the zone with the highest number of CBT centres while the North-East was the lowest with 67 centres.

Govt plans to stop single-use plastics.

Govt plans to stop single-use plastics.

The Federal Ministry of Environment has begun a move to eradicate single-use plastics in the country.

It said the initiative would start by first stopping the use of single-use plastics at the headquarters of the Ministry of Environment in Abuja.

The decision was made at a two-day ministerial/top management retreat organised by the ministry in Kaduna on Saturday.

The retreat, with the theme, ‘Policy Embedment and Synergy of Prioritised Action for a Renewed Hope in Environmental Management,’ was organised for directors, heads of agencies, programmes and special projects of the ministry.

According to a communique issued at the end of the retreat, a “Circular Nigeria Committee” was set up to facilitate the implementation of the country’s circular economy roadmap.

The committee, chaired by the Director-General of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, Prof. Aliyu Jauro, would also pursue gradual discontinuation of the use of single-use plastic in the country, starting from the ministry and its agencies.

The communique signed by Director Planning Research and Statistics of the Ministry, Mallam Stanley Jonah, said that the “Circular Nigeria Committee” would ensure sustainable waste management and facilitate the implementation of the circular economy roadmap.

It stated that the committee would “prioritise mentorship, institutional knowledge transfer and effective succession plan.

“The retreat also agreed to discontinue the use of single-use plastic within the Federal Ministry of Environment and its agencies to drive a culture of waste reduction.

“In addition, staff of the ministry and its agencies were requested to demonstrate leadership by example by implementing other personal climate actions in their environment.

“Procurement plans shall be completed early and submitted to the relevant agencies of government to ensure timely release of funds.”

It also “emphasised the need for reinforcement of the forest guards in line with the vision of Mr. President to rid our forests of bandits.”

It was reported that the ministerial retreat was attended by 83 delegates from the ministry’s departments, agencies, programmes and special projects, critical stakeholders from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Bureau of Public Procurement, Development Partners, among others.

Edun panel developing financial guidelines for humanitarian ministry – Presidency.

Edun panel developing financial guidelines for humanitarian ministry – Presidency.

The Presidency on Sunday said the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, will speed up the ongoing financial reforms in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, given the importance of its Social Investment Programmes.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, who spoke to newsmen, said the Edun-led committee was working while it remained mindful of the urgency of the need to resume the social investment programmes which President Bola Tinubu halted last Friday.

“What Edun is doing is not to probe the ministry. He is developing financial guidelines for the ministry. His is not a probe. It’s only the EFCC that is probing.

“Mr Edun was not given a timeline, but he knows those things are urgent. Until all the probes by the EFCC and the creation of financial guidelines are done, we cannot proceed.

“Because of the urgency of what that ministry handles, Mr. Edun knows that he must wrap up his assignment fast to create a foolproof financial architecture for that organisation,” Onanuga said.

While announcing the suspension of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation on January 7, the Presidency said Tinubu had tasked a panel, headed by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, to, among other functions, “conduct a comprehensive diagnostic on the financial architecture and framework of the social investment programmes to conclusively reform the relevant institutions and programmes in a determined bid to eliminate all institutional frailties for the exclusive benefit of disadvantaged households and win back lost public confidence in the initiative.”

The Presidency on Sunday stressed that the Tinubu-administration had no sacred cows and would spare no entity found culpable in the ongoing investigation of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and its Social Investment Programmes.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Ajuri Ngelale, affirmed this when he spoke on TVC’s Politics on Sunday.

Providing context to the ongoing probe, Ngelale said, “The President has given full instruction to the EFCC chairman to conduct a thorough investigation.

“The way the President would direct such an investigation is to say that nobody, no name, should be left out if they are found wanting in the situation. No sacred cows at all.

“Anywhere this investigation takes the EFCC and other investigating authorities, that is where the investigation must go and the President will take action accordingly.”