Nigeria To Continue Engagement For Release Of Deposed Niger President, Says Minister

Welcome!!!

Nigeria To Continue Engagement For Release Of Deposed Niger President, Says Minister

"We are asking them to release President Bazoum so that he will be allowed to leave Niger. He will no longer be in custody. He will go to a third country that is mutually agreed upon."

Nigeria will continue to engage with the government of Niger Republic to ensure the release of the country’s deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar has said.

Bazoum has not been released since the junta struck in the West African country earlier in the year.

But Tuggar said Nigeria, which plays a critical role in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc, won’t relent on pressing for Bazoum’s freedom.

Speaking to Channels Television on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Conference in Dubai, the Minister said Nigeria is not under any pressure to act against the Niger Republic.

“And we have made it clear, we spelled it out. We are asking them to release President Bazoum so that he will be allowed to leave Niger. He will no longer be in custody. He will go to a third country that is mutually agreed upon. And then we start talking about the removal of sanctions,” the minister said.

“So, let no picture be painted that Nigeria is the one being difficult or that ECOWAS  – because it was an ECOWAS decision – is being difficult. We continue to talk with them; to engage and our doors will continue to be open to those in charge in Niger as of now. You know, the opportunity is there. We are always ready, willing, and able to listen to them and the ball is in their court.”

‘We Remain Consistent

 

Although many had claimed Nigeria was being controlled by some external forces, the minister says the country’s track record on the continent says otherwise.

“There is no conflict between Nigeria and Niger. The people of Nigeria and Niger, we are brothers. We are not against them, and don’t let anybody fool you that Nigeria is being dictated to by some other country what to do,” the minister added.

“That’s pure propaganda. Those are lies. Everybody knows Nigeria’s track record when it comes to standing for what is right –  the fight for freedom in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, and Mozambique. We are always there. We remain consistent. We see what we’re doing also about Palestine and what is happening in Gaza. This is exactly what we’re also saying about the situation in Niger. “

Pochettino Wants ‘Emotional’ Caicedo To Free His Mind

Welcome!!!

Pochettino Wants ‘Emotional’ Caicedo To Free His Mind

Pochettino splashed out a British record £115 million ($146 million) to sign Caicedo from Brighton in August.

Mauricio Pochettino has told Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo to free his mind as the Blues boss tries to get the “emotional” Ecuador midfielder back on track.

Pochettino splashed out a British record £115 million ($146 million) to sign Caicedo from Brighton in August.

But the 22-year-old’s frequent 11,000-mile round trips to South America to play for Ecuador have limited the time he has been able to spend working with Pochettino and his coaching staff.

Recovering from a red card on his disastrous debut against West Ham, Caicedo has become a regular in Pochettino’s side but is yet to recapture his superb Brighton form.

He revealed in an interview with Chelsea’s website this week that he spent much of his first 10 days in England alone in a hotel room in tears due to homesickness after joining Brighton from Ecuador’s Independiente del Valle in 2021.

Caicedo went on to become one of the key figures for Brighton in their rise up the Premier League, sparking a bidding war between Liverpool and Chelsea earlier this year.

“When we signed him we knew what is going to happen. He’s an emotional guy, an emotional player that needs time to recover,” Pochettino told reporters on Friday.

“It didn’t help also the international games, travelling to Ecuador, to South America. That is really tough every single month, two or three weeks then go 10, 12 days away, then come back sometimes with some injury.

“It’s not an excuse but it’s the reality. In some situations like his, we need to give time and not to be unfair in the way that we assess him.”

In a bid to help Caicedo settle at Chelsea, Pochettino met with his star one on one this week.

The Argentine’s message was to keep calm as Caicedo navigates life at struggling Chelsea amid Ecuador’s hectic World Cup qualifying schedule.

“Before this press conference, he was in my office for twenty minutes,” Pochettino said.

“It is easy because we speak Spanish. It is a subconscious process and that is a problem, only in time can you adapt.

“We had no pre-season with him. We talk about footballers; it is physical and mental, and there is the talent.

“If you want to express your talent, you need to be clear in your mind and be good in your legs. Otherwise, it is not possible to move.”

Messi Leaves Door Open To 2026 World Cup

Welcome!!!

Messi Leaves Door Open To 2026 World Cup

Messi, who recently won his eighth Ballon d'Or, raised the World Cup almost a year ago after starring for Argentina in the final against France in Doha.

Lionel Messi is not ruling out another bid for World Cup glory with Argentina in 2026 despite acknowledging that time is working against him.

Messi, who recently won his eighth Ballon d’Or, raised the World Cup almost a year ago after starring for Argentina in the final against France in Doha.

The 36-year-old had suggested at the time that the tournament in Qatar would be his last and that he wouldn’t be around for the next tournament which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

But having moved to Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami and continued performing for the national team in qualifiers for 2026, he says the door remains open.

“I’m not thinking about the World Cup and I’m not saying 100 percent that I won’t be there because anything can happen. Because of my age, the most normal thing is that I won’t be there. Then we’ll see,” said Messi in an interview with Argentina’s Star+.

The Argentina captain said his focus on June’s Copa America which will be held in the United States.

“Maybe we’ll do well at the Copa America and everything will work out for us to continue. Maybe not. Realistically it’s difficult,” he said of the chance of a sixth consecutive appearance in the World Cup.

Messi said he would be “the first to know when I can be there and when I can’t. I’m also aware that I’ve gone to a lesser league. But it’s all about the personal side of things and the way you deal with it and how you compete.

“As long as I feel I’m well and can continue to contribute, I’m going to do it. Today all I’m thinking about is getting to the Copa America. After that, time will tell if I’m there or not.

“I’m going to arrive at an age that, normally, doesn’t allow me to play in the World Cup. I said I don’t think I’m going to be there. It looked like after the World Cup I was retiring and it was the opposite. Now I want to be there more than ever,” he added.

I’m careful about kissing in movies — Sandra Okunzuwa

Welcome!!!

I’m careful about kissing in movies — Sandra Okunzuwa

An actress, Sandra Okunzuwa, says that she is usually careful when it comes to kissing in movies.

According to her, she was taught when kissing another actor, there should not be any form of tongue contact, to avoid the exchange of saliva.

She told Saturday Beats, “I was told that the individuals could just play with their lips and eyes, then moan to give the impression that they were doing something really intense. I have always abided by that, and I avoid any form of tongue contact or exchange of saliva, because I don’t know who that other person has been with. I don’t know their medical condition.

“Sometimes, people ask if I get emotionally attached to any actor that I kiss. The answer is actually ‘no’, because the place that one is filming in is not even so conducive. The air conditioner is off, and the lighting usually makes one feel hot. Besides, there are a lot of people in the same room behind the camera watching, what one is doing. This is even as one is sweating and trying to memorise one’s lines.”

Asked about the highlight of her year so far, Okunzuwa said, “One of my highlights of the year was when I produced the movie, ‘Something like Gold’. From the feedback I got, people loved and enjoyed it. This is my fifth year in the industry, and producing a box office movie that is doing well is definitely one of my highlights. I also started my YouTube channel, which I had been procrastinating on for years.”

Taylor Swift Will Earn Over $100M From Spotify This Year

Welcome!!!

Taylor Swift Will Earn Over $100M From Spotify This Year

In 2023, Taylor Swift has towered above her musical peers on multiple fronts. And earlier this week, she racked up another major achievement when she was named Spotify‘s top-streamed artist of 2023.

As part of its annual year-end Wrapped rundown on Wednesday (Nov. 29), Spotify announced that Swift had racked up 26.1 billion streams globally on the service since Jan. 1, topping the likes of three-time champ Bad Bunny as well as The Weeknd, Drake and Peso Pluma. This didn’t exactly come as a surprise considering the ongoing success of her late-2022 album, Midnights, as well as two chart-topping re-recordings: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version), the latter of which racked up a whopping 375.49 million on-demand official streams in its first week.

Swift’s year on Spotify tops any artist ever on the platform, which — now 15 years since launching — keeps expanding its user base annually. For comparison, when Bad Bunny was announced as the top Wrapped artist in the prior three years, he had 18.5 billion streams in 2022, 9.1 billion in 2021 and 8.3 billion streams in 2020.

According to Billboard‘s royalty calculator, Swift’s 26.1 billion streams amount to about $97 million in recorded music royalties. And the year’s not even done yet. When estimating her total streams through December, that number would swell to 27.2 billion, amounting to recorded music royalties of $101 million through the end of the year from Spotify alone. Add in publishing revenue, and Swift’s music will have earned about $131 million on Spotify by the end of the year.

Of course, that only accounts for Swift’s performance on Spotify, which remains the streaming market leader. When tallying on-demand streams across all platforms — including such heavy-hitters as Apple Music, YouTube Music and Amazon Music — Billboard estimates that her catalog racked up a total of 38.3 billion streams through the end of the year, amounting to a total of about $160 million in recorded royalties, by Billboard’s estimates. With publishing, Swift’s total on-demand streaming revenue gets close to $200 million.

It’s worth noting that Swift likely takes the lion’s share of this money. In her contract with Universal Music Group and Republic Records, signed in 2018, she retained master rights to all of her music going forward. That includes all four of her re-recorded Taylor’s Version albums so far: Fearless, Red, Speak Now and 1989. That re-recording project — which she famously embarked upon after her previous label, Big Machine Records, was acquired by Scooter’s Braun‘s Ithaca Holdings in 2019, much to Swift’s chagrin — has performed beyond likely even Swift’s wildest dreams. And it’s proven a lucrative gambit for the superstar, whose Taylor’s Versions have consistently outperformed the originals on streaming since their respective releases.

Not bad for someone who famously pulled her catalog from Spotify less than a decade ago, calling it a “grand experiment.”

Source: Billboard

Nigeria, Germany Sign Agreement To Accelerate Siemens Power Project

Welcome!!!

Nigeria, Germany Sign Agreement To Accelerate Siemens Power Project

The agreement will see to the end-to-end modernization and expansion of Nigeria's electric power transmission grid.

Nigeria and Germany on Friday signed the Presidential Power Initiative agreement to improve electricity supply in Africa’s most populous nation.

This was disclosed in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President, Ajuri Ngelale, saying the signing was presided over by President Bola Tinubu and the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,

While the Managing Director of the Federal Government of Nigeria Power Company, Kenny Anuwe, signed on Nigeria’s behalf, the Managing Director (Africa), Siemens AG, Nadja Haakansson, signed for Germany.

READ ALSO: APC, SDP Trade Words Over Attack On Kogi REC’s Residence

“Speaking after the signing ceremony in Dubai, Managing Director of the FGN Power Company, Mr. Kenny Anuwe highlighted Siemens Energy’s effective delivery of crucial equipment worth over 63 million Euros to the country since the project commenced,” the statement read.

“This includes 10 units of 132/33KV mobile substations; 3 units of 75/100MVA transformers, and 7 units of 60/66MVA transformers, currently being installed by FGN Power Company at various sites across Nigeria.

“The project will also focus on identified load demand centres with a particular emphasis on economic and industrial hubs nationwide; execution of new 330kV and 132/33KV substations in target load centres with economic priority, in addition to thousands of kilometres of overhead transmission lines to connect new substations with existing ones.”

The presidential spokesman said since assuming office, Tinubu has consistently advocated the accelerated realization and expansion of the PPI, saying the project has been a major focal point in three rounds of bilateral discussions at several meetings between the President and the German Chancellor, in New Delhi, Abuja, and Berlin.

According to Ngelale, the agreement will see to the end-to-end modernization and expansion of Nigeria’s electric power transmission grid with the full supply, delivery, and installation of Siemens-manufactured equipment a timeline of 18 to 24 months.

He emphasised that agreement will ensure project sustainability and maintenance with full technology transfer and training for Nigerian engineers at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

CBN To Freeze Bank Accounts Without BVN, NIN Starting April 2024

Welcome!!!

CBN To Freeze Bank Accounts Without BVN, NIN Starting April 2024

This is according to a Friday circular by the apex bank which said a BVN or NIN verification will be "conducted shortly".

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it will freeze accounts without a Bank Verification Number (BVN) or National Identification Number (NIN) from April 2024.

 

According to the bank, a BVN or NIN verification will be “conducted shortly”, adding that the move is part of its efforts to promote financial system stability and strengthening of the Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures in financial institutions.

The bank will also carry out a  “comprehensive BVN and NIN audit shortly” and where breaches are identified, appropriate sanctions shall be applied.

“The process for account opening shall commence by electronically retrieving BVN or NIN-related information from the NIBSS’ BVN or NIMC’s NIN databases and for same to become the primary information for onboarding of new customers, and all existing customer accounts/wallets for individuals with validated BVN shall be profiled in the NIBSS’ ICAD immediately and within 24hrs of opening accounts/wallets,” the CBN added.

In cases where a potential customer does not have a BVN or NIN, the CBN advised the regulated financial institution to “commence the process of enrolling the individual onto the BVN database and be guided by the extant protocols issued by NIBSS”.