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Gambia to face Ivory Coast in World Cup qualifier
The Gambia senior national team has been draw against Ivory Coast, Gabon, Kenya, Burundi and Seychelles in Group F for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The balloting for the global biggest football showpiece qualifiers was held yesterday, Thursday, 13th July 2023.
Coach Tom Saintfiet and his charges who have recently been doing well in African football will be hoping to replicate such feet and secure their first-ever World Cup appearance.
The Gambia will strive to win their qualifier matches to fancy their dreams of qualifying for their first-ever World Cup.
The Scorpions were eliminated in the preliminary round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers after slipping to Angola 3-1 on aggregate.
Credit to: thepoint.gm
Gov’t urged to give priority to diabetic patients
Sukai Kah, training facilitator for the Gambia Diabetes Association (GDS) has called on the government to give priority to diabetic patients to minimise their complications and suffering.
“The government should give diabetes a priority. Let them have sufficient medical apparatus and healthcare personnel to check and care for diabetic patients. The government should give enough supply of medical apparatus to our Diabetes Ward at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH),” she said in an exclusive interview with The Point at Kayen Ultrasound Scanning Centre in Bakoteh.
She said health personnel should have enough medication and medical apparatus such as insulin and testing machines to check patients’ blood pressure and give them the needed information so that patients could manage their diabetes well. According to her, this would help prevent patients from diabetic amputation.
“If patients are going on their monthly routine for medical check-up at public hospitals, then they should be provided with the needed information to manage the disease,” Kah, also owner of Kayen Ultrasound Scanning Centre, said.
Kah maintained that there is a greater need for the government to empower medical personnel with the requisite skills and knowledge to ensure they attend to patients and give them the needed medical advice.
“Diabetes is not curable but it is manageable. Effective management of diabetes can delay development of complications like blindness, damage of kidney, and damage of nerves which can delay or prevent diabetic foot amputation,” she noted.
In Gambian society, there are several traditional healers who claim to have the knowledge to cure diabetes. Thus, several diabetes patients have been visiting such traditional healers in search of a cure.
In this regard, Mrs Kah said there is also a need for traditional healers to be empowered with knowledge as to how this chronic disease works. She noted that if someone is infected with diabetes, his or her organs such as the kidney will be involved in excessive filtering of blood and expel the toxic and urine from the body.
“Again, when a patient’s blood sugar is higher, his or her kidney and heart over work and if those organs over work it can damage them. Now considering how the traditional healers work, they do not measure dosages compared to modern hospitals who give patients dosages that are proportional to the patients’ weight and ages,” she pointed out.
She reiterated that traditional healers will provide medication to patients without scientific measurement. This, she added, causes herbal intoxication.
Thus, she advised all to report to nearest conventional healthcare facilities should they realise abnormalities in their system to have a medical check-up such as checking their sugar level and blood pressure.
Mrs Kah said the Gambia Diabetes Association has been going to Outpatient Department, training nurses on diabetic patients’ handling. She, therefore, advised all to work collectively to minimise the constraints of diabetic patients.
Credit to: Thepoint.gm
It’s Unconstitutional To Give Largest Share To Lagos – Kano State Faults President Tinubu Over Distribution Of N500billion Palliatives
The Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir has faulted the mode that the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government adopted for the distribution of N500billion palliatives for small scale industries.
The Nigerian government had announced that it would be using the Bank of Industry to support small-scale industries across geopolitical zones.
Speaking through his deputy, Aminu Abdussalam, the governor during a meeting with representatives from the Kano cooperative Society at the state government house said the distribution was heavily skewed in favour of Lagos State and the South-South zone to the disadvantage of other states and zones, Daily Trust reports.
He said the distribution mode would see Lagos receiving 47% of the allocation, followed by the South-South Zone with 17%, and other regions receiving significantly lower percentages.
“This is unfair, unconstitutional, and illegal,” the governor said.
He called on relevant authorities, including members of the National Assembly to rectify the situation and take appropriate action against those responsible.
According to the deputy governor’s press secretary, Ibrahim Shu’aibu, the governor pledged the commitment of his administration to assist Cooperative Societies in their efforts to combat poverty and regain their influence.
“Committees would be established to review the activities of Cooperative Desk Officers in each Local Government Area, while desk officers would be introduced in major markets such as Dawanau, Kantin Kwari, Yan Lemo to guide and support cooperative activities,” the governor was quoted to have said.
The President of the Kano Cooperative Society, Musa Aikawa, who spoke on behalf of the delegation, emphasised the significance of cooperatives in enhancing the lives of their members.
He disclosed that the state had over 2.8 million cooperative members, primarily consisting of young people.
Aikawa requested the intervention of the state government to develop strategies for reducing the high unemployment rate in the state.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Solid Minerals, Mairo Danbatta, encouraged the youth to embrace cooperative business ventures to progress and reduce unemployment in Kano.
The meeting was attended by several dignitaries, including government officials and representatives from educational institutions related to cooperative activities in Kano.
Credit to: Saharareporters.com
First Bank Investors Lose N61bn in 2 Days Amid Otudeko, Ecobank Dispute
The ongoing legal dispute between Ecobank Nigeria Limited and former Chairman, FBN Holdings Plc, Oba Otudeko, appears to be taking a toll on the latter. Report indicates that the holding company in two days witnessed a 13.59% decline in its shares price
On Wednesday, July 12, 2023, shares of FBN Holdings declined by 10%, representing N63 billion in total investment by the shareholders of the company. The share price closed at N19.35.
Similarly, the total valuation of the company dipped to N710.72 billion from N771.74 billion reported the previous day as reported.
This is coming after reports of Oba Otudeko fighting back to take over FBN from Otedola as largest shareholder. Otudeko’s Honeywell Group, in a notification to the Securities and Exchange Commission of said the company had notified FBN and regulatory authorities concerning the acquisition of 4,770,269,843 shares of FBN by Barbican Capital Limited. Report by The Sun indicates that the development may have led to divided opinions among majority shareholders of FBN Holdings Plc who could be joining forces to fight off Otudeko from becoming the majority shareholder.
Meanwhile, FBN, in 2022 audited financial statement highlights about 35.8 billion shares outstanding. Out of this number, Femi Otedola has the highest shareholder of the bank with a direct and indirect holdings of 5.57 per cent with about 12.2 per cent of the shares traded and with bank’s last audited accounts listing billionaire investor.
In a related news, Legit.ng reported that Ecobank, in a written communication to FBN Holdings requested a temporary suspension of proceedings regarding Otudeko’s acquisition of 4.77 billion shares.
Kunle Ogunba and Associate, the legal counsel for the bank, expressed concern on the indebtedness of the the business and its affiliate entities. The letter signed by Oludare Amusan, the principal partner of the firm highlights that the total amount owed by the magnate through his affiliated entities was N13.5 billion. The chairman of Honeywell Group advised FBN to disregard Ecobank’s request to reject his acquisition of 4.77 billion shares. Wole Olanipekun, the legal representative for Otudeko and Honeywell Group, asserted that Ecobank’s letter mentioning a debt of N13.5 billion was not supported by the Supreme Court’s decision or any other existing court ruling in Nigeria or elsewhere.
According to Olanipekun, Dr. Oba Otudeko, CFR, and Honeywell Group PIc were not involved in the Supreme Court decision, and no order was issued against them.
credit to: Legit.ng
Why Tinubu declared state of emergency on food security — Uche Nwosu
By Fortune Eromosele, ABUJA
Former Chief of Staff to the Imo State Governor and President Ugwumba Leadership Center for Africa, Uche Nwosu, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu used the declaration of state of emergency on food security as a platform to cushion the impact of the fuel subsidy removal.
Nwosu in a statement, also lauded Tinubu for his decision, saying that it was the right call.
The statement read in part: “The recent declaration of a state of emergency on food security, pricing and sustainability by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is no doubt a welcome development.
“The President by this action has demonstrated his understanding, and appreciation of the impact of the removal of subsidy on Petrol Motor Spirit (PMS), on Nigerians, especially the economy of households.
“The current food inflation in the country has been a cause of concern to stakeholders, as hope have in most recent times heightened that the administration would quickly find immediate, long lasting, and innovative solutions to the hardship experienced by citizens as a result of this.
“But by prioritizing urgent intervention through the declaration of a state of emergency in this area, Mr President has left no one in doubt that he is a hands-on-leader who follows developments across the country everyday.
“He has further shown that he is not unmindful of the rising cost of food and how it affects the citizens.
“I therefore agree with the following thematic areas of focus contained in the President’s speech, which underscored that ‘As a direct and immediate response to this crisis, a number of initiatives will be deployed in the coming weeks to reverse this inflationary trend and guarantee future uninterrupted supplies of affordable foods to ordinary Nigerians. As with most emergencies, there are immediate, medium- and long-term interventions and solutions’.
Nwosu further commended the administration’s intention to deploy some savings from the fuel subsidy removal into the Agricultural sector focusing on revamping the agricultural sector, as well as to immediately release fertilizers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal.
He said, “I join President Tinubu to urge for synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and to guarantee that food is produced all-year round.
“Nigeria must, as a matter of necessity, have a National Commodity Board that will review and continuously assess food prices as well as maintain a strategic food reserve that will be used as a price stabilization mechanism for critical grains and other food items.
“Through this board, the government will moderate spikes and dips in food prices.”
credit to: vanguardngr.com
Headies 2023: Flavour, Asake, Basketmouth bag nominations (FULL NOMINATION LIST)
On Wednesday, organisers of the Headies Awards revealed the nominations for the 16th edition, which will be held later in the year.
In compiling the nomination list, they said only music materials, including singles, videos, EPs and Albums released and distributed on digital streaming platforms within the year in review (January 2022 and March 2023), were considered for nomination.
The Headies Awards have always been dedicated to recognising and celebrating outstanding achievements in the Nigerian music industry across genres and artistry. We are also committed to reflecting Africa’s diverse and vibrant music landscape.
‘‘Over the past year, we witnessed an incredible display of talent and creativity from our beloved artistes, making selecting nominees even more challenging. We are glad to say that we met the challenge.
Hence, the list of nominees for the 16th Headies showcases established acts that continue to set new standards, and emerging talents are now making their mark in the music industry,’’ they noted in a statement.
Credit to: premiumtimesng.com
Musk launches AI company to rival OpenAI, Google
Elon Musk on Wednesday launched his own artificial intelligence company, xAI, as he seeks to compete with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT — a program he accuses of being politically biased and irresponsible.
The xAI website said the Tesla tycoon would run the company separately from his other companies but that the technology developed would benefit those businesses, including Twitter.
“The goal of xAI is to understand the true nature of the universe,” the website said.
Musk on Twitter added that the new company’s aim was to “understand reality” and answer life’s biggest questions.
The startup is staffed by former researchers from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Tesla and the University of Toronto.
The team is to be advised by Dan Hendrycks, who currently leads the Center for AI Safety, a San Francisco-based organization that warns against developing AI too quickly.
Hendrycks also initiated the open letter to global leaders in June that warned AI was a risk to human existence on par with pandemics and nuclear war.
Musk has repeatedly warned about the dangers of AI, having called it “our biggest existential threat,” and saying that moving too fast was like “summoning the demon.”
He has claimed to have cofounded OpenAI in 2015 because he regarded the dash by Google to make advances in artificial intelligence as reckless.
He left OpenAI in 2018 to focus on Tesla and later said he was also uncomfortable with the profit-driven direction the company was taking under the stewardship of CEO Sam Altman.
Musk also argues that OpenAI’s large language models — on which ChatGPT depends on for content, as is the case with other AI programs — are overly politically correct.
Musk in April shared details of his plans for a new AI tool called “TruthGPT” in an interview with Fox News, the conservative broadcaster.
In the interview, he said his new AI company would come very late after OpenAI and Google DeepMind, both of which have made great strides in recent years.
“I think I will create a third option, although it’s starting very late in the game. Can it be done? I don’t know, we’ll see,” he said.
The launch of an AI company on the scale of OpenAI or Google DeepMind would come at an enormous expense, especially in regards to the necessary semiconductors, known as GPUs, which are mainly built by California company Nvidia.
Credit to: punchng.com
D5 Creation