Youths endorse Delu as Abeokuta South LGA boss 

Youths in the Abeokuta South Local Government have thrown their weight behind Babatunde Adeluola to emerge as the new Council boss.  The group, under the aegis of Coalition of Ogun Youth Forum (COYOF), endorses Adeluola as the best candidate for further develop the local council area.  Adeluola, popularly known as Delu, a financial expert, is believed to bring his wealth of experience over the years to bear in the administration of one of the historic Local Governments in Nigeria.  Some of the Youths comments are; “Adeluola is the perfect man for the task. “Adeluola will bring youthful experience for development.”

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Lagos signs MOU with Chinese Coy on rice value chains, agric productivity

Lagos State Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Chinese food processing company, Yihai Kerry Arawana Holdings Co. Limited, to increase productivity in the rice value chain and enhance food security in the State. Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Lagos State Governor, who is currently in China with some Lagos State Government officials for the ongoing Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), witnessed the signing of the MoU on Wednesday. The Special Adviser to Governor Sanwo-Olu on Agriculture (Rice Mill Initiative), Dr. Oluwarotimi Fashola, signed the MoU on behalf of the Lagos State Government, while Group Director, Rice Industry Division, Yihai Kerry Arawana Holdings Co. Limited, Mr. Wang Wei, signed on behalf of the Chinese company. The signing of the MoU was also witnessed by the Group Head of Rice, Wilmar Group, Mr. Prashant Trikha. The signing of the MoU and collaboration between the Lagos State Government and the Chinese company will enhance rice production and agricultural productivity in Lagos State in line with the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration’s quest for food security and agricultural revolution. He said: “We realise that we have the capacity to feed ourselves as a people, if we put the right investment in agriculture. That is why our administration has prioritised agricultural value chains. Our rice initiative, with the Imota Rice Mill is projected to provide 1,500 direct jobs and over 250,000 indirect jobs. The rice mill alone has a capacity to produce 2.8 million bags of 50 kg bags of rice yearly.” Lagos State Government is committed to enhancing agricultural productivity and has been actively engaged in the promotion of cultivation of rice to meet the high demand for rice consumption in Lagos State, further to which it has established a 32-metric-tonne per hour capacity rice mill in the Imota area of the State. Yihai Kerry Arawana Holdings Co. Limited is one of the largest food processing companies in the Peoples Republic of China, which operates an integrated rice business covering the rice value chain, from cultivation to processing and distribution of milled rice.

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NNPCL set to supply Dangote Refinery 17.8m barrels of crude oil

Vice President, Downstream, NNPCL Adedapo Segun has revealed that the Dangote Refinery will receive additional 17.8million barrels of crude oil as part of the Federal Government push to drive local production of petroleum products.  Adedapo stated this on AriseNews Morning Show on Thursday.  It was gathered that the state owned oil company has supplied 30 million barrels of crude to the refinery to start its operation.  Dangote Refinery announced early in the week, at a press briefing addressed by its Group Chief Executive, Aliko Dangote, that it is now ready to release its PMS to the market. According to Adedapo, 6.8million barrels in 7 cargoes of crude oil will be delivered to  Dangote Refinery in September, while another 11 million barrels will be delivered in November.  The VP Downstream further revealed why NNPCL is the sole importer of PMS in the country, noting that market conditions have not made it possible for independent marketers to bring in products as a result of forex illiquidity and pump price that is far below landing cost.  Contrary to media reports that Dangote Refinery will only sell products to NNPCL as sole off taker, Adedapo said that Dangote will sell products to other marketers once the market conditions are right for them to play, adding that NNPCL for now will act in public interest as provider of last resort as provided for in the Petroleum Industry Act.

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Lagos commissioner leads officials on redline rail passenger ride 

As part of the ongoing trial phase, the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Oluwaseun Osiyemi, today, led officials from the Ministry of Transportation on a non-fee paying ride aboard the Redline Rail. The journey, which took place between Ikeja and Agbado, marked a significant milestone in the testing process. For the past six weeks, the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) has conducted test runs without passengers, achieving a 90 percent success rate.  This current phase, involving non-fee paying passengers, aims to study passenger behaviour along the corridor and provide LAMATA with valuable insights to fine-tune the operations before the official launch of passenger services. The train arrived at Ikeja Train Station at approximately 1:19 pm, boarding passengers before making brief stops at Agege and Iju stations, and ultimately arriving at Agbado Train Station at 1:47 PM. The return journey from Agbado commenced at 2:50 PM, with the train reaching Ikeja at 3:19 PM. Key officials who joined the Commissioner on the exercise include the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Olawale Musa; the Managing Director of LAMATA, Engr. Abimbola Akinajo; the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Transportation, Hon. Toyin Aremu and Directors in the Ministry of Transportation amongst others.

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Morocco 2025 qualifiers: Super Eagles’ camp bubbles as Iwobi, Onyeka, Bassey arrive

Fulham FC of England duo, Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey have joined up with their national teammates in Uyo ahead of the Morocco 2025 qualifiers against Benin Republic and Rwanda.  Iwobi and Bassey were received on arrival by the Super Eagles’ skipper, William Troost-Ekong.  FC Augsburg of Germany defensive midfielder, Frank Onyeka also stormed the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Uyo, which puts number of players at 14.  The former African champions are expected to kick off their build up for the ties later today.  Other players in camp are; Wilfred Ndidi, Victor Boniface, Amas Obasogie, Taiwo Awoniyi, Ademola Lookman, Ola Aina, Semi Ajayi, Olisa Ndah and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru. 

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Galatasaray offers Osimhen loan deal

Napoli are in talks to loan Victor Osimhen to Galatasaray, according to reports in Italy, but would have to share his wages. The striker is an outcast in Naples after deadline day negotiations with Al-Ahli and Chelsea failed to find an agreement that suited everyone. The club reiterated via director Giovanni Manna and coach Antonio Conte that Osimhen will not be reintegrated into the squad, because he was the one who originally requested an exit. The deadline has now passed in Italy and most European markets, but some transfer sessions remain open, most notably in Turkey. Sky Sport Italia and the Corriere dello Sport report that Napoli are now negotiating to loan Osimhen to Galatasaray, but would likely have to share a large part of his €10m per season salary. An alternative would be for Galatasaray to cover the wages, but not pay anything for the loan fee. The Turkish transfer window is open until September 13, so there is plenty of time to reach a full agreement and few alternatives now other than to leave the striker in the stands for six months. RMC Sport in France insist Osimhen has already accepted the move and it’s just between the clubs. Galatasaray are in need of a new centre-forward after ex-Inter hitman Mauro Icardi sustained a serious injury that will keep him out of action for at least a month.

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Ekong, Awoniyi, 4 others storm Super Eagles’ camp

Super Eagles skipper, William Troost-Ekong, Taiwo Awoniyi, Ademola Lookman and four other players are early birds in the national team camp in Uyo.  The others players that have arrived camp as at press time are; Ola Aina, Semi Ajayi, Olisa Ndah and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru.  More players are expected to hit the camp later today ahead of their build for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Cheetahs of Benin Republic and the Amavubi of Rwanda this month. 

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Morocco 2025: Eguavoen names Ilechukwu, 4 others as assistants

Interim manager Augustine Eguavoen has selected Enugu Rangers’ head coach, Fidelis Ilechukwu and Daniel Ogunmodede of Remo Stars to assist him plot the downfall of the Cheetahs of Benin Republic and the Amavubi of Rwanda in the Super Eagles’ 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches this month. Ilechukwu led the Flying Antelopes to triumph in Nigeria’s elite division last season, with Ogunmodede’s Remo Stars in second place. They will be joined in Uyo by Tomaz Zorec, a fitness trainer from Slovenia, goalkeeper trainer Olatunji Baruwa and match analyst, Eboboritse Uwejamomere. Players and officials of the three-time African champions are expected in Uyo on Monday to kick off preparations for Saturday’s clash with the Cheetahs at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, from 5pm. The team will depart for Kigali on Sunday, for Tuesday’s Matchday 2 clash with the Amavubi (Bees) of Rwanda at the Amahoro Stadium, starting from 3pm Rwanda time (2pm Nigeria time). 

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