The match between Manchester United and Bournemouth was called off today due to safety fears. According to reports, a ‘suspect package ’ was discovered at the north west corner of the Old Trafford ground prompting the suspension of the game.
The players were forced to leave the field shortly ahead of kick-off.
We have just finished a meeting of various stakeholders presided over by His Excellency, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The meeting had in attendance the Leadership of the Senate, House of Representatives, Governors Forum, and Labour Unions (NLC, TUC, NUPENG, and PENGASSAN).
The meeting reviewed:
1. The current fuel scarcity and supply difficulties in the country.
2. The exorbitant prices being paid by Nigerians for the product. These prices range on the average from N150 to N250 per litre currently.
3. The meeting also noted that the main reason for the current problem is the inability of importers of petroleum products to source foreign exchange at the official rate due to the massive decline of foreign exchange earnings of the federal government. As a result, private marketers have been unable to meet their approximate 50% portion of total national supply of PMS.
Following a detailed presentation by the Honorable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, it has now become obvious that the only option and course of action now open to the government is to take the following decisions:
1. In order to increase and stabilise the supply of the product, any Nigerian entity is now free to import the product, subject to existing quality specifications and other guidelines issued by Regulatory Agencies.
2. All Oil Marketers will be allowed to import PMS on the basis of FOREX procured from secondary sources and accordingly PPPRA template will reflect this in the pricing of the product. Pursuant to this, PPPRA has informed me that it will be announcing a new price band effective today, 11th May, 2016 and that the new price for PMS will not be above N145 per litre. We expect that this new policy will lead to improved supply and competition and eventually drive down pump prices, as we have experienced with diesel.
In addition, this will also lead to increased product availability and encourage investments in refineries and other parts of the downstream sector. It will also prevent diversion of petroleum products and set a stable environment for the downstream sector in Nigeria. We share the pains of Nigerians but, as we have constantly said, the inherited difficulties of the past and the challenges of the current times imply that we must take difficult decisions on these sorts of critical national issues.
Along with this decision, the federal government has in the 2016 budget made an unprecedented social protection provision to cushion the current challenges. We believe in the long term, that improved supply and competition will drive down prices.
The DPR and PPPRA have been mandated to ensure strict regulatory compliance including dealing decisively with anyone involved in hoarding petroleum products. Thank you.
SIGNED
HONOURABLE MINISTER OF STATE FOR PETROLEUM RESOURCES
The International Football Association Board are introducing a new set of rules ahead of Euro 2016 tournament. Read them below.
As part of revision of handball law, The International Football Association Body (IFAB) is set to introduce penalty goals.
Citing an incident during the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals in South Africa, when Uruguay’s Luis Suarez punched the ball off the goal-line just before the end of extra time, the new rule states that a goal would be awarded when a player uses his hand or arm to stop the ball on the goal line. No penalty would be given, and the team wouldn’t have to worry about the penalty being missed, the goal will be automatic.
The goalkeeper kit is traditional green with
black detailing on the shoulders and logos. David De Gea has been used
to help promote the kit and United fans will be hoping to see the
Spaniard in the kit next season amid fresh speculation of a move away
this summer.
It has become commonplace for celebrities with huge following on social media to be inundated with all sorts of requests by their fans.
Actress, Funke Akindele loves her fans immensely and would do anything to make them happy. Recently, a twitter user pleaded with the Jenifa star to buy him a tricycle fondly called Keke Napep to make ends meet and the TV personality replied, “Where Are You Dear, DM, your number.” Incredibly awesome gesture right? We think so too.
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| Nneka Lesley Arimah |
Distinguished Nigerian writers, Nneka Lesley Arimah and Tope Folarin have been shortlisted for the Caine Prize 2016, . They join South Africa’s
Lidudu Malingani, Kenyan/Somalian Abdul Khan and Zimbabwe’s Bongani Kona who have also been made the annual literary award list. Read Nneka and Tope’s profiles below.
Lesley Nneka Arimah (Nigeria) for ‘What it Means When a Man Falls From the Sky’ published in Catapult (Catapult, USA, 2015). Lesley Nneka Arimah is a Nigerian writer living in Minneapolis. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s and other publications. When she isn’t spreading peace and joy on Twitter, Arimah is at work on a collection of short stories (What it Means When a Man Falls From the Sky) forthcoming in 2017 from Riverhead Books. There are rumours about a novel.
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| Tope Folarin |
Tope Folarin (Nigeria) for ‘Genesis’ published in Callaloo (Johns
Hopkins University Press, USA, 2014). Tope Folarin won the Caine Prize
for African Writing in 2013, and in 2014 he was named in the Africa39 list
of the most promising African writers under 39. In addition, his work
has been published in various anthologies and journals. He lives in
Washington DC.
Credit: Caineprize.com