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Dangote ends Nigeria’s dependence on cement importation

Following continuous increase in its production capacity, foremost cement manufacturer, Dangote Cement Plc  has finally ended the era of Nigeria’s dependence on importation as the company exported 0.4 million tons of the product to other countries in 2016.
In its 2016 full year audited results presented on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in Lagos yesterday, Dangote Cement sold 8.6 million metric tons of cement outside Nigeria, which is 54 per cent more than what was sold in 2015.
The export is significant given that the nation used to be a net importer of cement. As at 2011, Nigeria was one of the world’s largest importers of cement, buying 5.1 million metric tons of foreign cement at huge expense to the country’s balance of payments.
The company’s Pan-African cement plants continued to perform well, contributing significantly to its turnover and profitability.
While presenting the results, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Onne van der Weijde, assured the investors of better returns on their investment in the Dangote Cement.
According to him: “The new year has started well and we expect much higher profitability in Nigeria in 2017, even though we may not see the volume growth we achieved in 2016. I am confident that we will deliver an even stronger performance in 2017 as we increase market share and extend our reach across Africa.”    
The economic challenges notwithstanding, Onne revealed that Dangote Cement achieved sales and revenue growth of 25 per cent and consolidated its position as Africa’s leading producer of cement.
While sales from Nigerian operations increased by 13.8 per cent to nearly 15.1 million metric tons at a growth rate far higher than the country’s GDP, which fell in 2016, its total revenue leaped by 25.1 per cent to ₦615.1 billion
To the delight of the investors, Dangote Cement earnings per share increased by 4.5 per cent to ₦11.34 and the dividend payout to the shareholders also increased significantly by 6.3 per cent to N8.5 kobo per share.
It would be recalled that Dangote Cement is Africa’s leading cement producer with nearly 46 million metric tons’ capacity across Africa. It is a fully integrated quarry-to-customer producer with production capacity of 29.25Mta in Nigeria; Obajana plant in Kogi is the largest in Africa with 13.25Mta of capacity across four lines; Ibese plant in Ogun State has four cement lines with a combined installed capacity of 12Mta and Gboko plant in Benue state has 4Mta.
The company has also concluded arrangements to build new factories in Ogun State (3-6Mta) and Edo State (6.0Mta). Through its recent investments, Dangote Cement has eliminated Nigeria’s dependence on imported cement and has transformed the nation into a net exporter of cement serving neighbouring countries.
In addition, the company has invested several billion dollars to build manufacturing plants and import/grinding terminals across Africa. Its operations are in Cameroon (1.5Mta clinker grinding), Congo (1.5Mta), Ghana (1.0Mta import), Ethiopia (2.5Mta), Senegal (1.5Mta), Sierra Leone (0.7Mta import), South Africa (3.3Mta), Tanzania (3.0Mta), Zambia (1.5Mta).

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Sports

Mario Götze removed from all football related activities indefinitely

Borussia Dortmund midfielder, Mario Götze has been told to withdraw from all football related activities indefinitely by his club following diagnosis of ‘metabolic disturbances’.

A statement on the club’s website read: “Borussia Dortmund will continue to be without midfielder Mario Götze for the time being. The 24-year-old World Cup winner has continually suffered with muscular problems in the last few months, prompting a comprehensive internal investigation into the possible causes. Those investigations revealed the player has metabolic disturbances, rendering it absolutely necessary to withdraw him from team training for the time being.”
Speaking on his condition, Götze said: “I’m currently undergoing treatment and will do everything in my power to be back in training and helping my team to achieve our common goals as soon as possible.”
We wish him speedy recovery.
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Sports

Leicester Move On Without Ranieri | By: Wale Adigun

Football is a very funny game indeed and last night at the King Power Stadium, we realised that once again. How do Leicester go from being winless in 2017, goal-less in 2017, (without a goal in 540 minutes in 2017) which even culminated in the sacking of the the best ever manager in Leicester City’s history Claudio Ranieri to scoring 3 goals in 60 minutes.
What we witnessed on Monday night was a retro-Leicester side, it was a throwback to last season where the Foxes destroyed everyone with their brand of football (play it long and Vardy chases like a dog) . We saw that yesterday again, with Jamie Vardy’s goal plus the verve and energy Leicester brought o the table against Liverpool.
But why did this happen after the Srivaddhanaprabba’s wielded the axe on Saint Ranieri? Did the players sabotage their former manager? Questions begging for answers but the most important answer on a personal level for me is that Leicester’s emphatic result against Liverpool has instantaneously vindicated the management’s decision to sack Claudio Ranieri.
Sometimes when a team is on a downward slide, a change of tack on the bench is needed, irrespective of the quality of manager. Craig Shakespeare won’t get the Leicester job long-term but the team will benefit from a change of ideas. Would Claudio Ranieri had won this game had he not been sacked? Hindsight is 20-20 but the Foxes have claimed their first major scalp since Manchester City late in 2016.
Whoever Leicester decide to take over fulltime still has a lot of work to do, Riyad Mahrez is still struggling, the defence line is aging and Leicester need dynamism tactically. Juergen Klopp obviously helped Jamie Vardy rediscover his groove by defending too high plus playing  helpless Lucas Leiva in central defence. There are positives though, Wifred Ndidi has shown he will be pivotal (more tackles than any player on the pitch) Kasper Schmeichel, dependable, Danny Drinkwater, gradually returning to form and the fans always supportive.
I insist that Leicester have too much quality to be relegated, they are out of the drop-zone but its still a long road to safety, they need to go an  positive streak to be rest assured and maybe Claudio Ranieri was right, the game against Sevilla in the Champions League was the needed tonic to change their fortunes, it was just a shame that he wasn’t the man to change their fortune this season.

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Sports

'They take points from the rich&give it to the poor'- Our best reactions from Liverpool's loss to Leicester City

Football fans had a field day taunting Liverpool FC following their 3-1 loss to Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Monday night, just four days after manager Claudio Ranieri was sacked.
See our top 10 reactions on Twitter.


https://twitter.com/PsychoCesc/status/836335745656885248


https://twitter.com/WelBeast/status/836333329939066882
 

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Sports

Opinion: Leicester City And A Familiar Practice | By: Victor Olugbemiro

The sacking of Claudio Ranieri by the Leicester City Football Club management gives credence to the saying that “success has killed more men than bullets.” Reading all the back stories, it becomes clear that no one in the hierarchy could manage the pressures of success. Players wanting better contracts, egos becoming inflated, management beginning to micro manage (some board members started attended training sessions on some occasions) and the manager feeling the need to change a winning formula, possibly because of the departure of Kante.
Winning the league came with new and unanticipated expectations, not limited to competing in the revered Champions League. Now they became title contenders from the start of the season, now they became the team to beat. Now they’re players had started getting national call ups (e.g Danny Drinkwater). Everybody was now under pressure to do far more than avoid relegation which had been their only objective since their promotion to the EPL a few seasons ago.
Blackburn Rovers who won the league in ’95 were relegated two seasons later; got promoted and were relegated again and have since been wallowing in the Championship. I don’t know their back story, but Leicester seems headed in the same direction and sacking Ranieri appears to be the most rational decision under the circumstances.
Liverpool and Arsenal are clubs that haven’t won anything tangible in recent times, but I don’t see them crumbling when they eventually do. So what will be the difference?
Chelsea and Man City metamorphosed from mediocrity to winning and challenging for titles overnight and have remained serious contenders so far. So what is the difference? I think they anticipated success and were ready for it when it came. It therefore becomes dangerous for one to happen upon greatness.
For Leicester, the way forward is inward. They shouldn’t have sacked the manager, but that milk has been spilt already. They need to eat the humble pie once more and dispose of the debilitating trappings of overnight success. They need to listen to reason and become a team once more. They need to fight as one man and stop pointing accusing fingers. They need to take responsibility. Till then, down the hill they shall continue to tumble till they reach rock bottom.

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Sports

‘Nobody can delete the history you wrote’ – Jose Mourinho pays tribute to Ranieri

No one understand’s Claudio Ranieri’s situation better than Jose Mourinho or Pellegrini and Mancini.
They all have been there.
Mourinho wore those shoes not too long ago. A year ago to be precise. He was shown the exit door seven months after guiding Chelsea to Premier League victory. The Portuguese took to his instagram page to send a heartfelt message to his colleague who was fired yesterday as Leicester City coach.
The Manchester United coach wrote, “CHAMPION OF ENGLAND and FIFA MANAGER of THE YEAR⚽️.sacked.
Thats the new football claudio.keep smiling AMICO?.nobody can delete the history you wrote.”

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Entertainment

My marriage was based on lies and scam – Tonto Dikeh

Nollywood actress, Tonto-Dikeh is gradually lifting the lid on her crashed marriage to entrepreneur, Oladunni Churchill. The marriage which was contracted in 2015 hit the rocks following allegations of infidelity on her husband’s part. Speculations were put to rest after the Rivers State native reverted to her maiden name and deleted photos of her estranged partner on social media. While replying one of her followers who implored her to take mockery over the failed union in her stride, the actress replied thus.

 
“My love they can laugh, As long as I didn’t come out in a body bag. Am ok, No one knows how many STDs I have treated or pain I know in marriage..If laughter is all they have then the karma that bite me awaits them all..Tnx for your love ❤️ Yes no marriage is perfect but mine was based on gross lies/deceit, scam & many more Darkness.. I loved the man no one begged me to,I take all the blame!” she wrote
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Sports

'Football has become a horrible business". The world reacts to Leicester City coach, Ranieri's sack.

In a rather shocking and disappointing turn of events, reigning England Champions, Leicester City have fired their coach, Claudio Ranieri, less than 10 months after he led them to the top of English football. The decision was reached after a meeting today.

A statement from the Club read: “Domestic results in the current campaign have placed the Club’s Premier League status under threat and the Board reluctantly feels that a change of leadership, while admittedly painful, is necessary in the Club’s greatest interest.
Vice Chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha added: “This has been the most difficult decision we have had to make in nearly seven years since King Power took ownership of Leicester City. But we are duty-bound to put the Club’s long-term interests above all sense of personal sentiment, no matter how strong that might be.
“Claudio has brought outstanding qualities to his office. His skilful management, powers of motivation and measured approach have been reflective of the rich experience we always knew he would bring to Leicester City. His warmth, charm and charisma have helped transform perceptions of the Club and develop its profile on a global scale. We will forever be grateful to him for what he has helped us to achieve.
“It was never our expectation that the extraordinary feats of last season should be replicated this season. Indeed, survival in the Premier League was our first and only target at the start of the campaign. But we are now faced with a fight to reach that objective and feel a change is necessary to maximise the opportunity presented by the final 13 games.”
 
See our best reactions from the sad news.


 


 


https://twitter.com/maxcouch/status/834860350096879616


https://twitter.com/Will_Tuff/status/834861441266176001


https://twitter.com/LeonMcSweeney/status/834863620290965506


https://twitter.com/SJftbl/status/834874668209307650
https://twitter.com/IanWright0/status/834871452419629057


https://twitter.com/PsychoCesc/status/834864249868517378


https://twitter.com/freebetscouk/status/834874304693219329

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Sports

Wenger not responsible for Arsenal's woes – Nasri

Former Arsenal midfielder, Samir Nasri has risen to the defence of his former boss,  Arsene Wenger, who has come under fire from fans over the club’s recurring defeats. The French footballer opined that the players and the board are to blame for the team’s struggles this season and not the coach.
Nasri who joined Arsenal from Marseille in 2008, told Sky Sports, “You cannot criticise a guy like that, it’s impossible. Arsenal was a big club but he made it even bigger. I just think that people need to be fair. It’s not because Arsenal doesn’t have success in the league that it is his fault. It’s the players on the pitch, it’s the players who don’t get the result. It’s hard for me to say something about him because I owe him a lot of things.
He continued, “I came to the Premier League because of him, I had a good career because of him too because he gave me confidence. He made me a better player and I just think all the players who have played with him, when they left they became better players. I don’t think it’s him, there’s a lot of things at Arsenal, the board, the players that need to be checked out, not just Arsene.”
 

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Sports

Brown Ideye joins Mikel Obi at Chinese side, Tianjin TEDA

Brown Ideye has left  Greece club Olympiacos  and joined his fellow compatriot, Mikel Obi at Chinese club, Tianjin TEDA for a reported fee of €12m .
The 28 year-old signed a 3-year contract with the new club and will earn €3.5m annually making him the sixth highest paid Nigerian player. He also becomes the 5th Nigerian footballer after Obafemi Martins, Anthony Ujah, Mikel Obi, Odion Ighalo to switch to China.
Ideye is Olympiacos top scorer in all competitions this season with 15 goals
 
 

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