The objection raised by opposition Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Party yesterday over how the United States 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices arrived at its conclusion that the 2023 polls reflected the will of Nigerians, despite widespread irregularities is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Friday.
The Vanguard newspaper reports that the opposition Labour Party, (LP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday, expressed shock over how the United States 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices arrived at its conclusion that the 2023 polls reflected the will of Nigerians, despite widespread irregularities.
However, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Presidency hailed the report but said the party did not need external validation of its victories at the polls.
The report published by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour, US Department of State, highlighted human rights practices and violations in different countries, including Nigeria.
It said the last general elections in Nigeria reflected the will of the populace, despite widespread irregularities.

Picking holes in the conclusion, LP and PDP said they are committed to deepening democracy in Nigeria and averting a one-party state.
The report stated that supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC), suppressed votes in Igbo-dominated areas during the March 2023 governorship election in Lagos.
“National elections were widely reported to have reflected the will of voters, despite technical and logistical difficulties, and some irregularities.
“Many independent observers who assessed the results of the presidential, legislative, and state-level elections during the year reflected the will of voters despite reports of voter suppression and vote-buying, campaigning at polling stations, lack of ballot secrecy, violence, and intimidation.
“During the March 18 state election in Lagos, All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters reportedly intimidated and suppressed voters in Igbo-dominated areas, which Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, won in the February 25 national election.
“Viral videos on social media showed APC supporters in Ojo (LGA in Lagos) threatening to attack ethnic Igbo voters presumed to be pro-Obi.
The newspaper says that PZ Cussons Plc, yesterday, stated that it has commenced a strategic review of its business in Africa, with a consideration of exiting the continent, partly driven by economic challenges in Nigeria such as naira devaluation and inflation, which has significantly impacted the company’s sales and operations, resulting in a 48 percent sales plunge.
Jonathan Myers, CEO of PZ Cussons, emphasized the importance of looking towards the future while respecting the company’s past, indicating that the review’s outcomes could include changes in ownership.
Myers added: “The macro-economic challenges and complexities associated with operating in Nigeria are significant and there is much more to do to unlock the full potential of the business.”
“As such, we have undertaken a strategic review of our brands and geographies and have embarked on plans to transform our portfolio, refocusing on where the business can be most competitive.”
PZ further stated: “In addition to the challenges of the significant exposure to Nigeria, the group is too complex for its size, with financial and human resources spread too thinly to generate consistent returns.”
“This means its competitive advantages have been constrained in comparison to those of both larger multinational companies and some focused, smaller ones.”
“We have to have an eye on the future as well as a respect for the past. There could be many permutations of the outcome, which could include a change in ownership. We’re going to be objective and not emotional in how we make this decision,” he stated.
The Punch reports that the International Monetary Fund has called on Nigerian and other sub-Saharan African countries to increase investment in their young citizens’ education to boost economic growth.
In a piece on its website on Thursday, the IMF said demographic transition may be the biggest single opportunity for the economies of sub-Saharan Africa, but countries would only be able to enjoy the dividends if they made sufficient investments in education.
The region’s population is poised to double to two billion by 2050, according to the United Nations.
The fund said that while sub-Saharan Africa had made notable progress in expanding access to schools in recent decades, its outcomes still trailed those in other emerging markets and developing economies.
The IMF revealed that nearly three in 10 school-age children do not attend school, with the completion rate for primary school students being around 65 per cent, compared with a world average of 87 per cent.
“One reason for these shortfalls is that government spending on education in Sub-Saharan Africa falls short of international benchmarks in several countries. The median education budget was equal to about 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product in 2020, which is below the international recommendation of at least 4 per cent of GDP.
“However, recent IMF analysis reveals that achieving the key Sustainable Development Goal of universal primary and secondary school enrollment by 2030 may require doubling education expenditures as a share of GDP, including from both public and private funding sources.”
According to the fund, greater spending to improve access is important, but equally important is the effort to ensure that funds are efficiently used.
Th newspaper says that a financial data and media company, Bloomberg, has ranked the Dangote Refinery above the top 10 biggest refineries in Europe.
According to data compiled by the business news platform, the refinery has more capacity than many European ones.
The $20bn-worth refinery located in Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos State, can refine 650,000 barrels of petroleum products per day.
The report sighted by our correspondent on Thursday stated that this is over 246,00bpd capacity, more than Shell’s Pernis Refinery, which is located in the Netherlands.
It added that the Pernis Refinery, which has an installed capacity of 404,000bpd, is the biggest in Europe. The BP Rotterdam Refinery in the Netherlands has a capacity of 380,000.
Bloomberg also reported that the GOI Energy ISAB Refinery in Italy was built with a refining capacity of 360,000bpd.
Also, the TotalEnergies Antwerp refining facility in Belgium can refine 338,000bpd.
GIK/APA

• Kasar Amurka ta fitar da rahoto na musamman a kan yadda babban zaɓen shekarar 2023 ya gudana a Najeriya
• A cewar rahoton za a iya cewa mutane sun samu abin da suka zaba amma an tafka kura-kurai da dama cikin zaben
• Ya kuma bayyana yadda aka yi amfani da addini da kafafen sadarwa wurin dakile mata ‘yan siyasa a zaben

Editan Legit Hausa Ibrahim Yusuf yana da gogewar aikin jarida da rubuce-rubucen adabi sama da shekaru hudu, kuma kwararre ne a kawo rahotannin kasuwanci, siyasa da lamuran yau da kullum.

Kasar Amurka ta fitar da rahoto na musamman a kan kurakurai da aka tafka a babban zaben Najeriya da ya gabata a shekarar 2023.

Duk da cewa zaben ya bar baya da kura, a cewar rahoton za a iya cewa masu zabe sun samu abin da suka zaba a wurare da dama.

Kara karanta wannan

Karancin fetur: Dogayen layin mai sun dawo Abuja, Kano da wasu jihohi

A rahoton da kasar ta fitar a shafin yanar gizonta, ya nuna cewa an samu kura-kurai da dama a zaben ciki har da sayen kuri’a, tashin hankali da barazana ga masu zabe

Zaben 2023: Abin da ya faru a Legas

Rahotan ya bada misalin abin da ya faru a Legas na nuna kabilanci ga magoya bayan dan takarar jami’yyar Labour, Peter Obi.

A cewar rahoton, magoya bayan jam’iyyar APC sun yi barazana ga ‘yan ƙabilar Ibo a yankunan da Peter Obi ya lashe zabe a jihar Legas.

Ya kuma kara tabbatar da cewa an samu shedar faifayin bidiyo a kafafen sada zumunta da ya ke nuna magoya bayan APC na barazana ga magoya bayan jam’iyyar Labour a yankin Ojo.

Ta kara da cewa an samu irin barazanar a yankin Eti-Osa da Amuwo-Odofin kuma an samu inda magoya bayan APC su ka kai hari wa ‘yan jarida.

Kara karanta wannan

Aikatau: Jerin jihohi 5 mafi muni a Arewacin Najeriya ta fuskar bautar da kananan yara

Har ila yau, a cikin faifayin bidiyon akwai shedar cewa ‘yan sanda na wurin amma ba a dauki mataki ba kuma ba a kama masu laifin daga baya ba.

Yadda aka dakile mata a zaben 2023

Rahoton ya kuma nuna yadda aka ware mata a harkar zaben ta inda ya kasance mata kadan ne suka samu yin nasara a kujerun da suka nema.

A cewar rahoton, matsalolin addini, al’adu da tattalin arziki sun yi tasiri sosai wurin rashin samun nasarar mata a zaben.

Ya kara da cewa an yi amfani da kafafen sadarwa wurin dakile mata ta inda wasu kafafen suka ki tallata mata ‘yan siyasa.

Amurka ta gargadi Isra’ila kan yaki da Iran

A wani rahoton kuma, kun ji cewa kasar Amurka ta gargadi Isra’ila a kan yin amfani da karfin soja wurin kai harin ramako zuwa Iran

Amurka ta yi gargadin ne saboda a cewarta barkewar yaki tsakanin ƙasashen zai haifar da yaki mai muni a yankin gabas ta tsakiya.

Asali: Legit.ng

Sports

Phil Foden is showing that he can excel playing a more central role than off the wing for Manchester City, Kevin De Bruyne said after their 4-0 victory at Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday.

De Bruyne opened the scoring in the 17th minute, Foden scored twice before halftime and Julian Alvarez added the fourth in the second half as City climbed to within a point of Arsenal with a game in hand.

Foden has 24 goals for City in all competitions this season and has often been utilized in more central roles by coach Pep Gruadiola, especially when top scorer Erling Haaland is absent.

“Now Phil gets trusted to play centrally. Even today we didn’t play with any wingers, so we both played a little centrally and had to go on the wings sometimes,” said De Bruyne.

“He was always a number 10 and it’s hard to understand everything you need to do in a Pep team.

“It’s more the structure of it and on the wing you get more freedom. Phil does what he does for six, seven years. He’s been doing this for years and helped us win titles. This season he’s gone up a level.”

Foden, 23, said the central role suited him.

“I’ve always said I see myself centrally,” he added. “This year I’ve moved more inside and helped my game. It’s where I want to be to create and score.”

City next travel to face Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

Reuters

F.A
April 26, 2024

Tags: Man City

Politics

… attributes this to a lack of strong political willpower

By Antonius Isibor

PETER Obi has expressed his anguish over the manner in which Nigeria; Africa’s giant has failed to solve its electricity problems, while other African countries continue to achieve milestones in the sector.

Obi, who made the claim on Friday through his official Twitter account @peterObi in response to Tanzania’s recent decision to close five hydropower stations to reduce excess electricity in the national grid, wondered why Nigeria has failed to establish one to supply electricity to some city.

According to him, Tanzania’s decision to close these power stations stemmed from the fact that their electricity production was already sufficient to power their major cities and provide electricity access to rural residents.

He explained that a World Bank report showed that strong political will and commitment have been responsible for rapid access to electricity in Tanzania, where access to electricity has increased from 7% in 2011 to almost 40% (37, 7%) in 2020. 75% (73.2%) of urban residents gained access to electricity and about 25% (24.5%) of rural areas gained access to electricity.

He further cited a similar report from June 2023 which showed that about 70 percent of the 40 million Tanzanians living in rural areas have gained access to electricity, marking monumental growth in the sector, while the situation in Nigeria unfortunately remains the opposite is.

According to him, 60% of Nigeria’s more than 200 million people live without access to electricity, citing a 2022 Energy Progress Report.

Given the economic loss resulting from the lack of access to electricity in Nigeria, which remains immeasurable, and with the recent increase in electricity tariffs, one would expect that we would soon be able to power at least one major city in each geopolitical zone. increasing our overall access, both in urban and rural areas,

Obi therefore called on the government to remediate and save the sector for the good of the nation, nothing that if “Tanzania could achieve such a milestone in power generation, Nigeria could do even better.

with competent and committed leadership.

“A stable energy sector is critical to the journey towards a New Nigeria, to which we remain committed,” he added.

AI

Keywords: Peter Obi

Politics

… attributes it to lack of strong political will power

By Anthony Isibor 

PETER Obi has expressed pain at how Nigeria; the giant of Africa, has not been able to solve its electricity challenges, while other African countries continue to achieve milestones in the sector.

Obi, who made the assertion on Friday through his official Twitter handle @peterObi in response to Tanzania’s recent decision to shut down five hydroelectric stations to reduce excess electricity in the national grid wondered, why Nigeria has not been able to successfully power a single city.

According to him, Tanzania’s decision to shut down these power stations stemmed from the fact that their electricity production was already enough to power their major cities and give electricity access to the rural dwellers.

He explained that a World Bank report has shown that strong political will and commitment have been responsible for rapid electricity access in Tanzania, which has seen electricity access move from 7% in 2011 to almost 40% (37.7%) in 2020, during which about 75% (73.2%) of urban dwellers gained access to electricity and about 25% (24.5%) of rural areas gained access to electricity. 

He further quoted a similar report in June 2023, which showed that about 70 per cent of 40 million Tanzanians living in rural areas have received access to electricity, signifying a monumental growth in the sector, while regrettably Nigeria’s situation remains the opposite. 

According to him, in Nigeria, 60% of over 200 million people live without access to electricity, referring to a 2022 Energy Progress Report.

Considering the economic loss resulting from lack of access to electricity in Nigeria, which remains immeasurable and with the recent electricity tariff increase, one would expect that we would be able, at least, to power one major city in each geo-political zone soon and increase our overall access both in the urban and rural areas,

 Obi therefore called on the government to sanitize and rescue the sector for the good of the nation, nothing that if “Tanzania could achieve such a milestone in power generation, then Nigeria can do it even better,

with competent and committed leadership. 

“A stable power sector is very critical for the journey to a New Nigeria, to which we remain committed,” he added.

A.I

Tags: Peter Obi