Check your self

Friday, 6 January 2017

Conte sends message to Mikel Obi as midfielder completes China move

Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte has sent a message to departing midfielder, John Obi Mikel.

The Nigerian has completed a permanent transfer to Tianjin TEDA on Friday, after spending over a decade at Stamford Bridge.

Mikel Obi, who never featured under Conte, has signed a four-year deal with the Chinese Super League club worth £140,000-a-week.

Conte said during his Friday press conference: “I want to say thanks to Obi, for this period when he worked with me.

“He showed great attitude and I wish for him and his family the best.

“I hope that these offers from China finish with Mikel and Oscar.”

Mikel Obi had penned an emotional farewell to Chelsea fans earlier today, in which he thanked everyone at the club.

Monday, 25 April 2016

Kelechi Iheanacho is Europe’s deadliest striker, report claims


Has better minute-to-goal ratio than Ronaldo, Messi, Suarez
In Manchester, the spotlight on one of the hottest young talents falls on the red side of the city in Marcus Rashford.

The Manchester United teenager has lit up their season with his goalscoring exploits – netting seven goals in 14 appearances since making his debut in February.

However, their ‘noisy neighbours’ Manchester City can boast an equally as devastating young striker in Kelechi Iheanacho.

The 19-year-old is quietly blossoming into a clinical finisher at City, and this was highlighted by his two goals in their 4-0 Premier League win over Stoke on Saturday.
That double took his overall tally to 11 in the season and a stat that sees him crowned as Europe’s deadliest marksman.

Iheanacho can lay claim to being the most prolific goalscorer in Europe’s top five league based on minutes played.

His minute-to-goal ratio stands at 81.27 – a figure that surpasses illustrious forwards such Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Cristiano Ronaldo. Based on players having scored 10 goals or more this term in all competitions, Iheanacho’s nearest challenger is Barcelona forward, Luis Suarez. The 29-year-old has scored 53 times at a minute-to-goal ratio of 83.77.

Real Madrid duo, Ronaldo (47 goals) and Karim Benzema (27), sit third and fourth respectively in this list at 84.21 and 85.93 respectively.

Paris Saint-Germain talisman, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, rounds out the top five with his 42 goals coming every 88.45 minutes.

Messi is eighth in this list with his 40 goals for Barcelona coming every 95.95 minutes, while Bayern Munich striker, Lewandowski (38 goals), is 10th at 98.89 with Gareth Bale (18) next at a ratio of a strike every 106.39 minutes.

Aside from Iheanacho, only City team-mate, Sergio Aguero and Liverpool striker, Daniel Sturridge, are from the Premier League inside the top 20.

Aguero’s minute-to-goal ratio of 112.89 places him 13th while Sturridge finds him 16th with 121.73.

Real Madrid visit the Etihad for the first leg of City’s first Champions League semi-final, offering Iheanacho the chance to challenge himself against the likes of Ronaldo, Benzema and Bale.

Toure set to miss Real Madrid clash


Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure is expected to miss his side’s Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid on Tuesday, manager Manuel Pellegrini revealed on Monday.

The Ivorian did not take part in City’s final pre-match training session on Monday after picking up a muscular injury towards the end of Sunday’s 4-0 Premier League win over Stoke City.

“I think he’s going to be out,” Pellegrini told a press conference at the City Football Academy training complex. “He hasn’t recovered from a muscle injury.”

With Toure likely to miss out, Brazilians Fernando and Fernandinho are expected to be paired together in central midfield.

“The two Brazilian lads have played well when they have played together, and in Europe as well,” Pellegrini said.

30-day fuel imports can build 15 modular refineries — Don


A university don has argued that the cost of importing petroleum products for 30 days is capable of building up to 15 modular refineries in the country, even as he urged the federal government to tap from the technology of illegal refineries instead of destroying them.

A Director, Centre of Gas, Refining and Petrochemicals, Institute of Petroleum Resources, University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Godwin Igwe, who said this at the African Modular Refinery Seminar in Lagos, also said modular refineries will diversify the Nigerian economy, with its security implications for the country.

According to him, “Modular refineries are required right now. Cost of importing fuel in 30 days is enough to build 10-15 modular crude refineries. The Government should therefore set up a guiding policy document (law) to enable entrepreneurs to develop the country.” As regards illegal refineries, Igwe said: “We can train and turn the ‘illegal refineries’ to ‘legal refineries. The ‘illegals’ already have the necessary raw production skills.  We just need to provide guidance and training. The knowledge gap in distillation processes will be provided on appropriate standards, specifications, and catalysis.” The university don listed the benefits of establishing 15 modular refineries to include:

. Production of a combined volume of over 1,000,000 liters per day of petrol, diesel, aviation kero, kerosine, naphtha, and other petrochemical products Creation of over one million jobs for Nigerian youths Creation of over 1000 spin off medium and small businesses, such as shipping, engineering, construction, logistics, fabrication, and many more.
 . Training of over 120,000 Nigerians and community indigenes Provision of food and shelter for over 5 million Nigerians.
. Rejuvenation of our national economy with another “oil boom era” and chance to export excess fuel produced by the refineries and earn forex from fuel export.
.  Regeneration of various key socio-economic sectors that can sustainably raise the Nigerian GDP Oil communities can be transformed into an oil capital of Nigeria and Africa by forming oil community cooperatives and making them key stakeholders as joint venture partners in the ownership and operation of these modular refineries.

Igwe further said that the idea of modular refineries at strategic locations of the country will increase internally generated revenue and reduce fuel scarcity. “The role of Federal and State Governments is to create enabling environment for all, including foreign, local investors, and the oil rich community cooperatives. “Government should provide oil communities, indigenes an alternative sustainable source of income to foster a fresh sense of ownership and deep sense of commitment and responsibility for protecting all the Nigerian oil assets in their environment.

World Bank Raises 2016 Oil Price Forecast


Amid improving market sentiment and a weakening dollar, the World Bank is raising its 2016 forecast for crude oil prices to $41 per barrel from $37 per barrel in its latest Commodity Markets Outlook, as the oversupply in markets is expected to recede.

The crude oil market rebounded from a low of $25 per barrel in mid-January to $40 per barrel in April following production disruptions in Iraq and Nigeria and a decline in non-Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries production, mainly U.S. shale. A proposed production freeze by major producers failed to materialise at a meeting in mid-April.

“We expect slightly higher prices for energy commodities over the course of the year as markets rebalance after a period of oversupply,” said John Baffes, Senior Economist and lead author of the Commodities Markets Outlook. “Still, energy prices could fall further if OPEC increases production significantly and non-OPEC production does not fall as fast as expected.”

All main commodity indexes tracked by the World Bank are expected to decline in 2016 from the year before due to persistently elevated supplies, and in the case of industrial commodities – which include energy, metals, and agricultural raw materials – weak growth prospects in emerging market and developing economies.

Energy prices, including oil, natural gas and coal, are due to fall 19.3 percent in 2016 from the previous year, a more gradual drop than the 24.7 percent slide forecast in January. Non-energy commodities, such as metals and minerals, agriculture, and fertilizers, are due to decline 5.1 percent this year, a downward revision from the 3.7 percent drop forecast in January.

Appraising Onitsha River Port idling facility’s cost on other seaports, economy


The decision of the Federal Government over three years ago to rehabilitate the Onitsha River Port which had been abandoned for nearly four decades before then was seen by maritime and other economic development analysts as a desirable step towards deepening the nation’s maritime business. One of the objectives of the project was to reduce pressure on the existing seaports, especially those in Lagos and also boost economic activities in the South Eastern states. Unfortunately, these objectives are yet to be achieved more than three years after the project was commissioned, reports FRANCIS EZEM.

Nigeria’s two biggest seaports, the Lagos Ports Complex LPC and Tin Can Island Ports Complex TIPC both located in Lagos are synonymous with cargo congestion, especially towards the last quarter of the year with the attendant ripple effects in terms of efficiency, cost of doing business and competitiveness with their peers in the West and Central African sub-region. The reason for this is not farfetched given that both ports, which account for over 75 per cent of the nation’s total imports, including refined petroleum products For instance, records show that the installed capacity of both seaports in terms of volume of imports is about 40 million metric tonnes of cargo per annum.

Today, both seaports handle in excess of 80 million metric tonnes of cargo, an indication that they have been over-stretched, which gives rise to cargo congestion. Similarly, due to the state of the rail transportation system in the country, trucking remains the only means of moving imported goods in and out of these ports to their various destinations with the attendant pressure of the roads, which leads to high cost of maintaining them. It is common knowledge that many importers, especially in Aba and Onitsha, which are the commercial nerve-centres of the South- East, have had to close 24 down due to repeated cases of loss of their consignments from the seaports in Lagos to their various warehouses in these two locations.

This rather ugly development has negative consequences on job creation, as scores of Nigerians have had to lose their jobs in the process. It was against this background that the Federal Government decided to rehabilitate the Onitsha River Port, which was envisaged to serve as a sea-link between the seaports in Lagos and the commercial cities in the South-Eastern part of the country. It was therefore expected that consignments meant for these cities would be moved by barges to the river port from where their owners would take them to their warehouses safe and secure and at a lower transport cost.

The then Minister of Transport, Mallam Idris Umar, while underscoring the strategic nature of the project said: “It is necessary to note that the rehabilitation and equipping of the river port has a distinct position as one of the hubs identified in the Inland Water Transportation Master Plan and serves as a major North/South trade link. The development of the port therefore is aimed at stimulating economic activities that will enhance wealth  and job creation”. He also said that the strategic location of Onitsha as a major centre of commerce within the West African sub-region made the port complex a multi-model network of complimentary accesses to cheap, efficient and seamless movement of people, goods and services around the country.

Ironically, more than three years after the port facility rehabilitated with almost five billion Naira was commissioned with official fanfare, the nation’s economy is yet to reap the benefits of this huge investment. Part of the issues was the inability of the National Inland Waterways Authority NIWA, which is the agency charged with the responsibility of overseeing the nation’s inland waters and also run such river ports to come up with a model of operation of the port before or immediately after its rehabilitation.

For instance, the agency was still undecided on what do with the port facility more than one year after

Monday, 8 June 2015

OSCAR PISTORIUS TO BE RELEASED ON PROBABTION ON 21ST AUGUST


        Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius the southafrican  paralympic athlete who was sentenced to a five-year prison for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp On Valentine's Day 2013, who he fatally shot in his Pretoria home. Though not intentional, he said he mistook her for an intruder but he was found guilty of culpable homicide set to be released on probation on august 21st after serving 10months in prison.                                                                Meanwhile,a southafrican judge has ruled that prosecutors can appeal against the acquittal on murder charges of Carl Pistorius.