Southampton 0 – 3 Man United
Brighton 0 – 0 Ipswich Town
Palace 2 – 2 Leicester
Fulham 1 – 1 West Ham
Liverpool 0 – 1 Forest
Man City 2 – 1 Brentford
Aston Villa 3 – 2 Everton
Results of the Ekiti Governorship election declared by Local Government Collation officers at State Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Ado Ekiti.
Ilejemeje LG
APC 4,156
PDP 3,937
Irepodun LG
APC13,869
PDP 11,456
Idi Osi LG
APC 12,342
PDP 11,145
Oye LG
APC 14,995
PDP 11,271
Efon LG
APC 5,028
PDP 5,192
Moba LG
APC 11,837
PDP 8,520
Ijero LG
APC , 14,192
PDP 11,077
Gbonyi LG
APC 11,498
PDP 8,027
Emure LG
APC 7,048
PDP 7,121
Ikere LG
APC 11,515
PDP 17,183
Ekiti West LG
APC 12,648
PDP 10,137
Ikole LG
APC 14,522
PDP 13,961
Ise Orun LG
APC 11,908
PDP 6,297
Ekiti East
APC 12,778
PDP 11,544
Ekiti South West
APC 11,015
PDP ,8423
Ado LG
APC 28,111
PDP 32,810
The Independent National Election Commission (INEC) has commenced the announcement of the results of the governorship election in Anambra held on Saturday.
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Prof. Zana Akpagu, who is the Returning Officer for election said results for 16 local government areas out of 21 LGs of the state in the governorship poll are ready.
Election results: Njikoka LGA
APC – 5,756,
APGA – 16,944,
PDP – 3,477.
APC – 6,167,
APGA – 18,957,
PDP – 5,354.
APC – 7,016,
APGA – 8,575,
PDP – 1,530.
There are indications that some parts of the North will soon join the league of oil producing states in the country, The Nation has learnt.
It was gathered that exploration around the Gombe/Bauchi area has yielded fruits with three wells drilled, one contains gas in commercial quantity.
A source at the Petroleum Resources Ministry said: “We are on the verge of getting oil from Gombe/Bauchi axis.
“Three wells have been drilled and one of the three wells has proved to be commercially viable.
“The well has been appraised by the frontier team of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The 3D seismic data required for further evaluation has been acquired.
“What remains is to ensure proper placement of the well before the discovery is made public.”
It was also learnt that it was because of the imminent announcement of the discovery of gas that governors from the North have been visiting NNPC Group Managing Director Dr. Maikanti Baru, to seek the corporation’s increased search for oil in and around their states.
Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who led the state delegation to NNPC Towers in Abuja, to appeal to its management to step up oil and gas exploration in the Sokoto Inland Sedimentary Basin.
Tambuwal said based on records, renewed search for oil in the basin would yield some positive results in the nearest future.
Last week, Yobe State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Geidam, also led a delegation to the NNPC to see Baru.
He too appealed to NNPC management to increase its search for oil and gas exploration in the Yobe section of Chad Basin.
Baru stated that NNPC has plans to open up all the inland basins to prospective investors.
“We are on target and we are looking at the prospectivity of the whole basins of Niger Delta, Chad, Anambra, Benue Trough, Benin, Sokoto and Bida. We are focused on delivering on these basins in line with our mandate,” Baru assured.
According to him, preliminary exploratoration had indicated some signs of hydrocarbon in eastern Yobe of the Chad Basin, adding that once the Corporation received security clearance, the 3D seismic data acquisition in the area would continue.
The NNPC chief noted that modern technology would be deployed in the exploration of the Yobe section of the Chad Basin similar to that deployed in the Borno side of the Chad basin.
He said exploration executed in the Benue Trough in the 1990s had indicated the presence of hydrocarbon in the region, adding that attempts which were made under the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) arrangements had involved Shell, Chevron and Agip, which had drilled a well each in the region.
He added that already the NNPC had identified some leads and prospects that would be tested through drilling ahead of the resumption of the Chad Basin exploration.
The Oyo State government has said the state recorded its best result in the West African Senior School Certificate (WASSC) examinations in 18 years.
The government said its 54.18 per cent pass for pupils with a minimum of five credits, including Mathematics and English, was encouraging when compared to the national average of 59 per cent.
It said 29,174 candidates, representing 54.14 per cent, had a minimum of five credits of the 53,850, who sat for the examination.
The government said the 29,174 candidates consisted of 13,884 boys and 15,290 girls.
Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Toye Arulogun, gave the figures yesterday in Ibadan, the state capital.
He said this year’s average results had an improvement ratio of above 100 per cent over last year’s, which was 22.12 per cent.
The commissioner noted that the improvement followed government’s renewed commitment to reverse the downward trend in the performance of pupils in WAEC and National Examinations Council (NECO) examinations.
He said the state also came second in last year’s NECO result ranking.
Arulogun said the government was awaiting the statistics on states’ performances from WAEC, adding that this was concluded on September 5 and will be sent to each state, according to WAEC’s Head of National Office, Mr. Olu Adenipekun.
Oyo State recorded 4.40 per cent in 1999, 3.59 per cent in 2000, 8.7 per cent in 2001, 6.93 per cent in 2002, 6.13 per cent in 2003, 9.17 per cent in 2004, 7.89 per cent in 2005, 10.40 per cent in 2006 and 6.16 per cent in 2007.
The commissioner said the state recorded 9.14 per cent in 2008, 11.92 per cent in 2009, 13.40 per cent in 2010, 16.97 per cent in 2011, 21.35 per in 2012, 21.79 in 2013, 19.19 per cent in 2014 and 21.61 per cent in 2015.
Arulogun said the improved performance followed several policies to reform the Education sector for improved performances in internal and external examinations.
He said Iseyin Local Government Area recorded 67.64 per cent, followed by Ibadan South West, with 67.53 per cent.
Others, he said, are: Irepo, 66.18 per cent; Oyo West, 63.95 per cent and Ido, 63.62 per cent.
Arulogun noted that these were the top five councils with good results in this year’s examinations.
According to him, Ibarapa North Local Government Area recorded 34.89 per cent; Surulere, 29.11 per cent; Ogbomoso South, 27.95 per cent; Itesiwaju, 21.01 per cent and Iwajowa, 10.28.
Arulogun said the listed councils had the least of candidates with a minimum of five credits, including Mathematics and English.
He said: “This is below our target as we are competing both within ourselves and at the national level. We want to reclaim our status as the Pace Setter. So, many policies have been introduced to ensure that our aspirations on quality education for the people of the state are achieved.
“We have cancelled automatic promotion in schools and introduced the School Government Board (SGB) OYOMESI, Education Trust Fund (ETF), WAEC Boot Camp, extra-mural classes, workers’ review for optimisation of work force.
“These and many other state government’s initiatives are yielding results.”
Nigerian equities traded on the balance yesterday as investors weighed the prospects of corporate earnings in the light of current valuations. With 24 gainers and losers each, the overall market situation showed cautious optimism as investors realigned their portfolios.
Gains recorded by large-cap stocks however sustained the positive market performance for the 10th consecutive trading session. Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed average day-on-day gain of 0.23 per cent, equivalent to net capital gain of N27 billion.
Aggregate market value of all quoted equities rose from its opening value of N11.524 trillion to close at N11.551 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the main price index for the market, trended upward from 33,436.61 points to close at 33,514.93 points. With this, average year-to-date return rose to 24.71 per cent.
Sectoral indices underlined the tight market situation between the profit-takers and bargain-hunters. Two sectoral indices declined, two other indices appreciated while one index was flat. The NSE Oil & Gas Index appreciated by 1.4 per cent while the NSE Banking Index rose by 1.1 per cent. However, the NSE Insurance Index and NSE Industrial Goods Index declined by 0.5 per cent each while the NSE Consumer Goods Index closed flat.
Seplat Petroleum Development Company led the gainers with a gain of N9.98 to close at N485. Guinness Nigeria rose by N3.10 to close at N66.10. Okomu Oil Palm added N1.50 to close at N64.50. PZ Cussons Nigeria appreciated by N1.05 to close at N22.05 while Stanbic IBTC Holdings rose by 99 kobo to close at N32.49 per share.
On the downside, Nestle Nigeria led the losers with a loss of N16.50 to close at N903.50. Presco declined by N3.22 to close at N61.32. Dangote Cement lost N2 to close at N208. MRS Oil and Gas dropped by N1.86 to close at N35.44 while Flour Mills of Nigeria declined by N1.10 to close at N25.15 per share.
Total turnover stood at 331.43 million shares valued at N3.24 billion in 4,055 deals. The three most active stocks were Zenith Bank, with 33.11 million shares; United Bank for Africa (UBA), 28.24 million shares and FBN Holdings, which recorded a turnover of 26.55 million shares.
“As half year corporate scorecards begin to trickle in, we expect market performance to remain largely bullish – driven by positive earnings expectation,” Afrinvest Securities stated.
Pupils who participated in the 2017 Cowbellpedia Secondary School Mathematics Qualifying Examination are already waiting for the Thursday, June 1st, date for the release of their results. Teachers and management of various schools that presented students are equally looking forward to a successful outing for their candidates.
A cross section of pupils, who sat for the examination in March expressed optimism about the outcome as they look forward to their results on the online portal: www.cowbellpedia.ng
A junior secondary pupil of Pakoto High School, Ifo, Ogun State, and first time participant, Kehinde Hassan, recalled how his initial tension during the examination eventually gave way to confidence. His counterpart from Jacobs High School, Owode, Ogun State, Johnson Oluwole, is also sure of advancing to the second round. “I have tried my best, and I am praying, my family is praying too. I just hope for the best,” Oluwole said
Oluwatoyin Ayodele, one of the teachers at the Pakoto Examination centre, is also certain that his pupils will cruise to the next stage. “I have no doubt at all. My students have prepared very well and my wish for them is to get to the finals and win the ultimate prize,” he said.
A total of 51,018 candidates sat for this year’s Stage one of the 2017 Cowbellpedia Secondary Schools Mathematics TV Quiz Show.
Further analysis shows a total of 26,057 and 24, 961 candidates in the JSS and SSS respectively.
Also the number of online candidates’ registration soared from 19,604 to 32,096 in 2017, amounting to a 64 per cent growth over last year.
Aside the figures, the percentage of online registration to total registration increased from 43 per cent in 2016 to 63 per cent in the current edition.
Candidates are advised to visit www.cowbellpedia.ng for the Stage One result from June 1st, 2017 as 108 candidates (54 each for junior and senior categories) are to proceed to the Stage Two, which is the Television Quiz show.
The second stage, will be further sub-divided into preliminary, semifinals and finals. The show will be serialised into 13 episodes and aired on major television stations across the country.
The ultimate prize for this year’s edition is N1 million and an all-expense paid excursion outside the country, while the 1st and 2nd runners up will go home with N750,000.00 and N500,000.00 respectively.
Similarly, the teacher of the star winner will get N400, 000.00. Teachers of first and second runners up, will go home with N300, 000.00 and N200, 000.00.
The Federal Polytechnic, Bida (BIDA POLY) is to create an online platform to ensure early release of results.
In an interview with CAMPUSLIFE, the Deputy Rector, Mr Augustine Oghenejivwe, said the academic board’s activities had been reorganised to make compilation of results faster.
Oghenejivwe explained that the new method would give students access to information about the school without travelling long distance while on break. He explained that the online platform would also give parents true picture of children’s academic status and eliminate deception.
He said: “We are already putting plans in place to release result before the semester begins in order give parents an opportunity to know the academic standing of their children The move was taken to prevent students from deceiving their parents and also to save them unnecessary stress of travelling down to the school to check results while the school is on break.
The Deputy Registrar for Academics, Mr Dauda Danlani, hailed the academics board on the initiative, stressing that it was wise to release results on time given the challenges faced by students whenever results comes out late.
Danlani said the school upgraded its system software as a measure put in place to ensure the successful take off of the online platform.
A senior staff at Management Information System (MIS), Mr Olayemi Olalekan, said the unit would facilitate conversion of hard copies of results to a softcopy. “Other plans are in place to improve on the achievement by linking it up to students’ page for them to check their results while they are at home” he said.
Students lauded the development, describing it as “brilliant innovation”. Innocent Musa, a Higher National Diploma (HND) II Public Administration student, said the initiative would ease students of stress.
Kehinde Oniwe, a National Diploma (ND) II Accountancy student, expressed mixed feelings. He said: “The release of result online will no doubt reduce the stress of travelling down to the school, but I feel student results should be released for the world to see. It should be secret.”
Graduates of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS) have expressed sadness over the delay in the release of their results, eight months after they wrote their final examination.
The graduates complained that the development was delaying their deployment in the National Youth Service. They took to social media platforms to express their grievances, describing the delay as “pathetic”.
Ridwan Ibrahim, who graduated from the Law Faculty, said the school management’s action prevented him from proceeding to the Law School.
He said: “None of us who graduated from the Faculty of Law has been mobilised to go to Law School because of the delay in processing our results. In the last eight month, many of us have been jobless, since we don’t have statement of result to show we graduated from the school.”
Ridwan, who lamented the delay, wondered how long it would take him to get his first degree, having spent six years in the institution instead of five years, because of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strikes.
For Olawumi Yasin, the insitution’s action was a was intended to keep students in bondage. He said it was insensitive for the management to be silent on the matter, saying students could be forced to protest if nothing was done.
Sarat Alabidun, who graduated from Applied Chemistry, said she needed to apply for a scholarship for her Master’s programme, but said the inability to get her statement of result could truncate her plans.
“Even if I will not be mobilised for National Youth Service now, the institution should release my statement of result to enable me further my studies,” she said.
Ibrahim Hamman, who graduated from the Department of Geography, said eight months was enough for the institution to release the results. “If their reason for delaying the result is lack of capacity to release all the results at once, they can get it done in batches,” Ibrahim said.
He advised the institution management to embrace technology, citing Al-Hikmah University in Ilorin, Kwara State, which releases students’ results immediately after its final examination.
Attahiru Ahmad Musa, who finished his post-graduate programme in 2013, also bemoaned the continued delay.
The Dean of Students’Affairs, Prof Adamu Aliero, urged the graduates to be patient, promising that the notification would soon be released.
Aliero, who did not give reasons for the delay in releasing the students’ notification, said: “We are aware of the challenges preventing us from mobilising our students for National Youth Service this year. But, to a degree of certainty, they will be mobilised in the next batch.”
As Budget 2017 process begins, it must be result-oriented
President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to formally present the 2017 Budget proposals to the National Assembly soon. Designed along the trajectory of the ‘reflationary’ budget of 2016, it proposes an ambitious outlay of N7.28 trillion –an increase of ?about 19.95 per cent over the current year’s budget of N6.07 trillion. Set against the background of the biting recession which the economy slipped into in the second quarter, the coming budget, not unlike the current one, comes with somewhat renewed expectations.
Beyond all of that, however, Nigerians have good reasons to worry about tardiness and needless acrimony associated with previous budgets. In fact, they have even more reasons to be anxious about tall ambitions when successive outcomes have been disappointingly poor.
For instance, Budget 2016– the so-called reflationary budget – was designed to be an elixir of sorts. As far as processes and outcomes go, it was indeed disappointing. Whether it was the allegation that the budget, presented on national television, suddenly went ‘missing’, or an alleged ‘mutilation’ by officials of the Budget Office, or even the allegation and counter-allegation of massive padding involving principal officers of the National Assembly, the process was fatally flawed.
In the end, Nigerians are still wondering where all the promises about revamping infrastructure have gone. Many are their questions about the big-ticket projects which the administration advertised as pivotal to its programme of economic turnaround but are yet to see the light of day.
Little wonder what followed: the economy – denied the attention and tending hand of competent care-givers – was let into recession in the second quarter. Much as we might agree that the seeds of the recession were sown in an earlier era, there is certainly a lot to be said about the tardiness, loss of focus and pervasive indiscipline exhibited by those charged with the process as being partly responsible for exacerbating the current crisis.
As Budget 2017 process begins, we must admit that the signs are anything but reassuring. Part of the troubling signs is the current bickering over the 2017-2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper sent by the President to the National Assembly in October. Only last week, the National Assembly indicated that it will not consider the Appropriation Bill until it has passed the strategy paper. That was after the Senate had described the October document as “empty”, even as it blamed the executive for allegedly failing to provide requisite documents needed for its consideration.
Another potential cause of conflict is the budget assumptions at this time of continuing uncertainties in crude production as well as price. As against the crude oil benchmark price of $38 per barrel and production level of 2.2 million barrels per day set for Budget 2016, the government is looking at $42.5 per barrel with the daily crude oil production also projected at 2.2 million barrels per day for the 2017 budget. With the current crippling situation in the Niger Delta, that level of production might prove unrealistic.
Beyond the mechanics of the annual exercise and its associated ritual of rolling out fanciful figures, the real challenge is having a budget that works for the people. More than the annual contest of egos, Nigerians yearn for a process that is transparent; they are desirous of a process that not only delivers value to them but actually leads to qualitative improvement in their lives.
One way in which the National Assembly can assist in this regard is to help determine how Budget 2016 fared – in specific details. How much, for instance, did the budget deliver in roads, power, health and other social infrastructure measured against the trillions said to have been released under the current budget cycle? Answers are needed to make the budget exercise meaningful to Nigerians. Obviously, the nation would benefit more from results than needless turf wars.