In an effort to reward its customers, the United Bank for Africa Plc has partnered with Visa, the Official Payment Services Partner of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Four lucky customers will have the opportunity to win tickets for an expense-paid trip to Qatar to watch the tournament live as well as other incredible prizes.
Two debit and two prepaid clients will each receive a reward during the campaign’s August to September runtime. As one package covers two people, the winner and a loved one, thanks to Visa, each winner may bring one guest with them on the trip.
“As the countdown to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 gathers momentum, with football lovers all geared up in excitement, UBA, understanding the passion of Nigerians as it relates to football, decided to partner Visa so as to ensure that our loyal customers enjoy the very best of the Mundial,” UBA’s Head of Digital Banking, Kayode Ishola, said.
Ishola added, “In order to qualify, the first two Naira Visa Debit Cardholders to spend a minimum of N750,000 and the first two Dollar Visa Prepaid Card holders to spend a minimum of $5,000 within two months (August to September), will stand a chance to win an all-expense-paid trip to the World Cup.’’
Andrew Uaboi, Vice President and Country Manager, Visa West Africa, said, “As the Official Payment Services Partner of FIFA, Visa is proud to partner with UBA to bring the thrill and excitement of this exceptional event to Nigerian fans who will be able to enjoy an experience of a lifetime. Visa will be celebrating the spirit of football in Qatar and is looking forward to showcasing the future of digital payments with fans from Nigeria and the rest of the world.”

GOGAN Media.

Kamaru Usman was up 3-1 until he was knocked out in the last seconds by Leon Edwards at UFC 278.
In the fifth round, Englishman Edwards delivered a high kick that knocked him out and stopped him from making a sixth defense of his welterweight belt.
Usman has since given an explanation as to why such a knockout and defeat had place, and he claims that it was because he was pursuing the finish. “No, that’s not who I am,” Usman told TMZ Sports, according to Kamaru.
“When I fight, I got pedal to the metal and I don’t look at the clock. I’m a goer, when I hear the (horn) I still want to go, and when the ref says, ‘Break, go to your corners,’ I still want to go.
“That’s the way that I fight. I wanted the finish, it was just a beautiful technique. I could’ve taken him down, but I really wanted a finish and when I was setting up, and only God knows what I was setting up, I didn’t land it, (who knows) how much damage it could’ve done, but it was just a beautiful technique.”
He added, “He threw head kicks throughout the fight, I blocked them all,” Usman said. “That one was just money, I’m almost in awe on how good it was, but it happens. Champions fall, then they get back and show you why they’re champions.”
Dana White, president of the UFC, has stated numerous times that the promotion intends to schedule a trilogy match for early 2023 in London.
“How do you not (do a trilogy)? Yeah (I want to do it in England),” White revealed. “I don’t think (Leon would) have to sit and wait anyway. He wouldn’t have to wait that long. He’d have to go back into camp and start training anyway.
“First of all, we’d have to have the date. I think we’re booked up into January now. There will be no waiting for him, even if it’s a rematch.”

GOGAN Media.

The governor of Ondo State, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, has denounced the federal government’s apparent failure to improve the security of the Federation’s states.
Akeredolu claimed that the Federal Government was acting like an ostrich by letting states decide how to protect citizens’ lives and property while instead giving select private security companies in the nation more power.
This was mentioned by the governor in a statement he sent on Wednesday through his chief press secretary. This was a response to the Federal Government allegedly contracting some private security companies recently to guard the pipelines from vandalism.
According to the Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum, the action of the FG has implied that it permitted private security outfits “to bear heavy assault weapons while denying the same privilege to the states, the federating units,” to tackle insecurity.
The statement read in part, “The news concerning the purported award of pipeline contracts to some individuals and private organisations by the Federal Government has been unsettling. More disquieting is the barely disguised hostility displayed against either the idea or the actual establishment of security outfits by some State Governments to fill the widening gaps in the scope of security coverage noticeable nationally.
“The Federal Government, through the Office of the National Security Adviser, has been consistent in its refusal to accede to the request by some states in the Federation to strengthen the complementary initiatives adopted to protect lives and property. This is done in spite of the knowledge that the very issues which necessitated the creation of these outfits support providing adequate weaponry. All attempts to persuade the Federal Government to look critically into the current security architecture have been rebuffed despite the manifest fundamental defects engendered by over-centralisation.
“It is, therefore, shocking to read that the Federal Government has maintained the award of the contract to ‘protect’ the country’s pipeline from vandals to private organisations. This story, if true, leaves a sour taste in the mouth. The NSA will, obviously, not advise the President to approve the award of a contract of such magnitude if the operators have not displayed sufficient capacity to checkmate the criminal activities of equally powerful groups. Consequently, it is safe to conclude that the Federal Government has, impliedly, permitted non-state actors to bear heavy assault weapons while denying the same privilege to the states, the federating units.”
The governor added, “The award of contract to private organisations to protect pipelines raise fundamental questions on the sincerity of the advisers of the government on security issues. The open and seeming enthusiastic embrace of this oddity, despite the constant and consistent avowal of the readiness by the security agencies, in particular, the navy to contain the pervasive and deepening crises of breaches and threats to lives and property, attracts the charge of insincerity bordering, deplorably, on dubiety.
“If the state governments, which are keenly desirous of protecting their citizens, establish ancillary security outfits and there has been pronounced reluctance, if not outright refusal, to consider permitting them to bear arms for the sole purpose of defence, granting private individuals and or organisations unfettered access to assault weapons suggests, curiously, deep-seated suspicion and distrust between the Federal Government and the presumed federating units.
“The engagement of private organisations to handle serious security challenges reinforces the belief that the whole defence architecture in the country needs an urgent overhaul. The Federal Government cannot be seen to be playing the ostrich in this regard.”

GOGAN Media.

The impact of the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ prolonged strike on students and tertiary education in the nation has been bemoaned by Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Labour Party.
Due to what ASUU claimed as the government’s “failure” to accept its demands, the organization went on strike on February 14.
The demands include paying earned allowances, giving colleges funding for revitalization, setting up visiting panels, and using the University Transparency Accountability Solution to pay ivory tower employees rather than the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.
A committee led by Prof. Nimi Briggs was established by the government to examine the 2009 ASUU-FG agreement and the union’s demands.
ASUU leaders claimed that no offer was offered to them when they left a meeting with the government on August 16.
On August 30, 2023, according to The PUNCH, ASUU announced a complete and indefinite strike. The choice was made at a Sunday in Abuja gathering of the union’s National Executive Council.
The LP presidential candidate responded to the ongoing strike on his Twitter account on Wednesday by claiming that universities have been shuttered for six months.
He bemoaned what he called a “staggering level of corruption” in Nigeria, noting that the nation had also become divided along racial and religious lines.
He noted: “Nigeria is vastly polarized and wracked by deep divisions along religious, ethnic and regional lines. There is a staggering level of corruption. Our universities have remained closed for six months.
“While our healthcare system remains almost moribund, power generation and distribution are also at an all-time low.
“Our position is that ASUU strike has lingered for far too long. It is unconscionable, worrisome and unacceptable that FGN would allow such an industrial action to become almost intractable to the detriment of our students.
“It’s time for FGN to engage in collaborative negotiations with ASUU, and in good faith. -PO”

GOGAN Media.

For the next 20 years, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited would have the first option to supply the Dangote refinery with about 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd., revealed this to the media when he appeared at the 49th State House Ministerial Briefing, which was held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja and was sponsored by the Presidential Communications Team.
In 20 years, a supply of 300,000 per day would increase the NNPC’s total supply to 2.1 trillion.
He claimed that the company had been successful in securing the enormous supply as a manner by which the Federal Government could ensure that Nigeria would have a sufficient supply of petroleum products.
“We have secured the right to sell up to 300,000 barrels of crude oil to the Dangote refinery for the next 20 years. Not only that, by right, we also have access to 20 per cent production from that plant,” he said.
He claimed that items made from stolen crude oil were now kept in houses of worship including churches and mosques.
He added that from April to August 2022, 122 people involved in pipeline destruction and oil theft have been apprehended by various law enforcement organizations.
This was said as he defended the government’s recent decision to contract private companies to protect the country’s extensive network of oil pipelines.
He claimed that NNPC employees found stolen petroleum products being stashed in houses of worship with the approval of the priest, congregation, and neighbors.
On a 200 km section of pipeline, he said, at least 295 illicit connections had been discovered in one case.
“As you may be aware, because of the very unfortunate acts of vandals along our major pipelines from Atlas Cove all the way to Ibadan, and all others connecting all the 37 depots that we have across the country, none of them can take delivery of products today.
“The reason is very simple. For some of the lines, for instance, from Warri to Benin, we haven’t operated them for 15 years. Every molecule of product that we put gets lost. You remember the sad fire incident close to Sapele that killed so many people. We had to shut it down and as we speak, we have a high level of losses on our product pipeline.
“You remember Lagos, when a fire outbreak happened on one of our pipelines. We discovered that some of the pipelines were actually connected to individuals’ homes. And not only that, with all sensitivity to our religious beliefs, some of the pipelines and some of the products that we found were in churches and mosques,” Kyari said.
He said that because of the recent incidence of vandalism, NNPC Limited had to shut down its network of pipelines that transported petroleum products through regions where theft was common.
“When we say we are losing 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, we mean it. This is an opportunity lost. There is no company that will produce oil and then you lose 80 per cent of that and continue to produce the oil.”
The head of NNPC claimed that between April and August 2022, 122 people had been arrested as a result of the government’s reaction to oil theft.

GOGAN Media.

On Wednesday, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will fly from Abuja to the United States in order to look for alliances and support for Nigeria’s recently unveiled Energy Transition Plan on a worldwide scale.
This was said in a statement released on Wednesday and signed by Laolu Akande, his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity.
With meetings beginning on September 1, 2022, Osinbajo is in charge of Nigeria’s Energy Transition Implementation Working Group on the US mission. The group’s goal is to promote the plan and win support from the US government, the corporate sector, and other development partners on a worldwide scale.
Osinbajo will meet with US Vice President Kamala Harris, US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, US Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen, and President of the World Bank Group David Malpass while abroad, according to a statement titled “Osinbajo travels to the United States, Nigeria’s energy transition plan on the Agenda.”
Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan was formally unveiled on August 24, 2022, at a global virtual event, according to GOGAN Media.
Power, cooking, oil and gas, transportation, and industry are the five crucial sectors that need to commit to the domestic strategy that was created to achieve 2060 net-zero emissions. By 2060, Nigeria will need $410 billion to implement its Transition Plan.
Osinbajo demanded a $10 billion initial aid package for Africa at the event in order for it to reach its renewable energy investment goal each year.
He remarked that in order to seize control of the continent’s transitional pathways, deliberate and urgent coordination is needed due to Africa’s widening energy gaps.
In order to support the implementation of Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan, the World Bank and the renewable energy group Sun Africa each contributed a sum of $1.5 billion, making a total initial investment of $3 billion.
While traveling, Osinbajo will also give a speech at the Center for Global Development in Washington, DC, about Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan.
Ministers of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Dr. Zainab Ahmed; Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola; Power, Abubakar Aliyu; Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva; Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General/CEO for Sustainable Energy for All, Ms. Damilola Ogunbiyi; and Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States are all part of the Vice President’s delegation
“The Vice President will return to Abuja early next week,” the statement said.

GOGAN Media.

The three-story structure at Beirut GSM Market collapsed on Tuesday evening, leaving nine victims alive. The Nigerian Red Cross Society, Kano State branch, has announced that one victim died in the hospital among the nine victims who have so far been retrieved alive.
Musa Abdullah, the branch secretary, who confirmed the fatality, added that a Kano Electricity Distribution Company employee had also perished in the accident.
“A staff of Kano Electricity Distribution Company, who was trying to disconnect the building from the high tension but unfortunately, the power that was already shut down from the transformer, technically relayed back and trapped him which led to his death on the spot,” he said.
In a same vein, the National Emergency Management Agency has announced that one of the eight victims who had been rescued and transferred to Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital had passed away.
In a statement released by Manzo Ezekiel, Head, NEMA Press Unit Abuja, it was stated that eight people had been saved and transferred to Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital as of Tuesday night at 9:10 p.m.
“Sadly, one of them was confirmed dead by doctors at the hospital, six with minor injuries were treated and discharged.”
Manzo outlined how NEMA was made aware of the event and quickly dispatched emergency personnel to the scene for rescue efforts.
He said that in order to support and organize the rescue effort, a NEMA Search and Rescue team from the Agency’s Kano Territorial Office was also sent to the scene.
Eight casualties had been safely rescued, according to a statement from Saminu Abdullahi, Public Relations Officer for the Kano Fire Service.
Naziru Abdulkadir, 24, Magaji Abubakar, 27, Abdurauf Muhammad, 38, and Minjibir Ibrahim, 46, were the individuals he listed by name.
The others are Danladi Lawan, 29, Ahmad Buhari Haruna, 16, Sadiq Haruna, 19, Abdurashid Basiru, 36.
The statement stated that no lives were lost at the location of the tragedy and that all patients were successfully recovered alive with varied types of injuries.

GOGAN Media.

Russian news outlets announced on Tuesday that Mikhail Gorbachev, the final president of the Soviet Union, has passed away in Moscow at the age of 91.

Interfax, TASS, and RIA Novosti cited the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow as saying, “Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev died this evening after a terrible and long illness.”

The final living leader of the Cold War, Gorbachev served as president from 1985 to 1991 and was instrumental in thawing icy relations between the US and the Soviet Union.

He has spent a large portion of the last 20 years on the political periphery, occasionally urging the White House and the Kremlin to patch things up as hostilities have reached Cold War heights ever since Russia took Crimea in 2014 and started an offensive in Ukraine early this year.

Gorbachev’s health became more precarious in his latter years, and he spent much of the epidemic in self-quarantine to protect himself from the coronavirus.

In the West, Gorbachev was well-liked and affectionately known by the nickname Gorby. He is best remembered for easing nuclear tensions between the US and the Soviet Union in the 1980s and releasing Eastern Europe from the Iron Curtain.

When the Berlin Wall fell a year earlier, his decision to restrain the Soviet army was viewed as essential to maintaining Cold War calm. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for negotiating a historic nuclear armaments accord with US President Ronald Reagan.

He was also praised in the West for initiating changes that led to increased transparency and public discourse and accelerated the dissolution of the Soviet empire.