Three killed as flood wreaks havoc in Port Harcourt

Residents of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital city are now counting their losses after flooding caused by three days of non-stop rainfall led to destruction of their properties.

Three persons are also reported to have lost their lives as a result of the flood in some parts of the city.
Many residents in areas such as D-Line, Diobu, Elekahia and Ada-George were the worst hit.

In addition to the loss of property, many victims have also been rendered temporarily homeless.
But By Monday morning, the extent of damage caused by the disaster became even clearer.

For now there are different perspectives about what may have been responsible for the flood disaster.
Affected residents are now calling for urgent intervention by government to forestall a re-occurrence of the disaster especially as the constant rainfall has shown no signs of abating.

Son of Brazilian legend returns to prison

The son of Brazilian football legend Pele will return to prison after his appeal against a 13-year sentence for laundering drug-trafficking money was rejected, local authorities said on Saturday.

Edson "Edinho" Cholbi do Nascimento, 46, turned himself into a police station in Sao Paulo on Friday afternoon, a spokesperson for the Santos police told AFP.

The source added that Edinho was in a police cell awaiting transfer to a state prison.

One of seven children of three-time World Cup winner Pele, Edinho was found guilty of money laundering in 2014, although he had his original 33-year sentence cut in February this year.

But on Thursday, the Sao Paulo court of justice unanimously rejected an appeal against the conviction filed by his lawyer.

The lawyer responded by saying that he would take the case to the Supreme Court, Brazil's highest court.

Edinho, who played as a goalkeeper forSantos, was first arrested in 2005 after being accused based on phone tap evidence.

His father Pele is considered one of the greatest footballers of all time and won three World Cups with Brazil in 1958, 1962 and 1970.

French govt. to invest 1b Euros in Nigeria’s oil & gas sector

The French government has said that it has set aside about one billion euros to be invested in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, stating that Nigeria remains her first economic trading partner in Africa

France ambassador to Nigeria, Denys Gauer made this known when the Group General manager , Public affairs division of the Nigeria National petroleum corporation, Ndu Ughamadu led a delegation to his office in Abuja.

The french Ambassador commended the federal government for stemming the Nigeria Delta insecurity situation noting that French companies have significant investment in the country’s oil and gas sector.

NNPC spokesperson stressed that the corporation is opened to investment opportunities from the french government and investors.

Nigeria to begin yam exportation to Europe – Agric. Minister Ogbe

The Minister of Agriculture has restated the Federal Government’s resolve to begin exporting yams to increase its earnings from food exports.

Audu Ogbe said this after the Federal Executive Council meeting was held in Abuja. But the move has been met with a lot of scepticism by Nigerians who are worried that now may not be the right time to embark on such a venture with the capacity of the country to feed itself still in doubt. It was one issue the Agriculture Minister had to clarify at this week’s Federal Cabinet meeting.

Ogbe believes that a lot of the yams produced are not even consumed and there are plans to ensure that produce is no longer lost to wastage. He was emphatic that with the new policy to diversify the economy, government will ensure that it sells whatever is needed by other countries.

Council also approved the inclusion of National Youth Corps members to the National Health Insurance Scheme in order to prevent unnecessary deaths of youths serving their country across the country.

Government also renewed the Memorandum Of Understanding between the Federal Ministry of Health and the United Nations Fund for Population activities for another four years which would ensure the supply and free distribution of contraceptives to the population.

Parent Confirms Five Years Old Daughter Pregnant In Plateau State Nigeria

A five years old girl in what can only be described  as incredible has been confirmed pregnant in a remote village of Kanke local government area, Plateau State.

Reports say that the father told newsmen that his daughter of Five years began to complain of excruciating pains in her groin which they didn’t pay commensurate attention to. After a while, they noticed that her breasts were developing, all of which they attributed to early adolescence precocity.

Their fears was confirmed after tests were carried out on her when they noticed her protuberant tummy. They pregnancy test came back with a positive verdict.

According to reports, the locals and family of the girl are still in a state of shock, considering the girl’s age and biological placing.

The child’s parents said, the perpetrator of the strange act is not known but the police has begun an inquiry with the view to unmask the identity of the perpetrator behind the heinous crime.

Shell battles Nigerian communities in high-stakes London lawsuit

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A court in London will in the next few weeks decide whether Royal Dutch Shell can face trial in the UK over oil spill allegations in Nigeria.

The High Court will judge whether members from two communities, Bille and Ogale in Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta region, can sue the Anglo-Dutch company in British courts.

The communities say Nigerian courts are unfit to hear the case against Shell subsidiary Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC). Shell says the case should be heard in Nigeria because the matter is “uniquely a Nigerian problem”.

Shell also denies responsibility for the spills, which it says were due to sabotage and illegal refining.

If the High Court rules in favour of the communities, some legal experts say other claimants against British-based multinationals would be emboldened to pursue legal action through the British courts.

Some legal experts also warned that a victory by the communities could encourage unscrupulous residents to let oil spills worsen at remote sites by denying clean-up access, as payouts are often linked to the scale of the damage.

“This case brings home the message that multinationals may increasingly face claims in the English courts arising from disputes which have little or no connection to England,” said Tom Cummins, a partner at law firm Ashurst.

$640mn boost forecast for 48-team World Cup

I ncreasing the World Cup from 32 teams to 48, as proposed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, would generate an additional $640 million (605 million euros), according to a confidential FIFA report seen by AFP on Friday.

An expanded tournament with 48 countries, featuring 16 groups of three teams, starting with the 2026 edition, would see revenues swell to $4.18 billion compared to the $3.54bn predicted for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Meanwhile, costs associated with enlarging the number of participating teams and an increase in matches (80 rather than 64 for a 32-team format) would climb by $325mn.
Money garnered from television rights would also rise by $505mn with marketing revenues accounting for an extra $370mn.
On the whole the revamped format, in which the top two in each three-team group would advance to the last 32, would yield $640mn more than the figures projected for the 2018 tournament and approved at the last FIFA Congress.

However, meeting those expectations for next year’s global showpiece in Russia already appears challenging with two major sponsor yet to be replaced.
Infantino will attempt to adopt the new format at Tuesday’s FIFA Council in Zurich.
During his campaign to succeed the ousted Sepp Blatter last February, the former UEFA secretary-general had thrown his support behind a 40-team event. That proposal will also be put forward to members of FIFA’s ruling body, with a version of eight groups of five and another of 10 groups of four, according to the report.

However, Infantino, the former right-hand man to ex-UEFA president Michel Platini, now favours the 48-team format, which would be played in the same timeframe (32 days) and number of venues (12) as the 2018 edition.

The allocation of additional places to each confederation has yet to be determined and is likely to be a critical component of Tuesday’s meeting at FIFA headquarters.
In a 40-team World Cup, Europe would gain one extra berth compared to its current 13, while Africa would be able to send seven teams rather than five with Asia’s allocation increasing from 4.5 to 6.

However, the 48-team proposition has attracted its fair share of critics.
Last month, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin complained world football’s governing had not provided enough information on the matter, arguing the current 32-team format was a “system that works”.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, chairman of the European Club Association (ECA), voiced his opposition and said leading players were already under too much strain.
Conversely, according to Spanish daily Mundo Deportivo, both Real Madrid president Florentio Perez and Barca chief Josep Bartomeu support Infantino.

“If the format that he (Infantino) proposes does well, it will certainly be a good thing for clubs and football in general,” Perez said recently in an interview with AFP.