Author: David Great

BudgIT, a leading civic-tech organisation promoting transparency, accountability, and effective service delivery in Nigeria, has expressed concern at the country’s performance in the 2023 Open Budget Survey (OBS) conducted by the International Budget Partnership (IBP), where Nigeria scored lower than the global average of 45 (out of 100) in the Open Budget Index, ranking below Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Sierra Leone, and Benin. The Open Budget Survey is the world’s only comparative, independent, and regular assessment of transparency, oversight, and participation in national budgets. It is designed to help local civil society organisations and the public evaluate government reporting on public…

Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne is keeping an open mind over a potential move to the Saudi Pro League, the Belgian said, as he prepares to enter the final year of his contract with the Premier League champions. The Belgium captain has six Premier League crowns and one Champions League title, as well as two FA Cups and five League Cups to his name since his 2015 switch from German side VfL Wolfsburg. “For Michele (his wife), an exotic adventure is okay. These are also conversations we are having more and more as a family,” De Bruyne told Dutch-language…

The leadership of the organised Labour Unions comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), on Tuesday, suspended their strike for five days, a leader of the NLC told our correspondent in Abuja. The centres are expected to issue a statement shortly before the commencement of negotiations with the government. The strike which commenced on Monday was called to protest the failure of the Federal Government to approve new minimum wage by May 31 as well as its failure to reverse the hike in electricity tariff. The suspension follows a six-hour meeting on Monday night involving the…

For years, people have used intermittent fasting to lose unwanted pounds, while others fast for religious reasons. The popular diet trend is generally safe, but some studies suggest that time-restricted eating could cause heart problems. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiologist in Rochester, Minnesota, says this type of dieting isn’t for everyone. There are several ways to do intermittent fasting. The 16:8 method is popular. This involves eating during an eight-hour window daily. Many dieters do this by skipping breakfast. “It actually became popular because studies on fruit flies show that when you restrict the calories, the flies will…

Arsenal will reluctantly let England international Eddie Nketiah, 25, leave the club, with Fulham prepared to offer around £30m for the forward, who is also interesting Crystal Palace, Wolves and Everton. (Sun) The Gunners are also open to offers for Ukraine left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko, 27, who has been linked with Bayern Munich. (Football Insider) Sunderland are determined not to sell England youth international Jobe Bellingham, 18, with Tottenham, Brentford and Crystal Palace all keen on the midfielder. (Guardian) Aston Villa look set to complete a £5m deal to sign England midfielder Ross Barkley, 30, from Luton Town. (Talksport) Manchester United and Liverpool are monitoring Sporting Lisbon and Portugal centre-back Goncalo Inacio, 22. (Fabrizio Romano) Real Madrid have decided to exercise their option to sign Spain…

The Nigerian government says Nigerian Labour Congress’ N494,000 minimum wage demand will crippled the economy. “Labour’s current proposal of N494,000 is an increase of 1,547 percent on the existing wage, and translates into an annual wage bill of 9.5 trillion naira for the federal government of Nigeria alone,” Mohammed Idris, minister of information, said on Monday. He added “Such a wage bill would cripple the Nigerian economy, by leading to massive job losses especially in the private sector.” The minister of information, in a statement, appealed to NLC and its affiliate unions to end indefinite strike that disrupted public and…

Chelsea have appointed Enzo Maresca as their new head coach on a five-year contract, the English Premier League club said on Monday. The Italian will leave Leicester City, whom he led to promotion back to the Premier League in his first season in charge, and begin his new role on July 1st, Chelsea said in a statement. “He has proven himself to be an excellent coach capable of delivering impressive results with an exciting and identifiable style,” said Chelsea’s sporting co-directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley. “His ambitions and work ethic align with those of the club.” Leicester were disappointed…

Customers of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) have continued to lament the poor service they get from the bank’s mobile application popularly known as GTWorld mobile app. This is as numerous customers of the commercial bank have not been able to access their various accounts through the bank mobile app. In a post via his X handle, former presidential aide, Tolu Ogunlesi berated the bank for not informing its customers on the development. “Would be nice for @gtbank to at least acknowledge to customers that their banking app is down and has been for a while. And give a sense of…

Napoli’s Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen, 25, is waiting for an offer from Arsenal or Saudi Arabia. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian) Osimhen who equalled Dries Mertens and Gonzalo Higuain’s record at Napoli has also been linked to Chelsea although in a swap deal with Romelu Lukaku. Former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has met with Crystal Palace’s sporting director Dougie Freedman in London to explore their position on the possibility of selling England defender Marc Guehi, 23, England midfielder Eberechi Eze, 25, and France Under-21 winger Michael Olise, 22, this summer. (Football Insider) Palace will move for Leeds’ Dutch winger Crysencio Summerville, 22, if they have to sell Olise or Eze…

The power generation companies (GenCos) have appealed to the federal government to settle electricity debts owed them for electricity generation to enable them to remain in business. Retired Col. Sani Bello, the board chairman, power generation companies said this in a statement in Abuja on Sunday. Mr Bello said: ”GenCos are constrained to issue this release to draw the attention of the Federal Government and key stakeholders to the need to urgently address the issue of inadequate payment for electricity generated by them. ”And consumed on the national grid, which is currently threatening the continued operation of their power generation…