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http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Open Heart Surgeries get better at UNTH as VOOM foundation, Pobic Int’l continue rescue interventions By Dennis Agbo ENUGU- THE Chief Medical Director, CMD, of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, UNTH, Ituku/Ozalla, Dr. Christopher Amah, has asked Nigerians seeking heart surgery to come to the health institution instead of going on medical tourism abroad as the referral hospital offers state of the art facilities that meet the needs of patients. Amah said that although the UNTH started performing open heart surgeries in 1974, it reinvigorated the process in 2013 through some indigenous doctors led by Professor Martin Anyaji who led other doctors to perform three open heart surgeries on Nigerians, adding that it has been success stories since then. As the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, UNTH, Ituku/Ozalla Enugu, continues to perform its primary function of saving lives in the country, it has also added value as well as responsibility of saving...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Aare Afe Babalola “Those who posit that Local Governments play the most important role in the day to day administration of a country cannot be faulted. However, evidence abound across the country that most Local Governments have failed to perform the functions stated above. They have been mostly interested in other aspect of their functions listed in the Fourth Schedule of the constitution.” Most Nigerians are now familiar with the sight of road blocks set up by Local Governments to collect one form of tax, levy or rate as the case may be. These road blocks can be found within most cities and on inter-state highways. The Local Government officials assigned to these road blocks in most cases menacingly demand payment of all manner of fees from drivers of commercial and private vehicles. Some Nigerians who have been bold enough to challenge their authority have often come away with one sordid tale or the other. Most Local Governments justify these road blocks ...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Rotimi Fasan IT was late this past Saturday that news filtered in that 82 more of the abducted Chibok school girls had been released by Boko Haram. This would be the second such release in just over six months, the last being the release of 21 of them. The latest release was facilitated by the Red Cross and the government of Switzerland. Even though the Buhari administration had promised last year, following the release of the 21 girls, to continue negotiations that would lead to the release of more of the Chibok girls Nigerians didn’t see the latest release coming. Perhaps because they never believed the government. What government said last year must have been taken for just mere talk or at best a statement of intention that shouldn’t be taken seriously. But then here we are with 82 more girls whose freedom was the outcome of a swap that saw government releasing an unspecified number of Boko Haram prisoners. Arrangements like this leave little or no room f...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Tabia Princewill The idea of a 39-year-old President would probably make a lot of Nigerian politicians laugh. Ironically, because Emmanuel Macron, the French President-elect is Western, one can already imagine any Nigerian leader or public office holder who might meet him, fawning over him, while any 39-year-old in their own home country would be ignored if not demeaned for daring to even attempt to get their attention (unless of course he or she was the son or daughter of a close associate in which case he or she would suddenly become “brilliant” or a symbol of “hope”). The same way Mark Zuckerberg and Malala Yousafzai were treated to a hero’s welcome when they visited Nigeria, Macron would probably come away from a meeting with Nigerian officials with a warm, positive feeling, encouraged by the smiles and outwardly friendly demeanour of our politicians, to believe that we are a country that cares about the aspirations and talents of young people. I wonder i...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Ediri Ejoh with Agency report T HE Federal Government is seeking $5.2 billion from the World Bank to expand the country’s electricity generation, the Minister of Power Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has said. Fashola who made this disclosure to Bloomberg, said the fund is expected to help the country recover from its first recession in 25 years. According to him, the World Bank’s private-sector lending arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), is set to invest about $1.3 billion in power projects and electricity Distribution Companies, DISCOs. Moreover, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) will provide $1.4 billion in the form of equity and debt for gas and solar power programmes. These would be in addition to the $2.5 billion loan the country is seeking from the World Bank to help improve the distribution of power, expand transmission-capacity as well as increase access to electricity in rural areas. These bring the sector...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, has revealed that the country’s telecommunications sector experienced a decline in growth the first quarter of 2017. The report made public by the NBS but sourced by the NBS and Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC, states: “At the end of the first quarter there were 152,467,198 subscribers, which represent a quarterly decline of 1.33%. Along with declines in the first half of 2016, this indicates that growth has become less consistent, after years of nearly uninterrupted growth. “Year on year however, there was still an increase of 2.5%; a larger increase than at the end of any quarter since March 2016, reflecting the increases seen throughout the second half of 2016. Part of this growth arose from the inclusion of new providers.” According to the data provided by NCC, there was no change in the number of CDMA or Fixed wireless subscribers relative to the previous quarter. “In contrast, both GSM and Fixed wired subscri...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Babajide Komolafe The nation’s external reserve on Monday dropped by $50 million, the first time in six weeks. Since March 28th, the external reserve has been on the upward trend rising from $30.3 billion to $30.983 billion Friday last week. Data posted by the CBN on its website show that the rising trend was halted on Monday, when the reserve dropped to $30.933 billion, translating to $50 million decline. Meanwhile, the CBN  approved the sale of $100 million at the Wholesale Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) auction announced on Monday. Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Mr.  Isaac Okorafor, confirmed this yesterday  disclosing that the sales will be settled this week. The naira, yesterday, appreciated to N383 per dollar in the parallel market due to weak demand for the United States currency. Vanguard survey of the parallel market revealed that the parallel market exchange rate dropped from N385 per dollar ...

http://ift.tt/2cxBSQV FIFA are set to investigate the world-record transfer of Paul Pogba to Manchester United from Juventus, according to AFP. The news agency published a tweet revealing the news, which had been confirmed by a source at world football’s governing body on Tuesday. No reason for the investigation has been given so far. French midfielder Pogba was  transferred for around 105 million euros (£89 million) in August 2016 from Italian club Juventus, returning to Manchester United.   The post FIFA to probe Pogba’s transfer to Man U appeared first on Vanguard News . Vía Vanguard News http://ift.tt/2qPkAJ5

http://ift.tt/18ATnNI Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho has already agreed to big-money move to Barcelona this summer, according to reports in the Spanish press. The Brazil international, who has scored 10 goals in 29 Premier League appearances this season, has been linked with the Spanish champions after continuing his impressive form under Jurgen Klopp. Barcelona-based newspaper Sport claims the Nou Camp club have already entered into informal talks with Coutinho’s camp over a possible move to Spain. However, they also claim Liverpool will not allow the Brazilian to leave for less than £76million this summer. That figure would make Coutinho the fourth most expensive signing in history, after Paul Pogba (£89.3), Gareth Bale (£85.3) and Cristiano Ronaldo (£80). Liverpool are determined the keep hold of their 24-year-old midfielder, who only recently signed a contract extension with the Anfield club. Coutinho became the highest-paid player in the club’s history when he signe...