The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGi) has partnered with transporters in a bid to slash transport costs.

The Program Director/Chief Executive of PCNGi, Michael Oluwagbemi made the announcement in a statement on Friday.

“The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGi) commenced today a Transport Fare Drop Programme across the country, starting with Abuja, as it ramped up the adoption of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a cleaner, more affordable alternative to fuel,” Oluwagbemi said.

“Representatives of the PCNGi signed an MOU with the National Union of Road Transport Workers covering the Abuja to Itakpe Station—Ajaokuta Train Station—Adavi route to convert fleet vehicles to CNG in return for a 30-40% fare reduction.

“This programme will encourage NURTW members in Abuja to convert their vehicles to CNG in exchange for a fare reduction.”

Oluwagbemi added that On Saturday, September 28, 2024, the PCNGi will continue its nationwide commercial incentive programme for commercial car open days, expanding to 38 centres in Kaduna, Abuja, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Delta and Edo states.

He explained that the PCNGi will sign an agreement with the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF) on Monday, September 30, to operationalise the Nigerian Police CNG Conversion Programme and train cadets to manage the strategic conversion centres the NPTF is investing in.

According to the PCNGi’s Programme Director, Oluwagbemi, this initiative will help train the police cadets to manage strategic conversion centres established by the NPTF.

Similarly, to celebrate Nigeria’s 64th Independence Anniversary on October 1st, 2024, the PCNGi will launch the CNG Tricycle Empowerment Program in collaboration with the Ministry of Youths.

This program aims to provide over 2000 young Nigerians with the opportunity to own and operate CNG-powered tricycles.

It will launch the Kogi State Conversion Incentive Programme on Wednesday, October 2 and hand over CNG buses to the state’s mass transit entity to ply interstate routes to Abuja.

Additionally, according to Oluwagbemi, the PCNGI will inaugurate three new CNG conversion sites in the state.

He added that to conclude the week’s activities, the initiative will launch in Ekiti State, where the handover of CNG buses to the state mass transit organisation and transporters to ply the route to Abuja will take place. It will also inaugurate four new CNG conversion sites in the state.

There are 48 talented players have been penciled down for the camping programme that starts on the 2nd of October 2024.

The head coach of Nigeria Scrabble Youth Team, Samuel Eromosele, explained that the first phase of the camping programme which will be virtual will involve the top 20 players who distinguished themselves during the 8th National Youth Games and other youth members of Team Nigeria Scrabble.

The Twenty players invited to the National Youth Virtual Camp from the National Youth Games 2024 is led by triple gold medalist in the boys’ events Olamide Hassan Olojoku from Kwara State. Edide Pereowei and August Shannon of Bayelsa State as well as Saviour Onazi from Niger State also made the cut.

The poster girl of the scrabble event in Asaba, Victoria Chimamanda Chukwuemeka from Anambra, Sophia Ekeruche of Lagos and the Kwara duo of Hadiyah Olojoku and Balqis Ajao also made the list.

This is the complete list:

MALE

1. Olamide Hassan Olojoku
2. Bashit Ibrahim
3. Khalid Olosun
4. Pereowei Edidie
5. Shannon August
6. Saviour Onazi
7. Peace Adegunte
8. Adam Gbadebo
9. Samuel Emenike

FEMALE

1. Victoria Chimamanda Chukwuemeka
2. Sophia Ekeruche
3. Oluwaferanmi Dada
4. Balqis Ajao
5. Anjola Osoba
6. Aishat Sanusi
7. Beulah Bassey
8. Hadiyah Olojoku
9. Roselyn Emenike
10. Josephine Kene
11. Freda Konabiyovwi

Other youth players who are in the Youth National Team but were not part of the just concluded National Youth Games will also join the camping programme.

They are:

1. Sufyan Boluwatife
2. Prestige Archibong
3. Aliu Abdulqudus
4. Joy Nwabuzor
5. Clinton Imode
6. Kanyinsola Lasaki
7. Ese Ejenakevbe
8. Hauwa Abdullahi
9. Demilade Lawrence
10. Philip Akhabue
11. Joanna Eke
12. Michelle Ikekeregor

Eromosele stated that in the first three months the team will be trimmed to 24 and after that, there would be another two months of virtual camping.

“It’s from this 48 we will screen until we get the final 24 that will be the Official Team Nigeria Youth 2025.

We want to have a solid 24-man list ready by the end of May when we will start applying for visas for both the African Youth Scrabble Championship and the World Youth Scrabble Championship,” Eromosele said.

Eromosele further emphasized that more players will be invited to the Camp in the coming days.

“In April we would be having the first National Youth Scrabble Championship and after that I’ll invite another set of players to take the camp size to 48,” the Edo State born coach and player added.

Two cities, Benin and Lagos are the front runners to host the maiden edition of the National Youth Scrabble Championship.

“We are still looking at our options, Lagos and Benin are the likely hosts,” the head coach of the Nigeria Scrabble Youth Team stated.

Abdulqudus Olawale Aliu and Sufyan Boluwatife Olojoku who were sponsored by the Kwara State Government represented Nigeria at the 2024 World Youth Scrabble Championship in Sri Lanka.

Aliu finished in the 23rd spot while Olojoku occupied the 28th position among the 136 participants from 22 countries.

Both players could have finished higher on the final table had they not been walked over on the opening game of Match Day 2 due to administrative lapses as they arrived late for their games.

Due to inadequate funding and lack of support from the Federal Ministry of Sports, the players traveled to Sri Lanka without a coach, and they were psychological affected after they were walked over.

The Federal Government has commenced workers’ weekly performance management system, saying it will be a new management tool to serve as strategic driving service delivery in the Federal Civil Service.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, Yakubu A. Kofarmata, dropped the hint while flagging off policy in the ministry in Abuja, saying they are carrying out the directive of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF).

Kofarmata explained, that PMS, which is the second pillar of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021 – 2025 (FCSSIP25), has come to stay in the Service and the Federal Ministry of Works shall not be left behind in its implementation.

 He stated that the commencement of the weekly observance of the system is designed to review, assess, and improve employees’ performance across all ongoing tasks, as well as projects within the Ministry, noting,”Today’s launch marks a critical step forward in our pursuit of excellence.” 

The  Permanent Secretary, therefore , stressed that it will allow us to monitor progress, identify challenges, and ensure we remain on track to meet our organisational, and national goals as well as re-invigorate civil servants, who are successfully driving the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola  Tinubu.

He disclosed that the Ministry had developed its Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs); signed Performance Contracts at the management level, as well as cascaded it down to other staff; and its Dashboard ready with a total staff strength of 962, out of which 822 have signed the PMS contract with 457 supervisors.

Earlier, the  Director, of Human Resource Management, Mr. Aliyu Abdullahi, explained that the launch was meant to, majorly, draw attention to what PMS is all about and will now be done objectively as opposed to the use of the hitherto flawed and compromised Annual Performance Evaluation Report (APER) system.

Arsenal legend Ian Wright has predicted the outcome of this weekend’s Premier League clash between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

United are set to host Spurs at Old Trafford on Sunday, with both teams aiming to climb the Premier League table after inconsistent starts to the season.

Currently, both sides are level on seven points after five league games, with Tottenham in 10th and Manchester United in 11th place.

Tottenham recently secured a 3-1 comeback victory over Brentford in the league, followed by a 3-0 win against Qarabag in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, Manchester United drew 1-1 with FC Twente in the UEFA Europa League, after a goalless draw against Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

Despite the mixed form, Ian Wright believes Erik ten Hag’s side will edge Tottenham 2-1 at Old Trafford. Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Wright said, “I think United will beat them. Let’s go 2-1.”

Education Minister, Prof. Tahir Mamman has alerted the public of the hacking of his WhatsApp number by suspected hackers. 

The development comes amid Nigeria’s rising cybersecurity concerns, as it has been ranked as the fifth most breached country in the world. 

Confirming the hack of the Education Minister’s phone in a statement on Friday, Director, Press & PR of the Ministry, Folasade Boriowo, raised the alarm that the number is currently being used by unauthorized individuals. 

In a statement titled, ‘Public Disclaimer: Hacking of Honourable Minister of Education’s Phone Number’, the Director said: “The Office of the Honourable Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, wishes to inform the general public that the Minister’s WhatsApp  number has been hacked and is currently being used by unauthorized individuals. We deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause and urge everyone to disregard any message of request received from the said number until further notice.

“The matter has been reported to the relevant authorities and is under investigation. We advise all members of the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity”. 

Meanwhile, Nigeria is ranked as top five countries with the most cyber attacks in 2024. 

Using a World Cybercrime Index (WCI) score, a recent research from Oxford University revealed the top five most breached countries in the world to include: 

Russia: 58.39

Ukraine: 36.44

China: 27.86

United States: 25.01

Nigeria: 21.28

In July this year, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, also had his telephone number hacked. 

The Premier League is set to delay the introduction of semi-automated VAR offside technology (SAOT) until 2025, as testing of the system continues.

Earlier this year, clubs unanimously voted to implement the technology, which is expected to reduce the average time for an offside check by 31 seconds.

The initial plan was to roll out SAOT “after one of the autumn international breaks,” with October being the most likely period.

However, during a Premier League shareholders’ meeting on Thursday, it was revealed that the system is not yet ready for deployment, raising doubts about its introduction this season.

SAOT automates the process of placing lines on players and the pitch, improving both speed and accuracy.

Additionally, the technology offers enhanced graphical visualisations of offside decisions, moving away from the current method of displaying lines on broadcast footage.