Di Maria to end career with childhood club Rosario Central

Juventus winger Angel Di Maria wants to finish his playing career where it started, back in Argentina with Rosario Central.

By harun babaizhi • OCTOBER 26, 2022

 Juventus winger Angel Di Maria wants to finish his playing career where it started, back in Argentina with Rosario Central.

“I’d like to go back to Rosario,” he said. “I know it’s difficult… but it’s as I always say — the dream of all those in Argentina is to come and play in Europe; mine is to return one day to wear the Rosario Central shirt. It’s reality. I’ve always said it. If I get the chance, I’d love to.”

Di Maria, 34, joined Rosario as a four-year-old, spending the next 15 years with the club before a starring performance in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup saw Benfica come knocking.

His move to Benfica was the beginning of a remarkable European career.

Later, he played for Real Madrid, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) before landing in Italy with Juventus.

Despite all his success in Europe, Di Maria expressed his desire to return to his roots.

Rosario currently sits 19th in the 28-team top division in Argentina, and with little spending power, it would require a massive pay cut for Di Maria’s desire to become a reality.

 

2023 Budget: El-Rufai earmarks N107.72 billion for education out of N370.3 billion

Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s government has allocated N107.72 billion to the education sector in its proposed 2023 budget, pending before the Kaduna assembly for consideration.

By harun babaizhi • OCTOBER 26, 2022

Kaduna state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai

Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s government has allocated N107.72 billion to the education sector in its proposed 2023 budget, pending before the Kaduna assembly for consideration.

A copy of the budget document showed that the allocation represents 29.1 per cent of the total N370.3 billion proposed for the 2023 fiscal year.

A breakdown of the allocations also showed that the ministry for education got N34.2 billion representing 9.25 per cent of the total budget, made up of N13.28 billion for recurrent expenditure and N20.96 billion for capital expenditure.

The state Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) got N45.64 billion, representing 12.3 per cent of the total budget, with a capital expenditure of N40.22 billion and recurrent expenditure of N5.42 billion.

Kaduna State University (KASU) was allocated N18.59 billion, representing five per cent of the total budget of N5.15 billion for recurrent expenditure and N13.44 billion for capital expenditure.

Also, N2.69 billion was earmarked for the State Scholarship and Loans Board, of which N42.37 million was allocated for recurrent expenditure and N2.65 billion for capital expenditure.

Similarly, Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic, Zaria, got N3.03 billion, with recurrent and capital expenditures constituting N1.81 billion and N1.23 billion, respectively.

Furthermore, the State College of Education, Gidan Waya, got N2.86 billion, with N1.85 billion earmarked for recurrent expenditure and N1.01 billion for capital expenditure.

However, the three sub-sectors with the least allocation are the Teacher Service Board (N109.24 million), Kaduna State Library Board (N93.71 million), and the Kaduna State Schools Quality Assurance Authority (N460.48 million).

The N107.72 billion allocated to the sector was N41.32 billion higher than the N66.40 billion revised allocation to education in the 2022 budget, representing a 62.2 per cent increase.

However, the 2022 half-year budget performance report showed that of the N66.40 billion allocated to the sector, only N19.85 billion was spent, representing 29.9 per cent performance leaving a variance of N46.55 billion.

Commenting on the development, Aliyu Tijjani, citizens’ co-chair of the Kaduna Basic Education Accountability Mechanism (KADBEAM), commended the government for increasing the budget for education.

Mr Tijjani, however, urged the government to pay attention to releasing funds to enable the education ministry, department, and agencies to implement planned programmes.

“As you have observed in the 2022 second quarter budget performance, the ministry for public works and infrastructure, with an allocation of N31.92 billion, was able to spend N19.91 billion, representing 62.3 per cent performance,” said Mr Tijjani. “Similarly, the ministry for finance, with an allocation of N36.31, spent N23.11 billion, representing 63.6 per cent performance, while the education sector, with more than N66 billion, spent only N19.9 billion.”

He called on the government to demonstrate its commitment to improving the education sector by ensuring adequate and timely release of allocated funds to the sector. 

2,790 hectares of farmlands destroyed in Nguru LGA: AFAN

The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) says at least 2,790 hectares of farmlands in the Nguru local government area of Yobe were destroyed by flood.

By Harun babaizhi • OCTOBER 26, 2022

Flooded farm used to illustrate the story [Photo credit: Medium]

 The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) says at least 2,790 hectares of farmlands in the Nguru local government area of Yobe were destroyed by flood.

Madu Tandari, AFAN chairman in the area, told journalists in Nguru town that 1,500 hectares were used for rice cultivation.

Mr Tandari added that other crops destroyed on the remaining 1,290 hectares of the land include maize, sesame, millet, tomatoes, pepper and bell pepper.

“In a rice farm, you can harvest about 50 bags on each hectare if all conditions are met. So, you can imagine the magnitude of this disaster,” Mr Tandari explained.

The chairman further disclosed that 934 farmers were affected by the flood, allegedly caused by the release of water from the Tiga Dam in Kano.

He listed the areas worst hit by the flood as Nguru town, Dogon Kuka, Dumsai, Gajamma, Disari, Bambori, Kachallari and Dogon Jeji.

He appealed to the state and federal governments to assist farmers in the area to cushion the losses they recorded.

“As the dry season sets in, we are appealing to the government at all levels to support us with seeds, water pumps, fertiliser and soft loans,” stated the AFAN chair. “If this support can be provided, we will shift the focus to dry season farming to make up for our losses.”

Fire breaks out at WAEC office

The West African Examination Council office in Nigeria was on fire Wednesday morning.

By Harun babaizhi • OCTOBER 26, 2022

WAEC

 The West African Examination Council office in Nigeria was on fire Wednesday morning.

The fire broke out from the middle floor of the Yaba building around 6:50 a.m. 

Many staff were trapped in the building while thick black smoke was billowing out of the building’s roof. 

An unnamed WAEC official in the public administration office disclosed that a power surge caused the fire.

No casualty recorded, he added.

“We resumed by 7:30 (a.m.), (and) we just discovered that there was a fire somewhere. We have to get an emergency ambulance to come over,” the official explained. “We have to make sure that everybody is protected. We brought them down, so nobody was affected, and we put the fire off.”

While Nosa Okunbor, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency spokesman, said officials were on the ground to put out the fire.

Mr Okunbor added that WAEC employees were safely evacuated from the building.