Day: May 22, 2023

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Taekwondo: Harun, Osagie win Poomsae event at President Cup

Usman Harun and Ruth Osagie on Friday, won the Poomsae event in the male and female categories of the ongoing National President Cup Open Championship.

The three-day event, organised by the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF) at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja, saw 34 athletes compete in the event, out of the 192 entries for the competition.

A total of 20 athletes took part in the male event while 14 competed in the women’s category.

The event which saw participants move from preliminary stages to quarter finals, semi finals and then finals, earned Harun, from Oyo, gold medal with 19 points.

His closest rival was Salaudeen Abdulhafeez from Lagos with 18 points to win the silver medal while the bronze medal was given to the duo of Eniola Aramide of Ondo and Stanley Osagie of Lagos, both with 16 points.

The women’s category saw Osagie of Bayelsa winning gold with 18 points while Kudirat Harun of Bayelsa as well claimed the silver medal with 17 points.

Harun’s sibling, Habibat, also representing Bayelsa, won bronze medal alongside Beauty Ditu of Lagos, both with 16 points.

Now, three Harun siblings won medals in the event with the older sibling, Usman, saying his motivation was his sisters.

“I am proud with what we have achieved today, although I believe that we can do better.

“My biggest motivation is my sisters because I am their coach and I want them to see me as a role model, so I try to put my best in whatever I’m doing,” Harun said.

Speaking on the competition, the black belt holder, said it was challenging competing with other athletes.

“I think that the standard of the game is high. Competing against other tough athletes can be challenging but I thank God I won.

“I had also undergone a few training and courses recently before I came for the competition, maybe that helped to put me ahead of my opponents,” he said.

On her part, Osagie, winner of the women’s event, was excited with her performance and hopeful of replicating same feat in future competitions.

The tournament continues on Sunday with para and kyrougi events.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

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Gen. Nwachukwu to lead discussions on economic Rennaisance

Retired Gen. Ike Nwachukwu is expected to lead discussions at the Duke Masterclass, a premium experience and knowledge-sharing platform put together to discuss the role of the private sector in an emerging economic rennaisance.

The session, to be held on June 15 in Lagos, is expected to attract Chief Executive Officers and other such Type C-level corporate leaders in what is seen as one of the most incisive engagement on the economy.

Nwachukwu will be joined by other notable speakers like Prof. Konyin Ajayi (SAN), Kola Adeshina, Director, Sahara Power, and Mr Olu Onakoya, the first indigenous Managing Director of Mobil Oil Plc.

Among issues to be discussed at the session to be held at Wheatbaker Hotel, are corporate governance, regulatory environment, strategy, board and management relations.

The session is expected to work on the push for an indigenous company that can hit 100 years old.

Mr Joseph Edgar, a renowned investment banker and public affairs commentator, who is the Convener of the Masterclass, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the session was put together to push the narrative that the challenges faced in securing a cohesive nationhood are not political but economic.

“The continued struggle for the control of a unilinear economic power base is what is leading to the seemingly entrenched political crises and its attendant instability which continually leads to lack of a progressive economic push.

“There is the need to democratise economic power now more than ever before.

“It has become very imperative and it is as a result of this that robust initiatives like this Masterclass are being organised to strengthen leadership within diverse economic decision taking strata.”

He said that Nwachukwu, whose economic diplomacy policy when he was the foreign affairs minister, led to the opening up of the economy to international capital, would deliver a key note paper that would cover leadership, strategy and visioning in the private economic players.

According to him, Dr Ore Sofekun, former President of Funds Managers Association, is leading the technical team that include Bolaji Adewumi, Managing Director of Abbey Mortgage Plc.

The Duke’s Masterclass is an innovative premium think thank that is expected to provide a robust platform for the sharing of incisive knowledge and practical experiences aimed at stretching driver-seat capacity in Nigeria’s economic platforms.

The June 15 session is its second outing, the first being a 2-day visit by more than 200 Corporate leaders to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in March 2022.

The former Nigerian leader took them through the tenets of decisive leadership in decison taking.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

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Somali PM attends African Development Bank Summit in Egypt

Prime Minister of the Federal Government of Somalia, Hamza Abdi Barre on Monday set off to attend the African Development Bank Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh city in Egypt from today 22nd to 26 May 2023, under the theme of ‘Mobilizing Private Sector Financing for Climate and Green Growth in Africa’.

‘The Prime Minister’s attendance at this crucial gathering of African leaders sends a strong signal of Somali Government’s resolve to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change while simultaneously fostering economic growth and development’, the Office of the Prime Minister said on Twitter Post.

The event will witness the participation of AfDB governors representing 81 regional and non-regional member countries, in addition to Governors of Central Banks, Ministers of Finance, senior officials from the private sector, academia, and development partners, with an expected attendance of around 4,000 participants.

The event is a good opportunity for the participating countries to exchange their case studies and their expertise as well as propose innovative financing solutions that catalyze the African development efforts, especially after COVID-19 crisis and the repercussions of the geopolitical tensions. This comes in light of the effective participation of regional and international multi-lateral development financing institutions.

It is the third time for Egypt to host the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group. The previous time was in 1999. Egypt is also the third-largest shareholder in the bank and one of the largest beneficiaries in terms of operations.

Source: Somali National News Agency