Life Daily

Saudi women have won another right from their conservative male overlords. From next year, they will be allowed into three sports stadiums for the first time. The landmark move announced by the authorities on Sunday, would open up the previously male-only venues to families. It was one of a raft of decisions announced by Turki Al-Asheikh, chairman of the General Sports Authority, aimed at supporting and stimulating the sports sector”, arabnews.com reported. It was also in line with with powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious reform drive shaking up the ultra-conservative kingdom, including the decision to allow women to drive from next June The authority “will start rehabilitating the main stadiums in Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah to be ready to receive families starting in 2018,” Al-Asheikh said. The move is part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to engage women in society as an integral part of the development process. The kingdom, which has some of the world’s tightest r

Real Madrid slumped on Sunday to a shock 2-1 defeat at Girona, one of the cities of Catalonia, that has declared a still-born independence from the authorities in Madrid. The separatists in Barcelona quickly capitalised on Madrid’s loss. “Girona FC’s victory against one of the greatest teams in the world is an example and a benchmark for many situations,”  Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont, who was deposed by the Spanish government as president of the regional parliament on Friday, posted on Twitter. Isco opened scoring for Madrid in the first half. But goals from Cristhian Stuani and Portu in four second-half minutes cancelled out Isco’s opener as Real fell eight points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona after just 10 games. “We know we can turn this around. We will have better days and our rivals will lose points over the course of the season,” insisted coach Zinedine Zidane. “There is nothing more we can do, and we know that sooner or later things wi

Sokoto State Government said it had started the process of connecting a number of rural households with solar power to deepen energy usage and enhance rural electrification in the state. Alhaji Bashir Gidado, the Special Adviser to Gov. Aminu Tambuwal on Public Private Partnership (PPP), made the disclosure at a news conference in Sokoto on Sunday. Gidado said the project was a partnership between the state government and Nigeria Energy Support Project (NESP), GIZ of Germany and GoSolar. He added that a pilot scheme had already started in Kurdula, a rural settlement in Balle town in Gudu Local Government Area of the state. He explained that “this is an off grid mini solar project and the idea is to provide solar power to rural communities that are not covered by the national grid using solar energy which we have in abundance in Sokoto State. “Kurdula is a rural settlement in Balle and was chosen as location for the pilot scheme after series of deliberations by partners and lo

Buyers of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol in Abuja on Sunday said it had been a while they filled their car tanks to full capacity. A survey by News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) around town to find out why such car owners no longer fill their tanks showed that motorists only topped up fuel level. A lawyer, Timi Fiebai, told NAN that he had not been able to fill his car tank with petrol for more than one year. , He said “I can’t remember when I filled my tank last. When I’m going to work, I buy N2,000 worth of petrol every other day. “If I buy N2,000 of petrol on Monday, I can use it for two days and must buy again on Wednesday. “I have just been managing and coping.” Another car owner, Musa Abba, seen at a petrol station, also said he just topped a little to what he had. He said “I used to fill my tank with N4,000 but now I buy half tank with same amount. “So, on average, I just buy N2,000 worth of petrol three or four times in a week and I can go about l

The National Commandant of Peace Corps of Nigeria, Amb Dickson Akoh, has called on Nigerian youths to be a little patient with the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. He said that the transformation being expected by Nigerians would not happen in a day adding that it takes a lot of time, planning and reformation to be able to stabilise and implement the blueprint of the new era. Speaking in Abuja, at the empowerment seminar organised by YOURTIMEPAYS Nigeria Integrated Services, Akoh expressed confidence that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari would deliver on his promise to empower Nigerian youths. He, however, urged the youths to believe in the government of the day and give it a little more time to deliver on its promises. He said, “every reform or social change is initially accompanied with hardships, and that is exactly what the country is passing through today. “I believe, with the support of well meaning Nigerians, especially the youths, we shall surely

An economic expert, Charles Nwekeaku, has advised the Federal Government to follow due process in getting the forfeiture of monies in accounts without Bank Verification Numbers(BVN) to the government. Nwekeaku, an Associate Professor at the Nassarawa State University, Keffi, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja. The Federal Government recently instituted an action in a court for the forfeiture of any balance in bank accounts without BVN. An interim order of forfeiture was granted by the court on Oct. 17 for the various Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to show cause within 14 days why the balances in such accounts should not be forfeited. The current practice is that banks only permit deposits into such accounts without withdrawal. Therefore, if the Federal Government succeeds, the money is forfeited permanently. According to Nwekeaku, some Nigerians opened accounts before the introduction of BVN and may have travelled outside the countr

Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Ekiti State chapter, has taken steps to clamp down on illegal medical centres and fake doctors. The Association on Sunday signed a pact with the state government for introduction of accreditation of health facilities. Dr Sunday Omoya, the NMA Chairman, said on Sunday at the end of the 2017 Physicians’ Week and Ordinary General Meeting of the medical body. He said the medical body regretted the activities of some unregistered medical practitioners in the state. He added that such activities had been affecting medical practice and denting the image of members, saying “this must stop in the overall interest of health security of residents of the state.” He commended the Gov. Ayo Fayose-led state government for implementing Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS) for all categories of doctors in the state, noting however that the policy had not been beneficial, owing to the six months salary owed doctors. Omoya said a total of 300 people