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Leicester City promoted to Premier League after Leeds lose at QPR

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Leicester City have been promoted to the Premier League after Leeds United were thumped by Queens Park Rangers.

The 4-0 defeat at Loftus Road means Daniel Farke’s side stay four points behind Championship leaders Leicester with only one game left.

The Foxes remain on track to amass 100 points on their way back to the top flight following their relegation last season.

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Leicester can now claim the Championship title on Monday with victory at Preston if third-placed Ipswich fail to beat Hull City on Saturday.

Ipswich can join Leicester in the Premier League next season if they pick up five points from their remaining three matches.

Leicester City were flying in their campaign to return to the Premier League earlier this season but, after a serious loss of form late on, they have recovered to vault over the finishing line.

Tuesday’s 5-0 hammering of Southampton made it back-to-back wins for a side that had looked to be stumbling towards automatic promotion.

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In mid-February, the title and rise back to the top flight seemed inevitable – Leicester were 12 points clear at the summit and had a 14-point cushion to third spot.

The Foxes, some said, were aboard the ‘Marescalator’ – an upwardly mobile, smooth-passing, possession-hungry machine operated by their Italian boss Enzo Maresca, who was taking Leicester only one way: straight up.

But then they seized up.

Four losses and just one win from six matches – including a dramatic defeat by Leeds who were 17 points adrift of Leicester at the start of January – turned it into a four-way battle for a top-two finish – with the Whites, Ipswich and Southampton the other contenders.

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For all but two of the 176 days between 23 September and 17 March, Leicester had been top.

They were replaced by Leeds before Ipswich shot ahead of them both, forcing Leicester out of the automatic promotion spots by the end of March.

But just as Leicester faltered, those around them also dropped crucial points, allowing the Foxes a chance to regroup and seal their top-flight return.

What awaits them in the Premier League, however, remains uncertain.

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The club are due to face an independent commission after they were charged by the Premier League for alleged breaches of profit and sustainability rules (PSR) relating to their last three years in the top flight.

Tonight, a triumphant return is celebrated but, if found guilty of financial breaches, they could begin next season with a points penalty.

When Leicester City dropped out of the Premier League last term, it brought an end to a decade of unparalleled success for the Foxes.

Just seven years earlier they had won an almost unfathomable Premier League title under Claudio Ranieri, and in 2021 they lifted the FA Cup for the first and only time in their history.

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It all started with promotion as Championship title winners in 2013-14, and now the decade has been bookended with another promotion.

Jamie Vardy was there 10 years ago as an enormously gifted livewire, and now as a 37-year-old former England striker he has helped fire them back to the top flight with 18 goals in all competitions.

Vardy and a number of last season’s relegated side have had pivotal roles, with Nigeria midfielder Wilfred Ndidi playing alongside Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – who has provided 14 assists to go with his 12 goals – while Jannik Vestergaard, Wout Faes, Ricardo Pereira, James Justin and Hamza Choudhury have shone in defence.

But it took a fundamental shift in football philosophy to turn Leicester from the flailing Foxes that went down 12 months ago into today’s promotion-clinching outfit.

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Manager Maresca, a treble-winning assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City last season, has stuck steadfastly to an approach that places patient, deliberate and possession-based football above all else.

Last summer’s additions of midfielder Harry Winks, who has 10 caps for England, ex-Arsenal and Juventus winger Stephy Mavididi, and on-loan Sporting Lisbon forward Abdul Fatawu provided fresh attacking impetus.

And the assured presence of Mads Hermansen, who was named goalkeeper in the Championship’s team of the season, also cannot be understated.

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PHOTO: Courtesy visit to Priesthood Orphanage by Just Friends Club of Nigeria Founder

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Dr. (Mrs) Blessing Echenwo, left, founder of Priesthood Orphanage, Karamajiji, Abuja and Mrs. Maria Cardillo, a member of Just Friends Club of Nigeria, during the visit of the club to the orphanage in Abuja…recently

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Just in: NYSC Releases Batch ‘C’ Corps Members Call Up Letters

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The National Youth Service Corps has announced the release of the 2024 Batch ‘C’ Stream I call-up letters for prospective corps members.

The corps made the announcement in a series of post on its official X (former Twitter) handle on Monday.

It said orientation camp for the stream is expected to start on November 27, 2024 and closes on December 17, 2024.

According to the post, “some prospective corp members posted to Lagos will have orientation in Ogun and Osun.

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“While some of those posted to Zamfara will have in Kebbi and Sokoto etc”

The corps, however, advised prospective corps members to print and sign an addendum, which will be submitted during registration at the orientation camp.

Tips to guide Deployed Prospective Corps Members

Do not travel to the Orientation Camps at night. Break your journey when necessary.
Report on your scheduled reporting date.
Apply for spelling error and name rearrangement on your dashboard.
After documentation in the Camp, you cannot change your Date of Birth, Date of Graduation, Course of Study and Passport Photograph.
Do not report to the Camp if there is any discrepancies in your course of study or with the Date of Graduation on your Statement of Result and your Call-up Letter. Contact your Institution to sort it out.
ATTENTION TO ALL 2024 BATCH ”C” STREAM I MARRIED FEMALE PROSPECTIVE CORPS MEMBERS

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All married female Prospective Corps members (PCMs) who are deployed to States where their husbands are not domiciled should report to the nearest NYSC Orientation Camp for their State of Deployment to be changed.

They are to report during the period of Registration at the Orientation Camps with the copies of their marital and other relevant documents as evidence. Once the change is made it will reflect on theirM dashboard for reprinting.

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Oba of Benin to withdraw suit as Okpebholo restores rights

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The Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, and the Benin Traditional Council may withdraw the suits they filed against the state government as Governor Monday Okpebholo, on Sunday, restored the full statutory rights of the Oba and reversed the policies of the previous administration that impacted the Benin Traditional Council.

A statement on Sunday by Okepebholo’s Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, said the governor abolished the new traditional councils in Edo South created by the immediate-past governor, Godwin Obaseki.

Okpebholo also backed the Federal Government’s recognition of the Oba’s palace as the custodian of repatriated Benin artefacts looted during the 1897 British colonial expedition.

Providing an insight into the governor’s gesture, the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Samson Osagie, said it signaled the resolution of the crisis between the Oba of Benin and the Edo State government leading to lawsuits duringt the Obaseki’s administration.

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Osagies said, “The cases in court are cases which the Oba of Benin himself and the Benin Traditional Council instituted against the state government, and they are all civil matters. And you know that in civil suit or in any suit, parties are encouraged to settle amicably.

“So, if the parties are already settling and one side is already meeting the condition of settlement, the next step you are going to hear is that the party who went to court, which is the Oba of Benin, and the Benin Traditional Council, will instruct their counsel to withdraw the cases from court and that will be the end of the matter.

“The two parties are now settling for harmony and peace to reign, so the government is doing its own side of it.

“This statement is a prelude to discontinuing all legal proceedings with respect to the twin issues of the concession of the Oba Akenzua Cultural Centre by government to the Benin Traditional Council for 30 years and the creation of additional councils.”

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The statement by Okepebholo’s Chief Press Secretary outlined the administration’s commitment to restoring the dignity and authority of the Benin monarch.

“This administration also hereby abolishes the new traditional councils in Edo South, created by the last administration,” the statement noted.

Additionally, Governor Okpebhol revoked the decision of the Obaseki’s administration to convert the Oba Akenzua II Cultural Centre into a motor park.

The government announced plans to restore the cultural centre to its original purpose.

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“This administration is restoring the Oba Akenzua Centre to a suitable condition for its original purpose,” the statement added.

The governor also reinstated the financial entitlements of the Benin Traditional Council, ordering that the status quo before the creation of the abolished councils be maintained.

According to the statement, Okpebholo affirmed support for the Federal Government’s official gazette, which recognizes the Oba of Benin as the rightful owner and custodian of the repatriated Benin artefacts.

He also distanced his administration from the Museum of West Africa Art, instead backing the Benin Royal Museum project to house the artefacts.

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“The Federal Government has also issued a gazette for the recognition of ownership and custody of the repatriated Benin artefacts to the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II,” the statement explained. “Governor Okpebholo respects the rights and privileges of the traditional ruler of Benin kingdom… and pledges the support of his administration to ensure the monarch plays his role as the custodian of the rich cultural heritage of the Benin people.”

Okpebholo reiterated his administration’s respect for traditional institutions and vowed to avoid interference in the internal affairs of the Benin Traditional Council. “The Oba of Benin, as the father of all Benin people, is the sole custodian of the customs and traditions of the Benin people, and my administration respects customs and traditions in the land,” he stated, emphasising the government’s efforts to uphold the cultural and historical integrity of the Benin Kingdom.

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