Politics
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Louis van Gaal blames Ed Woodward for Manchester United sacking
Getty Images Louis van Gaal blames Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward for his departure from the club in 2016, describing him as “the evil genius” behind his sacking. The Dutch head coach replaced David Moyes at Old Trafford in 2014 but lasted just two years in the job despite winning the FA Cup in his final game in charge. After guiding United to fourth place in the Premier League in his first season, Van Gaal saw his side slip down to fifth the following campaign as he failed to convince the club that he could turn their fortunes around. Jose Mourinho was named as Van Gaal’s successor just days after he was sacked and the Dutchman has stressed that he blames Woodward and not the Portuguese for his departure. “I blame Ed Woodward, my CEO at Manchester United, much more ...
Gunmen kidnap Bayelsa council chairman’s father
.responsive_ad{width:300px;height:250px;} @media(min-width:768px){ .responsive_ad{width:468px;height:60px;} } @media(min-width:1019px){ .responsive_ad{width:640px;height:80px;} } @media(min-width:1140px){ .responsive_ad{width:696px;height:86px;} } Unknown gunmen have kidnapped Elder Napoleon Alali, the 81-year-old father of Sagbama Local Government Council Chairman in Bayelsa State. .responsive_adz{width:300px;height:600px;} @media(min-width:768px){ .responsive_adz{width:468px;height:60px;} } @media(min-width:1019px){ .responsive_adz{width:640px;height:80px;} } @media(min-width:1140px){ .responsive_adz{width:696px;height:86px;} } He was abducted in the early hours of Friday. Get more stories like this on Twitter .responsive_ad{width:300px;height:250px;} @media(min-width:768px){ .responsive...
Enugu lifts ban on religious gatherings
The Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN), Enugu State chapter, has said that normal services will resume in churches in the state on May 10. The council said that this was part of the agreements reached with the state government on Thursday. A statement issued in Enugu by Most. Rev. Christopher Ede, the state Chairman of CCN, said that church worship services would resume in all churches across the state on that day. Ede, who is the Archbishop of Enugu Methodist Church Nigeria, said that each denomination must observe all the safety protocols on public gatherings, as recommended by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and other government guidelines. Newsmen report that the state government had, on March 31, suspended all religious and social gatherings, after announcing a partial l...
Boss Mustapha: We are all combatants in battle against coronavirus
The Chairman Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, has said every Nigerian is a combatant in the fight against Coronavirus pandemic, noting that whatever you do to yourself is capable of affecting others. Mustapha said this at the PTF on COVID-19 daily briefing on Thursday in Abuja. According to him, “the only way to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic is when various institutions in the country work together based on understanding”. He urged those in leadership to also take responsibility by engaging their communities in ways to forestall the spread of the COVID-19. “The media must not relent in its crusade to curtail the spread of COVID-19”. He also commended the security agencies for arresting and prosecuting viola...
Abia government intercepts trucks bringing 26 people
Abia State Government says it intercepted 26 people hidden in two trucks coming into the state. The Commissioner for Homeland Security, Dan Okoli, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Aba on Thursday. He said the 26 persons were concealed in two trucks that belonged to a Nigerian multi-industry company. Okoli said the interception took place at Ariam Community, a boundary town between Akwa-Ibom and Abia, in Ikwuano Local Government Area of the state. He said the 26 people were later moved into another vehicle and sent back to where they were coming from. He debunked stories making the rounds that Abia boundaries were porous and that people were freely coming in and going out. Okoli said that it took the painstaking surveillance by security personnel to intercept the 26 persons. H...
Nigeria drags Kase Lawal to court over $35 million debt
Nigeria has sued an oil exploration production company, ALLIED ENERGY PLC, owned by Texas-based billionaire Kase Luqmon Lawal to demand $35.7 million debt. The suit was filed at a Federal high Court in Lagos by the oil minister, which is President Muhammadu Buhari. The amount in question was for royalty on oil and gas production, concession rental and gas flaring penalty. In a statement of claim, assistant director, planning Division of the Department of petroleum resources Efe Bassey, alleged that Allied Energy PLC in receivership, in the course of it’s mainstream business, applied for and was granted an oil mining lease number 120(OML120) and oil mining lease number 121(OML121) for the exploration and production of petroleum oil and gas assets. Upon the grant of the aforesaid OMLS by min...
Yaya Toure backs Didier Drogba’s bid for Ivorian FA presidency
Getty Images Yaya Toure is backing former Ivory Coast team-mate Didier Drogba’s bid to become president of the Ivorian Football Association (FIF). The Chelsea legend announced he would be running for the post in September 2019, though his campaign took a major hit at the end of April. In a recent vote between former Ivory Coast players, 11 of the 14 votes went to current incumbent Sory Diabate. Drogba and current vice president Idriss Diallo won zero votes between them, with three former players withdrawing from the vote. “It’s time for change in our football. It needs modernity,” said Toure. “When I say I support Drogba, it’s also for the good of the country, to have a former player of his kind investing himself in Africa.” Drogba represented his country 105 times and announced his intent...
Edo clears 111 suspected coronavirus cases, 380 contacts
The Edo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Patrick Okundia, has said the state is making steady progress in the management of coronavirus (COVID-19), noting that all active cases of COVID-19 are being managed at different isolations centres across the state and are responding well to treatment. Speaking to journalists in Benin City, Okundia said Edo has discharged ten persons who have tested negative twice to the virus and exited another 491 persons, comprising 111 persons of interest (POIs) and 380 line-listed contacts, who have completed the compulsory 14-day follow up and tested negative. The commissioner noted that from the onset of the outbreak, Edo State has recorded a total of 593 suspected cases of COVID-19 and 65 confirmed cases spread across nine Local Government Areas (LGAs) of t...
Saudi fines large gatherings as coronavirus cases increase
Agence France-Presse Saudi Arabia has imposed fines between 5,000 riyals (1,333 dollars) and 100,000 riyals for large gatherings, in a bid to control the spread of the coronavirus inside the kingdom. In March, the kingdom banned gatherings in public of more than five people as it loosened a nationwide curfew several weeks after it was imposed, allowing some businesses to reopen, including shops, construction companies and factories. However, COVID-19 infections have been steadily increasing, prompting the Interior Ministry to introduce the fines. The oil-rich monarchy reported 1,793 new confirmed cases on Thursday, a new daily record that brings the total number of infections in the kingdom to 33,731, including 219 deaths. The Interior Ministry said gatherings of more than five people insi...
Cross River orders five truckloads of almajiris back to destination
Cross River State government on Thursday ordered five truckloads of almajiris including other passengers from the northern part of Nigeria back to its destination. Newsmen learnt that a border patrol team, comprising of Peace Corp members, civilian Vigilantes, Border COVID-19 Taskforce had intercepted the trucks yesterday night at the Gakem border town in Bekwara LGA of the state near Benue State. A source who pleaded anonymity told Vanguard that the team was led by a Commissioner who said it was the result of intensive search and blockade of interstate vehicular travels, which his team was poised to enforce. “After a thorough check on the five trucks we discovered that most of the passengers, aside goods, were almajiris who did not meet COVID19 protocols, we had to force them to return,” ...
White House staffer tests positive for coronavirus
A member of the U.S. military who works in close proximity to President Donald Trump has tested positive for the new coronavirus. However, “The president and the vice president have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health,” Hogan Gidley, a spokesman, said in a statement. Vice President Mike Pence was taking part in the delivery of medical gear to a rehabilitation centre as the news broke. Trump is in Washington with events scheduled for later in the day. Broadcaster CNN said the individual who is ill is a member of the Navy who works as a personal valet to Mr Trump. White House top officials are said to be tested regularly for the virus. Members of the press corps who come into close contact with officials undergo temperature checks before entering the briefing ...
PDP rejects N108 ex-depot fuel price, insist on N70 pump price
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has rejected the new ex-depot price of N108 per litre of the Premium Motor Spirit insisting on a new pricing template that must accommodate a pump price of between N60 to N70 per litre to reflect the crash in the price of crude oil and petroleum products in the international market. The party described the N108 ex-depot price as fraudulent and a far cry from the appropriate pump price template that should not exceed N70 given the prevailing situation in the international oil market. In a statement issued by the national publicity secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP maintained that the N108 ex-depot price with a projected additional N9 per litre Expected Open Market “completely unacceptable to Nigerians.” The statement read: “The federal gov...
