Lack
UEFA supremo: Barcelona, Real Madrid & Juventus ‘paralysed themselves’ with ‘strange’ Super League approach
Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus have “paralysed themselves” with their “strange” approach to the Super League, according to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. A controversial proposal for a new competition to rival the Champions League was met with universal condemnation in April, leading to the withdrawal of nine of the original 12 founding clubs. The Super League plans were subsequently put on hold, but Barca, Real and Juve have vowed to continue pushing for change despite being threatened with serious sanctions by UEFA, who are in the process of investigating their involvement in the breakaway. The three remaining clubs released a statement criticising European football’s main governing body last week, which read: “FC Barcelona, Juventus FC and Real Madrid CF wish to express their a...
Rivers governor: PDP will suffer if I leave
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has said that his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will suffer if he leaves for another party. Wike made the assertion on Monday while briefing newsmen in Government House, Port Harcourt, the state’s capital. Newsmen report that the governor’s claim is coming barely one week after his Cross River counterpart, Ben Ayade, dumped the part for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. The governor also claimed that he would win election in any party he joins, stressing that PDP in Rivers State lack political detractor. Governor Wike, who described himself as asset to the national opposition party, accused some members of the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) of been “tax collectors”. He said, “If I leave PDP tomorrow, the party will suffer… S...
Anambra guber: I’m not President Buhari’s anointed aspirant – Dozie Madu
An All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant for the forthcoming Anambra State governorship election, Hon Dozie Madu, has dismissed speculations that he has been anointed by President Muhammadu Buhari. Speaking after picking the declaration of interest and nomination form at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja on Monday, he said that he is comfortable with any mode of primaries approved by the party’s national leadership. Asked to substantiate the claims that he is anointed by the President, he said: ‘I don’t understand what you mean. How can the President give a governorship aspirant a ticket? It is the people, I disagree with you, it is false. If you look at my dossier, you should know that I can’t involve myself in this kind of thing.’ On how he can do better compared to other former g...
Firm cautions Nigerian government over sale of national assets
Agusto Consulting has cautioned the federal government over its plan to relinquish national assets to private hands, saying, the risk involved is unquantifiable. Agusto Consulting, in a report titled “Rethinking Nigeria’s Models for Infrastructure Development,” noted that, the benefits of relinquishing control to the private sector are glaring, but remain difficult to implement. Noting that the federal government’s handing off certain critical assets of the country that have been dormant over the years will positively impact on the country’s budgetary allocation, but added that this decision has caveats and risks associated with operating models that involve private sector participation regardless of the levels of participation. “First is the high level of corruption in the country and the...
Ex-US envoy: British museum holds over 700 pieces of Benin bronzes
The British Museum, the world’s first national public museum, currently holds 700 pieces of the Benin Bronzes collection, more than any other museum and other institutions globally, a former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. John Campbell has said. Campbell, however, acknowledged that the authorities of the British Museum had agreed “to return the Benin Bronzes collection once the Edo Museum of West African Art, currently under construction in Benin City is completed.” He gave this figure in a blog post titled “Germany to Return Some African Art to Nigeria” published on the website of Council for Foreign Relations (CFR), a US non-profit think-tank specialising in international affairs on Wednesday. More than a century after British soldiers looted a collection of priceless artifacts...
Bodies of coronavirus victims among those dumped in India’s Ganges – document
Bodies of COVID-19 victims have been found dumped in some Indian rivers, a state government said in a letter seen by Reuters, the first official acknowledgement of an alarming practice it said may stem from poverty and fear of the disease in villages. Images of corpses drifting down the Ganges river, which Hindus consider holy, have shocked a nation reeling under the world’s worst surge in infections. Although media have linked the recent increase in the numbers of such bodies to the pandemic, the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, home to 240 million people, has until now not publicly revealed the cause of the deaths. “The administration has information that bodies of those who have succumbed to COVID-19 or any other disease are being thrown into rivers instead of being disposed of as per p...
Thomas Tuchel reacts as ‘unlucky’ Chelsea suffer back-to-back FA Cup final defeats
Chelsea suffered late VAR heartache as they slipped to back-to-back FA Cup final defeats after a 1-0 loss to Leicester City, Youri Tielemans’ second-half strike proving decisive. In front of a reduced, yet undoubtedly noisy, Wembley crowd, it was Chelsea who made the brighter start, Timo Werner showcasing his electric speed to test the Foxes backline early on. Despite controlling the opening exchanges, the first real chance of the match fell to their opponents, Timothy Castagne getting in down the right and teeing up Jamie Vardy inside the area, the veteran striker’s effort well blocked by Reece James. At the other end of the pitch, Thomas Tuchel’s men almost fashioned a chance of their own, Thiago Silva’s dinked cross agonisingly evading the head of Cesar Azpilicueta at the back post, aft...
Lagos recovers N50 million over fraudulent real estate activities
The Lagos State Government on Tuesday said it had recovered more than N50 million from parties involved in illegal real estate transaction activities. Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka, Special Adviser to Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Housing, made the disclosure during a news conference in Ikeja. It was to give account of activities in the housing sector for the 2nd year anniversary of the Sanwo-Olu-led administration of the Governor. Benson-Awoyinka said that the agency had successfully mediated in about 55 out of 150 petitions/complaints between property developers, landlords, potential tenants and tenants. She said that 50 cases were adjourned for further mediation while 40 were referred to appropriate agencies, with five cases in courts in Ketu, Ajah, Ikorodu, Gbagada and Yaba. The special advise...
Edinson Cavani offered £50K pay rise to stay at Manchester United
Manchester United plan to keep Edinson Cavani at Old Trafford for the 2021-22 season by offering the striker a wage increase of £50,000, according to reports. The Uruguayan has cemented himself as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first-choice striker during the second half of the 2020-21 campaign, playing a pivotal goalscoring role both domestically and in Europe – most notably in the Europa League semi-final tie with AS Roma, against whom he scored four goals over two legs. United do not have the option to extend the 12-month deal Cavani signed last summer, and it has been generally assumed the 34-year-old would return to South America this summer. However, Cavani can choose to add another year to his current deal, and according to The Sun, United plan to give the 34-year-old extra incentive to rem...
Premier League issues major announcement on fan attendance for last two games
Only home fans (a limited number) will be able to attend the final two league games of the season, as confirmed by the Premier League. This update comes from The Athletic, following suggestions that away supporters could be permitted access to the stands as part of the 10,000 spectator figure previously touted. “The Premier League today confirmed the final two match rounds of the 2020/21 season will be limited to home fans, subject to the Government easing lockdown restrictions,” as the Premier League statement read. “Following consultation with clubs, it was agreed matches would not be open to away supporters due to varying operational challenges across the League and the need to deliver a consistent approach, while maximising the opportunity for home-fan attendance. “The safety and secur...
Anambra election: PDP female aspirant urges electorate to shun inducement
A female aspirant in the Nov. 6 governorship in Anambra, Mrs Chidi Onyemelukwe, has urged the electorate to guard against monetary inducement in making their choice of candidates. Onyemelukwe who is aspiring for the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the race, made the call at a news conference in Awka on Monday. She said voting for the right candidate without inducement would make them demand the full dividends of from the people they had voted into power and hold them accountable. According to her, she is not intimidated by the number of aspirants and “money bags” in the race. The aspirant said that she had what it took to get the PDP ticket, win the and put Anambra on the part of economic prosperity and ensure higher degree of welfare for the citizens. Onyemelukwe, however...
South East leaders decry injustice against Igbo
Pool Photo A leading Igbo social-political group, Nzuko Umuna, says that Nigeria, particularly the South East, is witnessing insecurity because of injustice, inequalities and lack of governance. Addressing reporters in Abuja on Monday, Sam Amadi, chairman of the legal committee of the think tank, said the unfair and unequal treatment of citizens have compounded the insecurity crisis. Amadi said the South East used to be the ‘safest region in Nigeria, but has become a site of organised criminality.’ ‘Nzuko Umuna recognises that Nigeria has descended into a depth of insecurity partly because of the failure of governance across the country and particularly because of inequities and injustices of political leadership in Nigeria,’ the former chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commi...