South
CAF president launches pan-African inter-school championship with own $10 million
The South African billionaire and president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Patrice Motsepe, on Tuesday in Abidjan announced that he will personally finance the pan-African inter-school football championship, which will be launched “between 2022 and 2023”, in collaboration with FIFA. The donation will amount to US$ 10 million and will come from the foundation that bears his name. On a visit to Côte d’Ivoire, the CAF president recalled that the future competition will concern boys and girls aged between 12 to 14 years and will take place “first at national level via national associations, then at zonal level with the organization of six regional tournaments which will serve as qualifying rounds for the final tournament”, according to CAF’s governing body. Initially, pilot na...
2023: Niger governor makes case for Southern presidency
Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, has made case for a southern Presidency in 2023, saying that there is going to be rotation of positions in 2023. According to him, “those allocated to the North would move to South while those in the south would move to North in 2023”. Governor Bello disclosed this in Minna on Tuesday when he received in audience North Central APC Stakeholders Forum on advocacy visit. He also said that the North Central Governors Forum has agreed that the position of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) should be zone to north central. “As the chairman of the North Central Governors Forum, I have called a meeting of the Governors and we agreed that we should not be left out. There are many aspirants from North West and North East.”. ...
PANDEF seeks South-south security outfit
The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has paid a consultative visit to former President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja to discuss the current security situation of the country and South south matters particularly the need for a regional security arrangement for the South-South as being done by other zones in the country. The PANDEF delegation led by the National Chairman, Senator Emmanuel Ibok Essien, said they visited the former President because he was a key voice in the country, and the political leader of the Niger Delta Region, and that his vast knowledge and understanding of the complexities and intricacies of the country, and the region, would be of immense benefit to PANDEF, and other groups in the country in the efforts to resolving the challenges we are confronted with. The group in a s...
Cape Town fire ‘contained’ as firefighters battle windy conditions
A blaze advanced along South Africa’s iconic Table Mountain toward central Cape Town on Monday after ravaging university buildings, while firefighters battled strong winds in their efforts to control it and officials evacuated residential areas. The fire broke out Sunday morning in the foothills of the mountain and spread to the University of Cape Town (UCT), destroying buildings and part of a library housing a unique collection of African archives, while causing students to flee. The blaze had been largely contained on Monday, but firefighters were still battling to control it. Cape Town mayor Dan Plato said efforts were currently focused on the mountain above the Vredehoek suburb, with residents being evacuated “as a precautionary measure”. “Strong winds are placing pressure on firefight...
Paris Saint-Germain wait for Neymar to sign contract extension
Paris Saint-Germain were revelling in the joy of knocking holders Bayern Munich out of the Champions League in midweek when Neymar offered more cause for celebration. In an interview with Brazilian broadcaster TNT Sports following PSG’s away-goals victory in the quarter-finals, Neymar dropped a clear hint that he would be staying at PSG beyond the end of his current contract. “For me there is no debate, it is obvious that I feel very comfortable here and at home at Paris Saint-Germain. I feel happier than I did before,” the world’s most expensive player said. His current contract, signed following his arrival from Barcelona for 222 million euros ($264m) in 2017, runs out at the end of next season, at the same time as Kylian Mbappe’s deal. It has been reported in France since the Bayern gam...
2023: APC disowns viral zoning arrangement
The national caretaker/extraordinary convention planning committee (CECPC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has disowned a zoning arrangement list in circulation on the social media. The zoning arrangement for major national elective offices and for positions in the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) allegedly emanated from the party leadership. By the arrangement, the presidential ticket is zoned to South, Vice President – North, Senate President – South, Deputy Senate President – North while Speaker – North and Deputy Speaker – South. For the National Working Committee zoning, the list showed that the north will produce the National Chairman, National Secretary – South, National Treasurer – South, Financial Secretary – North, Legal Officer – North and Welfare Officer –...
Israeli study: South African coronavirus variant may evade protection from Pfizer vaccine
The coronavirus variant discovered in South Africa may evade the protection provided by Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine to some extent, a real-world data study in Israel found, though its prevalence in the country is very low and the research has not been peer reviewed. The study, released on Saturday, compared almost 400 people who had tested positive for COVID-19, 14 days or more after they received one or two doses of the vaccine, against the same number of unvaccinated patients with the disease. It matched age and gender, among other characteristics. The South African variant, B.1.351, was found to make up about 1% of all the COVID-19 cases across all the people studied, according to the study by Tel Aviv University and Israel’s largest healthcare provider, Clalit. But among patient...
Nigerian government urged to dialogue with Sunday Igboho
A former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has advised the Federal Government to dialogue with the Yoruba activist, Chief Sunday Igboho, instead of plotting to arrest or harm him, a situation, he said, portends danger to national stability. Fani-Kayode, in a post on his social media pages on Friday, which he also sent to newsmen, said arresting, detaining or killing Igboho will be the “biggest mistake” that the Federal Government can make. He added that the activist has not broken any law of the nation and that he represents the thoughts and aspirations of over 70 million Yoruba people as he is seen as a hero by the same people. “I will say this just once. The biggest threat to the peace and stability of Nigeria today is the plan by some hardliners in the Federal Government to ...
CAN: Skewed appointments polarising Nigeria
File Photo The National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Reverend Dr Supo Ayokunle, has said the polarisation being experienced was triggered by “skewed appointments” made by leaders of the country. The lopsided appointment, according to him, is polarising the nation on daily basis. He said the worsening security situation has shown that our leaders are at a loss of what to do. This came just as the new nations of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Bishop Francis Wale Oke frowned at those calling for negotiation with bandits who kill, kidnap, rape and demand huge ransom saying the government has to put its feet on the ground to prosecute them as the law demands. Rev Ayokunle said this at thanksgiving service marking the election of Bishop Francis Wale Oke as the 7th n...
Abia by-election: APC candidate urges supporters to accept result
All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the just-concluded Aba North/South Federal Constituency by-election, Hon Mascot Uzor Kalu, has urged his supporters and APC members to accept the result and remain calm. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon Chimaobi Ebisike, winner of the by-election held on Saturday. In a statement, Hon Kalu said the by-elect1ion was over and appealed to APC members to accept the outcome of the elections in good faith while appreciating them for making the party stronger in Abia. He said while the PDP wanted the election at all cost , “we chose life over bloodshed and therefore won lives and lost the polls. To us, that was a m victory.” Hon Kalu said the level of thuggery, violen...
More than 90 killed in Myanmar in one of bloodiest days of protests
Security forces killed more than 90 people across Myanmar on Saturday in one of the bloodiest days of protests since a military coup last month, news reports and witnesses said. The lethal crackdown came on Armed Forces Day. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the junta leader, said during a parade in the capital Naypyitaw to mark the event that the military would protect the people and strive for democracy. State television had said on Friday that protesters risked being shot “in the head and back”. Despite this, demonstrators against the Feb. 1 coup came out on the streets of Yangon, Mandalay and other towns. The Myanmar Now news portal said 91 people were killed across the country by security forces. A boy reported by local media to be as young as five was among at least 29 people killed in...
OPC berates ex-COAS for equating group with Boko Haram
The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) yesterday berated a former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, for comparing the group with the terrorist organisation, Boko Haram. In a statement, the group’s newly-elected President, Mr. Wasiu Afolabi, said the former army chief displayed a dangerous level of mischief, prejudice and narrow-mindedness by equating what it termed a pro-democracy group like the OPC with a world-acclaimed terrorist organisation. Afolabi maintained that the comments by Dambazzau were an attempt to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it, insisting that the move will not work. “We shall not succumb to this cheap attempt at blackmail and negative profiling. OPC is not, has never been and will never be a terrorist organisation. Nobody should link us or lik...