Statement
Liverpool given go-ahead for Anfield expansion
Liverpool have been given the go-ahead to expand Anfield by around 7,000 seats, taking the total capacity at their historic stadium to more than 61,000. City council planners voted in favour of the redevelopment of the Anfield Road Stand on Tuesday, despite concerns expressed by residents and environmental groups about the impact on nearby Stanley Park. The Premier League club’s project is expected to be completed in 2023. “This is a huge milestone in our journey towards bringing more supporters into Anfield,” said Liverpool managing director Andy Hughes. “We underwent a rigorous two-stage public consultation period during the planning process for this project and I would like to thank everyone who has offered a contribution to that.” As part of the application, the club have also been giv...
President Buhari approves employment for families of slain NYSC members
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved automatic employment in the Federal Civil Service for one graduate from each of the immediate families of the 10 slain National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in 2011 in Bauchi State. Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Akin Dare, who disclosed this on Tuesday said the President also approved scholarships to the four children of Mr. Adowei Elliot, a Delta State indigene killed during the post-election violence. Dare announced these during the inauguration of the National Governing Board of the NYSC on Tuesday in Abuja. The 10 Corps members were killed in Bauchi State in some northern states following the 2011 election won by former President Goodluck Jonathan. In a statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Mi...
CDHR calls for release of abducted Ebonyi children
Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) has urged the police and sister agencies to secure the unconditional release of the seven Ebonyi children abducted by suspected hoodlums at Enyigba community. The children were abducted from their respective homes at Enyigba community in Abakaliki Local Government Area (LGA) of Ebonyi by unknown persons, following alleged renewed conflict over a land dispute with Enyibichiri community in Ikwo LGA. A statement signed by the state secretary of CDHR, Jeremiah Oyibe, on Tuesday in Abakaliki, urged the police to ensure the safe and unconditional release of the seven abductees. The CDHR added that the police and the state government should ensure the arrest and trial of those involved in the criminal abduction of innocent children. The group expre...
Femi Falana: Old grazing reserves law applied only to northern states
Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has disclosed that the Grazing Reserves Act of 1964 which President Muhammadu Buhari was bent on reviving was only applicable to northern Nigeria in the 1960s. In a statement issued on Sunday and titled, ‘President Buhari Should Embrace Ranching,’ Falana argued that the Grazing Reserves Act of 1964 was not a law of general application because the “Western Region, Mid-Western Region and the Eastern Region had ranches for animal husbandry.” Falana, therefore, advised Buhari to promote ranching instead of attempting to revive grazing routes. The human rights lawyer stated that in 2016, the federal government announced that it had acquired 55,000 hectares of land in 11 states for grazing of cattle. “Shortly thereafter the federal government adopted c...
Lagos-Ibadan train service to begin full operation on Tuesday
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) says it will begin full operation of the standard gauge railway service from Lagos to Ibadan on Tuesday. The Management of NRC said this is a statement signed by the Lagos District Manager, Jerry Oche, in Lagos on Sunday. According to him, the Lagos-Ibadan train services will now be available in the mornings from Tuesday. “The updated time table for Tuesday to Friday is as follows: Lagos to Ibadan at 8:00 a.m. from Mobolaji Johnson Station at Alogo megi Ebute – Meta Lagos. Also, the train will take off from Ibadan to Lagos at 8:00 a.m. from Obafemi Awolowo Station at Moniya. “The train will take off from Lagos to Ibadan at 4:00 p.m. from Mobolaji Johnson Station Alagomji, while from Ibadan to Lagos at 4:00 p.m. from Obafemi Awolowo Station at Moniya. ...
Denmark give fresh update on Christian Eriksen following collapse in Euro 2020 opener
Denmark have given a fresh update on Christian Eriksen’s condition following his collapse in their Euro 2020 opener. Eriksen fell to the turf in the first half of Denmark’s Group B clash with Ukraine at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen on Saturday afternoon, and subsequently needed emergency medical treatment. The match was suspended after the midfielder was removed from the stadium on a stretcher and sent to hospital, where he was later revealed to be awake and in a stable physical state. The Danish Football Association (DBU) have now released a statement confirming that Eriksen will remain hospitalised to undergo more tests, but he has been in contact with the national team staff and his team-mates. “This morning we have spoken to Christian Eriksen, who has sent his greetings to his team...
Police: No invasion of miscreants into Ekiti
The Ekiti State Police Command has described as untrue the reports that miscreants have invaded Ado Ekiti, the state capital. The state’s Commissioner of Police, Tunde Mobayo, who disclosed that the information was false, said it was intended to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the town. A video had circulated online on Friday that some Fulani-Hausa men were found around Agric Olope Housing Estate, in Ado Ekiti, in possession of dangerous weapons including AK-47 rifles with the intention to unleash terror on the community. Mobayo, in a statement signed by the command’s spokesman, ASP Sunday Abutu, and made available to reporters on Saturday, explained that the news was fake as the men were in the town to execute a building project, warned peddlers against spreading false information. He ...
IPPIS: Nigerian government suspends 331 civil servants’ salaries
The federal government says it has suspended the salaries of 331 civil servants for failing to update their Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS). Mahmuda Mamman, Permanent Secretary, Career Management office, announced in a statement issued by Abdulaganiyu Aminu, spokesman for the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSF) on Saturday in Abuja. Mr Mamman had signed the circular of the suspension on behalf of the HOCSF, Folasade Yemi-Esan. It added that the circular was addressed to all permanent secretaries, accountant-general of the federation, and the auditor-general of the federation. “The salaries of 331 federal civil servants have been suspended on the IPPIS platform for their failure to carry out the online records update of the HR Module of Integrated...
Nigerian Army reshuffles senior officers in major shakeup
The Nigerian Army has redeployed some of its senior officers in a major shakeup. Outgoing Army spokesperson, Mohammed Yerima, a brigadier general, made this known in a statement on Thursday. Notable amongst the new appointments was that of C.G. Musa, a major general, who was named the new Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, the counter insurgency operation in the North-east region. Also, Onyema Nwachukwu, a brigadier general, has now been appointed as the army spokesperson. Another brigadier general, A.M. Umar, was named the chief of staff to the COAS. The reshuffle, considered normal when there is a new leadership in the force, was expected when the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Faruk Yahaya, a major general, was appointed on May 27. He replaced the late COAS, Ibrahim Attahiru, who di...
Georginio Wijnaldum joins PSG on three-year deal
Paris Saint-Germain have announced the signing of Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum from Liverpool on a three-year contract. The Ligue 1 giants made the announcement in a statement released on their official website on Thursday. “Paris Saint-Germain is delighted to announce the transfer of Georginio Wijnaldum. Arriving from Liverpool, the Netherlands international midfielder has signed with the club from the French capital until 30 June 2024. “Born in Rotterdam, and a product of the Sparta Rotterdam youth academy, he played for two of the biggest clubs in his homeland in Feyenoord (135 matches, 25 goals) and then PSV Eindhoven (154 matches, 56 goals) with whom he won the 2014-15 Eredivisie title. “After a season at Newcastle United, ‘Gini’ joined Liverpool FC in the summer of 2016. The ...
Kaduna governor: I don’t have a Koo account
The governor of Kaduna state, Nasir el-Rufai, has disowned an account passed off as his on Koo, an Indian microblogging platform. An image of the purported account, with the Koo handle @nelrufai and account name, Nasir El-rufai, has surfaced online. It also has a post that reads, “I am also here”. However, el-Rufai, in a statement by Muyiwa Adekeye, his spokesman, asked the public to disregard the impostor account. “The Kaduna State Government has disowned an account that is passing off as Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai on Koo, an app that recently debuted in Nigeria,” the statement said. “Malam El-Rufai has not signed on to Koo. As such, any account currently on that app purporting to be him is fake and should be treated as such. “The general public is advised to kindly disregard the impostor...
Taiwan reports largest incursion yet by Chinese air force
Twenty-eight Chinese air force aircraft, including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers, entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on Tuesday, the island’s government said, the largest reported incursion to date. While there was no immediate comment from Beijing, the news comes after the Group of Seven leaders issued a joint statement on Sunday scolding China for a series of issues and underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, comments China condemned as “slander”. Chinese-claimed Taiwan has complained over the last few months of repeated missions by China’s air force near the self-ruled island, concentrated in the southwestern part of its air defence zone near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands. The latest Chinese mission involved 14 J-16 ...