Sen. Orji Kalu, the Chief Whip of the Senate, has advocated for declaration of Aba, the economic hub of Abia State, a disaster area so that the Federal Government can take extra-ordinary measures to fix the town. Kalu, who was governor of Abia state from 1999 to 2007 said this on Thursday when he hosted some clergymen in the state to a breakfast meeting in Aba, according to a statement from his office. The meeting was in furtherance of the campaign for his younger brother, Mascot, who is All Progressive Congress, APC’s candidate for Saturday’s bye-election for Aba North/Aba South Federal Constituency. Kalu scored successive administrations after his very low in terms of infrastructure development in Aba. He said, “I am disappointed that since I left office in 2007, nothing tangible has bee...
Premier League side Aston Villa have congratulated Bertrand Traore and Burkina Faso after qualifying for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations. Despite playing a 0-0 draw against Uganda on Wednesday evening at St. Mary’s Stadium-Kitende, Entebbe, Kamou Malo’s men booked a place in Cameroon with a game to spare. That will be the 13th time the West African country would reach the finals since their maiden appearance at Ghana 1978 – where they finished in eight position. The Villa Park giants have taken to social media to celebrate their winger and his country on their recent success. “Congratulations to Bertrand Traore and Burkina Faso, who qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations 2021 with a goalless draw against Uganda on Wednesday!” a tweet from the club read. Burkina Faso – who currently lead Gr...
Jorge Luiz Frello Filho, best known as Jorginho’s agent believes the Chelsea midfielder is enjoying a ‘special moment’ under Thomas Tuchel. The Italy international is a key figure in Tuchel’s midfield. But his agent, Joao Santos, says Jorginho would be open to a return to Italy if the situation changed at Stamford Bridge. “There are many rumours about that because he did so well at Napoli,” Santos told Naples-based station Radio Marte. “It’s a special moment for him. He is an important player for Chelsea now. However, he is an Italy international, and we are thinking about a return to Serie A if he leaves the Blues. “If Napoli will make an offer, we’ll evaluate it. He had a great time in Naples, and he has many friends over there.” Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make ...
Arsenal have been left breathing a huge sigh of relief after it was confirmed that the injury suffered by Martin Odegaard while on international duty is not serious. Gunners fans were left concerned on Wednesday night after the in-form Real Madrid loanee appeared to painfully roll his ankle before being substituted at half-time of Norway’s 3-0 World Cup qualifying win against Gibraltar. The absence of Odegaard for any extended period of time would have come as a sizable blow to Arsenal, with the 22-year-old having grown in influence since moving to north London in January and played a critical role in Sunday’s comeback draw against London rivals West Ham, afterwards attracting effusive praise from manager Mikel Arteta. But not only does it seem that Odegaard is now unlikely to miss key upc...
Japanese softball team head coach Reika Utsugi has urged her players to capture Olympic gold on home soil after naming a 15-strong squad for Tokyo 2020. The team features Yukiko Ueno, captain Yamada Eri and Yukiyo Mine who helped Japan clinch softball gold at Beijing 2008 – the last time the sport featured at the Games. Pitchers Yamato Fujita and Miu Goto, who was named Most Valuable Player in last season’s Japan Women’s Softball League, as well as star outfielder Saki Yamazaki are other notable names. Haruka Agatsuma, Nayu Kiyohara, Mana Atsumi, Yuka Ichiguchi, Hitomi Kawabata, Minori Naito, Yu Yamamoto, Nodoka Harada and Sayaka Mori have also been chosen. “Of course, skills and physical competence are the necessary elements,” said Utsugi. “But in selecting the 15 members, we also took th...
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa and some opposition politicians received China’s Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine in the tourist resort of Victoria Falls on Wednesday as part of efforts to encourage citizens to get inoculated. Zimbabwe has registered vaccines from China, India and Russia for emergency use but none so far from Western manufacturers. In a country where suspicion and scepticism often trump facts, Mnangagwa’s vaccination at a public event, together with opposition leaders, was meant to assure citizens that the vaccines were safe. The southern African nation had planned to administer the Sinopharm vaccine to 53 000 health workers and selected security forces when it rolled out the first phase of its programme on 18 February, but only 44 135 people had been vaccinated by Tuesday...
Nigeria national team coach Gernot Rohr believes the Republic of Benin will be a hard nut to crack, given their recent performances. The three-time African champions will square off against the Squirrels at Porto-Novo’s Stade Charles de Gaulle on Saturday. Michel Dussuyer’s men are on a five-game unbeaten run, having last tasted defeat against the Super Eagles in their first Afcon qualifying game in November 2019 Their home form has also been spectacular, given they have not lost for eight years, having last tasted defeat against Algeria in 2013 and Rohr has warned his side to be battle-ready for the encounter. “Benin have not lost a match for eight years at home, the last time they lost was in 2013 so you can imagine that we want to be the first team to win there in eight years,” Rohr tol...
The Senate is making moves to make it easier for Nigerians in diaspora to renew their passport documents. It specifically wants to make it possible for Nigerians to be able to renew the documents abroad via post. The lawmakers also want more centres where passports can be renewed abroad as well as the removal of ‘middlemen’ in the process. These are some of the resolutions the lawmakers took on Wednesday after they deliberated a motion on the “urgent need to remove the difficulty faced by Nigerians outside of the shores of Nigeria in renewing their Passport” sponsored by Matthew Urhoghide (PDP, Edo South). The move by the Senate comes at a time when Nigerians both within and outside Nigeria have decried difficulty in the process of obtaining a new travel passport as well as renewing one. A...
UFC star Israel Adesanya tenders apology after ‘rape’ comment
UFC star Israel Adesanya has apologized to fellow fighter Kevin Holland after he came under attack for his rape comment. Isreal Adesanya made the “rape comment” while trash-talking Holland in a since-deleted video. “Bro, I will fuckin’ rape you,” Adesanya said in an Instagram video directed at Kevin Holland, who had targeted him with a series of insulting remarks. However, in a statement on Friday morning, the Nigerian-born New Zealand MMA fighter said he “crossed the line” and he understands the gravity of what he said. The statement on Adesanya’s official Twitter account reads: “Last week fight talk escalated to a point in which I crossed the line. I understand the gravity of this word and how it can affect and hurt other people apart from my opponent, although that was never my intentio...