The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has denied receiving N10m from the Governor of Kano state, Abdullahi Ganduje. Daily Trust reported that the Governor announced the donation of N10m to the organisers of the National Anti-Corruption Marathon. According to the report, the marathon was put together to celebrate President Buhari’s anti-corruption fight. In a swift reaction, the EFCC issued a statement on Facebook denying the report. The anti-graft agency also described the story as a deliberate attempt to malign the efforts of the Commission in the fight against corruption. The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,…
Author: David Folami
Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness over the passing of a Nigerian poet, writer and journalist, Ikeogu Oke. The president’s condolence message was contained in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina in Abuja on Monday. President Buhari also extended heartfelt condolences to Oke’s family, the literary and creative community on the painful demise of the award-winning poet. He affirmed that as an author, journalist and poet, Oke exuded vibrancy, intelligence and innovation in his works. According to him, Oke as a social commentator, was constantly in search of plausible answers and solutions to…
Dr Ibe Kachikwu has said there are strong indications that three out of the 40 planned modular refineries would come on stream by end of 2019. Kachikwu disclosed this at the three-day Biennial International Conference for Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) organised by Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Lagos on Monday. “Out of the 40 licenses issued, only 10 have shown progress by submitting their programmes and putting something on the ground. “ By end of 2019, we are assured that three private modular refineries would come on stream,’’ he said. The minister said that the conference was a…
Sen. Ita Enang, Senior Special Assistant to President Mohammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters, said that the presidency had directed All Progressives Congress (APC), candidates should base their campaigns on issues in the 2019 elections. Enang said this during a church service at Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Ibiaku Parish in Ibiono, Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom on Sunday. He said that the APC-led government would do real campaign without rancour or politics of bitterness during its campaign in the country. “Let us go and do real campaign, speaking clean words, marketing what we have done, saying what we…
Yemi Osinbajo on Monday said that the presidency was closely working with the National Assembly for the quick passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB). Osinbajo said this during his keynote address at the 18th international HSE Biennial conference, organised by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Lagos. According to him, “ we are working closely with the National Assembly to ensure its timely passage.’’ He said that the reforms proposed in the PIGB “reflects our collective desire to entrench transparency and sustainability of oil and gas operations in Nigeria to enable the country finally to realise the…
Abdullahi Ganduje has again promised President Muhammadu Buhari that he’ll get at least 5 million votes from the state in the 2019 presidential election. The governor had first made this promise in Febraury 2018 and restated his commitment towards making it happen at a rally in Kano on Sunday, November 25, 2018. The governor said the state is progressive and will only vote for a progressive government that’ll help the Nigerian people. He said, “APC is the only party in Kano. We have the highest number of party members. Our effort is not only to win Governorship, Presidential, National Assembly…
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo applauded the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on his cultural responsibility during his turbaning ceremony as the 7th ‘Wazirin Adamawa’ on Sunday, November 25. Obasanjo, who attended the ceremony, stated that Atiku has always been “cultured and a cultural person”. He added that his former deputy will carry out any responsibility he is given with dignity. He said, “When we were in Abuja and dealing with the affairs of governance, you did not take lightly cultural affairs back home. By every standard, you are a cultured and a cultural person. Whatever…
Dr Oby Ezekwesili has condemned President Muhammadu Buhari for cheapening Nigerian lives with his incompetence. The former Minister of Education said this during an interview with The Guardian Life, published on Sunday, November 25, 2018. The presidential candidate decried the spate of violence that has rocked the country and claimed thousands of lives in 2018 alone, noting that it has become worse under the current president. She said, “This is a Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari where the primacy of the human life has been completely devalued…life is cheapened. “The lives of Nigerians today are not any better because President…
President Buhari has urged aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to seek legal redress. The President made this known in a statement which was posted on Twitter on Monday, November 26, 2018. Buhari said “I disagree with the position of our party forbidding aggrieved members from taking the party to court, and threatening to penalize those who do. We cannot deliberately deny people of their rights. We agreed that party primaries should be conducted either through direct, indirect or consensus methods, and if anyone feels unjustly treated in the process, such a person can go to court.” The…
Donald Duke, the Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), promised free tuition in primary, secondary and tertiary educational in the country, if elected president in 2019. Duke, represented by Mr Precious Elekima, the Governorship candidate of the party in Rivers, made the promise on Monday in Port Harcourt, at the flag-off of the party’s campaign for 2019 polls in Rivers. “Today I am representing our presidential candidate to pass his message to Nigerians and to the people of Rivers State in particular. “His Excellency, Donald Duke, says that everyone matters. You deserve the best in this country. He…
UEFA says the Europa League game between Arsenal and Vorskla Poltava in Ukraine on Thursday will go ahead as planned even as the country’s President, Petro Poroshenko, calls for martial law. Ukraine’s navy said six of its sailors were wounded when Russian coastguards opened fire on three ships in waters off Crimea and then seized them late on Sunday. Parliament is set to consider Poroshenko’s request for martial law later on Monday. UEFA said it could “confirm that the match will be played as scheduled,” adding that “as is the case for all UEFA competition matches, all the necessary security…
Manchester United are struggling to sell tickets for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Young Boys at Old Trafford. United can book their place in the knockout rounds with victory over the Swiss champions but the club have failed to sell out and are offering tickets on general sale. Tickets priced between £45 and £58 are available in three of the four sides of the stadium for the game on Tuesday. United are on the brink of qualification from Group H after a dramatic 2-1 win over Juventus in Turin. But Jose Mourinho’s team have failed to score in their two…
Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof is expected to miss about a month due to a thigh injury he picked up against Crystal Palace on Saturday. “Victor [has] a proper injury that will keep him out for a while,” said United boss Jose Mourinho ahead of the team’s Champions League match against Swiss side Young Boys. “[Phil] Jones, [Chris] Smalling and [Eric] Bailly are the three [defenders] we have. He has a muscular problem and muscular problem takes time.” The Swede limped off at the end of Saturday’s draw and missed Monday’s training, and will undergo a scan on Tuesday. “I…
Jose Mourinho has told his Manchester United players to “stay at home” if they cannot handle the pressure of playing at Old Trafford. United have won just three of their nine home games in all competitions this season, including a dire 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday, but can book their place in the knockout phase of the Champions League with a win when Young Boys visit on Tuesday night. “If you feel pressure, stay at home — and when I say home I don’t say stadium home, I say home home and watch on TV,” Mourinho told a…
Santiago Solari said he expected his team to pass another “test by fire” in Tuesday’s Champions League Group G game at Roma. Solari won all four games as interim Madrid coach but his first game since being confirmed in the position full-time brought an embarrassing 3-0 La Liga reverse at Eibar on Saturday, in a performance just as poor as any during predecessor Julen Lopetegui’s ill-fated short time in charge. Both Madrid and Roma have nine points each going into Tuesday’s game at the Estadio Olimpico, and the Argentine was asked at the pre-game news conference about how he views…
Paris Saint-Germain are winning their race to have Neymar and Kylian Mbappe fit to face Liverpool in Champions League Group C on Wednesday after the superstar pair trained with their teammates on Monday, sources have said. The Brazil and France internationals were substituted with injuries while playing for their countries in friendlies last Tuesday, and their participation in the potentially decisive encounter has since been the subject of intense speculation. The Ligue 1 giants said the next day that Mbappe had bruised his shoulder while Neymar had strained his right adductor with 48-hour treatment periods required for both before further…
Tickets for Manchester United’s home game against Juventus (and Cristiano Ronaldo) last month were going for £250 on the black market. For Tuesday’s Champions League game against Young Boys, they are still on general sale. There will be empty seats — a rare sight for a Champions League game at Old Trafford — though we’re not talking vacant blocks like at Manchester City, who were derided for their 41,000 crowd in their Champions League opener against Lyon. Manchester United’s matchgoing support has a pretty solid bedrock — Barcelona and Real Madrid, the other two clubs who can call themselves the…
Phil Foden is “definitely ready” for the pressure of starting the Champions League clash with Lyon, according to Pep Guardiola, after Manchester City were hit by a number of injury setbacks in midfield. City are already without Kevin De Bruyne, who is working his way back from a knee injury, and neither Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva travelled with the squad to France on Monday. Silva has a slight injury from the international break with Portugal while Gundogan has damaged a bone in his foot. The pair are not expected to be out for long but it could mean a…
Barcelona will be without more than half a dozen first-team players for Wednesday’s Champions League game against PSV Eindhoven after Luis Suarez and Arthur were added to their injury list. Suarez will be out for two weeks after aggravating a knee problem and is also set to miss the games against Villarreal, Cultural Leonesa and Espanyol. However, the former Liverpool forward should be back for Tottenham’s Champions League visit to the Camp Nou on Dec. 12. Midfielder Arthur will sit out the PSV game with an abdominal injury, but Barca hope he will be fit to face Villarreal on Sunday.…
Andres Iniesta has described the depression he suffered after winning the Treble with Barcelona in the 2008-09 season. Iniesta, now at Vissel Kobe, said he had struggled in the months following their success after his friend Dani Jarque, a former Espanyol captain, died of heart failure during preseason preparations. In his biography “The Artist: Being Iniesta,” published in 2016, he wrote that in such difficult situations people could do “crazy” things. Asked by La Sexta TV whether he had meant the possibility of taking his own life, he said: “Yes, you are talking about very extreme situations. Not because I…