Muhammadu Buhari has dispatched the Minister of Defence, retired Brig-Gen. Mansur Dan-Ali, to Chad for an emergency meeting with the Chadian President, Idris Deby, on the deterioration of security at the Nigeria – Chad border. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Dan-Ali had on Thursday briefed President Buhari on security development across the country. He also briefed him about the recent killings of some Nigerian soldiers by the Islamic West Africa Province, a breakaway Boko Haram sect, operating along Nigeria – Chad border. AFP had quoted security sources on Nov. 21, saying no less than 44 soldiers were…
Author: David Folami
Muhammadu Buhari says leaders who undermine the economy by denying workers their benefits, while stuffing personal accounts with public funds will not escape the current anti-corruption dragnet. The president stated this when he received All Progressives Congress (APC) delegation from Benue State, led by Sen. George Akume, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. President Buhari said the Federal Government’s bailout to states and Paris Club funds were basically to alleviate the sufferings of the people, describing misappropriation as unjust and unfair to workers. He said: “I honestly don’t know how people sleep when workers have not been paid. The workers have…
Goodluck Jonathan has been blamed for bringing about recession while in power. Jonathan lost an opportunity to retain power at the 2015 presidential poll after losing to the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari who blames him for mismanagement and a declining economy. Buhari makes his thoughts known in a statement released through Mr Garba Shehu, his Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity. On Tuesday, November 20, 2018, President Jonathan launches a book “My Transition Hours” which mirrors his past exploits in government. “As evidenced from a fleeting look at the book, the former President had nothing to say about his…
Goodluck Jonathan has revealed that terrorist group, Boko Haram, wanted him to ditch his Christian faith and accept Islam while he was president. The 61-year-old made this disclosure in his new book, titled “My Transition Hours”, which he launched on Tuesday, November 20, 2018. He said the group used Islam to achieve their own personal and group goals which he described as “not only heinous and dastardly but also political”. “At this juncture, it may be prudent to state that one of their demands was that I abandon my Christian faith and accept Islam. In other words, they wanted a…
Donald Duke thinks performing in office is a potential problem for any candidate representing the PDP because of the party’s “huge baggage”. According to Duke who is contesting at the 2019 polls under the Social Democratic Party (SDP) platform, there is an issue of massive corruption to deal with as the flag bearer of the PDP. “Even if I had emerged as the PDP presidential flag bearer, and win the election, the huge baggage the party carries will not allow me to do well. “The corruption is huge. You need to be completely unshackled to perform amidst such obstacles without…
A former president of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan has been described as “Nigeria’s worst political mistake” days after launching his book “My Transition Hours”. On Tuesday, November 20, 2018, he released the text to mark his 61st birthday. The publication highlights the experiences of Jonathan while occupying the role of president, a period M.K.O’s wife Zainab Duke-Abiola has described as the lowest moment of the country’s political history. According to The Cable News, Zainab released a statement on Thursday, November 22, 2018. In her comments, she blames the ex-president for poor decisions. One of which has ensured that he is only…
Muhammadu Buhari’s Personal Assistant on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, has described a new book by former president, Goodluck Jonathan, as full of hate speech. The former president launched the book, titled “My Transition Hours”, on his 61st birthday in Abuja on Tuesday, November 20, 2018. The book focused on the events surrounding his time in government around the 2015 presidential election which he lost to Buhari. Ahmad took to his Twitter account (@BashirAhmaad) on Friday, November 23, to express his disappointment with the content of the book. He posted, “Was reading that newly released book last night before I slept,…
The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II, has attributed the high rate of migration and human trafficking in Nigeria to maladministration of the government. Sanusi also described inequality to the globalization of the economic system established by Africa as being responsible for the high migration in the continent. The Emir made this remark at the launch of the Book titled “From Frying Pan to Fire: How African migrants risk everything in their futile search for a better life in Europe”, written by the former spokesperson to late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, Olusegun Adeniyi. Sanusi said, “Instead of complaining about…
A group, The Atiku Domestic Voters Structure (DOVO), has pledged to deliver Bayelsa to the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, during the 2019 general elections. The State coordinator of the group, Mr Endurance Deboh, made the pledge on Friday while meeting with youths and student volunteer groups in Yenegoa. Deboh disclosed that DOVO had strategised for the mass mobilisation of youths and students in all tertiary institutions in the state ahead of the elections. He said that the task of the group of delivering the state for Atiku “is a deed that must be done.’’ He assured the…
Liverpool have announced that Sadio Mane has agreed terms on a new long-term contract, with sources saying that the new deal runs until 2023. Liverpool opened talks with Mane’s representatives in the summer and the club expect the contract to be signed before the end of the year. “I am very happy, very happy to extend my time at Liverpool,” Mane told the club’s official website. “It is a great day for me and now I am looking forward to everything — to helping the team, to helping the club achieve our dreams and, especially, to win trophies. “I’ve always…
Manchester United will face Leeds United in a friendly in Australia next year during their preseason tour, the first meeting between the old English rivals since 2011. The Premier League club said on Tuesday that they would play two friendlies in Perth, against A-League side Perth Glory on July 13 and Leeds four days later. Manchester United and Leeds have enjoyed a feisty rivalry over the years, with the fixture dubbed the Pennines derby. Yet since Leeds fell out of the top flight in 2004 they have only met twice, with the Yorkshire side edging an FA Cup tie 1-0…
Jose Mourinho is sticking by his prediction that Manchester United will be back in the Premier League’s top four by the end of 2018. Crystal Palace travel to Old Trafford on Saturday with United eighth, seven points off the Champions League places and although Mourinho acknowledges that is a “big gap,” he said he remained confident of climbing the table by January. “I know it’s a big gap but I also know that until the end of December, if I’m not wrong, we have eight Premier League matches to play,” he told a news conference on Friday. “Eight Premier League…
Inter Milan midfielder Radja Nainggolan has said he he has no regrets about turning down a move to the Premier League as he continues to enjoy life in Italy after leaving Roma in the summer. The former Belgium international has had offers from Chelsea and Manchester United in the past but said he valued the quality of life he has in Italy over the money he could have earned in England. “I have had plenty of chances to leave,” he said. “I am the kind of person who above all needs to live well and be at a club which…
Liverpool announced on Thursday that Mane had agreed terms on a new long-term contract following Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, who both signed five-year deals at Anfield in April and July respectively. Philippe Coutinho, Luis Suarez and Raheem Sterling have all left Liverpool in recent years in big-money transfers, but Klopp feels the club are now in a position to convince players that staying put is best for their careers. “It’s not that I say to him: ‘Good morning Sadio, you are world class,’ but it is obvious sometimes that he is not aware of that,” Klopp said at a…
Jose Mourinho has hit back at Iker Casillas after the goalkeeper said he should have confronted him during their time at Real Madrid. In an interview on Spanish television, Casillas, now at Porto, criticised Mourinho for creating tension during the final season of his three years at the Bernabeu. He said he should have “taken the bull by the horns and confronted Mourinho” when they fell out in the 2012-13 season and he was dropped, but the coach claimed the keeper had done so “secretly.” Mourinho told Diario Record: “This interview is given by someone who is at the end…
Diego Simeone has denied reports that he is close to signing a new contract at the club. Marca and other local outlets reported last week that new contract talks between coach and club which had begun last summer were close to being finalised, with Simeone offered a salary bigger than forward Antoine Griezmann’s €20 million plus a year. However, an Atletico source told ESPN FC this week that with Simeone’s current deal running until 2020, both sides were currently happy with the situation and no talks were underway or are planned about an extension. “I have spoken with [Miguel Angel]…
Unai Emery has said captain Laurent Koscielny is nearly ready to start playing games again and could make his first appearance of the season next week with the under-23s. Koscielny has been sidelined with a torn Achilles tendon since May but Emery said on Friday that the centre-back completed every training session with the team during the international break. “Koscielny is close to starting to play minutes little by little,” Emery told a news conference. “Our first idea is to start [him playing] with the U23s. “But these two weeks [during the international break] in training with us, he is…
Neymar is struggling in his battle to be fit for Paris Saint-Germain’s crucial Champions League game with Liverpool next week, but teammate Kylian Mbappe is expected to play, sources have said. The pair were substituted with injuries while playing in friendlies for Brazil and France respectively on Tuesday, and PSG said on Wednesday that Mbappe had bruised his shoulder while Neymar had strained his right adductor with 48-hour treatment periods required for both before further evaluation. According to sources close to the club, Neymar is still 50-50 at best while Mbappe should be fit, and coach Thomas Tuchel say that…
Benjamin Mendy will be out for up to three months after having surgery on a knee injury, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said. However, City said Guardiola will not go into the transfer market in January and is likely to use players who normally operate in other roles to cover for the France international. Mendy missed seven months with an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee last season and now faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after a problem in his left knee. “Benjamin Mendy will be out for 10 to 12 weeks,” Guardiola told a…
Katy Perry came from ninth place in 2017 to unseat Beyonce as 2018’s highest-paid woman in music according to Forbes. The business magazine estimates that Perry, 34, earned $83 million in the period spanning June 2017 to June 2018. It wrote, “Perry played 80 dates on the world tour for her fifth album, Witness, during that period, grossing more than 1 million dollars per night, as well as earning more than 20 million dollars for her work as a judge on American Idol.” Beyoncé, 37, who was Forbes’ 2017 highest paid woman in music, fell to third place (60 million…