Bukola Saraki has urged his Kwara State supporters not to be afraid of federal might which he said supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are relying on ahead of the 2019 general election. While speaking at the inauguration of 42 Peoples Democratic Party’s members, Saraki said the party will win the election if proper strategy is put in place. He said he confronted federal might in two previous elections and still won. “Do not be afraid. I have heard all the talks of the opposition about using federal might but we have seen it all. We saw it in…
Author: David Folami
Prof Mahmood Yakubu, on Monday assured Nigerians that the smart card readers would be used in the conduct of the 2019 General Elections. Yakubu gave the assurance amidst controversy over President Muhammadu Buhari’s withholding of assent to the 2018 Electoral Act Amendment Bill transmitted to him for the fourth time. Speaking at the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room National Stakeholders’ Forum on Elections in Abuja, Yakubu said the technological device had become an integral part of the country’s electoral process. The Independent National Electoral Commission will continue to follow its timetable and schedule of activities as well as its strategic…
Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili has faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to sign the amended Electoral Act. She said that the refusal would lead to a regression in the progress so far made in Nigeria’s democratic journey since 1999. At a World Press Conference in Abuja on Monday, the presidential candidate wondered why President Buhari wanted to destabilise the country with the 2019 elections. According to her, the excuses of the President for not completing the process that will give Nigeria one of the soundest electoral laws in the world amount to an assault on “our democracy and this must be rejected…
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), on Monday, December 10, 2018, announced its meeting with the two major contenders for the country’s number one job in 2019. According to Daily Post, President Buhari is being represented by the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi and the Vice-Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi, is standing in for Atiku Abubakar. Speaking to newsmen, CAN President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle said the meeting’s aim is to know the plans of the presidential candidates for Nigeria. “The motive is not to take for granted the 2019 elections. 2019 Nigeria will depend on…
Jimi Agbaje has vowed to free the state from the hold of Alphabeta Consulting. According to Agbaje the consulting firm receives a percentage of every ‘dime’ Lagos state earns. The PDP guber candidate said this while on Channels Television on Sunday, December 10, 2018. According to reports, he said “I could be here all day talking about Free Lagos. Let me start from the basic freedom of information Act, Lagos is still run like a closed shop, like a private company,” Agbaje told Channels TV on Sunday Politics. “Lagos has refused to domesticate the freedom of information bill, so we…
The presidency has issued a statement saying that President Buhari never ordered the freezing of Peter Obi’s account. On Saturday, December, 2018, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organization alleged that agencies of government blocked the PDP Vice-Presidential candidate’s bank account. According to reports, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu said the story is fake. Shehu also dismissed reports that the President ordered the alleged raid on the home of the son of the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar as a fairy tale. The presidential spokesman said “The story about the…
A giant mural of Jurgen Klopp has gone up in Liverpool in tribute to the Reds’ manager. The finishing touches are still being applied to the 16ft portrait, though it has already begun to provoke strong reaction from fans on both sides of the Merseyside divide. The mural is located on Jamaica Street in the Baltic Triangle area of the city — a former industrial nook that has since been re-purposed as a “cutting-edge destination where pioneering creatives work and play.” While Liverpool fans have been invited to come and grab a selfie with Klopp, the street art installation hasn’t…
When it comes to the Premier League, we’re all prone to jumping to conclusions and taking the latest preachings from the pundits as gospel. Well, predictions make fools of us all, and the action last weekend blew a few theories sky high. It turns out Manchester City are not invincible: Fancy that! Likewise, Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri was able to laugh in the faces of those experts, who basically told him he did not know what he was doing using “the world’s top holding midfielder,” N’Golo Kante, in a more attacking role. Who turned up with a late run into…
Rob Holding will miss six to nine months after he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee against Manchester United. Holding had to be carried off on a stretcher during Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at Old Trafford, and the club said on Friday that he will need surgery to repair the ligament damage. The estimated timeline means Holding could be back to full fitness during preseason ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, although a nine-month recovery would mean he misses the start of that season as well. The injury is a big blow for the 23-year-old who had established himself…
It is not often one of the best centre-backs in Europe becomes available on the relative cheap but that is the case with Toby Alderweireld and Jose Mourinho has reportedly been given the go-ahead to sign the Spurs defender in January, according to the Sun. Alderweireld’s contract is due to expire next year but while Tottenham are able to trigger a one-year extension, it would in turn activate a £25 million release clause for the final two weeks of the summer transfer window. So there is a chance Spurs may be open to letting the Belgium international leave in January…
Manchester United will reject any attempts to prise Paul Pogba away from Old Trafford in January, sources have said, despite growing interest from Juventus in re-signing the France midfielder. Pogba, who cost United a then-world record £89 million when returned to the club from Juventus in August 2016, has been dropped to the substitutes’ bench by manager Jose Mourinho for the club’s last two games, against Arsenal and Fulham in the Premier League. Mourinho insisted after Saturday’s 4-1 win at home to Fulham that Pogba will start Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Valencia in Spain and will “show everyone how…
Chelsea have announced they have suspended four supporters from attending games “pending further investigations” into alleged racial abuse suffered by Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling. Video circulated on social media during Saturday’s Premier League match between the clubs at Stamford Bridge that appeared to show a Chelsea fan directing a racial slur at Sterling as the England international retrieved the ball from the byline. Condemnation of the incident was swift and widespread, with both Chelsea and the Metropolitan Police quickly confirming that they were reviewing the footage in order to determine whether an incident of racist abuse had taken place.…
Maurizio Sarri’s “terrifying” postmatch reaction to the midweek defeat at Wolves inspired his players to beat Manchester City on Saturday, Antonio Rudiger has said. N’Golo Kante and David Luiz scored at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea inflicted City’s first Premier League defeat of the season. A determined performance, which saw Chelsea withstand spells of sustained pressure, was in sharp contrast to the 2-1 defeat at Molineux, after which Sarri questioned his players and accused some of having “too much confidence.” “After the Wolves game, he was terrifying,” Rudiger said. “He was going crazy. But that was OK, because we shouldn’t have…
Carlo Ancelotti has vowed that Napoli will play on the front foot against Liverpool on Tuesday night in the Group C Champions League decider. Napoli, who currently top the group, can reach the round of 16 of the competition with a draw. A loss would also see the Serie A side progress, should Paris Saint-Germain suffer defeat at Red Star Belgrade. Liverpool, on the other hand, must win 1-0 or by two goals at Anfield, although Ancelotti stressed that will not alter Napoli’s attack-minded approach. “Obviously I don’t know what Liverpool are planning tomorrow, we all know how they play,…
Manchester United’s contract talks with Ander Herrera are progressing well, sources have said, with the midfielder set to extend his stay at Old Trafford. United triggered a one-year extension to the 29-year-old’s contract last season but, with that deal set to expire on June 30, he will be able to walk away for nothing if fresh terms are not agreed. However, sources told ESPN FC that negotiations between the club and Herrera’s representatives have been positive, with both parties hopeful of reaching an agreement in the New Year. Herrera is a target for a number of Spanish clubs should he…
Cristiano Ronaldo has challenged Lionel Messi to leave Barcelona and join him in Serie A to prove his influence in another league. Ronaldo told La Gazzetta dello Sport that he left his comfort zone by joining Juventus in the summer, and has laid down the gauntlet to Messi to follow his example. “Maybe [Messi] misses me,” Ronaldo said. “I’ve played in England, Spain, Italy, Portugal and with the national team while he’s always been in Spain. Maybe he needs me more. For me, life is a challenge and I like it and I like making people happy. “I’d like it…
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the senator representing Ogun East, Senator Kashamu Buruji as a desperate paid agent of anti-democratic forces working to cause confusion, trigger violence and bloodletting in the 2019 general election and derail its hard-earned democracy. In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, described “Senator Buruji is an interloper and impostor, who would soon face prosecution for printing and selling fake PDP nomination forms to members of the public, in violation of the provisions of the Electoral Act and the PDP constitution, which vest such powers only on the party’s National…
Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti on Sunday lifted the no-patronage embargo placed on Ecobank, GTBank and Zenith Bank by his predecessor, Ayo Fayose. The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports that with this development, all MDA’s and certain categories of the state workers are now free to do business with them. The Fayose-led administration in May 2016 placed a “non-patronage” ban on the three banks and forbade government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as workers in its employ from transacting business with them. Governor Fayemi in quashing the embargo, also directed that all MDAs and their staff could…
In a statement in Abuja, Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice-President, said that Osinbajo would speak on the potential of the Nigerian market. He said that Osinbajo would also speak on the gains recorded by the country through its Ease of Doing Business reforms. “The President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s Ease of Doing Business reforms have helped in improving the country’s ranking in the World Bank’s Doing Business Index 2017, where Nigeria climbed up 24 places and was listed among the 10 most reformed economies globally. “Also, the World Bank noted…
Gov. Nasiru El-Rufa’i of Kaduna State has described late Sen. Mukhtar Aruwa as a philanthropist who contributed immensely to the development of sports, agriculture and politics during his life time. This is contained in a statement issued on Sunday in Kaduna by Mr Samuel Aruwan, media aide to the governor. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Aruwa died at about 4:00 am on Sunday in Kaduna. “I received the news of Senator Mukhtar Ahmad Aruwa’s death with sadness. Our thoughts are with his family and we pray Allah to grant him Aljannah Firdausi. “He was a senator and a…