Dr. Obiageli ‘Oby’ Ezekwesili will unveil a road map at a press event with the theme: “For those who say we cannot win,” in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital and most populous city. The press conference has been scheduled for Monday, October 29, 2019. Ezekwesili said on October 11, 2018 that she is in the presidential race to win it. She will be up against Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC and over 70 other candidates vying for the number one job in Nigeria in February of 2019. The press event will afford the presidential candidate…
Author: David Folami
Prof.Yemi Osibanjo has called for the sustenance of the Business Support Services and financing of 15,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Abuja Enterprises Agency (AEA) manages the MSMEs in the territory. Osibanjo said this while inaugurating the FCT MSME ”One Stop Shop’ in Abuja on Thursday through the Minister of State,Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar. He said that FCT MSME ”One Stop Shop’ was in line with government agenda aimed at boosting the business sector, adding that the intervention had created 12,517…
Muhammadu Buhari has hosted oil and gas investor Chief Leemon Ikpea on a state house visit today. The meeting was confirmed in a tweet by the presidency. Ikpea captured in a picture with the president is seen making to present a parcel to him. In April 2018 Chief Leemon Ikpea’s Lee Engineering and Construction Company reportedly established a $100 million fabrication plant in Warri to ensure multinational companies in the oil and gas sector have easy access to its services. “If you look around the oil and gas sector, most production are done outside the shores of this country and…
Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Abuja ordered Prof. Usman Yusuf, the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), to immediately proceed on administrative leave. Buhari gave the order in a statement signed by Mr Olusegun Adekunle, Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF). He further directed that Mr. Ben Omogo, Director, Administration Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), should oversee the affairs of the scheme. He said that the leave was to ensure unfettered investigation by the Independent Fact-Finding Panel to be inaugurated…
Atiku Abubakar has reacted to plans by the Federal Government to sell some national assets. According to Daily Post, Atiku likened it to a family selling their hoe just to go on a trip. This was made known in a statement issued to newsmen by the Atiku Campaign Organisation. In the 2018 budget which President Buhari submitted to the National Assembly, Punch reports that the government stated that it would raise N311bn from privatisation, and the sale of national assets to fund the budget. In November 2017, during a public presentation of the budget, the Minister of Budget and National…
Dr. Obiageli ‘Oby’ Ezekwesili has taken aim at Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who recently cited bailouts handed to groaning states as one achievement of the Muhammadu Buhari led federal government. Nigeria’s 36 States have occasionally received bailouts from the center on Buhari’s watch, as they grapple with low internally generated revenues and low disposable incomes in their jurisdictions. The bailouts were aimed at alleviating the sufferings of workers in these states, most of whom were owed backlog in monthly salaries when Buhari assumed the reins from Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. However, Ezekwesili has described as ‘shameful’ the impression being…
Garba Shehu has said that Nigeria and China have completed arrangements to sign 328 million dollars agreement on the National Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure Backbone Phase 11 (NICTIB 11). Shehu, who is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Saturday. The presidential aide said that President Muhammadu Buhari, who arrived Beijing, China, on Saturday, would join his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping to witness the signing of the agreement. He said the NICTIB 11 agreement would be between Galaxy Backbone Limited and Huawei Technologies Limited (HUAWEI) at the…
Antoine Griezmann has said that he dreams of winning the Ballon d’Or and that the opportunity to do so motivates him every day. Griezmann, 27, won the World Cup with France in July and was named the man of the match in the final, scoring four goals in seven games during the competition. He is one of the leading candidates to win the top prize in world football, along with Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Luka Modric. “I actually do [dream of winning it],” Griezmann told ESPN FC. “I’m not afraid of saying it. I dream…
Tottenham Hotspur are working hard on that reputation of being nearly men. They nearly won at Inter Milan, nearly won at PSV, nearly reached the FA Cup final, nearly made a big title challenge. But they lost in Milan, drew at Eindhoven, came up short on Monday against Manchester City, blew their FA Cup lead at Wembley against Manchester United in April, and finished 11 points behind Leicester in the Premier League race three seasons ago. No one is more aware of these failings than the players.They keep saying this talented team has to convert potential into silverware. So why…
Wilfried Zaha has said he received racist abuse and death threats after winning a late penalty against Arsenal in Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Selhurst Park. Zaha was tripped in the box by Granit Xhaka, who was deputising at left-back, which allowed Palace to level the match in the 83rd minute, ending Arsenal’s 11-game winning streak. After the game, Zaha was accused of diving on social media, and responded to the “hate” he has been receiving with a message on Instagram. “For all the people taking it one step further and being racist and wishing death on my family, I wish…
Mauricio Pochettino is pleased to have another match so soon after Monday’s defeat and has told his Tottenham players the short turnaround will be no excuse for a cup exit at West Ham — but he admits he will rotate heavily. Wednesday’s fourth-round Carabao Cup tie at the London Stadium comes just 48 hours after Spurs were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City at Wembley, but Pochettino is looking on the bright side. “I’m happy to change that feeling [from] Monday,” he said. “It’s good to play on Wednesday. We’re going to use players that normally are not involved in the…
Petr Cech will be back in goal for Arsenal’s Carabao Cup game against Blackpool on Wednesday, Unai Emery has disclosed, a decision that indicates that Bernd Leno will keep his No. 1 spot in the Premier League. Cech has been sidelined for nearly a month with a hamstring injury, allowing Leno the chance to impress between the post in his absence after the Czech veteran had kept the German newcomer on the bench at the start of the season. Leno kept his starting spot at Crystal Palace on Sunday when Cech was back on the bench for the first time,…
Real Madrid have a problem. Manchester United have one, too. They might be two of the biggest clubs in world football, but when there is a dearth of world-class coaches capable of making good of a bad situation, not even money and history can generate a solution out of thin air. Having overseen a disastrous run of five defeats in seven games — the most recent being a humiliating 5-1 defeat against Barcelona at the Camp Nou — Julen Lopetegui’s brief reign as head coach at the Santiago Bernabeu has finally, perhaps mercifully, come to an end. Such form would…
Usain Bolt has been urged to sign a professional football contract with a Jamaican side in order to earn a call-up to the national team by the president of the country’s football association. Bolt, 32, is a free agent after undergoing an open-ended trial at Australian A-League side Central Coast Mariners that culminated in him taking part in several friendly games. The eight-time Olympic track gold medallist also rejected a contract offer from Champions League hopefuls Valletta FC, and Michael Ricketts, the Jamaican FA president, has said he is frustrated Bolt has not taken up the opportunity to play for…
Lionel Messi returned to training on Wednesday after missing Barcelona’s wins over Inter Milan and Real Madrid in the last week. Messi, 31, did some fitness training at the club’s training ground and was able to do some ball work for the first time since breaking a bone in his arm on Oct. 20. The forward is on track to return within the three weeks he was initially ruled out for but sources have said that Barca won’t take any risks with his recovery. Barcelona face Cultural Leonesa in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday before travelling to Rayo Vallecano…
Angel Di Maria has committed his future to Paris Saint-Germain by signing a two-year contract extension until 2021. The Argentina international recently expressed his hope that the French champions would be his final European club in an interview with TF1 and this new deal will keep him at Parc des Princes until he is 33. Di Maria has been a key figure under Thomas Tuchel this season, scoring seven goals and contributing six assists across all competitions — including a stunning late equaliser in a 2-2 Champions League Group C draw with Napoli. The former Real Madrid man has said…
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has escaped a touchline ban after the Football Association found a charge that he used offensive language after the win over Newcastle to be unproven. Mourinho was charged with using “abusing, insulting or improper” language in Portuguese as he looked into a television camera following the 3-2 win over Newcastle on Oct. 6. United said they would “vigorously contest” any sanction and after a hearing of the FA’s independent regulatory commission on Wednesday, the charge was found to the allegation to be “not proven.” An FA statement read: “A charge against Jose Mourinho for allegedly…
Umar Ganduje has been caught in yet another video tape receiving what has been described as bribe from a contractor. The governor has been in the news over the past few weeks after the publisher of Daily Nigerian, Ja’afar Ja’afar, alleged that he regularly received bribes from contractors handling projects in the state. In the series of videos in Ja’afar’s possession, the governor was alleged to have received a total of $5 million in installments from a certain contrator on several occasions. Since two videos surfaced earlier, the governor has dismissed it as a fabrication while Ja’afar has appeared before…
Muhammadu Buhari has told Nigerians that he needs more than one term in office to fix the country’s problems. The president said this during the 75th anniversary business lecture of the Island Club in Lagos on Monday, October 29, 2018. In a speech delivered by the president’s representative, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, he said it requires more than one election cycle to fully implement plans that’ll help the nation progress. During the lecture, titled “Nation building and institutional development, lessons for Nigeria from the Island Club at 75”, the president pointed out that the Island…
Mr. Jimi Agbaje has explained why his campaign posters are not visible on the streets of Lagos, with the 2019 general elections only four months away. Drive through Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, and what immediately hits you at every turn are the imposing, stylish and colourful campaign posters of APC governorship candidate, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu. “Good morning Lagos, my team and I have gotten a barrage of questions asking why I haven’t been actively campaigning in public and I think it’s about time that we addressed it”, Agbaje wrote in a statement. “Let’s be clear, the INEC (Independent National Electoral…