Muhammadu Buhari has asked leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to start preparing for the 2019 elections. The President said, “I must heartily thank the party officials and members for the successes we have achieved in the 2015 elections in securing majority of the states, majority in the national assembly and majority in the state assemblies. “We must remember that this resounding success would not have been achieved without the unity of purpose we exhibited in challenging and defeating an incumbent government. “Those outstanding successes would not have been possible without your hard work, dedication, and above all,…
Author: David Folami
Bola Ahmed Tinubu has written yet another scathing letter to APC national Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun. In the letter, Tinubu accuses Odigie-Oyegun of sabotage. Reports have it that Tinubu copied President Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House Yakubu Dogara in his letter. However, Tinubu says Oyegun is frustrating that presidential directive. “Disappointment greeted me when I discovered that you had swiftly acted in contravention of the spirit of our discussions. Instead of being a bulwark of support as promised, you positioned yourself in active opposition to the goal of resuscitating the progressive…
Attahiru Jega, former Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday said politicians were the greatest threat to Nigeria’s democracy. According to him, the biggest threat is the recklessness of politicians to undermine Nigeria’s democracy, thereby destabilising the process of development. He said “Nigeria like all countries face threats to its democracy, we must identify the threats that have the tendency to derail the development of our democracy and address them. “We must also checkmate the threats of politicians to undermine our democracy because all we need now is adding value to the process/ “We also need to mobilise our…
Senator Gbenga Ashafa has debunked rumours that he’s planning to contest to be the state’s next governor in the 2019 gubernatorial election. Senator Ashafa explained further that he supports incumbent governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, and that he’s firmly focused on his duties as a lawmaker. The statement read, “The attention of the office of the Senator Representing the good and hardworking people of Lagos East Senatorial District has this morning 22 February, 2018 been drawn to a news item published on an online news blog known as “Society Now” and captioned “AGAIN TALKS GBENGA ASHAFA INTERESTED IN BECOMING NEXT LAGOS GOV…
The Nigerian army has denied involvement in the demolition of a house belonging to Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi on the orders of Kaduna State Governor Nasir Elrufai. The demolition of the property which doubles as Hunkuyi’s home and office, fueled insinuations that it was a case of vendetta by Elrufai. Through his twitter account, Hunkuyi had alleged that soldiers riding in armored tanks had accompanied the Governor to the property for the demolition job. “Mallam Elrufai personally drove a bulldozer accompanied by armored tanks to destroy my house at 11B Sambo Road. This is a new low and fighting dirty with…
Femi Adesina has said the presidency admits that the battle against Boko Haram has not been totally won. “If the operating word is ‘totally’, the answer is no obviously – but has Boko Haram been degraded? I will say yes, terribly so,” said Adesina. “Compare how Boko Haram was in 2015 when this administration came, they were virtually running riot everywhere – how many time was Kano bombed, how many time was Abuja bombed, how many time was Kogi bombed; Boko Haram was everywhere.” The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, charged troops to capture Abubakar Shekau, the factional…
Muhammadu Buhari has said that the government is negotiating with the terror group Boko Haram for the release of some more abducted Nigerians. He said his administration will also ensure the safe return of all those abducted by the terrorists. He said the President gave the assurance at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Monday, when he received three lecturers and nine women that were released by ISIS and Boko Haram, respectively. Adesina quoted the President as saying, “President Buhari said the ongoing negotiations for the release of more abducted Nigerians will be given utmost attention and care, with priority on…
The Federal Government assured the Nigeria Labour Congress that the new national minimum wage will commence latest by end of September 2018. Ngige said the new minimum wage would be announced before the end of the third quarter. He said, “in furtherance to the determination by the federal government to attain the decent work agenda which involves opportunities for works that are productive and deliver a fair income, security in workplace, and social protection for families; there have been overtime, three minimum wage reviews and currently the tripartite committee on national minimum wage is set to review the current minimum…
Gen. Yakubu Gowon has said that only prayers can defeat insurgency and the killer Fulani herdsmen. According to him, it is only prayer that can transform the herdsmen from wickedness to good. Gowon also stated that prayer is the only potent weapon that can fight insurgency in Nigeria, reports have it. He said “I am here to tell you that the power of prayers is stronger and more powerful than bullets and guns, so we can change them through prayers, it is only God that can touch their hearts from the wrong they are doing to good. “So let me…
Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Monday signed the 2018 Appropriation Bill of N1.046 trillion into law. The Commissioner for Finance, Mr Akinyemi Ashade, briefed newsmen shortly after the signing. Ashade said that the focus of ‘Budget of Development and Progress’ would be to complete all ongoing projects. Ashade put the projection for the internally generated revenue (IGR) and federal receipt at N897 billion, while the remaining part of the budget would be funded by deficit financing. “Today is a good day in our state; the governor has just signed the 2018 Appropriation Bill into law. “For the first time,…
Zinedine Zidane hopes Neymar recovers from an ankle injury in time to feature for Paris Saint-Germain against Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie. Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s league game at Espanyol, Zidane told a news conference: “I don’t like players getting hurt. I’m not happy about Neymar’s injury. I hope he can play against us. In the end, players need to play. I’m never going to wish for a player to be absent because of an injury.” Cristiano Ronaldo heads into the midweek encounter in sizzling form with eight goals in his last four…
Vincent Kompany has seen many great Manchester City sides in his 10 years at the club and says the current team still have a lot to achieve if they are to be considered the best of them. “We’ll have to see when the trophies are coming. If we win more and consistently, if we can the Premier League then go again and again, then this team will be better than the previous one,” he told reporters. “We have scored hundreds of goals as well with [previous manager Manuel] Pellegrini. It’s been a feature of this club for many years now.…
Romelu Lukaku believes his goal record deserves “more respect” but admitted he will not get it until he starts winning trophies. “I’ve been in the game for so long,” Lukaku said. “I started playing when I was 16. Year in, year out, people expect 20 goals from me. I’ve been doing it for 10 years straight so I think I’ve proved myself. “You expect a bit more respect but it’s the situation we’re in. I don’t listen to [the criticism]. I just want to improve and show the people what I can do on the pitch.” Asked what he believes…
Lionel Messi shocked his teammates and his manager with a free kick in Barcelona’s win against Girona which evoked memories of Ronaldinho’s effort against Werder Bremen in 2006. Barca recovered from going 1-0 down to Girona in the third minute of Saturday’s Catalan derby at Camp Nou to win 6-1, with Messi producing a stunning first-half performance. The Argentine international set up Luis Suarez for the equaliser before beating three defenders inside the box to give Barca the lead. Asked after the game about Messi’s free kick, Barca coach Ernesto Valverde said in a news conference: “It’s hard to get…
Franck Kessie said a new work ethic under Gennaro Gattuso is the key to AC Milan’s recent surge in form as he claimed predecessor Vincenzo Montella did not make them work hard enough. “He’s making us work harder,” Kessie told Mediaset. “With Montella, we were not working much, but it’s different with Gattuso. Things have changed now and you can see the results on the field. “We’ve got the same players in the dressing room as before. The difference now is that we’re working more. It’s like being part of a family here and the results are finally arriving.” Gattuso’s…
Eric Dier has said to Dele Alli to keep ignoring “irrelevant” opinions after Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer accused the Tottenham Hotspur attacker of another dive against Crystal Palace. Dier, Alli’s closest friend at Spurs, said: “I’m sure they both dived in their careers. These things happen. Obviously, because it’s Dele, I think it gets more attention than it deserves. It’s difficult sometimes: if you take the action in the game against Liverpool, where he got booked for diving, I was standing right behind him. “When he’s running towards the ball, he’s taken a touch and it looks like the…
Chris Smalling has said Manchester United have got Liverpool and Sevilla in their sights after beating Chelsea, and added that a second-place finish in the Premier League would be the “bare minimum” for the club. And Smalling is confident United can win both after proving against Chelsea they can perform when it matters. He said: “I think if we play how we did in that second half, with that aggression and that dominance and our fans being like they were in that second half because we lifted them, I think obviously Liverpool, Sevilla are exciting games to be part of.…
Sadio Mane has said he believes Liverpool are more than good enough to secure a second-placed finish in the Premier League. “Of course we can stay there,” the Senegal international, who scored his 13th goal of the season, told reporters. “We have got a great team. This is football and anything can happen. “We have a goal to speak about and, as a team, we are going to do our best. We will try to win — and why can’t we win all the remaining games? “Second is one of our targets. Honestly, Manchester City are too far ahead and…
Manchester City won’t take too much time to enjoy winning the first trophy of Pep Guardiola’s reign because they want more silverware, Ilkay Gundogan has said. “There’s still plenty of games to play — huge games to play — and the first one is Thursday against the same opponent,” Gundogan said. “It doesn’t stop. There’s not really a break to relax and enjoy. Maybe [after the game] and from then on we try to prepare for the game on Thursday and try to get another win.” City won’t be able to manage a clean sweep of trophies after their shock…
Kingsley Coman has been ruled out for “several weeks” following ankle surgery, dealing a setback to the club’s Treble hopes and the Frenchman’s World Cup hopes. Coman, 21, suffered a torn ligament in Bayern’s goalless draw in the Bundesliga against Hertha Berlin at the weekend. Following prolonged treatment on the sidelines, Coman played out the remaining minutes of the goalless stalemate as the runaway Bundesliga leaders had already used up their full complement of three substitutes. “Kingsley fell awkwardly and injured his ankle,” Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said after the game. Heynckes, 72, warned after the game that Coman was…