Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Affairs has revealed that the office of Foreign Affairs issued warnings to Nigerians not to go to Libya. Dabiri-Erewa said “NEMA, my office, IOM told Nigerians that avoid Libya, it is deadly, it is dangerous, don’t go there. Also on the news, you have cases of Nigerians being brought back from Libya on a regular basis. So Nigeria has been bringing back its citizens from Libya. “You can imagine the dangerous journey. Walking about 3,000kilometers that’s flying for about three hours if you are going to…
Author: David Folami
Mr Godwin Emefiele, the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has challenged graduating students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) to create jobs in order to overcome the current economic challenges. Emefiele, an alumnus of the university, charged the graduating students to strive to be job creators and entrepreneurs rather than being mere job-seekers. He said the CBN, as part of its efforts to tackle unemployment and promote entrepreneurship, the bank had designed and formulated policies and programmes aimed at direct real sector intervention. He also encouraged the graduating students and youths with not more than five years post-service…
Benue Government is ready to establish small and medium-scale enterprises development agency to provide rapis skills acquisition among youths in the state, Gov. Samuel Ortom has said. ”It is my conviction that relevant industrial skills is a prerequisite to any society that wants to build a vibrant SMEs sub-sector. ”It is also in recognition of this model that I signed the second phase of NISDP in Abuja with the Director-General of ITF few days ago,” he said. He said that harsh economic situation had made it impossible for his administration to carry out employment at the moment, hence the need…
Governor Aminu Tambuwal has urged all Nigerians to strive for the peaceful coexistence and respect for all faith so as to build a united and peaceful nation where everybody would feel free and safe. He said same way that the birth of the Prophet in Mecca ushered in a new dawn for humanity, Nigerians should view the occasion of this year’s Maulud Nabiyyi as an opportunity for a new beginning for the country. “I believe that we will make progress towards the realisation of our shared vision of a strong, united and prosperous nation if our people imbibe the Prophet’s…
Mauricio Pochettino has come out to say that playmaker Christian Eriksen is mentally fatigued but mentioned tiredness is not to blame for Tottenham’s slump. “A player like Christian Eriksen maybe can be a little bit tired. But it’s mental more than physical, because in the last international duty he played two amazing games to try to qualify for the World Cup, and he cannot rest, he cannot stop.” “Maybe he struggles a little bit but his condition is fantastic because after every game the stats are unbelievable from him. But maybe I can agree that there may be some mental…
Javier Mascherano has said he does not want to repeat the mistakes he made at Liverpool so is already planning his Barcelona exit, with this likely to be his final season at Camp Nou. “I think my time [at Barca] is coming to an end,” he said. “It’s logical that, after so much time, I don’t have long left at the club. But I don’t say that with any hard feelings, completely the opposite. I think I have had the most wonderful years of my career at the club. I’m never going to forget it. “But I’m one of those…
Juan Carlos Unzue spent the last three years in the home team’s dugout at Camp Nou but will be on the visiting bench on Saturday when his Celta Vigo team travel to Barcelona. In each of the last three seasons, Celta have beaten Barca — albeit only once at Camp Nou — and it is something which Valverde says has been prevalent in his thoughts this week. “Of course we consider [recent] results against them,” he told a news conference when asked if Celta’s bête noire status was something which worried him. “They have had good results against Barca in…
Antonio Conte confirmed he has accepted a Football Association charge of misconduct and will pay his £8,000 fine but insisted that the incident will not make him change his behaviour on the touchline. “It’s right to accept it and pay the fine,” Conte said. “You know what happened, [and] if the referee took this decision I have to respect it and pay this fine. “I want also the referee to learn something about this because Swansea was wasting time and the referee has to protect the team that wants to play football and try to win the game. “I was…
Cesc Fabregas has warned that every Chelsea player must accept Antonio Conte’s rotation policy after the Italian made four changes to his starting XI for Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Swansea City at Stamford Bridge. “We have to cope with the situation,” he told the London Evening Standard. “No-one can play every three days even if we want to. If you keep playing, you will keep carrying knocks so it is good to have a break sometimes and come back fresher. “To know that the team is performing and winning without Eden really being involved is very good. We started the…
Didier Deschamps has said Les Bleus’ World Cup group “could have been worse” after his heavily scary side were picked against Australia, Denmark and Peru. “Clearly, it could have been worse,” said France’s 1998 World Cup and EURO 2000-winning captain. “We’ll have the time to analyse our opponents in friendly games. It gives us supplementary information which will allow us to make all necessary plans. “We’ll set up friendlies that correspond with them. Last time, you were all unanimous in saying that it was a great draw, even certain players… it’s not going to happen just by clicking our fingers.…
Mauricio Pochettino has said Frank de Boer’s dismissal by Crystal Palace after only four league games could further prevent top-flight clubs from appointing young bosses. “The problem was he didn’t have experience in the Premier League. It depends on results. If you sign an experienced manager and you don’t achieve what you want, then why not sign a young manager with different ideas and different energy?” Pochettino said he could see similarities between himself and Silva but, despite their success, is sympathetic to the pressures faced by risk-averse owners and chairmen when it comes to managerial appointments. “It’s not my…
Neymar should receive greater protection by Ligue 1 referees, Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery has said. “He touches the ball often, he looks for a lot of one-on-ones, he dribbles plenty, we need the players to be protected. “Football is a spectacle, and Neymar is a player who suffers numerous fouls. The referee needs to protect the players.” Emery warned his players that they could not afford to be complacent despite being 10 points clear at the top of the table. “We are taking it match by match,” he said. “We have several individual and collective goals to target in…
Spain coach Julen Lopetegui has a lot of good things to say about the three countries his team will face in the group stages of the World Cup. “Without a doubt, we have a hard, difficult group,” Lopetegui told the federation’s website. “This is a World Cup. Portugal are a great team, Morocco have not lost a game in qualifying. Iran were the first team to qualify for the World Cup. They are going to demand the best of us.” Spain will play their first game on June 15 against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal at the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi.…
Jurgen Klopp has said Liverpool were “lucky” to not have Simon Mignolet dismissed during their 3-0 midweek win at Stoke City. “First of all, I think was the first time in the season that we were lucky in this situation, to be 100 percent honest,” he told a news conference. “I have to admit that we were lucky. “When I gave the interviews after the game I was 100 percent sure it was the right decision because I thought Joe Gomez was in a covering position. “I didn’t realise, from my point of view, that it was pretty much 100…
Kyle Walker insists England’s players are as tight as club teammates. “You spend so much time with people during club football day in, day out and it feels like that because we have a group chat where there is always banter flying on there. We’re all together in the games room, playing pool, having a laugh and I think it is really bringing the squad together nicely. “When Gareth came in he has put his own stamp on it, he has in his head how he wants it to be and for us it is working. Now it is just…
Danny Mills is of the opinion that Pep Guardiola’s Premier League leaders “almost look unstoppable” at the moment, but he stressed there should be no assumptions they will end up winning the title — particularly with Jose Mourinho in the mix. “They almost look unstoppable. They are playing so well. It is brilliant to watch, and that is down to Pep. “But on the other half of the city you’ve got Mourinho, who is the pragmatist, the defensive mastermind. He is good at what he does, and he is a winner, simple as that. The derby is going to be…
Antonio Conte has been charged with misconduct following his dismissal against Swansea on Wednesday, the Football Association announced. He will have until 6 p.m. on Tuesday evening to respond to the charge, at which point he could face a fine or a further touchline ban. Conte was sent to the stands and then down the tunnel by referee Neil Swarbrick after a number of compaints. The final straw came as he confronted fourth official Lee Mason over a goal kick that was given to Swansea rather than a Chelsea corner. The manager then watched the rest of the match from…
Marcus Rashford will be among the several watchers viewing Friday’s draw for a World Cup the forward believes Gareth Southgate’s England will be well-equipped to fight in the tournament. “Yeah, 100 percent I’ll be watching it,” the forward told Press Association Sport. “Before you know it, it’ll be right around the corner. “The Premier League season is difficult but we have to make sure that each individual is playing at our best to get in the team first for all. “You’ve got to be playing well for your club, and then you’ve got to come together and try and peak…
Vincent Kompany says he knows how frustrating their late showings could be for their title rivals. “I have been in that position myself — [Manchester] United used to do it to everybody else to be honest!” the City captain told reporters. “It’s a long season. We have done it so far and if at the end of the season we have done it consistently then I will be happy about it. But the key thing for us is not necessarily what the other teams think but just to know that you can trust your team, your players. “It’s too early…
Real Madrid temporary captain Nacho Fernandez praised Gareth Bale’s “great performance” as a substitute as Madrid survived a Copa del Rey scare on Tuesday. And Nacho said afterwards that it was “fantastic” to have him back along with the fit-again Mateo Kovacic and Keylor Navas. “We’re really pleased for him and he put in a great performance,” he said. “Kovacic also made his return after a long lay-off, as did Keylor. Bringing new players into the team is fantastic for us.” Mayoral told “El Transistor” that Bale had been keen to get back after 11 games out with hamstring and…