The former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank has said that APC is dead under its chairman, John Oyegun. Frank has not been in speaking terms with the APC chairman over his alleged high-handedness and undemocratic tendencies. The former spokesman also condemned the APC national working committee for leading the party astray. He said “I’m happy that some of our leaders are now speaking out against the lack of internal democracy I have been fighting for all this while. “It is still not too late if others will shun sentiments and see reasons to…
Author: David Folami
The Wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has said exclusive breastfeeding of children should be made compulsory by nursing mothers to ensure healthy life for the babies. Buhari said this in Abuja on Tuesday at the 2017 World Breastfeeding Week where she inaugurated the Breast-feeding Advocacy Initiative with theme: ‘‘Sustaining Breastfeeding Together.’’ The wife of the president was represented by Dr Hajo Sani, her Senior Special Assistant on Administration. Reports have it that Buhari is also key to supporting the cause of exclusive breastfeeding among women in the country. She said, ‘‘Employers in Nigeria should create an enabling environment…
The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) chapter, on Wednesday began a five-day warning strike over alleged slash in their salaries. Addressing newsmen after a peaceful rally at the hospital, the ARD President, Dr Ige Kolawole, said that they were forced to embark on the strike following the continued deduction of their salaries since January 2014. Some of the placards read: “Stop Selected Victimisation of Resident Doctors and House Officers.” “Underpayment of UITH Resident Doctors Is Deliberate by CMD; Mr CMD Disobedience to Government Directives is Illegal.’’ “This is demonstration of wickedness as our salaries…
President Muhammadu Buhari has made known his sadness over the Ozubulu Church attack in Anambra State by a yet to be identified gunman, describing the incident as “an appalling crime against humanity and unspeakable sacrilege.” The President expressed his anger in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Sunday. President Buhari said that “there was no justification whatsoever to target Church worshippers and kill them in cold blood.’’ He said this kind of absurd act “plumbs the depth of depravity and extreme cruelty of the kind that words cannot…
Two Nigerians have reportedly died from Lassa fever while receiving treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). The story first broke out when Twitter user, @SeunOgungbure, posted with his account, “There’s an outbreak of Lassa Fever in LUTH. Two dead and a Medical Officer is critically ill at the moment.” Mr Seun, who is an employee at a diagnostic center in Surulere that gets patients from LUTH, confirmed that the Accident and Emergency unit of the hospital, as well as a few other units, has been closed due to the incident. “It’s very rare that they would close down…
Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has reached out to the Senate President to return the pension he received from the Kwara state government. This is the latest development after the Socio-Economic and Accountability Project (SERAP) commended the Senate President’s decision to stop receiving pensions. He said “The Senate president, Dr Bukola Saraki, announced last week that he had stopped collecting pension as a former governor of Kwara State following the protest by the Socio-Economic and Accountability Project, SERAP. “According to the Senate president, the moment his attention was drawn to the allegation of the payment of double…
Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue says his administration is in need of N40 billion to clear the salary arrears owed workers of the state. Ortom dropped the hint in a statement issued on Sunday in Makurdi by his Special Adviser on Media and ICT, Mr Tahav Agerzua. “I have kept my agreement with labour leaders that as a result of insufficient funds, the federal allocation of two months would be combined to pay one month’s complete salary for workers.” According to him, it is the accumulation of the unpaid months that gave the wrong impression of 10 months at a…
The Osun state government has engaged 5,000 women in local soap production with a view to empowering them and connecting them to the international markets. The programme, conceived in partnership with Kasmo Industries, an indigenous soap making company in Osogbo, is supported with financial impetus from an investor organization in the state. According to facilitator of the programme, Mr. Rufus Idris, the 5,000 women supply black soap which serves as raw material for the local production of over 6 million bar soaps, “Dudu Kasmo”, for the first phase in the growing Kasmo Soap business. He said the state government, through…
Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers on Monday sacked all his Special Advisers of their appointments except one. A statement by Mr Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the Governor on Electronic Media, said only the Special Adviser on Religious Affairs, Bishop Winston Iwo kept his job. We recall that the governor had earlier sacked the state’s Executive Council on June 24. The governor, who has less than two years into his first tenure, is yet to re-appoint new commissioners.
The minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed has said that the Federal Government will respect the privacy of any looter. The minister also said that some of those who returned money, did not know that the funds allocated to them was diverted. Mohammed also said “There are some people who voluntarily returned the loot and explained that when the money was given to them, they never knew the source of these funds. Can you in good conscience name and shame that kind of person? “Those who has voluntarily returned the money, I think we owe them the obligation to…
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has said “no player is bigger than Barca” – four days after they sold Brazil forward Neymar to Paris St-Germain for a world record fee. Neymar, 25, joined the French club for 222m euros (£200m). Bartomeu says the money will be spent with “prudence, rigour and serenity”. Neymar’s departure from Barcelona breaks up the feted attacking trident he formed with Argentina captain Lionel Messi and Uruguay forward Luis Suarez. He scored 105 goals in four seasons at Barca, winning seven major trophies including the Champions League once and La Liga twice. The player said he…
Cristiano Ronaldo has finally returned to training with Real Madrid but the defending European champions are set to be without the Portuguese superstar in Tuesday’s UEFA Super Cup clash with Manchester United in Skopje. Ronaldo’s summer has been dimmed by accusations of tax evasion in Spain, which led to him being charged in a court near Madrid last week, while he was handed an extended summer break by his club after playing for Portugal at the Confederations Cup. “He needed to rest. He has had his holidays and that was important,” said Zidane of the man whose two goals helped…
Romelu Lukaku might not have good memories of the Super Cup. On as a substitute for Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in extra time against Bayern Munich in Prague in August 2013, it was the Belgian who missed the decisive penalty in the shootout. Two days later he was loaned to Everton. That penalty, saved by Manuel Neuer, was supposed to be the moment Mourinho lost faith. Although Mourinho would later explain it was Lukaku’s decision to go, suggesting the striker wanted to be first-choice rather than fight for his place at Stamford Bridge. Lukaku agreed “I was 20 and I wasn’t…
Bayern Munich won the German Super Cup on Saturday with an unconvincing 5-4 win in a penalty shoot-out at Borussia Dortmund after Marc Bartra had his crucial final spot-kick saved. The game finished 2-2 over 90 minutes as Christian Pulisic’s early goal for Dortmund was cancelled out by Robert Lewandowski. “We haven’t had much time to get ready, but now we had a little more time to train and I’m very happy that we won the first title,” said Lewandowski, who scored Bayern’s first penalty in the shoot-out. The victory gave head coach Carlo Ancelotti a welcome boost after a…
Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger believes the strength of competition in the Premier League means his team cannot afford another slow start if they are ready to challenge for the title. Arsenal have lost three of their last four opening games, with last term’s 4-3 defeat at home to Liverpool setting the tone for a campaign in which they missed out on Champions League qualification for the first time since 1997. “We want to find a good balance between the confidence we can get out of these games and the urgency that every Premiership game demands,” he told reporters at Wembley.…
Arsene Wenger hailed an “outstanding” Sead Kolasinac after the signing scored in Sunday’s Community Shield win, and said the defender’s built will make him a perfect fit for the Premier League. Kolasinac met a perfect free kick from Granit Xhaka to head in Arsenal’s equaliser in the second half at Wembley, before the Gunners won a penalty shootout 4-1 to lift the preseason trophy for the third time in four years. It was Kolasinac’s very first goal for the Gunners after joining on a free transfer this summer, and came despite playing in a back three after he replaced the…
Arsenal’s Community Shield deserved win over Chelsea should mean very little beyond the bragging rights of beating a close rival at Wembley, but there were still immense positives to take from the performance and result ahead of the new season. The victory was achieved without Alexis Sanchez, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi — all of whom would be likely first team regulars if they were fit and available — and it showed that there is more depth to this Arsenal squad than people presume. You should not judge players on what is essentially a glorified friendly,…
Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery has accepted the pressure Neymar’s €222 million world record arrival comes with and said the club can achieve even more now the Brazil international is a PSG player. During Emery’s first season in charge PSG failed to win the Ligue 1 title for the first time in five years and were knocked out of the Champions League at the quarterfinal stage by Barcelona. “He’s a player who will help the club to get a level higher,” Emery said. “Without Neymar PSG is a great club but with Neymar it’s a little better. A little greater.…
Javier Pastore says he and his Paris Saint-Germain teammates will d everything possible to ensure Neymar become the world’s best player after the former Barcelona man exited the Camp Nou for the Parc des Princes on Thursday. Neymar was given the hero’s reception he deserved ahead of PSG’s Ligue 1-opening 2-0 victory against newly promoted Amiens on Saturday, and later in the day saw the Eiffel Tower lit in the club’s colours to welcome the Brazil superstar to the city. Pastore dropped his shirt number in order to make the former Santos man more comfortable in his brand new team…
Gary Cahill has come ut to say after yesterday’s Community Shield game that Chelsea cannot afford so many injuries this season as they do everything within their power to defend their Premier League title while returning to the Champions League with a squad short on numbers. Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has repeatedly talked about the need for his team to make more signings before the end of the transfer window, and said before to Sunday’s penalty-shootout defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield that he is anticipating the “most difficult season” of his managerial career. Alvaro Morata, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Antonio…