The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Age scare: More Eaglets to be ‘thrown out’

    Age scare: More Eaglets to be ‘thrown out’

    Nigeria’s U-17 team will be further decimated after a decision to throw out more players who are on the borderline of a recent age test.

    MTNFootball.com reports that officials have recommended that players who are on grade 5 of the recent MRI test be asked to go rather than risk them for the FIFA U17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

    FIFA accept grade 5 for the U17 World Cup, but officials have said players on that grade from the recent MRI scan could well be past that grade by the time of the tournament.

    There is also the possibility that the MRI machine used in Nigeria may not be as sophisticated as what would eventually be used at UAE.

    Confused U-17 officials had divided the players on grade 5 into A and B with those in A with a better chance to scale the age test in Dubai.

    However, this division was disregarded by medical experts, who said there was no basis for such division.

    “The final decision to do away with players on grade 5 has thrown the Eaglets into more confusion as it means many more players will now have to be decamped,” a top official informed MTNFootball.com

    “We don’t wish to take unnecessary risks and so this decision.

    “It simply means the coaches have to draft capable replacements for the players to be affected by this.”

    The FIFA U17 World Cup in the UAE will be played from October 17 with the draw to be staged on August 26 in Abu Dhabi.

     

  • Trabzonspor targets Kalu Uche

    Trabzonspor targets Kalu Uche

    Five million Euros-rated Kalu Uche is wanted by Trabzonspor after the club ended the pursuit of ex-Liverpool star Milan Baros, MTNFootball.com reports.

    Trabzonspor will have to cough out 5.3 million Euros to lure the Nigeria striker away from fellow Turkish club Kasimpasa.

    Uche was a smash hit with Kasimpasa last season, where he scored 19 goals to emerge as second top scorer in his debut season in Turkey.

    According to fanatik.com, coach Mustafa Akçay is desperate to land a striker before the transfer window closes and the Nigerian is now his main target and so Trabzonspor will begin negotiations as soon as possible.

     

  • MDC drops Mugabe election challenge

    MDC drops Mugabe election challenge

    Zimbabwe’s MDC party has dropped its legal challenge to President Robert Mugabe’s re-election, saying it could not get a fair hearing, BBC reports.

    It had filed a separate case seeking access to full details of the results from the electoral commission.

    But the High Court has delayed judgment in the case.

    The MDC says that without information such as the number of people not on the voters’ roll who voted, it cannot prove that the elections were fraudulent.

    The arguments in the MDC’s legal challenge were due to begin on Saturday.

    But MDC spokesman Douglas Mwonzora said that, without the extra information, the challenge “was going to be a mockery of justice,” reports the AFP news agency.

    The withdrawal of its challenge paves the way for Mr. Mugabe, 89, to be inaugurated for another five-year term.

    He has governed Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.

    Mr. Mugabe won with 61 per cent of the presidential vote against 34 per cent for MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who called the 31 July election a “huge farce.”

     

  • WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Okagbare wins 200m bronze

    Africa’s fastest woman, Blessing Okagbare gave Nigeria another medal on Friday by winning bronze in the women’s 200m final at the IAAF World Athletics Championship in Moscow.

    Okagbare thereby became the first Nigerian athlete to win two medals in the history of the Championship.

    The 24 year old had ended Nigeria’s 14-year wait to climb the podium in the championship when she won a silver medal in the long jump event last weekend.

    The Delta State born athlete who had a disappointing 100m run where she placed 6thin the final, took the 200m bronze in a photo finish with 100m silver medalist, Murielle Ahoure of Ivory Coast, both of whom timed 22.32.

    Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce however bagged her second gold medal at the championships by winning 200m final. The 26 year old clocked 22.17 seconds.

    The youngest ever World Championships finalist in a women’s 200m, Shaunae Miller of Bahamas finished fourth in 22.74.

    For the first time since 1997, the USA failed to pick up a medal in this event at a World Championships with their top-ranked athletes Jeneba Tarmoh  (22.78) and ChaRonda Williams (22.81) placing fifth and sixth.

    European champion Mariya Ryemyen of Ukraine finished seventh in 22.84.

     

  • INEC registers two new parties

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has registered two new political parties.

    The parties are the Independent Democrats, ID, and the Peoples Democratic Movement, PDM.

    A statement signed by Mrs. A. C. Ogakwu, Secretary to the Commission, said the parties were registeredin accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended) and the Electoral Act 2010 (as Amended).

    The Constitution, Manifesto, Logo/Flag and list of National Executive Officers of each party have also been approved by the Commission.

  • Jonathan appoints inventor as entrepreneurship Ambassador

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday appointed a United Stated-based Nigerian, Jessica Mathews, who invented energy generating football and skipping rope as Entrepreneurship Ambassador.

    The Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, disclosed this to State House correspondents after the football and skipping rope was demonstrated to President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He said: “The product is actually versatile, it is not just about the electricity you see, you can use it to charge your mobile phones, for fans so there are so many things for which it can be used.”

    “We are also looking at the possibilities of manufacturing it in Nigeria and see how we can make it cheaper in this country.”

    “I am glad that Jessica has also agreed to be our ambassador in terms of promoting entrepreneurship in our Universities. What we want to do is to bring successful entrepreneurs like Jessica to inspire the students and make them more creative so that they can also be employers of labour,’’ he stated

    According to the 25 years old Edo State -born inventor, the football could generate three hours of electricity after 30 minutes of play and could store power for 72 hours.

    The electricity generated by the ball, she said, could be used as electricity source to power lighting points and household equipments.

    Mathews, who is the co-founder of Unchartedplay, said that the airless football when not in use can span for 18 months before replacement.

    She also disclosed that she studied Psychology and Economics at Havard University, but taught herself Electrical and Mechanical Engineering because of her interest in the field.

     

  • Court stop commission from probing Rivers crisis

    A Port Harcourt High Court on Friday declared an eight-man Judicial Commission of Inquiry put together by Governor Rotimi Amaechi to investigate the crisis in the Rivers State House of Assembly as unconstitutional.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the court presided over by Justice Lamenkara Iyaye, also restrained the commission from sitting to investigate the crisis.

    Iyaye held that under the principle of natural justice, Amaechi lacked the capacity to constitute a panel to investigate a crisis involving him.

    The court restrained the state government from receiving or acting on any recommendation made by the commission of inquiry.

    He said that only a regular court was competent to inquire or try anyone on the allegation which led to the crisis in the assembly.

    NAN reports that the panel headed by Justice Biobele Georgewill was mandated to investigate the remote causes of the July 9 crisis in the House.

     

     

  • 2015: Nigeria will not break up – IBB

    2015: Nigeria will not break up – IBB

    Former military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida has dismissed  the  prediction that Nigeria will cease to be by 2015.

    He described the prediction  as  wishful thinking that will never come to past and insisted that Nigeria cannot disintegrate.

    Speaking in his Minna country home  with members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Friday  as part of activities to mark his 72nd birthday, the former leader said  the prediction is not visible.

    Rather he said  “it will make Nigeria to emerge stronger and more united come 2015. We are only crying of Wolf when there is no cause for it”.

    “Folks forget about disintegration in 2015. I can’t see it happening. A country that will disintegrate, you will know it. It is not something that happens in one or two months. Disintegration of Nigeria is just out of question”.

    Describing the proponent of the prediction as “alarmist”, the former military leader said that the motive behind the prediction was primarily to instill fear in Nigerians and cause unnecessary panic among the people.

    According to him, “People say all sort of things to instill fear. If majority of the people believe in the unity of the country, then why do they worry about someone saying it will disintegrate? I know it wouldn’t. people are just crying wolf.

    “Nigeria is one of the amazing countries we have in the world. If you live outside Nigeria and you hear and listen about happenings in the country, you will think the world is coming an end, only for you to come to the country and see the people, they are happy, laughing, attending football matches and doing other things. That is Nigeria for you.”

    He then called on the media and the general public to stop playing it up, “We should stop giving it prominence especially those in the media. The fact is the  struggle and challenges currently facing the country will end up making her a great nation.”

    Babangida also foreclosed a violent general elections in 2015, maintaining that like every other past elections, “2015 election will come and go”. He predicted that the conduct of the election will be peaceful and Nigeria will improve after the election.

    “There are people assigned the responsibility of the election. The politicians, the followers who will vote, aspirants seeking for people’s mandate are all in place. It is not a rat race.”

    He however advised that electorates should endeavour to elect leaders with good credentials who believe in the Project Nigeria and have her interest at heart during the next general elections.

    According to her, “What we need  is leaders who have a good understanding of what we want to achieve and look for people who share the same view and work with them.”

    He singled out former President Olusegun Obasanjo as one of such leaders who has the interest of the nation at heart, “My boss, General Obasanjo, there is owe thing that we cannot take from him, he believes in the unity of the country. You can’t take it away and this is what we all believe in. So anyone who believes in the unity of this country at any level, I think should be the leaders to vote for.”

  • FAAN gets 48-hour ultimatum on fuel tankers’ relocation

    The Federal Government on Friday issued a 48- hour ultimatum to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to relocate fuel tankers out of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, citing concern over safety and security.

    To ensure compliance, all security agencies attached to the MMIA, including State Security Services, Nigerian Air Force, and others have been mobilised to ensure the fuel tankers are moved out of the airport before Wednesday, as they constitute an infraction to terminal operations.

    Briefing journalists on Friday, the Director of Aviation Safety, FAAN, Mr. Wendel Ogunedo , said there is no going back on the relocation of the fuel tankers, many of which have broken down and could be a vulnerable target by people with sinister motives.

    He said FAAN acting on the orders of the presidency would not like to see the fuel tankers along the way into the international terminal, as any spillage of inflammable liquid including aviation fuel could do huge damage to installations and houses around the airport.

     

  • More Egyptian protesters die as violence resumes

    Several protesters have died in central Cairo, as the latest rallies held by supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi turn violent.

    BBC correspondent saw seven dead bodies and many people badly injured near central Ramses Square.

    The protests are taking place two days after Muslim Brotherhood camps were broken up, leaving at least 638 dead.

    Protests are also being held outside Cairo. Four people were reportedly killed in clashes in Ismailia.

    In the wake of Wednesday’s violence, police had been authorised to use live ammunition in self-defence.

    With a state of emergency still in force, BBC described the atmosphere as tense.

    Hundreds of people gathered at a nearby mosque after the Muslim Brotherhood, which backs Mr. Morsi, appealed to its supporters to demonstrate after Friday prayers in a “march of anger.”

    The demonstrations are taking place under the slogan “the people want to topple the coup” – referring to the military’s removal of Mr. Morsi on July 3.