The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Eagles’ bonus pegged at $5000

    Eagles’ bonus pegged at $5000

    A committee that probed a recent bonus row in the Super Eagles has recommended the win bonus for the team be pegged at $5,000-a-man.

    The committee, which is expected to present its findings to the country’s sports minister next week, also recommended a formal code of conduct to be signed by all players in the national team.

    “The Nigeria Football Federation is no longer in a position to pay $10,000 each for a win and that is why the committee has recommended we should revert to the status quo of $5,000 before the 2010 World Cup Presidential Task Force supplemented the bonus,” a top official informed MTNFootball.com

    A code of conduct will also be introduced to the Eagles, which will clearly spell out what is expected of both players and the NFF.

    The code of conduct is in force in countries like England and Germany and even though several national team coaches including current handler Stephen Keshi have been averse to this rule book, the committee has recommended it be enforced in the Eagles.

    “The players are expected to sign the code of conduct or else quit the team,” another official told MTNFootball.com

    In 1994, only a handful of players led by Mutiu Adepoju agreed to sign a code of conduct tabled by the NFF.

    In June, Super Eagles’ players stayed put in Namibia and refused to board a flight to the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil until they were paid full bonuses for a win and a draw in Kenya and Namibia, respectively.

     

  • ASUU’s agitation not about salary reward – Odekunle

    A lecturer at the University of Abuja, Prof. Femi Odekunle, said the current Academic Staff Union of Universities’ strike is not about salary or benefits but about ensuring an effective university system.

    Odekunle, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja, said the claim by the Federal Government that some of the agreements reached between the union and government were not implementable was untrue.

    He said, “I do not believe that any agreements reached are not implementable, otherwise they would not even have been reached in the first place.

    “And these issues that ASUU is fighting for have to do with infrastructure, funding and conducive environment for learning and all capture such nuts and bolts that drive the system.

    “So the claim by anyone to say that certain aspects of the agreement are not implementable is fraudulent.

    “If the Federal Government can put funds into the National Assembly in terms of salary and allowances, why can’t it do the same for education that produces the manpower for the development of the nation.’’

    Odekunle accused the Federal Government of employing tactics that were creating division between ASUU and management of universities by its sudden increase of vice-chancellors’ salaries and allowances.

    The don, who noted that some lecturers were also culpable in contributing to the sector’s decay, noted, however, that majority of the lecturers were serious and committed.

    He said that government should address issues, including the misuse of resources, corruption of the political and government class, high cost of governance and other issues that had continued to have adverse effects on the country’s development.

     

  • UEFA Champions League: Fenerbahce test for Arsenal

    UEFA Champions League: Fenerbahce test for Arsenal

    English Premier League side Arsenal would face Turkish giants Fenerbahce in the Champions League play-off round after the draw was made on Friday at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon.

    The Gunners, who lost the 2006 final 2-1 to Barcelona, travels to Istanbul for the first leg to be played August 20-21 before returning to London for the second leg a week later, AFP reports.

    However, Fenerbahce’s potential participation in the group stage depends on a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport, expected at the end of the month, having been banned from European competition by UEFA for match-fixing in domestic competition.

    In the other pairings, AC Milan faces Dutch runners-up PSV Eindhoven — a rematch of the 2004-05 semi-finals which the Italians won on away goals — while French side Lyon would play Real Sociedad of Spain.

    German outfit Schalke was paired with Ukraine’s Metalist Kharkiv, who faces a UEFA hearing into match-fixing claims next Tuesday.

    Scottish champions Celtic was drawn against Kazakhstan challenger – Shakhter Karagandy.

     

     

  • Bricklayer arrested with 2.07kg of cocaine

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Friday arrested a 46-year-old bricklayer from Anambra, who attempted to smuggle 2.07kg of cocaine into the country.

    A statement by the Spokesman of the NDLEA, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, said the suspect was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, with 83 wraps of substance that had tested positive to cocaine.

    “He was detected with the help of scanning machines during the screening of passengers on an Asky Airline flight from Brazil,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the NDLEA spokesman as saying in the statement.

    Ofoyeju said the suspect was recruited by a drug cartel in Brazil and when arrested excreted one of the highest quantity of cocaine ingested at a time so far this year.

    “Preliminary investigations revealed that drug barons now have agents who move from village to village in search of drug mules.

    “They have several antics, which include promise of better job opportunities abroad. The case is under investigation.”

    Ofoyeju quoted the suspect, a bricklayer at Alor Village in Anambra, as saying he was lured to sell family land in order to travel abroad in search of job opportunities.

    “I got to Brazil on July 10 and all attempts to get a job were unsuccessful. That was when they sold the idea of drug trafficking to me.

    “Initially I objected but when there was no other option, I succumbed. They made me to swallow 83 wraps of cocaine which was detected by NDLEA officers,” he said.

     

  • Gunmen abduct Turkish Airlines pilots

    Two pilots working for Turkish Airlines have been abducted in Lebanon, near Beirut’s international airport, BBC reports.

    The men were snatched from a bus which was carrying several other crew members and passengers between a hotel and the airport terminal.

    No-one has claimed responsibility for the incident, but it is thought to be related to the conflict in Syria.

    Turkey backs Syria’s Sunni rebels while much of Lebanon’s Shia community supports the Assad regime.

    Nine Lebanese Shias were abducted in Syria last year, and their families have urged Turkey to help secure their release.

    Lebanon’s Interior Minister, Marwan Charbel, told the AFP news agency that the abduction happened at 03:00 local time (00:00 GMT), on a bus “carrying several members of a Turkish Airlines crew going from the airport to the hotel.”

    At least four gunmen were reported to be involved in the kidnapping.

    Turkish media named the kidnapped men as pilot Murat Aktumer and his co-pilot Murat Agca.

    Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Levent Gumrukcu told Reuters that he had already been in contact with the Lebanese authorities over the incident and that they were conducting a “very comprehensive investigation.”

     

  • Keshi unmoved by FIFA’s ranking

    Keshi unmoved by FIFA’s ranking

    Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi , said the latest FIFA ranking that tied Nigeria down on 35th place in the world is nothing to worry about.

    The African champions, who prior to June’s rating occupied the 31st spot in the world dropped to 35th position and had remained unmoved in the latest July Rankings with 700 points,.

    However, Keshi who became the first Nigerian to win the Africa Cup of Nations title as a captain and coach said he has no issues with the Eagles’ July position on the rankings.

    “I don’t know how the rankings work so I am not worried about it. What I am worried about is seeing my team play well, futaa.com quoted Keshi as saying in supersport.com.

    Nigeria has also lost its fourth spot in the Africa ranking to Algeria while Cote d’ Ivoire, Ghana and Mali maintain their first, second and third spots respectively.

    Spain, Germany, Colombia, Argentina and the Netherlands are the top five nations in the world according to the rankings.

     

  • Boko Haram is evil – Abia governor

    Boko Haram is evil – Abia governor

    Abia State governor, Chief Theodore Orji, has described Boko Haram sect as evil, saying that Islam abhors killing and preaches peace.

    According to the governor, Islam as a unifying force in Nigeria and should not be used by any sect as a destabilizing factor to create problems in the country.

    Orji Spoke in Umuahia, while hosting the state Muslim community as part of the Eid-el-Fitr celebration.

    He said Islam is not a discriminatory religion.

    He added that the religion has brought unity to Nigeria and succeeded in unifying the country.

     

     

  • Anambra: Ngige, three others battle for APC ticket

    Anambra: Ngige, three others battle for APC ticket

    The newly registered All Progressives Congress has continued to grow in lips and bounds in Anambra State, as preparations for November 16 governorship election in the state gather momentum.

    Already, four candidates are now battling for the party’s governorship ticket, especially from the Central and South Senatorial Zones in the state.

    Those vying for the position are – the former governor of Anambra State, now a Senator representing Central Senatorial Zone, Dr. Chris Ngige, Mr. Godwin Ezeemo (a philanthropist), the Deputy National Chairman of (APC) (South), Senator Annie Okonkwo and Hygers Igwebuike.

    However, members of the party in the state are calling for free and fair primaries to give aspirants a level playing field.

    They contended that it would be proper to give any aspirant irrespective of his zone the chance to grab the party’s ticket since those already at the helm of affairs are from the central.

     

     

  • Cop’s dismissal: I won’t run a corrupt system – IGP

    Cop’s dismissal: I won’t run a corrupt system – IGP

    The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, on Thursday maintained that he would not run a corrupt police service.

    He was reacting to claims in some quarters that the dismissal of a police officer caught receiving bribe in Lagos was too harsh.

    Speaking with State House correspondents after joining Muslim faithful to pay the annual Sallah homage to President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday, the IGP said his tenure as the head of the police force will not condone such corruption.

    Apart from regular warnings to the officers and men of the police force, he said that the police adopt different strategies to discourage corruption in the service, including setting officers up.

    He said: “You can see that we are information technology compliant. We know what is happening in the You Tube, we know what is happening all over the world. And because we believe that we have to do what is right, we warn our officers and men, sometimes we set them up to ensure that we get them on the act. And so who is caught on the act is being dismissed.”

    “There is a process that is going on. If the man that was present where corruption has taken place is willing and ready to come and give evidence in court, he would be charged to court,” he added.

     

     

     

  • PDP holds Anambra primaries August 24

    Ahead of the Anambra State governorship election slated for November 16, the Peoples Democratic Party in the state has fixed its primaries for August 24.

    The PDP Chairman in Anambra state, Prince Kenneth Emeakayi, said the primaries would take place in Awka, the state capital.

    Emeakayi spoke with reporters on Thursday at the party state secretariat in Udoka Housing Estate, Awka.

    He added that the local government primaries, an exercise that is expected to produce delegates for the state primaries, would hold on August 12.

    “We are still screening the aspirants, 15 had already bought their nomination forms and returned while some of them have been cleared to contest the governorship election.

    “Some people are alleging that the party has a consensus candidate already, but I am telling you right now that there is nothing like that, everybody must go to the field to face the members,” Emeakayi said.