Category: Sports

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has listed 32 players to battle for 23 shirts in the Super Eagles’ squad to the 29th Africa Cup of Nations finals in South Africa, taking place between 19th January – 10th February next year.

Following a meeting with the NFF Technical Committee in Abuja on Friday, where he defended the list, Keshi rolled out a squad containing 14 home-based professionals and 18 overseas-based players.

Skipper Joseph Yobo, who also represented Nigeria at the 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010 Africa Cup of Nations finals, and is Nigeria’s record international player with 89 caps, tops the list.

Africa’s football-governing body, CAF has given all 16 teams playing in the final tournament of the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, South Africa 2013 until midnight of January 9 to submit their final list of 23 players for the showpiece. Already, the NFF has finalised arrangements for international friendlies with Catalonia and Cape Verde, the former to take place on January 2, while the clash with surprise Cup of Nations finalists Cape Verde will come up on January 9 – the same day Keshi will announce his final list.

Following Friday’s meeting, chairman of the NFF Technical Committee, Barrister Chris Green explained that 14 home boys will travel to Portugal to be joined by 10 oveseas-based professionals for the clash with Catalonia on January 2, with the remaining eight foreign-based stars to link up with the squad on January 4.

Ivory Coast and Manchester City star Yaya Toure does not rank Ghana high in the pecking order of favourites to win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Ivory Coast international was speaking at a press conference after retaining his African Player of the Year award at CAF’s annual gala on Thursday in Accra.

The Manchester City ace was reluctant to name the Black Stars as one of the main threats to Cote d’Ivoire’s ambitions of winning their second Nations Cup title in South Africa.

Rather, the powerful midfielder’s comments, suggests he sees Zambia, Tunisia and Morocco as stronger contenders for the tournament that kicks off early next year in South Africa. “You have to be honest and say that Zambia last year won it and totally were the best in that competition in that moment,” he said.

“But we have a lot of, you know….I don’t mention Ghana but to be honest we have a lot of teams. “We have Tunisie, we have Morocco, Ghana, Zambie, Nigeria is coming too and I think it’s going to be tough and massive for us.

“We have to try to do our best because we know the Africa Cup of Nations is not easy to win and we’ll try to play again and get to the final and this year will be fine for us.”

Toure’s comments just like one’s made by Ivorian television panelist Mamadou Gaye is likely to pose as an another challenge thrown to the Black Stars ahead of a major tournament. Ghana has been unsuccessful in their pursuit of the African title for the past 31-years and hope to end the long wait in South Africa.

The Black Stars however have to conquer Group B which includes Mali, Niger and DR Congo.

Youth Africa’s High Commissioner to Ghana, Jeanette Ndlovu, believes that in spite of a recent betting scandal that allegedly implicates five officials of the South African Football Federation; the effective organisation of AFCON 2013 will not be hindered.

She believes that although the development was unfortunate, the immediate measures taken to replace the five officials as well as investigations launched into the matter will help keep the focus on organising the tournament.

Madam Ndlovu, speaking on Joy Sports AFCON Diaries, said, “it is very unfortunate. I think that anytime you have the kind of money involved in any enterprise such as football, you will find people being tempted and try to cut corners and make money and so forth. This is very disappointing for South African football fans.”

“However, the position that has been taken currently is that the investigations are ongoing and fortunately people like Danny Jordan have stepped forward to say that they want to help with the organistation of the AFCON. Also Pinky Lehoko is now acting CEO and she played an active role in the organisation of the South Africa 2010 World Cup,” she reported.

The President of South African Football, Kirsten Nemantandani, and four members of his administration have been suspended following the fixing of results of four friendly matches that South Africa played in preparation for the 2010 World Cup.

Investigations by FIFA indicated that the friendly games against Thailand, Bulgaria, Guatemala and Colombia were pre-arranged to benefit an Asian betting syndicate.

Despite this unfortunate occurrence, H.E. Jeaneatte Ndlovu is convinced that fans will still enjoy the tournament and have fun. “The truth of the matter is that, that one incident should not stop us from having fun and make sure that we support our own continental tournament.”

South Africa last hosted the tournament in 1996 with Bafana Bafana winning the tournament after defeating 1994 hosts Tunisia, 2-0.

Chief Sylvester Debe Ojukwu,the eldest son of the late Ikemba Nnewi,Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has declared that a DNA test will remove whatever doubts that may exist about his relationship with the deceased.

Debe who was not mentioned in the late Ojukwu’s Will that was read last month in Enugu dismissed it as a concoction that would not go unchallenged.

“If they claim I am not his child, then the correct test to determine all that is a DNA. This is not something anybody can wish away,” he told The Nation on Saturday.

In the interview published on pages 20,21 and 46 in this edition added: “The Will they read would have been sacrosanct if it mentioned my name but that nothing was given to me. So, for it (Will) not to mention my name, means it was fake and somebody has to prove to me that it was the original Will of my father.

“That I was barred from performing ‘dust-to-dust’ was discriminatory and it is against Section 42 of the Nigerian Constitution, which says that no child should be discriminated against on the basis of circumstance of birth.

“They said there was a DNA test,but the lawyer who wrote his Will claimed that he did not see me. According to him, when he came back in 1982, I appeared and disappeared for 30 years. The lawyer who said he wrote the Will said that.

“The so called DNA test was said to have been done in secret. But how can a DNA test be done in secret? A DNA is usually done and made public. I doubt strongly if this was so. Everything is a grand conspiracy.

“For anyone to go a mile extra to say my name is not in the Will is not something that will go unchallenged.

“I am one person who believes in the truth. And for me, if you err and recognise the fact that you erred and you are ready to show remorse, there is no reason why forgiveness should not come. But when you try to grandstand, there can be no settlement in sight.

“ Will, Will, Will, that was not my father’s Will. He did not write that Will. All the things that have been written are within the realm of speculations.

“The media have been writing without seeing the Will. I took pains to get the Will because it concerns me. I am giving you a copy of what they said is the Will so that the public can get educated. It is not my father’s Will. It was forged. You can see the signatures are different.

“ The signature on the Will is not that of my father. I am a trained police officer. You can take a look at the letters he had written to me and other documents I showed you.The signature on it is different from that which is on the Will. I know what I am talking about. His true signature is in the archives of the Federal High Court. And my father that you are talking about was a former Military Governor of the Eastern Region. He signed edicts, laws. So, his signature is within the domain of public records.

“And because I knew him, he was not the type of person that took rubbish. They went and forged the signature. If you check all the documents, you will find out that the signatures on them do not correspond with that on the will. My father was such a person that when he signed a document, it was like Ikemba. And Ikemba moved straight. Ikemba moved like lightening. If you see his signature, it is deliberate. It is never shaky.

“ I am his clone. He did not do anything without me.

“My uncles came to the police and entreated me to come and manage my grandfather’s assets. My grandfather had acquired certain things in terms of estate. And I was told that the things he gathered were perishing.

“ They used that and entreated me. They asked me to leave the police to manage the assets. I felt it was right. I cannot keep on gathering when the ones my patriarch had gathered were wasting away. So, I had to go and manage them. At the time they asked me to manage them, there was no hope and my uncles were quarrelling with my father. In the interest of peace, because they told me that they needed everything to be together just as the old man had it when he was alive. I left to do just that without even knowing where I was going. But God being on my side, what I went into blind-folded became a success story and became very substantial. It is on the basis of all these, that they are fighting me and you see my name allegedly missing in the Will.

“My exclusion from my father’s Will does not smack of my rejection legally. As a lawyer, I know that you have the power to Will your property to anybody legally. But being a son or a daughter to someone is more sacrosanct, and so it is. It is not something you can wish away. It is so natural.

“ So, a man’s exclusion from a Will is as far as property goes. And with regards to disinheritance, the law provides that if you want to disinherit your son or daughter, you must state in black and white that you are disinheriting your son. And since the Will did not state that I was being disinherited, there is nothing like disinheritance. What has happened is what could be regarded as an unmentioned child. That is the position of the law. So, that is the way it is.

“If you go to people like Chief Sunny Odogwu, Chief S.N. Okeke and the rest of the elders who were his friends, who had been with my father and me, they know my relationship with him as a son.

“Why are you (The Nation’s team) here today to interview me? You are here because you have seen a trace of him in me.”

As Nigerians prepare for the Christmas and New Year celebrations, the Police in Gombe State on Thursday urged residents of the state to be on the lookout for explosive devices that could be packaged in Christmas hampers as gifts for people.

The warning was contained in a statement issued in Gombe by DSP. Fwaje Atajiri, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the state’s Police Command.

He said that such bomb-laden parcels could then be dispatched to unsuspecting members of the public as goodwill gifts.

“Members of the public should be wary of hamper gifts and parcels as they could contain Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs),” he said.

Atajiri said that citizens should also take other precautionary measures to ensure hitch-free Christmas and New Year celebrations.

He also told religious and community leaders to assist the police with useful information to protect lives and property.

The PPRO said that religious leaders should “educate their followers to avoid being poisoned.

“Motorists are also advised to obey traffic lights and all regulations as unnecessary disobedience may be fatal.

“Motorists should endeavour to put security gadgets in their vehicles to forestall theft,” he said, assuring that the command would ensure a peaceful Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno State has reaffirmed its commitment to provide security for the people of the state.

JTF spokesman, Lt. Col. Saquir Musa, who gave the assurance during a phone interview, said the JTF is determined to restore peace to Borno State, stressing that the JTF will not relent in its efforts until peace and order is restored to the state.

Maiduguri, the state capital, is witnessing mass exodus of residents who are fleeing to the southern part of the country to celebrate the Christmas and New Year as a result of the security challenges confronting the state.

In Kano State, security agencies are putting measures in place to ensure that water-tight security arrangements are in place in the ancient city.

Heavy traffic was noticed along major streets like New Road Luxury Park in Sabon Gari, the Naibawa and Ungwar Uku Motor Park, while economic activities have increased around the city.

Speaking on the preparations by his men, Kano State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ibrahim K. Idris, told The Nation that arrangements have put in place by security agencies to ensure a hitch-free Yuletide, and promised that there was no cause for alarm.

He said: “There would be water-tight security deployment at strategic locations, including places of worship, markets, motor parks, banks, schools, hospitals and other public utilities, infrastructures and offices during the Christmas period”, adding that the dusk to dawn ban on commercial motorcyclists remain in place as part of the preventive measures.

Idris urged residents of Kano to be security conscious and give maximum cooperation to security agencies, including the police and the Joint Task Force (JTF), adding that the use of knock-outs and other fireworks are prohibited, “parents and guardians are strictly warned to stop their children from purchasing and using such items as anybody caught will be prosecuted in the Court of Law.”

He urged the people to call the Command’s Control Room in case of emergency, adding that the Public Complain Bureau under the office of the Command’s Public Relations Department and National Human Right Desk are also accessible for complaints on human right violation by the Police.

He gave the phone numbers for the Control Room to include: 08032419754, 08123821575, 08099831808 and 064977005, while that of the Public Complain Bureau include 08066628450, 08031803555 and 08057959393.

Also, the Niger State Police Command has promised residents of the state a hitch-free Yuletide celebration, as security surveillance and patrol have been increased in all the local government areas of the state.

The state police command also declared that no officer or men of the command will be given any pass or leave during this period to avert any shortage of men.

Confirming this development, the Command Public Relation Officer (PPRO), DSP Pius Edobor, promised that security will be provided around the state, especially in all churches during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

He said that the Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Desire Diseye Nsirim has warned troublemakers to desist from their dastardly acts or be forced to face the consequence of their actions, adding that everybody should be free to move around without fear because the police are on top of the security situation in the state

The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Baba Adisa Bolanta, yesterday disclosed that the abducted Nollywood actress and Special Assistant to the state governor on Public Affairs, Miss Nkiruka Sylvanus, paid N8 million as ransom to her kidnappers to regain her freedom.

The commissioner, who addressed newsmen in the Command’s Headquarters in Owerri, the Imo state capital, said the family of the actress defied the repeated warning from the police not to negotiate or pay any ransom to the abductors, adding that they did so outside the knowledge of the police.

The police boss added that “initially, the family paid N7million to the kidnappers and the police who laid ambush swooped on them at the point of collection and recovered the money that was locked in the trunk of their car as they escaped. We brought a lot of pressure on them and they were jittery and could no longer contact the family members”.

According to him, “after we returned the money to the family, they went behind us and paid N8milliom to the kidnappers. Surprisingly I saw Nkiru in my office after she was released, and I was told they paid N8million to secure her release”.

Bolanta, however, said that the fleeing kidnappers would be brought to book. “Let me assure you that this will not go unresolved like previous cases. Anyone involved will be brought to book. We have made some arrests, and very soon the ones that are at large will be apprehended”.

Meanwhile, Governor Rochas Okorocha has ordered the release of N500 million as a Christmas package for security operatives in the state.

Okorocha, who gave the directive during an expanded Security Council meeting at the Ahajioku Centre in the state capital, instructed that every security agent operating in the state should be given N10, 000 each from the largesse, saying that the gesture was to appreciate the security agencies for fighting crime in the state, especially the successful release of the kidnapped actress.

Commending the state Police Command, Okorocha reiterated the commitment of his administration in partnering with security agencies to stamp out crime in the state, especially kidnapping and other heinous crimes, reaffirming the earlier ban on the unauthorized use of vehicles with tinted glasses and siren in the state.

The Governor also chided legal practitioners in the state for aiding and abetting kidnappers by frustrating the efforts of the state to prosecute them.

He said: “The lawyers are the worst enemies of Imo State. Every kidnapper has a lawyer he pays to wriggle him out when he is caught up with the law”.

The abducted wife of a former governor of Western State, Gen. Oluwole Rotimi, Mrs Titilayo Rotimi, has been released by kidnappers.

The businesswoman, who was kidnapped by gunmen while driving out of her Ibadan office on Monday, last week, was released by her captors in a village along Ijebu-Ode-Ikorodu Road yesterday evening.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Ayodele Lanade, who confirmed her release on the telephone last night, said that she came back unhurt.

According to him, the businesswoman was dropped off by the gunmen along the road. She later ran to a woman passing by and narrated her situation to her.

Lanade added that Mrs Rotimi used the good Samaritan’s mobile phone to call her family members who alerted the police. She was eventually taken to a police station.

The police spokesman said that more details would later be made available.

A total of 10 suspects were arrested in connection with the abduction. While the only femele among the suspects was released on bail to enable her nurse her baby, nine others have been cooling their heels in police custody.

The suspects are mainly staff of AOP Logistics Limited, the logistics company owned and managed by the businesswoman.

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has listed 32 players to battle for 23 shirts in the Super Eagles’ squad to the 29th Africa Cup of Nations finals in South Africa, taking place between 19th January – 10th February next year.

Following a meeting with the NFF Technical Committee in Abuja on Friday, where he defended the list, Keshi rolled out a squad containing 14 home-based professionals and 18 overseas-based players.

Skipper Joseph Yobo, who also represented Nigeria at the 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010 Africa Cup of Nations finals, and is Nigeria’s record international player with 89 caps, tops the list.

Africa’s football-governing body, CAF has given all 16 teams playing in the final tournament of the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, South Africa 2013 until midnight of January 9 to submit their final list of 23 players for the showpiece. Already, the NFF has finalised arrangements for international friendlies with Catalonia and Cape Verde, the former to take place on January 2, while the clash with surprise Cup of Nations finalists Cape Verde will come up on January 9 – the same day Keshi will announce his final list.

Following Friday’s meeting, chairman of the NFF Technical Committee, Barrister Chris Green explained that 14 home boys will travel to Portugal to be joined by 10 oveseas-based professionals for the clash with Catalonia on January 2, with the remaining eight foreign-based stars to link up with the squad on January 4.

South Africa’s High Commissioner to Ghana, Jeanette Ndlovu, believes that in spite of a recent betting scandal that allegedly implicates five officials of the South African Football Federation; the effective organisation of AFCON 2013 will not be hindered.

She believes that although the development was unfortunate, the immediate measures taken to replace the five officials as well as investigations launched into the matter will help keep the focus on organising the tournament.

Madam Ndlovu, speaking on Joy Sports AFCON Diaries, said, “it is very unfortunate. I think that anytime you have the kind of money involved in any enterprise such as football, you will find people being tempted and try to cut corners and make money and so forth. This is very disappointing for South African football fans.”

“However, the position that has been taken currently is that the investigations are ongoing and fortunately people like Danny Jordan have stepped forward to say that they want to help with the organistation of the AFCON. Also Pinky Lehoko is now acting CEO and she played an active role in the organisation of the South Africa 2010 World Cup,” she reported.

The President of South African Football, Kirsten Nemantandani, and four members of his administration have been suspended following the fixing of results of four friendly matches that South Africa played in preparation for the 2010 World Cup.

Investigations by FIFA indicated that the friendly games against Thailand, Bulgaria, Guatemala and Colombia were pre-arranged to benefit an Asian betting syndicate.

Despite this unfortunate occurrence, H.E. Jeaneatte Ndlovu is convinced that fans will still enjoy the tournament and have fun. “The truth of the matter is that, that one incident should not stop us from having fun and make sure that we support our own continental tournament.”

South Africa last hosted the tournament in 1996 with Bafana Bafana winning the tournament after defeating 1994 hosts Tunisia, 2-0.

Ivory Coast and Manchester City star Yaya Toure does not rank Ghana high in the pecking order of favourites to win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Ivory Coast international was speaking at a press conference after retaining his African Player of the Year award at CAF’s annual gala on Thursday in Accra.

The Manchester City ace was reluctant to name the Black Stars as one of the main threats to Cote d’Ivoire’s ambitions of winning their second Nations Cup title in South Africa.

Rather, the powerful midfielder’s comments, suggests he sees Zambia, Tunisia and Morocco as stronger contenders for the tournament that kicks off early next year in South Africa. “You have to be honest and say that Zambia last year won it and totally were the best in that competition in that moment,” he said.

“But we have a lot of, you know….I don’t mention Ghana but to be honest we have a lot of teams. “We have Tunisie, we have Morocco, Ghana, Zambie, Nigeria is coming too and I think it’s going to be tough and massive for us.

“We have to try to do our best because we know the Africa Cup of Nations is not easy to win and we’ll try to play again and get to the final and this year will be fine for us.”

Toure’s comments just like one’s made by Ivorian television panelist Mamadou Gaye is likely to pose as an another challenge thrown to the Black Stars ahead of a major tournament. Ghana has been unsuccessful in their pursuit of the African title for the past 31-years and hope to end the long wait in South Africa.

The Black Stars however have to conquer Group B which includes Mali, Niger and DR Congo.