The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Burkina Faso

  • Buhari hails Kabore’s election as Burkina Faso President

    Buhari hails Kabore’s election as Burkina Faso President

    President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Mr. Roch Marc Christian Kabore of the Movement of People for Progress Party on his historic election as the second civilian President of Burkina Faso.

    In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, President Buhari believed that the successful conclusion of the electoral process will usher in a new era of true democracy and inclusive governance in Burkina Faso.

    Buhari commended the commitment of the people of Burkina Faso in ensuring a peaceful election, urging them to continue to give the new leader the maximum support he needs to make Burkina Faso the country of their dreams.

    He also praised the outgoing transition President, Mr. Michel Kafando for his tenacity and determination in ensuring that the electoral process was concluded amicably in the face of daunting challenges.

    Buhari urged Mr. Kabore to use his famed democratic credentials and vast parliamentary experience to join hands with other contestants to work together for the peace, progress, prosperity and unity of Burkina Faso.

    The President also called on fellow African leaders to continue to sustain the democratic principles sweeping across the continent, just as he particularly commended the courage and perseverance of ECOWAS leaders for their support in ensuring that the transition and election processes were fully concluded.

    According to him, the success of the Burkina Faso election will deepen the democratic processes in Africa and emphasize regional and continental integration.

     

     

  • CHAN Eagles off to Burkina Faso Thursday

    CHAN Eagles off to Burkina Faso Thursday

    Nigeria’s home-based team will depart for Burkina Faso on Thursday for a return leg 2016 CHAN qualifier.

    Nigeria defeated Les Etalons 2-0 on Saturday in Port Harcourt and the overall winners of this fixture will qualify for next year’s CHAN in Rwanda.

    A squad of 18 players from the 23 in the training camp will be named for the trip to Ouagadougou.

    It has been gathered coach Sunday Oliseh will stick with the team who were involved in the first leg in Port Harcourt.

    Goalkeepers Ikechukwu Ezenwa and Femi Thomas, defenders Austin Oboroakpo, Chima Akas, Orji Kalu, Jamiu Alimi as well as midfielders Bature Yaro, Ifeanyi Matthew, Usman Mohammed and Paul Onobi will make the trip.

    Strikers Gbolahan Salami, Chisom Chikatara, Ezekiel Bassey and Osas Okoro have also been penciled down for the trip.

  • CHAN Eagles wary of Burkina Faso

    CHAN Eagles wary of Burkina Faso

    Nigeria are aware of the threat posed by visiting Burkina Faso in this weekend’s CHAN qualifier after Les Etalons shocked highly favoured Nigeria U-23s in last month’s All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville.

    Burkina Faso stunned Samson Siasia’s Dream Team VI 3-1 to qualify for the final of the All Africa Games in Brazzaville.

    “We are aware of how Burkina Faso shocked our Olympic team at the All Africa Games and so we know we cannot take them lightly. We know for instance that they have been training in Morocco and have played a number of test matches and so they will be very prepared against us,” said Eagles spokesman Toyin Ibitoye.”

    The home-based Eagles have played a number of test games including a 6-1 spanking of Blessed Academy of Port Harcourt.

    Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh will not be on the bench today after he took ill after the friendlies against DR Congo and Cameroon in Belgium. His assistants, Jean Francois Losciuto and Salisu Yusuf, will be in charge of the team for the first leg as a result.

    Injury has ruled out Enyimba defensive midfielder Razak Aliyu and Paul Onobi from Sunshine Stars. Warri Wolves striker Gbolahan Salami will lead the Eagles today and he said the target is victory.

    “This will be our first competitive match as a team together and I am looking forward to it. I am confident we will do well and the aim is to win convincingly so that the second leg will be easier,” said Salami, who has scored 14 goals in the Nigeria league this season.

    Salami, who featured at last year’s CHAN in South Africa where Nigeria finished third, also dismissed media reports he has been ruled out of the match on account of a groin complaint.

    Other players to look out for are Sharks defender Chima Akas, FC Taraba midfielder Usman Mohammed and Abia Warriors central defender Austin Oboroakpo, who have all been capped at full international level by Nigeria.

    The winners of this match-up over the two legs will advance to the final tournament in Rwanda in January.

  • David Obiazor: No leakage against Burkina Faso

    David Obiazor: No leakage against Burkina Faso

    Super Eagles goalkeeper, David Obiazor has said there will not be any leakage against the Etalons of Burkina Faso.

    Eagles will confront their West African opponents in Saturday’s 2016 African Nations Championship (CHAN) first fixture final clash at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt.

    Obiazor said the Burkinabes are difficult opponents but cannot be able to stop their Nigerian counterpart from achieving a convincing and resounding victory on Saturday in Port Harcourt.

    “The goalkeepers are prepared and ready to stop the Burkinabes from scoring against us on Saturday. Whoever among the three goalkeepers, Femi Thomas, Ikechukwu Ezenwa and myself that gets the coaches’ nod to man the post will maintain a watertight performance.

    “Burkina Faso are good side, at least, we understand that their U-23 side defeated our Dream Team VI at the just concluded All Africa Games in Brazzaville, Congo.

    “Majority of the AAG players play for their domestic sides and will be same players that will file out against us on Saturday. They are most likely going to come out tough to prove a point but we will not allow them the luxury to ruffle any feather.

    “It will be resounding and total victory for us that will make the reverse fixture in fortnight in Ouagadougou a mere formality. We are determined to win both legs to secure the 2016 CHAN ticket in Rwanda for the country at the expense of Burkina Faso,” said the Heartland shot stopper to supersport.com.

    Nigeria failed to make the championship for the first two editions meant for players playing in the domestic leagues of their country but won bronze at the immediate past edition in South Africa.

    The winners of the two-legged encounter between Nigeria and Burkina Faso will qualify for the final of the championship holding in Rwanda early next year.

  • Eagles, Burkina Faso tie holds Saturday

    Eagles, Burkina Faso tie holds Saturday

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has announced that the 2016 African Nations Championship final round, first leg qualifier between the Home –based Senior National Team, Super Eagles B, and the Etalons of Burkina Faso, will now take place on Saturday.

    Venue remains the Adokiye Amiesieamaka Stadium, Port Harcourt, with kick –off scheduled for 4pm.

    The Confederation of African Football has appointed Boubou Traore from Mali as referee for the encounter. Traore’s compatriots Bobo Yomboliba, Boubacar Kinta and Harouna Coulibaly will serve as assistant referee 1, assistant referee 2 and reserve referee respectively. Mr. Pedro De Morais Neto, from Angola, will be the match commissioner.

    Meanwhile,  24 players are battling for shirts in Port Harcourt under the watchful eyes of assistant coaches Salisu Yusuf and Alloy Agu.

    Warri Wolves’ ace forward Gbolahan Salami, with 14 goals so far in the Glo NPFL season, is injured and out of the race for places, but apart from fellow Wolves’ boy Paul Onobi who had a knock in training on Tuesday, all other players are fully fit to battle the Etalons.

    There are goalkeepers Femi Thomas, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, David Obiazor and Okemute Odah, defenders Chima Akas, Austin Oboroakpo, Kalu Orji, Solomon Kwambe, Idris Aloma, Samson Gbadebo, Jamiu Alimi and Stephen Eze, midfielders Abdulrazak Aliyu, Ifeanyi Mathew, Paul Onobi, Usman Mohammed, Bature Yaro and Osas Okoro, and forwards Ezekiel Bassey, Chisom Chikatara, Tunde Adeniji, Prince Aggrey, Bright Onyedikachi and Dayo Ojo.

    Nigeria failed to qualify for the first two editions of the competition reserved for senior players plying their trade in their country’s domestic league, but won the bronze medal at the third edition held in South Africa early last year.

    The winner over two legs between Nigeria and Burkina Faso will be eligible for a place at the 4th African Nations Championship taking place in Rwanda early next year.

  • Coup: Osinbajo to represent Buhari in Burkina Faso

    Following the resolutions of the Extra-ordinary session of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) leaders in Abuja on Tuesday, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will represent President Muhammadu Buhari in Burkina Faso.

    Due to the situation in Burkina Faso, a select group of West African leaders were scheduled for a meeting in Quagadougou, Burkina Faso on Wednesday.

    In all, six ECOWAS leaders would be attending the meeting with the leaders of last Thursday’s military coup in Burkina Faso.

    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, said that the Vice President is expected back to Abuja later on Wednesday.

  • Buhari to host ECOWAS summit on Burkina Faso

    Buhari to host ECOWAS summit on Burkina Faso

    President Muhammadu Buhari will on Tuesday host an Extraordinary Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Authority of Heads of State and Government in Abuja.

    A statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, said the main item on the agenda of the summit is the current political situation in Burkina Faso.

     

  • Burkina Faso bars ex-ministers from presidential poll

    Burkina Faso has barred its former Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Sport from contesting next month’s presidential election.

    It banned the ministers because they had backed ex-President Blaise Compaore’s failed bid to cling to power last year.

    The Constitutional Council which ruled against the former ministers on Thursday based its decision on an April revision of the electoral law that excluded any candidate who supported Compaore’s effort to extend his rule.

    The council’s decision followed complains from three other candidates that the men took part in Oct. 21, 2014 cabinet meeting to draft a law that would have removed a term limit from Burkina’s constitution.

    [ad id=”403656″]Attempts to pass that law in parliament led to massive street demonstrations on Oct. 30, 2014, which toppled Compaore from power.

    Former Prime Minister Roch Kabore, a long-time stalwart of Compaore’s government who split away last year to found the opposition People’s Movement for Progress (MPP), is widely regarded as a front-runner for the vote, alongside former Finance Minister Zephirin Diabre.

    Meanwhile, the regional court for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has ruled that the change to the electoral law contravened democratic rights, but Burkina Faso’s constitutional council has ignored its ruling.

    While ECOWAS is the highest appeal tribunal in the region, it lacks the power to enforce its decisions.

  • Nigeria battles Burkina Faso for 2016 CHAN spot

    Nigeria battles Burkina Faso for 2016 CHAN spot

    Nigeria’s home-based Eagles will battle Burkina Faso for a place in next year’s CHAN in Rwanda.

    Nigeria, Ghana and Niger were seeded in Zone West B, while Burkina Faso, Togo and Cote d’Ivoire were not.

    Nigeria ‘B’ team will therefore take on Burkina Faso with the first match in Nigeria by the weekend of October 16-18, while the return match is fixed for a week later in Burkina Faso.

    Nigeria made its debut at the 2014 CHAN in South Africa, where it placed third after they were beaten by arch-rivals Ghana in the semifinals.

    The 2016 CHAN will be played from January 16 to February 7 in Rwanda.

    Libya are the defending champions of a tournament reserved for players who feature in their respective domestic leagues.

  • Burkina Faso dump Keshi

    Burkina Faso dump Keshi

    • Appoint French-German Gernot Rohr

    Stephen Keshi will not  be the next coach of Burkina Faso according to media reports out of the West African country as Gernot Rohr has been given the job.

    The 61-year-old Rohr will thus replace Belgian Paul Put, who was fired after a disappointing 2015 AFCON campaign in Equatorial Guinea. The vastly experienced coach has previously handled Gabon and Niger.

    Keshi has handled Togo and Mali. He is yet to finalise a new deal with Nigeria after his initial three-year contract ended after the World Cup in Brazil last year.

    After several weeks of speculations, Keshi admitted his agent had talks with Burkina Faso over the vacant national team top post.

    “My agent is talking with them (Burkina Faso). We are all professional coaches. We cannot stay in one place and say okay a job is going to come,” the former Nigeria skipper had said.