The Nation Newspaper

Tag: kick-off

  • INEC okays kick-off of campaign in Ekiti Wednesday

    Beginning from next week, campaign for the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti State will open, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said yesterday.

    Chairman of INEC Prof. Mahmud Yakubu said yesterday that the agency will paste the notice of election on Wednesday after which parties were free to campaign.

    Yakubu said campaign will commence Ekiti on April,15 while political parties are expected to conduct their primaries simultaneously with the commencement of campaign between April 15 and May 14.

    He said: The election in Ekiti will hold in all the 16 local government areas across 177 wards and 2,195 Polling Units.

    The election agency boss added “In the case of Osun Governorship election, the notice of election will be pasted on June 23, campaigns will commence on June 24 while the party primaries for the selection of candidates will hold between  June 24 and July23.”

    Prof. Yakubu told Inspector general of Police Ibrahim Idris during a visit that the agency was worried about vote buying during election at polling units.

    He said such an act is a violation of the electoral law and tantamount to electoral malpractice. To him, this should not be allowed to continue.

    Yakubu reminded the police of its responsibility to halt the ugly trend.

    “There is something that is extremely worrisome to INEC and that is open vote buying at polling units. We have seen that in more recent elections.

    “This is a violation of the electoral act, it is malpractice and you have the responsibility to ensure that this practice is stopped forthwith. Our democracy can never be on sale to the highest bidder, ours is a democracy and not a plutocracy for the rich.

    “Therefore I would like to appeal to the IGP, as we approach the EKiti and Osun governorship elections and as we move to the 2019 general elections to pay particular attention to this disturbing practice.

    “We will be happy if the police will deploy Special Forces beginning with Ekiti and Osun to ensure that what transpires at the polling units is nothing but the will of Nigerians.

    Only the votes cast freely by citizens would determine who wins the elections not the inducement of citizens by the use of cash at polling units during elections.  I am confident that given the level of cooperation and synergy we have with the police, this matter will be addressed. ”

    He also posited that “the Police are the lead agency for election security, it is essentially responsible for securing the environment for the commission to deploy and to conduct free and fair elections.”

  • Nigeria vs Egypt kick-off moved to 5pm

    Nigeria vs Egypt kick-off moved to 5pm

    The kick-off time for the crucial AFCON 2017 qualifier between Nigeria and Egypt at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna on Friday has been moved by an hour, according to officials.

    The match was originally fixed for 4pm local time, but it has now been shifted to 5pm as the home team  expressed concerns that the heat in the northern city of Kaduna could affect the Nigerian foreign-based players, who are just coming out of winter in Europe.

    Coach Samson Siasia first raised this concern when he took temporary charge of the team following the sudden exit of Sunday Oliseh last month.

    Chelsea star Mikel said the heat in Kaduna could work against the Eagles, but the team will not use it as an excuse not to win on Friday.

    “The weather is harsh, totally different from what we have abroad, it will affect us, but we can’t use that as an excuse on Friday,” he assured.

  • NFF BOASTS: 2pm Kick-off, no big deal

    NFF BOASTS: 2pm Kick-off, no big deal

    Nigeria’s Super Eagles will not be affected by the decision of the Ethiopia Football Association (EFA) to move the kick-off time of the World Cup final play-offs against Wayla Antelopes from 4pm to 2pm (Ethiopia time).

    Speaking on the development, General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Musa Amadu stressed that the Eagles will not be affected by the sudden change insisting that it was a delibrate ploy by the East Africans to work against the Stephen Keshi’s tutored side.

    “Either 2pm, 4pm or any other time the match is fixed for, I don’t think it will have any adverse effect on the team, once teams get prepared for games, they can play at any time.

    “The Ethiopians are just trying to frustrate us but we’ll be prepared for them,” Amadu told Lagos-based Brila FM.

    The Eagles will clash with Ethiopia’s Wayla Antelopes in the first leg final World Cup play-offs on October 13 in Addis-Ababa.

  • Rangers kick off ‘operation crush’

    Rangers kick off ‘operation crush’

    Enugu Rangers’ midfielder, Ugonna Uzochukwu has said his side are focused on grabbing a convincing win against visiting Vital’O of Burundi in the reverse leg, first round of the CAF Champions League.

    The first fixture on March 17 at the Prince Louis Rwagasore Stadium, Bujumbura, Burundi ended in a barren draw and the Coal City side are condemned to win to progress to the next stage of the Africa’s elite club championship. The encounter comes up on Sunday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu.

    Uzochukwu said his side are done with celebrating their 3-1 win against Kwara United in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) over the weekend and doubling their efforts to record an emphatic win against the Burundian side.

    “We’re done with celebrations over the 3-1 league win against Kwara United, the celebrations ended on Easter Monday, today (Tuesday) we’re back to intense training and preparation for the continental match against Vital’O of Burundi on Sunday.

    “Our focus is on the must-win-game. The game looks open following the first leg barren draw in Bujumbura but if you asked me it’s closed and over for Vital’O. Vital’O will fall and heavily, too. The spirit in camp and among my colleagues is very high, we’ll surely roast the visitors with goals,” said the Nigerian defensive midfielder to supersport.com.

    Supersport.com gathered that the Flying Antelopes went to a closed door camping on Wednesday for undivided concentration and preparation for the challenge of Vital’O of Burundi.

  • February 16 League kick-off

    February 16 League kick-off

    A prominent member of the newly inaugurated Premier League Management Committee who is also the Commissioner for Commerce in Kano State, Abubakar Nuhu Danburan has disclosed reasons why the Committee chose the February 16th, 2013 League kick off date instead of the January date as was suggested by the president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Aminu Maigari during the inauguration of the Committee at the NFF’s office on Friday.

    Danburan said: “We have been able to come up with important decisions that will help the league in the country and we have critically looked at issues that affect the welfare of the players who are the major actors.

    “I will also say that we arrived at the February 16th kick off of the League because clubs need enough time to meet the Committee’s demands and the requirements prescribed to make the league better”, Abubakar disclosed in Abuja.

    He stated further that, “Clubs need time to prepare and get the N50 million Bank Guarantee required to be able to participate in the 2012/2013 league season. We are aware of the fact that for every match that a club plays, ordinarily such club must spend about N2.5 million. If you multiply this by 38 matches, it amounts to over N90 million. So, N50 million, I think is a good start.

    “We also looked at the issue of medicals. It is a critical thing and it is one thing that CAF and FIFA are very serious and particular about in terms of ensuring the good health of players and guide against the prevalent cadio related issues like cardiac arrest. Any player that fails the test will not participate in the league.

    “Also, seminars would be conducted for medicals and administrations in Kano between January 9th and 13th, 2013.

    “As regards the issue of sponsorship we have already said that we are going to look all at contractual obligations as regards the issue of the league. We already have a sub-committee that is looking at that. We are going to look at it and do everything possible to resolve this knotty issue,” the former FinBank executive disclosed.

  • Brazil 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP: FIFA approves kick-off times

    Brazil 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP: FIFA approves kick-off times

    The FIFA Executive Committee convened on Thursday 27 September, at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, and approved the kick-off times for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil.

    The Opening Match will take place on 12 June in Sao Paulo, with a kick-off time of 17.00.

    Group-stage games will be played at 13.00, 16.00, 17.00, 18:00, 19.00 and 21:00 local time, with knockout stage matches at 13.00 and 17.00 local time. The semi-finals will be played at 17.00 local time and the Final, on 13 July 2014 at the iconic Maracana stadium, at 16.00 local time.

    All kick-offs are local time, with Cuiaba and Manaus being CET-6, all other venues CET -5. After USA 1994, it’s the first time that FIFA World Cup matches will be played in different time zones, with Manaus and Cuiaba one hour behind Brasilia Time.

    Finally, it has been decided that the release date of players will be the 19 May 2014, with a mandatory rest period from 19-25 May 2014, to ensure that all players (with the exception of those playing the UEFA Champions League Final) will have one week of rest before joining their national teams.

    The Final Draw for Brazil 2014 is confirmed to be Friday 6 December 2013 at the Costa do Sauipe in Bahia.