The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigerian news

  • Klopp must take blame for Liverpool ’s poor defence – Schmeichel

    Klopp must take blame for Liverpool ’s poor defence – Schmeichel

    Juergen Klopp should accept whatever blame comes from Liverpool FC’s current defensive frailties and stop shifting blames, former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel has said.

    The Dane said Klopp unfairly shifted the blame for Liverpool’s defensive frailties onto Dejan Lovren by hauling him off in their 4-1 Premier League loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

    Harry Kane scored a brace while Son Heung-min and Dele Alli also got on the scoresheet to hand Liverpool their second league loss after September’s 4-0 hammering by Manchester City.

    Defender Lovren was responsible for Tottenham’s second goal when he failed to cut out Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris’s long throw-in which allowed Kane to find Son.

    Read Also: Liverpool Vs Man United: EPL resumes with rivalry fixture

    Liverpool manager Klopp responded by replacing Lovren with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on 31 minutes.

    “What he’s done now is put all of the responsibility on to Lovren. He will now be in the headlines for this, and that’s really unfair. It should be the manager,” Schmeichel said.

    NAN

  • Dickson calls for bi-partisan approach to restructuring Nigeria

    Dickson calls for bi-partisan approach to restructuring Nigeria

    Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa has urged the Federal Government to set up a bi-partisan body to develop framework for the restructuring of the country.

    Dickson in statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Francis Agbo on Monday in Yenagoa, said restructuring debate should cut across party lines as the issues at stake were relevant and fundamental.

    He said the bi-partisan body should consist of federal officials, political parties, governors, state and national assemblies, organised labour, socio-cultural organizations and other critical stakeholders.

    The governor also advised President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently take steps to unite country as the nation go through a difficult phase in its history.

    Dickson believes that proponents of restructuring “are true patriots”, adding that the National Assembly alone would not be able to amend the Constitution sufficiently to address concerns and fears of Nigerians.

    “The present attitude of the Federal Government and the President on the issue of restructuring is something I disagree with.

    “I believe that this country has to have a meeting and discuss how we can make Nigeria more stable, prosperous and a Nigeria that can last and stand the test of time.

    “Those of us talking about restructuring are the true lovers of this country. There are those who feel they have advantages they want to protect and preserve, so they want the status quo maintained.

    “In that case, you are either talking about individual, regional or ethnic interests, so such people are not talking of the Nigerian interest.

    “Those of us calling for restructuring are protecting and preserving Nigeria’s corporate interest. The buck stops at the table of Mr. President. He has got to rise up to the occasion and unify this country more.

    “The country is too divided and left to drift for too long with this division. The division is getting deeper and deeper by the day and that is not good for the country we love.

    “Nobody should tell anybody in Bayelsa or any Ijaw or Niger Delta man that they love Nigeria more than us.

    “They don’t even understand the sacrifices we are making to keep Nigeria going. So, when we talk about restructuring, we are talking as Nigerian patriots.” Dickson stated.

    NAN

  • NDLEA arrests 86 people for alleged drug trafficking in Edo

    NDLEA arrests 86 people for alleged drug trafficking in Edo

    The Edo State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA ) has arrested 86 people, suspected to be trafficking illicit drugs.

    The Commander of the agency in Edo, Mr Buba Wakawa, said in Benin on Monday that the suspects were arrested between July and September this year.

    According to him, the suspects are made up of 61 males, including a Malian and 25 females.

    Wakawa said that 2, 930 kg of hard drugs were seized within the period and that 46.8 hectares of suspected cannabis farms were also destroyed.

    The commander said the cannabis farms were estimated to be producing 217,414 kg of cannabis.

    According to him, a breakdown of the seized drugs are: cannabis (2,929.6 kg), Tramadol (159 grammes), Swino (four grammes), Vegha (26 grammes), Codeine (29 grammes) and Heroin (20 grammes).

    He said that the agency had successfully prosecuted one Obiora Nkemokonam, who was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment for possessing 20 kg of cannabis.

    Wakawa said that two vehicles and two motorcycles had been impounded from suspects in connection with the seizures.

    He said that 37 drug-dependent people had also been counselled and reunited with their families, while three other peole who were currently undergoing rehabilitation.

    Wakawa lamented that the drug menace was not showing signs of abatement, calling on stakeholders to strengthen cooperation in the fight against illicit drug production, trafficking and abuse.

    “Drug seizures in the state are on the increase, while cannabis farms are overwhelming.

    “Cases of drug abuse are also posing greater challenge daily as more victims are getting trapped in the web of drug abuse.

    “This calls for greater commitment on our part to resist the activities of drug cartels.’’

    He appealed for increased funding and logistics support to the command to enable it to surmount its problems.

    NAN

  • Police arrest man for allegedly killing commercial sex worker

    Police arrest man for allegedly killing commercial sex worker

    The police in Enugu State have arrested a man who allegedly stabbed a commercial sex worker to death on Sunday, following a disagreement he had with the woman.

    The Police Public Relations Officer ( PPRO ) SP Ebere Amaraizu, in a statement he issued on Monday, said that the incident happened at about 3:30 a.m. at Onuato Street, Enugu.

    Amaraizu said that the victim accompanied the suspect to his apartment where they had a disagreement which resulted in a scuffle that led to her death.

    He said that the suspect, who picked up the sex worker at Rangers Avenue on Oct. 22, had agreed with her that he would pay her N4,000 after passing the night with him.

    The PPRO quoted the suspect as disclosing that he had drunk to his fill and that on arrival, because it was already getting late, he demanded that they had sex immediately.

    “His request did not influence anything as the deceased allegedly requested to finish what she was inhaling in order to be in the mood for the business of the day.

    “The accused maintained that after several hours of pressuring her and without any answer, he slept off and woke up before 3 a.m.,” Amarizu stated.

    The police spokesman said that the accused immediately ordered the sex wrker to leave the apartment since the aim of bringing her appeared to have been defeated.

    “The accused said that the deceased resisted the order and allegedly warned him to beware as she would not succumb to any person’s threat whatsoever.

    “She later headed for a kitchen knife that was seen in the kitchen spot of the suspect’s room after allegedly biting him.

    “The accused further revealed that a fight suddenly broke out between them and as the deceased tried to stab him to death with the kitchen knife, he overpowered her,” he said.

    Amarizu quoted the suspect as saying that the kitchen knife went straight to the stomach of the deceased and he finally stabbed her on the neck region and she died.

    The police spokesman said that the accused later wrapped her body and hurriedly arranged to travel to Lagos.

    According to him, the suspect was nabbed, following a tip off from members of a local vigilante.

    He said that the body was recovered from the apartment and deposited at the mortuary of the Eastern Nigeria Medical Centre, Enugu, as investigations into the incident had commenced.

    NAN

  • Security guards shut down primary schools in Rivers

    Security guards shut down primary schools in Rivers

    Security guards on Monday barred pupils and teachers from getting access into some public primary school in Rivers over unpaid salaries.

    Some of the security guards said they had not been paid for 11 months.

    One of them, Mr Chijioke Amah, said: “we want government to pay us, every worker deserves to be paid, they have been unfair to us; they make it look as if our services here are not needed.’’

    Some teachers, who spoke said that at Port Harcourt Centenary Model Primary School Rumuwoji, said it was not the first time they would be locked out by the security guards.

    “We all stood outside here for more than three hours before the gate was opened, the guards have been lamenting non-salary payments for several months.

    “Each time they lock us out, we will spend several hours outside, we end up losing some work hours, this is not good,’’ a teacher who pleaded anonymity said.

    it took the intervention of Rivers Commissioner for Education, Mr Tamunosisi Gogo-Jaja, for the gates to be opened.

    The commissioner, who pledged to look into the matter, said: “It is very unfortunate, we promise that this will not happen again, our interest is to see that nothing hinders the flow of academic activities.

    NAN

  • Airports concession: NASS to meet Sirika, aviation unions on Wednesday

    Airports concession: NASS to meet Sirika, aviation unions on Wednesday

    The National Assembly ( NASS ) on Monday summoned State Minister for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika and other stakeholders in the industry over the concession of four major airports in the country.

    The General Secretary, National Union of Air Transport Employees ( NUATE ), Mr Olayinka Abioye, confirmed the development in Lagos.

    The Federal Government plans to concession Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt Airports to enable them meet international standard.

    “The NASS has invited us for a meeting on Wednesday. It is a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

    “They have invited the minister, the unions and other civil society groups to deliberate on issues surrounding the concession of the airports,’’ Abioye said.

    He also noted that the unions had suspended their 15 days ultimatum over the concession issues following the intervention of the Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige.

    Abioye said: “the minister of labour has intercepted that ultimatum. He invited us to Abuja for a meeting last week including the minister of aviation.

    “Each party laid bare their own side of the story and the minister has now agreed that workers and the unions will be fully carried along because we also alleged that we were not in the know of so many things he was doing.

    “He has promised that they will expand the scope of their operations and carry everybody along.’’

    The NUATE secretary general said at the meeting, Sirika explained that the issue of concession was his own idea but that the transaction advisers who had been appointed would determine the type of models for the concession process.

    According to him, the unions were informed that the three of the transaction advisers were from the United Kingdom, one from the United States, and one from Nigeria to serve as local content partner.

    NAN

  • Ogun Traffic agency decries reckless driving by tanker drivers

    Ogun Traffic agency decries reckless driving by tanker drivers

    Mr Seni Ogunyemi, the Corps Commander, Ogun Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps ( TRACE ), on Monday decried the rising rate of fatal accidents caused by  tanker drivers’ reckless driving.

    Ogunyemi spoke in a telephone interview in Ota while commenting on the death of four people allegedly caused by tanker drivers between Oct. 19 and Oct. 21.

    The corps commander said that the increasing road crashes involving tanker drivers was due to reckless driving and poor maintenance of their vehicles.

    Ogunyemi said that the tanker drivers were not heeding to the corps’ campaign on road safety and the need to update their training.

    According to him, this attitude is not helping the corps in its efforts to curb carnage on the roads.

    “Ogun Government can no longer tolerate and allow the tanker drivers to continue to kill innocent souls in the state.

    “The state government will not hesitate to prosecute and subject erring drivers to psychiatric tests and sometimes jail if found guilty in the court of law,” he said.

    Ogunyemi, however, urged the drivers to exercise caution while driving on the highways so that lives and property would no longer be wasted through needless and avoidable accidents in the state.

    NAN

  • Bolt says he’s serious about a soccer career

    Bolt says he’s serious about a soccer career

    Usain Bolt says he is serious about starting up a soccer career now he has retired from sprinting, and believes he could even be good enough to play for Jamaica.

    The 31-year-old eight-time Olympic gold medalist, currently recovering from a hamstring injury, accepted there might be some skepticism, but said it had always been his boyhood dream.

    “For me it’s a personal goal. I don’t care what people really think about it. I‘m not going to lie to myself.

    “I‘m not going to be stupid,” the Jamaican told reporters at the U.S. Formula One Grand Prix.

    He was speaking before world champion Lewis Hamilton drove him around the Circuit of the Americas in a Mercedes AMG sportscar, sending the car sliding into corners and ending with tyre-smoking spins.

    “If I feel I can’t do it, I‘m going to say ‘you know what, forget this’. I‘m not trying to embarrass myself.

    “But if I go out there and feel I can do this then I will give it a try. It’s a dream and another chapter of my life,” said Bolt.

    “If you have a dream that you always wanted to do, why not try and see where it will go.”

    The world’s fastest man has been sponsored by Puma since he was 15 and the German Sportswear Company has a stake in Borussia Dortmund.

    Bolt, who retired from athletics after August’s world championships in London, has been invited to spend a week training with the Bundesliga club and he plans to take it up.

    “It’s just my hamstring keeping me back right now. In two weeks I can start training again and get back into some shape.

    “Then I can really explore the situation,” he said.

    “They say the invitation is always open, so it’s all about me getting over my injury and then getting into shape.

    “Then I can do the trials and see what level I‘m at.”

    A keen Manchester United fan, Bolt doubted manager Jose Mourinho would be on the phone any time soon, but said he had spoken to the club’s former manager Alex Ferguson about his dream.

    “He said ‘Alright, get into shape and I’ll see where that goes’,” said the sprinter.

    Jamaica, who failed to qualify for next year’s World Cup finals, are currently 59th in the world rankings, leaving Bolt to also muse: “I think I can make the Jamaica team easily. I wouldn’t say they are that good at this point.”

    Bolt, who suffered the injury in his final race, the world championships 4 x 100 metres relay final, again ruled out any athletics comeback.

    The Olympian said he missed the laughs and banter, but not the training and he was intending to start a family.

    “I‘m waiting to see if my football career will go anywhere, but I definitely want to work with the IAAF in ways to promote the sport and help keep it on the level on which I left it,” he added.

    “Being a coach? No. Definitely not.”

    Asked about the current state of athletics and doping scandals that have seen Russian athletes barred from competition, the Jamaican felt the sport was climbing back out of the gutter.

    “You have to get to the worst to start rebuilding and I think the Russia situation was the worst we could get,” he said.

    “Now it’s all about rebuilding and making people trust the sport again. This year was the first that we made a step in the right direction so, hopefully, we continue.

    “If you’re in the gutter and working your way up, it’s going to take time. That’s what we need. Just time for people to really start trusting the sport again.”

    NAN

  • Kebbi sets new safety measures after 33 deaths

    Kebbi sets new safety measures after 33 deaths

    Kebbi Government has set new safety measures for boat operators to address the recurring boat mishaps which has claimed 33 lives since April in the state.

    Alhaji Sani Dododo, Chairman of the State Emergency Management Agency ( SEMA ) said in an interview on monday in Birnin Kebbi that all boat operators must comply with the new measures.

    “As part of our efforts to curb recurring boat mishaps, we held a meeting with traditional rulers and boat operators and we came up with solutions to the incessant problem in the state.

    “We resolved that henceforth, there will be no transportation on rivers after six in the evening and passengers and loads must be transported separately.

    “The number of passengers to be taken in any boat must be specified and written on the boat to avoid overloading, and  life jackets must be worn by all the passengers in addition to three extra jackets for emergency to be placed on each boat,”  he said.

    Dododo said the measures were precautionary to stop the current practice which endangers lives of passengers.

    “We discovered that a boat that carries 40 passengers is usually loaded with over 100 passengers at a time together with their loads including goats, sheep, cows and camel, all jam-packed in one boat on a river voyage,” he said.

    He added that some boat operators held the superstitious belief that they would never die in river because they inherited the business from their ancestors.

    “They think the river would not kill them since the business was passed unto them from generation to generation.

    “We will not fold our arms and rely on superstitions while people are dying,” he said.

    According to him, the agency will collaborate with the local government councils and Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority to enforce compliance to the new measures.

    The SEMA chairman said the agency would embark on sensitisation campaigns targeting boat operators and local divers on safety and emergency response in case of any mishap.

    Dododo revealed that the agency had adequate staff and was well-funded to carry its mandate, adding that it would set up emergency response offices in the Riverine areas of the state.

    NAN

  • Turkey asks Germany to extradite 81 citizens over failed coup

    Turkey asks Germany to extradite 81 citizens over failed coup

    Turkey has asked the German government to extradite 81 of its citizens for suspected involvement in a failed military coup in 2016, the Justice Ministry said in response to a question from the Left Party.

    The government of President Recep Erdogan has accused Germany of harbouring supporters of Fethullah Gulen, an exiled preacher and former ally of the president whose movement is accused of orchestrating the coup.

    The answer to the Left Party’s question, seen by dpa on Monday, does not reveal how many extradition requests Ankara submitted for people it accuses of terrorism-related activities.

    In November 2016, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Turkey was seeking the extradition of “more than 4,000” supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party ( PKK ).

    “Regardless of the measures the Turkish side uses to exert pressure, the federal government must not extradite,” said Left Party lawmaker Alexander Neu.

    “Instead, it must exert pressure itself in order to finally free German hostages from custody.”

    Turkey is currently holding a handful of German citizens, including journalists and human rights activists, on terrorism-related charges, causing strained diplomatic relations to reach an unprecedented low.

    Turkey’s relationship with Germany was severely strained after it refused to allow Turkish politicians to hold campaign rallies in February.

    Erdogan repeatedly threw Nazi slurs against Angela Merkel and accused the country of Nazi practices.

    Berlin’s decision to grant asylum to some of 414 army officers and government workers only added fuel to Turkey’s escalating animosity toward the country.

    NAN