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Tag: Nigerian Newspapers

  • Osimhen on rampage scores brace in Lille’s 3-0 victory

    Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen was on rampage Wednesday as he netted twice in the Lille’s 3-0 defeat of Saint-Etienne in the France Ligue 1.

    It is the second brace for Wolfsburg ace that joined the ligue 1 side in July this year.

    He had earlier netted a brace in his debut for the club against Nantes in a tie that ended 2-1.

    Osimhen who has been invited by Super Eagles Coach Gernot Rohr ahead of September’s friendly encounter against Ukraine, first opened scoring for Lille in the 37th minute after enjoying a timely assist from Croatia import Domagoj Bradarić.

    Home boy Jonathan Bamban converted a penalty in the 69th minute before Osimhen increased the tally to three in the 74th minute thanks to Zeki Çelik assist.

    Osimhen fires Lille to victory Wednesday

    Interestingly osimhen did not start the match but came in as early replacement for Loïc Rémy in the 19th minute.

    The Saint-Etienne are 7th on the 20-team log while Lille occupy the 14th position with only three matches played in the new season.

    Osimhen who was part of the Super Eagles squad to the last Nations cup in Egypt it will be recalled replace injured Odion Ighalo in the third place match which Nigeria won by a lone goal.

    Ighalo had shot the team into the lead before pulling out with injury and the team held on to the lead till the end.

  • Police confirm kidnap of six on Kaduna-Abuja road

    Kaduna State Police Command has confirmed the abduction of travellers, including three final year student of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, on Kaduna-Abuja highway.

    The command however said that following intensive combing of the bush by security after the incident, three of the abductees were released by the kidnappers.

    Police, according to a statement issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Yakubu Sabo however frowned at reportage of the incident from a section of the media, which it said were exaggerated.

    According to the statement, “The Command wishes to state that, on the said date, at about 1850hrs, Armed Men in Military Uniform intercepted some commuters near Masari Village along Kaduna Abuja Expressway; opened fire on the vehicles, in the process kidnaped six persons.

    Read Also: Three ABU law students, four others kidnapped on Kaduna-Abuja highway

    “However, due to the prompt response of the Police and other security agents to the scene, three people were later released by the hoodlums due to intensive combing within the general area.

    “The rescued persons alongside the abandoned vehicles were recovered to Police Station. Concerted efforts are still being coordinated by the joint teams of Anti-Kidnapping Unit, PMF and the IRT to rescue the remaining three victims and apprehend the perpetrators of the crime.

    “The Command wants the public to note that, while regretting the unfortunate incident, the story being circulated by such media is a gross exaggeration and misrepresentation of fact aimed at causing more fear in the minds of the public. Thus, the Command enjoins the general public to jettison such report as misleading information.

    “Consequently, the press should continue to uphold high ethical standard of their profession. All accounts of crime incidents should be verified before publication to avoid being involved in sharing mischief.

    “Internet subscribers should also be cautious in sharing stories of questionable sources especially via the social media.

    “In conclusion, the command wishes to reaffirm its unrelenting commitment towards fighting crime and criminality to the barest minimum.” The statement read.

  • BREAKING: 12th African Games: Three Nigerians hit semifinal of men’s singles

    What Nigeria could not achieved in the team event became a reality on Tuesday when Aruna Quadri, Segun Toriola and Olajide Omotayo qualified for the semifinal of the men’s singles of table tennis at the 12th African Games holding in Rabat, Morocco.

    It was Aruna Quadri who set the tone for others after thrashing Congo Brazzaville’s Saheed Idowu 4-0, while Toriola and Omotayo worked hard for their victory against Egypt’s Khalid Assar and Ahmed Saleh.

    The encounter between Omotayo and Saleh brought to fore the battle between youthfulness and experience and it was youthfulness that laughed last.

    Omotayo was all over the veteran Egyptian from the start to the end and he ensured that Saleh went down with a 4-3 win.

    Read Also: 12th All-Africa Games: Danjuma picks Nnadozie, Duru, 16 others

    Also, Toriola wind back the time with a superlative 4-3 win over Assar.

    Earlier, Egypt’s Omar Assar had beaten Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw 4-0 to set up a semifinal clash against Aruna Quadri on Thursday August 29.

    It will be Nigerian affairs in the second semifinal as Omotayo battles Toriola.

    In the women’s event, Olufunke Oshonaike played her last game after going down 3-4 to Egypt’s Farah Abdel-Aziz. Dina Meshref also beat Algeria’s Lynda Logrhaibi 4-0, while Edem Offiong humbled Egypt’s Reem El-Eraky.

    Cameroun’s Sarah Hanffou berthed in the last four after beating Egypt’s Yousra Helmy.

    Offiong will battle Hanffou while Meshref will face her compatriot – Abdel-Aziz in the second semifinal on Thursday August 29.

    An elated Omotayo said: ” I am so excited that in my first African Games I made it to the semifinal. I knew that it was going to be a tough game against of the most experienced African players and I just ensured that I did not get angry on table because he did everything to upset me but I was determined. I was calm and I am happy that this is a good outing for me in the singles.”

  • Alleged breakup: Stefflon Don deletes all Burna Boy’s pictures from Instagram page

    There was a viral romour that the romantic relationship between Nigerian’s superstar Artist Damini Ogulu popularly know as Burna Boy and Stefflon Don ended on Tuesday.

    Recall that the news made waves after the video of the artist and his ex Ghanian Actress Princess Shyngle on facetime, went viral.

    Read Also: AFRIMA 6th edition: Nasty C, Davido, Burna Boy, Tamer Hosny top list

    Burna Boy later debunked the rumour on his twitter account claiming it was false. He said “If there is really a God, then there must be a special place for hell for bloggers”.

    Stefflon Don also claimed the news was false as she said ” She and her boo are good”.

    However, a visit to Stefflon Don’s Instagram page today revealed that she has deleted all Burma Boy’s pictures on her page amid the rumours, making it look real.

  • Govt to expand TraderMoni loan, says Osinbajo

    VICE-President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday said the Federal Government will expand its MarketMoni and TraderMoni interest-free loan scheme to cover more rural dwellers.

    The Vice-President spoke at the Keffi old market in Keffi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

    It was during the assessment visit of the loan facility in Keffi, the state capital.

    Osinbajo said President Muhammadu Buhari had given the directive that the MarketMoni/TraderMoni loan programme would be extended to all the states of the federation.

    The Vice-President said the extension of the Federal Government-backed loans scheme is to ensure that it achieves the intended objective.

    He advised the beneficiaries of the loan to pay back to enable other intending beneficiaries to benefit from the programme.

    Read Also: Osinbajo decries high port charges

    “We want to assure you that we are going to do more as President Muhammadu Buhari has directed us to expand the scheme so that those who have not benefited from the TraderMoni and MarketMoni will also benefit.”

    “It is very important to pay back the money so that the scheme will work effectively,” Osinbajo said.

    Governor Abdullahi Sule hailed the Federal Government for taking the loan scheme to the state.

    He said it would contribute to the economic prosperity of the state.

    The Executive Director, Micro Enterprise, at the Bank of Industry (BoI), Toyin Adeniji, said 3,000 beneficiaries enrolled for the scheme in three days.

     

  • 2019 elections: Obaseki meets with aggrieved APC members

    The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has met with aggrieved members of the party who contested in the 2019 All Progressives Congress (APC) primary elections, as part of the recommendations by the Theophilus Okoh-led committee set up to reconcile aggrieved members of the party in the state.

    The governor alongside other leaders of the APC in Edo State apologised to the aggrieved members over the unfair treatment meted to them when they indicated interest to contest in the 2019 APC primaries in the state.

    He thanked them for keeping faith with the party despite their disaffection which showed they are true loyalists of the party, adding, “After reading the Okoh-led Committee Report and watching the videos, I really appreciate you all. We are truly sorry for what you may have gone through during the 2019 primary elections. This meeting is the starting point for reconciliation of aggrieved members of the party.”

    The meeting, according to Obaseki, is part of the reconciliation process the party has adopted to resolve the issues in the party.

    “Almost 20 court cases arose from those who were deprived of the opportunity to contest fairly for the ticket of the party,” he said.

    Obaseki explained that the meeting became necessary to bring all aggrieved members of APC together to resolve all the issues causing the crisis, adding “To build trust, confidence and demonstrate that we truly want to reconcile the aggrieved members of our party, within a week of receiving the Okoh-led committee report, we called for this meeting to talk to our aggrieved members.”

    He noted that his administration was reviewing each case at a time, to refund money spent in purchasing interest forms by the members.

    Obaseki added, “Anyone who already has an appointment or someone who is likely to benefit from the APC is not expected to get refund but same can’t be for someone who has not received anything.

    “I call on you all to join hands together with this administration to build the APC as a party in the state in a fair and transparent manner. We are proud of our achievements as a government.”

    One of the aggrieved members, Barr. Evbu Igbinedion, called on the governor and members of the party in the state to ensure that female members are given the needed support to win elections, adding, “Females are more committed and loyal party members but are sidelined resulting in failures during elections. Today, there is no woman in the Edo State House of Assembly.”

    Another member, Anavberokhai Isah, said: “I urge party leaders to adopt zoning system across the state for various positions as it will discourage aspirants from buying forms when such position is not zoned to their area.”

    A leader of the APC, Charles Idahosa, urged the aggrieved members of the party to forget the past and join hands with the governor, who has done a lot to develop the state.

    He added that as the state approaches the 2020 gubernatorial election, they should support the governor to defeat evil forces that want to truncate development in the state.

  • Police arrest members of Vigilante group for killing 400L OOU student

    The Ogun State Police Command on Wednesday paraded three suspects who allegedly murdered one Ahmed Obisanwo, 400-level student of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye.

    The Command also recovered guns from the suspects who claimed to be members of local community Vigilante group.

    The Commissioner of Police, Bashir Makama, who paraded the suspects at Eleweran, the Command’s Headquarters, said the three suspects Idowu Ayodele, 53, Segun Ogunsanwo, 53, and Akeem Salisu, 55 would be charged with   murder.

    Makama said the suspects invaded a hotel in Ijebu-Igbo, the Headquarters of Ijebu North Local Government Area of the State on August 8, dispossessing people of their valuables during the attack.

    The Police boss in the state added that  the suspects also seized two young men while the robbery lasted, stressing that one of the victims  escaped from the suspected criminals, while the other remained with them.

    He said: “These suspects went into a hotel and told everyone to lie down, dispossessing them of their valuables. They seized two people and didn’t return them. After a while, one of them came back and said he had escaped. When we asked him about the second person he was abducted with, he said, he was dead. It is six weeks today, that person has not returned.

    “There was a complaint and we worked on that which led to the arrest of these people and the recovery of these weapons. On further interrogation, they said the other person that was taken had been killed. They said he had been thrown into a river. We asked them to identify the river so we can go there and conduct a search and recover his remains.”

    “One of them claims to be a member of safe corps but the boss has out rightly denied that. One of the weapons is painted in police color. They will be made to face the full wrath of the law.”

    But one of the suspects, Akeem Salisu told reporters that he didn’t kill Obisanwo.

    Salisu claimed the Vigilante group where he is part of, was constituted by the community to rid the area of cultists and thugs.

    According to him, his group usually arrests cultists and thugs in the community and drop them at the Police Station in order to ensure peace and security in the area.

  • APC clears more aspirants for Kogi primary, upholds ex-Cross River REC disqualification

    The National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has cleared five more aspirants to contest the party governorship primary scheduled for Thursday, August 29 in Lokoja.

    This brings to nine the number of aspirants out of the 16 that purchased nomination forms to contest the election.

    The NWC also approved the disqualification of seven others.

    It further upheld the disqualification of the immediate past Resident Electoral Commissioner for Cross River state, Frankland Briyal saying it could find evidence of his membership of the party, having joined less than one month to the primary in Bayelsa.

    Among those whose disqualification has been approved are Babatunde Irekura and the two sons of late Prince Abubakar Audi, Mustapha and Mohammed Abubakar Audu.

    The screening committee headed by Senator Hope Uzodinma had disqualified 12 of the 16 aspirants for the primary for not meeting some of the requirement spelt out in the guidelines.

    Those who will contest the party ticket are current Governor Yahaya Bello, Hadiza Iyoma Ibrahim,  Yahaya Odidi Audu,  Sani Lulu Abdullahi, Engr. Abubakar Bashir, Engr. Danlami Umar Mohammed, Yakubu Mohammed, Hassan Abdullahi and Ekele Aishat Blessing.

    The party however refused to give their approval to Prof. Mohammed Seidu Onaili, Usman Oyibe Jibrin. Mustapha Mona Audu  Rukkaya Ibrahim, Gen. Patrick Adenu Akpa, Babatunde Ayo Kunle Irukera and Muhammed Abubakar Unukwu Audu.

    National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said in a statement that the party relied on the provisions of its guidelines and the electoral act in arriving at a final decision.

    The statement reads: “the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has deliberated on the reports of the screening and appeal committees for the Party’s Kogi Governorship aspirants.

    “After a comprehensive review of the submissions by the two committees, relying on the party’s guidelines and the provisions of the Electoral Act, nine aspirants were finally cleared to contest the August 29, 2019 Indirect Governorship primary. Seven other aspirants did not meet the requirements for participation in the exercise.”

    On Bayelsa, he said the NWC upheld the reports of the screening and appeal committees clearing six of the seven aspirants that bought nomination forms.

    Read Also: I’m ready for Bayelsa APC primaries, says Lyon

    He said “of the total seven governorship aspirants that were screened, six were cleared to participate in the governorship primary in Bayelsa state. They are: Mr. Aganaba Preye Steven, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, Prince Ebitimi Christopher Amgbare, Ms. Diseye Nsirim Poweigha, Mr. Lyon David Pereworimini, and Engr. Prof (Mrs.) Ongoebi Maureen Etebu.

    “Dr. Briyai Oyeins Frankland was not cleared to participate in the Party’s governorship primary “The APC NWC upheld the disqualification of Dr. Briyai Oyeins Frankland based on Section 3 Paragraph “L” of the Party’s guidelines for the nomination of candidates which requires that aspirants are card-carrying member of the party for a period of one year.

    “The party also found no record of his membership of APC and was therefore considered ineligible.”

     

  • I didn’t steal Abia’s N7.2b, says Kalu

    A FORMER Abia State governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, on Tuesday said he did not steal N7.2 billion while in office between 1999 and 2007.

    He said during his tenure, the state had no such fund.

    Kalu spoke while continuing his testimony before Justice Mohammed Idris of a Federal High Court in Lagos to prove his innocence of the allegation levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Responding to a question from his lawyer, Prof. Awa Kalu (SAN), during a cross-examination, the former governor said there was no way he could have stolen what did not exist.

    “Abia State didn’t have such amount. Even on the day I was leaving, we borrowed money to pay salaries. Abia State didn’t have even a billion naira in any account at the time I was governor,” he said.

    To back up his claim, Kalu, who is currently the Senate Chief Whip, emphasised the difficulties he encountered in running the state with Federal Government allocations.

    He said: “The monthly allocation for Abia State when I took over in June 1999 was N168 million. It was averaging between N168 million and N172 million monthly. The first month that I came in, there was even no money to buy diesel. I spent my own money to run the state for six months.

    “In the Year 2000, the monthly allocation was between N170 million and N189 million. In 2001, it came from about N302 million to about N380 million. I can recollect in 2002 that it was almost the same, and in 2003, when the revenue allocation was changed, we were having about N400 million.

    “The highest money I got as governor was in 2004 when we had about N1 billion. From that time up till May 2007, before I left, what we had was N1.6 billion.

    “Throughout my stay in office, I never owed salary and pension. When I took over as governor and before I left, we moved it up to N500 million. It was from this we were able to do a lot of things.”

    Read Also: Orji Kalu and Ruga controversy

    In his evidence, Kalu had told the court that he was a successful businessman before venturing into politics.

    Speaking on his line of businesses before he began his political journey, he said: “I was running a group of companies under Slok Nigeria Limited. I have a big furniture factory in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. I was also trading in cows. The cows were coming from Chad to Umuahia, the Abia State capital. I also had a vegetable oil factory in Aba supplying to people in Kano and Maiduguri.

    “I was also into shipping activities with major oil companies. We also have a very big corn farm in the East and Bauchi.

    “We were a major shareholder before another shareholder bought off First Bank. In 1994, the then Hallmark Bank had a problem and I later bought the majority stake in the bank. We also had major interests in banks in DR Congo, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the then Sudan before crisis set in.”

    The former governor also said he dealt in buying and selling of property.

    Kalu added that he made his statements to the EFCC under bad treatment from some police officers.

    “When I learnt they were looking for me, I called Ibrahim Lamorde (the then EFCC Chairman) that I was in the United States and that I would show up upon my return to the country.

    “But when I returned to Nigeria, they were waiting for me at the airport and they whisked me away to their office. After I was beaten up thoroughly by police officers, I asked them what was my offence and they told me I had been insulting (then) President (Olusegun) Obasanjo. Mallam Nuhu Ribadu (pioneer EFCC Chairman) and Ibrahim Lamorde later came to apologise to me.”  Further hearing in the matter continues tomorrow.

     

  • Osinbajo chairs economic management team meeting

    Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, on Wednesday presided over the Economic Management Team meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
    The meeting was attended by  heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies dealing with the economy and the finances of government.

    Read Also: Osinbajo condemns high port charges

    Among those at the meeting included the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed; Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele; Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr Ahmed Idris, among others.
    The meeting was still in progress at the time of filing this report.