The Nation Newspaper

Tag: nominated

  • 46-year-old lawyer nominated as Emir of Borgu

    Less than two weeks after the death of Alhaji Haliru Dantoro, the Kitoro III of Borgu, Niger State, kingmakers in the Kingdom have nominated his 49-year-old son and lawyer, Muhammad Sani Halliru Dantoro (Marafan Borgu) as the next Emir.

    He defeated 42 other aspirants from the three major ruling houses to emerge the Emir-elect.

    Dantoro will succeed his father, who died on October 30 in Germany, following an illness.

    Source at the palace in New Bussa told our reporter that the kingmakers, at a meeting at the weekend, unanimously chose the new Mai Borgu.

    It was also gathered that the kingmakers, in compliance with the law, might have sent the name of the Emir-elect to Governor Abubakar Sani Bello for approval and installation.

    But the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the governor, Mr. Jide Orintunsin, told our reporter on phone that the emergence of Muhammad Dantoro was a culture matter that was being handled by the constituted authority at kingmakers’ level.

    The governor’s aide said the Bello administration was not interfering in the selection process.

    Orintunsin said: “The selection of a new Emir is primarily a native and custom affair and the authority vested with the powers on it is on ground. The state government is not and will not interfere in the process. We shall act accordingly if the names (of selected aspirants) are sent.”

    Asked if the kingmakers had sent the name of the nominated prince to the governor, Orintunsin said: “People should wait for the process to be completed. Government will act accordingly; we should just allow the selection procedure go its whole hog.”

  • Adi, Drogba nominated for MLS award

    Adi, Drogba nominated for MLS award

    NIGERIAN MLS wonder kid , Fanendo Adi has been nominated for the MLS player of the month award for the month of October 2015 .

    Adi was yesterday nominated along side former African player of the year,  Ivorian  Didier Drogba and three other players .

    Drogba , former Chelsea point man joined the MLS at the end of last season for an undisclosed amount for a deal that is viewed by many soccer fans across Africa as a pre retirement contract considering his age .

    However , the Nigerian centre forward , Fanendo Adi , joined his MLS side Portland Timbers FC from FC Copenhagen of Denmark mid season last year scoring 12 goals on his debut season , this season Adi made a personal target to surpass his last season achievement which he has actualised already by scoring 16 goals this term from the regular season which ended last Sunday .

    Adi’s goals has contributed immensely in helping to qualify his moderate MLS side Portland Timbers for the American play off’s which is  due to start this weekend .

    The 24-year-old Nigerian power forward has broken and created anew club record since joining Portland Timbers Fc a season and half ago such like , the first Portland Timbers player to score  eight goals in one season on away ground , the first player to score 16 goals for Portland Timbers in one season , the first player to score a brace in four games in one season  .

    However, Adi is not done with his best with the club yet , he is looking forward at winning more laurels for club which is  his main objective at the moment .

    His words: “yeah today I am nominated for the MLS player of month award but is not my priority to be wining personal best awards I will be more satisfied if my club wins the MLS title , that notwithstanding I have absolute respect for  organised football individual awards  because it is  a mark of respect for one’s performance as well as it serves as a motivation, especially for young players like me.”

    Adi was previously selected by FIFA on the FIFA ultimate team of the month , the first Nigerian ever to have made the FIFA ultimate team. Adi might not be the best Nigerian striker  at the moment  but he is surely the best in form Nigerian striker currently as far as  consistency in goal scoring remains the yard stick in measuring strikers performance world wide.

     

  • Best African star for December: Mikel nominated for EPL top award

    Best African star for December: Mikel nominated for EPL top award

    Mikel Obi will battle Swansea striker Wilfried Bony, Sadio Mane of Southampton as well as Alex Song from West Ham for the best African performer in the EPL for the month of December.

    Giving details, New African Soccer’s Awards Director and CEO Tunde Adelakun stated that the choice was a difficult one, given the busy schedule of games in the EPL in December.

    “We had varying and diverse opinions from our followers, and this is understandable,” he said, “given the many matches that were played in December and the involvement of a high number of Africans”.

    “Wilfried Bony has featured in the shortlist on two occasions in the past, as he continued to lead the line for Swansea City. His physical presence, tenacity and knack for goals has brought the attention of many clubs to him, and Swansea might have a job keeping him with the January transfer window looming.  Swansea has dropped marginally in the EPL log but Bony’s presence and impact is noticeable”, Adelakun said.

    Southampton’s Sadio Mane, 22, has been in good form as he settled down gradually into his role at the southern coast club, and Adelakun was quick to provide justification for his inclusion in the shortlist.

    “Mane is young and very skilful, and he brings something different into the Southampton team. He has taken time to settle, but from the games he played in December, one can see what a real asset he is turning into. Goals against Crystal Palace and Chelsea in succession are just crowns at the top of encouraging performances in the month, and I think Southampton will miss him when he goes for the African Cup.”

    One late entrant into the fray is Chelsea’s Mikel Obi. The Nigeria midfielder did not have an active start to the season as many might have expected, partly due to the excellent partnership in the middle of Chelsea’s park of Fabregas and Matic. But it was all the more reason why Adelakun felt that he deserved a shout in December.

    “Mikel is playing in the midst of gifted individuals at Chelsea and I was one of those who felt his playing time was over at the club at the start, but he battled his way back to the starting eleven, and has been solid and formidable since”, Adelakun said.

    Alex Song, Cameroon midfield maestro, makes up the fourth name on the shortlist. He is a versatile player who, according to Adelakun, “held things together in the midfield for West Ham until the latter stages of December when they faced different class of opposition”.

    “Song has settled in well, and he is an asset for West Ham. He suits Allardyce’s style of play and he is pivotal to where West Ham will finish at the end of the season”.

    The winner of the December award will be announced at the weekend.

  • Giwa won’t be nominated for NFF President

    Giwa won’t be nominated for NFF President

    Plateau State FA chairman, Sunday Longbap, will not nominate owner of Nigeria Premier League club, Giwa FC, Chris Giwa, for the post of NFF president because he was indicted by a government white paper for financial mismanagement, among other charges.

    Longbap has reportedly refused to nominate Giwa amid threats to his life and he has cited the indictment by a government panel of the club owner as the main reason for his “stubborn” refusal.

    A six-person fact-finding team led by M.T Ahmadu on Plateau United FC indicted Giwa in a White paper published in October 2004.

    “Chris Giwa and his management team of five persons should refund to the government the sum of 2.5 million Naira being the money they could not account for,” read part of the 23-page government white paper.

    The NFF also suspended Giwa for six months and banished Plateau United to Akure after he invaded the pitch to threaten the referee to cancel a goal scored by Dolphins against Plateau United.

    Among other charges against Giwa were –

    – He displayed an act of arrogance when interacting with the NFF disciplinary committee in Abuja

    – Failure to redeem welfare packages promised to the match officials

    – Lack of transparency and disrespect for laid down rules and regulations of the game

    – He was proud and boastful claiming to have sufficient funds to fly his team to any part of the country to play and win

    The white paper also said that under the leadership of Giwa, the club were bedeviled by many shortcomings ranging lack of transparency, lack of financial prudence and lack of proper records of accountability.

    The committee noted that the Giwa-led management officials received twice what the players received as match bonus.

    The players got 5,000 Naira as match bonus for a home game, while the management officials were paid between 10,000 and 20,000 Naira for home matches.

    There were also un-receipted expenses for “public relations” and adverts in the mass media as well as inflated costs for both home and away matches as well.

    The fact-finding committee was set up in the wake of the poor performance of Plateau United in the Nigeria Premier League despite a huge investment by the Plateau State Government.

    “Despite the huge sums of money released to the club this playing season, the club was faced with so many crisis ranging from administrative to technical problems, which resulted in the suspension of the chairman and later on the suspension of the acting chairman (Chris Giwa) and the technical crew respectively,” reported the committee.

    Giwa has been sold by some top NFF secretariat officials and ministry chiefs as “the government candidate” to head the new executive committee of the NFF come the August 26 polls.

     

  • Player Of The Week Musa nominated

    Player Of The Week Musa nominated

    Top Russian football portal championat.com has shortlisted Nigeria international Ahmed Musa for the best player in the Russian Premier League for the 20th round of matches.

    To win the award, the CSKA Moscow striker will compete with Ari, Salvatore Bocchetti and Yura Movsisyan from Spartak Moscow, Balazs Dzsudzsak and Alexander Kokorin of Dynamo Moscow, Roman Eremenko and Sergey Ryzhikov of Rubin Kazan, Araz Ozbiliz of Kuban, Stipe Pletikosa of FC Rostov and teammate Vagner Love.

    Readers of championat.com will choose Russia’s Player of the Week for the last round of games. Points will be awarded to the best two players nominated by readers in the overall voting.

    Musa, 20, netted his ninth goal of the season in CSKA Moscow’s 2-0 win over Krylya Sovetov last weekend. By the way, that strike is one of five goals nominated for Goal of the Week in the championship.