Tag: splashes

The Chief Servant (CS) of Niger State, Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu on Tuesday doled out N20m to players and officials of the Golden Eaglets as well as the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for winning the FIFA Under-17 World Cup for an unprecedented fourth time.

The Talban Mina, at a dinner banquet in honour of the team at the Hon. Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre in Minna on Tuesday as part of activities marking his 58th birthday anniversary, said Nigerians should be proud of the Eaglets’ stellar performance in the UAE. He said it was gratifying to note that the team was exemplary throughout the competition and therefore deserved to be celebrated.

“We are very proud of what these youngsters have done in lifting the image of the country through their collective efforts. With their performance, these young boys gave us a positive image throughout the world and they showed the resilience of being Nigerians,” said The CS who doubles as chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF).

Apart from the cash gift of N12m and N5m respectively to the players and technical crew, he also gave N3m cash gift to accompanying NFF’s board members and officials and offered to give a plot of land to each member of the team.

“We want you to remain focused and don’t relent in your efforts; and please don’t neglect your education which is very important,” he said, advising the NFF to keep the team intact for future challenges.

NFF President Aminu Maigari was ably represented at the event by Suleiman Yahaya-Kwande. Also in attendance were NFF board members – Shehu Adamu, Yusuf Ahmed Fresh, Ahmad Muazu Kawu as well as Mohammed Sanusi (Director of competitions) and Mr. Ademola Olajire (Assistant Director, Media).

Meanwhile, the Golden Eaglets have felicitated with the Chief Servant on his birthday anniversary praying for God’s guidance in his future endeavours.

“We are very grateful to the Chief Servant.In the Holy Quran, anybody who appreciates others should be appreciated and celebrated and we thank the Chief Servant for this good gesture to us,”said Niger-State born Salihu Ali-Baba who spoke on behalf of the team.

Akwa Ibom Governor Godswill Akpabio yesterday doled out N36.5 million to the Super Eagles of Nigeria for winning the 2013 African Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Akpabio, who announced the donation at the Government House Banquet Hall, Uyo, the state capital, raged at criticisms in the media over his donations to groups and individuals at different times, saying the press is still suffering from colonial mentality.

A breakdown of the donation shows that each of the 23 footballers smiled home with N1 million, Super Eagles Chief Coach, Stephen Keshi got N2 million, three assistant coaches received N1 million each while 17 back room officials got N.5 million each.

Akpabio also donated one three-bedroom flat to Akwa Ibom-born and Super Eagles Captain, Vincent Enyeama for doing the state and the nation proud during the football championship.

The governor congratulated Super Eagles coaches and footballers for winning the cup, saying, ”We celebrate you. To you the players, you are the icons. For the coaches, we were praying collectively for you. You are the future of this country.”

He, however, condemned people who criticise his administration for making donations to individuals, organisations and the less-privileged when such are captured as grants in the yearly budgets as approved by the state House of Assembly.

Akpabio lamented media criticisms on his alleged ‘fiscal recklessness’ saying the Nigerian press are still living with colonial mentality.

He said: ”At this point of our existence, what should be important to Nigerians is development, unity and security challenges and not frivolous things.”

According to him, “Nigeria is a place where bad news is good news. Nigerian press has not yet learnt. From the West African Pilot, the press was set up in Nigeria to fight the colonial masters and to fight for independence”, adding, “many years after the colonial masters left, the Nigerian press is still fighting government and up till now they still don’t know that the colonial masters have gone.”

He maintained that any money he spends on donations or grants are captured in the budget as passed by the state House of Assembly. “If I donate to the church and you get angry with me should I donate to Satan?” Akpabio asked.

The governor, who commended the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Chief Coach and other officials for visiting Akwa Ibom, applauded the Eagles for doing the country proud. ”We hardly see anything to celebrate about. That’s why when you did the miracle you did in South Africa, you brought back the Nigerian spirit. You gave even a three-year-old Nigerian child something to celebrate by winning the cup,” he said.

Akpabio enjoined the footballers to learn from and emulate other footballers who have made names by shunning drug addiction and drunkenness in order to be relevant in the scheme of things in the future, adding, ”Now that God has given you a coach; you have to respect him and be disciplined. Without discipline, you cannot be successful.”

He further enjoined the footballers to, ”Hold unto God and call on Him always. It is not a tragedy when a non-entity becomes a failure. But it is a tragedy when a potentially achieving, young man becomes a a failure on account of character flaw. Your victory becomes a turning point in the nation. The Federal Government’s transformation policy cannot be complete if the youths are not transformed.”

Nigeria Football Federation president, Aminu Maigari thanked Akpabio for always supporting the Eagles and advised him to continue in his good work of promoting football development in the country.

Earlier, Vincent Enyeama had thanked the governor for the show of love and generosity on them and asked him to continue as an uncommon transformer.

The Executive Chairman of the Delta State Sports Commission, Pinnick Amaju, has declared that Warri, the host city to the 1st African Junior Athletics championships, is ready for the event. Indeed, Pinnick who doubles as chairman of the Local Organising Committee for the continental meet which holds between March 27 and 30, said the oil rich city can’t wait for the start of the event as everything has been put in place to make it a success.

Speaking at a pre-championship media briefing in Lagos yesterday, Pinnick said: “Only yesterday (Wednesday), the Executive Committee of Delta State approved a N300 million grant to the LOC and every other aspect of the championships has taken shape.”

Pinnick further disclosed that the Warri Stadium has been reconfigured into an athletics-friendly sports complex as a 4-track warm up track has been approved to be in place before the championships. “It will be the first of its kind in the West African sub-region,” he added.

The Delta State sports boss also spoke on the state of medical facilities for the championships.

“The medical facilities at Shell, Chevron and even at Oghara are of world standards. What we have there is beyond the conventional Nigerian standards,” he said.

On security, while Pinnick pointed out that there was nowhere in the world without security issues, he said Warri was safer than most parts of Nigeria. “Security details cannot be subject for public consumption but what I can assure everybody is that Warri is very safe. I live in Warri with my family and visitors to Warri can attest to the people’s friendliness and hospitality,” he noted.

It was Naira rain for the athletes who represented Oyo State at the 2012 National Sports Festival tagged ‘Eko 2012’ and Paralympics Gold Medalist, Yakubu Adesokan at the weekend, as governor Abiola Ajimobi rewarded them with cash gifts totaling N53, 800, 000.

Governor Ajimobi presented the cheques to the victorious Team Oyo at the main bowl of the Lekan Salami Stadium at the weekend.

The ceremony was also graced by members of the state’s executive council, officials of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the state’s Sports Council as well as other sports lovers in the state.

While Adesokan, who clinched gold in weightlifting at the 2012 Paralympics in London, was presented with a cheque for N4 million and a Hajj slot, his coach went home with the sum of N2 million.

Each of the Eko 2012 gold medalists also got N750, 000, while silver and bronze medalists collected N500, 000 and N350, 000 each respectively.

Speaking at the occasion, governor Ajimobi congratulated the athletes for putting up brilliant performances at the London Paralympics and the National Sports Festival and for doing the state proud.

He also said that his government would continue to reward excellence as a means of motivating sports men and women, and developing the sports sector in the state.

The state’s Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Dapo Lam-Adesina, in his address, thanked governor Ajimobi for his support to his ministry which he said had contributed immensely to the victory so far recorded in sports.

The Lagos State government yesterday hosted the victorious Super Eagles at the Lagos House, Alausa where the state governor, Babatunde Fashola doled out a total of 59 million Naira to the team in appreciate of their winning the African Cup of Nations in South Africa.

The chief coach of the team, Stephen Keshi got N2.5m; Daniel Amokachi N2m; the four assistant coaches got N1.5m while the captain of the team, Joseph Yobo was rewarded with N1.5m. The other 22 players got one million naira each. The 11 back room staff got the sum of N15m while the Nigerian Football and other Sports Supporters Club were given N4.5m naira.

Fashola, while addressing the team, congratulated them on their achievement but warned that rather than resting on its oars, the team’s success should spur it to greater heights. He said: “The question to ask is what next? We have Kenya in a few days. Let us remind ourselves that the immediate defending champions of this tournament that we have just won did not make it to the second round. So, we have the Confederation Cup in June and I am going to be there with the team. Yes, we have moved from a very abysmal ranking to fourth in Africa which is not good enough, and 30th in the world, but let me remind us that in 1994, we used to be sixth in the world. Some people doubted that ranking then but I told anybody who cares to listen that it was a well deserved ranking and Daniel Amokachi will remember, Bulgaria that we beat in the first round played in the semi final. Italy that eliminated us played in the finals, so it was not a fluke that we were fifth. We beat almost every team that we faced going to the World Cup, but the story is now history. So, the Confederation Cup provides us with an opportunity to improve our ranking. What that does is that in the main draw of the World Cup we will not play very strongly ranked team because we will be seeded. It is a building block through process to process. If we go with a lower ranking because we did not do well in the Confederation Cup, and focus only on the World cup…There must be a plan so that we can travel farther through the World Cup and as Mr. Seni Adetu said, let us moderate our expectations.”

The governor frowned at the interference with the duties of the head coach by some football house official saying that the head coach of the national team should be allowed to do his job within the time frame given to him to achieve certain goals and nobody should interfere with his job. His words: “Everybody in Nigeria today is a football expert. Let us respect those people that we have employed to do this job. If we think that they cannot do it, let us set timelines and then change them. I think the practice where people (officials) barge into the dressing room at half time uninvited should stop.

President/Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote has splashed the sum of N130 million on the Nigerian national team, Super Eagles for reaching the finals of the ongoing 29thAfrica Cup of Nations (AFCON) in South Africa.

The national team, Super Eagles reached the finals of AFCON 2013 by thrashing the Malian national team 4-1.

A statement from Dangote Group explained that the gesture is part of Dangote Group’s corporate social responsibility ( CSR ) to promote and encourage sports development in Nigeria. The donation is to acknowledge the exploits of the national team at the AFCON and stimulate them to bring home the coveted trophy.

Sports minister Mallam Bolaji Abudllahi speaking on the donation said: “Dangote has always demonstrated commitment to Government and people of Nigeria. We are happy over the gesture shown to the players and the coaching crew. It is an example for other well-meaning Nigerians to follow.”

Football enthusiasts are commending Aliko Dangote on the gesture describing it as a necessary tonic that would inspire the Super Eagles to win the final match on Sunday February 10 against the Stallions of Burkina Faso.

Ephraim Ubong, a football lover and Super Eagles supporter believes that the donation would spur the national team to win the trophy. Ubong, a staff of a creative agency in Lagos charged other wealthy Nigerians andorganizations toemulate Dangote by donating cash and materials to the national team.

The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, kicked off from January 19 while the finals will be played on February 10, 2013. The competition is organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Starting from this edition, the tournament was switched to being held in odd-numbered years instead of even-numbered years so that it does not clash with the FIFA World Cup.

The winner of the tournament will qualify for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil as the representative from CAF.

Dangote, a renowned philanthropist, uses the Dangote Foundation as a vehicle to drive his corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Each year, he spends hundreds of millions of Naira in donations that add value to the society both within and outside the shores of the Nigeria. The Foundation intervenes in the areas of health, education and empowerment. The Foundation is also involved in providing humanitarian aid to victims of natural disasters.

Dangote Foundation donated $2million in September 2010 to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to help the survivors of the devastating floods in Pakistan. This would be the first time that an individual would make an unsolicited donation to the UNWFP.

Back home in Nigeria, he donated $2.6million on October 5, 2012, to assist flood victims in Kogi State Nigeria, which is one of the heavily impacted states in the flood disaster that affected 23 out of 36 states of the federation in October 2012. He also made a donation of $16million in November 2012, to augment the Nigerian government’s effort to raise funds for the flood victims.

He is a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and has sponsored Young Global Leaders (YGLs) from Africa to attend meetings of the WEF. This is informed by his belief that the youth are the future leaders and as such should be nurtured to enable them to play this role.

Through his massive investments across Africa, Dangote has helped to create jobs and improved on living economies. His investment in Sephaku Cement of South Africa, estimated at R779million in 2010, is to date, the largest foreign direct investment by an African company in that country. He has also put Nigeria’s name on the world map as a major manufacturing hub for cement.

South Africa on Thursday disclosed it will splash 461 million rand (about N8.3bn, $53 million, 41 million euros) on Nigeria’s Super Eagles and 15 other teams that will be contesting the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) next year but denied it was a “vanity project” in tough economic times.

South Africa stepped in after the football showcase was shifted from war torn Libya and had to find the funds to pick up the hosting tab amid a slowing economy and rising debt levels.

“We are ensuring that we cut out any form of extravagance,” deputy finance minister Nhlanhla Nene told reporters, saying the tournament had not been budgeted for in the current financial year.

“What we have approved for funding for AFCON, we have cut it absolutely to the bone…I don’t think we can regard it as a vanity project.”

South Africa was only due to stage the continent’s championship in 2017 but the country’s lauded 2010 World Cup, which saw a building boom on stadiums, roads and airports, would help with hosting duties, he said.

The costs for the tournament, which runs from January 19 to February 10, were outlined in the medium term budget policy statement which was tabled on Thursday.

Funds were diverted from prioritised spending and will go to areas such as to host cities, security and health.

The tournament will be played in five host cities and towns – Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Nelspruit and the mining town Rustenburg.

South Africa is also expected to take over the hosting of 2014 African Nations Championship for local-based footballers.

Capital Oil and Gas has redeemed a pledge of $15,000 made by its chief executive Ifeanyi Ubah to the Flying Eagles.

A representative of the oil company, Nnanna Egwuonwu made the cash presentation on behalf of his chairman at the Bovina View Hotel in Ilorin soon after the African champions outscored South Africa 4-2 on aggregate to qualify for the 2013 AYC in Algeria.

“Congratulations to the Flying Eagles for a marvellous result and performance,” said Egwuonwu, who is the chief inspector of Capital Oil.

“We are most honoured to have redeemed the Amabssador’s Bonus as pledged by our chief executive, Ifeanyi Ubah.”

Two-goal hero Abduljaleel Ajagun also received the MVP cash award of $2,000 from the capital Oil representative.

Ubah is the Nigeria Youth Football Ambassador and he hosted the same team when they reached the last eight of the 2011 U20 World Cup in Colombia.