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CHELSEA legend Claude Makelele insists N'Golo Kante is not yet as good as he was and that the two-time Premier League champion needs more experience.
N’Golo Kante
France midfielder Kante has been viewed as Makelele's natural successor with the Blues.
But Makelele is adamant it is too early to anoint him as such and believes he needs a tougher schedule before we can really judge him.
Chelsea will be back in the Champions League next season.
And it is only then, with the extra midweek games and travel, that Kante will truly prove his worth, insists Makelele.
He said: "At the moment Kante is special and one of the best midfielders.
"The problem is, I played 25 years in football at this level and comparisons are being made in a bad way.
"This season he did not play in the Champions League. Every four days there will be games.
"With the national team there will be games. There will be a lot of games. He needs to get that experience."
Makelele, who made more than 600 appearances through his career and won the league twice with Chelsea before retiring in 2010, wants Kante to succeed.
But he suggested the former Leicester star's style of play may need to change when faced with the increased workload.
He added: "When he is at that level, he will not run for 90 minutes all the time.
"He will need to listen to the rhythm, the way he plays. This will be key for him. I hope this will be the situation. I hope he does better than I did in my career."
The leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu has said that ‘without Biafra there will be no difference between an animal and a black person from Africa.
The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo has commended the efforts of Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) for promoting the Federal Government's initiative on the "Ease of doing Business".
Ag Pres Osinbajo
Osinbajo gave the commendation in a statement issued by Mr Bola Fashina, the Head of Public Relations of SON in Abuja on Saturday.
The acting president spoke at the recent Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Clinic held in Calabar on Friday.
Osinbajo said: "I know this is a new SON ready to go, a business facilitator and not one that hinders business".
President Muhammadu Buhari recently established the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, PBEC.
The aim is to review and address all encumbrances in the "Ease of Doing Business'' which includes movement of people and goods in and out of the country, transparency in government, regulations, and registering business among others.
Fashina said the Director-General of SON, Mr Osita Aboloma, who also spoke at the event, said the organisation was saddled with the responsibility of providing relevant Nigerian Industrial standards as benchmark for quality of products and services offered in Nigeria.
Aboloma, represented by Mr Don Pedro, the Coordinator of SON in Cross River, said that other mandates include the promotion of quality assurance, accurate testing and measurement regimes for trade and commerce to thrive in Nigeria.
"Great emphasis is placed on the grooming of budding Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, using the instrument of standardisation.
"This is to support the industrialisation efforts of the government as well as promote consumer safety,'' Aboloma said.
Poor defending ensured Rivers United failed to get a result at KCCA of Uganda today when they fell 2-1 in a CAF Confederation Cup Group A match in Kampala.
Bolaji
The result means FUS Rabat of Morocco top the group with six points after they defeated Club Africain of Tunisia 2-1 at home on Friday. KCCA are second also on six points, while Club Africain place third ahead of Rivers United by virtue of a better goals difference.
However, Rivers United will hope for an immediate fight back as they will host KCCA on June 20. KCCA went in front after Derrick Nsibambi fired home in the 15th minute from deep inside the box for his second goal of the competition.
However, Rivers United fought back and drew level in the 33rd minute with a superb goal by Bolaji Sakin off an equally super assist by striker John Odumegwu from the left flank.
Nsibambi got his brace and the match winner for KCCA on 71 minutes, when he fired home from inside the box unmarked after a long ball from the right beat the entire Rivers defence.
The home team got off to a very bright start as Rivers United goalkeeper Sunday Rotimi was forced to make at least three big saves early in the match.
Rotimi was later injured and was replaced by Abiodun Akande, who made a point-blank save late in the first half to keep scores at 1-1 going into the interval.
The Ugandan champions controlled the possession after the break, but they struggled to make this count till they were gifted the match winner in the 71st minute.
KCCA hit the post and also the side netting late on as they tried to increase their lead.
By Rotimi Ojomoyela Ado-Ekiti- The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has raised the alarm over the continued nefarious activity of the Fulani herdsmen across the country, especially in Benue state, calling on the Federal Government to use every means possible to rein in the killer herdsmen.Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and Ondo State governor Akeredolu in Iyin-Ekiti for the burial service of Late General Adeyinka Adebayo on Saturday.
Fayose said, "what is going on in Benue State is more like an organised pogrom and those responsible for the killings in the State must be arrested and prosecuted."
The governor said Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo should be allowed to function as the president so as to be able to deploy instruments of the federal government to tackle the herdsmen menace, pointing out that; "As it is today, it appears that the Prof Osinbajo does not have the full powers of the president."
In a release issued on Saturday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose, who declared support for the new law prohibiting open grazing in Benue State, said "those opposed to the law are only doing so as part of their plot to undermine the land and people of Benue State and they must be made to face the law."
He sympathised with the government and people of Benue State, adding that the Federal Government must stop playing ostrich to the menace of the Fulani herdsmen.
Governor Fayose said; "Like I have maintained, cattle farming is not different from fish farming, snake farming, poultry farming, snail farming, etc. Therefore, if fish farmers are providing their own ponds and poultry farmers building their own pens, while also buying feed for their animals, there is no reason cattle farmers should not also provide their own ranch and feed their cows without encroaching on other people's farmlands."
"How can Nigerians embrace farming when those already in the farms are losing billions of naira worth of crops to destruction of their farmlands by the Fulani Herdsmen and the Federal Government is not doing anything about it?"
He described the Buhari-led government's continuous silence on the alleged killing of harmless Nigerians by Fulani herdsmen as unacceptable.
The governor said; "In May, 2016, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria boldly told Nigerians that herdsmen killed over 1,000 Agatu people of Benue State then because over 800 of their cows were killed by Tiv youths. The man who openly made that comment was never questioned by the security agent.
"The same Miyetti Allah is now against the Anti-Open Grazing Law in Benue State, vowing to mobilize its members to resist the law and claiming that pastoralists like other citizens of the country have the right to move freely and to reside in any part of the country.
"Does pastoralists have rights to destroy other people's farmlands, invade homes and rape people's wives and daughters? Shouldn't people who are into cattle farming be able to provide feeds for their animals?"
Awka – The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), has expressed sympathy with Gov. Willie Obiano of Anambra over the death of his mother, Mrs Christiana Obiano.Chief Willie Obiano
A statement by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, signed by APGA National Publicity Secretary, Mr Ifeatu Obi-Okoye, urged Obiano to bear the irreparable loss and find solace in God.
The statement described the governor's late mother as a good woman and devout Christian.
"The National Chairman, Dr Victor Ike Oye and members of NWC of APGA express our condolence to His Excellency, Governor Willie Obiano and members of his family, over the death of his mother.
"May the good Lord give you and the entire family the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.
"Mama in her lifetime was a devout and committed christian and a very active member of the Catholic Women Organisation.
"May her gentle soul find eternal peace in the bosom of our Lord," it said.
NAN reports that the death of Obiano's mother was announced on Saturday by Mr Tony Nnacheta, Commissioner for Information and Communication Strategy in Anambra.
Minna – Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger has approved the appointment of 17 new permanent secretaries. Abubakar Bello A statement signed by the Head of Service, Yabagi Sule, said on Saturday in Minna that the governor also retired 16 others, including four that had earlier tendered their notices of retirement based on extant rules of the service.
It said that eight permanent secretaries had been retained, while three others, currently on acting capacity, had their appointments confirmed.
The statement said that the governor's action was aimed at consolidating on the successes so far recorded in the ongoing civil service reforms.
It said that the 17 new permanent secretaries' appointments were based on merit, equity and fair representation to correct existing imbalances.
It named the new permanent secretaries to include Salamatu Abubakar, Yusuf Kagara, Yakubu Bello, Akilu Musa, Mohammed Gana, Ramatu Umar, Kaltume Dauda and Mohammed Musa.
Others are Joseph James, Kolo Kudu, Wasa Jonathan, Yahaya Garba, Abubakar Umar, Usman Dalau, Adamu Baba, Kangiwa Baba and Bawa Ibrahim.
Those retained are Umaru Bawa, Shuaibu Adamu, Rachael Yisa, Zakari Abubakar, Abubakar Salisu, Safiya Bawa, Idris Sadiq and Safiya Garafini
Those on acting capacity, who were confirmed, included Mohammed Makusidi, Shehu Mu'azu and Kudu Nagya, who was confirmed and retired.
It added that the state civil service now had 27 permanent secretaries, with each of the 25 local governments having at least one. (NAN)
This week marked the 50th anniversary of the declaration of the Sovereign State of Biafra and one or more questions still linger. I will not delve into the more contentious questions, but for the sake of improving the relationship between the Igbo and their Yoruba neighbors, let me touch on one or two areas where, if the truth is brought to the fore, the relationship between omo Oduduwa and Ndi’Igbo could be improved.
Firstly, why do Ndi’Igbo still believe the false stereotype that the omo Oduduwa (Yoruba) are cowards? This is simply not true and the facts do not support this belief.
In the history of Nigeria, only two men have returned to Nigeria to face almost certain death even when they had the option of a very comfortable political asylum abroad. Both of them are Yoruba. In 1985, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida toppled the Buhari regime while Major General Tunde Idiagbon (mixed Yoruba/Fulani) was at Mecca yet Idiagbon returned.
In 1995, Olusegun Obasanjo (pure Owu Yoruba) was accused of planning a coup by the blood thirsty tyrant, Abacha (if you do not like that truthful description of Abacha or if you believe that ‘Abacha did not loot’, you can go and join him where he is) while he was away in Copenhagen. He returned to face almost certain death.
What more example of bravery can there be than these two shining ones.
Furthermore, there is the apocryphal example of Colonel Francis Adekunle Fajuyi who chose to die with the Head of State, rather than abandon his guest, which he was at liberty to do. I am hard pressed to believe that if it was vice versa, Ironsi would have done the same for Fajuyi, but then again, I may be wrong.
I admired Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu for his guts and stubborn determination during the events leading up to and during the civil war, but I was disappointed that he fled Biafra when the end came. I wish he remained.
I also admired the Right Honorable Nnamdi Azikiwe, but Chief Obafemi Awolowo would NEVER have abandoned his people as Azikiwe did when he defected to the federal side during the civil war.
Awolowo was in prison because of his people and he could have been released had he compromised his beliefs but he stoutly refused. That is courage not cowardice.
I have been in direct communication with General Yakubu Gowon whom I admire but he did not return to Nigeria after he was accused of being behind the Dimka coup.
All things considered, Fajuyi, Obasanjo and Idiagbon are probably the bravest Nigerians ever. They are (were in the cases of Fajuyi and Idiagbon) certainly braver than Murtala Ramat Mohammed, who was safely in London waiting for Joe Garba and co to topple Gowon.
Even with the sullying of his name as a Quisling in the pages of history, it is on record that of all the first republic politicians that were killed in the January 1966 coup, only Samuel Ladoke Akintola, the Premier of the Western Region, put up a fight. He had a rifle and exchanged gunfire with Captain Emmanuel Nwobosi and his men. Akintola, a civilian, injured the trained soldiers and was only killed when his ammunition finished. And even at that he did not cry or beg!
Ndi’Igbo may do well to remember how Wole Soyinka, at great risk to himself, traveled to Enugu during the height of the civil war crisis to persuade Ojukwu against secession. Soyinka had nothing to gain. He did what he did as a humanitarian in support of the Igbos, an act for which he was arrested by the Gowon led Federal Military Government and thrown in jail for 26 months, 22 of which he spent in solitary confinement.
These facts of history prove that the stereotype of Yorubas as cowards is false. Every ethnicity has cowards and brave men. As we celebrate #BiafraAt50, I hope the Yoruba and Igbo can find common ground and unite as Southern Nigeria’s two main ethnic nationalities otherwise the South will continue to be politically disadvantaged even when it is the most educationally advantaged part of Nigeria.
It is true that the Igbo are marginalized in Nigeria, however, I am of the opinion that a lot of the blame for this can be laid at Ndi’Igbo’s doorstep.
In my opinion, and remember this is an opinion not a fact, the major undoing of Ndi’Igbo is their misunderstanding of the term strength.
Ndi’Igbo erroneously believe all strength is physical. They do not seem to realize that strength is your ability to assert your will on earth and that that ability may not always be physical. The proverb-discretion is the better part of valor-is not understood by the Igbo. They tend to be reactionary and consider pausing to study a situation before you respond (not react) as cowardice. One or two of them may get it, but as a race in general they do not.
They do not consider diplomacy as a first step. To them it is weakness and makes you an efulefu! If they have an enemy, they are not able to suppress their emotions and work with those they do not like. They must make their hostility obvious to the person they do not like and being aware of the dislike, the person is armed against them. In an organization, others may be sublime and discrete in their scheming, but the Igbo are more likely to be obvious and in your face about theirs and end up causing unity amongst their enemies in plotting their downfall.
As a general rule, Ndi’Igbo have very little humility and are very proud individually though there are few exceptions and I must single out my friend Emeka Maduewesi as one of those exceptions. An epitome of a gentleman! Another example would be Uche Chuta. May God throw up leaders like Uche in Igboland!&
For example Since 2010, my white beard has been my trademark. In fact Punch newspapers refers to me as ‘the white bearded Omokri’. Yesterday (May 30th), my grandfather called me and asked me to shave it off because he does not like it. That same day, I obeyed him. I obey my grandfather at 43 the same way I obeyed him at 3.
I am very successful today and I trace my success to the upbringing and prayers I got from my father and grandfather. No money ritual is as effective as a prayer and blessing from your fathers. I may be wrong, but I am not sure that a father or grandfather can have this type of influence on an adult financially and socially successful male in Igbo land. What I did may even be construed as weakness.
In my opinion, Ndi’Igbo are also individually more intelligent than their neighbors (I call it as I see it) but they hardly use their intelligence to unite and have one leader, one goal and one destiny. Because of this, even though they are more intelligent, they are almost always doomed to serve those that are wiser than them because wisdom is superior to intelligence.
The Igbo also appear to value leaders because of the leader’s personal attainments in life and so money gives you more leadership credentials than wisdom or age. They forget that a rich man may have more clothes than an elder but cannot have more rags than him. They overestimate the power of money and underestimate the power of wisdom.
If the Igbo can learn humility and practice diplomacy and discipline themselves to have one leader that they listen to in good and bad times not because he is always right but because he is their leader, their marginalization will end and their dominance will begin.
These are merely my opinions which may be wrong.
Now that I have touched on Ndi’Igbo, perhaps I may also touch on the South in general.
There are four things that the South has to understand about the North.
One, there is no such thing as Hausa Fulani. It is a myth. There is Hausa and there is Fulani.
The second thing is that the Fulani are not our enemies. They are our rivals for power. Once we make this paradigm shift, our attitudes to seeking political power will change.
The third thing is that the Northern elite are experts at brinkmanship.
A perfect example is the recent ranting by the chairman of the Northern Elders Forum, the cantankerous Ango Abdullahi, who says that the North is prepared to split from Nigeria.
When at Chief EK Clark’s 90th birthday in Abuja, Ango Abdullahi said “I come from Kaduna State, the population according to the 2006 census puts us at 6.3 million. And if you look at the resources that come from the so called federation account to Kaduna, it is one quarter of what Delta gets”, what Nigerians should understand is that he was only playing the game of brinksmanship.
Kaduna contributes only 0.1% of the funds that enter the Federation Account and gets 1.4% of the monies that leave the Federation Account.
Who should complain between Kaduna and Delta?
The fourth and final thing is that too many Southerners are filled with hostility for the Hausa people. Unbeknownst to but a few of us down South, there are very few actual Hausa people in the North.
Hausa is more of a language than a people. Most of those we in the South label ‘Hausa’ in the North are a motley crew of various minority ethnic groups who are bound together by a common lingua franca-Hausa.
For decades before Independence these minority groups had been dominated by the Fulani and when Independence came they thought that the more exposed Southerners would come and hand them a hand of fellowship and deliver them from their oppressors but to their shock we greeted them with hostility and sometimes open hatred and a wise sage like Sardauna Ahmadu Bello opened up his hands to them through his policy of One North and empowered Northern minorities like Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Sunday Awoniyi and co.
Who knows, he may have done the same with the South and created a truly ‘One Nigeria’, if his life had not been tragically cut short in the coup mistakenly called Nzeogwu coup but which was actually masterminded by Emmanuel Ifeajuna with Nzeogwu being slightly more than a pawn in the game.
Ahmadu Bello was not a tribalistic leader. But he was a regional leader. He was suspicious of Southerners in general and he had something akin to disdain and maybe even contempt for Ndi’Igbo. It is an inconvenient truth that cannot be denied. Even his hardcore followers cannot deny this. He is caught on video articulating this view and these videos are now on YouTube.
Some of Sir Ahmadu Bello’s successors have built upon the foundations he laid and have matured to be great patriots.
For instance, despite what the media has written about him to exaggerate his faults, the fact remains that former President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida is one of the most patriotic Nigerians alive. Only President Olusegun Obasanjo can be said to be more patriotic than General Babangida in contemporary Nigerian history.
How do I mean? Consider this; In 1998 after Abacha died and Babangida’s protege, General Abdulsalami Abubakar became head of state, President Babangida engineered the shift of political power from the North to the Southwest and specifically to President Olusegun Obasanjo.
For those who think that he had to do this let me ask you a question: What would have happened if the 1999 Presidential election had been thrown open to all and sundry, and not just restricted to the Southwest, and a Northerner like Atiku Abubakar or some other credible Northerner had won?
Would the Southwest have seceded? Would there have been war in 1999? Would Nigeria have gone the way of Rwanda? No, no, no!
There would have been a great discontent in the Southwest, but as long as the results were free and fair, there would have been little the Southwest could have done to change the situation.
Now let me ask a hypothetical question: Placed in that same situation, with Igbo dominance in the military and in government, would an Igbo leader have ceded power to the Yorubas to compensate them for an event like June 12 knowing that even if he did not there was little they could do by way of taking the power from him?
Even an Igbo man would agree with me that this is very unlikely.
I do not need to ask the question of whether or not a Yoruba man would do this because General Olusegun Obasanjo had already done it in 1979.
It is this statesmanly humility, (having the power to do something that would favour yours and your people’s cause, yet having the conscience and discipline not to do it because it is against the principles of natural justice), that Ndi’Igbo lack in sufficient quantity at their leadership levels.
The above reason is why power continues to elude them. It is more than physical. It is spiritual. As James 4:10 says “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”
This humility is ingrained into Yoruba and Northern youths from infancy. In the North, youths squat to greet their fathers and their male elders. In the Southwest, children are taught to prostrate for their elders as a form of greeting. Banky W, is an international star but when he met Dele Momodu, he prostrated before him. Long before him, Sir Shina Peters did that to King Sunny Ade. I doubt that an Igbo man can even muster enough humility to prostrate before his own father how much more an elder! He would consider that as foolishness.
And there is nothing unGodly about this. It is not idolatrous. Many Igbos like to claim Jewish ancestry. Maybe they are right maybe they are not. But Abraham is the father of the Jewish nation. In Genesis 18:2 the Bible records that “Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.”
Look at that “bowed low to the ground”. Abraham prostrated!
That act of humility does not take anything from you. But it gives everything to you. You see, a man’s greatest pleasure and need is not money or sex. It is to feel important. It is to be respected.
Both religion and science support this position. In Genesis 1:28 God gave man a charge and said “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion”.
It is God Himself that put the desire in man to want to dominate, to want to be respected.
According to Sigmund Freud, man is dominated by two urges, the sex urge and the urge to be important. This goes back to Genesis 1:28 ‘be fruitful’ and ‘have dominion’.
Women by and large influence men through the first urge which Freud named ‘Eros’. Men influence other men through another part of the male personality that Freud called ego.
Because every man has an ego (the only difference is in size) it is very difficult, if not impossible to influence another man without massaging his ego. Refusal to do so can only end in two ways:
Conflict: which arises when two egos collide and one refuses to bow to the other, or Frustration: which arises when one person refuses to work on the ego of a man who has power over him.
And let me say that no one can have power over you except he was given that power by God which is why Romans 13:1 says “there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Reno Omokri is a Christian TV talk show host and founder of the Mind of Christ Christian Center and the Helen and Bemigho Sanctuary for orphans. He is the author of three books, Shunpiking: No Shortcuts to God, Why Jesus Wept and Apples of Gold: A Book of Godly Wisdom. His upcoming fourth book, Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years: Chibok, 2015 and Other Conspiracies, is set for release in June.
A little girl from Tuscon, Arizona in U.S. who suffered from a rare condition causing such debilitating and dangerous seizures that she was put into a coma, has been cured by cannabis.
Annalise Lujan, 12, was taking part in a gymnastics class when she began vomiting and lost all feeling in her legs.Cannabis helped Annalise Lujan regain her life
She suffered a severe seizure and was rushed to hospital where paramedics put her in a medically induced coma to stop any further damage being caused to her brain.
The youngster was flown to a specialist unit at Phoenix Children's Hospital where she was diagnosed with febrile infection-related epilepsy syndrome (FIRES), an incredibly rare condition affecting just one in a million children.
Her mother, Maryann Estrada-Lujan, told KVOA : "One day, she was just a healthy young lady, going to school, participating in her community and her gymnastics, and the next day – fighting for her life.
"She was put on a ventilator, and put into a medical coma, and, we haven't talked to her since.
"We had no idea that our whole world would be 180-degrees turned around in such devastation, such heartache, such confusion."
The condition was causing Annalise to suffer constant seizures which can prove to be fatal, but normal epilepsy medication was ineffective against FIRES.
Doctors were not able to bring her out of her induced coma until they found a method of controlling the seizures.
Her mother began researching alternative remedies and discovered a cannabis -derived drug, Cannabidiol, which had been successful in previous epilepsy cases.
She lobbied for the drug, which has low levels of THC which is the active ingredient making people 'high', to be given to her daughter.
Doctors had to rush through its approval with the FDA and DEA as the drug was not yet approved.
After just three treatments the schoolgirl was able to be brought out of her coma, and no longer suffers from the crippling seizures.
Her mother said: "She opened her eyes, and she was scared. She was afraid. She cried. And, I whispered to her that she was very strong, she's beautiful, and she's strong, and she needed to keep breathing, and she did."
Ahead of the Ogun governorship poll in 2019, a civil society organization, Ogun Progressive Mandate (OPM), has cautioned the governor of the state, Mr. Ibikunle Amosun to desist from making inflammatory statements that is likely to overheat the polity.
In a statement issued by the Convener, Mr. Ahmed Bamidele, the group disclosed that the successor of any elected leader can only be determined by God.
“On the race towards the 2011 general elections, no one gave the current governor a chance, everyone’s thought was with the ruling party, due to its structure and federal might ,but when God acts, human would be in a confused state”
“Also, if he doesn’t understand the Lord’s doing on how he became Daniel’s successor, then he should probably understand how Yayaha Bello became a governor. All in all, one fact is sacrosanct, only God can anoint a successor for him”
Besides, the group added that the recent statement ‘imported politician’ being credited to the governor is an aberration to the prosperous sons and daughters struggling to make a living outside the state.
“For every success being recorded in the world, an Ogun indigene is associated with it. Only recently, an Ogun state born boxer, Anthony Joshua became victorious. If tomorrow he decides to contest, won’t he be regarded as a ‘Tokunbo’? ”
“In politics, our leaders must be careful in making utterances. Emotions must not overtake their sense of reasoning. While ‘Tekobo’ may be said to score cheap political points, it is worthy to note that every successful individual in Nigeria has tapped from the blessings of Lagos”
“Also enjoying the honey of Lagos is the current deputy Governor, Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga, who is on leave of absence from the Lagos State Ministry of Environment, likewise the governor who became successful as a chartered accountant in the centre of excellence”
Finally, the group appealed to the governor to complete all abandoned projects he initiated in the state, alluding to it as the best legacy he can be remembered for.
IBADAN-THE Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) chapter has announced the commencement of an indefinite strike.
This action came three months after the suspension of an 8-month industrial action earlier embarked upon by the union.
According to a statement signed by Biodun Olaniran, chairperson of the ASUU, LAUTECH chapter, and Toyin Abegunrin, secretary, this is an indefinite and comprehensive strike commencing immediately.
“This is to inform our members that the National Executive Council (NEC) of our union has granted the branch the permission to resume the strike action that was earlier suspended in February with immediate effect.”
"This is an indefinite and comprehensive strike commencing immediately. The three weeks wait for the White Paper or audit panel report, dating back to 11th May, 2017, ended today and nothing is yet to come out."
According to them, the strike became inevitable since the two governments of Oyo and Osun have failed to honor the damands of paying the salaries arrears of its union members in due time.
"It has been over two years now that LAUTECH has been thrown into crippling financial crisis due to government's refusal to meet its funding obligations to the institution," they said.
Isco was picked to start for Real Madrid instead of the fit-again Gareth Bale in Saturday’s Champions League final against Juventus at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
Cardiff native Bale has recovered from a calf injury that had sidelined him since April 23, but coach Zinedine Zidane elected to keep faith with Spanish playmaker Isco, who has excelled in recent weeks.
Holders Madrid were otherwise as expected, with Cristiano Ronaldo partnering Karim Benzema in attack, while there was no place in the match-day squad for Colombia star James Rodriguez.
Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri selected a full-strength team, with Dani Alves and Alex Sandro the wing-backs and Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic supporting lone striker Gonzalo Higuain.
Madrid are seeking to become the first team to successfully defend the European Cup since AC Milan in 1990 and the first to do so in the Champions League era.
Juve, who have lost their last four Champions League finals, are aiming to complete the first Treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia and European Cup wins in their history.
Starting line-ups in the UEFA Champions League final between Juventus and holders Real Madrid at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday (1845 GMT kick-off):
Juventus (3-4-3): Gianluigi Buffon (capt); Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorginio Chiellini; Dani Alves, Miralem Pjanic, Sami Khedira, Alex Sandro; Paulo Dybala, Mario Mandzukic, Gonzalo Higuain
Coach: Massimiliano Allegri (ITA)
Real Madrid (4-3-1-2): Keylor Navas; Dani Carvajal, Sergio Ramos (capt), Raphael Varane, Marcelo; Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Luka Modric; Isco; Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo
ABUJA-A total of 200 graduates, who participated in the Nigerian Army’s 2017 Direct Short Service Commission, DSSC,were fully enlisted Saturday, into the service of the Nigerian Army.
A cross section of NDA Cadets' Mass Band during the Passing Out Parade of Regular Course 59 and Short Service Course 40. Photo credit: NDA
Their enlistment came following their successful completion of their professional training at the Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Jaji, in Kaduna, Kaduna State.
Out of the number, 82 of them were medical doctors out of which eight were consultants in various fields of Medicine.
Also, 26 others, according to a statement from the Director, Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Sani Usman, were lawyers just as 21 others were Public Relations specialists.
The statement stated that 18 others also were enlisted with specialty to Army Aviation and Engineering just as 19 others were protestant Chaplaincy.
In the same vein, 21 others were identified as having deep knowledge of the Catholic faith, while three also had specialty in Islamic Affairs .
“The full statement from Usman read :”Passing Out Parade/Commissioning and Oath taking Ceremony of 200 Officer Cadets of Direct Short Service Commission 23/2016 at the Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Jaji, Kaduna which is presided by the Reviewing Officer and Special Guest of Honour, Mansur Muhammad Dan-Ali, Honourable Minister of Defence.
” The cadets comprised of 82 Medical Doctors out of which 8 are Consultants in various fields of Medicine, 26 Lawyers, 21 Public Relations specialists, 18 with specialty to Army Aviation and Engineering, 19 Protestant Chaplaincy, 21 Catholic, 23 Islamic Affairs specialists.
“It is unprecedented in the history of the Nigerian Army and great boast to the strength of the Officer Corps of the Nigerian Army by the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General TY Buratai.”
ABUJA- THE Presidency said Saturday that it has no plans to reject the 2017 Budget which was recently approved by the National Assembly.
In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senate, Senator Ita Enang, the presidency explained that at the moment, the budget was being subjected to serious scrutiny.
According to him, at the end of the day, if the Presidency discovers grey areas or discrepancies, it would hold a meeting with the leadership of both the Senate and the House of Representatives for both the Executive and the legislature to be on the same page.
Enang’s statement read in full, “The Presidency is working within the constitutional time-frame required to process details of the 2017 budget passed by the National Assembly. There is no such plan by it to reject the 2017 budget passed by the National Assembly as alleged in some reports.
“The Presidency can only assent to the budget or withhold assent as the case maybe. However, should there be areas needing input, the Presidency would engage the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives. As such, any report suggesting a rejection of the 2017 budget by the presidency is incorrect.
“Right now, the Presidency is subjecting every detail of the budget using the available systems at its disposal to ensure the figures appropriated to MDAs are consistent with the realities on ground, while also engaging in consultations.
“When the budget was presented to both chambers of the National Assembly for consideration last year by President Muhammadu Buhari, both chambers subjected the document to legislative processes using internal systems at their disposal.
“This, exactly, is what the presidency is actually doing at the moment to ensure what would be eventually assented to sufficiently addresses the nation’s present realities, as not doing so could expose government to a backlash from Nigerians.”
It would be recalled that Presidency had last week said that no date has been fixed for assent to the passed 2017 Appropriation Bill, just as it said that consultations as to the signing of the document were still on going.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Maters, Senate, Senator Ita Enang while responding to when the 2017 budget would be signed into law has simply said that, “Further to several enquiries regarding action on the 2017 Appropriation Bill by the Executive, be informed that Assent to same is not yet scheduled as consultations and engagements are on going. Be please informed.”
It would be recalled that the Senate had on May 16th, 2017, explained that the need for authentication of the passed 2017 Appropriation Bill was the rationale behind the delay in the transmission of the document to the Executive arm of government for consideration and assent.
Addressing Journalists on the delay in transmission, Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, APC, Niger North who explained that the passage of the budget document does not automatically translate that the document would be transmitted immediately, had said that the Joint committees on Appropriations still must carry out its assignment properly by not relenting on its oars.
Senator Abdullahi had said, “After the budget is passed, the appropriation committee has to do some authentication, to avoid just any kind of document flying around. Any moment from now (Tuesday afternoon) today or tomorrow, it would be transmitted to the Presidency. Let us allow those who have been given certain responsibilities to do their job, which must include certain protocols.
"Remember that we had to adjourn and reconvene to approve the votes and proceedings to allow them continue the process. If not, they would not be able to do anything on the document. If we had waited till today (Tuesday) to approve the votes and proceedings, it means they would have to start today.”
The defence on the delay came five days after the National Assembly had on May 11th, passed a total of N7,441,175,486,758 Appropriation Bill, which represented an increase of N143 billion from what was presented last December by President Muhammadu Buhari.
It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had presented the N7.298trillion budget to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 14, 2016 and had during the presentation, disclosed that his administration would pay more attention to infrastructure with roads and rail projects enjoying priority attention.
ABUJA – Constitutional lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Sebastian Hon, has applauded decision of the National Judicial Council, NJC, to recall some of the Judges that were suspended from the bench over corruption allegations against them.Justice Ademola and his wife, Olabowale at Abuja court recently.
Hon, SAN, maintained that the NJC took the right decision since the Federal Government has failed to file any charge against the affected superior court Judges, eight months after they were arrested by the Department of State Service, DSS.
He said: “The decision of the NJC to lift the suspension of the Justices and Judges accused of corruption is a most welcome development.
“The NJC, even though is, under the Constitutional, not subject to any body’s direction or control, decided to tacitly support the anti-corruption drive of the government, by in the first place suspending those Judicial Officers – even when they were not arraigned and convicted.
“Since the Executive could not arraign them or secure conviction, the NJC just did the needful, as some of us urged them to do so.
“No country treats its citizens the way those Judicial Officers were treated; and the NJC just woke up to its constitutional and moral responsibility – by taking this bold step.
“Speaking for myself, I will say kudos to the NJC. I will also conclude by urging the security agencies not to see this as an attempt by the Judiciary to splash odious mud on their face, but as the discharge of a constitutional and moral obligation by the NJC”, he added.
The Lagos State Police Command would like to allay the fears of the general public with regards to the falsehood being circulated on the social media in respect of security situation at Mafoluku-Oshodi and environs.
Oshodi is relatively calm and not “boiling as being erroneously peddled. It is mischief and callousness to put people in fear.
Video footage being circulated to back the false information is that of the bomb incident around Banex Plaza, Abuja in 2014.
The Lagos State Police Command avail this opportunity to re-assure members of the public that we will continue to work in partnership with the good people of Lagos and other Security Agencies to ensure safety and security of life and properties.
Always remember to say something if you see something.
The Lagos State Police Command, on Saturday advised members of the public to disregard false reports of a bomb blast in Oshodi area of Lagos.
The spokesman of the command, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole said in a statement on Saturday that report of the purported blast in the social media was absolutely false.
"We would like to allay the fears of the general public with regards to the falsehood being circulated on the social media in respect of security situation at Mafoluku-Oshodi and environs.
"Oshodi is relatively calm and not boiling as being erroneously peddled. It is mischief and callousness to put people in fear.
"Video footage being circulated to back the false information is that of the bomb incident around Banex Plaza, Abuja in 2014.
"The Lagos State Police Command avail this opportunity to reassure members of the public that we will continue to work in partnership with the good people of Lagos and other Security Agencies to ensure safety and security of lives and properties.
" Always remember to say something if you see something," the statement added.
A man Travis Wagner has pleaded guilty to a pair of misdemeanour charges of trespassing and sexual intercourse with an animal.Buhari welcomed by horse riders on arrival at the passing out parade of the cadets
The 22-year-old admitted having sex on several occasions with a miniature horse several times after sneaking into a barn in Ephrata, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Wagner was however, spared jail but must instead pay a fine and stay away from his brown and white victim and its family.
He was caught after the horse's owner contacted police to report a man driving a Dodge pickup truck had been trespassing on his property late at night.
The owner said he saw a man had gone into his barn, which "houses cattle and a miniature horse".
When quizzed by cops, Wagner confessed he had entered the barn to have sex with the miniature horse on at least three occasions.
According to the Mirror, the culprit was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay nearly $1,700 in fines and court costs.
He was originally facing counts of burglary which is a felony which carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison but thanks to a plea deal with prosecutors.
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