Former President of Nigerian, Goodluck Jonathan, has commended the Super Eagles for qualifying for the knockout stages in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
The former leader in a post on his Twitter account stated that the Super Eagles have a resilient spirit in the tournament.
Jonathan charged the Nigeria football team to sustain their momentum at the tournament as they aim for the ultimate prize.
The former President wrote, “Well done @NGSuperEagles for advancing to the knockout stage of #AFCON2021.
“This is a clear demonstration of the Nigerian resilient spirit. I wish them more victories in the games ahead and urge them to sustain this momentum as we aim for the ultimate prize. -GEJ”
The Super Eagles qualified for the knockout stages of the tournament after winning all matches in Group D.
They defeated Egypt, Sudan, and Guinea-Bissau to qualify for the next round of the competition.
Interim coach Austin Eguavoen will be entitled to only win bonuses as the Super Eagles gaffer at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Cameroon, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Eguavoen was appointed on a short-term deal after the Nigeria Football Federation sacked Gernot Rohr in December.
Rohr was Nigeria’s longest-serving manager after taking charge in August 2016, but had his contract terminated after leading the Eagles to the 2022 World Cup qualifying play-offs and sealing a spot at the Nations Cup in Cameroon.
The Franco-German also led Nigeria to the 2018 World Cup and guided the team to third-place at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
“Eguavoen is on the payroll of the NFF and he won’t be entitled to salary for the role he is playing as an interim coach of the team,” President of the NFF Amaju Pinnick stated recently on Arise TV.
“He will be entitled to the winning bonuses as the team progress at the tournament.”
Eguavoen has already won his opening two group games at the tournament which has sealed their place in the round of 16 in the competition
A group canvassing for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to consider adopting the vice president as the party’s presidential candidate in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
The group, The Progressive Project (TPP), made the call in a six-point declaration during a press conference at its campaign office in Abuja on Wednesday.
They held that the Vice President was one of the very few Nigerian political aspirants who will not turn electoral victory into an opportunity for wealth accumulation and Nigerian women will give him resolute backing for the 2003 presidential elections.
The women wing of the group, National Coalition of Women for Osinbajo, led by their chairperson, Hajia Rabi Dauda, also declared support for the vice president stressing that the 2023 general election will be a decisive turning point for APC and the entire nation.
The coalition strongly affirmed “Nigerian women’s utmost confidence in the candidature of Professor Yemi Osinbajo as a people-focused leader with the right intellectual capacity and innate leadership qualities to move Nigeria forward, with an emphatic attention to women progress and development.”
According to the women’s coalition, various parameters of assessing genuine leadership puts Osinbajo ahead of other presidential aspirants.
“The 2023 general election will be a very decisive juncture in the history of Nigeria and our great party, APC, has an epoch-making responsibility to move the nation forward by deepening democracy, considering affirmative action for 35 percent representation for women and accelerating general development.
“Without any iota of doubt, we believe that the emergence of Prof Yemi Osinbajo as the 2023 presidential flag-bearer of the APC will give Nigeria the opportunity to realize these lofty collective progressive aspirations.
“It is important that Nigerians make a clear decision by choosing a leader known to be ready to work for the development of the future and the betterment of the country rather than joining those politicians who have tendencies to exploit public office as an opportunity to fill their pockets.
“Nigerian women believe in the candidature of Prof Yemi Osinbajo, a man whose credibility, objectivity and intellectual capacity has been proven over time.
“Seriously, there is need for effective steps to be taken to ensure that those who engaged in plundering state and federal coffers in the past are not allowed back into governance roles where trust and integrity really matters.
“Along with government, our party leaders and other stakeholders in our great country Nigeria, we must all contribute to deepen democracy, encourage productive dialogue, mobilize women and youth for optimal participation in our democratic processes and ensure free and fair election,” the coalition’s leader, Hajia Rabi Dauda added.
A spare parts’ building – CETECH- in the Ladipo area of Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria, was on Wednesday afternoon gutted by fire.
Societygazette reports that although no life was lost, several items and valuables worth millions of Naira were destroyed.
The fire started around 4 pm. While its cause is yet to be ascertained, some residents linked it to electrical faults.
Emergency responders including National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and security agencies are at the scene of the incident battling to put out the fire as of the time of publishing this report.
Scores of residents, workers gathered at the entrance of the affected building, counting their losses and lamenting the disaster.
Others joined the firefighters to battle with the inferno while offloading goods in the building.
Media reports indicate that between 2019 and 2021, Nigeria experienced severe fire incidents, leading to 79 deaths out of 68 fires recorded in 18 months. Thirty-one of these were market fires and the losses are still being counted.
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Shehu Sani, says Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, lack the courage to override President Muhammadu Buhari and pass the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
In an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday night, Sani said the right thing for the National Assembly to do is to override the president and approve the bill.
The former Kaduna Central Senator said the current administration will be tagged a failure if it fails to approve the electoral bill.
He said: “From what I can see from the statement of Lawan and Gbajabiamila, I think they lack the courage to do what is right. The courage to do what is right is to override the president and approve the bill.
“First of all, when they (referring to the national assembly) passed that bill, the comment that came from them was that they have taken power back to Nigerians and then the president rejected this bill and then they just don’t know what to do.
“They have no concrete plan on what to do. Nigerians need a credible electoral process and already they have a bill that Nigerians were happy with. So, if Nigerians accepted the bill, why should the president oppose it?
“If the president opposes it, the next thing Gbajabiamila and Lawan should do — let them have the courage to override him and approve that bill.
“For me, I believe they should know — both the national assembly and the president. If there is any legacy that they will leave behind for this country, it is to let us have a new electoral act that will make the 2023 election better than 2019. If they fail in this, they fail in everything.”
Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to the 15 Count Charges bordering on Terrorism, POLITICS NIGERIA reports.
This was as the federal government brought documentary evidence to court.
The electronic devices were inspected by the lead counsel to the Federal Government of Nigeria, Shuaib Labaran.
Kanu was first arrested in 2015 but disappeared while on bail in April 2017.
His social media posts during his absence and his Radio Biafra broadcasts outraged the government, which said they encouraged attacks on security forces.
Security agents first produced him in court in Abuja on June 29, 2021 after detaining him in an undisclosed country.
His lawyer alleged he was detained and mistreated in Kenya, though Kenya has denied involvement. He has since that time appeared in court severally.
Kanu’s IPOB is agitating for the seccession and sovereignty of Eastern Nigeria. It accuse the federal government of marginalisation.
The Black Stars of Ghana have been eliminated from the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon.
Ghana suffered a 2-3 loss to Comoros in their final group game played on Tuesday, January 18, 2022.
The loss meant that Ghana would end the group last with just one point from three games.
The Ghanaians needed an outright win to boost their chances of qualification to the next stage only to be reduced to 10 men in the 25th minute.
Captain Andre Ayew was sent off and Comoros capitalized on their numerical advantage to go two goals up.
Ghana would fight for their continuation in the competition to level the scores at 2-2 but Comoros scored a late winner to send the Black Stars out.
After the game, Nigerians took to twitter to celebrate the elimination of West African rivals Ghana.
Key to the celebration was Ghanaian reggae-dancehall artiste Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jr whose stage name is Shatta Wale.
Shatta Wale faced the full brunt of criticism for his country’s exit from the tournament.
Shatta Wale stated recently that Nigerian artists do not promote their Ghanian counterparts.
This assertion by Shatta Wale resulted in retaliation by Nigerian fans on Twitter after Ghana exited the AFCON.
See reactions below;
While Ghana exited the tournament, Nigeria’s Super Eagles take on Guinea Bissau in their last group game scheduled for Wednesday, January 19, 2022, with qualification to the knockout stages already secure.
Operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Osun State have arrested a housewife, Zainab for pouring hot water on her 11-year-old daughter after she refused to go on an errand.
An eye witness claimed that the mother who is a resident of Oke Oniti area of Osogbo, Osun State carried out her actions after her daughter refused to grind pepper which was to be used in preparing a meal.
It was also alleged that the suspect had the girl in her first marriage before she got married to her present husband.
Daniel Adigun, the NSCDC spokesperson for the Command confirmed the arrest of the suspect on Tuesday, January 18.
He said: “The woman was cooking when the incident happened. She injured the victim with hot water obviously out of frustration. We are proceeding with our investigation.”
In other news, two men, Chinedu Dioha and Joseph Emmanuel have been apprehended by the Osun State Police For allegedly stealing a car worth N15m.
The suspects who were paraded before newsmen revealed that they stole the vehicle from Lagos and took it to Osun to sell.
CP Wale Olokode, the state commissioner of police, said the vehicle was recovered from the suspects while they were trying to sell it at Molak, Ikire. Read more
A coalition of women groups from different parts of the country on Tuesday stormed venue of the All Progressive Congress (APC) National Women’s Conference in Abuja to demands actualization of an Osinbajo presidency in 2023.
The coalition, which includes market women, farmers, traders, artisans and professionals, all voiced demand for Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, to become the APC presidential candidate in 2023 at the International Conference Centre.
The groups urged the party’s caretaker committee to ensure a properly organized national convention that would not be hijacked by money bags who had “participated in looting state or federal resources in the past.”
Osinbajo is yet to publicly admit any interest in the presidential race but he is believed to be interested in taking over from President Muhammadu Buhari.
Presidential aspirants within the APC who have declared their interest include Bola Tinubu, Orji Uzo Kalu and Governor Yahya Bello of Kogi States.
Hajia Rabi Dauda, leader of the Steering Committee of Women’s Coalition for Osinbajo, who spoke with reporters at the venue of the women conference in Abuja, said the women had assessed all aspirants across political parties and concluded that “Osinbajo is the best option for Nigerian women.”
She said, “We are rooting for Osinbajo, not because there are no other aspirants but because he is the most qualified and the one with the most easily predictable disposition towards development issues that are of utmost concern to women.
“Nigerian women trust Osinbajo more than any other presidential aspirant and he already has an idea of what the specific challenges of governance in present times really mean.
“ We believe that Osinbajo can consolidate upon whatever good foundation that Baba Buhari has laid and Nigerian women are much more optimistic about prospects for a better future under an Osinbajo presidency.
“At this APC National Women’s Conference and beyond here, we are urging all Nigerian women to actively mobilize support for Osinbajo in the interest of generations yet unborn because 2023 elections will leave very enduring impact on the fate of Nigeria.”
Speaking in a similar vein, Madam Scholastica Dominic who led a group of market women to join the women’s coalition for a peaceful rally at the event stated that it was a voluntary demonstration of support.
Madam Dominic said, “ Osinbajo is healthy, youth-friendly and women-friendly and he represents positive change.
“Besides, Osinbajo has demonstrated keen disposition towards seeing things from the perspective of market women and he can make things easy for us; indeed, we believe that he has great capacity to move Nigeria forward.”
Leading the Inter-Faith group within the coalition, Evangelist Ochoja said the women were confident in Osinbajo’s readiness for the job unlike other aspirants.
She said the women would not be swayed by money because they believed strongly in Osinbajo who she said had “demonstrated capacity to serve with empathy.”
Mike Ozekhome SAN has accused the federal government of deliberately amending charges against the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, for the purpose of frustrating the matter and keeping him in custody.
When the case was called up before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, prosecution Counsel, S.M. Labaran told Justice Binta Nyako that the federal government had a fresh amended 15 count charge against Kanu.
“My lord, this case is adjourned till today for trial and for the records, the prosecution is fully ready for the business of day.
“We have an amended charge which is dated on 14th January and filed on 17th containing 15 counts and pursuant to the Administration of Criminal Justice Act ,ACJA, we ask the court to substitute this charge with the one earlier filed on 20 October, 2021.
“We are asking that the court to direct the registrar to read the charge to the sole Defendant in this case for the purpose of taking his plea,” Labaran said.
But Mike Ozekhome SAN, who is newly engaged to defend Kanu, said it was wrong for the prosecution to give them the fresh charge on Monday, a day before his client appears in court.
He alleged that FG was using the concept of amendment to further elongate the trial.
He argued that the business of the day had to do with three subsisting applications; one, application for transfer, two, a motion for bail of the defendant, and three; a preliminary objection raised to the earlier (7 count) charge.
“Now, this amended charge was served on me yesterday, the client was here since 7am.
“With all respect Sir, that is not Justice, that is ambushing.
“This is the sixth amendment they are doing, and each time, they serve us the day before the hearing so as to frustrate the proceedings.
“The defendant is being told to plead to a charge he has not seen,” Ozekhome contended.
Ozekhome told Justice Binta Nyako that it was not possible for the defendant to take the plea today.
“They are the accusers and then, they are amending charges a day before the trial,” he added.
He urged the court to adjourn so that he could meet and exchange views with Kanu regarding the new charge.
On his part, Labaran confirmed that Kanu’s lawyer received the fresh charge on Monday but the judge replied that it was “bad enough”.
Labaran insisted that the defendant spoke with “his lawyer” before today’s proceedings.
However, he did not object to Ozekhome’s request to give him 24 hours to go through the new charges.
“We are prosecutors and we are not objecting that we should come back tomorrow,” he said.
Subsequently, Nyako adjourned the matter till tomorrow for plea.
Kanu’s Stay In DSS Custody
Ozekhome also argued that Kanu was in solitary confinement and has not been treated well by the DSS.
He said the Department of States Services has allegedly flouted court orders to give Kanu maximum comfort possible.
Nyako however maintained that there was no detention facility in the world that will allow anyone to go see the accused with phones, wristwatch, among other things.
“Detention facility is not a five star facility,” she said but Ozekhome replied that “such facility must be okay to keep the accused alive.”
Again, Nyako ordered the DSS to allow Kanu’s lawyer access him but under supervision.
