By Isa Gusau OUR boss, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, my family and closest friends wouldn’t like what I am about to publicly reveal. I deeply apologise. Last week, I had a surgery at Max Multi Speciality Hospital in New Delhi, India. The surgery, which doctors categorised as a ‘high risk’ was around my chest wall and lungs. It lasted some hours. It was very successful. Alhamdulillah! Some readers, especially close friends, may now have mixed feelings: happy that the surgery went well, but disappointed that I kept them in the dark. I am sorry. If you (reading this) also feel…
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Arsenal 0 Newcastle 0 NEWCASTLE United frustrated Premier League leaders Arsenal to earn a point with a dogged display at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal were hoping to extend their lead at the top of the table to 10 points but found themselves drawn into an attritional and dogged encounter by a Newcastle Untied side with top four ambitions of their own. Chances were at a premium and Newcastle’s Joelinton arguably wasted the best of all when he headed wide with the goal at his mercy in first-half stoppage time. Manchester United 3 vs Bournemouth 0 Marcus Rashford scored again as Manchester…
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has approved the deployment of advance technology to tackle insecurity in Imo and other parts of the South East. Gov. Hope Uzodinma of Imo revealed this to correspondents after a closed door meeting with the president at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday. He said he was in the villa to thank the president for the various supports and assistance given to the state and appeal to him to approve the tech deployment to enable the area to deal effectively with the security menace. According to him, with the president’s approval, advanced surveillance equipment will soon be…
GHANA and Morocco have become the first African countries to impose travel restrictions on passengers from China over concerns about coronavirus. From Tuesday, Morocco has banned travellers from China regardless of their nationality until further notice. The foreign ministry says the move is aimed at preventing a spike in infections in the country. Ghana’s restrictions will take effect on Friday. The moves come after China abruptly dropped its Covid-19 controls in December last year. Other countries outside Africa have also imposed restrictions. For example, passengers arriving in England from China now have to provide a negative Covid test before they…
THE People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has reacted to the endorsement of Peter Obi of the Labour Party by elder statesman Chief Edwin Clark and Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom. News Point Nigeria reports that Governor Ortom joined former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Chief Clark to endorse Peter Obi on Tuesday. Reacting, the Spokesman of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Charles Aniagwu said the party is not bothered by the latest endorsement of Peter Obi. Aniagwu stressed that what matters more to the PDP was the overwhelming support by the generality of Nigerian voters who have the ultimate power to decide the…
A TWO-year ban on some foreigners buying homes Canada has come into effect. The ban aims to help ease one of the most unaffordable housing markets in the world. As of this summer, the average home price in Canada is C$777,200 ($568,000; £473,700) – more than 11 times the median household income after taxes. Some have been critical of the ban, saying it is unclear what impact it will have on Canada’s housing market. Non-Canadian residents make up less than 6% of homeowners in Ontario and British Columbia, where national statistics indicate home prices are the highest. As of 1…
THE bodies of 28 people who were shot dead have been discovered in Burkina Faso’s north-western town of Nouna, the government has said. A civil society group blamed the killings on armed civilians claiming to be members of a government-backed volunteer force fighting jihadists. The government did not comment on the claim, but said it was investigating. Burkina Faso has been hit by a decade-long insurgency that has displaced nearly two million people. The military seized power in Burkina Faso last January, promising an end to attacks, but the violence still rages. The government said the bodies were discovered on…
TANZANIA’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan has lifted a six-year ban on political rallies imposed by her hard-line predecessor, John Magufuli. Her decision is part of her 4Rs initiative – Reconciliation, Resilience, Reforms and Rebuilding. She acknowledged parties had the right to hold rallies but she urged them to be “civil” and not to “trade insults” Mr Magufuli had banned rallies in between elections in what was seen as an attempt to weaken the opposition. He dismissed rallies as a waste of time and money, and said they detracted from the key challenge of building the economy. Mrs Samia announced the…
PALESTINIANS have condemned a visit to a contested holy site in Jerusalem by a far-right Israeli minister as an “unprecedented provocation”. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has called for a harder line towards the Palestinians, walked around the site surrounded by police. Competing claims to the compound bitterly divide Israel and the Palestinians. Tensions have risen with the advent of Israel’s new nationalistic government. Mr Ben-Gvir’s visit was his first public act since the government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was sworn in five days ago. The hilltop site is the most sacred place in Judaism and the…
THE Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke has restated his desire to transform Osun state and make it a shinning light among comity of states. The Governor made this commitment at the 2023 Inter-religious service held at the Government secretariat in Osogbo to usher in the new year. Governor Ademola Adeleke assured the people of the state that he will light up Osogbo, other major cities and township in the state. “We shall get to the promise land. Never again will you see Osun being dirty again. Osogbo will not be out of electricity again, Osun will never go…
THE Federal Government has recruited and trained 8, 000 personnel of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to safeguard highways in the country. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, said on Tuesday in Abuja while decorating the new FRSC Corps Marshal, Mr Dauda Biu with his new rank. He said that the injection of the personnel into the system was among numerous support that the FRSC received since the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari administration in 2015. Mustapha said that the several interventions were targeted at reducing the high rate of carnages on roads in the…
THE Governing Council of the University of Ilorin (Unilorin) has approved the appointment/promotion of 31 new professors and 38 readers in the various departments of the institution. A statement on Tuesday by the Registrar and Secretary to the Council, Dr Fola Olowoleni, explained “this is one of the highlights of 182nd Meeting of the Council”. According to her, the approval followed the consideration of recommendations from the Appointments and Promotions Committee on elevations to the ranks of professors and readers based on the 2020 and 2021 promotion. The new professors include Dr Taibat Adebisi, Department of Home Economics and Food…
By Adamu S. Ladan IT seems the PDP is yet to recover from the shock of its failed project in Katsina state. The project is the party’s hitherto presumption that the defection of certain elements from the APC will improve the fortunes of the PDP in the state. Hence, the cock and bull stories to either seeks cheap popularity or deny the existence of reality. Only recently the party staged a drama at Muhammadu Dikko stadium in Katsina where it claimed to have received 92,000 decampees. The author of the defection drama was not even ashamed to realise that the …
RESIDENTS of Gerewu community in Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State have accused the management of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) of moves to displace them from their homes. About 5,000 residents from about 3,000 households raised the alarm during a protest calling on the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, Kwara State governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari and all well-meaning Kwarans to intervene in the matter. Displaying placards with various inscriptions, the protesters said they had lived in the area for decades and laboured for years…
FORMER Super Eagles assistant coach, Sylvanus Okpala, has called on both Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and handlers of the national team to stop begging any player born outside the country to play for the team this year. Speaking with The Guardian, yesterday, on the way to success for the Super Eagles in the new year, Okpala stated that the ability of a player to decide by himself to play for Nigeria without any pressure would go along way in helping the team instil high level of commitment while prosecuting matches. He said that Nigeria has abundant talented players in both…
UKRAINE’s president says Russia is planning a protracted campaign of drone attacks in a bid to demoralise Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky said he had received intelligence reports suggesting that Moscow would launch the attacks using Iranian-made Shahed drones. It comes after Ukraine carried out a strike that it said killed hundreds of Russian soldiers in the Donbas region. In an extremely rare admission of battlefield losses, Russia said the attack killed 63 of its troops. Speaking from Kyiv in his nightly address, Mr Zelensky said Russia planned to “exhaust” Ukraine with a prolonged wave of drone attacks. “We must ensure -…
AFTER Liverpool missed the chance to reduce the gap to Premier League’s top four as Brentford punish their defensive frailties 3-1 in a deserved victory at the Community Stadium. The Premier League return tonight with more interesting fixtures: Today Premier League Games: Arsenal vs Newscastle Everton vs Brighton Leicester vs Fulham Man United vs Bournemouth
TWO opposition MPs in Senegal have been given six-month jail sentences for kicking a pregnant colleague in the stomach during a budget debate. The male lawmakers attacked Amy Ndiaye after she criticised an opposition religious figure. The judge also ordered Mamadou Niang and Massata Samb to pay Ms Ndiaye five million CFA francs ($8,100; £6,750) in compensation. The incident was widely condemned and sparked a debate about women’s rights. In a video widely shared online, Mr Samb is seen walking towards Ms Ndiaye and slapping her during a routine budget debate on 1 December. She then retaliates by throwing a…
NORTH Korea has fired Pak Jong Chon, the second most powerful military official after leader Kim Jong Un, state media reported. Pak, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party and a secretary of the party’s Central Committee, was replaced by Ri Yong Gil at the committee’s annual meeting last week, the official KCNA news agency said on Sunday. No reason for the change was given. Pyongyang regularly revamps its leadership, and the year-end party gathering has often been used to announce personnel reshuffles and major policy decisions. State television showed Pak sitting in the front…
A LOOTED ancient Egyptian sarcophagus that was on display at a US museum has been returned to Egypt. The 2.9m (9.5ft) long “Green Coffin” dates back to the Late Dynastic Period, which spanned 664BC to 332BC, and belonged to a priest called Ankhenmaat. It was looted from the Abu Sir necropolis in north Egypt by a global art trafficking network, which smuggled it through Germany into the US in 2008. A collector loaned it to the Houston Museum of Natural Science in 2013. The sarcophagus was repatriated after an investigation that lasted several years and was formally handed over by…