2015-02-09 10:41
Abuja - An investigation into the whereabouts of a Lagos bus driver
has been launched after the man fled an accident scene in which three
people were left dead while five others were injured.
The
accident, which occurred along the Ikorodu Road in Lagos State, occurred
after the brakes on the driver's commercial bus failed, causing him to
ram into Volkswagen Golf.
The driver of the Golf was killed immediately, while two others were rendered unconscious on the scene.
According to a PUNCH report, the bus driver was driving in the BRT lane when the crash occurred.
The names of the driver, along with the other parties involved, has not been ascertained at this time.
Read more at PUNCH
Monday, 9 February 2015
Take advantage of poll delay, Buhari tells supporters
The elections which were scheduled to take place on 14 February were moved to a later date after Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) expressed concern over security.
The elections have been pushed from 14 February to 28 March, while the state gubernatorial and legislative votes have been moved to 11 April.
According to Premium Times, Buhari told his supported just after the announcement that the delay gave them an opportunity to mobilise support among Nigerians.
Buhari warned that his party won't tolerate any further delays, calling on INEC to maintain the newly scheduled date.
"The elections must be sacrosanct," Buhari was quoted as saying.
According to reports, the delay was set to give a new multinational force – made up of at least 8 700 troops, police and civilians to secure north-eastern areas under the sway of Boko Haram Islamist insurgents.
There were fears that millions could be disenfranchised if the vote went ahead while the Boko Haram held a large swath of the northeast.
According to Africa Check, this is not the first time that INEC has delayed a presidential vote. The commission did so in 2011, but this time it has come "in the context of a far tighter political race".
President Goodluck Jonathan is set to face Buhari in the elections described by analysts as the fiercest in many years.
Friday, 6 February 2015
Chelsea should be further ahead in title race - Mourinho
17 minutes ago
London - Chelsea should be more than five points ahead of
Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, according to a morose
Jose Mourinho who reluctantly returned to speak to the media on Friday
after refusing to talk last week.
Mourinho, asked why he looked so glum, told reporters: "You know why I am here, so you cannot expect me to be super-happy to be here. I am here because I have to be here."
Asked whether he refused to talk to the media last week because the FA sanctioned striker Diego Costa for stamping on Emre Can in the League Cup semi-final, Mourinho gave a typically cryptic answer.
"If you want you can make a silence very noisy," he said.
"It depends what you want to do. You could make a noise with my silence because you know the reason for my silence. If I was a journalist I could make lots of words."
Asked if he stayed away just because of the three-match ban the FA imposed on Costa, he replied: "Not just."
Asked how he reflected on the ban, he replied: "I don't reflect. Because maybe I am punished if I reflect so I don't even think about it because maybe they can read my reflection."
Mourinho also seemed unhappy that Chelsea were only five points clear of champions Manchester City after last week's 1-1 draw between the top two at Stamford Bridge.
"I feel the distance could be much bigger, because if I analyse the last five, six or seven matches, then we could, we should, have a bigger difference."
Chelsea, the league's highest scorers, travel to Aston Villa who have scored fewer goals than anyone else and none in their last six matches.
Chelsea start as the overwhelming favourites, but had Willian and Ramires sent off at Villa Park last season when they went down to a surprise 1-0 defeat.
"Some matches are impossible to win and you have to be smart enough to understand that was one of them," he said.
New signing Juan Cuadrado, the Colombian international winger who joined from Fiorentina for £23 million last month, could make his debut at Villa Park.
"We don't need him in goal and we don't need him as a central defender because he is too small," Mourinho said. "After that, he can play everywhere.
"I think he can play against Villa unless the Premier League or the FA say there are some rules to stop him."
Reuters
Mourinho, asked why he looked so glum, told reporters: "You know why I am here, so you cannot expect me to be super-happy to be here. I am here because I have to be here."
Asked whether he refused to talk to the media last week because the FA sanctioned striker Diego Costa for stamping on Emre Can in the League Cup semi-final, Mourinho gave a typically cryptic answer.
"If you want you can make a silence very noisy," he said.
"It depends what you want to do. You could make a noise with my silence because you know the reason for my silence. If I was a journalist I could make lots of words."
Asked if he stayed away just because of the three-match ban the FA imposed on Costa, he replied: "Not just."
Asked how he reflected on the ban, he replied: "I don't reflect. Because maybe I am punished if I reflect so I don't even think about it because maybe they can read my reflection."
Mourinho also seemed unhappy that Chelsea were only five points clear of champions Manchester City after last week's 1-1 draw between the top two at Stamford Bridge.
"I feel the distance could be much bigger, because if I analyse the last five, six or seven matches, then we could, we should, have a bigger difference."
Chelsea, the league's highest scorers, travel to Aston Villa who have scored fewer goals than anyone else and none in their last six matches.
Chelsea start as the overwhelming favourites, but had Willian and Ramires sent off at Villa Park last season when they went down to a surprise 1-0 defeat.
"Some matches are impossible to win and you have to be smart enough to understand that was one of them," he said.
New signing Juan Cuadrado, the Colombian international winger who joined from Fiorentina for £23 million last month, could make his debut at Villa Park.
"We don't need him in goal and we don't need him as a central defender because he is too small," Mourinho said. "After that, he can play everywhere.
"I think he can play against Villa unless the Premier League or the FA say there are some rules to stop him."
Reuters
Equatorial Guinea fined $100 000 for unrest
17 minutes ago
Malabo - African football chiefs on Friday hit Equatorial Guinea
with a $100 000 fine for unrest in a Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in
which 36 fans were injured.
But the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said that despite disturbances blamed on Equatorial Guinea fans in Thursday's semi-final defeat to Ghana, supporters would be allowed into the country's third-place play off against Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday.
CAF meted out the fine to the Nations Cup hosts "for aggressive behaviour and being repeat offenders" for crowd trouble, said a confederation statement.
An order to play Saturday's third place playoff behind closed doors was suspended "to promote a spirit of Fair-play and brotherhood during the AFCON2015".
But CAF made it clear that if there was more unrest then it would "automatically impose the sanction of playing behind closed doors the Equatorial Guinean team's next official match".
Saturday's play-off is being held at the same 15 000-seater stadium in Malabo where Equatorial Guinea's supporters pelted Ghanaian fans with plastic bottles and chairs on Thursday night.
The game was halted for over half an hour with Ghana eventually winning 3-0 to set up a final on Sunday with Ivory Coast in Bata.
As the missiles rained down, the 500 visiting Ghana fans poured onto the pitch and play was halted eight minutes from time as security officials battled to regain control.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) described the scene as a "war zone."
Local supporters became increasingly angry at an inept showing by the home team who struggled against a Ghana side ranked 81 places higher in the world.
According to CAF, "all the injured were supported and attended to on site.
"A total of 14 were transferred to hospital units for further investigations with one case requiring close monitoring."
Ghana had called on CAF to take tough action against the Nations Cup hosts over the chaos and violence in Malabo.
"Strong action must be taken by the Confederation of African Football," GFA president and CAF executive member Kwesi Nyantakyi told reporters.
"This kind of conduct is unacceptable and we have formally protested against it to the organisers," said Nyantakyi.
"It is really sad that these attacks on our supporters almost eclipsed the joy of reaching the final of the competition.
"They must be condemned in their entirety," he added.
After the match, the Ghanaian supporters were kept at the stadium for several hours while further chaos ensued outside the ground.
Equatorial Guinea supporters broke street light poles and overturned vendors' tables.
The Ghana team were escorted to Malabo airport for the short flight from the island city to Bata on the mainland.
Before CAF's sanctions were announced DR Congo coach Florent Ibenge said he did not have "the slightest fear" about playing at the Malabo stadium.
"We know things happen in football, but these incidents are tiny in relation to the number of games staged around the world.
"We don't have the slightest fear and we are going to turn up to present football in a good light and to win our match. We aren't afraid."
Ibenge said DR Congo had made "no request" for any special security measures for the players or staff.
"We're here, we are training comfortably to approach the game in the best condition tactically and psychologically to win it.
"That's the only thing that we are thinking about," said Ibenge.
AFP
But the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said that despite disturbances blamed on Equatorial Guinea fans in Thursday's semi-final defeat to Ghana, supporters would be allowed into the country's third-place play off against Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday.
CAF meted out the fine to the Nations Cup hosts "for aggressive behaviour and being repeat offenders" for crowd trouble, said a confederation statement.
An order to play Saturday's third place playoff behind closed doors was suspended "to promote a spirit of Fair-play and brotherhood during the AFCON2015".
But CAF made it clear that if there was more unrest then it would "automatically impose the sanction of playing behind closed doors the Equatorial Guinean team's next official match".
Saturday's play-off is being held at the same 15 000-seater stadium in Malabo where Equatorial Guinea's supporters pelted Ghanaian fans with plastic bottles and chairs on Thursday night.
The game was halted for over half an hour with Ghana eventually winning 3-0 to set up a final on Sunday with Ivory Coast in Bata.
As the missiles rained down, the 500 visiting Ghana fans poured onto the pitch and play was halted eight minutes from time as security officials battled to regain control.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) described the scene as a "war zone."
Local supporters became increasingly angry at an inept showing by the home team who struggled against a Ghana side ranked 81 places higher in the world.
According to CAF, "all the injured were supported and attended to on site.
"A total of 14 were transferred to hospital units for further investigations with one case requiring close monitoring."
Ghana had called on CAF to take tough action against the Nations Cup hosts over the chaos and violence in Malabo.
"Strong action must be taken by the Confederation of African Football," GFA president and CAF executive member Kwesi Nyantakyi told reporters.
"This kind of conduct is unacceptable and we have formally protested against it to the organisers," said Nyantakyi.
"It is really sad that these attacks on our supporters almost eclipsed the joy of reaching the final of the competition.
"They must be condemned in their entirety," he added.
After the match, the Ghanaian supporters were kept at the stadium for several hours while further chaos ensued outside the ground.
Equatorial Guinea supporters broke street light poles and overturned vendors' tables.
The Ghana team were escorted to Malabo airport for the short flight from the island city to Bata on the mainland.
Before CAF's sanctions were announced DR Congo coach Florent Ibenge said he did not have "the slightest fear" about playing at the Malabo stadium.
"We know things happen in football, but these incidents are tiny in relation to the number of games staged around the world.
"We don't have the slightest fear and we are going to turn up to present football in a good light and to win our match. We aren't afraid."
Ibenge said DR Congo had made "no request" for any special security measures for the players or staff.
"We're here, we are training comfortably to approach the game in the best condition tactically and psychologically to win it.
"That's the only thing that we are thinking about," said Ibenge.
AFP
INEC urges voters to bring camera to polling units
Edwin Nwatarali, the Resident Electoral Commissioner of Anambra State, said this will help forestall sharp practices by staff of the commission and politicians.
Nwatarali, who was speaking at a stakeholders meeting organized by the commission in Awka, said the commission can not act on electoral offences committed by its staff without proof.
The tapping of such sharp practices ,according him, will serve as proof that the commission can use against electoral offenders.
Read more at Daily Times.
Nigeria loses N1bn daily to rice importation
2015-02-06 15:20
Abuja - The Special Adviser to the President on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and African Peer Review Mechanism, Ambassador Fidelia Akuabata Njeze, says Nigeria loses N1billion daily to rice importation, Vanguard reports.
Njeze stated this at a one-day stakeholders forum on the establishment of the Nigeria/ECOWAS rice sector policy and regulation advocacy platform held in Abuja on Wednesday.
She also added that due to the importation of rice, Nigeria has been exporting jobs and financial resources meant for the transformation of the domestic rice sector in the country.
Read more at Vanguard
Abuja - The Special Adviser to the President on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and African Peer Review Mechanism, Ambassador Fidelia Akuabata Njeze, says Nigeria loses N1billion daily to rice importation, Vanguard reports.
Njeze stated this at a one-day stakeholders forum on the establishment of the Nigeria/ECOWAS rice sector policy and regulation advocacy platform held in Abuja on Wednesday.
She also added that due to the importation of rice, Nigeria has been exporting jobs and financial resources meant for the transformation of the domestic rice sector in the country.
Read more at Vanguard
Painter arraigned for raping three-year-old
015-02-06 12:45
Lagos - A 25-year-old painter, Hamzat Afeez, was arraigned in court for allegedly raping a three-year-old girl in the Egbeda area of Lagos State, Punch reports.
He was arraigned on one count of rape at the Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate’s Court.
The suspect allegedly took the victim’s younger sister into his room while their mother washed clothes in the house.
The victim was said to have followed Afeez into his room in a bid to play with her sister and she was raped by the suspect.
Read more at Punch
Lagos - A 25-year-old painter, Hamzat Afeez, was arraigned in court for allegedly raping a three-year-old girl in the Egbeda area of Lagos State, Punch reports.
He was arraigned on one count of rape at the Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate’s Court.
The suspect allegedly took the victim’s younger sister into his room while their mother washed clothes in the house.
The victim was said to have followed Afeez into his room in a bid to play with her sister and she was raped by the suspect.
Read more at Punch
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)