Author: Chief Editor

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes Leicester will pose a formidable challenge to his Premier League leaders despite a slump in form. Following two successive fifth-placed finishes, FA Cup-holders Leicester have won just six of their last 16 matches in English football’s top flight. Reigning champions City, meanwhile have won their last eight league games to go three points clear at the top of the table heading into Sunday’s match at home to Leicester. Nevertheless, Guardiola, whose side won 1-0 away to the Foxes in September, said: “Leicester remain Leicester. “For me, they remain (with a) top-quality manager, absolutely, with…

The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, has ordered command Commissioners of Police across the federation and their supervisory Assistant Inspectors-General of Police to strengthen security nationwide. He directed them to initiate and implement well-coordinated crime prevention strategies and ensure round-the-clock visibility patrol towards peaceful Christmas and New Year celebrations in the country. The IGP in a statement on Friday, by the force spokesman, Frank Mba, noted that achieving a crime and crisis-free Yuletide was of utmost priority to the force and the nation. He further noted that the AIGs and CPs had been directed to massively deploy human, intelligence and…

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria on Friday called on political leaders in Nigeria to listen to constructive criticism of the citizens in order to save Nigeria from looming collapse. The Bishops also advised Nigerian leaders to resist the temptation of arresting and prosecuting critics of the government while all political detainees should be released because they were champions or the truth The President of CBCN, Most Revd Augustine Akubeze, said this in a 2021 Christmas message sent to journalists by the Director of Social Communications in Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Fr. Michael Umoh, in Abuja titled, ‘Speak Lord! Your…

Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick has suggested abolishing the League Cup in a bid to ease fixture congestion in English football. The schedule, traditionally at its busiest over the Christmas and New Year period, has come under severe strain from the impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, with several Premier League clubs hit by Covid-19 outbreaks and several Boxing Day (December 26) matches postponed. United have been out of action since December 11 due to their own virus problems and have seen league games against Brentford and Brighton postponed. They are set to return to action at…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday said it had launched an investigation into allegations made by a lawyer and a police officer seconded to the commission, in a viral video, that the Attorney-general of the Federation, (AGF), Abubakar Malami, wields immense influence in the commission. The commission, in a statement, said it had launched an investigation into the statements credited to the duo which it described as “professional indiscretion”. “The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been drawn to a trending audio tape in the social media, where Mohammed Idris, a lawyer and seconded…

On Thursday, Queen Naomi Silekunola, wife of Eniitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife, announced her divorce from the first-class king. In an Instagram post, the queen said she would no longer be regarded as the wife of the Ooni of Ife. “His Majesty has a picture he would love the world to see and perceive him as and another one which is his true self,” Naomi revealed in the statement, and then announced her separation from the king. “I, at this moment, announce that I shall no longer be referred to as wife to the Ooni of Ife or…

Niran Adedokun All said and done, the drama attending the amendment of Nigeria’s Electoral Act is about the political class and not the people. Pretend as they may, members of the National Assembly’s attempt to foist direct primaries on the nomination processes of political parties is suspect. It is evident of a desire to end the eternal grip of state governors on the electoral process in the 36 states of the federation. And that should be no surprise to anyone. The national assembly, especially the Senate, has progressively become the resting home for former governors who have turned public…

Within days of the passage of the 2021 Electoral Bill, it became obvious that the presidency was uncomfortable with the provision that makes it mandatory for political parties to nominate their candidates only through direct primaries. What followed, however, was an outsourcing of responsibility rather than an attempt to find a solution. First, it was reported that the president had written the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, seeking his advice. And then the Attorney General of the Federation and Justice Minister, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, or his agents leaked a memo he sent to the president…

•Okays Buhari’s N276.8bn virement request •Seeks stabilisation of polity ahead of 2023 polls Twenty four hours after the House of Representatives okayed the 2022 Appropriation Bill, the Senate also followed suit as it passed an aggregate expenditure of N17.126 trillion as budget for next fiscal year. The Red Chamber also approved the N276.8 billion request of President Muhammadu Buhari for funding of expenditure in the 2021 budget before adjourning plenary to January 18, 2022. This is just as President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan also disclosed that the National Assembly would today transmit the 2022 budget passed by both…

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, threatened to unleash the judicial fang upon all those involved in undermining the authority and integrity of the judiciary. My Lord did not mince words at all but as we do normally say, he spoke truth to power. What else could the judges have done or how else would they have complained, of the excesses of our security agencies and by extension, the executive branch of government? The matter reached the height of its ugliness, when on October 29, 2021, security personnel stormed the residence of Justice Mary Ukaegbu Peter-Odili, Justice…