Author: Chief Editor

Brazilian football legend Pele said Wednesday he is doing well after undergoing surgery for a suspected colon tumour. “I am recovering well,” Pele, 80, said in a message posted on social media. The surgery was carried out Saturday in Sao Paulo. The hospital treating him said Monday the former footballer was recovering in an intensive care unit. In an update Wednesday the hospital did not say if he was still in that unit. The tumor was detected during routine tests, according to the Albert Einstein Hospital, where Pele has undergone treatment since August 31. Pele, whose real name is Edson…

Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal’s Premier League match against Norwich on Saturday is a “must-win” game after their worst start to a league season for 67 years. The Gunners have failed to score and conceded nine goals in demoralising defeats to Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City. Arteta’s position as manager is under increasing threat, with the Spaniard reportedly given four more Premier League games to save his job. Arsenal’s 5-0 humbling by City last month meant they had lost their first three league matches in a season for the first time since the 1954/55 campaign and to make matters worse, rivals…

Super Eagles Head Coach Gernot Rohr has commended the resilience of his wards after Nigeria fought from behind to claim a 2-1 win against the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde in their Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup MatchDay 2 tie in Mindelo. Rohr had to improvise after missing several key first team players, largely the UK-based, who were unavailable due to the UK Government COVID-19 red-alert travel restrictions to the Island country. Consequently, the German was forced to hand midfielders Innocent Bonke and Kingsley Michael their international debuts as he changed the side that beat Liberia 2-0 on MatchDay 1…

JOHESU, FG for new MOU, PFN urges emergency declaration Health and medical workers have shelved their planned industrial action on the backdrop of a 15-day ultimatum to the Federal Government by the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU). They are to sign another Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with government next week on modalities for implementing their agreement. Speaking after a conciliation meeting in Abuja, Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige said all parties struck an understanding, including enhancement of hazard allowance, review of retirement age from 60 to 65 years, arrears of national minimum wage consequential adjustments and upward…

Ondo State Governor and Chairman of South-West Governors’ Forum, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has warned the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) against flouting the state’s anti-open grazing law. Akeredolu insisted that his administration would not hesitate to decisively deal with any offender who flouts the anti-open grazing bill, which he recently signed into law. He said that the law would be enforced vigorously. Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Special Duties and Strategy, Dr. Doyin Odebowale, in a statement made available to journalists in Akure, yesterday, reiterated that “no bandit will operate in Ondo State under any dubious…

• No big deal, Buhari visited Imo three times under my watch, says Okorocha • HURIWA reacts as govt reopens banks after shutdown over Monday’s sit-at-home When President Muhammadu Buhari eventually visits Owerri, Imo State capital, today, the exclusion of Ndigbo from heads of security agencies, continuous agitation by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) that has almost paralysed the Southeast region, 2023 presidency and near absence of Federal Government’s presence in the region will be prominent among issues Igbo leaders are going to present to him. Already, despite the threat by IPOB that residents of the zone should shun…

* Says ITU, WHO have certified it medically safe * Radiation is lower than that of 4G *Immediate deployment in major cities * Entire national coverage in phases will be completed by 2025 The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the controversial Fifth Generation Networks Policy otherwise known as 5G for the nation. The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Patami, who disclosed this Wednesday while speaking with newsmen at the end of the weekly FEC meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, also revealed that the council, in approving the policy, took cognisance of the report of…

West Africa bloc ECOWAS has decided to suspend Guinea following a recent coup in the country, Burkinabe Foreign Minister Alpha Barry said Wednesday after a virtual crisis summit. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will also send a mediation mission to Guinea on Thursday, Barry told reporters in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou. The move comes after Guinean special forces led by Lieutenant Colonel Mamady Doumbouya seized power on Sunday and arrested president Alpha Conde, sparking international condemnation. Conde had come under increasing fire for perceived authoritarianism. The 83-year-old became the first democratically elected president in 2010 and was…

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday, insisted on going on with his move to stop the Federal Government from collecting Value Added Tax from the oil-rich South-South state. Wike, who said he does not care if heaven falls, insisted that Rivers money is not meant for “Abuja people” but for the development of his state. The governor spoke at a stakeholders’ meeting in Port Harcourt, the state capital, while addressing Shell Petroleum Development Company and other representatives of oil companies and business owners in the state. The PUNCH had earlier reported that the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt…

President Muhammadu Buhari has felicitated with Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier-General Muhammad Buba Marwa (rtd), as he marks his 68th birthday anniversary on September 9, 2021 saying he has continued to distinguish himself in leadership. The President, in a release issued Wednesday by his Media Adviser, Femi Adesina, congratulated the former military Governor of old Borno State and military Administrator of Lagos State on the auspicious occasion. He joined members of All Progressives Congress (APC) to rejoice with the public servant, who continues to distinguish himself in leadership. President Buhari noted the fillip in…