Author: Chief Editor

Juventus are in the final of the Italian Cup after a goalless draw with rivals Inter Milan on Tuesday put them through 2-1 on aggregate. Andrea Pirlo’s side will face one of Napoli or Atalanta, who are locked at 0-0 ahead of Wednesday’s second leg in Bergamo, in May’s final in Rome after comfortably holding Inter in a disciplined display at the Allianz Stadium. Inter barely troubled veteran Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon despite the return of Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi, while Cristiano Ronaldo was twice denied by fine Samir Handanovic saves at the other end. Juve is unbeaten since…

Against the background of rising tension being generated among ethnic groups all over the country following incessant clashes between farmers and cattle herdsmen, the suggestion by Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, for a federal law to ban movement of cattle across states deserves a deep appreciation. The governor, who is from the part of the country where herding is a major occupation obviously is mindful of the fact that the frequent clashes portray danger, and a possible beginning of internal strife, the end of which no one can predict. No matter the divergence of views regarding what will constitute an…

The Lagos State Chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged citizens of the state to disregard calls urging them to engage in protests or activities that could lead to further unrest in the state. The state’s Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Seye Oladejo, in a statement, yesterday, also urged the people to be mindful of the ravaging second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, which thrives in an atmosphere of mammoth crowd, before heading to any reckless call to protest. The party said its position was based on the recent call by a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of APC,…

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, yesterday, cautioned against politicising the herdsmen and farmers clashes in the country and urged nomads to identify the criminal elements among them in the interest of peace. He said this during a fact-finding visit to Udo, Ovia South-West Council, where he urged the council leadership to re-introduce the weekly stakeholders’ security meeting in the area. Obaseki stressed that his administration would not politicise security issues, noting that efforts were being made to resolve the issues to provide lasting security to communities in the state. Speaking at the Palace of the Iyase of Udo, HRH Patrick…

• Canvass alternative methods of livestock production The Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) may have been hit by the reality that open grazing is no longer fashionable in modern society. In a communiqué yesterday after their virtual meeting on Monday, the forum noted: “The current system of herding mainly through open grazing is no longer sustainable, in view of growing urbanisation and population of the country.” Consequently, it resolved to sensitise herders on the need to adopt new methods of herding, either by ranching or other acceptable modern methods. It appealed to the Federal Government to support states with grants to…

• Schedules fresh debate on insecurity • Lawmakers insist on rejigging security architecture • Reject eviction notices • Unite against divisive forces to avert war, Lawan tells leaders Worried that the rising level of insecurity might result in ethnoreligious war, famine and related crises, the Senate has scheduled another marathon debate to address various security challenges. A seven-point motion on the matter was scheduled for debate yesterday but shifted to today because of the death of a member of the House of Representatives, Chinedu Prestige. Sponsored by Senate’s Deputy Majority Leader, Robert Borroffice, the motion expressed fears that the nation had…

Argentinian forward Angel Di Maria will miss the first leg of Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League last 16 match at Barcelona, coach Mauricio Pochettino said on Tuesday. Di Maria suffered a thigh injury during the 2-0 Ligue 1 win against Marseille on Sunday and “he will not be at the Camp Nou” for the game on February 16, Pochettino said. “Angel is an important player for us but we have a big squad with players who can win matches for us,” the coach added. Di Maria, the 32-year-old former Manchester United winger, has been ever-present in the PSG lineup since Pochettino…

The private sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 has rejected the claim by one of its members, the BUA group, that it purchased one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine for Nigeria. BUA, on Monday, announced that it secured one million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, through the AfreximBank vaccine programme in partnership with CACOVID. CACOVID later responded in a statement, claiming that the purchase of the vaccine could not be done by individuals or companies, but only through the Federal Government. It stated that, “CACOVID is dismayed to learn of reports on social media today alleging that BUA is singlehandedly purchasing…

Former Nigeria aviation minister and chieftain of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Femi Fani-Kayode said his meeting with leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was in national interest. Fani-Kayode met separately, then together, with Governors Yahaya Bello of Kogi State and Malam Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State who chairs the caretaker committee of the APC on registration and revalidation of party members at a Guest House in Wuse, Abuja. Many believe the meeting could signal part of the process for the former minister, a staunch critic of President Muhammadu Buhari to return to the ruling party. Dr…

And with over $400 billion frittered away in oil revenue and poverty staring down citizens and now compounded by clear bias in the management of herdsmen crisis, it is heartbreaking to spot Nigeria amongst the listed fragile states index, occupying the 14th position in the world and 9th position in Africa far back as 2019 and 2020. With this grim picture, those who call the President “Baba” and lack the temerity to call him out are not doing him any good. Misguided loyalty is cancerous, because it gradually eats into the consciousness of the self-acclaimed “loyalist” as he keeps imagining…