Author: Chief Editor

Ayo Olukotun Last Sunday, the Independent National Electoral Commission announced that Mr. Godwin Obaseki, incumbent governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, had emerged winner of the Edo State governorship election that took place the day before. Contrary to predictions of an election too close to call, Obaseki coasted home by a wide margin, polling 307, 955 votes, while his closest rival, Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the All Progressives Congress, scored 223, 619 votes. For a state of five million or so people, the voting population and the number of citizens that elected Obaseki, less than 400, 000, must be…

It has been a troubled start to the season for Paris Saint-Germain, overshadowed by a raft of coronavirus cases, suspensions and injuries, but the French champions can welcome back Neymar from a ban for this weekend’s Ligue 1 game at Reims. The world’s most expensive player was handed a two-match suspension after his involvement in an unseemly brawl at the end of PSG’s 1-0 home defeat by Marseille recently. Without him, his teammates bounced back from losing their opening two games of the season and recorded successive victories against Metz (1-0) and Nice (3-0). “We are suffering a lot and…

• COVID-19, delayed law slow universal coverage • Scheme fully back on stream, says NHIS Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and non-passage of the amended National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Act have further slowed uptake of health insurance packages and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Nigeria. More than 170 million Nigerians are still paying out-of-pocket to access medical services, forcing households and individuals to incur catastrophic health expenditure. This can exacerbate the level of poverty, analysts told The Guardian. Critics worry that the NHIS has remained abysmal and coverage rate dropped, from over 10 per cent (5.6 million Nigerians) 10 years…

FIFA suspended Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday for “grave violations” of its statutes following a local court challenge to its imposition of a new committee, following serious mismanagement. World football’s governing body said the Caribbean island nation would not be allowed back in until it recognised the legitimacy of the “normalisation committee” installed by FIFA to run its affairs. “The Bureau of the FIFA Council today suspended the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) with immediate effect due to grave violations of the FIFA statutes,” the organisation said in a statement. “The suspension was prompted by the former leadership of…

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says no death was recorded in the last 24-hours, as the country recorded 125 new cases of COVID-19. The NCDC made this known on its official twitter handle on Thursday. According to the agency, 125 new cases were confirmed around the country, bringing the total number of infections to 57, 849. The agency said that the new infection were reported in 13 states of the federation. It also announced the discharge of 113 patients from isolation centres across the country, bringing the total number of persons discharged to 49,098 persons have so far…

Football fans began to arrive on Thursday in the Hungarian capital for Europe’s first major match open to fans since the COVID-19 pandemic began, just as much of the continent tightens its social restrictions for a second wave of the virus. Soccer Football – European Super Cup – Bayern Munich fans arrive in Budapest ahead of the match – Budapest, Hungary – September 24, 2020, Bayern Munich fans arrive at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport ahead of the match REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo European soccer’s governing body UEFA has said the Super Cup, a traditional season opener played this year by Champions…

AC Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been placed in quarantine after testing positive for coronavirus, the Italian club disclosed on Thursday. Ibrahimovic, who turns 39 on October 3, is self-isolating at home following the test carried out ahead of the team’s Europa League third qualifying round tie against Norwegian club Bodo-Glimt in the San Siro later Thursday. “Ibrahimovic has tested positive for Covid-19 following a second round of swab tests ahead of tonight’s game against Bodo/Glimt,” the Serie A side said. “The club has informed the relevant authorities and the player has been promptly placed in quarantine at home. All…

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has defended the decision to allow fans to attend Thursday’s Super Cup match between Bayern Munich and Sevilla in Budapest, despite concerns about the Hungarian capital being a coronavirus hotspot. A limited crowd will be allowed into the 67,000-capacity Puskas Arena for the meeting of the Champions League winners and Europa League holders, although several hundred Bayern fans reportedly handed back their tickets because of safety fears. “We will have 16,000 spectators in the stadium, not even 30 percent,” of capacity, Ceferin said at a press conference following a UEFA executive committee meeting in Budapest on…

UEFA will allow up to five substitutions to be made by teams in all European club and international matches this season, it announced on Thursday, although a decision has yet to be reached for next year’s European Championship. The decision announced following UEFA’s Executive Committee meeting in Budapest, applies to this season’s Champions League, Europa League and women’s Champions League, as well as the remainder of the Nations League, the qualifying play-offs for Euro 2020 and qualifiers for the next women’s European Championship. “Another decision” will be made for the finals of Euro 2020, which were postponed to June and…

Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu Aketi (SAN) has been in the saddle for the past three and a half years. The governor is about rounding off his first term of four years in office. Therefore, voters in the state will go to the polls on October 10 to elect the next governor of the state. Only the mischievous and those blinded by partisan hatred and bitterness can dispute the claim that Arakunrin Akeredolu has kept faith with his promise of good governance. The tree of his government has yielded bountiful and the sweetest of fruits for the state. It is, therefore, expected…