Author: Chief Editor

…Insists IMC Is An Illegal Contraption Not Known To Law Contrary to the unsubstantiated claims by the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) that vested interests are against the Forensic Audit ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari in October last year, the Niger Delta Renaissance Coalition (NDRC) has restated that all well-meaning Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and persons across the Niger Delta region and beyond support the long-desired forensic audit. According to NDRC Coordinator, Comrade Alalibo George, the tired and well-worn claim by the IMC is meant to divert attention from the illegal contraption which is…

Lionel Messi has revealed how he ‘wanted to leave’ Barcelona in 2016 due to the scrutiny on him amid a tax row with the Spanish government. Messi is the finest player in LaLiga and league chief Javier Tebas has previously admitted he was left ‘scared’ at the idea the Argentine could leave. Speaking to radio station RAC1, Messi explained how along with his father Jorge he felt he was being ‘mistreated’. The pair were found guilty of tax fraud and handed a 21-month suspended prison sentence. “At that time, with the mess of the treasury, I wanted to leave, not…

Atletico Madrid winger Angel Correa on Monday said that a return to football “is what we all need” ahead of a possible La Liga restart in mid-June. League president Javier Tebas on Sunday said he hopes the Spanish season can resume with the Seville derby on June 11, after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said La Liga could return from June 8. “With this crazy period that we are all living in, knowing that we will soon be playing again, resuming La Liga is an immense joy,” Correa told the Atletico website after training on Monday. “I think this is what…

Steven Gerrard said Liverpool did not “believe in miracles” and Jamie Carragher thought his “dreams had turned to dust”, but 15 years ago Rafael Benitez’s side pulled off one of football’s greatest heists to beat AC Milan in the Champions League final. The English side were underdogs before kick-off in Istanbul despite edging out Chelsea in the semi-finals and a strong Juventus outfit in the last eight but was completely written off when 3-0 down at half-time in their bid for a fifth European Cup. But, roared on by 40,000 travelling supporters in the club’s first final in the competition…

Premier League clubs will vote on proposals for a return to contact training on Wednesday as the English top-flight seeks to take another step closer to resuming the season next month. New UK government guidelines issued on Sunday allow for the return of “close contact” training, including tackling, to help players step up their match fitness ahead of a return to competitive action. “This type of training would start with smaller ‘clusters’ of 2-3 athletes and eventually progress to larger groups of 4-12 athletes, and ultimately full team training,” added the government advice. Premier League clubs returned to training in…

Obadiah Mailafia In terms of financial wizardry and sheer genius in economic statecraft, the only master I bow to is the legendary sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. I am no cultist and I do not subscribe to the Awo cult. But I believe he was an extraordinary statesman and an economic genius to boot. Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, once observed: “If you know of a man greater than Obafemi Awolowo, I would like to meet him.” He is in a position to know. He released Awolowo from Calabar Prisons in July 1966; making him Minister of Finance and…

Eze Onyekpere The recent attempt by the House of Representatives to enact a law for the regulation and management of infectious diseases, epidemics, pandemics and health emergencies has been met with stiff opposition by a cross-section of Nigerians. The opposition is not to the fact that such a law is needed at this time. Indeed, most Nigerians believe that COVID-19 met us without our being prepared for it in terms of legislation, policy and of course the finances to ride over it. The opposition is about the contents of the bill and how it seeks to achieve its objectives. This…

Tunde Odesola  It’s the peak of perfidy. A whore is missing, a drunk goes in search of her; the degenerate seeks the reprobate. This is how best I can translate the following Yoruba proverb into English without snapping the elastic cord that interweaves meaning and beauty into language: Asewo sonu, omuti nwa; eni ofo nwa eni adanu! Life loves symmetry. The Prophet of Anambra and the Emperor of Rivers, two honourable men radiating symmetric nobility. For the Igbo, proverb is the palm oil with which words are eaten. Today, I’ll play the agidigbo, a Yoruba drumbeat danced by the wise,…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) weekend said it was prepared to provide business intelligence to prospective investors in order to build confidence in the Nigerian business climate. The anti-graft agency also urged Nigerians in diaspora to put more pressure on authorities and governments in their countries of residence to prosecute corrupt Nigerians hiding abroad. Speaking weekend during a virtual town hall meeting with Nigerians in diaspora, anchored in London by the Host/Moderator of the group, Prince Ade Omole, the acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu said the commission was aware of the frustration, uncertainty and risks, local…

Super Eagles Manager, Gernot Rohr, has thanked the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for giving him a new two and a half year contract to continue coaching the senior national team. Rohr first got the opportunity to train the Super Eagles in 2016 and got another two-year deal in 2018. His current contract will expire next month, but sources at the NFF told The Guardian that the German has been given a new two years and a half years deal. Rohr confirmed his new contract at the weekend in a mail he sent to some NFF board members thanking them for…