Author: Chief Editor

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said the National Assembly will rather be a rubber stamp for the progress of the country than fight the executive arm of government. Gbajabiamila spoke on Sunday during a meeting with members of his constituency in Surulere, Lagos State. The event, tagged, ‘2019 End of the Year Grassroots Empowerment Programme,’ was attended by residents, members and leaders of the All Progressives Congress in the state. Different gifts and equipment, including financial donations, were presented to the constituents, who turned out in large numbers. The Speaker thanked the crowd for supporting…

Obadiah Mailafia British wartime Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, famously noted that, “You do not negotiate borders – you defend them”. Borders are the hallmarks of a sovereign state. Any country that cannot control hers is not worthy of her own statehood. The current system of territorial states that we operate today began in continental Europe with the Treaty of Westphalia 1648 that ended the devastating Thirty Years’ religious wars. Before then, much of Europe was organised in terms of ill-defined feudal monarchies, royal kingdoms and dukedoms loosely under the Holy Roman Empire that was, in reality, neither holy nor…

Eze Onyekpere In the last couple of weeks, the economic and political news coming out of Nigeria has not been positive. It has been about doing things the wrong way, lack of due process, desecration of the rule of law, outright impunity for violators of rights and economic policies that have attracted negative ratings. Nigerians have responded in their millions; the international community and friendly nations have responded, and the perception out there is that anything is possible in Nigeria. Both the perception and reality are in tandem and tally. So, where do we go from here? Let us concentrate…

By Omoshola Deji Democracy is earning the power to govern through free, fair and credible elections. Nigeria is a democratic state, but the leadership recruitment process is largely undemocratic. Material and financial inducements determines victory, the security agencies are political, and the umpire lacks the capacity and will to conduct credible polls. Public sovereignty is departing the ballot for court as the 2019 general elections produced about a thousand petitions. Subjecting almost every electoral victory to judicial confirmation is making voting lose its essence. Like every human, judges are prone to errors as much as they have preference. Hence, their…

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has declared Virgil van Dijk and Jordan Henderson fit for Sunday’s crunch Premier League clash with Manchester City. Reds skipper Henderson missed Tuesday’s 2-1 Champions League win over Genk through illness, while Van Dijk was absent from training on Thursday. However, it later transpired Van Dijk was granted permission to return to his native Netherlands to receive royal recognition for his outstanding achievements this year. Klopp confirmed at Friday’s pre-match news conference that the centre-back, along with captain Henderson, will be available for selection at Anfield on Sunday. Enjoyed that one! #YNWA pic.twitter.com/qKGJezhKmv — Virgil van Dijk (@VirgilvDijk) November 2,…

Frank Lampard says Chelsea will be “looking in the mirror” rather than worrying about how their potential Premier League title rivals fare this weekend. Chelsea are fourth in the table, eight points behind leaders Liverpool but six clear of fifth-placed Arsenal. Liverpool face champions Manchester City, who are currently in second, on Sunday, presenting the opportunity for Chelsea and Leicester City – who are third – to make up ground on the top two. And Leicester play Arsenal, meaning four of the top five will face off. Yet head coach Lampard is determined his team will not be concerned by results…

Pep Guardiola described Anfield as the toughest stadium in the world to visit right now, but insisted Manchester City are not out of the Premier League title race if they lose to Liverpool on Sunday. The build-up to the mouth-watering top-of-the-table clash has been dominated by talk of diving and tactical fouls, although City boss Guardiola and Reds counterpart Jurgen Klopp have done their bit to ease the tension. Last season City took four points from the Reds, a return that proved decisive as they pipped Liverpool – who lost just once in the league – to the title by a solitary…

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu Friday presented the 2020 Lagos State budget estimates of N1.168 trillion to the state House of Assembly. “The Proposed Budget Size for the Year 2020 is 1.168 Trillion Naira; to be funded by a projected Total Revenue of 1.071 Trillion Naira, and a deficit amounting to 97.53 Billion Naira,” Sanwo-Olu said. “This budget size is higher than the 2019 budget by 34% Capital expenditure amounts to 723.75 Billion Naira while the Recurrent Expenditure is 444.81 Billion Naira giving a 62:38 capital to recurrent ratio.” The budget tagged Budget of Awaken Lagos of 62 percent capital…

Nigerian government on Friday has said it sacked some aides of the vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, in an attempt to “streamline decision-making, cut down multiple authorities and reduce the cost of administration.” “The overriding objective is to save taxpayer money and deliver the needed service to the public,” a presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said in a statement. “As far as the President is concerned, there is no scope for an excuse for administration after getting a huge mandate to run the country for four more years,” he added. Shehu said the Office of the Vice President, shed of a number…

Before his injury in the 2018-19 season, Joe Gomez looked an extremely capable player in the heart of the Reds’ defence and was on course to forming a formidable partnership alongside Virgil van Dijk. Liverpool’s centre half pairing looked unbreachable and in some moments, Gomez looked even better than the colossal van Dijk. However, he suffered a long term against Burnley which ruled him out for most of the season. He did make a comeback in the last few matches of the season, but Joel Matip’s magnificent form did not give him a look in. Further, it is well documented that getting back…