Author: Chief Editor

Chris Smalling believes staying at Manchester United as a fringe player would have been an easy option for him and says he is ready to instead prove his worth at Roma. The 29-year-old defender swapped Old Trafford for Stadio Olimpico last month in search of regular playing time following the £80million arrival of Harry Maguire at United. Smalling was unwilling to play a bit-part role for the Red Devils and is hoping to improve his game during a season-long loan in Serie A. “The easy decision was to stay. I had spoken to the manager before Harry came and I knew…

The Meter Asset Provider scheme commenced on May 1, 2019 across several distribution companies, with public enlightenment, customer registration, network clean-up and installation of meters. The scheme provides for either the upfront payment option or the payment options by instalment for acquiring a meter. According to a recent public release by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, customers that opt for the gradual payment option are allowed to pay in instalments within a period of one to 10 years, depending on the agreement between the MAP, Community Association and the DISCO. The MAP is expected to meter all the customers without…

Victor Anazonwu At about the same time that President Muhammadu Buhari eventually consented to let Shiite leader, Ibrahim el-Zakzaky, go on medical pilgrimage to India, another executive prisoner was making his way to jail. Omoyele Sowore, founder of SaharaReporters and one of the presidential candidates in the 2019 elections, was arrested by the DSS for daring to call for #RevolutionNow. The significance of this “prisoner-swap” was not lost on all of us. A close friend whispered to me that, “The President must be under strict instructions from his spiritual advisers (they are no longer called marabouts or juju priests) to…

Ayo Olukotun At the heart of scientific inquiry is the formulation of theoretical assumptions or hypotheses, conventionally left open for the purpose of empirical testing or verification. I never forget the sternness and emphatic voice, with which one of my lecturers reminded the class that, “When your theoretical assumptions can neither be verified nor tested, then you are knocking at the door of dogma, rather than science”. Of course, much public debate, especially on political affairs, is ridden with dogma, circuitous and self-confirming statements, and partisan assertions, obvious only to the speaker. Nowhere is this more the case than in…

Fola Ojo The sickening state of the nation’s economy is his bother. The widespread brutish stratum of insecurity is a nauseating nag on his neck. Kidnappings here, killings there will always be unsettling for a patriot like him. For Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, the anointed man of God, and the man of the law, there are now surreal signs and grotesque indications that these aren’t good times for Jacuzzi gyration in the murky waters of Nigerian politics. Without a doubt, this is a turbulent season to be the second-in-command to a man called Muhammadu Buhari, a Fulani man from Daura. Commonsense…

London magazine suggests she may have been paid House sets up committee to investigate $9.6bn judgment debt Knock for Oguntade for consulting for Esso while in public office United Kingdom’s Home Secretary, Ms. Priti Patel, Wednesday faced an integrity question over her support for the attempt by a British Virgin Islands-registered company, Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID) Limited, to squeeze $9.6 billion out of Nigeria for a gas-to-power project that was never built. The Nigerian government had stridently contested the company’s claim, insisting that the contract was a scam, in which P&ID did and spent nothing on the failed…

Similoluwa Daramola I am on the verge of doing away with anything called news relating to Nigeria because each time I pick up newspapers or receive news notifications on my phone, it is usually disheartening. I have come to realise through the recent occurrences in Nigeria that there is a part of man that feels compassion towards his neighbour even without being related by blood. It is simply one of the complexities of humanity which was aptly reflected in the thought-provoking  dictum of Obaseki JSC of the blessed memory in Fawehinmi v Akilu (1987) 4 NWLR (Pt. 67) 797 where…

It appears President Muhammadu Buhari has swung into action to save the economy by taking charge and inaugurating a new economic advisory council. They will serve as new managers of the economy through their experience in economics, finance and management and will daily advise the President on the best ways to run and manage the economy that had been badly run under the Vice President’s leadership. However, it will be of importance to note the school of thought the President belongs to which is the system that favours the ordinary people of Nigeria. This is the system that favours a…

Michael Owhoko I have opted to write you again, as a citizen of Nigeria, knowing that this is the last lap of your two-term tenure.  This time, it is not about directing the oil companies to relocate their administrative headquarters to the Niger Delta, but about the planned devaluation of the naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria. I hear plans to this effect have been perfected and all stakeholders, including members of the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria and Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture are being sensitised ahead of the devaluation date which may have…

What’s the story? Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has expressed his concern over Eden Hazard’s switch to Real Madrid, fearing that the former Chelsea star may have moved to the Santiago Bernabeu at the wrong time. In case you didn’t know… Hazard made his first start for Real Madrid in the Champions League as the Spanish giants succumbed to an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night. The Belgium international put an end to a long-running saga by leaving Chelsea for Los Blancos over the summer. Real Madrid failed to register a single shot on target against…