Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, on Thursday condemned the resurgence of coups in Africa. Delivering a welcome address at the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue Series: “Breaking New Grounds in the Democracy Development Nexus in Africa,” the governor invited the international community to observe the November 11 governorship election in the state in order to protect the integrity of the process. The governor said the decision to re-elect him or choose a governor for the state should be the people’s prerogative but, however, expressed concern that some of his opponents were resorting to violence, intimidation and brigandage to subvert…

The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Thursday dismissed a petition brought by the APC challenging the election of Pastor Umo Eno of the Peoples Democratic Party. Udofia sought the disqualification of Pastor Eno’s election on the grounds that he presented forged documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and also did not score the highest number of valid votes in the March 18, 2023 Governorship elections. Udofia also accused the 2nd respondent of being convicted by an Abuja Magistrate Court, hence not qualified to be fielded for elections. But in favour of Governor…

Super Eagles star Odion Ighalo sends Al-Wehda to the Saudi King Cup quarterfinal. Super Eagles of Nigeria striker Odion Ighalo is back among the goals. The 34-year-old striker once again found the back net in a domestic competition in Saudi Arabia. Ighalo made his return for Al-Wehda against Al Orubah in a round of 16 Saudi Arabia King Cup fixture played on Wednesday, September 27, 2023. It was a tough encounter with both sides unable to find the back of the net in the first half. The second half had the second tone to the first with both sides struggling in…

Brighton & Hove Albion are keeping calm amid growing interest in head coach Roberto De Zerbi. The 44-year-old’s work at the AMEX Stadium over the past 12 months has received widespread acclaim, with the Italian building on the foundations laid by previous incumbent Graham Potter to guide the Seagulls to a record sixth-place Premier League finish last season. De Zerbi’s side are competing in European competition for the first time as a result – an achievement the former Shakhtar Donetsk boss called “more prestigious than winning the title”. Brighton have continued the momentum in the early weeks of the 2023/24…

Fulham manager, Marco Silva was full of chagrin for Alex Iwobi after the Nigerian opened his goal account for the club against Norwich City on Wednesday night. Iwobi was handed his first start in the Carabao Cup third-round fixture. The Nigeria international put up a good display in the game and was on target for the Cottagers in the 72nd minute following a brilliant pass from Harry Wilson. Silva had nothing but praises for the Nigerian midfielder after the game. “As you know, he’s a player that I know really well. I was responsible for him signing for Everton as…

Spanish police raided the offices of the referees’ committee as part of an investigation into Barcelona’s alleged corrupt payments to an official. Barcelona face charges of corruption over payments made to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, a former vice-president of the committee, in return for favourable refereeing decisions. Uefa is also investigating the matter. Barcelona deny any wrongdoing and no arrests were made during the search in Madrid. The Spanish Civil Guard searched the Spanish Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) headquarters on Thursday. BBC Sport has been told that the judge presiding over the case demanded documentation from the CTA. This was…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has decried the sudden rise of fake dollars and cyber crimes in the Benue axis. Its Acting Chairman, Mr Abdulkarim Chukkol, who disclosed this on Thursday in Makurdi, said the commission had taken measures to address the situation. The EFCC chairman spoke during a workshop on “Effective Reporting of Economic and Financial Crimes,” organised for 30 journalists from major media organisations in the country. Chukkol was represented by the Head of the Makurdi Zonal Office of EFCC, Mr Friday Ebelo. He said the primary aim of the commission was to reduce corruption in…

Napoli manager, Rudi Garcia has said that the club didn’t intend to hurt Victor Osimhen with the controversial TikTok video. Recall the Partonopei shared a video on their TikTok account which appeared to be mocking Osimhen after he missed a penalty in the club’s goalless draw against Bologna last weekend. The 24-year-old threatened to take legal action against the club and has also taken down all images of him in the Partenopei jersey on his Instagram account. The Nigeria international had earlier been involved in a bust-up with Garcia after he was substituted against Bologna. The Ballon d’Or nominee, however,…

The junta in Burkina Faso, which toppled a military regime to gain power, has announced that there was a coup attempt. In a statement, the junta said an attempt by some army officers to seize power and plunge the country into chaos was thwarted. “The dark intention of attacking the institutions of the Republic and plunging our country in chaos… investigations will help unmask the instigators of this plot.” “Officers and other alleged actors involved in this attempt at destabilisation have been arrested and others are actively sought,” read the statement from Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo, spokesman for the regime.…

The Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti has reopened for use the renovated and re-equipped Abia Specialist Hospital and the Amachara General Hospital Umuahia. Otti while reopening the hospitals noted that the Amachara General Hospital which was first opened in 1932 was in decay and allowed to dilapidate by the past administrations. According to him, his government was determined to fix the hospitals and has rehabilitated them for human use. He said a healthy population is the greatest asset to any society,adding that his administration has demonstrated commitment by doing everything to ensure that the strategic health facilities are brought…

Messi watched from the sidelines as Inter Miami CF lost 2-1 to the Houston Dynamo in the U.S. Open Cup final after he was not named in the squad due to an injury picked up while on Argentina duty. Manager Gerardo Martino said Tuesday that whether his star player was available or not would come down to a game-time decision. When the lineup was revealed ahead of the final at DRV PNK Stadium, Messi was not listed on the team sheet. “It was clearly not prudent for him to play, not even for a few minutes,” Martino said after the match. “We couldn’t…

Carabao Cup holders Manchester United will face Newcastle United in this season’s fourth round – a repeat of last season’s Wembley final – after the draw was made for the final 16 teams on Wednesday night. Manchester City’s dreams of going one better than last season and becoming the first English club to win a quadruple were dashed in the third round by Newcastle and Alexander Isak. The Magpies will fancy their chances of going all the way and ending their decades-long major trophy drought. Chelsea have earned some respite from a tough Premier League campaign by beating new foes…