Wednesday, 8 July 2015
Photos: Another Untethered container accident in Lagos..
It's confirmed! NFF in negotiations with Sunday Oliseh..(photos)
Pics of former Super Eagles captain,
Sunday Oliseh and the Nigerian Football Federation, President Amaju
Pinnick in London today. According to Felix Anyansi-Agwu, chairman of the NFF
Technical and Development Committee, they are in talks with Oliseh to coach the Super Eagles following Keshi's sack.
'An offer has been made, and there
is understanding, but we have to work out the final details of the
agreement in a few days. Of course, the Executive Board has to give
approval for his appointment based on the final terms to be agreed.'
Keshi’s sacking baffles Douglas
Stephen Keshi
Former
international Bolaji Douglas says he is baffled by the sacking of Super
Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, by the Nigeria Football Federation.
The former Nigeria captain, who led the
Eagles to a third Africa Cup of Nations title two years ago, was
dismissed as coach of the national team on saturday.
The relationship between Keshi and his
employers have been anything but rosy since the coach came on board in
2011, leading him to resign after the 2013 AFCON triumph, before he was
sacked by the federation after the Eagles’ lackluster performances in
the 2015 AFCON qualifiers.
But Keshi was reinstated on both occasions by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“I have mixed feelings about this. If he
(Keshi) had been sacked immediately after the failure of the Eagles to
secure a ticket for the 2015 AFCON, it would have made a lot of sense.
If he had been sacked even when the team was struggling to qualify as
part of the measures to salvage our qualifiers, it would have also made a
lot of sense,” Douglas said.
“They sacked him at a time but for
whatever reasons, he was reinstated in a manner which suggests he was
imposed on them. From then, we created an environment that was never
conducive for our football. If they made up their minds that they were
going to take him back, then it leaves me wondering why he is being
sacked now. They should spare us the stories that it had to do with the
Ivory Coast job. At best, it is akin to looking for any excuse to skin
the cat and hang it.”
The
former BCC Lions of Gboko captain, who now resides in Ireland, said
Keshi and the NFF never had a cordial relationship during the coach’s
tenure as head coach of the national team.
Douglas added, “The message behind this
sack is simple: his employers don’t want him. It appears they have a
path and a direction they want to follow and that path does not lead to
Keshi. If they don’t want him, then a decision has to be made, which
they have done.
“One can only hope they know what they
are doing and would hold themselves responsible if things don’t work out
well. They don’t believe in Keshi and there does not appear to be a
good relationship between the two parties. Someone had to go and I guess
that person is Keshi.”
Oliseh in line for Eagles job
Sunday Oliseh
The
President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, held a
closed door meeting with the proposed coach of the Super Eagles in
London on Tuesday.
Although Pinnick spoke with The PUNCH
on the telephone from the United Kingdom on Tuesday, he did not name
the coach he was meeting with. Our correspondent, however, learnt that
the talk was with a former Super Eagles captain, Sunday Oliseh.
The FA boss, who confirmed that he was
in the UK with another former Nigeria captain, Austin Okocha for the
meeting, said that the Federation had gone far with discussion and will
announce the name of the coach of Friday.
He said, “By Friday we should be able to
release his name officially to the public. By then, everything will
have been concluded, and until then, I prefer we leave his name out.
Going by what we have been able to achieve this far, we should be able
to unveil him on Monday.”
Pinnick said that the Federation was
able to avoid the long process of short listing managers before they are
pruned to those that could meet their goals.
“It is not just about winning the
Nations Cup or any other trophy but we need to develop the game in
Nigeria and the way the teams are managed. I believe we’ve got a person
who fits well with this ideal,” he said.
The FA boss was in Canada for the final
game of the FIFA Women’s World Cup when Stephen Keshi was sacked from
his position as the Eagles coach on Saturday. The NFF at the weekend
also stated that Keshi’s replacement will be made public within two
weeks.
Oliseh, who had for long been tipped to
coach Nigeria, was part of the Nigeria squad that won the Africa Cup of
Nations in 1994 and the Olympic gold two years later in Atlanta. The
Belgium-based ex-footballer also played at the USA’ 94 World Cup and the
1998 edition in France.
Oliseh’s managerial experience is based
largely on what he achieved with a Belgian side Vervietois between 2008
and 2009. He, however, holds the UEFA Pro Licence.
The former board of the NFF under Alhaji
Aminu Maigari held talks with him in 2011 for the position of the
technical director for Nigeria but the discussion fell through. His name
has been mentioned in several discussions on Nigeria football as
possibly the next coach.
The former Borussia Dortmund midfielder
will take over from NFF technical director Shaibu Amodu who has been put
in charge of the Eagles on an interim basis.
IG orders stop and search on roads nationwide
The Inspector General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase has directed the
commencement of special ‘stop and search’ operation on roads and
highways across the country.
Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Abayomi Shogunle, said in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, that the directive was sequel to an intelligence report before the IGP.
“Sequel to the intelligence report, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Solomon Arase, has directed the commencement of special stop and search on Roads and Highways nationwide.
“The general public is advised to cooperate with Police operatives, by providing answers to questions that may be asked, as well as allowing their vehicles to be searched,” he said.
He stressed that during the operation, emphasis would be placed on roads in and out of major cities and towns.
He enjoined citizens to bear with the Police during the operation, which would be a temporary measure to address the issues contained in the intelligence report.
Abayomi said the measure was in no way a return of roadblocks in the country,and therefore urged citizens to report to the nearest police station unprofessional conduct by any police personnel.
Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Abayomi Shogunle, said in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, that the directive was sequel to an intelligence report before the IGP.
“Sequel to the intelligence report, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Solomon Arase, has directed the commencement of special stop and search on Roads and Highways nationwide.
“The general public is advised to cooperate with Police operatives, by providing answers to questions that may be asked, as well as allowing their vehicles to be searched,” he said.
He stressed that during the operation, emphasis would be placed on roads in and out of major cities and towns.
He enjoined citizens to bear with the Police during the operation, which would be a temporary measure to address the issues contained in the intelligence report.
Abayomi said the measure was in no way a return of roadblocks in the country,and therefore urged citizens to report to the nearest police station unprofessional conduct by any police personnel.
APC, PDP at war over source of bailout funds
The PDP said that a very large amount of the bailout funds came from savings left behind by the administration of Dr Goodluck Jonathan, however, the Presidency disagreed, arguing that the money came from proceeds of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).
Upon assumption of office on May 29, President Muhammadu Buhari said the departing PDP government left an empty treasury and pleaded with Nigerians for patience as they await urgent implementation of his change agenda.
The Presidency also denied some media reports that the presidential relief package was drawn from the Excess Crude Accounts, ECA, stressing that the ECA is intact. This came as state governments, the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and some eminent Nigerians praised President Muhammadu Buhari over the relief package, saying it will help boost the economy.
In a statement by Chief Olisa Metuh, the National Publicity Secretary of PDP, he said that the bailout would go a long way in alleviating the sufferings of Nigerian workers in various states of the federation, most of whom haven't been paid for several months.
He said:
“This development is in clear contradiction to the earlier impression given by President Buhari to Nigerians and the international community that they should not expect much from his administration in its first 100 days because according him, on assumption of office, he met a virtually empty treasury.
“We want to believe that given the President’s release of such huge amount, he may have realized that he was earlier misdirected on the actual financial state of the nation at the time he took over. In this regard, we expect the President, as a respected statesman to do the needful to correct that erroneous impression.
“Furthermore, we expect President Buhari’s APC administration as direct beneficiary of this savings initiated by past PDP administrations to appreciate the strategic importance of always saving for rainy days and as such guarantee prudent and transparent management of the nation’s resources now under its care.”Metuh said the party therefore charged the APC as a party in government to put its house in order, desist from injecting confusion and distracting the President from settling down to form a government and face the enormous challenges of governance, especially the implementation of his long list of campaign promises to Nigerians.
He said Nigerians are no longer interested in insults, tirades and propaganda but in actions and policies that would move the nation forward, a stance the APC has failed to recognize.
Lol. See what this guy did with Keke Napep (photo)
EFCC arrest former Gov. Sule Lamido and his two sons
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arrested the
former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, for alleged money
laundering-related offences.Investigations revealed that operatives of the anti-graft agency picked up the former governor and his two sons, Mustapha and Aminu in the early hours of Tuesday in Abuja.
It was learnt that the EFCC leadership ordered a crack team of detectives to fly them to Kano by 2.30 pm to prepare them for their arraignment for alleged fraud that amount to billions of naira.
The source said,
“The former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, and his two sons, Mustapha and Aminu, were arrested this morning by operatives of the commission.
“They were actually arrested very early this morning, they were with us for hours before they were flown to Kano for possible arraignment on Wednesday (today).
“They left Abuja Airport around 2.30pm. It is most likely that they would be arraigned tomorrow (Wednesday), that I can tell you.”The EFCC had arrested the two sons of the governor in November 2014, over alleged misappropriation of billions of naira belonging to the Jigawa State Government.
Operatives of the commission investigating Lamido and his sons alleged that billions of naira that belonged to the state government was traced into the accounts of companies owned and run by the governor and his two sons.
The Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the arrest of the former governor and two of his sons.
He said,
“I can confirm to you that the former Governor of Jigawa a State, Alhaji Sule Lamido and his two sons are with the commission.”