ATTENCAO

El Clasico.  In the build up, we related the encounter largely to how much effect it would have on whoever wins  Spanish Championship. But, Lionel Messi came, ran tooth-gnashing terror, championed in totality and completely stole this one away. I mean, when you are 29 and you're are mentioned in the same breath as the the greatest characters in football history, scored 500 times for a single football club, scored the most cumulative goals in El Cassico, scored and made the most goals and assists, respectively,  in La Liga History, whilst playing the best brand of football alongside of that, I can only be proud you came during my time. Calabar Tragedy    The regrettable loss of lives of football fans, which majority are believed to be Manchester United faithful, in Calabar, South-South Nigeria, has received quite a sizable level of attention, nationwide and across the globe alike. President Mohammadu Buhari and other dignitaries, including former vice pr...

Dortmund, Bayern, Barcelona, and Leicester City all have huge task before them, should they wish to make it to the next phase of 2016/17 edition of the competition as they have let in more goals than they scored in first leg of Quarter Finals. But then, teams who are advantaged to go through may be  vulnerable to disappointments should they permit complacency to set in. Madrid, Monaco, Atletico and Juventus have to maintain a hundred percentage of concentration for a good chance of finishing up the job on a similar note with which they started, bearing in mind how Barcelona did the impossible against French giants PSG.        JUVENTUS have opened up a wide margin and are favorites to go through given that they parade a well rounded team with strength in almost every department of it. With  multitasking mid of Sami Khedira and Miralem Pjanic duo, attack that has got goals in it and a solid defense, Barcenola have a difficult mission to execute. I would p...

The University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has appointed Mr. Aniediabasi Udofia as the university’s registrar while Prof. Ahiaoma Ibegwam becomes the institution’s librarian. A statement from the university’s Director of Information and Public Relations, Mr. Godfrey Essien, on Tuesday in Uyo, added that Udofia had worked in the UNIUYO, University of Lagos and the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, in different capacities. Udofia, who holds a Master’s degree in Educational Technology from UNIUYO, was principal assistant registrar and head, Academic Staff Establishments Unit (Directorate of Personnel Affairs) 2009 to 2010 and assistant registrar and head liaison office, Lagos (2001 to 2003). According to the statement, he had also worked at the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta as Deputy Registrar, Vice-Chancellor’s Office from 2010 to 2012 and as Deputy Registrar and Secretary, Postgraduate School in 2016. Meanwhile, a statement from the Registrar and Secretary to Council, UNI...

Given my background as a former managing director of a major bank, I struggled with the propriety of writing on what I believe is a looming crisis in this sector that I love and to which I owe a lot. I felt that some people may interpret it as loyalty to my constituency, but I am sure that more perceptive people will agree that I had not spared the industry and former colleagues in previous articles when necessary. After serious reflection, I was convinced that it was my patriotic duty to raise this necessary alarm in this formal and public format. Simply put, the manner in which the TSA is currently being implemented, has the potential to drag the larger economy into further distress. It is imperative that concerned parties take a second look at it with a view to addressing some of the unintended consequences. The Treasury Single Account (TSA) was introduced in 2012 to “sweep”, on a daily basis, all balances in the accounts of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) into a co...

Security operatives drawn from the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, as well as the Department of State Services, DSS, barred the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group from gaining access to the Three Arms Zone, where the Presidential Villa is located, on Monday. As part of the group’s 14 days campaign to pressurise the government to intensify efforts to rescue the girls taken away from their school on April 14 2014, the group had planned a protest to the Presidential Villa. However, a massive blockade of the road to the Three Arms zone ensured that the campaign could not get to the villa. The protest was jointly led by Oby Ezekwesili and Aisha Yesufu while the police detachment was led by CSP Chuks Obasi. Both Ezekwesili and CSP Obasi were involved in a shouting match as the officer insisted that the protesters would not cross the human barricade put together by the security operatives. In the course of the confrontation, Ezekwesili told t...

Paul Pogba is one of the most coveted midfielders all over europe in the last couple of years, during the period which he had his name consistently pinned to speculation boards every transfer window. He was never strongly linked to a move away from Turin, where he arrived in the thrash bag from Manchester United 4 years ago, to the extent he is this summer. The youngster previously carried a mouthwatering price tag in the region of £80 million however juventus raised their asking price to around a never-of-its-kind £93.2, which his former team, Manchester United have coughed up (a little moral - if you dont have an eye to sight potentiality imbedded in things, you might end up breaking the bank for a 'worthless' item you left to deteriorate). Real Madrid, renowned serial spenders who were also a leading party in the chase for the Frenchman, in fact for the longer period, informed pogba's agent they lack the finances match the offer tabled by the red devils, although Pog...

The Nigerian military says its “most unprecedented and spectacular air raid” has “fatally wounded” Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram leader, in his shoulders. Sani Kukasheka Usman, a colonel and acting director of army public relations, made the claim in a statement he released very early on Tuesday morning. He said the operation held on August 19, 2016 as the terrorists were performing Friday rituals at Taye village, Gombale general area, within Sambisa forest, Borno state. “In what one could describe as the most unprecedented and spectacular air raid, we have just confirmed that as a result of the interdiction efforts of the Nigerian Air Force, some key leaders of the Boko Haram terrorists have been killed while others were fatally wounded,” Usman said. “The air interdiction took place last week Friday 19th August 2016, while the terrorists were performing Friday rituals at Taye village, Gombale general area within Sambisa forest, Borno State. “Those Boko Haram terrorists comma...

Nigeria on Saturday won her first medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as the country’s men’s football team won bronze after defeating Honduras in Belo Horizonte. Mikel Obi combined brilliantly with Ezekiel Imoh to set up Sadiq Umar for Nigeria’s first goal in the 34th minute. Aminu Umar increased Nigeria’s lead four minutes into the second half after latching on the ball as Honduras goalkeeper, Luis Lopez struggled to stop Mikel’s shot. Samson Siasia’s wards took the game beyond the reach of Honduras with another goal coming off the boots of Sadiq within six minutes. It was another of Mikel’s assist to make it 3-0. The goals were enough to ensure victory, despite a late rally from the Hondurans who scored two late goals but could not overhaul their more illustrious opponents. Speaking after the game, Siasia said, “I want to say thanks to the players. They did a great job. It is good to take something back home. Winning bronze is not easy. We are happy and we have to celebrate. W...

Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) has formally declared cessation of hostilities in the Niger Delta region. It, however, declared support for any emerging negotiating team that Chief Edwin Clark’s Niger Delta elders and stakeholders conference held last Friday might put in place to negotiate with the Federal Government and multinational oil companies on modalities for de-escalating conflicts in the region. NDA, in a release signed by its spokesperson, Mudoch Agbinibo, said it will continue to observe cessation of hostilities against the interests of oil companies but warned that it will engage in asymmetric warfare during the period should the Federal Government use security agencies to harass or intimidate its suspected members. “We are going to continue the observation of our unannounced cessation of hostilities in the Niger Delta against all interests of the multinational oil corporations, but we will continuously adopt our asymmetric warfare during this period if the Nigerian gover...

The UNICEF has said the sobering news that two children have been paralyzed by wild poliovirus in northeastern Nigeria underscores the urgency of eradicating the disease in conflict-affected areas. The Government of Nigeria and the World Health Organization have confirmed an outbreak of wild poliovirus in conflict-ridden Borno state, where children are already facing dangerously high levels of malnutrition. The two cases were discovered in parts of Borno that have recently become accessible, but large areas of the state remain unreachable. Nigeria – and the continent – had its last confirmed polio case two years ago and was within a year of being certified polio-free, thanks to a massive mobilization by the government, partners and local health providers. “We cannot deny the connection between conflict and the continued threat of polio. The two new cases mean children across the Lake Chad region are now at particular risk. With our partners, we will not stop until we reach every ...

Saturday, July 23, 2016, was one day that will always give 18-year-old Praise Adelakin nightmares. That day, a journey from Ile-Ife, Osun State, to Ibadan, Oyo State, that was supposed to take her about two hours only, almost turned out to be a journey of no return. A 300 Level Law student of Obafemi Awolowo University, Praise had gone to the school in the morning of that day to check whether her things were still intact in her hostel before resumption after some weeks of strike by lecturers in the institution. Around 4pm, when she ensured she had put everything in place, she left for the Mayfair Motor Park in the town to board a bus going to Ibadan, where her family resides. All things being equal, she should have been back in Ibadan by around 6pm on the same day, but by 12 midnight of the following day, she found herself in Ilorin, Kwara State. Narrating the incident to our correspondent in Ibadan on Tuesday, she said, “We’ve been on strike for some weeks. Meanwhile, fresher...

Donald Trump acknowledged Friday he was wrong in claiming to have seen secret Iranian footage of $400 million in cash being delivered to Tehran as payment for the release of US prisoners. Trump raised eyebrows this week when he made that assertion and gave many details of what he said he saw in the film. “Remember this: Iran — I don’t think you heard this anywhere but here — Iran provided all of that footage, the tape of taking that money off the airplane,” Trump said Wednesday at a rally in Florida. “Right?” But that widely viewed footage is believed instead to show the moment in January when three of five American prisoners freed by Iran get off a plane in Geneva. In a tweet Friday, Trump said this is indeed what he saw. It is rare for the free-wheeling Republican presidential nominee — known for making provocative claims — to admit making a mistake. “The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying $400 million in cash goi...