Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has suspended its Resident Electoral Commissioner REC in Adamawa, Hudu Yunusa Ari. The action followed the REC’s controversial pronouncement on Sunday after the supplementary election. Although only Returning Officers have the responsibility of announcing results, Ari declared the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate, Aisha Dahiru Binani, the winner. The development sparked outrage in the state and across the country, with Governor Ahmadu Fintiri accusing the REC of working for a gang. On Monday, the national headquarters of the electoral umpire ordered Ari to stay away from the commission’s office in Yola, the state capital. A…

Liverpool are set to look elsewhere for their summer midfield rebuild after ending their long-term pursuit of Jude Bellingham. A move for the highly-coveted Borussia Dortmund and England star, 19, was deemed too expensive by the Reds hierarchy, forcing them to drop out of the race. Jurgen Klopp’s engine room is still in desperate need of reinforcements, with the contracts of James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all expiring at the end of the season. Ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Leeds this evening, we look at some of the alternative names they could be keeping an eye on. Alexis…

Pep Guardiola hailed Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne’s “special connection” after their eighth Premier League goal combination of the season. The pair were key once again as City beat lowly Leicester City 3-1 on Saturday. Haaland scored twice to take his goal tally in the league to 32, matching Mohamed Salah’s record for a 38-game season. His second goal came when he latched onto a precise De Bruyne throughball, marking the eighth time the Belgium international has teed up a Haaland strike in the top flight this term. That is one off the joint record of nine, shared by Tottenham duo…

Travellers across Nigeria will have to seek alternative resolution, as the aviation unions begin a two-day warning strike. The development is coming against the backdrop of what they described as ‘unpalatable’ working conditions and entitlements. The unions involved include National Union of Air Transport Employee, NUATE; Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, ATSSSAN; National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, NAAPE, and Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals, ANAP. Members of the unions after their meeting with the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) ended in a stalemate blocked the entrance to the Murtala Muhammad Airport domestic terminal, leaving many…

Atalanta will be without Ademola Lookman for Monday’s (today) Serie A clash against Fiorentina. The Nigeria international is currently sidelined with an hamstring injury. Lookman, who linked up with La Dea from Bundesliga outfit, RB Leipzig, last summer has been one of the key performers for the club this season. The 25-year-old has scored 13 goals in 28 league appearances for Gian Piero Gasperini’s side. Atalanta are fighting for a place in Europe and need a positive result at the Stadio Artemio Franchi to keep their hopes alive. They sit in sixth position with 48 points from 29 matches.

Erik ten Hag had hoped his Manchester United team would kill off Nottingham Forest earlier than they did as they ran out 2-0 victors at the City Ground on Sunday. Antony put the Red Devils ahead in the first-half, but United struggled to find a way past Keylor Navas again until Diogo Dalot grabbed a second in the 76th minute. United ended the game with an expected goals rate (xG) of 3.49 and ultimately secured three points to leapfrog Newcastle United into third place in the Premier League. “A solid performance. A well deserved win. The only criticism I could say, it had…

THE International Monetary Fund, IMF, has said that Nigeria and many other Sub-Saharan African countries may be facing funding squeeze that would undermine its development in the medium to long term. The IMF’s Director, African Department, Mr Abebe Selassie, who disclosed this at the just concluded 2023 sessions of the World Bank and IMF Spring meetings in Washington DC, USA, hinted that the countries may also be forced to restructure existing loans at the backdrop of rising resource gap. Moreover, according to him, the region’s resilience is now being threatened by the myriad of fiscal and macro-economic challenges.He stated: ‘‘the…

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, on Sunday, said several allegations levelled against the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, were unproven. This is as he also said that despite the allegations and several controversies, governance was not about sainthood but a proven record of performance. He said if the allegations hold water, Nigerians would have shown that through their votes on February 25, 2023. Fashola, a former Lagos State governor, said rather than reject Tinubu during the polls, majority of Nigerians voted for the President-elect during the keenly contested presidential election. Speaking during an interview with Channels Television on Sunday,…

The Independent National Electoral Commissioner, INEC, has called on security agencies to arrest and prosecute those who brutalized one of its national commissioners deployed to Adamawa State for Saturday’s supplementary governorship poll. Recall that Aishatu Dahiru, popularly known as Binani, was controversially declared winner of the Adamawa gubernatorial election halfway into Collation by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Yunusu Ari. In a swift reaction to the declaration, INEC headquarters, in a statement, said the action was null and void. Residents were said to have swooped on an INEC commissioner who was mistaken for the REC. INEC National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, who…

Former Kogi West Senator, Dino Melaye has won the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship primaries in Kogi State. Dino was declared winner by the returning officer on Sunday. He scored 313 votes to defeat Idoko Ilonah who had 124 votes. Others, Awoniyi Sunday had 77 votes while Musa Wada had 56 votes The former lawmaker will be up against Usman Ododo, the flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the election.

Timipre Sylva, the immediate past Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, has clinched the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship ticket in Bayelsa State. The Presidency confirmed Sylva’s resignation to join the Bayelsa State governorship race. On Friday, APC in Bayelsa State commenced primary across 105 wards to choose the party’s flagbearer in the November 11 election.

Dango Ouattara scored an injury-time winner as Bournemouth boosted their Premier League survival hopes with a stunning victory at Tottenham. Son Heung-min opened the scoring for the hosts in the first half before Uruguay left-back Matias Vine marked his first top-flight start with a deserved equaliser for Bournemouth. The Cherries looked set to clinch all three points after Dominic Solanke put them in front early in the second half, only for Arnaut Danjuma to come off the bench and equalise against his former club on 88 minutes. Fellow Spurs substitute Richarlison then sent a free header wide deep into stoppage…