Buhari undecided, Atiku, Duke ready for presidential debate Jan 19 (Punch)
President Muhammadu Buhari has yet to take a decision on whether he will take part or not in the presidential debate slated for January 19, 2019 by the Nigeria Election Debate Group. But the Peoples Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party said their candidates, Atiku Abubakar and Donald Duke respectively, would take part in the debate. The Chairman of the Nigeria Election Debate Group, Mr John Momoh, told journalists in Abuja on Thursday that the group had fixed January 19, 2019 for a debate for presidential candidates of different political parties taking part in the 2019 elections. Read more
Presidency knocks Jonathan’s view on corruption (Nation)
The Presidency yesterday rejected former President Goodluck Jonathan’s claims that there is more corruption in the country than when he left office in 2015. A statement by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said that the claim was absolutely untrue. He said: “The facts on the ground today run contrary to his outlandish claim. Read more
2019: You won’t get South-East support, PDP tells Buhari (Punch)
The Peoples Democratic Party on Thursday told President Muhammadu Buhari that he would not get the support of the South-East in his re-election bid. The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan in a statement also said Buhari would lose the 2019 presidential election. According to him, the President and the All Progressives Congress have been jittery since the South-East and other geo-political zones expressed their readiness to support the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar in the election. Read more
Anger in Senate over troops death in Boko Haram attack (Nation)
Senators yesterday bemoaned the reported killing of 44 soldiers attached to the 157 Task Force Battalion in Melete, Borno State by Boko Haram insurgents. A sombre atmosphere enveloped the plenary as the lawmakers took turns to condemn the “monumental loss”. The casualty figure and details of the attack remained hazy yesterday. Some sources said the figure was higher than 44; others said it was not up to that. Military spokesmen did not respond to inquiries by our reporters. Read more
EFCC seals properties linked to Fayose (Nation)
Barely weeks after the Ekiti State Ministry of Urban & Physical Planning sealed two houses allegedly traced to immediate past Governor Ayodele Fayose within the Government Reservation Area (GRA) in Ado-Ekiti, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were in the state capital yesterday to seal some buildings allegedly linked to the former governor. Some of the sealed properties include a hotel and event centre at Fajuyi; two houses at the GRA; the People’s 104.1 FM radio station and a two-storey building in Okesa. Read more
Fayose accuses EFCC of sealing innocent people’s houses in Ekiti (Guardian)
Former Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of sealing houses belonging to innocent people in the state under the guise that the houses were linked to him. The former governor, in a statement by his media aide, Lere Olayinka, said that he was informing the public ahead of the agency’s usual blackmail and media trial. Read more
Customs seizes Tramadol worth N7.3b (Nation)
The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) said yesterday that it had intercepted 40 by 40 feet containers laden with Tramadol and other dangerous pharmaceutical products worth over N7.3billion. A large number of the dangerous drugs, NCS said, were imported into the country by some scrupulous importers from India to endanger the health of the nation. Attempt by the importers to bribe Customs officers with over $400,000 (about N150million), to effect the release of just one container out of the 40 seized, it was gathered, was rebuffed by the officers. Read more
CBN probes bank customers’ enrolment in BVN (Nation)
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is probing banks’ enrollment of their customers in the Bank Verification (BVN) platform to ensure the integrity of the process, The Nation learnt yesterday. The BVN gives a unique identity across the banking industry to each customer of Nigerian banks. But many banks are breaching the BVN enrolment process. In some cases, customers BVNs are attached to wrong accounts due to improper validation. The practice, if not addressed, could present serious identity crisis in the financial system. Read more
Trump: CIA did not blame Saudi prince (BBC)
US President Donald Trump has said that the CIA did not blame Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi was murdered on 2 October in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Officials told US media such an operation would have needed the prince’s approval. “They didn’t conclude,” Mr Trump said when asked about the CIA’s evaluation by reporters at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Read more
UAE spy row: Hopes of Matthew Hedges case resolution (BBC)
There are signs Foreign Office staff may be close to resolving the case of UK academic Matthew Hedges, convicted of spying in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE’s ambassador in London is due to issue a statement at 10:00 GMT, amid speculation he will talk about progress in the 31-year-old’s situation. On Thursday, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he had “constructive” talks with his opposite number in the UAE. Read more
Falcons eye high-scoring win against Equatorial Guinea (Vanguard)
It looks certain South Africa are going to top the group B pairings of the Africa Women Cup of Nations after their 7-1 drubbing of Equatorial Guinea. It is now left for Nigeria and Zambia to decide the second placed team. On Saturday, the Super Falcons will face goal drunk Equatorial Guinea, while South Africa meet Zambia. A win for the Shepolopolo will place them on same point haul with Nigeria, that is if the Super Falcons collect their own share of the goal bazaar offered by the former two-time champions Equatorial Guinea. Goal differences will now have to determine which team goes through. Read more
From now every game is a cup final, says Ordega (Guardian)
Super Falcons’ star, Francisca Ordega has assured Nigerians that her team will treat all their remaining matches at the on-going African Women Nations Cup in Ghana like a cup final, promising that the shock 0-1 loss to South Africa will not happen again. Ordega, who scored one of the goals as Nigeria defeated Zambia 4-0 in Cape Coast on Wednesday, said the players are determined to defend their title, adding that with the level of support from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) they will achieve the target. Read more
Musa: Eagles need Moses (Vanguard)
Chelsea wing-back, Victor Moses announced his retirement from international football after the 2018 World Cup in Russia, a move which came to many as a surprise but according to Moses he wants to focus more on his club career and family. Super Eagles stand-in captain, Ahmed Musa who has played on the wings for Nigeria with Moses mostly on the opposite flank says he missed the Chelsea ace and insist that his spot in the team is still available despite the emergence of players like Samuel Kalu, Samuel Chukwueze among others. Read more
Playing for Super Eagles a dream come true, says Chukwueze (Guardian)
Villarreal winger, Samuel Chukwueze has described his international debut for Nigeria as the completion of a “dream year.” The 19-year-old’s skill and impressive left foot caught the eye after starting for the Super Eagles in Tuesday’s 0-0 friendly draw against Uganda in Asaba. Chukwueze is enjoying a breakthrough season, scoring in both the League and Spanish Cup despite only earning promotion to the first team from the reserves. Read more
Mane agrees new long-term Anfield deal (BBC)
Liverpool and Senegal forward Sadio Mane has agreed terms on a new long-term deal at Anfield. The 26-year-old joined the club from Southampton on a five-year contract in June 2016 for a fee of £34m. Since then he has gone on to make 89 appearances in all competitions for Jurgen Klopp’s side, scoring 40 goals. “I am very happy to extend my time at Liverpool. It is a great day for me and I have made the best decision in my career,” he said. Read more
Imo undergraduate poisons self after rift with boyfriend (Punch)
An undergraduate of the Imo State University, Owerri, Jennifer Agomuo, has allegedly taken her own life after a disagreement with her boyfriend, simply identified as Johnson. The tragedy which occurred in one of the hostels in the Aladinma Alliance area of the school on Wednesday night, threw the university community into mourning. Our correspondent gathered that the 21-year-old Agomuo was a 300-level student of the Department of Computer Science of the university. Read more
Ogun policemen assault two women, go after reporter (Punch)
Two women have been beaten to a pulp by the men of the Ogun State Police Command attached to the Lafenwa Division in Abeokuta, the state capital. The video of the women, which was posted on www.nairaland.com on Thursday, showed the bloodied face of one of the women. The women, whose names were not known as of the time of filing this report, were in tears as they accused the policemen of assaulting them for no just cause. Read more
Travel consultant issues fake Canadian admission letters to 22 students (Punch)
The police have nabbed a travel consultant, Babatunde Gbadamosi, for allegedly forging and issuing fake Canadian admission letters to 22 prospective students. It was gathered that Flymate Nigeria Limited approached Gbadamosi to help secure admission to the University of Regina in Canada for the prospective students. Our correspondent learnt that the 37-year-old travel consultant collected the sum of N1,050,000 from the company in order to facilitate the admission for the students. Read more