Persons of integrity won’t be denied appointment in my next cabinet —Buhari (Punch)
President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed that only persons of unquestionably would be considered for appointment in his next cabinet. He also assured women and youths that their expectations from his administration in the next four years will be met. Buhari gave the assurances on Saturday night during a victory dinner organised for the All Progressives Congress Women and Youth Campaign Council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He used the opportunity to praise women and youths for the role they played in his re-election. Read more
Polls: PDP accuses Obaseki of harassing traders to vote APC (Nation)
The Peoples Democratic Party in Edo State has accused Governor Godwin Obaseki of resorting to blackmail, intimidation and harassment of traders in the state with a view to forcing them to vote for the All Progressives Congress in Saturday’s House of Assembly elections. It said the state government financially induced various market leaders at New Benin, Oba Market, Etinosa Market and Ekiuwa market to force and blackmailed traders at the markets to join an “Apology March” to government house scheduled for Tuesday, March 5, 2019 to beg Adams Oshiomhole and Governor Obaseki for forgiveness. The PDP said it was clear that Edo people have rejected the APC policy and style and urged the people to give the APC a bloody nose again on March 9, 2019. Read more
Supplementary elections hold in four constituencies in Imo —INEC (Punch)
Supplementary elections will hold in one senatorial district and three federal constituencies in Imo State on March 9. According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Supplementary elections will take place in Imo North Senatorial district, Orsu/Orlu/Oru East, Okigwe South and Okigwe North federal constituencies. The commission had declared elections inconclusive in the affected areas after violence, snatching of electoral materials and mutilation of figures marred the exercise. Read more
Hundreds flee as pipeline explodes in Bayelsa (Punch)
A major Nigerian oil pipeline has exploded, local police said Sunday, forcing nearby residents to flee and raising suspicions of possible sabotage. The Nembe Creek Trunk pipeline runs from an oil terminal in Bonny to the state of Bayelsa with capacity of 150,000 barrels per day. The explosion happened on Friday. “We have not been officially briefed on the incident, but it occurred,” Bayelsa State Police spokesman Asinim Butswat told AFP. “No lives were lost as a result of the explosion and we can’t confirm if it was an attack by militants or an equipment failure unless the people managing the facility go there” to determine the cause, he said. Read more
2000 PDP members defect to APC in Kwara (Nation)
No fewer than 2000 members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara state on Sunday defected to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). The defection was the second of such major exodus from the party in one week after the crushing defeat it suffered in the presidential and National Assembly elections. The mass defections took place in Taiwo area of Ilorin, the state capital and was led by a former member of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Bamidele Aluko. Before his defection, Aluko was a staunch foot soldier of Senator Bukola Saraki. Read more
Gov election: Vote credible candidates, cleric urges Nigerians (Punch)
Catholic Bishop of Pankshin Diocese in Plateau, Most Rev. Michael Gokum, has advised Nigerians to vote credible candidates in the forthcoming Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections. Gokum gave the advice on Sunday at the launch of the diocese’s 2019 Lenten campaign in Pankshin. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the campaign is tagged “The Collapse of Family Value and the Upsurge of Crime in Nigeria: A Call For Value Re-Orientation”. Read more
Police arrest one-chance robbery gang in Ogun (Nation)
The Police in Ogun State have arrested three – man robbery gang in Atan-Ota area of Ado-Odo Ota Local Government area of the State, who engaged in luring unsuspecting passengers into a vehicle only to rob them on isolated areas on the way later. The suspects; Aisu Anago(30), Muritala Alubarika(42) and Noah Joel (34) were arrested last February 28 at Atan motor park following a tip – off by one Mrs Taye Olotu, who had earlier being their victim. Mrs Olotu reported to a Police patrol team led by a Divisional Police Officer, Atan-Ota Division, a Superintendent of Police, Abiodun Salau, that she boarded a vehicle going to Idiroko earlier in February but was robbed by the occupants half way into the journey before pushing her out of the vehicle. Read more
Those who describe last election as the worst in Nigeria are wrong —NBA chief (Punch)
A former National Legal Adviser of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Rafiu Balogun, said on Sunday that anyone who says the February 23, 2019 election was the worst in Nigeria’s history is incorrect. Balogun, who said that the presidential and National Assembly elections of February 23 were credible and fair, hinged his assessments on what he called “the barrage of accolades coming from foreign observers and international communities,” saying they “lent credence to the credibility of the poll.” The former NBA Ilorin chairman advised Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to approach the court if he has genuine evidence of electoral infractions. Read more
Akeredolu hails Ondo people over peaceful conduct of presidential, N/A polls (Nation)
Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, has hailed the people of Ondo State for their exemplary conduct during the last presidential and national assembly elections. He expressed delight that the people’s conduct during the polls portrayed them as good and responsible ambassadors of the state. The governor, in a state-wide broadcast to the people of the state attributed the peaceful atmosphere during and after the polls to the determination of the residents not only to participate in electing their representatives but to always showcase the unique qualities of their decency and resilience for which the state is reputed. Read more
Ogun AD Gov candidate rejects party’s alleged adoption of Kashamu (Punch)
The governorship candidate of Alliance for Democracy in Ogun State, Oluwaseyi Olowookere-Olufade, has dissociated himself from the alleged adoption of the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Ogun State, Buruji Kashamu, by his party ahead of the March 9 election. Olowookere-Olufade said this on Sunday while speaking with newsmen at the party secretariat in Abeokuta. The state leadership of Alliance for Democracy and seven others were reported to have announced Kashamu as their adopted governorship candidate. Read more
Nigeria court says extradition of Cameroon separatists ‘illegal’ (Punch)
A Nigerian court has condemned as “illegal and unconstitutional” the arrest and deportation of Cameroonian separatists who had applied for asylum in Nigeria, the lawyers representing them said on Sunday. In January 2018, Nigeria arrested and deported 47 anglophone separatists who had fled Cameroon following a crackdown by the authorities. The move was denounced by UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, which said most of them had filed asylum claims and accused Nigeria of breaching international agreements. Read more
Nigerian-born nun challenges Vatican on sex abuse (Punch)
A prominent Nigerian nun blasted the ‘culture of silence’ that has long kept clergy sexual abuse hidden in the Catholic Church, telling a Vatican summit recently that transparency and an admission of mistakes were needed to restore trust. As reported by the PBS, a German cardinal backed her up, telling the summit that church files about abusers had been destroyed, victims silenced and church procedures ignored, canceled or overridden — all in an attempt to keep the scandal under wraps. Sister Veronica Openibo and German Cardinal Reinhard Marx delivered powerful speeches to nearly 190 church leaders gathered Saturday for the third day of Pope Francis’ four-day tutorial on preventing abuse and protecting children. Read more
Anger in eastern DRC as 6 more die in Goma shootings (Guardian)
Bandits shot dead six people in eastern DR Congo overnight, sparking angry protests by residents who blockaded the main street running through Goma city on Sunday, officials said. “We have just recovered the bodies of five civilians and a soldier who were killed” during an overnight gun battle, the city’s deputy prosecutor Claver Kahasa told AFP. “Armed bandits came into Goma to the Ndosho neighbourhood and have left the town bereaved by shooting dead five civilians,” said city mayor Timothee Muissa Kiense. Read more
Algerian students pile pressure on leader (BBC)
Students in Algeria have been holding fresh protests against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s plans to run for a fifth term in office. The 82-year-old president has until midnight on Sunday local time to register for the elections in April. Police have been guarding the offices of the Constitutional Council, in the capital Algiers, where candidates submit their files. Mr Bouteflika said last month that he would run, sparking rare protests. He has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013 and is currently undergoing medical checks in Switzerland. He does not have to be physically present to register his candidacy. Read more
Bangladesh crackdown after deadly Dhaka inferno (Guardian)
Bangladesh is cracking down on chemical warehouses in an historic Dhaka district a week after a fire killed 70 people in buildings used for deodorant and plastics storage, an official said Sunday. Five task forces led by military officers, police and officials have raided Old Dhaka buildings and cut off utilities to at least 50 buildings in the past three days after chemical warehouses were found in their basement and under floors. The owners of the buildings have been ordered to relocate the flammable chemicals to safer places outside the capital as part of the initiative launched on Thursday. Read more
Brumadinho dam collapse in Brazil: Vale mine chief resigns (BBC)
The head of Brazil’s Vale mining giant has stepped down following the collapse of a dam which killed 186 people in the town of Brumadinho. Fabio Schvartsman and several other executives resigned after prosecutors recommended their dismissal on Friday. At least 122 people are still missing more than a month after the accident at the dam, which collected waste from an iron ore mine in Minas Gerais state. Vale is the world’s biggest producer of iron ore. The mining disaster was the second in the region since 2015, when a nearby dam co-owned by Vale collapsed. Read more
Iran warns US allies of ‘humiliated citizens’ uprising (Guardian)
US allies in the Middle East risk an uprising by their “humiliated citizens” if they continue to rely on Washington, a top Iranian security official warned Sunday in comments carried by state media. “(US President) Trump and even his underlings ridicule and humiliate Saudi Arabia and the (United Arab) Emirates day and night, saying that you’re nothing without us and cannot last a day without America’s support,” said Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. Back in October, Trump said that Saudi Arabia’s 83-year-old King Salman “might not be there for two weeks” without US military support. The comments were mostly shrugged off by Riyadh. Read more
Ilhan Omar condemns ‘anti-Muslim’ poster at Republican event (BBC)
US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has condemned a poster linking her to the 9/11 attacks displayed at a Republican stall in the West Virginia legislature. She said the “anti-Muslim display likening me to a terrorist” encouraged threats of violence against her. West Virginia Republicans said they did not support hate speech and had told the exhibitor to remove the poster. Ms Omar was elected last November, one of the first two Muslim women to have been elected to the US Congress. Read more
Struggling Fulham beaten by neighbours Chelsea (BBC)
Fulham slipped closer to relegation as Scott Parker’s first game as caretaker manager ended in defeat by west London neighbours Chelsea at Craven Cottage. Gonzalo Higuain set Chelsea on their way to a first Premier League away win of 2019 with a high-quality finish from Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross. Fulham, who sacked Claudio Ranieri on Thursday, produced a spirited display and equalised through Calum Chambers from a corner, awarded after recalled Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga’s exceptional save had kept out Aleksandar Mitrovic’s volley. They were level for only four minutes, Jorginho’s well placed finish from 20 yards leaving Chelsea only two points adrift of fourth spot. Read more
Chelsea goalscorer Jorginho needs to score more, says Graeme Souness (Metro)
Graeme Souness admitted Jorginho’s goal against Fulham was ‘superb’, but urged the Chelsea star to carry a more attacking threat for his side. Jorginho’s sweet strike from just outside the box fired Chelsea back in front at Craven Cottage on Sunday after Calum Chambers cancelled out Gonzalo Higuain’s opener. The goal will serve as an excellent response to Jorginho’s critics, but Souness bemoaned the Italian’s lack of goals. Read more
Unai Emery fires warning to Alexandre Lacazette (Metro)
Unai Emery has told Alexandre Lacazette that he must accept being substituted after he was brought off early in Arsenal’s draw with Tottenham on Saturday. The French striker has looked upset on several occasions this season when Emery has decided to replace him in the second half. And Lacazette lasted just 56 minutes in the north London derby as he made way for the introduction of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who went on to miss a late penalty in the 1-1 draw. The substitution looked even more brutal from Emery as Lacazette was hooked after missing a good opportunity to double Arsenal’s advantage. Read more
Unhappy Madrid were too soft against Barca – Mourinho (Guardian)
Jose Mourinho accused Real Madrid of lacking fight and looking unhappy against Barcelona on Saturday, just as the pressure cranked up on coach Santiago Solari after a second successive Clasico defeat. Mourinho has been among those mentioned as a possible replacement for Solari, as Madrid have been knocked out of both the Copa del Rey and, realistically, La Liga’s title race within four days. The fact that both losses came at the hands of Barca, and at the Santiago Bernabeu, compounds the misery. Read more
Jose Mourinho explains the reasons behind Mohamed Salah’s failure at Chelsea (Metro)
Jose Mourinho believes that Mohamed Salah’s failure to make the grade at Chelsea was down to him being ‘lonely’ and ‘naive’. Salah joined Chelsea in an £11m deal from Swiss club FC Basel in January 2014 when he was just 21 and he struggled to make an impression in west London, scoring twice in 19 games in all competitions before being sold to Roma in 2016. Despite his disappointing form in a Chelsea shirt, Liverpool opted to bring Salah back to English football in 2017, signing him from Roma in a £34m deal and he has since established himself as one of the best players in world football. Read more
Martina Navratilova sorry for transgender ‘cheat’ language as she re-enters debate (BBC)
Tennis icon Martina Navratilova has apologised for using the term “cheating” when discussing whether transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in women’s sport. Navratilova – one of the most successful tennis players of all time – has been criticised as “transphobic” for writing that transgender women had “unfair” physical advantages over female opponents. On Saturday, former British swimmer Sharron Davies told BBC Sport that many current athletes “feel the same way” and that trans athletes should not compete in female events to “protect women’s sport”. Read more