Reps wade into UNILAG, community land dispute (Guardian)
Hope of peaceful resolution of the land dispute between the authority of University of Lagos (UNILAG) and the neighbouring Iwaya-Abete community, resonated last week with the intervention of the House of Representatives. The intervention followed a petition by the affected families, addressed to the House Committee on Public Petition.It brought to the negotiation table all parties to the dispute including the management of University of Lagos, represented by its Vice-Chancellor, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, representative of the Delfino Anthonio Da Meranda family, Primate Stephen Adedayo Jagun, representative of the Federal Ministry of Works, Housing and Power and other members of the House Committee. Read more
2019: I’ll never be neutral, says Obasanjo (Nation)
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said he will never be neutral in choice of a president for Nigeria in 2019 election in the face of alleged glaring incompetence and brazen impunity. He stressed that only those that live in denial would be reluctant to change the present All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration at the centre to one that would “improve on the economy, regain investors’ confidence and generally drive growth”. The elder statesman, who is presently in Cairo for the maiden edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) of which he is chairman of the Advisory Council, spoke through a statement by his media aide Kehinde Akinyemi. Read more
SERAP sues Buhari for failing to order Ganduje’s probe (Punch)
Anti-corruption advocacy group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, has sued President Muhammadu Buhari for failing to order the probe of the bribery allegation against the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje. Video clips had weeks ago surfaced on the Internet showing the governor allegedly collecting kickbacks from some contractors. SERAP had, in early November, written an open letter, urging Buhari to direct either the Attorney General of the Federation or anti-graft agencies to probe the bribery allegations against Ganduje. Read more
PDP threatens to sue Kashamu over illegal primaries (Guardian)
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has threatened to sue Senator Buruji Kashamu for conducting illegal primaries in Ogun State.Its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan said this in a statement yesterday. The party accused the lawmaker of playing out the script given to him by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to destabilise the PDP in the state ahead of the 2019 polls. The PDP further stated that Buruji is a desperate paid agent of anti-democratic forces, working to cause confusion, trigger violence and bloodletting in the 2019 general election to derail our hard-earned democracy. Read more
‘Freezing of Obi’s accounts wicked’ (Punch)
A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Timi Frank, has described the reported freezing of the bank accounts of Mr. Peter Obi as an act of wickedness and desperation by the current administration. Frank said Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress were making a big mistake by thinking that they would defeat the Peoples Democratic Party by depriving the opposition leaders access to their personal resources. Frank, in a statement, on Sunday in Abuja, said, “In the history of Nigeria, and in the history of democracy in Nigeria, we have never seen a government this wicked to its citizens and to the opposition like this present government. Read more
Akpabio insists APC will win in Akwa Ibom (Punch)
The Senator representing Akwa Ibom North-West, Godswill Akpabio, on Sunday said he would ensure the victory of the All Progressives Congress in Akwa Ibom State in 2019. He said he had no doubt that with the massive support and commitment of party members, victory for the APC was a done deal. Akpabio said this in his country home Ukana, in Essien Udim Local Government Area, while addressing his supporters at the inauguration of his senatorial election campaign. Read more
Youths key to winning anti-graft battle, says Buhari (Nation)
Youths’ involvement is critical to winning the anti-graft battle on the continent, President Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday in his remarks at the launch of the 2018 Africa Youth Congress Against Corruption (AYCAC). President Buhari, who was nominated in January as the African Union anti-corruption champion, urged the youth to check the rising corruption on the continent. Corruption has been one of the three main objectives of the Buhari administration since inception in May 2015. Speaking at the old Banquet Hall of the State House in Abuja, the President said: “To the young people of Africa, this fight against corruption is yours to lead and to win in order to reverse the negative trends of corruption and its implications for Africa. Read more
Ekiti school shut for fear of reprisal after pupil’s killing (Punch)
For fear of reprisal, the Ado Grammar School, Ado Ekiti, has been shut down. The school was where a 17-year-old Senior Secondary School 2 pupil, Favour Mathew, was allegedly hacked to death by a schoolmate, 16-year-old Kehinde Timilehin, last Thursday. The closure of the school, coming earlier than the set date for public schools in the state to proceed on the first term holiday, was against the backdrop of alleged threats of reprisal by the Ebira community to which the victim belonged. The two pupils were said to have engaged in a contest on the efficacy of charms following which Timilehin, who is at present in police detention, reportedly overpowered Mathew and attacked him with an axe brought by the victim. Read more
Nigeria has two million registered teachers, says TRCN (Nation)
The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has stated that there are two million qualified and registered teachers across the country. Its Registrar, Prof. Olusegun Ajiboye, said the country is in need of 250,000 teachers annually to cater to the growing population of pupils. He noted that as a country with the largest number of out-of-school-children, there was need for adequate teachers to meet the learning and teaching needs of children. Prof. Ajiboye described the situation of teachers in some states as “appalling” as some government schools have only two to four teachers. Read more
Sudan helicopter crash kills officials (BBC)
A helicopter has crashed in eastern Sudan, killing a state governor and at least four other officials. The helicopter exploded in flames after it hit a communications tower as it tried to land in the remote Al-Qadarif state, witnesses are quoted by AFP news agency as saying. No official reason has yet been given for the crash. A number of people were taken to hospital for treatment, state media reported, without giving more details. Read more
Saudis not to extradite Khashoggi suspects (BBC)
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has ruled out extraditing to Turkey suspects in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Adel al-Jubeir said: “We do not extradite our citizens.” Just over a week ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded the extradition and on Wednesday a Turkish court issued arrest warrants. Saudi Arabia has charged 11 people with the murder, which took place in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October. Arrest warrants were issued in Turkey for former Saudi intelligence chief Ahmad al-Assiri and former royal adviser Saud al-Qahtani. Read more
Edo athletes, coaches complain of neglect, bloated contingent (Guardian)
As other states settle down to compete at the 19th edition of the National Sports Festival, which got underway at the weekend, Edo State is groaning under the weight of an over-bloated contingent. With 591 athletes and officials, the state has the largest contingent at the games.Checks reveal that more than a third of this number are not athletes but individuals smuggled into the team for personal reasons. And the athletes are complaining that the ‘outsiders’ have been getting preferential treatment over the main actors at the festival. While coaches and their athletes have been struggling to get themselves accommodated and paid their outstanding camping allowances and settle down to compete, these individuals smuggled into the team have since been settled into comfortable accommodation. Read more
Chelsea want £12m for Moses (Punch)
Crystal Palace are interested in signing Victor Moses from Chelsea with the Blues asking for £12m. Moses played for the Eagles between 2007 and 2010 after coming through their youth ranks and the winger is back on the club’s radar, according to The Sun. The 27-year-old has struggled for game time under Maurizio Sarri this season, making only six appearances for the west London side. Read more
Bale scores winner as Real beat Huesca (BBC)
Wales forward Gareth Bale scored the winner as Real Madrid moved back into La Liga’s top four with a hard-fought victory at bottom side Huesca. Bale ended a run of 10 matches without a goal in Spain’s top flight with a sumptuous side-footed volley. Huesca should have equalised after the break, but Gonzalo Melero headed wide from close range. Bale saw a chipped effort diverted just wide, while Juan Camilo Hernandez fired over for Huesca as Real hung on. Thibaut Courtois tipped a Moi Gomez free-kick over the bar in injury time, and Dani Carvajal headed a Christian Rivera effort off the line from the resulting corner. Read more
River Plate win historic Copa Libertadores (BBC)
Juan Quintero’s stunning extra-time strike helped River Plate come from a goal down to record a historic victory over 10-man Boca Juniors in Madrid and win the Copa Libertadores. Quintero scored in the 109th minute of the second leg before team-mate Gonzalo Martinez wrapped up a 3-1 victory on the night for River – and a 5-3 win on aggregate. Martinez ran the ball into an empty net with the last kick of the game after Boca keeper Esteban Andrada had been caught upfield at a corner. That ended a dramatic extra-time period, which had started with the sending-off of Boca midfielder Wilmar Barrios for a second bookable offence – a two-footed challenge on Exequiel Palacios. Read more
‘I don’t care what my customers do with the guns I sell’ (Punch)
The Niger State Police Command has apprehended 45-year-old Musa Mora from Babana in Borgu Local Government Area of the state for unlawful possession of firearms. The suspect was arrested with six locally-made single barrel guns and three live cartridges. Northern City News learnt that the suspect and his accomplice, Babangida Rabiu, an indigene of Dangulu area of Zamfara State, who is still at large, had on two occasions travelled to Benin Republic to illegally purchase firearms. Read more
I asked my client to bring human parts to scare him –Herbalist (Punch)
An herbalist, Amos Sulaimon, has said that he told his client, Supo Bamidele, to bring a human head and wrists in order to discourage him from engaging in money ritual. Sulaimon, who was paraded by the Osun State Commissioner of Police, Mr Fimihan Adeoye, in Osogbo, alongside his client, said he had never been involved in money rituals. Adeoye told journalists that Bamidele was caught with a severed head and wrist in Ile-Ife, and upon his arrest, he told the police that his herbalist asked him to bring the human parts for ritual. Read more
Rivers abandoned baby found dead by roadside (Punch)
Residents of Mile 3 in Port Harcourt were shocked to find a baby suspected to be two days’ old abandoned by the roadside, opposite a motor park along the Ikwerre Road. A crowd that gathered around 11am at the point where the baby was dumped, observed that she was already dead, probably because of the heat of the sun. The baby was wrapped in a shawl ostensibly by her mother, who kept her in a carton before dropping her by the side of the road. Read more