Manchester City sign Ante Palaversa from Hajduk Split

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Manchester City have signed teenager Ante Palaversa from Hajduk Split, with the midfielder immediately rejoining the Croatian side on loan. The 18-year-old completed a medical in Manchester this week and has moved for a reported fee of £7m.

Hajduk have announced Palaversa will return to them on loan until the end of the 2019-20 season, although City can recall him next January. The Croatia Under-19 international is happy to stay with his boyhood club ahead of linking up with "one of the biggest clubs in the world".

"Thanks to Manchester City for the trust," he told Hajduk's website.

"There is still a lot of work ahead of me. I have not yet shown all I can and I hope to play for Hajduk to justify the great trust I have received from England's champions."

West Ham agree Reece Oxford loan to FC Augsburg

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West Ham have agreed a deal with FC Augsburg over the loan signing of Reece Oxford, according to Sky sources.

Sky Sports News reported on Wednesday that West Ham had rejected a loan offer from Dutch side Heerenveen but it is now understood that the 20-year-old will be allowed to leave for Germany. Oxford has yet to play a game for West Ham this season, with his last appearance for the club coming in October 2016.

He already has experience of the German top flight having spent most of the past season on loan to Borussia Monchengladbach, for whom he made seven appearances.

A number of clubs have reportedly shown an interest in the youngster, whose contract with the Hammers runs until June 2021. According to Sky sources, Nottingham Forest and Eintracht Frankfurt had previously been in talks to sign him. Oxford became West Ham's youngest-ever player at 16 years and 198 days when he made his debut in a Europa League tie in July 2015.

Nigeria’s Okwuchi earns place in America’s Got Talent finals

NAN

Nigerian singer and plane crash survivor, Kechi Okwuchi earned a ‘golden buzzer’ for her stunning performance on America’s Got Talent: The Champions, earning her a place in the finals.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on Monday, Kechi got another chance to aim for the top spot on the talent show, as she was picked to participate in the Champions’ finale edition.

She originally auditioned for 12th season of the talent competition in 2017 where she made it to the finals. Performing Callum Scott’s ‘You Are The Reason’ for the champions show, Kechi earned judge, Simon Cowell’s ‘golden buzzer’.

Her performance elicited loud cheers from the audience and judges, following which Simon initially teased the Plane Crash survivor for her version of the song, implying that he “didn’t like it much”. As loud boos rang out, he added that he ‘actually loved it’ – pressing his Golden Buzzer to give the 28-year-old singer an instant spot in the finals.

Kechi, who suffered third-degree burns on 65 percent of her body in the 2005 Sosoliso plane crash, burst into tears, trying to call out to her mother Ijeoma Okwuchi who also sobbed in the audience.

Simon walked onstage to hug her, his voice cracking with emotion as he said, “I have always wanted to do that for you. You so deserve it. This is what defines the word champion.” Kechi shared her excitement at getting a second chance on the show, on her verified Twitter handle @Kechi_agt. She described the experience as one of the top three moments in her life.

She tweeted,”I will never ever forget this moment and this feeling. Not ever. I am incredibly grateful to God for giving me yet another performance to look forward to on the @AGT stage. Whatever happens, I’m humbled.#AGTChampions.”

She also expressed her excitement on her Instagram page @Kechi_agt where she wrote, “The moment the gold coffetti started flying around me, I don’t know…my emotions overflowed.”

Nursing assistant arrested for performing illegal plastic surgery

NAN

(Xinhua/NAN) A South Korean nursing assistant was arrested for illegally performing plastic surgery on about 1,000 patients for the past three years, Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday citing Police.

The nursing assistant, only identified as a 70-year-old man, posed as a doctor from 2015 to 2018, performing some 1,500 illicit cosmetic surgeries on 1,000 victims.

Through the illegal medical practices, he earned about 1 billion won (about $900,000). A 56-year-old plastic surgeon, the head of a clinic in Joongrang district in eastern Seoul, was also arrested for his collusion with the nursing assistant in violation of the medical law.

The nursing assistant attracted customers from beauty salons and skin care shops near the clinic, mainly performing face-lift and double eyelid surgeries.

“Other employees of the clinic thought that the nursing assistant was a real doctor as he and the chief surgeon kept it secret thoroughly,’’ the Police was quoted as saying.

However, the nursing assistant and the clinic owner denied all charges brought against them.

Juventus coach Allegri hails referee for sending him off

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(Reuters/NAN) Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri agreed with the referee’s decision to send him off during his side’s shock 3-0 defeat to Atalanta.

He suggested that there was an air of inevitability about his team’s first domestic defeat of the season. Allegri was dismissed in the first half of Wednesday’s Coppa Italia quarter-final for throwing his coat onto the pitch after his side fell 2-0 behind.

“It was right to remove me from the pitch, I was agitated and the officials were impeccable throughout. Compliments to the referee,” he told reporters.

Juventus were unbeaten in 22 previous League and Cup matches this season, their only two defeats coming in the UEFA Champions League.

But Allegri said they had to lose at some time. It also ended their run of four successive League and Cup doubles.

“It was in the air,” he said. “You get bad nights in football. I think we were probably a bit tired mentally.”

“It’s nothing to get dramatic about, as it was just an off day. It’s disappointing for us to go out, but it was crazy to think Juventus could have won every single match this season.” Allegri said the most important thing was to learn from what went wrong.

“As I’ve said, that’s football. If you react to them in the right way, these nights can do you good and help you to raise your level of focus.”

Youths decry skin bleaching among teenagers

NAN

Yoruba Youths Association (YYSA), a socio-cultural group, has expressed concern over the growing trend of skin bleaching among Nigerian youths, especially school children.

Mr Olalekan Hammed, the President of the association, in a statement on Thursday in Osogbo, said the trend which had become so rampant among young secondary school students, needed to be addressed urgently. He quoted World Health Organisation’s findings that reported that bleaching soaps and creams contained such chemicals as mercury with its attendant adverse effect on human health.

“To save the future of the school children, we implore the Federal Government to ban the importation of soaps and creams that contain chemical such as mercury in order to curb the ugly trend.

“Countries like South Sudan, Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa have banned the importation of soaps and creams that contain mercury and it will be a good development if Federal Government can do the same,” Hammed said.

The YYA president criticised parents whose lifestyles had negatively affected their children in particular and the society at large. He said these parents, rather than caution their children against the use of bleaching creams “are the ones encouraging them’’.

“From our findings, more than 90 per cent of the so called parents are in the habit of sharing bleaching soaps and creams with their children.

“This, however, makes it difficult for these teenagers to see bleaching as something bad while these parents also find it difficult to restrict them,’’ he said. Hammed also lamented that “some parents who have become progressively addicted to bleaching also use skin lightening cosmetics for infants without considering the health implications”.

No school, clinic in Padi, Jigawa community

NAN

The People of Padi Community in Sule Tankakar Local Government Area of Jigawa have appealed to Gov. Muhammad Badaru to build a primary school for them.

This is to improve the rate of enrolment of their children, especially the girl-child in schools. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sule Tankakar is about 300 kilometres from Dutse, the Jigawa State capital.

The Village Head of the area, Malam Nura Haruna, who disclosed this to NAN in Dutse on Thursday, added that the community, with a population of about 10,000, has no primary school.

He explained that their children trek about 12 kilometres to go to school in a nearby village. Haruna also appealed to the governor to build a dispensary for the community, adding that this would ease the suffering of the residents especially women and children. He said that the residents of the community have to walk up to nine kilometres to access a health facility.

“We don’t have a single clinic, in our village. Each time we are sick, we walk to far places to seek for medication,” Haruna said.

Pastor impregnates church members, loses 18 years marriage

NAN

A Mapo Customary Court in Ibadan on Thursday dissolved an 18 year-old marriage between one Grace Adekunle and Pastor Adeyemi Adekunle over abandonment, irresponsibility and impregnating church members.

Chief Ademola Odunade, President of the court held that the dissolution became necessary because there was no more love between the two. In his judgement, he said “In the interest of peaceful coexistence, the union between Grace and Adeyemi has ceased to be.

“Custody of the first four children produced by the union is granted to Adeyemi while Grace is allowed to take the last because of his age.

“The respondent shall pay a monthly allowance of N5,000, in addition to being responsible for his education and other welfare”.

In her petition, the claimant, a school teacher had informed the court that her husband, a pastor, abandoned her and fornicated with his female church followers.

“Firstly, Adeyemi has shown no form of responsibility on any of the five children and me since he became a pastor a number of years ago.

“Adeyemi neither makes provision for their feeding nor sends them to school.

“One message Adeyemi has repeatedly passed to me is that I shouldn’t expect him to send the children to school because he is a poor man of God.

“He also said that I saw him as a pastor before I wilfully married him.

“As a result, none of our children whose ages range between 8 and 16 is currently in school.

“I have spent all I have on the children with little or no success so far.

“Worst still, Adeyemi has been sleeping with the female worshippers in his church and has even impregnated two of them,” she said.

The respondent was however absent in court when he was called to respond to the allegations.

The court’s bailiff informed the arbitrators that he had served several hearing notices on the respondent without any response.

Manchester United's Matty Willock joins Crawley on loan

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Manchester United midfielder Matty Willock has joined Crawley Town on loan for the remainder of the season.

The 22-year-old, who is yet to make a senior appearance for United, spent the first half of this season at Scottish Premiership side St Mirren on loan, making 14 appearances.

"I'm sure he is well prepared to make an impact for us," said Crawley director of football Selim Gaygusuz. Willock has previously had loan spells at St Johnstone and Dutch side FC Utrecht.

The midfielder's younger brother Chris plays for Benfica B, while his youngest sibling Joe has made two first-team appearances for Arsenal.

Idrissa Gueye and James McCarthy staying at Everton

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Idrissa Gueye will not be leaving Everton in the current transfer window, Sky sources understand.

PSG were expected to make contact with Everton again on Wednesday night, but had been unwilling to improve their initial offer of £21.5m for the Senegal international. It is understood Everton will not let the midfielder leave. James McCarthy will also be staying put, despite reported interest from Crystal Palace.

Gueye's future at Everton had been in doubt after he was understood to have handed in a transfer request in a bid to secure a move to Paris Saint-Germain. Everton denied they received an official transfer request from the Senegal international.

Arsenal and Manchester City also held an interest in former Lille midfielder Gueye, Sky Sports News understands. But Unai Emery has admitted Arsenal would only be able to bring in loan signings this month, while Pep Guardiola has ruled out any January arrivals.

Niall Mason suspended by Doncaster Rovers after sexual assault conviction

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Doncaster Rovers have suspended defender Niall Mason following his conviction for sexual assault. Mason, 22, was found guilty at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday and handed a six-month jail sentence, suspended for two years.

He has also been placed on the sex offenders register for seven years following the incident which took place last year. A club statement read: "Doncaster Rovers suspended Niall Mason on Tuesday afternoon and are investigating all matters in line with internal procedures and EFL contractual requirements following his conviction for sexual assault at Sheffield Crown Court.

"Mason had insisted he was innocent of the charge since the allegation was initially made, and the club had proceeded on that basis under the principle of innocent until proven guilty.

"No one from the club will make any further comment until the conclusion of this process."

Chelsea agree Michy Batshuayi loan with West Ham and Real Betis

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Chelsea have agreed loan deals in principle for Michy Batshuayi with West Ham and Real Betis, Sky Sports News understands. Chelsea value him at £30m and would prefer to sell to Everton. 

Pope Francis: Reaching Out To Muslims

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Pope Francis has made dialogue with Islam a cornerstone of his papacy, which began in 2013, and visited several countries with large Muslim populations.

In February he will become the first pontiff to go to the Arabian Peninsula when he visits the United Arab Emirates. He is scheduled to travel to Morocco in March.

Here is a recap of some of his other trips to meet Muslims.

Jordan, Palestinian territories, Israel

In May 2014 Pope Francis receives a warm welcome in Jordan’s capital Amman from King Abdullah II and meets with Syrian refugees.

A day later he begins a pilgrimage to the Holy Land at Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, stopping off for a silent prayer at the controversial separation wall erected by the Israelis.

Francis also visits some of the most sacred sites in Islam and Judaism, including the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and the Western Wall.

Albania

In September the same year he visits Albania where he praises the peaceful coexistence of its Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Muslims, labelling it “a precious gift to the country”.

Francis says it is especially important “in these times where an authentic religious spirit is being perverted and where religious differences are being distorted”.

Turkey

In November 2014 he travels to Turkey where there is a comparatively tiny Christian community — just 80,000 among about 75 million Muslims.

In Istanbul’s famous Blue Mosque, Francis clasps his hands in prayer alongside a senior Islamic cleric, a gesture of fraternity with Islam similar to that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, in the same place eight years before.

While the pope defends the alliance of religions against terrorism, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, responds by issuing a strong warning about “seriously and rapidly” rising Islamophobia in the world.

Central Africa

In November 2015 Pope Francis is given a rapturous welcome in the Central African Republic, a country plagued by sectarian violence.

During his 26 hours there, he visits a mosque in Bangui’s flashpoint PK5 Muslim neighbourhood where he says Christians and Muslims are “brothers”.

“Together, we must say no to hatred, to revenge and to violence,” he says.

Among the crowd are several Muslims from PK5 wearing T-shirts bearing the pope’s image.

Azerbaijan

In October 2016 the pontiff makes a brief visit to mainly Muslim Azerbaijan, a volatile ex-Soviet Caucasus region.

There he praises the “benefits of multiculturalism and of the necessary complementarity of cultures” where the different religions practise “mutual collaboration and respect”.

Egypt

In April 2017 Francis pays the second papal visit to Egypt of modern times, 17 years after that of pope John Paul II.

In a country where 10 percent of the population of 92 million is Coptic Christian, he says “true faith” depends on “the culture of encounter, dialogue, respect and fraternity.”

He visits Al-Azhar university, one of the Muslim world’s leading religious authorities with whom the Vatican’s ties soured in 2006 when Benedict XVI made a speech in which he was seen as linking Islam to violence.\

Myanmar and Bangladesh

In December 2017, during a visit to Bangladesh, the pope asks for “forgiveness” from Muslim Rohingya refugees who have fled persecution in neighbouring Myanmar in their hundreds of thousands.

“In the name of all those who have persecuted you, who have harmed you, in the face of the world’s indifference, I ask for your forgiveness,” he says after meeting 16 Rohingya refugees.

The pontiff had just made a four-day visit to Myanmar where he called on Buddhist clergy to conquer “prejudice and hatred”, without explicitly referring to the Rohingyas.

‘Maybe It’s My Fault’: Sarri Fumes After Chelsea Meltdown

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Maurizio Sarri questioned his ability to motivate Chelsea’s spluttering stars after their humiliating 4-0 defeat at Bournemouth on Wednesday.

The shocking result at Dean Court ranked as Chelsea’s biggest league defeat for 22 years and was their fifth loss in the last 12 Premier League games.

The Blues have dropped out of the top four — below Arsenal on goals scored — to leave their bid to qualify for the Champions League under severe threat.

And Chelsea boss Sarri, who publicly questioned his side’s approach after the recent defeat at Arsenal, conducted a lengthy post-match inquest alone with his players after asking his backroom staff to leave the dressing room.

The Italian maintained he does not feel under pressure but admitted the blame for the defeat could lie with himself.

“In that moment I wanted to talk with them alone, without anybody else,” he said.

“I needed to understand. It’s impossible to play in such a different way between the first and second half.

“I don’t understand why. I don’t know exactly. I want to try again tomorrow because we want to solve the problem.

“I think (the players are good enough). Maybe we are not at the top of the Premier League at the moment, but we are competitive.

“We cannot lose 4-0 against Bournemouth. I want to respect Bournemouth, but it’s impossible to lose 4-0 here.

“Maybe it’s my fault, maybe I’m not able to motivate them. But the team is very strong, it is also able to win without the coach.”

Sarri is facing growing questions about his tactics and motivational ability just half-way through his first season in charge.

And the former Napoli boss admitted he is starting to get annoyed by Chelsea’s inconsistency.

“I feel frustrated. Not under pressure. I didn’t see the signal of my work. So I am frustrated,” he said.

Chelsea dominated long periods of the first half but after conceding Joshua King’s opening goal in the 47th minute, they had no response as David Brooks doubled the lead in the 63rd minute.

‘Ride that storm’

King added a second eleven minutes later, and Charlie Daniels headed the fourth in stoppage-time.

“What I saw in the first half, there was the possibility to solve the problem,” Sarri said.

“We had 43 minutes still to play, so we could solve the problem. But not with that kind of reaction.

“At the moment, they are able to react very well always against a big team. When we play against a big team, usually we are able to play with a very good level of motivation.

“In the first half, I saw a team with a very good level of motivation and determination. Then, suddenly after the first goal, we were not able to play.”

The withdrawal of Gonzalo Higuain in the 64th minute prompted chants of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ from the Chelsea supporters.

Sarri said: “We have only to say sorry to our fans. We can lose, of course, in every match, but not in this way.

“We need to solve the problem. We need to understand where the problem is.”

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe revealed his side’s game-plan was to put pressure on Jorginho, Chelsea’s deep-lying midfielder.

“It was something we looked at and planned and David did a brilliant job beyond his years with his diligence, and then he showed his class at the other end as well, so I’m pleased for him,” Howe said.

“We just knew they’d have more of the ball than we would. They’ve got world-class players, technically.

“The way their manager plays the game is great to watch. We had to ride that storm, really.

“The way we dealt with Hazard, Pedro, Higuain, getting bodies around the ball, tracking runners. We just managed to frustrate them.”

Gunmen Kidnap APC Chairman In Adamawa

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The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) chapter in Adamawa State, Hamisu Mijinyawa, has been kidnapped by gunmen.

Mr Mijinyawa was abducted in the early hours of Wednesday at his residence while preparing to host the state governor, Mohammed Jibrilla, ahead of the governorship elections.

According to a party official Mark Dauda, the kidnappers are demanding N20 million as ransom to secure the release of the party chairman. He explained that “The chairman was picked in his house in Demsa around 1:00 am this morning, but we’re talking, we’re negotiating for his release.”

“They’ve demanded N20 million ransom, that’s all I can tell you for now”, Dauda revealed.

The Police Public Relations officer Adamawa state command, Othman Abubakar confirmed the kidnap and said the Command is investigating the incidence with the hope of apprehending the criminals.

He, therefore, appealed to the public to remain calm as they work towards rescuing the victim.

Meanwhile, the governor’s campaign team is being expected in Demsa for the party’s rally.

UN Special Envoy Visits Kaduna, Renews Call For Credible Polls

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The Special Representative of the United Nations for West Africa and the Sahel, Mr Mohamed Ibn Chambas on Thursday visited Kaduna, reiterating the UN’s call for credible elections in Nigeria.

While addressing political parties and other stakeholders, he called for the use of existing mechanisms for dialogue and dispute resolution to minimize the potential for violence.

“Nigeria occupies a strategic position in West Africa and on the African continent and indeed globally. All of us are in this effort because the lessons in Nigeria are not about Nigerians alone.

“All of us – West Africans and Africans are stakeholders. This is our biggest country on the continent, our strongest economy and our most strategically placed country politically.

“It is, therefore, crucial that Nigeria delivers credible, peaceful and fair elections in 2019 in a manner that improves upon the performance of the 2015 elections which we all celebrated and to strengthen and consolidate the democratic dividends this country has accrued over the years,” he stated.

The UN envoy also called on all Nigerians to work for the stability, peace and prosperity of all considering the great role it plays in the continent and globally.

He believes that “what goes from here if it goes well, we celebrate if it doesn’t go well we are all affected.

“That is why we always want to see Nigeria succeed and prosper. When Nigeria is stable and prosperous, it carries all of us on the African continent.”

On his part, Governor of the state, Mr Nasir El-Rufai reiterated his administration’s commitment to ensuring free and credible elections.

He, however, blamed electoral violence on desperate politicians who use miscreants to instigate chaos in order to win at all costs.

“As far as our own party is concerned, we have made it very clear that young people should not be going around, escorting us with weapons. If you wish to escort us, you are welcome, but you are not carrying any weapons.

“You will not see anyone carrying weapons in any APC rally and I will like to appeal to other political parties, particularly that other party with the history of violence to learn from us.”

APC Will Not Field Candidates For Governorship, NASS, State Assembly Elections In Zamfara — INEC

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted that no candidate will be fielded by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara for the Governorship, National and State Assembly elections. 

This was reaffirmed in a statement issued on Wednesday, January 30 ahead of a final list to be published by the commission.

According to the communique, “On the whole, there are 1, 066 candidates for the governorship elections, 14, 583 for the State Assembly elections and 806 for the FCT Area Council elections broken down into 105 Chairmanship candidates and 701 councillorship candidates”.

The statement further clarified that the commission reviewed the situation of the APC in the state, noting that there are two rulings on the matter (State and Federal).

According to INEC, a State High Court in Gusua ruled clearly that APC in Zamfara conducted primaries contrary to the position of the commission, on the other hand, a Federal High Court in Abuja ruled that the party did not conduct valid primaries and therefore is not eligible to field candidates for the elections.

The electoral umpire had earlier said that it will release a final list of candidatesfor the governorship, state Houses of Assembly and FCT area council elections today, January 31, 2019.

The chairman of the commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu said the list will be published in all the state offices of the commission across the country and on the commission’s website.

He said this at the swearing-in ceremony of the new Resident Electoral Commissioner in Bayelsa State, Monday Udo on Wednesday.

Thugs Beat Up Rivers NBA Chairman 'Because Of Onnoghen'

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Sylvester Adaka, the RIvers State Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), was the victim of an attack by some thugs suspected to be affiliated to politicians on Wednesday.

Adaka had approached the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt on Wednesday to plead for request an adjournment of proceedings in response to the boycott order issued by the NBA over the suspension of Walter Onnoghen as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

Adaka was in the company of some lawyers when they approached the court led by Justice A.A. Gumel. He urged the lawyers not to cause trouble within the court processes as they protested the position of the presiding judge, who said the sitting was only to take records of court processes, while hearing of motions would be done at a later date.

However, probably irked by the protests of the lawyers, the thugs, who wanted proceedings to continue, attacked the NBA Chairman and beat him up.

Tonye Cole, a governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was said to be in court during the incident and expressed displeasure at the action of the thugs.

Commenting on the incident, Dennis Okwakpam, a former NBA Chairman, Port Harcourt branch, said: “It is one of the darkest days in the life of this country. People who should know or are knowledgeable are playing politics with everything.”

BREAKING: I Lent EFCC N300m So It Could Take Off, Says Atiku

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Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says he gave a loan of N300million to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from privatisation proceeds to commence activities when the anti-graft agency was set up.

He also said one of the ways to tackle corruption is to reduce the personal relationship between individuals in the public and private sectors.

He stated this on Wednesday night when he featured on ‘The Candidates’, a presidential town hall co-production between Daria Media and the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), with support from the MacArthur Foundation and anchored by Kadaria Ahmed.

Speaking on how he hopes to fight corruption, Atiku stressed that he would embrace prevention measures as well as punitive measures.

His words: “There is need for us to go by the adage of the English saying, which states ‘Prevention is better than cure’. We can keep it going side by side — punitive measures and prevention measures — and my point is that we should be able to introduce technology in our public service and even in the private sector, so the relationship with the members of the public and private is not personal.

“I made an example of the United Arab Emirates, whose citizens are not as educated as Nigerians, and hereby introduced technology amongst the public sector. They have virtually eliminated corruption. I want to automate the public sector and make sure the contact that brings about corruption is eliminated. When you eliminated that, you would have reduced corruption to the barest minimum.”

On the activities of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as well as ensuring that corrupt public officials are not shielded from being prosecuted, even if they were his friends, he continued: “My quarrel with the judicial system is that there is too much delay, if we can shuttle the delay so that justice is being set out immediately, the better for us.

“Looking at the legislature and the procedure in dealing with the judiciary, you know that the cases we initiated during our administration are still in court. Where is the justice there? We set up the EFCC. I, in particular, brought the piece of drafting regulation from Brazil, and it was based on that draft, legislation was crafted. When it was eventually passed by the National Assembly, the EFCC did not even have the money in the budget to start the operation. I borrowed them N300million from the privatisation proceeds and I said ‘you better get to work’.

“The following year when there was budgetary allocation; they repaid the money. So I believe the period that it takes, most of the convictions that you are hearing today were cases from our administration.”

BREAKING: Atiku: Will I Accept Result Of Election If I Lose? Why Not!

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Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says he will accept the result of the 2019 presidential election if he loses — provided the election is free and fair.

Atiku said this on Wednesday on ‘The Candidates’, a presidential town hall co-production between Daria Media and the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), with support from the MacArthur Foundation.

As the very final question before drawing the curtain on the interaction, Atiku was asked if he would accept the result of the election should he lose.

He replied: "If elections are adjudged to be free and fair and credible, why not? I have lost elections before."

Peter Obi Questioned On Why He Invested $30m State Funds In Company Where His Family Owns Shares

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Peter Obi, vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has explained why he invested $30million of Anambra State funds in a company owned by his family.

He stated this in response to a question by Kadaria Ahmed, host of ‘The Candidates’, a presidential town hall co-production between Daria Media and the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), with support from the MacArthur Foundation, held in Abuja on Wednesday.

He claimed that the company belonged to his parents, and he had no dealings in it after he became a public officer.

His words: “I brought International Breweries into Nigeria and as a Governor of a state, they built a greenfield facility in the state and they came to me and said ‘as our partner, we want you to own 15 per cent of this company’, and I said to them ‘No, right now, I am the Governor of a state. I know the future of this brewery, and I want the state to own 10 per cent and since I’m no longer involved in the company, they can own five per cent’. I put in $30million of state money there, it’s now worth $100million and it’s still there. No other state in this country has such investment.

“Personally, I have no investment; not even one Naira. Go to Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) today, if you will see Peter Obi as owner of one share; it doesn’t exist. Next is a family company started by my own parents and as their child, I ran it at a time, and when I became Governor, I had nothing to do with it till today.

“I also invested $50million of Anambra State money in the power sector. I invested several billions in banks, including banks where I have shares. I was investing for the future of the state; it doesn’t matter whether I have shares or not. If I have the opportunity of building the future of the state, wouldn’t I have done that?

“I left office in this country, leaving Anambra State with investment in cash of N75billion. The day I left office, we had $56million, N12billion in Fidelity Bank.; in Diamond Bank, $50million, N12billion; in Access Bank, $50million, N12billion for Anambra State. Show me in the history of this country where anybody has left 10 per cent of that.”

APC Witnesses Present Contradicting Statements At Osun Election Tribunal

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There was drama at the resumed hearing of the Osun Governorship Election Tribunal on Wednesday, as the winesses of the All Progressives Congress (APC) made contradictory statements against testimonies they had earlier tendered in court.

While responding to a confirmation that they had tendered earlier in court that there was over voting, lack of ballot accounting in areas where the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won at the election, the witnesses disagreed with the defendant’s counsel, Mr. Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN), and agreed that there was ballot counting contrary to their allegations in their pleaded evidence.

According to the report by ThisDay newspaper, APC relied on witnesses from Ede, the hometown of the petitioner and PDP candidate in the election, Senator Ademola Nurudeen Adeleke, with which they sought to nullify PDP’s votes from the region.

Another attempt by the APC to present an electoral document through a subpoenaed witness, who was also the 3rd respondent's Ward Collation Agent, was objected by the petitioner’s counsel, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, who said it was an abuse of court process since the 2nd and 3rd respondents were both defendants in the case at hand.

After deliberations between both legal teams, the tribunal went on recess and returned after about 45minutes.

After announcing the decision to uphold the objection of the petitioner’s counsel, hearing was adjourned till Thursday.

Faction That Endorsed Buhari Are Historical Renegades, Says Afenifere

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The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, has distanced itself from media reports that it has endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election bid.

The group denounced the endorsement in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Wednesday, saying those involved in the endorsement – Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Chief Ayo Fasanmi and Senator Olabiyi Durojaye — were not members of the group. A statement made available by Yinka Odumakin, the group's National Publicity Secretary, referred to those involved as historical renegades.

The statement read: “We ordinarily would not respond to a gathering of historical renegades but for the sake of the unwary who may have been confused by the nefarious action of these impostors.

“We say without equivocation that minus Senator Ayo Fasanmi, who had a past connection with Afenifere till 2003, and Senator Olabiyi Durojaye, who is presently an employee of Buhari, all the others at the summit including Prof Yemi Osinbajo have never been known in Afenifere.

“If these are Afenifere, they would never have gathered for Buhari’s endorsement in any part of Yorubaland on a day the Nigerian Tribune, the legacy of Obafemi Awolowo who is the founder of Afenifere, was being relaunched.”

Odumakin berated Osinbajo for being absent from the activities held to mark the late sage’s remembrance activities, despite being married to Awolowo’s grand-daughter.

He added: “The godfather of this fake group is, of course, Bola Tinubu who was made governor by Afenifere in 1999, when his real character was not known.

“We tell the Tinubu followers that we don’t deny them the right to support Buhari. If they call themselves South-West Miyetti Allah, it worries us not. They should only stop the fraudulent claim to Afenifere.”

Nigerian Government Approves N91billion For Grazing Reserves

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The Nigerian government has initiated a 10-year National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) as part of efforts to address clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

The plan, according to government, is expected to gulp about N91billion in investments, while a profit of N2trillion is expected over the 10-year period.

The first phase of the plan will take care of grazing reserves in each of the seven pilot states of Adamawa, Benue, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba, and Zamfara which have been affected by herdsmen/farmers clashes, with four ranches (small, intermediate, medium and large) in each grazing reserve. 

According to the plan as reported by Daily Trust newspaper, ranchers and rearers will be encouraged to bring their cattle to a fattening site wherein the cattle will be fed so as to boost average weight from 200-250 kg to 450-500kg.

If done, livestock farmers are expected to recoup N350,000 per cow at the selling rate of N900 per kilogramme.

According to the plan, “funding would be provided to cover the cost of fattening. Once cattle are enrolled in the programme, the asset owner will sign an agreement with the lender to allow for all cattle to be sold at specified weight range.

“Upon sale, lender deducts the cost of fattening from realized value, and cattle owner keeps the remainder of profit, minimizing risk and upfront investment."

I'm Not Desperate; If I Lose Election, I'll Move On, Says el-Rufai

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Nasir el-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, says he doesn't have a problem accepting defeat if he loses in the forthcoming governorship election.

He states this at the United Nation’s High Level Dialogue Forum on peaceful elections in Kaduna State on Wednesday.  

He also urged aspirants and party supporters to ensure free and fair elections, noting that the state has become the centre of attraction of many organisations because of the level of its exposure to violence.

His words: “If all of us do our bit, Nigeria’s democracy will only get stronger. The biggest risk now is pre-election violence. As a government, our most important job is to govern the state.

"If I’m re-elected, we will do our best; if we are not re-elected, we move on with our lives. We are not desperate."