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Ziyech, Chilwell Ruled Out Of Chelsea’s Premier League Opening Fixture

By
Akintomide Aroso
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Ziyech, Chilwell Ruled Out Of Chelsea's Premier League Opening Fixture
Hakim Ziyech

Chelsea new boys Hakim Ziyech and Ben Chilwell will miss the start of the Premier League season in a real blow to Frank Lampard, according to reports.

The Blues have been ruthless in the summer transfer window – signing Ziyech (£37m), Chilwell (£50m), Timo Werner (£53m), Kai Havertz (£89m) while also
completing free transfers for Thiago Silva and Malang Sarr.

However, according to The Athletic – Chelsea fans will have to wait to see both Ziyech and Chilwell in action after they are set to miss the start of the campaign – in which they begin away at Brighton on Monday – due to injury.

Ziyech twisted his knee during Chelsea’s friendly against Brighton 11 days ago, which forced him off in the 54th minute at the Amex Stadium.

Chilwell is still struggling with a heel injury after signing from Leicester – he has been working his way back to full fitness after picking up the problem
against Crystal Palace on July 4.

However, fellow new boy Havertz is on course to make his debut at the Amex Stadium on Monday evening as Lampard’s side look to get off to winning ways.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have been given a big boost with Christian Pulisic also in line to feature after recovering from a hamstring injury suffered in the FA Cup
final defeat against London rivals Arsenal.

After spending £230m in the summer window, the Blues will be desperate to get off to an emphatic start in the Premier League.

Lampard will be looking to make quick inroads with both Manchester City and Liverpool, who have been the dominant forces over the last couple of seasons.

Chelsea secured Champions League football on the final day of last season – finishing fourth, but a massive 33 points behind runaway winners Liverpool.

PDP Intra-party Crisis: Ignore Fayose’s Threat, Olujimi Tells Makinde

By
Akintomide Aroso
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PDP Intra-party Crisis: Ignore Fayose’s Threat, Olujimi Tells Makinde
Senator Abiodun Olujimi

National Assembly member, Senator Biodun Olujimi, has accused former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose of moving against Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, over the governor’s stance in the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State.

Olujimi, who described Makinde as the party’s leader in the South-West geo-political zone, urged the governor to discountenance moves against him, but continue with his quest “to reposition, galvanise and salvage the party from the brinks of collapse”.

Fayose had on Wednesday warned the governor not to meddle into political affairs in Ekiti State.

But the senator representing Ekiti South Senatorial District, who spoke in Ado Ekiti at a meeting of her faction of the PDP, described Fayose, including his collaborators as ‘political jobbers’ and asked Makinde to ignore their threats.

She said, “Makinde is the symbol of the party in the South-West. So, anything that must come from the zone must come through him. Fayose and his conspirators’ visit to Uche Secondus was nothing but a recreational. I can take anybody to the National Secretariat of the party and we take pictures.

“ We stand by Makinde because nobody can rubbish him and wish him away. This is the best time South-West Zone needs the governor most when ‘hijackers’ are trying to undermine the party’s structure through egregious conspiracy.”

The PUNCH

CRIME: Police Arraign Six For Alleged Cultism In Ekiti

By
Akintomide Aroso
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CRIME: Police Arraign Six For Alleged Cultism In Ekiti

The Police in Ekiti State on Wednesday arraigned six men before an Ado Ekiti Magistrate’s Court over their membership of an unlawful society.

The Police prosecutor, Sergeant Olubu Apata, said the six men – Raimi Mustapha (22), Olamilekan Sodiq (21), Rasaq Taofeek (21), Boje Oluwasola (21), Usman Hakeem (30), and Adewale Obateru (20) – are each facing one count charge of cultism.

Apata told the court that the six defendants allegedly proclaimed to be members of an unlawful society, adding that “they committed the offence on August 30, 2020, about 7 am in Ado-Ekiti.

“The offence contravened Section 64 (a) of the Criminal Code, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012,” he added.

The defendants pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to them.

Counsel for the fifth defendant, Mr Olatunde Olayemi; and those to the first, second, third, fourth and sixth defendants, Mr Busuyi Ayorinde, Mr Timi Omotosho and Mr Gboyega Abiola, urged the court to grant the defendants bail.

The magistrate, Mrs Taiwo Ajibade, granted them bail in the sum of N100,000, with one surety each in like sum.

Ajibade adjourned the case until September 21, 2020.

Nigerians Forced To Leave UAE As Authorities Refuse To Renew Their Work Permits

By
Akintomide Aroso
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Nigerians Forced To Leave UAE As Authorities Refuse To Renew Their Work Permits

Contrary to a claim by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) embassy in Abuja that the suspension of issuance of travel documents to Nigeria was due to COVID-19, Nigerians living in the Emirates say all those whose work permit were not renewed have been asked to leave the oil-rich Middle East country on Thursday.

The affected Nigerians, who spoke to reporters, confirmed what a travel agency had earlier posted on social media that all previously issued visas to Nigerians had become invalid and that those living in the country would have their visas revoked.

The UAE’s embassy in Abuja, however, denied the claims by Flyworld Travel and Tour, insisting that the visa suspension was due to COVID-19.

“I came in on a two-year visa and got a job,” said a Nigerian who did not want to be named for fear of being tracked by the Emirates’ security. “When my visa expired, my employer tried to renew it, but the company said the application bounced back and there is nothing they can do.”

He said he would soon lose his accommodation and would be forced to return to Nigeria.

“Many of us are using the money we make here to help our families back home. If we are forced to return, we will be joining a growing number of unemployed persons. The Nigerian government should help us negotiate with the Emirates,” he said.

Another Nigerian, who spoke to reporters, said he had purchased his flight ticket to Nigeria.

“We have reached out to the UAE immigration officials. They say they do not know what is happening. We have called the Nigerian embassy; they keep refusing to pick our calls or respond to our emails,” said the Nigerian, who had just received an employment offer from an oil company that pays better than his former job.

He said if the office of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, does not rescind the directives to empty the country of Nigerians, he would not be able to accept the new job offer.

“I just got a new job with an oil company. After three days, my boss came back to me and said the company could renew my visa and I would have to leave. I am staying in the accommodation provided by the former company for now.”

While the two Nigerians still have their accommodation, another Nigerian worker who has been in the Emirates for four years has lost his.

“I got a job better than the previous one, yet I’m unable to join the company,” he said. “They are not issuing work permits or any type of visa. I had to go bunk with a friend because I couldn’t afford to be paying rent since I’m not working.”

The Nigerian migrant workers wondered why they were being discriminated against in the Emirates.

“They are renewing the travel papers of other nationalities; it is only Nigerians that they are doing this to. I know many Nigerians do crazy things, but they should not tar innocent people with the same brush as well. When Pakistanis and other Asians do terrible stuff, they don’t treat them like this,” one of the affected Nigerians said.

They told reporters that the Nigerian embassy in Abu Dhabi has not been responding to inquiries.

The UAE embassy in Nigeria and the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission have not responded to SaharaReporters’ requests for comment on the plight of Nigerian immigrants in UAE as of press time.

SAHARA REPORTERS

Popular Ghanaian pastor shoots wife dead in the US

By
Shalom Ekelaka
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Popular Ghanaian pastor shoots wife dead in the US

A popular US-based Ghanaian pastor identified as Sylvester Ofori has been arrested after he shot his wife Barbara Tommey dead.

The incident took place outside the 27-year-old woman’s workplace at the Navy Federal Credit Union, near the Mall at Millenia in Orlando, on Tuesday 8th September 2020.

Barbara was shot by Sylvester, near the business’ front doors on the 4600 block of Gardens Park Boulevard just before 9 a.m., an Orlando Police Department spokesperson said.

Tommey was pronounced dead at Orlando Regional Medical Center shortly after she was rushed there for medical attention.

Ofori, 35, was taken into custody at his apartment Tuesday evening, the OPD spokesperson said. He is being held at the Orange County Jail without bond on a charge of first-degree murder with a firearm.

During a press conference Tuesday morning, Chief Orlando Rolón said the shooting was captured on CCTV.

“You can tell that she was surprised by what was happening,” he said.

The Navy Federal Credit Union released a statement on the shooting.

The statement reads: “This morning, a team member was fatally injured during an act of violence outside our Millenia branch, by a man she knew, according to the police.

“Our thoughts are with our team member’s family. Our number one priority is keeping both our members and team members safe. We will ensure all team members at the branch are provided with the support they need during this time. Any further information can be provided by the Orlando Police Department.”Popular Ghanaian pastor shoots wife dead in the US

Pastor Sylvester has reportedly been abusing his wife for a long time. Due to the abuse, Barbara was persuaded by her family to leave him. But Sylvester tracked her to her workplace yesterday and shot her 7 times.

A woman named Lisa, who witnessed the shooting, said: “I’m shaken up right now, I’m still shaken up.”

She said she saw Barbara come outside to move her car before she was shot.

“The next thing I knew, he raised his hand with the gun in it, and he shot her,” she said.

“The guy was walking behind her. I don’t know if she knew he was there or not. I started running and as I’m running, I hear three or four more shots.”

Lisa spoke highly of the deceased woman.

She said: “She was always very nice when I came into the bank. She’s very nice, very nice.”

LIB

BREAKING NEWS: Nigeria Overtakes India As World Capital For Deaths Of Children Under Five Years

By
Shalom Ekelaka
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BREAKING NEWS: Nigeria Overtakes India As World Capital For Deaths Of Children Under Five Years

Nigeria has overtaken India as the world capital for deaths of children under the age of five.

According to the 2020 mortality estimates released by the United Nations Children’s Fund, Nigeria recorded 209,000 neonatal deaths in 1990– a 61,000 increase compared to 270,000 deaths in 2019.

The figures for number of deaths among children aged five to 14 also increased from 104,000 in 1990 to 119,000 in 2019.

The report further said that while child deaths were uneven across regions, the situation is worse in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia.

It added that while the pandemic had limited direct impact on child mortality, countries worldwide are now experiencing disruptions in child and maternal health services due to resource constraints and a general uneasiness with using health services due to a fear of contracting COVID-19.

Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Director, said, “The global community has come too far towards eliminating preventable child deaths to allow the COVID-19 pandemic to stop us in our tracks.

“If the child survival targets are to be met on time, resources and policy must be geared toward not only sustaining current rates of decline but also accelerating progress, which would save millions of lives. If the trends from 2010 to 2019 continue, 53 countries will not meet the SDG target on under-five mortality on time—if all countries were to meet that target, 11 million under-five deaths would be averted from 2020 to 2030.

“Achieving the child survival goals and heading off a reversal of progress in child survival in 2020 will require universal access to effective, high-quality and affordable care and the continued, safe provision of life-saving interventions for women, children, and young people.

“If all countries reach the SDG child survival targets by 2030, 11 million lives under age 5 will be saved—more than half of them in sub-Saharan Africa.”

The World Bank had in 2018 said Nigeria will take over from India as the world capital for deaths of children under the age of five by 2021.

The bank’s report was based on the fact that India, with a population of 1.3 billion recorded 989,000 under-five deaths in 2017, while Nigeria, with 196 million citizens, recorded 714,000 deaths in the same year.

In its bi-annual economic update on Nigeria, the World bank said Nigeria records the highest number of child malaria deaths anywhere in the world, adding that Nigeria had the highest number of out-of-school children anywhere in the world, and that 90 per cent of these children are from Northern Nigeria.

The bank said, “Nigeria’s weak revenue mobilisation has major implications for its growth and development, including for improving its dire social service delivery outcomes.

“Poverty remains high in Nigeria and access to basic social services is not universal. In 2016, the World Bank estimated poverty at 38.8 per cent of the population using the national poverty line.

“By international poverty line of PPP-corrected $1.90 per capita per day, an estimated 49.2 per cent of the population lived below poverty in 2017.”

PUNCH

EFCC Re-arraigns Malabu Oil, Seven Others For Money Laundering

By
Akintomide Aroso
-
EFCC Re-arraigns Malabu Oil, Seven Others For Money Laundering

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has re-arraigned Malabu Oil and Gas Limited on fresh charges bordering on money laundering.

Malabu and Aliyu Abubakar, a businessman, were re-arraigned alongside six other companies on a 67-count charge before a federal high court in Abuja on Tuesday.

The companies listed in the charge are A-Group Construction Company Limited, Rocky Top Resources Limited, Mega Tech Engineering Limited, Novel Properties and Development Company Limited and Carlin International Nigeria Limited.

In the nine-count charge, Mohammed Bello Adoke, former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, including Dan Etete, a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, were mentioned in the suit.

However, the names of Adoke and Etete were removed when the defendants were re-arraigned in an amended 48-count charge on July 1, although the EFCC had denied dropping Adoke’s name from the case.

At the commencement of proceedings on Tuesday, Malabu Oil and Gas, Abubakar and the other six companies pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

According to the EFCC, Malabu Oil alongside Dauzia Etete (Dan Etete),  Seidougha Munamuna and Amaran Joseph, both directors of the company, who are currently on the run, “Took control of the sum of $401,540,000 paid from the Federal Government of Nigeria Escrow Account No: 0041451493 IBAN 30CHAS609242411492 with JP Morgan Chase Bank in London into the account 2018288005 of Malabu Oil & Gas Limited domiciled with First Bank of Nigeria Limited.”

The anti-graft agency alleged that Malabu Oil negotiated and signed the “block 245 resolution agreement with the Federal Government of Nigeria with Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited, and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited, whereby taxes, accruals and royalties due to the federal government of Nigeria were unlawfully waived”.

SAHARA REPORTERS

NEITI: Federal Government, States, LGs Shared N3.88trn In Six months

By
Akintomide Aroso
-
NEITI: Federal Government, States, LGs Shared N3.88trn In Six months

The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee shared N3.879trn to the Federal Government, states, local governments, and other statutory recipients in the first half of this year, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative has said.

A breakdown of the disbursements showed that N1.53tn went to the Federal Government, while the states got N1.29tn and the 774 local government areas received N771.34bn.

This is contained in the latest edition of the quarterly review of NEITI in Abuja on Tuesday.

The review stated that the N1.53tn received by the Federal Government in the first six months of 2020 was 4.28 per cent lower than the N1.599tn it got in the first half of 2019, and 7.36 per cent lower than the N1.652tn it received in the first half of 2018.

The story was the same for the states and Local Government areas.

“For states, a total of N1.298tn was disbursed in the first half of 2020. This was 2.8 per cent lower than the N1.35tn disbursed in the first half of 2019, and 5.6 per cent lower than the N1.375tn disbursed in the first half of 2020,” the report stated.

For local government areas, the 2020 first half disbursements were 2.64 per cent and 3.04 per cent lower than the corresponding disbursements for 2019 and 2018 respectively.

The report, however, noted that disbursements in Q2 2020 were 1.09 per cent higher than total disbursements in Q2 2019 and 3.66 per cent lower than the one for Q2 2018.

FAAC disbursements in the second quarter of 2020 stood at N1.934tn.

This was made up of N739.2bn to the Federal Government, N629.3bn to state governments, and N375.4bn to the 774 Local Government areas.

The report pointed out that the total FAAC disbursements in the second quarter of 2020 was slightly lower than the N1.945tn disbursed in the first quarter of 2020.

“This aligned with the projections made in the previous issue of the NEITI Quarterly Review which projected lower FAAC disbursement in the second quarter,” the report stated.

It attributed the 0.55 per cent decrease in Q2 2020 to a couple of factors such as the rebound in oil prices in the second quarter as a result of ease of lockdowns by countries across the world.

Others include the adjustment of the official exchange rate by the Central Bank of Nigeria from N307 per dollar to N360 per dollar in March resulting in higher naira disbursements.

NEITI also disclosed that from January to May 2020, actual government revenue was N1.62tn, representing 62 per cent of the expected pro-rata revenue of N2.62tn from the revised budget.

FG: PMS Price To Be Determined By Forces Of Demand And Supply

By
Akintomide Aroso
-
FG: PMS Price To Be Determined By Forces Of Demand And Supply

The Nigerian Government has said that the price of Premium Motor Spirit popularly known as petrol will no longer be determined by government but by the forces of demand and supply.

Executive Secretary of Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, Abdulkadir Saidu, made this known on Tuesday while fielding questions from journalists.

He, however, called for caution on the part of marketers, saying this new plan “must be in accordance with our code of conduct because as a regulator it is our duty to protect the consumer and operators must abide by our codes”.

Recall that the Nigerian Government increased petrol price from N143 to N161 a week ago, leaving citizens fuming with rage.

SAHARA REPORTERS

Djokovic Disqualification: Fans Accuse Line Judge of Pretence

By
Akintomide Aroso
-
Djokovic Disqualification: Fans Accuse Line Judge of Pretence

Novak Djokovic urged his fans to be “supportive and caring” of the line judge at the centre of his US Open default row after she was attacked by online trolls.

This is as some fans on social media accused the line judge, who fell to the ground and appeared to have trouble breathing, of exaggerating the extent of her injury.

Djokovic said the official, who was hit in the throat by a ball bashed away in anger by the world number one, had “done nothing wrong at all”.

“Please also remember the linesperson that was hit by the ball last night needs our community’s support too,” the 33-year-old Serb tweeted on Monday.

“She’s done nothing wrong at all. I ask you to stay especially supportive and caring to her during this time.”

Djokovic was disqualified because of the incident as he missed the chance to win his 18th Grand Slam title and close the gap on Rafael Nadal (19) and Roger Federer (20).

He later said he was “extremely sorry” for causing the accident and said he had apologised to US Open organisers for his “behaviour”.

Prominent members of the tennis community said there was no doubt that Djokovic, who was playing Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta in the last 16, had to be disqualified.

The United States Tennis Association said he was defaulted under the Grand Slam rules for “intentionally hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly within the court or hitting a ball with negligent disregard of the consequences”.

AFP

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