Kennymykel

Jose Mourinho’s mood was a little brighter on Wednesday after an EFL Cup victory over Manchester City, but there is still much work to be done in order to get his season back on track. The Manchester United manager issued a public apology to the club’s supporters after an embarrassing 4-0 defeat at Chelsea last Sunday, which left his team seventh in the Premier League. Despite only winning one of their last six league matches, United are just six points behind leaders City as they go into Saturday’s home match against Burnley. There is plenty of time to close the gap, and winger Juan Mata is optimistic that an improvement in form is imminent. “After a defeat, everyone is going to speak badly about the team, about the manager. But we, as a group, need to stay strong and believe we can do great things together,” said Mata. “We showed that after our heavy defeat, we are back. “We were very strong in our minds these past days after critics and we sho

Commission (FRSC) has called on stakeholders in Jigawa to assist in sensitising motorists on the importance of the Speed Limiting Device. The Spokesman of the FRSC Command in the state, Mr Ado Adamu, said the Deputy Corps Marshall In Charge of Operations at the Corps’ headquarters, Abuja, Mrs Ejeme Erukjafor, made the call when she visited the state Sector Command in Dutse. Erukjafor said this would help to reduce loss of lives through road crashes. The spokesperson quoted the deputy corps marshal as saying that road transport unions were part of the decision reached in 2012 to ensure the use of the speed limiters in order to reduce deaths due to speeding. She urged motorists in the state, especially commercial drivers, to comply with the directive. She also called on the state government, religious leaders, traditional rulers and community leaders to assist toward reduction of road accidents in the state. NAN recalls that the state’s Sector Comma

A United Kingdom-based Nigerian businessman, Mr. Yinusa Owolabi, has accused the Nigeria police of extorting money from him, as well as harassing him over an incident that occurred in the United Kingdom. Owolabi, specifically accused the International Police Force (INTERPOL), Abuja, Nigeria, of a frame-up, saying the matter the Nigeria police were meddling in was already being handled by policemen at the Birmingham Police Station, UK, with the reference number, 205W158583E16. Owolabi’s plight has been taken up by the Human Rights Monitoring Agenda (HURMA), a non-governmental organisation, which had sent a petition to the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris.  The petition, which was signed by one of HURMA’s legal officers, Mr. Lekan Alabi, was also sent to the offices of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, the Police Service Commission, the National Human Rights Commission and the Nigerian Bar Association, among others. The NGO said the police reso

Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo at the African Studies Centre, Harvard University, Boston, on Thursday Oct. 27, 2016

Manchester City’s form under Pep Guardiola is beginning to show similarities to their final season under his predecessor Manuel Pellegrini, with a fast start followed by an autumn stumble. Last season, City won their opening five matches under Pellegrini, then fell away so badly that they only just secured England’s fourth and final Champions League qualification place. Guardiola, whose team visit West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on Saturday, would not be satisfied with a repeat performance. Yet having won his first 10 competitive games with the club, he has gone six without victory since.  It is the longest winless run of his managerial career, an unwanted record secured on Wednesday as his team were beaten 1-0 at Manchester United in the fourth round of the EFL Cup. City have had some hard luck stories to tell during that run, as they should certainly have beaten Everton two weeks ago, missing two penalties in a 1-1 draw, and only took a point agai

According to the IMF’s 2016 World Economic Outlook , global economic growth will be driven by emerging markets in Africa and Asia. Ivory Coast ranked No 2 in its list of top 10 emerging markets. The African Growth and Opportunity Act of 2000 grants duty-free status to sub-Saharan African countries for most products imported into America. This trade preference policy is a bid to open up African markets to American goods and services and to develop and fortify the African business landscape through increased trade and investment.  According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative charged with implementing and overseeing AGOA, a 2013 programme initiative was announced by President Barack Obama during his 2013 visit to Africa, which would “seek to increase internal and regional trade within Africa and expand economic ties between Africa, the United States and other global markets.” It is axiomatic that Africa needs the unabated commitment and stalwart poli

The Police Command in Ondo has assured the residents of Akure of their safety from the violent protest which erupted in the state in early hours of Friday. The protest followed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) replacement of the name of Eyitayo Jegede with Jimoh Ibrahim as the PDP governorship candidate for the Nov. 26 election. The command’s spokesman, ASP Femi Joseph, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) the police were committed to the protection of the lives and property.Joseph enjoined the people to keep calm as normalcy would soon be restored, adding that the command had dispatched officer and men to the scene of protests on Oba Adesida Road. “We are aware and our men are on their way to the scene, I will speak with you more later as the incident develops. “We are trying to coordinate our men so that the incident will not escalate,” he said.NAN reports that passengers had to alight from taxis and buses due to burnt tyres and

To many, Donald Trump’s pledge to build a wall along the US-Mexico border is unrealistic. But for Jim Chilton, it’s the only way he’ll get a good night’s sleep. The 77-year-old, a fifth-generation rancher on the Arizona border with Mexico, says he has grown weary of seeing drug smugglers — rather than just cattle — on his ranch and a wall is the answer to his troubles. “I really admire Trump for having the insight and the knowledge to know what’s wrong with the current border system,” he said, as he surveyed the sprawling desert plains of his 75-square-mile ranch that stretches to the Mexican border. “We need a wall. I’ve been saying that for 10 years… and we need roads along the boundary and the border patrol to be deployed there and not let anybody in,” he added. “It would make my life so much better and I’d feel more secure.” The Republican US presidential candidate has made building a wall along the southern border a staple of his campaign and has said the

English footballer Jermaine Pennant fired a parting shot as he left his Singapore club, saying even Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi couldn’t lift the moribund S-League. The former Arsenal and Liverpool winger, 33, made the comment as he departs Tampines Rovers after just nine months in the nine-team Singapore league. “No matter who you get, you could bring Messi here, yes, you’d attract fans but without money, and the government and the league helping out like they do with other sports, or what they do in other countries, it’s not going to grow,” he told the Straits Times newspaper. “If they don’t do anything, football is always going to be in a comfort zone, not progressing.” Pennant was arguably the biggest signing in S-League history, but he was cut loose after Tampines Rovers finished second, one point behind Albirex Niigata. The S-League struggles to attract spectators and sponsorship in an era when many Singaporean fans prefer to watch E

The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms Hadiza Usman, on Thursday, said that all terminal operators must comply with the terms of port concession agreements and must pay directly to NPA. Usman gave the directive while fielding questions from newsmen in Port Harcourt, Rivers. She said that all revenue must go into the Treasury Single Account (TSA), adding that the NPA would vigorously pursue the collection of all outstanding payments by the terminal operators and other operators in the industry. “All payment will be made directly to NPA and NPA will reconcile the payments,’’ she added. She said that NPA would review all concession agreements. “We need to appreciate where we find ourselves today and take immediate decisions.” On midstream discharge, she said that the management “is looking at safe anchorage’’. She said that the management had seen the state of infrastructure in Rivers and Onne Ports, saying that the NPA would inves

Following the declaration of Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Ondo governorship election, the residents of the state trooped out in large numbers on the streets of major towns in the state to protest against the development. The Independent National Electoral Commission on Thursday removed the name of Mr. Eyitayo Jegede from the list of the candidates of the political parties that would participate in the November 26 governorship election and replaced it with Ibrahim’s name as the candidate of the PDP. The protests were staged in Akure, the state capital, Owo, Ondo and Ore towns while protesters set bonfires at many major roads in the towns.   The protest began at about 6.30am in Akure while major roads like Oyemekun, Oba Adesida, Arakale, Araromi among others were barricaded halting vehicular movement. During the protest, both social and business activities were paralysed while banks and some other corporate and commercial  

Anytime there is a recession, it is believed that there is less money in circulation. Business is slowing down and customers are not buying as much as they used to. This is the reality of many businesses. The disposable income of most individuals has gone down. Instead of spending more to stimulate growth, most businesses are cutting costs. Many companies are laying off workers to keep costs down. This results in less demand for goods and services, which means fewer turnovers for businesses, which can trigger another round of layoffs. It is a vicious cycle. Individuals are also spending less in areas that will generate growth. Beyond what should be the right response to dwindling income, one question to ask is: ‘Where did the money go?’ We can understand what happened to the dollar supply due to the crash in oil prices since 2014. There is more naira chasing fewer dollars. What happened to the naira supply? Has 50 per cent of the naira in circulation left our borde

There was breach of the peace at the Isale-Oyo Community High School, Oyo town, after some pupils of the college reportedly set ablaze some classrooms over mass failure in their examination. It was learnt that the aggrieved pupils stormed the school premises on Thursday morning charting solidarity songs. They were said to have gone haywire afterwards, set fire to blocks of classrooms and fled the premises. The PUNCH gathered that the school authorities alerted men of the Oyo State Fire Service, who responded swiftly to put out the fire. Policemen were deployed in the school to restore peace but none of the pupils had been arrested as of the time of filing this report. The disturbance, observers noted, marked the worst phase of the unrest that began days ago over mass failure in exams. The school compound was deserted as teachers and other pupils reportedly fled for fear of being harmed. Our correspondents learnt that there had been lingering crises since Monday in

There are two sides to the story now. Some people say he (Dasuki) stole the whole money; some are saying he didn’t steal the money. Between the two of them, let them sort themselves out. People take things out of context. The allegation against him (Dasuki) was that he stole $2.1bn. But he (Jonathan) said that’s not possible because out of this money, he bought a lot of equipment for the Army and Navy. That was what he was saying, not necessarily that he did not  steal any money, but it wasn’t possible for him to have stolen (misappropriated) the whole money, which was budgeted for arms because, according to him (Jonathan), the man bought a lot of ammunition and equipment for the Army, Navy and Air Force out of the money. That was the context in which I understand him. It is those who made allegations (about the arms funds being shared to individuals) that have to justify it. If someone says people have stolen, then it behoves such a person to prove it. I don’t think th

Russian punk feminists Pussy Riot on Thursday turned their fire on Donald Trump with a graphic, dystopian video that imagines the United States if the Republican candidate wins. The provocative band, whose members were jailed in Russia, intersperses footage of Trump with scenes of real and imagined violence in “Make America Great Again,” the title an allusion to his campaign slogan. The video depicts police in a Trump America raping and otherwise humiliating members of the all-women band, including measuring them to ensure breast sizes to President Trump’s likings, branding them like cows and forcibly restricting abortion. The song’s lyrics also take to task Trump’s hardline stance on immigration and champion the rights of African Americans amid outrage over police brutality. Donald Trump “Let other people in / Listen to your women / Stop killing black children / Make America Great Again,” goes the chorus. Pussy Riot rose to prominence through heated denunc

There was confusion in Osogbo, the Osun State capital following the discovery of a toddler’s corpse floating on the Osun River. Our correspondent gathered that the corpse was sighted by some students, who were going home on Wednesday evening. An eye witness, Toba Adedeji, told our correspondent that some secondary school students were seen gathered  on the popular Osun River bridge gazing at an object in the water. He said their curiosity caught the attention of passers-by who identified the floating object to be corpse of a young child. Another eye witness, Israel Olajide, said there was confusion at the scene of the incident because some people thought the corpse was headless until she was brought out of the river with every part of her body intact. The leader of the fire fighters, Mr. Ademola Lukman, who arrived at the scene said they could not confirm weather the girl was dead or not because they were not medical doctors. He said, ” We were called from our headq

United States-based Exxon Mobil Corporation on Thursday said it had discovered up to one billion barrels of oil on the Owowo field offshore Nigeria. The oil major said it was “a significant discovery with a potential recoverable resource of between 500 million and one billion barrels”.     It said the Owowo-3 well, which was spud on September 23 , encountered about 460 feet (140 meters) of oil-bearing sandstone reservoir. Owowo-3 extends the resource discovered by the Owowo-2 well, which encountered about 515 feet (157 meters) of oil-bearing sandstone reservoir, ExxonMobil said in a statement on its website. The President, ExxonMobil Exploration Company, Stephen Greenlee, said, “We are encouraged by the results and will work with our partners and the government on future development plans.” The company said Owowo-3 was safely drilled to 10,410 feet (3,173 meters) in 1,890 feet (576 meters) of water. The Owowo field spans portions of the contract areas of Oil

Out-of-favour Chelsea midfielder  Mikel  Obi has held showdown talks with  Blues  manager  Antonio Conte  after being  frozen out of the team by the Italian. The Nigeria captain  has yet to play a single  Premier League match for the Stamford Bridge side  since the beginning  of the season. Mikel revealed  on Monday  that  he had been working hard to  play his way back into the team. “Fighting every day for my place, like all the guys are. Focus, work hard,” the 2013 Europa League winner  wrote  on Twitter . Former Italy manager Conte is allegedly not happy with the 29-year-old for opting to represent Nigeria at the Rio  2016 Olympic Games, where he helped the national Under-23 team win bronze (Nigeria’s only medal at the competition). Mikel, who was signed from Norwegian side Lyn Oslo by the then manager of Chelsea Jose Mourinho  in 2016,  has  however  turned in a pair of impressive performances for  the Super Eagles, guiding them to a 1-0 victory over Tanza

GOODLUCK JONATHAN The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders has said the comments of former President Jonathan about the allegations against his former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), was a way of preparing for his own defence when he was eventually called to question. Jonathan had expressed disbelief against the allegation against Dasuki while giving a lecture at the Oxford Union in the United Kingdom. He said, “They said the National Security Adviser (Sambo Dasuki) stole $2.2bn. I don’t believe somebody can just steal $2.2bn. ‘‘We bought warships, we bought aircraft, we bought lots of weapons for the Army and so on and so forth and you are still saying $2.2bn (was stolen). So, where did we get the money to buy all those things? But the Executive Chairman of CACOL, Mr. Debo Adeniran, said the former President’s comments were expected. Adeniran said, “I am not surprised that the former President made such a statement because he has always demon

The All Progressives Congress and the Presidency have called on former President Goodluck Jonathan to allow the court to decide the fate of his former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd). Jonathan had said when he delivered a lecture at the Oxford Union in the United Kingdom that it was inconceivable to say that Dasuki stole $2.2bn. “They said the National Security Adviser (Sambo Dasuki) stole $2.2bn. I don’t believe somebody can just steal $2.2bn,” the former President said. ‘‘We bought warships, we bought aircraft, we bought lots of weapons for the Army and so on and so forth and you are still saying $2.2bn (was stolen). So, where did we get the money to buy all those things?” However, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Timi Frank, urged Jonathan to assist Dasuki to make his case in court. Frank said it would be more appropriate for the ex-President to assist in the investigation and prosecution of the case than to say his

Online banking is growing by the day. This is obviously because of the comfort and convenience that come with it. Several banking services are now available via the Internet. Some of these include funds transfer, bills payment, opening fixed deposit account, checking account balance, and foreign exchange transactions. As good as banking online is, it comes with several hazards that could make you lose all your life savings. In this report, www.bankrate.com shares five rules to protect your bank account during online transactions. They are considered below: Fight off phishing and other scams Evading banking cyber thugs is more challenging than ever. They are now targeting consumers rather than banks, and scouting out security holes in your computer. The reason is obvious, more Nigerians are embracing online banking. In the United States too, for example, about 80 per cent of households bank on the Internet, according to a banking consultancy firm, Novantas LLC of N

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo is currently presiding over a meeting of the National Economic Council. The meeting is holding inside the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. State governors and some deputy governors are attending the meeting. Some relevant ministers are also in attendance. Details later.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan spoke at the Oxford Union of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom on Monday, October 24th, 2016. His focus of discussion was on the theme “Promoting Youth Entrepreneurship”. The former president said he believed in the Nigerian youth and indeed African Youths.  He further mentioned that his conviction was not only an emotional one, but one grounded in his experience with youths from all over the continent. That was why according to him, his administration introduced initiatives and policies to enable Nigerian youths take their own destinies in their hands. Here are 18 key points from his speech. 1.   I provided infrastructure in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions and gave undergraduate students financial assistance in the form of Bursary awards. 2.   I started building two special post primary schools for gifted and talented children.  The relevance of the gifted children school is obvious. For the tale

A motivated seller is a person or a company that is eager to sell a property and willing to provide buyers with some incentives. The incentives that a motivated seller is willing to provide include discounting the price of the property; agreeing to flexible payment terms; providing the buyer with the support needed to secure a mortgage or a loan; and giving concessions on other cost items in the transaction. A motivated seller makes a transaction easy and seamless. With a motivated seller, it is easier to move from negotiation to closing. There are some people who view those who buy from a motivated seller as people taking advantage of someone in need. These categories of people do not see the connection between the buyer and the seller as a win-win affair. They see it as a one-sided, winner takes all affair; but this is not the case. Infact, if we take an objective look at this scenario, we will discover that the buyer is actually a God-sent to the seller. Both par