Nigeria Content Online

Flying Eagles are down but not out

Nigeria’s
chances of qualifying for this year’s FIFA Under 20 World Cup in
Colombia now hangs in the balance after suffering a 1-0 loss to
Cameroun on Thursday at the ongoing African Youth Championship (AYC) in
South Africa.

And with Ghana and
Gambia only managing to play out a 1-1 draw in the day’s other Group B
encounter, the result means the Flying Eagles need to avoid defeat in
their next match against the Gambians while hoping the Camerounians do
likewise against the Ghanaians in order to progress to the semifinals,
and with it, a spot at the U-20 World Cup.

Cameroun, who had
earlier beaten the Gambians by a lone goal in their opening match of
the tournament, secured Thursday’s win over the Nigerians courtesy of a
goal on the stroke of halftime by Franck Ohandza.

The Thailand-based
striker, picked up the ball on the edge of the area with his back to
the Nigerian goal, turned his marker before curling the ball with his
right foot into the far corner of Danjuma Paul’s goal.

It was the first
goal of the tournament for the 19-year-old who five minutes earlier
thought he had given the Cubs the lead only for the goal to be rightly
chalked off for offside.

Dominance

The Camerounians
deservedly led at the halftime break as they were more incisive than
the side managed by John Obuh, who fielded virtually the same side that
ran out 2-1 winners over Ghana last Monday, with the exception of Ahmed
Musa, who had since returned to Holland after being recalled by his
club, VVV Venlo.

Almeria of Spain’s
Stanley Okoro, however took Musa’s place in Nigeria’s starting 11 but
his lacklustre display epitomized the overall performance of the
Nigerian team on the rain-soaked pitch of the Dobsonville Stadium.

It thereby came as
no surprise when the midfielder was taken off on the hour mark and
replaced with Almeria teammate, Ramon Azeez. But the change did little
to alter the flow of the game as the Camerounians always seemed the
more likelier to grab the game’s next goal.

The Nigerian
goalie, Paul was however on hand to deny the Cubs. Even when the
Nasarawa United ‘keeper was beaten, the crossbar was on hand to save
his blushes as was the case in the 64th minute when Ghilsain Mvom bent
a free kick over the Nigerian wall.

With a quarter of
an hour to the end of the game, Paul came to Nigeria’s rescue once
again as he stopped a goal-bound shot from Ohandza, taken from well
inside the Nigerian area.

Thursday’s victory
further confirmed Cameroun’s dominance over Nigeria at the AYC and
stretched their victory over Nigeria to eight wins, compared to
Nigeria’s solitary victory which arrived as far back as 1985.

The five matches that have been played by both sides since Nigeria’s
5-1 win in 1985, including yesterday’s game in Soweto, have all ended
in victories for the Camerounians.

Sports

United need to hold their nerve

United need to hold their nerve

As
Alex Ferguson likes to say, it is ‘squeaky bum time’ as the season
enters the home stretch. With six games to go, six points clear atop
the table, the Red Devils have to take the three points when they host
Everton at Old Trafford on Saturday. And with a trip to Germany to face
Schalke 04 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final tie
on Tuesday, the importance of taking three points from Everton seems
more magnified.

In their previous
meeting this season, United gave away a two-goal lead in added time for
a famous 3-3 draw as Everton scored two quick goals through Tim Cahill
and Mikel Arteta to spark wild scenes of celebration at Goodison Park.
Since then it has been a season of injuries for Everton with one of
their best players, Steven Pienaar being sold to Tottenham Hotspurs. It
will also be remembered that Everton manager David Moyes was charged
with misconduct after he confronted the referee of that match, Martin
Atkinson following a goal-bound move was truncated by the referee’s
final whistle.

Ferguson was
disappointed with United’s defending then but he was more concerned
with a failure to convert a host of chances – and that will be the same
stern words the Scotsman will be uttering to his players following the
0-0 draw at Newcastle on Tuesday following a myriad of missed chances
especially from Ryan Giggs.

Everton though have
regained some form in the last 10 weeks, and go into the game, having
won five and drawn two of their last seven Premier League matches. They
also have the extra motivation of knowing that a win will take them
above Liverpool and into a Europa Cup spot.

Chelsea still in the hunt

The Blues have
climbed into second spot on the league standings with six points and
six goals from their last two matches while Manchester United and
Arsenal have faltered. They now sit six points from United and lead
Arsenal on goal difference. Though Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea manager has
made it very clear that he does not believe that his charges can reel
in United, the players are hoping that Manchester United’s European
adventure will take off some of their edge in the league.

Saturday’s match against the Hammers is the second of three consecutive home matches before the trip to Old Trafford on May 8.

And Florent
Malouda, back in the goals, with three goals in the last two matches,
believes the Blues must continue to apply pressure to the top team but
they must stay grounded.

He said on
chelseafc.com that, “The title race is open for the three teams and
even though Arsenal drew; we are only second because of the goal
difference.

“We have no choice
but to win every game to put pressure on Man United. They have to play
at Arsenal but we have to play our part by winning our games. We have
to stay humble; we know where we are coming from. We are out of the
Champions League now and we have to give everything until the end of
the season.” Though giving everything may not be enough to save
Ancelotti’s job. West Ham are desperate for points but it is hard to
see Avram Grant’s side getting any favours at Stamford Bridge.

Expectations of another Clasico

No prizes for
guessing what Jose Mourinho will do in this game – he will rest most of
the players that played 120 minutes against Barcelona in the Copa del
Rey triumph on Wednesday. Having won Real’s first trophy in two years,
the ‘Special One’ may have conceded the La Liga title to Barcelona, but
his side can still achieve ‘La Decima’ this season. Winning a 10th UEFA
Champions League title has been a consuming obsession for Madrid and
achieving that feat at the expense of their fiercest rivals can only
bring unbridled joy.

They return to the
Mestalla, venue of Wednesday’s victory to face Valencia, who are almost
guaranteed a Champions League slot – so expect the Blaugrana to take it
easy but ‘Los Che’ will want to avenge a 2-0 loss suffered at the
Santiago Bernabeu in December.

Barcelona, on the other hand, should get back to winning ways when
they confront Osasuna on Saturday. But there are many questions that
Pep Guardiola will have to answer. Will he rest his star players
especially Lionel Messi? Will David Villa start after not scoring in 10
consecutive league matches? All this will be playing on Guardiola’s
mind as he prepares his team for another ‘chess’ game with Jose
Mourinho in the first leg of the Champions Legaue on Wednesday. Club
captain, Carles Puyol is in a race to be fit for the match.

Sports

Organisers rally fans for Easter Para-soccer

Organisers rally fans for Easter Para-soccer

Lagosians
will have a chance to celebrate the stars at this year’s edition of the
Promasidor Easter Para-soccer Championship which will see eight teams
vying for glory.

The competition,
which would have about 80 players and 16 officials in attendance, will
hold at the Indoor Sports Hall of the University of Lagos as the 4th
edition of the championship begins on Good Friday and ends on Easter
Sunday.

Idowu George, who
is a representative of the organisers, Total Consult Nigeria Limited,
explains that all arrangements to hold a glamorous competition have
been put in place.

“We are expecting a
total of 80 players representing eight teams, and 16 officials. The
teams based outside Lagos have arrived already ahead of the three-day
competition,” he disclosed. “They will be camped in hotels with
adequate security during their stay for the tourney.” “Matches for the
competition will be played between 9am and 6pm beginning with the group
games on Friday. The two semifinal games will hold on Saturday, while
on Sunday, matches for the third place and the finals start from
12noon,” explained Femi Afolayan, chief coach of the Lagos State
Paralympics Association.

Pairings

In Group A are the
defending champions, Lead United, New Afrikan Shrine Warriors sponsored
by Yeni Kuti, the daughter of the legendary Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Other
teams in the group are Kwara Para-soccer Club and Avengers Para-soccer
Club of Ojokoro, Lagos.

In Group B are last year’s runners up, Total Consult Terrors, Kaduna, Niger and Baba Mai Mangoro from Adamawa.

According to the organisers, a participating prize of N10,000 each, will be given to each of the participating players.

“Players in the
team that will come first will get the additional sum of N20,000 each.
In the second position, players will also get an additional N15,000
each. In the third position, they will get N12,000 each, while in the
fourth position, players will be given N10,000 respectively apart from
trophies, medals and certificates,” added George.

Sports

Abeokuta to host Etoile, Kaduna United clash

Abeokuta to host Etoile, Kaduna United clash

Though
the violent clashes that greeted last weekend’s presidential election
may have abated in Kaduna and other parts of the country, Kaduna
United, one of the two clubs representing Nigeria in the CAF
Confederations Cup, has opted to play their weekend match against
Tunisian side, Etoile du Sahel at the MKO stadium in Abeokuta.

In a telephone chat
with Abdulrahman Tonga, media officer for Kaduna United, he said the
team arrived at the decision to play in Abeokuta after carefully
studying the situation on ground at home.

“We had no choice
than to find an alternative place for our match” he said. “You know
there have been some problems here and there and the state is even
under curfew for now, so playing the match in Kaduna will not be
possible” he explained.

According to Tonga,
the players and officials of Kaduna United who arrived the rocky city
on Thursday morning are fast settling down and are raring to go.

“We arrived here
Thursday morning to round off our preparation for the weekend match. We
are expecting our supporters to come in tomorrow (Friday)” he said.

Despite losing 0-1
to Foullah Edifice of Chad in their last match in N’jdamena, Kaduna
United advanced on 2-1 aggregate. The club coached by Belgian, Maurice
Cooreman had won the first leg game 2-0 a fortnight ago, courtesy of
strikes from Ali Adamu and Linus Adams.

Kaduna State
Governor, Ibrahim Patrick Yakowa, has promised to give his full support
to Kaduna United in its campaign to win the CAF Confederation Cup this
football season.

“I’m highly impressed with the performance of my team (Kaduna
United) and my promise is that we will give them all the needed support
to ensure they win this year’s Confederation Cup for the country,”
Yakowa promised.

Sports

Lawsuits fly in BP’s Gulf spill blame game

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Lawsuits fly in BP’s Gulf spill blame game

On the anniversary of the disaster, BP filed suits totaling more than $80 billion against Transocean and Halliburton.

And in a separate action on Wednesday, BP sued Cameron International Corp, the maker of the blowout preventer, the so-called fail-safe device that failed to automatically shut down the well.

BP is seeking up to the full cost of the disaster — estimated at $42 billion — plus costs, interest and punitive damages from each of the companies which helped it drill the doomed well.

Meanwhile, BP’s partners in the well, Anadarko and Mitsui filed a lawsuit against it, challenging BP’s demands that they contribute to the cost of the clean-up effort.

Wednesday was the deadline — one year after the disaster — for companies connected to the spill to file claims against each other.

Analysts said the companies probably did not want the cases to ever get to court, as this would lead to a spectacle which would only further damage their already battered images.

Instead, the suits were seen as tactical moves ahead of settlements that could see some of the burden shared. The litigation is expected to last for years.

“It’s got a fairly low chance of being successful,” said one analyst who declined to be named because of the legal sensitivities around the case. “I get the feeling that there is positioning going on here for a settlement.”

So far, BP has met the full cost of the clean up effort alone and is paying compensatory damages to affected people in the Gulf.

At 1216 GMT, Transocean shares were off 4.6 percent, while BP shares traded flat, against a 0.5 percent rise in the STOXX Europe 600 Oil and Gas index.

FRAUD ALLEGATION

BP said Halliburton concealed critical information which could have prevented the disaster.

“Halliburton’s improper conduct, errors and omissions, including fraud and concealment, caused and/or contributed to the Deepwater Horizon incident,” BP said in a court filing.

“Halliburton knew and understood it was misrepresenting material information,” BP added.

The nature of Halliburton’s claims against BP was unclear. In an emailed statement Halliburton said: “We will vigorously defend these claims.”

In January the company disputed a U.S. presidential commission’s characterization of its cementing work on the blown-out Macondo well, saying that the report omitted key facts.

On Wednesday, BP also filed a lawsuit against rig operator Transocean.

Since the outset of the disaster, BP has sought to blame its contractors, namely Transocean — a move which PR experts said had damaged its image. The Presidential investigation into the report did criticize these companies but directed most of its criticism at BP.

Service providers’ contracts with operators usually provide indemnities against any environmental damage which may result from their work and one analyst said this limited BP’s opportunities to recoup cash from Transocean or Halliburton.

If BP can establish gross or willful negligence on the part of the contractors, it may be able to void such indemnities but this is seen as hard to achieve.

“I don’t think it’s built into peoples’ expectations,” said the second analyst, who also declined to be named due to the legal sensitivities.

BP was widely criticized for trying to shift blame onto Transocean during the crisis. President Barack Obama called the mudslinging between the companies a “ridiculous spectacle.”

Joseph Lampel, Professor of Strategy at Cass Business School said a lawsuit would be even more damaging to all the companies.

“The lawyers may have a go at each other. They will cross-examine witnesses and they will dig into every detail imaginable. This kind of battle is not only fought in the court room but in the arena of public opinion,” he said.

“What we know about any corporate battle in court, is that it’s rare for any side to come out better.”

REUTERS

Money

Jonathan reaffirms commitment to job creation

Jonathan reaffirms commitment to job creation

President Goodluck
Jonathan yesterday reaffirmed the commitment of his administration to
create job opportunities in all sectors of the economy to enable
Nigerian youth contribute meaningfully to the development of the
country. He made this commitment while receiving a delegation from
Adamawa State led by the state governor, Murtala Nyako, who paid him
congratulatory visit at the State House, yesterday, on his victory in
the presidential elections held last Saturday.

Nationwide campaign

Mr Nyako praised
the president for what he said was his energetic and extensive
nationwide campaign, as well as his performance so far in governance.

“These were enough
to make ordinary Nigerians vote for you,” he said, while congratulating
Mr Jonathan for his resounding victory at the polls.

Mr Nyako also
commiserated with the president and Nigerians over the violence that
swept part of the country in the days following the conclusion of last
Saturday’s voting.

Mr Jonathan,
however, said the violence is another reason to explore job creating
opportunities, as gainfully employed youth cannot be used to foment
trouble by unscrupulous elements at the slightest excuse.

“Within the next four years, we will work hard to create job
opportunities for our youth in all sectors of the economy, so that they
can contribute meaningfully to national development,” he said. Mr
Jonathan thanked the Adamawa State delegation for the visit, describing
it as “the first by any state.”

Aondoakaa hails Jonathan’s election

Aondoakaa hails Jonathan’s election

Former Attorney
General and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoakaa, has hailed the
election of President Goodluck Jonathan as the best thing for Nigeria.

Mr Aondoakaa, who
seemingly did not find it pleasant with President Goodluck Jonathan
after the death of president Umar Yar’Adua, spoke with NEXT in his
residence in Ushongo Local Government Area in Benue State.

The former minister
stated that the government of Mr. Jonathan was following the policies
and programmes of his former boss since he was also part of that
administration. He believed that Mr. Jonathan would not derail.

Mr Aondoakaa
expressed the hope that the election of the President may go
unchallenged given the transparency, free and fair conduct witnessed
during the election.

According to him,
the election witnessed minimal cases of violence. He urged the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to continue to improve
on the standard.

He expressed
confidence that his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would
again emerge victorious at the remaining elections and called on the
electorate to continue to vote for the party to have a clean victory in
the next Tuesday’s polls.

While appealing to
contestants who did not win their elections to accept defeat in good
faith, he also appealed to the winners to regard their success as
victory for all Nigerians.

Group questions Jonathan campaign funding

Group questions Jonathan campaign funding

The Conference of
Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) says it will not congratulate
President Goodluck Jonathan on his victory at the last Saturday’s
presidential poll until he explains the source of his campaign funds.

The group said in
a statement by its national publicity secretary, Osita Okechukwu
yesterday, alleging that Mr Jonathan, who was the candidate of the
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) violated the provision of the 2010
Electoral Act by overshooting the N1 billion recommended by the Act for
presidential campaign.

“CNPP cannot
congratulate President Goodluck Jonathan when on the last count,
outside the breaches, he violently violated section 91 of the 2010
Electoral Act by spending over N100 billion in his campaign hence
corrupting the electoral process,” said the group.

“Please, help me
calculate the amount of money Jonathan’s campaign council spent on
advertisement on electronic, print and social media network alone; it
is over N17 billion.” Mr Okechukwu said. The statement added that the
CNPP is aware of “how billions of naira were doled out across the
country to induce voters by sundry groups in the name of President
Jonathan and thus expanding the budgetary spending.”

Neighbour to Neighbour group

The group wondered
who funded the “Neighbour to Neighbour” group, a component of the
president’s campaign outfit, asking “did it discover electricity or a
window in the computer?” “CNPP will congratulate President Jonathan
when he comes clean on the amount spent and the sources, failing which
the legitimacy crisis will linger,” the CNPP spokesman said.

According to
Section 91 (1) subsection 2-7 of the Electoral Act 2010, the maximum
election expenses to be incurred at a presidential election shall be N1
billion while that of a governorship candidate is N200 million. The Act
also pegs the campaign expenses of a senatorial candidate at N40
million while that of a House of Representatives candidate is N20
million. The Act also provides corresponding penalties for those who
violate the provisions.

Displacement of corps members threatens Katsina elections

Displacement of corps members threatens Katsina elections

Next week’s
governorship and house of assembly elections in Katsina State are under
threat following the mass displacement of National Youth Service Corps
members from their various places of primary assignment.

The corps members,
numbering about 500, had to be evacuated from several local governments
in the state where they had been serving as presiding officers in the
ongoing general elections.

The rescue
operation by security agencies which has continued since Wednesday,
April 20, was necessitated by the violence which erupted in the state
following last week’s presidential elections.

In Daura local
government, the home town of the presidential candidate of the Congress
for Progressive Change (CPC), Muhammadu Buhari, at least 100 corps
members were escorted by fully armed soldiers in seven hired commercial
buses to the NYSC orientation camp in Katsina, the state capital. The
army’s response arose after the lodgings of some corps members,
including several churches and shops of non-indigenes, were totally
razed.

“We have lost all
our belongings. Everything we had is gone,” said Wale Odusanya, who
shared the burnt lodge, provided by the Local Government Education
Authority, with seven other corps members.

“I don’t have anything. All my money, ATM cards, everything gone. We don’t know what to do.”

Threat of no elections

The chaos
reverberating across the state saw corps members in their hundreds also
fleeing Funtua, Musawa, Bakore, and several other local governments for
the NYSC camp. At the camp, corps members told the Commanding Officer
of the Nigerian Army 35 Battalion, Emmanuel Etuka, a lieutenant
colonel; the Katsina State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Mohammed;
the Director of the State Security Service; and other NYSC officials
that they would not take part in the governorship elections scheduled
for April 26.

“No more elections.
We are going home. Home sweet home. We are not doing any more,” chanted
the corps members as they made their displeasure known.

“I cannot stay in a
place where people want to kill me for no reason. They said the problem
is political, yet they have being targeting corpers. Here at Funtua,
innocent people have being burnt alive and they are saying we should go
back. Never. I am not going,” said a corps member who gave her name as
Cynthia, as she went to collect a mattress from the camp store.

Mr. Etuka and heads of other security agencies however assured the corps members of their security in the camp and afterwards.

“Your security was
threatened far above what we could guarantee. That is why we have
brought you here until normalcy returns and you can go back. Your
safety is our concern and we‘ll ensure you remain safe,” Mr. Etuka said.

Osun police arrest three for printing illegal ballot papers

Osun police arrest three for printing illegal ballot papers

Three people,
including a councillorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) in Ede South Local Government Area of Osun State, have been
arrested by the police for allegedly printing ballot papers to be used
for Tuesday’s state House of Assembly election.

The candidate,
identified only as Lateef, the computer operator at a business centre
and the proprietor of the centre were arrested at a building located
along Polytechnic road, Ede at about 9.45pm yesterday.

It was gathered
that the suspects, who have since been detained at the state Criminal
Investigations Department (SCID) of the state Police Command in Osogbo
were arrested by a team of detectives from the state CID while printing
the ballot papers at the business centre.

The suspects were
alleged to be scanning pictures and inserting INEC VIN number on the
forged voter cards when they were caught by the police who stormed the
area after a tip off.

Lateef, who is
the councillorship candidate of the PDP for Ward 09, Oloki-Akoda,
Ede-South Local Government Area of the state, was said to be behind the
operation. The forged INEC voters’ cards were for Ward 09, Oloki Akoda
in Ede-South Local Government council.

He was alleged to be acting the scripts of some eminent politicians in the town.

Lateef and some
men suspected to be members of his party reportedly came to the shop
with a Hilux Pick-Up vehicle at about 8.30 pm yesterday.

Spooked by opponent

The suspects were
unlucky when a councillorship aspirant of the Action Congress of
Nigeria (ACN) for Ward 02, Ede-North Local Government Area, Gbadebo
Babatunde Sodiq, visited the business centre where the voter cards were
being forged to make a phone call.

Mr Sodiq alerted security agents who made the arrect.

The suspects were
later taken to ‘A Division Police Station, Ede, from where they were
transferred to the state Criminal investigation Department (CID),
Osogbo for further investigation.

The spokesperson
for the police in the state, Oluwagbemileke Taiwo ,who confirmed the
arrest of the suspects said the matter is still being investigated.

“The command would not relent until those involved in the matter are brought to book to serve as deterrent for others,” he said.