Throughout the Spanish national team's 98-year history, there have been many coaches and players who have been part of La Roja, representing both the nation and their clubs who they played for at that time.


With the introduction of Jonny, a Wolverhampton Wanderers player, in Luis Enrique's latest squad, the list of clubs who have given a player to the national side rises to 86.

The English side, who were promoted to the Premier League this season, had other Spanish players in their ranks such as Adama Traore, Rafa Mir and Fernando, but none of them had been called up to the Spain squad.
Wolves, coached by a man familiar to Spanish football fans in Nuno Espirito Santo, became the 28th foreign side to contribute a player to La Roja.

If we look at the leagues outside of those in Spain to provide the most players to the national side over the years, then the Premier League has managed more than any other.

Eleven teams have had Spanish internationals in their ranks: Arsenal, Chelsea, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle, Swansea, Tottenham, West Ham and now Wolves.

Serie A is next with nine (Fiorentina, Milan, Brescia, Inter, Juventus, Lazio, Napoli, Sampdoria and Torino), then comes two for Ligue 1 (Monaco and Marseille), Portugal (Porto and Benfica) and the Bundesliga (Bayern Munichand Borussia Dortmund).

The Turkish top flight (Fenerbahce) and Major League Soccer (New York City FC) have both contributed one player apiece.

The podium for teams who have contributed most is understandably made up of the top three in historical terms for Spanish football: Barcelona, Real Madrid and Athletic Club in that order.

The first foreign team to appear in the rankings are Liverpool, in 10th position.
It should be noted that the list does not only include top-flight teams and several players have received the call for their displays despite being in lower divisions.

That happened with Pablo Fornals at Malaga B, Sergio Busquets at Barcelona B, Mikel Oyarzabal at Real Sociedad and Iker Casillas with Real Madrid Castilla.

https://vondasoccer..com/2018/10/wolves-becomes-86th-club-to-supply.html

The National Assembly has postponed its resumption from Wednesday, September 25th, to resume Tuesday October 9th.

According to a statement released by the clerk of the assembly, Mohammed Sani-Omolori, the postponement is due to the forthcoming primary elections of some of the major political parties.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have scheduled their primaries within the next two weeks.

Read the statement below

“This is to inform all distinguished senators and honourable Members that resumption of plenary session earlier scheduled for Tuesday, 25th September has been postponed to Tuesday 9th October due to the activities of the primaries of the political parties. All distinguished senators and honourable members are expected to resume plenary session by 10 am on the 9th of October, please.”

https://www.vondanews.com/national-assembly-shifts-resumption-by-two-weeks/

The Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, has said that Nigeria no longer needs a President like Muhammadu Buhari.

Tambuwal, who is one of the 13 presidential aspirants under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, described President Buhari as an analogue leader who lacks the required capacity to rule 21st century Nigeria.

The Governor noted that it would be unfortunate for the country to vote Buhari for a second term.

Governor Tambuwal said this in Akure, the Ondo State capital, when he met some delegates of the PDP ahead of the October presidential primary of the party.

He said, “He (Buhari) is not digitally compliant to run a complex country like Nigeria with ethnic and cultural diversities and Nigerians cannot afford to cope with an analogue President like Buhari.

“It is obvious that this government is analogue and in this 21st century, we need a government that is being headed by somebody that understands issues of today, 21st century.”

Tambuwal alleged further that the South-West and other southern regions of the country were being marginalized by the Buhari administration, noting that the development had led to distrust among the ethnic nationalities in the country.

“I know what Nigerians need. I have the experience to run a complex country like Nigeria. I will use my good offices to distribute appointments and projects to all sections of the country.

“I will liaise with the National Assembly to reach the grass roots; I will use the identified needs of the people to prepare the budget.

“You do not sit in your office and assume what the people need,” the presidential aspirant stated.

https://www.vondanews.com/2019-why-it-will-be-unfortunate-for-nigerians-to-vote-buhari-again-tambuwal/

Reno Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, has commended popular singer, David Adeleke, famously known as Davido, for campaigning and supporting the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate, Ademola Adeleke.

Davido’s uncle, Ademola Adeleke took the lead in the election declared inconclusive by the INEC with 254,698 votes, closely followed by APC’s candidate, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, who polled 254, 345 votes.

Omokri believes that there was no better person to takeover from Adeleke if elected and must have completed his 8-year tenure than the singer.

However, Davido, who has been actively campaigning for his uncle on social media, has never spoken of going into political.

Omokri tweeted, “After, by the grace of God, @IsiakaAdeleke1 has finished his 2 terms as @OfficialPDPNig Governor of Osun, I can’t think of a better person to succeed him than @iam_Davido.

https://www.vondanews.com/osun-decides-adeleke-should-handover-to-davido-if-elected-governor-omokri/

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP is prosecuting four persons for alleged offences of rape, child theft, child labour and abuse. The Director Investigation and monitoring of NAPTIP, Josiah Emerole said the alleged offences contravened the agency’s act and the Violence against Persons Prohibition Act of 2015.

One of the alleged offenders, 43 year old Stephanie Bassey from Akwa Ibom State who lived in Sweden was brought to NAPTIP in August this year by the officers of the intelligence and International Cooperation after she was handed over by the Embassy of Sweden in Nigeria on the Suspicion that she was not the biological mother of a two month old baby she came to procure a visa for.

She claimed she was pregnant for her husband in Sweden but that medical examinations could not detect the pregnancy over there and was advised to return to her state where the pregnancy could be detected and she would be assisted to deliver safely.

Though the DNA test conducted on her and the baby boy showed that there was no biological relationship between them, Mrs. Bassey insisted that she delivered the baby through the help of a midwife in Uyo.

The second case had to do with child labour and abuse allegedly committed by a 37 year old woman Mrs. Ifeoma Obinwa, a residence of Dutse Alhaji, in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

She was alleged to have on the 12th of this month inflicted grievous bodily harm on her 14-year-old house help by beating her and placing a hot knife on her buttock.

Mrs. Obinwa told journalists that she acted in anger.

The third case was that of a 29 year old Mrs. Sandra Obiosio, a native of River State who resides at Jabi Area of Abuja. She was accused of procuring a 12 year old girl as house help from Nasarawa State last year, who she usually maltreated and forced to do the whole house chores, take care of children and beaten regularly by her madam Mrs. Obiosio. Mrs. Obiosio, however, denied the allegations.

The last case was that of a 37 year old Mr. Francis Yusuf from Plateau State who was being prosecuted for raping his wife’s 17 year old cousin living with them in their Jikwoyi residence in Abuja.

Mr. Yusuf whose wife was said to have traveled allegedly had canal knowledge of the girl before leaving for work and locked her inside the house. He denied the allegations.

The Director Investigation and monitoring of NAPTIP, Mr. Josiah Emerole said the agency would leave no stone unturned to get to the root of the matters and ensure that justice was done. He gave an assurance that the agency would not rest on its oars until the challenges of human trafficking and child abuse were dealt with in the country.

https://www.vondanews.com/43-year-old-woman-who-attempted-to-traffic-a-2-month-old-baby-to-sweden-apprehended/

Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, has said that he did not violate the Constitution by not participating in the compulsory one year National Youth Services Corps  (NYSC) Scheme.


The minister said this while speaking with newsmen on Friday in Abuja, arguing that his case could not be compared to that of the former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun.


The minister who is one of the All Progressives Congress(APC) governorship aspirants in Oyo State, spoke after being interviewed by the APC screening committee saying, 'I left university in 1978 and left Law School in 1979. And the Constitution says anyone who qualifies to contest an election or who has gone through an election and wins, he is obligated to move through the House of Assembly which I did for four years. So it is a form of higher service as far as I’m concerned, and even now, I am still in service. I don’t think I have violated the law except someone has a superior argument and can prove it”.


He stressed that his case was not like that of Adeosun, because according to him, there are differences. “Unfortunately, Kemi had a fake certificate, I didn’t present any, I didn’t have one. I simply followed the constitutional requirement that if you are qualified to contest an election, it is compulsory for you to serve the nation in the capacity that you won an election,” he said.

https://www.vondanews.com/minister-of-communication-adebayo-shittu-denies-breaking-any-law-by-dudging-nysc/

Immediate past governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has frontally addressed rumours of his imminent defection from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to the All Progressives Congress, APC saying that he remains. His assertion follows weeks of agitation around the state that Uduaghan would be defecting to the APC and use the party’s ticket to stand for the Delta South seat in the Senate.
Asked to respond to the issue, yesterday, Dr. Uduaghan disclosed that there were high level interventions that have kept him back in the party.
He, however, did not speak on what if any issue that was prompting him out of the party that has until now held a firm grip on the political landscape in Delta. Denying claims that he had concluded moves to defect to the APC, Uduaghan said: “It is not true that I would be defecting either today (Wednesday) or tomorrow, but there has been a lot of interventions going on from the likes of Chief Ibori, the governor (Okowa) and some party leaders.
“In the last few days, they have been talking and I am listening to them. So basically, some elders have intervened on the matter, and I am listening to them.” The chairman of the state chapter of the APC, Prophet Jones Erue on his part described the purported defection move by the former governor as a rumour.
“The party in the state cannot authoritatively say they have heard about him defecting anytime soon as we have not been contacted. “For now, just the way you heard about it as a rumour, that is how we are still hearing it as a rumour.” For the first 16 years that the PDP was in power in Delta State, Dr. Uduaghan was variously as commissioner, secretary to the state government and two terms of four years as governor.

http://www.vondanews.com/ibori-okowa-holding-me-in-pdp-uduaghan/

Sports betting service provider, Sportradar has determined that bettors staked an estimate $453.4billion during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, and there was no indication there was any match fixing.
The average match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia had an estimated global betting turnover of $2.4 billion with the final, between Croatia and France, generating an estimated $8.3 billion in betting turnover worldwide.
A statement added: Croatia had the highest average betting turnover per match, and in all likelihood, would have been a very profitable team for bookmakers globally with: Opening odds of around 34.0. Being the underdog in their victories against Argentina and England Round of 16, Quarter and Semi Final matches all being decided during extra time or by penalty shootout. bookmakers settle all match winner bets based upon the result after 90 minutes, the three draws in those matches would have been the least favoured by bettors Besides various measures taken by FIFA to prevent and address potential situations of risk associated with match manipulation prior and during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, the competition was closely monitored for any instance of suspicious betting patterns around matches, in order to preserve fairness for fans, players and the tournament itself.
Sportradar’s Fraud Detection System monitored over 550 betting operators worldwide, generating some alerts during the competition, which are easily explained by markets adjusting the opening odds after the first match or two were played.

http://www.vondanews.com/check-out-how-much-people-bet-on-2018-world-cup/

Apostle Tommy Yisa Aika, the General Overseer of the Glory Church of Christ in Egor, Edo State, has appealed to the acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, to intervene in the leadership crisis that is presently rocking the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
The septuagenarian stated that the wise intervention of the acting President would go a long way in ensuring that the country survives the hammer of the world football governing body, FIFA, which the crisis is on the verge of attracting and which will eventually ruin the future of the game in the country.
“The leadership crisis presently rocking the NFF is uncalled for and portends great danger for our progress in the round leather game.
If the crisis is not resolved amicably we may suffer many years of suspension by FIFA. The whole world is looking up to Nigeria to lead the way in Africa in the game of football by becoming the first country in the continent to lift the World Cup trophy,” he asserted.

http://www.vondanews.com/save-nigeria-football-clergy-tells-osibanjo/

Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, has accused the National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, Director General of the Department of State Services (DG – DSS), Lawal Daura and 30 APC Senators – led by the Senate Leader, Ahmad Lawan, of spearheading a fresh plot to illegally impeach Senate President, Bukola Saraki.


Frank in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday morning, said that the meeting was at the instance of Oshiomhole, who is allegedly currently pressurizing President Muhammadu Buhari to accept his proposal of using “crude tactics” to topple Saraki and his Deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

He said according to reliable information emanating from the meeting, National Vice Chairman (Southwest) of the APC, Chief Adeniyi Adebayo, joined Oshiomhole in pushing for the illegality while some APC Senators and House of Representatives members at the meeting kicked against the plot saying any “forceful removal of Saraki without due process will not fly with Nigerians.”


The lawmakers, according to Frank, were said to have further alerted Oshiomhole and the APC leadership that they only have 30 Senators on ground which will fall short of the 73 Senators required to lawfully impeach Saraki.

Frank said: “According to them, while other APC Senators have since travelled out of the country on vacation, a proposal to appoint Senator Lawan from Yobe State as Saraki’s replacement would be a direct violation of the Federal Character Principle since the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara is from Bauchi in the Northeast zone like Lawan.

“Following the red flag raised by some of the APC Senators who warn of the consequences of the proposed illegality, the meeting was said to have been rescheduled to reconvene by 11am this morning to enable Oshiomhole to call Mr. President in London at 9am this morning to brief him on the progress made so far.


“It was further learnt that Oshiomhole is expected to present the candidature of both Senators Lawan and George Akume to the President to make his choice during his proposed telephone conversation with Mr. President by 9am.

“The Presidency through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has increased the $400,000 it is already offering to lure individual lawmakers to support the plot to illegally impeach Saraki to $500,000. He said the lawmakers are also being wooed with offers to drop all corruption charges against them by the Federal Government.”

He insisted that Saraki’s life and personal safety was at stake, while appealing to Nigerians and leaders of the international community to urgently speak out to protect Saraki, and safeguard democracy in Nigeria.

Frank said that the illegal plot to break into the Senate Chambers to illegally impeach Saraki, if allowed to happen, could lead to chaos and anarchy of unimaginable proportion in the country, capable of burying the nation’s democracy apart from the danger it portents for the lives, security and safety of Nigerians.

http://www.vondanews.com/saraki-what-buhari-oshiomhole-apc-lawmakers-plan-to-do-today-timi-frank/

Facebook Inc’s WhatsApp messenger service will start charging businesses for sending marketing and customer service messages, it said on Wednesday, as the social network company’s flagship brand faces slowing usage and revenue growth.

The messages will be charged at a fixed rate for confirmed delivery, ranging from 0.5 cents to 9 cents per message depending on the country, WhatsApp said.

Facebook has been looking at ways to monetize its WhatsApp service in the face of rising costs as it spends heavily to improve privacy safeguards and tackles concerns about social media addiction.

WhatsApp, which has around 1.5 billion users, said starting Wednesday businesses can use its WhatsApp Business API to send notifications such as shipping confirmations, appointment reminders and event tickets.

WhatsApp acknowledged that it is charging a premium compared to SMS rates. Wireless carriers typically charge businesses well below a penny per SMS, and the price is still close to a penny when including fees collected by intermediaries between carriers and businesses.

WhatsApp had announced in January it would start allowing small business accounts to communicate through the WhatsApp Business application, which has over 3 million active users. Chief operating officer Matt Idema said at the time that the WhatsApp intends to charge businesses in the future.

Facebook also said on Wednesday that users on its namesake app and Instagram can now see the amount of time they spend on the app each day and receive notifications when they exceed a self-prescribed threshold. Users also can mute notifications from the apps for up to eight hours.

http://techbroom.com/whatsapp-to-start-charging-business-users/

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says the Aug. 17 deadline for the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) will not be extended. The commission said the exercise would resume after the 2019 General Elections scheduled from Feb. 26 and March 2. Mr Mohorret Bigun, Public Affairs Officer of INEC in Gombe told newsmen on Wednesday that the exercise would henceforth include weekends and public holidays to allow for more people to register beginning from Aug.1. He said INEC was not planning to extend the exercise beyond Aug. 17 as being anticipated in some quarters.
“ There will be no extension of ongoing registration beyond the Aug. 17 deadline. Those who are anticipating extension should go and register. “From Aug. 1, we are going to operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Sunday.
This is to give room for those who are yet to turn up for the exercise. “We have been directed to suspend the registration of voters until the 2019 general elections are concluded,’’ Bigun said. He said the commission decided to suspend the exercise till next year to enable it to produce the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for distribution.
“The commission would not want to deny anyone the right to vote; hence the need to suspend the exercise temporarily to prepare for the general elections in 2019.
’’ According to him, 141,345 persons, comprising 55,407 (39 per cent) females and 85,947 (61 per cent) males have so far registered as at July 30. He appealed to those who were yet to register to take advantage of the adjustment in the timetable.

http://www.vondanews.com/no-extension-of-voter-registration-beyond-aug-17-says-inec/

Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has congratulated Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed for their courage to dump the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Saraki and Ahmed announced their decisions on Tuesday.

Addressing journalists on Tuesday at the Government House Port Harcourt, Wike said the level of impunity under the APC Federal Government, surpassed what was obtainable during the military administration.

“I salute the Senate President Bukola Saraki and Kwara State Governor for being bold to say that they will not be intimidated. I welcome them to the PDP which is being rebranded to take over the leadership of the country in 2019.

“More governors and senior politicians will still defect in the coming days. This regime of intimidation and harassment emboldens us. It strengthens us to stand against tyranny and impunity.

“It emboldens us to stand firm because of the interest of the people. We will resist any attempt to coerce us to cave in. Even under the Military, there has not been this nature of impunity. We are determined and we have made up our minds to rescue Nigeria,” he said.

http://www.vondanews.com/saraki-wike-claims-more-apc-governors-senior-politicians-will-join-pdp/

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has decried what it called the harassment of the Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, opposition leaders, and dissent voices by the All Progressives Congress (APC) led-Federal Government.


The party, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Tuesday in Abuja, accused the government of misusing the anti-graft and security agencies close to the 2019 general election.

Ologbondiyan said that the current development posed a grave threat to the nation’s democracy and urged the international community to stop the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration before it became too late.


The party was reacting to what it described as a witch-hunt against Ekweremadu by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“Just a few days after the EFCC and over 200 policemen practically held Ekweremadu hostage to prevent the defection of the APC Senators to the PDP, the EFCC has continued to harass Ekweremadu to cover its shame.

“We wish to remind Nigerians and the international community that this is only the newest in the series of attempts to destroy the senator politically in the run up to the 2019 general elections.


“It is of grave concern to us that while corruption and corrupt persons abound in the APC, the EFCC prefers to chase after innocent members of the opposition,” it said.

PDP said while scores of APC members with corruption and fraud-related charges walk free, the anti-graft agencies had continued to harass and dent leaders of the opposition in the name of anti-corruption war.

It warned the APC administration to desist from “highhandedness and witch-hunt of the opposition” in order not truncate the country’s democracy.

“The APC government cannot be allowed to tarnish and destroy opposition leaders just a few months to the general election in the name of fighting corruption,” Ologbondiyan added.

http://www.vondanews.com/ekweremadu-buhari-harasses-opposition-protects-thieves-in-apc-pdp/

Reno Omokri, the former aide to Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan has revealed why National leaders of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Tinubu and Adams Oshiomhole have not left the ruling party.

Omokri writing on his Twitter Page said the fear of the Ecomomic Financial and Crimes Commission, EFCC, will not allow Tinubu leave the APC.

According to him, Oshiomhole will not dump the APC in order to remain relevance in the polity.

Further speaking on defections, Omokri said the minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi would also not dump APC due to shame.

Omokri tweeted:“If not for SHAME Chibuike Amaechi would have defected to PDP

“If not for FEAR of EFCC, Asiwaju Tinubu would have abandoned APC.

http://www.vondanews.com/why-tinubu-oshiomhole-amaechi-have-not-dumped-apc-omokri/

The Ekiti state Governor, Chief Ayodele Fayose, has urged the people of the state to remain law-abiding despite irregularities that marred the July 14 governorship election in the state which, according to him, culminated in the daylight perversion of the will of the people.

The governor stated this while acknowledging cheers from the people in Ado-Ekiti on Monday during the inspection of the ongoing King’s Market project which is nearing completion.

He pleaded that in the face of intimidation and provocation by the All Progressives Congress, APC, which ‘stole the mandate given to the Peoples Democratic Party candidate in the poll’, the people should remain calm, be law-abiding, expressing optimism that the truth would soon come out.

A statement issued by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, quoted him as saying that the PDP candidate, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, would eventually have his mandate restored.

Fayose told the traders as he went round the project that he was pleased with the pace of work on the project as well as the quality of work done.

He continued, “This is the only legacy project we have not completed as we have delivered others such as the flyover, the new high court complex, the new Governor’s Office, the dualization of Ado-Ikere Road among others.

“Though time is no longer on our side, we will surely push this project and as at now only finishing touches remain to be done. I will complete it and commission it before I leave. We appreciate the people for their support and cooperation and we want them not to despair. The light is coming after darkness and we shall overcome,” he said.

On the performance of his administration, Fayose opined that in spite of the financial challenges and the huge debts inherited, his administration has done very well.

He said the landscape of the state was dotted with legacy projects executed by his administration which, according to him, were being appreciated by the people.

http://www.vondanews.com/ekiti-election-be-law-abiding-we-shall-overcome-fayose-charges-residents/

A SOCIO-CULTURAL organisation and town unions in Imo State  yesterday called on the people of the state to brace up for a peaceful protest against the planned establishment of cattle ranches in the state.


The groups’ coordinator  Mr. Emeka Diwe and Secretary,  Sylvester Nwogu, through a statement to Vanguard in Owerri claimed that the people of the state were angry.

The anti-ranching protest is being planned as the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN,   Imo State chapter, raised an alarm over the said bid by the Imo State House of Assembly to pass a bill to legalise cattle ranching in the state.

Recall that Vanguard had reported that some communities in the state had suffered setback as a result of invasion of their farms by herdsmen. Also, some women in the state were reportedly fined for protesting against herdsmen.

According to the group, “We, the Coalition of Imo Socio-Cultural Organisations and Town Unions have rejected the bill for the establishment of cattle ranches in Imo State as well as a bill for the registration and issuance of Certificate of Occupancy, C of O, to lands in the rural areas currently before the Imo State House of Assembly.

“Cattle rearing is a personal business of   northerners and herdsmen who do not own any land or village in Imo state.”

They lamented that “Imo State House of Assembly abandoned other critical areas begging for their intervention only to dabble into the dangerous invitation of the herdsmen into Imo State through the said bill.

http://www.vondanews.com/protest-looms-in-imo-over-cattle-ranching/

Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje has exonerated himself on the impeachment of the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Yusuf Atta.

The Governor said he didn’t know anything about the plan to remove the speaker.

Recall that earlier on Monday, 27 out of the 40 members of the state legislature signed the impeachment notice to remove Atta, representing Fagge Local Government constituency.

Speaking to newsmen when he received the new leadership of the assembly, led by the new Speaker, Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, at the government house on Monday, Ganduje said he only received the news through several phone calls.

Ganduje, however, congratulated the new Speaker, urging him to carry everybody along and avoid anything that could hamper the success of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2019 elections.

According to him, it was a thing of delight that the impeachment was conducted peacefully without blows or injuries.

“I had no knowledge about what happened in the House of Assembly. It was later I started receiving several phone calls informing me about the development.

“I worked with assembly for 8 years as a deputy governor and 3 years as a governor, so I know how the events of Assembly are.

“Nevertheless, I congratulate the beneficiaries leadership and urge the Speaker to carry everybody along in order to tame factions that would affect the success of our great party in 2019.

“I am happy that you express your 100% support to our president, Muhammadu Buhari and his candidature in 2019. I am happy about this statement,” he noted.

Earlier in his remark, the new Speaker, Mr Rurum, said he paid the visit to the governor in order to formally present the new leadership of the assembly.

He said the new Deputy Speaker is Hamisu Ibrahim Chidari, representing Makoda Local Government Constituency, the new Majority Leader is Baffa Babba Danagundi of Kano Municipal Constituency.

He added that the new Deputy Majority leader is Kabiru Hassan Dashi of Kiru Local Government Constituency.

The Chief Whip, according to Mr Rurum was Labaran Abdul Madari of Warawa Local Government Constituency.

Mr Rurum however claimed that the impeachment of Mr Ata was not done with a sinister motive, noting that it was conducted solely for the development of the state.

The new speaker also assured the assembly’s total support to Ganduje and Buhari in 2019 elections, restating commitments to establish synergy with the state government for the development of the state.

It would be recalled that the assembly attempted to impeach the embattled Mr Atta on May 17 this year when 24 out of the 40 members signed for his removal, but he was saved by Mr Ganduje.

http://www.vondanews.com/ganduje-denies-masterminding-impeachment-of-kano-assembly-speaker/

President Muhammadu Buhari will Sunday depart Abuja for Lome, Republic of Togo, to participate in two high-level meetings.

Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, made the announcement in a statement on Saturday.

He said on arrival, the President will have an interactive session at the Nigerian embassy with the Nigerian community based in Togo.

On Monday, President Buhari will attend the Joint ECOWAS/ECCAS Summit which will deliberate on common security threats to countries in West Africa and members of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) with a view to forging concerted strategies in tackling the menace of terrorism, trans-border crimes and other forms of violent extremism.

It would be recalled that President Buhari had expressed support for the proposed ECOWAS/ECCAS Summit when he received the current Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Faure Gnassingbe of Togo on June 29, 2018 in Katsina.

According to him, “terrorism now transcends international boundaries, and no country can combat the scourge alone.”

While in Lome, the Nigerian delegation will also participate in a meeting on a Single Currency for ECOWAS with the deadline of 2020. Being the largest economy not only in West Africa but also on the continent, Nigeria’s leadership role in this sub-regional aspiration cannot be over-emphasised.

On Tuesday, President Buhari will join other leaders of the sub-region for the 53rd Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.

This session will be dominated by the political and security situations in Guinea Bissau, Mali and Togo; institutional reforms of the ECOWAS Commission to enhance its effectiveness; illegal migration of Africans to Europe; and the worrisome violent clashes between herders and farmers, among other issues.

At the end of the session, a new Chair of the ECOWAS Authority is expected to take over from the incumbent and host.

President Buhari will be accompanied by Governors Ben Ayade and Abubakar Bello of Cross River and Niger states respectively. Others are Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali; Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun; Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Danbazau; and the Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah.

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno; the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin; the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Abubakar; and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, are also in the President’s delegation.

http://www.vondanews.com/buhari-leaves-nigeria-sunday/

The owner of the petrol tanker, that sparked last month’s inferno, on Otedola Bridge, Lagos, has been arrested by the police.

No fewer than nine people lost their lives in the incident which also got dozens of vehicles burnt.

Spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, Chile Oti, said the truck owner was arrested in Kano on Thursday.

The suspect is said to be helping the police locate the driver of the ill-fated truck.

In a related development, the state government announced yesterday, that the DNA forensic examination it conducted to ascertain the identities of the victims are ready.

Health Commissioner, Jide Idris, said that nine bodies of the victims were successfully matched to nine families out of the 11 families that showed up at the Lagos State DNA & Forensic Center (LSD&FC).

He said the bodies “are now ready to be handed over to the rightful families for necessary burial arrangements.”

Collection of the remains will commence from 10.00am today at the Seminar Room of the Pathology and Forensic Medicine Department of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, the commissioner said.

He added:”This is the first time that unidentifiable victims of a mass disaster have been successfully identified locally (in Nigeria) using DNA technology.

“The Lagos State Government through the Lagos State Ministry of Health and the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Center completed this identification process in less than four weeks after the incident as against over 6 months when the practice was to take samples abroad for analysis.”

Idris reiterated that the medical care of those injured is still ongoing at the hospitals at the expense of the state government.

“I also wish to note that rigorous effort was made in ensuring that errors are reduced to the barest minimum in order not to compound the agony already being experienced by the bereaved families,” said Idris.

The commissioner also advised members of the public to disregard the news currently trending on social media about some strange disease called HPV, saying the story is totally false, “people should not panic, HPV is a vital infection and does not kill as being reported,” he assured.

http://www.vondanews.com/otedola-tanker-explosion-police-arrest-truck-owner/

President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday said that he was deeply pained over the recent flood disaster that destroyed farmlands and crops and a setback for the efforts of the government to boost local rice production in the country, for which Kebbi State plays a leading role.

President Buhari in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu in Abuja, expressed his sympathy with the people of Kebbi State on the flood disasters, saying that it engendered considerable losses of crops and homes.

While reacting to the latest outbreak of the natural disaster that has affected a number of states in this year’s rainy season, President Buhari said he was “highly touched by the sheer scale of the losses suffered by our hard working farmers in Kebbi State.”

According to him, “this sad news couldn’t have come at a worse time for this administration because of the role of Kebbi State farmers in supporting the government’s initiative to promote local rice production as part of efforts to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on importation of the commodity.

“This flood disaster represents a setback for the efforts to boost local rice production in the country, for which Kebbi State is playing a leading role.”

“Apart from creating job opportunities and decent incomes for our farmers, President Buhari noted that agriculture plays a key role in the economy of any country.

“When our farmers are hit by these kinds of large scale losses on account of natural disasters, the government should be genuinely concerned, especially as this unfortunate event occurred at a critical time when my administration is pursuing a policy to restore the primacy of agriculture in our national life.” President Buhari urged the affected farmers not to despair, assuring them that they will not be forgotten by the federal government.

He commended the state government led by Senator Abubakar Bagudu for the swift measures put into action to alleviate the hardship of the victims and equally directed emergency federal aid in support.

http://www.vondanews.com/why-im-pained-by-kebbi-flood-disaster-buhari/

2019: Don’t campaign for me yet – Buhari warns supporters

The presidency has said it has observed that some fervent supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari have begun what may be interpreted as political campaigns in their advocacies and advertisements in the mass media.


Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, in a statement on Saturday, said while they appreciate the enthusiasm, Buhari’s supporters should exercise patience, so that the game can be played according to the rules.

He noted : “The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has a timetable for political campaigns, and we urge committed supporters around the country (and beyond) to be mindful of such.


“There will be ample time ahead to trumpet the good works of the Buhari administration, and solicit re-election, all for the good of our country and her people.

“While a chronicle of the achievements of the administration is in order now, outright canvasing may amount to jumping the gun. We are an administration committed to due process and scrupulous respect for rules, law and order.

“We appreciate our massive supporters nationwide, and urge them to exercise restraint till the race commences officially as stipulated by law.”

http://www.vondanews.com/2019-dont-campaign-for-me-yet-buhari-warns-supporters/

The multi award winning singer met with the Highest earning rapper in American today.

The American rapper who in the video said he's coming g back home(Nigeria) shared the video in his Instagram Page

Watch video below


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iACaebTNmE

The Kwara State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, has declared that he cannot work with the incoming defectors, especially the Senate President Bukola Saraki and Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed.

Two senators, Shaaba Lafiagi (Kwara North) and Rafiu Ibrahim (Kwara South), as well as six members of the House of Representatives from the state, were among federal legislators who defected on Tuesday from the APC.

Vanguard quoted Oyedepo to have spoken on the development on a radio programme in Ilorin, the state capital yesterday.

He said, “If we agree to work with them (Saraki), just imagine myself and (Governor AbdulFattah Ahmed) Maigida standing on the same rostrum, pledging to do things for the people. It will be a shame; many people will look at me and wonder what has happened.

“So, it is better not to be in politics again. Instead of a dog being the treasurer for the lion, it is better for both to part ways and go their separate hunting game.

“We have not sat down with the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and the state governor, Alhaji AbdulFattah Ahmed, even though I’m hearing several rumours that I have met with them and that they have offered me juicy positions.

“Those are all lies; the Senate President despite his humongous wealth, does not yet have what it takes to buy me. He cannot ever buy me because he cannot buy my integrity. If my bank account is not fat, my integrity account is very fat.

“So they have not met with us but our national body said they have set up a committee to meet with the two sides next week and when that meeting comes up, we are going to tell the national body that we cannot accept the formula they have put down which is 60:40, 60 percent for a state defecting with the governor and 40 percent for the existing PDP members. And if they said what of 50:50, or 40:60 or 30:70 or even 10:90, we shall not accept; we cannot accept any offer. Anything less than our not working together we cannot accept.

“So, we will tell our national body to choose between us and them and I know that they will not choose us because we don’t have money but we are not worried. We will only know that an end has come to our journey and our relationship (in the PDP).

“If we agree to work with them (Saraki), just imagine myself and (Governor AbdulFattah Ahmed) Maigida standing on the same rostrum, pledging to do things for the people. It will be a shame; many people will look at me and wonder what has happened. So, it is better not to be in politics again. Instead of a dog being the treasurer for the lion, it is better for both to part ways and go on their separate hunting game.

“The blame is not from the Saraki camp; the blame is from our national leaders (in the PDP). Leadership in Nigeria is the conspiracy of the elite to punish the downtrodden. When they gave us the party, we inherited nothing and so whatever you see in the PDP today is the product of our efforts. For this alone, we should not be interested in defecting from our own house but it is better we do so now and look forward to a better future for our dear state.”

http://www.vondanews.com/why-will-not-accept-saraki-gov-ahmed-back-in-pdp-party-chairman/

Mercy Aigbe a Nigerian actress, director and businesswoman best known for her Yoruba language movies took to her IG page to share a photo of her younger self as a student in the University of Lagos.
Posting a very beautiful throw back photo of herself in 1998 she wrote:
"See what I found in my archives......1998 my UNILAG Days �������....Slayer lomo latile ��"
What can we say she's truely a slay Mama!

http://www.vondanews.com/mercy-aigbe-shares-throw-back-photo-in-1998-as-a-unilag-slayer/

Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose has reacted to the massive defection of Senators and House of Reps members to the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP.

Vondanews had reported that no fewer than 15 senators of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Tuesday, defected to the PDP. The defectors cited crisis and factions as the reasons for their defection, saying they cannot continue to pursue their political careers under the ruling party.

Similarly, a total of 37 members of the House of Representatives announced their official defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Reacting, Fayose while commending the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said ”I see an impending dawn of a new era in Nigeria.

He wrote on Twitter, “I see an impending defeat of tyranny.

”God bless those patriotic NASS members.

”To those of you still supporting this tyranny, I wish you luck.”

http://www.vondanews.com/fayose-reacts-to-mass-defection-of-senators-reps/

The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, on Tuesday met with President Muhammadu Buhari.

The meeting was held behind closed-doors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

This is coming few hours after security operatives laid a siege on the residences of the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

When the IGP was approached by State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, he declined comments.

The meeting may also not be unconnected with the summoning of the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, by the police on Monday over Offa bank robbery.

http://www.vondanews.com/police-vs-saraki-igp-meets-buhari/

Read President Buhari's Full Statement On Defection Of Senators and 36 House Of Reps

I wish all of our party members who today defected, the very best in their future undertakings. The APC has done its best to stop the defections, and I must commend the party leadership for working tirelessly to unite the party and position it for future victory.

I am confident that no harm or injury will be done by these defections, to the APC and its aspirations. I urge party faithful to not despair, but to instead see this as something that happens in seasons like this, on the eve of elections.

As the saying goes, all politics is local. We understand that some of the Distinguished and Honourable lawmakers have issues in/with their home states, especially on zoning which bars some of them from seeking another term in their constituencies.

Let me also note that none of the defecting federal lawmakers has any specific grievances against me or the government I lead; neither do I harbour any ill-feeling towards any of them. I fully respect their freedom to choose what party to associate with.

I am using this opportunity to restate my total commitment to the values of democracy, as well as my total willingness to work with ALL members of the National Assembly, irrespective of their political party, for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians.

Muhammadu Buhari
24 July 2018

https://web.facebook.com/1528952840718244/posts/2198703737076481/?_rdc=1&_rdr

Source: http://www.vondanews.com/president-buharis-statement-on-todays-nationa-assembly-defections-from/

Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has said that the 15 Senators and 37 members of the House of Representatives that dumped the party for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, do not have any electoral value.

APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole addressing pressmen on Ekiti State Election while Deputy National South , Otunba Niyi Adebayo at the Party Secretariat in Abuja. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan.
Comrade Oshiomhole who stated this after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa Abuja, on Tuesday, reiterated his earlier statement that he would not lose sleep because of the defectors.
Speaking to State House correspondents, he said, “I insist that I will not miss a sleep one minute over mechinary activities. I have said and I want to repeat, this business of governance must be driven by men and women of honour.

“If the only motivation is personal interest, what is the need for me, what have I gained, if that is the basis, the earlier for those in this business for personal gain return to where they belong, the better.
“The party that I am privileged to chair is not worried at all, we are not disturbed, I am not going to miss my sleep.
“Go to the campaign, check the electoral results you will find that a lot of those who claimed to have decamped on a good day, the votes they got that made them members of the senate, our President got much more votes in their constituencies. So, we are not fooled at all.
“The thing going on is that we have a lot of so-called big masquerades with very little or no electoral value.’

http://www.vondanews.com/apc-defectors-in-nass-dont-have-electoral-value-oshiomhole/

District Court, District of Columbia, U.S.A., dismissed IPOB's case against Nigerian government officials. The Court dismissed IPOB's case on 2 grounds - (1) The Court lacks Jurisdiction and (2) The Nigeria Government Officials have foreign-official immunity.

The case was filed by D.C. Attorneys, Fein & DelValle PLLC, representing IPOB while the Attorney General of Nigeria, retained Anthony O. Egbase, (AOE ) Law and Associates to represent the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on behalf of all the Nigerian government officials sued by IPOB.

IPOB sued 16 Nigerian government officials as listed below (Military , The Nigeria police and 2 Governors ), seeking hundreds of millions of dollars. IPOB claimed that the Government officials conspired and agreed to kill Biafran civilians in order to quash Biafra and terrorize the Biafran population. IPOB claimed that the government officials engaged in (extra judicial killings of Biafrans) brutally tortured and killed peaceful protesters during the Biafran Patriots Day parade of May 30, 2017.

The government officials sued are:

• Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai – Chief of Staff of the Nigerian Army,

• Lawal Musa Daura – Director General of the Nigerian State Security Service,

• Major General Ibrahim Attahiru – Commander of the 82nd Division of the Nigerian Army,

• Major M.I. Ibrahim – Commander of the Nigerian Military Police in Onitsha and Abia State, Nigeria,

• Lieutenant Colonel Kasim Umar Sidi – Commander of the 144th Battalion of the Nigerian Army,

• Colonel Issah Maigari Abdullahi – Commander of the 302 Artillery Regime of the Nigerian Army and the Onitsha Military Cantonment in Anambra State, Nigeria,

• Solomon Arase – Inspector General of the Nigerian Police Force (until his retirement on June 21, 2016),

• Ibrahim Kpotun Idris – Inspector General of the Nigerian Police Force (Arase’s successor),

• Okezie Victor Ikpeazu – Governor of Abia State, Nigeria,

• Willie Obiano – Governor of Anambra State, Nigeria,

• Habila Hosea – Commissioner of the Nigerian Police Command for Abia State, Nigeria during the alleged attacks (now the Deputy Inspector General of the Nigerian Police Force),

• Peter Nwagbara – Assistant Commissioner of the Nigerian Police Command for Abia State, Nigeria,

• James Oshim Nwafor – Chief Superintendent of Police and Officer-in-Charge of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigerian Police Command for Anambra State, Nigeria,

• Hassan Karma – Commissioner of the Nigerian Police Command for Anambra State, Nigeria,

• Bassey Abang – Chief Superintendent of Police and Officer-in-Charge of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad for Anambra State, Nigeria,

• Johnson Babatunde Kokomo – Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations in Anambra State, Nigeria

The United States District Court has yet again ruled to dismiss another case against Nigeria. Court records shows that in Feb, 2017, the United States District Court also dismissed the lawsuit that sought to derail the United States return of the $550 Abacha loot to Nigeria. (Godson M. Nnaka,v.Federal Republic Of Nigeria and AG Malami; Case 1:16-cv-01400-JDB). Everyone would recall that on September 9, 2016, and January 12, 2017, Premium Times reported that Nigeria may lose substantial part of the $550M Abacha loot to the lawyers because of the lawsuit filed against Nigeria in the United Stated District Court. In August, 2016, Texas based Attorney Godson Nnaka sued Nigeria and AG Malami seeking that he and his lawyers be paid 40% from the $550 Million Abacha loot. Like in the IPOB case, the United States District Court also dismissed that case against Nigeria.

The law firm of Anthony O. Egbase, (AOE) Law and Associates also represented Nigeria in that lawsuit. Contrary to prior criticisms, AG Malami has received several commendations from Nigerians globally as well as the international community for engaging Nigerian/U.S. based Lawyer Anthony O. Egbase, (AOE) Law and Associates to represent Nigeria in these lawsuits, even though his decision attracted some earlier criticisms.
http://www.vondanews.com/federal-government-wins-case-filed-by-ipob-in-the-united-states-district-court/

For the second time in one week, another constituency project facilitated by the lawmaker representing Kogi West in the National Assembly, Senator Dino Melaye has been vandalized.

Recall that last week, Senator Melaye’s constituency projects in Lokoja were burnt by thugs suspected to be sponsored by politicians.

The latest is coming from his country home, Ayetoro Gbede, in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

Dailypost reported that a skills acquisition project facilitated by the embattled lawmaker in Ayetoro Gbede was vandalized by unidentified hoodlums.

Confirming the incident, the national president of Ayetoro Gbede Development Association, (AGDA), Elder Olorunfemi Ezekiel Adekunle, said the dastardly act was carried out in the night when the centre was vandalized with several attempts made to burn down the skills acquisition centre.

Elder Adekunle, who described the act as not only wicked, said that the hoodlums in their dark mind thought that they are destroying Senator Melaye but forgot that they are destroying community asset.

He revealed that the community has officially reported the incident to the Nigeria Police and have met with their monarch, His Royal Highness, Oba Ehindero on the need to stop further attack on the centre.

According to him, the services of vigilante have been engaged to watch over the place and called on the people of the area to report any suspicious movement around the area.

http://www.vondanews.com/hoodlums-vandalize-dino-melayes-constituency-project-again/