wawappl: Nigeria’s newest warship, the NNS Unity, is sailing towards The Gambia ahead of possible military intervention over President Yahya Jammeh's refusal to accept election defeat and step down when his term expires on Thursday.
A Nigerian military source tells the BBC that the patrol vessel is currently sailing off the coast of Ghana after leaving from the commercial caital, Lagos.
The initial aim is to put on a show of force rather than to launch an attack.
Senegal is preparing ground troops ahead of Thursday’s deadline.
The Gambia’s tiny army is no match for the regional powers. In recent years, President Jammeh has been promoting his loyalists, including army chief Ousman Badjie, to ranks beyond their competence.
This has further downgraded its military capabilities.
The regional body, Ecowas, has sad that military intervention will be a last resort to bring an end to the political deadlock in The Gambia.
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has been leading mediation efforts to persuade Mr Jammeh to hand power to former estate agent Adama Barrow, who won the 1 December election.
Also, Outgoing Gambian President Yahya Jammeh declares 90-day state of emergency two days before expected handover
Agadsman: but in all honesty, pogba has to do some form of refund to man u, cos he is not living up to what he is being bought for.... man u is yet to get results from him.
Man U should sell that guy to a Chinese club to recoup the huge amount invested on the super flop.
President Yahaya Jammeh of the Gambia on the phone to Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf seeking the ECOWAS clearance to allow judges from other countries come to The Gambia and hear his case against the election results he rejected.
He is pleading with the Chairperson, President Sirleaf to help him facilitate the process according to the constitution.
A waste of time. Sirleaf- Johnson is not ECOWAS. She is only the Chairman for just one year. This dude should step down already and allow for a smooth transition of power to Adama Barrow.
Yahya Jammeh's refusal to relinquish power to Adama Barrow (A traitor & an Amerikan Stooge) was hinged on 1 thing only.
Gambia's Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) was manipulated by Amerika into falsely declaring Adama Barrow as the winner of the elections.
IEC had caused confusion by declaring 2 different results with the original margin of victory by Adama Barrow being 35,000 votes over Yahya Jammeh.
IEC later revised the result “on the same day” and still declared Adama Barrow the winner but narrowing down his lead by 19,000 votes out of over 800,000 registered voters.
This was what raised the red flag over the IEC’s counting competence, hence Jammeh's refusal to concede defeat.
For this reason, I stand by Jammeh for rejecting the election results.
Buhari & the Senegalese President (Macky Sall) can both swear-in Adama Barrow into their respective state houses if they like.
Perhaps, since the white house is still vacant, they can just do the needful by transferring Adama Barrow to Washington - their cup of tea!
Are you from Gambia? And can you tell for certainty why the result was recounted? In any event, the recount still put Adama Barrow in the lead. Jammeh should respect the wishes of his country men and get the hell out of government house.
Ipisi: FC Ifeanyi Ubah issues Press Release on Official website apologizes for abandoning NPFL game, suspends Team Manager for 4 matches
The club has issued a Press Release on their official website which goes as follows
Our attention has been drawn to the sad events that led to the abandonment of the opening game of the 2016/2017 NPFL season between Kano Pillars and FC Ifeanyi Ubah on the 14th of January, 2017 at the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano. After extensive investigations into the occurrences that culminated in the disappointing start of the Nigeria Professional Football League, the Management of FC Ifeanyi Ubah has arrived at the following findings:
1. That the Team Manager, Mr. Jonathan Igwe in a rather autocratic and unprofessional manner took laws into his hands by dishing out orders to the team without due recourse to the statutes and ethics of the game.
2. That his actions were borne out of an uncontrollable emotion owing to his perceived antagonistic behaviour of the centre referee who he claimed allowed a goal that was flagged offside by the linesman to stand against us and disallowing a legitimate goal scored by FC Ifeanyi Ubah via a direct freekick deep into stoppage time of the first half.
3. That he is deeply remorseful for his actions and the role he played in the eventual abandonment of the match between Kano Pillars and our darling club, FC Ifeanyi Ubah at the Sani Abacha Stadium which also resulted in him being given a red card by the centre referee. In view of the aforementioned, the club has reached the following decisions:
1. That the Team Manager Mr. Jonathan Igwe is suspended for four (4) football matches with immediate effect and will forfeit one (1) month salary/allowances for his unprofessionalism and role in the eventual abandonment of the match.
2. That the Team Manager is not to be seen in the venue of any FC Ifeanyi Ubah match during the period of his suspension.
3. That the Team Manager is mandated to issue a letter of apology and promise of good conduct to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the organisers of the NPFL, the League Management Company (LMC) within 72 hours.
4. That the Team Manager is also to issue a written unreserved apology letter to the club and its teeming fans. The Management of FC Ifeanyi Ubah hereby tenders an unreserved apology to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the League Management Company (LMC) for the outcome of the match between Kano Pillars and FC Ifeanyi Ubah which was supposed to be a befitting curtain raiser for the 2016/2017 NPFL season.
Our most sincere and heartfelt apology goes out to the President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Mr. Amaju Pinnick and the Chairman of the League Management Company, Mallam Shehu Dikko who has done so much in promoting the NPFL while raising the standards of the league and football in Nigeria.
We also wish to apologise to all important dignitaries, especially the Governor of Kano State, H.E. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the Management of Kano Pillars, the good people of Kano State, Chairmen of various State FAs, sponsors of the NPFL and members of the press who were present to witness the match.
Finally, may we use this medium to apologise to our teeming fans and football lovers all over Nigeria and around the world for the disappointing display that has brought the name of the beautiful game to disrepute. This is highly regrettable and we wish to state categorically that we would do everything within our powers to make sure that such occurrence does not repeat itself.
The club condemns explicitly the unprofessional conduct of Mr. Jonathan Igwe and believe that the sanctions imposed on the Team Manager will serve as a severe deterrent to the entire management and playing staff of the club. FC Ifeanyi Ubah vows to uphold the statutes and tenets of the beautiful game we love so much.
Thank you and God bless.
Signed for: FC Ifeanyi Ubah. Mr. Chukwuma Ubah. Chairman.
Only in Nigeria. The club should have allowed LMC take decision first over the issue before heaping all the blame on the team manager. Besides, the decision to axe the manager ought to have been taken by LMC and not the club. What the club did in their haste was to pre-empt the action of LMC over the abandonment of the match. However, it is ignoble and an act of shame on the part of Ifeany Ubah FC to abandon a match in this day and age. Such thing belongs to the heady days of Nigerian football. A professional club should be professional in all respects, and to all intents and purposes.
Gideon Eche-Okeke is mostly known for his great talent in popular African MNET drama Tinsel where he plays the role of Philip Ade-Williams. He was born on July 23rd to Mr and Mrs. Okeke as the only child and hails from Abagana, Anambra State.The popular actor graduated from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, with a degree inApplied Biochemistry. Gideon has been nominated for awards such as best Actor In a Drama Series, NEA Awards 2010 and Actor of The Year’ at The FUTURE awards 2009andfinally won Best Actor In a TV Series at NEA Awards.
His awards pales in significance to the numerous awards won by the veteran actor locally and internationally.
Biased reportage. Guinea Bissau were not minnows in that match. The Pierre Aubmeyang was anonymous throughout the game. Scoring that chance goal was probably all he did. The so called minnows gave Gabon a run for their money. In any event, the match ended one all. The second game in this group between Burkina Faso and Cameroon also ended one goal apiece.
Incidental expenses - N500,000. Another incidental expenses, N600,000. What are these incidental expenses that gulped so much money on just 1 night trip? Nigeria, a theatre of absurdities!
Chiefpriest1: Premium Times should calm down. These are purely security issues.
You think it's everything the CNN, BBC, Reuters find about the British and American army that they publish.
How is reporting that Nigeria is surreptitiously preparing to send troops to Gambia an emergency that will affect the public good.
Not taking anything away from Premium Times. Those guys are good.
By the way, why Sowore matter dey sweet some people like this. He collect una wife? He might not be a saint , but that guy has done a lot for Nigeria.
The fear of Sahara remains the beginning of wisdom for our politicians.
Buhari jailed two journalist, Nduka and Thompson, under Decree No. 4 for publishing a story on government appointees or something to that effect which was yet to be made public at the time. Those were the heady days of military rule.
Trump was indecorous in labelling a long-standing news media as fake. Such unproven outburst against CNN may be actionable. Fake is a strong word with many connotations. That aside, the media company, CNN may conspire to bring down his government. For Trump, it is too early to antagonise the press. In a free America, the press is very powerful and The Donald knows it.
Some Nigerians are apparently greedy and want to earn large sums of money without working for it. Imagine someone investing as much as N2 million and some borrowing upwards of N300,000 to add to the money they have and invested all in the ponzi scheme. Some people sha!
So, Obasanjo can apologise! Wonders shall never end! Whatever made him to eat the humble pie? The proud, arrogant and Mr know-it-all Obasanjo must have a reason for this apology. The Awujale should watch it.
Fayose should take it easy. If all the federal agencies leave Ekiti State, Fayose will be the first to cry marginalization. According to the report, the Nigeria Prison Service refused to pay. If the Prisons are compelled to leave, the implications will not be good for the state government.
Ucheosefoh: Ifeanyi Ubah International Stadium is ready to host Africa!
Our vision to build the best privately-owned football stadium in Africa is finally a reality as we prepare in earnest to host Africa in this season's CAF Confederation Cup competitiom. It is all about what one sees. The power of vision is one that cannot be blighted by inertia once it is anchored on human advancement.
What started as a mere dream has today been actualized. We are very proud and thankful to Almighty God for the mileage we have attained. What once existed in the mind has been translated from its theoretical state to a structure that would impact positively to humanity. By the grace of God, we have been able to transform what could once be referred to as a "playground" into a world class stadium in less than 12 months.
Today, we are strategically positioned and poised to take on Africa. In just under two years, we have been able to reach enviable heights, winning two trophies in as many years of our existence, an unprecedented feat. Our first hurdle, Al Masry of Egypt would be visiting in a few weeks time and we are set to welcome them to Ifeanyi Ubah International Stadium, Nnewi, Anambra State. We are positive and quietly confident in our ability to make Nigeria proud by putting up a successful outing at the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup competiton.
I also wish to specially congratulate FC Ifeanyi Ubah's coaching crew led by Coach Yaw Preko for a well deserved victory at the 2017 NFF Charity Cup, a feat that has made us Champion of Champions. This trophy is a new year gift to our teeming fans for their unflinching support and a reminder to the football world that we are set to conquer Nigeria and Africa.
Not many are aware of Yaw Preko's input towards the solidity and fluidity of the team so far and as such, I wish to use this medium to thank him for his contribution so far. Permit me to reiterate my staunch belief in Preko's ability and capacity to lead FC Ifeanyi Ubah on a quest to sucessfully conquer Africa. In view of this, I wish to publicly pass a vote of confidence on Coach Yaw Preko while I pledge to provide him with all the necessary support he needs.
To our teeming fans, get ready to ride through thick and thin with us as we embark on this journey together to conquer Africa.
Anyi bu ndi mmeri!
Thank you and God bless. Source: Ifeanyi Uba fan page
Impressive! Kudos to Ifeany Uba for putting up such a magnificient edifice within twelve months. It may indeed be the best privately owned stadium in Africa!
harry2ve: While the protagonists for the year's best player have remained largely the same since 2008, FIFA's split from Ballon d'Or means Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are competing for two separate gongs. Ronaldo and Messi have dominated the award over the past eight years, with no other player winning the accolade as the world's best since Kaka in 2007. Ronaldo who was the hot favourite to scoop his fourth award having previously won it in 2008, 2013 and 2014 after winning both the Champions League with Real Madrid and Europ 2016 with Portugal just won it tonight.
But how has the most prestigious individual honour in world football evolved and does the new Best FIFA Men's Player
Award now hold greater weight?
This year's event on Monday in Paris, gave answers a Q&A on how the Ballon d'Or came about, when it joined and split from FIFA and all the details ahead of the upcoming ceremonies.
When did the Ballon d'Or begin?
The Ballon d'Or was first won by Sir Stanley Matthews in 1956 when the then Blackpool winger pipped Real Madrid great Alfredo Di Stefano to the prize in a points system based on voting by football journalists. Originally, only European players were in contention for the Ballon d'Or, but from 1995 all players at European clubs were made eligible. The award was presented by France Football from its inception all the way through to 2009, but has been revived for this year.
So what's the FIFA World Player of the Year award?
Back in 2009, the Ballon d'or merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year award, and this time international journalists, national team coaches and captains were allowed to vote. The FIFA World Player of the Year award had come into existence after Italia '90, with West Germany stalwart Lothar Matthaus the first recipient in 1991 for helping his country to World Cup glory. After 10 years of it being an award presented annually by the sport's governing body to the world's best male footballer, it was awarded to both sexes from 2001. Brazilian Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane both won the award on three separate occasions, with the former and Ronaldinho the only two players to have won it in successive seasons. Since 2010, it has has been presented exclusively to the best female player, in the same year as the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or.
How does the Best FIFA Men's Player Award differ from the FIFA Ballon d'Or?
While France Football released a 30-man list for their award, a 23-man shortlist was also drawn up for the new Best FIFA Men's Player 2016 award at the start of last month, which has since been whittled down to three. FIFA ended its association with Ballon d'Or in September, meaning that Ronaldo and Messi will as of this year be competing for two separates gongs.
While solely journalists having voted for this year's Ballon d'Or, the voting for the Best FIFA Men's Player encompasses four separate groups. It marks a change to the original format, with the general public now being allowed to cast their vote, alongside media representatives, national team coaches, and national team captains. Each group has 25 per cent of the overall vote, with the public able to select from the shortlist via an online ballot and 200 media representatives selected to take part.
The Best FIFA Men's Player for 2016 award was narrowed down to three players on December 2, with Messi and Ronaldo joined by Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann. The winner was crowned at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony on January 9 in Zurich, along with the Best Women's Player and FIFA Puskas award (for the best goal of 2016).
[b]LIST OF BALLON D'OR WINNERS BEFORE FIFA PARTNERSHI[/b]P 1956 Stanley Matthews 1957 Alfredo Di Stefano 1958 Raymond Kopa 1959 Alfredo Di Stefano 1960 Luis Suarez 1961 Omar Sivori 1962 Josef Masopust 1963 Lev Yashin 1964 Denis Law 1965 Eusebio 1966 Bobby Charlton 1967 Florian Albert 1968 George Best 1969 Gianni Rivera 1970 Gerd Muller 1971 Johan Cruyff 1972 Franz Beckenbauer 1973 Johan Cruyff 1974 Johan Cruyff 1975 Oleg Blokhin 1976 Franz Beckenbauer 1977 Allan Simonsen 1978 Kevin Keegan 1979 Kevin Keegan 1980 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge 1981 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge 1982 Paolo Rossi 1983 Michel Platini 1984 Michel Platini 1985 Michel Platini 1986 Igor Belanov 1987 Ruud Gullit 1988 Marco van Basten 1989 Marco van Basten 1990 Lothar Matthaus 1991 Jean-Pierre Papin 1992 Marco van Basten 1993 Roberto Baggio 1994 Hristo Stoichkov 1995 George Weah 1996 Matthias Sammer 1997 Ronaldo 1998 Zinedine Zidane 1999 Rivldo 2000 Luis Figo 2001 Michael Owen 2002 Ronaldo 2003 Pavel Nedved 2004 Andriy Shevchenko 2005 Ronaldinho 2006 Fabio Cannavaro 2007 Kaka 2008 Cristiano Ronaldo 2009 Lionel Messi
Informative. Did not previously know that there was any difference between the two.
So, #OccupyCBN eventually took place. Good development. Bad monetary policies of the apex bank have rendered the naira worthless. The Nigerian Wailers should sustain the tempo in the interest of the country.
5starmilitant: Why is buhari so obsessed with Gambia & jammeh's palaver, when he has alot to fix here? He is not the only president in Africa. The other presidents of the continent are not saying anything, even the loud mouthed Mugabe is silent. The last time I checked, he is the president of Nigeria and southern kaduna is in Nigeria.
Buhari is not loosing sleep over Gambia. Remember that Nigeria is a member of ECOWAS. PMB is only carrying out the mandate of the sub-regional body along with Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson and John Dramani Mahama.
What is this bitcoin all about? How does it really work? Can this cryptocurrency be used in commercial quantity or for trading purposes? This mode of transaction may be fraught with fraud.
Some keke drivers do not even notice the trafficator or indicator lights. Ditto for some vehicle drivers. It is advisable to look at the side mirror before turning a bend even when the indicator light is on. Naija drivers sha!
bukolaSaraki: The Nigerian Army has raised an army battalion that would be deployed in troubled Gambia to forcefully remove President Yahya Jammeh from power if he fails to step down on January 19, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report today.
The battalion, christened ECOMOG NIBATT 1, was drawn from the Army’s 19th Battalion based in Okitipupa, Ondo State, military insiders have told PREMIUM TIMES.
Personnel were also drawn from other formations and units across the country due to shortage of men at 19 Battalion which has a significant chunk of its troops deployed for internal security task force, Operation Delta Safe.
This newspaper learnt that the Army Headquarters has instructed the nominated officers and men, put at over 800, to immediately report at the Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Jaji, for a crashed course on counter terrorism and counter insurgency.
Our sources said Army Headquarters has also instructed the Army directorates of policy and plans; finance; and logistics to ready funds, arms, ammunition and other logistics for the operation.
The Armoured Corps is also working hard to ready armoured vehicles needed for the task, officials said.
There were suggestions by some of our sources that the Nigerian Air Force and the Navy might deploy men and equipment for the operation as well.
Top military officers said the Nigerian Battalion would be deployed in The Gambia anytime after January 19 if President Jammeh makes real his threat not to step down after the expiration of his tenure.
“This is an emergency operation, but we are ready,” one officer said. “The Nigerian Army is a strong, professional fighting force battle ready at anytime. We are so well structured that we can deploy at the touch of a button.
“We did it in Liberian, Sierra Leone and elsewhere. And Jammeh should know that we are not a joking force. Once we get the all clear from ECOWAS, the AU and the UN to move in, we can pick him up.”
The regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), had on December 23 put standby military forces on alert.
The ECOWAS Commission President, Marcel de Souza, said Senegal, The Gambia’s only territorial neighbour, would lead any military operation in the country.
Other West African countries will be mandated to provide troops as well, Mr. De Souza reportedly said.
Mr. Jammeh lost the December 1 2016 Gambia presidential election to opposition candidate, Adama Barrow.
He initially accepted defeat and congratulated Mr. Barrow but changed his mind and decided to challenge the outcome of the election.
He also vowed not to hand over to the winner as expected on January 19.
On Thursday, Mr. Jammeh said he would not step down before a Supreme Court decision on the disputed election, the BBC reported.
The President, the report said, insisted his cabinet and the National Assembly would remain in place until the Supreme Court rules on his party’s petition.
There is currently shortage of judges in the country to sit on the matter.
The case can only be heard in May if Nigeria agrees to supply judges to the Supreme Court.
This Yahya Jameh sef. It appears he wants to quit with ignominy like one Gbagbo. Well, he will surely get that if he remains in power after January 19.
Romance › Re: Is There Anything Bad In Marrying A Lady From Same Office? by Kiakia(m): 6:45pm On Jan 17, 2017
