Finally, Northern Group picks APC Presidential ticket for Jonathan to join 2023 race

Finally, Northern Group picks APC Presidential ticket for Jonathan to join 2023 race

Abuja -. A coalition of Northern groups on Monday arrived at the International Conference Centre to purchase the All Progressives Congress’ presidential nomination and expression of interest forms for former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Sporting fez caps with the inscription ‘run Jonathan run’, members of the coalition said Jonathan is the most qualified to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari.

Although Jonathan isn’t a member of the APC, speculations have intensified in recent weeks that he is set to switch from the Peoples Democratic Party to contest for President in 2023.

Addressing calls for him to contest in April, Jonathan had told a crowd of supporters to “watch out”.

“Yes, you are calling me to come and declare for the 2023 presidency, yes I can’t tell I am declaring; the political process is ongoing, just watch out,” he said at the time.

If elected as President again, Jonathan can only serve for one term of four years, according to the constitution.

He was first elected in 2011 after completing the tenure of his former boss, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

President Buhari defeated Jonathan in the 2015 presidential elections.

Peionews recalls that Jonathan is yet to make a categorical statement as to whether he is in the race or not.

Senate President, Ahmad Lawan picks APC Presidential ticket

Senate President, Ahmad Lawan picks APC Presidential ticket

Abuja – The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, on Monday formally threw his hat into the ring to be the flag bearer of his party, the All Progressives Congress(APC) ahead of the 2023 Presidential election.

Lawan was formally presented with the Expression of Interest and nomination forms purchased for him by a group of Nigerians led by the Chairman, National Stability Project, Ambassador Sam Nkire.
Presenting the forms, Ambassador Nkire said Lawan was seen as a stabilising personality needed to be the next President of Nigeria.

He said: “This is a representation of Nigerians been led by me, Chief Sam Nkire. We have politicians here, we have business men here, we have a representation of traditional rulers, professionals who have watched Nigeria and they think we need a stabilizer, a stabilizing personality and they looked round and said you must be the one.

“That is why the rich ones among us contributed more than the poor ones. But the widows mite of the poor ones is also here. So we have decided to purchase the form.

“We didn’t want to come first. We made sure we got the form for you to heed the calls of Nigerians who have seen your service to the motherland, who have seen how you have piloted the affairs, and they know the economic situation we have in terms of security, that you are one of the best that Nigeria has.

“Please we are here to handover the nomination forms for the position of president of Nigeria on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.”

In his acceptance speech, Lawan said that he had consulted widely and promised to play the game by the rules.

“Today is a special day and this moment is a very memorable and historic moment. Over the last seven years, we have been participants in the administration of our country at the national level. 
“The APC led administration, our president, President Muhammadu Buhari will be completing his tenure on the 29th of May, 2023. I want to pay special tribute to what Mr President and the APC administration have done so far for developing our country.

“I have listened to various calls from all parts of our dear country, our dear nation Nigeria, for me to show interest to run for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“I took my time to pray to almighty God to guide me. I took my time to consult very widely, consult Nigerians from all parts of the country to ensure that I get the understanding of the citizens of this country on whose behalf we will, by the Grace of God, win the election and run the administration. 
“Nigeria needs to be taken  to the next level. We know what we have been able to achieve as an administration and as a political party and we know where we are supposed to take this level to eventually.

“I want to commit myself to this call and to this movement of Nigerians from all walks of life, rich, poor, north, south, east, west, male, female, old and young.

“This is not my journey. This is our journey. This is our journey because every hand must be on deck for us to achieve exactly what we need to achieve. 
“I am joining lately. The field is already full of other aspirants. I want, at this point, to assure Nigerians that the APC is a very beautiful bride and that is why we have many aspirants.

“I will play the game by the rules. I am not going to circumvent any rule. I’m going to respect my party and listen to the leaders of this party because that is our platform in the first place.

“But I will spare no moment going from door to door to ensure that I get the votes when the national convention to elect the presidential candidate of the part will hold. 

“I place my trust fully, totally and completely on the Almighty God, that God will bless this movement and this journey and I want to appeal to all Nigerians that we are seriously committed to taking Nigeria to the next level from where it will be on the 29th of May 2023 and it will be at a solid point and ground at that time, only to be improved upon and consolidated,” Lawan said.

Jose Mourinho is the first manager in history to reach a major European final with 𝙁𝙊𝙐𝙍 different clubs 

The experienced Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho has created history as he guided the Italian Serie A club Roma to the inaugural final of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
The 59-year-old has maintained his great records in the UEFA tournament once again in the inaugural edition of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Mourinho is the first manager to reach the finals of UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League.
He is also the first manager to reach the final of a major European competition with four different clubs. 
Before his latest Roma assignment for the UEFA Europa Conference League final, he reached the UEFA Europa League finals for Porto in 2003; UEFA Cup at that time and Manchester United in 2017, and UEFA Champions League finals for Porto I’m 2004 and Inter Milan in 2010.
The 59-year-old has a very good chance to become the first manager to win the UEFA Europa Conference League trophy and if he achieves this, he will also become the first manager to win three different UEFA tournaments that are currently running.

In the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League final, Roma will face the Dutch first division team Feyenoord Rotterdam on 25th May 2022 at Arena Kombëtare in Albania. 

Putin’s Victory Day Parade Coverage Hacked . By Ada Nkong

VLADIMIR Putin today had his victory parade humiliatingly hacked with a message telling Russians they had Ukrainian blood on their hands.

The message came as Russians prepared to watch the annual Victory Day military parade on Red Square marking the defeat of Nazi Germany, presided over by the Russian tyrant.

The hack impacted online viewers of various channels transmitted by the MTS mobile operator, NTV Plus, Rostelecom and Wink.

The name of every TV programme was changed to: “The blood of thousands of Ukrainians and hundreds of their children is on your hands. TV and the authorities lie. No to war.”

It comes as Putin spoke at the event marking the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.

In his speech the Russian tyrant claimed the war in Ukraine had been necessary because the West was “preparing for the invasion of our land including Crimes.
But so far a widely anticipated declaration of all-out war on Ukraine has failed to materialise.

The parade traditionally sees Russia display its military might with tanks, nuclear missiles and other hardware rumbling through Red Square and the latest aircraft overhead.

Thousands of Russian troops also march past Putin and his top brass in the annual traditional parade.

But a flypast of his Doomsday nuclear war command post plane was abruptly cancelled at the last minute in Moscow, ostensibly because of bad weather.

But there has been speculation it was due to security reasons and the fear of attacks on aircraft.
Source: The Sun

FIFA Orders NFF To Pay Ex Super Eagles Coach, Gernot Rohr $1.045 Million Compensation, Salaries

World football governing body, FIFA have ordered the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF to pay the sum of one million, forty-five Thousand dollars ($1, 045,000) compensation and salaries to former Super Eagles Coach, Gernot Rohr.

Rohr was sacked as Super Eagles head coach in December 2021 while still being owed several months salaries as well as bonuses and allowances.

The German reported the NFF to FIFA and the world football governing body has ordered them to pay him $1,045,000 (about N433,873,550.00 officially) to cover his entitlements and additional compensation.

According to Best Choice Sports,NFF sources confirmed today that the ruling was made on 22 April but kept under wraps, and the body is not considering an appeal.

FIFA ruled that the NFF had no justifiable reason to terminate Rohr’s contract in the manner that they did, especially as they were owing him a large sum.

The world body also clarified that Rohr must be paid in dollars and not naira since he is no longer based in Nigeria.

Rohr was named as the Super Eagles head coach in 2016 and he was the longest-serving coach of the team with his over five years in charge.

The former Burkina Faso head coach was believed to be earning around $55,000 monthly in Nigeria.

He is yet to be replaced with a permanent successor after Austin Eguavoen’s disastrous spell as interim head coach.

Under Eguavoen’s three-month stint, the Super Eagles fell in the second round of the Africa Cup of Nations in January and lost out to Ghana in the World Cup playoffs in March.

FIFA says Nigeria had no reason to sacked Gernot Rohr last December and has ordered the NFF to pay him his entitlements.

House to take decisive action on Aviation fuel crisis

House to take decisive action on Aviation fuel crisis

Abuja – The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Aviation Honourable Nnolim Nnaji has disclosed that the Speaker of l the House of Representatives, Right Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila was greatly disturbed by the reoccurring aviation fuel crisis in the country.

According to him, ” the House of Representatives consequently plans to take a far reaching decisions on the matter as soon as possible to ensure that the problem is permanently rested.”

The Chairman however appealed to the Airline Operators of Nigeria, (AON) to rescind action on its planned shutdown of operations due to the escalating cost of aviation fuel, Jet-A1

Honourable Nnaji who regretted that despite the last intervention of the leadership of the House of Representatives, the problem remained unabated assured the airlines that his Committee and indeed the House leadership were not sleeping over their plight.

The Aviation Committee Chairman disclosed that the Speaker had already planned a meeting of the stakeholders including relevant committees in the house .

Nnaji who praised the operators for their patriotism further urged them not to ground their operations stressing, that, ” such will inflict more pains on our already distressed economy”.

He also promised them that, “the National Assembly is determined to ensure that the aviation fuel crisis is urgently resolved because air transportation has become the safest mode of travel.

“It is equally the catalyst of economic development so we cannot afford to entertain any disruptions in the sector especially now that election process is ongoing “.

The operators had on Friday, May 6, 2022 issued a notice of shutting down their operations over the hike in aviation fuel which has now risen to N700 a litre thereby shooting their costs of operationsto 95 percent..

This was contained in a letter signed by the AON President, Abdulmunaf Yunusa Sarina.

The leadership of the House of Representatives had at the instance of a motion sponsored by the Aviation Committee Chairman, Honourable Nnaji intervened on the same issue in March, 2022 during which far reaching decisions were taken among the stakeholders.

American Billionaire Todd Boehly confirm agreement to acquire Chelsea  

American billionaire Todd Boehly, a part-owner of baseball club LA Dodgers, has signed an agreement to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich for £4.25 billion.

Backed by investment firm Clearlake Capital and fellow Dodgers owner Mark Walter, Boehly was considered the preferred bidder by Raine Group – the US bank overseeing the sale of the Blues – despite heavy competition from British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

From Mail Online Sport, A statement from the Blues read: “Chelsea Football Club can confirm that terms have been agreed for a new ownership group, led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjoerg Wyss, to acquire the Club.

“Of the total investment being made, £2.5bn will be applied to purchase the shares in the Club and such proceeds will be deposited into a frozen UK bank account with the intention to donate 100 per cent to charitable causes as confirmed by Roman Abramovich. UK Government approval will be required for the proceeds to be transferred from the frozen UK bank account.

“In addition, the proposed new owners will commit £1.75bn in further investment for the benefit of the Club. This includes investments in Stamford Bridge, the Academy, the Women’s Team and Kingsmeadow and continued funding for the Chelsea Foundation.

“The sale is expected to complete in late May subject to all necessary regulatory approvals. More details will be provided at that time.”

The takeover process seemed to have hit an impasse after Abramovich – who was sanctioned by the UK Government following his alleged involvement in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – reportedly asked for his £1.5 billion debt to be repaid.

However, Chelsea rebuffed those reports as entirely false, stating that the Russian oligarch’s objective was encouraging the bidders to invest in the club.

The Blues manager Thomas Tuchel recently claimed that the takeover saga has been affecting their performances on the pitch. However, with new ownership set to take the helm, the defending European Champions will look to turn their fortunes around.

AMCON In Dilemma Over ARIK’s Insolvency

AMCON In Dilemma Over ARIK’s Insolvency

Abuja – The Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, (AMCON) is currently overwhelmed in debt and enormous operational difficulties putting it in dilemma over what to do with the current state of Arik Air Limited which it acquired five years ago.
AMCON took over the airline in February 2017 and appointed Kamilu Omokide as its Receiver Manager with the mandate to turn around the fortunes of the ailing Africa’s biggest private carrier within a short period of time.
Arik Air which had up to thirty serviceable aircraft with about three thousand workforce at its peak was down to ten airplanes as at December 2017 and was unable to operate flights due to mounting debts both local and foreign.
The debt profile at the time of the AMCON acquisition was put at N300 billion comprising of foreign and local debts with a backlog of unpaid staff salaries and aviation statutory charges. Total foreign debts as reported totaled $51 million with that of Lufthansa Airline put at $47 million.
The mandate of the Receiver Manager was to reposition the airline and put it on the part of recovery within a period of time but after more than 5 years down the line,, Arik rather than improve , has further nose dived from the ten aircraft AMCON inherited in 2017 to three epileptic aircraft and a downsized unmotivated workforce of six hundred.
More precarious is the inability of AMCON to address the mounting debt profile it inherited at take over of Arik though it was able to pay recurrent debts according to the submissions of the Receiver Manager, Mr Omokide during a meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation headed by Honourable Nnolim Nnaji early this year.

The committee had summoned AMCON, the Receiver Manager, heads of aviation agencies and the unions based on petitions by Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals, (ANAP) and the Nigerian union of pensioners, (NUP) and ANAP had petitioned the committee to prevail on the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA) not to issue air operator’s certificate, (AOC) to Nigeria Eagle Airline being floated by AMCON based on the mountain of debts owed the Aviationa agencies.
AMCON at the meeting claimed that the debts Arik owed both Aviation agencies and other creditors would be classified as bad debts and would not be paid but the union countered the Receiver Manager who made the proposition on behalf of AMCON on the ground that the majority of the debts owed the agencies were statutory taxes which include ticket sales task, (TST) and passenger service charge, ( PSC) which Arik collected on behalf of the agencies from travelers.

The union equally stressed that Arik also owed separately, billions of naira to the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, (NAMA) for navigational and communication services provided to its flights and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) for landing parking charges as well as other sundry charges which included office rents across its airports.
Experts also believed that the planned Nigeria Eagle Airline was dead on arrival as both local and foreign creditors would have slammed it out of existence with several litigations to recover their money so long as Arik aircraft and and assets were to be inherited by the Nigeria Eagle to serve as AMCON equity to the new airline.
The Receiver Manager of Arik, Mr Omokide had tried to convince the committee on aviation that the floating of Nigeria Eagle was a nondestructive exit plan considered better than outright liquidation since his job as Receiver Manager was not supposed to last this long.
Aviation experts suggest that the best option would be to outrightly liquidate the airline if the The Eagle Airline would not inherit the liabilities of Arik after acquisition of its assets because the creditors would never allow it.
They opined that if the Nigeria Eagle was taking over the assets of Arik, it should not ignore the liabilities and advised AMCON to outrightly liquidate Arik to save it from foreseeable embarrassments that would follow in form of multitude of litigations from aggrieved creditors.
Recently, the AMCON announced the additional debt overhang of over $50 million on the Eagle Airline due to failure of the NCAA to issue it with air operator’s certificate, (AOC) so in other to save AMCON further indebtedness experts said it would be advisable to immediately liquidate Arik.

Arsenal confirm new deals for Mikel Arteta and Jonas Eidevall

Arsenal have confirmed that Mikel Arteta has signed a new contract with the club, keeping him in north London until 2025.

A former Arsenal capatian, Arteta joined the club as manager in December 2019, winning the FA Cup in his first season. The Gunners are currently fourth in the Premier League as they look to end a five-year wait for Champions League football.

A new deal has also been signed by women’s team boss Jonas Eidevall, who has extended until 2024.

“I’m excited, grateful and really, really happy today,” Arteta told the club’s official website.

“When I spoke to Josh [Kroenke] he could see the club at the same point and he wanted to take the club the way I wanted to do it. So everything that he’s said, and that Stan [Kroenke] has said when I’ve been together with both of them, they’ve always delivered.

Mourinho in Tears’ As Roma Reach Conference League Final

It was an unforgettable night for AS Roma Coach Jose Mourinho as he was reduced to uncontrollable tears as he guided the Italian giants to the UEFA Europa Conference League finals on Thursday evening. 
The self-acclaimed ‘Special One’ could not hide his emotions as Roma booked their tickets to the newly introduced European competition, UEFA Conference League.
In a video posted on Twitter, sighted by Sports Brief, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid coach is seen pacing up and down as the game drew to its closure before eventually embracing his technical staff in an emotional scene.