Gov election: 900 SSS operatives arrive in Osun

Ahead the conduct of the August 9, governorship poll in Osun, fully armed operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS), numbering about 900, on Tuesday and Wednesday, stormed Osogbo, the state capital.
Nigerian Tribune authoritatively gathered that the deployment of the DSS officials, including young ladies, was part of the security measures aimed at ensuring a hitch-free conduct of the election. They were armed to the teeth.
Our correspondent sighted some of the DSS operatives in Toyota Hiace buses and Toyota Hilux vans, on Tuesday, driving round Osogbo, the state capital.
They are likely to drive round other major towns in the state in the next couple of days, according to a source in Abuja.
Similarly, on Wednesday some of them also arrived the state capital, converging on the frontage of their headquarters in the state, situated along Gbongan-Ibadan expressway.
A source, who craved anonymity informed the Nigerian Tribune that “this is part of the preparation to ensure efficient security of lives and property before, during and after the conduct of the crucial election.”

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“No stone would be left unturned to protect the electorate, including the generality of the people of Osun State,  irrespective of political groupings, ethnic and religious colorations. The DSS officials you see would work in collaboration with other security agencies in ensuring a peaceful and violent-free election on August 9,” he added.
Under supply of electoral materials: APC’s allegation, baseless —INEC
With less than 10 days to the conduct of August 9 governorship election in Osun, the authorities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in the state, on Wednesday ,described as a ruse and baseless allegation that it was planning to under supply electoral materials to some selected communities.
In a press statement issued by the Chief Public Affairs Officer (CPAO) of INEC in Osun, Mrs F. Adenike Tadese, the umpire said such allegation was not only misleading, but also laughable, considering the unshaken commitment of the electoral umpire to conduct  a free and fair and most acceptable governorship poll in the state.
Apparently reacting to the recent allegation by the All Progressives Congress (APC) ,that INEC had concluded plans to under supply designated communities where the party has stronghold, including Ilesa, the country home of its candidate, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, the statement stressed that “INEC wishes to assure the good people of the state that the commission will not disenfranchise eligible voters irrespective of political affiliations from exercising their franchise on August 9”.
It reads in part, “this has become imperative to clear the allegation of misinformation currently in circulation to under supply electoral materials to some areas during the election”.
“INEC wishes to reiterate that adequate and sufficient provisions have been put in place in terms of deployment of electoral materials to cover all the 3,010 polling units on the election day”.
While assuring that the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ,was an ongoing exercise, the statement added that “those who are yet to collect their PVCs should avail themselves the opportunity of collecting it at INEC offices”, disclosing that “deadline for collection is August 4, 2014”.
Oralusi takes campaign to Ede, promises responsive governance
Against the conduct of August 9 governorship election, in Osun State, the flag bearer of the Action Alliance (AA),  Babatunde Oralusi, has taken his electioneering campaign to Ede South Local Government  Area of the state, assuring the electorate of his commitment to bring about good and responsive governance if elected.
Addressing a crowd of supporters and party members, the AA standard bearer tasked all eligible voters to troop out and vote massively for his party, pointing out that all hands must be on deck to salvage the future of Osun State.
The leader of the AA, in Ede district,  Olu  Ige, who led the campaign team,  emphasised the determination of the party to win the forthcoming govenorship election in Osun State.
Describing the party as the formidable third force with an attestable grassroots  presence and an unbreakable will to win, he lauded the sterling qualities of the party’s candidate, whom he described as a young and dynamic, well-groomed and successful man with a lot of experience in the public and private sector.
While assuring the people that the party’s candidate is a man of the people with a lot passion for the less-priviledge and vulnerable members of the society, he commended the people for coming out willingly and in large number to cheer the campaign train.
According to him, “one of the ways by which AA  differs from other political parties is that it does not rent crowd nor engage in movement of people from campaign ground to campaign ground  to create large but artificial crowd”.
Falae urges electorate to vote for Akinwusi
The national chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Chief Olu Falae, on Wednesday, implored eligible voters in Osun to vote massively for his party’s candidate in the August 9 governorship poll, Olusegun Akinwusi, saying such electoral choice would create leeway for integrity and transparency in governance.
Falae, who made the appeal  in a message to members of the SDP  in the state, said that Akinwusi possess required experience and wealth of knowledge on how to bring about responsive and people-oriented government, which would address social and economic challenges, confronting the citizenry.
The former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), affirmed that “our candidate is a distinguished retired public officer. He is a complete gentleman and I am certain that he is the perfect person Osun State needs at this time. So, I strongly called on Osun people to massively vote for him”.
Falae continued, “he is not just bringing integrity into governance; he has served the state as Head of Service and come out with clean hands. He was an honest public officer, who knows what to do. Osun people will do themselves a great honour to support and vote for him as a technocrat”.
While lamenting that the forthcoming  governorship poll in the state was being subjected to grave and uncontrolled money politics, the Afenifere chieftain recalled that that “monetisation  of politics was not pronounced at all during the 1999 general elections when I stood as a presidential candidate of the coalition of the defunct All Peoples Party (APP) and the Alliance for Democracy (AD)”.
According to Falae,  “it is regrettable that due to high level of poverty in the land, parties that control funds at state and federal levels buy election all over Nigeria”
He, however, commended the SDP members in the state for their steadfastness and by proofing that politics is not only about money or mere pecuniary gains but about good governance and welfare of the people.
“Despite what we see in politics today, in SDP we stand for social democracy with zero tolerance for corruption, stealing and bribery”, Falae asserted, just as he bemoaned the high level of corruption in the nation’s polity, stressing that “dishonest individuals without leniency for the masses are at the helms of affairs in Nigeria”.
Meanwhile, campaign teams of SDP continued their mobilisation on Wednesday by canvassing for votes in Olaoluwa and Ayedire Local Governments in Osun West and Ila and Boluwaduro Local Governments in Osun Central Senatorial District.
Don’t  panic over soldiers —Osun govt
The Osun State government, on Wednesday, advised residents not to be scared of large numbers of security personnel deployed to the state for the August 9 governorship election.
Mr Bola Ilori, the Special Adviser on Environment and Sanitation to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, gave the advice while addressing journalists in Osogbo.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reported that the All Progressives Congress (APC), had opposed the deployment of soldiers for the election.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supported the deployment of security men, including soldiers, to ensure violence free polls.
Ilori said Governor Aregbesola, was not contesting the deployment of security men to the state since they were to protect lives and property.
“The opposition to the use of the military is not only in the interest of the political class, but the future of the country’s democracy.
“The military is already de-politicised, why are we bringing the institution into political affairs again?  
“What we are now concerned with is that the security officials on election duty should not be used by a particular political party to the detriment of others.
“Security men should not arrest people indiscriminately”, he emphasised.
Omisore ’ll give priority to Obokun, Oriade communities —Group
Members of Ijesa North Leaders of Thought, a group of political and community leaders in Oriade and Obokun Local Government areas of Osun State, on Wednesday ,assured the people  in the localities that their “interests would be better served and  protected, if the flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),  Senator Iyiola Omisore, wins the August 9  governorship election.”
In a communique  issued at the end of a meeting of the body held in Ilase, a town in Obokun Local Government Area, where issues affecting people of the communities in the constituency were discussed, the leaders of the group underscored the need for the people to vote massively for PDP.
Reading the communique after the deliberations that also had in attendance religious leaders from all the towns in the federal constituency, Basorun Tayo Omojowogbe, said “the main reason for the meeting was to take a critical look at political and economic trend in the state with a view to forge a positive direction for our people”.
He contended that “the development our two local government areas in the constituency witnessed while it had member of House of Representatives, commissioner and board members, who served the PDP, were unprecedented” declaring  that the people of the area were absolutely ready to repay the party now.
“The people had better story to tell under PDP and they have mandated us as their leaders to pledge their loyalty for the aspirations of Senator  Omisore, who was instrumental to the success story of our people under PDP reign through many interventions”, Omojowogbe asserted.
He continued, “to ensure we are carrying out  the mandate of our people, that is why this group, formed several years ago to forge common front where economic and political interest of our people will be best protected, met today and decided to give bulk votes to PDP with the believe that the party will repay us when it forms government in November this year by God’s grace”.
In his remark, the host of the meeting, Chief Francis Fadahunsi, lauded the group for being at “the vanguard of communal interest and wellbeing of their people”, adding that “specific needs of some communities in the area have been identified during the group’s tour”.
He, therefore, assured that the group would work towards tirelessly in getting more communities connected to the national grid, saying that “members have resolved to shared the communities without electricity among themselves and get them electrified to make life more bearable for the people and discourage rural-urban migration”.

Sierra Leone declares state of emergency over Ebola

Sierra Leone declared a state of emergency and called in troops to quarantine epicentres of Ebola on Thursday, joining Liberia in imposing tough controls to curb the worst ever outbreak of the virus amid fears it could spread beyond West Africa.
Ebola has been blamed for 672 deaths in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization. It has also reached Nigeria’s biggest city Lagos, where authorities said on Friday a man had died of the virus.
In a measure of rising international concern, Britain on Wednesday held a government meeting on Ebola, which it said was a threat it needed to respond to.
But international airlines association IATA said the WHO was not recommending any travel restrictions or border closures due to the outbreak, and there would be a low risk to other passengers if an Ebola patient flew..
The outbreak of the hemorrhagic fever, for which there is no known cure, began in the forests of remote eastern Guinea in February, but Sierra Leone now has the highest number of cases.
Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma said he would meet with the leaders of Liberia and Guinea in Conakry on Friday to discuss the epidemic and that he was cancelling a visit to Washington for a U.S.-Africa summit next week.
“Sierra Leone is in a great fight … Failure is not an option,” Koroma said in a speech late on Wednesday, adding that the state of emergency would initially last between 60 and 90 days. “Extraordinary challenges require extraordinary measures.”
Ebola’s symptoms include external bleeding, massive internal bleeding, vomiting and diarrhoea in its final stages. The disease kills up to 90 percent of those infected, though the fatality rate in the current epidemic is running at around 60 percent.
The president said police and the military would enforce a quarantine on all epicentres of the disease, and would provide support to health officers and NGOs to do their work unhindered, following a number of attacks on health workers by local communities.
House-to-house searches would be implemented to trace Ebola victims and homes where the disease was identified would be quarantined until cleared by medical teams, he said, announcing a ban on all public meetings except those related to Ebola.
Liberia on Wednesday announced the closure of all schools across the country and said it was considering quarantining affected communities.
The U.S. Peace Corps said it was withdrawing 340 volunteers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea after two of them came in contact with a person who later died of the virus.
Sierra Leone, a former British colony, said passengers arriving and departing Lungi International Airport would be subject to new protocols, including body temperature scans.
Two regional airlines, Nigeria’s Arik and Togo’s Asky, have cancelled all flights to Freetown and Monrovia after a U.S. citizen died in Nigeria after contracting the disease in Liberia.
Patrick Sawyer, the first recorded case of Ebola in Nigeria, took an Asky flight that stopped in Ghana and Togo, raising questions over how a person whose sister had died of the disease three weeks before was able to board an international flight.
Ghana said on Thursday it was immediately introducing body temperature screening of all travellers from West African countries at Accra airport and other major entry points, with isolation centres being set up in three towns.
Kyei Faried, deputy director in charge of disease control, told a news conference that authorities had a list of 11 passengers who disembarked from Sawyer’s flight and were monitoring them. The government is considering whether to ban flights from affected countries.

Pastor, mother arrested for killing children with ‘sanctified water’

A 25-year-old woman, Ese Oghenevwe, and a pastor, Austin Eduviere, have been arrested by the police in Delta State, for killing her two sons, Prayer Clement (nine months) and Wisdom Clement (two years), with sanctified water.
The Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Celestina Kalu, who disclosed this to journalists on Wednesday, said, “The suspect revealed that the liquid substance was given to her by Eduviere of Triumphant World International Church, Abraka, for healing purposes. She added that the Apostle claimed he had prayed over it,” the PPRO said.
Apostle Eduviere however, claimed he was surprised that the substance, which he sells for N1,850 to members of the church and the public, could have snuff life out of the children.
When asked what the liquid substance was meant for, Eduviere said it was an mixture of sanctified water and salt which people buy from him for healing of different kinds of ailments.

VOTE FOR DR LEONARD AZEGBOBO ATSIKIDI AS SECRETARY FOR NMA ELECTION 2014

He is a Senior Registrar Family Medicine UBTH. Vote him for SECRETARY in EDO NMA ELECTIONS 2014 . It will be held tomorrow 1st august 2014. He is the person the cap fits.

Linda Ikeji, Africa’s Richest Blogger

This is an extraordinary young woman, beautiful, sexy, charismatic, very bright, entrepreneurial, who by those who keep tabs on the internet, is quite high on the higher level of those who have used their laptop and internet modem to become very rich.  And that’s Linda Ikeji.

Next time you begin reading about the richest bloggers in the world, and it doesn’t include the name of Linda Ikeji, you should know that the list is incomplete.  So who is this Linda Ikeji?  Well, a lot has been written about her, especially from the site that gave her a first taste of blogging – www.bellanaija.com.  And we are reproducing her write-up below:

She has been called the “QUEEN OF BLOGGING” ; Others call her the “MOTHER OF BLOGGING” in Nigeria.     She earns more than N3 Million every month from her blog. Her office? A laptop and a modem. Her blog talks about naija entertainment gist ,celebrity gossips ,fashion,news and events. She is highest paid Nigerian blogger .     We talking about the popular LINDA IKEJI     Linda Ikeji was born September 19, 1980 . A native of Nkwerre LGA, Imo State, Nigeria .She was born in to a struggling family, the second of seven children. She grew up in a Christian catholic home.  At a tender age of 10 years, Linda started writing as a hobby.


 The fiction she penned down were praised by her friends and family and over time she cultivated a passion for news.   Unlike many teenagers her age, Linda loved watching newscasters and interviews and by the time the opportunity presented to attend university in Lagos, her course choice was decided: Mass Communication.  She was admitted to study English Language in the university to her disappointment, but she decided to make the best of it.     To support herself and her family through school, Linda began working at the age of 17, doing everything from being a waitress and ushering to modelling and bar-tending, none of which paid a lot in the late 90′s.  She started modeling in 1998 and quit in 2005.   She became a fashion columnist for a struggling celebrity magazine. After two years of toiling in the news room, she quit.   In 2004 , after she completed her university education, she worked hard to break into the journalism trade, launching her media company, Black dove Communications, a modelling agency and events management outfit.     The name Black dove was inspired by silverbird..a name and a bird. it so happens that her favourite colour is black and favourite bird is the dove.     She stayed within her comfort zone which was modeling so instead of being in front of the camera , went behind the camera by running an agency, recruiting models, training models, getting jobs for models.   ” I still have the modeling agency but I am not running it anymore”, she once wrote.     She also started what she describes in her first ever blog post as her “true passion”, her magazine called, FM & B.   The first issue was released in 2006 and after discovering how capital-intensive and time-consuming magazine publishing was, only two more editions made it to print.     The blogging bug bit her in 2006.   Fortunately, in that same year, Bella Naija, another popular Nigerian blog, carried a story about Linda herself and for the first time, Linda began to see a new possibility to take her writing to the world. Blogging had all the charm: it was free except for the cost of an internet connection, easy to do and gave you access to millions of readers instantly. From that first Bella Naija blog post, she was sold.     Linda Ikeji started blogging fully in 2007 to share things that she was interested in with her readers.   Five years later, http://www.lindaikeji.blogspot.com has grown to be one of the most visited sites in the country.   As a regular source for news, entertainment, celebrity gist, gossip and many more, her blog continues to attract thousands of visitors   It took her four years to start making money from blogging.   She was patient enough     She once said:“I never even thought that I would make money from blogging. I didn’t start blogging with the mindset that one day I would make money from it. I didn’t even think that was a possibility, it never even crossed my mind. I didn’t say to myself that OK let me blog now and maybe in five years time, I will make money from it. I never imagined that it would ever happen. In fact, in 2008, 2009, I was putting free ads on my blog, I was telling my blog readers, please give me your ads and I will put them for free. But then in 2010, people started asking me for my advert rates and I was like ‘really?’ I didn’t even know what it was until I now asked a few people and they gave me their own advert rates so that is how it started.”     She has acquired two brand new cars, her dream car -a 2008 Toyota Camry which she bought two years ago a 2011.   ‘Been dreaming about this car since I first saw it two years ago, was finally able to afford it two days ago, after saving for almost four months. And the best part is, I have a blog to show it off, at least now some people go no say ‘levels don change’ lol.’, she wrote.     Recently acquired an Infinity FX 35 SUV worth about N8 million.  Being a wonderful child to her parents , she bought a multi-million 5-bedroom duplex in Surulere for her parents.   Linda Ikeji has earned herself the title ‘Queen of Blogging’ . Linda was persistent, focused on what she did even though there was no financial return but five years later it has yielded great profit, a talk of all.  She found a new path, Blogging .     But she persisted until 2010, when some of the stories posted on her blog began to ruffle feathers.  At a point, Linda averaged about 1 million unique visitors each month to her blog. And with that came the much-needed recognition and substantial earnings.     In August 2012, Forbes Africa described her as a success and a case study for the business of blogging.   Her blog gets over 50,000 visits daily and is a hot spot for online advertisers and people wishing to attract web traffic to their websites or blogs. You are source of inpiration to many. More power to your elbow.

HOW DO I KNOW I HAVE HIV

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. HIV can be transmitted through the blood, sexual fluids, or breast milk of an HIV-infected person.
Over time, infection with HIV can weaken the immune system to the point that the system has difficulty fighting off certain infections. These types of infections are known as opportunistic infections. These infections are usually controlled by a healthy immune system, but they can cause problems or even be life-threatening in someone with AIDS.
A blood test can determine if a person is infected with HIV. Too many people don't know they have HIV. In the United States, nearly 1.1 million people are living with HIV, and almost one in five don't know they are infected. Getting tested is the first step to finding out if you have HIV. If you have HIV, getting medical care and taking medicines regularly helps you live a longer, healthier life and also lowers the chances of passing HIV on to others.
If a person tests positive for HIV, it does not necessarily mean that the person has AIDS. A diagnosis of AIDS is made by a physician according to the CDC AIDS Case Definition. A person infected with HIV may receive an AIDS diagnosis after developing one of the CDC-defined AIDS indicator illnesses. A person with HIV can also receive an AIDS diagnosis on the basis of certain blood tests (CD4 counts) and may not have experienced any serious illnesses.

Many people do not develop symptoms after getting infected with HIV. Others have a flu-like illness within several days to weeks after exposure to the virus. They complain of fever, headache, tiredness, and enlarged lymph glands in the neck. These symptoms usually disappear on their own within a few weeks.

• Following initial infection, you may have no symptoms. The progression of disease varies widely among individuals. This state may last from a few months to more than 10 years.
  
  • During this period, the virus continues to multiply actively and infects and kills the cells of the immune system. The immune system allows us to fight against the bacteria, viruses, and other infectious causes.
  • The virus destroys the cells that are the primary infection fighters, called CD4+ or T4 cells.
• Once the immune system weakens, a person infected with HIV can develop the following symptoms:
  
  • Lack of energy
  • Weight loss
  • Frequent fevers and sweats
  • Persistent or frequent yeast infections
  • Persistent skin rashes or flaky skin
  • Short-term memory loss
  • Mouth, genital, or anal sores from herpes infections.

AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV infection. The definition of AIDS includes all HIV-infected people who have fewer than 200 CD4+ cells per microliter of blood. The definition also includes 26 conditions that are common in advanced HIV disease but that rarely occur in healthy people. Most of these conditions are infections caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and other organisms. Opportunistic infections are common in people with AIDS. Nearly every organ system is affected. Some of the common symptoms include the following:

• Cough and shortness of breath
• Seizures and lack of coordination
• Difficult or painful swallowing
• Mental symptoms such as confusion and forgetfulness
• Severe and persistent diarrhea
• Fever
• Vision loss
• Nausea, abdominal cramps, and vomiting
• Weight loss and extreme fatigue
• Severe headaches with neck stiffness
• Coma

People with AIDS are prone to develop various cancers such as Kaposi sarcoma, cervical cancer, and cancers of the immune system known as lymphomas. Kaposi sarcoma causes round, brown, reddish or purple spots that develop in the skin or in the mouth. After the diagnosis of AIDS is made, the average survival time has been estimated to be 2-3 years.

LOVE AND MONEY WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE?

B








Both are good but which is better?

Panic as DSS operatives fire gunshots in Osun

Panic gripped residents of Osun State on Wednesday when operatives of the Department of State Service in about 50 Toyota pickup vehicles fired into the air as their convoy rode through the capital city.

The officials, some of whom wore masks, were fully armed and were conveyed round Osogbo in the siren-blaring vehicles.

They were also sighted in Iwo and surrounding communities of Osogbo.

Our correspondent observed that some of operatives, who sat on the roofs of the vehicles, fired gunshots into the air, thereby causing fear among road users.

Dressed in black T-shirts, black trousers with caps and fully armed, the officials drove from their office along Gbongan-Osogbo Road through Olaiya Junction to Oke-Fia.

A source disclosed that the operatives were deployed from Abuja.

Motorists and ‘okada’ riders hurriedly parked their vehicles while the armed officials took over the roads and just as pedestrians also abandoned the roads.

The Director of the DSS in Osun State, Mr. Andrew Iorkyar, when contacted by our correspondent on the telephone said that the officials were deployed in the state for the purpose of the August 9 governorship election.

He said, “They are our men. They are patrolling round to familiarise themselves with the terrain. They are in the state to protect law-abiding people. They are not deployed to terrorise anybody.

“You know that there are allegations and counter-allegations of stock piling or arms by some politicians. We don’t want any breakdown of law and order. So, our men are in the state to ensure peace.”

Asked why the officials were shooting into the air, Iorkyar said he was not aware of that and he promised to find out.

He urged the people of the state not to hesitate to make useful information available to the service.

The Special Adviser to Governor Rauf Aregbesola on Security Matters, Mr. Amos Adekunle, when contacted on the telephone by our correspondent condemned the incident, describing it as intimidation. Some residents who spoke to our correspondent condemned the shooting, saying it was not necessary because there was no crisis that warranted it.

The All Progressives Congress described the shooting as a ploy to scare voters away from coming out to vote.

The Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, who spoke with one of our correspondents in a telephone interview, said the incident was totally uncalled for, adding that it left people running helter-skelter.

Oyatomi, who also issued a statement on Wednesday, asked the people not to be intimidated by security presence in the state.

He said, “The incident was unwarranted because there was no riot. They came from Abere end; they passed though Olosan to Olaiya and Oke-Fia thence to Ilobu. They would move a few meters and open fire. People began to run helter-skelter. If this is how the Peoples Democratic Party thinks it would capture Osun, they are joking because the people’s wish can never subverted.

“No citizens should be scared or should run away when they see and or hear gunshots from security people because they have committed no crime. Everybody should go about their businesses and ignore them. A country in which the security operatives are the ones doing what we are experiencing to citizens in Osun, calls for the gravest concern.”

Liverpool beat Manchester City after a Yankee Stadium penalty shoot-out

Liverpool beat Premier League rivals Manchester City in a pre-season friendly at Yankee Stadium, coming from behind twice to draw 2-2 in normal time before winning a penalty shoot-out 3-1.

Stevan Jovetic bagged a brace for Premier League champions Manchester City but Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling replied for Liverpool, who finished second last season.
Simon Mignolet then pulled off a pair of saves in the shoot-out to give the Reds victory in front of a crowd of 49,653.
The win put Liverpool on top of Group B in the International Champions Cup and they move on to play AC Milan on Saturday, with the possibility of a final against Manchester United to follow.

Brendan Rodgers was very pleased with Liverpool's performance in the friendly against Manchester City, while Jordan Henderson was happy to get on the score

The Yankee Stadium spectators were served up an entertaining encounter between the top two teams in England last season and City new boy Willy Caballero produced a great save in the first half to keep out a close-range Rickie Lambert header.
At the other end, Brad Jones saved a low Jesus Navas effort and Edin Dzeko had a goal ruled out for offside.
Manchester City took the lead in the 53rd minute when the lively Navas made progress down the right and sent over a low cross which Jovetic converted at the near post, after Steven Gerrard was unable to clear.
But Liverpool responded just six minutes later, Henderson conjuring up a delightful curling finish after the ball ran loose when Sterling tried to find Daniel Sturridge.

Manuel Pellegrini said it was an even match between Liverpool and Manchester City in the International Champions Cup.

Jovetic (67) quickly restored City’s lead, poking the ball past Mignoelet after a deflected shot fell perfectly for him.
However, Liverpool pressed strongly in the closing stages and, with just five minutes left to play, Lucas cleverly set up Sterling with a cushioned pass and the England man’s excellent finish set up spot-kicks.
City were far from clinical with their penalties, Aleksandar Kolarov punting their first over the bar, although he was reprieved when Sturridge did likewise.
But Mignolet then saved well from Yaya Toure and Navas, while Emre Can and Henderson converted.
City finally found the net when youngster Kelechi Iheanacho stepped up but Lucas then sent Joe Hart the wrong way to win it for Liverpool.

“I told Suarez that Arsenal are not good enough for him” – Gerrard

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard, has revealed that he asked Luis Suarez to stay at Anfield last year, because Arsenal who were interested in signing him at the time, were not good enough for him.
Arsene Wenger famously sent in a bid of £40million plus one pound for Suarez, which was expected to activate the player’s release clause, but the Reds stood firm and refused to sell.
The Uruguay international has however sealed a £75m move to Barcelona this summer and Gerrard admits it is still a blow to the team.
“You know what I think of him, I love him to bits and I’m his number one fan as a player,” Gerrard said. “I spoke to him before he went, and he was so thankful to the club for all the times they stuck by him.
“His dream all along, from the first day he came, was to play for Real Madrid or Barcelona.
“Last summer, when he was out in the cold and training on his own, that’s the conversation I had with him. I said, ‘Don’t go to Arsenal.’
“With all due respect to them, I said to him that he was too good for Arsenal. I said, ‘If you score 30 goals for us and win the PFA Player of the Year, the press Player of the Year’ – and believe it or not I knew he was going to win them – ‘they will come back for you.’”

NFF offer Keshi new contract worth N7m a month

According to new reports, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), has tabled a new deal for Stephen Keshi worth about N7m per month.
Keshi, whose previous deal ran out after the 2014 World Cup, was earning N5m per month. The Big Boss was heavily linked with the South Africa job, but after SAFA chose a new manager, the Big Boss is expected to sign the new contract and continue with the Super Eagles.
“We have had meetings with Keshi and the good news is that he is willing to continue as coach of the Super Eagles,” an NFF official told AfricanFootball.
“He is only concerned that most of the fringe benefits in his contract were not provided and demands better treatment from the Federation.
“I think the first step was a success and we will build on it because the (2015 Africa Cup of Nations) qualifiers are not far away.”
The African champions will begin the defence of their title in September. They have been drawn against Sudan, South Africa and Congo/Rwanda
 

Jonathan appoints Suleiman Abba as new Inspector General of Police

President Goodluck Jonathan has appointed Suleiman Abba, the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 7, as the new Inspector General of Police in Nigeria.
The development came following the federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Jonathan on Tuesday.
Abba was also a former Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to Maryam Abacha.
He would now replace Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar, who has attained the mandatory 35 years in service.

Police explains why Boko Haram now use female bombers

 
The Police Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, on Wednesday in Abuja said international terror organisations use female suicide bombers in attacks because they are less suspicious.
Mba, who spoke at the National Information Centre, said though unfortunate, the use of females in suicide attacks was not new.
“Established international terror organisations use female suicide bombers, the major reason is because women generally raise fewer suspicion.
“If you have been following the trend of terrorism worldwide, you will understand that the use of a female suicide bomber is not new.
“But, it is a new trend in our own part of the world”, he said.
The force spokesperson, however, said a new counter-terrorism strategy was being developed to address the new trend in the country.
“We are developing counter-terrorism strategies to deal with that. By our rules of engagement and by our culture too, male security operatives generally are not allowed to search females.
“You will see increase in female security personnel on roads and in other places where stop and search exercises are being carried out.
“Nigerians should be prepared to see more female police officers, bomb disposal experts, DSS operatives and soldiers in combat operations’’, he said.
Mba appealed to parents and local government authorities across the country to support efforts to stamp out street hawking by young girls, particularly among minors.
Earlier, the coordinator of the centre, Mike Omeri, said the insurgents had resorted to using young girls because something went wrong with their strategy.
“This trend of using young people clearly shows that there is something wrong with the main recruitment arm of the insurgents.
“Citizens are becoming more aware and so the tendency is to recruit those who do not know what they are doing, young people as young as 10 years.
“Boko Haram is so deadly and this underscores the seriousness of the campaign that our country is engaging in order to flush out the insurgents”, he added.

Mourinho explains why he sold Lukaku to Everton

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, has said that Romelu Lukaku lacked the professional commitment required, to play for the club.
The Belgian striker has sealed a £28m move to Everton and it is evident that he and his former manager did not get on well toogether.
“The thinking was, first of all, the fact that Romelu was always very clear with us that in his mentality and his approach he was not highly motivated to come to a competitive situation at Chelsea,” Mourinho said.
“He wanted to play for Chelsea but clearly only as the first choice striker – and at a club of our dimension it’s very difficult to promise a player that status.
“That reduced, immediately, his desire to come to us. After that Everton came with an important offer and because we want to be inside the Financial Fair Play rules, you have to analyse these situations.”
Lukaku has signed a five-year deal at Goodison Park, where he scored 15 league goals for the club on loan last season and will earn £75,000 per week.
 

Boko Haram kills 3 poly students awaiting NYSC postings

Three students of Kano State Polytechnic were yesterday confirmed dead as another explosion went off in the me­tropolis. The blast, which occurred at the main campus of the polytech­nic, also injured seven other victims, who have been rushed to the Mur­tala Mohammed Hospital.
The blast went off a few minutes after 2pm at the gate of the Central Administration of the school, hitting a number of students who had gathered to check their postings following the release of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)  mobilization list that had just been  pasted on the notice board. The Rector, Prof. Dalhatu Mohammed Galadachi, confirmed the explosion on the campus located on BUK Road, saying that the blast was most unfortunate.
Witnesses fingered a young girl wearing a black veil (hijab) as the agent of death , saying she slipped into the crowd of students unnoticed and blew herself up. They said that it was the impact of the explosion that killed as well as injured those immediately around her at the time of the explosion. The corpses were removed to the morgue.
Speaking to Daily Sun, the Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Adenrele Shinaba, described the suspected bomber “as, a teenage girl wearing black veil (hijab)” while confirming that three persons, which included the suicide bomber herself, died.
The commissioner expressed concern over the fact that recent suicide bombings in the state were carried out by young girls wearing veils.
He said that despite his concern, the police have no role to play with regards to the mode of dressing by the public, noting that as a security organization, the police have been sharing  information with the appropriate authorities regarding the disturbing trend in which suicide bombers hid their bombs under their veils. “I don’t have the power to choose the mode of dressing of the society. I can only advise. That decision is not mine to make. But this is no time for sentiment. We have to face reality. We have been sharing our information on this with the government. We don’t know what they would do with it,” he said.
Meanwhile, a state of anxiety has enveloped the state capital as residents have adopted fresh security measures to beat the deadly  ploys of the insurgents, among which include avoiding places of high human traffic or vehicles and to limit their movements to only highly essential needs and callings.
Also, in some quarters in the state capital, residents simply avoid direct or close contacts with young girls wearing veils even as checks have also shown that the mode of dressing in a long veil is no longer fashionable to the ladies given the  suspicion it evokes from the public and security agencies.

10 year old girl found wearing explosive device apparatus in Katsina

The DG of the National Information Center, Mr Mike Omeri said this while briefing news men at the National Information Center;

"Security forces on Tuesday, July 29, at about 10pm along Zaria Road, Tudun Wada of Funtua Metropolis, arrested three suspects believed to be members of the Boko Haram sect. The three suspects consisted a male named Iliya Haliru, and two females – Zainab Musa, 18, and Hadiza Musa, 10. The three suspects were arrested in a Honda CRV. When they were directed to disembark for security check, 10-year-old Hadiza was discovered to have been strapped with an explosive belt. And immediately, Iliya and Zainab made attempt to escape with the car but were later blocked by other concerned Nigerians and subsequently arrested. The police successfully unstrapped the explosive.”

Chibok group denies receiving N100m, says Jonathan’s aide only gave money to parents

The leadership of the Kibaku Area Development Association (KADA), the group representing the Chibok people in Abuja, has denied knowledge of a reported N100 million presidential gift to the delegation that visited President Goodluck Jonathan.
The group explained that the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Special Duties, Prof. Dan Adebiyi, after the Aso Rock meeting, visited the hotel in the night and told the girls, who escaped from the Boko Haram insurgents, that the presidency had sent them a token of N100,000 each.
“Of the 122 parents who visited, he gave 61 N200,000 each and 51 N100,000 each. The remaining 10 parents were told that the money was finished”, KADA said.
KADA stated that he got no money and neither did Adebiyi, who coordinated the visit.
He said the group was only bothered about the abduction of the over 200 female students of Government Secondary School, Chibok, kidnapped on April 14.
A statement by the KADA leadership, which was read to newsmen on Wednesday by its spokesperson Dauda Iliya, said the controversial cash was the N1 million given to the parents by the member of the House of Reps representing Chibok/Damboa/Gwoza Federal Constituency, Hon. Biye Gumtha.
“It is noteworthy that our primary goal is the safe return of the girls that are still in captivity. It is sad that we are losing sight of this to the allegation of sharing money.
“We, therefore, want the world to understand that we, KADA stand by our earlier position and did not demand, receive or handle any finances throughout the process of the visit.
“On the night of the 22nd July, 2014 at about midnight, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Special Duties, who had been coordinating the visit on the side of the presidency, visited the hotel and told the 51 escaped girls that the President sent them a token of N100,000 each, and accordingly gave them the said sum without prior discussion with any KADA official or any other person in the community.
“He equally gave the sum of N200,000 each to 61 parents out of the 122 parents that came on the visit. 51 parents were given N100,000 each on the basis that the money given to him was not enough to go round at N200,000. The remaining 10 parents were not given any amount of money.
“As for the money given to some parents back home in Chibok, it was from the sum of N1,000,000.00 given to them by the Hon. Member of the House of Reps, representing Chibok/Damboa/Gwoza Federal Constituency; that is the source of the alleged N7,000.00 given to parents in Chibok, who were not part of the visit.
“While we acknowledge that any well intended support for our suffering population, which has lost its means of livelihood since the events of April 14 and subsequent attacks could be welcome, however, the approach that the presidency adopted has brought reproach and dishonour to our community in the eyes of the public that has supported us since the abduction of our daughters.
“We hereby state categorically that no amount of money whatsoever was given to KADA leadership to share among the parents and escaped girls or for whatsoever reason and therefore the allegation is completely baseless, false and malicious.
“We clearly spelt out to the presidency through the office of the Chief of Staff that we shall not be involved with any financial transaction whatsoever, including payment of transportation from Chibok to Yola, flight by air from Yola to Abuja, hotel accommodation and feeding in Abuja, and intra-city transportation while in Abuja.
“When the presidency requested us to invite parents and escaped Chibok girls against 22nd July, 2014, we accepted the responsibility on the condition that we shall facilitate by way of contacting and mobilizing the parents and escaped girls, thereby playing the sole role of facilitators”, Iliya affirmed.

Alicia Keys announces 2nd pregnant with beautiful picture with husband

The singer posted the picture on   her Facebook page and wrote

"Happy Anniversary to the love of my life @therealswizzz !!! And to make it even sweeter we've been blessed with another angel on the way!!! You make me happier than I have ever known! Here's to many many more years of the best parts of life!!!

STOP THE LIES :Usain Bolt denies describing the Commonwealth Games as 'a bit sh*t'

Zoe Saldana poses nude for Women's Health magazine

New e-passport takes off Friday

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday inaugurated Nigeria’s new 64-page e-passport with a call on Nigerians to protect the image of the country by shunning uncomplimentary statements and actions.

Jonathan launched the traveling document shortly before the commencement of the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He and Vice President Namadi Sambo later took turns to be captured in order to be issued with the new traveling document. The new passport takes effect from August 1 (tomorrow).

Jonathan said Nigerians must be ready to work hard in order to improve the image of the country.

The President said, “The issue of the image of the country is what we will all work for, people in government, the media and the civil society.

“I always say that when people continue to paint their country with all kinds of colours, that is the way they will associate those colours with your green passport.

“I want a situation that whenever you travel to another country and you raise your green passport, people will appreciate you and not when you raise your green passport, people will begin to think that that green passport signified some suspicious character.

“We are not helping ourselves when we paint ourselves the colours that we are not supposed to bear.

“I wish to continue to appeal to all Nigerians that we must all collectively learn how we do our things, statements that we make, to paint brighter colours for our green passport.”

The President said the pages of the traveling document had to be increased from 32 to 64 to cater for frequent travellers who change their passport almost every other month because of limited pages for visa.

He urged officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service to protect the integrity of the passport by ensuring that it would be difficult for anybody to fake it.

Jonathan also asked officials who man the nation’s airports to ensure that they conduct themselves in a manner that would portray the country well before visitors.

He added, “I always sympathise with those who travel almost on a weekly basis, changing passport every month, at least we have moved a step forward. The key thing is for us to have a robust relationship with key countries so that some of these frequent travellers may not need visas and that will really help us more.

“One thing one must know today is that it is not the issue of 64-page passport that is key to Nigerians but the security. If our passport could be easily faked by criminals, then we will have problems.

“One thing again is that how can Nigerians get passport easily especially those living outside this country?

Landlady’s children cut off tenant’s private parts in Lagos

A 35-year-old man, Yinka Offehin, who resides on Popoola Street, off Abaranje Road in the Ikotun area of Lagos is now battling to survive after his scrotum was cut off by the children of his landlady.
According to reports, Yinka was attacked while sleeping in his room with his family members.
His wife, Bisi, who was with him when the incident happened, identified the assailants as Solomon and Damilola, the children of the landlady.
She told Punch that, “On Thursday morning, around 3am, while we were sleeping, we heard loud bangs on our door. We initially thought they were armed robbers because the house beside ours had recently been robbed.
“When they entered, we saw they were children of our landlady. They began destroying our electronics and other property.
“They were two of them. One held a knife in his hand. They took N8, 000. They descended on my husband and he also fought back. In that confusion, my husband shouted and we saw that one of the attackers had cut Yinka’s scrotum. I can’t say what they used to cut off my husband’s scrotum.”
Explaining what led to the unthinkable action, the victim said the genesis of his problem was when he had a misunderstanding with his landlady and was asked to vacate his apartment.
“I was asked to leave the house immediately, but after the intervention of the traditional ruler of the community, I was asked to leave by the end of August.
“But that decision did not go down well with the children of my landlady and they continued to make trouble with me.
“I was already planning to leave their house and had even contacted an agent when they attacked me without any provocation. I want the government to fight for me,” he said.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, confirmed the incident, saying “It was around 3am, while the victim was sleeping in his room, that one Solomon Olowogbemi and Damilola Olayeye, the children of his landlady, went in and started fighting with him.
“In the process, they inflicted injury on him with an unknown object. The skin of his scrotum was partly cut off, thereby exposing one of his testicles. The two suspects have been arrested and detained and the victim taken to a hospital.”

Vincent Enyeama the only Nigerian in Goal 50

The Lille star enters the prestigious 2014 list after incredible performances with club and country, and is the only Super Eagle in the list

Goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama has been named in 27th position in the 2014 Goal 50, which was released in full on Monday afternoon. (See full details here - Goal 50 2014)
The 31-year-old is the only Nigerian to be named on the list of the top 50 performers from last season, and the second-ever after Sunday Mba made the list in 2013.
Enyeama kept two clean sheets as he helped Nigeria reach the second round at the World Cup in Brazil weighing in with some quality saves.

	GOAL 50 Roll of honour
2008	CRISTIANO RONALDO
2009	LIONEL MESSI
2010	WESLEY SNEIJDER
2011	LIONEL MESSI
2012	CRISTIANO RONALDO
2013	LIONEL MESSI
2014	CRISTIANO RONALDO

He also had a great season with his club where he went 1062 minutes without conceding a goal as Lille set up an early challenge for the Ligue 1 title. They eventually finished third and earned a Uefa Champions League spot.
For his feat in the French top division, Enyeama was awarded the Marc Vivien Foe prize for best African player in France last season.
A colourful character, Enyeama helped Nigeria win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations title in South Africa and has grown in confidence since.
He was listed among the best goalkeepers at the 2014 World Cup, 12 years after he made his debut in a game against England at Korea/Japan 2002.
The Goal 50 is our prestigious annual award that recognizes and ranks the world's 50 best footballers of the season.
Previous winners include Wesley Sneijder, Lionel Messi and the current title holder Cristiano Ronaldo who claimed his third win on Monday.
Voted for by editors from Goal’s 35 editions representing more than 600 journalists, the Goal 50 provides an unparalleled insight into the highest achievers in all positions and across all continents, unearthing many of the future stars of the game. Congrats to him.

I’m married to my music–Olawale Ojo, Project Fame winner

Olawale Ojo,  MTN Project Fame winner, 2013, a final year student of Agronomy at LAUTECH, in this chat with The Entertainer shares his experience as a Project Fame winner, his relationship status and his challenges.
What are you doing now?
I am dropping my debut album before the year runs out and another video very soon.
What is it like being in the limelight?
The moment I won project fame I told myself, ‘this is a great challenge and I need to work harder because I will be facing a larger audience.’ I am still the same person but I am working harder like I didn’t win so that I don’t rest on my oars. I want to build my brand and I want people to know me as Olawale the artiste. I know that with God, everything will fall into place.

How would you describe your style of music?
I do afro pop and R&B basically.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I am the first born of my parents. I am an indigene of Ekiti State. Right now I am a 500 level student of LAUTECH studying agronomy.

How do you intend combining music and your academics?
Right now I am in my finals; I am almost wrapping things up. Music is something that comes naturally to me. Agronomy is a very good course, maybe, some time in the future I will go back to agric because it’s a good business. But for now I am focussing on music because it is a jealous business.

Does music run in your family?
No, I will say I am the first in my family to do music.

What was your parent’s reaction when you told them you were doing music?
My dad most especially disturbed me a lot. In my 100 and 200 Level days, I was in the choir at school. My dad was like he didn’t send me to school to sing. However, they never saw me on stage until I hit project fame. I held on to my dreams despite the odds and it finally got to point where I was able to convince them that I loved singing. So when I told them I was going in for Project Fame, they just said okay.

What was your growing up like?
I was very troublesome and I gave my parents lots of trouble. I remember my dad used to beat me like every other day. I was a stubborn a child and I am from a business oriented family so I had my little business running when I was in school. It was when I got to the university that I realized that I could sing.

Who do you look up to in the music industry?
I look up to the likes of Tiwa Savage. She is a good performer and singer. I experienced that first hand when I performed with her. I respect Sound Sultan, Tuface, Davido, Iyanya, Wizkid, Chidinma and a whole lot of them out there because it takes so much to be an artiste in this country; they have all struggled and conquered.

Do you have any girlfriend now?
None, music is actually my girlfriend. There is no time for any relationship now.