Toni Rudiger has assured Real Madrid that his arrival will bring quality leadership to the team.
The German international will join Real when his Chelsea contract expires this month.
He told Marca: “Yes, it is pressure, but it is the history of Real Madrid. They are used to winning and the mentality is that: to win. But their winning mentality goes with my character.
“Leadership is something that comes naturally. As a defender you have to make yourself feel present, talk to your teammates…
“That’s what I try to do. I like to have good communication, motivate. I think it’s something that comes naturally to me, it’s not an act, it just comes out like that.”
“The first time I heard from Madrid it was like, ‘wow’. They first contacted me in September or October I think. A club like this doesn’t call you many times so it was amazing.
“I think that in football, as in life, everything is a chapter, and this is a new chapter for me. Obviously, this new chapter is a big one because it’s a big step for me. It’s probably the biggest of my whole career.”
A former chief security officer to the late Sani Abacha, Hamza Al-Mustapha, has emerged as the presidential flag bearer of the Action Alliance (AA) for next year’s election.
He got 506 votes to defeat his only contender, Samson Odupitan, in the party’s presidential primary held in Abuja on Thursday.
Two other aspirants, Felix Osakwe and Tunde Anifowose, stepped down from the contest to support Al-Mustapha.
While 972 delegates were billed to vote in the election, 851 were accredited out of which 721 votes were cast.
In his acceptance speech, Al-Mustapha, who thanked AA’s electoral committee for the successful poll, also lauded Odupitan for not withdrawing from the race.
“I also commend Mr Odupitan for contesting because if everybody withdrew, there won’t be a victory as we have seen today,” he added.
He also called on members of the party to get their permanent voter cards (PVCs) to ensure the AA emerges victorious in next year’s exercise.
Also speaking during the event, the National Chairman of the AA, Kenneth Udeze, congratulated Al-Mustapha and other aspirants. He called on members of the party to rally around him to make the party victorious.
Former Nigeria international Sam Sodje said the Super Eagles were not convincing, despite recording a 2-1 win against Sierra Leone in Thursday’s Group A 2023 AFCON qualifier in Abuja.
Jose Peseiro secured his first win in a competitive game as Eagles coach following the win against the Leone Stars.
Sierra Leone took the lead less than 15 minutes into the game through Jonathan Morsay before Alex Iwobi equalised a few minutes later.
And with five minutes to the end of the first half Osimhen made it 2-1 to help the Eagles seal the three points.
And reflecting on the game Sodje speaking on Brila FM said: ”I’m happy we won and congratulations to the new coaching crew but to be honest we must stop conceding goals left right and centre. We must be winning games convincingly.”
Sodje expressed confidence in new head coach Jose Peseiro positing he will surely come good.
“We need to give the coach the benefit of the doubt because he is still new in the job and he will get better.”
The Eagles next qualifying match is against Sao Tome and Principe in Morocco on Monday.
In Group A’s other game Guinea-Bissau came from a goal down to thrash Sao Tome and Principe 5-1.
Joe Aribo insists the Super Eagles will improve with more games under new manager, Jose Peseiro, reports says
The Super Eagles recorded their first win under the Portuguese, coming from behind to beat Sierra Leone 2-1 at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja on Thursday night
The West Africans wasted a number of chances afterwards, while the Leone Stars also came close to equalising twice.
Despite the nervy nature of the victory, Aribo is confident the Super Eagles will get better in subsequent games.
“It’s important to win our first game of the qualifiers. We can play better, we will continue to improve and we will get better” the Rangers midfielder told reporters after the game.
“We are working with the new manager and following his philosophy.”
Aribo and his teammates will now shift attention to their matchday two encounter against Sao Tome and Principe next week Monday.
The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, says the real estate sector remains a safe haven of money launderers.
He spoke in Abuja yesterday when he received the president of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors Valuers (NIESV), Emmanuel Wike.
“Just last month, we discovered a retired civil servant built a University in Kaduna and nobody, including your members, reported such transactions.
‘’So, I’m still bold to say that the real estate sector is one of the easiest places for money launderers. That’s why we’re empowering SCUML with all the necessary tools to enable us achieve our mandate, so whatever we are doing is backed by the law”, he said.
He charged members of the NIESV to comply with extant laws regulating their practices by furnishing the EFCC with full details of suspicious transactions in line with the Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition Act (2022).
Remarking, Wike said the EFCC had raised the performance bar of prosecuting high profile corrupt individuals.
He assured that his members would collaborate with the EFCC by exposing the bad eggs in the profession.
The Kaduna State Government has confirmed the killing of 32 villagers in the Kajuru Local Government Area of the state.
This was contained in a statement issued by the commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, on Thursday.
The statement noted that “it received initial reports from security agencies, that bandits attacked the villages of Dogon Noma, Ungwan Sarki and Ungwan Maikori in Kajuru Local Government Area on Sunday.”
According to the reports, the bandits stormed the area in large numbers on motorcycles and proceeded to raze several houses, as they attacked and killed locals.
Since the attack on Sunday, security agencies and traditional leaders in the locations have been updating the government on the development.
The statement said that as of the time of this report, 32 persons have been confirmed dead following the attack.
While the Government mourned the gruesome killing and burning of houses in the attacked locations, a report was published suggesting that the victims of the attack were killed by terrorists using a helicopter.
“The Kaduna State Government wishes to make a clarification based on reports received since Sunday. The bandits attacked the first two locations and killed 31 citizens. They then headed into Ungwan Maikori, where they killed one person and burnt some houses.
“An Air Force helicopter (under Operation Whirl Punch) dispatched to the area, had earlier scanned the first two locations and sighted burnt houses and properties on fire.
“The helicopter intercepted the bandits at the last location (Ungwan Maikori) and engaged them as they retreated, before the arrival of ground troops to the general area.
“It was the arrival of the air asset which deterred the bandits from further attacks on the citizens in the village after the bandits had already killed one local and burnt several houses.
“The story that a helicopter provided air support to the bandits against the locals, is therefore an untrue account.
“The Government of Kaduna State having gone through all the facts finds it regrettable that a section of media would circulate an unverified report, insensitive to its implications on national security, law and order.
“Eyewitnesses to the peddled report of a helicopter aiding bandits in the killing of innocent citizens are invited to present their accounts to the Government-backed by incontrovertible facts.
“Similarly, several kidnapped victims, including an expatriate kidnapped at a mining site, were rescued after a fierce engagement with bandits.
“Governor Nasir El-Rufa’i, on receiving reports of the attack, expressed deep sadness and prayed for the repose of the victims’ souls. He also conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims,” the statement declared.
Hundreds of residents from Kwari village have fled their small community and taken refuge in a primary school in Jibiya town the headquarters of Jibiya Local Government Area of Katsina State as a result of the invasion by the bandits.
It was gathered that over 80 people were kidnapped and taken to a forest by the invaders.
Speaking in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service on Thursday, one of the women who escaped the onslaught narrated how they were forced to leave the village by the hoodlums.
She said ”they came with full force at 5.30 pm on Wednesday and invaded us, we were not aware of their coming. They opened fire, shot sporadically and burnt down shops and our food barns.”
“They kidnapped people, men and women, little children who cannot even talk. They took them to the forest. They took about 80 people to the forest.
“We did a head count later, we found that about 80 of our people were taken away by the bandits. They are these bush Fulani people; they took even pregnant women away,” she stated.
On how she and others escaped, she said they had to run away from Kwari village and moved to the central primary school in Jibiya town.
”We are here lying down in a humiliating manner. Not even mats to lie on. We are all lying on the bare ground.“
”When the bandits left, we looked and found out that those taken away were up to 80. In some houses, they took 5, 10 and took them to the forest . Even our little children.”
Narrating their ordeal she disclosed they need help.
”Truly, we are in need of help. We need assistance because we are in a pitiable condition . Please help us, Wallahi some husbands don’t know where their wives are. Some wives cannot find their husbands. Children cannot find their mothers, some mothers don’t know where their children are,” she said.
According to BBC reports attempt to get the police spokesman SP Gambo Isa to respond to their inquiries was not possible.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has asked presidential candidates of the various political parties and their supporters to shun violence and bad politicking ahead of the 2023 elections.
Mr Jonathan said this in a statement in Abuja on Thursday.
According to the schedule of INEC activities, all political parties are expected to end their primaries on June 9.
The commission has also set July 17 as deadline for the uploading of names of presidential candidates by all parties on its portal.
Mr Jonathan, in his congratulatory statement, acknowledged the democratic exercise that produced Atiku Abubakar of PDP, Bola Tinubu of APC, Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP), Rabiu Kwankwaso of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
The emergence of Malik Ado-Ibrahim of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Dan Nwanyanwu of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Dumebi Kachikwu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) were also noted.
He said their victory at the end of the primaries has shown their “belief and interest in the progress of our nation.”
Of all the presidential candidates noted by Mr Jonathan, only Mr Kwankwaso emerged unopposed as other candidates went through keenly contested electoral processes.
While congratulating the candidates on their emergence, Mr Jonathan urged them to make the nation’s array of challenges the centre of their campaign.
“As you progress towards the electioneering campaigns, it is important that the issues confronting the country and credible solutions take centre stage.
“I urge you to conduct your campaigns in a manner devoid of acrimony, divisiveness and treachery so that at the end of the day Nigeria will win, democracy will triumph and humanity will be better for it.
“As I have always said, no ambition is worth the life of another. As candidates, you must eschew violence and acts that will encourage any form of bloodletting or exacerbate the national fault lines. We live in a season of unprecedented violence and all political leaders have a responsibility to de-escalate the tension in the country. The candidates by conduct and language must prioritise non-violence and peaceful coexistence,” Mr Jonathan said.
The former president praised party aspirants who lost out of the contest but remained committed to Nigeria’s democratic principles.
He described the 2023 general elections as another opportunity to “rebuild the dreams of our founding fathers and revitalise our economy.”
“The importance of this election imposes on the election managers and security agencies a historic burden to continue deepening the reforms of our electoral system. A transparent election will go a long way to increase the confidence of Nigerians in our democracy and restore trust in our public institutions,” he said in his statement.
Mr Jonathan’s acceptance òf defeat in 2015 has continuously been praised by Nigerians and the international community.
The police in Ogun State have arrested a man, Wakilu Ogundairo, for allegedly raising a false alarm of Boko Haram invasion of Imosan-Ijebu town located in Ijebu-Ode Local Government Area of the State.
Abimbola Oyeyemi, the police spokesperson in the state, said in a statement Thursday that the suspect raised the alarm in a Whatsapp voice note which was broadcast to the public.
Mr Ogundairo allegedly claimed that the invaders were armed, causing panic among the residents and environs.
The police spokesperson said people were calling the command’s emergency number expressing concern over the safety of their loved ones in Ijebu -Ode and the entire state.
He said the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, directed the Divisional Police Officer, Obalende division, to move into the area and find out the authenticity of the said WhatsApp voice note.
Mr Oyeyemi said upon investigation, it was discovered that the only people in that location were farm labourers from Benue State who are carrying out their legitimate business devoid of any form of violence.
He said the police’s “technical investigation” led to the arrest of the suspect.
He said upon interrogation, the suspect confessed to making the voice note just to scare people.
The police said they would charge the suspect to court soon.
A Leader and Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Sir Marc Wabara, has congratulated Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his emergence as the presidential flag bearer of the party in the 2023 general elections.
In a statement, Wabara, who described the presidential primary election of the APC as hotly contested, urged His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to use his position as the presidential candidate of the party to further unite all segments within the party for the task ahead.
He expressed confidence that the victory of the former Lagos State Governor would be a watershed for the party and the country at large.
Wabara also thanked the President, His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the APC for further deepening the country’s democracy through the successful and transparent conduct of the presidential primary election.
The Federal Government, alongside other stakeholders in the health sector, on Monday in Abuja, inaugurated the National Electronic Pharmacy Policy and Strategic Implementation Plan...
