Author: Tahir Ahmed

By Abubakar Ojima-ojo La Liga champions Barcelona kicked off their title defence with a comfortable 3-0 victory on the road, handing debuts to some of their top summer signings in the game. One of the biggest stories of the summer was Marcus Rashford’s loan switch from Manchester United to Barcelona. The English forward, however, had to wait for his chance, starting on the bench, while fellow new signing Joan Garcia was handed his debut in goal. Barcelona wasted little time stamping authority, striking in the ninth minute, as Lamine Yamal lit up the right wing with a dazzling run before…

By Abubakar Ojima-Ojo Thomas Frank earned his “dream” first Premier League win as Tottenham manager as Richarlison’s brilliant overhead kick inspired a 3-0 success against Burnley on Saturday. Frank was hired from Brentford to replace Ange Postecoglou after the Australian was sacked at the end of last season. The Dane made a good first impression in Tottenham’s opening game of the top-flight season thanks to a majestic display from Richarlison. The Brazil forward scored twice, including an eye-catching acrobatic strike, to reward his manager for selecting him instead of Dominic Solanke. Brennan Johnson hit Tottenham’s third to complete an uplifting…

By Abubakar Yunusa Ojima-Ojo Security Operatives in Kaduna State have arrested a suspected agent, with about ₦25 million allegedly earmarked for vote-buying ahead of today’s bye-elections. In a statement, the spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, DSP Mansir Hassan said the suspect, Shehu Patangi was arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning at a popular hotel located along Turunku Road in Kaduna metropolis, where he was said to be coordinating the distribution of funds for vote buying to influence voters in the Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency bye-election. The statement disclosed that a total cash of ₦25, 963m was recovered…

By Abubakar Yunusa Ojima-ojo Liverpool struck twice in the final minutes through Federico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah to overcome a battling Bournemouth 4-2 in a thrilling start to the Premier League season on Friday. Antoine Semenyo looked to have rescued a point for the Cherries by scoring twice, after he had reported an incident of racial abuse from a fan, to cancel out Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo’s strikes for the defending champions. But on an emotive night as Anfield remembered Diogo Jota, Chiesa was the unlikely hero as the injury-hit Italian fired the home side back in front before…

By Jibrin Abubakar, PhD In his 2012 book, titled, Onward, the CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, penned: “Any business today that embraces the status quo as an operating principle is going to be on a death march.” Schultz’s metaphor finds validation in Nigeria’s petroleum sector, where Dangote Petroleum Refinery now encounters not just market forces but what industry insiders describe as ‘an entire ecosystem of entrenched interests’ protecting the troubled status quo. To combat this systemic challenge, Dangote Refinery is implementing a strategic solution: the phase rollout of 4,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered trucks, complemented by a network of specialized…

By Saidu Adamu, Jalingo Taraba State Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas has called on the people of the state to pray for the speedy recovery of his deputy, Aminu Abdullahi Alkali, who has been sick. Briefing journalists in Jalingo, the governor explained that the deputy fell ill while serving the State and deserves all the moral support from the people for his quick recovery rather than unnecessary distractions. He said, “I speak to you not just as your governor but as a human being who understands the need for being together. He fell ill while serving the State in active service.…

By Saidu Adamu, Jalingo Concerns are mounting in Taraba State’s healthcare sector over the continued neglect of more than 450 Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs), who have stayed for 10 months without salaries. Stakeholders fear that if urgent steps are not taken, neighbouring states in need of their services could attract them thereby eroding the progress made in grassroots immunization and vaccination campaigns. Speaking at the State Task Force quarterly review meeting in Jalingo, the Executive Secretary of the Taraba State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (TSPHCDA), Dr. Tukura Nyigwa, also warned that the state’s failure to release counterpart funds for…

By NEXTER For it support for the real estate sector in Africa, the continent’s biggest cement manufacturing company, the Dangote Cement Plc, has added to its numerous accolades as it bags ‘Cement Company of the Year’ award at the just concluded Africa International Housing Show (AIHS) in Abuja. The Dangote Cement Plc is one of the sponsors of the four-day housing exhibition that ended last Friday where 21 countries and 40,000 exhibitors were said to have participated. Presenting the award on behalf of the organizers of the show, Governor of Sokoto State, Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto, who was represented by his…

By NEXTER The Nasarawa Unity Frontier has faulted recent calls by a group, for the resignation of the State Accountant General, Musa Ahmed Mohammed (Baraden Nasarawa), over alleged 2027 ambition. The group, the Nasarawa State Transparency, Accountability and Good Governance Group (NS-TA&G2), at a press conference on Saturday in Lafia, had utged the accountant general to exit his current position, citing Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022. However, the Nasarawa Unity Frontier in a statement signed by its President, Abimiku Elisha, and Secretary, Ibrahim Dogara, and issued on Monday in Lafia, described the claim as baseless, premature, and rooted…

By NEXTER Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has flagged off the construction of 24.5km Wamba-Dengi-Alizaga road connecting Wamba to Nassarawa Eggon local government area of the state. The contract for the road was awarded to Centerfield Engineering Limited at the cost of N9,061,627,000.00. Speaking during the flagging off the project on Friday, Governor Sule said, when completed, the road would serve as a vital economic corridor, connecting communities and boosting agriculture, commerce and ease mobility in the area. He noted that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration in the state recognized the significance of opening up rural roads, as it…