Ridoola's blog

Liverpool secured a last-gasp 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, thanks to an own goal by visiting defender Toby Alderweireld. The win helped the Merseysiders to maintain their lead at the top of the English Premier League (EPL). Liverpool are on 79 points, with Manchester City who won at Fulham on Saturday on 77 points but with a game in hand. Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris parried out a back-post header from Mohamed Salah, but the ball struck the unfortunate Belgian central defender and rolled over the line in the 90th minute. It was a stroke of luck for Liverpool and one which sent Anfield wild with relief. A draw would have handed the advantage in the title race straight to Pep Guardiolas side. Questions will be asked of Lloriss failure to smother the ball or push it away from danger. But it was a cruel end to a strong second half display from Tottenham who are now level on 61 points with fourth-placed Manchester United. Roberto Firmino opened the scoring in the 16th m

Late goals from Cesar Azpilicueta and Ruben Loftus-Cheek helped Chelsea complete a thrilling comeback to beat Cardiff City 2-1 away in the English Premier League (EPL) on Sunday. With Chelsea heading for an embarrassing defeat against third-bottom Cardiff, their captain Azpilicueta dragged them back into the match with a headed goal that appeared to be offside. The visitors then completed the fightback when substitute Loftus-Cheek stormed in at the back post to plant a header in the bottom corner. Maurizo Sarris Chelsea stayed sixth in the table with 60 points, level with fifth-placed Arsenal, who have played a game fewer, and a point behind Manchester United in fourth. Cardiffs plight looks increasingly bleak as they are now five points adrift of the safety zone with seven games remaining. Chelsea, who started without talisman Eden Hazard and midfielder NGolo Kante, struggled to create chances and failed to hit a single shot on target in the first half. Aron Gunnarssons long-thr

Napoli ripped AS Romas defence to shreds as they handed the hosts an embarrassing 4-1 defeat at the Stadio Olimpico in Serie A on Sunday. The defeat piled on the problems for recently-appointed coach Claudio Ranieri. Roma began the game in fifth place with a chance to move within a point of fourth-placed AC Milan, who lost 1-0 at Sampdoria on Saturday. But, instead, they dropped to sixth after Atalanta won 3-1 at Parma to overtake them. Arkadiusz Milik put Napoli ahead after two minutes, cleverly controlling Simone Verdis chipped pass with his heel and then swiveling to fire past Robin Olsen. Having dominated the first half, with another Milik goal chalked off for offside, Napoli were pegged back in stoppage time when Patrik Schick was fouled by goalkeeper Alex Meret. Diego Perotti slotted home the penalty kick. Yet Roma were left reeling by two quick goals after the break as they slumped to a second defeat in Ranieris three games in charge. Jose Callejons low cross slipped und

The Federal Government has urged members of the South-South Cooperation to take concrete steps to tackle illicit financial flows as a strategy to address poverty and accelerate growth among the developing nations. Director-General, Nigeria's Directorate of Technical Aid Corps, Pius Osunyinkami, made this call in a statement made available to newsmen on Sunday in Abuja. Osunyinkami, was quoted as making the call at the second UN High-level Conference on South-South Cooperation in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He also called for urgent measures to tackle illicit financial flows among the member countries. The DG, who led the Nigerian delegation, also presented a charge from President Muhammadu Buhari to the Cooperation consisting of developing countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Osunyinkami said, Illicit financial flows distort the growth and development of countries, drain foreign reserves, undermine genuine investment and eliminate resources that would have been used for

Policemen attached to the Lagos State Police Command have intercepted a bus loaded with bunkered fuel at Ejigbo area of Lagos. The Lagos State Police Command Spokesperson, DSP Bala Elkana, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Lagos. He said the bus was intercepted with one of the suspects on Thursday while the police was on anti-crime monitoring of Canoe area of Ejigbo. Elkana said that two of the suspects escaped. According to him, police operatives, led by Sgt Sunday Joseph, suspected the Fiat Bus in which the suspects were traveling because of its two contrasting colours. On sighting the policemen, the three occupants of the bus jumped down and fled in different directions. The policemen pursued them and caught up with one of them while the remaining two jumped into the carnal and escaped. The suspect confessed that he and his cohorts loaded the Fiat Bus with registration number LND 825 BC with multiple sacks laden with petrol, Elkana said. He added that the arrested

The Lagos State Task Force on Environment says it impounded 109 commercial motorcycles operating at 2nd Rainbow end of Oshodi-Apapa expressway on Saturday. The Agency said that about 2,500 motorcycles impounded in the last three months over alleged violation of traffic regulations would soon be crushed. The Chairman of the Taskforce, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi, disclosed this in a statement signed by the Head of Public Affairs of the Agency, Mr Adebayo Taofiq. He said the enforcement operations was carried out after several warnings to motorcyclists to desist from operating on restricted routes, particularly highways and bridges across the state. The chairman said that numerous complaints from the public on illegal and criminal activities perpetrated by unscrupulous motorcyclists was alarming and must be checked. While some of them harass innocent members of the public at various bus-stops, others engage in all sorts of criminal acts by dispossessing their passengers of valuables such

Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom, says the State Government needs about eight million dollar loan facility to complete a coconut refinery located at Mkpat Enin Local Government Area of the state. Emmanuel stated this at a Lunch he organised for officials of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, (NSIA) at the Government House in Uyo on Sunday. He said that the Coconut refinery was another mega buck investment given the price of coconut oil in the International market. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that work on the project was flagged off by the governor on May 24, 2017. Emmanuel said, about eight million dollar loan facility for the refinery project will soon be ready and the credit is to be repaid within five years. Coconut refinery project is a major industrial investment by Akwa Ibom government through the ministry of Agriculture and Food Sufficiency. He called on the NSIA to facilitate the process of completing the project and also help in the development of ot

The Police Service Commission (PSC) has approved the promotion of 8,916 senior police officers to their next substantive ranks. The spokesman of the commission, Mr Ikechukwu Ani, said in a statement on Sunday that the approval followed the meeting of the commission held in Abuja. He said the commission approved the promotion of three Commissioners of Police ( CPs) to the next rank of Assistant Inspectors General of Police. They are: Jona Jackson Mava; Olushola Babajide David and Titus Sumba Larmode. He said that acting appointments of two CP were also confirmed. The beneficiaries are: Rudolf Echebi Obe, Works and Danladi Lalas, Air Wing. Ani said 71 Assistant Commissioners of Police ( ACP) were elevated to the next rank of Deputy Commissioners of Police ( DCP ). They include; Ogundare Emmanuel, Alonge Adebowale; Augustina Ogbodo; Ibrahim Abdullahi, Garba Ahmed; Uzuegbu Kanayo, Zubairu Abubakar; Vincent Nwajiofor (works), Polycarp Dibia and Frank Mba, the Force Public Relations Off

Pastor Festus Olushola of the Christ Disciples Church, Ilorin, has urged mothers to be discipline and be a good example to their children. Olushola, who made the call on Sunday in Ilorin while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN ), on the occasion of Mothers Day, said mothers are the pillar of the Nation that must not be corrupted. The Cleric said most mothers have through their bad conduct misled their children into bad habits and wrong choices. Children grow up to emulate their mother mostly. They try to do what their mother is doing, because they are more familiar with mother first. Mothers must be mindful of what they do in their presence. Be an exemplary role model to your children and wards. Don't be a troublesome mother that fight with neighbours. Don't be a mother that say dirty or foul languages in the presence of your children. Teach your children honesty by being honest yourself. Always caution them when they are wrong. Punish them when they do the wr

Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, has appealed to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to ensure speedy evacuation and clearing of agricultural produce for export. Ogbeh made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. He was reacting to current delay in evacuation of cashew nuts worth 300 million dollars for export to Vietnam. He described the situation as disturbing. The minister said the development negated the Federal Governments desire to make the country an exporting nation. It has been brought to our notice that cashew nuts worth 300 million dollars destined for export to Vietnam have been stuck in Lagos. And as we know, they are usually locked in containers at high temperatures and if these cashew nuts remain there for too long, they get spoil and that is extremely disturbing. It has happened before and this also compromises our desire to become an exporting nation so we are very concerned. We have spoken t

With a resonant hook, and featuring Zlatan, Prettyboy D-O and Ice Prince, this song looks set to appeal to whoever listens. You have probably heard of him. Early in 2018, he featured on M.I. Abaga’s playlist, ‘ Rendezvous .’ He is Straffitti  or  Straff, born Olawale Olukolade , a 20 year old multi-disciplinary Nigerian creative whose chosen primary art form is rap. Straffitti takes a very distinct artistic approach to African music and culture redefining rules and breaking boundaries. In 2017, he released his debut album ‘ MOLOTOV ’ to critical acclaim following on from his 2017 EP ‘ VANILLA SKY ’ which featured African Hip-hop Legend, M.I Abaga . Straffitti drops his new single under  Aristokrat Records  titled ‘ Kuronbe ’ and teams up with Zlatan Ibile, Prettyboy D-O and Ice Prince. The single is produced by JohnsonIP and GCL3F. Running on Travis Scott- esque riffs and strings as vehicle for the well-arranged drums, ‘ Kuronbe ’ chronicles topics on the braggadocio and trap

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has condemned the reported flogging and physical assault of suspected bandits by some military personnel in Zamfara, as totally unacceptable. NAFs spokesman, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, condemned the action in a statement on Sunday in Abuja. The attention of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has been drawn to a video and some pictures circulating on some social media and online platforms showing some military personnel flogging suspected armed bandits at Shinkafi Local Government Area (LGA) in Zamfara State. The NAF has discovered that some of its personnel were part of the joint team stationed at the Galadi Sub-Sector at the time. The NAF wishes to state unequivocally that the troops actions of flogging and physically assaulting the disarmed suspects were totally unacceptable and not in consonance with the Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) guiding the conduct of the operation. Our personnel have always been directed to respect the rights of innocen

The people of Bauchi have expressed high hopes on their governor-elect, Sen. Bala Mohammed, advising that he pay prompt attention to some crucial sectors of the economy. Some of the citizens who spoke to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said they expected the incoming governor to pay attention to employment generation, education, health, infrastructure development and Agriculture. They decried the rising unemployment rate in the state as well as rising incidence of poverty and school dropouts, saying that the incoming governor needed to act swiftly in those areas. The incoming governor Mohammed was a senator, FCT Minister, Journalist, experienced civil servant and was elected under the Peoples Democratic Party. Mr Abu Mohammed, a retired civil servant, said the incoming governor needed to focus on unemployment rate which has worsened lately, adding that there were tendencies for idle youths to engage in thuggery and terrorising of innocent citizens. I am calling on the new governor to

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has distributed rice, other food items and relief materials to 97 IDPs and orphanages in Katsina State. The materials and food items were distributed to IDPs and orphanages by the Customs Presidential Committee for distribution of the materials Mr. Yakubu Salihu, Chairman of the sub-committee, disclosed this on Saturday in Katsina. Salihu said the committee had distributed 6,725 bags of 50kg of rice and 3,425 containers of 25 litres of Cooking Oil to the IDPs and orphanage . We have shared 1,259 bags of 50kg bags of sugar and 2004 cartons of Macaroni. The committee has shared 877 bags of second hand clothes, 7,780 rubber shoes, and 90 cartons of rubber slippers, he said. ALSO READ : Fashola says some states now enjoy constant power supply Salihu, a Controller of Customs, said the service was directed by Federal Government to distribute contraband seized by customs from smugglers to IDPs camps across the country. He called on the beneficiaries t

The National Leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu in reveals that there would be uphold party discipline in the 9th National Assembly to address the leadership tussle. Sen. Tinubu reportedly said this while addressing newsmen after a Prayer Programme organised by Islamic and Christian clerics to mark his 67th birthday on Friday. He said " Party discipline is key, we must be discipline in the party. We were a little careless in 2015. We created the opportunity for serpent to get into our party and that did not allow Nigeria to make the desired progress. You have seen the result of it and we are not going to allow that to happen again. We are going to respect our party and we are going to apply the whip. It is either you stay with us or you follow us or you leave. You have the freedom to choose but the freedom does not give you as a minority to go and collaborate and protrude our mandate given to you to another party who was our opposition and who is still our opposition. We would no

This Sunday, Anfield hosts one of its most important games in years as Liverpool and Tottenham collide in the Premier League. For Liverpool, the stakes are high. Losing this match will not only cost them their current lead at the top of the table, it would also be their first defeat on home soil this season. This would give additional fillip to Manchester City which faces Fulham in Saturday’s early kick-off. On the other hand, Tottenham Hotspur is seeking its first win in five games to remain ahead of the chasing pack for UEFA Champions League qualification. Mauricio Pochettino’s men have been dire recently and failed to make a single shot on target against Chelsea. This was the first time under Pochettino’s guidance that such had ever happened. FIXTURE Competition: Premier League 2018-19 - Liverpool vs Tottenham Venue: Anfield Date: Sunday, 31 March 2019 Kick-off time: 4:30 PM GMT  Place bets on this and other upcoming features with Betbiga . Our revolutionary gaming pl

The Chairman of Innoson Group, Chief Dr Innocent Chukwuma, OFR has through a Writ of FiFa taken over Guaranty Trust Bank PLC for and on behalf of Innoson Nigeria Ltd as a result of the Bank’s indebtedness to Innoson Nigeria Ltd. GTB and Chukwuma have been in court following allegations of fraud levelled against the Innoson boss. According to Innoson's spokesman, Cornel Osigwe "The Court of Appeal, Ibadan division had in its decision of 6th February 2014 dismissed GTB’s appeal against the Federal High Court, Ibadan Division. Thus, the Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment of the Federal High Court, Ibadan Division which ordered GTB by way of Garnishee order absolute – to pay N2.4 Billion to Innoson with a 22% interest, per annum, on the judgment sum until the final liquidation of the judgment debt. Rather than obey the judgment of the Court of Appeal, GTB approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Court of Appeal's decision. "However in an ruling delivered by Ho

The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Lagos State on Friday urged the state Governor-elect, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu to be a father to all residents and prioritise alleviating suffering of the people. Alhaji Shakirudeen Olofin, the state Chairman of IPAC, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sideline of the presentation of certificates of return to Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat. NAN reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos State on Friday presented certificates of return to Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat at the commissions headquarters, in Sabo-Yaba. I congratulate the Governor-elect on his victory at the polls. I want to advise him strongly that after the election, he should assume the role of father; he is now father to all. Election has come and gone, he is not governing only APC members, he is governing entire Lagosians, Olofin, also the state chairman of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) said. He ad

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) says ongoing military operations to combat terrorism, banditry and economic sabotage has recorded some successes in the last one week. Some of the ongoing operates are Operation Lafiya Dole, Whirl Stroke and Delta Safe. Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, the Acting Director, Defence Information (DDI), said this while giving update on those operations in a statement on Friday. He said that during the period, troops repelled Boko Haram attack on Michika town in Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa and recovered some items including weapons from them. The DDI said that the terrorists came to the town to loot for their logistics, attacked a bank and some shops, damaging an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) and carted away food items. He, however, said that they ran out of luck as troops at neighboring Lassa in Borno mobilised to engaged them in a fierce combat,forcing them to flee. Nwachukwu said that terrorists, who fled were later ambushed and neutralised by Spe

The wife of Suleiman Abubakar, the Nasarawa state Chairman of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and three other women abducted along Gudi-Keffi Road on Wednesday, have regained their freedom. ASP Samaila Usman, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Nasarawa told newsmen on Friday in Lafia that the victims were released by their captors at 9:45 pm on Thursday. Usman attributed the release of the victims to sustained pressure from the search party deployed by the Commissioner of Police, Mr Bola Longe. He said that all the victims, including the wife of the journalist and wife of a former state lawmaker, were all National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members. He said that they had all been reunited with their families. However, the chairman of the correspondents chapel told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that he paid ransom to secure the release of his wife. According to him, the abductors called him, using his wifes cellphone and directed hi

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says young rising political stars can only wrestle power from “ageing leaders” successfully if they join forces during elections. Obasanjo stated this in Johannesburg, on Wednesday, March 29, 2019, at the launch of a book — Democracy Works; Rewiring Politics to Africa’s Advantage — which he co-authored. Obasanjo, a former military ruler in 1976 and then a civilian leader from 1999 to 2007, told AFP that African countries were making progress towards democracy, but much more remains to be done. “ Africa will get to where it needs to be,” he predicted. “Thirty years ago election was an aberration in Africa, today no election is an aberration,” he said in the interview. “ Even those (rulers) who want to remain (in power)… they still go through some form of election”. It’s what somebody called autocratic competitiveness. They are still autocratic, but they try to show that they are competitive through election.” But Zambian opposition leader, Hak

The kidnapped wife of a member of Nasarawa state chapter of the Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ), Mrs. Yahanasu Abubakar and three other women have been released by their abductors. Suleiman Abubakar, the chairman of NUJ Correspondent Chapel confirmed the development to Channels Television. It was, however, not stated if ransom was paid to secure the release of the women. The women were kidnapped on Wednesday, March 27, on Gudi-Garaku road, Akwanga Local government road after the gunmen attacked their vehicle heading to Lafiya, the state capital. The gunmen were said to have shot at the vehicle conveying the women from Keffi, where Yahanasu had gone to register at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camp. ridoola.blogspot.com.ng

On Thursday, March 28, 2019, an appeal court in Abuja, confirmed that Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, is the winner of the gubernatorial poll held in the region last year. On Saturday, July 14, 2018, Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had defeated his challenger from the People's Democratic Party (PDP) Mr. Olusola Eleka , who came second with 178,121 votes against the incumbent's  total of 197,459 votes. Unsatisfied with this outcome, the PDP and its candidate Eleka, went before an election petition tribunal in Ekiti to complain. The tribunal however maintained Fayemi as the winner and a 3-man panel at the appeal court has backed it. Headed by Justice Stephen Adah , the panel reportedly agreed in a report by Punch News, that the appeal lacked merit. Failure to adhere to the electoral act was cited as one of the reasons for Eleka and his party's interest to contest Governor Fayemi's victory. But Justice Adah and two other colleagues Justice Tinua

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Commissioner in Charge of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states, Hajiya Amina Zakari says Sokoto state has lost its record on peaceful conduct of elections. Zakari stated this on Thursday at the issuance of certificate of return to the Governor, Deputy Governor and State Assembly members-elect in Sokoto. She said that Sokoto state was popular and known to be one of the most peaceful states when it comes to conduct of elections. Although elections in the Northwest has been generally peaceful must especially in Kebbi and Jigawa states. Sokoto state, however, lost its peaceful election conduct that we know the state for. Unfortunately this year we have incidents that led to the loss of lives in Sokoto state, may the souls of the departed rest in peace, she said. Zakari further called on those that lost the contest to try again in the next elections and those that won to work thoroughly in delivering democratic dividend. The state Resid

Ghana has again produced an icon who is celebrated as the youngest real estate developer in the country and perhaps in West Africa. Stephanie Ode Wilson, a 21-year-old lady, has been noted for her tremendous work as she builds and sells houses in the country. She is one of Ghana’s leading silent entrepreneurs, who is making a huge dent in two heavily male-dominated industries across the region. How Stephanie started Stephanie is a graduate of the Kumasi Girls Senior High School and currently in her 3rd Semester at Bluecrest University. She said her ambitions shattered by a JHS tutor after she picked interest in Construction while she was a child. At age 17, Stephanie committed herself to learn by any means necessary and surrounded herself with constructors and architects at any given time during her days in High School. With support from her family, she started importing building interior materials such as tiles, wall coverings and security doors. She then worked with Shieldsof

The e-commerce company, Jumia Ghana has revealed that Huawei and Samsung phones contributed 60 per cent of the sales of smartphones it made in Africa last year. The company sold $1.5 million worth of smartphones against $900,000 in 2017. The Managing Director of Jumia Ghana Limited, Ore Odusanya revealed this at the launch of its Mobile Report in Accra. According to him, brands like Huawei and Samsung were reaching out to the underserved segment of the market and introducing affordable smartphones which contributed to 60 per cent of the smartphones sold in Africa. Other brands which included Infinix, Tecno and Hotwave were among the top five mobile brands on Jumia in 2018. Mr Odusanya noted that the adoption of smartphones, then the purchase and use of data implied a direct impact on growth in the sector. He further disclosed that mobile broadband coverage in Ghana in 2018 was 80 per cent and Jumia would launch its "Mobile Week" from April 8 to 14, 2019 to enable member