Paris St-Germain have hit back at Barcelona following the latter’s lawsuit threats against Neymar on Tuesday. The Catalans are suing the Brazilian for 8.5m euros (£7.8m) for breach of contract in relation to his world record £200m move to the French side after buying out his contract. PSG have however requested that Barcelona stop being so salty about the whole Neymar thing.
Barcelona are suing Neymar for breach of contract
“Paris Saint-Germain was surprised to learn of FC Barcelona’s statement today announcing the start of legal proceedings in Spain against its former player Neymar Jr. and indicating that should Neymar Jr. fail to pay the monies claimed by his former club, Paris Saint-Germain will be held responsible to pay the outstanding sum.
“Paris Saint-Germain reiterates that, like Neymar Jr., it has always respected all applicable laws and rules in its dealings and, once again, regrets the attitude of FC Barcelona.” a PSG statement read on its website
Actress Eucharia Anunobi reportedly loses only child
According to reports, Raymond Ekwu, the only child of Nollywood actress, Eucharia Anunobi, has passed on. The 15 year-old died on Monday, August 21st from complications related to the Sickle Cell Anemia. The Evangelist was once married to the father of the child, Charles Ekwu, the couple welcomed the child in 2002.
May his soul find repose and may God give the parents/family the fortitude to bear this loss. Amen.
Barcelona are suing Neymar for breach of contract
Barcelona have announced plans to sue Neymar for breach of contract following his world record £198m transfer to PSG. In a lawsuit filed to the Spanish Football Federation on August 11, the Spanish giant declared that they are owed £7.7m that he was paid as a loyalty bonus.
Meanwhile the Brazilian hit out at the board last weekend saying the wrong people are in charge. “I spent four beautiful years there and parted happy. But with them the board, no. For me, they are not the people who should be there, for the direction of Barca. Barca deserve much better.” The 25 year-old said.
Transcript Of President Buhari's Speech: Nigeria’s Unity Settled
Two days after President Muhammadu Buhari returned to the country following his extended medical vacation in the United Kingdom, he addressed the nation in a broadcase this morning and some of the things he touched one were national security, unity which he said is settled and not negotiable and a host of others. Transcript of his address below.
“My dear citizens,
I am very grateful to God and to all Nigerians for their prayers. I am pleased to be back on home soil among my brothers and sisters.
In the course of my stay in the United Kingdom, I have been kept in daily touch with events at home. Nigerians are robust and lively in discussing their affairs, but I was distressed to notice that some of the comments, especially in the social media have crossed our national red lines by daring to question our collective existence as a nation. This is a step too far.
In 2003 after I joined partisan politics, the late Chief Emeka Ojukwu came and stayed as my guest in my hometown Daura. Over two days we discussed in great depth till late into the night and analyzed the problems of Nigeria. We both came to the conclusion that the country must remain one and united.
Nigeria’s unity is settled and not negotiable. We shall not allow irresponsible elements to start trouble and when things get bad they run away and saddle others with the responsibility of bringing back order, if necessary with their blood.
Every Nigerian has the right to live and pursue his business anywhere in Nigeria without let or hindrance.
I believe the very vast majority of Nigerians share this view.
This is not to deny that there are legitimate concerns. Every group has a grievance. But the beauty and attraction of a federation is that it allows different groups to air their grievances and work out a mode of co-existence.
The National Assembly and the National Council of State are the legitimate and appropriate bodies for national discourse.
The national consensus is that, it is better to live together than to live apart.
Furthermore, I am charging the Security Agencies not to let the successes achieved in the last 18 months be a sign to relax.
Terrorists and criminals must be fought and destroyed relentlessly so that the majority of us can live in peace and safety.
Therefore we are going to reinforce and reinvigorate the fight not only against;
• elements of Boko Haram which are attempting a new series of attacks on soft targets
• kidnappings, farmers versus herdsmen clashes,
• in addition to ethnic violence fuelled by political mischief makers. We shall tackle them all.
Finally, dear Nigerians, our collective interest now is to eschew petty differences and come together to face common challenges of;
• economic security,
• political evolution and integration
• as well as lasting peace among all Nigerians.
I remain resolutely committed to ensuring that these goals are achieved and maintained.
I am so glad to be home.
Thank you and may God bless our dear Nation.”
Today We Draw Line, Hate Speech Will No Longer Be Tolerated – Acting President Osinbajo
Opening Remarks by His Excellency The Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, San, Gcon, At The National Economic Council, NEC, National Security Retreat, at the Banquet Hall of The State House, Abuja, 17 August 2017:
I am delighted to welcome you to this special session of the National Economic Council, focusing on Security. As you’re all aware, the Buhari administration came into office on a vision that covered three key areas: Security, the Economy and the fight against Corruption.
All three issues are closely linked, of course. Without guaranteeing security, we will struggle to attract the kind of investments, domestic or foreign, needed to create jobs and prosperity for our people. And when those jobs are hard to find and keep, our people will naturally be more susceptible to the lure of criminal activity. Which means that governments that are serious about fighting crime ought to be extremely serious about fighting poverty.
And I take the point that the Chairman of the Governors’ forum made about investments in agriculture, although the N23 billion investment is one aspect of agriculture which is the Anchor Borrower’s Programme. Our total investment is well over five times that. If you look at all the other areas in which we are investing in agriculture, and that excludes what the States are also investing in agriculture. So I think that substantial effort is being made, still not enough but certainly more than N23 billion.
Corruption and Security are also interconnected. We are all witnesses to how, only a few years ago, much of North Eastern Nigeria was at risk to falling completely into the hands of Boko Haram, largely because widespread corruption in the military had robbed our troops of the resources and morale needed to fight and defeat the terrorists.
Regarding this all-important issue of security in Nigeria, we all know what the issues are. In our lives as politicians and as elites; in our security meetings and confidential briefings, in news reports and editorials in the media, we are all daily confronted by the disturbing reality of Nigeria’s security situation.
Now I think is the time to implement our thinking and our talking; to add action to our analysis. And this action must be bold, ambitious, urgent – and, and very importantly – innovative. It was Albert Einstein who said, and I quote, that “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems in the first place.”
This is a challenge to all of us, to confront these matters with utmost seriousness. Because the problems we face as a nation are not static, but instead continue to evolve, our thinking and our solutions for them must also be equally dynamic, to take into account the peculiar realities of the 21st century. I have spoken at a number of recent fora about how technology and the internet have altered the nature of conflict and war in contemporary times, enabling and amplifying the efforts and impact of terrorists, insurgents, warmongers, secessionists, and peddlers of hate speech.
Against this backdrop, the question we should be asking ourselves, as Governments, especially as Chief Security Officers in our States, as Law Enforcement Agents, is: how can we take advantage of these same tools and technology to stay permanently ahead of those who seek to wield them to create mischief, and cause terror, fear and bloodshed?
These are the conversations that we should be having, and at the highest levels of government no less. My expectation is that we will, at this forum, focus on solutions, instead of rehashing the problems.
But let me just reiterate an important fact, one of the reasons why the National Economic Council is so important is because the framers of our Constitution recognise that that the Federal Government alone cannot solve Nigeria’s security or economic challenges. Security is a collective enterprise, requiring the harmonization of efforts from all three tiers and branches of Government, and from the private sector, civil society and indeed the general public as well.
Yesterday, we took an important step in incorporating all of our society into this security issue and into the fight against insecurity in our country. Pursuant to our Constitution, I issued a directive to the Inspector General of Police to constitute the Community Policing Programme. As you know the Community Policing Programme is one that the Police itself had developed over the years.
But by this directive, we expect that the community Policing Programme will take root and take effect and all of our Police formations across the country will engage their communities in the very creative ways the Police themselves have prescribed in the Community Policing programme.
We expect that this will be a fundamental change in the way that policing is carried out in our country and that it will yield the kinds of results that we expect.
The Buhari administration has already set a pattern of engagement and collaboration with Governors, and we are committed to maintaining this atmosphere of frank engagement.
You are aware that this was not always the case; and prior to this administration, the National Economic Council had not exactly fulfilled its obligations as an economic council because of the unending series of conflicts between the Federal and State Governments over very many issues.
But we are determined to do things the right way, to be transparent in our dealings with you, to respect your views, regardless of partisan or ideological affiliations, and to join hands with you to create positive change in the lives of all our people.
Please permit me a comment on hate speech. The Federal Government has today drawn the line on hate speech. Hate speech is a specie of terrorism. Terrorism as it is defined popularly is the unlawful use of violence or intimidation against individuals or groups especially for political ends. The law, that is the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011 (as amended), defines terrorism as inter Alia, an act which deliberately done with malice which may seriously harm or damage a country or seriously intimidate a population.
The intimidation of a population by words, by speech is an act of terrorism and this government intends to take this matter very seriously. As I have said, we’ve drawn a line against hate speech, it will not be tolerated, it will be taken as an act of terrorism and all of the consequences will follow it.
I call on all business, religious and political leaders, whatever your political leaning, your religion or tribe or faith to condemn in the strongest possible terms at all times, hate speech.
Speech that promotes violence against an individual or group, especially when such comes from people of your own faith, tribe or group, your silence in such situations can only be seen as an endorsement.
Hate speech, and the promotion of the same throughout history from Nazi Germany and the extermination of Jews to the Rwandan genocide succeeded in achieving their barbarous ends by the silence of influential, voices from the aggressor communities.
When leaders in communities that speak in such a manner as to create dissension or to intimidate a population are quiet, they do a great disservice to our unity and nation.
This is why I urge all of our political leaders, religious leaders, business leaders and all of those who truly want a united country and a country where there will be peace and security, to ensure that we do not tolerate by our silence the hate speech that we hear every day in our community.
In closing, let me remind you that our Constitution states that the primary purpose of government shall be the security and welfare of the people. And as President Buhari likes to say: “you cannot administer a country you have not secured.”
We will not relent in our vision to ensure a secure country, in which all citizens can confidently aspire to achieve their dreams and ambitions. I am confident that today will mark an important milestone in the achieving that vision.
I thank you very much for listening.
RELEASED BY:
Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity to the President
Office of the Acting President
The Best 2017 FIFA Football Awards Shortlist Unveiled.
FIFA today revealed the shortlisted candidates for The Best FIFA Football Awards scheduled to take place in London on 23 October 2017. While The men’s awards recognize achievements from 20th November 2016 to 2nd July 2017, the women’s awards take into account the period between 20th November 2016 and 6th August 2017. The nominees below:
The FIFA Best Men’s Player 2017 Award shortlist
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Leonardo Bonucci, Gianluigi Buffon, Dani Carvajal, Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala, Antoine Griezmann, Eden Hazard, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andres Iniesta, Harry Kane, N’Golo Kante, Toni Kroos, Robert Lewandowski, Marcelo, Lionel Messi, Luka Modric, Keylor Navas, Manuel Neuer, Neymar, Alexis Sanchez, Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal.
The FIFA Men’s Coach 2017 Award shortlist
Mauricio Pochettino, Diego Simeone, Tite, Zinedine Zidane, Antonio Conte, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Joachim Low, Carlo Ancelotti, Massimiliano Allegri, Luis Enrique.
The FIFA Men’s Coach 2017 Award shortlist
Lucy Bronze, Deyna Castellanos, Pernille Harder, Sam Kerr, Carli Lloyd, Dzsenifer Marozsan, Lieke Martens, Vivienne Miedema, Wendie Renard, Jodie Taylor.
I'll fire Wenger if i buy Arsenal – Dangote
Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has declared that the first thing he will do if his plans to takeover Arsenal is successful is to sack Arsene Wenger. The richest man in Africa made this known in an interview with Bloomberg Dangote and he affirmed his desire to invest in the English club once he completes a major oil refinery project in the Nigerian capital of Lagos.
“The first thing I would change is the coach, He has done a good job, but someone else should also try his luck.” The 60 year-old said.
Dangote intends to make an offer valued Arsenal at £2bn. “If they get the right offer, I’m sure they would walk away, Someone will give them an offer that will make them seriously consider walking away. And when we finish the refinery, I think we will be in a position to do that.” He added
Photos from Pastor EA Adeboye's surprise book launch
He continued, “People say I am humble, but people need to know where I am coming from. I cannot say I have any ability or wisdom. Everything has been the Lord Himself. When I was about 40 and I saw grey hairs on my head, I wondered why and God said I was carrying a burden that was not mine.
“God said, ‘I am just using you as camouflage. People need to see someone. So, I am putting you forward so that I can do the work from behind.’ So, everything that is happening in RCCG, nothing is of Adeboye at all; it is all about God. So, for you to say you are writing a book about somebody that is nothing, someone who has almost zero beginning, from a poor family and passed through secondary school by God’s grace. For God to allow today to happen without telling me, it can only be that He wants to draw your attention to Himself that if you allow Him, He will do great things, using you as camouflage.”
"This is persecution" Cristiano Ronaldo reacts to 5-match ban
Cristiano Ronaldo has labelled his recent ban by Spanish football, persecution, adding that it is exaggerated and ridiculous.
Recall that the Portuguese was handed a five-match ban for taking his shirt off and diving and pushing the referee following his dismissal in the Supercopa de Espana played against Barcelona few days ago.
The Real Madrid forward shared his thoughts on the punishment on his instagram page, “Impossible to be immune to this situation, 5 games !! It seems to me exaggerated and ridiculous, this is called persecution! Thanks to my teammates for the support and the fans !!!”
Ogenyi Onazi denied work permit.
According to BBC Sport, Nigeria international Ogenyi Onazi has been denied a work permit to play for Birmingham City. The central midfielder who recently quit Turkish club, Trabzonspor had his application rejected by the Football Association.
BBC learnt that Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the past two editions of the Nations Cup has affected his chances of securing the permit. An appeal made by the club was rejected on Wednesday despite Onazi featuring in over 80% of the national team games.
The 24 year-old has made 38 appearances times for the Super Eagles.