Alexis Sanchez, Mathieu Debuchy, Calum Chambers - how did Arsenal's new signings fare against Monaco in the Emirates Cup?

Radamel Falcao scored the only goal of the game as Monaco won 1-0

Jack de Menezes

Emirates Stadium

Three of Arsenal’s four summer signings were on show during the 1-0 Emirates Cup defeat to Monaco. Mathieu Debuchy and Alexis Sanchez both made their first starts for the Gunners while Calum Chambers was retained at centre-back from Saturday’s 5-1 victory over Benfica, but in the end they were powerless to avoid defeat as Radamel Falcao sealed the win for the French side.

Valencia went on to claim the 2014 Emirates Cup via their 3-1 win over the Portuguese side, who finished bottom of the group having departed London with many more questions than answers ahead of the new season. For Arsenal, the result won’t be too disheartening, especially as the Gunners’ faithful got their first good look at the majority of their new signings.
With David Ospina yet to make his debut due to injury, Sanchez, Debuchy and Chambers all took centre stage to show a taste of what they can over this season. So how did each get on on Sunday afternoon?

Mathieu Debuchy
Debuchy looked reliable at the back, and he’ll need to be if he is to fill the large vacancy left by Bacary Sagna. The £12m summer addition perhaps didn’t maraud forward as much as Sagna used to, but that won’t worry Arsene Wenger as he looks to the French international to justify his faith in making a move for him. The former Newcastle defender did well to cut off Radamel Falcao when he was through on goal, although his strong shoulder-to-shoulder challenge on the Colombian could’ve seen a penalty awarded on another day. Pushed forward in the second half when Arsenal were searching for an equaliser, but all in all a solid days’ work as he left the field in the closing stages.

 
Mathieu Debuchy Calum Chambers

One of the more impressive players over the weekend, Chambers was one of only two players to retain his place in the Arsenal starting line-up along with Aaron Ramsey. Made a crucial interception early in the game as Falcao primed himself to fire home, and managed to get up the other end to see a first-time effort from a corner travel over the bar. Handled himself well, especially given his belying years, and Arsenal fans are certainly going to enjoy watching the 19-year-old develop at the Emirates.

Arsenal transfer talk: Potential summer targets

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Calum Chambers Alexis Sanchez

Sanchez could take the Emirates by storm this season, and that’s no exaggeration. The Chilean looks to be a wonderfully talented player, blessed with speed in abundance and a physicality that defies his wingers’ frame. His first touch, as he showed regularly throughout the match, borders on the sublime, but the key factor will be how his team-mates choose to utilise his talents best. At times he looked a little stranded up top with just Giroud to accompany him, but once he moved to play through the middle after the break he seemed to come to the fore. Sanchez departed midway through the second period, and while there were no clear-cut chances to write home about, he showed enough to suggest that he will dazzle the home crowd throughout the season.

NIOB canvasses capacity building in construction industry

by Maureen Azuh

The Nigerian Institute of Building has said there is a need for professionals in the built environment to focus on capacity building and development collaborations in the industry.

The institute said this would provide opportunities for a review of global best practices that would help the industry to grow.

It added that the need for this would form the basis of its 44th Annual General Meeting later this month, with the theme, ‘Construction industry development collaboration, innovations and capacity building’.

The President, NIOB, Mr. Tunde Lasabi, said in a statement, “This is a deliberate challenge, which comes with opportunities to explore the potential of research, collaborations, innovations and professionalism towards positive growth and national development of the building industry.

“As builders, our foremost concern is that the construction of buildings will not be left in the hands of quacks but that builders in Nigeria will continue to play their role effectively as the critical link in production management.”

Lasabi said builders were more apt in imbibing professional technicalities in order to forge competences and interface with other building industry practitioners in joint efforts to harness resources for sustainable development.

He said, “The professional builder must master the science, management and technology of building practice to sufficiently create innovations and adoption of world best practices as a means of relevance and developmental progress.

“Due to modern constructional trends, large scale projects and professional complexity, enormous demands are thus required for higher collaborative synergy and proactive multi-facet tasking across defined professional roles and responsibilities rather than divisive rivalry and unneeded competition.”

@punchng.com

Robin van Persie: Manchester United striker to miss the start of the Premier League season

The Dutchman has been given extended break after the World Cup

Josh Reich

Dutch striker Robin van Persie is set to miss Manchester United's opening Premier League match against Swansea City after being given an extended break after the World Cup.

Van Persie, 30, did not travel with United on their pre-season tour of the United States, and will not appear in the final friendly against Valencia at Old Trafford on 12 August, four days before their first league match.
Manager Louis van Gaal said his compatriot would resume training on Monday and, having missed much of last season through injury, would not be rushed back into the team before he reached full fitness.
"When a player has been on holiday for three weeks they have to train," Van Gaal was reported as saying by British media.
"I'm sorry but players have to train and Robin needs a full training regime behind him before he can play again. People can criticise me for my decision but I know what to do with players who have had three weeks' holiday.
"Hopefully, Robin will get his fitness back very fast but, for now, he won't play. Robin wants to play every game, I know that, but so do the other 30 players in the squad."

REUTERS

40,000 flee northern Iraq after Islamist’s threat

by itvnews

Iraqis fleeing their homes after the threat

Around 40,000 people have fled their homes in northern Iraq after being given an ultimatum by Islamist militants to either convert to Islam, pay a security tax, leave their homes, or die.

Islamist militants attacked the towns of Sinjar and Zunmar in the area forcing Yazidi families from their homes.

Jawhar Ali Begg, a Yazidi family member and spokesperson for the Yazidi community said the Islamist fighters have hunted them down.

Thousands of Yazidi people have been killed. And thousands have become refugees.
Their town is controlled by Islamic State, and their shrine has been blown up by IS. They’re killing Yazidi people and it’s a big attack against Yazidis.

– JAWHAR ALI BEGG

The Islamic State, an al-Qaida breakaway group, captured large swaths of land in the country’s west and north in a lightning offensive earlier this year.

Gaza conflict: Israel plans partial seven-hour ceasefire

by bbc

Israel has announced a seven-hour “humanitarian ceasefire” in parts of Gaza, starting on Monday morning.
A senior Israeli military official said the truce would not apply to Rafah and that Israeli troops would respond if they came under attack.
Earlier, United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon described an Israeli strike near a UN-run school in Gaza as “a moral outrage and a criminal act”.
Palestinian officials said at least 10 people died in the attack on Sunday.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Sunday that it had begun withdrawing some troops from Gaza, saying it was “extremely close” to completing its mission to destroy a network of tunnels.
Health officials in Gaza say 1,800 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed and more than 9,000 injured since the conflict began nearly four weeks ago.
Sixty-six Israelis have died, all but two of them soldiers. A Thai national working in Israel was also killed.
In the outrage that followed Sunday’s attack on the UN school, Israel announced it would hold a “humanitarian window” in its Gaza offensive to allow hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to their homes.
The ceasefire would not include the town of Rafah, an IDF statement said, because there was an “Israeli military presence” there and “clashes were still ongoing”.
It said the truce would last from 10:00 local time (07:00 GMT) until 17:00 (14:00 GMT).
The Israeli army warned that it would “respond to any attempt to exploit this window” by Islamist militants in Gaza.
Hamas responded to the truce with suspicion and its spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, accused the IDF of attempting to “divert the attention from Israeli massacres”.

Norway oil fund buys Paris property for $570m

by Agency Reporter

Norges Bank Investment Management bought an office and retail complex opposite Paris’s Le Madeleine church for €425.6m ($570m) from a fund managed by Blackrock Inc.

The 31,500 square-metre (339,000 square feet) Le Madeleine building, according to Bloomberg, has been completely refurbished since it was acquired by Blackrock Europe Property Fund III in 2009, the world’s largest money manager said in a statement today. Tenants include Chanel, Visa and C&A.

“The acquisition was made when there was little liquidity in the market, but we feel the building is now transformed,” Jean-Philippe Olgiati, a director at BlackRock Real Estate, said in the statement. The company is “assessing future opportunities to deploy capital in France and generate returns for our clients.”

Norway’s $890bn sovereign wealth fund, the world’s biggest, formed a real estate group last month that will invest almost $10bn annually over the next three years. The fund already owns properties on London’s Regent Street, Times Square in New York and the avenue des Champs-Elysees in Paris.

British navy evacuates nationals from Libya

by aljazeera

A British navy ship has evacuated British nationals from Libya, according to the UK Defence Ministry, as worsening security there is forcing thousands to flee.
The HMS Enterprise, which had been on a Mediterranean deployment, on Sunday evacuated 110 people, mostly British, from the capital Tripoli, Michael Aron, British ambassador to Libya, said on Twitter.
“A number of passengers were transferred to Enterprise by boat and given supplies for the journey,” the ministry said in a statement.
The 91-metre survey ship, also designed to support amphibious operations, is expected to arrive in nearby Malta on Monday.
Britain is also planning to temporarily suspend its embassy operations in Libya, the Foreign Office said.
Sunday’s operation resembles one conducted in 2011 during the uprising that toppled long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi, when a Royal Navy ship evacuated foreigners.
Aron has said he has “reluctantly” decided to leave due to the worsening local clashes.
Libya has suffered chronic insecurity since Gaddafi’s overthrow, with the new government unable to check armed groups that helped to remove him as well as the rise of conservative religious groups.
Fighting between the rival factions has forced the closure of Tripoli’s international airport, while the Ansar al-Sharia is battling army special forces in the eastern city of Benghazi.
On Sunday, fighting for control of the airport left at least 22 people dead and oil depots hit by shells caused mass fires in Tripoli.
In the past week, many countries have ordered their citizens to leave and, in some cases, have evacuated them.
Between 100 and 300 Britons are thought to be in Libya.
Many British consular staff were evacuated last Monday.
“Fighting has intensified in Tripoli, including around the British embassy compounds,” a Foreign Office spokesman said.
“In the light of the deteriorating security situation, we are taking steps temporarily to suspend operations at the British embassy in Tripoli after the planned assisted departure of British nationals.”
“We advise against all travel to Libya and urge British nationals in Libya to leave through commercially available means.”

China earthquake: Troops join search

by bbc

China has sent 2,500 soldiers to the southwest province of Yunnan after an earthquake killed hundreds of people.
At least 381 people died and more than 1,800 were injured when the magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck on Sunday.
Chinese troops with life-detection instruments and digging equipment are on their way to the region to help with rescue efforts.
State broadcaster CCTV said the earthquake was the strongest to hit the mountainous province in 14 years.
President Xi Jinping called for “all-out efforts” to find survivors as he dispatched soldiers to the area.
They will join more than 300 police and firefighters from Zhaotong and about 400 emergency workers and sniffer dogs from across Yunnan province in the rescue operation.
Premier Li Keqiang was also heading to the area, Xinhua news agency said.
Xinhua reported that 12,000 houses had been destroyed and about 30,000 damaged.
The government had sent 2,000 tents, 3,000 folding beds, 3,000 quilts and 3,000 coats to the disaster zone, Xinhua said.
But rescuers trying to deliver the much-needed supplies are struggling to reach the area, reports the BBC’s Celia Hatton in Beijing.
Unrelenting rain and persisting landslides have left many roads in the region too damaged to use, she adds.
Chen Wangchang, head of Ludian County hospital in Yunnan’s Zhaotong City, said temporary tented medical facilities had been set up.
“All the houses had already collapsed when we arrived. Dead bodies were everywhere and there were a lot of injured people.”

India bank chief arrested over bribery

by bbc

Indian police have arrested the chairman of state-run Syndicate bank, Sudhir Kumar Jain, and several others over allegations of bribery.
Jain has been accused of taking bribes to raise credit limits of firms.
The Central Bureau of Investigation said it recovered 5m rupees ($82,000; £49,000) allegedly paid to Jain.
The raids are being described as the first large scale anti-corruption moves since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office earlier this year.
“We are determined to fight corruption at high levels,” Ranjit Sinha, director of the Central Bureau of Investigation was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency.
The CBI said it had seized cash, documents and computer records after conducting raids across 20 different locations in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Bhopal.
The PTI quoted Sinha as saying that other banks were also involved in the conspiracy.
A total of 12 people, including Jain, are being investigated.

Lebanon army shells Syrian fighters in Arsal

by Aljazeera

Lebanese troops have shelled positions held by Sunni Syrian fighters in the mountains around the Lebanese town of Arsal on the Syrian border, in a third day of heavy fighting.

Monday’s shelling came as Reuters reported the Lebanese army was advancing on Arsal, which was attacked by Syrian armed groups over the weekend.

The troops reportedly found 50 bodies of Syrian fighters, Reuters cited security sources as saying.

The fighting came as hundreds of Lebanese civilians began fleeing the eastern border town.

It is the most serious spillover of violence from the civil war in Syria into Lebanon, the AP news agency reported.

Civilians were streaming out of Arsal in cars and pick-up lorries on Monday, fearing more violence as the Lebanese army brought reinforcements to the area.
About a dozen flatbed lorries carrying Lebanese army tanks were seen headed to Arsal’s outskirts.
The fighting has killed at least 12 Lebanese troops so far and about 13 others are missing after Syrian fighters made a cross-border raid and overran army positions in the area.
The Lebanese army has pledged to defeat the groups.
“What happened is far more dangerous than some believe,” General Jean Kahwaji,  Lebanon’s military chief, said on Sunday.
“The terrorist attack which occurred yesterday was not an attack by chance or coincidence. It was planned previously, a long time ago, awaiting the appropriate time.”

Tensions flare

An unknown number of Syrian fighters and civilians were also killed in the fighting, Reuters news agency reported.
Security officials say the attackers in Arsal include fighters linked to the Islamic State, an al-Qaeda offshoot that has seized territory in Syria and Iraq, as well as Syria’s al-Qaeda branch, the Nusra Front.
Bombardment of the area prompted a large number of the tens of thousands of refugees sheltering in the area to flee, residents said.
Lebanon has been buffeted by the same waves of conflict that have brought about the rise of hardline Sunni groups in Syria and Iraq.
Kahwaji said Lebanon’s army would resist any attempts to import Syria’s war into his country.
Earlier on Sunday, fighting erupted briefly in Lebanon’s main northern coastal city of Tripoli, where Syria’s war has inflamed decades-old tensions between local Sunnis and Alawites.

Portugal unveils bank rescue plan

by bbc

Portugal’s central bank has announced a plan to rescue the troubled lender Banco Espirito Santo.
The group will be split into two – a “good bank” with the healthy assets and a “bad bank” with the riskier ones.
The “good bank”, which will be called Novo Banco, will be loaned 4.9bn euros ($6.6bn; £3.9bn) from what is left of Portugal’s bailout fund.
The move had been expected after BES on Friday reported a record loss of 3.6bn euros for the first half of the year.
Since June, when concerns about the financial health of the company first came to light, its shares have plunged 89 per cent.
The company, which is Portugal’s largest listed lender, will be delisted from the stock market on Monday, with shareholders set to lose almost all their investment, says the BBC’s Alison Roberts.
All of BES’s depositors will be protected.
“The plan carries no risk to public finances or taxpayers,” said Carlos Cosa, Portugal’s central bank governor at a late night news conference in Lisbon.
“There was an urgent need to adopt a solution to guarantee the protection of deposits and assure the stability of the banking system,” he added.
Novo Banco will consist of the bank’s core business of taking deposits and lending to home-buyers and companies.
It is so far unclear what will happen to the “bad bank”, most of which relates to other businesses in the Espirito Santo Group, which include tourism, health and agriculture.
The cash injection for Novo Banco comes from a so far unused part of Portugal’s bailout fund from the EU and the International Monetary Fund.
The idea is that Novo Banco will be run by the “resolution fund” – set up as part of the eurozone’s banking reforms and funded by Portugal’s financial institutions. The bank will eventually be sold off, with the proceeds used to pay back the 4.9bn euro loan from the bailout fund.
In a statement, Novo Banco’s chief executive, Vitor Bento said “the key uncertainties that have been hanging over the institution for some time have now been removed”.
“Novo Banco is also taking with it… a dedicated workforce, a strong customer focus and comprehensive banking services that help to drive the Portuguese economy,” he added.
Bento was installed as chief executive of BES just three weeks ago as part of a management reshuffle designed to restore confidence in the bank.

APC mandates party govs, lawmakers to storm Osun

by Press release

Alhaji Lai Mohammed
| credits: File copy

 

The All Progressives Congress has mandated all its elected members at state and national levels to converge on Osun from Tuesday and remain in the state until Saturday’s governorship election.

The party says this serves as a way of showing the party’s strong support for incumbent Governor Rauf Aregbesola. In a statement in Osogbo on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the directive also covered all political appointees in states under the control of the APC, especially Special Advisers and Commissioners.
Also expected in Osogbo are members of the party’s national exco and the national elders’ caucus.
APC said it perceived the forthcoming election as a celebration of democracy and a harvest time for the party, whose candidate had worked so hard to implement his mandate and make life more abundant for the people of the state.
The party also called on its members in Osun to be vigilant ahead of the poll, based on what the party described as “the myriad of desperate tactics” being allegedly perfected by the PDP to “reap where it did not sow.”

Ukraine crisis: Russia boosts air force near border

by bbc

Russia’s defence ministry has announced it is holding military exercises this week involving 100 aircraft in the west of the country near the Ukraine border.
A spokesman said fighter jets, helicopters and the latest bombers would take part in the operation.
Every time Russia announces a new round of military exercises it is seen as a show of strength in the conflict with Ukraine, a BBC correspondent says.
Ukraine says it is gaining ground against rebels in the country’s east.
Civilians there are preparing for a siege as government forces close in on the rebel-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Residents are stockpiling food and supplies and are sleeping in basements, with reports suggesting Luhansk is virtually surrounded and without power.
Western governments and Ukraine accuse Russia of supplying heavy weapons and volunteers to the pro-Russian rebels, who have declared independence from Kiev.
Russia denies supplying such hardware to the rebels, while condemning Kiev’s military offensive in the east.
The Russian spokesman did not mention Ukraine in his announcement on the military exercise. He told the Interfax news agency that the exercise was the first in a series intended to improve the unity of the air force.
He said it would involve Sukhoi Su-27 and MiG-31 fighter jets, Mi-24 and Mi-28 helicopters and Russia’s newest frontline bomber, the Sukhoi Su-34.
Russia has previously been accused of boosting its troops and weaponry along the border with Ukraine.
A group of Ukrainian soldiers is reported to have retreated into Russian territory because they ran out of ammunition during fighting with the separatists.
At one point during the fighting, soldiers of the 72nd motorised brigade split into two groups, the Ukrainian news agency Unian reports.
Then one of the groups ran out of ammunition and supplies, and some of their military vehicles on the battlefield were damaged, prompting them to flee across the border, a spokesman for the Ukrainian “anti-terrorist” operation in Donbass told the RBK-Ukraina news website.
Unian did not mention in its report how many soldiers were involved, but a Russian security official said that there were more than 400.
The soldiers have asked for asylum in Russia, according to the official from Russia’s FSB intelligence service in the Rostov region, just across the border from Ukraine.

2015: Don’t campaign for me yet, says Tambuwal

by John Ameh

Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, said on Sunday that it was against the law of the land for anybody to start campaigning for elective positions in the 2015 poll when the Independent National Electoral Commission had yet to give politicians the nod to do so.

Tambuwal in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, dissociated himself from the posters flooding some parts of the Federal Capital Territory, promoting him as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress. Although, he thanked the promoters of the idea for considering him worthy to vie for the Presidency, the Speaker advised them not to violate the law by initiating campaign ahead of the official declaration by INEC.

The posters had paired Tambuwal and his Deputy, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha, as president and vice-president respectively on the ticket of the APC.

Part of the statement, which was signed by the Speaker’s Special Adviser, Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Imam Imam, read, “While we thank them for deeming the Rt. Hon. Speaker fit for future elective office in the country, let it be known that since the Independent National Electoral Commission has not given the go-ahead for those interested in elective positions to start mobilisation, it is inappropriate for any person or group to print campaign posters and have them placed in strategic locations in any part of the country.

“Laws of the Federation are meant to be obeyed by all persons irrespective of their societal status.

“As a law abiding citizen, the Honourable Speaker will make known the direction of his political future and intention at the appropriate time.”

The statement neither dissociated the Speaker from the APC nor stress that he remained a committed member of the PDP.

On his part, Ihedioha dismissed the alleged links with the APC as “laughable, completely nonsensical” and coming at a time he was on a PDP assignment with President Goodluck

Ihedioha pledged his loyalty to the PDP, adding that since 2011, he had worked hard to reposition the party in his home state, Imo.

A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Oke Epia, read, “The general public is hereby urged to ignore the posters and see this incident as the handiwork of mischief makers who are advised to find better things to do with their time and resources.

“The deputy speaker is fully focused on and committed to rebuilding the Peoples Democratic Party nationally and in Imo State where he has remained a bulwark of the ruling party since the opposition took over the reins of government at that level in 2011.

“Nothing can distract the deputy speaker and other leaders of the party in Imo State from working conscientiously to dislodge the APC government in Imo State and also ensure victory for the party at the federal level in 2015.

“He assures his numerous supporters and associates both in Imo State and all over Nigeria that no amount of mischief can stop or derail the PDP train of progress moving into Imo with the Deputy Speaker in the driver’s seat.”

In spite of consistent denials by Tambuwal, speculation thickens that he has been considered as a possible APC presidential candidate.

A second plan, should that fail, is that he will probably run as the party’s governorship candidate in his home state, Sokoto, in 2015.

Tambuwal has refused to make a categorical statement on the issue, preferring to keep mum each time it is raised.

Last month, the House caucus of the PDP had endorsed Jonathan for a second term at a meeting held at the Aso Rock Villa, where Tambuwal, the most senior PDP official in the House, was absent.

The next day, Tambuwal merely blamed his absence on the excuse of being out of town to Sokoto.

He declined to comment on the outcome of the meeting, which endorsed Jonathan.

On the other hand, Ihedioha, had never been linked with the APC prior to the pasting of the controversial posters.

He is said to have his eye on the governorship seat in his state, but has reportedly worked largely behind the scenes for the PDP’s ticket till date.

@punchng.com

Osun poll: Tension rises

by Olusola Fabiyi and Adelani Adepegba

Omisore, Aregbesola and Akinbade.

Tension has continued to rise between the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party over   Saturday’s governorship poll in Osun State.

On Sunday the APC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, alleged that President Goodluck Jonathan reportedly instructed security agencies to ensure victory for his party by all means.

The APC had in a statement in which it claimed that the PDP was planning to massively rig the   governorship election in 10 Local Governments Areas in the state, made veiled reference to Jonathan’s alleged instruction to the security agencies.

When The PUNCH asked him to expatiate on the “reported instruction” by the President, he simply replied, “This is based on credible information we received.”

The APC listed Ife Central, Ife East, Ife North, Ife South, Olurunda Iwo, Ifelodun, Osogbo, Odo Otin and Aiyedade as the LGAs the PDP wanted to win at all costs.

It  also claimed that the PDP was seeking a pliable person as a returning officer for the poll.

The APC claimed that three vice-chancellors had been penciled in for the job which would fetch whoever was chosen among them a N1bn compensation.

The party added   that   President Goodluck Jonathan had reportedly told the security agencies that he wanted victory for the PDP   at all costs.

It said, ‘’Nigerians from all walks of life, desirous of a free and fair election on Saturday, are reaching out to us with useful information on the plan by the desperate PDP to rig the forthcoming election. We are taking the information very seriously.

‘‘For example, we learnt that the PDP has identified Ife Central, Ife East, Ife North, Ife South, Olurunda, Iwo, Ifelodun, Osogbo, Odo Otin and Aiyedade as places where they plan to perpetrate massive rigging.”

The party also claimed that two different results have allegedly been written ahead of the elections.

It said, “Three Vice-Chancellors; one from the North Central and two from the South-West have been pencilled in to serve as a returning officer. The   incentive for the returning officer who can announce the doctored results is N1bn.’’

The party said when these plans are put together with the massive deployment of security agencies in the state to harass and intimidate the opposition, “the huge amounts of cash being moved into the state via Armoured Personnel Carriers and the electoral malfeasance specialist-ministers who have landed in Osun, it is clear that the PDP is working hard to ensure that the forthcoming election is anything but free, fair and credible.

It therefore called on INEC not to allow any unscrupulous person to serve as a returning officer for the election.

The electoral umpire, according to the APC, should   pay a special attention to voting in the 10 identified LGAs.

The APC warned, ‘’No one will accept the result of an election in which the returning officer is compromised with filthy lucre. This is why we are calling on INEC to ensure that only a person of integrity can serve in that important post,’’

It said that its agents would not sign any false results of the August 9 election.

The party also called on the international community to pay attention to the issues that could affect the outcome of the election, instead of waiting until the deed had been done.

‘’The biggest danger to Saturday’s election in Osun is the unbridled desperation of the PDP to win at all costs. This explains why the party’s candidate, Mr. Iyiola Omisore, has lied so shamelessly about a purported USAID survey that puts him ahead of Gov. Rauf Aregbesola. But for USAID which quickly put a lie to the peddled story, Mr. Omisore would have continued to use it as a campaign tool,’’ it said.

Presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati could not be reached for comment on the allegation against his boss. Abati is said to be out of the country.

The police however   denied   that Jonathan had instructed security agencies to ensure the PDP’s victory at all costs.

Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba said, “The burden of proof is always on the person making an allegation. Therefore, if APC actually made such an allegation, they owe Nigerians a sacred duty to prove the allegation.

“For us, our performances in previous elections (Edo, Ondo, Anambra and Ekiti) stand as evidence of our unparalleled professionalism, political neutrality and uncommon commitment to the protection of the democratic rights of Nigerians.

“We remain committed to these ideals and will not be distracted by wild allegations.”

The PDP however dismissed the allegation against it by the APC, saying it did not need to rig to win an election in the state.

Metuh told one of our correspondents that PDP’s attention was on winning the election while APC was focusing on propaganda.

He   also dismissed the claim by the APC that it was shopping for a pliable returning officer for the election.

It said, “We are focusing on winning this election. The APC is focusing on propaganda. Twice our candidate(Omisore) stepped down for others, saying that he would wait for God’s time.We know that this is God’s time for him.

“Nigerians are witness to the fact that based on his popularity, Omisore would have become governor in 1999 and 2003 respectively but sacrificed his personal ambition to accept the position of deputy governor out of humility and commitment to the stability of the state.’’

@punchng.com

Ebola: LASG visits Synagogue Church

by Samson Folarin

Pastor T. B. Joshua

The Lagos State Government and some federal delegates on Sunday paid a visit to the General Overseer of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Prophet Temitope Joshua.

The visit was said to be aimed at sensitising the church and its membership on the menace of the deadly Ebola virus.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, who led the delegation, said it was also to make sure that no victim of the virus came into the church from any of the affected countries.

Idris said, “We have our strategies that we intend to share with you. Again, we need to know the resources you have here because whether it is one or two cases, if they are allowed to get out, it is a major problem. We are here to work together on how to contain this disease.”

Idris said the delegation decided to pay the visit to the SCOAN because of the recognition that it was an international Christian centre whose congregation comprised people from all over the world, including the countries of the West African sub-Region which had already been infected by the Ebola disease.

The Director, Centre for Disease Control, Professor Abdulsalami Nasidi, added that the visit was also to inform the Synagogue leader of the deadliness of the Ebola Virus, and ensure that it did not escape into the country.

Prophet Joshua, in his reaction, promised to work with government.

One of such measures, he said, was to visit any of the countries, rather than allow their residents come into Nigeria.

He also promised to suspend some of his major Church healing programmes for a few weeks adding, “I am ready to work with you. I love my country and I will be ready to work with you. Even if it is a rumour, there is need to secure our environment to ensure that it is safe.”

@punchng.com

Kwankwaso dares Jonathan: “Send soldiers you deploy for elections to Sambisa forest”

By Wale Odunsi 

Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso of Kano state has advised President Goodluck Jonathan to deploy as much troops he sends to states during conduct of gubernatorial polls to the Sambisa forest.

Speaking at the weekend, he said “Politics should not be seen as enmity, politics should not be seen as something that you have to destroy this or that. The very forces that they used in Ekiti, they used in Adamawa, which they are now using in Nasarawa, I am sure they want to try it again in Osun. These are the forces that they should have been using in the North-eastern states.

“On Ekiti election day, the whole state was taken over and dominated. I don’t think Ekiti is as big as Sambisa Forest, you go and dominate there, why are you dominating an innocent state? And what they don’t know is that the party taking seats by force from other states does not give them automatic success in 2015. In this state in 2011, I had no one counselor, I had no one local government chairman, I had no commissioner, I had no governor, even our friends who were suppose to help us from Abuja, didn’t believe in us, but we won election.

“So, if you take Ekiti, you go and take Nasarawa, you are forcing everybody does not guarantee victory. And there was an advertisement on NTA which made me very angry. It showed the Commander-In-Chief smiling by this their transformation agenda ambassadors. These are faceless organisations with backing of the headquarters in the Villa. They are faceless, who are they? Tell me, the Commander-In-Chief?

He questioned the credibility and independence of the military. “I use to know the credibility of the Nigerian military. I use to know how much they were respected even outside the country but now, where is their respect?

Kwankwaso also expressed confidence that no impeachment trick sponsored by the presidency and/or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will succeed in Kano.

His words: “They have been trying and that you are aware of. They came here and collected all the principal officers and other members of the state House of Assembly; not because they stole anything, but because they didn’t want us to pass the budget. The EFCC came dead in the night and started collecting them like criminals, they took them to Abuja; and we followed them, there was just no question, nothing. At the end of the day, I don’t know what happened, they granted us bail and the case is still in court.

“It is not that they stole money. I have never seen this kind of thing anywhere, where authorities come to the state, to collect people in the night, I am talking about elected state legislators.

“Just recently, we have the same case, after we joined the APC, they came with one ‘hawk’. I think he is from Kebbi, he was calling them to his house you know Kano is a great state, we want people to come and settle in Kano, but many of them are trying to become enemies but we don’t mind because Kano is so attractive.

Wondering the motive of the person he referred to as a ‘hawk’. The governor said: “If you are from Kebbi, why can’t you go there and talk about Kebbi? Why don’t you go there and start talking about Kebbi? Maybe because Kebbi is so small that you cannot talk about it. They are here creating all sorts of trouble.”

“They are meeting in his house discussing all sorts of things; but God so kind, by the time they started the meeting, they were already celebrating and they told Abuja that they have gotten the Speaker and majority of the APC executive. PDP now has the legislature thinking that because they got the principal officers and gave them money, everybody will follow.

“By the time I called them, we had meeting on a Friday which ran into Saturday. And by Sunday, they came from Abuja and put them in the aircraft, but to their surprise by Monday morning, I told them to go and declare that instead of 31 members for APC, we were now having 34! So, they have been trying, but we are politicians here and we have been in the game.

“Even General Buhari have said what I want to say now, that I have never seen a situation like this where the biggest beneficiary of this democracy are the ones destroying it. You ask me who is happy? I should be one of them, my people should be all happy, we have performed, we have done so many things that can enable us to be happy but unfortunately, we are not happy because of what they are doing.

On the president’s achievement, Kwankwaso said the president does not have enough achievements to show, yet he is keen on standing for reelection.

“I am happy Rochas Okorocha is also advertising his own achievements. Tell me what the Commander-In-Chief is doing. Things that we have not seen on ground, we are already seeing it on television, courtesy of technology.

“I hear some people wanted to do one-million-match in Abuja, I can do 10-million match in Kano. What is one million? Maybe, somebody advised them and it didn’t take place; because I had wanted to do 10 million match in Abuja, take over and dominate everywhere,” he boasted.

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