Headlines
I’ll Make Nigeria African Champions Again – Rohr
Super Eagles Coach, Gernot Rohr, has explained that he made sacrifices in his new contract with Nigeria in order to guide the country to a fourth Africa Cup of Nations triumph, reports AFP.
Rohr, 66, has extended his stay in Nigeria till 2022 after he agreed to a pay cut in the local currency and reside in the country. Officials said the German-born coach will earn $49,000 a month, instead of the $55,000 stipulated in his previous contract, and he will live in Nigeria for at least 10 months a year.
According to goal.com, Rohr said he has a free hand to select his players, insisting nobody can dictate to him on who to pick for national duty. He, however, revealed that he selects players in consultation with his assistants, which is strictly based on merit, explaining the best will always have a chance for the Super Eagles.
“This is a special job, because this is my team, I built it with my staff,” the former Niger and Gabon coach said yesterday, on local television.
“It is not a part of my contract to take players who are not so good. I can choose my players myself. It is the most important [thing]. So, nobody can tell me ‘you have to pick this one or that one,” Rohr said.
“I can take the best players and I don’t do it alone. We have a team and our staff. I have my assistant… I have my analyser.
“Each Monday, we have our meetings and we speak about the games played at the weekend and what our players did. We have to take the best ones no matter where they are coming from.”
“It’s a very young team, but the mission is not finished yet, so we want to continue.
“We all have to make sacrifices and I will be the first.” Rohr said the target is to be champions of Africa again. The Super Eagles have won the Africa Cup of Nations three times — in 1980, 1994 and 2013.
“Let’s qualify for (the Nations Cup) and then we want to win it,” he said.
“We have a good team, we’re now number three in Africa. When I arrived (in 2016), we were number 13.
“We have worked together for the past four years and I hope we can progress.”
Rohr led Nigeria to a third place at last year’s Africa Cup of Nations Finals in Egypt, where they lost 2-1 to eventual champions Algeria, in the semi-finals after conceding a stoppage-time goal.
His team top their qualifying group for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations slated for Cameroun with six points after winning their first two games against second-placed Benin and Lesotho, who are third. Sierra Leone are the other team in the group and are bottom, on a point.
The top two teams in the group will advance to the final tournament.In his four years in charge of the Super Eagles, Rohr has faced criticism for overlooking players based in Nigeria for those in Europe.
His employers have ordered him to now pick players from the domestic league, but Rohr has insisted only the best will make his squad. Before the outbreak of the coronavirus, Rohr handed an invitation to 23 players for the Super Eagles’ AFCON qualifying game against Sierra Leone, which was scheduled for March, before it was postponed.
The Guardian
Headlines
Abiola Cannot Be Recognised As Former President; He Was Never Sworn-in – Gen Ishola Williams
By Eric Elezuo
One of the prime actors of the June 12, 1993 incidents, General Ishola Williams, has said that much as Chief MKO Abiola wrong was created having won the election, and denied victory, he cannot be recognized as a former President of Nigeria.
Gen Williams made his revelation while speaking as a guest on Channels television socio-political programme, Inside Source.
He maintained that only those who were sworn in that recognised as former presidents, and Abiola was never sworn in.
“Abiola cannot be recognised as former president because he was never sworn in.
The General, who said that he resigned from the army as a result of the wholesome reception given to General Sani Abacha, when he overthrew Chief Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government, contrary to expectation, also picked flaws in the narratives given by former Military President Ibrahim Babangida, in his recently launched book, A Journey In Service.
Williams rose in the army to become the Commandant of Army Signals, Commander of Training and Doctrine (TRADOC) and Chief of Defence Training and Planning, from where he resigned.
Headlines
Breaking: Supreme Court Recognises Martin Amaewhule As Rivers Assembly Speaker, Orders CBN to Stop Releasing Funds to State
By Eric Elezuo
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has in its ruling on Friday recognised Hon Martins Amaewhule as the authentic speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, mandating him to urgently resume sitting with elected members of the assembly.
The apex court also ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria to stop releasing to the Rivers State government until a proper assembly is constituted.
Details soon…
Tension escalated at the Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday as impeached Speaker Mudashiru Obasa made a dramatic return to reclaim his position.
Accompanied by heavily armed men, Obasa stormed the Assembly complex in a bold move that has thrown the State’s legislature into turmoil.
In a stunning turn of events, security details assigned to the substantive Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mojisola Meranda, were abruptly withdrawn on Thursday morning, clearing the path for Obasa’s controversial comeback.
Sources revealed that the Inspector General of Police (IGP) ordered the withdrawal of all security operatives attached to Meranda, leaving her exposed in the midst of an intensifying power struggle.
The Speaker’s Special Adviser on Information, Mr. Victor Ganzallo, expressed concern over the security vacuum created by the withdrawal of personnel.
“In the early hours of Thursday, we woke up to the startling news that all security details assigned to Madam Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, had been withdrawn.
This includes the police and DSS officers, leaving her exposed to threats amid the ongoing speakership crisis,” Ganzallo stated.
He further called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, as the State’s Chief Security Officer, to intervene urgently to prevent a complete breakdown of law and order within the Assembly.
“The withdrawal of security personnel has left the Assembly naked and vulnerable at a critical time. Urgent action is needed to restore order,” he pleaded.
With the speakership battle taking a dramatic new turn, political watchers are keenly observing how the crisis will unfold in the coming days.
