Headlines
Sad! Ighalo’s Man United’s Journey Ends
Odion Ighalo’s dream of making his stay with Manchester United may not materialize after all, according to reports from England.
Ighalo went on a short loan stint in January transfer window with Manchester United from the Chinese Super League side, Shanghai Shenhua, and following his impressive performance at Old Trafford, Coach Ole Gunnar Solksjaer have been trying to make his stay permanent.
In March, he said, “Odion has done really well – we need those qualities for next season so let’s see.”
Shanghai Shenhua earlier quoted a £20 million selling price to Manchester United, but the latest development indicates that the Chinese team are no longer keen on a deal.
Ighalo’s loan deal will end on May 31, but the English Premier League has been extended beyond that date by the coronavirus pandemic that forced the suspension of the competition.
There are still nine Premier League games ahead for Manchester United, as well as matches in the Europa League and the FA Cup.
With the Chinese Super League season slated to begin late June or early July, Shanghai Shenhua have asked Ighalo to return to base.
Reports say Manchester United, still keen on keeping Ighalo, tried to negotiate an extension to the loan deal until the end of the season, but the Chinese club turned down the request.
Manchester United was said to be reluctant to sign the 30-year-old Ighalo for the quoted amount especially as the injured Marcos Rashford is back in the fold.
Many people associated with the Red Devils initially had doubts about Ighalo’s ability to deliver for the club, but the former Watford striker soon dispelled such doubts.
Former Red Devils’ striker, Dimitar Berbatov describes Ighalo as the striking ‘bully’ that Manchester United have been crying out for long.
Berbatov admits to being wrong when it comes to the 30-year-old’s value, with it looking as though the Red Devils have pulled off a shrewd piece of business.
He told Betfair in February, “I’m really happy to see that Odion Ighalo is settling in well and he deserves it with the way he is playing, how he links the plays and the goals he is scoring.
“All the team are happy when he scores which shows he is fully integrated, and I like the way he looks for the ball and bullies the defenders.
“I’ll be honest, I didn’t know too much about him before he joined, obviously I knew about his record in the Premier League, but I questioned if he was the right man and if he would get into the team, but so far he is doing well and proving me wrong.”
While rejecting Manchester United’s loan extension offer, Shanghai Shenhua will make Ighalo Africa’s highest paid footballer ever with a £400,000 per week contract extension until 2024.
The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (NWC) has suspended the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade; National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; Deputy Legal Adviser, Okechukwu Osuoha; and National Organizing Secretary, Umaru Bature for one month.
The suspension comes on the heels of the judgement of the Federal High Court On Friday, which stopped the party’s planned national convention.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, told journalists in Abuja on Saturday, that the decision followed an emergency meeting of the national working committee, which was held in Abuja.
President Donald Trump of the United States on Friday designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), in response to allegations of widespread persecution and genocide against Christians.
Writing on his Truth Social account, Trump stated that Christianity faces a serious threat in Nigeria.
The US leader also added Nigeria to a State Department watch list.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote.
According to the US president, he was placing Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer and most populous nation, on a “Countries of Particular Concern” list of nations the US deems to have engaged in religious freedom violations.
According to the State Department’s website, the list includes China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, and Pakistan, among others.
Trump said he had asked US Representatives Riley Moore and Tom Cole, as well as the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, to look into the matter and report back to him.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has removed Hon. Abubakar Gummi from the House of Representatives after he left the Peoples Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress.
The lawmaker represented the Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency in Zamfara State.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu delivered the ruling, holding that Gummi’s defection breached the Constitution.
The court said the seat does not belong to any politician but to the political party that sponsored the election.
According to the judgment, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, is barred from recognising Gummi “as a member representing Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency.”
The judge also instructed the Independent National Electoral Commission to “conduct a fresh election” for the vacant seat within 30 days.
The case was instituted by the PDP and its Zamfara chairman, who insisted that Gummi’s move to the APC had no legal justification. They argued that there was no division in the PDP to support his defection, as required by Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution.
Gummi, through his counsel, claimed he left the PDP due to internal crises which he said made it “impossible” to serve his constituents effectively. The judge, however, dismissed his arguments and granted all the reliefs requested by the plaintiffs.
Justice Egwuatu, in a firm comment, warned politicians against what he described as reckless party hopping.
“Political prostitution must not be rewarded,” he declared, adding that lawmakers must not transfer votes won on one party’s platform to another party.
The court also ordered Gummi to refund all salaries and allowances received from October 30, 2024, until the date of judgment. He is also barred from earning any further benefits as a member of the House.
Additionally, the judge imposed a N500,000 cost against the defendants in favour of the PDP.
