The Youth Panorama

After Chelsea slumped to their 5th loss of the season at Crystal Palace, Manager Jose Mourinho has started dissecting his squad for next season and it looks more likely than ever that the Portuguese will sell all the strikers currently at his disposal. Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Samuel Eto’o have managed 15 league goals between them all season and Mourinho confirmed the Blues will be in the market for a new frontman. Mourinho said, “I don’t think it’s the moment to speak about next season and the market, but it’s clear to everybody that Chelsea next year wants to bring a striker. That is clear. It’s also clear we want to improve our players. What’s the future for the [current Chelsea] strikers? The ones that are staying are competing with the striker we are bringing.”

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State on Monday said he had e-mailed the Ghanaian Parliament, requesting it to investigate the recent killing of a Nigerian student in that country. The governor made the statement in Ikeja, while addressing some students who had come to protest against the hike in Lagos State University fees. The governor said the killing of the student was unfortunate, adding that the case must not be allowed to be swept under the carpet. It could be recalled that Godwin Ayogu, a 300-level Nigerian student of the Gold Coast University, was recently murdered in Chana by unknown persons.   * Nigerian student killed in Ghana recently His body was dumped by the roadside, while the Ghanaian authorities were yet to begin any investigation into the matter. Fashola said, “The killing of a Nigerian in Ghana is very unfortunate as he was a victim of very mindless violence. “I am trying to reach the Ghanaian Parliament to see how we can intervene to ass...

On Monday, March 31, the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered 37 former members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to resign their seats at the House of Representatives for defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Delivering judgment, Justice Adeniyi Ademola held that the defected lawmakers no longer had any business, morally and legally, to stay in the House of Reps. He said they should honourably resign from their seats as members of the House of Representative, having moved to another political party, while their tenure had yet to expire. “Having perused the arguments of counsel and the constitutional provisions, it is clear and unambiguous that the defendants were sponsored by the PDP and won the election on its platform. It is also the court’s opinion that their tenure has not expired and there is no division in the PDP. “The defendants are, therefore, not competent to vote or contribute to any proceedings in the House of Representatives. ...

Barely 48 hours before Chelsea confront PSG in the first leg of their Champions League quarter final match, former England winger, David Beckham has predicted who would win the tie.   * Jose Mourinho would lead Chelsea against PSG on Wednesday Beckham, who used to play for the French side, believes former club Paris Saint Germain would spring a shock and knock Jose Mourinho's Chelsea out of the Champions League. The retired midfielder spent the final six months of his career in the French capital, and reckons the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva can inspire the Ligue 1 champions to victory over the Blues in Wednesday’s quarter final. He said: "Every time people mention PSG to me, I smile because I had six months of pleasure there with the players I was playing with, with the fans, the club – it’s such a great club.   "I was welcomed by the club with open arms, it was an incredible six months. The position they’re in, they’ve got such a...

Following the uncertainty that surrounds the future of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, there is a rumour that the London club is considering offering their coaching job to one of its legends. * Wenger seems to be saying Vieira is the man Former midfielder and captain of the club, Patrick Vieira is being lined up as a possible successor to Wenger, should the Arsenal boss answer the call of the French FA to take over as the national team’s next manager. Leading his country has been a lifelong ambition for Wenger and, according to a report, he is set to be handed the opportunity when France host Euro 2016. The French would like to install the Gunners manager immediately after the World Cup in Brazil so he has time to shape their Euro qualifying campaign.   * Vieira presently works at Manchester City as director of football Wenger, though, is believed to have given his word to the Gunners that he will not walk out on the club when his contract expires this summer. Howeve...

President Goodluck Jonathan According to Reuben Abati, who is Special Adviser on Media and publicity to President Goodluck Jonathan, the President was not affected by the gun battle that occured today around the headquarters of the Department of State Services and the presidential villa. The presidential villa has one of its gates overlooking the SSS headquarters. The SSS issued a statement shortly after the attack claiming that the gun battle began after a detainee disarmed an operative and tried to effect a jailbreak READ MORE:  http://news.naij.com/63208.html

Arsenal are reported to have sealed the arrival of striker from Bundesliga side Nuremberg.   * Josip Drmic in action for Nuremburg According to a source in Germany, the new Arsene Wenger's recruit is Josip Drmic. The news was broken by Lothar Matthaus and relayed on Twitter by colleague and former Swindon and Middlesbrough forward Jan Aage Fjortoft. 21-year-old Drmic has been linked with a move to the Emirates in recent days, following his 15 goals in 26 appearances for the Bundesliga side this term. Should reports prove accurate, the youngster would be a typical Arsene Wenger signing, hungry to impress in the Premier League. Drmic only joined Nuremberg from FC Zurich in his native Switzerland last summer, but has caught the eye in Germany. Jan Aage Fjortoft wrote on Twitter: ‘My Sky colleague Lothar Matthäus just said on Sky: Drmic’s wife has been looking for an apartment in London. Drmic will be Arsenal-player. ‘Josip Drmic is the Swiss-striker at Nurnberg....

Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho has landed himself in another trouble with the Football Association in England. Mourinho's offence this time is his whispering to a Crystal Palace ball boy that he risks being punched for slowing down play. * Mourinho clapping after the match against Crystal Palace The youngster was slow giving the ball back when Cesar Azpilicueta was attempting to take a quick throw in the 1-0 Blues defeat. The frustration was clearly getting to the Chelsea boss after an abject performance when he confronted the ball boy. Mourinho said he was trying to avoid an incident similar to when Eden Hazard was sent off for kicking a ballboy at Swansea last season. * Mourinho talking with a ball boy on Saturday "I thought Cesar Azpilicueta was going to lose emotional control (with the ballboy) and the kids are educated to do this but if a player hits a ballboy then the person who educates them disappears and the player is in trouble for pushing or punching ...

There was shooting in the vicinity of Nigeria's Presidential palace and the headquarters of the Department of State Services in the Asokoro District of Abuja. The expansive headquarters of the State Security Service, popularly known as Yellow House, is adjacent to one of the remote gates of the Presidential villa. Former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and resident of the Asokoro District of Abuja where the SSS headquarters is located, Nasir El-Rufai, has been posting updates on the situation via his Facebook and Twitter accounts. Latest reports suggest that over 20 Boko Haram were shot dead in the shootout, several others and a number of DSS operatives sustained injuries. The trouble started around 6 a.m. during the normal handing  and taking over of duties by DSS detainees' handlers. As soon as one handlers opened the gate leading to the cell where the detainees were being kept, ten suspected terrorists rushed out, snatched the handler's rifl...

President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor in this interview with Ozioma Ubabukoh, bares his mind on controversies surrounding churches, the Boko Haram insurgency and sundry issues Apart from being a general overseer in your church, you head Nigeria’s highest religious organisation, the Christian Association of Nigeria. How do you feel when people criticise you sometimes on all fronts? Criticism is part of life. Anybody who does not expect criticism should think again because criticism can actually enhance a man’s capacity to do better. Criticism for me is not a problem. The only thing that is a problem, in my own opinion, is when you are not doing what is called constructive criticism. Disrespectful criticism is also wrong. It is a free world and people are free to criticise. I will also say that as a person, I believe that truth must never be mortgaged. That, perhaps, is one of the things that get me into trouble with some people. If you...

There are indications that some persons might still be trapped at the suspected kidnappers’ den which has come to be known as Ibadan evil forest. Some residents of Arowona Adegbeye Estate, Idi-Mangoro, Soka area, the adjoining community, told Saturday PUNCH on Friday that some persons were probably still trapped in a cellar there. For instance, the residents claimed that the commercial motorcyclist, whose disappearance led to the discovery of the den, was still missing. They said that some of the missing okada rider’s colleagues who were at the den, said he told them on the phone that about eight of them were in a cellar. The community’s public relations officer, Hon. Segun Adepoju, said, “The okada riders said the missing okada rider contacted them on the phone and told them that he and some other people were still underground. “They said the last time he reached them was about three days ago, so they suspected that his phone battery had gone flat now. They said he c...

The recent meeting of the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the All Progressives Congress, APC, almost turned violent following the threat by a former governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff to beat up a national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu. Mr. Sheriff exploded midway into the meeting, raining abuses on Mr. Tinubu and threatening to slap the former Lagos State governor. Messrs. Sheriff and Tinubu clashed when the meeting began discussions on the congresses and convention. It was gathered that the during the discussion, the APC National Chairman, Bisi Akande, who was presiding over the meeting nominated himself and the National Secretary, Tijjani Tumsah to serve as chairman and secretary respectively of the National Convention Committee, NCC, which would also oversee the conduct of the congresses. Angered by the suggestion, the former Borno State Governor, who is popularly called SAS (Senator Ali Sheriff) or GAS (Governor Ali Sheriff) while in po...

A Malaysian official on Saturday met with relatives of those aboard missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and he told reporters he still had hope that survivors may exist among the 239 people aboard the plane that went missing March 8. Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia's acting transportation minister said, " Even hoping against hope, no matter how remote, of course we are praying and we will continue our search for the possible survivors. "More than that, I told the families I cannot give them false hope. The best we can do is pray and that we must be sensitive to them that, as long as there is even a remote chance of a survivor, we will pray and do whatever it takes ." Earlier this week, the relatives had been told that all lives were lost . Relatives of those aboard missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in tears Two ships searching for debris related to the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines MH370 have retrieved a number items from the search ar...

Top actress/movie producer Funke Akindele is one of the most sought after actresses in the industry. Funke is from a beautiful family of four, 3 girls and one boy. She is the second child. The photo below is that of her beautiful mother Dr Adebanjo, and one o her sisters. Funke's mom & sister Funke rose to stardom, thanks to her movie Jenifa, which catapulted her from obscurity into mainstream prominence. READ MORE:  http://news.naij.com/63164.html

Tragedy has hit the National Conference, following the untimely death of one of the members from Bauchi State on Thursday. Hamma Misau, a retired Assistant Inspector of Police, represented the Association of Retired Police Officers of Nigeria, ARPON and hailed from Misau in Bauchi State. Conference Chairman and former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi, is said to have expressed shock and disbelief as he broke the news of the death of Misau but prayed Allah to grant his soul eternal rest. Kutigi, while sympathizing with the family and the nation, however, noted that Misau died while on national duty to his father land and at a time when his services were most needed. In a condolence message to the family of the late Misau and the Association of Retired Police Officers, President Jonathan commended the late delegate for his service to the nation during his life time. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati who signed the st...

HKN Music hit-maker, Davido’s concert was reportedly shut down by the in Brooklyn, New York Police Department last night March 28th. The concert which held at Pulse 48 was reportedly shut down because it was overbooked, leading to safety concerns. The show was supposed to be Davido's first show as he kicks off US/Canada Tour 2014. He took to his twitter handle to lament about the shutdown. However, he has a show today D.C, Minnesota tomorrow, Texas on Friday the 4th of April and Canada on the 5th of April READ MORE:  http://news.naij.com/63171.html

Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho has conceded the Premier League title after his side's shock 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace on Saturday.  * Mourinho believes Chelsea EPL title dream is over Mourinho's men shot themselves in the foot as a second-half own goal from captain John Terry condemned the Blues to their fifth league defeat of the season. The Chelsea manager has spent most of the campaign insisting his players are too inexperienced to be regarded as serious title contenders and, in what looked an attempt to take the pressure off his squad, he was quick to write off their title hopes after the setback in south London. "Now we have lost our chance of finishing first. Now we depend too much on other results," said Mourinho, whose side will surrender first place to Manchester City if Manuel Pellegrini's team win at Arsenal in Saturday's late fixture. City will still have two games in hand on Chelsea after this weekend and Mourinho admitted t...

Delegates at the ongoing National Conference in Abuja may vote in favour of the removal of immunity clause from the constitution, if the growing consensus of opinion on this issue among members is anything to go by. Saturday PUNCH investigations showed that proponents of an amendment to Section 308 of the Nigerian Constitution, which deals with immunity for the President and state governors, had begun moves to ensure that the proposal sailed through. Saturday Punch learnt that the proponents were already discussing with other delegates to ensure they got the required votes to delete the clause from the nation’s constitution. Further checks revealed that delegates from across the country were ready to vote against the clause. In separate interviews with Saturday PUNCH, delegates from different parts of the country supported the removal of immunity clause especially for criminal cases. According to them, any president or governor that commits a criminal offence should st...

The Presidency has said that it will not probe the allegations of misappropriation of public funds levelled against the Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, told Saturday PUNCH on Friday, that the Federal Government would not set up a probe panel to investigate the minister because the House of Representatives was currently probing her. Alison-Madueke was alleged to have spent N10bn on a chartered Challenger 850 aircraft in two years for which the House of Representatives is currently probing her. Okupe said that the Federal Government could not institute a probe panel on matters that had not been substantiated. Okupe, who spoke to one of our correspondents in a telephone interview in Abuja, on Friday, said since the House of Representatives had started investigating the matter, the right thing to do was to wait for the outcome of such a probe before any further step could ...

A 37-year-old muslim cleric, Isah Salaudeen was caught on Thursday night trying to slaughter a young girl, Chiwendu Nkwocha who had gone to him for spiritual help in Ibadan. According to report, the victim, Nkwocha was brought to Salaudeen by her boyfriend, Bola, in January this year so that he would help in using prayers and other means to exorcise some spirits troubling her and she had been undergoing this ‘spiritual cleansing’ by being given herbs, concoctions and ‘holy water’ to cure her. Isah Salaudeen On that fateful day, Salaudeen had asked the victim to lie down while he covered her face with a cloth. She suddenly felt a sharp pain on her throat and before she knew what was happening, the cleric reportedly attempted to hack her with a cutlass to make his work faster when it seemed the knife was not achieving the aim intended. She then screamed, jumped up from where she was lying and ran out for help. The incident was said to have been reported by one Aafa Ta...

  In a new state creation agitation, Southern Plateau indigenes seek to separate from Plateau State and form a new state to be called Lowland. This was made known by the National Chairman of the Movement for the Creation of Lowland State Nanyah Daman, in a statement on Friday. The chairman said the new state should be created from the present Plateau and Bauchi States, He said the region meets the requirement as stipulated in the Nigerian constitution. “The movement met the requirements of Section 8(1)(a) and (b) of the 1999 Constitution and thus called on the Committee for the Review of the 1999 Constitution to do its part of the job,” he said. Mr. Rowland commended the Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution for revisiting the “issues agitating for states creation, but is willing to relax the cumbersomeness of the near-impossible process by amending Section 8(1) (a) and (b) of the 1999 Constitution”. The section reads: “An act of the National Assembly ...

The war against Cyber crime otherwise known as yahoo yahoo, by security agents in Nigeria may take a long time to be won, if the confession of a 25-year-old alleged internet fraudster is anything to go by. The suspect who simply gave his name as Chidi, disclosed that what people used to know as yahoo yahoo, a term used to defraud unsuspecting and gullible persons, especially foreigners, through the internet, has gone beyond mere conversation and emotional chat. He disclosed that yahoo plus is the trend in cybercrime world today, as operators have resorted to using fetish means to  hypnotize their victims in order to get what they want from them. In this interview with Crime Guard, Chidi said  he ventured into cyber crime eight  years ago, after several attempts to gain admission into the university failed. Unfortunately, five years down the line, he said he could only get himself  a Nigerian used vehicle. As you read this piece, Chidi said he had tu...

World No 1 Serena Williams beat China's Li Na 7-5 6-1 in the final of the Sony Open on Saturday to claim a record seventh title on the Miami hard courts.   * Serena rattled Li Na at the Sony Open In a battle between the world's two top players, Williams continued her domination over the second ranked Li, needing two hours on centre court to run her record to 11-1 against the Australian Open champion. With the victory, Williams, who lives an hour's drive from the Tennis Centre at Crandon Park and considers the tournament her home event, collected her 59th career title, the $787 000 winner's purse pushing her career earnings over $55 million. In 14 appearances at the Miami event Williams has walked home with the trophy half the time, two better than her five Australian, US Open and Wimbledon grand slam wins READ MORE:  http://news.naij.com/63183.html

Arsenal's Mathieu Flamini ended Manchester City's dream of topping the English Premier League, EPL, as he earned his side a share of the spoils in the Premier League match played at Emirates Stadium on Saturday. * Mathieu Flamini saves Arsenal's blushes against Man City Manchester City could not exploit an earlier 1-0 defeat by Premier League leaders Chelsea at Crystal Palace and had to be content with a point from a 1-1 draw at Arsenal. The visitors looked on course for the summit after taking an 18th-minute lead through David Silva, but Mathieu Flamini earned his side a share of the spoils early in the second half. City would have moved ahead of Chelsea, who had surprisingly lost 1-0 at Crystal Palace, and Liverpool, who are at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, had they won, but Chelsea remain at the summit for now. Manuel Pellegini's side stay in third place, but will have two games in hand over their rivals once the Liverpool game is concluded,...