Sports
Real Madrid star donates bio-degradable toilet to Ogun community
The Federal Government on Friday commended David Alaba, a renowned Real Madrid footballer, for donating a biodegradable toilet to Ogere Remo community in Ogun State.
The Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, confirmed this in a statement he issued on Friday.
Adamu said private sector involvement was critical if Nigeria would end open defecation practice by 2025.
According to him, private sector and Diaspora engagement and support through accelerated provisions of toilets by philanthropy will go a long way.
The commissioning was made possible through collaboration with Organised Private Sector in Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Clean Nigeria Campaign and Nigerians in Diaspora Commission.
The Minister reaffirmed that Clean Nigeria Campaign was targeted at mobilising high-level political support, resources and the entire populace towards building a new culture of safe sanitation.
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Adamu said that such commendable project by Alaba and his foundation was worthy of emulation, saying the quest to end open defecation required the contribution and commitment of all stakeholders.
The Minister urged Nigerians in the Diaspora to mobilise support for the campaign through private sector engagement, adding that under the Clean Nigeria Campaign, 84 LGAs were now Open Defecation Free (ODF).
He said: “Jigawa is on the verge of achieving a statewide ODF status with just one more LGA to go, Nigeria has been given the hosting rights for the 2022 World Toilet Summit and we want active participation,’’
The Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, said Alaba was a true Nigerian, saying the gesture was a new dimension in community development for a better society.
Abiodun, represented by his Commissioner for Special Duties, Olufemi Ilori-Oduntan, appealed to the people to always incorporate toilets into their building plan.
He pledged the state government’s resolve to maintain toilets in public places such as parks and markets.
The Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Dr. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said the initiative was in tandem with NiDCOM’s mandate of harnessing the potentials of Nigerians in Diaspora for national growth and development
Dabiri-Erewa, represented by Oladipo Odebowale, urged other Diasporans and Nigerians to emulate the worthy gesture, as a support to national development efforts.
The Coordinator, OPS-WASH, Dr. Nicholas Igwe, emphasised the significance of collaboration and partnership, saying the private sector would continue to work with and all stakeholders to achieve the 2025 ODF target.
Clean Nigeria Campaign Coordinator, Chizoba Opara, said ODF Nigeria was achievable with the right political will and collective support of all stakeholders.
The high points of the occasion were the unveiling of the toilet facility and the distribution of autographed Real Madrid Jerseys to three successful winners by the David Alaba Foundation.
Eagle
Sports
Finidi George appointed Super Eagles head coach
Finidi George appointed Super Eagles head coach
The Nigeria Football Federation has appointed Finidi George as the new head coach of the Super Eagles.
Finidi’s appointment was announced on Monday as obtained via the official website of the NFF.
George had served as assistant to former coach Jose Peseiro for 20 months before assuming interim leadership of the senior national team in March this year.
The statement read in part, “The Board of Nigeria Football Federation on Monday approved the recommendation of its Technical and Development Committee to appoint former ace winger Finidi George as Head Coach of the Senior Men National Football Team, Super Eagles.”
Sports
Thiago Silva to leave Chelsea at end of season
Thiago Silva to leave Chelsea at end of season
Chelsea defender Thiago Silva will leave the club at the end of the season.
The Brazilian, who joined the Blues on a free transfer from Paris St-Germain in 2020, has made 151 appearances for the Blues.
He has won three trophies in that time, including the 2020-21 Champions League.
Silva, 39, says his love for the club is “indescribable”.
“Chelsea means a lot to me. I came here with the intention of only staying for a year and it ended up being four years,” he said.
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“It is already hard saying goodbye in the most normal of circumstances but when there is a mutual love, it’s even harder. But once a Blue, always a Blue.”
Silva joined the club when Frank Lampard was manager and has since also played under Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino.
He has made 34 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea this season, including 25 starts in the Premier League.
The former AC Milan centre-back, capped 113 times by Brazil, says he hopes to return to Stamford Bridge in a new role in the future.
“I hope to leave the door open so that in the near future I can return, albeit in another role here,” he said.
Thiago Silva to leave Chelsea at end of season
Sports
Apologise or face legal action, Enoh warns Bash Alli
Apologise or face legal action, Enoh warns Bash Alli
Sports Minister, John Enoh, has told former World Boxing Champion, Bash Alli, to make a public apology within a week for making false claims against his person or face legal action.
Enoh’s statement came in the wake of allegations by Alli in an open letter to President Bola Tinubu that the minister demanded $1m from him in order to endorse his plan to stage what he calls the oldest boxers’ fight in Nigeria.
The video, which went viral after chess master, Tunde Onakoya, recently broke the Guinness World Record for chess marathon, has the 68-year-old boxer said he could have equally put the name of the country on the world map but for certain individuals thwarting his efforts.
In response to the claim, Enoh in a statement titled ‘Bash Alli and his serial blackmail must be confronted and defeated,” warmed the boxer to tender an apology or face legal action.
He said, “I am constrained to speak to the trending video and open petition to the President wherein Bash Alli, a former World Boxing Champion, threw caution and decency to the wind to allege that I demanded the sum of ‘another ‘ $1m from him in order to endorse his plan to stage what he calls the oldest boxers fight in Nigeria.
“When Bash Alli released his video and open letter to the President, with the sole aim to defame and destroy my reputation and integrity, some friends and associates advised that I totally ignore him and his blackmail gambit. They believe that I will validate and bring him to the limelight by responding to Bash Alli and his vile campaign of calumny.
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“After a deep reflection, I have come to the inevitable conclusion that to ignore him will be a profound mistake. My reason for this is twofold. First, the perception in the public domain is that those in the public service are either thieves or kleptomaniacs who mindlessly pillage our Commonwealth. This assumption, no matter how widely held, is not true.
“Despite our challenges as a nation, there are men and women who continue to serve our country with honesty, integrity, and patriotism. I am one of such.”
The minister added that ignoring Alli will further embolden and enable him to continue in his usual trajectory without consequences.
He said, “Bash Alli’s allegation that I demanded ‘another $1m’ as if I had received a first tranche of $1m from him, or perhaps any of my predecessors had done so, is a manufactured lie from the pit of hell. At no point in time did I demand any form of gratification from Bash Alli.”
The minister added that Alli was desperate to meet him upon his resumption in office but he was cautioned by his staff.
He said, “Let me be clear. Bash Alli desperately wanted to meet me in my very early days as Minister of Sports Development when I had hardly settled down on the job.
” In the deluge of his desperate attempts, I decided to meet him against the advice of the ministry staff, who were familiar with his character and antics. Against their advice, I decided to meet him out of respect for his age and based on the open-door policy with which I am currently leading the ministry.
“Bash Alli’s plan to stage his boxing fight in Nigeria has a long history spanning almost two decades. To achieve this personal aspiration, he has deployed all manner of strategies, including naked blackmail and underhand tactics in his desperate effort to arm-twist the Federal Government to spend upwards of $50m to stage his fight.
“Successive Ministers of Sports have rightly told him that his plan to stage this fight is not the responsibility of the government but a business that the private sector should execute.
“In concluding this statement, I sincerely believe that, in spite of our numerous challenges, our country still has a soul. Our humanity will be irretrievably destroyed the day we lose our soul. Bash Alli’s desperate and unprovoked withering attack on me is an attack on decency, honesty, and integrity. The move to clear my name has just started, and there will be no let up until I achieve this sacred mission.
Apologise or face legal action, Enoh warns Bash Alli
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