Terry : ' Real making Morata mistake'

Terry Gibson thinks Real Madrid are making a mistake by letting Alvaro Morata leave, as he will become an "outstanding striker" at Chelsea.

The 24-year-old striker passed his medical with the Blues on Friday ahead of a move which could reach £70m.
His opportunities with the La Liga champions were limited last season as he started just 14 league games and only one match in the Champions League.

But Sky Sports Spanish football expert Gibson says he is "surprised" that Real have let Morata leave.
"I think this may prove to be a mistake on Madrid's part," he said. "Morata is a dynamic striker that works the channels, he's got a great first touch and he'll control the ball where it is knocked up to him and he's good at attacking crosses - those attributes lend to doing well in the Premier League.

"He should have been playing ahead of [Karim] Benzema last season. I'm surprised Real Madrid have allowed a player like Morata to leave, bearing in mind he's six years younger than Benzema.
"Only Ronaldo scored more goals than Morata at Real Madrid last season and if he had played the amount of games he should have he would have got another 10 or 15 goals.

"At Juventus, where he was still a young man, he had a few injury issues which prevented him from scoring more than 20 goals in a season. I don't think anything will hold him back and 20 goals in the Premier League is well within reach."
With Diego Costa set to leave Chelsea, it looks as though Morata will be the leading striker for the Premier League champions next season.
And Gibson thinks the "best is yet to come" from the Spain international.

"Chelsea are getting a top-class striker," he said. "What's interesting is that he's made it clear the main reason for him joining Chelsea is that the coach has faith in him and has wanted him all summer.
"It's a good move to Chelsea, he's a dynamic striker and one who will certainly thrive in the Premier League.
"He can feel genuinely hard done by after last season at Real - when it came to the big games he barely played. He wants to be the main starter.

"He's shown his determination in the past, leaving Real for Juventus where he was a success, and Real saw enough talent to bring him back. He wants to be a first-team regular and, given that opportunity, he will go on to be an outstanding striker. He has all the attributes you need to be a top-class centre-forward.
"All the big clubs around Europe are looking for that top-class striker to be the focal point on an attack and Morata fits the bill. It's a real coup for Chelsea.

"Morata has enough physicality to look after himself in the Premier League, although he probably wouldn't rattle as many cages as Costa has. He's not going to be involved in the controversy Costa was involved in either." - SKY

 

Dijk wants out of Saints

Virgil van Dijk is training on his own after telling Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino he wants to leave the club.

The Netherlands centre-half was a target for Liverpool earlier this summer, but the Reds withdrew their interest after Saints complained to the Premier League.
Southampton maintain van Dijk is not for sale, and Pellegrino has excluded the player from pre-season until he can demonstrate his commitment.
"The boy said that he is not available to play because he wants to leave," Pellegrino told BBC Radio Solent. "This is the decision.

"I had to say, 'If you don't want to be involved because you don't feel okay then you have to train alone until this period of time is over.
"He is not involved with the team because psychologically he is not 100 per cent. I need to work with the players who are 100 per cent to defend Southampton. It's easy for me."

Asked if van Dijk could get the move he is after, the Argentine said: "I repeat that the club said not. I hope that Virgil can review his feelings because you know that today a player is big business. Not just the player but behind them is a lot of interests.
"I don't want to say too much but we need the player, 100 per cent. I want to help the squad, I want to help Virgil, but we need a player, and I repeat, involved in every training session, not just with the body but with the mind on the pitch with the rest of the players."

Van Dijk, 26, has five years to run on the contract he signed last summer, 12 months after arriving from Celtic.

Married woman sent to prison for being pregnant for another man

A Karmo Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja, on Friday sentenced one Rose James, 23, to two months in prison for adultery.
The judge, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq, however, gave her N10,000 option of fine.

The judge advised her to desist from committing offence and to be a decent woman.
“You should always set your goals right, this will also serve as deterrent to others would be offenders,’’ Sadiq said
Before her conviction, James a resident of Karmo, prayed the court to temper justice with mercy, blaming her husband for her promiscuous lifestyle.

According to her, “my husband does not treat me right, but this new man does, he buys clothes and other things.’’
The convict told the court that she had told her husband’s family that she wants to divorce him.

The prosecutor, Zannah Dalhatu, had told the court that James Olanga, the husband of Rose, had reported the matter at the Karmo Police Station, on July 17.

Dalhatu said the complainant reported that his wife committed adultery and got pregnant for another man.
During police investigation, she confessed to the offence.
The prosecutor said that the offence was punishable under Section 387 of the Penal Code. - NAN

National Assembly Of Senior Scammers !!! A disease plaguing Senate, Reps – Sagay blasts NASS over suspended NHIS boss

Itse Sagay, SAN, Chairman, presidential advisory committee against corruption, has condemned the national assembly for demanding the reinstatement of Usman Yusuf, suspended executive secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

He said some of the lawmakers’ actions show “a disease is plaguing” both chambers.

Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, had suspended Yusuf following allegations of corruption levelled against him.
Adewole has also suspended more NHIS top shots.


Reacting to the lawmakers’ directive to Adewole, Sagay warned them to stop interfering in the job of the executive.

“Whatever the case may be, the house certainly has no role in the internal investigation set up by a ministry,” he said.
“This is the disease plaguing the national assembly which thinks it is the executive arm of government.

“That pronouncement of the house giving the minister seven days to reinstate the NHIS boss is null and void.

“If they cannot concentrate on their job and want to do the job of the executive, we are going to have a big problem on our hands. We will have chaos and confusion.

“So, that directive is null and void. It is outside of their jurisdiction. They were elected primarily to make laws.”
Sagay also dismissed Yusuf’s claim that the minister has no powers to suspend him.
“I believe the minister has the power to suspend the head of an agency. It is probably in the rules guiding the civil service.

“I know that the minister is the chief executive officer of the ministry and so he can suspend but of course he cannot suspend indefinitely,” he added.
“And, of course, there has to be a proper inquiry that would be set up to establish his guilt or innocence and the person must be present to defend himself.

“The suspension is to enable the accused person to clear himself and to give room for proper investigation and the power to suspend lies in the CEO of the ministry.”- Daily Post

Shocking !!! Man defiles neighbour’s daughter while pretending to give her biscuit

The police in Lagos on Friday arraigned a 28-year-old Office Assistant, Desmond Terngu, who allegedly defiled his neighbour’s daughter in the guise of giving her biscuits.

Terngu, who resides on Sura Mogaji Street, Ilupeju, Lagos, appeared before an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court.
According to the prosecutor, Insp. Clifford Ogu, the accused lured the 12-year-old girl into his room on  June 30 on the pretext of giving her biscuits.
“The accused shut the door and defiled her. Thereafter, he left the house for an unknown destination.

“The girl told her mother but all efforts to locate the accused failed until he was sighted and apprehended,” he said.
He noted that the offence contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty.
The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Taiwo Akanni, granted him bail in the sum of N250,000 with two sureties in like sum.

Akanni adjourned the case until Aug. 2 for mention.
30-year-old unemployed Joshua Nnalue had earlier on Friday appeared before the same court also over alleged defilement of his neighbour’s daughter.

The resident of Ogudu, Lagos, was arraigned on a count charge.
The prosecutor, Insp. Clifford Ogu, submitted that Nnalue called the minor into his room on July 5 on the pretext of sending her on an errand but defiled her.
“The accused defiled the girl in his room and threatened to kill her if she would tell anyone.
“The girl told her mother a week after the incident when she could no longer urinate with ease,” he said.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty, and was granted bail by Akanni in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum.
The case will be mentioned on Aug. 16.

Crime : Bank manager docked over $110,000 theft

A bank manager, Elliot Abiodun, who allegedly stole $110,000 (N40 million) from Sterling Bank, was on Friday arraigned before an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.

Abiodun, whose residential address was not given, is standing trial on a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing.
The prosecutor, Sgt. Friday Mameh, told the court that the accused committed the offences on June 3 in Lagos.
He said the accused stole the $110,000 property of Sterling Bank Plc.

The prosecutor said the offences contravened Sections 287(8) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos, 2015 and punishable under same.
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Counsel to the accused, Mr. T.J. Agoro, urged the court to grant his client bail.

Agoro told the court that he would stand surety for the accused and ensure his presence in court throughout the duration of the case.
The Magistrate, Miss O. A. Olagbende, released the accused to his counsel on the grounds that the lawyer would ensure that he attends court’s proceedings.
The Magistrate adjourned the case till September 19. - NAN

 

Kidnapping : 3 students arrested for orchestrating ‘fake abduction’ in Enugu

Three secondary school students have been arrested for allegedly faking a kidnapping in Enugu state, the police have said.

Ebere Amaraizu, police spokesperson in the state, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.
Amaraizu told NAN that the students of the Enugu-based secondary school had demanded a ransom of N500, 000.
He said that the police through its anti-kidnapping unit had begun an investigation to unravel the circumstances behind the alleged incident.
“It was gathered that on July 11, one Nebeife Nnamdi aged about 17 years, who is a Senior Secondary School (SSS) – 3 student of an Enugu-based secondary school, had been allegedly abducted by gunmen,” he said.

“Later, there was a demand of N500,000 ransom from his alleged abductors. Following the development, the operatives of the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit swung into action.
“The Anti-Kidnapping Unit through intelligence information nabbed Ene Chigozie Steven, Okafor Okechukwu and Nebeife Nnamdi, who is said to have been kidnapped, on July 14 at about 2:30 p.m., at their hideout at Trans-Ekulu within Enugu metropolis.

“They have revealed that the alleged kidnap was faked by them to collect money from the alleged kidnapped victim’s father and are currently regretting their evil action,” the police spokesperson said.
He said the suspects had been helping the police in their investigation

Not worried by rivals' summer spending - Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino insists Tottenham are not concerned by their top six rivals' summer spending in the transfer market.

Spurs have yet to make a signing in this transfer window, though they have sold Kyle Walker to Manchester City in a £50m deal and let Federico Fazio and Clinton N'Jie leave for Roma and Marseille respectively.
Chelsea have brought in Antonio Rudiger (£34m) and Tiemoue Bakayoko (£40m), and are close to completing a deal for Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata which will cost an initial £58m.

Manchester United splashed out £75m to sign Romelu Lukaku from Everton and north London rivals Arsenal broke their own club record to land French striker Alexandre Lacazette for £52.7m, while Liverpool spent £34.3m on Mohamed Salah.
Pochettino, however, is not daunted by his rivals' big-name additions and insists Spurs are content to operate with a different philosophy that puts an increased focus on developing the club's academy players.

In an interview with ESPN FC, he said: "The last two seasons, we improved a lot. It is very clear, our philosophy is about trying to play exciting football with young players and trying to be different to the top sides. I think next season is a big, big challenge for us.
"For one, it's because we moved to Wembley, a different environment for us, a different pitch and stadium, all will be different for us. It is true that we must change because we were very comfortable playing at White Hart Lane (which is being redeveloped).

"And then, I think because the big sides are investing a lot of money in trying to improve their squads, but for us we are so calm and so quiet because we have belief in our youth from our academy.
"We may lack a few players, but we are so calm because I think we have a very good team and the most important thing for us always is the team."
Spurs are currently in the United States to take part in the International Champions Cup series. Their first match comes against Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday before games against Roma and Manchester City.

Pochettino's side then host Champions League finalists Juventus in a friendly at Wembley on August 5 before getting their Premier League campaign against newly-promoted Newcastle on August 13.
The Argentinian accepts playing at Wembley next season will be a challenge for his squad but he is excited about moving into the club's newly-built, 61,000-capacity stadium for the beginning of the 2018/19 season.

He believes that, coupled with Spurs' new state-of-the-art training base in Enfield which is now also used by the England squad, gives the club the type of state-of-the-art facilities needed to sustain long-term success.
"Always the philosophy is coming from the board and in the case of (chairman) Daniel Levy, I think we have a very good relationship, we have a clear idea of what we need to do in the future," the Argentinian coach said.

"I think our facilities are amazing, the training ground and the new stadium will be one of the best in Europe. It is an exciting moment for Tottenham.
"But it is true we have a different philosophy, it is not because we cannot invest, but Tottenham have built a different philosophy than the other big clubs.

"I think in football, money can help you build a better squad or bring in talented players, but it is not only about money - you need to be creative, you need to be clever.
"It will be tough next season for us, but we believe in the way that we play and we work." - SKY

Terry is a huge loss for Chelsea - Cahill

Gary Cahill is ready to step up and fill the leadership void left by John Terry at Chelsea, although he concedes the departure of the club great will be a "huge loss" for the Premier League champions.

Terry signed for Aston Villa after leaving Chelsea upon the expiry of his contract, having made 717 appearances at the club, winning five Premier League titles, five FA Cups and the Champions League in 2012.
Cahill regularly wore the captain's armband for the Blues last season, with Terry playing a bit-part role in his final campaign, but manager Antonio Conte is yet to announce a new skipper.

The former Bolton Wanderers defender is considered a front-runner for the Chelsea captaincy but he accepted it will be difficult for his side to adjust to life without Terry, who had spent his entire professional career at the club, barring a brief loan spell at Nottingham Forest in the 1999-00 season.
"Obviously John Terry will be huge loss for us but I feel I'm at an age where I can pass on my experience to the younger players," Cahill told reporters ahead of Chelsea's friendly against Arsenal in Beijing on Saturday.

"We have a lot of experienced players in the dressing room anyway, but I certainly feel I can help."
Cahill's centre-back colleague David Luiz has backed the England international to take over the captaincy from Terry, although the Brazilian is also a contender.

"I think it continues to be Gary, why not?" Luiz said. "It's not about the armband, it's about your leadership every day, your discipline and the way you try to help the team.
"I have already had the armband here and I always try to be a leader and try to help. I have loved this responsibility since I was young. I was the youngest captain in Benfica history, so I always take responsibility.

"When you play for big clubs you always have responsibility. This is just a case of us having to carry on."

Friendly match : Wenger expects Chelsea 'test'

Arsene Wenger hopes Arsenal's clash with Chelsea on Saturday will help gauge their summer progress and says the pre-season fixture is "not really a friendly".

The two sides meet at the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing and Wenger accepts the fixture between the FA Cup winners and the Premier League champions will not have the feel of a friendly given the history between them.
Arsenal have been on a gruelling tour to Australia and China, where they overcame Bayern Munich and the squad were hit with a sickness bug, but Wenger believes the Chelsea fixture could give an indication as to what will be left to fine tune on their return to London.

The Gunners will play two fixtures in the Emirates Cup next weekend before tackling Chelsea again in the FA Community Shield ahead of the season opener against Leicester on August 11, live on Sky Sports.
"It is difficult to predict, but I think it is a friendly between Arsenal and Chelsea, that means it is not really a friendly," Wenger said at a news conference in Beijing.

"There is some pride at stake and a desire to win. It was a very interesting game in the FA Cup final, we play them in the Charity Shield [Community Shield] and then play them early in the [Premier League] season as well.
"In fact, we know each other very well and it is difficult how to know how prepared Chelsea are and how far we are for the preparation tomorrow. It was a good indication against Bayern, it will be another test for us tomorrow."

Wenger confirmed forward Theo Walcott was doubtful for Saturday's match, but the problem was "nothing major".
However, defender Laurent Koscielny expects to be able to feature despite a back problem and the France international feels the two-week tour has been worthwhile.

"For the team, I think last season we finished well and we worked well in Australia and China," he said. "We are focussed on the games and we want to win because that gives you confidence to play with freedom."
Alexis Sanchez has been given some extra time off following Chile's appearance at the Confederations Cup.

Sky  sources understand Sanchez is Paris Saint-Germain's No 1 summer target, despite Arsene Wenger's insistence he is not for sale, and the Arsenal boss was briefly quizzed on the absence of his star man by the media at Friday's news conference.

When asked why Sanchez had not made the journey, Wenger said: "He played in the Confederations Cup and is on holiday."

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Hope for Lucas return after tearful Liverpool goodbye - Klopp

Jurgen Klopp wants Lucas Leiva to return to Liverpool at the end of his playing career.
The Brazilian midfielder ended his decade-long stay at Anfield by agreeing a three-year deal at Lazio this week, having slipped down the pecking order on Merseyside.

Lucas started only 12 league games for Klopp last season but the German is hoping he gets the chance to work with the 30-year-old again in the future.

"He loves Liverpool. It's unbelievable," Klopp told ESPN. "He comes from Brazil - it's a nice country and the weather is much better.
"He could imagine staying in Liverpool for the rest of his life. I told him that the door is always open for him after his three years and [if] I'm still here, of course, then we will find a place for him.
"I'm sure he'll be a fantastic coach or manager."

Klopp confirmed Lucas requested to leave Liverpool in a bid to get more first-team football with Lazio, who finished fifth in Serie A last season.
"Things change but Lucas is a special case," Klopp said. "He asked for it. I would say he's a friend. He's a fantastic person. How I know and how he knows, he has a few issues when he's not playing!

"But we always had a very respectful understanding. It was really good. When he left, we both had a little tear in our eye. It was really a special moment.

"For the team, it's difficult. It's the age and it's life. He could sign a long-term contract in Rome and how can I say: 'You stay here, but I don't know if you sign a new contract and I don't know how often you will play next year'. So you need to be honest, especially with a player like him." -Goal

Conte : 'Costa situation clear in January'

Antonio Conte says that Diego Costa’s situation at Chelsea was "very clear" for both the club and the player in January.

The 28-year-old has not travelled with the Blues squad for their pre-season tour of Asia and is reported to be keen on a return to Atletico Madrid, although the Spanish club are currently banned from registering players until January 2018.

Costa was left out of Chelsea's squad which travelled to Leicester in January last season amid speculation over a big-money move to China and disagreements over his recovery from a back problem, but returned the following week and went on to help Chelsea lift the Premier League title.

However, while on international duty with Spain in June, Costa said he received a text from Conte which explained that he had no future at Stamford Bridge but the Italian says the striker was aware of the situation long before the summer.
"I don't to like to talk about players that don't stay here, but the only thing I can tell you (is) in January, the Costa situation was very clear, for the club, for him and his agent," the Chelsea boss said.
"For me the situation is closed."

Chelsea are close to completing an initial £58m deal to sign striker Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid, with Sky sources saying the Spaniard has passed a medical.
Conte believes the 24-year-old - who scored 20 goals for the Spanish side last season as Real won both La Liga and the Champions League - can bring something different to the Chelsea frontline.
"We have added a fantastic striker, even at a young age he has won a lot already and we are looking forward to welcoming him to the squad," Conte said.

"I think for sure this is a good signing for us. He is a young player, but has a lot of experience, he went to Juventus and Real Madrid. He has a lot of experience and I think this is a good sign for us."

Foden is special - Guardiola

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City youngster Phil Foden is destined for greatness following the midfielder's impressive debut against rivals Manchester United in the International Champions Cup.

The 17-year-old produced a composed display in the heart of midfield against the likes of Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera and Michael Carrick - although he could not prevent City slipping to a 2-0 defeat in Houston on Thursday.
Guardiola hailed Foden as a "special" talent and admitted it had been a long time since he had witnessed such an accomplished display from a youngster.
"I don't have words, I would like to have the right words to describe what I saw today," said the Spaniard.

"You are lucky guys, believe me. You are the guys that saw the first game, in the first team for Manchester City, for this guy.
"It's been a long time since I saw something like today. His performance was on another level. He's a City player, he grew up in the academy.

"He loves the club, he's a City fan and for us he's a gift. He will stay with us, training with us in pre-season and maybe during the season he's going to stay with us because he is special.
"He played against Pogba, Herrera - after that against Carrick and he created chances and was always in the best position. I found the real words."
Manchester City will continue their pre-season preparations against the reigning European and Spanish champions Real Madrid in Los Angeles in Wednesday before facing Tottenham and West Ham in their remaining warm-up games.

Meanwhile, another City youngster Thomas Agyepong has rejoined Dutch side NAC Breda on a season-long loan.
The Ghana international played at the Rat Verlegh Stadion last season and will now return for a second spell at the club.
NAC's technical director Hans Smulders said: "Last year he proved his value and especially in the final phase of the season he was of great value.

"Thomas is now in a familiar environment so he does not need to acclimatise. Our squad still has the need for a wing player and Thomas fills that position perfectly. We're glad we can keep him for another season."- Sky

 

Husband : My wife wants to kill me, twists my testicles, scrotum during fights

One Chukwuma Onwumere on Thursday told an Igando Customary Court in Lagos State that his wife of 10 years, Obianuju was after his life.
The 43-year-old man said his wife was fond of going out and returning at will and that whenever he cautioned her, she would turn it to a fight.

Begging the court to dissolve the marriage, Chukuma said: “My wife wants to kill me by always grabbing my testicles when we fight.
“Apart from twisting my scrotum, she was always hitting me with dangerous weapons over trivial issues.
“She once cut me on the head with a machete during one of our fights.”

However, Obianuju, denied all the allegations, insisting that her husband was the one threatening her life.

She said: “My husband was always beating me; all the scars on my body were as a result of his abuse. There was a day he beat me and one of my teeth fell off.
“There was a night I saw him holding a charm and moving round my bed and reciting some incantations. I stood up, but he left my room and placed the charm at my door post.

“My husband carried my properties to my parents, saying he was told by a spiritualist that I am a witch. He told my parents that he was no longer interested in our marriage.”
Obianuju pleaded with the court to grant her husband’s wish and dissolve the marriage as she too was no longer interested in the union.
President of the court, Mr. Adegboyega Omilola, adjourned the case until September 12 for further hearing. - Daily Post

Labour congress calls for collaborative effort on new minimum wage

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for collaborative efforts to achieve a new national minimum wage for workers.

The NLC Assistant General Secretary, Mr James Esutace, made the call at a one day- symposium on “N56,000 Minimum Wage; Implication for the Nigerian Workers.”
The symposium was  organised by the Socialist Workers League in Abuja on Thursday.
The league is an organisation of activists within the labour movement and  civil society organisations.

According to Esutace,  if the N56, 000 minimum wage is implemented, it will help to reduce the suffering of  workers.
“There is no alternative to the N56, 000 minimum wage which is long overdue for review,’’ he said,  adding that although it was underestimated, Nigerians would enjoy it.
“This is why the organised labour, collectively put a demand on the Federal Government.
“If Nigerians do not rise up as workers to canvass for their right, by 2018, they will not be able to talk of  a new national minimum  wage.”

Esutace  said that the National Assembly was on the verge of removing the minimum wage from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list.
He said if the effort of the National Assembly succeeded, the implication was that the country would not have a minimum wage but a segregated wage system.

“The national minimum wage is supposed to set a minimum benchmark. The philosophy behind the wage is to protect the unorganised and the vulnerable workers who do not have strong bargaining powers.”
Also, a former Chairman of NLC in the Federal Capital Territory,  Mr Yahaya Abdullahi, decried the untold hardship that Nigerians were facing due to the economic  recession.

Abdullahi said the situation had contributed to the poor wages that Nigerians earned.
He said that the N56,000 minimum wage proposal was not enough to provide the basic needs of the citizens.
“Even the N56,000 cannot take care of our needs in this present economy but it is better than the N18,000 currently paid by government,” he said.

Mr Drew Povey, a Financial Consultant for the group, said with the social inequality in the country, Nigeria’s economy would not grow.
He said the problem with Nigeria was not that of development but inequality between the rich and poor.
Povey called for collective action in pushing the demand for the new national minimum wage to the government.

Failed nation !!! NBS: 89% of Nigeria’s workforce are without pension accounts

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says 89% of the country’s workforce have retirement savings account.

According to the NBS retirement savings account report released by the bureau on Thursday, the highest number of registered working population are in the private sector.
“The retirement savings account (RSA) membership distribution data for Q2 2017 reflected that 7,589,936 workers are registered under the pension scheme out of a total working population of 69,470,901 (data for Q2 2017 will be updated as soon as it is available) recorded as at Q4 2016,” it read.

“This represents 10.93% of the total working population. This is not surprising given the largely informal structure of the Nigerian labour force with about 50% of the current workforce engaged in subsistence agriculture and informal trading.”



Data available on the NBS website shows that 1.89 million of the total figure are federal workers while 1.53 million are state workers and 4.15 million work for private firms.



“The least number of registered working population came from above 65 years and 60-65 years age bracket.
“The highest number of registered working population came from the age bracket of 30-39 years and closely followed by the working population within the age bracket of 40-49 years and 50-59 years.
“This is expected considering ages 25-44 account for about 55% of the total working population.”

According to the 2014 pension reform act, employers are mandated to make contributions from salaries of employees into retirement savings account effective from July 2014, in the following proportions: employee 8% and employer 10%.
The categories of people exempted from the contributory pension scheme are members of the armed forces, the intelligence and secret service of the federation. - Cable Nigeria

African giant of corruption ! ! TSA breach: Court orders remittance of $792.3m ‘hidden’ in seven banks

The federal high court in Lagos has granted an interim order for the remittance of a total of $793,200,000 allegedly hidden by seven commercial banks in violation of the constitution and the treasury single account (TSA) policy of the federal government.

Chuka Obiozor, the presiding justice, ordered the banks to remit the various amounts allegedly kept in their custody to the designated CBN asset recovery dollars account.
The affected banks are Skye Bank Plc, First Bank Plc, Keystone Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc and Fidelity Bank Plc.
The interim order was given after the court listened to an ex-parte application filed by Yemi Akinseye-George, professor and counsel to the attorney general of the federation.

Akinseye-George said it was best for the court to order the banks to remit the funds to the federal government to avoid possible diversion, misapplication and misappropriation of the funds.
He said the funds were urgently required by the federal government for executing the 2017 budget.
After granting the interim order, Obiozor directed that the order should be published in a national daily.

In August 2015, the federal government directed all ministeries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to make payments into a treasury single account (TSA).
At that time, the government said the directive will promote transparency. - Cable Nigeria

Guardiola lets Kolarov join Roma

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says he will let Aleksandar Kolarov join Roma because he "does not like to work with people who don’t want to stay."

 Guardiola revealed after City's 2-0 defeat to Manchester United at the International Champions Cup that Kolarov has asked to leave.
The Serbian joined City from Lazio in 2010 and Guardiola says the chance to return to Rome has proven decisive, and left the Blues short of defensive cover as they push to finalise a deal for Monaco left-back Benjamin Mendy.

"We don’t have another option," Guardiola told a press conference." We don’t have full-backs, we try to buy full-backs on the right side, not just Kyle [Walker], because the other three full-backs we didn’t extend the contracts. Kolarov is one step to go to Roma. That’s why we don’t have any other options.
"I don’t like to work with people who don’t want to stay. Kola helped me a lot last season in terms of many, many things. But he had a big chance to go back to Rome where he was before and he spoke to me, the club and asked me to leave.
"I don’t like to stay with players who don’t want to stay. That’s why its the best option for everybody. I wish him all the best because he’s a really nice guy. We had an excellent relationship. I was very pleased to train him and I wish him and his family the best."

City are reported to have had a bid worth more than £45 million rejected by Monaco for Mendy, but the club are determined to land the Frenchman and will try to finalise the move as soon as possible.
Guardiola did suggest, however, that he would find another solution if Mendy and other targets, such as Danilo and Alexis Sanchez, are not signed.
"The season is so long," he added. "Of course we would like to have the players as soon as possible. 
"We have 11 months, so many games to play and it's important they will arrive when they arrive. If it’s not possible to arrive we will find an alternative solution, we knew the situation at the end of the season. 

"But we knew that from the beginning because the market is so complicated with the clubs and we need to find the best solution to help us to improve."- Goal

Man Utd unveil grey third kit

Manchester United have released a new grey third kit ahead of the upcoming 2017/18 Premier League season.

The new Adidas shirt, to go alongside their red home strip and black away kit, was designed by a fan and the colour will bring back memories of United's infamous shirt from the 1995/96 season, which saw the side change at half-time during a 3-1 defeat at Southampton.

United were in unstoppable form heading into the fixture at The Dell in April 1996, but a three-goal half-time deficit saw Sir Alex Ferguson insist on a swap to their blue and white second away strip.
United have described the shirt as 'silver' but designers Adidas call it 'light grey' and say that the new kit represents: "The powerful bond between the team and its fans.

"The light grey shirt is designed with a graphic showing the silhouette of the famous 'Holy Trinity' statue outside of the club's Old Trafford stadium.
"The statue of club icons Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law represents a golden era in the club's history and it is this unique history that was the inspiration for the new third kit." - SKY

Premier League Arsenal top homegrown table

Arsenal gave their academy graduates more playing time than any other Premier League side last season, a study has concluded.

The investigation conducted by Press Association Sport discovered 6,628 of Arsenal's total Premier League minutes - 19.4 per cent of the Gunners' total - were played by graduates of their youth set-up, with six players contributing to that tally.
Manchester United used more homegrown footballers that any other top-flight team last season (10), with 16-year-old attacking midfielder Angel Gomes becoming the first player born in or after the year 2000 to play in the Premier League.
But as a percentage of minutes played, United were still some way behind Arsenal with their total equating to 17.1 per cent.

Of the Arsenal six, only Kieran Gibbs and Ainsley Maitland-Niles are still eligible to play for England. Maitland-Niles was part of the England squad that lifted the U20 World Cup in South Korea earlier this summer.
The single biggest contributor to Arsenal's homegrown tally was Spanish full-back Hector Bellerin, who played 2,498 league minutes. Francis Coquelin, Alex Iwobi, Emiliano Martinez were the three other academy graduates involved in the calculation.

Paul Pogba was the biggest contributor to United's total (2,609 minutes). The France international made his Premier League debut in January 2012, before leaving to join Juventus at the end of that season, only to return last summer for a world-record £89m fee.
Bournemouth had the highest percentage of players developed in the UK youth system (90.3 per cent) but their own academy accounted for only 0.1 per cent, courtesy of a single substitute appearance apiece for Baily Cargill and Matt Worthington.

Burnley were the only side to use players developed exclusively in the UK or Europe - with UK-developed players accounting for 85 per cent - but the Clarets were one of only two sides who did not give a single minute of action to one of their own homegrown players, along with Swansea.

Manchester City had the lowest total of UK-developed players (14 per cent). They used only four players who came through from UK-based academies, with Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), John Stones (Barnsley) and Fabian Delph (Leeds) joining City youth product Kelechi Iheanacho.

Watford's percentage of UK-developed players was the second-lowest, at 17.2 per cent, while Man City also had the greatest proportion (41 per cent) of players developed outside Europe.
The top six teams in the league - Chelsea, Tottenham, City, Liverpool, Arsenal and United - all finished in the bottom eight in terms of minutes played by UK-developed players.