Elections not sole responsibility of INEC – European Centre

The European Center for Election Support (ECES) says elections are not the responsibility of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) alone.

Mr Fabien Marie, ECES Representative stated this on Saturday in Port Harcourt at the end of a two-day training for security personnel on managing security during the forthcoming general elections.

“It should be the responsibility of every Nigerian to ensure that the forthcoming election is peaceful and credible,” Marie said.

He therefore urged security agencies and all stakeholders in Nigeria’s election project to work together for credible and peaceful election.

“We are very proud to be able to give our little support for the success of the electoral process, our joy will be that the process is successful in the end.

“I urge you to pass on the lessons you will learn from this training to other officers, and also put it to work during the election,” Marie said.

Speaking at the event, Ebo Efanga, INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers, said that the training was important due to the critical role of security agencies in the electoral process.

“The arm which plays the primary role in the election is INEC; but the security agencies play a supportive role, which is critical to the overall success of the election.

“It is a training that will enable us tell the security agencies what is expected of them, we expect that they should be conversant with how elections are conducted,” Efanga said.

On his part, CSP John Ohanyere, a participant, described the training as timely and laudable.

Ohanyere said that the training was a reminder to the agencies of the basic rules and regulations guiding the conduct of elections.

- PM NEWS

Transfer News: Allegri speaks on Pogba’s return to Juventus

Juventus coach, Massimiliano Allegri has said it is “fantasy” to think Manchester United midfielder, Paul Pogba will play for the Italian side again.

The midfielder enjoyed four successful years at Juve after joining the club as a youngster from United in 2012.

He returned to Old Trafford in 2016 for a then-world record transfer fee of £89m but the World Cup winner struggled under Jose Mourinho this season prompting suggestions he could re-sign for Juve.

However, the 25-year-old France midfielder appears to have been revitalised by United’s decision to bring in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as caretaker manager to replace Mourinho.

He has been United’s standout player over the last month as they have won eight games in a row, including a 3-1 victory at Arsenal in the FA Cup on Friday, leaving Allegri to accept there is little chance of Pogba making a return.

“Oh my… you [journalists] have such fantasies,” the Juventus head coach told Skysports on Saturday.

“I think that a return of Pogba to Juventus is very, very unlikely.

“I will not deceive myself, I think it will be really hard to see Pogba come back.”

- DAILY POST

62,000 graduates jostle for 7,600 teaching jobs in Kaduna

A total of 62,000 applicants on Saturday sat for aptitude and qualifying test to teach in secondary schools across the 23 local government areas of Kaduna state.

The state Commisioner for Education, Science and Technology, Alhaji Ja’faru Sani said in a statement that “out of the number, the State Government will recruit only 7,600 qualified teachers that will teach in the state’s public secondary schools.

Giving the breakdown, he said “about 31,000 HND, B.sc, Master’s Degree and Ph.D. holders were participating in the first phase of the aptitude test.”

His words: “more than 31,000 holders of NCE would write their examination in a later date.”

According to him, “the measure is to ensure effective supervision with a view to getting the best to teach in secondary schools.

“You will recall that about two months ago, we placed advertisement seeking for qualified candidates to apply for teaching positions in our secondary schools.

“Today in this centre and many other centres across the state, the applicants were writing the aptitude test to be considered for the teaching positions.

“We had to do the screening in phases because we earlier envisaged a manageable number but ended up with more than 60,000 applicants seeking to join the teaching service of the state government.

“Because of logistics and the need to have a conducive environment for the examination, we decided to stagger the screening exercise, starting with over 30,000 HND, B.Ed., B.sc, Masters and Ph.D holders.

“The over 31,000 NCE holders will be invited for the examination at no distant time.”

Sani added that “the recruitment was part of the current administration’s efforts to address the problem of teacher quality in public schools.”

He said that the goal of the current administration was to achieve better education service delivery for all by 2030

- DAILY POST

TRANSFER NEWS : Arsenal in talks to sign Perisic

Arsenal are in talks to sign winger Ivan Perisic from Inter Milan, according to Sky in Italy. 

The Gunners want to sign the 29-year-old on loan with an option to buy, but the Italian side are only interested in a permanent deal.

Perisic has scored three goals and registered five assists in 25 appearances in all competitions this season for Inter, who currently sit third in Serie A.

The winger was an integral part of Croatia's success in last summer's World Cup and scored in the final as they were beaten 4-2 by France.

Back in November Perisic hinted at his desire to one day play in the Premier League.

He said: "I have always said that it is my dream, in football everything is possible, we will see in the future. Now I'm focusing on Inter."

Inter Milan manager Luciano Spalletti says Perisic will not be sold on the cheap, while Gunners boss Unai Emery previously told the media that Arsenal can only sign players on loan this month.

Perisic was previously linked to a move to Manchester United when Jose Mourinho was in charge.

- SKY SPORTS

Anthony Joshua : Fury fight is 'massive'

 Joshua has revealed his renewed interest in a "massive" British battle with Tyson Fury, but admits he will have to wait for WBC champion Deontay Wilder.

Britain's unified heavyweight champion is set to make a decision this weekend about an opponent for his next title defence, which could be staged either at Wembley in April, or New York in May or June.

A rematch with Dillian Whyte or a US debut against Jarrell Miller are among his options, while Joshua has also admitted that he hopes Fury is part of his future plans.

Asked about Fury, he told The Graham Norton Show: "That would be massive. I would love to.

"The fight that Wilder and Fury had, I felt that Fury won, so it would be amazing to have two British heavyweights and we would be combining the belts up.

"In the eyes of a lot of people, Fury is a champion as such.

"We're the top three, so I would love to fight him. Even though he hasn't got a belt, it's still fighting one of the top three."

Wilder has been ordered to agree a rematch with Fury after retaining his WBC belt in a split decision draw in December.

Joshua praised Fury's performance after he returned from a lengthy break from the sport last year, insisting that Wilder should have suffered defeat after underestimating his British rival.

"Three years is a long time to take out and I think it was a good name, but he must have thought it was an easy fight, because he thought he was getting him when he was a bit cold," said Joshua.

"Tyson Fury is very talented, very skilled and showed that to the world when he boxed him, so it ended in a draw."

Negotiations over a fight between Joshua and Wilder have broken down again, with the WBA 'super' IBF and WBO title holder accepting that he needs to take an alternative fight.

"He's got other options in the States that he's interested in fighting, but my view is that I've got four, you've got the last one," he said. "Like 'Lord of the Rings', let's combine them together.

"You can fight in front of the biggest audience, the best UK crowd there is, and fight for the heavyweight championship of the world.

"That's a great offer, but he's interested in fighting someone else, so I have to go a different route at the minute.

"We're playing the waiting game."

- SKY SPORTS

No drug can shrink or pass out fibroid – Surgeon

A Surgeon, Dr Benjamin Olowojebutu, says no drug will shrink or pass out fibroid from a woman.

Olowojebutu, also the Founder, Benjamin Olowojebutu Foundation (BOF), an NGO, made this known at a news conference on Saturday in Lagos.

Fibroids are non-cancerous abnormal growths that develop in or around the womb (uterus). The growths are made up of muscle and fibrous tissue, and vary in size.

The surgeon advised women that instead, they should visit a doctor and get examined when they suspected to have fibroid.

The foundation helps indigent women suffering from various conditions such as Fibroids, Breast lumps, and Hernias.

“There are lots of fallacies and superstitious beliefs around fibroid that you can take medicines to shrink or pass it out from the anus; that is what is killing many women today.

“Some women have been taken herbal drugs for years and instead of shrinking the fibroid, it is getting bigger.

“We want to create awareness to let people know that there is help for them,” Olowojebutu said.

The surgeon said that this had contributed a major challenge to the reason many people sought other alternatives rather than visiting the hospital.

He said that his foundation was willing to meet the needs of women who could not afford to pay for surgeries.

According to him, we are targeting 1,000 women for free surgeries in 2019.

Olowojebutu said that the average cost of surgery was N500,000 in the Mainland and about N1million in the Island, both areas in Lagos State.

“So, imagine somebody earning N4,000 a month. How long will such person save to be able to pay for surgery.

“The goal of BOF is to, in the long run, change the healthcare space with love and compassion.

“Our project for 2019 is called “Journey To 1,000 Free Surgeries”; our aim is to be able to help 1,000 indigent patients suffering from Fibriods, Lipoma Breast Lumps and Hernia.

“We have started already and we just concluded the Ikorodu outreach where eight fibroid surgeries took place.

“We are off to Cross River, Imo, Abia, Edo, Rivers and Ondo States from the Feb.1,“ he said.

Olowojebutu said that fibroid was very common in African women and also in Nigeria.

He said, however, that the risk of developing fibroid could be reduced if a woman married early and there was a break in their menstrual flow.

“Women who menstruate early, let us say at 10 years old and you are now 35 years old, that is 25 years of bleeding without a break.

“When there is no break in your menstrual flow, that is, the longer you are menstruating for, you stimulate the oestrogen hormone to produce fibroid.

“Women who have many babies may not have fibroid, because there is usually a break; one year of pregnancy and another for breastfeeding, which is two years of break.

“So, the oestrogen hormone cannot stimulate their wombs to grow the fibroid,“ he said.

- PM NEWS

City crush Burnley 5-0 in FA Cup

Manchester City eased into the fifth round of the FA Cup as they thrashed Burnley at Etihad Stadium.

Gabriel Jesus scored with a low strike after a fine run, although Matej Vydra wasted a good chance to equalise.

That miss proved to be costly as Bernardo Silva’s shot went through Nick Pope’s hands, before Kevin de Bruyne added a third with a powerful effort.

Kevin Long’s own goal made it 4-0 and a Sergio Aguero penalty, after David Silva was fouled, sealed the rout.

City, who last won the competition in 2011, have now scored 30 goals in seven games in 2019, while Burnley suffered their first defeat in six matches.

Pep Guardiola’s side won the Premier League and Carabao Cup last season and are still on course for a quadruple in 2018-19.

They face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final, play a Schalke side who are in the bottom half of the German Bundesliga in the Champions League last 16, are only four points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool and are now into the last 16 of the FA Cup.

Playing their seventh of eight games in January, they dominated from the start against Burnley, with Jesus not far from connecting with De Bruyne’s low cross, before Bernardo and Danilo both had shots saved by Pope.

But one-time England international Pope – making only his third appearance of the season – was helpless to stop Jesus’ powerful low strike that gave the hosts a 23rd-minute lead.

With Burnley 16th in the Premier League, manager Sean Dyche opted to make seven changes, and his side failed to have a single shot on target as City totalled 75% possession.

However, the visitors should have scored within three minutes of the restart when Otamendi gave the ball to Vydra but the Czech Republic international shot wastefully wide with only Ederson to beat.

Within five minutes of that miss, it was 2-0 as Bernardo’s low shot took a deflection and went through the arms of Pope.

The Burnley goalkeeper made up for that error as he tipped Riyad Mahrez’s effort wide, although he had no chance with De Bruyne’s well-struck effort for City’s third goal.

Clarets defender Long then put the ball into his own net for City’s fourth when De Bruyne’s powerful cross hit him and went in.

Long’s day got even worse with a needless foul on David Silva and Aguero – on as a 75th minute substitute – made it 5-0 from 12 yards to seal a routine victory for the home side.

-BBC