Welcome to Okpara Fortune Azubuike's Blog

KINDLY SHARE THIS STORY President Muhammadu Buh President Muhammadu Buhari has accused the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, of not possessing the statutory educational qualification to contest the February 23, 2019 election. In his counter-accusation, Buhari dared Atiku to produce his “educational certificates, indicating the schools attended by him, with dates,” before the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal. The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress, winner of the election. But Atiku and the PDP filed a petition before the tribunal seeking an order nullifying Buhari’s victory and another order declaring them as the true winner of the poll. The petitioners alleged, among others, that Buhari gave false information about his school certificate in the Form CF001, which he submitted to INEC. They had alleged that Buhari did not possess secondar...

Nigeria captain  Mikel  Obi admits his side have to improve quickly if they are to make an impact at the World Cup,  AFP  reports. The Super Eagles lost 2-1 to England in a friendly at Wembley on Saturday. Nigeria were punished for a dismal first half display as goals from Gary Cahill and Harry Kane put England in control. Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi pulled one back for the visitors after the interval, but Nigeria couldn’t find an equaliser despite their improved second half performance. Mikel knows Nigeria have to sharpen up in Russia if they to get through a tough group featuring Argentina, Iceland and Croatia. “We are a very young team and we have to learn, it is good for this young team to have a taste of what we are going to face in Russia,” Mikel said. “We have to learn together as a team, we have to improve and that is why we played this game against such a quality side. “We can know where we are and now we go back to trai...

Paolo Guerrero scored twice in a 3-0 friendly win over Saudi Arabia to cap an emotional week for the Peru captain who was cleared to play at the World Cup after his long legal battle against a 14-month drugs suspension. The 34-year-old striker won a last-ditch legal appeal on Thursday to appear at the tournament in Russia despite being banned after testing positive for traces of cocaine following a World Cup qualifier against Argentina last October. The Swiss federal tribunal, Guerrero’s last legal recourse, overturned a ruling by the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that saw him suspended for 14 months. As well as allowing Guerrero to participate in the June 14-July 15 showpiece, it has also given the player hope of seeing his ban reduced or annulled as it ruled the CAS decision “unjustified”. Guerrero has played just a handful of matches for his Brazilian club Flamengo since he was initially banned on November 3, a ruling that forced him out ...

Chelsea  defender Ola Aina and Bursaspor midfielder Mikel Agu   will not be going to the 2018 World Cup in Russia after Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr  omitted  them from his  final 23-man  squad for the tournament on Sunday. Both players did not feature in  the 2-1 defeat to England in a friendly affair in  London on Saturday, meaning  Rohr had decided to chop them from the   squad before the encounter. Seventeen   of the 23 players picked  by the  German  manager  were in action at Wembley Stadium, with Mikel Obi, Kenneth  Omeruo, Ogenyi Onazi and Ahmed Musa, who represented Nigeria at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, heading to Russia to appear at the finals for the second time. Rohr kept faith with his goalkeeping trio Francis Uzoho, Daniel Akpeyi and Ikechukwu Ezenwa, naming  them in the squad alongside Euro-born quartet  Leon Balogun, William Troost-Ekong, Bryan Idowu  and Ty...

Nigerians have expressed disgust at the attitude of the Super Eagles as they arrived their final camping site in Austria. A video posted on the verified Twitter handle of the NFF shows obviously elated Austrians who had filed out to welcome the Eagles to their Avita Resort Base camp in Bad Tatzmannsdorf, Austria. The Austrians, young and old, male and female, were armed with Nigerian flags which they waved lovingly as they lined both sides of the road leading to the Super Eagles’ camp. As the team filed down from their bus, the elated crowd could not hide the excitement of hosting world-rated Super Eagles in their own country. They laughed, clapped and generally gave the Eagles the ultimate welcome. However, instead of acknowledging the cheers, the team members, one after the other, walked past the crowd, unconcerned, and not acknowledging the efforts put up by the locals. Only one footballer, identified by a Twitterer as Victor Moses, managed to have a handshake with some...

Neymar scored on his return to action on Sunday after three months out through injury as Brazil warmed up for the Russia 2018 World Cup with a 2-0 friendly win. The former world champions beat Croatia at Anfield in Liverpool. The most expensive player in the world has been sidelined since February 25. He had fractured a metatarsal and sprained his ankle playing for Paris St Germain (PSG) in a French league match against Olympique de Marseille. The former FC Barcelona forward, key to his country’s hopes in Russia, came on as a halftime substitute. He then provided the moment of inspiration to win the game in the 69th minute. Willian, impressive throughout for Brazil, picked the ball up in midfield and threaded the ball to Philippe Coutinho who found Neymar in the inside-left channel. The 26-year-old who played from the left flank cut inside and skipped past two defenders before blasting the ball home off the underside of the crossbar. Neymar’s goal was his 54th for ...

The Imo State Police Command has arrested one Mr. Patrick Adiele and some members his family for allegedly beating a 17-year-old boy, Dominic Adiele, to death. The deceased, Southern City News learnt on Sunday is also a member of the Adiele family from Eziama Ubulu Umuozu, Mgbidi in the Oru-West Local Government Area of the state. The mother of the deceased, Mrs. Emilia Adiele, said she was in a church when her son was killed. Narrating her ordeal, the dejected mother said, “I returned from the church and saw my son, Dominic, on the ground, looking battered. I was told that the children of my late husband’s brother beat him to the point that he became weak. He was taken to the hospital that same day and he died at the hospital. “I am calling on the government and the Inspector-General of Police to intervene in this my predicament and give me justice. My son cannot just die like that. A boy that was healthy until he was mercilessly beaten which resulted to his dea...

The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has faulted the Police claims that he has been indicted by some suspects arrested in connection with the April 2018 Offa bank robberies in which 30 persons were killed. In a press release signed by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, the Senate President mainteined that there is no how he could have been involved in armed robbery against his own people. See the press release: “The attention of the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has been drawn to a story circulating online and apparently derived from a Press Conference addressed by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Moshood Jimoh, linking him (Saraki) to the Offa robbery. “Dr. Saraki will want the entire public to disregard this claim as a baseless allegation and another ploy by the Police to implicate him by all means. “Let it be known that there is no way I could have been associated with armed robbery agai...

Nigeria on Sunday named a final 23-man squad for the World Cup with Chelsea defender Ola Aina and Mikel Agu from FC Porto placed on standby. However, both Aina and Agu will travel with the team for a training camp in Austria. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announced the final squad on their Twitter account. Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, who has been a major injury concern, made the final cut, while Russia-based defender Bryan Idowu and FC Crotone striker Simeon Nwankwo are the two players who are yet to make an official debut for the team. The team, who lost 2-1 to England on Saturday at Wembley, will fly out of London on Sunday to Austria before they head out to Russia for the World Cup on June 11. FULL SQUAD Goalkeepers:  Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Enyimba), Daniel Akpeyi (Chippa United/RSA), Francis Uzoho (Deportivo La Coruna/ESP) Defenders:  William Troost-Ekong, Shehu Abdullahi (Bursaspor/TUR), Leon Balogun (Brighton Hove Albion/ENG), Kenneth Omeruo (Che...

The Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, Abuja, has stated why it invited the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, over the Offa bank robberies of April 5, 2018, in which 30 people, including nine policemen, died. According to a press release on its Facebook page and signed by Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, Abuja, ACP Jimoh Moshood, the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, “is being invited to report to the Police to answer allegations indicting him from confessions of five gang leaders arrested for active participation in Offa bank robberies and killings of 33 innocent persons.” See the full press statement: UPDATE OF POLICE INVESTIGATION INTO THE OFFA BANKS ROBBERY AND GRUESOME MURDER OF MORE THAN THIRTY THREE (33) INNOCENT PERSONS INCLUDING PREGNANT WOMEN AND NINE (9) POLICE OFFICERS ON 5th APRIL, 2018, IN OFFA, KWARA STATE. • Twenty Two (22) Suspects now in Police Custody. • Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki is being invited to report ...

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has said four-year tenure is too small for anyone in public office to deliver. He said that was so because there were many plans of things to deliver that will take time. Osinbajo said this in an interview at the Financial Times Nigeria Summit held in Lagos. According to the transcript made available to journalists on Saturday, the Vice President granted the interview on Thursday. “I think that for anyone who is in office, it (four years) would be too small because obviously, you have all manner of plans and things to deliver. “But my take is that the moment you have the right people and you put the right structures in place, you can do a lot, and I think we have been blessed with an incredibly good team,” Osinbajo said. He said the present administration wanted to farther ahead in terms of manufacturing. He however described them as infrastructure constraints that cannot be developed overnight. This, he said, was why the governme...

Recently, Chinedu Ikedieze, aka Aki, and Osita Iheme, aka Pawpaw, reunited on set after a long while they have acted together in a movie. Years ago, the two actors were inseparable in movies and people loved them together. Once you saw Aki, you would surely see Pawpaw. But as they grew older in the movie industry, they started doing things differently, which made the public to conclude that they had irreconcilable differences. But while speaking with  Sunday Scoop , Aki insisted there was no time he fought Pawpaw. He said, “I just finished shooting a film with my friend, Pawpaw. We have not been working together like in the past because we are both engaged in different projects. I am still shooting  The Johnsons  family series. When they gave us a month break, I quickly went to shoot two films with Pawpaw. I have kept many producers waiting, but some of them looked for other options. I am busy; Pawpaw is busy too. We don’t have any problem. I don’t l...

Neymar will make his first appearance for over three months on Sunday as Brazil boss Tite confirmed the Paris Saint-Germain striker will play in the second half of his country’s friendly against Croatia. Neymar suffered a fractured foot while playing for PSG against Marseille in Ligue 1 on February 25. The 26-year-old had surgery in Brazil amid fears he wouldn’t be fit for the World Cup. But Neymar recovered well enough to be included in the Selecao squad for the tournament, which gets underway in Russia on June 14. Facing a race to be fit for Brazil’s World Cup opener against Switzerland on June 17, Neymar will get a chance to use Sunday’s clash at Anfield to show he is ready to lead the five-time world champions in Russia. “Neymar? He’ll start on the bench because he’s still recovering, and will come on at half-time because we’re preparing as a team,” Tite told reporters at a press conference on Saturday. “I don...

Econet Media’s pan-African broadcast network, Kwesé, has signed Mikel Obi as their first official brand ambassador. The UEFA Champions League, Europa Cup and Premier League winner, who now plays in the Chinese Super League, will represent the broadcaster’s services and initiatives across the continent starting with the 2018 World Cup Russia. Mikel will feature in Kwesé’s upcoming advertising campaigns, which will encompass print, television and radio.  “In choosing the right personality to partner with our brands we wanted someone who embodies what we stand for as an African broadcaster. Mikel represents exceptional sporting talent and is loved by fans across the continent. His commitment to excellence and his work to improve the sporting talent of the next generation of athletes made him the perfect choice for us,” Joseph Hundah, President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Econet Media, said. One of only two African players to have ...

Football lovers who watched the England’s pre-World Cup friendly with Nigeria on Saturday seem to have a beef with Dele Alli each time the footballer gained access to the ball. Bamidele Jermaine Alli, popularly known as Dele Alli, is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the England national team. Born on April 11, 1996 to Nigerian father, Kenny and English mother, Denise, Alli was raised in Milton Keynes. In the run-up to the World Cup when a national team was being assembled for Nigeria, Alli opted to play for his country of birth, England. This didn’t seem to sit well with Nigerian football fans who see his decision as not good enough. Alli is not new to controversy, though, as FIFA once banned the England midfielder for one international match following his middle-finger gesture in the 2018 World Cup qualifier against Slovakia late 2017. He was also fined 5,000 Swiss francs (£3,852) by...