Evritinnaija

Argentina’s best player and arguably world best, Lionel Messi yesterday clocked 31 but the Barcelona hero chose to train with his national team squad on his birthday as they prepare for the June 26 showdown against Super Eagles of Nigeria. The two countries will slug it out in the final group match that will make or mar their fate of progressing to the second round of the FIFA World Cup in Russia. Messi was full of live at the Argentina training on his birthday morning as he jettison going for party with probably knowing how crucial their encounter with Nigerian side is in the light of the country’s position in Group D. However, the intensive training which lasted for hours did not end without special congratulatory messages from Argentina manager, Jorge Sampaoli, Sergio Aguero and teammates. Though Messi has not scored a goal in this tournament, but there are high hopes that he will spring surprise with his magical moves to lead the wounded Argentine team to victory against Niger...

Plateau State was on Sunday thrown into mourning with the killing of 86 persons in the attacks on about 11 communities in the Gashish District by suspected Fulani herdsmen . The Police Command in Plateau State had earlier on Sunday confirmed the attacks, saying it had only recovered 11 corpses from some of the villages. But residents had insisted that about 200 people were killed by the marauding herdsmen . However, the police later issued a statement that indicated that the death toll in the attack on the communities in the Barkin Ladi Local Government Area on Saturday night had risen to 86 . It added that six people were injured , 50 houses burnt , 15 motorcycles razed while two motor vehicles were torched . The spokesperson for the Plateau State Police Command , Matthias Tyopev, an Assistant Superintendent of Police , in an updated statement issued on Sunday night , said the earlier 11 death toll in the attacks was due to the information at its disposal as of then before the a...

A national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, on Sunday asked former President Olusegun Obasanjo to stop interfering in the affairs of the ruling party. He spoke in Abuja at the venue of the national convention of the party. Mr Tinubu, who described Mr Obasanjo’s interference as “busy body”, argued that the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari in three years could not be compared to those of the administrations of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which ruled the country for unbroken 16 years. Mr Obasanjo was president between 1999 and 2007 on the platform of the PDP. The former president had earlier in the year written an open letter to Mr Buhari asking him not to run for a second term because he had performed poorly. However, the president ignored the advice as he announced at the APC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja that he would seek reelection next year. Mr Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, said Mr Obasanjo did no...

A former National Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has revealed what he will do if he fails to get the presidential ticket of the party in 2019 election. Asked in an interview with reporters in Abuja if he will seek to realize his ambition on another platform if he did not succeed in getting the PDP nomination, Makarfi said his politics is politics of decency, not just within the party. The former Kaduna State governor also hailed the President Muhammadu Buhari led All Progressives Congress government for successes recorded in the fight against insurgency. He said, “Because I want to be the candidate of my party, it will not be an excuse to insult or do negative campaign against other candidates. “It is a question of what do I have to offer that is better than what the other person has to offer. It should not affect personal relationship. At the end of the day, whoever gets it will have to work with others to succeed. “If ...

Olugbenga has revealed how his lover fled with his ATM card and allegedly withdrew N1 million from his bank account. According to reports, Olugbenga who is a business man was visited by Thelma Kimberly, who is based in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, at his residence on Victoria Island, Lagos State, on May 17, 2018. Punch City Round learnt that the lovers had a beautiful day touring the environment before they returned home to cap it all. The 45-year-old man reportedly slept off after which Kimberly who is 22 fled with his ATM card and a mobile phone. She was said to have made withdrawals, transfers and purchases at a supermarket in Lekki using PoS. Olugbenga reported the case at the Ikoyi Police Division and Kimberly was eventually tracked down this month. A police source said that while the suspect was on the run, an order was sent to a bank she used to place a restriction on her account. “The man then sent N100,000 to her bank account as bait with a belief that th...

The two chambers of the National Assembly say the decision to adjust the 2018 Budget presented by President Muhammadu Buhari was to correct lopsidedness and imbalance in the estimates. The lawmakers made the position known on Friday at a news conference addressed by the Spokespersons of the Senate and House of Representatives, Senator Aliyu Sabi-Abdullahi and Rep. Abdulrazak Namdas, respectively, in Abuja. The National Assembly had, while passing the Appropriation Bill, increased the figure from N8.16 trillion proposed by Buhari to N9.12 trillion, indicating an increase of about N578 billion. And, before signing the Bill on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Buhari picked holes with the action of the lawmakers, observing that some of the new provisions in the budget were not properly processed. He had said, “I am concerned about some of the changes that the National Assembly has made to the budget proposals that I presented. ‘’The logic behind the constitutional direction that...

A Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, has described a former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, as a ‘hypocrite’ who has crossed the red line several times. Mr Obasanjo is “one of the greatest hypocritical leaders this nation ever had” the laureate said on Friday. He was speaking at a conversation with journalists at the international Press Institute (IPI) world congress holding at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja. The comments came as response to a question from a member of the audience on why Mr Soyinka ‘hates’ Mr Obasanjo and a former military head of state, Sani Abacha. First, Mr Soyinka criticised President Muhammadu Buhari for posing an anti-corruption posture and yet honouring a leader like late Mr Abacha. “If I’m walking on the street and I see a statue raised in honour of a torturer, a murderer and thief so recognised by the entire world, that we are still chasing his loot. His loot is still surfacing all over the world. And then, i’m driving on the street and I see a structure i...