Former FIFA President Blatter bags another ban From Football

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March 25, 2021

Sepp Blatter has been handed a new six-year ban from football-related activities
The former FIFA boss was investigated over bribes to secure World Cup votes
Investigation also found he made various amendments to employee contracts
The same ban has been imposed on FIFA’s ex-secretary general Jerome Valcke

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been given a new ban of six years and eight months from football.

The ban has been imposed for multiple breaches of FIFA’s ethics code and comes into force when a current suspension ends in October, FIFA said.

The same length of suspension has also been imposed on the organisation’s former secretary general Jerome Valcke.

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been given a new ban of six years and eight months

A statement from FIFA said: ‘The investigations into Messrs Blatter and Valcke covered various charges, in particular concerning bonus payments in relation to FIFA competitions that were paid to top FIFA management officials, various amendments and extensions of employment contracts, as well as reimbursement by FIFA of private legal costs in the case of Mr Valcke.’

The adjudicatory chamber of FIFA’s ethics committee found Blatter, 85, in breach of rules concerning duty of loyalty, conflicts of interest and offering or accepting gifts or other benefits.

Valcke was found to have breached those same ethics code articles, plus abuse of position.

FIFA launched an investigation into officials being bribed to secure World Cup votes

Blatter was originally banned by FIFA for eight years, later reduced to six, over ethics breaches when he was found to have made a £1.3m ‘disloyal payment’ to ex-UEFA boss Michel Platin

Valcke, whose initial ban was reduced from 12 to 10 years, lost an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in July 2018 over his decade-long ban from football.

Both men have been fined one million Swiss francs (almost £780,000) over the latest breaches, FIFA said.

FIFA’s ethics investigators found Blatter had been involved in implementing a bonus scheme from which he and other officials, including Valcke, had benefited.

It found Blatter had accepted an ‘undue economic benefit’ of 23 million Swiss francs (almost £18m) over the period between 2010 and 2014.

Former secretary general Jerome Valcke has been handed the same suspension as Blatter

The ethics investigation discovered that Blatter and Valcke, along with former Argentinian football federation president Julio Grondona and former FIFA finance director Markus Kattner, had ‘set up a scheme through which they were allowing themselves to obtain extraordinary benefits with a minimum of effort’.

It continued: ‘This vicious circle saw three of them (Blatter, Grondona and Valcke) signing the amendment contracts of the others and approving the respective extraordinary bonuses, while the fourth (Kattner) was in charge of implementing the payment of such bonuses (as well as of keeping the matter ‘off the books’, by not reflecting the bonuses in the FIFA financial statements and not reporting them to the FIFA auditors).’

Investigators found employment contracts for Blatter, Valcke and Kattner were amended ‘without any supervision or control from an internal or external body in FIFA’ and that the officials involved ‘actively concealed’ the bonus payment awards by not fully declaring them in the organisation’s financial records.

Port Harcourt Refinery: Reps To Investigate $1.5bn Rehabilitation Cost

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Angel Gimalo

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March 25, 2021

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The House of Representatives has mandated its committee on Petroleum Resources Downstream to organise an investigative hearing.

This is to ascertain the true state of the Port Harcourt refinery which the Federal Government has approved the sum of $1.5billion for the rehabilitation.

The House also mandated the committee to carry out a comprehensive audit of funds previously spent on the Port Harcourt refinery and other refineries across the country.

This decision follows a motion moved as a matter of public importance by Representative Onofiok Luke.

The lawmakers expressed worry that so much had been spent on maintaining and rehabilitating the refineries but the outputs have barely improved.

They also asked the Federal Government to grant licenses and provide incentives for the construction of modular refineries.

The Federal Executive Council last week approved $1.5 billion for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery which is said to commence immediately.

Enugu Petroleum Marketers Threaten To Shutdown

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Angel Gimalo

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March 25, 2021

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The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association (IPMAN), Enugu Depot Community, has threatened to shut down over Anambra State Government’s “intentional renege” on its failed promise to one of its members.

It said the government had promised to off-set a debt worth N13,570,175, being the value of products of one of its members, Siluch Oil & Gas Ltd, supplied to the state.

Issuing the state government a 14 working days’ notice to fulfil its part of the agreement, the association assured that it would stop its operations within the state.

The ultimatum was contained in a two-page pre-action notice to Governor Willie Obiano, signed by Messrs. Chinedu Anyaso and Oliver Ekwueme, chairman and secretary of IPMAN Enugu Depot.

Anyaso said copies had been sent to the Police, Director of State Services, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and other security agencies.

He added that the notice took effect from March 24 and would lapse on April 8.

The Special Adviser to Obiano on NUPENG Petroleum and Union Matters, Chief Peter Nwosu, confirmed receipt of the letter.

He said the government was working to avert the shutdown.

Southern Senators Resolved To Work Towards The Unity Of Nigeria

By

Angel Gimalo

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March 25, 2021

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Senators from the southern part of the country on Wednesday resolved to work towards the unity of Nigeria despite the various challenges threatening the nation’s continued existence.

Their position came on the heels of the growing calls for secession among some Yoruba and Igbo groups who are accusing the regime of the President, Muhammadu Buhari, of nepotism and gross incompetence in handling the insecurity in the country.

The Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, told journalists after the southern senators elected Opeyemi Bamidele as Chairman on Wednesday that his colleagues remained committed to the unity of Nigeria.

He said, “Let me make it very clear that we are united, both the northern and southern senators.

“We are united behind the leadership of the 9th Senate and we have resolved that notwithstanding the challenges facing the country, we would support a united Nigeria.”

He said the northern senators’ forum was inaugurated sometime ago, hence the need to inaugurate the southern senators’ forum.

Kenya coach Mulee names attacking line-up against Egypt

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Henry Williams

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March 25, 2021

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Al Duhail striker Michael Olunga will partner Masud Juma with Bandari winger Abdallah Hassan playing in one wing.

Harambee Stars head coach Jacob “Ghost” Mulee has named an attack-minded line-up ahead of their crunch 2021 Africa Cup of nations Group G qualifier against Egypt at Kasarani on Thursday.
The match kicks off at 7pm behind closed doors.

Al Duhail striker Michael Olunga will partner Masud Juma with Bandari winger Abdallah Hassan playing in one wing.

Lawrence Juma, Kenneth Muguna and Anthony Akumu will be in charge of the midfield.

Zesco United goalkeeper Ian Otieno will start between the sticks, with Wazito defender Johnstone Omurwa partnering Simba SC’s Joash Onynago in central defence.

NNPC GMD Mele Kyari hints increase in petrol price

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Henry Williams

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March 25, 2021

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Mele Kyari, general managing director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), says the company cannot continue to bear the subsidy burden.

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) had released a template increasing petrol price to N212 per litre — but the template was later deleted.

Speaking with journalists at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Kyari said the NNPC can no longer bear the burden.

“The price could have been anywhere between N211 and N234 to the litre. The meaning of this is that consumers are not paying for the full value of the PMS that we are consuming and therefore someone is paying that cost,” he said.

We will use Sierra Leone draws as motivation for the next games, says Iwobi

By

Henry Williams

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March 25, 2021

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Nigeria attacker Alex Iwobi scored twice in the 4-4 draw against Sierra Leone but the Super Eagles were unable to see the game through, surrendering a 4-0 lead. The draw was followed up with a goalless draw in Freetown.

The draw sparked outrage from Nigerians who felt the Eagles should have sealed the win. Iwobi has now reflected on what went wrong in the game and the lessons learnt going forward.

The Eagles face the final two games of the qualifying group stages against Benin Republic and Lesotho and Iwobi said they have learnt and will use the draws against Sierra Leone as motivation and hope to win the games.

Christian Baker Jack Phillips Sued Again Over Refusal to Bake Transgender Cake

By

Koko Lawrence

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March 25, 2021

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Jack Phillips, a Christian baker who has previously been targeted by LGBTQ activists for refusing to bake cakes for them, is facing another lawsuit for his refusal to bake a cake celebrating a gender transition.

Phillips, who is the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado, holds previous legal victories, including one from the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018. At the time, the Christian baker went on trial after he refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

At the present time, he is being sued by Autumn Scardina, a transgender attorney who wanted a cake that was blue on the outside and pink on the inside in celebration of her transition. She had attempted to order the cake in 2017, on the same day when the Supreme Court said it would hear Phillip’s same-sex wedding case.

On Monday, Scardina met with a state judge in Denver, arguing that Phillips held to the belief that, as a Christian, he would not make the same-sex wedding cake because it involved a religious ceremony but would sell additional products, according to reports.

Phillips lawyer, however, contended that Phillips’s refusal to bake the transgender cake was about the message the cake portrayed and not because he was discriminating against Scardina.

Jim Campbell, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, denounced the latest case as “another attempt” to harass Phillips, as he has faced similar battles for almost the past decade.

“This latest lawsuit looks like yet another desperate attempt to harass cake artist Jack Phillips,” Campbell said. “And it stumbles over the one detail that matters most: Jack serves everyone; he just cannot express all messages or celebrate all events through his custom cakes.”

“No American should be bullied or banished from the marketplace simply for living and working consistently with their faith,” he asserted. “But this new lawsuit threatens to do just that.”

Scardina previously pressed charges against Phillips with the state and the Colorado Civil Rights Commission contending that discrimination took place. In response, Phillips sued the state, alleging that it was engaging in a “crusade to crush” him with the complaint.

In 2019, both cases were dropped under a settlement permitting Scardina to proceed with a lawsuit independently.

Nigeria’s economic reforms may falter unless professionals take charge – Group

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Henry Williams

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March 25, 2021

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Nigeria’s economic crisis may persist as long as the right professional persons are not put in charge of critical tasks and government units.

This is the verdict of top professionals that are meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, under the auspices of the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN) starting Wednesday, March 24, 2021.

Emma Wike, national president of Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), who is the local organizing committee chairman of the APBN for Port Harcourt presidential retreat 2021, acknowledged that the Federal Government is currently carrying out a series of reforms across all sectors of the economy.

He, however, said these commendable initiatives would not achieve desired results if the FG failed to effectively partner the stakeholders, particularly the professionals, in its bid to build a strong, virile, stable and sustainable economy.

He said the theme for the retreat, “APBN as a Tool for Sustainable National Development in Nigeria: Filling the Strategic Gap”, finds relevance in these efforts.

Prince Harry, Meghan’s Royal Exit To Become Lifetime Movie

By

Koko Lawrence

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March 25, 2021

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The ‘Megxit’ saga will be brought to screens in a Lifetime movie about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, it has been announced.

Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace will reveal ‘what really happened inside the palace that drove Harry and Meghan to leave everything behind to make a future for themselves and their son Archie,’ according to Deadline.

It is the third in a trilogy of Lifetime films about the couple. It follows 2018’s Harry & Meghan, which covered the early days of their relationship, and 2019’s Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal, which focused on the royal wedding.

Casting for the third film is underway with production scheduled to begin this spring for a release later this year.

According to Deadline, the new film will ‘detail Meghan’s growing isolation and sadness, their disappointment that “The Firm” was not defending them against the press’s attacks and Harry’s fear that history would repeat itself and he would not be able to protect his wife and son from the same forces that caused his mother’s untimely death.’

It will also look at ‘family feuds’ between Kate and Meghan, Charles and Harry and Harry and William, it is reported.

Producers will no doubt draw heavily on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s explosive Oprah Winfrey interview, which aired earlier this month.

It remains to be seen who will play the lead roles, with two sets of actors appearing in the first two films, according to reports.

Parisa Fitz-Henley and Murray Fraser played Meghan and Harry, respectively, in the first biopic, which explored how the couple’s relationship blossomed from their first date in 2016 to their engagement in November 2017.