MAURIZIO SARRI URGED TO 'BREAK THE BANK FOR DIEGO COSTA'!

Chelsea have been told they should be looking to splash out on their former forward and seal a second big-money agreement with Atletico Madrid

Peter Crouch has suggested that Maurizio Sarri "breaks the bank" to bring striker Diego Costa back to Stamford Bridge.

The Stoke City striker is adamant that the return of the Brazil-born Spain international would remedy their current problems up front.

He believes that if a top striker is not signed before next season, the Blues will not be title contenders due to their poor goal return.

"I have concerns about whether they will mount a proper title challenge next season," Crouch told newsmen.

"Chelsea have scored the fewest goals of the top six sides. A return of 38 from 21 matches isn't enough to win you a title, no matter how good your defence is.

"The one thing you need is someone to score you 30 goals and they do not have a player like Harry Kane, Mo Salah or Sergio Aguero.

"Not so long ago, they did. Diego Costa would absolutely transform Chelsea's fortunes and, if it was down to me, I'd break the bank to re-sign him.

"You can talk about Gonzalo Higuain or Karim Benzema, but I think Costa would be the one to take Chelsea where they want to be."

Costa won the Premier League  twice in his three seasons at the club but fell out with former boss Antonio Conte, who sold him to Atletico Madrid in 2017 for £59.4 million ($76m).

And Crouch questioned whether the current crop of strikers - Alvaro Morata in particular - would be able to carry the goalscoring burden of a title-chasing side and live up to the examples of Costa and Drogba before him.

He added: "What they need more than anything is the focal point that Drogba, for example, provided. I like Olivier Giroud, and Alvaro Morata is a forward with great technical gifts, but it just does not seem to be happening for him in England. I'm not sure it is going to, either.

"Morata has had some good moments, but not the kind you would expect from someone who arrived for such a big price and it was revealing to hear Zola - who is now Sarri's assistant - admit that the Spaniard is suffering a crisis of confidence.

"There is nothing a striker can experience that is worse - trust me, I know - but he has to keep working."

BARCELONA LEGEND, RONALDINHO, BANNED FROM LEAVING BRAZIL OVER HUGE DEBT CRISIS

Football legend being dragged through the courts in Brazil amid claims his charitable foundation owes fines for breaking environmental rules and has been banned from leaving Brazil by a judge.

The ex-Barcelona is scheduled to appear at the Dubai International Sports Conference this week.

But the 38-year-old has been barred from making the trip to the United Arab Emirates by a court in South America.

Brazilian judge Newton Fabricio demanded that Ronaldinho and his brother Assis Moreira have their passports taken off them by authorities.

The seizure order was made to guarantee the payment of a £1.75million fine imposed on the pair for breaking environmental construction regulations four years ago.

They were prosecuted for causing damage to the environment in the building of the Ronaldinho Gaucho Institute in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre.

The charity helps work with young and impoverished people in the city and has been lauded for its work.
But authorities are still demanding the fine be paid, and prosecutors say Ronaldinho and his brother have been impossible to pin down over the money.

When the judge first ordered the passports should be seized in November, Ronaldinho was out of Brazil.
And he continued travelling around the world before eventually returning to his home country for the Christmas period.

N30,000 MINIMUM WAGE: FG MEETING WITH LABOUR LEADERS INCONCLUSIVE

Labour and Nigerian government negotiations
January 4, 2019Azeezat Adedigba
The Friday meeting between the federal government and labour unions ended without an agreement.

The meeting was organised to prevent the planned January 8 protest by labour unions.

The planned protest by the labour unions is to demand that President Muhammadu Buhari submit a bill to the parliament for the implementation of N30,000 minimum wage for workers.

While addressing journalists at the end of the Friday meeting, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Ayuba Wabba, said the meeting has been adjourned till 5 p.m. on Monday.

”We are still discussing and will continue on Monday. We need to make further consultations before the issues are concluded,” he said.

In his reaction, the labour minister, Chris Ngige, who led the government delegation, said the government has made progress with the workers.

The meeting, which started at 12:50 p.m., went on recess at 3:20 p.m. and reconvened 4:28 p.m.

The meeting went on break because President Buhari summoned Mr Ngige, the finance minister, Zainab Ahmed, and the budget minister, Udoma Udoma, for an emergency meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has been at loggerheads with the federal government over a new minimum wage.

The NLC and other labour unions demand that the national minimum wage be increased to N30,000 from the current N18,000.

President Muhammadu Buhari has refused to commit to the new proposal. Instead, the president said last year that he would set up a technical committee to review the N30,000 proposed by a tripartite committee earlier set up by the federal government.

State governments have also said they would not be able to pay the N30,000 minimum wage.

NAF NEUTRALISES BANDITS NEAR DOUMBOUROU HILL, ZAMFARA STATE.

Nigerian Air Force Alpha jets

The Nigerian Air Force, says Air Task Force (ATF), of Operation DIRAN MIKIYA has destroyed another armed bandits’ hideout and neutralised several of their fighters near Doumbourou Hill in Zamfara.

Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, who announced this in Abuja, said the operation was carried out on Wednesday.

“The attack was executed yesterday,Jan. 2 , following human intelligence (HUMINT) reports, which were later confirmed by Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), missions, indicating that a large number of bandits, armed with high calibre weapons, regularly assemble at a compound around the foot of the hill before going out on operations.

“Accordingly, the ATF scrambled two Nigerian Air Force (NAF) attack helicopters, supported by an ISR platform, to engage the bandits and destroy their compound.

“The helicopters strafed the target area in successive waves of attack, with the first wave causing some damage to the structures and neutralising some of their fighters.

“The second wave was sequenced to engage the armed bandits as they re-emerged out of their hiding places, thus inflicting further fatalities on them,” he said.

Daramola said that credible HUMINT sources later revealed that the leader of the group was among those killed during the attack.

He said the ATF would continue to work in close coordination with surface forces and other security agencies, to conduct reconnaissance and air interdiction missions with a view to restoring normalcy to the affected States in the North West.

WHAT I EXPECT FROM MY WIFE’S CAMPAIGN TEAM — PRESIDENT BUHARI

President Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says he expects the women and youth presidential campaign team led by his wife to exhibit the same loyalty and support they gave him in 2015.

Mr Buhari stated this Thursday while inaugurating the team at the Banquet Hall of the State House presidential villa, Abuja.

Mr Buhari told them that the gathering reminded him of his political struggles over the years and the support he enjoyed from them.

“My association with you has been for very long and is characterized by loyalty to the cause of change,” he said.

The president said his administration has recorded ”numerous landmark achievements”.

He said his mantra of ”change” remains
”unshaken and continues until we return Nigeria on track to assume its rightful place among the comity of nations”.

He reminded the committee that they are expected to support the Presidential Campaign Council which he chairs.

”This shows the importance with which we view the role of women and youths as the backbone of the Nigerian electorate.

”As such, they should be the drivers of our campaign, more so, they are the major direct and indirect beneficiaries of our social investment programmes,” he said.

He tasked the team to remind Nigerians about his plans, good work and achievements.

”Tell the people why they should give us another four years. Our dream is to sustain CHANGE so that all systemic distortions can be corrected and we can enjoy the fruits of being Nigerians under the banner of freedom.

”It is also our hope that our unborn children will inherit a better nation,” he said.

The president also commended all APC members for their unwavering support and commitment to his administration.

”I call on them to redouble their efforts and re-elect us in February, so that they can witness the next level of CHANGE.

”To all Nigerians, I appreciate your love and support. I hope you will renew the mandate you overwhelmingly gave us in 2015. Please do not be distracted, our country is on course.

”I am very pleased to inaugurate the ‘Women and Youth Presidential Campaign Team’. I charge you to reach out to all Nigerians door-to-door and remind them why we need another four years,” the president said.

IRANIAN HEALTH MINISTER RESIGNS OVER SIGNIFICANT BUDGET CUTS DUE TO SEVERE FINANCIAL CRISIS

Hassan Rowhani, president of Iran

Iran’s health minister has resigned, saying he could not accept any further cuts to his budget as the country struggles with a severe financial crisis.

“I am not an impatient person, but enough is enough,” Hassan Hashemi said on a video posted to the Khabar One portal on Thursday.

Reports that Mr Hashemi had resigned have been circulating for days, but on Thursday came confirmation on state media that President Hassan Rowhani had accepted his decision.

Mr Hashemi said he could no longer work effectively given the restricted spending limits proposed in the government’s next budget.

The ministry’s budget was significantly cut for the year beginning March 21.

The cuts were linked to an acute financial crisis caused partly by U.S. sanctions that were re-imposed in 2018.

As the sanctions have hit oil exports, it is not clear how much the state will earn from oil revenues in the future.

The U.S. measures have badly affected the health sector, as some medicines cannot be imported due to bank sanctions.

The sanctions have also put moderate Mr Rowhani under serious political pressure.

He has had to reorganise his cabinet due to pressure from parliament.

Many Iranians are also unhappy that the government is spending money in conflicts abroad – including in wars in Yemen and Syria, and in support of Palestinians – instead of focusing on domestic affairs.

(NAN)

'DESPITE CORRUPTION FIGHT, CORRUPTION STILL THRIVES IN NIGERIA' - NBS

Corruption, which Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said he came into office to fight, is flourishing under his nose, with the Federal capital territory recording the highest number of cases, according to data released by the National Bureau of statistics, covering year 2016.
NBS data show that corruption cases increased in about 15 states in the country, while only about six and two states reported a decline and zero in the number of corruption cases, respectively.

Abuja, the capital city of the country where major political and administrative activities hold, had the highest number with 657 reported cases in that year, according to the report.
Abuja was followed by Lagos and Kaduna, with each reporting over a 100 cases, according to a graphical representation by the NBS, as the statistical agency did not provide exact numerical values of corruption cases in other states besides

President Buhari assumed office as president in May 2015 vowing to intensify eliminate corruption and set Africa’s largest economy on a path of sustainable development. His administration has since embarked on prosecution of persons alleged to have looted public funds, using the anti-corruption watchdog, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
It may not be entirely true to assess President Buhari’s anti-corruption fight of corruption based on the NBS data alone since the figures reflect barely one year of his presidency. However, the 2017 Corruption Perception Index released in 2018 by Transparency International, placed Nigeria as number 148 among 180 countries, from 136 in 2016, showing a retrogression of 12 places.

“The initial optimism that accompanied the Buhari’s government following his anti-corruption agenda appears to have waned and this is not unconnected to the observed delay in prosecuting corrupt officials who are members of his parties,” an analyst who does not want to be mentioned because of the sensitivity of the matter, said.

The NBS report said that Adamawa, Edo, Enugu, Rivers, Anambra and Imo states all recorded declines in corrupt cases, while there were no cases recorded in both Jigawa and Yobe states.
The report further shows that in terms of percentage distribution of bribes in Nigeria by types of request, direct request from the officials came top at 65.4 percent, while indirect request of payment by officials came next at 19.9 percent.

Bribe request where nobody asked for it, that is, a bribe request done willingly to facilitate/accelerate the procedure, was next at 8.2 percent, the report said.
The report also said that almost 70 percent of bribes were paid before service was delivered, while 13.5 percent were paid after service was delivered.

The percentage of bribes collected at the same time that the service was delivered was 10 percent, while those who paid partly before/ after the service was delivered were 2 percent.
Gbolahan Ologunro, an equity research analyst at Lagos-based CSL Stockbrokers said, “tackling corruption will require strengthening of the judicial system in ensuring the speedy resolution of corruption cases; improved computerisation in procedures required in obtaining important documents so as to reduce face-to-face contact between officials and the populace.

“In addition, there is the need for government to implement policies that will enable the people exploit opportunities in the business environment to improve their standard of living which might act as a deterrent to engaging in corrupt practices.”

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan at the launch of his book “My Transition Hour” last year boasted that the country is more corrupt in 2018 than it was when he handed over to the Buhari’s administration in 2015.

Technocrats and activists have also raised eyebrows against the incumbent’s fight against corruption, saying it is mainly targeted at the opposition.

Shehu Sani, senator representing Kaduna Central, captured this feeling when he said, “When it comes to fighting corruption in the National Assembly, the Judiciary and in the nation at large, the President uses insecticide, but when it comes to fighting corruption within the Presidency, they use deodorants.”

While President Buhari has maintained his stance on the fight against corruption, the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has contended that “fighting corruption,” is not an economic policy.

Its Vice Presidential aspirant, Peter Obi, at the recent debate said: “You cannot lock your shop and start chasing criminals.”

Bent on showing how firm the current administration is on the fight against corruption, Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo responded: “If you allow criminals to steal the inventory in your shop, you’d soon have no shop.”

"MY ROLE IN NIGERIAN POLITICS IS TO RAISE ALARM" - OBJ

Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s former president, has stated his role in the nation’s politics.

The former president quitted partisan politics in the country when he dumped the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) tearing his membership card in the process.

Prior to the 2015 general election, he pitched his tent with Muhammadu Buhari, then opposition candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC).

The APC flag-bearer after the endorsement of the former president won the election but the duo has fell out politically due to the second term ambition of the president.

Last year, the former president advised Mr Buhari to shelve his re-election bid due to alleged incompetence. The president has since dumped the advise in a trash can and went on to actualize his ambition.

Despite his acclaimed stance, Obasanjo has publicly endorsed Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the PDP to battle it out with the president.

Addressing Yabaji Sani, presidential candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) and his team when they paid him a visit on Thursday at Abeokuta, Mr Obasanjo said his role in the country’s politics is to raise alarm when events turn around in the way they ought not be.

“It is undemocratic, the attitude of some politicians who heat up the polity by undermining and denigrating other Nigerians through thuggery and harassment of innocent citizens,” Obasanjo was quoted in a statement by Pam Ibrahim, Director of Media and Publicity of Sani’s Campaign team, as saying.

“My role in Nigerian politics would be that of a watchman who is expected to be vigilant and raise an alarm whenever it is necessary,” he said.

Speaking earlier, Mr Sani while urging Nigerians to vote for him and his party said he is in the race because of bad leadership of previous administration particularly in the areas of security.

“We are in a country where the security of citizens is no longer guaranteed giving the crime rate we experience on a daily basis, especially insurgency, armed robbery and kidnappings across the country”, he said.

MAN KILLS MOTHER OF 73 IN ENUGU

Enugu- A 73-year-old woman, Mrs Cecilia Attah, has been reportedly killed by her son at Nru, in Nsukka Local Governments Area of Enugu State.

Mrs Cecilia Attah

Mrs Attah was killed, Wednesday by her son who used a plank to hit her on the head, following a slight argument.

It was gathered that shortly after killing his mother, the suspect ran to the nearby Nsukka Police Station to report that his brother wanted to kill him.

Apart from the suspect, the deceased is said to be the mother of a priest, Rev Fr. Nobert who is now on sabbatical at the United States of America, USA, with Athanasius Igwenagum Attah, 54, as the eldest.

Athanasius, a panel beater at the Mechanic Village, Nsukka, was seen at Nsukka Police Station, yesterday, making a statement over the issue.

N30,000 MINIMUM WAGE: FG BUDGETS N160BN FOR CIVIL SERVANTS’ SALARY INCREASE AND PROMOTION ARREARS

The Federal Government has budgeted a total of N160bn this year to take care of adjustments that may arise as a result of the planned increase in minimum wage.

The amount is contained in the 2019 budget proposal which was submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly.

The 2019 budget has an estimate of N8.83tn made up of N4.04tn for recurrent expenditure, N2.03tn for capital expenditure and N2.14tn for debt servicing, among others.

An analysis of the budget showed that the sum of N160bn had been provisioned to take care of public wage adjustment and salary increases in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the government.

The amount is captured under the service wide vote in the 2019 budget document.
The N160bn is also projected to take care of arrears of promotion and severance benefits to civil servants.

Apart from the N160bn, the government has also budgeted the sum of N4.5bn for the payment of retirement benefits to former Heads of Civil Service of the Federation and retired Permanent Secretaries.

Also, about N5bn was budgeted for payment of death benefits for civil servants and men of the Nigeria Police Force.
The entitlements of former Presidents/Heads of State and Vice-Presidents is to gulp N2.3bn in 2019 while retirement benefits for former heads of government parastatals are estimated at about N1bn.

In the same vein, the government is proposing to spend N121.6bn on military pensions, N28.3bn on civilian pensions, N7.4bn on police pensions and N50bn on arrears of 33 per cent increase in pension rates.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, had said the government was committed to increasing the minimum wage.