Akeredolu Begins Medical Leave Wednesday, Transmits Power To Aiyedatiwa

Akeredolu Begins Medical Leave Wednesday, Transmits Power To Aiyedatiwa

Akeredolu was earlier in June flown abroad for treatment over a medical condition.

Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, will commence his medical leave on Wednesday, as a follow-up to his medical treatment, his spokesman, Richard Olatunde, has said.

In a statement on Tuesday, Olatunde said during Akeredolu’s absence, the Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, will assume the responsibilities of the governor in acting capacity.

Akeredolu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), won his re-election as the state governor in October 2020 and was sworn in for a second term in office in February 2021.

However, the governor’s second term, since January 2023, has not been a smooth sail as he had to be flown abroad for treatment over a medical condition in June. The 67-year-old politician returned to Nigeria in September after months overseas but stayed in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Akeredolu has been under intense pressure from opposition parties to resign or hand over power to his deputy in line with the 1999 constitution.

WHO Says Patient Dies Amid Lengthy Israeli Checks On Gaza Convoy

WHO Says Patient Dies Amid Lengthy Israeli Checks On Gaza Convoy

The war began with Hamas's October 7 attacks that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures, with around 240 hostages taken back to Gaza.

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that a patient had died in an emergency convoy en route to a Gaza City hospital, during repeated and lengthy Israeli checks.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the weekend that the UN health agency and its partners had managed to deliver essential trauma and surgical supplies to the Al-Ahli hospital and to transfer 19 critical patients.

But on Tuesday, he provided more details about the high-risk mission, saying on X, formerly Twitter, that the WHO was “deeply concerned about prolonged checks and detention of health workers that put lives of already fragile patients at risk”.

“Due to the hold-up, one patient died en route, given the grave nature of their wounds and the delay in accessing treatment,” he said.

Tedros did not say in his message who carried out the checks, but a WHO spokesman told AFP they took place at an Israeli army checkpoint.

His comments came as Israel presses on with its bombardment of Gaza after saying its campaign to destroy Hamas has left the Palestinian militant group on “the verge of dissolution”.

The war began with Hamas’s October 7 attacks that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures, with around 240 hostages taken back to Gaza.

Israel has responded with an offensive that has reduced much of Gaza to rubble and killed at least 18,200 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The UN estimates 1.9 million of the territory’s 2.4 million people have been displaced by the war, half of them children.

Humanitarian leaders fear the besieged territory will soon be overwhelmed by disease and starvation.

Saturday’s WHO-led mission brought desperately-needed aid to Al-Ahli hospital, which had been “substantially damaged” and was in acute need of oxygen and essential medical supplies plus water, food and fuel, as well as additional health personnel.

Tedros had described it as a “very high-risk mission in the vicinity of active shelling and artillery fire”.

On Tuesday, he said the convoy was stopped twice at the Wadi Gaza checkpoint on the way to northern Gaza and on the way back, adding that some Palestinian Red Crescent staff were detained both times and questioned for several hours.

“As the mission entered Gaza City, the aid truck carrying the medical supplies and an ambulance were hit by bullets,” he said.

Tedros stressed that “the people of Gaza have the right to access health care”.

“The health system must be protected. Even in war.”

Call Wike To Order, He’s Just One Of 48 Ministers, Clark Urges Tinubu

Call Wike To Order, He’s Just One Of 48 Ministers, Clark Urges Tinubu

The PANDEF leader said if all former governors insist on controlling their successors, there will be chaos in the country.

Elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, has again urged President Bola Tinubu to call the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to order.

In an open letter to the President on Monday, the leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) said Wike is just one of the 48 ministers in the President’s cabinet and he should be called to face his job as FCT minister and not insist on controlling the political structure in his home state, Rivers State.

He said, “As a member of your cabinet, you may need to call this minister to order to face the work in the quietness which is demanded of him.

“He should focus on his office and know that he is just one among a cabinet of 48 persons, besides the Vice President and yourself.

“The country has enough problems which your government must sit down to solve. The FCT itself is full of challenges all over and he has more than he can chew and therefore avoid these distractions.”

Clark said if all former governors insist on controlling their successors, there will be chaos in the country.

The PANDEF leader was reacting to a fresh political crisis in the oil-rich South-South state as 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly on Monday defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The 27 members were said to be loyal to Martins Amaewhule, who is an ally of Wike, a former governor of the state till May 29, 2023.

For weeks, Amaewhule and another member, Edison Ehie, have been embroiled in a Speakership tussle. Ehie is known to be in the camp of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

The Assembly under Amaewhule had in October served an impeachment notice on the governor and removed Ehie as the House leader. However, some members of the Assembly loyal to Fubara immediately impeached Amaewhule and made Ehie the new Speaker.

The crisis in the 32-member Assembly had begun as a result of a rift between Fubara and his predecessor, Wike.

The President had in October met with both Wike and Fubara to resolve the crisis. Though the two politicians have both attended same public events in the last few weeks and all seemed to have been settled but with Monday’s defection of 27 lawmakers from the PDP to the APC, more drama might unfold in the state’s political arena.

‘Nigeria’ll Be In Confusion If Ex-Govs Control Successors’

The PANDEF leader, in his letter to the President said the situation was not yet over and things seem to be degenerating by the day.

He said Rivers State is very important to the stability of the Niger Delta and the overall national economy and any breakdown of law and order will not be in the overall interest of all.

The elder statesman said he is surprised at Wike’s public utterances despite that Fubara had apologised to him.

Clark said, “On one occasion, he stated that ‘impeachment is not a military coup”, ‘a total outrage when all hands are on deck to consolidate this democracy under your leadership.

“In fact, in his recent interview held on Friday, 24th November, 2023, the Minister charged to one of his group of guests that the Governor is ungrateful, concluding that ‘I cannot stand ingrates’.

“He continued stating how he had helped the Governor to become what he had become today and threatening publicly that he would continue the fight if the Governor ‘changes the structures which I left in the state’.”

The nonagenarian wondered why is the FCT minister is keeping structures and for what purpose. He recalled that Wike had attacked the concept of godfatherism as totally unacceptable and this made him to fall out with his predecessor, RotimiAmaechi.

“So, what purpose are the structures supposed to serve when there is a governor in place? This is a question that he owes you and all Nigerians.

“If all governors who as a matter of right, insist on allowing their favoured candidates as successor, insist on controlling them, insist on controlling the State Assemblies, insist on controlling the structure which they left behind, what manner of confusion will we have in Nigeria?” he queried.

Africa’s Best! Osimhen Crowned 2023 CAF Footballer Of The Year

Africa’s Best! Osimhen Crowned 2023 CAF Footballer Of The Year

Monday's award capped off a sterling year for the Super Eagles forward whose historic feat in the imperial Moroccan city of Marakesh ended Nigeria's 24-year-old wait for Africa's top individual prize

Victor Osimhen has been crowned the 2023 African Footballer of the Year in a momentous event that solidified his status as one of the best players in the world. 

Osimhen saw off competition from Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi and Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah.

Monday’s award capped off a sterling year for the Super Eagles forward whose historic feat in the imperial Moroccan city of Marakesh ended Nigeria’s 24-year-old wait for Africa’s top individual prize. Legendary Kanu Nwankwo was the last Nigerian to win the award and that was in 1999.

The prize is a recognition of Osimhen’s exploits for his Napoli club side and the national team where he is a key member. He spearheaded the Italian team’s unprecedented Serie A title run, scoring 26 goals in the league to become the first African to win the Pichichi (top scorer) award. His contribution broke George Weah’s record as the highest-scoring player from the continent in the Italian top flight.

Napoli last won the Scudetto 33 years ago during the legendary Diego Maradona’s era. For the 2022/23 campaign, the former Lille striker’s impeccable form saw him included in the Serie A Team of the Year as he also clinched the Best Striker prize.

Osimhen’s ranking in the 2023 Ballon d’Or was a testament to his contributions to the Serie A team’s epochal showing. He was ninth, becoming the highest-ranked African for the year and the most-ranked Nigerian in the history of the award.

Earlier in the month, the Nigerian was crowned as Italian footballers’ association player of the Year, the first African to win the AIC award.

Though Nigeria agonizingly missed out on the 2022 World Cup, losing the ticket to perennial rivals Ghana, Osimhen’s contributions to the Super Eagles were staggering in the year under review. He was the top scorer in the qualification race for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with 10 goals.

Although injuries have hampered his outing for Napoli this season – with just six goals in 10 games for Walter Mazzari’s men – Monday’s award is the crowning point of a hugely successful year for the Nigerian marksman.

Nnadozie Crowned 2023 CAF Women’s Goalkeeper Of The Year

Nnadozie Crowned 2023 CAF Women’s Goalkeeper Of The Year

Nnadozie beat fellow goalkeepers in the form of Moroccan shot-stopper Khadija El-Rmichi and South Africa's Andile Olaminii

Chiamaka Nnadozie was crowned the CAF Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year for 2023 on Monday night.

Nnadozie beat fellow goalkeepers in the form of Moroccan shot-stopper Khadija El-Rmichi and South Africa’s Andile Olaminii

She showed her heroics in the Women’s World Cup match against Olympic champions Canada, making three saves, including stopping a 50th-minute penalty from Christine Sinclair.

Her performances in the game secured a goalless draw for the Super Falcons, earned her a Player of the Match award and garnered international attention.

The 23-year-old, in her acceptance speech, said, ”I just want to use this great opportunity to say a very great thank you to the organisers and also for remembering the female goalkeeper this year.”

“I also want to say a very big thank you to the Nigerian football president for everything he has done in the Nigerian league and female football. I am a product of Nigerian female football.”

“Also, thank you to my club, Paris FC for all the encouragement and thanks to everyone who voted for me and who nominated me.”

“And to all the young girls who grew up footballers one day—believe me, dreams do come true.”

“My dad never wanted me to play, but I am sure he is going to see this tonight and he is going to be happy.”

“Keep dreaming; keep working hard. Thank you”

[CAF Awards] Super Falcons Win Women’s Team Of The Year

[CAF Awards] Super Falcons Win Women’s Team Of The Year

The Super Falcons have been named the Women's Team of the Year at the CAF 2023 Awards off the back of an impressive showing at the World Cup earlier in the year. 

The Super Falcons have been named the Women’s Team of the Year at the CAF 2023 Awards off the back of an impressive showing at the World Cup earlier in the year. 

Osimhen Fvaourite To Win CAF Men’s Award, Says Adebayor

Osimhen Fvaourite To Win CAF Men’s Award, Says Adebayor

39-year-old Adebayor was the recipient of the most coveted crown in Africa back in 2008, beating the likes of Egyptian legend Mohamed Aboutrika and Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien.

Former Togolese forward Emmanuel Adebayor has said Nigerian star Victor Osimhen is a favourite to clinch the 2023 CAF Footballer of the Year award.

Osimhen is in contention with Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah, who is in line for a third African Player of the Year Award and Achraf Hakimi, who was part of the inspirational Moroccan side that became the first African team to progress to the World Cup semi-finals.

He is considered a firm favourite to clinch the crown after a stellar 2022–2023 season with Napoli, guiding them to their first Serie A title triumph in 33 years.

39-year-old Adebayor was the recipient of the most coveted crown in Africa back in 2008, beating the likes of Egyptian legend Mohamed Aboutrika and Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien.

Adebayor made this assertion on Monday during the opening ceremony of the awards, where he praised the outstanding performance of the 24-year-old for Napoli.

READ ALSO: African Footballer Of The Year Award: Osimhen On Verge Of Breaking 24-Year-Old Jinx

”Let us put it into perspective What Osimhen has done is incredible. It is just like winning the French Ligue 1 with Nantes,’ Adebayor said.

”I’m not saying Napoli is a small team; it is a big team and this team has been struggling for years to win the Scudetto back and they couldn’t but Osimhen was the main player and a key player.”

”Scoring goals week in and week out in England is something we can all do in top form but trust me, it is very, very difficult to replicate in Italy.”

”Because defensively, they are very strong and tactically, and they have the best defenders in the world. ”

On why fellow contenders Mo Salah and Achraf Hakimi might not clinch the crown, the former Arsenal player indicated that they had little impact in their various club sides. 

”Obviously, for me, Mo Salah’s last season, I won’t say, was a disaster but when you put it together as a club for Liverpool, they didn’t do anything.”

”Now, when you come to Hakimi for the good tournament with Morocco and go to the semi-finals of the World Cup, he also played his part but he was more of a team player; there was no shining star amongst the Moroccan team,” he said.