FG directs NFF to back Hayatou for CAF post…See full details

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CAF President, Issa Hayatou and NFF chairman, Amaju Pinnick. PHOTO:itsagoal

Nigeria’s government has ordered the head of the country’s football association to back current CAF president Issa Hayatou of Cameroon in his re-election bid, a senior official said Monday.

The decree from on high came despite Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick having publicly come out in support of Hayatou’s main challenger, Ahmad Ahmad.

Pinnick’s backing for Madagascar’s Ahmad has put him at loggerheads with the NFF, the country’s sports minister Solomon Dalung, and Nigerian members of CAF’s executive committee.

A senior figure in Nigeria’s presidency confirmed that a meeting chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo ordered Pinnick to vote for Hayatou because of Nigerian ties with Cameroon.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source confirmed that Dalung contacted the presidency about Thursday’s vote in Addis Ababa and asked what the country’s position should be.

“There is an existing joint relationship between Nigeria and Cameroon and most recently both countries collaborated in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency,” he added.

“We can’t afford to jeopardise this relationship.

“Pinnick has therefore been ordered to cast his vote for Hayatou even if every other country failed to do so, as Nigeria does not owe Madagascar anything.”

Nigeria has been fighting Islamist rebels Boko Haram since 2009 in a conflict that has left at least 20,000 people dead and displaced more than 2.6 million.

The fighting has spilled over into Cameroon, as well as Chad and Niger. All four countries, plus Nigeria’s western neighbour, Benin, have mounted a regional force against the rebels.

Dalung earlier this month indicated that a Nigerian vote for Hayatou was in the country’s interest, not just because of geographical proximity but also as he had been “a true friend”.

Nigerian media reports suggested the minister told FIFA secretary-general Fatma Samoura that African football must not be railroaded into making changes by forces outside the continent.

The NFF’s Pinnick made his announcement after a meeting of 12 federation bosses with the world governing body’s president Gianni Infantino in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare.

The meeting was organised by the Council of Southern African Football Associations, who have pledged to support Ahmad at the polls.

Samoura, who joined FIFA last year from the UN Development Programme in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, reportedly told Dalung Nigeria was “key” to toppling the long-serving Hayatou.

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Leipzig’s Keita recovering after collapsing…See full details

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Wolfsburg's midfielder Yannick Gerhardt (L) and Leipzig's Guinean midfielder Naby Deco Keita vie for the ball during the German First division Bundesliga football match of RB Leipzig vs VfL Wolfsburg in Leipzig, eastern Germany, on March 11, 2017. PHOTO: ROBERT MICHAEL / AFP

RB Leipzig’s coach Ralph Hasenhuettl said Sunday they are investigating why Guinea midfielder Naby Keita collapsed in the dressing room area following a Bundesliga game.

Having played the 90 minutes of Leipzig’s 1-0 defeat to Wolfsburg on Saturday, the 22-year-old Keita lost conciousness shortly after leaving the dressing room and was taken to hospital once his condition was stabilised.

On Sunday, the club said all his test results are in order and it is thought the Guinea international suffered a circulatory collapse brought on by exertion, but they want to find out the exact cause.

“He spent the night in hospital and he’s feeling better. All the test results are okay,” said Hasenhuettl.

“It seemed to be the fault of his circulation, he burnt himself out yesterday (during the game).

“For sure, we will continue to look for causes in the next few days.

“It was probably a combination of several factors.

“I am glad that there is no deeper disorder. His test results ​​were all okay, that is why we have to look at what was the cause.”

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Modi’s party claims victory in four Indian states…Read full details

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party claimed election victory in four Indian states on Saturday, calling it a “historic mandate” that would take the country’s politics in a new direction.

BJP leader Amit Shah said the party would form governments in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, where early counting showed it had won an overwhelming victory, as well as in Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur.

“This is a historic mandate by the people of these states for BJP,” he said at a press conference at the party’s New Delhi headquarters.

“These results will set Indian politics in a new direction.”

India’s Election Commission is due to announce the final results later Saturday, but early counting shows the BJP leading in four out of five states where elections have been held over the past two months.

The opposition Congress Party retained power in just one state, northern Punjab.

Shah said the results were a defeat for “dynastic politics”, in an apparent jibe at Congress, led by Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul.

“The people have accepted the politics of performance,” he said, promising that the faith they had placed in the party and in Modi would be rewarded.

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These Educative, Entertaining And Inspirational Pictures Will Blow Your Mind – 115

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These are just pictures but they tell stories that will either Educate, Entertain or Motivate you…

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Buhari speaks with Adesina, lauds him for holding out against mischief makers (Read full details)

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PRESIDENT BUHARI 5. President Muhammadu Buhari in a hand shake with his Senior Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina accompanied by Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity , Mallam Shehu Garba at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. PHOTO; OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT JUNE 25 2015

Mr Femi Adesina, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, on Saturday, said he spoke with President Muhammadu Buhari who is currently on medical vacation in London.

Adesina confirmed this development on his twitter handle on Saturday in Abuja.

The presidential spokesman said Buhari acknowledged his (Adesina) efforts“ for holding out against mischief makers”.

Adesina said on his twitter handle: “Spoke with President Muhammadu Buhari a short while ago. Glad to hear his voice. Told me he was resting, but no cause for worry. Said I should greet my family.

Spoke with PMB a short while ago. Glad to hear his voice. Told me he was resting, but no cause for worry. Said I should greet my family.

— Femi Adesina (@FemAdesina) February 25, 2017

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“Thanks for holding out against mischief makers’, PMB tells me during a phone call today. Said he would call again soon. Gave him best wishes.’’

Thanks for holding out against mischief makers, PMB tells me during a phone call today. Said he would call again soon. Gave him best wishes.

— Femi Adesina (@FemAdesina) February 25, 2017

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NAN reports that Adesina is the latest person the President spoke to from his London abode in the last few days.

The President had similar phone conversations with governors of Kano and Katsina states, Abdullahi Ganduje and Aminu Masari respectively, this week.

Many Nigerians have also embarked on prayer sessions in mosques and churches for the quick recovery of the president, who is on bed rest in London.

The President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Samson Ayokunle in a statement, urged Nigerians, especially Christians not to cease praying for the president, acting president and the country “until he (President Buhari) returns in good health and sound mind.’’

President Buhari had earlier in a statement issued by Adesina thanked millions of Nigerians who had been sending good wishes to him.

He revealed that the results of the test conducted on him indicated that he needed a longer period of rest, necessitating his staying longer than originally planned.

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Bashir orders full aid access to South Sudan famine areas

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Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir / AFP PHOTO / GIANLUIGI GUERCIA

President Omar al-Bashir has ordered Sudanese authorities to assist the delivery of international humanitarian aid to famine-hit South Sudan through the country, an official said Thursday.

On Monday, South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation formed after splitting from the north in 2011, declared famine in some regions, saying 100,000 people faced starvation and another million were on the brink of famine.

“President Omar al-Bashir has ordered Sudanese authorities to offer all necessary facilities to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches South Sudan through Sudanese territories,” Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour said in a statement.

Ghandour said Bashir has ordered assistance to all NGOs, aid agencies of the United Nations and also other countries trying to deliver supplies to South Sudan.

“This is to ease the suffering of the South Sudanese people,” the minister said.

Aid groups have slammed a “man-made” famine caused by bloodshed in South Sudan where civil war has forced people to flee, disrupted agriculture, sent prices soaring and cut off aid agencies from some of the worst-hit areas.

South Sudan has been engulfed by civil war since 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his rival and former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup.

More than 300,000 South Sudanese refugees have arrived in Sudan since the war erupted, according to the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR.

Over 65 percent of the refugees are children, with many of them arriving with critical levels of malnutrition, it said.

UN aid officials are monitoring the Sudan-South Sudan border in anticipation that thousands more could flee to the northern neighbour due to the famine situation.

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Saint-Etienne need dash of ‘madness’ against United

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Manchester United's Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic shoots from the penalty spot to score his team's third goal during the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 first-leg football match between Manchester United and Saint-Etienne at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, north-west England, on February 16, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Oli SCARFF

Saint-Etienne believe they are capable of reversing a Europa League first leg deficit against Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Manchester United if they can add a dash of ‘madness’ to their game.

At 3-0 down from the Old Trafford first leg all scored by nemesis Ibrahimovic, few are betting on a French revival in Wednesday’s last 32 second leg at the club’s Geoffroy-Guichard stadium.

But club President Bernard Caïazzo told AFP in an exclusive interview that a win was possible “if we can inject a bit of madness” into the match.

“The result from the first leg was very heavy because we did not put away our chances and there was some odd refereeing going on, a bit like if Zlatan Ibrahimovic himself was the referee,” he said.

“But this time, unlike in the first leg where the players were a bit tense and made finishing errors, we have nothing to lose.”

“Football can offer incredible surprises,” he said. “Putting a bit of madness into our game means nothing is impossible.”

He said the team needs to rediscover the spirit of the 1974 European Cup, predecessor of the Champions League, when the side went 4-1 down to Hadjuk Split in the away leg and beat them 5-1 after extra time on home turf. Saint-Etienne went on to reach the semi-finals where they were beaten by eventual champions Bayern Munich.

Saint-Etienne striker Romain Hamouma said the side had to avoid an obsession with Ibrahimovic, the former Paris Saint-Germain star who has now scored 17 goals all told against Saint-Etienne.

“His record against us is exceptional,” he said “He is a great player but we cannot let ourselves become obsessed by one player alone.”

Saint-Etienne are still upset over the penalty awarded to Ibrahimovic in the closing minutes of the Manchester leg after he slumped to his knees in the box following a challenge from behind, allowing him to score his first hat-trick for United.

“As soon as the ‘great’ one falls, the referee feels he has to whistle,” added Hamouma.

He said that Saint-Etienne had found weaknesses in Manchester United but were not able to exploit them because of poor finishing.

“This time we have to make no mistake, and that will be the key.”

Coach Christophe Galtier said that if his players kept their cool the chances would come their way.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2lj7uQI