Yakubu insists Blackburn would escape relegationYakubu insists Blackburn would escape relegation

Former
Nigerian
international,
Yakubu
Aiyegbeni has
insisted that his new Premier
League side Blackburn Rovers
will not be relegated at the
end of the season.
The former Everton forward
expressed confidence bearing
in mind the potentials
inherent in the club, especially
coupled with the new
signings.
The 28-year-old forward, who
joined Rovers from Everton on
transfer deadline day, said
there is no need for panic at
Ewood Park despite the club
losing their first three games
of the season.
Yakubu told Sky Sports: “There
is a long way to go and when
we get our first win we will
be back, we are not panicking
about going down or staying
up.
“Blackburn have been in the
Premier League for a long
time and with the quality we
have we will be fine.
“They struggled against
relegation last season but it
would be nice to finish in the
top half this season and I
believe we can do it.”
As well as signing Yakubu on
deadline day, Rovers also
completed a deal for
Birmingham City defender
Scott Dann.

why Jonathan orders world leader to turn against Gadafi

Fresh facts
emerged
yesterday that
the sudden
discovery of
an Al-Qaeda
and bomb-training ground in
Muttabi in Libya accounted for
why world leaders, including
President Goodluck Jonathan,
moved against the embattled
Libyan leader, Muammar
Gaddafi.
Also, the Federal Government
has said that the relationship
of ex-President Olusegun
Obasanjo with Gaddafi will
not affect the nation’s support
for Libyan rebels who have
formed the Transitional
National Council (TNC) to oust
Gaddafi.
A top government official,
who spoke in confidence, said
most world leaders felt
Gaddafi had been bankrolling
Al-Qaeda’s terrorist attacks in
many countries.
The source said that it took
many years of investigation to
uncover the covert financing
of terrorism by Gaddafi.
He said: “Recent discovery
indicated that Gaddafi had
been operating a training
ground in Muttabi where
many insurgents, including
members of the Boko Haram
in Nigeria, are being trained in
the art of making bombs and
suicide bombing.
“The world leaders felt his cup
was full and they had to move
against him. The last to join
the fray against Gaddafi was
Russia , which had been a
long standing ally of Gaddafi.
“The convincing evidence of
terrorism placed before
Russia informed its
withdrawal of support for
Gaddafi.
“World leaders are tired of
terrorism and in their
determination to ensure
global peace, they chose to cut
Gaddafi to size.”
On why Nigeria decided to
back the Libyan Transitional
National Council, the top
Presidency source added:
“Gaddafi has never hidden his
disdain for the continued
survival of this nation as one.
“Last year, he said openly that
Nigeria should split, and he
has been working towards
that since 1997. He has been
undermining our internal
security.
“For instance, when a former
Chief of General Staff, Lt. Gen.
Oladipo Diya narrowly cheated
death through bomb
explosion in 1997, intelligence
report showed that Gaddafi
had a hand in it.
“The two suspects behind the
botched bombing of Diya’s
plane (otherwise called
Sumaila and Sumaila) were
trained in Muttabi in Libya too.
“During the administration of
ex-President Olusegun
Obasanjo, he persuaded
Gaddafi to invest in the
nation’s refineries, especially
in Port Harcourt. But Gaddafi
said he would prefer the
refinery in Kaduna because
Nigeria would break up by
2004. That was how his
planned investment in our
refineries was jettisoned
when the Kaduna Refinery
was not conceded to him.
“So, you can see that having
had our share of terrorist
attacks, we cannot afford to
sit on the fence. Gaddafi had
never wished Nigeria well.”
On the relationship between
Obasanjo and Gaddafi, the
government source said: “It
has no effect on the
recognition given to the TNC
in Libya by the Federal
Government.
“All along, the ex-President
knew the kind of person
Gaddafi is. But he said he has
been courting him for the
sake of peace and security in
Nigeria .
“When Obasanjo was in
power, each time he was
asked why he was relating
with Gaddafi, he always said
that whoever would not allow
you to enjoy your meal to the
fullest, you add his own from
the outset.
“Obasanjo saw Gaddafi as a
threat and he cultivated him
to reduce tension in Africa. I
think that approach also
succeeded to some extent.
“The ex-President
understands the position of
the Federal Government, and
as a nationalist, he
appreciates the fact that
Nigeria ’s interest is above any
other consideration. Can you
really call Gaddafi a friend of
Obasanjo?’’

The top five summer transfer deals in England

Phil Jones (£16.5 million)
Blackburn to Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson’s swift capture
of the teenage defender had all
the hallmarks of a mistake.
United had not wanted to sign
the player this summer –
preferring to wait a year – but
found their hand forced by
interest from Arsenal and
Liverpool. Jones has already
proven he is more than capable
of handling the step up in class,
looks every inch a United player
and is likely to be handed his
England debut before the end of
the campaign.
Yohan Cabaye (£4.8 million) Lille
to Newcastle
A deal that barely caused a ripple
in the Tyne, let alone elsewhere,
but Alan Pardew’s purchase of
the French midfielder looks a
canny one. Economical in
possession and full of energy,
Cabaye was the lynchpin of the
Lille side that won the French title
last season and seems destined
to form an impressive central
midfield partnership with Cheikh
Tiote.
Joey Barton (free) Newcastle to
QPR
Speaking of irascible, volatile
genius, Joey Barton’s free
transfer to QPR was the perfect
way for Tony Fernandes to
announce his arrival and his
ambitions at the west London
club. The prospect of the former
Newcastle midfielder and
Wittgenstein enthusiast sharing
a dressing room with Neil
Warnock is an enticing one, but
Barton has the quality to ensure
QPR are a cut above the
relegation scrap this season.
Charlie Adam (£7 million)
Blackpool to Liverpool
Clearly not as glamorous as the
likes of Sergio Aguero or Juan
Mata, but while the Premier
League’s two best imports are
both great players, they are not
great buys. Their talent was
obvious and their prices are
around market value. Adam, on
the other hand, is a player who
has improved at Liverpool after
bearing all the hallmarks of a
one-season wonder, and is
thriving at a club rejuvenated by
a summer of total revolution.
Unfair deals of the summer
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (£12
million rising to £15 million)
Southampton to Arsenal
It is far too early to suggest that
Oxlade-Chamberlain is not of the
required quality; indeed, should
he fulfil his very obvious
potential, he is likely to blossom
into an England international.
This was a poor deal, instead, for
the amount committed by
Arsenal to a player they simply
did not require. Faced with the
prospect of a season without
Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri,
Arsenal needed proven quality, as
well as the defensive leadership
they have been lacking for so
long. Signing another youngster
was not addressing the problem.
Mikel Arteta (£10 million) Everton
to Arsenal
The Basque is not the player he
was – a worry, given that the
player was, essentially, a poor
man’s Fabregas – but £10 million
remains a good price for a
talented, experienced Premier
League midfielder. This is a bad
deal, though, for Everton. The
funds will head straight to
Barclays to pay off Goodison
Park’s debt, but not in sufficient
substance to make a huge
impact, and David Moyes’s side
must toil without their creative
hub.
Anton Ferdinand (£4.5 million)
Sunderland to QPR
No takeover of a Premier League
club by a foreign benefactor
would be complete without
signing Shaun Wright-Phillips –
the diminutive winger is
effectively an owner’s Bar
Mitzvah – but it is the capture of
Ferdinand which best illustrates
that Tony Fernandes is now
perfectly at one with the
hyperinflation and the ludicrous
overestimation of his new
surrounds. Ferdinand has
consistently been proven to be a
below-par Premier League
defender. Fattening hoops will
not change that.

POLICE ARRESTED A 74YR OLD SOLDIER RAPING AN 8YR PUPIL

The Ekiti State Police Command
has arrested a 74-year old retired
soldier, Ayoola Aderemi, for
allegedly raping an eight-year-old
primary school pupil.
The septuagenarian, who was
paraded at the Ekiti State Police
Headquarters by the Police Public
Relations Officer, Mr. Mohammed
Jimoh, identified himself as “a
retired army general.”
Although some of the residents
of Ayetoro-Ekiti, where the man
defiled the minor, said the
suspect was a retired soldier “he
was nowhere near the rank of a
general.”
The suspect, who denied having
penetrative sex with the girl,
admitted that he kissed the
victim.
He sounded incoherent at a point
when he was interviewed by our
correspondent, but it could not
be ascertained if he was insane
or he was just feigning insanity.
The relatives of the victim told
our correspondent that the
retired soldier raped the girl,
who they claimed was treated
and discharged from the Federal
Medical Centre, Ido-Ekiti.
They claimed that the girl had
laceration and her private part
became swollen after the
incident. She was then admitted
at the FMC, where she was
treated.
They said that the old soldier
sent the girl to go and buy sachet
water for him but on arrival, he
dragged her into a hidden place,
where he defiled her.
The PPRO said investigation into
the crime would continue,
adding that the case would be
painstakingly probed and the
suspect would be prosecuted if
found culpable.
In a related development, three
suspects were paraded by the
police for allegedly raping a lady,
whose identity was not stated.
The victim, who is from Omuo-
Ekiti in Ekiti East Local
Government Area, was said to
have been raped on August 20,
2011 on her way to the farm.
The police statement on the
incident read, “On 20/8/2011, at
about 12:40 pm, the
complainant, who is a native of
Omuo-Ekiti, reported at Omuo
Division that on the same date at
about 08:30 am, she was
accosted on her way to the farm
on Eda-Ile Road, Omuo-Ekiti, by
one Ayenigba Wasiu, Sunday
Ajayi and Ojo Adegboye.”

IBADAN FLOODS: Jonathan pledges help for Ibadan's flood

President Goodluck Jonathan on
Friday promised to assist the Oyo
State Government over the flood
that sacked Ibadan, the state
capital, penultimate Friday.
Jonathan made the pledge when
he paid an on-the-spot
assessment visit to some of the
flood ravaged areas in the city.
The President, who came in
company with some ministers
(Works, Environment and Water
Resources), described what he
saw as a “pitiable view.”
He said technical experts would
be deployed from the ministries
of water resources and the
environment to identify how the
Federal Government could assist
the state to handle the disaster.
The President commended the
Oyo State Government, the
National Emergency Management
Agency and other relevant
organisations that rose to the
challenge and helped the victims
of the flooding.
He described the incident as a
natural disaster and prayed that
God would comfort those that
lost their loved ones and
property.
The President, who called for
one-minute silence in respect of
the dead, said, “On behalf of the
Federal Government and my
family, we express our
condolences to the government
and people of Oyo State over the
disaster.
“We flew over some of the sites,
inspected and saw the extent of
the damage.
“We also watched video clips of
the disaster. It is a natural
disaster. We pray that God will
give those who lost their people
in the flood the fortitude to bear
the loss.
“On the part of the FG, we
commend the director-general
and officers of NEMA and the Oyo
State Government for their quick
response.”
Governor Abiola Ajimobi
appealed to the President to
assist the state, stressing that the
state alone could not shoulder
the responsibility.
The governor noted that no state
in the South-West had witnessed
the magnitude of the August 26
rainfall.
He said the state was helpless
and required FG’s assistance in
addressing the menace. Making a
formal request to the FG, Ajimobi
handed over a letter to Jonathan.
The President’s aircraft, marked
Nigerian Air Force 5N-FGT,
touched down at the Ibadan
Airport, Alakia, at exactly 12:25
pm.
He was received by Ajimobi, his
cabinet members and leaders of
the Action Congress of Nigeria
and the Peoples Democratic
Party.
Also present were Senator Femi
Lanlehin, Minister of State for
Federal Capital Territory, Mrs.
Jumoke Akinjide; Speaker, Oyo
State House of Assembly, Mrs.
Monsurat Sunmonu and a host of
other political office-holders.

11 persons died in shagamu road auto crash

Eleven persons died on
Wednesday in an auto crash at
Okada junction, Edo State section
of the Benin-Sagamu
Expressway.
The accident, which occurred
around 4pm, involved a
commercial bus belonging to
Peace Mass Transit Company and
a truck conveying some goods to
Lagos.
The Federal Road Safety
Commission, according to an
eyewitness, arrived at the scene
immediately to move the dead to
the University of Benin Teaching
Hospital mortuary.
A couple said to be heading for
one of the states in the South-
East for their wedding
arrangements, and a woman
said to be going for a burial,
were among those killed in the
accident.
According to one of the four
survivors of the accident,
Anthony Ndubuisi, a South-
Africa-based footballer, the
Onitsha-bound bus took off from
Ojulegba in Lagos with 17
passengers.
Ndubuisi, who is receiving
treatment at the emergency unit
of the UBTH, blamed the crash on
the recklessness of the bus
driver.
“The accident could have been
avoided,” the player said.
He claimed the driver, who
reportedly escaped unhurt, was
at a top speed while overtaking
another vehicle when the crash
occurred.
Ndubuisi added, “I had wanted
to board another transport
company but I was told that
Peace Mass was cheaper. I was
going to Asaba (Delta State) to
finalise arrangements for a trip
to Europe where I hope to
pursue my career. But just
imagine where I have ended up.”
The National Coordinator of Save
Accident Victims of Nigeria, Mr.
Eddy Ehikhamenor, who was at
the emergency unit of the
hospital, told our correspondent
that 10 of the victims were
brought in dead.

Federal government gather clues on terrors attack

President Goodluck Jonathan on
Friday said government had
received credible intelligence
about the sponsors and
perpetrators of terrorism in the
country.
Jonathan also vowed that
government would punish the
sponsors and perpetrators of
terrorism.
Speaking at the unveiling of new
number-plates in Abuja, Jonathan
advised those involved in
terrorism not to test his
administration‘s resolve to
combat the menace.
He assured Nigerians that
security measures were being
reviewed to enable the
government to deal with
emerging threats.