Ban extended by FIFA on top Nigerian officials

World football’s governing body FIFA on Tuesday said it had extended a ban on five officials who have been involved in a leadership battle for control of the game in Nigeria.

FIFA said its disciplinary committee had “decided to extend the five-year ban from taking part in any kind of football-related activity” on Chris Giwa and four others.

The ban would apply worldwide, it said in a statement on its website.

Giwa, the former owner of Giwa FC in the central city of Jos, has insisted since August 2014 that he was elected as the rightful president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

But the result of the ballot was disputed and prompted FIFA to threaten to ban Nigeria from international competition unless the election was re-run.

Amaju Pinnick was duly elected as NFF boss but Giwa has since dragged the federation to court to challenge its legitimacy.

In May last year the NFF banned him and his supporters for impersonation and breaching FIFA rules by taking football matters to a civil court.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) also confirmed the ban.

Arab News

Arsenal Football Club to partner with MTN Nigeria

MTN has become the official Nigerian mobile telecommunications partner for English top-tier soccer team Arsenal.

Fans of the Premier League club in Nigeria will have access to a range of exclusive benefits, while the telecommunications company will provide exclusive content to its subscribers, including match highlights, clubs news, and interviews. In addition, MTN and Arsenal will partner on a series of promotional and marketing activities, and specialist coaching sessions in the west African country.

"This partnership with MTN will really help us engage with these passionate fans on a regular and personal basis," said Vinai Venkatesham, Arsenal's chief commercial officer. "We are expecting MTN's Arsenal exclusive content to be very popular among our supporters, as well as followers of football generally."

MTN's consumer marketing general manager, Richard Iweanoge, added: "We are excited to announce our partnership with Arsenal and look forward to engaging with sports enthusiasts beyond the current traditional broadcast of matches. Not only this but also digitally with access to exclusive contents that will be delivered via our network."

Arsenal have long enjoyed significant support within Africa's most populous nation. Nigeria currently provides the club's largest website traffic outside of the UK and the team's second highest digital members.

SportsPro

President Muhammadu Buhari extends medical leave in the Uk

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the parliament to extend his medical leave in the UK, amid concerns that his health may be worse than officials are publicly saying.

The 74-year-old leader, who has been out of the country for two weeks, was expected to return to Abuja on Sunday.

An official statement said he had been advised by doctors to await the results of a series of tests.

However, it did not say how much extra time would be needed.

There was also no mention of what the medical checks were for.

Analysts say that Mr Buhari's extended absence could further erode confidence in his administration which is already under pressure due to a weak economy and the conflict with Boko Haram Islamist militants in the north-east of the country.

The country is currently suffering from its worst economic crisis in years, following a sharp in the price of oil, its major export.

Businesses and investors complain that the government's handling of the currency exchange rate has made a bad situation even worse, and there have been demonstrations against the lack of jobs and high inflation.

Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo is taking on presidential responsibilities while the president is abroad.

'Medical tourism'

It is the second time in less than a year that Mr Buhari has sought medical assistance overseas. Last June, he spent nearly two weeks, again in London, for treatment for an ear infection.

The trip to the UK appears to roll back on the commitment to tighten up on government officials seeking medical attention abroad.

Speaking on the president's behalf at last year's Nigeria Medical Association General Conference (NMA) in Sokoto, Health Minister Isaac ‎Adewole said the Buhari administration would not encourage spending Nigeria's hard earned resources on any government official seeking medical care abroad, especially when there was evidence of expertise in Nigeria.

The president has been heavily criticised for seeming to renege on his promise to restrict "medical tourism".

After the first visit to London, leading Nigerian doctor Osahon Enabulele, vice-president of the Commonwealth Medical Association, said it was a "national shame" that Mr Buhari went to the UK for treatment when Nigeria had more than 250 ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists, as well as a National Ear Centre.

He said also that Mr Buhari should lead by example in using Nigerian doctors and facilities, and ensure government officials do not go abroad on "frivolous" medical trips.

In the past, President Buhari has said that Nigeria loses about $1bn a year to medical tourism.

BBC

Video - Nigeria orders commercial vehicles be fitted with speed monitors

In Nigeria, the road safety body is mandating all commercial vehicles be fitted with a speed governing device. The country boasts some of the more modernized roads in Africa, but also registers some of the highest numbers of road-related deaths.

Gunmen kill UN members in Nigeria

Gunmen have attacked a United Nations monitoring team at the Nigeria-Cameroon border, killing five people.

Three Nigerians were among those killed, a UN statement said Wednesday.

“According to preliminary reports, at around 14:00 hours, yesterday (Tuesday), an unknown armed group attacked a UN Technical Monitoring Team, killing five individuals – a UN independent contractor, three Nigerians nationals and one Cameroonian national – and injuring several others,” the UN envoy for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohamed Chambas, said in a statement.

“The team was conducting a field mission in the vicinity of Hosere Jongbi, near Kontcha, Cameroon, about 700 kilometres north of the capital Yaoundé, as part of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission mandate,” he said.

The UN “strongly condemned” the attack and called on Nigeria and Cameroon to take swift action to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Taraba State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Silas Sanga, announced that one of those killed was the Assistant Surveyor-General of the state, Zakari Bakari.

He said the deceased included a Kenyan and another Nigerian from Jigawa.

Mr. Sanga said Mr. Bakari together alongside a UN official and some staff of National Boundary Commission were killed in Koncha village in Cameroun, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

He said the deceased were killed on Tuesday while in the process of demarcating and delineating the Nigeria-Cameroon border in line with the judgement of the International Court of Justice.

He said the deceased entered Cameroun through Toungo Local Government Area of Adamawa to conduct the exercise.

Mr. Sanga added that the deceased were members of International Committee set up by the UN to conduct the exercise.

“The Cameroonian authorities have released their corpses and the corpses have just arrived Adamawa as I am talking to you,” Mr. Sanga told NAN.

The spokesman of Adamawa Police Command, Othman Abubakar, who confirmed the killing, said he had not received full details.

The UN offered his condolences to the families of those killed in the attack and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.

The Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission was established by the UN Secretary-General at the request of Presidents of Cameroon and Nigeria in 2002, to settle border disputes between the two West African neighbours.

The Mixed Commission’s mandate includes demarcation of the land boundary and delimitation of the maritime boundary between the two countries.

It also includes the withdrawal of troops and transfer of authority in the Lake Chad area, along the land boundary and in the Bakassi Peninsula.

Addressing the situation of populations affected by the demarcation activities and development of recommendations on confidence-building measures aiming at promoting peaceful cross-border cooperation, is also one of the mandates of the commission.

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