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Philippine boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao threw down a fresh challenge to Floyd Mayweather Jnr on Thursday, daring the American world champion to “fight me” instead of setting terms that could torpedo the dream bout. “He’s all talk. Until now he has not yet agreed to fight me. Instead of blabbing, he should face me atop the ring,” Pacquiao told AFP in an interview. Ring fans the world over have been baying for a mega-fight between two of the world’s greatest boxers of their generation, but previous talks have always broken down before a deal could be signed. Pacquiao, 35, has held world titles in eight separate weight divisions. He is training to defend his World Boxing Organization welterweight title against another undefeated American, Chris Algieri, in Macau in November. Mayweather, who scored a lopsided victory over Marcos Maidana in a rematch in Las Vegas on Saturday, pushing his record to 47-0, later denied he was trying to safeguard his unblemished record by avoiding Pa...

By Henry Umoru ABUJA- FORMER Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Mallam Nasir El- Rufai has urged the Federal Government to explain its role in the saga surrounding the chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor whose private jet was identified as the vessel impounded by the South African authorities for ferrying $9.3m cash into their country. In a statement yesterday by his media advisor, Muyiwa Adekeye, EL Rufai urged Nigerians to be vigilant in these troubled times, just as he stressed that the tragedy of mindless terror should not be allowed to become an endless catastrophe because of narrow political calculations. The statement read, “When light unexpectedly shines on murkiness, those exposed by the stinging rays often berate the light rather than regret the muck. That is the plight of Ayo Oritsejafor whose private jet was identified as the vessel impounded by the South African authorities for ferrying $9.3m cash into t...

THERE is a groundswell of pressure on President Goodluck Jonathan to declare his intention to seek re-election in 2015. By Clifford Ndujihe & Henry Umoru APart from a motley crowd of over 7000 support groups, the pressure is also being mounted by governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), leaders of the ruling party across the six geo-political zones of the country and leaders of some opposition parties. Notable persons who want the president to seek re-election and to declare so without further delay include former National Chairman of the PDP, Dr Ahmadu Ali; Akwa Ibom State Governor and Chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum, Godswill Akpabio; former Anambra State Governor, Mr Peter Obi; former Information Minister, Professor Jerry Gana; and former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ibrahim Mantu among others, who are traversing the length and breadth of the country making a case for Jonathan’s return. A host of these people have attended the zonal ...

Kuwait has arrested several suspected members of the Islamic State group and is monitoring dozens more under its commitment to the US-led international coalition against the jihadists, media reported Thursday. The Gulf state’s secret service has arrested at least five suspected members of IS which has seized large swathes of Syria and Iraq, Al-Qabas newspaper reported. Three of the men in custody are Kuwaiti and two are so-called bidoons or stateless Arabs, the daily said. Al-Qabas also said the security services had arrested an unidentified number of Saudis suspected of links to the group, and that they were handed over to the authorities in Riyadh. Citing a senior security source, the paper said security authorities were keeping close tabs on a long list of 134 people suspected of being in IS or sympathising with it. It said that a judge on Wednesday renewed the detention of four of the five suspects for 10 days pending investigation. The detainees are being questioned on acc...

ONE of the low points in the war against the Boko Haram terrorists in the north east was the mutiny of some army personnel on parade in Maiduguri on May 14th 2014. The General Officer Commanding (GOC) the newly created 7th Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Ahmadu Mohammed, was shot at by some rebellious officers, who were apparently angered at the number of dead colleagues who fell to a Boko Haram ambush. This incident created a lot of anxiety in the populace because it cast several shadows on our military’s readiness to face the challenge of routing the insurgents. News soon came of an impending court martial of eighteen army officers over the sad event. On Monday, 15th September 2014, the court martial, with Major General CC Okonkwo as its president, handed down several sentences ranging from death for twelve of the officers, 28 days of hard labour for one officer and an acquittal for five others. There are several lessons arising from this incident. Foremost of the...

DEMOCRACY is popularly defined as the government of the people by the people and for the people. This presupposes that the generality of the eligible electorate is in charge of the election of their leaders. The leaders thus emerge through general, popular, free and fair election and not a process of discriminatory, irrational, dubious and devious selection. The transparent electoral process of democracy is why it is regarded as the best form of government, hence the popular saying that the worst democracy is better than the best militocracy or autocracy. The beauty of democracy arises from the fact that it is a true representation of the people. Some people have even argued that democracy is the government approved by God because it is voice of God going by the Latin axiom “Voice populi voice dei” meaning voice of the people is the voice of God. In essence the voice, will, wish and vote of the majority of the people represent the voice of God and voice of the people is therefore...

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Director of Voter Registry, Mr. Emmanuel Akem, recently said potential voters who failed to obtain their permanent voters’ cards (PVCs) by December 2014 would not be allowed to vote in the 2015 general elections. The Commission recently organised the distribution of the PVCs and CVR in 21 of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in the first and second phases of the exercises. No date has been fixed for the exercises in the remaining 15 states. The distribution of the PVCs in the affected states was characterised by a deluge of criticisms. Many could not find their names in the voters register. Some found their names but their PVCs were missing. INEC officials were not available in some polling units to distribute the cards. Frustrated by the cumbersome process of obtaining the cards they described as elusive, some political parties and stakeholders accused the electoral umpire of hoarding the voter’s cards with ...