Nigerian professional footballer who currently plays as a striker for Spanish Liga F club FC Barcelona, Asisat Oshoala, has been enlisted for the 2023 Ballon d’Or Award.

Naija News reports that the organiser of the award, France Football confirmed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday.

Before now, the 28-year-old Super Falcons forward got nominated in the Socrates Award category, which recognises outstanding solidarity actions carried out by football champions.

Oshoala is one of five individuals shortlisted for the award, which was established last year and named after the legendary Brazilian footballer Socrates.

Joining Oshoala as nominees in the category are Vinicius Jnr (Brazil/Real Madrid), Antonio Rudiger (Germany/Real Madrid), Marcus Rashford (England/Manchester United), and Alex Morgan (USA/San Diego Wave).

The nomination acknowledges Oshoala’s remarkable contributions to her community through the creation of the Oshoala Academy. The academy aims to provide its beneficiaries with high-quality football training and life skills education. It also empowers young women through sports, transforming them into community role models and ambassadors for the skills they acquire.

The announcement further stated that the nominees in other categories, including men’s, women’s, Yachine Trophy, and Kopa Trophy, will be revealed on September 6.

Naija News reports that Oshoala is currently in Australia with the Super Falcons, Nigeria’s national women’s football team, as they train for the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup, which New Zealand and Australia will host.

The Super Falcons are placed in Group B and will face Australia, Canada, and the Republic of Ireland during the group stages of the tournament.

In a bid to clamp down on banditry and terrorism, popular Islamic scholar, Sheikh Gumi has disclosed his willingness to participate in negotiations with their foot soldiers.

Gumi said the negotiation process has to be holistic to address the issue of insecurity across the regions where the groups operate.

“We need the involvement of emirs, scholars, and university professors who have conducted extensive research on these matters. Let’s all sit down together so that we can achieve peace and enable people to return to their farms,” Gumi told Daily Trust.

According to him, “I don’t have to lead it, but I would volunteer myself to be part of it”.

This is not the first time the popular cleric has stated willingness to negotiate with terrorists.

In 2021 and the early part of 2022, Gumi had openly advocated for terrorists, saying he was concerned for the country and his state, Zamfara

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted the state chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti, Paul Omotosho.

Although detail of the incident is still sketchy, Sunday Tribune gathered the APC chairman was kidnapped on Saturday evening along Agbado – Imesi-Ekiti road in Gbonyin Local Government Area of the State.

A reliable source who confirmed the development to our correspondent explained that Omotosho who is from Imesi-Ekiti was driving alone to his home town when the gunmen ambushed his vehicle with sporadic gunshots before taking him away.

The source said, “The chairman still called me this morning(Saturday) and we spoke at length and from what we gathered, he actually came to drop his driver in Ado-Ekiti and was returning to his hometown alone when the kidnappers fired gunshots at his vehicle and deflated his tyres.

“They moved him from the scene which is around Agbado – Imesi-Ekiti road with their vehicle to a forest around Ise-Ekiti, that is what I know about the incident for now.

“The governor, Biodun Oyebanji is aware of the situation and has taken immediate action towards securing the release of the party chairman.”

The state APC publicity secretary, Segun Dipe confirmed the abduction of the party chairman when contacted on Saturday evening

“Yes, my brother, our chairman has been kidnapped and we are already working with security agencies towards securing his release,” the party spokesperson told Sunday Tribune.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) DSP Sunday Abutu when contacted said he was not aware of the incident and promised to get back to our correspondent, but yet to do so, as of press time.

A former governor of Zamfara State and senator representing Zamfara West, Abdulaziz Yari, is being grilled by operatives of the Department of State Services. The reason for his detention and interrogation is not clear yet.

According to a source close to the lawmaker, Yari reported at the office of the secret police after plenary on Thursday.

The source claimed that he escorted the lawmaker to the DSS office to honour its invitation.

“Senator Yari is still in the DSS custody, but he should be out soon in sha ’Allah. He went to their office himself after the plenary. I escorted him there and he has been there since then,” the source said.

He, however, did not disclose why the lawmaker was invited by the security agency.

Peoples Gazette, an online publication, had earlier reported that Yari was arrested by the secret police after receiving a call from the director-general, Yusuf Bichi, to report at the DSS headquarters for an urgent discussion.

When our correspondent tried to reach the lawmaker on Saturday, his mobile phone indicated that it was switched off.

Yari went against the All Progressives Congress zoning arrangement by contesting the Senate presidency with the party’s choice, Senator Godswill Akpabio, who eventually emerged victorious in the election for the president of the upper legislative chamber.

Attempts to get a confirmation of the lawmaker’s detention from the DSS were not successful as the mobile telephone of its spokesman, Dr Peter Afunaya, did not connect.

Says Poverty, Ignorance Responsible For Bandits’ Actions

Senator Ahmad Yerima, a former governor of Zamfara State has vehemently defended his decision of marrying an underage Egyptian bride.

Recall that Yerima was accused of marrying a minor – the 13-year-old daughter of his Egyptian driver.

While speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Friday night, Yerima said: “Marriage cannot stop education. How many married women are in education now?”

When asked about his wife’s education, he responded by saying “She is doing her Master’s now. I told you my own daughter who was married at the age of 16, is doing her Ph.D.”

He also criticised the Child Rights Act (2003) saying whatever act is passed at the National Assembly has to be domesticated by the state assemblies.

“And once they have not done that, it’s no longer a law,” he added.

The former governor alleged that former President Olusegun Obasanjo “tried to smuggle the Child Rights Act”.

“He passed it at the National Assembly through some manipulations but I don’t think any state in the North domesticated it and passed it,” Yerima said.

The former Governor of Zamfara State, Ahmad Sani Yerima, also asserted that those involved in acts of banditry are doing so because of poverty as well as ignorance.

This is coming off his earlier remarks asking the Federal Government to engage in negotiations with bandits as a way of eradicating the abduction, killings and incursions plaguing parts of the North.

“No educated person, Christian Muslim, Jew or Hindu who is in his right state of mind and has something to do and does not have a poverty problem that will take up arms and kill an innocent person.”

“The major problem facing these people is poverty and ignorance,” Yerima said when quizzed about the reason for the growing case of banditry.

Speaking further, the former Deputy Minority Leader of the Senate also claimed that the previous governments had failed to address the plights of the bandits

“In the past various state government have not taken care of them, and the cattle routes and forest reserves left for them have been taken over by farmers,” he said.

Senator Yerima was quick to debunk speculations that the presence of natural resources such as gold played a major part in the rise of banditry in his state

“This has always been there and the illegal mining that is going on there is of a very small scale; artisan mining.”

“We don’t have any industry or any large-scale or medium-scale mining going on in the state. People are just talking about it but we have solid minerals in the Northern part of Nigeria but that is not the cause at all,” he said.

“The Federal government’s previous administration banned all sorts of mining in Nigeria because they are all illegal.”

On his successor, Bello Matawalle’s assertion that bandits were involved in the commerce of gold for firearms and ammunition, Yerima said ” I think he just said it.”

“When I saw him presenting gold to Mr President (Muhammadu Buhari) I was shocked because where do we process such in Nigeria.”

He also dismissed what he described as “speculations” of the involvement of foreign corporations in the illegal trade of gold in the country.

When asked about possible involvement in the trade as well as turning a blind eye to it, the Senator said, “I assure you that nothing going on as far as large-scale mining in Zamfara state, we have artisan mining, in fact it is villagers that are going into it. But for a proper mining, it is capital intensive.”

Following the conclusion that Mmesoma Ejikeme falsified her results for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, the Commission of Inquiry constituted by the Anambra State Government withdrew the scholarship it had previously granted her.

On Saturday, Cornel Osigwe, the Innoson Group’s Head of Corporate Communications and Affairs, made this information public.

The top scoring in the 2023 UTME, according to Miss Mmesoma, a student at the Anglican Girls Secondary School in Nnewi, Anambra State, was 362.

The ‘feat’ earned her praise from Nigerians on social media, including the Anambra State Government.

Later on, the candidate will get a N3 million scholarship from Innocent Chukwuma, the founder of the Innoson firm.

However, JAMB charged the candidate with falsifying her UTME scores and inflated them from 249 to 362. However, the applicant stated that the 362 was the mark that appeared on the JAMB website and in the SMS that the board gave to her.

The candidate’s first UTME score was subsequently withdrawn by the testing organisation, and she was disqualified from taking the exam for the following three years.

However, Miss Mmesoma, the applicant, stated in a widely shared video on Monday that the contentious result of 362 she claimed to have received was printed off the JAMB website and that the test body’s accusations had scarred her.

Several Nigerians called for an “independent” investigation into the controversy.

Consequently, the Anambra State Government, last week, set up a panel of inquiry into the controversy.

The eight-member panel, led by professor Nkemdili Nnonyelu, concluded on Friday that Miss Mmesoma had fabricated the 362 score that the JAMB had earlier claimed.

The candidate acknowledged, as stated in the eight-page report, that she had fabricated the outcome on her own before going to a cybercafé to have it printed.

Given that Miss Mmesoma received the scholarship from Innoson Motors in acknowledgment of her allegedly outstanding achievement, the company’s spokesperson, Mr. Osigwe, called the discovery that she cheated on her UTME results “deeply disappointing.”

According to him, the candidate’s manipulation of the results “stands in direct contravention of the values” of the organisation.

“In line with these principles and in response to the confirmed findings, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw the scholarship awarded to Miss Joy Mmesoma Ejikeme. This action is a testament to our unyielding commitment to honesty, integrity, and merit-based recognition.

“We acknowledge that this development is regrettable, and it has undoubtedly caused dismay among those who stood by Miss Joy including her school principal and other well-meaning supporters. However, it is crucial to maintain the integrity of our scholarship program and the values it represents,” he said.

IVM added that it believes in rewarding exceptional students who display not just academic prowess but also embody the values of honesty, transparency, and respect for the processes that govern the educational system in Nigeria.

“I came to Ibadan, Oyo State 30 years ago I remember that time very well. I was really scared of vehicles, my body was shivering throughout the journey and I was scared it was a big vehicle. I came here to look for food to feed my children. I was left with the children, after my two husbands died. I fell out of love with my first husband after I had two children with him unfortunately he died and I married my second husband who also later died. Both of us were blind and you know some of us are not lucky.”

Rahinatu Ibrahim, popularly called Ganga, recalled with nostalgia when she first embarked on her journey to the South West many years ago from Kano State.

After the demise of her two husbands, the visually impaired woman decided to travel far with her children in search of food to feed them.

Despite being scared of vehicles at that time, the thought of her children starving and her inability to farm made her face her fears. She was determined to conquer.

“My children were young and I couldn’t farm, I did not have the strength to do so, so I had to come here to beg. Nobody was helping me with the children; I was only depending on God. I came here with seven of them and we begged everywhere together and along the line, one of them died here, he was a twin,” she told Saturday Tribune in an interview during the week.

After begging for many years, when her female children were ripe for marriage, Rahinatu took the girls back home and married them off.

“They all grew up here and when they were due for marriage I took them back home and I married them off. Someone asked for one of the girls hands in marriage here in Sabo but I refused, I didn’t want her to marry a Yoruba man and maybe he wasn’t lucky or God didn’t want him to marry her,” she said.

The visually impaired woman said she stopped moving around to beg many years ago after her legs developed some pains and because of the harsh begging conditions, she had to return her granddaughter who was her aid, back to her mother in Kano. “I used to move around to beg a long time ago with my sister but since my leg developed some pains I stopped moving round to beg, I just come to the roadside and sit to beg.”

I’ve stayed to beg at Oke Bola, Oke Ado and many areas with my children. My granddaughter was helping me to cross the road but I had to take her home because it is not easy to be out here under harsh conditions with a child, so, I took her home to her mother.

“After my daughters got married, I travelled home to visit them. I just a returned a couple of days ago; I went for Sallah. My son wanted me to stay longer to rest, he wanted me to wait and return after the raining season but I refused. There is no money in the north; those who stay in the north are trying.

“If you have money and food, no problem, you’d enjoy the north. But this era, everything is hard, food is expensive. We buy a measure of corn for as high as N1,050 and one of my daughter’s husbands abandoned her and her four children. He said he wanted to go and work in Ile Ife and he has refused to go back. With the high cost of goods in the market, I had to send her some money two weeks ago to buy food for the children,” she said.

Rahinatu revealed that the people in Ibadan have been good to her since she moved to the South West as no one has ever talked down or harassed her.

“I thank God because since I came here, no one has ever harassed or taken advantage of me. The people here have been good to me. If someone has not done anything bad to you, you shouldn’t say he did.

“But I can remember one time here at Mobil, there was some crisis. I did not come out to beg that Sunday so I was told what happened. The crisis unsettled us so I went to Apata to beg and that was my first time of going there to beg.

“When I got there, the beggars there chased me away. They said I should not sit there because I was not begging with them. I moved away from them and fortunately one woman gave me a place to sit and that was how I was able to get money to feed that period. After a while, peace returned to Mobil Junction and I came back,” she told Saturday Tribune.

Would she ever go back to live in the north? She revealed that it was not easy begging in the North because “we usually don’t get much alms back home.”

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has reiterated its readiness to ensure credible, fair, and reliable assessments in the public examination sector.

The examination body disclosed this in reaction to the report of the inquiry committee set up by the Anambra State Government to look into the controversy surrounding the UTME result of Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma.

Reacting to the committee’s report, which indicted the pupil for forging her result unaided, JAMB’s Head of Public Affairs and Protocol, Fabian Benjamin, stated in a press release that there has never been any doubt about the credibility of the examination body.

According to him, the committee’s report not only vindicates the body but also reaffirms the fact that the examination body’s system can never be compromised. He added that the board is more determined than ever before in the fight to ensure a clean public examination sector, regardless of distractions from detractors.

While clarifying that the pupil has finally admitted to forging her result, the statement also revealed that Miss Mmesoma’s real age is 19, contrary to the belief held by many that she is 16.

The examination body also warned candidates to refrain from any acts of forgery and other examination irregularities, emphasizing that it will always lead to regret for the culprits.

The board, however, enjoined Nigerians to learn to appreciate and trust their institutions rather than constantly seeking means to bring them down.

Read the full statement below:

“The report of the Commission of Inquiry set up by the Anambra State Government, an independent and unbiased body, as demanded by some Nigerians to look into the Mmesoma saga, has vindicated the Board. This has further reinforced the position of the Board that its system was not and cannot be compromised.

“It is to be noted that the Board has built a reputation in terms of the conduct of credible examinations over the years and cannot afford to fail the nation at this critical juncture of its development.

“Therefore, we will not despair in spite of the painful realisation that some Nigerians would do anything to cast aspersions on the good name of the Board.

No fewer than 13 former governors still receive pension allowances as serving senators in the 10th National Assembly amidst cutting the cost of governance talks.

TRIBUNE ONLINE, compiled the names of the former governors who still receive pensions as serving senators.

Full list below;

1. Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) 2007 – 2015
2. Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto) 2007 – 2015
3. Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara) 2011 – 2019
4. Dave Umahi (Ebonyi) 2015 – 2023
5. Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto) 2015 – 2023
6. Adams Oshiomhole (Edo) 2008 – 2016
7. Ibrahim Dankambo (Gombe) 2011 – 2019
8. Abubakar Bello (Niger) 2015 – 2023
9. Orji Kalu (Abia) 1999 – 2007
10. Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa) 2012 – 2020
11. Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe) 2009 – 2019
12. Adamu Aliro (Kebbi) 1999 – 2007
13. Danjuma Goje (Gombe) 2003 – 2011

NB: Former Ogun Governor, Gbenga Daniel (2003 – 2011) was excluded from the list following his recent announcement requesting the state government to stop the payment of his monthly pension as an ex-governor.

Mr. Romanus Ejikeme, the father of Mmesoma Ejikeme, the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate who falsified her result, has tendered an unreserved apology to JAMB and Nigerians.

Recall that eight-member panel set up by Anambra Governor Charles Soludo to investigate the controversies surrounding the results, had exposed the candidate.

JAMB barred Mmesoma from taking its exam for the next three years.

Romanus admitted that he didn’t know where his daughter registered for the examination but he gave her the money for the registration.

Mmesoma’s father had insisted that her daughter did not forge her results saying that she was a hardworking and studious student who did not joke with her studies.

“But I gave her the money for the registration, and I can vouch for her that she cannot forge any result,” Ejikeme had said then.

Backtracking, Mmesoma’s father said: “As I said earlier, my daughter didn’t open up to me on time, she didn’t. Then I realised the mistake she did, I warned and pleaded her not to dent her image.

“I’m still apologising to Nigerians and JAMB to pardon her”.