D’banj to celebrate 35th birthday today at popular Mushin ‘Buka’

Nigerian entertainer D’banj will be 35 years old today, Tuesday, June 9, 2015. Born Dapo Oyebanjo on June 9, 1980, D’banj just returned from a trip to Mauritius alongside his rumoured boo, Bonang Matheba and E.M.E boss, Banky W.

TOTALNEWS247 gathered that D’banj has decided to go local this time around to celebrate the event. D’banj wants to take over a local restaurant, popularly known as ‘buka’ in Mushin.

We’re told he will personally dish out local delicacies to his fans. It is likely he will be there the entire day. So, watch out for the Kokomaster tomorrow in Mushin, it promises to be real fun.

Super Falcons battle to a draw against Sweden

The Super Falcons of Nigeria on Monday came from behind twice to play a 3-3 draw with Sweden in their first game of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup going on in Canada.

The Falcons were trailing Sweden 2-nil at the end of the first half after Nigeria’s striker, Desire Oparanozie scored an own-goal and Nilla Fischer hit the back of the net in the 20th and 31st minutes of the game respectively.

But the Falcons drew the battle line in the early minutes of the second half with two quick goals from Ngozi Okobi and the current BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year, Asisat Oshoala.

The Super Falcons soon fell behind again when Linda Sembrant put a goal past veteran goalkeeper Precious Dede on the hour mark.

However, Francisca Ordega ensured that Nigeria earned a draw by scoring a sublime goal after collecting a pass from Okobi three minutes from time.

Ngozi Okobi was named the player of the match.

Nigeria will square up against Australia in their next match which will be played on June 12, at John Scouras Field, Winnipeg Soccer Complex, Winnipeg.

Akpabio persuaded me to shelve retirement from Eagles- Enyeama

SUPER Eagles’ captain and goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama, has disclosed that it took the intervention of former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, to stop him from retiring from the national team when Nigeria failed to qualify to defend the 2013 AFCON trophy during the 2015 edition in Equatorial Guinea.

Enyeama said yesterday that he had concluded plans to hang his gloves for international competitions before he received calls, including that of the former governor, urging him not to leave the national team at that period.

The Olympic Lyonnais goalkeeper, who rates Warri Wolves goalkeeper, Daniel Akpeyi, as experienced enough to take over from him, said he decided to change his mind after consultations with his wife and pastor.

“Nigeria is blessed with great goalkeepers, it is just that we need to give them confidence. Nobody gave me a chance when I started… I was a rookie also. I worked for it and became the big person nobody wants to lose now… that is how it is.

“You can’t keep doing the same thing forever; there is going to be a time I have to stop and allow some other person to take over. If you see from 2002 I am the only face here; it makes it a little bit hard but then it’s nothing. The 2017 Nations Cup finals will be my last game; I just set my target, anything can happen after,” he said.
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F/Eagles now in top gear – NFF boasts

 Apparently basking in the euphoria of the resurgence of the national U-20 team, the Flying Eagles in the ongoing FIFA World youth Championship (AYC) in New Zealand, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said the U-20 team of Germany would not pose any threat to the dream of the Flying Eagles to reach the finals of the championship as they clash in the second round of the championship on Thursday.

Chairman of the technical committee of the NFF, Chief Felix Anyansi Agwu told the Sporting media yesterday in Abuja that the defeat of Nigeria by Brazil was a blessing in disguise because it re awakened the desire of the players to play well on the championship which they are competing as African champions.

“I think there is no stopping the Flying Eagles. Even though they are playing Germany who are also the European champions, I strongly believe that the team is confident enough to pick the final ticket in this championship.

“Our loss in the first match to Brazil was enough to put them back in shape. What happened to them against Brazil was a wake up call which they have heeded and bounced back. They would have been filled with over confidence if they had won that match. With their current form, I do not see them falling to Germany on Thursday. They only have to maintain their form because this is the knockout stage of the tournament.”Anyansi stated.

The chairman of Enyimba International of Aba also reacted to the issue of Manchester City player, Kelechi Iheanacho warning that the character he exhibited when he was substituted could not be described as indiscipline even as he insisted that any player could start a game from the bench because all the 21 players in camp satisfied the coach before he selected them.

According to him the coaches were right to keep Iheanacho on the bench, because despite the fact that he is one of the best rated players in the team, the fact that he has not been with the team for a long time was enough for him to be on the bench.

“Iheanacho is one of the best rated players in the team, but it is obvious that he has been out of the team for a long time. So it is not out of place for him to start from the bench if the coach decides so. He could study the game from the bench and come in to play the role of the joker. I know he has that capacity. Now that he has trained together with his colleagues for some time, I think he can still play the major role that he is noted for in the team. No particular player is indispensable in the team” Anyansi insisted.

Nigeria looks for buyers as China ignores crude

Nigeria has a lot to do to woo buyers following the decision of China to ignore crude from Nigeria. This is happening at a time when the country has become the biggest casualty of the rising United States shale oil production.

China is the second largest consumer of crude oil, and when it does not figure at all as one of your regular buyers, you know you have a problem. And Nigerian crude is suffering because of this. China likes crude oil that is heavy and sweet, as it fits the appetite of its refineries that produce a lot of fuel oil to keep its industrial and manufacturing economy running, according to a data from the US Energy Information Administration, EIA.

The EIA noted that China also has a lot of complex and sophisticated refineries that can still produce middle distillates by distilling heavy crude oil, making the refiners much better margins.

Consequently, China ignores Nigerian crude for now, as their demand for light sweet crude oil is very sparse. It is high time Nigeria found a way to attract its crude oil to China, it noted.

Crude exports

In 2014, about 45 percent of Nigerian crude exports went to Europe, according to the EIA data. But the issue for Nigeria is that it is so dependent on a region where crude demand is stagnant as a lot of economies are still stumbling and it needs to find demand in countries that are growing, particularly in Asia.

Nigeria’s condition is made worse by the fact that it has become the biggest casualty of rising United States shale oil production

Until about seven years ago, the US, which remains the largest oil consumer in the world, used to buy more than 1 million barrels per day of light sweet Nigerian crude oil, which was almost 50 percent of Nigerian oil exports at the time. In 2014, only three percent of Nigerian exports went to the US, according to the same data published by the US EIA.

Nigeria lost its biggest buyer, and the reason has been attributed to the dramatic rise in US shale oil production.

US shale oil is said to be extremely similar in quality to light sweet Nigerian crude oil, and as more and more shale basins were discovered in its own backyard, the US did not need any more oil from Nigeria.

Last year, there were six weeks in a row starting from early July during which the US did not import a single barrel of crude oil. This was the first time that the US had not imported any Nigerian crude oil for such a length of a time, since US EIA started compiling this data almost four decades ago.

The shale revolution has had a profound impact on the makeup of the US import market, which has, by extension, greatly altered the direction of crude flows both within Europe and to Asia. And Nigeria has been the biggest casualty of this, it noted.

However, India has the largest buyer of Nigerian crude, which has been one of the positives for the West African country in the last few years. But demand from India for Nigerian crudes is slightly on the wane as its demand for Latin American crudes is growing sharply.

India is also the largest buyer of Venezuelan crudes, and with refineries getting more and more complex in the sub-continent, their demand for light sweet crudes is expected to tail off.

The world’s largest refinery complex situated in Jamnagar in the western state of Gujarat in India, operated by Reliance, runs primarily on heavy crudes, dominated largely by crudes from the Middle East and Latin America.

Military moves command centre to Borno

The military authorities have, in compliance with President Muhammadu Buhari’s May 29 directive, started moving   their command centre   to Maiduguri, Borno State, to combat the activities of Islamist militant group, Boko Haram.

A statement by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Sani Usman, on Monday, stated that the advance team had already commenced work in earnest.

The team, which comprises officers and men drawn from the Office of the Chief of Army Staff, all the relevant Army Headquarters Departments and other combat support personnel, is led by a two-star General.

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Buhari had during his inaugural address ordered the command centre be moved to Borno State to give bite to the fight against insurgency.

The President had said, “The most immediate is Boko Haram insurgency. Progress has been made in recent weeks by our security forces but victory cannot be achieved by basing the Command and Control Centre in Abuja.

“The command centre will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain there until Boko Haram is completely subdued.’’

Usman explained in the statement   that the centre was an “elaboration” of an existing Army headquarters command and control arrangement.

The statement reads, “In compliance with the presidential pronouncement and the Chief of Army Staff’s directive, a reconnaissance and advance team for the establishment of Military Command and Control Centre for Operation Zaman Lafiya for the fight against terrorism and insurgency has moved to Maiduguri, Borno State.

“The team, which is led by a two-star General, has already commenced work in earnest and it is comprised of elements of the Office of the CAS, all the relevant Army headquarters departments and other combat support components. The centre will serve as a forward command base for the CAS and other service chiefs.”

The military stated   that the centre would not create another layer of command structure, but would add impetus and renewed vigour to Operation Zaman Lafiya, which is “aimed at bringing terrorism and insurgency to an end.”

It added that an alternate command centre was also being established in Yola, Adamawa State.

Meanwhile, Buhari has sought greater support and cooperation from France and other friendly nations for his administration’s ongoing efforts to overcome the Boko Haram challenge and restore normalcy to the North-East.

Specifically, Buhari said on Monday that Nigeria would appreciate more intelligence on the sect’s link with the Islamic States of Iraq and Syria.

He made the request at a meeting he had with President Francois Hollande of France after his participation in Monday’s G-7 Outreach Programme, in Elmau, Germany.

Buhari, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said   his administration would also appreciate more intelligence on the sect’s movements, training and sources of   arms and ammunition.

He said the intelligence was necessary to facilitate the perfection of fresh tactics and strategies being evolved to overcome terrorism and insurgency in the country and   the West African   sub-region.

The President reaffirmed his government’s   commitment to ending Boko Haram insurgency in the shortest possible time.

He said his administration was already taking some concrete actions to build a more efficient and effective coalition of Nigeria and neighbouring countries against Boko Haram.

Buhari also reiterated at the talks with his French counterpart that there was absolutely no link between religion and the atrocities of Boko Haram.

“There is clearly no religious basis for the actions of the group. Their atrocities show that members of the group either do not know God at all or they don’t believe in him,” he   said.

Hollande was said to have commended Buhari’s   efforts to galvanise Nigeria’s armed forces, security 

agencies and neighouring countries for more decisive actions against Boko Haram.

The French leader assured Buhari that France would give Nigeria and its coalition partners greater support against terrorism and insecurity.

He also called for greater bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and France in other areas including trade, economic and cultural relations.

Buhari also received similar pledges of enhanced support from Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada and Chancellor Angela Merkel who he also conferred with before departing from the venue of the G-7 2015 Summit.

The President is due back in Abuja early on Tuesday(today).

Ronaldo’s mother caught with €45,000 at airport

Dolores Aveiro, the mother of Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, was stopped at Madrid’s Barajas Airport last month and caught carrying an illegally large amount of cash as she prepared to fly out of the country, the newspaper El Mundo reported.

According to The Telegraph, 60-year-old Aveiro, who spends long periods of time with her multimillionaire footballer son in his luxury mansion outside Madrid, was held by border police at Barajas after it was found that she had €55,000 (£40,000) in her hand luggage. Rules against money laundering state that the maximum travellers are permitted to take out of Spain without declaring the transfer is €10,000.

Aveiro had not filled out a declaration form and, according to the Spanish daily, was held by civil guard agents at the airport for a few minutes while the excess amount of cash was confiscated. She was then allowed to fly to Portugal with €10,000 in her handbag.

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Aveiro will now be fined at least €600 for the attempt to illegally export cash. By paying the fine, she will be able to collect the confiscated €45,000.

The celebrity pages in Spanish newspapers have in the past week been showing photographs of Ronaldo relaxing on board a yacht owned by British retail tycoon Sir Philip Green. Having recently separated from the Russian model Irina Shayk, Ronaldo has chosen to start his summer holidays in the company of friends such as Miguel Paixao, an old comrade from Sporting Lisbon’s junior ranks.

According to Portuguese newspaper Correio de Manhã, Ronaldo and Shayk’s relationship was damaged beyond repair last Christmas when they rowed over the player’s mother.

The couple were holidaying in Dubai, but the footballer wanted to travel to his home island of Madeira to surprise Aveiro on her 60th birthday on 31 December.