New hurdles before the ‘Big Boss’

Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, was all smiles when he sealed a deal recently to manage the team for another two years. But he will have to surmount several hurdles, reportsIDRIS ADESINA

Stephen Keshi’s recent contract renewal to manage the Super Eagles sparked reactions from football-crazy fans across the country.

The former Nigeria captain first managed the squad from 2011 to 2014, winning the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and reaching the Round of 16 at last year’s World Cup in Brazil.

After the termination of his contract with the Eagles last match in Brazil, he had a second stint with the team, though on a temporary basis. His task was to help qualify the Eagles for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations but terrible displays by the Eagles, including losses at home to Congo and away to Sudan, ensured the team failed to defend their title in Equatorial Guinea.

...cont'd at The Punch...

PDP, APC lock horns over Kogi Assembly

In this piece, IDRIS ADESINA examines the unfolding intrigues trailing the inconclusive legislative elections in six state constituencies of Kogi

Despite the governorship election not holding in the north-central state of Kogi, the race over which party controls the majority of the 25 seats in the state House of Assembly has intensified between the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress. The battleground for the control of the majority in the House is located in the inconclusive legislative elections into five state constituencies of the parliament. It will be recalled that elections did not also hold in Dekina II state constituency.

Although the PDP presently occupies the majority of seats in the House, the gale of defections which hit the party in the state in 2014 has made it easy for other parties to stake a claim to legislative seats with the APC benefitting more as the largest opposition in the state.

Cont'd at The Punch

Business owners groan over Lokoja’s three-month blackout

Aisha Husseini’s dream of building a business out of ice blocks supply to retailers of sachet water is becoming a pipe dream by the day as the continuous blackout in Kogi State, particularly, the state capital, Lokoja, has gone on without attention from authorities.

The 25-year-old mother of three said the power situation in Lokoja was not that good in the past but now, it has gone bad to worse.

Aisha, who runs a business centre, instead of her dream iced block business, along Ibrahim Babangida way, Lokoja, said the price of the cost of running the business centre itself is high enough as the cost of fuelling her generators daily has not been helping matters.

...cont'd at The Punch...

New IAAF rule: Tough tasks await Okagbare, others

The recent performances of Nigerian athletes in meets have fallen below the new standards set by the International Association of Athletics Federations for the 2016 Olympics and is a source of concern for the country, writes Idris Adesina

The International Association of Athletics Federations during the week released the standards for qualification for the athletics events of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.

They set the standard for the 100m at 10.16secs for men and 11.32 for women, 200m (20.50 and 23.20 for men and women), 45.40 and 52.00 for the men and women 400m while the standard for the 100m/110m hurdles was set at 13.00 and 13.47 for the men and women participants.

...cont'd here...