Breezy News

It's not yet joy for some Nigerians trapped in the world’s new war theatre, Ukraine. This is even as over 775 of them returned home on Friday. Reports indicate that no fewer than 150 Nigerian students are trapped in the war zone. In Sumy, a Ukrainian city bordering Russia, the students were reportedly denied access to Russia despite interventions by the Nigerian government. The conflict between Russia and Belarus, on one side, and Ukraine dates back to 2014 but it was only last year that a large scale military presence was built around the Ukrainian border. Russia launched a full scale invasion on 24th February with civilians and their facilities not spared by the bombardment. The Ukrainian city of Sumy has become a war zone in recent days, losing electricity and forcing most residents to stay in bunkers. Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama said he had been in discussion with the Russian government with a view to ensuring that the 150 Nigerians that had indi...

River United and Plateau United produced away wins to keep pace at the top of this season's Nigerian top flight football league. The results meant that both sides remain separated by just a point - Rivers United leading the pack with 35 points from 16 matches while Plateau United are second on the log having posted 34 points in the same number of fixtures. Former frontrunners Remo Stars lost on the road but stay third on account of superior goal advantage over defending champions Akwa United. Playing in Kaduna, the temporary home of Kano Pillars, Rivers United's lone goal that delivered maximum points came in the 70th minute. Nyima Nwagua, who knows Pillars well being a former player, took advantage of the home side's keeper's howler to bang in the goal. The victory marks consecutive clean sheets for the Pride of Rivers. Plateau United were more emphatic in their away victory beating Lobi Stars 2-0 in Makurdi. The Jos side have now gone eight games unbeaten. Izuchukwu C...

The Nigerian Navy has appointed Commodore Aliyu Gaya as the Maritime Guard Commander of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). According to a statement by NIMASA's Assistant Director, Public Relations, Mr Edward Osagie, Commodore Gaya takes over from Commodore Ezekiel Nyako Lamiri, who has been redeployed to the Nigerian Defence Academy. Commodore Gaya was the Director of ECOWAS Multinational Maritime Coordination Centre Zone E Cotonou,  Republic of Benin until his new posting. He has held other military and command postings in various Naval Commands within and outside the country. Gaya holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Master’s degree in Defence Management Command and Strategy. He equally earned a certificate in Maritime Security and Transnational Organised Crime from the Koffi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Centre Accra, Ghana The Maritime Guard Command is a product of the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU between NIMASA and ...

The Federal Executive Council, which met in Abuja on Wednesday, approved $8.5 million (N3.5 billion) to facilitate the immediate evacuation of 5,000 Nigerians from Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. Shortly after the meeting presided over by Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada told State House correspondents that the approval followed a joint memo presented by his ministry and that of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development at the council meeting. Together with the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouk at the media briefing, Dada said the evacuees included 940 from Romania, 150 from Slovakia and 350 from Poland, who have registered to leave. He threw light on he amount approved: 'The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs wrote a memo to the President seeking funding to enable us t...

Nigeria has joined 140 other countries to demand immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. At its meeting on Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution after more than two days of extraordinary debate during which the Ukrainian ambassador accused Russia of genocide. Along with Nigeria, the other 140 pro-Ukraine countries out of the Assembly's 193 member-states included the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Canada, which all condemned Russia. The resolution deplored the invasion of Ukraine 'in the strongest terms' and condemned President Vladimir Putin’s decision to put his nuclear forces on alert. Nigeria’s stand was a historic departure from its non-aligned movement in the politics between the West and Russia. Four countries - Eritrea, North Korea, Syria and Belarus - joined Russia to count the move, which signifies a powerful rebuke of Moscow’s invasion by a vast majority of the world’s nations. About...

Some members of Rotary Club of Ikeja-Alausa Central with the then District Governor, Rotarian Bola Oyebade and other top Rotarians during the club's Charter presentation  Rotary Club of Ikeja-Alausa Central is one year old!  Chartered by Rotary International on Sunday, 21st March 2021, the humanitarian club whose appellation is "The Seat of Power" will commemorate its anniversary on Friday, 25th March 2022. According to its Charter President, Rotarian Deji Shonuga, Friday is the weekly fellowship day of the club and it is also fitting that the anniversary celebration is taking place at the designated venue of its meetings, Lagos Airport Hotel, Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja. The programme will start by 6:00 pm for 6:30 pm, which is the same time of the club's Fellowship.  Dignitaries expected include the Governor of Rotary International District 9110, Rotarian Remi Bello, the immediate past District Governor, Rotarian Bola Oyebade, during whose tenure the club was charter...

The Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of YES INTERNATIONAL! magazine, Azuh Arinze will be commemorating his 50th birthday on Thursday, 24th March 2022 with the unveiling of two new books, A TASTE OF SUCCESS and CONVERSATIONS WITH SHOWBIZ STARS. The event is slated for the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos, and will be chaired by former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba. The event, scheduled to start by 11 am, is expected to attract other special guests including rights activist, Mr Richard Akinnola, who is the Books’ Reviewer; Oyo State Governorship aspirant, Mr Abisoye Fagade (Books’ Presenter); Orangun of Oke-Ila, Oba Adedokun Abolarin (Royal Father of the Day); advertising great, Mr Udeme Ufot; presidential spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina; superstar musician and actress, Lady Onyeka Onwenu; and former Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside. Also among the special guests are Peoples Democrat...

By Taiwo Obe Photo credit: Facebook His sport editorship on The Guardian was cut short by a brouhaha over pay cut. But, within that brief period, he reshaped sports journalism in Nigeria, and none has matched what he did, giving quality attention to every sport. His flagship column, S. O. THIS MORNING had a strapline, THE SPORTS COLUMNIST YOU CAN'T IGNORE. But, he was more than a columnist; he was a sports editor's editor. Sunny Ojeagbase, later Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase and until his death on 26 February in Atlanta Georgia, USA, at the age of 71, Emmanuel Sunny Ojeagbase, knew how to hook and keep his readers breathtakingly-engaged from the headline through the simple prose and the dazzling page design. From The Guardian , he went to create other works: Sports Souvenir (I remember contributing a story on the former Director-General of the National Sports Commission, Dr Isaac Akioye buying akara from one Mama at a Lagos bus stop without any airs or whatever); Complete Sports , Co...