Ex Arsenal & Man United Star Striker Robin Van Persie To Retire By The End Of Season

Former Arsenal, Manchester United and Netherlands forward Robin van Persie says he will retire from football at the end of the season.

The 35-year-old – who returned to Feyenoord, where he made his debut aged 17, in January – has scored 50 goals in 102 appearances for his country.

During his time in England, Van Persie won the FA Cup with Arsenal and a Premier League title at United.

“When I have to stop? That is probably at the end of this season,” he said.

“I will be 36 years old and will have been a professional for 18 years. From the age of five, I’ve only been involved in football.”

Van Persie, who had a spell in Turkey with Fenerbahce between leaving Manchester United and rejoining Feyenoord, told Dutch publication AD he had “lost the fun” before returning to his homeland.

“I also do not believe that my return to Feyenoord has only been successful if we win the title,” he added.

“How is it successful? This is actually it, if you look at the whole picture. I had lost the fun. That’s not how I wanted to end, without pleasure. The fun has returned at Feyenoord.

“I want to win as a football player and the cup win was nice, but that is not the measurement between whether it is successful or not.

“I wanted to give something back, share my experiences. I am trying to help my fellow players.

“I see it as broader than just winning a title or not. That is the goal, that is what the club also say, but whether or not we win a title is not decisive for me on whether my return is successful or not.”

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Snakes Invade Flooded Homes Of Villagers In Bayelsa As Residents Lament. Photos

While the people of Amassoma community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State are crying over massive flood which has ravaged most parts of their region, it has been gathered that the residents are also suffering from issue of snakes invading their homes.

According to a Facebook user, the snakes are now invading the residences of the villages most especially hiding in the ceiling in the flooded area.

It was gathered that many snakes have been killed in the community withing a short period.

Meanwhile, Bayelsa State Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Ebipate Apaingolo, has assured flood ravaged communities of government’s assistance.

He gave this assurance during an on-the-spot assessment of affected communities in Yenagoa, Ogbia and Southern Ijaw Local Government Areas of the state.

Source:

https://www.nationalhelm.co/2018/10/snakes-invade-flooded-homes-of-villagers-in-bayelsa.html

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Okowa appoints two new commissioners

By Festus Ahon
ASABA—DELTA State governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has nominated Mr. Julius Takeme and Mr. Freeman Fregene for appointment as commissioners and members of the state Executive Council.

•Okowa

The names of the nominees were contained in a letter sent to the state House of Assembly which was read at plenary by the Speaker, Mr. Sheriff Oborevwori.

The governor said the nomination was in exercise of the powers conferred on him by Section 192 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended.

The governor, also in a letter to the House, nominated Mr. Mofe Pirah, Olorogun Talib Tebite, and Mr. Ejaife Odebala as members of the Governing Board of the State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC.   Dr. Samuel  Ossai was also nominated as Executive Director in the board.

The governor said the nominations were in exercise of the powers conferred on him by Section 7 (1A) of the DESOPADEC Amendment Law of 2018.

Delta is God’ s divine mandate for PDP — Osawota

The governor noted that the four nominees were to fill the vacancies created by the resignation of Mr. Jonathan Amitaye, Chief Amos Itihwe, and Chief Thomas Ereyitomi as members of the Board, as well as the resignation of  Mr. Ochor Ochor as Executive Director, Social Services.

The governor, also in a letter to the House, nominated Mr. Kelly Oghenekevwe as a member of the Board of the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue in exercise of the powers conferred on him by the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue Consolidation Law of 2009 as amended..

The Governor said the nomination was in exercise of the powers conferred on him by the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue Consolidation Law of 2009 as amended.

Majority Leader of the House, Mr. Tim Owhefere moved the motions for the House to receive all the letters for further consideration and was adopted after due secondment.

Source:

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/10/okowa-appoints-two-new-commissioners/

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Nigeria Beat Libya 3-2 [AFCON Results]

Nigeria survived a late scare to beat Libya 3-2 in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group E match on Tuesday in Sfax, Tunisia.

The Super Eagles got off to the best possible start as they took an early goal through their in-form marksman Odion Ighalo 13 minutes into the game.

Ahmed Musa doubled Nigeria’s lead following an impressive counter-attack in the 17th minute.

However, the hosts managed to pull one back through Mohamed Zubya before Ahmad Benali equalised for the Libyans in the 74th minute.

Ighalo bagged a second of the night after controlling the ball brilliantly and firing past Libyan goalkeeper Ahmed Azzaga to make it 3-2.

The victory took the Eagles to the top of the group standings with nine points.

See full results of the AFCON qualifying matches below:

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Group A

At Vontovorona, Madagascar

Madagascar 1 (Rakotoharimalala 41) Equatorial Guinea 0

At Khartoum

Sudan 0 Senegal 1 (Sarr 86)

Standings (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points)

Senegal       4 3 1 0 9 2 10 – qualified

Madagascar    4 3 1 0 7 3 10 – qualified

E. Guinea     4 1 0 3 1 5  3

Sudan         4 0 0 4 1 8  0

Fixtures

Nov 12/20: E. Guinea v Senegal, Madagascar v Sudan

Group B

At Mitsamiouli, Comoros

Comoros 2 (Nabouhane 8, 90+2) Morocco 2 (Boutaib 53, Amrabat 62)

At Blantyre, Malawi

Malawi 0 Cameroon 0

Standings

Cameroon      4 2 2 0 3 1 8 – qualified as hosts

Morocco       4 2 1 1 6 3 7

Malawi        4 1 1 2 1 4 4

Comoros       4 0 2 2 3 5 2

Note: Cameroon entered for competitive match practice

Fixtures

Nov 12/20: Comoros v Malawi, Morocco v Cameroon

Group C

At Bujumbura

Burundi 1 (Abdul Razak 18) Mali 1 (Fofana 72)

At Juba

South Sudan 0 Gabon 1 (Poko 48)

Standings

Mali          4 2 2 0 6  2 8

Gabon         4 2 1 1 6  3 7

Burundi       4 1 3 0 5  2 6

S. Sudan      4 0 0 4 0 10 0

Fixtures

Nov 12/20: Gabon v Mali, S. Sudan v Burundi

Group D

At Cotonou

Benin 1 (D’Almeida 16) Algeria 0

At Bakau, Gambia

Gambia 0 Togo 1 (F. Ayite 90)

Standings

Algeria       4 2 1 1 4 2 7

Benin         4 2 1 1 2 2 7

Togo          4 1 2 1 2 2 5

Gambia        4 0 2 2 2 4 2

Fixtures

Nov 12/20: Gambia v Benin, Togo v Algeria

Group E

At Victoria

Seychelles 0 South Africa 0

At Sfax, Tunisia

Libya 2 (Zubya 35, Ben Ali 74) Nigeria 3 (Ighalo 14, 81, Musa 17)

Note: fixture moved from Libya for security reasons

Standings

Nigeria       4 3 0 1 10  4 9

S. Africa     4 2 2 0  8  0 8

Libya         4 1 1 2  7  8 4

Seychelles    4 0 1 3  1 14 1

Fixtures

Nov 12/20: S. Africa v Nigeria, Seychelles v Libya

Group F

No fixtures

Standings

Kenya         4 2 1 1 5 2 7

Ethiopia      4 1 1 2 1 8 4

Ghana         2 1 0 1 5 1 3

S. Leone      2 1 0 1 2 2 3

Fixtures

Nov 12/20: Ethiopia v Ghana, Kenya v S. Leone (pending lifting of FIFA ban on S. Leone)

Group G

At Harare

Zimbabwe 1 (Billiat 1) Democratic Republic of Congo 1 (Hadebe 24-og)

At Paynesville, Liberia

Liberia 2 (Teah 7, Jebor 13) Congo Brazzaville 1 (Ibara 15)

Standings

Zimbabwe      4 2 2 0 7 3 8

DR Congo      4 1 2 1 6 5 5

Congo         4 1 1 2 6 7 4

Liberia       4 1 1 2 4 8 4

Fixtures

Nov 12/20: Congo v DR Congo, Liberia v Zimbabwe

Group H

At Kigali

Rwanda 1 (Tuyisenge 78) Guinea 1 (Martinez 64)

At Bangui

Central African Republic 0 Ivory Coast 0

Standings

Guinea        4 3 1 0 7 3 10

I. Coast      4 2 1 1 8 4  7

C.A.R.        4 1 1 2 2 6  4

Rwanda        4 0 1 3 3 7  1

Fixtures

Nov 12/20: Guinea v I. Coast, Rwanda v C.A.R.

Group I

At Nouakchott

Mauritania 1 (Ba 18) Angola 0

At Francistown, Botswana

Botswana 0 Burkina Faso 0

Standings

Mauritania    4 3 0 1 5 4 9

B. Faso       4 2 1 1 6 3 7

Angola        4 2 0 2 6 5 6

Botswana      4 0 1 3 0 5 1

Fixtures

Nov 12/20: Angola v B. Faso, Mauritania v Botswana

Group J

At Manzini, eSwatini (formerly Swaziland)

eSwatini 0 Egypt 2 (Hegazy 19, M. Mohsen 53)

At Niamey

Niger 1 (Oumarou 36) Tunisia 2 (Chaouat 28, 32)

Standings

Tunisia       4 4 0 0  6 1 12 – qualified

Egypt         4 3 0 1 12 2  9 – qualified

eSwatini      4 0 1 3  1 8  1

Niger         4 0 1 3  1 9  1

Fixtures

Nov 12/20: Egypt v Tunisia, eSwatini v Niger

Group K

At Windhoek

Namibia 1 (Shalulile 73) Mozambique 0

Standings

G. Bissau     4 2 1 1 6 5 7

Namibia       4 2 1 1 4 3 7

Mozambique    4 1 1 2 4 5 4

Zambia        4 1 1 2 4 5 4

Fixtures

Nov 12/20: Mozambique v Zambia, Namibia v G. Bissau

Group L

At Dar es Salaam

Tanzania 2 (Msuva 29, Samatta 58) Cape Verde 0

At Maseru

Lesotho 0 Uganda 2 (Miya 6, 35)

Standings

Uganda        4 3 1 0 6 0 10

Tanzania      4 1 2 1 3 4  5

C. Verde      4 1 1 2 4 4  4

Lesotho       4 0 2 2 2 7  2

Fixtures

Nov 12/20: Lesotho v Tanzania, Uganda v C. Verde

Note: group winners and runners-up qualify except for Group B, where 2019 Cup of Nations hosts Cameroon and the highest placed of the other three teams go to the finals

Source:

https://www.channelstv.com/2018/10/16/nigeria-beat-libya-3-2-afcon-results/

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BREAKING NEWS!! Arsene Wenger To Return To Arsenal Football Club

Arsene Wenger will return to the dugout this weekend as part of a charity match put on by his former Arsenal captain, Per Mertesacker.

Wenger will take charge of the World XI, taking on “Mertesacker’s Hannover 96 friends” at the HDI-Arena.

The game will be the World Cup winner’s farewell game, after his retirement at the end of last season.

UK Mirror reports that players like Theo Walcott, Petr Cech and Michael Ballack are all going to be involved, while Wenger’s World XI front three features Germany World Cup legend Miroslav Klose, Claudio Pizarro and Max Kruse.

Mertesacker, 34, has taken up a role as Arsenal’s academy director after calling time on his 15-year professional career in May.

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Salah scores direct from corner, strains muscle in Egypt romp

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah scored direct from a corner but was later injured as Egypt romped to a 4-1 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying win over eSwatini on Friday.

Egypt’s forward Mohamed Salah 

The striker went down holding his leg as the Group J match drew to a close in Cairo, resumed after receiving treatment, and was almost immediately withdrawn.

Speaking after the match, Egypt assistant coach Hany Ramzy told BeIN Sports: “The initial diagnosis, according to the team doctor, is a strong muscle strain. It is not a tear, I think it is not serious.”

A spokesman for the team’s medical department told the www.Kooora.com website: “He (Salah) had a light strain, we will do a scan as soon as possible.

“I doubt he can play next Tuesday. We will be sure after the scan,” he added, referring to the return match against eSwatini in Manzini.

After scoring 44 goals in all competitions during his first season at Anfield, the striker has netted only three this term, with just one since August.

Salah netted twice and missed two penalties when record seven-time African champions Egypt hammered Niger 6-0 last month in another qualifier.

With eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) ranked even lower than Niger, there were expectations that Salah could get back on the goal trail at the Al Salam Stadium in the Egyptian capital.

He blasted a shot wide with Egypt three goals ahead before curling a corner into the net on the stroke of half-time.

Salah fluffed a chance to net again by missing from inside the box during the second half after combining with Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny.

Captain Ahmed Elmohamady, Amr Warda and Mahmoud Hassan also scored for Egypt and Sibonginkosi Gamedze snatched a late eSwatini consolation goal.

– Home teams dominated –
Tunisia, who host Niger Saturday, and Egypt have six points each in a mini-league they seem certain to qualify from for the 2019 Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

Ivory Coast and Angola also scored four goals on a day when home teams dominated with seven of the first eight matches delivering maximum points to them.

Jonathan Kodjia, Manchester United defender Eric Bailly, Cheick Doukoure and Maxwel Cornet scored for the Ivorians as they crushed the Central African Republic 4-0 in Bouake.

In the other Group H match, Guinea defeated Rwanda 2-0 in Conakry through goals from Francois Kamano and Ibrahima Cisse to stay three points ahead of the Ivorians.

Angola ended the perfect two-victory Group I record of Mauritania by recovering from conceding a third-minute goal to triumph 4-1 in Luanda.

Captain Mateus da Costa turned the tide with goals after 12 and 16 minutes, levelling from a penalty before volleying his team into the lead.

Angola and Mauritania have six points and Burkina Faso can join them if they win at home to bottom team Botswana Saturday.

An Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting goal gave Cameroon a laboured 1-0 Group B win over Malawi in Yaounde, and Dutch coach Clarence Seedorf his first success as ‘Indomitable Lions’ coach.

Defending champions Cameroon are guaranteed a place among the 24 finalists next year as hosts, but opted to compete in the mini-league phase to gain competitive match practice.

They top the group with seven points, four more than Morocco, who should narrow the gap by defeating the Comoros in Casablanca Saturday.

In other matchday 3 qualifiers, Gabon beat South Sudan 3-0 in Libreville, Togo snatched a late 1-1 draw with the Gambia in Lome and Cape Verde outplayed Tanzania 3-0 in Praia.

AFP

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Nigerian Singer, Djinee Walks Again After Surviving Fatal Car Crash (Video)

Veteran singer, Djinee is on his feet again and can now walk with only one crutch after surviving a car crash a few months ago. The singer had been been trying to walk with the aid of two crutches but has now become able to walk using only one.

The music star took to his Twitter page on Thursday, October 11, 2018, where he shared a video of himself walking again with the aid of one of his crutches.

Djinee with his crutches

According to him in his tweet, there has been an immense improvement..

"Day 46 - Yay!!! So today I graduated from using two crutches to using just one. A big leap from about 6+ weeks ago when I was fighting for my life. One thing you learn in situations like this is to celebrate every step no matter how little and maybe mundane to a lot of people," he tweeted.

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Fayemi floors Ekiti PDP LG chairmen in court

A High Court in Ekiti State has turned down a request, seeking to stop the Governor-elect, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, from dissolving the 16 local government councils.

The state’s Association of Local Governments of Nigeria led by the Chairman of Ifelodun/Irepodun Local Government, Dapo Olagunju had filed the application through their lawyer, Obafemi Adewale, while Tajudeen Akingbolu and Adeoye Aribasoye appeared for Fayemi.

Fayemi had challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the application on the grounds that the matter was speculative.

While Fayemi was elected under the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, all the Local Government chairmen are members of the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP.

However, ruling, Justice Abiodun Adesodun described the application as “unmeritorious, preemptive and speculative,”

According to him, there was no compelling fact in the application to warrant the granting of the order.

Adesodun subsequently adjourned the substantive matter till October 22.

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Why Oyedepo’s Meeting With Atiku Was Not An Exclusive Endorsement

If you noticed in previous pictures regarding the meeting that took place at Obasanjo’s residence, Oyedepo actually avoided joining hands with Kukah, Gumi, Obasanjo and Atiku.

It is normal for Aspiring presidential aspirants to tour religious organizations and this should not automatically be construed as an exclusive endorsement.

While Christian clergy are vocal about the participation of Christians in office, there is also need to be pragmatic and realistic. The most credible candidate that can remove Buhari is an Atiku candidacy.

Oyedepo has also shown in recent weeks his support for christians vying for the Office of the President by meeting with Jang and Moghalu.

To Buharist

When all tricks couldn’t work the ignorant Buharist supporters referred to Oyedepo’s comment questioning why the North should always rule. But, unfortunately the Buharist are so ignorant that they fail to understand that by Nigeria’s geographical classification Oyedepo is a Northerner not a Southerner.

So what is wrong if a Northerener like Oyedepo or Enenche questions why their own region is always seeking for political dominance?

Also, noted is that the outfit Oyedepo was wearing is an attire he has been wearing for years now and is not because he wants to look appealing to Fulani Northerners.

Oyedepo Meeting With Moghalu
Oyedepo Meeting With Jang
(All these meetings occurred in the past two months

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