Thierry Henry is still waiting for his first win since taking charge at Monaco after his team fell to a seventh league defeat of the season in a 1-0 loss at Reims.

A cool finish on 24 minutes from Mathieu Cafaro gave Reims all three points and left Henry without a victory in four matches following his appointment as Monaco coach.

Both sides finished with 10 men as Alaixys Romao was shown a straight red card for a high challenge on Youssef Ait Bennasser, before Monaco saw Guinea-Bissau international Pele sent off for two bookings.

It wasnt about the tactics tonight. The desire wasnt there, said Henry. Reims won the battles on the pitch and when you dont win them, you cant win whatever the level or league.

Monaco, who won the French title in 2017, remain second from bottom after an alarming run that has yielded just one win in all competitions this season.

They will drop to the foot of the table if Guingamp, unbeaten in their past five league outings, avoid defeat at Nantes on Sunday.

Its more worrying than the defeat at Strasbourg, added Henry, referring to the 2-1 loss he suffered in his first game at the helm last month.

Little of the play, not many chances and lots of duels lost. We were 11 against 10 but then we punish ourselves with the red card. Were not managing these types of things well at the moment.

Henry will now briefly switch his focus to Monacos flagging Champions League campaign, with one final chance to revive their hopes of reaching the knockout phase when they host Club Brugge on Tuesday.

Source: NAN

Santiago Solari tasted victory in his first La Liga match in charge of Real Madrid but he had 18-year-old Vinicius Junior to thank for their 2-0 win over Real Valladolid on Saturday.

Solari threw Vinicius on with the score goalless and tension building at the Santiago Bernabeu but the striker delivered, before Sergio Ramos late penalty gave the scoreline a deceptively comfortable look.

Madrids day might have been even better had Rayo Vallecano seen out the 2-1 lead they enjoyed over Barcelona with four minutes left at Vallecas.

Instead, Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez scored for Barca in the 87th and 89th minutes to pull off a remarkable comeback, in the absence of Lionel Messi.

It means Ernesto Valverdes side sit four points clear at the top of La Liga, seven ahead of Real and now four up on Atletico Madrid, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Leganes.

For Real and Solari, victory was all-important. Their opener in the 83rd minute was an own-goal, deflected off Kiko Olivas, but prompted by Vinicius weaving run and shot, the kind of exuberance Madrids toothless attack has been so bereft of in recent weeks.

Vinicius celebrated by running over to the bench and hugging Solari. He knows the youngster better than anyone at the club, having managed him with Castilla this season.

Previous coach Julen Lopetegui had, understandably, decided Madrids B team was the best place for Vinicius to settle but with every chance missed, the youngsters reputation has swelled.

Lopetegui had repeatedly bemoaned a lack of luck too during his bad run and even that appeared to turn in Solaris favour. Vinicius shot cannoned in off Olivas between Valladolid twice hitting the crossbar and Karim Benzema winning a dubious late penalty.

When the ball wont go in you have to keep calm, Ramos said. You have to ignore the uncertainty that is created. Finally, we have a positive result for our confidence.

There were whistles at half-time from the home crowd, and during the second half as well, but cheers, perhaps of relief, at the end.

Gareth Bale was not on the pitch to hear them after he had been replaced in the 71st minute with the team still searching for a goal.

Madrid, however, head into Wednesdays Champions League game against Viktoria Plzen with their first win in six league games, as well as their own confidence boosted and their coachs momentum enhanced.

This is an experienced group, not a bunch of kids, Solari said. They have found themselves too.

Source: NAN

American TV host, Ellen DeGeneres has donated $100,000 to Emeka Nnaka, a paralysed Nigerian-American footballer.

Nnaka, 30, born of Nigerian descent, but raised in Macon, Georgia had a footballer accident nine years ago at 21 and his friends had been trying to raise the amount with a GoFundMe account.

The TV host said during her show that she wanted to surprise him for his good deeds and dedication towards helping others, in which over 50 persons had written letters to her describing how incredible he was.

Nnaka, since his accident nine years ago had been engaged in helping others, especially at-risk youth in his community.

The footballer had an accident, while playing for a semi-pro football team and tackled an opponent during a game in Arkansas.

He was said to have undergone a nine-hour neck surgery and spent 10 days in intensive care before returning to Tulsa, partially paralyzed

Meanwhile, his apartment building, along with his belongings was said to have been engulfed by fire on Sept 19 and the van that allows him to drive himself was totaled and needed to be replaced.

The footballer is said to be an asset to the Tulsa community by being an advocate for the physically challenged and countless other community projects.

Nnaka, who is a board member for Tulsa Transit has been heavily involved in raising money for the Tulsa United Way, as part of Tulsa Beyond Initiative to redesign and reimagine Tulsa high schools.

He serves as a councilor for displaced and troubled youth and Emeka inspires, encourages, and educates students and fellow citizens as a motivational speaker.

Emeka was injured in an Oklahoma Thunder football game 9 years ago and uses his experience to motivate people to not let their circumstances define them but use them to propel them to do and be better.

Source: NAN

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria has ordered the organised labour, comprising the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress not to embark on its indefinite strike scheduled to commence on November 6.

Justice Sanusi Kado, on Friday, gave the order in a ruling on an ex parte application moved on behalf of the Federal Government by the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Dayo Apata.

Agreeing with Apata, Justice Kado ruled that if the strike is allowed it would lead to huge economic loss to both public and private institutions and could jeopardise the health of many Nigerians who would not be able to access health facilities during the period.

The organised labour had threatened to commence an indefinite strike action to press for the increase in the national minimum wage from the current N18,000.

The last meeting of the tripartite negotiation committee on the minimum wage had ended in deadlock after the Federal Government insisted that it could only afford to pay N25,000, while the governors under the aegis of the Nigerian Governors Forum had held on to N22,500 and the labour N30,000.

Apart from the NLC and the TUC, the NGF is also joined as a defendant in the suit.

Justice Kado adjourned the matter till November 8 for the hearing of the motion on notice seeking the interlocutory injunction to stop the strike.

The judge ordered that the court order and other papers be filed on all the defendants.

Coined from Punch

Source: NAN

Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has picked a woman, Hajiya Hadiza Balarabe as running mate for the 2019 elections.

El-Rufai announced his choice on his Twitter handle today.

His present deputy, Architect Barnabas Bala Bantex has opted to contest the Kaduna South senatorial seat.

Hadiza Balarabe, a medical doctor from Sanga council in Kaduna south, is the executive secretary of Kaduna Primary Health Care Development Agency.

She will be the first elected female Deputy Governor in Kaduna State, El-Rufai tweeted.

According to Daily Trust, Hadiza is a Numana by tribe and hails from Gwantu was attending a conference in Kenya when she was summoned home by El-Rufai.

If elected, She will be the second female deputy governor of the state after Mrs Pamela Sadauki.

Shes a trained medical consultant on public health and primary health care.

She obtained her MBBS from the University of Maiduguri in 1988. She had worked as a public health consultant, public health physician, Federal Capital Territory Primary Health Care Board, and director public health, Federal Capital Territory Administration.

Source: NAN

Oil prices fell on Friday as surging output by the worlds three largest producers, United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia, outweighed supply concerns from the start of U.S. sanctions next week against Irans petroleum exports.

Front-month Brent crude futures were at $72.60 per barrel at 0441 GMT on Friday, down 29 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their last close.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 24 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $63.45 a barrel.

Brent has fallen by over 12 percent since the beginning of October, while WTI has lost more than 13 percent in value.

More troubling is the shift in structure towards contango, U.S. investment bank Jefferies said on Friday.

Contango implies oversupply as it means prices for future delivery are higher than for immediate dispatch.

This makes it attractive for traders to store oil for later sale, although Jefferies said spreads are still insufficient to encourage physical storage.

Prices for April 2019 delivery are around 20 cents above January.

Downward pressure on oil is also visible in the physical market, where Saudi Arabia is expected to cut December crude prices amid higher supply and a glut in refined products that has eroded refinery profits.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) boosted oil production in October to 33.31 million barrels per day (bpd), a Reuters survey found this week, up 390,000 bpd from September and the highest by OPEC since December 2016.

In the United States, crude production has established itself well over 11 million bpd, and the U.S. is now running neck and neck with Russia for the title of top producer.

Russian production has risen to record high of 11.41 million bpd in October, up from 11.36 million bpd in September.

With Saudi Arabia pumping 10.65 million bpd in October, combined output from the top-three oil producers is at a record 33.41 million bpd, meaning that Russia, the United States and Saudi Arabia meet more than a third of the worlds almost 100 million bpd of consumption.

This surge has driven the market into oversupply, Jefferies said.

Despite surging output, concerns lingered ahead of the start of U.S. sanctions against Irans petroleum exports from next week.

Irans biggest oil customers, all in Asia, are seeking sanction waivers.

Potential waivers appear targeted at India and South Korea, and they require some reductions over current import volumes while still allowing oil to flow, said Clayton Allen of Height Securities.

We think Trump will agree to China importing some volumes, similar to the treatment that India and South Korea receive, he said.

Japan is seeking a similar deal.

Despite these efforts, analysts said any potential Iranian oil sanction waivers would likely only be temporary.

The U.S. may use waivers to slow-walk implementation, but these will not apply indefinitely, he added.

Goldman Sachs said it expects Irans crude oil exports to fall to 1.15 million bpd by the end of the year, down from around 2.5 million bpd in mid-2018.

We still expect that the global oil market will be in deficit in 4Q18, the U.S. bank said.

By the end of 2019, however, Goldman expects Brent to fall to $65 a barrel, largely due to the unleashing of Permian (U.S. shale) supply growth once new pipelines come online.

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari has got an attestation certificate and confirmation of school certificate result from the West African Examination Council, Special Adviser Mr. Femi Adesina disclosed today.

Adesina, who is special adviser on media and publicity disclosed this on Twitter Friday afternoon and taunted the Presidents critics, who have been wailing over his certificate.

WAEC presents attestation certificate and confirmation of school cert result to President Buhari. What will the naysayers say next?

Femi Adesina (@FemAdesina)

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Registrar of the Council, Dr Iyi Uwadiae, made the presentation at the presidents mini conference hall at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Friday.

Uwadiae,who was accompanied by senior staff of the council, performed the ceremony during a courtesy visit to the State House.

The presentation was witnessed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu and other presidential aides.

Like in 2014, there was a renewed controversy over the school certificate of President Buhari in recent weeks, following the publication of his credentials for the February 2019 election.

According to INEC, the president said his school certificate result and other academic credentials were with the Nigerian military, which he served from 1961-1985, retiring as head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces

The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Oct. 26 challenged Buhari to show proof of his integrity by presenting his academic credentials if he has any, to the INEC.

One critic even went to court to challenge him to produce the certificate, a move that was needless, considering that the president since 1961 after he finished his secondary education, had attained further education, leading to a Masters Degree in Strategic Studies at US War College.

Buhari was born on 17 December 1942 in Daura and began attending Central Primary School in the town at the age of six.

He spent three years in the primary school, from where he went to to Katsina Middle School. Following the abolition of the middle school system, he became one of the first students to be admitted to Kankia Primary School in 1954; he graduated in 1955.

In 1956 he proceeded to the Katsina Provincial Secondary School. There he became a School Monitor in Class II; a school prefect; a House Captain; and ultimately Head Boy of the school.

He was also at different times, a long distance runner (800 metres); a debater for his house; a player in the schools hockey team, and the head of his unit in the schools military cadet. He graduated in 1961 and joined the army immediately. In those days, the military recruited from the secondary schools and he and his peers were so attracted to the army.

In the army, the president also had further education. He attended the Nigerian Military Training College (NMTC) in 1962.

From 1962 to 1963, Buhari underwent officer cadet training at Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot in England.

In January 1963, at age 20, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and appointed Platoon Commander of the Second Infantry Battalion in Abeokuta, Nigeria.

From November 1963 to January 1964, Buhari attended the Platoon Commanders Course at the Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna.

In 1964, he attended the Mechanical Transport Officers Course at the Army Mechanical Transport School in Borden, United Kingdom.

He also attended the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, India, in 1973 and capped it with a masters degree at the US Army War College.

This was between 1979 to 1980, when he was a colonel. At the war college, he gained a Masters Degree in Strategic Studies.

Source: NAN

By Ifeanyi Nwoko

A staff of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Lagos has Committed suicide. The staff whose name is withheld, jumped off the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos into the lagoon.

However, contrary to reports in various media saying that the victim was a journalist, an FRCN staff confirmed to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity that the late victim was a driver.

Our correspondent reports that the deceased was a driver who recently retired but was re-absorbed on a contract basis pending when he gets his retirement benefits.

He was said to be attached to the Director of IT, Lagos operations of the FRCN.

He late driver had pretended that he wanted to ease himself, but after alighting from the commercial bus which he was riding in along with some of his colleagues, he immediately dived into the lagoon.

Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command responded immediately to the incident, but could not rescue the reporter.

After a joint effort by Marine Police and local divers, his corpse was eventually recovered and has been taken to the Ebute Ero Police division.

Kehinde Adebayo, spokesman LASEMA, confirmed that efforts were being made to transfer the deceaseds corpse to the mortuary.

Source: NAN

By Kate Obande-Okewu

Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, on Friday inaugurated a fact-finding committee on National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and advised it to eschew bias in its assignment.

This is coming few days after

At the ceremony in Abuja, Mustapha told members of the Independent Fact-Finding Panel that NHIS had been involved in various crises, which had led to the suspension of its Executive Secretary, Prof. Usman Yusuf.

He said that the crises had also called for the scrapping of the Health Management Organisations (HMO) operating in the scheme.

President Muhammadu Buhari is passionate about the health of the citizens; so, as part of the crises, it had become necessary to set up a panel that will investigate the infractions in the scheme.

The panel has two weeks to complete the assignment and all hands must be on deck to ensure that you deliver to the satisfaction of the president, Mustapha said.

In her remarks, Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Iya, assured the panel of her support and guidance in carrying out its assignment.

Oyo-Ita, who was represented by the Director, IPPIS, OHCSF, Mrs Anne Attah, said that all civil servants were enrolled on the NHIS and that its success was important for the progress of the civil service.

She expressed confidence in the Chairman of the panel, Dr Hassan Bukar, stating that as a former permanent secretary, he knew the rules and regulations of the civil service.

On his part, Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, commended the SGF for his prompt intervention in the NHIS issue.

Adewole promised to help the panel in speeding up the discharge of the assignment to enable it to deliver on time, adding that the problem of NHIS was deeply rooted.

I promise to help speed up the process of the panel and once the report is turned in, it will be implemented immediately, he said.

Accepting the responsibility, Chairman of the panel, Bukar, said that it was a rare privilege to be bestowed with such confidence and responsibility by the government.

He noted that the task was onerous, but assured that the panel would ensure that it delivered on time.

Bukar added that the panel would work assiduously to restore NHIS to its glory.

The panel will investigate alleged infractions listed by the NHIS Governing Council in its letter of Oct. 18, 2018 and determine the extent of culpability or otherwise of the Executive Secretary.

It is mandated to make appropriate recommendations, including on issues that led to the unhealthy relationship between the board and the chief executive officer of the scheme.

It will also investigate and make recommendations on the extent of involvement of staff unions within the organisation to the impasse between the board and executive secretary.

Mrs Jummai Idakwo, OSGF, is Secretary of the panel, which has Dr Emmanuel Meribole , Director, Federal Ministry of Health and Mr Adewale Owolo , Director, Audit, Office of the Auditor General of the Federation (OAGF), as members.

Other are Mr Shamsuddeen Bello, Deputy Director, Expenditure, OSGF; Mr Ishaq Yahaya , Director, Certification and Compliance, Bureau of Public Procurement and Dr Ekanem Udoh, Director, Science, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.

Source: NAN

Police said they have bust a gang which specialises in baby selling for as much as N700,000 each to willing buyers, even across the border in Benin Republic.

Chief Superintendent of police, Aremu Adeniran, who is the deputy force public relations officer unveiled the three-person gang in Abuja today.

The gangs kingpin is a 52 year-old woman, Chief Lilian Nma Achumba, who runs a charity home in Aba, Abia state.

A Police investigating team was stunned when it found 35 pregnant girls and six children and a day old baby at the Nma Charity and Rehabilitation Centre,Umunkpeyi, Isiala Ngwa South Local Government in Abia.

The team was led there by two of the suspects, initially arrested at the Idi-Iroko border in Ogun state on 20 July. They were caught with two newly-born babies, meant for smuggling for sale in Benin Republic.

Upon interrogation, the two suspects, 44 year old Emmanuel Chigozie Elesuwa and 33 year-old Chioma David, a woman confessed they bought the babies at N350,000 each at Nma Charity home and they were taking them to Benin to sell at N700,000 each.

According to Adeniran, investigation into the case by the Anti-Human Trafficking and Women/Children Protection Unit of the Force revealed that the suspects arrested are notorious criminals that deal in buying and selling of babies and children within and outside Nigeria.

Consequently, the suspects, Emmanuel Chigozie Elesuwa and Chioma David, admitted and confessed to the Police investigation team that they are members of a criminal gang that specialize in buying and selling of new born babies and children within and outside Nigeria and have been in operation for over ten years.

During interrogation and further investigation into the roles played by Chief Lilian Nma Achumba , the owner of Nma Charity Home in Aba, Abia State indicted in the confession of the two suspects, it was discovered that the purpose of establishing the Orphanage Home is to harvest babies for sale and she also operate other branches of the orphanage home in Port-harcourt and some other parts of the Country.

The police spokesman said 28 of the 36 pregnant girls or women and three children found at the Nma charity home, have been handed over to the Ministry of Strategy and Social Development, Umuahia, Abia State and all have since been re-united with their families after receiving medical attention.

The Principal suspect Chief Lilian Nma Achumba has admitted and confessed to her criminal roles in the case, Adeniran said.

Achumba also revealed she has other branches of the orphanage in Port-harcourt and some other parts of the country.

The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris on assumption of Office on the 22nd June, 2016 expanded the Anti-Human Trafficking and Women/Children Protection Unit of the Force under the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department (FCIID).

The Anti-Human Trafficking and Women/Children Protection Unit of the Force in compliance with the directives and their expanded mandate have been working in synergy with relevant agencies of Government in the fight against the trafficking of persons and abuse of rights and privileges of women and children.

Police said investigation is being intensified to uncover other illegal orphanage branches being operated by Achumba , to rescue victims and arrest other members of the syndicate still at large.

Source: NAN