The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has declared Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu as winner of Tuesdays governorship primary.

This was contrary to the position of the Clement Ebri-led National Working Committee appointed electoral panel, which had earlier nullified the election that produced Sanwo-Olu as winner.

Ebri had said that the primary would be rescheduled as the state chapter has no power to conduct the party governorship primary election on its own.

However, the Lagos State Chairman of the party, Alhaji Tunde Balogun, announced Sanwo-Olu as the winner of the primary.

Watch the declaration here:

Breaking News

The State Party Cbairman, Hon Tunde Balogun announced at the State Party Secretariat ACME just now the results as follows.

Akinwunmi Ambode 72901

Babajide Sanwo Olu970851

Babajide Sanwo Olu emerged as the party Candidate.

APC Lagos State (@apc_lagos)

Announcing the results to newsmen in Ikeja, Balogun said that Sanwo-Olu polled 970, 851 votes to defeat Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode, who polled 72, 901 votes.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the announcement was in contrast of the pronouncement of the electoral panel which had declared that election did not hold in Lagos.

NAN reports that both parties had on Monday, at a meeting, disagreed on the pattern of primary to adopt without reaching a consensus.

Balogun thanked party members for coming out en masse to participate in the primary, saying that their participation reflected their belief in democracy.

I am aware that conflicting information has been circulating on our primary election, but I must tell you that the election was held and it was free and fair.

It would be very painful to disenfranchise the over 1.5 million members who voted across the 245 wards in the state.

At the end of the exercise, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu polled 970, 851 votes and Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode scored 72, 901 votes.With this, Mr Babajide is declared winner.

I thank party members for participating in the election and their dedication to democracy, he said.

Meanwhile, the National leadership of APC said it had postponed the governorship primary in Lagos State indefinitely to douse tension generated within the party in the state.

Source: NAN

The National Working Committee of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may have finally accepted the outcome of Tuesdays governorship primary in Lagos state, putting to rest, the controversy surrounding the exercise.

The Chairman of the Lagos State APC Governorship Primary, Mr. Clement Ebri, addressed the press on Wednesday to formally uphold the result earlier released by the Lagos state Chairman of the Party.

Ebri said that the incumbent Governor Akinwumi Ambode scored 72,901 votes to drop out of the race, while Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu scored 970,851 votes to clinch the APC ticket for the 2019 governorship election.

He therefore, declared Sawon-Olu winner of the primary.

Sanwo-Olu on Wednesday praised the leadership of APC and the defeated governor of Lagos for a free and fair conduct of the primary.

He also thanked members of the party and also the general public, including non-Lagos people for their continued support.

Sanwo-Olu promised to be fair and relate with everyone, irrespective the divide to move the state forward.

The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had earlier declared Mr Sanwo-Olu as winner of Tuesdays governorship primary.

This was contrary to the position of the Clement Ebri-led panel, which had earlier declared the election that produced Sanwo-Olu as winner as a nullity.

Ebri had said that the primary would be rescheduled as the state chapter has no power to conduct the party governorship primary election on its own.

However, the Lagos State Chairman of the party, Alhaji Tunde Balogun, had announced Sanwo-Olu as the winner of the primary.

Announcing the results to newsmen in Ikeja, Balogun said that Sanwo-Olu polled 970, 851 votes to defeat Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode, who polled 72, 901 votes.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the announcement was in contrast of the pronouncement of the electoral panel which had declared that election did not hold in Lagos.

NAN reports that both parties had on Monday, at a meeting, disagreed on the pattern of primary to adopt without reaching a consensus.

Balogun thanked party members for coming out en masse to participate in the primary, saying that their participation reflected their belief in democracy.

I am aware that conflicting information has been circulating on our primary election, but I must tell you that the election was held and it was free and fair.

It would be very painful to disenfranchise the over 1.5 million members who voted across the 245 wards in the state.

At the end of the exercise, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu polled 970, 851 votes and Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode scored 72, 901 votes.With this, Mr Babajide is declared winner.

I thank party members for participating in the election and their dedication to democracy, he said.

Source: NAN

Hajiya Khadija Ibrahim, minister of state foreign Affairs, has defeated her step son Mohammed Ibrahim to clinch the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for Damaturu/Gulani/Gujba/Tarmuwa, Yobe federal constituency.

Prof Abba Gambo, the returning officer of the election which ran into the night announced on Wednesday that Khadijah polled 1,295 votes to defeat Mohammed who scored only 15 votes.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that in spite of pressures mounted on Mohammed to step down for his fathers wife, he refused.

NAN reports that two other contenders including the serving representative Alhaji Abdullahi Kukuwa and Alhaji Ahmed Buba stepped down for the minister.

The minister commended Abdullahi and Ahmed for withdrawing from the race to support her win the election.

Senator Bukar Ibrahim who stepped down his re-election bid against Governor Ibrahim Gaidam, did not attend any of the party primary elections including the one contested by his wife and son.

Meanwhile, some delegates condemned the inability of Khadija Ibrahim to settle her differences with the step son at home, to avoid running against each other.

Mairo Shuaibu, a delegate from Tarmuwa local government told NAN that the inability of the family to settle their differences, for the son to step down for his step mother speaks of the instability in the house.

Source: NAN

(Reuters/NAN) FC Barcelona announced it has become the first sports club to post annual revenues exceeding $1 billion.

La Liga champions Barcelona presented their annual accounts on Tuesday, showing earnings of $1.05 billion for the 2017/18 fiscal year, breaking its own income record for the fifth successive year and posting a profit for the eighth consecutive year.

Barca said the rise in revenue was driven by increased income from television rights from the Champions League and the August 2017 sale of Brazilian forward Neymar to Paris St Germain for a record 222 million euros ($257 million) transfer fee.

Leganes Rodrigo Tarin in action with Barcelonas Luis Suarez REUTERS/Sergio Perez

The club also announced a record budget of $1.105 billion for this season, which needs to be approved at a general assembly on Oct. 20.

The club added that its debt amounted to $181.3 million as of June 30.

The extraordinary income from payment of Neymar Jrs buyout clause has been compensated in next years budget through improved commercial and sponsorship revenue, media rights, exploitation of the stadium and transfer of players, the club said in a statement.

This is the first time that revenue has surpassed $1bn, a huge step up from 2016/17.

Source: NAN

Cristiano Ronaldo on Wednesday categorically denied accusations by a former model who says the Portuguese superstar raped her in a Las Vegas hotel penthouse suite in 2009.

I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me, tweeted the 33-year-old, who plays for Juventus in Italys Serie A. Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in.

Keen as I may be to clear my name I refuse to feed the media spectacle created by people seeking to promote themselves at my expense, he said.

My clear conscious (sic) will thereby allow me to await with tranquillity the results of any and all investigations, he added.

Kathryn Mayorga, 34, of Las Vegas, accused Ronaldo, in a 32-page complaint filed last month with a district court in Nevada, of raping her on June 13, 2009.

Las Vegas police this week said they were reopening a case filed on that date but did not identify the victim or the alleged perpetrator.

Mayorgas lawyers are to hold a news conference in Las Vegas at 3:00 pm Pacific time (0000 GMT) on Wednesday to discuss the case.

Source: NAN

Lionel Messis Wembley masterclass and a sublime strike from Ivan Rakitic got Barcelona back in the groove as they clinched a pulsating 4-2 victory against Tottenham on Wednesday.

Ernesto Valverdes side arrived in London for the Champions League Group B tie amid a mini-crisis after failing to win their last three La Liga games.

But the Spanish champions have fond memories of the English national stadium, where they won the European Cup in 1992 and 2011, and they were revitalised by the sight of the iconic venue.

Aided by a rush of blood from Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, Barcelona went ahead after only 92 seconds as Philippe Coutinho scored their quickest Champions League goal since 2005.

Rakitic stole the spotlight midway through the first half when the Croatia midfielder struck with a thunderous half-volley.

In a dramatic second half, Tottenhams Harry Kane reduced the deficit before the majestic Messi added Barcelonas third.

Erik Lamelas deflected strike kept Tottenham in the hunt, but Messi capped a mesmerising performance in the final moments to give Barca a second successive group-stage victory as they emerged from their recent struggles.

Tottenham are in danger of crashing out at the group stage for the second time in three years.

Mauricio Pochettinos side have lost both of their group matches after a 2-1 defeat at Inter Milan in their opener.

They head to PSV Eindhoven for their next European fixture on October 24 knowing a win is essential as they already trail Barca and Inter by six points.

It took Messi less than two minutes to show reports of Barcas demise were greatly exaggerated.

Taking possession on the halfway line, Messi was pressured by Son Heung-Min, but his devastating response was simply sublime.

Messi twisted away from Son as if swatting away an annoying fly, then unfurled a perfectly-weighted pass that picked out Jordi Albas run behind Tottenham defender Kieran Trippier.

Alba alertly picked out Coutinho on the edge on the penalty area and, with Lloris having needlessly rushed off his line, the former Liverpool forward was able to fire into the empty net.

It was a bad mistake by Lloris in the French World Cup winners first appearance since August after a torrid period marred by a thigh injury and his arrest for drink-driving.

Messi magic

Tottenham were decimated by injuries to Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Mousa Dembele and it took 25 minutes before they finally had a shot when Kane brought a routine save from Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

That was only a brief respite for Tottenham as Valverdes team doubled their lead in the 28th minute.

Once again the creation and execution were breath-taking.

Messi clipped a pass to Luis Suarez before Coutinho smartly hooked the ball back from the touchline to the edge of the area, where Rakitic launched himself into the air for an agile half-volley that flashed past Lloris.

Messi was toying with Tottenham and it seemed only a matter of how many Barcelona would win by when he glided away for a shot that struck a post early in the second half.

Spellbound by Messis magic, Tottenham backed off again moments later as the striker hit the woodwork for a second time.

Yet Kane gave Tottenham a lifeline when the England forward netted against the run of play in the 52nd minute.

Powering into the Barca area with intent, Kane side-stepped Nelson Semedo and planted a powerful low strike into the far corner for his 10th goal in 12 Champions League appearances.

Messi had the perfect response in the 56th minute when he cantered onto Albas pass and side-footed past Lloris.

Tottenham refused to surrender and Lamela set up a tense finale when his 66th minute shot deflected off Clement Lenglet and flew past ter Stegen.

But Messi had the last word when he slotted home from Albas cross to ease Barcas nerves in the 90th minute.

In other results:

Group A

Atletico Madrid 3 1 Club Brugge
Borussia Dortmund 3 0 Monaco

Group B
PSV Eindhoven 1 2 Inter
Tottenham Hotspur 2 4 Barcelona

Group C
Paris Saint Germain 6 1 FK Crvena Zvezda
Napoli 1 0 Liverpool

Group D
FTLokomotiv Moscow 0 1 Schalke 04
FTPorto 1 0 Galatasaray

Match Report by AFP

Source: NAN

Boxing risks being thrown out of the Olympics unless the sports ruling body addresses grave concerns regarding its governance, the International Olympic Committee executive board said.

A strongly worded IOC statement on Wednesday warned that the International Boxing Association (AIBA) must tackle governance issues at its upcoming congress or it could face sanctions.

The Executive Board of the IOC today expressed its ongoing extreme concern with the grave situation within the International Boxing Association (AIBA) and its current governance, the board said in a statement.

These include the circumstances of the establishment of the election list and the misleading communication within the AIBA membership regarding the IOCs position.

The executive board, meeting in Buenos Aires where the Youth Olympic Games begin on Saturday, said the troubles in the AIBA affect not just the reputation of AIBA and boxing but of sport in general.

Therefore, the IOC reiterates its clear position that if the governance issues are not properly addressed to the satisfaction of the IOC at the forthcoming AIBA Congress, the existence of boxing on the Olympic programme and even the recognition of AIBA as an International Federation recognised by the IOC are under threat.

The IOC warned in July that boxing could still be axed from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics if the AIBA did not put its house in order.

In February the IOC said they were worried by the nomination of Uzbek businessman Gafur Rakhimov for the AIBAs interim presidency.

However Rakhimov, who has been linked to organized crime by the US Treasury Department, is now the only candidate for the presidency to be voted on at the AIBA congress in Moscow in November.

In attempting to force change at the AIBA this year, the IOC had already suspended financial contributions from the IOC to the AIBA.

Even though the IOC believes sweeping change is needed at the AIBA, the governing body voiced support for boxers themselves.

At the same time we would like to reassure the athletes that the IOC will as it has always done in such situations and is currently doing at the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 do its utmost to ensure that the athletes do not have to suffer under these circumstances and that we will protect their Olympic dream

Source: NAN

By Mohammed Ahmed Kaigama

Senators Suleiman Gamawa and Isa Misau who defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recently, have picked the partys senatorial tickets unopposed, Mr Wilson Iorshe, the Chairman of the election panel, has said.

Iorshe announced this in Bauchion Wednesday, saying Malam Garba Dahiru also scored 382 votes to fly the partys flag in Bauchi South Senatorial District, defeating former Director-General of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria(FRCN), Malam Ladan Salihu, who got 372 votes.

He also said Senators Gamawa and Misau would represent Bauchi North and Bauchi Central Senatorial Districts, respectively.

The panel, therefore, affirmed their nominations as the senatorial candidates of PDP in the next general election, he said

The chairmansaid the election was conducted in the three senatorial districts peacefully and that only 20 invalid votes were recorded during the exercise.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the two serving senators Suleiman Gamawa and Isa Misau, defected from the APC to the PDP, recently.

Source: NAN

Two governorship candidates have emerged in the Ogun state chapter of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) following two parallel primaries held on Wednesday.

While the state chairman of the party, Chief Derin Adebiyi declared the House of Representatives member Adekunle Akinlade as the winner, the electoral panel sent by the National Working Committee declared oil mogul, Prince Dapo Abiodun the winner.

The two groups claimed they held the authentic primary as ordered by the NWC.

Muhammad Ndabawa, who led the NWC Electoral Committee members declared that Abiodun, who hails from Ogun East Senatorial District, scored 102,305 votes from the 236 wards across the 20 Local Governments to emerge the candidate.

According to Ndabawa, Jimi Lawal scored 51,153 votes, Abimbola Ashiru 29,764, Senator Gbenga Kaka 17,771, Abayomi Hunye 9,110 votes and Adekunle Akinlade 23, 443 votes.

Ndabawa said that the declaration of Abiodun as winner is subject to ratification by the National Working Committee of the party.

He also said he was not aware of the exercise that produced Akinlade.

Our Committee is the authentic body constituted by the NWC to conduct and supervise governorship primary in the state in line with the party guidelines and constitution, Ndabawa said.

The Chairman of the party in the state, Chief Derin Adebiyi who announced the alternative results at the party secretariat in Abeokuta also claimed that the direct primaries were conducted across the 236 wards of the state.

He added that the exercise was conducted through the open secret ballot system in accordance with the party guidelines on direct primaries.

According to him six aspirants contested for the governorship position including Mr Jimi Lawal, Mr Abayomi Hounye and the former state commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr Bimbo Ashiru.

Others are a former Deputy Governor of the state, Sen. Adegbenga Kaka, the Chairman of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Chief Dapo Abiodun and Akinlade who is representing Ipokia/Egbado-South Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives.

A breakdown of the result announced by Adebiyi on local government basis shows that Akinlade won in all the 20 council areas of the state. scoring a total of 190,987 votes.

Mr. Jimi Lawal came second with a total of 5, 046 votes while Abiodun came third with 3, 648 votes.

Ashiru scored 898, Kaka 833 and and Hounye 208 votes to emerge fourth, fifth and sixth.

Adebiyi said that the primaries were supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies.

The Chairman who described the national electoral committee of the party as being compromised said the committee was not in town to conduct the primaries.

He explained that the committee had continued to postpone the exercise which was originally scheduled to hold on Saturday.

Adebiyi said the party leadership is vested with the responsibility of overseeing the affairs of the party in the state

Source: NAN

By Douglas Okoro

Protest erupted in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital on Wednesday following the outcome of All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary held on Sunday.

Members of the APC in Ebonyi, numbering about 500 besieged the states party secretariat in Abakaliki, chanting various songs in condemnation of the primary election.

The protesters carried placards with various inscriptions such as: Say no to fake lists, Prof. Odoh is our choice in Ebonyi, We dont want fake delegates from Ikwo and Ezza South, On prof. we stand, among others.

The protesters alleged that the delegate lists from Ikwo and Ezza council areas were doctored.

The protesters were supporters of Prof. Bernard Odoh, who came second in the contest with a total of 519 votes, as against 785 votes garnered by Sen. Sonni Ogbuoji, who was elected the flag-bearer.

The aggrieved APC members led by Mr Samchi Mgbada, alleged that the delegates list from the aforesaid council areas were manipulated to favour a particular candidate.

Prof. Odoh had earlier at a press conference rejected the outcome of the primary election, alleging fowl play in the entire process.

He alleged that the delegate lists used by the electoral committee did not emanate from the congresses of May this year.

Meanwhile, Ogbuoji at a press briefing at his campaign office in Abakaliki, dismissed Odohs position on the outcome of the poll, alleging that he endorsed the delegates list which emanated from the national secretariat of the party.

At that point we had a challenge before us. We now asked that the National Legal Adviser of the party be reached for him to explain to us why we have Certified True Copies that were not the same.

But he insisted that the list from Abuja was the valid copy as far as they were concerned. At that point it would be openly said that they denied knowledge of the one in the state isnt it?

At that point, Odoh who was seated at the front row raised his hand and said that this exercise cannot afford to be in futility.

And so, the national body that has come must be allowed to do their job; that we are wasting our time here; that we should allow them to do their job, Ogbuoji said.

Meanwhile, a senatorial aspirant for Ebonyi Central zone, Chief Enyi Enyi, has threatened to resist the contentious delegates list should the electoral committee attempt to use it for senatorial primary election.

Addressing the protesters, the State APC Chairman, Pastor Eze Nwachukwu, appealed to the aggrieved party faithful to remain calm as their matter would be looked into.

Source: NAN