IMO BREAKING NEWS BLOG

Manchester City's Champions League collapse should not be seen as a failure, says manager Pep Guardiola. In the second leg of their semi-final with Real Madrid, City led 5-3 on aggregate in the 90th minute, but Real scored twice to force extra time.

The hosts then clinched a 3-1 win on the night to keep Guardiola waiting for his first Champions League win with City after six years at the club. "If people say it's a failure then I disagree," said the Spanish coach, 51. As a coach, Guardiola won the Champions League twice with Barcelona, in 2009 and 2011.

However, although City have won the Premier League three times under Guardiola, the closest they have gone to European glory is reaching last season's Champions League final, where they lost 1-0 to Chelsea. "The people in the squad know how difficult it is, but they accept it," Guardiola added. "I'm not going to make a debate. In the club the feeling we have is we try to do it again.

"We are sad, of course, because we were close - but not close enough. Madrid deserve it.

Leaders in the South East have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu. They made the plea on Friday at a meeting with the President who is on a two-day visit to Ebonyi State.

The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the South East, Reverend Father Abraham Nwali, made the plea on behalf of the South East leaders in his address at the Ebonyi State Stakeholders’ Forum held at the Government House in Abakaliki, the state capital.

“We plead for a political solution that as a father; a kind father, a forgiving father, to grant Nnamdi Kanu freedom,” he said. “We say that he should be granted pardon.

“And we call on all agitators to cease all forms of hostilities and rather demand a nation where the plights of the poor, the weak, the oppressed will be addressed.”

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has extended the ongoing strike by twelve weeks, the president of the union, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke said on Monday. 

In a statement he issued after an emergency National Executive Committee meeting of the association at the University of Abuja on Sunday, the ASUU president said the decision was to give the government enough time to resolve all outstanding issues with the lecturers.

“After extensive deliberations, noting the Government’s failure to live up to its responsibilities and speedily address all the issues raised in the 2020 FGN/ASUU Memorandum of Action (MoA) within the additional eight-week roll–over strike period declared on 14th March 2022, NEC resolved that the strike be rolled over for twelve weeks to give Government more time to satisfactorily resolve all the outstanding issues,” the ASUU president’s statement read.

“The roll-over strike action is with effect from 12.01a.m. on Monday, 9th May 2022.”

Manchester City have reached an agreement to sign Norway striker Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund. Haaland, 21, will join in July after City activated a 60m euro (£51.2m) release clause in his contract.

The deal ends the club's hunt for a successor to their all-time top scorer Sergio Aguero, who joined Barcelona on a free transfer last summer. "We can confirm that we have reached an agreement in principle for the transfer of striker Erling Haaland," City said.

"The transfer remains subject to the club finalising terms with the player." Haaland has scored 85 goals in 88 appearances for Dortmund since joining from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020.

La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona also spoke to Haaland about a potential deal, but he opted for a move to Etihad Stadium.

The Independent National Electoral Commission on Tuesday said it has no intention of extending the timeline for party primaries. INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu made the comment while speaking at a consultative meeting with leaders of political parties in Abuja.

Political parties in the country had asked INEC to extend the timelines for the 2023 general elections by two months. Specifically, the parties want slight changes to the primaries’ timeline, as stipulated by the electoral umpire. But Yakubu insisted the timeline for primaries remains fixed between April 4 and June 3.

“Twice in the last two weeks, the Commission had cause to remind political parties of the necessity for strict compliance with the timelines for party primaries,” the INEC Chairman said.

A Presidential aspirant and the Governor of Bauchi state, Bala Mohammed has said that he will obey the choice of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in choosing its Presidential flag bearer in the 2023 elections.

He stated this in an interview at the party’s secretariat in Minna after meeting with delegates ahead of the party’s primary. “As a Democrat, I will obey and accept the party supremacy in choosing its flag bearer for the 2023 general elections,” he said.

However, he said he is presenting himself before the party elders, members, and Nigerians for them to take a decision on who will lead them.

Governor Bala Mohammed explained that zoning is not a problem but a formula to ensure equity and justice, which is commendable.