IMO BREAKING NEWS BLOG

Manchester United hope to persuade Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen to join them before the new season. It was thought the 30-year-old would prefer to remain in London after making a successful comeback with Brentford in the second half of last season.

The Bees hoped Eriksen would stay on while it was thought Tottenham Hotspur were also keen to re-sign him. However, a deal has not been agreed with either club, giving United the chance to make an offer for the free agent. Eriksen had cardiac arrest while playing at Euro 2020 last June but was able to resume his career after being fitted with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD).

After being released by Inter Milan - because the ICD device is not permitted in Serie A - Eriksen accepted Brentford's offer of a six-month contract in January and manager Thomas Frank repeatedly said the Bees wanted to keep the former Ajax playmaker. Eriksen left Tottenham for Inter in January 2020, helping them win the Serie A title in 2020-21 under current Spurs boss Antonio Conte.

Before he made his return to competitive football by joining Brentford, Conte said "the door is always open" to him training with Tottenham.

It was one of the unusual days in Lagos on Monday as many residents spent hours waiting on queues in filling stations at various locations in the state.

This was as a result of the scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol which affected businesses which depend on the product for power due to the erratic supply of electricity in the country.

Similarly, the number of commercial vehicles plying the roads was less compared to a regular business day, leaving many passengers stranded at various bus stops. While some were forced to pay extra fares for transportation, others opted to trek to their respective destinations, including offices, markets, and homes.

Amid fears that the scarcity might be a result of industrial action by members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), the union said it took a decision to go on strike.

The concept of “placeholder” for vice-presidential candidates has no place in the constitution of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

This is according to INEC’s Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye.

Okoye said, “The constitution makes it very clear that you cannot run alone as a presidential candidate and must nominate an associate to run with you for that position, and as far as INEC is concerned, the presidential candidates have submitted their associates to run with them in the presidential election.

“As far as we are concerned, there’s no form submitted by the presidential candidate where they said ‘we’re submitting this person’s name as a place or space holder.

“The issue of space or place holder is a unique Nigerian invention that has no place in our constitutional and legal framework.

“Political parties’ candidates have submitted names of associates to run with them, and that is the position of the law as at today and nothing has changed. For there to be a substitution of a candidate, the vice-presidential candidate must write to INEC, with a sworn affidavit stating that he is withdrawing from the race within the time frame provided by the law. That’s the only way there can be a substitution of candidates.”

Last week, PDP and Labour Party submitted their forms with 'placeholder'.

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck is to step down from his role on 30 June, with co-owner Todd Boehly set to succeed him. American Buck, 76, who had been chairman since Roman Abramovich became owner in 2003, was set to continue in the role after the takeover of the club by a Boehly-led consortium last month.

A change of direction means he will now support the club as a "senior adviser". "Now is the right time to step down and let new ownership build on the strong foundations we have in place," he said.

"The owners have a compelling vision for Chelsea's future, and I look forward to helping them achieve it in this new role alongside our incredible staff, players, coaches and supporters." Chelsea's £4.25bn sale to a consortium led by American investor Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital was completed on 30 May.

Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday stopped the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from ending the voter registration on 30 June 2022.

Justice Olajueom granted an order of interim injunction following the hearing of an argument on motion exparte by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP). SERAP and 185 other concerned Nigerians had earlier this month filed a lawsuit against INEC asking the court to “declare unconstitutional, illegal, and incompatible with international standards the failure of the electoral body to extend the deadline for voter registration to allow eligible Nigerians to exercise their rights”.

In the suit, SERAP had asked the court for “an order restraining INEC, its agents, privies, assigns, or any other person(s) claiming through it from discontinuing the continuous voters’ registration exercise from the 30th June 2022 or any other date pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice”.

The suit is adjourned to 29th June 2022 for the hearing of the Motion on Notice for interlocutory injunction. The suit followed the decision by INEC to extend the deadline for the conduct of primaries by political parties by six days, from June 3 to June 9. But the commission failed to also extend the online pre-registration which ended May 30 2022 and the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) ending 30 June 2022.

The governor-elect of Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji, has faulted the allegation of vote-buying against the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the just concluded governorship election in the state. He stressed that neither he nor the ruling party was involved in vote-buying as alleged, saying they canvassed for votes from the electorate which led to their victory at the poll.

Oyebanji stated this on Monday while briefing State House correspondents shortly after he met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. He insisted that he did not witness any vote-buying in the polling unit where he voted, adding that he won the poll based on his previous performance as the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) in the state.

The APC National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who accompanied the governor-elect alongside some governors to meet with the President, also reacted to the allegation against the ruling party. He affirmed that the allegation of vote-buying was being sponsored by aggrieved persons who lost at the poll.

Apart from Adamu, Oyebanji was also accompanied by Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, and Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State.