UEFA Champions League round of 16 fixtures
The knockout out would be played on the 18th, 19th and 20th of February.
The Draws are below;
Dortmund (GER) vs Paris Saint German (PSG)
Real Madrid (ESP) vs Man. City (ENG)
Atlanta (ITA) vs Valencia (ESP)
Atletico (ESP) vs Liverpool (ENG)
Chelsea (ENG) vs Bayern (GER)
Lyon (FRA) vs Juventus (ITA)
Tottenham vs Leipzig (GER)
Napoli (ITA) vs Barcelona (ESP)
Turkish Airline has pledged to commence immediately freight of all leftover passengers’ baggage in Turkey to Nigeria following the suspension of its operations in Nigeria.
The General Manager, Public Affairs, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Mr Sam Adurogboye, stated this in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.
Adurogboye explained that the management of the airline had met with the NCAA management in Abuja on Friday to resolve the leftover baggage issue.
“The airline said this will be achieved by instantly upgrading the Boeing 737 – 800 being used and found inadequate to a larger Airbus A330 and Boeing 737 – 900.
” The programme of clearance will be carried out from Dec. 13 to Dec. 17,” he said.
Adurogboye said NCAA expected strict compliance to the remedial programme.
He warned all operators to ensure Nigerians were not taken for granted by providing safe, secure and efficient service at all times.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NCAA in a letter dated Dec. 11, with reference no. NCAA/DG/12/16/60 signed by the Acting Director General, NCAA, Capt. Sidi Abdullahi has suspended Turkish Airlines operations in Nigeria.
Abdullahi said the suspension was with effect from Dec. 16.
NCAA said the suspension would remain until the airline was ready to operate into the country with the right aircraft size and bring passengers into the country together with their checked-in baggage. (NAN)
A Federal High Court sitting in Kano State has dismissed a bribery suit against Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, for lack of evidence.
The suit was filed by a Kano-based lawyer Bulama Bukarti.
The lawyer asked the court to mandate the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate Ganduje for allegedly receiving a kickback from a contractor.
Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has accused the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of relying on thugs and violence to win elections.
According to him, the former Governor never won elections on performance.
Obaseki stated this through his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, in a statement made available to Equity news.ng on Monday in reaction to oshiomole’s ealier statement where he said he didn’t teach the governor and his deputy,phillip shuaibu how to lose elcections
The Governor urged Oshiomhole to concentrate on winning elections by the performance of the party and not relying on thugs and violence for electoral victory.
The statement said that Oshiomhole was only trying hard to cover up his inordinate ambition to be the ultimate godfather in Edo State and usurp the will of the majority of ordinary Edo people.
According to him, “Even his allegory of politics being like a forest with dangerous animals is a poor excuse to continue to perpetuate thuggery and the keep the collective patrimony under the control of a few greedy and violent people in the name of winning units and ward elections.
“Good governance remains the surest path towards winning elections especially when you are committed to free and fair and credible elections devoid of the kind of violence witnessed in recent elections in the country.
“So instead of trying to pacify the violent and the lawless just because you want to win elections, Oshiomhole should support the stellar performance being displayed by Governor Godwin Obaseki in Edo State, that way, he will not need the services of his thugs to win the next election.”
The Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters has suspended further legislative actions on the controversial anti-social media bill sponsored by Senator Musa Sani till January next year.
Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the decision was not unconnected with the mixed feelings expressed by members of the 14-member Senate panel during their maiden meeting on the issue. The members are all lawyers.
The senators were said to have cautioned themselves and stressed the need to ensure a wide consultation on the issue.
A member of the committee said, “We have agreed, tentatively, to fix the public hearing for January. We have to be careful so as not to be on the wrong side of history… We need to ensure that the media and the civil society groups who are in the forefront of the agitation against the bill, come around to defend their position.
It is when this is done that we will be able to convince Nigerians that we have done the right thing.”
Champions League round of 16: meet the qualified teams
Wednesday 11 December 2019
Atlético Madrid and Atalanta have completed the line-up for Monday’s round of 16 draw: we profile the contenders.
The 16 contenders heading for Monday’s draw
The 16 contenders heading for Monday’s draw
©UEFA.com
Group winners (seeded): Barcelona (ESP), Bayern München (GER), Juventus (ITA), Leipzig (GER), Liverpool (ENG, holders), Manchester City (ENG), Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Valencia (ESP)
Group runners-up (unseeded): Atalanta (ITA), Atlético Madrid (ESP), Borussia Dortmund (GER), Chelsea (ENG), Lyon (FRA), Napoli (ITA), Real Madrid (ESP), Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)
Round of 16 draw explained: 12:00 CET on Monday
Round of 16 first legs start on 18 February
How the group stage tables finished
Road to Istanbul final on 30 May: calendar
Atalanta (ITA)
UEFA ranking: 56
Group stage: W2 D1 L3 F8 A12
Top scorer: Mario Pašalić (2)
Last season: UEFA Europa League play-offs
European Cup best: round of 16 (2020)
Atalanta (ITA)
Who’s in charge?: Gian Piero Gasperini led Atalanta back into Europe for the first time in 26 years in the 2017/18 season. He was made an honorary citizen of Bergamo after securing their first shot at the UEFA Champions League this term.
Their campaign in ten words: Lost first three group stage games; rallied to make knockouts
Atlético Madrid (ESP)
UEFA ranking: 4
Group stage: W3 D1 L2 F8 A5
Top scorer: João Félix, Álvaro Morata (2)
Last season: round of 16
European Cup best: runners-up (1974, 2014, 2016)
Who’s in charge?: Diego Simeone refashioned Atlético in his own rugged image after rejoining the club as coach in 2011. The Argentinian has steered them to two UEFA Europa League triumphs and two UEFA Champions League finals, plus a Liga title and a cup.
Their campaign in ten words: Goals are rarer without Griezmann, but determined Atlético soldier on
Barcelona (ESP)
Highlights: Inter 1-2 Barcelona
Highlights: Inter 1-2 Barcelona
UEFA ranking: 2
Group stage: W4 D2 L0 F9 A4
Top scorer: Luis Suárez (3)
Last season: semi-finals
European Cup best: winners x5 (1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015)
Who’s in charge?: Ex-Barcelona forward Ernesto Valverde has been in charge since 2017; he has led the club to back-to-back Spanish titles, but a perceived lack of UEFA Champions League success has undermined him somewhat.
Their campaign in ten words: Jury still out on Griezmann-Messi-Suárez trident up front
Bayern München (GER)
UEFA ranking: 3
Group stage: W6 D0 L0 F24 A5
Top scorer: Robert Lewandowski (10)
Last season: round of 16
European Cup best: winners x5 (1974, 1975, 1976, 2001, 2013)
Who’s in charge?: Ex-Germany assistant Hans-Dieter Flick has been in interim command since early November. Jupp Heynckes is urging his old club to secure a longer deal with this “gem of a coach”, with Bayern looking more at ease under him.
Their campaign in ten words: Group stage top scorers, Lewandowski on fire: crisis, what crisis?
Borussia Dortmund (GER)
Highlights: Dortmund 2-1 Slavia Praha
Highlights: Dortmund 2-1 Slavia Praha
UEFA ranking: 14
Group stage: W3 D1 L2 F8 A8
Top scorer: Achraf Hakimi (4)
Last season: round of 16
European Cup best: winners (1997)
Who’s in charge?: Hired by Dortmund in 2018, Lucien Favre has a reputation for reviving struggling clubs with stylish football. He ended Zürich’s long wait for Swiss championships, and then brought good times to Hertha, Mönchengladbach and Nice.
Their campaign in ten words: Outranked Inter to finish behind Barcelona in a tough group
Chelsea (ENG)
UEFA ranking: 13
Group stage: W3 D2 L1 F11 A9
Top scorers: Tammy Abraham, César Azpilicueta, Jorginho (2)
Last season: UEFA Europa League winners
European Cup best: winners (2012)
Who’s in charge?: A club great, Frank Lampard landed three titles, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League as a Chelsea midfielder. He was reunited with the Blues as manager last summer and – at 41 – is learning on the job.
Their campaign in ten words: Ups and downs as Lampard gives younger players a chance
Juventus (ITA)
Highlights: Leverkusen 0-2 Juventus
Highlights: Leverkusen 0-2 Juventus
UEFA ranking: 5
Group stage: W5 D1 L0 F12 A4
Top scorer: Paulo Dybala (3)
Last season: quarter-finals
European Cup best: winners x2 (1985, 1996)
Who’s in charge?: Ex-Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri was installed in the summer after steering Chelsea to UEFA Europa League glory last May. The inventor of the high-pressing ‘Sarri-ball’ style, his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo has come under close inspection.
Their campaign in ten words: Solid performances, respectable results, but Ronaldo not at his sharpest
Leipzig (GER)
UEFA ranking: 37
Group stage: W3 D2 L1 F10 A8
Top scorers: Emil Forsberg, Marcel Sabitzer, Timo Werner (2)
Last season: UEFA Europa League group stage
European Cup best: round of 16 (2020)
Who’s in charge?: A centre-back whose career was ruined by injury, Julian Nagelsmann is a seasoned Champions League coach at 32; hired by Leipzig in summer 2019, he had made it to the 2018/19 group stage with Hoffenheim.
Their campaign in ten words: Bundesliga upstarts reach last 16 for first time; respect due
Lyon (FRA)
Highlights: Lyon 2-2 Leipzig
Highlights: Lyon 2-2 Leipzig
UEFA ranking: 17
Group stage: W2 D2 L2 F9 A8
Top scorer: Memphis Depay (5)
Last season: round of 16
European Cup best: semi-finals (2010)
Who’s in charge?: Rudi Garcia nurtured Eden Hazard and picked up a French title at LOSC, then did respectably with Roma and took Marseille to the 2018 UEFA Europa League final. He was installed by OL in October to replace Sylvinho.
Their campaign in ten words: Steady home form and sensational win at Leipzig the keys
Liverpool (ENG, holders)
UEFA ranking: 8
Group stage: W4 D1 L1 F13 A8
Top scorer: Mohamed Salah (4)
Last season: winners
European Cup best: winners (1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005, 2019)
Who’s in charge?: Master of the press and counter-press, Jürgen Klopp established his coaching reputation in Germany with Mainz and Dortmund. Headhunted by Liverpool in 2015, he directed them to UEFA Champions League glory last season.
Their campaign in ten words: Napoli proved a handful, but the European champions progressed regardless
Manchester City (ENG)
Highlights: Dinamo Zagreb 1-4 Man. City
Highlights: Dinamo Zagreb 1-4 Man. City
UEFA ranking: 6
Group stage: W4 D2 L0 F16 A4
Top scorer: Raheem Sterling (5)
Last season: quarter-finals
European Cup best: semi-finals (2016)
Who’s in charge?: In 11 seasons as a first-team boss, Pep Guardiola has lifted eight league titles: three at Barcelona, three at Bayern and two at City. However, he claimed the last of his two managerial UEFA Champions League winners’ medals in 2011.
Their campaign in ten words: Sterling on fire, but City lack their usual killer instinct
Napoli (ITA)
UEFA ranking: 15
Group stage: W3 D3 L0 F11 A4
Top scorer: Dries Mertens (5)
Last season: group stage (progressed to UEFA Europa League quarter-finals)
European Cup best: round of 16 (2012, 2017)
Who’s in charge?: Carlo Ancelotti was at the helm for the group stage but departed the night they went through.
Their campaign in ten words: Took four points off Liverpool; struggled more against lesser teams
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Highlights: Paris 5-0 Galatasaray
Highlights: Paris 5-0 Galatasaray
UEFA ranking: 7
Group stage: W5 D1 L0 F17 A2
Top scorer: Mauro Icardi, Kylian Mbappé (5)
Last season: round of 16
European Cup best: semi-finals (1995)
Who’s in charge?: Having succeeded Klopp at Mainz and then Dortmund, Thomas Tuchel has proved that he can be a winner at Paris: an immediate championship since his arrival in 2018, but no great leap forward in Europe just yet.
Their campaign in ten words: Mbappé sparkles in Neymar’s absence, but knockouts are the key
Real Madrid (ESP)
UEFA ranking: 1
Group stage: W3 D2 L1 F14 A8
Top scorers: Karim Benzema, Rodrygo (4)
Last season: round of 16
European Cup best: winners x 13 (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018)
Who’s in charge?: Re-hired in 2019, Zinédine Zidane has won the UEFA Champions League four times with Real Madrid: once as a player, three times as coach. After a lean spell, Sergio Ramos said the squad were “committed to Zizou until death”.
Their campaign in ten words: Following a shaky start, Zidane’s rejigged Madrid are looking good
Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)
Highlights: Bayern 3-1 Tottenham
Highlights: Bayern 3-1 Tottenham
UEFA ranking: 12
Group stage: W3 D1 L2 F18 A14
Top scorer: Harry Kane (6)
Last season: runners-up
European Cup best: runners-up (2019)
Who’s in charge?: A European champion with Porto and Inter, José Mourinho replaced Mauricio Pochettino in November. ‘The Special One’ has much to prove in north London after an underwhelming spell in charge of Manchester United.
Their campaign in ten words: Leaky defence, killer attack; can Mourinho fix 2019’s losing finalists?
Valencia (ESP)
UEFA ranking: 25
Group stage: W3 D2 L1 F9 A7
Top scorer: Rodrigo (2)
Last season: group stage (progressed to UEFA Europa League semi-finals)
European Cup best: runners-up (2000, 2001)
Who’s in charge?: A defensive midfielder, Albert Celades played for Barcelona and Real Madrid, then specialised in youth coaching. Previously assistant coach at Real Madrid, he was appointed by Valencia in September – his first senior club job.
Their campaign in ten words: Battled through a competitive group including Chelsea, Ajax and Lyon
Only 42,000 doctors out of the 75,000 registered by the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) are available for Nigeria’s 200 million people, the association’s President Francis Faduyile has revealed.
The 33,000 missing, he said, have left for greener pastures, adding that Nigeria has one of the worst health indices in the world.
According to a report by ThisDay, Faduyile attributed the emigration of Nigerian doctors to high rate of insecurity, poor job satisfaction, low remuneration, unemployment, bad roads, and poor healthcare system.
Faduyile painted a grim picture of the collapsed health care system:
“In rural areas, we have one doctor to 22,000 people, while in towns and cities, we have one doctor to 10,000 Nigerians or one doctor to 12,000 Nigerians, whereas the World Health Organisation (WHO) said for any country to have a balanced ratio, it must have one doctor to 600 persons.
“Nigerian doctors and other healthcare workers, including nurses and pharmacists, are leaving the country in droves because of the poor healthcare system and lack of job satisfaction.
“The United Kingdom employs, on the average, 12 Nigerian doctors every week. If Nigeria decides to graduate 3,000 doctors every year, without the doctors leaving this country, it will take us 25 years to meet the WHO estimate of one doctor to 600 persons,” he said.
The NMA president said: “Nigeria is losing some of its most educated, talented and professional healthcare practitioners to countries such as Namibia, Senegal, Ghana, UK, South Africa and many others.
“This is because the government is not interested in giving adequate priority to health, low funding, no appropriate employment, low remuneration, lack of equipment to intervene and save lives, insecurity, bad roads, among other problems.
“Now, it is taking a toll on the country as our people are suffering due to the shortage of workers, people are dying due to lack of effective healthcare system and Nigeria has one of the worst health indices in the world,” he said.
Liverpool sit pretty at the top while woes for Norwich and Watford continues…
FEDERAL Government has ordered an investigation into last Friday invasion of Federal High Court, Abuja, by Department of State Service (DSS) operatives.
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, stated this yesterday while fielding questions from newsmen at Federal High Court, Abuja, premises after a courtesy visit to Chief Judge of the court, Justice John Tsoho.
According to Malami, though he did not visit Tsoho over Sowore’s case but to congratulate him on his confirmation by Senate as substantive Chief Judge of Federal High Court, he would use the forum to tell Nigerians that a probe will be launched into the matter.
“Whatever affects the integrity of the court is a worrisome issue for us. I can never be preemptive of an incident over which I was not a live witness to. But one thing I am certain of is that the government has put in place mechanism for investigation of the reported incident.
So, I would not like to be preemptive in terms of a conclusion, one way or the other, without allowing the consummation and conclusion of the investigation process,” Malami said.
It will be recalled that invading the court to re-arrest the presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC) in the February 2019 general election, Omoyele Sowore, by DSS operatives sparked local and international furore.
The Presiding Judge of the National Industrial Court, Kaduna Judicial division, His Lordship, Hon. Justice Sinmisola Adeniyi has declared the dismissal of Boy Cpl Sadiq Muhammed from the Nigerian Military School, Zaria as unconstitutional, unlawful, null and void.
The Court held that the dismissal awarded by the commandant was in contravention of the provisions of the Armed Forces Act, ordered immediate reinstatement and payment of Sadiq entitlements, emoluments from 2017 till date within 30 days.
From facts, the Boy Cpl Sadiq contented that he was not accorded fair hearing during his trial and also that he was punished twice on the same allegations which amounted to double jeopardy and due process was not followed by the Nigerian Army.
The defendant-Nigerian Army witness testified that after the investigations and findings, Sadiq was charged with offences on two separate charges that the trial and dismissal of the Claimant from the Nigeria Army by the Commandant was proper and in accordance with the School’s Rules and Regulations and the Law.
The defendant further argued that Sadiq admitted the testimonies of the witnesses while being cross-examined by the Commandant during the proceeding that the Claimant has not discharged the burden of being denied fair hearing.
The Claimant also maintained that his right to fair trial was violated by the summary trial conducted by the Commandant for not affording him with the opportunity of calling witnesses or cross-examining the witnesses that were called by the School to prove the alleged offence.
Delivering the Judgment, the presiding Judge, Justice Adeniyi held that Defendant failed to discharge the onus placed on it that the School’s Rules and Regulations and administrative requirements were not placed before the Court.
“I am of the view that a party, as the Claimant in the instant case, who will be affected by the result of a decision must be given an opportunity of being heard. It is essential for a fair trial that the parties are given equal treatment, opportunity and consideration in the conduct of their cases, but this was not done in the present case.
“Therefore, I am in agreement with the learned counsel to the Claimant, that the refusal to give the Claimant the opportunity to call witnesses to support his defence obviously amounted to deprivation of the right of the Claimant to obtain substantial justice, especially bearing in mind that the Claimant was a minor at the time of the summary trial was conducted. And I so hold” Justice Adeniyi Ruled.
In all, the court ordered that Claimant shall be reinstated forthwith to the status quo ante before he was dismissed on 31/03/2017, and the Defendant shall within thirty (30) days pay to the Claimant all his accrued entitlements and other emoluments from the date of the unlawful dismissal till the date with N250,000 cost of action.
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