The former England international has questioned why the Three Lions boss decided to go public in his punishment of the Man City forward

Rio Ferdinand has questioned why Gareth Southgate decided to go public in his punishment of Raheem Sterling for a throat grab on England colleague Joe Gomez.

The Three Lions boss has revealed that the Manchester City winger will play no part in his side’s Euro 2020 qualification fixture with Montenegro on Thursday after clashing with his international team-mate.

A feud between Sterling and Liverpool defender Gomez was sparked in the heat of Premier League battle on Sunday, with the pair squaring up during a 3-1 win for the Reds at Anfield.
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Tempers boiled over again when the duo were reunited at St George’s Park, although both men have been quick to play down the incident and make claims of order and friendship being restored.

Ex-England star Ferdinand believes the incident should have been kept in-house, with the former Manchester United and West Ham centre-half claiming to have witnessed much worse in his career.

He said in a post on his personal Facebook account: “Gareth has handled being England manager brilliantly – up to this point.

“He has conducted himself in an admirable, eloquent & engaging way. Helping to make a nation feel like they can have some sort of confidence & respect for the national team. However, I feel this incident could have been handled better.

“Keep it behind closed doors & deal with it internally surely?! Come international week, it’s meet up time between Sterling & Gomez… Raheem Sterling was still upset with Gomez about the result on Sunday & their little pushing/words said during the Liverpool vs Man City game.

“So he has obviously gone into the England camp heated and gone for Gomez, [and] in doing so grabbed Gomez by the throat. Obviously as a manager I’m sure having a harmonious squad is the best scenario – handshakes and hugs on sight not confrontations. But let’s be honest now this kind of stuff isn’t uncommon in squads full of testosterone.

“In the various squads I have been a part of I have seen players get punched in the face, ribs broken, nose busted, head kicked like a football…..a throat grab was the equivalent of the intricate handshake embraces that are all too familiar today! The main question is: Why this couldn’t be handled internally?

Raheem Sterling Joe Gomez Manchester City Liverpool 2019-20

“I suppose the management have felt it would be better to nip it in the bud prior to the press, agents, family friends leaking the news. However, the worst case on this instance would have been someone asking in a press conference ‘what happened between Raheem & Gomez, we heard there was a fight’. Easy answer and we have a game to concentrate on. Incident done and dusted. No player looks any worse, we move on.

“Now Raheem is left to defend himself from all of the haters that had had their keyboards turned off due to him becoming a very worthy ambassador for the English game, and rightly so.

“If this was a terrible incident then I would be all for public shaming & discipline. But for this ‘throat grab’ that we are told it’s for I can’t understand it.
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“Gareth would no doubt have seen worse many times during his time as a player and manager. I just feel this could and should have been handled better to support the player and not hang him out to dry.

“One of our world class players who has conducted himself wonderfully through racism and unwarranted criticism in an England shirt will now come under more scrutiny and be vilified in the media no doubt – when this could have been dealt with internally. Hindsight is a great thing though.

“It seems to me, Raheem felt embarrassed by all that went on at the weekend…. a sign of winning mentality….. however channelled wrongly. Help educate him!”

The All Progressives Congress (APC), has said that there was no mass defection of its members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Zamfara as alleged by the State Government.

Gov. Bello Matawalle and the state’s PDP executives had on Sunday received large number of defectors from APC in Maradun Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
But Alhaji Lawal Liman, the state APC Chairman told newsmen on Tuesday in Gusau that the whole thing was propaganda.

“It is mere propaganda aimed at deceiving the public.
“Some media organisations, reported that 21, 000 APC members defected to PDP while others said they were 50,000, we don’t know which one is true, let them clear this figure first,” he said.
Liman accused the PDP led administration in the state of intimidating and forcing APC members to join PDP.

According to him, most of those who defected to PDP in Maradun were forced by the PDP led government in the state.
“You know APC is a party of progress, the people enjoyed meaningful development across all sectors during the immediate past APC-led administration in the state.

“That is why the people especially in rural communities are still behind the APC in the state,’’ Liman said.
Alhaji Sa’adu Gora, the Maradun APC Chairman said the alleged mass defection to PDP was not true.
“Most of those who left the party in Maradun left alone, but bigwigs have remained with us.

“As leaders of the party at the grassroots, we are enjoying support and cooperation from our members, even though our party is not in power at the state level,” he said.(NAN)

– Godwin Obaseki has said that his mandate as a governor was given to him directly by God – Obaseki said that since this is so, he is willing and ready to die for the people of the state

– The governor also hailed members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state for supporting his administration Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo has said that in his service to the state, he is willing to sacrifice his life for the people.

Speaking at the celebration of his third year in office, Obaseki said that since the mandate he bears as governor came directly from God, then the people of the state are worth dying for, The Nation reports.

The governor also said that the progress and success his administration have recorded came as a result of the massive support he got from bigwigs and supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state. He said: “Even though we had minor disagreements at the initial stage, my party members understood the focus of my administration and supported me and in three years, we have made great success.

“They have thrown their weight behind me and urged me to continue the good works in the state, assuring me of their commitment and support.” The governor added that his regime is standing strong because it is built on truth, trust and total commitment to God. Obaseki said: “As a government, we showed our commitment to God and the people and it made Edo people trust our administration. We have shown that you can speak the truth and still play politics.

Meanwhile, Equitynews.ng reported that Obaseki had said that he had done what many politicians will not do by creating 157,000 jobs out of the 200,000 he promised in his first term. Speaking at the 2019 Alaghodaro youth summit in Benin, Obaseki said his administration created the jobs through the Edo skills development agency (Edojobs).

A former Chairman of Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, who is facing trial over his alleged complicity in a N2billion fraud, was on Thursday, brought before the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a wheelchair for continuation of his trial.

Officers of the Kuje Correctional Facility wheeled Maina into the court room at 9:30 a.m. and armed with two first aid boxes.

Trial Justice Okon Abang had fixed Thursday for ruling on the bail application filed by the defendant.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) arraigned Maina on a 12-count charge of fraud, money laundering and operating of several accounts.

He was arraigned alongside his firm, Common Input Properties and Investment Limited, which the EFCC claimed was involved in the alleged fraud.

Governor Nyesom Wike has prayed Federal Government (FG) to forgive Rivers state people for any wrong they did to warrant perceived federal neglect currently being suffered by the state.

Wike spoke on Tuesday in Port Harcourt during maiden delivery of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to downstream investor, Stockgap Terminal by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Bonny.

Highlighting some the vexed issues of federal neglect, the Governor said, “Because it’s Rivers, FG has refused funding the Bodo-Bonny Highway even when NLNG has agreed to borne 50% of the (N120Billion) project cost.

“Even if Rivers has done anything wrong, please we are begging, forgive us, but I don’t think we have done anything wrong as Rivers people.

Rivers is the better place to invest. We continue to support every investment brought here and the gratitude we get is that key investors are embracing our confidence to invest here why some people are de-marketing the state.

Wike Declining earlier promise to dredge the Bonny channels for ease of vessel movements, Wike said, “What is the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) doing? Rivers government should now be the one to dredge the channels and NPA is busy collecting levies and revenues from marine operators? “Why should that be?

You don’t expect me to dredge waterways for NPA to be collecting all the money. You (FG) are building a new Port in Lagos, but those in Rivers you rendered idle, grounded with no development attention.”

Wike pledged to upgrade the road leading to the Stock pad Terminal where Rivers and neighbouring states can now get closer and cheaper access to LPG instead of trucking from Lagos before now, the governor, however, cautioned management of the firm to carry the host Rumuolumeni along. “

What we won’t condone about investors investing in Rivers is denying our people deserved employment quota. You must ensure that we get the right quota of our people to work here and give adequate training to them to be better placed to excel in the industry”, Wike told management of the company.

Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has come under attack over the recent announcement of dropping ‘His excellency’ title.

Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday announced that he should no longer be addressed as ‘His Excellency.’
In a statement the Governor personally signed and made available to EQUITY NEWS.NG, he noted that only God should bear such titles.

He said that as a Governor, he is only a servant appointed by the people and as such should be called “Mr. Governor.”
This did not go down well with some Lagosians and Nigerians on social media, as they urged the governor to focus on fixing roads in the state.

Some Nigerians took to their Twitter pages lamenting the state of Lagos.
Here are some comments gathered by EQUITY NEWS.NG from Twitter:

@Badmanisdimka “Babajide Sanwo-Olu dropping the “Your Excellency” title is Nice. So Mr Governor can we move to the part where all Roads are Reconstructed, Please Sir Lagosians are really suffering going out to make ends meet is not easy at all. Thank you in Advance Sir.”
@Sheddi_young “Whether na Bros Governor
or Uncle Governor or Mr Governor.Na work we wan see!

@Oluwabukunmi_ “While Seyi Makinde is repairing roads, printing free copies of past questions for schools and basically just working, your Pontius Pilate in Lagos is concerned with being called His Excellency or Mr Governor. Tragic.”

@drainzdrip “Lagosian have never complained about your stupid title Sanwo-Olu. Whether you call yourself “Excellency” or Mr Governor or Mr Go-slow,even Mr Pot-hole..Mr Man we just want good governance. You’re becoming the most useless Governor in the history of Lagos.”
@Nedusam01 “Nice one Mr Governor.But we need to feel the gradual impact. More hardwork needed sir.”

@B_Soye “Really?? Babajide. Titles shouldn’t be the main issue here, there’s the states governance that which has been neglected.

“Can someone serve this guy a ‘negligence of duties’ query. Worrying about name calling.”
@Waleonlinee “Deliver good governance first , then we will look at this your title issue.your excellency, Mr governor!

@Dominic_Ebi “Oga if you want to be called Queen Elizabeth no wahala for as long as you start working. Lagos is in a mess and all we’ve seen from you is absolute nothing. Your local government chairmen are all sleeping and you’re doing nothing about them. Get to work man.”
@Dedonnse “Change of titles alone won’t get the job done. We once had “Chief Servant” and “Ogbeni” as governors, they all failed spectacularly. Having said that, could you please start working already?
@BuchyOgba “Good for you Sir. Performance is the main issue not titles.”

Residents of Ajao Estate in the Isolo area of Lagos State are in mourning following the death of a mother of four, Mrs Chibuzor Balogun.

Chibuzor, whose 14-year-old son, Uche, said was a little above 30 years, died at their residence, No. 2 Raji Aliu Street, off the Airport Road, Ajao Estate, last Wednesday.

According to Uche, his mother had been complaining of general weakness of the body for some days and the family thought that it was a minor thing.

He added that Chibuzor started excreting loose stool and vomiting and it was at this point that they realised it could be something serious.

Uche stated that his father, Isiaka Balogun, aka Gaddafi, rushed his mother to a clinic, where she was placed on certain medication and she was discharged later.

He said when they got back home, her condition worsened, noting that before they could get a vehicle to convey her to hospital, she died.

The teenager stated, “She told me that she was vomiting in the morning after I left for school. When I returned from school in the afternoon, I met her in bed; she looked pale. She told me that she had been excreting loose stool and vomiting. I asked my dad to take her to hospital. And when he took her to hospital, they gave her an injection and he brought her back home.

“She was still experiencing pains as was excreting and vomiting after returning from the hospital. I had to get her 7Up and added some salt to it and gave her to drink to see if it could give her strength since the doctor said it was cholera.

“My dad had to take her to the same hospital but they rejected her. We had to rush her to the General Hospital, Isolo, and when we got there, the doctor examined her and told us that she couldn’t make it. One of our family friends and I had to return home, leaving my father behind.”

Uche added that in the afternoon, he received a call concerning his father’s health and he and some of relatives and friends quickly went to the hospital.

He said they tried to ensure that Isiaka was admitted to the general hospital, but he was rejected by doctors and nurses there.

As a result, they moved him to the Jericho Hospital in Mafoluku, where he was admitted.

Uche added, “He was on the second drip when I noticed that the drip had stopped and he began to breathe heavily.

“Out of apprehension, I called the doctor, who pushed me out of the room and asked me to stay outside.

“Due to their delay in coming out, I went inside to check what had happened. When I asked the doctor again if my dad was breathing, he told me that he couldn’t make it.

“Now we don’t have a mother and a father. We are four boys – the youngest is two, while I am 14. How am I going to take care of these ones?

“This house, which was my grandfather’s house, had been sold. I learnt that my father used part of the money he realised from the sale of this place to build a house at the tollgate area. I don’t know the area. I only know that he did not complete the house; only one part of it has been roofed as I was told.”

However, some residents of the estate are worried by the cholera outbreak.

One of the residents, who identified himself simply as Ajala, appealed to the government to come to the aid of the people urgently before death from cholera would spread and become an emergency matter.

Our correspondent, who went round the area, observed the poor sanitation in the compound, where the deceased lived. The house with 14 rooms and shops has only two pit toilets.

One of the tenants, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told our correspondent that they had between now and December to remain in the house as it had been sold.

The Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said Chibuzor died of malaria and typhoid, while the diabetic husband died of shock following his wife’s death.

There was a mild drama at Court 7, Federal High Court, Abuja, as application by the Department of State Services (DSS) counsel, Hassan Liman, to take witnesses in the ongoing trial of Omoyele Sowore, Convener, #RevolutionNow Protest, in camera failed.

Sowore, alongside Olawale Bakare, is charged by the DSS with treasonable felony, money laundering, among others.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu had, on Oct. 21, adjourned commencement of trial till Nov. 6 and Nov. 7, after varying the bail conditions granted Sowore, and his co-defendant, Bakare.
Justice Ojukwu had granted the order in a ruling on the application for bail variation by the duo.
However, on Wednesday before the commencement of the trial, screen shield was already set up in the court for witnesses to be taken.

But it was dismantled shortly before Justice Ojukwu took her seat.
As soon as court proceeding started, DSS Counsel, Liman, SAN, told the court that the agency was ready to commence the trial based on the order of the court in the last sitting.

However, Counsel to the 1st defendant, Femi Falana, SAN, prayed the court for an adjournment of the matter to enable them perfect the defendants’ bail conditions.

Falana, who told the court that the security outfit had made it difficult for them to have access to the defendants to prepare for the trial, said even in court, they were only given less than five minutes to converse with them.
Quoting the law, he said defendants are expected to be given adequate time and facilities for their defence.
Falana hinted that all the bail conditions have been met but they needed time to perfect them.

He also accused the DSS of planning a secret trail for his client.
However, Counsel to the DSS, Liman, SAN, objected to the application for adjournment, saying the defendants counsel had had ample time to perfect the bail conditions and prepare for the trial.
Liman, who disagreed that the DSS had not given them opportunity to meet the defendants, said they were given unrestricted access to them.

Unhappy with Liman’s response, Falana told Justice Ojukwu that the prosecution counsel had told him before the commencement of the trial that their witnesses would be taken in camera.
He said Liman’s statement was evident with the setting up of screen shield by the witness box close to the judge’s door.

According to Falana, I was told that the witnesses will come in through My Lord’s door to the screen shield where they will testify.
“They have made arrangement with the deputy chief registrar to take the witnesses on camera without our knowledge.
“This is an ambush. But all of a sudden, the court Clark dismantled the shield,” he said.
The lawyer said when Liman discovered that the plan did not, he approached him for a cooperation.
He said the act was meant to embarrass the court and the defendants.

When Justice Ojukwu asked Liman on what transpired, the DSS told the court that an application was made to take the witnesses in camera.
He said though it was not a judicial arrangement, an administrative arrangement was made in that regard through the Deputy Chief Registrar (DCR) of the court, Mr Femi Ekperobe.
Justice Ojukwu, therefore, summoned the DCR to explained why such arrangement was made without the court’s knowledge.
Ekperobe, who confirmed the development, told the court that such arrangement is meant for high profile cases.
He said “the prosecution counsel made an application to the effect to which an approval was given in view of high profile nature of the case.”

The judge, who was unaware of the arrangement, asked the prosecution counsel “who is in charge of the court?”
Liman, who responded that the judge was in charge of the court, said they would appropriately apply to the court.
Then the DCR was asked to go.

However, Justice Ojukwu, who asked the prosecution counsel to call the first witness, ruled that the court was of the view to commence trial because when the court granted defendants bail in the last adjourned date, the court ordered accelerated hearing on the case.

Liman then read the charges against the defendants.
While he was about to call the 1st witness, Falana objected to the move.
Falana, in response, told the court that the DSS had not served them with the witnesses’ statements and the video recordings to enable the defence counsel prepare for the trial contrary to the ACJA Act.

The human rights lawyer, who described the act as plans by the security agency to ambush them, said the DSS was not ready for the trial.

Justice Ojukwu assured that justice would be done in the case despite the decision to continue with the case.
“This court does not condone frivolity. Neither the prosecution nor the defence counsel can control this court.
“The court has final decision whether anyone has made arrangement or not,” she said.
Ojukwu said that every trial has a constitutional background.

The judge, therefore, asked if the prosecution counsel had served the defence counsel with the documents and attached the video recordings.
She said the prosecution counsel ought to have served the defendants with all the documents that would assist them in the defence.

The judge, who said it was the right of the defence counsel to request for any document that would assist them, said no one can waste the precious time of the court.
On his part, Liman said there was no legal requirement that required the defence to be served the written statements of witnesses since they would have been served with their names and briefs.

The judge asked if they were not entitled to the documents and Liman gave a yes response.
The DSS counsel, therefore, applied for more time to continue the trial and Falana did not object it.
Justice Ojukwu adjourned the matter till Dec. 5 and Dec. 6 for commencement of trial.
(NAN)