Obire Efe Blog

CORONAVIRUS: JUVENTUS V INTER MILAN ONE OF FIVE SERIE A MATCHES POSTPONED Five Serie A matches this weekend have been postponed because of coronavirus, including Juventus’ game at home to Inter Milan. Matches at Udinese, AC Milan, Parma and Sassuolo have also fallen victim to the outbreak of the virus in Italy. The games were initially going to be played behind closed doors, but Serie A took the decision on Saturday morning to call them off. All five fixtures have been rescheduled for Wednesday, 13 May. Italy has put towns in the north into lockdown after more than 300 people were infected, 12 of whom have died. As a consequence, the Coppa Italia final which was scheduled for the same day, has been moved to the following week on Wednesday, 20 May – four days before the end of the domestic season. It follows last weekend’s disruption when four Serie A games in Milan, Bergamo, Verona and Turin were suspended and Serie B side Cremonese drove 300 miles to Ascoli, only t...

CORONAVIRUS: UNEXPLAINED WEST COAST CASES RAISE FEARS IN US Officials on the US West Coast have reported three unexplained coronavirus cases, raising concerns the virus could be spreading within the community. The patients – in California, Oregon and Washington State – have no known connection to a badly hit country. A total of 59 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the US, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Meanwhile South Korea, which has the highest number of cases outside China, mobilised the army on Saturday. Soldiers are disinfecting large parts of Daegu, the south-eastern city that has been at the centre of the country’s coronavirus outbreak. On Friday South Korea reported a sharp rise in the number of cases of the Covid-19 disease. It now stands at 3,150. The respiratory illness has killed 17 people in the country so far. WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE US? On Friday health officials in California’s Santa Clara County said an older woman with ...

A SERIE C PLAYER: BECOME THE FIRST PLAYER IN ITALY TO CONTRACT THE CORONAVIRUS A PLAYER IN THE THIRD DIVISION OF ITALIAN FOOTBALL HAS BECOME THE FIRST PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLER IN THE COUNTRY TO BE DIAGNOSED WITH THE CORONAVIRUS. The killer virus is continuing to spread, with over 2,800 deaths now recorded globally, and it has now  moved into the world of football for the first time. The affected player, who plays for US Pianese ASD, is 22 years old but has not been named,  according to newspaper  La Nazione. A statement on Thursday read: ‘Two new suspected positive cases of  Coronavirus in Tuscany.  Both are awaiting confirmation by the Higher Institute of Health. ‘One is a 22-year-old man in the Siena province, a Pianese player, who last Saturday had symptoms in a hotel in Alessandria, where he was training with the team ahead of Sunday’s game [at Juventus U-23s].’ Pianese are currently 19th in Group A of Serie C – Italy’s regional third division...

VOTE OF CONFIDENCE IN OSHIOMHOLE PASSED BY APC GROUPS A vote of confidence was passed in the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade  Adams Oshiomhole , on Friday as two groups in the party staged a joint peaceful rally to endorse his continued stay in office. The two groups are Unity Group of APC and Friends of Oshiomhole in Nigeria. Banners and placards carrying members of the two groups stormed the national secretariat of the party barely 24 hours after the police averted a bloody clash between two opposing groups who were on protest for and against the national chairman of the party. As early as 11am, members, who were signing praises of the national chairman, took over the road that leads to the party secretariat to drum up support for the continued stay in office of the national chairman. Some of the banners and placards read: “No one can pull APC down”, “Godwin Obaseki, stop the pull down syndrome”, “Obaseki, stop creating confusion...

JOHN TERRY CRITICIZED FOR PROUDLY POSING WITH A SMALL FISH. JOHN TERRY HAS FALLEN VICTIM TO SOME HILARIOUS AND LIGHT-HEARTED ONLINE TROLLING AFTER POSING PROUDLY WITH A TINY CATCH AFTER HIS MOST RECENT FISHING TRIP. The Aston Villa assistant manager and Chelsea legend tried to show off his  angling skills by taking a picture with a fish he had caught. But his friends and social media followers were quick to call him out for his underwhelming results, with some even suggesting he bought the fish rather than caught it. Former Chelsea team-mate Dennis Wise was among those to comment on the picture, with the former Blues captain writing: ‘Is that it? Did you buy it from the local fish stall?’ Fans soon followed Wise though and posted jokes like:  ‘Not sure you need 2 hands for that’ and ‘been catching Blues fans again?’ A Star Barbers – who occasionally go to Terry’s house to give him a hair cut – got involved, commenting: ‘Small fish’, alongside a laughing emoji. ...

CORONAVIRUS: 28 QUARANTINED AMID ANXIETY IN LAGOS, OGUN The Ogun State Government on Friday quarantined 28 people it claimed had physical contact with the Italian diagnosed with the deadly coronavirus. A factory located in the Ewekoro community in the state, which the unnamed Italian visited, has been shut down with government intensifying effort to locate others who had met with him. The search is taking place simultaneously in Lagos and Ogun states as part of the strategies aimed at containing the deadly virus. It was not clear last night how many people had physical contact with the unnamed Italian between his arrival in Nigeria on Monday night and Thursday when he tested positive to  COVID-19 . He is currently in isolation at the bio-security facility in Yaba, Lagos. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has already deployed its rapid response teams in Lagos to deal with the situation. Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State confirmed the decision to qua...

SANWO-OLU ASSURES: NO CAUSE FOR ALARM OVER CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK IN LAGOS LAGOS STATE GOVERNOR, BABAJIDE SANWO-OLU ON FRIDAY ALLAYED THE FEARS OF LAGOSIANS OVER THE CASE OF AN ITALIAN WHO TESTED POSITIVE TO THE DEADLY CORONAVIRUS IN THE STATE. The governor said there is no cause for alarm as the government had put necessary measures in place to tackle the situation. The governor stated this in a press conference at the Lagos House, Marina, Lagos. He disclosed that the government has commenced contact tracing of those who had connection with the patient that developed the symptoms in Ogun State, where he had a business meeting on Tuesday. Sanwo-Olu explained that the patient arrived Lagos from Milan, Italy, on Monday, without symptoms, but was later referred to Lagos after  exhibiting the signs and was first treated at the Company’s facilities , in Ogun State. Sanwo-Olu, who hinted that there are various levels of escalation, said the state is constantly in touch with...

CORONAVIRUS: OGUN QUARANTINES 28 PEOPLE The  Ogun  Government said 28 people, who had contact with the Italian said to have contracted the Coronavirus, had been identified and consequently quarantined. Gov. Dapo Abiodun, who disclosed this at a press conference on Friday evening, said the 28 people would be quarantined for the next 14 days. The governor, however, added that the state government would continue with line listing of people who had contact with the 28 people. Abiodun said the company the index (Italian) visited in Ogun had also been shut down, just as two isolation centres had been put in place within the premises. He added that part of the measures put in place to contain the virus was the establishment of a Disease Surveillance Centre in all the 20 local government areas of the state. He, however, expressed concern over the time it would take the state to convey test samples of suspected cases from Ogun to the Bio-Security centre in Lag...

POLICE: ARREST SACKED GOVERNOR’S AIDE FOR MURDER. THE SACKED EBONYI STATE GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL, WHO ALLEGEDLY KILLED HIS COUSIN DURING THE PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP) LOCAL GOVERNMENT PRIMARY IN THE STATE, HAS BEEN ARRESTED BY THE POLICE. The suspect, Uche Ibiam, was the Coordinator of Ubeyi Development Centre In Afikpo  North Local government area when he allegedly commited the crime. The Nation had reported how he  allegedly killed one Enyinnaya Ibiam (Jr), his Cousin, during a PDP councilorship primary election in their Unwana Ward, in the Afikpo North Local Government Area of the state, last week. The suspect was said to have clashed  with his younger brother, Ogbonnaya Ibiam, who was a Technical Assistant to Governor David Umahi, during the primary election. Both brothers belonged to different factions of the party in the ward and local government area. HE WAS ACCUSED OF MASTERMINDING THE VIOLENCE THAT BROKE OUT IN THE WARD DURING THE PRIMARY ELECTI...