African Hub Naija

Saturday, 2 April 2016

Pato scores debut goal as Chelsea runs riot

The Blues extended our unbeaten Premier League run with a dominant display as two goals in each half saw the home side, under the temporary stewardship of Eric Black.

Hiddink was able to hand debuts to three players - Matt Miazga, Pato and Jake Clarke-Salter - and Pato was on target shortly after coming on, converting from the penalty spot to make it 2-0 after winning the kick himself.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who performed well throughout, had opened the scoring and Pedro added a brace in the second half.

'At the end there was a strange atmosphere, which is understandable given Aston Villa's situation, but we started the game very well and killed the game off in the first half with good football,' he said. 'We defended well, pressed high and got the goals. The game was over after the second goal.'

On the performance of Pato

'It was good to see him come in, of course the expectation was for him to come in earlier but we had to give him a pre-season. It wasn't the toughest Premier League game but we are happy to see him play and we will see how he copes. The players see him suffering by training with the first team and then doing extra work so they are happy, they recognise his situation and it was a relief for him to get his first goal.'

'It would be nice to be unbeaten until the end of the season. When I bring young kids in there is a bigger risk of failure, but I prefer that.'

News credit: Chelsea website.

Nollywood actress Dakore Akande slays on the cover of Blanck Magazine

Breaking! Dakore Akande Covers the Spring/Summer 2016 edition of Blanck Magazine themed ‘The Body Issue’

In an in-depth interview, Nigerian star actress Dakore Akande talks to Blanck about being very self-conscious and working really hard to change the things she didn’t like about her body, using realistic and level headed approaches. Attributing motivation and determination as elements that fueled her ability to shed all her baby weight and getting back into her filming business. When we sat to talk about losing all the postpartum weight and fitting into the media’s idea of what a TV star should look like; she takes it to church “it’s about what rocks your boat” she says “but don’t let anyone dictate for you who you should be; skinny doesn’t mean beautiful.”

Also in this issue are riveting fashion editorials, topical articles and a special interview feature with media personality and all round fabulous Wana Udobang, who schooled us on the importance of living our healthiest and most authentic lives on our terms, irrespective of our body shape, form or size.

This issue of the magazine is our most rewarding yet, as we seek to to celebrate the progressive nature of womanhood.

The digital version will be available online, on the iOS and android apps on the 7th of April 2016.

Download the Blanck Magazine app to read full issue.

The Print Version will be available from the 14th of April 2014, visit the BlanckShop to order your copy.

Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman file for divorce

Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore and her husband Will Kopelman, have confirmed that they are to divorce, after over three years of marriage.

Both released a joint statement saying that their daughters, Olive, three, and 23-month-old Frankie, will remain their top priority.

'Sadly our family is separating legally, although we do not feel this takes away from us being a family,' they told People magazine.

Our children are our universe, and we look forward to living the rest of our lives with them as the first priority.'

Drew on Thursday night, shared a tattoo of her two daughters on her forearm.

PDP Chieftain commends Buhari's war against insurgency

Alhaji Bashir Rimi-Zaya, Publicity Secretary of Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Bauchi state, has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari's effort in his fight against insurgency in the country.

Rimi-Zayam made the remark on Saturday during which he also commended Buhari for fighting corruption in the country. He said the President should continue in his bid to get corrupt individuals to return all stolen funds.

“Anyone who has stolen public fund, even if it is me, should return the exact amount to the public treasury.

"But, I am begging Buhari to set the looters free and allow them to continue to live in terrible shame they have brought to themselves,” he said.

The PDP chieftain expressed satisfaction with the judiciary in the handling of corruption cases and said cases should be referred to credible judges.

"We all know that there are good judges and good lawyers, and there are bad judges and lawyers, therefore, Buhari should ensure that corrupt cases are sent to credible judges and lawyers,” he said.

AFCON 2017: NFF has no case at CAS -Onigbinde

Former Super Eagles coach, Adegboye Onigbinde, has rubbished the decision of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), to drag the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) to Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), over the new rules in the AFCON 2017 qualifiers.

The NFF through its spokesman Ademola Olajire said they were going to contest the sudden change of rules by CAF after the Super Eagles failed to qualify for next year’s tournament. Chad's decision to pull out of the qualifiers coupled with Nigeria's defeat at Alexandria meant Egypt took the only available slot.

Onigbinde, who was speaking to Complete Sports, said the NFF knew about the rules.

"I know the rules have been on for some time, so if we want CAF to change it because of us, let us try and see what the outcome will be. But I know there was a circular to that effect.

“You see what is ridiculous to me is that in spite of all our potential, we now seek ways to cutting corners and bends to achieve, I see it as being ridiculous and shameful.

“This is not the first time, it has happened on occasions, after we had failed ourselves, we now look for scapegoats and escape routes.

“It is ridiculous because I believe seriously in the ability of Nigeria to perform much better than we are performing if we do it right."