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Jonathan Not APC Member – Party’s Vice Chairman

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The National Vice Chairman, North-West of All Progressives Congress, Salihu Lukman, has said former President Goodluck Jonathan is not a member of the party.

Lukman disclosed this in a telephone interview (with The Punch) at a time media reports are suggesting that some leaders of the ruling party are dragging Jonathan into the APC presidential race.

He said he found the news touting Jonathan as the party’s joker or anointed candidate annoying.

He said, “I can tell you this straight away. Jonathan is not a member of the APC as far as this party is concerned. What is being discussed in the media is very strange to many of us. We are not even aware that anybody has bought a form in the name of Jonathan and we have closed the sales of forms.

“All those media speculations, yes we know everything can be possible in this country. But as far as this party is concerned and some of us are there in critical structure, that is not going to be possible.

“You can quote me on this that I said it is not going to be possible. Anybody who is talking about it is just talking nonsense.”

When reminded that there are still some high-ranking members of the party and in the presidency who are still keen on his candidacy, Lukman disclosed that he was unaware of it.

“I am not aware whether the chairman or any member of the National Working Committee makes such a statement. But where such a statement was made, it must have been done out of error. It is not possible.

“Jonathan is not a member of APC as far as we know. Besides, our membership in the political party is not a secret. Feel free to quote me please,” he said.

Lukman slammed media reports saying the party has settled for consensus, saying the APC is willing to give every presidential aspirant a level playing field.

As of the time of filing this report, the camp of the former president could not be reached for reaction.

Efforts made to contact Jonathan’s spokesman, Ikechukwu Eze, proved abortive.

He neither picked up the calls of our correspondent nor replied to his SMS.

A Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, had ruled on Friday that the former President is eligible to contest the 2023 presidential election.

The presiding judge, Justice Isa Hamma Dashen, gave the judgment in a suit marked FHC/YNG/CS/86/2022.

Dashen also held that Jonathan’s right to vie for the office of president again cannot be stopped by any retroactive law.

BIG STORY

Usyk Defeats Fury, Becomes Undisputed Heavyweight Champion

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Oleksandr Usyk emerged as the world’s undisputed heavyweight boxing champion adter defeating Tyson Fury.

On Saturday night, Fury and Usyk engaged in combat at the Kingdom Arena located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Usyk defeated the British fighter 115-112, 113-114, and 114-113 on the scorecards to win the fight by split decision.

In the first several rounds of the battle, Fury came out swinging, but Usyk was able to withstand the British fighter’s assault.

As the battle went on, the Ukrainian gained momentum because of his excellent movement and technical proficiency, which allowed him to block Fury’s strong attacks and land accurate shots of his own.

The highly anticipated battle took a turn for the better when the Ukrainian stopped Fury in the ninth round.

Despite Fury’s valiant effort to recover in the final rounds, Usyk’s dominance had already sealed the victory.

The 37-year-old Ukrainian is the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world since Lennox Lewis 25 years ago. He has now unified the WBA, WBO, IBF, and WBC titles.

For Fury, it is the first loss in his 16-year professional career, but he will have a chance at a rematch before the end of the year.

In his post-fight interview, the British boxer accused the judges of giving the victory to Usyk because of the war in Ukraine.

“His country is at war, so people are siding with the country at war,” he said.

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Nigeria’s Boniface Scores As Leverkusen Make History With Unbeaten Bundesliga Season

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In the final game of the 2023–24 German Bundesliga season, Bayer Leverkusen defeated Augsburg 2-1 in the BayArena on Saturday thanks to an early goal by Victor Boniface.

In lieu of this victory, Leverkusen, who had already won the Bundesliga, would end the season unbeaten in the league.

In the 34-match league, the unbeaten streak that led to the league title consists of 28 wins and 6 draws.

It made history and cemented the names of Boniface and his colleagues in the Bundesliga as the first team to finish the season undefeated.

Boniface, who won the Bundesliga Rookie of the Year award earlier in the week, started the party atmosphere when he slotted home an Amaine Chadli pass inside the area in the 12th minute before Robert Andrich doubled the lead before the half-hour mark.

Mert Komur’s goal on 62 minutes proved only a consolation for Augsburg as Leverkusen sealed victory in front of their passionate fans.

The Levekusen side is led by Xabi Alonso, who is only into his second year but first full season as coach of a senior team.

The team remains unbeaten in all competitions, with the win over Augsburg extending the run to 51 matches.

They have the chance to finish the season unbeaten in all competitions with victories over Atalanta in the UEFA Europa League final on Wednesday and Kaiserslautern three days later.

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FBI Lauds EFCC, Promises Support As Agency Hands Over Recovered $22k From Convicted Fraudster

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has handed over $22,000 recovered from Hakeem Olanrewaju, a convicted internet scammer, to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

The EFCC, in a statement on Saturday,said the money was handed over to the FBI in Lagos, as the victim, who was defrauded, lives in the US.

Nicholas Oweibo, the judge of the federal high court in Ikoyi, sentenced Olanrewaju to two years imprisonment for identity theft and impersonation in August 2023.

The judge also ordered that the money recovered from him be restituted to his victim.

Speaking during the handover ceremony in Lagos on Friday, Michael Wetkas, acting director of the Lagos zonal command of the EFCC, said the commission remains dedicated to combating crimes and restoring sanity to the nation.

“We are delighted to be handing over this proceeds of crime today,” Wetkas said, adding that “the EFCC is willing and always ready to do more”.

Charles Smith, FBI legal attaché in Nigeria, thanked the EFCC for facilitating the recovery of the money.

“This type of crime cripples businesses in the US, and for them to recover the money within one to two years gives hope to the affected companies and brings some level of justice, even if not all subjects have been identified,” Smith said.

“We hope our relationship continues and fosters a more cohesive partnership between the two agencies.”

Smith added that the FBI is willing to support the investigation in any way possible.

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