Jonathan’s government exposed: the real cost of fuel in Nigeria

President Goodluck Jonathan reading the budget

On December 10, 2011, if you stopped at the Mobil filling station on Old Aba Road in Port Harcourt , you would be able to buy a litre of petrol for 65 naira or $1.66 per gallon at an exchange rate of $1/N157 and 4 litres per gallon. This is the official price. The government claims that this price would have been subsidized at N73/litre and that the true price of a litre of petrol in Port Harcourt is N138/litre or $3.52 per gallon.

They are therefore determined to remove their subsidy and sell the gallon at $3.52. But, On December 10, 2011, if you stopped at the Mobil Gas station on E83rd St and Flatlands Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, USA, you would be a able to buy a gallon of petrol for $3.52/gallon. Both gallons of petrol would have been refined from Nigerian crude oil. The only difference would be that the gallon in New York was refined in a US North East refinery from Nigerian crude exported from the Qua Iboe Crude Terminal in Nigeria while the Port Harcourt gallon was either refined in Port Harcourt or imported. The idea that a gallon of petrol from Nigerian crude oil cost the same in New York as in Port Harcourt runs against basic economic logic. Hence, Nigerians suspect that there is something irrational and fishy about such pricing. What they would like to know is the exact cost of 1 litre of petrol in Nigeria .

We will answer this question in the simplest economic terms despite the attempts of the Nigerian government to muddle up the issue. What is the true cost of a litre of petrol in Nigeria ? The Nigerian government has earmarked 445000 barrel per day throughput for meeting domestic refinery products demands. These volumes are not for export. They are public goods reserved for internal consumption. We will limit our analysis to this volume of crude oil. At the refinery gate in Port Harcourt, the cost of a barrel of Qua Iboe crude oil is made up of the finding /development cost ($3.5/bbl) and a production/storage /transportation cost of $1.50 per barrel.

Thus, at $5 per barrel, we can get Nigerian Qua Iboe crude to the refining gates at Port Harcourt and Warri. One barrel is 42 gallons or 168 litres. The price of 1 barrel of petrol at the Depot gate is the sum of the cost of crude oil, the refining cost and the pipeline transportation cost. Refining costs are at $12.6 per barrel and pipeline distribution cost are $1.50 per barrel. The Distribution Margins (Retailers, Transporters, Dealers, Bridging Funds, Administrative charges etc) are N15.49/litre or $16.58 per barrel. The true cost of 1 litre of petrol at the Mobil filling station in Port Harcourt or anywhere else in Nigeria is therefore ($5 +$12.6+$1.5+$16.6) or $35.7 per barrel . This is equal to N33.36 per litre compared to the official price of N65 per litre. Prof. Tam David West is right. There is no petrol subsidy in Nigeria . Rather the current official prices are too high. Let us continue with some basic energy economics.

The government claims we are currently operating our refineries at 38.2% efficiency. When we refine a barrel of crude oil, we get more than just petrol. If we refine 1 barrel (42 gallons) of crude oil, we will get 45 gallons of petroleum products. The 45 gallons of petroleum products consist of 4 gallons of LPG, 19.5 gallons of Gasoline, 10 gallons of Diesel, 4 gallons of Jet Fuel/Kerosene, 2.5 gallons of Fuel Oil and 5 gallons of Bottoms. Thus, at 38.2% of refining capacity, we have about 170000 bbls of throughput refined for about 13.26 million litres of petrol, 6.8 million litres of diesel and 2.72 million litres of kerosene/jet fuel.

This is not enough to meet internal national demand. So, we send the remaining of our non-export crude oil volume (275000 barrels per day) to be refined abroad and import the petroleum product back into the country. We will just pay for shipping and refining. The Nigerian government exchanges the 275000 barrels per day with commodity traders (90000 barrels per day to Duke Oil, 60000 barrels per day to Trafigura (Puma Energy), 60000 barrels per day to Societe Ivoirienne de Raffinage (SIR) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and 65000 barrels per days to unknown sources) in a swap deal. The landing cost of a litre of petrol is N123.32 and the distribution margins are N15.49 according to the government. The cost of a litre is therefore (N123.32+N15.49) or N138.81 . This is equivalent to $3.54 per gallon or $148.54 per barrel. In technical terms, one barrel of Nigerian crude oil has a volume yield of 6.6% of AGO, 20.7% of Gasoline, 9.5% of Kerosene/Jet fuel, 30.6% of Diesel, 32.6% of Fuel oil / Bottoms when it is refined.

Using a netback calculation method, we can easily calculate the true cost of a litre of imported petrol from swapped oil. The gross product revenue of a refined barrel of crude oil is the sum of the volume of each refined product multiplied by its price. Domestic prices are $174.48/barrel for AGO, $69.55/barrel for Gasoline (PMS or petrol), $172.22/barrel for Diesel Oil, $53.5/barrel for Kerosene and $129.68/barrel for Fuel Oil. Let us substitute the government imported PMS price of $148.54 per barrel for the domestic price of petrol/gasoline. Our gross product revenue per swapped barrel would be (174.48*0.066 +148.54*0.207+172.22*0.306+ 53.5*0.095+129.68*0.326) or $142.32 per barrel. We have to remove the international cost of a barrel of Nigerian crude oil ($107 per barrel) from this to get the net cost of imported swapped petroleum products to Nigerian consumers. The net cost of swapped petroleum products would therefore be $142.32 -$107 or $35.32 per barrel of swapped crude oil. This comes out to be a net of $36.86 per barrel of petrol or N34.45 per litre.

This is the true cost of a litre of imported swapped petrol and not the landing cost of N138 per litre claimed by the government. The pro-subsidy Nigerian government pretends the price of swapped crude oil is $0 per barrel (N0 per litre) while the resulting petroleum products is $148.54 per barrel (N138 per litre). The government therefore argues that the “subsidy” is N138.81-N65 or N73.81 per litre. But, if landing cost of the petroleum products is at international price ($148.54 per barrel), then the take-off price of the swapped crude oil should be at international price ($107 per barrel). This is basic economic logic outside the ideological prisms of the World Bank. The traders/petroleum products importers and the Nigerian government are charging Nigerians for the crude oil while they are getting it free.

So let us conclude this basic economic exercise. If the true price of 38.2% of our petrol supply from our local refinery is N33.36/litre and the remaining 61.8% has a true price of N34.45 per litre, then the average true price is (0.382*33.36+0.618*34.45) or N34.03 per litre. The official price is N65 per litre and the true price with government figures is about N34 per litre (even with our moribund refineries).

There is therefore no petrol subsidy. Rather, there is a high sales tax of 91.2% at current prices of N65 per litre. The labor leaders meeting the President should go with their economists. They should send economists and political scientists as representatives to the Senate Committee investigating the petroleum subsidy issue. There are many expert economists and political scientists in ASUU who will gladly represent the view of the majority. The labor leaders should not let anyone get away with the economic fallacy that the swapped oil is free while its refined products must be sold at international prices in the Nigerian domestic market.

The government should explain at what price the swapped crude oil was sold and where the money accruing from these sales have been kept. We have done this simple economic analysis of the Nigerian petroleum products market to show that there is no petrol subsidy what so ever. In the end, this debate on petrol subsidy and the attempt of the government to transfer wealth from the Nigerian masses to a petrol cabal will be decided in the streets. Nigerian workers, farmers, students, market women, youths, unemployed, NGO and civil society as a whole should prepare for a long harmattan season of protracted struggle. They should not just embark on 3 days strike/protests after which the government reduces the hiked petroleum prices by a few Nairas. They must embark upon in a sustainable struggle that will lead to fundamental changes. Let us remove our entire political subsidy from the government and end this petroleum products subsidy debate once and for all. It is time to bring the Arab Spring south.

Izielen Agbon Izielen Agbon writes from Dallas, Texas. izielenagbon@yahoo.com
He is former HOD , Petroleum Engineering Dept, former ASUU chairman, University of Ibadan, trained many operators in nation’s energy industry with pratical experience on our practices and policy focus in the last 20yrs

Allegri praises Taiwo

Allegri praises Taiwo

Robbers attack Abacha’s house in Kano, shoot his last son

Al-Mustapha Abacha

A gang of suspected armed robbers, on Wednesday night, besieged one of the homes of the late General Sani Abacha in the metropolitan area of Kano, shooting the last son of the departed ruler, Alhaji Al-Mustapha Abacha somewhere near his stomach. A police source told Daily Sun that apart from Al-Mustapha, other persons sustained injuries, adding that those injured have been rushed to an undisclosed hospital.

Daily Sun was told that the shootout was sequel to the prompt response by Abacha’s bodyguards complimented by the resourcefulness of the police officers from the Nassarawa Police Division, whose office block is a stone -throw from the scene of the gun battle.

The incident happened at about 6.30pm at one of the Abacha’s properties, located on Bank Road in Nassarawa area. Members of the Abacha family, especially Mohammed had, from time to time, quartered themselves in the brick-painted building as an alternative to the family house situated on Gidado Road.
The five-member gang, it was gathered, came in a grey coloured End-of-Discussion Honda car and quietly made their way into the compound where they accosted Hajia Zainab Abacha, one of the daughters of the late General and demanded for money.
It was learnt that Zainab had no immediate cash to dispense with and was in a fix trying to negotiate a way out when things suddenly went out of hand.

The source told the Daily Sun that when the robbers took over the big house, they first arrested everybody within sight and seized all their handsets to ensure that none of them could contact the outside world. According to the source, unfortunately for the robbers just when they were certain that everybody was under check, the unexpected happened. They did not realize that not everybody in the building at that moment had been arrested.
The source said that Al-Mustapha was actually in the kitchen, eating a light meal when the tragic scene began to unfold in the house. Hiding in the kitchen he secretly put a distress call across to his elder brother, Mohammed, but was caught in the act, a reason he was instantly shot.

The source went further to state that Mohammed, on getting the message, quickly alerted their bodyguards as well as called in the police for help, leading to both teams storming the building within minutes. One of the robbers was arrested after he was shot twice in the leg as he made his escape from the troubled spot. The first shot came from the officers from Nassarawa Division while the second shot came from the bodyguards who gallantly defended their principal’s interest. Equally, some guns, were recovered from the robbers as they dropped everything on them and fled for their lives. The End-of- Discussion Honda Car used for the operation had been taken to the Bompai Headquarters of the Police Command.

The state Police Commissioner, Mr. Ibrahim K Idris has visited the scene of the crime to make a personal assessment even as it was gathered that the arrested suspect has been cooperating in the investigation. State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Magaji Majiya confirmed the robbery attack on the Abachas and said that, the police responded quickly and positively, adding that the robbers did not take any property out of the house.
He also said that investigation is in progress, even as he assured the people of the Kano State of the readiness of the Police command to secure life and property.


Sources: sunnewsonline.com

THE EFCC SHAKE-UP

• More heads to roll
• Plot of merger with ICPC still on the card
• The forces that kicked Farida Waziri out

Farida Waziri

There are bubbles in the political space. And they are gaining desired public attention. One of such is the sack of Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) by President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday.

The removal was the second major bold step taken by the President Jonathan administration this week. The other was the arrest and arraignment of Boko Haram spokesman, Ali Umar Konduga as well as the alleged financier of the sect, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, by the State Security Services (SSS) at the Abuja Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.  The actions have notched up the image of the government.
Waziri’s sudden sack has sparked off varied reactions. While it is celebrated in some circles, it attracted flaks in a few quarters, especially those who believe Jonathan acted beyond his constitutional powers.  There are also sharp disagreements on the reason(s) for her sack.

However, Saturday Sun investigation revealed that the sack of Waziri is the first of a major shake-up the Federal Government wants to effect in the EFCC. It was gathered that when a substantive head of the anti-graft agency is eventually appointed, there would be other changes in the EFCC.

Sources revealed that the government opted for a major reorganization of the EFCC now to give the commission a new lease of life as well as prove that the exercise is not targetted at Waziri.
Saturday Sun learnt that the planned shake-up in the entire EFCC was occasioned by the plan to rid the commission of the Waziri elements and sentiments. Also, it was gathered, the exercise is to appease the United States, which had sent a report alleging bribery in the EFCC. The Presidency reasoned that if the report on attempt to bribe those investigating and prosecuting cases is true then there’s need to bring in new people into the commission.It was learnt that the operations and legal departments in the EFCC are likely to be affected in the shake-up.

Apart from the shake-up in the EFCC, checks revealed that government is also considering appointing a serving police office to head the EFCC. The suggestion, in this regard, it was learnt, came about as those pushing it reasoned that a serving police officer would make it easier, in the command of policemen attached to the EFCC. Those who are opposed to this, it was gathered, argue that such arrangement may cause a personality clash between the office of the Inspector of Police and the head of EFCC, as witnessed when Mallam Nuhu Ribadu headed the anti-graft agency. Those in this school of thought are pushing, instead, for the appointment of a retired judge or retired policeman or soldier to do the job.

Checks also revealed that those who are pushing for the merger of the EFCC and Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) are using Waziri’s sack as an opportunity to get government fuse the two agencies. These elements, it was learnt, say that with a vacuum at the headship of EFCC, the issue of who assumes the executive position, in the event of merger, would not pose any problem.

The office of the Attorney general of the Federal and Minister of Justice had made a case for the merger of the EFCC and ICPC. However, the move suffered a setback at the National Assembly when senators opposed it.

It was gathered that government, persuaded that there is duplication of roles between EFCC and ICPC, wants to represent the bill of the merger plan, with the argument that this would make corruption war more effective.
“Government feels strongly that the merger of EFCC and ICPC would give the war against corruption a boost. Therefore, don’t be surprised if the bill on the merger is re-presented. Until this is resolved, a substantive head of the EFCC may not be announced,” a source close to the Federal Government told Saturday Sun.

Meanwhile, the sack of Waziri did not come as a surprise to those who closely followed her activities since 2008. This is despite the fact that she had about seven months left of her tenure, which would have expired in June 2012. The signs as to the type of Czar President Jonathan desired for the anti-graft body have always been there for everybody to see. Pressures had weighed in from different flanks against the woman. The forces that swayed against Waziri, therefore, are:

International circle  
Although Waziri undertook several foreign trips, where she participated in high profile conferences on corruption, it was gathered that the international community, especially the United States, did not like her. Sources revealed that this came about owing to the Mallam Nuhu Ribadu sentiment. Sources revealed that the US is yet to forgive Nigeria for the removal of Ribadu and, therefore, did not want Waziri, the beneficiary of the change of guards. It was, therefore, not surprising that United States Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, at a town hall meeting during a visit to Nigeria in 2009 flayed Waziri’s EFCC. She said the body had lost the bite it was noted for during the reign of Ribadu.
US never recanted her position. Instead the country intensified pressure on Jonathan to reorganise EFCC. In fact, it is no longer news that it was one of the conditions given to Jonathan by US before it queued behind him to succeed the late President Umar Yar’Adua.

Mrs. Clinton said: “We want to see the reinstatement of a vigorous corruption commission. The EFCC has kind of fallen off in the last one year. We will like to see it come back to business to able to partner us.”
As a show of solidarity with the US, the Metropolitan Police severed ties with Waziri’s EFCC.  Shortly after that, the UK Serious Fraud office bade a goodbye to Waziri. She damned these forces but, perhaps, never knew her decision had a price.

The Presidency

The death of President Yar’Adua was the beginning of the real problem of Waziri. Those that brought her to the office were all kicked out of the cabinet. One of them was Michael Aondoakaa, then Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of justice. She found comfort in the arms of former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Aloysius Katsina-Ala, who, incidentally, was Aondoakaa’s mentor. Some of the pressures were staved off by the ex-CJN.

With these people gone, Jonathan’s men mounted intense pressures on him to remove Waziri. At that time, former Information and Communications Minister, Prof Dora Akunyili, was lined up as a replacement. Waziri’s kinsmen, including the Senate president, David Mark and Gov. Gabriel Suswam, intervened and saved the day.  Jonathan was told the implication of taking such a step, especially as he was still soliciting for support from different geo-political zones for his presidential ambition.

Also, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his loyalists, who were incensed by the removal of Ribadu by Yar’Adua, never ceased from fighting Waziri. Unfortunately for her, Obasanjo had the ears of Jonathan. The presidency set some traps for the ex-EFCC chairman. Several politicians, who got favour from EFCC, had informed the presidency. The car gift she allegedly gave a prominent government official was just one of the traps.

National Assembly

The relationship between the former EFCC boss and the National Assembly has never been robust. When she was initially appointed, Mark hesitated in endorsing her, but coming with the backing of the former justice minister, the Senate accepted the nomination.  Prominent Benue indigenes had also mounted pressure on the Senate president to back her. And he did.

Fortunately for the EFCC boss, there was really no reason to seek the intervention of the lawmakers after her confirmation. But an opportunity for them to show that they were not particularly pleased with her performance in office came recently. The House of Representatives came up with a bill seeking an amendment to the EFCC Act to reserve the chairmanship of the commission for a retired Supreme Court Justice or Appeal Court Judge.
Waziri saw this as a subtle move to stop her reappointment next year and mobilised her supporters to criticise the bill and possibly stop the amendment. She didn’t succeed in stopping the bill until she was kicked out.

Forces from Gombe

Waziri is involved in the politics of Gombe State, where the husband, Adamu Ajuju Waziri, hails from. The man, who was in the last Senate, wanted to return to the upper legislative chamber but failed to get the support of the then governor of the state, Mohammed Goje.
The development angered the family to the marrow. In fact, the arrest and prosecution of Goje by EFCC recently is attributed to the frosty relationship between Waziri and the former governor. The incumbent governor of the state, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, is said not to be happy with Waziri’s action. He worked hard to assist his predecessor in getting bail.

Goje’s loyalist and that of the governor are believed to have exerted massive influence on notable individuals in the presidency to ensure that the woman is removed or at worst not reappointed. The veracity of this claim was demonstrated by the wild celebration that followed the announcement of her removal in Gombe. For Goje loyalists, it is a well-deserved move by the President.

Judiciary

The greatest fight waged by Waziri was the long drawn battle with the Justice minister, Mohammed Bello Adoke. Until their differences were somewhat resolved a few months ago, the two had openly engaged in huge fisticuff. Apart from the minister insisting that suits against defenders should be originating from his office, he has been campaigning that EFCC and ICPC should be merged. If the man had had his way, he would have removed Waziri long before now. It is certain that the pressure from him may have watered the ground for her sack.

Apart from Adoke, some judges who believe that Waziri tried to blackmail judiciary, with the allegation that judges were stalling the work of the commission, may have contributed in subtle manner to ease her out. The president of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta had told her in clear term that judges were not happy, for instance, with frequent amendment of charges midway into trials by her leadership.
Also, some senior members of the judiciary were not happy with Waziri’s move to set up a special court to try corruption cases. It was gathered that they see this move as an indictment of them and indeed, a vote of no confidence in the courts.

From staff  

Apart from external factors the former EFCC boss was said to have received the greatest heat from some staff of the commission. A senior official of the commission told Saturday Sun that two-third of petitions against the woman were couched by EFCC staff and sent to the presidency and AGF’s office.
He said: “Honestly, I can tell you that Waziri was removed by petitions from staff. We were writing with pseudo names to the presidency and even international agencies.”

Fact of the matter

Somehow, that Waziri survived till Wednesday before she was removed was a huge surprise to many who knew the forces that were at her jugulars. The conspiracy against her was much and, according to a source, “there was no way she could not have ended this way. If she had completed her tenure, certainly, she would not have got a reappointment.”

 Source sunnewsonline

I’ll take Eagles back to Lagos

•Says, “My players won’t play on artificial turf again”

New Super Eagles Manager, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi has sensationally revealed that the Super Eagles would return to the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos more than seven years after the team abandoned the Sports City in protest against alleged unfriendly fans and critical sporting press.

Keshi

Eagles last played inside the Lagos Stadium in 2004 during the LG Cup invitational tournament that was won by the Lions of Senegal.
But the former Super Eagles’ captain who led the Nigerian team to beat the Chipolopolo of Zambia 2-0 in an international friendly match on Tuesday at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna says he wants to return to the Sports City in Lagos where he began his illustrious playing career stressing that he is poised to build a new Super Eagles team that Nigerians would be proud of.

In this exclusive interview with Saturday Sunsports in Kaduna, Keshi popularly known as the Big Boss declared that what he has at the moment is not a team but a group of players given to him by the technical committee of the Nigeria Football Federation. He revealed his road map towards rebuilding the Super Eagles with a view to reclaiming Nigeria’s lost glory in the round leather game. The juicy interview is served hot and fresh for your weekend delight. Enjoy it!
My dream Super Eagles

My dream Super Eagles is the one that would make Nigerians smile. The Super Eagles that Nigerians would be proud of. But what I have at the moment is not a team but a group of players that were given to me by the Technical Committee. But after about six matches you could ask me the same question again.

Home-based players as base
Nothing good comes easy. For me, I believe in one philosophy and that is the fact that you must first work before you smile. Yes, we do have abundance of players in Nigeria but we must create a situation whereby we can nurture these talents into stardom. And whereby we cannot do that then it’s going to be difficult. I like to work with players in the domestic league. With that I can set up a base because I have more time to work with them unlike the foreign-based players that I could hardly have up to five or six training sessions with at a time. You can image that we barely had two training sessions in between these two matches against Botswana and Zambia. By the time I start working with the home-based players, I hope to get what I want for the team and Nigerians.

Monitoring players in the domestic league
You might be right to say that I’ve not been around for a while, but I have assistants that have been working with clubs in the domestic league. They know the players. All I require from them is to pick about 25 players for me and I do the rest of the job. I also have coaches like Kadiri Ikhana to help me in selecting players from the domestic league. So I do not expect much problem with the selection of 25 quality players from the domestic league. Once I have the players, I do the job.
Preparation for Rwanda game

I intend to go Morocco to be with Austin Eguavoen and the Dream Team. When I’m gone I do not expect any problem because my assistants would be busy with home-based players. When I return we continue from where they stop at least for about two or three weeks before we go for Christmas holiday. And if we cannot brush them up within those three weeks, then we know how many players we would need to bring from Europe. I do not intend to bring in 20 players from Europe because that would be ridiculous. We would have four teams playing in the continent in either the CAF Champions League or Confederation Cup. We should have some players from those teams. So those are part of the programmes that we have.

Eagles’ return to Lagos
I’m not against playing in Abuja. Abuja is part of Nigeria. But I grew up playing in National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos. My dream is to go back to that stadium and play my matches there. Once in a while I could go out of Lagos to other parts of the country like Kaduna, Kano or Calabar. But my main stadium is going to be Lagos. But that stadium has got to be ready because I cannot have my payers play on artificial turf anymore. I lost about three players to the artificial turf at the stadium in Benin. Although the standard of the turf in Benin is okay, yet it is not the same as playing on natural grass. If the National Stadium in Lagos could be done fast and put back in good condition, all I want is to return to Lagos and play because that’s where I belong.

Crowd/spectators as inspiration
When I was in Togo, you would mistake my training sessions for real match situations because of the large crowd that came to watch the training. It was the same situation when I was in Mali. I remember when I was still playing in the Nigerian team. When we went to train in the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos, everywhere used to be jam-packed with spectators. It’s some kind of motivation for the players because it helps them get ready for the match.

I want to see that happen again that’s why I want to go back there. That would also put the players on the edge because they know that they have to play to meet the expectations of the fans. I don’t see why the Super Eagles no more play in Lagos and prefer to play in Abuja. But I would like to go back to Lagos.

It is for the coach to decide where the team plays and that’s it. The players have no reason to refuse to play where the coach wants the team to play. Players should look up to their coach for leadership and direction.

By sunnewsonline.com

Keshi signs Eagles’ 2-yr deal

Stephen Keshi

 •Gets Brazil 2014 World Cup quarterfinal mandate

Nigeria has confirmed the appointment of a former captain of the Super Eagles, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, as a replacement for the sacked coach, Samson Siasia, and given a mandate to take Nigeria to the Brazil 2014 quarter-finals of the World Cup.

Keshi replaces Samson Siasia, who was sacked last Friday after his 2012 Nations Cup qualifying failure. The 49-year-old, who captained Nigeria at the 1994 World Cup finals, was previously in charge of Mali and Togo at international level. Keshi was also part of the last Nigerian side to win the Africa Cup of Nations - as they did in 1994.

“It was a unanimous decision taken by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) for the appointment of Stephen Keshi as the new head coach of the national team,” said NFF Deputy President, Mike Umeh. The NFF’s Executive Committee met in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, yesterday and deliberated on the recommendations of the body’s Technical Committee, that had recommended Keshi.

Has he has been given a deal that runs till 2014, Keshi was given a mandate of taking Nigeria to both the 2013 Nations Cup and the World Cup the following year. His contract includes a stipulation that he must qualify for South Africa 2013 and reach the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Keshi will be free to choose his assistant. There was no news on whether a technical director will be appointed to supervise him. This is mainly because Keshi achieved a major qualifying success when he led the unfancied Togo to the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Jackson Trial: 'Murray Tried To Hide Drugs'

Michael Jackson's former bodyguard has told a court Conrad Murray instructed him to hide vials of medicine before calling 911 in the moments leading up to the singer's death.

Alberto Alvarez alleged Murray grabbed the bottles from a bedside table next to Jackson and said: "Here, put these in a bag."
Mr Alvarez said at first he thought he was bagging the items in preparation for a trip to the hospital. He said he trusted Murray because he was a doctor.
The bodyguard also told the Los Angeles court he saw what appeared to be a 125ml bottle of the drug said to have killed Jackson in a saline bag hooked up to the pop star.

 

"I recall that while I was detaching it (the saline bag) from the IV stand, the bag was at my eye level so I was able to notice that there was a bottle inside the bag," said Mr Alvarez.
He added: "I was able to notice at the bottom of the bag what appeared to me like a milky white substance."
When shown a photo of a propofol bottle and asked if that was the item inside the saline bag, he answered: "Yes."

Barrister Michael McParland On Propofol Testimony

Mr Alvarez was giving evidence on day three of the trial of Jackson's personal doctor Conrad Murray.
Murray, 58, faces up to four years in jail if convicted of involuntary manslaughter for administering the overdose of propofol, which Jackson referred to as "milk" to help him sleep.
The defence team for the doctor insists Jackson self-administered other sedatives, prompting the overdose.
Commenting on the case, barrister Michael McParland told Sky News Mr Alvarez's evidence was highly significant.


The prosecution hold up the saline bag to Mr Alvarez

The prosecution hold up the saline bag to Mr Alvarez

He said: "This was the first evidence that actually connects propofol to the death of Michael Jackson.
"The defence's case is that it was not Dr Murray who administered it but Jackson himself.
"What the prosecution are trying to suggest is that Murray put a propofol bottle into the saline bag to leave it there as a running drug drip into Jackson's left leg.
"If that is correct, it is very damning evidence. Propofol should never be administered out of hospital and certainly not out of constant monitoring."

Earlier, Mr Alvarez told the court he was in charge of back stage during Jackson's final rehearsal on June 24, 2009.
He described Jackson as being "very happy" and "in good spirits" during the rehearsal for a series of comeback concerts.
"He was doing very well for the most part of the performance," he said.
The bodyguard explained that he later drove Jackson back to his rented Holmby Hills home and saw Murray's car parked there.

Dr Conrad Murray in court on day three of his trial

He said the last time he saw Jackson alive and well was when he said "good night" to him.
Mr Alvarez was the first person to enter Jackson's bedroom after Murray phoned for help as he was trying to resuscitate the singer.
He described Jackson as lying on his back, with his hands extended out to his side, and his eyes and mouth open.
"When I came into the room, Dr Murray said 'Alberto, hurry, we have to get to hospital, we have to get an ambulance.'"

He then said Jackson's children Paris and Prince entered the room behind him.
Mr Alvarez: "Paris screamed out 'Daddy' and she was crying.
"Dr Murray said to me, 'Don't let them see their dad like this'.
"I ushered the children out and told them, 'Don't worry, we will take care of it, everything is going to be okay.'"
Mr Alvarez asked what had happened to Jackson, to which Murray replied: "He had a bad reaction".

A photo of Jackson's bedroom is shown to the jury

Mr Alvarez said he then helped Murray give cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by pumping Jackson's chest while the trained cardiologist gave mouth-to-mouth.
"I recall that after a few breaths... he came up and he said, 'This is the first time I (have done) mouth-to-mouth, but I have to, he's my friend'," said Mr Alvarez.
Sky's US correspondent Greg Milam, who was at the court, said Mr Alvarez gave "some pretty powerful testimony".
Milam added: "He was asked whether he could be confused about anything that happened in Michael Jackson's bedroom and he said he didn't believe that was possible although he admitted there was a state of high tension and he was in shock."
The court later heard from another witness - Jackson's personal chef Kai Chase who cooked daily meals for the singer and his children.

Jackson's personal cook Kai Chase giving evidence

She said Jackson had not eaten his evening meal, Tuscan white bean soup, on the eve of his death as it remained in the fridge untouched the morning after.
She said, on the day of Jackson's death, Murray went downstairs to the kitchen between 12.05pm and 12.10pm in a frenzied state.
"His energy was very nervous, frantic and he shouted, 'Get help, get Prince and get security'," she said.
She said she went to find Prince who was playing in a den and that the youngster went upstairs after seeing Murray. She returned to work in the kitchen.
Asked by a prosecution lawyer whether Murray ever asked her to call 911, Ms Chase said: "No."

Fans and supporters of both sides stand outside courthouse on day three

Two paramedics who tried to save Jackson's life are due to give evidence today.
Martin Blount and Richard Senneff are expected to say Jackson already appeared to be dead when they arrived at his home on June 25, 2009.

Source:www.news.sky.com

Manchester United demolish Arsenal 8-2

Manchester United (Red Devil) utterly eviscerated Arsenal in a one-sided encounter at Old Trafford, eventually running up a 8-2 scoreline that saw Wayne Rooney claim a hat-trick and Ashley Young run riot.


Young scored twice and Danny Welbeck, Nani and Park Ji-Sung all got themselves on the score sheet as Arsene Wenger's side were utterly humiliated on Sunday afternoon, with Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie - who earlier missed a penalty - scoring the Gunners' two consolations.

It always looked like Arsenal would be up against it, after Wenger was forced to name youngster Francis Coquelin in an inexperienced lineup, while Sir Alex Ferguson was able to name the same lineup that comfortably beat Tottenham Hotspur last Monday.

It took just 22 minutes for United to begin their assault on the scoreboard, as Danny Welbeck opened the scoring for the hosts after taking advantage of some shocking communication between Johan Djourou and Wojciech Szczesny. Just four minutes later, the visitors had a chance to get back on level terms, however, after Theo Walcott went down under pressure from Jonny Evans - but Van Persie saw his penalty saved by David de Gea in a passage of play that changed the course of the game. Young almost immediately doubled United's lead with a beautiful curling shot from 25 yards before Wayne Rooney beat Szczesny's outstretched hand from a well-worked free-kick to make it three.

During all that action, United even had to absorb a set-back, as Welbeck was forced off after pulling up with a hamstring injury. Just before half-time, Walcott fired through De Gea's legs to give Arsene Wenger's men a glimmer of hope, but that was to prove short-lived as United came out still firing on all cylinders in the second half. In the 64th minute, Rooney got his second in almost identical circumstances to his first - this time wrong-footing Szczesny at his far post - before three minutes later Nani dinked an effort over the Poland goalkeeper while one-on-one to make it five.

Substitute Park Ji-sung then added a sixth before Van Persie finally got the better of De Gea to reduce the deficit to a mere four - although the action showed no signs of abating. Full-back Carl Jenkinson was then sent off for his second bookable offence after bringing down another substitute, Javier Hernandez, as the Mexican bore down on goal, before Rooney completed his hat-trick from 12 yards after Walcott had given away a silly penalty.

At this point Wenger had his head in his hands, but the humiliation was not quite over, with Young getting his second goal of the game in similar fashion as the 90 minutes came to a close.

Manchester City sent an early warning to their Premier League title rivals with a 5-1 demolition of Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Sunday as Edin Dzeko grabbed a four-goal haul.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina international had new signing Samir Nasri to thank for two of his four goals, tapping in the opener from the Frenchman's low cross and then heading home from a more lofted delivery minutes later. When Yaya Toure slide the ball across goal in the second half he took his chance to claim his hat-trick, before adding a wonderful effort from long range just as the game reached its conclusion.

Prior to that final strike, Sergio Aguero had beaten Brad Friedel with a close-range finish and defender Younes Kaboul had bundled over a consolation goal for Harry Redknapp's side, who were booed off at half-time and full-time.

Both managers made notable team selections, with Nasri thrown straight into the starting line-up up for City and Luka Modric restored to Spurs' starting XI. But it was the former man who enjoyed the better afternoon (Modric, in contrast, would later be substituted), as he immediately linked up with the likes of David Silva and Aguero to leave the home side chasing shadows in midfield.

Despite the one-sided nature of the final scoreline it took a while for City to get on top, with Peter Crouch and Gareth Bale both wasting good opportunities. But Dzeko got his first soon after the half hour mark, reacting first after good interplay from Nasri and David Silva to flick the cross past Friedel. A second came seven minutes later, the former Wolfsburg striker this time showing Crouch how to do it in the air, arching his body impressively to head a hanging cross back across goal and beyond the keeper once again.

The game finally escaped Spurs' grasp during a six-minute spell in the second half. First Dzeko grabbed his hat-trick after Toure got behind the defence to put across an inviting square ball, before Aguero flicked home a fourth after leaving Michael Dawson for dead and seeing Friedel duck out of the way of his shot at goal.

Kaboul sparked faint hopes of a revival as he headed home from a corner with just under 20 minutes remaining, but that proved to be the sum total of the fightback. Perhaps fittingly, then, it was Dzeko who had the final word - as his blasted effort from all of 25 yards made the scoreline all the more emphatic.

Elsewhere, Newcastle United continued their solid start to the season with a 2-1 win over Fulham.

Leon Best got both the goals for the home side, who also had Tim Krul to thank for a number of spectacular saves, before Clint Dempsey got a late goal for Martin Jol's side that proved to be nothing more than a consolation.

The first half was lacking in real action but the game soon sparked into life in the second, with Best taking advantage of some hesitancy in the box after a Yohan Cabaye shot and Mark Schwarzer mistake to slide home from close range. Just over 15 minutes later he doubled his tally for the day and his side's advantage, taking a good ball from Demba Ba and sliding it past Schwarzer with two defenders closing him down.

Jol quickly re-arranged things by bringing on Andrew Johnson, but it wasn't until the closing stages that he saw his side get back into the contest. And it was Dempsey with the goal, the United States international heading home from Danny Murphy's free-kick to ensure a nervy final few minutes at St James' Park.

At The Hawthorns, Stoke City snatched all three points in the closing stages against West Brom as substitute Ryan Shotton's gave them a 1-0 win.

There appeared little danger when Jonathan Walters pumped a harmless ball into the box with only a minute remaining of normal time, but Baggies goalkeeper Foster and defender Gabriel Tamas allowed Shotton to nip in and score.

Source ESPN.com

Messi named Player of the Year

Messi was on a three-man shortlist with Barca team-mates Xavi and Andres Iniesta but, despite Spain's World Cup triumph, the Argentina forward came out on top in the voting.

He becomes the first winner of the FIFA Ballon d'Or, which merges France Football magazine's European Footballer of the Year prize with the FIFA World Player of the Year. The awards were based on the votes of the coaches and captains of national sides as well as global journalists.

Messi scored more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues in 2010, with 42 goals in 36 La Liga games, as well as finishing top scorer in the Champions League in 2010 with 12 goals in 12 games.

He totalled 60 goals for the year for club and country.

"To be honest, I didn't expect to win today, but it was already great to be here next to my two mates," Messi said as he accepted the award. "To win it makes it even more special.

"I want to share with all of my friends, my family, all the Barcelonistas and the Argentinians."

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho had earlier been named FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men's Football. Mourinho won Serie A, the Champions League and Coppa Italia with Inter Milan in the 2009-10 season and has made an impressive start to life at the Bernabeu.

In his acceptance speech, Mourinho paid tribute to Spain's Vicente Del Bosque and Barcelona's Pep Guardiola, who had been shortlisted for the award.

Speaking to Sky Sport Italia, he also reserved special praise for the players and staff at Inter.

"I'm the best coach in the world for 2010 because I was the coach of the best team in the world in 2010," he said. "We were a family and we continue to be a family. I continue to be part of it from afar.

"I want Inter to win every game except those against my team."

Hamit Altintop won the FIFA Puskas Award for best goal in recognition of his strike for Turkey against Kazakhstan.

FIFA Men's World Player of the Year: Lionel Messi
FIFA Women's World Player of the Year: Marta
FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men's Football: Jose Mourinho
FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women's Football: Silvia Neid
FIFA FIFPro World XI of 2010: Iker Casillas; Maicon, Gerard Pique, Lucio, Carles Puyol; Xavi Hernandez, Wesley Sneijder, Andres Iniesta; Cristiano Ronaldo, David Villa, Lionel Messi
FIFA Puskas Award: Hamit Altintop
FIFA Fair Play Award: Haiti Under-17 women's team
FIFA Presidential Award: Archbishop Desmond Tutu