The low level of Nigeria’s football continued to show few days after no Nigerian player made the shortlist of nominees for the 2011 African Football of the Year as they have again been left out of this year’s BBC African Footballer of the Year Award.

The audience at last Monday’s 2010/2011National Honours Award, NHA, was taken on a voyage of governmental recklessness when it was announced that there was a shortage of medals for awardees. More instructive was the hovering presence of the threat of Ahlan Sunnah Lid Da’waati wal Jihad Yaanaa (brothers), popularly known as the Boko Haram sect, and the choking security presence at the International Conference Centre, ICC, venue of the awards.

THE Zonal Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Yakubu Attah, yesterday, raised the alarm over the spate of road accidents around the Ovia River, along the Benin-Lagos express road in Ovia North East Local Government Council of Edo State, just as he disclosed that no less than 268 lives have been lost along that Ovia section since July.

An insight into how the Customs overshot its targeted revenue for 2011 following improved performance in the areas of anti-smuggling and trade facilitation. The Service raked-in N602 billion within 10 months of operations, according to the Customs Area Controller (CAC), Ogun State Command, DC Oteri Richard, who attributed the feat to the ingenuity of the Comptroller General Dikko Inde. Excerpt:

The National Award has come and gone but the controversy over should or not get continues to reverberate especially with the tacit rejection of the one conferred on the world acclaimed novelist, Professor Chinua Achebe.

Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State speaks on his love for the downtrodden, the introduction of social welfare package for the disabled, plans to open up Jigawa to investors, agriculture and civil responsibilities of citizens to the Nigerian State. Lamido also speaks on the proposed Sovereign Wealth Fund, SWF, which, according to him, is not desirable now. There are more things to be done that just keeping money.

Just as residents Imo State, South-East Nigeria are still basking in the euphoria of low crime rate occasioned by the proactive and zero-tolerance for crime measures put in place by the administration of Owelle Rochas Okorocha, a gang of armed robbers, Thursday night, struck at the residence of Elder Vincent Dike in Umudimodu Amukwu autonomous community, Orodo Mbatoli LGA; carting away huge sums of money and other valuable.

The million-dollar question of who will fly the flag of the ACN in the 2013 Ondo State gubernatorial election generates its own anxiety as an LP Senator is reportedly defecting to the party to jostle for the ticket.

THE newly elected chairman of Tisun Management Council, in Warri North Local Government Council of Delta State, Mr Emmanuel Tunuwaje, has assured oil companies operating in the area of the cooperation of members of the community in their operations.

Kayode Fayemi, has warned contractors handling the 14 newly awarded road projects across the state against shoddy jobs and involvement in shady deals with government officials.

With its Mass Authentication Service (MAS) Truscan technology, NAFDAC is assisting consumers in detecting fake drugs over the counter with the aid of GSM lines. According to the NAFDAC DG, Dr. Paul Orhii, it is the first of its kind in the world.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) made good its promise to hold its gubernatorial primaries in Bayelsa State, yesterday, notwithstanding a court order stopping the exercise.

The Yoruba nation is in search of unity amid concerns that a section of the people that matter in the in quest to move the race forward is being left out

Police allege that a teenager is kidnapped on his way from school by a gang led by his friend and the victim dies. The friend corroborates the police story.

I have never shown any interest in the way sports is run in Edo State, incidentally my State of origin until last week when I saw a story in a Nigerian daily quoting Edo State commissioner of Sports, Miss Anita Evbuomwan, scoring the Adams Oshiomhole regime high in sports, especially football.