Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea: Van Persie snatches point at the death

Didier Drogba powered home a trademark header early in the second half but Branislav Ivanovic's red card gifted the hosts the chance to level in injury time in a dramatic finale.
Robin van Persie's last-gasp goal rescued a point for Manchester United as Louis van Gaal and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho shared a 1-1 draw.
The Portuguese looked to be heading for a famous victory against his one-time mentor at Barcelona after Didier Drogba's second-half strike had given Chelsea the lead.

But deep into injury time - and after Branislav Ivanovic had been sent off for a second bookable

The point means that Chelsea's lead at the Premier League summit is now four points over Southampton, while they are six points better off than Manchester City following the defending champions' 2-1 defeat at West Ham on Saturday.

United, meanwhile, got back to winning ways after their lacklustre 2-2 draw against West Brom on Monday.

Marouane Fellaini was rewarded from his goalscoring appearance in that game with a start in midfield at the expense of Ander Herrera, while Chris Smalling replaced the injured Phil Jones at centre-back.

Diego Costa and Loic Remy missed out for Chelsea due to a virus and a groin problem respectively, meaning Drogba played as their attacking spearhead.

There was a full league debut for Filipe Luis as regular left-back Cesar Azpilicueta began a three-match suspension.

Van Persie led the United attack alone as suspension and injury deprived Van Gaal of Wayne Rooney and Radamel Falcao, and the Dutch striker had his first clear opening in the 23rd minute.

Adnan Januzaj's throughball was threaded through the Chelsea backline but goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was out quickly to block Van Persie’s effort.

Marcos Rojo and Smalling were fortunate not to be penalised for wrestling John Terry and Ivanovic to the ground in the penalty area from a 36th-minute free-kick and Argentina international Rojo continued a shaky start when his error allowed Drogba to test David de Gea.

Playing against his former club, Juan Mata was afforded plenty of room when Angel Di Maria slid a free-kick towards him in first-half stoppage time, but the Spain playmaker shot woefully off target.

Fellaini fired narrowly wide from the edge of the box under pressure at the start of the second half, but Chelsea found the opening goal in the 53rd minute.

After Eden Hazard had cut in from the left flank and exchanged passes with Drogba to draw a superb save from De Gea, the veteran striker escaped Rafael Da Silva's attentions at the near post to head home the resulting set-piece. 

Right-back Ivanovic again made his presence felt in the United area with a storming 69th-minute run but pulled his shot wide from an acute angle.

Courtois denied Van Persie with his legs in the 79th minute but the same player gave the Old Trafford faithful a timely reminder of the late drama of the Alex Ferguson years by levelling the match deep into stoppage time.

Ivanovic earned his red card for bringing down Di Maria, who picked himself up to deliver an excellent free-kick.

Courtois saved well from Fellaini’s header initially, although he was helpless as Van Persie slammed home the rebound to send Van Gaal's men into next weekend's derby against City in high spirits.


offence - Van Persie pounced on a half-cleared free-kick to smash home an equaliser.

Manchester United v Chelsea: Mourinho no plans to change!

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says the Premier League leaders will look to maintain their positive start to the season at Manchester United on Sunday.

Mourinho famously played without a recognised striker as Chelsea ground out a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford three games into last season.
 But after seven wins in eight games, Mourinho is happy with his tactics.
"We are confident. We are in a good situation and there is no reason for us to change our feeling," he said.  "We try for the best result as always.

"We try to play as good as we are playing and we are always trying to play, respecting an opponent that is one of the best and most difficult in the Premier League."  Chelsea's impressive start to the season has taken them 10 points clear of United, who have struggled to build any sustained momentum under Louis van Gaal.

The Dutchman will be looking to narrow that gap and get the better of Mourinho, who previously worked under him at Barcelona - Mourinho's Inter Milan beat Van Gaal's Bayern Munich 2-0 in the 2010 Champions League final, their only previous meeting.

Van Gaal expects Argentina international Angel Di Maria - who played under Mourinho at Real Madrid - to be fit after picking up a thigh injury in Monday's 2-2 draw at West Bromwich Albion.
 Striker Radamel Falcao could also start after being among the substitutes at the Hawthorns, but Mourinho - who may have top scorer Diego Costa available after injury and illness - claims not to be concerned about United's line-up.

"We are very confident about ourselves. I'm not interested in thinking which team Man United play, who is playing, who is not playing.

"We are playing well, we are confident, we are top of the league, we are in a good position.
"The camp is happy and we are ready for the game."

Manchester United-Chelsea Preview: Costa battling to be fit for Old Trafford encounter

The Brazilian-born Spaniard returned from international duty nursing a groin problem and has also been hospitalised with a virus but still might feature on Sunday.
Diego Costa is battling to be fit in time to help Chelsea to try to maintain their unbeaten start to the Premier League season against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Costa returned from international duty with Spain nursing a groin problem and has also been hospitalised with a virus this week, though boss Jose Mourinho suggested on Friday that his star striker has a "little chance" of featuring against United.

And Louis van Gaal, whose Red Devils lie sixth after a decidedly mixed start to the season, would not be surprised to see Costa's name on the Chelsea team sheet on Sunday afternoon.

"I think that Jose shall play with him when he can because he wants to win," the Dutchman told reporters.

"Of course he can play, maybe, because he has trained individually. I have heard and read on the websites. I also have my eyes always open.

"He's scored nine [goals] out of seven [games] - that is remarkable so he's in good shape, I think, but he was ill [on Thursday] so you never know."

Chelsea hold a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League after claiming seven wins and a draw from their fine start to the season. United sit 10 points behind, having already tasted defeat against Swansea City and Leicester City, and Van Gaal acknowledges that his side face a stiff challenge on Sunday.

"Chelsea are one of the top teams, I think also Manchester City are at the moment," he added.

"Jose has worked more than one year already with his team and last year they didn't win any prizes so you have to build up and he has built up Chelsea. They are playing like a team and I want my team to do that as well but to play for 90 minutes.

"We did that against West Brom [on Monday in a 2-2 draw], played as a team, but we also made individual errors. That was our problem."

United will again be without captain Wayne Rooney as he completes a three-game suspension, while Michael Carrick (ankle) remains short of match fitness, though talisman Angel Di Maria has been passed fit following a thigh injury scare.

Loic Remy has been ruled out for Chelsea after picking up a groin injury in a midweek Champions League rout of Maribor, leaving veteran Didier Drogba the likely man to lead the line from the start, though Andre Schurrle is also back in the squad.

Mourinho was content to play it safe when settling for a goalless draw at Old Trafford early last season but insists that he wants a win this time around.

"We are playing well, we are confident, we are top of the league and we are in a good position to qualify in the Champions League," he declared to reporters. "The camp is happy and we are ready for the game.

"We go to every match to win but sometimes during a game a point is a positive point and a positive result. Last year, at a certain moment the game was very difficult to win and I think both teams accepted the point as a normal result.

"On Sunday we go to win. If you give me one point now - and we don't have to play the game - I will not accept it. I want to fight for the three points."

Chaiee!!! First Lady Resigns as Permanent Secretary.

The First Lady Patience Jonathan has resigned her appointment as a permanent secretary in the Bayelsa State civil service.

Her resignation, THISDAY learnt, may have been as a result of a political fallout with the state governor, Henry Seriake Dickson, over the sharing of political offices in the state.

It was gathered that Mrs. Jonathan verbally resigned over a month ago, but the decision was finally communicated to the state’s Head of Service through a letter on Tuesday.

The first lady, who is popularly referred to as “Super Perm Sec”, was appointed in July 2012, five months after the inauguration of Dickson as governor of the state.

Dickson was accused of sycophancy over the appointment of Mrs. Jonathan as one of the 17 permanent secretaries in the state civil service two years ago.

A source in the Office of the Head of Service said the reason given for the resignation was that since she had risen to the pinnacle of her career, the first lady felt that it was the best time to leave the civil service.

The source said although she had verbally informed the governor of her intention to resign, the decision only took effect from the time the HOS got and accepted her resignation letter.

One other source said the first lady, in her letter of resignation, opted for voluntary retirement. He said the ministry had computed and finalised her terminal benefits already.

When asked what her total terminal benefits would be, he said: “Well, I don't know. All I can tell you is that everything has been processed.

“The whole thing is political. It appears Madam Jonathan is not happy with the governor. With her resignation, the battle line has been drawn.”

Another official, who confirmed the resignation, was emphatic, saying: “I can say Mrs. Patience Jonathan has voluntarily retired. But whether there is a political undertone in her resignation, I cannot say.

“I think the first lady felt that her continued stay as permanent secretary will be depriving others. Now that she has thrown in the towel, it will afford others the opportunity to take her position.”

National Assembly may end Jonathan, govs’ immunity

The move to end the constitutional immunity from prosecution enjoyed by the President, Vice-President, governors and their deputies while in office may soon bear fruit. Although the clamour for the removal of the immunity clause has been on for years, it gained fresh impetus during the week when the House of Representatives approved the removal of the clause from the constitution.
The immunity clause, which protects the stated officials from prosecution while in office, was enshrined to forestall situations where senior public servants are distracted from the business of government by court cases.
The House of Representatives resolved to dump the clause after deliberating on the recommendations made by its Committee on Constitution Review.
The proposed amendment scaled through after 252 of the 261 members who voted when the matter was put to vote voted in favour of its removal.
While supporters of the removal hailed the resolution, others had argued that it was not likely to be approved by the Senate.
The Senate and the legislative assemblies of states would have to approve the amendment before it can take effect.
But senators who spoke with SUNDAY PUNCH on the issue in Abuja on Friday gave indications that the proposal might be approved by the upper house.
The senators noted that since the issue was part of the amendments which the conference committee of both chambers of the National Assembly had agreed upon, the Senate would likely uphold the amended clause.
The National Assembly had set up a conference committee of both the Senate and the House of Representatives to harmonise the report of the two chambers on the document.
The senate could not discuss the report of the conference committee on the amended constitution when the matter came up last Wednesday. This was because senators who attended the day’s sitting did not form a quorum as required by the Senate Standing Rules.
Senate President, David Mark, subsequently adjourned deliberations on the report until the Senate resumes this week.
But Senator Femi Lanlehin, the Senator representing Oyo-South Senatorial District, said the clause-by-clause consideration of the report of the senate committee led by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, had been taken and approved.
Lanlehin also shared his opinion on the matter. He said, “Personally, I believe that anybody, regardless of his or her position, should answer criminal charges preferred against him or her even while in office. This will reduce to the barest minimum the issue of impunity and the flagrant disregard to the rule of law.
“Once a prima facie case of criminal activity is established against the president or governors, they should answer the charges. That is my position.”
Similarly, Senator Gbenga Kaka, who is one of the senators supporting the removal of the immunity clause told SUNDAY PUNCH, in a telephone interview on Friday, that there was no reason for elected officials to live above the law.
He said, “I am in total support of the removal of the immunity clause because I see no reason why we go to the people to seek for their mandate and not to be accountable to them. It should be removed so that anybody who is elected should be made to face the law especially when he or she is criminally liable. It is only fair that we are all seen to be equal before the law.”
Other senators who spoke on the issue on the condition of anonymity also expressed their willingness to vote in support of the removal of the immunity clause from the constitution.
However, as the Senate prepares to deliberate on the amendments, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt that governors are opposed to the removal of the immunity clause.
On Friday, the Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, kicked against the removal of the clause, warning that the removal could affect governance adversely.
He noted that if the clause was removed, it would take the focus of leaders from administrative issues to “frivolous issues and unnecessary litigation.”
Aliyu said, “I note that if governors and President have no immunity on certain issues, they may waste government resources on cases that normally should not have gone to court.
“There are things that we should put into consideration; many at times, cases that could have been resolved outside courts are allowed to go to court. If the immunity clause is removed, you will find people going to court on matters that have no bearing with the issues that have been taken to court.”
The Niger State Governor, who is the Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, explained that although he was initially in support of the removal, he had had a change of heart.
He said, “This is a dicey situation. When I came newly, I was one of those who said the immunity clause should be removed. But with the insight I have now, I think we should look at the issue properly.
“I think we should look at this properly and ensure that we do not burden the leaders with only going to court instead of attending to administrative issues. We have to find a situation in the country whereby people can solve problems and issues among themselves without going to court.”
His Ogun State counterpart, Ibikunle Amosun, who spoke through the State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, warned that the lawmakers should define the context within which a governor or president would lose immunity.
Olaniyonu said, “Even in the United States of America, they still have immunity clause in their constitution and it covers government officials in the performance of their official duties.”
He stressed that his principal worked within the ambit of the constitution, and therefore had no reason to be afraid.
But the Kwara State Government, according to Dr. Muyideen Akorede, would rather await the final draft of the amended constitution before making its position public.
Akorede, who spoke to one of our correspondents in Ilorin on Friday, said, “The Kwara State Governor will wait till the constitution is amended on the removal of the immunity before making comment.”
The Presidency has however argued that since the process of constitution amendment is still ongoing, it will be premature to make a pronouncement based on the decision of the House of Representatives.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, told SUNDAY PUNCH on Friday that the process of amending the constitution did not end with the House of Representatives.
He said Senators and state Houses of Assembly would still have to make inputs.
The presidential spokesman said, “It is premature to speak on the matter. We all know that the amendment process is still ongoing.
“The fact that the House of Representatives has taken a position on the matter does not mean it has become a law.
“We all know that the Senate and state Houses of Assembly will still have inputs into the process.”

Four more PDP years, doom for Nigeria — Buhari

The former Head of State and presidential aspirant of the All Progressive Congress, Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) said on Saturday in Kaduna State that another four years of Peoples Democratic Party’s rule would spell doom for the country.
Buhari said he was “personally concerned” about the alleged deliberate plot by the ruling party to use religion and ethnicity to destroy the country.
The presidential aspirant, who spoke at a northern APC stakeholders interactive meeting in Kaduna, insisted that the greatest problem facing the country was not religion or tribal differences, but a deliberate plot by the PDP-led government to use religion and ethnicity to polarise it for selfish gains ahead of the 2015 general elections.
While saying 2015 should be another year of concern for Nigerians, Buhari stated that another four years of PDP would send Nigeria down the drain.
He called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that it does not disenfranchise eligible voters in the ongoing nationwide voter registration exercise and to provide a level play ground for all political parties and candidates.
Buhari also flayed the militarisation of the last governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states.
He said the move showed that the PDP was desperate to hold on to power using every means at its disposal to achieve that.
According to Buhari, the Chibok schoolgirls from Borno State abducted by Boko Haram would have since been rescued, if the Federal Government had deployed such number of soldiers deployed for the elections to the North-East where the sect had killed thousands of Nigerians.
Speaking on behalf of APC governors at the event, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State stressed the need for the North to be united in order to defeat some of the challenges confronting the region.
Shettima lamented that the North remained backward despite its contribution to nation building. He urged Nigerians to be involved in the political transition by voting an APC government.

Pistorius sentencing: Steenkamp's family seeks jail term

Pistorius' lawyer said prisoners had made threats against the athlete
South African athlete Oscar Pistorius should be given "sufficient punishment" for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, her cousin has told the sentencing hearing in Pretoria.
Kim Martin said Pistorius, 27, "needs to pay for what he has done".
He was convicted of culpable homicide last month but cleared of murder and faces up to 15 years in jail, but the judge may suspend it or impose a fine.
Prisons chief Moleko Modise later said the athlete would be safe in prison.
He was responding to a defence witness who said the disabled athlete would be "broken" by prison, with his lawyers saying he should instead serve house arrest and community service for the killing.
Judge Thokozile Masipa has adjourned the sentencing hearing until Friday morning.
The BBC's Andrew Harding in Pretoria says it appears that the sentence itself will be delivered on Tuesday.
'Not seeking revenge'
Ms Martin - the prosecution's first sentencing witness - said on Thursday that she was fearful of Pistorius.
"My family are not people who are seeking revenge, we just feel that to shoot somebody behind a door that is unarmed, that is harmless, needs sufficient punishment," she said.
On Wednesday, Ms Martin recounted her pain at hearing that the 29-year-old South African model had been shot dead, saying her death was "the end of the world".
We got glimpses in court on Thursday both of the prison life Oscar Pistorius can expect if Judge Masipa chooses a custodial sentence for him, and of the rather abrasive characters who once were part of his social circle.
In recent days the public gallery in courtroom D has seen an influx of conspicuously muscular men who've sat close to Reeva Steenkamp's family. Marc Batchelor is a former footballer and debt collector who has clashed with Pistorius in the past. Mikey Schultz is a self-confessed killer and former boxer. Mark Strydom is, according to legal sources, on parole after serving time for attempted murder and assault.
At one point Mr Schultz and Mr Strydom sat, unexpectedly, on the bench reserved for the Pistorius family, and according to the defendant's brother Carl, Mr Schultz mouthed an obscenity at his sister Aimee, leaving her in tears. Mr Schultz told me later that he'd done no such thing but agreed with Mr Strydom and Mr Batchelor that, in his opinion, Oscar Pistorius was "a murderer" who was "getting off lightly".
Moleko Modise, the Acting National Commissioner for Correctional Services, was later called to defend the reputation of South African prisons, which he said "can cope" with disabled prisoners like Pistorius.
He said that a health assessment was conducted on all inmates "within six hours of admission", and a complete assessment would be completed within 21 days to consider the "security classification" and "social and psychological needs" of the prisoner.
Under cross-examination from defence lawyer Barry Roux, Mr Modise said he thought Pistorius should be placed in the hospital wing of a prison, not the regular section.
Mr Roux cited reports of undiagnosed tuberculosis in South African prisons, as well as rising numbers of incidents of assault and torture in the past year.
Under questioning, Mr Modise said there was one resident doctor for about 7,000 inmates at the Kgosi Mampuru prison in Pretoria.
Mr Roux also said several newspapers had reported threats made by prisoners against Pistorius. However, Mr Modise said he was not aware of any threats being made against Pistorius.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel has said he will call three or four witnesses in all.
'Pistorius vulnerable'
Earlier in the week, social worker Annette Vergeer said double-amputee Pistorius should be placed under house arrest rather than sent to prison, because he would be "a lot more vulnerable than the normal man" in jail.
Mr Nel said her opinion of a sentence of house arrest plus community service "cannot be considered".
"If the court sentence is too light, and society loses trust in the court, they will take the law into their own hands," Mr Nel said.
"That's what the court has to guard against."
The Paralympic sprinter denied murdering Ms Steenkamp after a row on Valentine's Day last year, saying he shot her by mistake, fearing there was an intruder in the house.
Ms Steenkamp, a law graduate, was hit three times by bullets shot through a toilet door by Pistorius at his home in the capital, Pretoria.

Jonathan cautions Buhari on election campaign

President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday advised former head of state, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), to conduct his electioneering campaign with greater regard for the truth.

The Presidency response to Buhari’s comments about current administration’s performance came via a statement issued by the President’s media aide, Dr. Reuben Abati.

The former Nigerian leader had during Wednesday’s formal declaration of his 2015 presidential bid castigated the Peoples Democratic Party- led Federal Government for impoverishing Nigerians.

But the Presidency in the statement condemned what it described as “reckless, baseless and unsupportable” charges made against the administration by Buhari.

“We wholly reject the allegations made by Gen. Buhari against the Jonathan administration at yesterday’s declaration of his intention to contest the 2015 presidential elections as an irresponsible denigration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s sincere efforts, over the past four years, to positively transform Nigeria.

“It reflects very badly on the character of the political opposition we now have in Nigeria, that a political leader of Gen. Buhari’s stature will deliberately make such false and uncharitable comments about the elected leadership of his country, merely for personal and sectional political gain,” the statement said.

It added: “The falsity of Buhari’s anti-Jonathan and anti-PDP claims will be obvious to knowledgeable Nigerians and friends of the country, but for the benefit of others we will like to affirm that there is absolutely no truth whatsoever in his charge that the last 16 years of PDP Government has witnessed a decline in all critical sectors of life in Nigeria or that the economy continues to deteriorate.

“Statistics and rankings from the National Bureau of Statistics, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other international economic agencies give the lie to Buhari’s claims on the state of the Nigerian economy.”

The Presidency claimed that available figures, statistics and ratings show that the Nigerian economy has consistently maintained an unprecedented growth rate of 6-7 per cent under the current administration.

“They also show that the Nigerian economy is now the leading economy in Africa and the 26th largest in the world with a gross domestic product of over $500 billion per annum,” it stated.

The statement also faulted Buhari’s assertion on agriculture, insisting that Nigeria’s agricultural sector is thriving under the reforms being implemented by Jonathan’s administration.

Buhari/Fashola ticket’ll defeat Jonathan, says APC leader

Former Head of State, Gen.Muhammadu Buhari

A leader of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos State, Chief Ayo Akande, has said that the APC would win the 2015 presidential elections if the party picks Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) as its presidential candidate and the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, as the running mate.
Akande, who said this in a statement on Thursday, described a Buhari/Fashola ticket as the “best option” for the party because of their good antecedents.
Though the APC, he said, had many options for its presidential and vice presidential candidates, the party chieftain said the combination of Buhari and Fashola would be the perfect option to seize power from the PDP in the presidential election.
Buhari on Wednesday had declared his ambition to run for the post of the president on the platform of the APC.
If he emerges the APC candidate, the former military ruler will be contesting the presidency for the fourth time.
He contested against ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003 on the platform of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party and against the late former President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2007, also on the platform of the ANPP. In 2011, he was also the presidential candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change.
Both the ANPP and CPC merged with the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria to become the APC.
Fashola has been the governor of Lagos State since 2007.

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola

Jonathan has been endorsed as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the 2015 poll.
Akande, who noted that the Buhari/Fashola ticket was his personal suggestion, said corruption would be effectively curbed in the country while poverty would be drastically reduced to the barest level if the APC considers the option.
He said, “A Buhari/Fashola combination stands to offer lot of advantages. We all know Buhari as a man of good virtue, who did not corruptly enrich himself. The APC stands a better chance to defeat President Goodluck Jonathan who has been endorsed as the sole candidate of the PDP for the 2015 presidential election.
“A Buhari/Fashola team would give the Peoples Democratic Party a good fight in the presidential elections.
“The antecedents of Buhari as a military head of state in terms of war against indiscipline and corruption and Fashola’s self-discipline and accountability would give the APC the long-sought exalted seat of the president of the country.”
Akande also commended Fashola’s achievements in Lagos, saying that he deserved a higher responsibility, having performed well as governor for eight years.
“Fashola will make a good president but if the presidency is zoned to the North, then he will make a perfect running mate to Buhari,” he said.

Linda Ikeji's Blog Restored, Find Out Shocking Reason It Was Taken Down

According to Linda’s latest post on the matter, the real reason was very, very personal. Allegedly, the shocking reason for this whole hoopla is because of a scorned friend who got upset that he was being ignored.
It turns out that Mr. Aye Dee actually used to be Linda's confidant that she would seek advice from in matters pertaining to her blog. She knew him under a different alias as Alex of 1976AD and was just as shocked as everyone else when she found out that he was really Mr. Aye Dee. Linda states that they've been conversing for years, but when she got extremely busy with blogging and flooded with thousands of emails it became a bit difficult to keep up with the conversation.
Linda states that they've been conversing for years, but when she got extremely busy with blogging and flooded with thousands of emails it became a bit difficult to keep up with the conversation.
Text convo between Ikeji and Mr. Aye Dee
Text convo between Ikeji and Mr. Aye Dee He claims that he reached out to her for over a year straight, but all his attempts failed.
He later on assumed that Linda had allowed all her fame and opportunities to go straight to her head. He thought she no longer cared for him. So he decided to get some buddies of his to come together to take down her blog. They were determined to get Google, who owns Blogspot, to remove her blog because of plagiarism and copyright claims.
It’s insinuated from the convo that Aye Dee realizes that Linda hadn’t been ignoring him, but was actually just busy. In his own way he apologizes for his wrong-doing and promises that she will bounce back bigger and better than ever before because of this.
Check out the full details and extremely long exchange here.

Linda Ikeji Blog Shutdown: Scam To Resurrect A Dying Blog By Kunle Olomofe

Being such a famous blog, when a site like Linda’s goes down, people go into panic mode, gossip mode, accusation mode, and all manner of thoughts and words will fill the blogosphere just to make sense of it all.
Over a very short 24 – 72 hour period, even those who had never heard of Linda Ikeji or her blog’s success were forced to pay attention to the drama of Google’s shutdown of a popular blog.
Add to that, scandalous claims, and back and forth write ups attacking and defending the subject of this sudden take down, and you have what we in the business of Internet marketing and web publicity often refer to as “The Perfect Storm”.
You see, the end result of a brouhaha like that is usually only one major thing: instant fame locally and across the world via social media and the general web, constant site visits to the affected domain into the tens of thousands (and very possibly millions), and the eventual short and long term branding of a name some may have either forgotten, never heard of before, or were not fully focused on for months or years.
With a scandal like this, which was suddenly “cleared up” within mere hours by an unexpected confession from the very person who claims to have started the attacks that led to this media circus, you gain FOR FREE, the kind of advertising some companies have to spend tens of thousands of DOLLARS on throughout a full year to get even close to the kind of instant fame that was generated here within mere hours.
And for me, that threw up some red flags instantly, and prompted an immediate investigation into whether or not this could have been the publicity stunt of 2014 played out so far, rather successfully before our very eyes.
Now before I continue, let me make it clear that I respect anyone, especially in this case a person like Linda Ikeji, who puts their name out there in front of millions of people around the world as legitimate internet entrepreneurs.
Why? Well being one of Nigeria’s first ever globally recognized Internet entrepreneurs myself, having gotten involved in successfully creating and selling my own ebooks about online marketing since as far back as 1999, I know what it means to have your claims doubted and your story scrutinized by millions of people who don’t know you personally.
So, I must make it crystal clear that this is in no way a personal attack targeted at Linda Ikeji or her friends.
I was in truth one of those hundreds or thousands who publicly sent tweets to Linda showing support during a tough time. Which is why I was alarmed, concerned, deeply interested, and eventually quite frankly disappointed by the saga that the Ikeji-Aye Dee incident created.
In all honesty, I felt betrayed after reading all of the “confessions” that were posted by Linda and Aye Dee. To have my trust and interest toyed with like that IS NOT something Linda should ever take lightly. In fact, I believe strongly that an open letter of apology still needs to be written to all fans and well-wishers who were tricked into investing in this scandal at all.
I feel as though we were all played and all this noise was created to force millions of people to pay attention to the Linda Ikeji blog.
So, What Really Happened Here? Were Nigerians scammed into believing a fabricated falling out just to get Linda’s ratings & site visits up? I realize that is a bold accusation and I do NOT make it lightly.
I therefore humbly invite Linda and Aye Dee to respond if they so desire because I have some rather startling, though speculative, information to share that requires their input for things to be clarified.
Inconclusive Evidence #1:
After some research, I found that the Linda Ikeji blog had been losing site visits loosely estimated into the hundreds of thousands monthly over the past 13 months to the tune of close to 1 million monthly site visits lost within that time. The screen shot on the link below is from a little known Internet-based investigative site which estimates (from the outside) the number of non-unique visits to popular web sites like Linda’s blog. See the screenshot here.
As you can see from the image shown above, Linda’s blog visits appear to have been on a steady decline for over a year.
If that estimate is accurate to any degree, then it stands to reason that if her blog’s popularity was on a steady decline, it would only be wise to do something urgently to ensure those precious site visits are immediately restored or even dramatically increased, to block off any loss or possible loss of income as a result of less and less traffic visiting Linda’s blog.
Now as I stated, this is a speculative deduction as I am not an inside source and have not performed inside forensic analysis on her blog traffic or income from her site. But any expert internet marketing analyst will tell you there is reason here to suspect some form of “foul play” as if indeed her site traffic was on a steady decline so would her income (eventually), which would likely prompt an attempt to regain any loss in popularity.
So, did Linda and/or her friend Aye Dee see this constant declining trend and then plan a fictitious reason to regain the lost attention to Linda’s blog and even catapult it to greater fame than it had in the past? You have to agree this is a possibility especially in light of the “confession” by Aye Dee and a clarification of whether or not the trust of loyal readers has in any way been tampered with in an attempt to rescue a slowly dying blog.
Inconclusive Evidence #2:
The domain name change from the free URL lindaikeji.blogspot.com as we all agree (Linda included) is something that should have taken place much sooner than it eventually did. However according to Linda’s own statements, she never bothered to make the change since most of her most obvious choices had already been taken up by cybersquatters. Well, it turns out that one of those cybersquatters was her mentor and friend Aye Dee. So then I am forced to ask the following rather obvious question…
Why on earth would a mentor and friend purchase a relevant domain name years before their alleged rift and not pass that to his friend and mentee for her required needs?
It simply doesn’t add up that Aye Dee purchased such a valuable domain name (lindaikeji.net) since 2011 and yet did not release it to his friend immediately upon his purchase when it made sense to do so. Now, three years or so later, that same domain name is what he offers as part of a peace offering to “help Linda get her blog back on top”.
All of this barely 24 hours into the ruckus of her blog being shut down. Something is definitely out of whack here.
My theory: Either Linda or Aye Dee or both decided it would be best to effect the domain change only after a scandal like what we just experienced would force the world to pay attention to Linda’s blog at the time of the change.
Why wait for the latter?
Well, recall that Linda’s blog was already haemorrhaging huge amounts of traffic and/or visits monthly. It would therefore be foolhardy and downright dangerous to effect a domain name change that could easily and very likely result in even greater loss of traffic.
Most online users have such poor attention spans that if a domain name change is made suddenly and quietly thousands of visitors would lose interest within minutes or days if they are unable to access the blog via an old name they are used to and then are forced to find out where the new site has been moved to. Many people simply won’t bother.
So, rather than risk further heavy losses in traffic, it would make sense to for example to create a situation in which all eyes would be on the old blog’s domain being shut down, and then Linda would of course be forced to find a new name and relocate in order to carry along all her old and new readers.
The incidents of the past few days and weeks look too much like a set up to invoke interest in a dying blog and make a long needed change to its brand without risking any loss in traffic and thus income.
Now while rejuvenating a dying site or creating interest in a changing brand are not wrong in any way, the way in which this is done is what must be carefully considered, analysed and reflected upon to ensure the people’s trust and loyalty that has helped make Linda famous has not in any way, shape or form been betrayed by the need to retain her income.
I therefore invite Linda and friends to clear up any misconceptions their actions over these past days may have created.
Was this scandal real or faked?
If it was faked then that is a breach of trust and should never happen again as if that kind of betrayal is allowed to go on unchecked many more will soon follow possibly by the subject of this article and thousands more bloggers and site owners who would readily do anything illegal or unethical just to get attention and make a quick buck or two.
If none of the actions taken were as a result of a conspiracy to defraud the public into believing a false rocus, then please take the time to prove what happened was not pre-planned.
How? Show screen shots of a thriving blog’s traffic, show proof of messages that Aye Dee claims to have sent a year or so ago proving this was not a recent development that was planned to garner undeserved attention. Share any other proof that can be showcased for the public’s own scrutiny.
All this is necessary to guarantee others’ actions at getting justice from sites like Google, attracting deserved attention and gaining popularity through ethical means are not lumped into a negative box alongside faked plagiarism claims and possibly faked scandals as may be the case here.
For the guarantee of the belief in the integrity of Internet entrepreneurs within Nigeria especially, this issue must NOT be swept under the carpet.
Kunle Olomofe is an Internet entrepreneur, author and marketing and publicity coach. He can be reached at kunle@kunleolomofe.com. Twitter: @kunleolomofe.

LINDAIKEJI.BLOGSPOT.COM DELETED! POLICY, WITCH-HUNTING, SCAM ???

Yesterday, the Nigerian blogosphere went agog as tech giant, Google shut down the blog of celebrated blogger, Linda Ikeji, following widespread allegations of copyright infringement and plagiarism levelled against her.

It all began a few days back when one Mr. Aye Dee, Editor-in-Chief of United States-based 15Past8 media group, reported Linda Ikeji to Google, accusing her of copyright infringement.

“Google just notified us that they are removing our copyrighted content from Linda Ikeji’s website. All the stories and images Linda Ikeji took from me without permission in the last few days have been removed from her site by Google. Someone has to say something. It costs money to get good work done. I spend time getting information from my sources, as well as analysing and verifying the information. All that costs money. I don’t mind donating my time for Nigeria’s sake, but for someone to take my labour and use it for personal profit, no way!” Aye Dee had tweeted.

In a chat with the Punch, Google’s Manager for Communications and Public Affairs, Anglo-Phone West Africa, Taiwo Kolade-Ogunlade, explained why the blog was taken down and cleared the air on the misconceptions of ‘Witch-craft” and “Enemies of progress” belief.

He said Google takes the issue of copyright seriously, adding that the company belongs to a group of Internet firms that abides by the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and other applicable copyright laws.

“To respect the rights of copyright holders, Google clearly spells out how users of its products and services can get permission to use someone else’s intellectual property such as text, songs, images and footages. Google is no respecter of anybody when it came to the issues of copyright infringement, copyright is a big deal.

“Google as an organisation takes issues of copyright seriously and belongs to a group of digital companies that respect copyrights.


“Copyright is a big deal and this is why you can’t just go and pick up another person’s intellectual property or content and lay claim to its ownership.

“That is why we have copyright guidance. I don’t know if Linda picked up any content and I don’t know what content is the bone of contention-neither have I looked into the complaints personally.

“But it is not a case of witch-hunting and has nothing to do with Linda Ikeji’s personality or anyone else because there is a process, and irrespective of who you are in the world, that process would apply to you.

“It has become imperative for online entrepreneurs to respect the rights of copyright holders noting that the Internet community should be built on mutual trust and general respect.

“Let’s respect other people’s rights and intellectual property. Making money off other people’s content without permission is wrong. Although the Internet is inanimate, it is the content on it that gives it life. These are the issues.

“Whenever owners of online contents come after you accusing you of using their content, it is because they have families to feed and businesses to sustain.

“People should also understand that copyrights does not only apply to text, but also extends to literary works, images and photographs, music files and MP3s, movies, movie trailers and videos as well as software,” Kolade-Ogunlade explained.

Chelsea stays top of EPL after managerial spat boils over

Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho's uneasy relationship hit a new low as their ugly managerial spat overshadowed Chelsea's 2-0 win over Arsenal Sunday to extend its lead at the top of the English Premier League.

The pair squared up to each other and had to be separated by the fourth official after Wenger shoved Mourinho in the Chelsea technical area.

The Arsenal boss was angered by Gary Cahill's challenge on Alexis Sanchez but the pair's seething rivalry has been a constant theme in the English football soap opera.

Back in March, Mourinho labeled Wenger a "specialist in failure" and then his side rubbed salt into the open wound by thrashing Arsenal 6-0.

It was also Wenger's 1,000th game in charge of the Gunners and he has now failed to beat his Portuguese nemesis in 12 tries.

After the touchline incident, Chelsea proceeded to take the lead through Eden Hazard's first-half penalty after he was fouled by Laurent Koscielny.

Arsenal was always a factor in a closely-fought match at Stamford Bridge and might have had a penalty when former player Cesc Fabregas appeared to block Jack Wilshere's shot in the area in the second half.

Fabregas, whose signing by Chelsea from Barcelona dismayed Arsenal fans who hoped he might return to the Emirates, then set up Diego Costa for the clinching goal.

His pinpoint pass, his seventh assist in the EPL this season, left Costa to score his ninth in seven games since moving from Atletico Madrid, another key Mourinho signing.

The win left Chelsea five points clear of Manchester City at the top, with Arsenal in eighth, already nine points adrift.

Both manager tried to play down the incident in post-match press conferences.

"Forget that (the push). A football pitch is a football pitch, so no problem," said Mourinho. "It becomes heated because this is a big game, big clubs, big rivals, an iportant match for both teams. These conditions make a game of emotions.

Wenger was asked if he regretted the incident. "What is to regret after that? I wanted to go from A to B and somebody confronted me in between without any sign of welcome," said the Frenchman.

"B was Sanchez, to see how badly he was injured," he claimed.

Earlier, Manchester United moved up to fourth with a 2-1 win over Everton at Old Trafford, but owed a lot to the goalkeeping heroics of David De Gea, who saved a first half penalty from Leighton Baines.

United were already ahead through Angel Di Maria, but the visitors pulled level when Steven Naismith scored in the 55th minute.

Colombian star Radamel Falcao put Louis Van Gaal's men ahead just after the hour with his first goal in English football before De Gea denied Leon Osman with a stunning save to preserve three points for his side.

Aso - Ebi Styles

DJ LUMIX (Toh Badt Vol.2 )

Dj Lumix drops another hot and sizzling mix, tagged DJ LUMIX (Toh Badt Vol.2 ) Listen and share your thoughts.

The Mavins-Adaobi

The Mavins seek to continue their chart assault after the blazing DOROBUCCI with this brand new musical offering christened “Adaobi” featuring Don Jazzy, Reekado Banks, Korede Bello & Dija.
“Adaobi” is produced by Don Jazzy and Baby Fresh; give it a spin and tell us if you love it or hate it!