Thursday, 22 December 2016

Pep Guardiola still gets surprised by Premier League tactics, reveals Manchester City star Kevin de Bruyne Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4057960/Pep-Guardiola-gets-surprised-Premier-League-tactics-reveals-Manchester-City-star-Kevin

Pep Guardiola still gets surprised by Premier League tactics, reveals Manchester City star Kevin de Bruyne

Pep Guardiola is still surprised by Premier League teams' long-ball tactics, his star midfielder Kevin de Bruyne has revealed.

Guardiola has had a tough introduction to life in England, despite winning all of his first 10 games as City boss, and his side are currently third in the table, seven points behind leaders Chelsea.

And while Guardiola is well-known for his tactical innovations, De Bruyne explained that he is still shocked when opponents go route one against City.

What surprises Pep the most is that a lot of teams still play long ball,' the Belgian told Sport/Foot magazine in his home country.

'He sometimes thinks that they'll play along the ground because they do it against other teams, but not against us.

'I feel like he must sometimes tell himself that it's stupid.

'He spends so much time and puts so much energy in trying to find gaps to eventually tell us the team are going to play long ball. He must ask himself why he bothers at times.'

De Bruyne has flourished under Guardiola, with nine assists in the Premier League, more than any other player.

And he insists he is benefiting from moving all over the pitch, as Guardiola constantly alters his system.

'In my eyes [being versatile] is an advantage more than an inconvenience. Sometimes, it confuses me, but most of the time it's OK.

'The most important, when you change position, is knowing what to do. Things need to be clear in your head.

'Versatility helps understand how others work on the pitch. It's mostly in my head that I'm strong. I always try and imagine what's going to happen.

'Maybe we don't pay enough attention to it, but for me, that's really important.'

Real Madrid make Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois their top target once transfer ban ends

REAL MADRID are lining up a move for Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, according to reports in Spain.

AS report that Zinedine Zidane has identified the Chelsea No 1 as a top priority and add that Courtois is likely to favour a return to the Spanish, despite previously playing for their fierce city rivals, Atletico Madrid.

The newspaper's front page on Thursday reads 'Objective Courtois' and says that 'Madrid have him in their project of summer transfers.'

Courtois has been in superb form for Chelsea this season and his performance levels have coincided with a relentless winning run by Antonio Conte's side.

Chelsea have won their last 11 matches and only conceded twice in a run of form that has seen that carve out a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League.

Overall, the 24-year-old Belgium international Courtois has made 72 appearances so far for Chelsea, after a three-year loan spell in Spain with Atletico.

Courtois has experience of La Liga after spending three seasons on loan at Atletico Madrid

On Tuesday, Madrid had their transfer ban reduced from two windows to one, meaning they will be free to sign players in the summer of 2017.

Chelsea and Courtois are next in action on Boxing Day, when they are at home to Bournemouth.

Jennifer Lawrence, World’s Highest-Paid Actress, is Making Real Estate Moves

Jennifer Lawrence, World’s Highest-Paid Actress, is Making Real Estate Move

Jennifer Lawrence, recently crowned the world’s highest-paid actress for the second year in a row, is still working on her real estate game.

The “Hunger Games” star—who, according to Forbes, made $46 million before fees and taxes in the year through June 1, 2016—recently sold her starter condo in Santa Monica,, Calif. Her profit: Less than $280,000.

Previously: Five Homes for the World’s Highest-Paid Actress Jennifer Lawrence
The property, identified by Variety as belonging to Ms. Lawrence, sold last month for $1.15 million, about a month and a half after it was listed at $1.169 million by Andrew Thurm of Coldwell Banker. The actress reportedly bought the two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom townhouse for $879,000 in 2006, long before winning her Oscar for her role in the romantic comedy “Silver Linings Playbook” in 2012.
It is unclear when the 26-year-old last lived in the 1,413-square foot condo.
Her current home seems a better fit to her ascending career. In 2014, the actress paid over $7 million for a 5,550-square-foot, five-bedroom residence in Beverly Hills boasting a gym, gourmet kitchen and koi pond.
Now, Ms. Lawrence is reportedly looking at properties in Manhattan. According to the New York Post, she recently toured a duplex penthouse in Tribeca, which, with an asking price of $17.49 million, could become her most expensive real estate bet yet.

Diego Costa, N'Golo Kante bans 'good test' for Chelsea, Antonio Conte says

Diego Costa and N'Golo Kante are banned for Chelsea's Boxing Day game against Bournemouth

Antonio Conte says the Boxing Day absence of Diego Costa and N'Golo Kante will be a good examination of Chelsea's winning form.

Bournemouth are Monday's visitors to Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea will be chasing a 12th straight Premier League victory to consolidate their position of strength six points clear at the top of the table.
Eden Hazard will be part of the squad, but Conte is without two other men who have played key roles in that long winning run, with ball-winner Kante and regular goalscorer Costa both suspended.

Costa has scored three winners in Chelsea's past six games, and Conte said: "For sure they are two important players for us, that's clear.
"But we are working, we are working very well this week to try and find the solution to play good football, to continue to win, to take the three points.
"We all know against Bournemouth it will not be easy, they are a good team with a good organisation, but we are working very well and we want to continue.
"I have four days to evaluate the situation and find the best solution. This is a good test for us because we play this game without two very important players for our team."

Michy Batshuayi would be a like-for-like replacement for Costa, but Conte said: "We must be patient with him. The next step for him is to play more this season."
Frank Lampard was back training at Cobham this week and looked in good shape according to Conte, who said the club great "wants to continue playing" after leaving LA Galaxy.
Another Bridge stalwart is off next summer following confirmation Steve Holland is joining England's coaching staff on a permanent basis.

"Steve is a very good professional and he is helping me a lot as he has a lot of experience with Chelsea," Conte said.
"It's a pity to lose him, I must be honest, but I can understand his choice as this type of situation can arrive only once in life, to be a coach or assistant coach of your country."

India Overtakes Britain as the World’s Sixth-Largest Economy

Score one for the post-colonial underdog. India’s economy has reportedly overtaken the United Kingdom’s for the first time in over 100 years, now standing as the world’s sixth-largest economy by GDP after the United States, China, Japan, Germany, and France. The milestone is a symbol of India’s rapid economic growth and, conversely, the U.K.’s post-Brexit slump.
Economically, it’s been a banner year for India. In February, it surpassed China as the world’s fastest-growing economy. And in October, the International Monetary Fund predicted India would retain that title for the foreseeable future; its GDP is projected to increase by 7.6 percent through 2017.

India may have a large population base but this is a big leap,” Kiren Rijiju, India’s minister of state for home affairs, said of the news earlier this week.
India’s former colonial ruler, the United Kingdom, is projected to grow by only 1.8 percent in 2016 and 1.1 percent in 2017. Since it voted to leave the European Union in June, which could entail leaving the EU’s lucrative common market, Britain’s economy and currency have struggled.
India’s economy benefitted from a global commodities price slump through large trade gains and lower-than-expected inflation, according to the IMF. And since elected in 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has driven sweeping market reforms to spur economic growth.
But with growth spurts come growing pains. Many of the reforms, touching everything from creating unified national taxes to deregulating the agricultural industry’s fertilizer pricing, have been incredibly complicated, as a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies noted. And some controversial reforms have not gone smoothly.
Take the most recent currency reform, for example. In an effort to root out corruption and tax dodging, Modi announced in November that high denomination currency rupee notes (which comprise 86 percent of India’s currency in circulation) would be taken out of circulation immediately. It was a drastic measure for a drastic problem in the world’s second-most populous country; only 2 to 3 percent of Indians pay income tax because so many can hide their earnings with unaccounted-for cash, or “black money.”

Modi’s move plummeted business transactions, interrupted salary payments, and caused infamously long waiting lines at banks nationwide as people went to withdraw cash. One man even died Tuesday while waiting in line at a bank.

Dilma Blasts U.S. Spies as International Crooks

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff delivered a sizzling rebuke of America’s expansive electronic spying operation on Tuesday, telling a gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly that American eavesdropping constitutes "a breach of international law and an affront to" Brazil’s sovereignty.
The Brazilian president’s broadside came as President Barack Obama prepared in the wings to deliver his fifth address as president to the U.N’s most representative body. Rousseff, who is seeking re-election in Brazil, charged the United States with "indiscriminately" scooping up the personal data of Brazilian citizens and businesses and targeting the communications of Brasilia’s government.
Last week, Rousseff snubbed the U.S. president when she indefinitely postponed a state visit to the White House over revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) had aggressively targeted Brazil as part of its intelligence-gathering practices. Her visit to Washington, scheduled for late October, was supposed to be a celebration of deepening cooperation between the Western Hemisphere’s two largest economies.
"Given the proximity of the scheduled state visit to Washington and in the absence of a timely investigation" into the NSA snooping allegations, her office said in a statement, "there aren’t conditions for this trip to be made."
The alleged U.S. spying program in Latin America first came to light because of documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and was reported by the local Brazilian press in collaboration with Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian reporter who was among the first to break the NSA snooping story.
In addition to scooping up the private telephone calls, emails, and other communications between top Brazilian officials, the NSA allegedly targeted the country’s largest oil company, Petrobras, through a program called Blackpearl. If proven, the Brazilian government has charged, the allegations would amount to economic espionage — something American spies have long insisted that they never do.
"If the facts reported by the press are confirmed, it will be evident that the motive for the spying attempts is not security or the war on terrorism but strategic economic interests," Rousseff said in a statement last month. The NSA has denied that it engages in economic espionage "in any domain, including cyber."
Rousseff has since called for new regulations that would require foreign-based technology companies like Google and Facebook to set up data centers inside Brazil that are subject to local laws. It’s a plan that would come at substantial economic cost to the tech companies — and might actually make it more likely that their customers will be targeted by surveillance operations.
On Tuesday, the Brazilian president told the General Assembly that America’s spying operation posed a threat to democracy throughout the world, and she proposed U.N. regulation of cyberspace to ensure the integrity of the Internet. "Without the right of privacy there is no real freedom of speech or freedom of opinion, and so there is no actual democracy," she said. And "without respect for [a nation’s] sovereignty, there is no basis for proper relations among nations."
Rousseff said that her government has filed a formal protest against the United States, demanding an apology and a "guarantee that such acts will not be repeated.… Those who want a strategic partnership cannot possibly allow recurring and illegal action to go on as if they were an ordinary practice." Rousseff dismissed Washington’s contention that the United States needed to monitor electronic communications as part of its global campaign to fight terrorism as "untenable. Brazil knows how to protect itself. Brazil … does not provide shelter to terrorist groups; we are democratic country."

blog_thecable_full3 Obama to World: Bad News. The American Empire Is Dead., According to DoD Memo

Obama to World: Bad News. The American Empire Is Dead.

.S. President Barack Obama presented world leaders at the United Nations with an image of America as a reluctant superpower, ready to confront Iran’s nukes and kill its enemies with targeted drone strikes, but unprepared to embark on open-ended military missions in Syria and other troubled countries. That, he hinted, should give the world cause for anxiety. "The United States has a hard-earned humility when it comes to our ability to determine events inside other countries," he said in his address before the 193-member General Assembly. "The notion of American empire may be useful propaganda, but it isn’t borne out by America’s current policy or public opinion."

Obama said that "the recent debate within the United States over Syria clearly showed the danger for the world is not an America that is eager to immerse itself in the affairs of other countries or take on every problem in the region as its own. The danger for the world is that the United States, after a decade of war — rightly concerned about issues back home, aware of the hostility that our engagement in the region has engendered throughout the Muslim world — may disengage, creating a vacuum of leadership that no other nation is ready to fill."
Obama said that for the time being, American foreign-policy priorities in the Middle East will focus primarily on two key priorities: "Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and the Arab-Israeli conflict. While these issues are not the cause of all the region’s problems, they have been a major source of instability for far too long, and resolving them can help serve as a foundation for a broader peace."
In addressing the conflict in Syria, Obama said U.S. aims were largely humanitarian.
"There’s no ‘great game’ to be won, nor does America have any interest in Syria beyond the well-being of its people, the stability of its neighbors, the elimination of chemical weapons, and ensuring it does not become a safe haven for terrorists," he said.
Obama affirmed his commitment to the U.S.-Russian plan to place the Assad regime’s chemical weapons under international control, acknowledging that the Syrian president had taken a positive initial step by declaring his stockpiles.
"My preference has always been a diplomatic resolution to this issue," he said, stressing the importance of a Security Council resolution that will hold Assad to his commitments. "There must be consequences if they fail to do so," he said. "If we cannot agree even on this, then it will show that the U.N. is incapable of enforcing the most basic of international laws."
The president presented the U.S.-Russian plan as a catalyst for a broader international effort to bring the conflict to an end, but emphasized that America should not determine who will eventually lead in Syria. In keeping with his characteristically small-bore approach, he announced an additional $340 million in U.S. humanitarian assistance but shied away from any mention of toppling Bashar al-Assad.
The United States and Russia remain sharply divided over how to implement their chemical weapons agreement; the U.N. Security Council resolution endorsing the pact has been delayed several times. The United States insists that Syria face the threat of unspecified "consequences" if it fails to comply with its obligation to disarm, while Russia prefers a more consensual approach that includes no explicit or implicit threat of force.
Speaking before Obama, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the U.N. Security Council to hold the Syrian government to "fully and quickly honor[ing]" the obligations it has undertaken to destroy its chemical weapons, and he pleaded with the Security Council to move forward with an "enforceable" resolution ensuring that Syria complies.
But Ban added that removing unconventional arms can’t be the international community’s only goal in Syria. "We can hardly be satisfied with destroying chemical weapons while the wider war is still destroying Syria. The vast majority of the killing and atrocities have been carried out with conventional weapons," he said.
Ban urged Syria’s combatants and their foreign backers to "stop fueling the bloodshed in Syria" and halt all arms shipments to the fighters. "Military victory is an illusion," he said. "The only answer is a political settlement." Ban also raised the possibility of sending U.N. human rights monitors to Syria, where they "could play a useful role in reporting and deterring further violations."
Obama, meanwhile, laid out a rather modest account of American "core interests" in the Middle East and North Africa: countering military aggression against U.S. partners in the region, protecting global energy reserves, and confronting the dual threats of terrorism and nuclear proliferation.
"The United States of America is prepared to use all elements of our power, including military force, to secure these core interests in the region," he said. "But I also believe that we can rarely achieve these objectives through unilateral American action — particularly with military action. Iraq shows us that democracy cannot be imposed by force. Rather, these objectives are best achieved when we partner with the international community and with the countries and people of the region."
Accordingly, he defended the U.S. decision to work with Egypt’s new military regime, which came to power through a July 3 military coup and launched a bloody crackdown on its political opposition. "Our approach to Egypt reflects a larger point: The United States will at times work with governments that do not meet the highest international expectations, but who work with us on our core interests," Obama said.
Obama added that he is willing to work even with America’s traditional rivals, singling out Iran, to achieve his goals. Speaking several hours before Iranian President Hasan Rouhani was due to address the U.N. General Assembly, Obama offered assurances that "we are not seeking regime change, and we respect the right of the Iranian people to access peaceful nuclear energy. Instead, we insist that the Iranian government meet its responsibilities under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and U.N. Security Council resolutions."
"We should be able to achieve a resolution that respects the rights of the Iranian people, while giving the world confidence that the Iranian program is peaceful. To succeed, conciliatory words will have to be matched by actions that are transparent and verifiable."

Earlier in the day, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff took to the U.N. podium to blast the massive electronic spying program that Obama has overseen in office. The surveillance, she claimed, constitutes a breach of international law and an affront to America’s allies. Obama sought to assure leaders like her that he is listening. "We have begun to review the way that we gather intelligence, so as to properly balance the legitimate security concerns of our citizens and allies with the privacy concerns that all people share," Obama said. But he went on to defend the controversial eavesdropping effort, saying it was a just approach to combating terrorism by a superpower that is "shifting away from a perpetual war-footing."

Trump urges veto of UN motion on Israel settlements

Israeli settlers block the entrance to the the settlement outpost of Amona, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank (AFP Photo/Jack Guez)

Washington (AFP) - President-elect Donald Trump called on Wednesday for the United States to veto an Egyptian-drafted UN resolution demanding that Israel immediately halt its settlement activities in the Palestinian territories and east Jerusalem.

"The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed," the Republican said in a statement issued ahead of vote taking place later in the day.

"As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations," he said.

Mourinho Plays Down New Contract Reports

Manchester United Manager, Jose Mourinho, yesterday played down reports he is set to be offered a new contract in a television interview broadcast.
Mourinho, 53, signed a three-year contract when he succeeded Louis van Gaal as United manager in July.

Several British newspapers reported United were already considering offering Mourinho a new deal, but he said the stories were news to him.
“They didn’t (offer a new contract) and I’m not expecting them to, because they gave me a three-year contract and were being super supportive,” he told Sky Sports News.

“They always gave me the feeling three years was not the time I was going to stay and I got the feeling I was going to stay for more time.
“They know if one day they bring the contract I will sign, because I love it here.”

Asked whether a mega-money move to the Chinese Super League might appeal to him, he said: “China money is attractive for everyone, but I love more my football at the highest level.
“I’m too young, 53, (have) too many years of football to go to a place like China. I want to stay in the place where it is most difficult to win.”
United have been strongly linked with a January move for Benfica’s Swedish centre-back Victor Lindelof.

Mourinho refused to be drawn on the reports, but said he would not bring in more than one new player.
“Let’s see what happens,” he said. “If we buy a player we buy a player, but we are not buying two, three or four.”

Out-of-favour pair Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay have both been linked with Everton.
But Mourinho said he was happy with his squad, adding: “If we open the door for someone to leave, it is not because we push him, but because he wants to leave.”

Jubilation in Delta State as Ibori Regains Freedom

Agha Ibiam in London, Sylvester Idowu in Warri and Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba with agency report
There was wild jubilation in Delta State and especially in Oghara, the hometown of a former governor of the Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, who regained his freedom yesterday after a British court ordered his immediate release, having served five and a half years of his 13-year prison sentence.

On getting news of his release, hundreds of indigenes of Oghara trooped out en mass singing solidarity songs and marching along the major streets of the otherwise sleepy town since his departure.

Indeed, Oghara, the administrative headquarters of Ethiope West Local Government Area in Delta State erupted into ecstatic celebrations with acrobatic displays by youths, women and motorcyclists, creating a carnival-like atmosphere.
The order for Ibori’s release came despite attempts by the British Home Secretary to detain him in prison, pending the ruling on a prolonged asset forfeiture case brought against him by the British government.

He was due for release on Tuesday, having agreed to be deported after serving less than half of his 13-year sentence.
When THISDAY spoke to Ibori’s representative yesterday, it was gathered that the former governor would be released to his home in London, but was unlikely to return to Nigeria soon.
THISDAY learnt that he was mandated to report to the London police periodically for the time being.

However, it emerged that the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, did not intend to deport Ibori to Nigeria until he handed over £18 million of “proceeds of crime”, reported the BBC.
But ruling against the Home Office, a High Court judge said yesterday that attempts to detain him were “quite extraordinary”.

Ordering Ibori to be immediately freed from prison, Mrs. Justice Juliet May said: “You don’t hold someone just because it is convenient to do so and without plans to deport them.”

A Home Office application that Ibori be electronically tagged and subject to strict curfew conditions was also rejected after the judge accepted arguments that the Home Secretary was attempting to misuse her immigration and deportation powers.
The Home Office’s barrister said the government was concerned that Ibori might “frustrate confiscation proceedings” and wanted him kept in jail or subjected to strict controls on his movement.

Ibori was jailed for fraud totalling nearly £50 million in April 2012.
Confirming the order for his release from prison yesterday, a statement by Ibori’s media aide Mr. Tony Eluemunor, said: “At 12.20 p.m. on Wednesday, December 21, 2016, Her Honour, Mrs. Justice Juliet May, Queen’s Counsel, dropped her verdict: She ordered the immediate release of Chief James Onanefe Ibori.

“With that, Ibori’s lawyers won a major victory against the British Home Office at the Royal Court of Justice, Queens Court 1, London, by successfully challenging the decision not to release Ibori who was due for freedom on Tuesday, December 20, after serving his sentence.

“In a curious move, the British Home Office, instead of releasing Ibori on December 20, informed him that he would be detained on the grounds that his confiscation hearing had not been concluded.
“So, in court, Ibori’s lawyers exposed the injustice in the indefinite detention the Home Office had planned for Ibori. They told the judge that there were no grounds in law under which Ibori could be detained and that his detention for one extra day by the Home Office was unlawful.”

Eluemunor stated that there was high drama in the British High Court, as senior lawyers for the UK’s Home Office failed in their last minute bid to prevent Ibori’s release.
“The apparent decision to block Ibori’s release and detain him appeared to have come from the highest echelons of the UK Government – the Home Secretary – who was accused in today’s hearing of acting unlawfully and misusing her powers.

“Sian Davies, the Crown Prosecution lawyer did not object to Ibori’s release and return to Nigeria, yet at the last minute the Home Office stepped in. There is clear discord between the two arms of the British government,” he added.

Ibori’s team was led by Ian McDonald, QC, the leading QC on immigration.
Eluemunor said that the visibly irritated judge could not understand the Home Secretary’s position and at times was critical of the move to detain Ibori any further.
“Mrs. Justice May rejected the Home Secretary’s requests for conditions to be imposed and ordered Ibori’s immediate release.

“Ivan Krolic, who also attended, explained that Ibori’s confiscation proceedings collapsed in 2013, after the prosecution was unable to establish any theft from the Delta State and any benefit for Ibori from anywhere.

“A three-week hearing which heard live evidence was abandoned by the prosecutors – Wass, QC, and Shutzer-Weissman. Both prosecutors have since been dismissed from the case for gross misconduct.

“Krolic further explained that British police officers in the case led by DC McDonald, have again been referred to the Independent Public Complaints Commission and now face a thorough investigation into their corrupt activities in this case.
“The CPS has confirmed officers in the case were corrupt. It has since disclosed substantial material evidencing the graft.

“Ibori and others have long maintained that this prosecution was politically motivated. But it was funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) whose senior employee was also the jury foreperson in one of the earlier trials,” the statement added.
The Ibori case has been plagued by British police corruption, exceptional prosecutorial misconduct and fundamental non-disclosure.
A multitude of appeals have now been launched or are in the process of being launched, Eluemunor said.

Urhoboland, Oghara Erupt

On getting wind of the order for Ibori’s release, his kinsmen in Oghara thronged the major drinking bars in celebration of a man who had brought enormous development to the community as governor of Delta State.

The celebration was not limited to Oghara, as Urhoboland in Delta Central zone made up of eight local governments, and other parts of Delta State where his Urhobo kinsmen as well as political associates reside, also joined in the celebrations.
In Ughelli North and South Local Government Areas as well as Udu, Uvwie and Warri Local Government Areas of the state, the release of Ibori dominated discussions over bottles of drinks.

THISDAY learnt that most of the people were celebrating based on the rumoured homecoming of the erstwhile governor before Christmas Day on Sunday or before the New Year since the town had been spruced up and houses and streets were readied for Ibori’s anticipated return before the end of the year.

Practically all of Ibori’s associates were of the view that the former governor was a victim of political persecution rather than for corruption or money laundering for which he was jailed in the United Kingdom.

Some of them believed that Ibori’s return to the country would stir up the political atmosphere not only in Delta State but the Niger Delta region and Nigeria as a whole.
A prominent indigene of Oghara and former commissioner under ex-Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s administration, Chief Ben Igbakpa described the court order as a welcome development not only for the people of Oghara but Delta State as a whole.

“No matter the circumstances, every journey, every venture, every persecution, every cry, and even our lives have a beginning and an end. To God alone be the Glory.
“In all our celebrations let’s sit and think about our individual culpability in what led to this punishment that a single man had to carry the cross of a generation.

“We can’t move forward effectively without a robust understanding of yesterday and the need to be counted as tested and trusted. This gives us food for thought as we kick off the celebrations on this historic day.
“Conscience is an open wound that can only be healed by truth alone. God bless Delta State,” he said.

For Senator Igboyota Amori, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in the state and confidant of Ibori, his release was a welcome development.
“On Ibori’s release today, it’s celebrations everywhere in Oghara, Mosogar, Jesse, the whole of Urhoboland, Delta State and Nigeria.

“Nigerians in the UK and all over the world are at this moment celebrating the hero of our time, the resource control guru, the liberator of the oppressed who paid the supreme price for the sake of his people.

“Our joy knows no bound as Deltans and Nigerians and in fact the entire Urhobo nation await his triumphant return to his fatherland.
“Like Mandela, Awolowo, Obasanjo and many others of his type, Ibori remains our hero,” he told THISDAY.

Another chieftain of the PDP in the state and Urhobo leader, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, said this was the greatest thing that has happened to the state.
He declared: Chief Ibori’s release is the greatest thing that has ever happened within the political terrain of Delta State since the creation of the state.”
Senator James Manager, also a close ally of Ibori said: “Glory be to God,” in his reaction to news of Ibori’s release.

Also, former governorship aspirants, Dr. Festus Okubor, Hon. Ejaife Odebala as well as media and social commentator, Mr. Willy Bozimo, said with Ibori’s anticipated return he would fill a void in the politics of the Delta State and thereby unite the state.

Okubor, who was also a commissioner in the state, noted that the former governor could not be abandoned, as he did not abandon his own even while serving his jail term in Britain, adding that Ibori even reached out to the militants in the Niger Delta following the recent resurgence of militancy in the oil-rich region.

Okubor, who waxed lyrical in showering encomiums on his leadership style, said of Ibori on his Facebook page: “Odidigboigbo of the Universe, you are a classical man; kind, pragmatic, robust, astute and urgent chief. You touched the lives of men innumerably and positively affected destinies on God’s behalf. You made some cry for joy; you made others smile for their temporal success of hounding you. As you always insisted, your calling is to make society better and give joy and happiness to man.

“They thought your friends and lovers will cry; they believed we will despair, they wished the flock will scatter but we knew better.

“We knew that God cannot forsake a good man. We saw clearly that God for His reason alone has ordained a wilderness experience for your refilling for His greater use for the salvation of Nigeria.
“Moses went through the same, separated from his people for saving their good. We never feared, we never floundered, we never got distressed…”

Similarly, Odebala, who is the incumbent chairman of Sapelle Local Government Area in the state, told THISDAY on phone that God had freed Ibori because he ruled his people with passion and a good heart, adding: “The political atmosphere in the state will not remain the same with the release of Chief James Onanefe Ibori.”

Bozimo, who described Ibori as “the wonder kid of Oghara”, added: “We wait for an illustrious son who fell on evil days, hoping his return would provide a formidable leader in Delta State who will move us in the right direction.”

For Charles Eyimofe Pemu, an Itsekiri leader, Ibori should be given a second chance because he had showed sagacity as a politician despite his travails, saying he could come back reinvigorated as a leader of his people.

Pemu, who described Ibori as the best politician to emerge from the South-south geopolitical zone, noted: “Though he is not a saint, he remains the best politician in the South-south region; only that he played his politics in ‘Maradona’ style, but should we dump him? No!

“The northerners and westerners will not do so. Why should we dump our political lion? We need him to teach us some of the moves and how to rule; that is why he must return.
“Note that a former armed robber can become a defender of his people because he understands how to make use of the gun.”

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Thursday, 22 December 2016