Tag: SON

Lampard’s Chelsea Beat Mourinho’s Tottenham Amid Crowd Racism

Chelsea’s Brazilian midfielder Willian (L) celebrates with teammates after scoring their second goal from the penalty spot during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on December 22, 2019.
Glyn KIRK / IKIMAGES / AFP

 

 

Frank Lampard out-witted Jose Mourinho as Chelsea powered to a 2-0 win at Tottenham on Sunday that featured a double from Willian, a red card for Son Heung-min and allegations of racist abuse.

Billed as a showdown between Mourinho and Lampard, an explosive London derby showed the student is more than a match for the man who served as his mentor during their time together at Chelsea.

Blues boss Lampard pulled a tactical masterstroke as he cleverly changed his team’s formation, leaving Tottenham manager Mourinho unable to respond as Willian opened the scoring with a blistering strike and increased Chelsea’s lead with a penalty before half-time.

Tottenham’s South Korean star Son was sent off for a needless kick at Antonio Rudiger in the second half as Chelsea swept to a sweet victory over their former manager.

With top four rivals Manchester United losing at Watford earlier in the day, it will be a happy festive period for Lampard’s fourth placed side, who sit six points clear of seventh placed Tottenham after ending a run of four defeats from their last five Premier League games.

There was little Christmas cheer for Tottenham, who may have to answer for the behaviour of their fans amid claims Rudiger was racially abused and an object was thrown at Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

A fan was seen directing a ‘monkey gesture’ at Rudiger and three announcements over the tannoy that “racist behaviour from spectators is interfering with the game” painted a bleak picture of the latest racist incident to scar European football this term.

Lampard had already beaten Mourinho last season when his Derby met the Portuguese coach’s Manchester United in the League Cup and once again he proved too smart for his old boss.

After a hug and handshake between Lampard and Mourinho, there was a poignant minute’s applause for Tottenham and England World Cup winner Martin Peters, who died aged 76 on Saturday.

Those shows of respect marked the end of the civilities as Tottenham fans booed Marcos Alonso vociferously and chanted about his involvement in a fatal car crash in Spain several years ago.

Tactical Tweak

Chelsea had the perfect response to the cruel taunts as they completely dominated possession in the early stages and took the lead in the 12th minute.

With Tottenham too slow to mark up, Willian took a short corner to Mateo Kovacic and when the Brazilian received the return pass, he adroitly side-stepped Serge Aurier before curling a superb finish into the far corner of Paulo Gazzaniga’s net.

There was an extra edge about Willian’s celebrations given the abuse of Alonso as he sprinted to pose in front of the Tottenham fans.

Aware of Chelsea’s frailties at the back, Lampard had switched to a five-man defence and dropped Jorginho in a move that allowed N’Golo Kante to return to his preferred deep-lying midfield role.

The tactical tweak worked a treat and Tottenham’s only decent chance of the entire match was wasted by Harry Kane, who fired over from Moussa Sissoko’s cross.

With the supply lines to Kane shut down, Lampard’s team deservedly doubled their lead in first-half stoppage-time.

To the chagrin of Tottenham’s fans, Alonso was the catalyst as he chased a long ball into the penalty area and was clattered by Gazzaniga’s desperate rush off his line.

After a VAR review, the spot-kick was awarded, with Willian calmly slotting past Gazzaniga for his fifth goal of an exceptional campaign for the winger.

That made it an alarming 14 goals conceded in all competitions by Tottenham since Mourinho replaced Mauricio Pochettino.

Any hopes of a Tottenham comeback were quashed in the 62nd minute by Son’s needless clash with Rudiger.

Falling to the turf after a collision with the Chelsea defender, Son responded by kicking both feet at Rudiger.

A lengthy VAR review led to Son’s dismissal for violent conduct, sparking an ugly end to the clash as Tottenham fans appeared to tarnish their club with sick racist taunts at Rudiger.

US First Lady Wades Into Impeachment Fight To Defend Teen Son

US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania waves as he arrives on board Airforce 1. LOIC VENANCE / AFP

 

 

US First Lady Melania Trump on Wednesday publicly rebuked a scholar who used her 13-year-old son’s name to make a point during a hearing as part of the impeachment inquiry into the president.

Constitutional law professor Pamela Karlan invoked Barron Trump, the son of Donald and Melania Trump, to demonstrate how the Constitution imposes distinctions between a monarch’s power and that of a president.

“The constitution says there can be no titles of nobility,” Karlan told lawmakers during the House Judiciary Committee’s first hearing on impeachment, which featured four constitutional scholars.

“So while the president can name his son ‘Barron,’ he can’t make him a baron.”

The pun led to chuckles in the congressional hearing room, but Melania Trump made clear it was no laughing matter.

“A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics,” the first lady tweeted shortly afterwards.

“Pamela Karlan, you should be ashamed of your very angry and obviously biased public pandering, and using a child to do it.”

President Trump retweeted his wife’s message to his 67 million followers.

As the row snowballed, Karlan quickly tried to stem the damage by expressing her regret.

“I want to apologize for what I said earlier about the president’s son,” she told the panel.

“It was wrong of me to do that,” she said, before adding that she also wished “the president would apologize, obviously, for the things that he’s done that’s wrong.”

For years, members of both political parties have agreed that the minor children of US politicians, particularly presidents, are off-limits.

During the hearing, Republican congressman Matt Gaetz snapped at Karlan, telling her that invoking Trump’s son “does not lend credibility to your argument. It makes you look mean.”

‘Unhinged, petty kook’

The incident quickly brought an onslaught of criticism from corners far beyond the hearing room, as Republicans and members of Trump’s re-election campaign voiced grave disapproval.

“Democrats have disgraced themselves by giving a platform to this unhinged, petty kook,” the campaign wrote on Twitter, while its deputy director of communications, Matt Wolking, called Karlan an “unhinged liberal professor” over the comments.

Lawmakers and Trump administration officials followed suit, echoing scathing assessments of Karlan’s words.

“Democrats are so desperate that one of their biased witnesses is now attacking the President’s 13-year-old son. Absolutely disgraceful,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy wrote on Twitter.

Republican Congressman Markwayne Mullin, meanwhile, called the episode “reprehensible” while Trump Senior Counselor Kellyanne Conway questioned why “Hunter Biden is off-limits but Barron Trump is not?”

The Trump impeachment investigation is looking into pressure Trump placed on Ukraine’s president to investigate 2020 election rival Democrat Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, who served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.

During a speech Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence told an audience that “one of the Democrats’ witnesses actually used the president and first lady’s 13-year-old son to justify their partisan impeachment. Democrats should be ashamed.”

Melania Trump has taken up the cause of youth wellness in America, and last year launched a public awareness campaign to counter youth cyberbullying and drug use.

SON Workers Protest Over Alleged Poor Welfare

Workers protest at the Abuja office of Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) on Tuesday, May 14, 2019. PHOTO: Sodiq Adelakun/Channels TV

 

Members of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) on Tuesday staged a protest at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The workers carrying various placards assembled at the entrance of the SON headquarters.

According to the workers, the protest is against alleged cases of corruption, poor staff welfare, and non-payment of entitlements.

READ ALSO: Picketing: TCN Workers Clash With Protesting TUC Members

The workers under the umbrella body of the amalgamated union of public corporations, civil service technical and recreational services employees are demanding the immediate approval and implementation of better conditions of service at the agency.

They also claim illegal promotion of some directors and are calling for the intervention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Crimes (ICPC) into the operations of the organisation.

They alleged that the Director-General of SON, Osita Aboloma, has refused to obey the directive of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Employment on voluntarism.

The head of public relations at SON, Dipo Fashina, in reaction says the issues raised by the workers is being addressed.

He added that the budgetary allocation has been provided in the 2019 budget to settle all outstanding allowances.

See more photos below…

 

 

 

SON Arraigns Four For Alleged Illegal Production Of Engine Oil

SON Arraigns Four For Alleged Illegal Production Of Engine Oil

 

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has arraigned four men before Justice Oluremi Oguntoyibo at the Federal High Court in Lagos, for allegedly producing and selling substandard and adulterated engine oil.

The accused persons, Uche Johnson, Olaide Shittu, Kingsley Meteke and Abdulquadri Olayinka, were alleged to have adulterated 128 drums and 9.45 litres of engine oil, and charged with four counts of production, possession, dealing in and distribution of substandard engine oil.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges and claimed that the products were good for public consumption and for optimum engine performance, which the prosecution said was false.

The counsel to SON said the defendants indulged in production of engine oil which did not meet mandatory industrial standards and the offence contravened the provisions of sections 1(8) and 1(8)(II) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 2004.

The prosecutor urged the court to fix a date for trial to enable it produce its witnesses to establish its case against the defendants.

The defence counsel informed the court of a bail application filed on behalf of the defendants and urged the court to grant them bails on liberal terms.

Justice Oluremi Oguntoyibo ordered that they be remanded in prison custody pending ruling on their bail application and adjourned until March 19 for ruling on the bail application.

She, thereafter, fixed May 2, 7 and 9 for trial.

Father Gets 16 Years For ‘Monstrous’ Acid Attack On Son

Vice Principal Gets Life Imprisonment For Raping 12-Year-Old In Ekiti
File Photo

 

A father was on Wednesday jailed for 16 years for planning a “monstrous” acid attack on his three-year-old son, which left the child “scarred for life”.

Five other men were also convicted over the attack which prosecutors say was an attempt by the father to show that his mother was unfit to take care of the little boy.

Passing sentence, Judge Robert Juckes said “even battle-hardened crown court judges were sickened when they heard the news that someone had attacked a three-year-old with sulphuric acid,” said Juckes, calling it a “monstrous breach of trust”.

The 40-year-old father, originally from Afghanistan, provided “obviously strong acid” and was the “the instigator and planner” of the attack, he said.

Prosecutors say the man, who has not been named to protect the identity of his son, was motivated by his wife walking out on him in 2016 and hired the other guilty men to attack the child at a shop in the city of Worcester in central England.

The attack happened in July 2018, when Adam Cech squirted acid at the boy, who was in a pushchair, from a small plastic bottle.

The victim’s mother said in a victim statement that “my son is OK, he’s a happy child, but he’s been scarred for life and will need continuous support”.

Khashoggi’s Son Leaves Saudi Arabia – HRW

A handout picture provided by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on October 23, 2018, shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meeting with family members of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Riyadh. The Saudi rulers met with Khashoggi’s son Salah. Handout / SPA / AFP

 

The son of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Salah, and his family have left the Gulf kingdom after the government lifted a travel ban, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.

“Salah and his family are on a plane to (Washington) DC now,” Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW’s executive director for the Middle East and North Africa, told AFP.

AFP

APC Leader, Tinubu Loses Son

Tinubu A Shining Star In Nigeria's Political Firmament - Ajimobi
file photo: APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu

The national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has lost one of his sons.

The son, Jide, was gathered to have died in the early hours of today, November 1.

Although details of the death are still sketchy, APC chieftains are already sending condolences to Tinubu over the tragic loss.

Speaker, House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, in a statement on Wednesday said the news of the death came as a rude shock.

He said: “I commiserate with our national leader, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the demise of his son Jide.

“I was shocked to receive the sad news of the sudden death of Jide Tinubu. The late Jide was a lawyer of high repute who cut his teeth in the maritime sector and was hardworking and enterprising.”

“It is saddening that a father buries his son. I can only imagine your pain and grief at this time.

“I pray God Almighty to grant you and your family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss,” the Speaker added.

SON Arrests Suspected Dealer Of Expired Items

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria has arrested a suspected dealer of expired household items stocked in two buildings in Kirikiri, Lagos.

The arrest was carried out on Saturday through the collaborative effort of operatives of the agency and the Nigeria Police Force.

The arrest followed the discovery of a twin three-storey building by SON, belonging to Julf Ventures Nigeria Ltd in March 2017, stocked with imported expired items whose expiry dates were distorted.

Following a tip-off, the agency discovered another two separate buildings found with expired domestic consumables with altered dates in the suburbs of Kirikiri, said to be owned by the same company.

Briefing reporters after the arrest, the Director-General of SON, Osita Aboloma, who was represented by the Director of Inspectorate and Compliance, Bede Obayi, described the act as disheartening.

He noted that the agency would ensure they trace the substandard products that had already left the warehouse.

“We acted on the intelligence we received from well-meaning Nigerians. You can see the volume of expired products here and imagine their implications on our society in terms of health issues.

“When somebody buys expired cream, what does it show? You are applying cream that the active ingredient had gone and that may cause reactions on the skin.

“We promise Nigerians that we will carry out investigation and ensure that the products that have left the warehouse to different shops all over the country are properly traced and withdrawn from circulation.

“Due to the support of other regulatory agencies and the Nigeria Police Force, we were able to discover two other warehouses belonging to the same company based on a tip-off,” Aboloma said.

He commended the Lagos State government for its prompt response in sealing up the entire building to prevent further circulation of the products.

The Director of Investigation and Enforcement, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mr Kingsley Ejiofor, condemned the act which he described as “illicit trade by unscrupulous Nigerian importers”.

The NAFDAC official, however, lauded the SON and Police for arresting the importer and solicited for more support to tackle the influx of fake and substandard goods into the country.

Osinbajo To Launch MSME Clinic In Kwara

MSME Clinic, Yemi Osinbajo, KwaraActing President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, is set to launch a three-day Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) clinic on Thursday, February 23 for viable enterprises in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

Recall that Acting President Osinbajo commissioned the Aba MSME clinic on January 26.

Aba is the commercial hub of Abia State in southeast Nigeria.

The Chief Operating Officer of the Kwara State MSME Bureau, Mr Segun Soewu, who made the disclosure in a statement on Monday, informed that the event would hold at the Banquet Hall, Ilorin by 10:00AM daily.

He described the clinic as an opportunity for MSME operators in the state to discuss the opportunities and challenges confronting their businesses.

The MSME Bureau boss added that business owners can also make inquiries about policies and regulations regarding their businesses from the Federal agencies that would be present at the programme.

He listed the agencies to include the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, Nigeria Export Promotion Council, Nigerian Export-Import Bank and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

Others are Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO), Projects Development Institute, Raw Materials Research and Development Council, and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure.

Mr Soewu asked intending participants to contact the office of the Chief Operating Officer of the Kwara State MSME Bureau at the Ministry of Commerce and Cooperatives, Gambari Road in Ilorin.

 

S.O.N Seals Off Mobile Phone Shops In Abuja

S.O.N Seals Off Mobile Phone Shops In Abuja Its end of the road for dealers of fake mobile telephones in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, Abuja as officials of Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) have begun sealing off shops that sell substandard handsets.

The Assistant Chief of Standards at the agency, Mr Mamza Irimiya, who led the operation, advised mobile phone marketers to desist from selling phones that are not of standard.

During the operation, officials of the Standards Organizations of Nigeria interrogated some of the traders and asserted that the phones had health and environmental implications.

Although some of the shop owners disagreed with their claims, from one shop to another, they moved, determined to seal as many shops perceived to have erred.

Their action met resistance from some shop owners who asked the SON to beam its searchlight on the companies that supply them the phones and not vendors in this market.

This scenario reoccurred at different markets but the SON officials were not deterred as more seizures were made.

Meanwhile, the SON has said that further investigation would be conducted on the seized goods, before the sealed shops are reopened.

SON Confiscates 1,000 Bags Of Underweighted Rice In Osogbo

Customs, Plastic Rice,At least 1,000 underweighted bags of rice have been confiscated in Osogbo the capital of Osun State by Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

The organisation said the seizure of the bags of rice at different markets in Osogbo was part of control measures mechanisms.

The State Coordinator of SON, Mr Sunday Badewole, gave the figure while addressing reporters in Osogbo on Tuesday.

Mr Badewole said the agency made the confiscation during the enforcement operation where more than 1,000 bags of five kilogramme, 10kg and 25kg were confiscated.

He said many of the rice sellers had reduced the quantity of rice from the kilogrammes that were indicated on the bags, to make more money.

Stolen Quantity Repackaged

Badewole said the observation carried out by the enforcement team of the agency in the markets during the raid revealed that rice sellers would remove some measures from the bags of rice and seal it back for sale.

He said the quantities removed would thereafter be repackaged in another bag, sealed and sold to buyers.

Badewole said the rice sellers confessed that they used to buy empty rice bags from Lagos to repackage the quantities that was stolen from the original bags.

“Based on the information from our operations directorate headquarters that underweighted bags of rice were in circulation, we went to the market with our scale.

“But it is very unfortunate that many of these small bags of rice have been reduced by the sellers to make more gain,” he said.

Badewole said all the shops where the underweighted rice were found had been sealed and put on hold.

He, however, said the confiscated bags of rice would not be destroyed but rather it would be rectified, a process that would be carried out by the sellers under the supervision of SON’s enforcement unit.

“Since the intention is not to further destroy the economic strength, the option we will probably put forward is rectification and fine.

“That is, we will ensure that all the bags of rice that were tampered with are filled up to the normal kilogrammes under our supervision, before they are put up for sale, because that is what the standard says,” he said.

Badewole said any rice seller that refuses to carry out rectification would forfeit all the underweighted rice to SON.

He noted that the exercise was a continuous one, and warned rice sellers against shortchanging people.

“I want to warn rice sellers to always ensure that their bags contain the right quantity of the produce.

“They should stop deceiving people and allow people to have value for their money,” he said.

Badewole, who highlighted that the raids would soon be carried to all the supermarkets in the state, said the organisation would not relent in its efforts at sanitising the system.

Digital Switch-Over: BON Chairman Initiates Stakeholders’ Meeting

BON Chairman Meets With Information MinisterAhead of the June 2017 deadline for digital switch-over, the federal government is hoping to facilitate a meeting of players in the broadcast industry to resolve issues affecting digitization in the country.

During a meeting with the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed in Abuja, the Chairman of the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), Mr John Momoh, suggested that the meeting be held to aggregate the challenges affecting digitization and proffer solutions to them.

He told Channels TV that the digital switch-over was on course but there were gray areas that need to be resolved.

He said: “He (Minister) has an ear to the ground and knows what he is doing as regards the digital switch-over and he welcomed the idea of a stakeholders’ meeting which I put forward.

“The stakeholders’ meeting will be such that will get (together) people like the fiber companies, the broadcasters, the platform carriers, signal distributor, content aggregators and producers as well as the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) who should actually be one of the stakeholders since they monitor the kind of setup boxes that would be manufactured in the country.

“We will all come to the table and address the issues confronting the DSO.”

The Minister admitted that the meeting was necessary and should be held regularly until the target date.

He hoped that the meeting would be called soon as it would “not only discuss issues that are strategic and important to the process”.

“We are talking about channels owners, setup box manufacturers, the distributors, the aggregators; everybody.

“We need to meet regularly so that as we move forward, we would ensure nobody is left behind,” the Minister said.