On May 13, renowned transfer journalist Romano posted on social media that 40-year-old veteran Neuer has renewed his contract with Bayern for 1 year.

Romano posted on social media that Manuel Neuer will reach a new agreement with Bayern, extending his contract for another season! The verbal agreement disclosed two weeks ago is valid until June 2027, and the club and the player’s team are ready to enter the signing phase. Moreover, the player himself still has a glimmer of hope of representing Germany in the World Cup, and Neuer’s legend continues.

The 40-year-old Neuer has played 597 games for Bayern since joining in 2011, keeping 269 clean sheets. He has helped the team win 13 Bundesliga titles, 2 Champions League titles, 8 German Super Cup titles, 6 German Cup titles, 2 Club World Cup titles, 2 UEFA Super Cup titles, and many other honors.

The Federal High Court in Abuja today sentenced the former Minister of Power, Mr Saleh Mamman, to 75 years imprisonment in absentia over N33.8 billion money laundering offences.

Justice James Omotosho, who convicted Mamman in all the 12 counts preferred against him by the EFCC, ordered that the sentence shall run consecutively and not concurrently.

Justice Omotosho said that the absence of the ex-minister in court today (Thursday) and on the last adjourned date was a deliberate attempt to stop the wheel of justice.

The judge, who agreed with the EFCC’s lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, that though the defendant was not in court, the provisions of Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, gave the court the power to proceed with the sentencing.

The judge held that Mamman cannot claim to have suffered a miscarriage of justice.

The judge consequently sentenced the convict to seven years imprisonment in Counts one, two, three, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, 11 and 12 without option of fine.

Justice Omotosho also sentenced him to three year-jail term in Count 4 with an option of fine of a N10 million and two years’ imprisonment in Count 5 without option of fine.

The judge, who ordered that the sentence shall run consecutively, said this shall commenced from the date of his arrest.

He, therefore, ordered all security agencies in and outside the country, including the INTERPOL, to arrest Mammn anywhere he is sighted and handed over to the Nigerian Correctional Services for his jail term.

Also based on the application by counsel for the prosecution, which was not challenged by the ex-minister’s lawyer, Mohammed Ahmed, Justice Omotosho also ordered the final forfeiture of Mamman’s two properties located in choiced areas of Abuja and monies in different currencies recovered by the anti-graft agencies.

The judge further ordered that the differential amount between the monies and assets recovered from Mamman and the sum of N22 billion the prosecution was able to establish during the trial, out of the N33. 8 billion allegedly siphoned from the Zungeru and Mambilla Hydro Electric Power projects, be refunded by the convict.

Justice Omotosho had, on May 7, convicted Mamman in absentia over allegations of money laundering.

Although Mamman was conspicuously absent in court, Justice Omotosho, in the judgment, held that the EFCC had been able to established the 12-count amended charge against the defendant beyond reasonable.

(NAN)

The National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Dr Hakeem Baba Ahmed, has explained why former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and the leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, were unable to join the PRP ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Speaking during a Hausa political programme on DITV Kaduna, Baba-Ahmed said discussions between the PRP and the two politicians broke down after disagreements over conditions for joining the party.

According to him, Obi and Kwankwaso initially approached the PRP for possible collaboration and negotiations progressed to the point where a committee was proposed to continue talks.

“They came and said they wanted to join the PRP, but when we sat down and discussed with them, there were certain demands they made,” he said.

The PRP chairman said one of the major issues was the request by both politicians to secure the party’s presidential ticket without facing internal opposition.

“Before they joined, they told us that they were the presidential candidates meaning they should be given the ticket. We told them no, this is PRP; we do not practice that kind of politics,” Baba-Ahmed said.

He stated that the party insisted that Obi and Kwankwaso must first formally join the PRP and follow its laid-down procedures before seeking any elective position.
“I told them: first come into the party. After joining, you can then tell me, ‘I am Obi and I want to run for President,’ and ‘I am Kwankwaso and I want to be his running mate.’

“But for you to come even before a decision is made and ask us to guarantee you the ticket without opposition if you are truly strong contenders, then why fear competition?” he asked.

Baba-Ahmed said the PRP leadership acknowledged the political influence and support base of both men but maintained that the party could not violate its constitution and internal democratic process.
“We believed that if anyone entered a room and saw Obi and Kwankwaso, they would think strong contenders had arrived,” he said. “But we cannot break our party’s rules.”

He further disclosed that the camps of the two politicians also requested a significant number of party positions because of the supporters they intended to bring into the PRP.

“They requested that many positions be given to them because they said they had many supporters. We told them this was not a problem come into the party first, then we can sit down and discuss,” he added.

The PRP chairman also said concerns over the party’s status on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal and internal disputes within the party contributed to the collapse of the talks.

“They said when they checked the INEC portal, they could not find our party’s name there which has been addressed. But they also heard some people falsely claiming to be PRP members, which they felt could create confusion if they joined the party. We told them we are doing our best to address that too,” he explained.

Baba-Ahmed, however, said both sides ended the discussions peacefully.
“We wished each other well and parted peacefully there was no quarrel or fight,” he said.