English FA make last-ditch effort to convince Jay- Jay Okocha's nephew Alex Iwobi to play for England instead of Nigeria

The English Football Association is set to make a last ditch effort to convince Arsenal starlet Alex Iwobi to play for England, and not Nigeria.

The 19 year old, who is also nephew to Legendary African footballer Austin Jay-Jay Okocha, has been a regular in the Arsenal first team this season and last weekend scored his first premier league goal for Arsenal.

Iwobi has played for England's Under-16, U17 and U18 sides before choosing to represent Nigeria, the country of his birth after being convinced by Sunday Oliseh and his uncle Jay Jay Okocha..

Alex Iwobi has played in two friendlies for Nigeria, but won’t be officially tied to them until he plays a competitive game for Nigeria, meaning England have about five days to convince him to change his mind.

Read the report from MirrorSport below...

''Iwobi is in line to make his competitive debut THIS WEEK after being named in Nigeria’s squad for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double header against Egypt, who they host this Friday before the away return next Tuesday.' That has prompted desperate late attempts from the FA to try to get Iwobi to change his mind.

There is no suggestion Iwobi will be fast-tracked into the senior England set-up and handed a premature call-up. But FA chiefs do see him as a potential future Three Lions international and know their hopes of landing him will be dashed if he plays in Nigeria’s upcoming games. 

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has backed up the FA’s views on Iwobi by giving the youngster a glowing reference.'' ''He is understood to have told the FA the player has a big future at the North Londoners and, having let him get away once, they should do everything possible to try to get him back.''

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80 abducted Chibok girls were found by US, UK surveillance & then left in captivity- Former UK ambassador to Nigeria says

In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, a UK Newspaper, former British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Andrew Pocock, says that 80 of the Government Girls College Students who were abducted by Boko Haram members in April 2014, were spotted in Sambisa forest by a team of British and American surveillance but they could not rescue them as the Nigerian government made no request for help.

“A couple of months after the kidnapping, fly-bys and an American ‘eye in the sky’ spotted a group of up to 80 girls in a particular spot in the Sambisa forest, around a very large tree — called locally the Tree of Life — along with evidence of vehicular movement and a large encampment. They were there for perhaps up to four weeks, and the question was what to do about them. Answer came there none.”

He said despite all the BBOG campaigns in London and the White House, the British and American troops could not immediately go in to rescue the girls because the Nigerians never asked for that

“What’s more,” Pocock says, “the Nigerians never asked for that.”

He however pointed out that if the Nigerian government had even asked for help, he said the safety of the girls would have been of utmost priority as it would have been very risky to go in and carryout any rescue operation

“A land-based attack would have been seen coming miles away and the girls killed. An air-based rescue would have required large numbers and meant a significant risk to the rescuers and even more to the girls. You might have rescued a few, but many would have been killed. My personal fear was always about the girls not in that encampment. 80 were there, but 250 were taken, so the bulk were not there. What would have happened to them? It’s perfectly conceivable that Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram, would have appeared on one of his videos a week later, saying, ‘Who told you that you could try and free these girls? Let me show you what I’ve done to them…’ So you were damned if you did, damned if you didn’t. They were beyond rescue, in practical terms."he said

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The Premier League table, as of today

With 7 games to go for Leicester, they are still top of the table, while Chelsea is 10th. What a season!

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Organizers of the annual CBN Cashless CardExpo Africa, is inviting nominations for its 16th Annual CardExpo Awards 2016

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Bonang Matheba's stunning outfits to the SAFTAs 2016 (photos)

Slay Queen - Bonang Matheba pictured in two lovely outfits at the South African Film & Television Awards 2016. The Stunning South African TV Personality co-hosted the E! Red Carpet Africa Special for the awards event. More photos after the cut...

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Lagos State Govt begins integrity tests on Lekki Gardens buildings

Less than two weeks after a building under construction by Lekki Gardens collapsed, killing no fewer than 35 people, Lagos State Govt says stability tests on buildings constructed by the building company to ascertain their structural integrity have commenced. 

According to the acting General Manager of the Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory, Rasheed Balogun, the test is to ascertain the 'liveability status' of all buildings constructed by Lekki Gardens.

He said the tests would be non-destructive test and partial destructive in some cases. It would also be extended to other construction sites and estates within and around the Lekki area to confirm their status.

According to Mr Balogun, the tests will be conducted on some buildings without sending away the occupants in the Lekki Gardens Estate in order not to cause them discomfort. However, he said vacating the structures was the best option and would speed up the testing process. 

He urged the occupiers of structures within the Lekki Gardens Estate, to comply with the vacation order of the governor, and vacate the buildings until investigations were completed.

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