Roberto Mancini: Chelsea 80% certain to beat Galatasaray

Roberto Mancini	Roberto Mancini

Uefa Champions League - Galatasaray v Chelsea      Venue: Turk Telecom Arena, Istanbul     Date: Wednesday, 26 February     Kick-off: 19:45 GMT  Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website, plus live audio commentary on BBC Radio 5 live.

Galatasaray manager Roberto Mancini believes Chelsea have "an 80% chance" of beating his side to advance into the Champions League quarter-finals. 

The Premier League leaders visit the Turkish champions on Wednesday for the first leg of their last-16 tie.

Ex-Manchester City boss Mancini insists Chelsea, who have won the Champions League and Europa League in the past two seasons, are strong favourites.

"They have fantastic players used to playing games like this," he said.

"I think they have an 80% chance of going through."

Mancini, who took charge of the Istanbul club in September, believes the Blues are capable of winning trophies this season, despite Jose Mourinho claiming his team were "too young" to challenge for major honours.

"They have really good players - these players who can change the game at any moment," added the Italian.

Mancini says ex-Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, who is facing the Blues for the first time since leaving in 2012, and Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder are vital to Galatasaray's hopes of reaching the last eight for the second successive season.

"Didier was an important man, an important player for Chelsea," said the Italian. "Wesley won a Champions League at Inter Milan under Mourinho.

"They have a good relationship with him, but today, for 90 minutes, I think they will be enemies.

"After 90 minutes, they can go and have a dinner together. But for 90 minutes they should play at more than 100%. We need Didier and Wesley to play very, very well."

Earlier this week, Mancini claimed some of the credit for that Champions League win - Mourinho succeeded the Italian at Inter.

But the Chelsea manager dismissed Mancini's influence in the 2010 success: "From 11 players, he didn't work with six of them. So he made a five-a-side team because I played with only five players from his team."

Wednesday's tie will not be the first reunion between Drogba and his old boss Mourinho, who signed him for the west London club from Marseille in 2004.

The Ivory Coast striker played for Galatasaray in a Champions League quarter-final tie against Mourinho's Real Madrid side last season, although the Portuguese boss admits it is still a "difficult and strange feeling" to face Drogba.

"But we have to do our job. We know he wants to do his job," he said.

"Last year it happened the same. I want to do my job to help my team, and he tried to do his by scoring goals, which he did.

"But I admit it's a strange feeling we have to try and forget during the game." 

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APC condemns Yobe school attack, urges the President to visit state

Yobe Killing

The All Progressives Congress (APC), on Wednesday condemned the horrific attack on the Federal Government College Buni Yadi, in Yobe. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that insurgents reportedly murdered about 40 students of the college on Feb. 25. In a statement issued in Lagos by its Interim National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, APC described the attack as “extremely gory even by the scorched-earth tactics of the terrorists. ”What a sad day for Nigeria and indeed for all of humanity, when innocent school children were used as soft targets by a group of cowardly terrorists.” According to Mohammed, the attackers have “shed their toga of humanity on the altar of a meaningless ideology. ”We condole with the families of the victims as well as the government and people of Yobe over this abominable crime. “We urge the State and Federal Governments to work together to ensure that schools in the state are adequately protected,” it stated. APC, however, called on President Goodluck Jonathan to visit the state to offer succour to the families of the victims and the state government. (NAN)

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Race to become Ondo new Speaker hots up, three names shortlisted

The death of Ondo State House of Assembly Speaker, Samuel Adesina Ajayi, has created a platform for a fresh race in the state Assembly.
Although, many of his colleagues have declined to comment on his death, it is hoped that the zoning formula in the state will be maintained.
Since the Governor is from the Southern Senatorial District, while his Deputy is from the North, automatically, the South should retain the vacant seat of the Speaker.
Presently, three lawmakers from the South are supposedly fit for the position.
They are: Oyebo Aladetan.
Aladetan who is from Ilaje Constituency 1 is a second termer in the Assembly. He is presently the Chairman, House Committee on Information. He was former member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before he defected to the ruling Labour Party.
Aladetan was part of the palace coup that put an end to the reign of the PDP in the Ondo State House of Assembly. He was also one of the lawmakers who did not attend the budget presentation in the Assembly last year. He is one of the lawmakers that may be considered for the position of Mr. Speaker
Victor Akinwe
Victor Akinwe is from Odigbo Constituency 11. He is not also a green horn as this is his second term in the Assembly. A former Deputy Speaker of the Assembly. He may also be considered for the plum job.
Gbenga Edema:
He is a trained lawyer who is highly intelligent but a first timer. He is
from Ilaje Constituency 11.
Against all odds, the Governor may however ignore the political zoning
formula if he wishes, but the step is logical.
Despite all these, the influence of Governor Olusegun Mimiko on who should emerge as the speaker of the State must not be put aside.
It would be recalled that in order for Mimiko to take over the Assembly in 2010, the former Speaker, Taofik Abdulsalam was impeached, leading to a mass defection of PDP lawmakers to the ruling Labour Party (LP).
Therefore, Mimiko’s factor may prevent any of the name mentioned above from getting the slot which favour them due to the senatorial zone system, especially, if he finds out that none of them is loyal to him.

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Ondo State House Of Assembly Speaker Is Dead

Ondo State Speaker-Samuel Adeshina

Report reaching 9jawedey confirms that the Ondo State House of Assembly Speaker, Rt. Hon. Samuel Adesina is dead.

Adesina died having suffered from cancer of Urinary bladder for six months.

Though, there have been several rumors of his death.

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Boko Haram militants stormed the Federal Government College in Buni Yadi, Gujba LGA of Yobe State.

Deadly Mission

Yobe State - In the early hours of Tuesday, February 25, Boko Haram militants stormed the Federal Government College in Buni Yadi, Gujba LGA of Yobe State. They set the students' dormitories on fire and slit the throats of those who tried to escape. "Some of the students bodies were burned to ashes," said police commissioner Sanusi Rufai, adding 24 staff quarters, including the administrative block of the college and students' hostel, were razed by the fire. Meanwhile, death toll from the school massacre by Boko Haram gunmen has risen to 43. According to a senior medical source at the Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital in Damaturu, Yobe State, so far the ambulances have brought 43 bodies to the morgue.

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Return to PDP now or lose your seniority – Jonathan tells Atiku, Kwankwaso, other defectors

PDP to APC

 PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, told members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who left for the All Progressives Congress, APC, to return to the PDP or risk losing their seniority.
Jonathan said any Nigerian who wants to play decent politics must come to the PDP, just as he stressed that the party remains the only one which believes in democracy and rule of law.
He added that this was the time for those who left to come back and occupy their rightful positions or they will be forced to queue behind others.
Speaking yesterday at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri, Imo State, the President, who was apparently referring to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; Governors Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers); Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (Kano); Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and others who dumped the PDP for the APC, said there will be no discrimination against anyone when they come back to where they belong.
The President spoke during the PDP sensitization rally and the return of former Governor Achike Udenwa of Imo State, Senator Chris Anyanwu of APGA; Senator Ifeanyi Ararume; Chief Mike Ahamba, SAN; Chief Cosmos Iwun and many others to the PDP.
Jonathan, who reiterated that the 2015 elections were not worth shedding blood of any person for, said the PDP remains the only party which will not insist that one must be a money bag before he or she wins any election. He explained that only in PDP that people like him can be the President of the country.
Receiving the returnees, the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, who noted that the PDP will reclaim Imo with the return of Udenwa and others, however, reiterated that the party will present its first eleven for the forthcoming elections.
Also in his remarks, Senate President David Mark, said Imo remains a PDP state, stressing that they were in Owerri to get their own who stowed away.
Chairman, Board of Trustees, BoT of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, who said he was overwhelmed by the crowd at the stadium, stressed that what was required in Imo was politics of inclusion.

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Mourinho worries over Mikel's fitness

 

José Mourinho

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is hoping at least one of John Obi Mikel or David Luiz is fit to face Galatasaray on Wednesday.
The pair were both absent through injury for last Saturday's dramatic 1-0 Premier League victory over Everton, which saw captain John Terry mark his return from a muscle strain with an injury-time winner.
With January midfield recruit Nemanja Matic ineligible for the Champions League, Mourinho is keen for his options not to be further depleted when Chelsea travel to Turkey for the first leg of Wednesday's last-16 tie.
"We have three days so let's see," Mourinho told reporters after the Everton game.
"With Mikel and David Luiz, I don't know if they can recover. It's important we have at least one of them because we don't have Matic for the Champions League."
Mourinho also offered an update on minor injuries to Oscar and Ramires; the latter was introduced as a half-time substitute against Everton after the former failed to shake off a pre-game complaint.
"It's not a dangerous one, just a painful one," said Chelsea's boss of Oscar's injury. "He said he could cope with the situation, clearly he couldn't.
"Ramires had a similar situation to Oscar, I tried to protect him and not play him but the game demanded I play him. Clearly, though, he could cope

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