King Henry the brave! Van Persie hails returning Thierry’s gutsy move

Robin van Persie believes Thierry Henry has shown great bravery by returning to Arsenal.

The former Gunners captain, who has signed a short-term loan deal from New York Red Bulls, captured the headlines once again when he came off the bench to extend his club goalscoring record as Leeds were beaten 1-0 in an FA Cup third-round tie at Emirates Stadium.

Henry, 34, will spend the next six-and-a-half weeks with Arsenal and is set to be part of the squad again at Swansea on Sunday, when Van Persie is due to return to action having been given some extra time off as he sat out the cup tie.
When the Dutchman came to Arsenal in May 2004, he was a raw talent, while Henry was at the peak of his powers.
Van Persie is now himself one of the leading strikers in world football having scored 34 goals in 2011 to better Henry’s calendar year tally. The 28-year-old is full of admiration for what his old captain is undertaking.
 ’Some people might ask why he chose to come back, because he is already a legend here,’ said Van Persie, who took the skipper’s armband this season. ‘For me, it tells you everything about him; Thierry is coming back because he loves the game.
 ’If you asked 10 legends, whether they would come back, I am not sure they would have been brave enough.’
Van Persie added: ‘Thierry knows things are at stake, he is remembered as a legend, but for him, it is simple – he loves the game and wants to be a part of the club he loves.
 ’I am sure he will get loads of games because I have seen him in training and I don’t want too put too much pressure on, but he is looking really good.’
Van Persie last week spent some time on a family break in Dubai, where he met Diego Maradona.
The Dutchman hopes the downtime will see him come back refreshed and ready to spearhead Arsenal’s drive towards the top four.
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News in Pictures:Nationwide Strike Enters Day 5

As the NLC Nationwide Strike enters day 5,Nigerians began trooping to the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in preparation for another day of protest against the fuel subsidy removal by the Federal Government.

Last night,the meeting between the NLC and the Federal Government to reach an agreement ended in a deadlock as Organised Labour promised to continue the Nationwide Strike today and have scheduled another meeting with the Federal Government on Saturday,14th of January.


































Source: CHANNELS

Labour Strike Day 5

As the nationwide strike enters day five, the convener of the Save Nigeria Group, Pastor Tunde Bakare Friday announced to the teeming crowd at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Ojota Lagos that while labour unions meet to deliberate on the outcome of their meeting with government officials on Thursday, the rally will not hold tomorrow and Sunday.

Speaking to the protesters, Pastor Bakare said the decision is to allow the people rest and give the federal government two days to reverse the petrol pump price to N65 per litre, failing which the protest will continue on Monday.

Two killed in Niger State
The protest over the removal of fuel subsidy turned bloody in Lambata, Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State following the alleged killing of two youths, Yahaya Adamu and Rabiu Abubakar, by the police late Thursday.

The father of one of the deceased, Adamu Ciroma, explained that the boys in Lambata were on a peaceful protest against the removal of fuel subsidy when the police started shooting at the protesters and in the process killed the two youths while many others sustained various degrees of injuries.

However, the Niger State police public relations officer, Richard Ogunche in a telephone conversation with channels television in Minna denied the killing of the youths but confirmed that there was a confrontation between the police and the protesters in Lambata, noting that an assistant superintendent of police sustained a serious injury during the fracas.

He however stated that a total of 212 persons had been arrested following the violent protest that broke out in the state on Wednesday.

Medical Association pledges continued support for labour
The Nigerian Medical Association says it will continue to align with the demands of the organised labour for the reversal of the pump price of fuel which was ill-timed.

A statement jointly signed by the president of the association, Doctor Idris Omede and the secretary, Doctor Bala Audu says the association will, however, continue rendering emergency services in all health facilities in view of casualties that have been reported from various protest sites including death.

The association appealed to the federal government to forestall further losses in any form by reverting to the N65 per litre of petrol in line with the request of the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress, civil society organisations, and professional associations including the Nigeria Bar Association.

Source: CHANNELS TV

Labour declares Saturday, Sunday rest days

Organisers of mass protest/occupy Nigeria, the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress and Civil Society groups have asked the protesters all over the country to stay at home on Saturday and Sunday to enable them to get enough rest and refreshment for the next week’s task.

Addressing the mammoth crowd at the Gani Fawehimin Freedom Park, Ojota, Lagos, Friday, the leader of Save Nigeria Group, Pastor Tunde Bakare said the two days break was to allow the protesters to relax their nerves and reconvene on Monday in pursuance of their agenda.
He urged the federal government to take advantage of the break to revert to N65, as according to him, from next week, protesters will not only occupy Lagos but will also occupy Abuja and other major cities in the country.
Bakare also disclosed that PENGASSAN has been directed to shut down all operations in the upstream oil sector by Sunday if the government did not revert to N65 without any condition.
Meanwhile, in view of the ongoing dialogue between Labour and FG, protesters have vowed to continue with their occupation if the labour leaders compromised on its stand. According to them, it is N65 or nothing.
“We will not retreat and we will not surrender. Even if labour leaders call off the strike, people’s protest will continue until government does what is just”, Bakare reiterated.
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