Man City are title favourites –Mourinho

                                               JOSE  Mourinho

Jose Mourinho has Chelsea at the top of the table, but feels the Premier League title is Manchester City’s to lose, Skysports reports.

A 3-1 derby victory over west London rivals Fulham on Saturday, coupled with Arsenal’s shock 1-0 defeat at Stoke City, saw Chelsea open up a four-point lead at the summit, with Liverpool now in second place.

City, who were in Capital One Cup final action on Sunday, have slipped to fourth in the standings, six points off the pace.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side do, however, have two games in hand on all of their fellow challengers for the top flight crown.

Mourinho believes that makes them favourites to come out on top, with it unlikely that his side will be able to take maximum points from their 10 remaining fixtures and turn the heat up on the men from the Etihad Stadium.

“I prefer to have the destiny in my hands, and only City have destiny in their hands,” he said.

“If I win every game until the end of the season, all 10 – which we won’t – maybe we are not champions.

“If they win all 12 games they have, they are champions. They have their destiny in their hands.”

Mourinho has also been explaining his decision to use Fernando Torres and Demba Ba ahead of Samuel Eto’o against Fulham.

Eto’o did not even make Chelsea’s matchday squad at Craven Cottage, but Mourinho claims that is because the experienced Cameroonian is a frontman better suited to leading the line on home soil.

He added, “There’s nothing wrong with Samuel. I just felt in this kind of match – away from home, against normally defensive teams, aggressive defenders – I thought to go with Fernando and, if I need to risk in the last part of the game, I’d use Demba.

“You see, Eto’o scores goals but at home. He scores in the league, in the Champions League but all of them at home.”

Forbes names Dangote 23rd richest in the world

                                                  President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote

Foremost Nigerian industrialist, Aliko Dangote, on Monday made history by becoming the first black man to break into the rank of top 25 richest people in the world. His wealth jumped to $25bn from $16.1bn in 2013, according to Forbes magazine’s list of the richest people on earth.

Dangote, who was number 43 in the top 100 world billionaire list last year, moved up 20 spots to retain his position as the richest person in Africa and also number 23rd in the world.

The Chairman, Globacom, Chief Mike Adenuga, was the next Nigerian on the list with a wealth of $4.6bn to maintain the 325th position in the world.

 The Executive Vice Chairman, Famfa Oil Limited and fashion icon, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija, retained her position as the world’s richest black woman and the 687th in the world with a fortune of $2.5bn; while the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, BUA Group of Companies, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, was ranked 1372th in the world with $1.2bn.

The former Chairman of Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates, is back on top after a four-year hiatus, reclaiming the title of the world’s richest person from telecoms mogul, Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico, who ranked number one for the past four years.

Gates, whose fortune rose by $9bn in the past year, has held the top spot for 15 of the past 20 years.

Spanish clothing retailer, Amancio Ortega, best known for the Zara fashion chain, retains the No. 3 spot for the second year in a row, extending his lead over Warren Buffett, who is again in the fourth position.

The year’s biggest dollar gainer was the Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, whose fortune jumped by $15.2bn to $28.5bn, as shares of his social network soared.

Technology, and more specifically Facebook, helped to propel numerous fortunes lately.

The company’s Chief Operating Officer, Sheryl Sandberg, joins the ranks for the first time, as does the Facebook’s long-time vice-president, Jeff Rothschild.

Also, thanks to a $19bn deal (including restricted stock) with Facebook; WhatsApp founders, Jan Koum and Brian Acton, join the ranks of Silicon Valley’s wealthiest for the first time.

They are four of 26 newcomers whose fortunes come from technology; 10 of whom are American, including Dropbox CEO, Drew Houston, and Workday cofounder, Aneel Bhusri.

The United States once again leads the world with 492 billionaires as a result of the technology boom and strong stock market, followed by China with 152 and Russia with 111. But wealth is spreading to new places.

For the first time in the history of the Forbes rating, billionaires were found in Algeria with Issad Rebrab, who is into food business with $3.2bn worth of fortune; Rostam Azizi from Tanzania with $1bn; and Sudhir Ruparelia from Uganda with $1.1bn.

Amaechi blasts FG over centenary celebration

RIVERS State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, on Monday described Nigeria as a country drifting towards “a dangerous waterfall.”

Amaechi declared that the celebration of Nigeria’s centenary was unnecessary because of the killings of students and other innocent Nigerians by members of the Boko Haram sect.

The governor, who spoke while addressing members of the state House of Assembly on the state of the nation, queried the rationale behind such celebration when Nigerians were living in fear of hired assassins  and armed robbers.

Amaechi observed that Abuja residents, who were supposed to be the chief hosts at the centenary celebration, were at various petrol stations struggling to buy fuel.

He criticised the Federal Government for giving Nigerians a false impression about the country’s economy and added that the citizens could feel the tremor of Nigeria’s wobbling economy.

Amaechi pointed out that Nigerians appeared to have lost the appetite to celebrate anything, even as he queried the legacy that would be left behind for the next generation.

He said, “What do our people feel and see when they get out of their houses in the morning? Sadly as leaders, we must admit the truth, which stares us in the face. It is the fact that our country is drifting perceptibly into a dangerous waterfall.

APC warns Jonathan against profiting from B’Haram violence

 Interim National Publicity Secretary, All Progressives Congress, Lai Mohammed

The All Progressives Congress on Monday cautioned the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration against seeking to profit by the Boko Haram insurgency.

The party said the words of caution became necessary in the light of an alleged failed attempt by a presidential aide, Mr. Reno Omokri, to link the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria,  Lamido Sanusi, to heightened attacks by the violent Islamic sect.

This was contained in a statement signed by the party’s Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

According to the statement, the discovery of the failed attempt has shown that the presidency may be seeking to profit, politically and otherwise, by the insurgency that has sent thousands to their graves.

The statement read in part, “Omokri’s attempt to push an article he authored into the public domain, using a fake name, is the clearest indication yet that the presidency has a case to answer and may have been feeding Nigerians with doctored information.”