Departing Manchester City captain Kevin de Bruyne says he was surprised not to be offered a new contract by the club. The 33-year-old announced at the beginning of the month he would be leaving the Etihad when his current deal expires at the end of the season. The Belgian midfielder also said he has not made any decisions about his future. "I have not had any offer the whole year, they just took a decision," said De Bruyne. "Obviously, I was a bit surprised but I just have to accept it. Honestly, I still think I can perform at this level like I'm showing, but I understand clubs have to make decisions." De Bruyne joined City from Wolfsburg in 2015 and has won 16 trophies, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2023. He also suggested the club's struggles this year may have contributed to the decision, although Saturday's 2-0 win at Everton boosted their hopes of securing a Champions League sport for next season. De Bruyne has struggled with injuries, having missed almost five months of last season when City won their fourth consecutive Premier League title, playing just 26 games in all competitions, and has started just 19 matches this term. Announcing his departure on social media earlier this month, he admitted "whether we like it or not, it's time to say goodbye", while City manager Guardiola added "it was not easy for me to tell him it [his City career] won't continue". De Bruyne has not ruled out staying in the Premier League, but has also been linked with Major League Soccer in the United States. "I feel like I still have a lot to give," he added. "Obviously I know I'm not 25 any more but I still feel like I can do my job. "I'm open for anything. I have to look at the whole picture. I'm looking at sporting, family, everything together, what makes the most sense for me and my family. "I like to play football. I like to compete. That's what I feel, so I can't say that I want to quit because I still feel that whenever I'm in training I want to beat the guys." City host fellow Champions League hopefuls Aston Villa in their next match on Tuesday, before facing Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley on Sunday, 27 April.

A former Kogi lawmaker, Dino Melaye, has alleged that the Peoples Democratic Party is no longer functioning as an independent opposition but has instead been purchased by the ruling All Progressives Congress. Melaye made the claim on Friday while speaking on Politics Today, a current affairs programme on Channels Television. “PDP has been purchased. By who? By APC. “PDP is a parastatal of APC. PDP is a department of APC. “In fact, they take dates for NEC meetings and dates for when to have NWC from the villa,” he said. The former lawmaker questioned the posture of PDP governors, alleging that they are not acting as opposition figures. “Just look at the number of governors in PDP today. Are these governors acting like opposition governors? It’s a question I’m putting up to you. “You know the role of an opposition and you know how powerful Nigerian governors are. “Are they playing opposition role as governors and those who are remaining in PDP are holding forth for APC?” he asked. He also took a swipe at former Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, over comments he claimed undermined the opposition’s credibility. “With due respect to my uncle Babangida Aliyu, you heard him just two days ago saying that on her eyes he said if we can tolerate Buhari for eight years then we should tolerate uh for another four years. “Is that the voice of an opposition person? Is that a statement coming from somebody who is not a member of APC?” he said. Describing the political moment as troubling, Melaye said, “What I’m telling you in essence is that we live in precarious times. “We live in times of visits to the vaccination. “We live in times when the devil determines the next menu for his children and what we are seeing if not abated my brother.” Melaye, who is now aligned with the African Democratic Congress, described the party as a moral movement for Nigerians seeking change. “Why Nigerians should think differently is that once there’s an altar call in the church of God, only those who are emotionally affected, only those who have conscience, only those who are ready to leave darkness and move to light, respond to altar calls. So ADC is an altar call. “It’s a national altar call. And those of us who have conscience, those of us who believe in a new order, those of us who want to see a Nigeria where we will be able to answer questions from our grandchildren, who will ask us in the next, maybe when we are 90 and toothless, that when Nigeria was getting bad, Grandpa, what did you do? We want to be able to say we did A, B, C, and D. “Not everybody in ADC, understand, is a saint. “But what I’m telling you is that everybody who moved into ADC is concerned about Nigeria,” Melaye said.

Mixed reactions have trailed the new date set by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission for the conduct of local government election in the state. While some political parties declared support for the August 30, 2025 date announced by the new RSIEC Chairman, Dr Michael Odey, some civil society organisations, the South-South Youths Initiative and the Civil Liberties Organisation, have rejected the new date, and called for the suspension of the exercise. The RSIEC chairman had on Monday shifted the LG election date from August 9 to August 30, 2025. His predecessor, Justice Adolphus Enebeli (retd.), had earlier fixed the poll for August 9 and promised a free, fair and credible election. Speaking in Port Harcourt, the Chief Tony Okocha-led All Progressives Congress in the state said it was ready and prepared for the election because things had been done properly. Okocha said he was duly invited by RSIEC to the stakeholders’ meeting where the new date for the election was agreed upon, unlike what happened under the previous RSIEC leadership. He said the party was prepared for the poll because, according to him, the right things had been done. “I just feel that Rivers people and Nigerians should see that things are properly done now. That is why you didn’t see anybody who will raise dust, no. Things are well done. “As chairman of a political party which you talked about, I was not invited to that stakeholders’ meeting (under Justice Enebeli). But now, you can see the number of political parties and array of people that attended the stakeholderss’ meeting,” Okocha stated. Also speaking, the State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Aaron Chukwuemeka, said his party was comfortable with the new date and ready to take part in the elections. Chukwuemeka stated, “Before now, we were prepared for the election and now that a new date has been given, and given the circumstances surrounding the shift we are all satisfied and you can see the responses from people.” “So we are prepared for the 30th August date as a party, the PDP in Rivers State is ready.” Similarly, the National Vice Chairman, South-South of the Labour Party, Favour Reuben, commended RSIEC for announcing the new date for the elections. Reuben noted that the circumstances surrounding the shift from August 9 to August 30 were understandable, saying the party would participate in the forthcoming elections. “This is just a continuation of the former timetable. You know we have already started the process before something happened. So I think it is just a continuation of that timetable which has been announced. “And they (RSIEC) said by law they can extend, which has just been extended from 9th to 30th. So we are fully in support, we are ready for the elections. “We knew that the elections would come up. Some of the political parties that are not prepared can complain but the Labour Party, we are well prepared and ready to participate in this election.” Also, the Chairman of the Youth Party in the state, Dr Ukachukwu Achira, said his party would participate in the election, but urged RSIEC to ensure a level playing field for all parties and candidates. He stated, “What the chairman (RSIEC) has done is in the right direction. So the Youth Party in Rivers State and our members, we are fully prepared for the forthcoming local government elections. “We are hoping that the election will be free and fair because of the wealth of experience of the recently appointed RSIEC Chairman.” Meanwhile, the National President of the South-South Youths Initiative, Oscar Imiabe, has called for the postponement of the council election, saying the exercise should be held only after the reinstatement of suspended Governor, Siminalayi Fubara. Imiabe queried why the suspended governor had not been reinstated despite the widely reported reconciliation between Fubara and his predecessor, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. He said Fubara, as an elected governor, was the right person to conduct the election and not the State Administrator, Ibok-Ete Ibas, whom he claimed was imposed on the people of Rivers State. Imiabe stated, “I believe that President Bola Tinubu should have reinstated the suspended Governor to come and conduct the election if the President is concerned with the peace and wellbeing of Rivers State and its citizens. “What we are seeing right now is litigation after the conduct of this election because many political parties are ready to take RSIEC to court over the conduct of this election. “So, I think RSIEC needs to go back to the drawing board and do the right thing and if you ask me I will call for the postponement of this election until the suspended Governor is reinstated. “Anything otherwise would be an abuse of the state resources and it is unacceptable to the people of Rivers State.” He also faulted the one-month notice given for the election and warned that RSIEC would face litigation both before and after the polls. “What is the rationale for an undemocratic process conducting a democratic election? How do we have it? Now RSIEC announced the timetable for the local government election by July end and for the election to be held at August end. “We were told constitutionally that the local government elections take three months for campaigns. As we speak my grandmother in the village is not aware that local government elections will be held on August 30th because all the parties that are supposed to be registered for this election have not done any campaign,” he observed. This is as the Civil Liberties Organisation has called for the immediate suspension of the election, describing the newly constituted board of as unconstitutional. The organisation also rejected the timetable announced by the state electoral umpire for the LG poll, saying it fell short of the statutory provisions of the Electoral Act, which specifies a minimum of 90 days’ notice before an election. Spokesperson of the CLO in Rivers State, Emmanuel Obe, made the declaration in a statement issued in Port Harcourt and made available to Saturday PUNCH. Obe insisted that RSIEC under its former chairman, which previously fixed the exercise for August 9 was lawfully constituted before the suspension of Governor Fubara. He said the timetable announced by Dr Odey’s RSIEC was as unconstitutional as the commission itself and therefore lacked the legitimacy to conduct or reschedule elections, adding that the process amounted to misuse of public funds.

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