*Athletic warn Kepa: Pay buy-out clause if you want to join Real Madrid*

*Athletic warn Kepa: Pay buy-out clause if you want to join Real Madrid*

Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has been told he must pay his buy-out clause in full if he is to leave the club for Real Madrid.

The 23-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to the Liga champions in January as they look to bring in competition for Keylor Navas.

Kepa's contract expires at the end of the season and talks over a new deal appear to have broken down, despite months of negotiations.

However, club president Josu Urrutia insists the player will not be sold next month unless his release clause, reportedly set at €20m, is paid in full.

"We are aware of what has been reported but we have had no confirmation from the player's representatives or those from Real Madrid [about interest in a transfer].

"Athletic are not a selling club and if a player wants to leave then first of all it has to be his wish and then they need to pay the buy-out clause."

Urrutia compared Kepa's situation to that of striker Fernando Llorente, who joined Juventus on a free transfer in July 2013 after agreeing terms over a move in January of the same year.

*Heavy use of generators puts Nigeria’s climate plans in jeopardy*

*Heavy use of generators puts Nigeria’s climate plans in jeopardy*

The continued heavy reliance on fossil fuel-powered generators in Nigeria by government institutions, businesses and households for electricity supply constitutes a major threat to the nation’s climate change plans, ‘FEMI ASU writes

Diesel or petrol generators are often used in most countries as backup or emergency power when the national grid fails or during power outages or to provide energy in remote areas. But in Nigeria, generators have become the primary source of electricity for most businesses and households, as supply from the national grid remains abysmally low.

The use of diesel/petrol generator has over the years spread to almost every part of the country despite its negative health and climate effects. The proliferation of generators, or what Schneider Electric described as “the alarming reality of mass generator dependency,” exposes communities to harmful emissions of greenhouse gases.

*Federal Government Justifies $1 Billion For Boko Haram*

*Federal Government Justifies $1 Billion For Boko Haram*

The criticisms trailing the approval of $1billion for Boko Haram war and violent crimes across the country is unnecessary and unhelpful, the Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism Lai Muhammed said yesterday. The minister said the $1bn was meant to fight security challenges including Boko Haram, illegal oil bunkering, kidnapping and cattle rustling, as well as the acquisition of military ammunition and hardware.

Speaking at a news conference in Lagos, the minister expressed dismay that an action intended to make the country safer had been subjected to attacks by people with ulterior motives. The minister said that it was wrong to sacrifice the issue of security on the altar of politics, saying opponents of the fund were taking politics too far.

The National Economic Council (NEC), comprising the 36 state governors, approved the fund from the Excess Crude Account, a move that generated controversy. “I said unnecessary and uninformed because everyone knows the role the military is playing in helping to tackle the numerous security crisis facing the states, much less the war against Boko Haram."

*Osun Govt Admits Paying Modulated Workers’ Salaries For 14 Months*

*Osun Govt Admits Paying Modulated Workers’ Salaries For 14 Months*

Osun State Government on Wednesday admitted that some civil servants in the state have not been receiving their full salaries for at least 14 months. The State Commissioner for Information, Mr Adelani Baderinwa, said during a phone interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

“We are owing workers on levels eight to 13, 25 per cent of their salary for about 14, 15 months now; and those of levels 14 and above, 50 percent of their salary,” he said. “As a matter of fact, and to be sure that government is very keen on the welfare of workers; when the second tranche of Paris Club refund came, we quickly paid two months of the 25 and 50 percent being owed.”

Baderinwa’s comments come hours after the workers embarked on an industrial action over what they termed government’s inability to pay their full salaries. Prior to the strike, the state government had appealed to the aggrieved workers to be patient with a promise that the trying times would end soon.

*Two children disappear during Jumat service in Lagos*

*Two children disappear during Jumat service in Lagos*

The parents of three-year-old Muhaisin Awaz and Abdallah Abdulazeez, 6, are distressed after the two children allegedly disappeared during a Jumat service at Oniyanrin, in the Mile 12, Ketu area of Lagos State. PUNCH Metro learnt that the families of the two children are friends and Abdulazeez’s mother had visited Muhaisin’s parents on that Friday to inform them of her plans to travel to her hometown in Kano State.

She was said to be heavily pregnant and wanted to give birth in Kano. During the visit, the two children were said to be playing together when they heard the call to Islamic prayers. Our correspondent learnt that the two children hurried downstairs to join other Islamic faithfuls for the prayers.

They were said to have gone missing during the payers as they could not be found afterwards. Muhaisin’s sister, Sekiyat, told PUNCH Metro that the incident happened around 1.30pm on December 16.

*One-month-old baby escapes death as fire razes building in Lagos*

*One-month-old baby escapes death as fire razes building in Lagos*

A tragedy was averted in the Akowonjo area of Lagos State on Tuesday as residents rescued a one-month-old baby while fire razed a building on Adesina Street. Our correspondents gathered that the mother of the baby was sewing in a shop in front of the bungalow when the fire started around 10 am.

The mother was reported to have said she smelt something burning, but she could not tell what it was until her neighbours raised the alarm. It was gathered that the mother rushed out of the shop, as occupants of buildings on the street also came out. She discovered that it was her house that was on fire.

_PUNCH Metro_ gathered that she rushed inside the house and she discovered that many apartments in the building were already on fire with thick smoke billowing from the building.