Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun says he will remain in the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest the senatorial election in 2019 while ensuring the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari. He, however, said aggrieved party members who defected to the Allied People’s Movement (APM) have his blessings. Amosun spoke on Monday in Abeokuta at a stakeholders meeting of the APC which was attended by his preferred governorship candidate and the flagbearer of APM, Adekunle Akinlade. The governor’s declaration came as 26 aggrieved candidates of the APC loyal to the governor announced their defection to the APM. Amosun said he had tried…
Author: David Folami
Mesut Ozil is a doubt for Arsenal’s trip to Manchester United because of his back problems, Unai Emery has confirmed, with the German midfielder training on his own at London Colney on Monday. Ozil was left out of Arsenal’s squad for Sunday’s 4-2 win over Tottenham in the North London Derby, and Emery said he could miss Wednesday’s game at Old Trafford as well. “Today he was working alone, I don’t know if he’s OK for Wednesday,” Emery told a news conference on Monday. “I said yesterday he’s had backache since last Tuesday. “He couldn’t play in Kiev [against FC…
Manchester United are battling against a lack of confidence, according to Chris Smalling. The defender said “heads dipped” after a host of missed chances against Young Boys before Marouane Fellaini snatched a late winner to send United into the round of 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday. “We created some good chances, not just half chances, and I think heads can dip when a few of those don’t go in,” Smalling said. “You could see the relief in our faces knowing that we had qualified and not have to go to Valencia and really make it hard for ourselves.”…
Manchester United are waiting on the fitness of Marcus Rashford ahead of their clash with Arsenal but Anthony Martial is set to return to the starting XI, sources have said. Rashford set up two goals as United fought back from 2-0 down to earn a draw against Southampton on Saturday before being forced off in the 77th minute with an ankle injury. The 21-year-old will be assessed by medical staff ahead of Arsenal’s visit to Old Trafford on Wednesday before a decision is made about whether he is fit enough to feature. Anthony Martial, who was left on the bench…
If the way to measure a team’s progress is their resilience when things go against them, their ability to perform in situations that carry additional weight and their ability to shape-shift into something more effective, then Unai Emery’s Arsenal are definitely on an upward arc. The back three — and bear in mind, it includes the much-maligned Rob Holding and Shkodran Mustafi — dealt with Spurs’ attacking firepower for much of the match, Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka were dominant while the various forward permutations did what they were supposed to do. You can chalk some of it up to…
The January transfer window is almost upon us, but it may also offer clubs one last chance to get some cash for one of their out-of-contract players. Vincent Kompany: How do you replace the impact of a captain, leader and legend like Kompany? You can’t really. The 32-year-old should really get a new deal if he can prove he is injury-free. Eliaquim Mangala: The France defender cost around £40m when City signed him in 2014 but it hasn’t worked out. He’s still only 27 though and has been linked to Wolves, which could be a good deal for all. Brahim…
It is Groundhog Day again at Manchester United, whose fans are again fuming after another poor display and poor result at Southampton. The Saints are 18th, earned their only Premier League game of the season on Sep. 1 and, since Saturday, have sacked manager Mark Hughes. With two points from the last three games, things are getting worse at Old Trafford as the gap continues to widen between Jose Mourinho’s side and the league’s leading clubs. Fourth-placed Arsenal are the visitors on Wednesday and, if they pick up a rare win at United’s home, there will be a revolt among…
Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have been charged for failing to control their players in Sunday’s north London derby in the Premier League, England’s Football Association said on Monday. Spurs midfielder Eric Dier’s goal celebration in his side’s 4-2 defeat had sparked angry scenes on the touchline, with Arsenal’s substitutes unhappy with the England player. “Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have been charged following their game. It is alleged that in the 32nd minute, they failed to ensure that their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion,” the FA said in a statement. The clubs have until 18:00 GMT on Thursday to…
Pep Guardiola has defended Jurgen Klopp’s celebrations after Liverpool’s dramatic late win in the Merseyside derby. The Liverpool boss ran onto the pitch to celebrate Divock Origi’s stoppage time winner as Liverpool closed the gap on his league leaders to two points. Guardiola was warned by the Football Association after his reaction to last season’s 2-1 victory over Southampton but the City boss said that he understands if opposing coaches might be upset. “I did it. Against Southampton, there’s a lot of emotions in those moments,” Guardiola told a news conference ahead of City’s trip to Watford on Tuesday. “I…
Jurgen Klopp has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association for his excessive celebrations during Sunday’s Merseyside derby. Klopp reacted to Divock Origi’s stoppage-time winner against Everton at Anfield by running to the centre circle and celebrating with Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson. In a statement on Monday, the FA said: “Jurgen Klopp has been charged with misconduct relating to his behaviour in the 96th minute of the game between Liverpool and Everton yesterday. “He has until 6 p.m. on Dec. 6, 2018, to respond to the charge.” Klopp said he apologised to his counterpart Marco Silva at the final whistle,…
You almost felt sorry for Luka Modric, receiving the Ballon d’Or (“Golden Ball”) for player of the year on stage in Paris’ Grand Palais. It looked as if the French were punishing him Monday for depriving one of their world champions of the prize. There, on a table beside the stage, taunting him, stood the World Cup trophy itself, the one that his Croatia team lost in the final in Moscow this past July. On stage, David Ginola, the former France winger turned moderator, was throwing fatuous questions at him: “Is it a dream come true?” Modric, who always looks…
It’s no secret that the Kardashian-Jenners are shamed in one way or another nearly every day (or at least so it seems). Whether it’s slut-shaming, body-shaming, or mommy-shaming, the famous sisters are no strangers to criticism from just about every angle. This week, Khloé Kardashian became the target of people’s judgment after posting a photo of her daughter True on Instagram wearing an animal-print head wrap. Naturally, it all went down in the comment section. It appears some people have an issue with the fact that Kardashian put a head wrap on her seven-month-old, accusing the star of being “ashamed”…
On Wednesday, Jenner shared a “get ready with me” video to show off the makeup routine she’s been relying on while travelling with Scott and the couple’s 10-month-old daughter, Stormi Webster — and shared an interesting fact about how she stores her beauty products and clothes while on the road. “Me and Travis have our own room, and then I always get a separate room for my wardrobe, my makeup and also Stormi so she can play around and have more space when we’re in hotel rooms, since she always travels with us,” Jenner explained. Travis Scott’s Astroworld tour began…
Fans couldn’t get enough of Beyoncé’s set at Sunday’s Global Citizen Festival in South Africa. Literally. She and Jay-Z headlined the Mandela 100 event in Johannesburg, which commemorated what would have been President Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday on July 18, 2018. Those watching the show online, which also included appearances by Oprah Winfrey, Usher, Trevor Noah and Naomi Campbell, were pumped for the promised two hour-plus set. But disbelief ensued when the live stream cut off 25 minutes in, as previously announced. “Can we see 25 minutes 1 second of the livestream??” @ashmcd325 joked on Twitter, with a GIF showing…
The 15-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter is scheduled to return to the UAE to perform for the first time since her “Set the World on Fire Tour” in 2013. She will join the Northern Irish band Snow Patrol, who will be headlining the event on Feb. 20, and Jamiroquai, who will perform on Feb. 21. Keys’ UAE gig will continue her love affair with the Middle East. The 37-year-old artist, along with her husband, producer Swizz Beatz, and two children, holidayed in Egypt in September this year. Keys posed in front of the pyramids, took a boat trip along the Nile,…
The tour grossed $266.1 million & sold over 2 million tickets domestically. Taylor Swift closed out her Reputation Stadium Tour in spectacular fashion, breaking the record for the highest-grossing U.S. tour since Billboard Boxscore began tracking touring data in 1990. Domestically, the tour grossed $266.1 million and sold 2,068,399 tickets, besting The Rolling Stones’ $245 million gross from their A Bigger Bang Tour in 2005-07. While The Stones achieved their then-record gross across 70 American shows, Swift stole the title in just 38. As previously reported, Swift broke her own record for the highest-grossing domestic tour by a woman, when…
Burnaboy has officially announced the date of his headline concert in Lagos this December. The much anticipated concert will hold on Boxing day, December 26th at the Eko Convention Centre, Lagos. This was revealed through a post shared on his Instagram page on Friday, November 30, with Burna sharing an image of the event with the caption. ‘I’m not even sure Lagos is ready for what we’re about to do.” Burna has enjoyed a very successful year and Lagos fans have been eager to catch him performing live, especially after the cancellation of the 2017 edition days leading to the…
Ice Prince enlists Jesse Jagz on his latest record, ‘Control.’ The former Choc Boiz are back together as Jesse Jagz comes with the grown man bars on this new one titled, ‘Control.’ Following the release of his EP, COLD earlier in the year and the wave making single, ‘Yawa’ with Peruzzi, Ice Prince is determined to sign out the year with a bang and what other way than to reunite with his former Chocolate City ally, Jesse Jagz. The duo throw up this vibey record produced by Kel P.
Timaya shares the visuals to his joint release with Patoranking and King Perryy, ‘Kom Kom.’ DM Records owned by Timaya have enjoyed a good year with its new artist King Perryy making strong incursions on the scene and to close 2018, they team up with Patoranking on this new single, ‘Kom Kom’, produced by Orbeat. The video was directed by Unlimited L.A.
Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, D’banj and Femi Kuti joined the likes of Jay Z, Beyonce, Usher and Ed Sheeran on stage at the 2018 Global Citizen Festival in South Africa. This year’s festival which is in honour of the late South African President, Nelson Mandela, hopes to inspire social activism with the aim of ending extreme poverty by 2030 leveraging on the star power of celebrities from around the world to make a difference in the lives of youth. The festival hosted by South African duo of Trevor Noah and Bonang Matheba featured performances from a host of global and local…