Liverpool have not entertained any transfer talks for their star attacker Philippe Coutinho, manager Jurgen Klopp says. Coutinho had been linked to both Barcelona and Real Madrid before an ankle ligament injury caused him to miss seven weeks of action. The Brazilian could return for Wednesday’s EFL Cup semifinal first leg against Southampton, but Klopp doesn’t think the player’s fitness has had any impact on other clubs targeting him. “It would be nice if big clubs thought like this and forgot about a player completely because he’s been injured for five or six weeks. But big clubs don’t think this…
Author: David Folami
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi did not vote for each other for the Best FIFA Men’s Player award, instead choosing three of their own club teammates. The two stars, who voted as captains of their national teams, chose the same policy for last year’s Ballon d’Or as well, with Messi again picking Luis Suarez first, Neymar second and Andres Iniesta third. Ronaldo’s ballot changed, however, as he moved Gareth Bale up from third to first, followed by Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos. A year ago, he had voted Karim Benzema first, followed by James Rodriguez. Among other notable votes in…
Carlos Queiroz has told Manchester United fans not to worry too much about where the team finishes this season, but to appreciate the fact that, under Jose Mourinho, the team is finally moving in the right direction. Queiroz had two spells as Alex Ferguson’s assistant at Old Trafford, most notably from 2004 to 2008. Since Ferguson stepped down in 2013, successors David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal struggled to match the Scot’s achievements. Jose Mourinho was appointed in May and under the Portuguese coach, the Red Devils have recovered from a sticky start to put together an 11-game unbeaten run…
The former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has taken to his official Facebook page to share his New Year message with Nigerians. Jonathan in the message prays for a nation an ordinary citizen can become somebody without connections. It reads: “My prayer for Nigeria in the year 2017 is that we continue to forge greater ties across the length and breadth of this great nation to the end that we may achieve the Nigerian Dream: A nation where the child of a nobody can become a somebody without knowing anybody.” He went further to…
Nigerian singer Seyi Shay opens 2017 in style with her first release of the new year titled ‘YOLO YOLO’. ‘YOLO YOLO’, comes six months after the beautiful and inspiring ‘Airbrush’, and this time the singer goes a unique direction for this new record. ‘YOLO YOLO’ continues Seyi Shay’s evolution through her pop sensibilities, as it captures the lush sounds of contemporary Highlife, fused with a hint of Latin, all wound together by stimulating Afrobeats, which come straight from Fela’s inspiration. It’s a celebration record, one that sends the listener through to the carnival season, with its up-tempo arrangements, rhythmic percussion,…
Premier League leaders Chelsea will face a West London derby against Brentford in the FA Cup fourth round. Manchester United received a home tie against Wigan after Monday’s draw. Tottenham are also home against Wycombe, while Manchester City will travel to face either Crystal Palace or Bolton. Arsenal face a test away from home at the winners of a replay between Southampton and Norwich City. Non-league sides Sutton United and Lincoln will both have home advantage provided they win their third-round replays against Wimbledon and Ipswich respectively. Sutton will welcome Cambridge or Leeds to Gander Green Lane if they see…
Mr Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, on Monday warned the distribution companies in the country to step up their service delivery or quit. Fashola gave the warning at the opening ceremony of the 11th Monthly Stakeholders meeting in Lagos. According to him, we all know the issues around metering and billing system; we must build the trust and confidence that customers’ complains will be addressed. “We need to do whatever is possible in our various distribution areas to improve the quality of service and continue to train our personnel to recognise that customer is king. “If…
Italian prosecutors have alleged that Nigeria’s former president Goodluck Jonathan and his oil minister received kickbacks as part of a $1.3 billion deal involving oil giants ENI and Shell. Court documents filed late last month in the city of Milan and seen by AFP outline a case against 11 people, including senior executives from the two oil majors and the companies themselves. Jonathan, who left office in May 2015, and Diezani Alison-Madueke, his long-time petroleum minister who was also the first woman president of OPEC, do not feature on the list. But they are alleged to have played a central…
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has appointed a new boss for the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA). The governor announced the appointment of the new General Manager in a statement released by the media aide of the governor in Lagos. The newly appointed General Manager of LASTMA was revealed as Babatunde Olawale Musa. The appointment of Musa comes with immediate effect, Gov Ambode reportedly noted. Prior to Musa’s appointment as the General Manager of LASTMA, he was the Principal Private Secretary (PPS) to Governor Ambode.
Nigerian rapper, Yung6ix has lost his 21 Karat Gold chain during his performance at the third edition of Jos Rocks. According to him, his chain was stolen by an overzealous fan while trying to leave the concert which was put together by Ice Prince. The event saw performances from Nigerian entertainers like Timaya, Jesse Jagz, Yungsix, and many others. On December 17, 2016, son of the oil city of Warri, Onome Onokhokwo known popularly as Yung6ix dragged popular artistes to the recently calm city for his home coming concert tagged “The Return of the Kings”. The KKTBM (Kash Kamp Trick…
Tiwa Savage’s estranged husband, Tee Billz in a post shared on Instagram today january 9, 2016. talks about mental health. The manager who has been undergoing therapy took to the photo sharing app to raise awareness over mental health. He shared the photo above writing, “If you can seek help for malaria and fever, don’t be ashamed about your psychological and emotional condition!!! Why are we so afraid to discuss mental health in our society??? #MentalHealth #MentalHealthAwareness.” Tee Billz recently revealed he’s undergoing therapy. Although not your usual therapy sessions, it seems the artiste manager is using exercise as a…
Nollywood actor, Osita Iheme, who plays comic roles alongside, Chinedu Ikedieze, also known as ‘Aki’, has denied the existence of a rift between him and the latter. This was in response to an earlier rumour that both could not stand the sight of each other and only got along on movie sets. Speaking concerning the subject in an interview with Punch News’ Sunday Scoop, Iheme stated that he still has a good relationship with the actor. He attributed the alleged beef between them as a media invention. “There is no hostility between Aki and me. We are still best of…
Cristiano Ronaldo was named FIFA’s Best Men’s Player for 2016 on Monday, beating Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann on the three-man shortlist to claim the prize in Zurich. Ronaldo, who picked up his fourth Ballon d’Or in December, also landed the first separate FIFA prize since world football’s governing body and France Football announced in September that they would be presenting two separate awards. The Best FIFA Men’s Player award is voted for by each of FIFA’s 211 nations comprising the national team captain, manager, a journalist from every FIFA nation, and fans registered on FIFA.com — each group holding…
Former Real Madrid legends Roberto Carlos and Michel Salgado have slammed Lionel Messi and other Barcelona stars for snubbing the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony on Monday. Messi is a finalist for the Best FIFA Men’s Player Award but is expected to lose out to Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, as he did in the Ballon d’Or last month. He had been expected to attend the gala event along with teammates Luis Suraez, Neymar and Gerard Pique, who had been named in the FIFA team of the year. But hours before the ceremony, Barcelona officials announced that the players would remain…
Leicester City’s Claudio Ranieri won the Best FIFA Men’s Coach of the Year award on Monday after beating Portugal’s Fernando Santos and Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane on the shortlist. Ranieri defied odds of 5,000-1 to lead Leicester to the Premier League title last season — the first-ever top-flight title in their 132-year history — and has overseen a strong start to the club’s first ever Champions League campaign this season, despite his side struggling in the league. Leicester conceded the fewest Premier League goals (36) during the voting period from Nov. 20, 2015, to Nov. 22, 2016 (excluding promoted teams),…
Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) will on Wednesday, January 11, begin a three-day nationwide warning strike over disputes with International Oil Companies (IOCs), including Exxon Mobil and Chevron Nigeria Limited. The union is especially protesting the indiscriminate sack of workers without benefits and refusal to allow them to join union. NUPENG has been having running battles with some of the IOCs what it described as over unfair labour practices. It accused the IOCs of sacking workers without benefits and breach of Nigerian extant labour laws in their divestment exercises. Chevron allegedly sacked over 300 NUPENG members…
The Federal Government has revealed details of how the beneficiaries of the N5,000 stipend under the Social Investment Programmes SIP) were determined. The government had said that the payment began with nine states, and will reach others states across the country in due course. Laolu Akande, The Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity in the Office of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo last week announced the nine states as Bauchi, Borno, Cross Rivers, Ekiti, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Osun and Oyo. Akande later clarified that reference to Ogun, instead of Osun, among the pilot states, in his last press statement was…
Governor Ayo Fayose on Sunday, January 8, 2016, joined a team of fire fighters to put out a fire that engulfed Strive Energy Petrol Station, Ijigboin Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti state. According to Vanguard, the Governor led the team of firemen as they worked to quench the fire. Reports say Governor Fayose mobilised the fire fighting team immediately he got wind of the incident. The fire however spread to nearby buildings close to the petrol station and reportedly destroyed properties worth millions of Naira. According to reports, the Governor also stopped petrol stations located near residential areas from selling fuel. Governor Fayose…
Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has said that those who commit murder in the name of religion are insane. Osinbajo made the comment on Sunday, January 8, 2017, during the Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration Service in Abuja. “We remember our departed military heroes. Against the Boko Haram, they stood side by side and fought the insurgents. The President said and I quote, ‘The military that I joined never recognized tribe or religion, we fought side by side,” he said. “We must never be deceived by those who kill in the name of religion. Anyone who kills another, and says…
Senior Pastor of the Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to get to work on leading the country. Bakare also urged Buhari to reshuffle his cabinet to ensure that the right people could perform jobs they had the necessary experience for. He made the comments on Sunday, January 9, 2017, during his yearly “State of the Nation” speech. “Mr. President must galvanize his team to get the job done; square pegs in round holes must be removed or put in appropriate places; the wicked who surround the righteous must be led away from the presence…