Liverpool centre-back Dejan Lovren believes the arrival of winger Mohamed Salah will help them break down the stubborn defences which caused them so many problems last season. Jurgen Klopp’s side displayed scintillating form in the first half the campaign but the loss of speedy forward Sadio Mane to the African Nations Cup coincided with a slump in form. Their problems were compounded when the Senegal international’s season was prematurely ended by a knee problem in early April, and with Daniel Sturridge also missing two months from February with injury the Reds were left looking rather one-paced and easy to defend…
Author: David Folami
The 13th African Movie Academy Awards ceremony took place on July 15, 2017. The event which was hosted by Nse Ikpe Etim, held at the Eko Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos, with Ramsey Nouah, Bimbo Akintola, Beverly Naya, Stephenie Linus, Chinedu Ikedieze, AY Makun, Kunle Afolayan, Hilda Dokubo, Akin Omotoso, Segun Arinze, Fred Amata, Enyinna Nwigwe, Daniel K Daniel Osita Iheme among others in attendance. “Félicité,” a Senegalese movie about a woman who sings in a bar in Kinshasa, swept the AMAAs night, winning seven awards, including Best Actress, Best Actor in a supporting role and Best film. Vero Tshanda beat…
Star actress Dayo Amusa is a multi-talented individual, the delectable diva who initiated the #WomenArise [#iamWoman] Campaign aimed at drawing attention to the challenges of the African women in society. The campaign which has attracted several female icons in the industry is gradually gathering storm with the likes of Tonto Dikeh, Kate Hensaw, Mercy Aigbe, Juliet Ibrahim & more lending their voice to the movement. In her own contribution Dayo Amusa released an inspirational, empowering song entitled ‘Women Arise’ in which she pours out her heart and issues a clarion call to all women to rise as one and face…
Toke Makinwa’s sister, Busayo, weds Stian Fossengen yesterday, July 15 at the Civic centre, Victoria Island and the ceremony was lit. Busayo is Toke’s youngest sister and for her bridal look she went with a blue iro and bubab outfit as did her groom. who dazzled in his excellent, made-to-fit agbada. Toke could obviously not just contain her excitement in her as the big sister of the bride. On one of her posts on Instagram, she writes: “This is the day that the lord has made… Let me introduce myself …. I am the sister of the Bride #stabieverafter #EgbonIyawoactivated”…
Songster, Kiss Daniel, has shared little discontentment concerning his decision to pursue music over an engineering practice. The singer who studied at a tertiary institution for a period of five years believes he could have been bigger than he currently is if he didn’t choose his current career. Despite this, Daniel insisted that doing music comes naturally to him and as a result he has no regret that he picked it over a white collar job. “I often say that dropping engineering for music is the greatest sacrifice I have ever made for my career,” the singer said “That’s because…
American singer Justine Skye seems to might still have a thing going on with Nigerian international superstar Wizkid. On her SnapChat yesterday, Justine Skye hung out with Wizkid during a photoshoot and brought him a birthday cake. Earlier she indicated that she was going to have dinner with him before his birthday which is today. Who knows she might just still be with him as we speak. Justin Skye recently liked a Wizkid tweet which has since been deleted. In the tweet, Wizkid wrote “Baby gal going no where! U belong to me” then added a devil emoji. Wizkid and…
Dancehall artiste, Orezi has listed some of the attributes he desires in his ideal woman and one of it is a feature like R&B star, Rihanna. The singer who once released a track he named after the diva also mentioned that he prefers having interaction with an opposite sex who is witty. He shared these and so much more in an interview published by Punch News today. “I love a girl that looks like Rihanna. She should be pretty and sexy. But what is more important to me is that she must have something upstairs. “She must be intelligent and…
Jordan Henderson has said Liverpool are confident of challenging for honours next season, even if they don’t add any more new signings to the squad. Liverpool have signed Mohamed Salah and Dominic Solanke so far this summer but have been frustrated in their pursuit of Naby Keita and Virgil van Dijk. But Henderson insists Liverpool have a squad and a manager capable of winning things. He said: “We have to set it very high with the squad, the players we have got and the manager we have got. We want to be winning things. That is the aim. “We will…
After weeks of difficult negotiations, Chelsea have finally secured the midfield signing Antonio Conte wanted. Tiemoue Bakayoko has completed a £40 million move from Monaco, paving the way for Nemanja Matic — who has been training alone since the Blues players returned to Cobham for preseason training on Monday — to be sold. Bakayoko’s price tag makes him the second-most-expensive signing in Chelsea’s history, surpassed only by the £50m deal that brought Fernando Torres to Stamford Bridge from Liverpool in January 2011 (though Alex Sandro will eclipse both if his reported £61m move from Juventus comes to pass). It is…
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has hinted Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford could be unleashed as an attacking duo next season. Rashford scored twice in the first half of United’s 5-2 win over LA Galaxy in California on Saturday with Lukaku taking his place half-time to make his debut. Mourinho, though, has suggested he could use the pair together during their tour of the United States and in the Premier League next season. And he insisted Rashford will play an important role despite Lukaku’s arrival from Everton in a £75 million deal, and backed the teenager to score more than…
Jose Mourinho has insisted Manchester United never thought of re-signing Cristiano Ronaldo this summer. Ronaldo had been linked with a move back to Old Trafford after stories in Spain that the winger wanted to leave the Bernabeu following accusations by authorities that he has committed a £14 million tax fraud. But Mourinho is adamant it was never an option, describing a move as “mission impossible.” He told a news conference after the 5-2 win over LA Galaxy: “We have never thought about it because he is such an important player for his club, of great economic power. We have not…
Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera has played down speculation linking him with a move to Barcelona. Herrera’s former Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde has taken charge at Camp Nou, leading to the speculation, but he says he is happy at Old Trafford. “There is nothing certain about Barcelona because I am very happy at United and I feel valued and focused here,” he told journalists after Man United’s 5-2 win over LA Galaxy, in quotes reported by Marca. Herrera also expressed regret that a move to sign Alvaro Morata didn’t come off. United failed to reach an agreement with Real…
Wayne Rooney has said Romelu Lukaku must be mentally strong to succeed at Manchester United and warned it is increasingly difficult to live up to the high standards set at the club during Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign. Rooney, United’s all-time record goal scorer, believes Lukaku has the ability to become a success at Old Trafford but said that is not the deciding factor. “Playing for Manchester United is a test of character,” Rooney told reporters. “You’ve got to be strong enough mentally to accept the challenge. United are a football club that demands success. Romelu has to be strong enough…
Prophet Elijah Ayodele, the founder of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has said that Nnamdi Kanu will not actualise Biafra. Kanu, who is the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has been at the at the forefront of the struggle for an Igbo nation. According to Daily Post, the prophet also cautioned the IPOB leader to watch his utterances. The man of God said “Nnamdi Kanu’s life is at risk especially because of the way he talks, his misuse of words. “Forget about all he is doing, let him continue to pray to the dead souls. “Kanu will…
On July 14, 2017, Yemi Osinbajo visited the N-Power Situation Room in Abuja. The acting President was there to observe progress on the Federal Government’s job creation and empowerment initiative, which is part of the Social Investment Programme of President Buhari’s administration. He was taken on a tour of the room. This was led by Mr Afolabi Imoukhude, the SSA to the President on Job Creation/Youth Empowerment. During the tour, tablets procured for N-Power beneficiaries through the Bank of Industry were presented to him. These Made-in-Nigeria tablets are given to each beneficiary. They are preloaded with training and delivery content.…
The presidency has said that the picture of President Buhari that is being circulated online, is not new. On Saturday, July 15, 2017, a Voice of America correspondent, Saleh Shehu Ashaka, posted a picture of the president on Twitter. Ashaka said “President Buhari’s first picture in 68 days, since he departed Nigeria for medical treatment in London.” In a swift reaction, the President’s Personal Assistant (New Media), Bashir Ahmad, said “Salam Ashaka, apparently this picture like many of its kind that are being shared is not new, this particular one was taken late Feb., 2017.” President Muhammadu Buhari has been…
The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Political Matters, Babafemi Ojudu, has said that Acting President Yemi Osinbajo is considering calls from various groups, for restructuring. Ojodu also said that Osinbajo is considering the various positions that have been put forward. The presidential aide said that the Acting President believes that the agitations of Nigerians should not be ignored. According to Daily Post, Ojodu said “The Acting President’s stance is that the debate must continue, that he is listening and he is hearing them loud and clear. “For him, debating and talking about restructuring is better than going to…
Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti state has threatened to drag Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to court. Fayose made the threat while calling on Osinbajo to release the report of the panel that investigated two top officials of Buhari’s government. The Acting President was the chairman of the panel that looked into the allegations of corruption against the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), David Babachir Lawal and Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ayo Oke. According to Daily Post, Fayose, in a letter dated July 11, 2017, asked Osinbajo to act on the report. He said “I dare to…
A group known as the Middle Belt Volunteers is spearheading calls for ex-Senate President, David Mark to run for President in 2019. This is coming after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reportedly zoned the presidency to the North. According to Daily Post, some posters of Mark have been seen around Abuja, Igah Ikeje, Okpo in Kogi State, and some parts of Kaduna State. Speaking to newsmen, an official of the group said “Yes, we are presenting him (Mark) as our candidate in 2019. He is the man to beat.” Senator David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark (GCON) is a retired Nigerian Army…
Of all the things to get energised about in football, whether or not a player celebrated a goal scored by a teammate in a preseason friendly with sufficient gusto does not come anywhere near the top of the list. Especially when said player did actually celebrate the goal, just not at the moment the ball found the net. Nevertheless, that was the reaction in some quarters to Olivier Giroud’s response to Alexandre Lacazette’s first goal for the club in the 2-0 friendly win over Sydney FC. But then Arsenal’s signing of Lacazette this summer was not just a standard squad…