Reports in Portugal on Friday morning suggesting that Cristiano Ronaldo has decided to leave Real Madrid this summer were quickly picked up by the Spanish press, with this in turn leading the paper that made the claim to run a second story under the headline “A Bola’s report on Cristiano causes alarm bells to ring.” That, of course, may have been entirely the point. During the summer recess a sensational headline is always handy for generating a few clicks. And an uncredited, online report running to 100 words should always be taken with a pinch of salt large enough to…
Author: David Folami
Lionel Messi will either finish his career at Barcelona or in the United States or China — but not at Manchester City — according to the Premier League club’s chief executive Ferran Soriano. Messi’s Barca contract expires in 2018 and he is currently in talks over a new deal to extend his stay at the Camp Nou. An agreement is expected to be finalised in the coming weeks despite speculation in Spain that the 29-year-old had turned down an offer worth between €30 million and €35m per season. Former Barca vice-president Soriano has previously said that he would “open the…
The Senate on Tuesday urged the Federal Ministry of Health and its states’ counterpart to embark on mental health awareness campaign. This followed a motion by Sen. Oluremi Tinubu (APC-Lagos) on the need to ensure affordable mental healthcare for Nigerians at the plenary. Worried by the rising spate of suicide and suicide attempts in the country, Tinubu, in the motion, said that societal ills, economic difficulty, crime among others drawbacks were sufficient to send anyone over the edge. She, however, said that in spite of the issues that could induce suicide, Nigeria’s mental health support system was barely existent. She…
Antonio Conte is involved in a dispute with Chelsea’s board over the signing of Romelu Lukaku, according to reports. L’Equipe claim that the Italian has made the Everton striker his priority target and is keen for the deal to be secured as quickly as possible. But Chelsea’s hierarchy are not willing to pay the €90 million (£78.6m) required to land the Belgium international, who was sold to Everton for £28m three years ago. Conte is unhappy with his side’s refusal to meet Everton’s asking price and time is running out for Chelsea to get the deal done by the time…
Of all the musical genres, the ‘greatest of all time’ is undoubtedly most fierce in hip-hop. It’s been chewed over for years and will continue to be for many more, but Jay Z has come up with an answer. Being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this week, Jay thanked scores of rappers who inspired him on Twitter, including OGs like Rakim, KRS, Nas, Biggie, 2pac and Andre 3000, and more recent artists like Kendrick Lamar, Earl Sweatshirt, Travis Scott, Kanye West, Drake and Ab-Soul. He capped off the list of thanks: “And the greatest rapper of all time…
It’s not every time you see a lady propose to a man. So, hats off to comedienne Etinosa Idemudia who bucks the proposal trend by asking her man, Bucci Franklin to spend the rest of his life with her. In a picture posted on her Instagram feed, the comedienne and actress can be seen kneeling before her surprised boo and fellow actor at a place thought to be a restaurant. The caption attached to the post reads: “About last night. Not everytime wait for bae to propose. Sometimes take the bull by the horn. I was so nervous but he…
The Founder of the House On The Rock church, Pastor Paul Adefarasin and his lovely wife, Ifeanyi, mark another wonderful milestone in their marital life. Today marks their 22nd wedding anniversary. The church’s official Instagram page toasted the amiable couple, writing, “Like fine wine, your union gets better with passage of time, bearing fruit and making impact. We are glad to be your sons and daughters. “Happy wedding anniversary @PaulAdefarasin and @IfeanyiAdefarasin, may your love for each other continue to grow. We love you, wish you all of the best on your anniversary and many more!” Pastor Paul and Ifeanyi…
Diana Ross’ son, Ross Arne Naess, makes his love for long-time girlfriend, Kimberly Ryan formal! The couple of 11 years who have a son together marry in a bohemian, nature-embracing ceremony on June 10 2017. Of course, guests at the ceremony were mainly family and friends, including the iconic soul singer, her daughter, Tracee Ellis Ross of “Blackish”; and her son, Evan Ross. Evan‘s wife Ashlee Simpon, as well as her sister Jessica Simpson, were also in attendance. The couple are also expecting their second child, so they surely have another beautiful celebration coming pretty soon.
June 12, 2017 marked another exciting customer bonding event between MTN and the citizens of Kano, as the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Muhammad Siddiqui led top management of the company to break the Ramadan fast with some of its esteemed customers in Kano. In living up to its renewed commitment to make customer satisfaction the hub of its operations, MTN Nigeria officials listened and shared with a section of the city’s muslim community in a gesture that demonstrated how much MTN values the opinions of its diverse customer base. Comfortably seated in the FABs Centre and Events, under the hall…
A consultant psychiatrist, Dr Raphael Ogbolu, said effective use of drugs would help prevent people from committing suicide. Ogbolu made this known at an Ordinary General Meeting organised by the Association of Resident Doctors, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, on Wednesday in Lagos. The theme of the meeting was entitled: “No Health Without Mental Health: Break the Silence’’. The consultant who works at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, called on mental health practitioners to begin to look at the possibility of the role drugs played in suicide prevention. “We are looking at the role of drugs we prescribe to patients;…
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has revealed how he rejected a bribe of 1 billion Naira years ago. The former Rivers State Governor disclosed this while he was speaking in Lagos on Tuesday, June 13, at a forum in Lagos. The minister said he rejected the bribe as a result of his principled objection to corruption over his twenty years of public service. He said, “My first confrontation with bribe was with a big contractor in Rivers State. After awarding the contract, he brought a billion naira. I screamed. “I asked, ‘Where did you get the money?’ and he…
Antonio Conte is unhappy with his relationship with the Chelsea hierarchy, according to Sky in Italy. The Italian led Chelsea to the Premier League title in his first season in charge but reports claim he is frustrated by the club’s lack of investment in the transfer market as the Blues prepare for Champions League football in the new campaign. Sky Sports News HQ has put these claims to Chelsea and is waiting for a response from the club. Conte is yet to sign a contract extension beyond his current deal, which is due to expire in 2019, and said in…
Manchester United are set to complete a deal for Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata this weekend and will announce the transfer next week, according to reports in Spain. United had an opening bid of £52million rejected by Madrid for the Spaniard but the Red Devils are confident of reaching in agreement in the coming days. Morata, 24, is keen on leaving the Bernabeu after making just 19 starts under Zinedine Zidane last season and he’s been promised an important role at Old Trafford by Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese boss gave him his debut in Madrid and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s departure means…
Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave Real Madrid, according to reports in his native Portugal, in a decision that has been described as “irreversible”. The 31-year-old former Manchester United winger is reportedly angry at his treatment by Spanish tax authorities and wishes to leave the country, according to the front page of Portuguese daily A Bola on Friday. Ronaldo is the subject of a lawsuit brought by Spanish prosecutors over tax that they believe he should have paid on image rights income. The winger is being accused of defrauding nearly €15m from the taxpayer. Real Madrid issued a statement fully supporting…
Members of the Plateau House of Assembly on Tuesday in Jos decried the non-execution of constituency projects by the state government. The lawmakers, at a special plenary to mark the end of the first half of the 8th Assembly, regretted that no constituency project had been executed “in the last two years”. “This is our second year and nothing has been said about constituency project; this is not healthy for us. I have been a member of this House since 2007; this is the worst scenario,” Ibrahim Baba-Hassan (APC/Jos North) said. Baba-Hassan, who led the discussion, said that the non-execution…
A chieftain of the APC, Timi Frank says Senate President Bukola Saraki has been vindicated by God. Frank’s comment is sequel to Saraki’s victory at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on Wednesday, June 14, 2017. The CCT dismissed Saraki’s case of false asset declaration following his no-case submission on May 4, 2017. Frank said the ruling by the CCT chairman, Danladi Umar, that the prosecution team failed to prove the allegation against Saraki showed that “it was initially a mere political victimization engineered by a section of the ruling class.” While commending the tribunal for allowing justice to prevail,…
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, on Tuesday reaffirmed that the party-led Federal Government would not disappoint Nigerians. He said that the party was conscious that Nigerians reserved the power to vote it out in 2019 if it failed to meet their expectations. The chairman stated this when Mr Okoi Obono-Obla, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Prosecutions, presented his book to him at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja. The book titled “APC: The Making of a Change Agent’’ was reviewed by the Minister of Mines and Solid Minerals, Dr Kayode…
The Comptroller of Federal Operations Unit (FOU) ‘A’, Mohammed Uba Garba has said the agency intercepted smuggled goods with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of over N330million. According to Garba, the officers and men of customs service intercepted smuggled goods with a DPV of N334,042,396.8 between the months of April 1, 2017 and June 12, 2017. He further said the Unit also recovered Two Hundred and Seventy Three Million, Six Hundred and Seventy Five Thousand, One Hundred and Thirty Eight Naira, Seventy Five kobo (N273,675,138.75) from duty payments and demand notices on goods that tried to beat the system. Giving…
In line with the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Adm. Ibok-Ette Ibas’ effort to reposition the Nigerian Navy, 21 senior officers were redeployed on Thursday to head different formations and commands. The Director, Naval Information, Capt. Suleiman Dahun, Spain in a statement in Lagos that the posting was to re-organise the upper echelon of the Nigerian Navy. He stated that “the new Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command is Rear Adm. SAG Abbah, formerly Navy Secretary. “Rear Adm. V.O Adedipe, formerly Deputy Commandant, Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji, moves to Eastern Naval Command as FOC. “Rear…
Senate President, Bukola Saraki has pledged the senate’s commitment to ensure speedy passage of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA),the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and the Financial Reporting Council Act. Saraki made the pledge when the Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Mounir Gwarzo, led his team on a visit to the Senate on Wednesday in Abuja. The senate president assured that the bills would be looked into as soon as possible as they would help create an enabling business environment for the country when passed. “The most important thing is to see that we carry out…