Diego Costa has played down his on-pitch argument with Pedro Rodriguez during Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat against Tottenham on Wednesday, insisting that he and his teammate are like brothers. Spurs supporters gleefully cheered during the first half at White Hart Lane when Costa and Pedro became embroiled in an angry debate following a miscommunication that resulted in the breakdown of a Chelsea counterattack. It proved to be one of few dangerous attacking moments for Chelsea as two headers from Dele Alli earned Tottenham a deserved 2-0 win over their bitter London rivals, ending the Blues’ record-equalling 13-match winning streak in the…
Author: David Folami
Athletic Bilbao held on with nine-men to surprise Barcelona 2-1 in the first leg of their last-16 Copa del Rey tie on Thursday. Aritz Aduriz and Inaki Williams had given the hosts a two-goal lead in the first half before Lionel Messi drew a goal back from a free kick just after the break. But Athletic successfully defended their lead despite having Raul Garcia and Ander Iturraspe both dismissed after each picked up two yellow cards in the second half. Mikel San Jose headed wide from an early corner, but the best early chance fell to Gerard Pique, who nodded…
Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has confirmed he is joining Chinese Super League club Tianjin TEDA after 10 years at Stamford Bridge. Mikel, 29, signed for Chelsea from Norwegian club Lyn in 2006 despite initially agreeing to join Manchester United and the Nigeria international made 374 appearances for the West London club. However, he has not been included in a single matchday squad for a competitive game since Antonio Conte took charge in the summer and announced on Twitter that he would be moving to China. Mikel, whose contract was due to expire in the summer, had also held talks…
Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi has said that governing the state is a difficult task. Ajimobi also explained that maintaining the state’s old infrastructure and creating new ones has proven extremely difficult for his administration. “Maintenance of our infrastructure and executing new ones have been extremely difficult. Oyo State is a big state,” Ajimobi said on Wednesday, January 4. “Ibadan alone is bigger than seven states and to govern Oyo State is a big responsibility with big problem and difficult to manage,” he added according to Vanguard. Ajimobi said this at the 2017 Inter-Faith Service of the state government at…
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola denied on Thursday that he was already planning his retirement at age 45, after saying that he was “arriving at the end” of his career. The Spaniard sparked feverish speculation about his future after saying in an interview with American television station NBC that he could not see himself still being in management when he reaches his sixties. During the interview Guardiola said: “I feel the process of my goodbye has already started. I am arriving at the end of my coaching career, of this I am sure.” He now admits it was “inappropriate” to…
Music star Nicki Minaj has just announced her split from rapper Meek Mill. The crooner took to twitter today, January 5, 2017, talking about how she’s focusing on her work. She tweeted, “To confirm, yes I am single. Focusing on my work & looking forward to sharing it with you guys really soon. Have a blessed New Year. Love u.” This comes after speculations about their split arose. The duo performed separately in Miami for New Year’s Eve, and also partied separately afterward. Nicki performed at E11even nightclub and then stayed to party. Meek performed at Dream Nightclub 2 miles…
Artists on the payroll of Federal Radio Cooperation of Nigeria (FRCN), Radio Nigeria Atlantic 104.5 FM, Uruan, Akwa Ibom, on Thursday shut down the station over accumulated salaries. The protesters carried placards with inscriptions: “The artists of Atlantic 104.5 FM want the release of our February 2016 to January 2017 salary, Else there will be no broadcast’’, “Pay us our 11 months salary, we are very very hungry’’. Other inscriptions include: “We the artists of Atlantic 104.5 FM want our 11 months salary. Else no work, enough is enough,’’, “We have been patient enough, pay us 11 months salary now’’.…
The bill seeking to lift the immunity clause being enjoyed by the President, Vice President, State Governors and their Deputies has suffered a setback. The bill seeks to amend Section 308 (2) of the 1999 Constitution to allow the prosecution of the affected leaders on matters relating to economic and financial crimes even when in office. According to The Guardian, the Senate has suspended the consideration of the bill, which was sponsored by Ovie Omo-Agege (Labour Party, Delta State). The bill was said to have been referred to the committee on constitution review chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Ike…
Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari has reportedly gotten a total of £49,000 from Nigerian High Commission in UK. According to a report by SaharaReporters, the Nigerian High Commission spends a minimum of £7,000 for hospitality on each of the first lady’s trips to the United Kingdom. The report further revealed that the wife of the president Mrs. Buhari visited the UK at least seven times in 2016. It was also reported that the fund spent on Aisha Buhari and her entourage was backed with a document dated July 28, 2016, and signed by Minister Counselor/Head of Chancery, Ibrahim Sule.…
Electricity generation in the country has reached a peak of 4,000 megawatts, new data shows. The power supply peak has also been sustained since attaining that level on Tuesday, December 27, 2016. The information was retrieved from data provided by the Nigeria System Operator (NSO) and it shows that peak generation in December 2016 was highest when it hit 4,173mw. The trend continued into 2017 when a high of 4,208mw was recorded on New Year’s Day.
Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal has urged Nigerians to support the Muhammadu Buhari administration. Tambuwal made the call while launching the Federal Government’s ‘Change Begins With Me’ campaign in Sokoto. “We should be positive in our thinking and have better attitude towards issues. Importantly, we should all support the government of President Muhammadu Buhari for it to deliver on its promises to the people of Nigeria,” he said according to Leadership. “Already the government is doing exceeding well in the fight against insecurity and the fight corruption. Similar efforts are being done to turn around the economy. You will agree…
Fire on Wednesday night gutted the depot of the Nigerian Bottling Company office on Abak Road, Uyo. Eyewitnesses told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday that goods worth millions of Naira were lost in the inferno. One of the eyewitnesses, Mr Ekong Charles, told NAN that the fire started from where the pallets were packed and engulfed the entire packing zone. Charles said that it was the quick intervention of firefighters from the state Fire Service that prevented the fire from spreading to the office complex. “The fire started from where the pallets are packed and the fire…
Nigerian actor, Richard Mofe Damijo, will be one of the hosts for the Glo Confederation of African Football Awards holding tonight in Abuja. The Nollywood actor will be hosting the awards alongside sports journalist and presenter of Sports 360 on Vox Africa, Mimi Fawaz. The event is to reward and celebrate exceptional talents among African footballers playing on the continent and abroad. Awards will be won across several categories such as African Player of The Year (Based in Africa); National Team of the Year; Club of the Year; Coach of the Year; Most Promising Talent; Women’s National Team of the…
Hip-hop’s latest meme mascot, Soulja Boy, is having a change of heart after his recent row with Chris Brown. Following a series of beefs with Chris Brown, Lil Yachty, and Migos’ Quavo, the ‘Crank That’ rapper has apologised for his recent behaviour. ‘I just want to send an apology,’ he said in a ‘PSA’ posted on social media. ‘Over the past couple of months, I’ve been actin’ out, I’ve been wildin’ out. At the end of the day, it’s not about who start the beefs, it’s about who end them.’ Soulja claims his mother, who was recently hospitalized, sparked this…
Cameroonian pop singer and bleaching cream expert, Dencia, was on Britain’s Channel 4 recently to discuss vitiligo and addison’s disease – two conditions she claims to know about first-hand. She was joined by English comedian, Ava Vidal, who is also known for being vocal about her fight against racism. However, things got heated when Dencia was asked about her cream, Whitenicious, and she went on to defend it by claiming she’d suffered from a bad vitiligo, and lightening her skin was her way of covering the spots. Ava, who also claimed to be a vitiligo sufferer as well, claimed she…
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann have all been named in the UEFA.com Team of the Year for 2016. Real Madrid’s Ronaldo, Barcelona’s Messi and Atletico Madrid’s Griezmann — who finished first, second and third respectively for the 2016 Ballon d’Or — were voted in alongside eight others by UEFA.com users, with almost 7.2 million votes being cast by 650,000 fans. The side is dominated by La Liga players, with eight making the cut, while 2016 Champions League winners Madrid lead the way with four of their own selected. Selected in midfield behind the attacking trio were Madrid pair…
Southampton captain Jose Fonte has asked to leave the club, director of football Les Reed has confirmed. Fonte, 33, who was a target of Manchester United and Arsenal last summer, has 18 months left to run on his current Saints deal. The Portugal international denied speculation last month that he had rejected a new contract from Southampton and said that the club had told him he would not be offered a new deal. However, Reed has since said that Fonte was offered fresh terms by Southampton but he chose to knock them back in hope of moving on. “He’s had…
Wayne Rooney has returned to Manchester United training ahead of their FA Cup third-round tie against Reading at Old Trafford on Saturday. Rooney, 31, has missed United’s past three matches — wins against Sunderland, Middlesbrough and West Ham United — with a thigh problem suffered in training on Christmas Day. Before his recent absence, the United captain had returned to the starting XI for successive Premier League games against Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion last month, which both ended in victories for the Red Devils. Rooney remains on 248 United goals, one short of matching Sir Bobby Charlton’s all-time…
The Federal Government says it is planning a celebration of farmers in the country for their enormous contributions to the economy. Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, disclosed the plan when speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday. Ogbeh said the celebration, which would be the first of its kind, would be marked across the states of the federation. According to him, our farmers are precious to us and without them, we will not survive. “The idea is to celebrate our farmers and encourage them to do more. “We also need to sensitise people by telling…
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on Thursday ordered stoppage of loading activities at all Total Nig. Ltd., depots nationwide over termination of workers appointment. This is according to a statement signed by Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, the South-West Chairman of the union and made available to newsmen in Lagos. According to Korodo, the management of Total has been resisting the unionisation of workers under its contract programme in Lagos, Kaduna and Koko in Delta blending plants. The chairman said that the management of Total had moved further to terminate those workers who had joined the union…