Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina on Saturday, December 17, penned a birthday message to his principal. The President turns 74 today! Read the full message below: PMB at 74: Peace shuttle in birthday week What a helluva week for a man who turns 74 today. In one day, in his birthday week, he flew from Abuja to Monrovia, from there to Freetown, and then to Banjul, in The Gambia. He held meetings lasting many hours, then flew to Freetown, again to Monrovia, and then returned to Abuja by 3.20 a.m. In the afternoon…
Author: David Folami
The Senate has said it may reverse its earlier decision to reject the confirmation of Ibrahim Magu as the substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Punch reports. The upper chamber said it may reconsider Magu if President Muhammadu Buhari provides the necessary explanation for it to do so. On Thursday, December 15, the lawmakers rejected Magu’s nomination based on a “security report” on him by the Department of State Services (DSS). In the report, the Acting EFCC Chairman was said to have been accused of various corruption-related offences. The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public…
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will lead Manchester United’s attack on Saturday evening as Jose Mourinho says the “phenomenal” striker is almost undroppable. Ibrahimovic has featured in 24 of United’s 26 matches this season since joining the club on a free transfer form PSG and he scored his 14th goal of the campaign in Wednesday’s 2-1 win at Crystal Palace. Asked if it was almost impossible to leave Ibrahimovic out, Mourinho said ahead of this weekend’s trip to West Brom: “It is, it is. “But [Saturday] is the last effort and then they will have a week without football and that week is…
The 31-year-old has fallen down the pecking order at Manchester United and now Vincenzo Morabito insists Jose Mourinho is keen to offload his captain Wayne Rooney was offered to Napoli as the Manchester United captain “doesn’t have a good relationship with Jose Mourinho”, according to an Italian agent. Rooney has lost his place in United’s starting XI after a string of below-par performances but remains just one goal behind Sir Bobby Charlton’s all-time scoring record for the club. Now Vincenzo Morabito, a well-known intermediary between the Premier League and Serie A, has claimed the 31-year-old could have joined Napoli during…
Manchester United forward Anthony Martial has expressed frustration at being unable to pin down a permanent place in Jose Mourinho’s team this season, calling his place on the bench “annoying.” The 21-year-old Frenchman has struggled to reproduce the form of his first campaign at Old Trafford, which followed his big-money arrival from Monaco. He started in United’s win over Tottenham last Sunday, before sitting out the victory at Crystal Palace on Wednesday, as his team prepare to face West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. In a French television interview, Martial said it was a challenge he had to confront after finding…
A year to the day that Jose Mourinho was sacked, Chelsea celebrated an 11th successive Premier League win. There is little need to look back in anger at their former manager, who is now at Manchester United and trailing in Chelsea’s wake. And chasers Liverpool (who play Everton on Monday) and Arsenal (who face Man City on Sunday) will kick off nine points behind a team threatening to become runaway leaders. Yet this was not quite an anniversary waltz. Crystal Palace, fighting for their lives and perhaps the future of manager Alan Pardew, didn’t make life easy for Antonio Conte’s…
Gary Cahill believes Chelsea are operating at the peak of their powers after strengthening their position at the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace. Chelsea equalled a club-record run of 11 consecutive league victories thanks to a Diego Costa goal. “We feel very confident,” Cahill told Sky Sports 1. “We feel we’re a very strong team, we’ve worked hard at it. “Physically we’re in good shape and we’ve got some fantastic players in top form. “We step out on the pitch confident we’re going to do the business. It’s a record we should be…
Antonio Conte has said that Diego Costa did not deserve the yellow card that marred another match-winning display as Chelsea extended their Premier League win streak with a battling 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace. Costa headed in Cesar Azpilicueta’s deep cross shortly before half-time to give the Blues the lead at Selhurst Park, but not before picking up a fifth booking of the season that will see him suspended for the visit of Bournemouth to Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day. The 28-year-old was shown a yellow card during an exchange with referee Jonathan Moss after catching Joe Ledley with a…
Afrobeat legend Femi Kuti was present at the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) 70th anniversary. The musician also met one of his favourite stars, Jackie Chan at the ceremony. “Met one of my favorite actors today at Hollywood’s 70th anniversary Jackie Chan,” he captioned the post shared to his 27, 100 followers.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State has raised alarm over alleged secret recruitment of workers by the outgoing government of Gov. Olusegun Mimiko into various ministries and parastatals in the state. A statement by the Publicity Secretary of APC in Ondo Sstate, Mr Abayomi Adesanya, made this known to newsmen on Friday in Akure. The statement alleged that the move was to ambush the incoming APC government. According to the statement, letters of appointment issued are being back-dated while Gov. Mimiko is also selling government properties to cronies. “We have been adequately informed of the unholy and unpatriotic…
Caroline Danjuma is proud of her little boy! The actress took to her Instagram page on December 16, 2016, to share a touching story of her first child’s progress in school. According to her, she feels blessed to be his mother. “This boy right here is KING,” she says, adding, “Every time I see his school result I cry .. I don’t deserve u but I am extremely blessed to have you as my son.” “I command heaven to favour you, uphold you, protect and guide you. May you continuously be a light in presence of darkness, those who await…
Vector tha Viper and label mate AO drop a cover of American rapper Young MA’s ‘Ooouuu’ smash hit song. As expected, witty wordplay and punchlines take center stage on their verses. The emcee will be releasing his third studio album “Lafiaji” and “Lafiaji” experience concert on December 20 and 27 2016 respectively.
A French court on Friday rejected a request from Real Madrid and France striker Karim Benzema to drop the investigation into alleged blackmail over a sex tape featuring international teammate Mathieu Valbuena, a lawyer said. “We are pretty astonished because the decision is to reject our requests for the investigation to be cancelled,” said Serge Money, who represents another suspect. The case, which cost Benzema a place in France’s Euro 2016 squad on home soil, is now expected to go to trial next year. The Versailles appeal court also asked the investigating magistrate to consider charging former Liverpool and Marseille…
All-too-familiar questions about courage, backbone and durability surround Arsenal ahead of their trip to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the Premier League this weekend. Arsenal’s 14-game unbeaten run had lain strong foundations for a determined tilt at the festive fixture list, only for Arsene Wenger’s men to come unstuck in Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat at Everton. Wenger was left to voice time-worn complaints about an opponent’s “physical” approach, after his side shrivelled amid the Godison Park roar, but Petr Cech is desperate to show Arsenal are no pushovers. “You have to pick yourself up,” the Arsenal goalkeeper told the club website.…
Former England international Gareth Barry looks set to break Ryan Giggs’s Premier League appearances record after he signed an extension to his present contract with Everton on Friday. The 35-year-old midfielder — capped 53 times — has 609 Premier League games under his belt, only 23 shy of Welsh legend Giggs’s mark, committed himself to the club until 2018. “Let’s hope (Barry) will smash every record. He’s a quiet person but a strong character. He is 35 but he is still so important for the team,” Everton manager Ronald Koeman told the club website. Another England international, defender Leighton Baines,…
Real Madrid ironed out some of the kinks with a gentle workout Friday after booking their place in the Club World Cup final in Japan. The European champions, who are chasing a second world title in three years, went through their paces in chilly Yokohama, watched by shivering wives and girlfriends after sweeping past Mexico’s Club America on Thursday night. Goals from Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo — the 500th of his illustrious club career — were enough to see off America 2-0 and Real now turn their attentions to Sunday’s final, where they face Japan’s Kashima Antlers. “It was…
Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption, Professor Itse Sagay has condemned the Senate for refusing to confirm Ibrahim Magu as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). According to Sagay, the Senate rejected Magu for selfish reasons and not in the interest of Nigerians. “The Senate doesn’t appoint a chairman of the EFCC; what it does is to confirm an appointment. If it doesn’t confirm, then, he will remain acting, he doesn’t become substantive but the powers of acting or substantive chairman are the same; it is just a difference in nomenclature,” Sagay told…
Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana has said that the Senate hasn’t officially rejected Ibrahim Magu as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). According to Falana, Magu was rejected by the executive session of the Senate, a decision which cannot be binding on the upper legislative chamber. Falana also said that the report on which the rejection was based was not presented on the Senate floor. The prominent lawyer made the comments via a statement released on Thursday, December 15. The statement reads: “My attention has been drawn to the refusal of the senate to conduct confirmation…
The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has been elected as the Chairman of the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM). CBN’s acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okorafor, announced this in a statement on Friday in Abuja. The statement stated that by the development, Emefiele had also become the Head of the General Assembly of the financial body, comprising nine countries and Islamic Development Bank. IILM was established by central banks, monetary authorities and multilateral organisations to create and issue short-term Shari’ah-compliant financial instruments to facilitate effective cross-border Islamic liquidity management. By creating more liquid Shari’ah-compliant…
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers on Friday presented petitions to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Nigeria Police on its reservations over the conduct of the re-run elections. Mr Honourable Asita, APC’s Deputy Governorship candidate in the 2015 election, made this known during a protest march to INEC office in Port Harcourt. Asita, with other leaders and members of the party, said that they were at the INEC office to formally present a petition on the conduct of the election. “We are protesting the conduct of the elections especially in Rivers East Senatorial District, where election results…