Given a choice between victory over West Ham in the Premier League or three days later against the same opponents in the EFL Cup quarterfinals, Manchester United fans might prefer the latter. Their chances of finishing in the top four don’t look great but another trophy to add to last season’s FA Cup would be welcomed. The 1-1 draw on Sunday afternoon was the latest game at Old Trafford that United utterly dominated but failed to win. West Ham took an early lead after Dimitri Payet threw himself down to win a free kick that he then delivered for Diafra…
Author: David Folami
Barcelona boss Luis Enrique lamented what he described as the worst display of his time in charge as the Catalan giants escaped with a 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad on Sunday. Barca have now failed to win in their last eight visits to San Sebastian, but for once the slip-up felt like a victory as Sociedad dominated from start to finish. “The draw is positive because we take a point from a match in which it was practically impossible to take a point,” Enrique told BeIN Sports Spain “Real Sociedad were infinitely better than us with and without the ball.…
Jose Mourinho faces disciplinary action from the FA, and an almost definite touchline suspension, after being sent to the stands by referee Jon Moss during a 1-1 Premier League home draw with West Ham. It is the third time in less than two months that the fiery Manchester United manager will face disciplinary action from the sport’s ruling body. In late October, he was suspended for one game, and fined £8,000, for an altercation with referee Mark Clattenburg during a draw with Burnley. That incident followed a 50 000-pound punishment for comments made about the decision to allow referee Anthony…
Arsene Wenger admitted Arsenal had to conquer their nerves before securing the 3-1 win that thrust them back in the Premier League title race. Wenger’s side had fallen six points behind leaders Chelsea after drawing three of their last four league games and they were in danger of another damaging setback at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. Having led through Alexis Sanchez’s early goal, the Gunners were pegged back by Callum Wilson’s controversial penalty midway through the first half. With the Arsenal faithful getting restless, Wenger revealed he had tried to calm his players down at halftime as they wrestled…
Manager Mauricio Pochettino has accepted the recent criticism of his Tottenham Hotspur side following their early exit from the Champions League but said he saw “nothing wrong” in his team struggling to cope with their demanding schedule. Tottenham were dumped out of Europe’s elite club competition after Wednesday’s group stage loss to French side Monaco and their woes were compounded on Saturday as their 12-game Premier League unbeaten run came to an end with a 2-1 defeat at Chelsea. “If you want to criticise that (we were knocked out of the Champions League) then okay, I accept that. It is…
Manager Pep Guardiola is pleased with how well his Manchester City side have coped with their demanding schedule this season as they have managed to stay close to the Premier League summit despite their European commitments. City have not only progressed to the knockout stages of the Champions League but are also well-placed to launch an assault of the league title, sitting third in the table on 30 points, one behind leaders Chelsea after 13 games. “To be honest (the title race) is Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham (Hotspur) and Manchester United. The league this year is unpredictable and it’s going…
Chelsea forward Eden Hazard expects Manchester City and Liverpool to be the London side’s main rivals in the Premier League title race after the top three sides all enjoyed victories on the weekend. Chelsea retained their place at the summit after they claimed a seventh successive league victory with a 2-1 home triumph over Tottenham Hotspur and will hope to continue the hot streak when they travel to third-placed City on Saturday. “Man City and Liverpool. They are both good. If we want to be there at the end, then we have to finish above them,” Hazard told British media…
A ground-breaking 3-day programme of international Nigerian Cinema took place from November 18 to November 20, 2016, at the BFI Southbank as part of BFI Black Star. The Beyond Nollywood weekender showcased a new crop of Nigerian filmmakers who are revolutionising the industry beyond Nollywood with arthouse, documentary, animation and experimental films. For the first time, one of Nigeria’s actresses, Nse Ikpe-Etim, was in discussion about her career and the Nollywood star system. Delving straight into her career Ms. Ikpe-Etim stated that she never wanted to be an actress, but it was something she thought she might want to do…
Billionaire, Jimoh Ibrahim has congratulated APC candidate, Rotimi Akeredolu for emerging the winner at the Ondo governorship election. In a series of tweets, Ibrahim congratulated Akeredolu while urging him to distance himself from the incumbent governor, Olusegun Mimiko. He wrote: “Congratulations. I will advise you to quickly maintain distance from Mimiko if you want to succeed.” Ibrahim also used the opportunity to take a swipe at the PDP candidate, Eyitayo Jegede as well as Femi Fani-Kayode. He tweeted: “I had no doubt that Jegede would lose as Femi Fani-Kayode was supporting him. If you want to win any election, pay…
Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello has congratulated the newly elected governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu. In a message to Akeredolu, Gov Bello sad he has no doubt that Ondo will be great again under the leadership of Akeredolu. The message read: “Your Excellency and my dear brother, Barrister Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, today has marked an unmistakable watershed in your life and in the lives of millions of Ondo people from Idanre to Okutipupa; Owo to Ondo; Ilaje to Akoko; and the Capital City, Akure. They (Indigenes and non-indigenes alike) have given you a mandate to change their lives, their…
The All Progressives Congress in Ondo State has commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the just-concluded governorship election in the state which returned Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) as the winner. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the APC candidate polled 244,662 votes to defeat his close rivals, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) of Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) and Olusola Oke of Alliance for Democracy (AD) who scored 150,381 and 126,889 votes respectively. Omo’ba Abayomi Adesanya, the APC Publicity Secretary in Ondo State, said in a statement made available on Sunday in Akure that there was prompt arrival and…
The newly elected governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, has shown gratitude towards President Muhammadu Buhari and John Odigie-Oyegun, the APC national chairman, for their support. Speaking after he was declared the winner of the election conducted on Saturday, November 26, 2016, Akeredolu thanked the leaders of the party for their faithfulness and dedication towards his ambition. Akeredolu also said his victory was not only for him and supporters of his party, APC, but for all the residents of Ondo State. The Governor-elect also thanked all governors and officials of the APC who are loyal to the party and supported…
President Muhammadu Buhari, has condoled the government and people of Cuba over the death of Fidel Castro, the country’s longest serving President, who died aged 90. In a condolence message signed by Mr Femi Adesina, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Buhari offered his deepest condolences to the Cuban President, Raul Castro and the people of Cuba over the death announced early today. Raul is the younger brother and successor of the deceased. In the condolence message made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abuja, Buhari noted that “the legendary leader passionately served…
The new Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Sola Enikanolaiye, on Saturday announced a new blueprint that would make the Ministry conform with international standards. Enikanolaiye disclosed this while interacting with the Student Officers of the 22nd Regular Course of the Nigerian Foreign Service Academy in Ijanikin, Lagos. The Permanent Secretary, who was on his first official visits to the Ministry in Lagos, said that the blueprint would reposition the Ministry within the next two years. “We are now set to make the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to conform to international standards. “I have come up…
The death of popular lawyer and human right activist, Fred Agbaje has been received with shock in the presidency. According to a report by Punch Newspaper, President Muhammadu Buhari, on Saturday, commiserated with the late lawyer’s family, friends and colleagues. In a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President said he received the news of Agbaje’s death with shock. He said, “He was an ardent advocate against corruption and canvasser for internal democracy in political parties, who also believed strongly in the sanctity of the ballot box.” Agbaje was reported dead on Saturday,…
Billionaire businessman, Jimoh Ibrahim has called on winner of the Ondo governorship election, Rotimi Akeredolu to probe the administration of Governor Olusegun Mimiko. In a congratulatory message to Akeredolu on his success at the polls, Ibrahim urged the ex-NBA chief to audit all public accounts and recovering stolen funds which would be used in developing the state. “Ondo State account requires clear audit and this urgent for the immediate recovery of our money to assist in major programme infrastructural development,” he said. Furthermore, Ibrahim said: “I saw poverty in those villages I visited during campaign, please kindly assist the traditional…
The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Akwa Ibom on Sunday said it apprehended 442 motorists in the state for overloading between January and October. The Sector Commander, Mrs Cecilia Alao, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Uyo. Alao said that the command had zero tolerance to overloading and would not compromise those that indulged in it. She said the FRSC Establishment Act 2007 Section 10 (4) forbade people from loading their vehicles with goods or passengers above the prescribed limit. The sector commander said that the fine for violation of the law…
Sen. Shehu Sani (APC Kaduna Central) on Sunday, said individuals found to have diverted government money meant for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) must be sanctioned. The Chairman, Senate ad hoc Committee on Humanitarian Crisis in the North East, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) shortly after a visit to Dalori IDPs camp in Maiduguri. He said “our visit to Maiduguri is to investigate an alleged large-scale misappropriation of funds meant for the welfare of victims of insurgency in the North East. “And from what we have seen here, all aspects of life need improvement,…
Comedian Seyi Law took to Instagram to pray for estranged couple Tiwa Savage and Tee Billz to mark the third anniversary of their traditional wedding. In his words, ‘The hearts that hurt, can also heal. The pains of today might be the greatest joy of tomorrow.’ Other than Seyi Law’s post, other celebs were quiet about the anniversary. Tiwa and Tee Billz’s traditional wedding held at the Ark Vicinity, Lekki, Lagos on Saturday, November 23, 2013. While a reunion remains to be seen, Tee Billz posted a photo of himself and his son on Instagram three weeks ago. Like Seyi…
The Guest, which features Rita Dominic and Femi Jacob, has been scheduled for release on February 3, 2017. Somkele Idahlamah and Being Mrs Elliott actress Chika Chukwu also feature in the movie which began production in 2014. The film, shot in parts of Lagos, Nigeria, was directed and produced by Christian Olayinka and Foluke Olaniyi. Now, the wait is almost over.