Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane said his seven-week absence due to an ankle-ligament injury has turned out to be a good thing as he was able to recharge his batteries. Kane, who returned to score the equaliser against Arsenal on Sunday, suffered the injury in a Premier League match against Sunderland on September 18. “When you get injured you have to look at the positives to help you,” the England international told British media. “It gave me six-seven weeks to rest the other muscles that haven’t been rested in a while. “I had a break early on when I first…
Author: David Folami
Midfielder Jack Wilshere would not hesitate to leave Arsenal when his loan spell at Bournemouth ends if he fails to break back into manager Arsene Wenger’s first team plans. Once regarded as one of the brightest young hopes in English football, the 24-year-old fell out of favour at Arsenal after managing only 17 games in two seasons blighted by injury, and joined Bournemouth on a season-long loan in August. “Of course I love Arsenal, but if there comes a time when I have to leave, then I have to leave,” he told British media. “If I go back and I’m…
Skipper Jordan Henderson has credited Liverpool’s rise to the top of the Premier League table to the work rate of their attacking trio of Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane. Liverpool beat Watford 6-1 on Sunday to go one point clear at the top after 11 games, with all three forwards getting on the scoresheet. Mane scored twice to take his league tally to six goals, while Coutinho and Firmino are both on five goals for the campaign after adding one apiece. “They are world-class players,” Henderson said. “Their understanding of the game, not only going forward, but also…
Jurgen Klopp is eager not to let Liverpool’s trophy-laden past burden his squad with the manger instead urging his players to write their own chapters in the Merseyside club’s history books. Liverpool have made a strong start to the season, having lost only once in 14 games in all competitions, which has propelled them to the top of the Premier League table and to the quarterfinals of the League Cup. “It’s a really good moment and I know that everybody compares with the past, especially at Liverpool. Three years ago, 10, five, 25 years ago – but this team is…
A meeting with members of Algeria’s national football team, the Desert Foxes left new national team coach, Georges Leekens impressed. Leekens and members of his backroom staff held a meeting with the players shortly before their first ever training session together and the veteran Belgian trainer on Monday evening. According to the official website of the Algeria Football Federation (Faf), www.faf.dz the meeting was also attended by the president, Mohamed Raouraoua. Right after the meeting, the players were put through their paces in Leekens first ever training session with the Foxes. The team trained twice on Monday and Tuesday at…
John Mikel Obi is optimistic about Nigeria’s chances of producing a positive performance against Algeria in Saturday’s 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifier in Uyo. The Super Eagles face the Fennec Foxes in the stand out fixture of match day two in Group B at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo and the Chelsea man believes a win for the West Africans could be on the cards. After playing the part in the Eagles’ 2-1 win over Zambia on match day one, Mikel insists that preparations and the attitude of the players must not be altered if success is to be replicated…
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that it would be a shame for Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole to retire without offering further service to the country. Buhari also expressed the hope that ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) would find a place for Oshiomhole. The president made the comments on Monday, November 7, during a visit to the palace of the new Oba of Benin. “It will be a pity to waste his energy by him retiring. I hope there will be a higher assignment for him to do more for the nation. I congratulate the governor for his hard…
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State has alleged that Governor Olusegun Mimiko is planning to award unnecessary contracts before he leaves office in February 2017. The Ondo APC made the claim via a statement released by its publicity secretary, Omoba Abayomi Adesanya. The statement reads: “The outgoing Governor Olusegun Mimiko has concluded plans to award contracts worth N62Billion between now -November 2016 to February 2017 when he would be vacating office as the Chief Executive Officer of the State.” “Among the contracts to be awarded is the 28KM ABOTO-ATIJERE road, in Ilaje Local Government Area of the state,…
Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, says the Supreme Court judgment affirming his victory in the last governorship election in the state is deserving. In a statement issued by his media aide, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, on Tuesday, November 8, the Governor said the ruling further confirms his landslide victory at the polls. He commended the judiciary for ensuring justice in the matter and for reaffirming the earlier decisions of the tribunal and the Appeal Court. He also thanked the Bayelsa people for their unwavering support in the course of the case. “This is a total victory and it is for the entire…
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has again debunked report that it plans to hike the pump price of petrol. Mr Garba Deen Muhammad, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC made the denial in a statement issued to newsmen on Monday in Abuja. He said that the NNPC is not empowered statutorily to tinker with the pricing template of petroleum products as erroneously reported in some national dailies. The Corporation had on Oct. 23 debunked the report that plans were in the offing to increase the pump price of fuel. The NNPC spokesman said that the adjustment of…
The wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has commiserated with the families of late Lt.-Col. Mohammad Abu-Ali and six others who died in the battle field. Mrs Buhari offered her condolences to the families during the burial of the soldiers on Monday at the Military Cemetry in Abuja. The wife of the President, who was among top dignitaries that attended the burial, also interacted with the families of the slain soldiers. She said the soldiers died as heroes and would remain in her mind and the minds of Nigerians. Mrs Buhari commended the efforts of Lt.-Col. Abu-Ali and his…
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has alleged that the Federal Government is planning to keep its leader, Nnamdi Kanu in detention for long. According to Vanguard, the group says it has uncovered plans by the government to stall Kanu’s trial so his case will not be heard. IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, said “Information reaching our desk, and confirmed by our intelligence unit, revealed that pressure has been mounted on Justice Binta Nyako to feign illness and not attend the hearing in the case involving the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu. “This was the same delay tactics used…
Waripamo-Owei Dudafa, former Senior Assistant on Domestic Matters to ex President Goodluck Jonathan, has alleged that the EFCC wants him to implicate the ex first lady, Patience Jonathan. According to Premium Times, Dudafa said “My only sin is that I have refused to yield to the Commission’s pressure to write false statements to incriminate the former first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan.” Mrs. Jonathan came on the radar of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), when she claimed ownership of bank accounts that had millions of dollars. Dudafa, on the other was arrested by the Department of State Security (DSS)…
Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima has said that the Boko Haram insurgency pulled the state back by 50 years. Shettima made the comment on Monday, November 7, when the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Adamu Rasheed announced the commencement of the Borno State University. “Boko Haram has taken Borno 50 years backwardAt the risk of sounding repetitive, Borno State has been taken 50 years backward, no thanks to the vicious Boko Haram we inherited in 2011. As we all know, hate for education is the fundamental principle of the Boko Haram,” he said. “This explains why…
Members of the Nigerian Senate have spoken on the need to remove age limitations attached to job offers in the country. A motion to that effect was sponsored by Edo state Senator, Matthew Urhoghide on Tuesday, November 8. Urhoghide said further that job seekers should not be made to suffer for not being employed earlier. The motion was supported by Senators Clifford Ordia and Stella Oduah among others.
The Federal Government has ordered some of its senior employees to fly economy class on all flights from now on. The order applies to all directors-general, managing directors and executive secretaries, according to The Cable. The instruction, which was attributed to the current economic crisis, was given via a circular released on November 2, 2016. The circular reads: “In view of the ensuing budgetary and fiscal challenges faced by the Federal Government arising from low oil revenue, it has become necessary to review the Guidelines for Local and International Travels as provided for in Circular Ref. No. SGF. 6/S.2/X/545 of…
On Monday, November 8, 2016, We punctured several holes in a Punch story regarding the State of health of Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello. The report by Punch that the Governor had disappeared from his State without trace, fuelled widespread panic that the number one citizen of the Confluence State was terminally ill. Upon enquiry, the Kogi State government immediately sent Pulse pictures of the Governor looking in high spirits and rude health from his Dubai abode. The Governor had obtained a two-week permission for his vacation from the Kogi State House of Assembly before embarking on his trip abroad,…
Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, has attributed Boko Haram’s renewed attacks in the northeast to the support the sect is getting from some individuals. Buratai stated this in Abuja Monday, November 8, at the Army Resource Centre on the sideline of a meeting with a security delegation from the Atlantic Council, African Centre in the United States of America. He stressed that Nigeria urgently needs local and international support to stop the deadly group. “We have some elements who are within this society and are still supporting them clandestinely,” he said. “So the support of every Nigerian…
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State on Tuesday, November 8, visited the detained former minister, Femi Fani-Kayode in custody, Punch reports. Fani-Kayode is being held by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over corruption allegations. Fayose was said to have been received by three operatives of the EFCC at the Commission’s office in Abuja. He reportedly arrived at the office around 2:15pm and left at 4:30pm.
President Muhammadu Buhari says only God can unite Nigeria given its diverse population. While speaking on Tuesday, November 8, at the inauguration of Edo State University, Iyamho, in Etsako West local government area of the state, the President said that multi-party system is the best option for the country’s democracy. Buhari also noted that Nigeria became a mono-economy after “throwing away everything for petroleum.” “We believe in multi-party democracy system, it is the best for us. In a country of over 450 ethnic groups, it is not easy to come together, only God can do it,” he said. “We are…