Dejan Stefanovic has apologised for suggesting Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho should be sent to prison for his treatment of Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger. Stefanovic, a world players’ union member, accused the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan manager of “bullying” Schweinsteiger as he tried to push the former Bayern Munich man out the door at Old Trafford. The 32-year-old Schweinsteiger has reportedly been training with the reserves this summer, while Mourinho has been forced to defend his handling of the 2014 World Champion in the wake of criticism over the past few days. Stefanovic last week said the…
Author: David Folami
Leicester City have ruled out selling Riyad Mahrez this month but the Algeria international is yet to commit to a new contract, sources close to the club have said. Mahrez’s future at Leicester has been the subject of speculation this summer with the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea linked with a move for last season’s PFA Player of the Year. Sources have said that Mahrez was open to a move away from Leicester this summer, but the club will not allow him to follow N’Golo Kante in leaving this summer. Foxes boss Claudio Ranieri told Sky Sports News on Wednesday:…
Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has said current captain Philipp Lahm could be offered a key upstairs role at the club once he hangs up his boots. The 32-year-old ex-Germany captain, who retired from international duty after lifting the 2014 World Cup, has a contract until 2018 and has spent virtually his entire career at Bayern. “I can imagine that in the future Philipp could play an important role off the field at the club,” Rummenigge told Munich-based newspaper the Sueddeutsche Zeitung on Thursday. “Philipp is a world-class right-back, but I really like his development off the field. “For me,…
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri said it will be harder for his team to successfully defend their Premier League title this season than it was for them to win it. The Italian, who steered the Foxes to an unlikely title with a team ranked as 5 000/1 outsiders at the start of the campaign, added that the odds of Leicester repeating the feat should be even longer this term. “I’m very curious about this season,” Ranieri told reporters on Thursday. “Our target is again 40 points and then to see what happens. “The big teams are ready to fight for…
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino admitted on Thursday that he is “very disappointed” by head of recruitment Paul Mitchell’s decision to leave the club. Mitchell, 34, followed Pochettino to White Hart Lane from Southampton two years ago and helped to shape the team that threatened to pip Leicester City to the Premier League title last season. His departure is now being negotiated, amid reports he has been frustrated by Spurs’ lack of transfer activity, and Pochettino said he will be sad to see him go. “I feel very disappointed with his decision. It’s his personal choice,” Pochettino told a press…
Samson Siasia[/caption]Nigeria under-23 head coach, Samson Siasia, is keen to correct the frailties exhibited by his side in their 0-2 loss to Colombia on Wednesday in the Olympics ahead of their quarterfinal meet with Denmark. Siasia expressed worry at the way his team’s backline buckled under the attack of the Colombians leading up to the two goals conceded, he attributed their defeat to the changes he made in the startlist as opposed to their opening two matches against Japan and Sweden which they won 5-4 and 1-0 respectively. After watching his side concede six goals in the preliminary stage of…
Valencia and Germany defender Shkodran Mustafi and Premier League side Arsenal have agreed transfer terms, his agent is reported to have said on Thursday. “Skhodran and Arsenal are in agreement. Now the clubs just have to agree a transfer fee,” Mustafi’s agent Ali Bulut told German website Spox.com with the Gunners in discussions with his current club. The 24-year-old, who was part of Germany’s Euro 2016 squad and scored their first goal of the tournament, can play right-back or centre-back. Gunners defender Per Mertesacker is out for the near future with a knee injury. Mustafi, a product of Hamburg’s youth…
Watford’s Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo has signed a new five-year contract at Vicarage Road, the Premier League club announced on Thursday. “Odion Ighalo has signed a new five-year contract with #watfordfc,” Watford wrote on the club’s official Twitter account. “Congratulations @ighalojude!” Ighalo, 27, scored 17 goals in 42 appearances last season, but had been linked with a move to West Bromwich Albion. He follows strike partner and captain Troy Deeney by committing himself to Watford until 2021. Ighalo began his career in Norway and then spent six years at Udinese, during which time he went out on loan four times,…
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigeria needs change agents as the country is currently in a critical situation. This was contained in a tribute signed by his special adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, to the pioneer Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Major General Timothy Ogundeko. The statement reads: “The President affirms that with his tireless efforts and foresight, Gen. Ogundeko transformed the Nigerian Army Education Corps for the benefit of the Service and the nation; and his legendary role in the establishment of Command Secondary Schools is well appreciated. “President Buhari…
The Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang has said there is nothing like padding in the legislature. “In all our years of legislative engagement, we have yet to find in the legislative lexicon the word, ‘padding.’ When the budget is presented before the legislature, the legislature is to consider the budget and pass as it deems fit. “So, what the legislature passes becomes the Appropriation Act upon assent. Therefore, any word which has yet to crystallise in legislative lexicon, you cannot hear us mention it,” he said. Enang said this after appearing…
Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has said that Nigeria has no option than to borrow in order to invest in the economy. The minister who was speaking on Tuesday, August 9, at a town hall meeting in Abuja said that the federal government is, however, exercising caution about its borrowing to avoid leaving a heavy debt burden for future generations. Adeosun said: “We have a very conservative borrowing programme, and we must borrow; because to do rail — the rail that we have now was done in the colonial era — there has been really significant upgrade. “We have urgently…
Petroleum marketers are agitating for the price of fuel to be increased to N151 per litre, according to reports. They said the current price of N145 is not realistic because of the challenges in getting foreign currency, adding that the real cost of fuel should be N151.87k. This is coming on the heels of reports that there are plans to increase the pump price of fuel soon. Punch also reports that the marketers also called on the Federal Government to address the issue of the rising dollar, so they can sell fuel at the approved rate of N145. To forestall…
Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State said on Tuesday that continuous prayers were the secret behind the success recorded so far by his administration. Speaking during the Enugu State women monthly prayers, Ugwuanyi said that the programme was the greatest pillar behind the peace and peaceful co-existence in the state. “The monthly prayer is the reason my administration has been able to overcome all challenges such as payment of workers’ salaries and the provision of infrastructure in spite of the present economic difficulties. “Prayer is the secret of my administration’s success. “I thank the women of Enugu for their commitment…
President Muhammadu Buhari says his administration will continue to accord agriculture premium importance through programmes and initiatives that will motivate the citizens to produce enough food to feed the nation. This is contained in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by Malam Garba Shehu, the president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity. According to Shehu, Buhari stated this at a farewell meeting with Mr Hoang Ngoc Ho, the out-going Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at the State House, Abuja, on Tuesday. Buhari said that the priority accorded agriculture in his administration was primarily to achieve food…
Mr Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, has said that though the ministry was working with lean resources, it was determined to do more in the interest of Nigerians. Fashola said this on Tuesday in Abuja at a Town Hall/Policy Dialogue for Good Governance organised by the Alumni Association of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (AANI). The theme of the meeting which was organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Culture was “ Towards Effective Implementation of the 2016 Budget’’. The minister said that the ministry inherited 206 uncompleted road projects across…
According to the former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, Speaker, Yakubu Dogara has a lot to hide and much to fear over the budget padding scandal. Jibrin also criticized Dogara for saying budget padding is not a crime when that was the reason he gave for removing him from the position of chairman. The lawmaker made the comments via a statement released on Tuesday, August 9, 2016. The statement reads: “The only reason why they wanted me out is my independent-mindedness, resistance to corruption and my refusal to ‘play ball’ on the gross abuse…
Some members of Nigerian terrorist sect, Boko Haram are fleeing to Europe, a report has said. According to the UK Daily Mail, the terrorists include children as young as 10 who have been trained as suicide bombers. “They (Boko Haram refugees) will soon start showing up on the Mediterranean’s shores,” the report quoted a source close to Nigeria’s National Intelligence Agency as saying. “Some of these people are trained suicide bombers and fighters, including children as young as 10. They have all been indoctrinated by Boko Haram and they could soon turn up in Europe’s capitals,” the source added. The…
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday administered oaths of office on four Special Advisers and a permanent secretary at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The event took place shortly before the commencement of the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) under the chairmanship of the president. The advisers are the Special Adviser on Economic Matters, Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu, Special Adviser on Political Matters, Mr Babafemi Ojudu, Special Adviser on Planning, Mr Tijani Abdullahi, and Special Adviser on Social Investment, Mrs Maryam Uwais. The president also swore in Amb. Rafiu Enikanolaye, who was appointed Permanent Secretary in July and deployed to…
The former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin has said that he has always wanted to expose corruption in the House. Jibrin also said that his revelations about the alleged budget padding scandal were an answer to President Muhammadu Buhari’s prayers to rid Nigeria of corruption. The lawmaker made the comments via a statement released on Tuesday, August 9, 2016. Jibrin has accused Speaker, Yakubu Dogara and other members of the House of smuggling N284 billion into the 2016 budget. The statement reads: Since the corrupt Speaker Yakubu Dogara made the public comment that padding…
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has threatened to sue former President, Goodluck Jonathan for alleging that it has plans to assassinate him. Jonathan made the claim while denying being a sponsor of militant group, Niger Delta Avengers (NDA). The former president also extended the accusation to the leaders of MEND, Henry and Charles Okah who are being tried for terrorism in Nigeria and South Africa. MEND made the threat via a statement released by spokesman, Jomo Gbomo on Tuesday, August 9, 2016. The statement reads in part: “The attention of the Movement for the Emancipation…