Leicester remain hopeful of keeping striker Jamie Vardy away from potential suitors, according to vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha. Vardy scored 24 Premier League goals last season for the surprise champions, one behind golden boot winner Harry Kane to earn a place with England at Euro 2016, where he grabbed a vital equaliser as a substitute in Thursday’s 2-1 win over Wales. That has seen him linked with Arsenal, who have reportedly made a £20 million bid for the 29-year-old, though his future plans remain on hold while he focuses on the tournament. But Srivaddhanaprabha told the Daily Mail: “You will see…
Author: David Folami
The first son of late Super Eagles captain and coach Stephen Keshi has arrived in Nigeria to arrange the burial rites of his father who passed away last week. Stephen Keshi Junior, who bears the same name as his late father, came into Nigeria alongside Victor Ugoh who is a close friend of the late coach. The 27-year-old, who is an events planner based in the United States, revealed that he isn’t aware of any burial arrangements for his late father, stating that he is shocked that someone had fixed a date for the burial. “I just came into Nigeria…
Ronald Koeman was unveiled as the new Everton manager on Friday with an assurance to supporters that will try to persuade the club’s best young players to stay. The 53-year-old Dutchman confirmed at a press conference that he turned down the chance of a new contract with Southampton to join the Merseyside club on a three-year-deal as successor to Roberto Martinez. But Koeman will face an immediate struggle to stem a predicted talent drain with the club’s England defender John Stones already tipped for a move to Barcelona or Manchester City. “I like to help everybody and sometimes you have…
Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy said on Saturday that there have been no developments regarding his future at the club, as he focuses on his England duties at Euro 2016. Vardy, whose 24 goals inspired Leicester’s fairytale Premier League triumph, is thought to be considering an approach from Arsenal, who have reportedly triggered his £20 million ($28.7 million, 25.5 million euros) release clause. But having scored 11 minutes after coming off the bench in Thursday’s 2-1 win over Wales in Lens, which left England on the brink of the last 16, he says that he is only thinking about international…
Italy’s Antonio Candreva sat out training on Saturday after picking up a hamstring injury in their 1-0 victory over Sweden on Friday. The 29-year-old winger underwent tests on his injury to assess the problem, according to a statement on the Italian Football Federation’s official website, and his progress will be monitored by medical staff. Captain Gianluigi Buffon initially took to the training field at the team’s base in Montpellier, but returned to the gym soon after the session began after feeling unwell, according to Sport Mediaset. Italy secured first place in group E on Saturday when Belgium beat Ireland 3-0,…
Portugal coach Fernando Santos refused to comment on Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance after the Real Madrid superstar missed a penalty in Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Austria at Euro 2016. Asked how the Portugal captain was feeling in the dressing room having struck the post with a 79th-minute penalty, Santos responded: “I prefer not to talk about this subject. I won’t talk about individual players.” Ronaldo was left frustrated in his attempt to become the first player to score at a record fourth European Championship, with Portugal still searching for their first win in Group F. The Euro 2004 runners-up are level…
Belgium rediscovered their most blistering form to batter group E rivals Ireland 3-0 thanks to a brfrom Romelu Lukaku and an Axel Witsel header on Saturday. The victory of the world’s second-ranked team was in stark contrast to their limp defeat in their opening Euro 2016 match against Italy. Despite dominating the opening half, it still took until the opening minutes of the second period for Belgium to take the lead when Lukaku finished a counter-attack by rifling a shot into the far corner. Ireland had a brief positive spell but Witsel made it two for Belgium with a pinpoint…
Cristiano Ronaldo missed a second-half penalty as Portugal stumbled to a second straight drawEuro 2016 on Saturday after a frustrating 0-0 stalemate against Group F rivals Austria in Paris. Ronaldo set a new Portuguese record with his 128th international cap, surpassing the mark previously shared with Luis Figo, but the occasion will be better remembered for the Real Madrid superstar hitting the post with a 79th-minute penalty. Hungary, who salvaged a point in a 1-1 draw with Iceland, are the surprise group leaders with a game to play, while Austria must win their final match to avoid exiting prematurely. Coach…
The Federal Government says it will harmonise the Building Energy Efficiency Guideline (BEEG) and the National Building Code to address the housing deficit in the country. The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, said this in Abuja on Thursday at a ceremony for the inauguration of the guideline. Fashola noted that the harmonisation of the two had become necessary to embed the document into the National Building Code as its energy efficiency component. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that BEEG was produced through a collaboration of the ministry with German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).…
A Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday, fixed June 20 to whether or not to grant bail to former Special Assistant on domestic affairs to ex president Goodluck Jonathan, Waripamowei Dudafa. Dudafa is charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside Taiwo Ebenezer who is also known as Olugbenga Isaiah on 23 counts bordering on N5.1 billion fraud. They were arraigned before Justice Mohammed Idris. On Wednesday, Justice Idris adjourned the case till June 20 for ruling on the accused’s bail application, after listening to arguments from counsel. When the case was called, counsel to the accused,…
Nnamdi Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe’s lawsuit challenging the academic credentials of President Muhammadu Buhari has been adjourned indefinitely. According to a report by Vanguard Newspaper, the suit was heard by Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday, June 16, 2016 with the President’s 13 Senior Advocate of Nigeria in attendance. Justice Ademola in his ruling, adjourned the case indefinitely following a notice of appeal filed by the representatives of President Buhari. On Wednesday, June 15, 2016, the ‘league of SANs’ led by Wole Olanipekun had appealed against a previous ruling of the court dismissing his preliminary objection to the…
Former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro has said he won’t be honouring any form of invitation from the Ibrahim Magu led Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC. In a recent interview with Premium Times, Obanikoro said he would not honour any form of invitation from the anti-graft body saying it will be a part of the country’s charade as perpetuated by the ruling party, All Progressive Congress. “Let me tell you, I will not honour any invitation from the EFCC and neither would I allow my children to be part of that charade. Having gone to my house…
“They will never attempt any extradition. I, Musiliu Olatunde Obanikoro, am inviting EFCC to petition America to extradite me to Nigeria,” were the words of ex-Minister of State for Defence in a recent interview. Obanikoro has dared the Ibrahim Magu led Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to petition the American government to extradite him home if there are any facts to back up the agency’sclaims. Speaking in an interview with Premium Times, Obanikoro described the EFCC’s claims as a charade that is being hatched by the ruling party, All Progressive Congress. “The whole world would now see their charade for…
Former Minister and Senator, Musiliu Obanikoro has risen to the defence of incarcerated Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, Femi Fani-Kayode. In a recent interview, Obanikoro queried the rationale behind the incarceration of the former Aviation Minister saying he innocently got funds from the party and campaigned with it. “Why did they lock up Femi Fani-Kayode? What did he do that their own campaign spokesman did not do? This is someone who had no idea how money for campaign was sourced. You also had a publicity secretary who paid the media just as Femi did and he’d never been invited for anything,”…
The United States Embassy has cancelled the visas of three House of Representatives members who were accused of improper conduct during an official visit to the US. The legislators were identified as Mohammed Garba Gololo (Bauchi), Samuel Ikon (Akwa Ibom) and Mark Gbillah (Benue). Gololo was alleged to have sexually assaulted a housekeeper in his hotel room while Gbillah and Ikon were accused of soliciting prostitutes. The cancellation of the visas was made public by Gbillah in a letter written to the US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, according to Punch. The letter, dated June 16, 2016, reads: “Without conclusive…
The House of Representatives has commenced investigations into allegations of improper conduct levelled against three of its members by the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle. The lawmakers involved are Mohammed Garba Gololo (Bauchi), Samuel Ikon (Akwa Ibom) and Mark Gbillah (Benue). Gololo was alleged to have sexually assaulted a housekeeper in his hotel room while Gbillah and Ikon were accused of soliciting prostitutes. “We are in receipt of a letter from the US ambassador, alleging misconduct by some members of the national assembly, who attended a training programme in the United States of America,” House spokesman, Abdulrazak Namdas…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested former Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko for allegedly laundering N40bn from the NCS. Dikko was interrogated by the EFCC on Thursday, June 16, after he visited the agency’s headquarters in Abuja, Punch reports. “You will recall that we have been looking for Dikko for quite some time. He turned himself in around 10am today (Thursday) and he is being quizzed over two key allegations bordering on criminal conspiracy, diversion of public funds, theft, abuse of office and living above legitimate means,” an EFCC agent said. “There…
The Federal Government has issued a warning to Nigerians about a mobile application which is being used by terrorist sect, ISIS to indoctrinate children. The warning was given by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed via a statement issued by his media aide, Segun Adeyemi on Thursday, June 16, 2016. The statement reads in part: The Federal Government has alerted Nigerians to the existence of a newly-launched mobile application developed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) for propagating Jihad to children. The mobile application, tagged ‘Huroof’ (Arabic alphabets or letters), is to be used…
One of the children of former Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi has reacted to his death claiming that his dad never had any health issues. Keshi who won two African Cup of Nations twice with Nigeria- one as a player and the other as a coach- passed away in the early hours of Wednesday, June 8, 2016 in Benin City, Edo State. His children have arrived the country and Stephen Keshi Jnr expressed shock over the death of his father and revealed that he didn’t have any major health issue. “I spoke to him shortly before he died and he…
Lil Kesh debuts his first video since starting his own label Y.A.G.I. titled ‘Ishe’. It’s the 2nd track off his first album and is about his mother’s sacrifice and love for him. The video was directed by Adasa Cookey and the song was produced by Pheelz.