Daniel Sturridge is reportedly a doubt for England’s friendly against Australia after missing training on Wednesday, paving the way for Marcus Rashford to make his debut on Friday. The Daily Mirror and the Daily Mail report Sturridge, 26, waLiverpool striker Sturridge made 14 Premier League appearances this season, scoring three goals, while Rashford made 11 appearances, netting five times. Sturridge has 17 caps to his name for England and five goals but faces competition for his place in the squad from Jamie Vardy, Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney and Rashford. Midfielder Eric Dier said of Rashford: “It’s a bit of a…
Author: David Folami
Manchester United’s move to appoint Jose Mourinho as manager has been complicated by the fact that Chelsea still own the copyright to the Portuguese’s name, despite sacking him in December. Mourinho is widely expected to be announced as the successor to Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford within a matter of days after the Dutchman’s sacking was confirmed on Monday, and earlier this week sources said that United have assured Mourinho he will have final say on all transfers. But United must first resolve several issues relating to Mourinho’s image rights, chief among them the fact that Chelsea retain the…
Pele has named Lionel Messi at the top of his list of all-time best players, ahead of Diego Maradona, while saying he was almost brought to tears by Brazil’s World Cup defeat to Germany two years ago. Brazilian legend Pele was in Milan promoting a film about his life and he spoke to La Gazzetta della Sport about his favourites from past and present, with Argentina and Barcelona star Messi topping that list. “It’s very difficult because there have always been players who have been compared with me [as the best player ever],” Pele said. “First there was [Alfredo] Di…
Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has expressed surprise at Mario Gotze’s decision to stay at the club and urged the Germany international to reconsider his plans. Gotze, 23, is about to enter the final 12 months of his contract with Bayern and it was widely expected that he would leave the club this summer, with Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund potential destinations. The attacking midfielder endured a disappointing three-year spell under Pep Guardiola at Bayern, and it appeared there was no way back after a phone call with incoming coach Carlo Ancelotti was made public earlier this month. It was reported…
Manchester United are prepared to kick-start the Jose Mourinho era with a sensational £54 million bid for Atletico Madrid’s mercurial midfield talent Saul Niguez, says the Mail. In a move that would send waves around Europe after Saul’s pivotal role in Diego Simeone’s side’s run to the Champions League final in Milan this Saturday, United will break the bank for one of Europe’s best young players after losing out to Bayern Munich for Renato Sanches. Saul recently extended his deal with Los Colchoneros for five more years, which saw his wages jump to £80,000-per-week. United will have to now meet…
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, Wednesday, described the recent increment in the pump price of petrol as one of the gifts of President Muhammadu Buhari to Nigerians to celebrate his one year in office, saying the president’s one year in office as “a colossal waste.” In a statement titled; “Petrol Price Increment as Buhari’s 1st Year Anniversary Gift to Nigerians” which he personally signed, the governor said the Federal Government was indirectly collecting N58.50 naira tax from suffering Nigerians on each litre of petrol they buy.” The statement read; “Despite his electoral promise to reduce petrol pump price from…
The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo is expected to address the world at the inaugural Horasis Global Meeting and 2nd international festival for Business to be coordinated by Stratex Pro in Liverpool, United Kingdom between the June 13th to 15th, 2016. The Vice President will equally engage in plenary sessions and bilateral meetings in the course of his visit to the country. The event is a part of a three week long event series of the International Festival for Business hosted by the UK Government. It is aimed at advancing solutions to the most critical challenges facing corporations and governments…
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Wednesday, disclosed that some Fulani herdsmen had been arrested with various firearms following the recent killings of farmers in parts of the state. Ortom, who spoke when he hosted members of the Movement Against Fulani Occupation, MAFO, in Makurdi noted that those apprehended were being investigated. The governor said it was regrettable that in spite of the massive destruction of lives and properties in several local government areas across the state by the herdsmen, not even one person had been arrested for prosecution. According to him: “If the arrests and prosecution of those culpable…
The Federal Government says it spends N165 billion on salaries and allowances every month. Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja, at a joint meeting with the security chiefs of paramilitary agencies under the Ministry of Interior on continuous audit and migration from manual to automated payment system. The minister, who lamented the continuous leakages and wastages that characterized Federal Government’s payment system, said that the government can no longer afford such a huge amount of money which is characterized by continuous leakages and wastages in the prevailing circumstances. Adeosun, said that the meeting was a…
THE trial of the embattled National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh before the Federal High Court in Abuja was stalled yesterday as the defendant was said to have been admitted at the National Hospital. Metuh is answering to a seven-count charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, entered against him and his company, Destra Investment Limited. The defendants were alleged to have prior to the 2015 general elections, received N400million from Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, without executing any verifiable contract. Metuh was absent at the resumed sitting on the matter…
THE Federal Government will today resume negotiation with the Ayuba Wabba-led faction of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, following Sunday’s suspension of its nationwide industrial action to force government to reverse the pump price of petrol to pre-May 11 price of N86.50 from the current price of N145 per litre. The government had earlier insisted that until the faction called off its strike, there would be no further negotiations after both parties have failed to reach agreement at their last meeting on Tuesday May 17. It would be recalled that the government had earlier reached an agreement with both the Joe…
A former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Abubakar Lawal Yar’Adua, bought a posh house worth £890,000 in London using a secret offshore company he registered in the British Virgin Island. Documents retrieved from the Mossack Fonseca and exclusively obtained by German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and shared by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) with other media organisations around the world, indicated the offshore company to be Hydrocarbon Assets Investments Limited. Yar’Adua bought the house in 2008, while serving as the Group Managing Director of NNPC. He became NNPC GMD in August 2007, and was…
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi on Tuesday appealed to Nigerians to be patient and give the administration more time to achieve its objectives. Making the appeal while answering questions at the forum of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, Amaechi said: “We encountered challenges; were we expecting to encounter those challenges? yes; did we think that we will meet the quantum or volume of those challenges? “We didn’t anticipate that things were this bad. We thought you go to government and there would be money for you to run government and others. “Now you have the situation…
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigeria made a costly mistake by depending on oil as the sole mainstay of the economy without diversification. The president said that the country was in for the worst times for failing to save or diversifying its economy, which he said, has been greatly affected by the crash of oil prices. Speaking while bidding the outgoing Iranian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Saeed Koozechi, farewell in Abuja, President Buhari said he was convinced that with greater diligence, hard work and patriotic determination, Nigeria would now achieve self-sufficiency in most of the goods on its import…
A state of emergency has been declared in the tomato sector in Kaduna state, northern Nigeria, local media report. A moth called the Tomato Leaf Miner, or Tuta Absoluta, has ravaged 80% of tomato farms, Commissioner of Agriculture Daniel Manzo Maigar said. He said 200 farmers together lost at least 1bn naira ($5.1m; £3.5m) over the past month. The price of a basket of tomatoes has increased from $1.20 less than three months ago to more than $40 today. In Nigeria, officials declare a state of emergency to indicate they are taking drastic action to deal with a problem, the…
Former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti believes Jose Mourinho and Manchester United can be “a good wedding.” Mourinho, 53, is expected to be confirmed as the new United boss by the end of the week after Louis van Gaal left the club on Monday. United could only finish fifth in the Premier League under Van Gaal last season, though they did lift the FA Cup. That wasn’t enough to save Van Gaal, who came in for much criticism for the team’s style of play. Ancelotti sympathises with the Dutch coach, who he feels had a difficult job handling the rebuilding process…
Dancehall artiste, Cynthia Morgan has just blessed her followers with a make-up free photo. Well known for her heavy make-ups and colourful hair, the ‘German Juice’ crooner wants fans to see her in another light. She took to Instagram today, May 25, 2016 to share a shot of herself with a clean face. “Very few people get to see me like this,” she said, adding, “I thought I share with my Madrins today. People that mean everything to me after my family. You guys give me hope, strenght and joy to continue each day.Thank you Madrins I love you all.…
Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh-Churchill, today, May 25, 2016 showered words of praise on her step mother. Describing her as the best mum ever, the mum of one showered encomium on her for playing her motherly role with a ‘heart of gold’ and wanting nothing other than greatness for all her step-kids. She shared the photo above writing, “My WCW goes to my Wonderful step ma, She happens to be the best mom ever.Never judging and ever ready to protect,Pray and love .. Her devotion to the family is next to none,In a country were step moms are far from great…
The latest record label CEO in the land, Ice Prince has explained the direction and focus of his newly launched label, Super Cool Cats. The rapper who hinted during a radio interview last week that he’s not been under contract with Chocolate City for the past three years has now launched his personal label with the support of Choc City. Explaining what the label would be about, Ice Prince said, ‘Super Cool Cats is beyond a music label, we are into fashion, music and art. We are already working with fashion designers, video directors etc. It is in fact a…
Not many can boast of a look that defies the natural process of ageing nor maintain a youthful tenacity through many decades. But eclectic Yeni Kuti, the first child of legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, continues to somehow defy the odds. As she turns 55 today, May 24, Yeni can be credited as having captured the legacy of her father by birthing the annual Fela-celebration (Felabration), a music festival worthy of international reckoning. Yeni – a singer, dancer, fashion enthusiast and journalist – continues to play a pivotal role in the society, as she is a regular part of the…