Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

Barcelona remain third in La Liga after a late own goal rescued a draw at Rayo Vallecano. Trailing at the break to Unai Lopez’s stunning strike, Barca dominated the second half but missed good chances. They finally got their reward when Florian Lejeune bundled into his own net under pressure from Robert Lewandowski. Barcelona made six changes from the side that came from behind to beat Alaves before the international break, with goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen an absence through injury. His replacement, Inaki Pena, looked shaky from the off and was beaten by Lopez’s ferocious right-foot effort midway through the…

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s late equaliser gave Liverpool a point at Manchester City in the meeting of the Premier League’s top two at Etihad Stadium. In a game that did not touch the heights of previous encounters between the main domestic powers of recent times, reigning champions City led when Erling Haaland was the beneficiary of Liverpool keeper Alisson’s poor clearance. It made him the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League goals – in his 48th match – and gave City an advantage they held until the closing stages. Ruben Dias thought he had added City’s second, only to see his…

Paris St-Germain warmed up for a vital Champions League tie against Newcastle by beating Monaco 5-2 to go four points clear at the top of Ligue 1. Goncalo Ramos put the hosts ahead, but Gianluigi Donnarumma’s clearance fell to Takumi Minamino and he levelled. Kylian Mbappe’s converted penalty restored the lead for PSG, who scored twice more in the second half through Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha. Folarin Balogun scored for Monaco, but Randal Kolo Muani added PSG’s fifth. Mbappe’s goal against his former side was his 14th of the season in the league and came after Soungoutou Magassa fouled Dembele…

The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, Friday said the Students’ Loan Application system was being designed in a way that there is no interface between the loan administrators and the beneficiaries. Gbajabiamila reiterated that efforts were underway to ensure the take-off of the scheme in January 2024 to ensure that Nigerian students could access the loan “to fund their educational aspirations.” He spoke in Lagos on Friday while delivering the lecture titled, “Empowering Nigerian Youths in the Present Day Economy” at the 35th convocation ceremony of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH). Gbajabiamila said that to make the…

Newcastle United and Chelsea will look to make winning returns to Premier League action following the international break when they clash at St James’ Park on Saturday. The pause for national team fixtures came at a good time for Newcastle, who were suffering a brutal injury crisis and coming off the back of two straight defeats in all competitions, while Chelsea will have been frustrated by the interruption, having finally built up some momentum over the previous weeks. Mauricio Pochettino’s side come into Saturday’s game having lost just one of their last eight in all competitions, aided by the fact…

The Premier League returns after the international break on Saturday, and it does so with a bang as rivals Manchester City and Liverpool battle for top spot in a mouthwatering early kick-off. With just a solitary point separating these two giants after 12 games, who will come out on top? A decade of competition between Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp in Germany and England has seen them face each other more often than either has faced another manager in their respective careers (28 times). Klopp’s 11 wins in those matches are more than any other manager has recorded against Guardiola. The City…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the police to immediately withdraw from the Ondo State House of Assembly premises in Akure, the state capital. Tinubu gave the order at a meeting with the embattled Ondo Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, State lawmakers and All Progressives Congress (APC) members, who converged on the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday night. The police withdrawal was one of the decisions reached after nearly six hours of deliberations between the president and Ondo officials to resolve the political crisis in the state. Recall that police operatives had been stationed in the premises of the Ondo Assembly after lawmakers served…

Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Yemi Cardoso said yesterday that the apex bank will soon introduce a new set of foreign exchange laws and guidelines to address naira depreciation and achieve exchange rate stability. The CBN, according to him, will also conduct a new recapitalisation exercise for the banking industry, by directing banks to increase their minimum capital base to a level sufficient to support the vision of a $1trillion economy. Cardoso also disclosed that the CBN will introduce a new licensing framework for fintechs and payment banks, warning that operators found engaging in activities outside their…

A total of 1.63 million Nigerians out of the 1.8 million persons currently living with HIV in the country are on Antiretroviral treatment, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS ( NACA), has said. Director-General of the agency , Dr Gambo Aliyu, stated this Friday while briefing newsmen ahead of this year’s World AIDS Day, Nigeria has the second-largest burden of HIV infection. Aliyu said Nigeria like many other countries has made significant strides in the fight against HIV/AIDS, adding that there is however still much to be done to achieve the goal of ending AIDS as a public…

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 2.54 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms in the third quarter of 2023. This growth rate was higher than the 2.25 per cent recorded in the third quarter of 2022 and higher than the second quarter 2023 growth of 2.51 per cent. The performance of the GDP in the third quarter of 2023 was driven mainly by the Services sector, which recorded a growth of 3.99 per cent and contributed 52.70 per cent to the aggregate GDP. The agriculture sector grew by 1.30 per cent, from the growth of 1.34 per cent recorded in…

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike,  has directed existing landowners with Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) to re-certificate them. Speaking on a live television programme monitored by Daily Trust in Abuja, Wike said the new C of O would require a National Identification Number (NIN) and Bank Verification Number (BVN). The minister said since assumption of office, he had refrained from signing C-of-Os because of the need to introduce enhanced security measures. He said the new C of Os would cost individuals N50,000 and corporate bodies, N100,000 each. He said, “There are a lot of discrepancies,…

Pep Guardiola has asked for patience before deciding whether Manchester City are guilty of breaches of financial rules but insists he’s more likely to stay at the club “if we are in League One than if we were in the Champions League.” Everton’s 10-point penalty for one breach of the Premier League’s financial rules has opened the door for City to receive an even harsher punishment if the 115 charges made against them in February are proved. Guardiola, however, said the cases are “completely different” but confirmed he would stay on as manager if City were relegated or expelled from the league. “You are questioning like…