Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

Napoli bounced back from last weekend’s loss to Lazio to continue their apparent cruise towards the Serie A title with victory over Atalanta. Luciano Spalletti’s side were kept quiet in the first half by an Atalanta side who defended in numbers. But second-half goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Amir Rrahmani secured their 22nd league win of the season. Napoli are now 18 points clear at the top of the table with 12 league games left. Atalanta sit in sixth. Victor Osimhen, Serie A’s top scorer with 19 goals, twice came close to an opener after the break but saw a…

The Young Teranga Lions of Senegal, on Saturday, defeated their Gambia counterparts 2-0 to lift their first-ever Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations trophy at the Cairo International Stadium, Egypt. Goals from forward Sulaymane Faye and midfielder Mamadou Camara were all the team needed to secure Senegal victory over their Gambian neighbours. The Senegalese side zoomed into Saturday’s final with a 100 per cent record, winning all their matches without conceding a goal. The Young Teranga Lions were playing their fourth Under-20 AFCON final, having finished runners-up in 2015, 2017 and 2019. Malick Daf’s tutored side have followed in the footsteps…

Erling Haaland’s second-half penalty was enough to earn Manchester City a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Haaland’s league-leading 28th top-flight goal this season was redemption for a squandered opportunity before the break that saw the Norwegian striker fire over the crossbar from close range. Palace did well to frustrate the visitors for 78 minutes but were undone after Michael Olise brought down Ilkay Gundogan to earn the spot-kick. The result snapped a four-game unbeaten streak at home for the hosts, who remain in search of their first win in 2023. City swiftly took control after kick-off, Rodrigo…

Real Madrid came from behind to cut Barcelona’s lead at the top of LaLiga to six points, with Vinicius Junior, Eder Militao and Marco Asensio scoring in a 3-1 win over Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabeu. Madrid entered Saturday’s game having gone three matches without a win, and they threatened to lose further ground in the title race when Joselu’s early strike put Espanyol ahead. However, a solo effort from Vinicius Junior swiftly levelled things up, before Militao nodded home at the back post to put the hosts on top before half-time. Asensio escaped in behind to net a third late…

The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has described Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, as the hero of the just-concluded February 25 presidential election. Wike made the statement when he addressed a town hall with Igbo traders in Port Harcourt on Saturday. He said despite Obi not having been declared the winner, his participation in the election ensured a southerner emerged as the President-elect. According to Wike, Obi recorded victories where the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, would have won, thereby retaining power in the North. “In this election that we just did,” he said, “Obi is…

As the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in Anambra State struggles with the Labour Party, LP, for the control of the political soul of the state, the presidential candidate of LP in the February 25 election, Mr. Peter Obi has insisted that he has no problem with the state governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo. Obi’s position came on the heels of a statement credited to Soludo that constituencies that do not produce APGA members during Saturday’s House of Assembly election, would not be enjoying the dividends of democracy as lawmakers from such constituencies would only be paid their salaries, while…

The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Alkali Baba, has presented cheques of N16 million to families of police officers who died in active service in Kogi. The IG made the presentations through the Kogi Commissioner of Police, Akeem Yusuf, who was represented by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Administration: DCP Abel Audu at the Command’s Headquarters in Lokoja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports in Lokoja that the N16 million cheques were presented to the next of kin of 28 Police Officers who died in active service in the state.. Baba explained, “this gesture is part…

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi on Friday gave more insight into the tragic accident involving a train and bus conveying the staff of the Lagos State government to their respective places of work. Abayomi who spoke alongside the Lagos State Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola and the Chief Medical Director of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabamwo, said that a total of 102 people were involved in the train and bus collision that claimed six lives. He explained that two of the victims died at the scene of the accident, while four…

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu has said the allegation that he rigged the presidential election could lead to a lawsuit. The electoral chief issued a reply to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, after the leadership, on Friday, asked him to resign. The opposition charged the police and the Department of State Services, DSS, to investigate the chairman over alleged manipulation of election results. A statement by Yakubu’s Press Secretary, Rotimi Oyekanmi said the call was misplaced and challenged the PDP to prove its claims in court. The spokesperson wondered why the party did not…

Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, 25, has been named Premier League Player of the Month for the third time this season, equalling a record held by Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah. Salah set the bar for most Player of the Month awards in a single season in 2017-18. Rashford won the award in September, January and February, scoring four goals in five games last month. Erik ten Hag was named Manager of the Month for the second time. Rashford has now been named Player of the Month four times in his career and topped a six-man shortlist for February which included Kelechi Iheanacho,…

Union Saint Gilloise forward, Victor Boniface has scooped the UEFA Europa League Player of the Week award. Boniface beat Manchester United midfileder, Bruno Fernandes, Roma’s Paulo Dybala and Bayer Leverkusen centre-back, Edmond Tapsoba to the individual accolade. The 22-year-old scored a brace in his Belgian Pro League outfit, Union Saint Gilloise 3-3 draw against Bundesliga club, Union Berlin on Thursday night. UEFA announced the Nigerian striker winner of the award on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “Victor Boniface wins #UEL Player of the week! ⚽️,” reads a tweet on UEFA website. He has scored five goals in the competition…

Flying Eagles of Nigeria have clinched bronze at the ongoing U-20 African Cup of Nations after defeating Tunisia 4-0 in the Third-place play-off on Friday. This will be the third time in history Nigeria have finished third-placed at the competition. The Ladan Bosso led side saved their best performance for the last as this was their biggest win in the competition. Ibrahim Muhammed got the Flying Eagles ahead, scoring the opening goal barely nine minutes into the game. The Tunisians, however, ensured that the Flying Eagles didn’t increase their lead going into the halftime break. Coming into the second half,…