Author: Chief Editor

Liverpool eased past RB Leipzig into the Champions League quarter-finals with a 2-0 win in Budapest Wednesday that coach Jurgen Klopp said helps his side put their Premier League woes to one side. Repeating their rapid-fire double act from the first leg, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane again struck within four second-half minutes to give the Reds a 4-0 aggregate win and keep alive Liverpool’s hopes of rescuing their miserable domestic season with European glory. After six successive defeats at Anfield and dropping to eighth place in the Premier League, Klopp’s men looked relieved to be away from home, with…

Moves to investigate revenue agencies over shortfalls The Senate Committee on Public Accounts, yesterday, said it had uncovered a N120 billion differential in subsidy payment to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA). Relying on the 2016 query raised by the Auditor-General of the Federation, Aghughu Adolphus, the lawmakers said the subsidy sum captured in the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) was N443 billion, whereas the record presented by the PPPRA read N563 billion. The report read: “The amount in FAAC records at Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAGF)…

Lionel Messi scored one stunning goal but then had a penalty saved as Barcelona failed in their attempt to produce a second Champions League comeback for the ages against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, a 1-1 draw taking the French side through to the quarter-finals 5-2 on aggregate. Kylian Mbappe netted a hat-trick as PSG stunned Barca 4-1 in the first leg last month, and he extended their advantage in this last-16 tie by netting a first-half penalty in the second leg to put last season’s runners-up ahead on the night. But Messi made it 1-1 with a ferocious strike from…

• Clark gives FG seven-day ultimatum to hand over money • Falana urges FG to toe same line when it returned monies to Plateau, Bayelsa • SERAP seeks clarification over planned use of Ibori loot, says over $600m Abacha loot was earmarked for same projects • Pay returned money to Delta varsity students, Sowore says The House of Representatives, yesterday, directed the Federal Government to halt the spending plan of the recovered £4.2 million Ibori loot and ensure that the money once returned by the United Kingdom (UK) is handed over to Delta State. This was the resolution reached after…

Governors of South-south states have demanded the upward review from 2.5 per cent to 10 per cent of oil revenue payments to host oil communities. The chairman of the South-South Forum and Governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, stated this on Monday night at the end of the South-South Governors’ meeting in Port Harcourt. Okowa said the 2.5 per cent stipulated in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), now before the National Assembly for the host communities, was inadequate. “We are of the view that while we welcome the Host Community Trust Fund, we do believe that 2.5 per cent…

The House of Representatives at plenary Wednesday, urged the Federal Ministry of Finance to stop further appropriation or disbursement of the recovered £4.2 million which was looted by former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, pending the final determination of the matter by the House. The House also declared that the money belongs to the Delta State Government. The lower chamber also requested the Federal Ministry of Finance and Attorney General of Federation (AGF) to furnish it with all particulars relating to the recovered money. It also directed the House Committees on Finance, Justice, Loans and Recovered Funds to investigate…

Neymar will miss Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League last 16-second leg against Barcelona on Wednesday after failing to shake off a thigh injury, the French champions confirmed. PSG said on Tuesday the Brazil attacker would continue to train individually and would be assessed again “in the coming days”. “We have not had to make a decision, it is simply the state of fitness of a player, in this case ‘Ney’, who can’t make it,” coach Mauricio Pochettino said during a virtual press conference ahead of the game at the Parc des Princes. “He is not fit enough to play a competitive…

Edinson Cavani said he was proud to wear the Manchester United shirt after his father claimed the Uruguay striker was unhappy in England and wanted to finish his career in South America. Luis Cavani told media in Argentina on Tuesday that the 34-year-old star was eyeing a possible move to Boca Juniors later this year. “(Edinson) today does not feel comfortable where he is,” Luis Cavani told Argentine television channel TyC Sports. “He has been thinking for more than two years that he wants to be closer to the family.” Luis Cavani said his son was also unhappy with his…

Pep Guardiola says he may not be able to give Sergio Aguero much time on the pitch before his contract is due to end as Manchester City chase an unprecedented quadruple. The club’s record goalscorer, 32, is back in contention after a season ravaged by injury and illness but is short of match fitness and there is little opportunity for the City boss to ease him back into action. There is growing uncertainty over the Argentine forward’s future, with his current deal expiring at the end of the season. Asked if he hopes Aguero stays longer at the Etihad, Guardiola…

The Delta State government yesterday faulted the decision of the federal government to spend the £4.2 million forfeited by associates of a former governor of the state, Chief James Ibori, on the completion of the Second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano Expressway and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway under the coordination of the Nigeria Social Investment Authority (NSIA). Delta Elders’ Forum (DEF), led by a former Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, also opposed the plan of the federal government to use the funds to complete roads in other states when federal roads in the state are in deplorable condition. The forum also found…