Author: Chief Editor

Pep Guardiola says Manchester City have no time to soak up the plaudits during their record-breaking run as the Premier League leaders chase an unprecedented quadruple. City has set a record for an English top-flight team after reeling off 20 successive victories in all competitions. It is the third-best winning streak among teams in Europe’s leading five leagues, behind only Bayern Munich’s 23 in a row in 2020 and Real Madrid’s 22 successive victories in 2014. City are 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League, face a League Cup final date with Tottenham and remain in contention…

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty of corruption on Monday and handed a three-year prison sentence after a court in Paris convicted him for trying to illegally influence a judge during his time in office. The sentence includes two years suspended, which means it is unlikely Sarkozy will physically go to prison. He is almost certain to appeal and remains free, with no arrest warrant issued. The verdict is the latest twist in the tumultuous political career of the 66-year-old who ruled France from 2007 to 2012 and remains a favourite for many on the right. The conviction…

Nigeria’s former finance minister under the Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007) and Goodluck Jonathan (2010-2015) administrations, 66-year old Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, becomes Director-General of the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO) today, 1 March 2021 until August 2025. She will be the first woman and the first African to serve in the post. Nicknamed Okonjo-“Wahala” (“Trouble”) by Nigeria’s lively press, she is also widely known as “the Iron Lady” for her toughness as an anti-corruption crusader. As she menacingly warned: “I’m a fighter; I’m very focused on what I’m doing and relentless in what I want to achieve, almost to a fault. If you…

Manchester City’s lead at the top of the Premier League continues to grow as Pep Guardiola’s men have now won 20 consecutive games in all competitions, while the chasing pack struggle to maintain any consistent form. Manchester United’s 0-0 draw at Chelsea and Leicester’s 3-1 home defeat to Arsenal on Sunday, mean City now enjoy a 12-point advantage after seeing off West Ham 2-1 on Saturday. The Hammers remain in fourth thanks to Chelsea’s stalemate, but Liverpool, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Arsenal all won to tighten the race for a place in next season’s Champions League. City in league of…

The flurry of congratulations pouring into Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on her appointment as the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) effective March 1, 2021, clearly confirms the saying that “success has many relatives” and that “failure is an orphan”. Being the first woman and first African to be appointed to this exalted position, numerous messages have come from heads of states and governments, the European Union, African Union, various multilateral organisations and from key stakeholders within the country including President Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, governors of her home Delta State and…

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has advised the new Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Abdulraheed Bawa, to re-engineer and restore professionalism in the anti-graft agency. The party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, on Sunday in Abuja urged Bawa to avoid the pitfalls of his immediate predecessor. Ologbondiyan advised him to resist all partisan pressures to use the agency as a tool for political persecution, harassment of dissenting voices, settling of personal scores as well as for personal enrichment. He said that such tendencies eroded professionalism in the EFCC, compromised…

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has commended Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi on his efforts in providing security, good governance, and infrastructure building in the state. The Chief Press Secretary to Kogi governor, Mr Mohammed Onogwu, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja. Onogwu, who quoted Obasanjo as making the commendation when he met with the governor on Sunday in Abuja, added that the former president urged him to sustain the efforts. He stated that the meeting between Bello and the former president ended with fruitful discussion. Obasanjo while commending Bello for successfully tackling insecurity in the state, said…

Cases of domestic violence in Nigeria have taken an upward swing in recent weeks, especially the physical aspect of it. If it is not about a man beating, maiming or killing his wife, it is about a woman dealing with her husband in like manner. There have also been reports of a man stabbing his brother to death for wading into a feud between him and his wife and a woman beating and blinding her grandchild, among others. In most cases, the police nab and prosecute the culprits in accordance with the laws of the land. But that has not…

Romelu Lukaku scored after 33 seconds and then set up a second as Inter Milan beat Genoa 3-0 to extend their lead at the top of the Serie A table on Sunday. Inter are seven points ahead of second-placed city rivals AC Milan who are at Roma later Sunday, and 10 clear of champions Juventus, who were held 1-1 at Hellas Verona on Saturday and have played a game fewer. Lukaku scored with the first chance at the San Siro, then laid on Matteo Darmian for Inter’s second in the 69th minute. Alexis Sanchez came off the bench to add…

Manchester City’s centre-backs Ruben Dias and John Stones both struck as the Premier League leaders beat West Ham 2-1 on Saturday, while West Brom enlivened the battle to beat the drop with a controversial 1-0 win over Brighton in which the Seagulls missed two penalties. Pep Guardiola’s men are now 13 points clear thanks to a 20-game winning run in all competitions that has seen them close in on an unprecedented quadruple of trophies. For the first time in recent weeks, City showed signs of fatigue, though, and needed the dominant centre-back pairing that has been a huge part of…