Author: Chief Editor

Juventus Sunday night clinched a record-extending ninth successive Serie A title as they defeated Sampdoria 2-0 in Turin. Mathematically, second-placed Inter Milan can only get to 82 points, one fewer than Juventus’s current tally of 83. Atalanta, Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 31st league goal of the season from Miralem Pjanic’s short free-kick in first-half injury time and Federico Bernardeschi sealed the victory after 67 minutes. Maurizio Sarri’s side are the only team to win nine consecutive titles in one of Europe’s top five leagues. It extends their own record, which Bayern Munich had matched in June. Ronaldo missed the chance…

*Frank Lampard’s Chelsea beat Wolves to finish fourth Manchester United secured a place in the Champions League at the expense of Leicester City with a 2-0 victory at King Power Stadium. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side needed a point from this decisive final-day meeting to confirm a place in the top four – and break the hearts of the Foxes, who were in a Champions League spot for so much of the season. Leicester needed victory once Chelsea took command at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers but their dreams were dashed as Bruno Fernandes scored a 71st-minute penalty after Anthony Martial tumbled…

The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, yesterday asked the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 election, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, to rise above cheap politics in his criticisms of the state’s Prosperity Bond unveiled last Wednesday. Adisa, in a statement made available to THISDAY in Ibadan, said the former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has a duty to the people of Oyo State and Nigerians in general to make sound inputs into economic debates and justify that he truly merited a seat at the…

In the cesspool of corruption and continuous A-grade drama that is Nigeria, only a handful of names have stood out to tell a different story, not only in Nigerian circles but across global scene. One very prominent name to reckon with is the iconic name of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who through sheer hard work and pristine service has risen to the ranks of a national hero. She is a woman of reckoning across the world, sitting on many seats without breaking them, standing at many a podium, accepting heavy responsibilities and handling them all with classy aplomb, thus deserving the…

•Dismisses alleged false asset declaration as untrue Suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, yesterday denied alleged misappropriation of N329 billion recovered for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and another N3 billion recovered for the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Magu spoke through his lawyer, Mr. Wahab Shittu, and said he remitted N329 billion recovered from fuel marketers direct to the NNPC. He also dismissed an allegation that he falsely declared his assets, saying the Justice Ayo Salami-led presidential panel, probing allegations of malfeasance against him has never confronted him with such…

•He is confused, says Nwaoboshi •Tunji-Ojo: Allegation spurious Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has finally picked up the gauntlet thrown down by the National Assembly to name lawmakers who got contracts from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The minister, in a document attached to his response to the threat by the House of Representatives to sue him over the allegations that federal lawmakers were the major contractors of NDDC, listed four senators as receiving 74 contracts from the commission between 2017 to date. He also accused the Chairman of the House Committee on NDDC, Hon. Olubunmi…

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu repeated on Sunday that he had “no doubt” that Lionel Messi would sign a new contract but added that the coronavirus lockdown had reduced club revenue by 30 percent and would limit transfer activity. “Messi has said many times that he wants to retire here and I have no doubt that he will re-sign,” said Bartomeu in an interview published by Barcelona’s sports newspaper Mundo Deportivo. Messi’s contract expires in June of 2021 and local radio station Cadena Ser reported at the start of July that the Argentine had broken off talks with the club.…

It’s time for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to open a new chapter in its chequered history, writes Samuel Ajayi When the suspended acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, was arrested and made to face the Presidential Panel that was set up to look into allegations of mismanagement of recovered assets, many thought it was truly about time the anti-corruption body was subjected to the kind of Spanish inquiry it had always subjected citizens caught in its dragnet to. Magu and his EFCC were accused of under-reporting recovered loots and also auctioning and…

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent Freedom of Information (FoI) requests to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, urging them to urgently publish all reports of completed public hearings and corruption probes by the National Assembly since the return of democracy in 1999. SERAP also urged them to disclose the number and details of public hearings and corruption probes by the National Assembly that have resulted in any indictment of suspects, and to name such suspects. In the FoI requests dated 25 July, 2020 and signed by SERAP…

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi reportedly wants Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa at Camp Nou. What does the future hold for Quique Setien at Camp Nou? Setien replaced Ernesto Valverde in January, however, the ex-Real Betis head coach saw Barcelona dethroned as LaLiga champions by bitter rivals Real Madrid. After leading Leeds United back to the Premier League, Marcelo Bielsa is reportedly wanted by countryman Lionel Messi. https://twitter.com/TheSunFootball/status/1287141130774159360 TOP STORY – MESSI URGES BARCA TO SIGN BIELSA Lionel Messi has called for Barcelona to replace Quique Setien with Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa, according to The Sun. Bielsa guided Leeds to the Premier League for the first…