Author: David Great

President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo has stated that the reason Nigerians have not received palliatives from the Bola Tinubu administration is because the government is slow. Osifo, who is one of the labour leaders that has been negotiating with the federal government to provide succor to citizens since the removal of fuel subsidy, noted that the subcommittees of the Presidential Steering Committee appointed by Tinubu have failed to meet its timeline. Three subcommittees, the Mass Transit, the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), and the Cash Transfer subcommittees, were expected to be present to inform the Steering Committee…

Chelsea are attempting to negotiate a cash-plus-player deal to bring Paris St-Germain and France forward Kylian Mbappe, 24, to Stamford Bridge this summer. (Record) Arsenal are exploring a deal to sign Brentford’s 27-year-old Spanish goalkeeper David Raya. (Athletic – subscription required) Bayern Munich are also set to step up their efforts to sign Raya after having a loan offer rejected. (Guardian) Manchester United and England forward Marcus Rashford, 25, has said he considered leaving the club before manager Erik ten Hag arrived last summer. (Athletic – subscription required) Senegal winger Sadio Mane, 31, is expected to have a medical with Al-Nassr on Monday after they agreed a £24m deal to sign him from Bayern…

In a major clampdown on the use and sale of illegal drugs, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has nabbed several key figures, including a well-known artist’s manager and a successful businessman, for distributing illegal drugs in upscale clubs across Lekki and Lagos Island. According to a statement by NDLEA’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, the agency’s robust action follows a crucial tip-off regarding a shipment of Colorado, a potent strain of cannabis, from Los Angeles. The first suspect arrested on Sunday, July 23, was Oseni Abdulraheem Ayodeji Babatunde, a prominent figure in the Lekki entertainment scene. Babatunde confessed to his…

Chelsea won the maiden Premier League Summer Series pre-season tournament after beating Fulham 2-0 at FedEx Field in Maryland, Washington. Chelsea captain Thiago Silva headed the Blues into the lead after a delicious corner from defender Ben Chilwell. They doubled their lead just before half-time as Christopher Nkunku pounced on the rebound of Carney Chukwuemeka’s shot. The goal was Nkunku’s third pre-season strike since joining for £52m move from RB Leipzig. Fulham did not provide much of an attacking threat although Calvin Bassey, playing for Fulham for the first time since his £19m move from Ajax, headed over from a…

Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has told the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) not to ridicule the fragile economy of Nigeria by embarking on the August 2, 2023, nationwide strike. In a video accompanied by tweets, Kalu on Sunday urged the NLC to give President Bola Tinubu’s government more time to get things right. Kalu reckoned that things are difficult for the rich and even more difficult for the poor and that the new government is trying to revive the economy. “I sincerely appeal to the Nigerian Labour Congress( NLC) not to ridicule the economy with their proposed strike,” Kalu wrote on…

Liverpool are in talks with Paris St-Germain over a loan move for France striker Kylian Mbappe after the 24-year-old rejected a world record £259m move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal. (Sunday Mirror) Real Madrid have set a price limit of 230m euros (£198m) to land Mbappe from PSG on a permanent basis. (Marca – in Spanish) Liverpool remain in negotiations with Southampton over their 19-year-old Belgium midfielder Romeo Lavia after seeing an initial bid of £34m plus £4m in add-ons rejected. (Liverpool Echo) Music mogul Jay-Z is preparing to bid for Tottenham if the club’s owner Joe Lewis is convicted of alleged fraud and insider trading. (Sunday Express) Bayern Munich remain confident of completing…

Chelsea have rejected Juventus’ loan approach for Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, 30, because they want to sell him permanently. (Tuttosport – in Italian) Chelsea are interested in three attacking midfielders – Crystal Palace’s France Under-21 international Michael Olise, 21, Lyon’s French 19-year-old Rayan Cherki and Ajax’s 22-year-old Ghana international Mohammed Kudus. (Football London) Bayern Munich have opened talks with Brentford over a deal for their 27-year-old Spain goalkeeper David Raya, with the German champions’ Switzerland keeper Yann Sommer, 34, discussing a move to Inter Milan. (Sky Sports) Bayern have also accepted a bid from Al-Nassr for 31-year-old Senegal forward Sadio Mane. (Fabrizio Romano) Tottenham have rescheduled a meeting with Bayern officials for Monday to discuss the potential sale of England forward Harry…

Nigeria labour unions stormed out of a meeting with the Nigerian government Presidential Steering Committee on subsidy palliatives at the Aso Rock in Abuja, Friday evening. Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) led union leaders to the office of the Chief of Staff (CoS), Femi Gbajabiamila but were seen leaving the venue shortly after. The government delegation and the steering committee met on Wednesday, and the two parties decided to meet again on Friday to hear updates from the three subcommittees formed to look into various issues. The government created the group to develop palliatives for workers…

Fulham have completed the signing of Nigerian international Calvin Bassey from Ajax Amsterdam on a four-year contract, the London club announced on Friday. The Premier League club reportedly paid £21 million for the 23-year-old defender who can play as a left full-back and on the left side of the central defence. Bassey previously played for Rangers, winning the SPL and Scottish Cup and featured in the 2022 Europa League final when they were beaten on penalties by Eintracht Frankfurt. “I know how big a club Fulham is,” Bassey told the club’s TV channel. “They always have quality players, they’re playing…

W. Africa historically major market for European petrol Gasoline flows redirected after fuel subsidy scrapped Some Mideast, Russian flows move to WAF, but still small One of Europe’s main markets for gasoline has shrunk, threatening to squeeze European refiners, after Nigeria removed fuel subsidies, which destroyed much of the country’s domestic demand and a regional market for smuggled fuel. North America and West Africa (WAF), with Nigeria at the helm, historically have been the top two destinations for petrol exports from Europe, which produces more gasoline than it uses, meaning its refiners rely on exports to support profit margins. A…