UkoLight

 David de Gea is being pushed to settle his new contract with Manchester United in the coming  months. The Sun says De Gea has a deadline of the end of the year to sign a new contract. The Spanish goalkeeper’s current deal expires in 2019 but United are expected to take up the 12-month option to protect their asset. Talks over a new deal with De Gea have been ongoing for some time with the offer on the table believed to be worth around £375,000-a-week. However, the contract still hasn’t been signed with the likes of PSG, Barcelona and Real Madrid thought to be keeping tabs on the situation. United are running out of patience and have set De Gea a deadline of the turn of the year.

The Delta State government has confirmed the death of a 75-year-old woman as a result of Lassa fever. The state government in a statement signed by the Director of Information, Paul Osahor, said the incident occurred after the woman fell sick and went to the General Hospital, Umuolu, Ndokwa East Local Government Area (LGA) on Saturday, August 18, 2018. She was then referred to the Central Hospital, Kwale, Ndokwa West LGA the following day, August 19th and from there was further referred to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba on August 24, 2018. At the FMC, Asaba, the victim’s blood sample was taken to Irrua Specialist Hospital, Edo State for test but she died on August 29, 2018 the same day the hospital in Irrua received the lab result which was confirmed positive to the Lassa virus. The state government has therefore advised residents in the state not to panic, “as the Ministry of Health officials are on top of the situation, doing contact tracing on those who...

This combination created on October 1, 2018 of a file picture taken on September 18, 2014 in Taipeh shows Tasuku Honjo (L) of Japan and James P Allison (R) of the US. James P Allison of the US and Tasuku Honjo of Japan won the 2018 Nobel Medicine Prize for research that has revolutionised the treatment of cancer, the jury said on October 1, 2018. PHOTO: SAM YEH / AFP Two immunologists, James Allison of the US and Tasuku Honjo of Japan, won the 2018 Nobel Medicine Prize for research into how the body’s natural defences can fight cancer, the jury said on Monday. Unlike more traditional forms of cancer treatment that directly target cancer cells — often with severe side-effects — Allison and Honjo figured out how to help the patient’s own immune system tackle the cancer more quickly. The pioneering discoveries led to treatments targeting proteins made by some immune system cells that act as a “brake” on the body’s natural defences killing cancer cells. The Nobel Assem...

Aaron Ramsey plans to stay at Arsenal for the rest of this season and not make a cut-price January move after the collapse of contract talks with the Premier League club. Arsenal could attempt to cash in on the 27-year-old midfielder in the January transfer window, with top Premier League, La Liga and Serie A clubs reportedly monitoring the situation. But Ramsey, who is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, said: “I am contracted to Arsenal and I am going to do my best now this season to try and achieve something special. “Everything has been going great with the club. We thought we were in a position where we had agreed a deal but that’s no longer the case. “So I just have to carry on playing my football and do my best for Arsenal this season and I’ll leave the rest with the club now.” The Wales international, who scored a stunning back-heel effort in Arsenal’s 5-1 win at Fulham on Sunday, has scored 59 goals in 338 appearances for Arsenal since jo...

  Arsenal’s French defender Laurent Koscielny eyes the ball during the UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg football match against Atletico at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid on May 3, 2018. GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP Arsenal centre-back Laurent Koscielny, who missed France’s World Cup triumph in Russia due to injury, said on Sunday his international career was “finished”. The 33-year-old had intended to retire from France duty following the tournament, but the defender was ruled out of Didier Deschamps’ squad for the finals after rupturing his Achilles tendon in May. “The injury is one thing, the World Cup win is another. I think the victory certainly hurt me much more psychologically than my injury,” Koscielny told Canal Plus. “The World Cup will remain a dark stage of my career and my life.” “I think I’ve given what I could to the France team. I’m 33 now. I’ve been to two Euros, a World Cup. For me, my injury hasn’t changed anything,” he said. “I...

The Presidency yesterday denied releasing the names of the 50 persons placed on travel ban over corruption cases. The Federal Government had on Saturday announced the banning of 50 high profile persons from traveling abroad over corruption cases.  The ban was sequel to the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari for the full implementation of Executive Order 6 Daily Trust reports that in the statement announcing the ban, there was no names of the affected persons. However, a list has been on circulation in some national dailies (excluding this paper). Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said the presidency has not released any list and won’t do so. “On the so-called list you asked for confirmation, I want to confirm to you that we have not issued any list and we are not doing so, “ he said. Describing the Executive Order as revolutionary, he said its very essence was to make for speedy trials and conclusion of graft cas...

… shifts 2019 budget submission to November The federal government yesterday said it is not feasible to achieve the January -December fiscal circle in 2019. A Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) will however be submitted this month, while the 2019 budget estimates will be presented in November. The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, disclosed this while speaking exclusively to Daily Trust yesterday in Bali, Indonesia, venue of the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. He said the delay in submitting the documents to the National Assembly was due to the long recess embarked upon by the National Assembly. “Now that they resumed, we are submitting the MTEF first this month and the budget next month,” the minister said. He said the 2019 elections would not distract the implementation of the budget, because the president has ordered that the economic team should sustain the tempo in the economic r...

President Muhammadu Buhari has enjoined Nigerian politicians who feel aggrieved over the just concluded primaries to put the stability of the country first before their political ambitions and accept the decision of their political parties or seek resolution through party reconciliation mechanisms or the law courts President Buhari gave the advise at an interfaith initiative for peace conference on Religious Harmony held in Abuja on Saturday. The President appealed to religious leaders in the country to steer clear from partisan politics to avoid the risk of losing their status and public respect. President Buhari told the religious gathering that under his watch, Nigeria has moved on from the era of free money, lack of transparency and accountability, noting that a better future lies ahead for the country. The interfaith conference is a religious initiative aimed at preaching the gospel of peace and unity as Nigeria prepares for another round of general elections next yea...

Suspected political thugs loyal to one of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirants in Kwara state physically attacked the correspondent of the Daily Trust newspaper, Romoke W. Ahmad, on Thursday in Ilorin over allegation of bad publicity against their principal. The correspondent was beaten by hoodlums at the party’s secretariat where she went to cover a protest rally. She lost valuables in the incident. It took intervention of her colleagues and law enforcement agents at the scene to ensure safety of the journalist as the political thugs allegedly aimed to inflict severe injuries on her. Narrating her experience, Ahmad said the thugs allegedly acted on the instruction given to them by the brother to the governorship aspirant one Muhammed Kudu, who was at the scene. She said she was deceived to attend and cover a rally organised by the Abdullahi Yaman support group. She added that Kudu was earlier seen discussing with the thugs and pointing at...

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the Federal Government’s ban of 50 Nigerians from travelling abroad is a direct clampdown on democratic order. In a statement on Saturday, the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, described the restriction as an attempt by the Buhari Presidency to foist a full-blown fascism on the country. “We hope this is not a ploy to harm certain eminent Nigerians on the claims of resisting travel restrictions. The PDP further notes that this “decree” is a direct clampdown on our democratic order and an overthrow of rights of our citizenry as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended),” the statement read in part. The party also stated that the presidency has gone into panic mode since the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the PDP presidential candidate. Read Also: FG Bans 50 Prominent Nigerians From Travelling Abroad It, therefore, stressed that any attempt to clamp down on the opposition will be totally unaccepta...

Why I attended Atiku, Obasanjo reconciliation meeting (Gumi) From left: Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah; former President Olusegun Obasanjo; PDP Presidential Candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; and Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi at the end of a meeting between Obasanjo and Atiku in Abeokuta, Ogun State yesterday The Kaduna State based Islamic scholar, Sheik Ahmed Gumi, has explained why he attended the reconciliation meeting between former president Olusegun Obasanjo and his estranged former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar. Gumi, in a chat with Daily Trust on Sunday in his house in Kaduna, said he acted true to Islamic injunctions by making himself available to a process meant to ensure peace. He said, “It was the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad that whenever you are invited for a peace or reconciliation meeting even between Muslim and non-Muslim, the Prophet said you should attend it because Islam is concerned abo...

  The Federal Government has banned 50 persons from traveling abroad over corruption cases The ban followed a directive by President Muhammadu Buhari for the full implementation of Executive Order 6. The Nigeria Immigration Service and other security agencies have been directed to place the 50 persons on their watch-list, pending the determination of their corruption cases. The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, in a statement, said following the instant judicial affirmation of the constitutionality and legality of the Executive Order 6 (EO6), President Buhari has mandated the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to implement the Order in full force. “To this end, a number of enforcement procedures are currently in place by which the Nigeria Immigration Service and other security agencies have placed no fewer than 50 high-profile persons directly affected by EO6 on watch-list and rest...

The serving deputy governor, Barrister Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, who is at present gunning for Jigawa North East senatorial district was dropped as a deputy governor after he served in same capacity for terms under two different governors. Hadejia, served under Saminu Turaki and Badaru each for a term. Earlier, it was learnt that Namadi’s name was chosen yesterday, after a marathon meeting of stakeholders in the state. The spokesperson to Badaru, Bello Zaki, confirmed the nomination to Daily Trust.