Man United team news: Huge blow for Solskjaer as key man is ruled out of Cardiff and Huddersfield fixtures

Manchester United’s new interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been handed his first selection headache, as Romelu Lukaku is ruled out until December 30.

According to the Daily Mail, the Belgian striker has been absent at the Carrington training ground this week, having been granted compassionate leave. He is now expected to miss the club’s next two fixtures against Cardiff City and Huddersfield but will return to duty officially on Boxing Day.

This latest news will come as a huge blow to Solskjaer, who was appointed as the club’s 

new head coach on a caretaker basis until the end of the season earlier in the week, 

The Norwegian would surely have hoped to have his strongest squad to choose from for the trip to Cardiff, where he will need to get off to a good start with three points to start gaining the trust of the fans in his new role.

The Daily Mail reports that Lukaku should be ready to play against Bournemouth on at the end of the month, but between now and then United will have to make do without a recognised centre-forward.

FACT-CHECK: Verifying President Muhammadu Buhari’s Claims In 2019 Budget Speech - Politics -

FACT-CHECK: Verifying President Muhammadu Buhari’s claims in 2019 budget speech



Babatunde Akintunde

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday, December 19, presented the 2019 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly.

In his speech, he made a number of claims and quoted statistics, while reviewing economic developments over the past three and a half years.

Most of the figures claimed are being examined by PREMIUM TIMES and DUBAWA, to verify the level of correctness. It must, however, be noted that many of assertions made on expenditure are difficult to verify as there are no documents in the public space to verify.

This is the reason we have had to tag some of the claims as “unproven” due to lack of data.

We will, however, keep researching to update this work in the coming days.

The president made the following claims in his presentation:

First claim: The economy has recovered from recession and we have had six quarters of growth since then. Real Gross Domestic Product growth stood at 1.81 per cent in the third quarter of 2018, compared to 1.17 per cent in the third quarter of 2017.

We have had a sustained accretion to foreign exchange reserves from a low of $28.57 billion in May 2015 to $42.92 billion by mid-December 2018.

This has contributed to exchange rate stability and will provide a buffer against any unanticipated external shocks. Inflation has also declined from a peak of 18.72 per cent in January 2017 to 11.28 per cent in November this year.

Verification: When did Nigeria exit recession?

The driver who was shot during the attack that led to Alex Badeh's death is alive and recuperating - Nigerian Navy

The Nigerian Navy has issued an official statement to address some issues surruonding the death of former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh.

According to the Navy, the driver who was wounded in the attack is alive and recuperating as investigation into the incident is substantially progressing.

The statement reads, 'the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has noted, with dismay, some erroneous reports and comments in the media regarding the unfortunate incident that led to the death of former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, on 18 December 2018. Some of these reports erroneously state that the driver of the late former CDS, who was also shot during the incident, is dead. Other reports allege that adequate security was not provided for the deceased Air Chief Marshal'.

How ASUU strike will affect preparations for 2019 polls - INEC explains

The Independent National Electoral Commission has raised alarm that the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities would affect its preparations for the 2019 elections.

On November 5, 2018, ASUU began an indefinite strike action over the failure of the Federal Government to implement three areas in the Memorandum of Action it signed with the union on September 14, 2017.    

On Thursday, a National Commissioner for INEC and Chairman of its Information and  other Education Committee, Festus Okoye, expressed concerns about the effect of the ASUU  strike on the 2019 elections  during the opening of a one-day seminar on media gender sensitive reporting.

Remy Ma reveals she's back home after suffering post-pregnancy complications

Remy Ma is back home and recovering after having post-pregnancy complications that led to an emergency surgery.

The rapper revealed that the worse is over and thanked all the hospital workers who took care of her and her baby girl.

See what she wrote on Instagram below.

Manchester United vow to deliver £179m superstar transfer to Zinedine Zidane as club step up talks with Champions League winner

Manchester United have begun talks with former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane over becoming their long-term replacement for Jose Mourinho.

Following reports from AS today that Zidane is mulling over an offer from United, with sources close to him suggesting he’d like his next job for next season to be in the Premier League, CaughtOffside understands potential transfers have already been discussed between the club and the Frenchman.

Although there was plenty of tension between Mourinho and United over player recruitment, it’s understood that Ed Woodward and other key figures are more willing to back Zidane in the market.

Mourinho was dismissed from his job this week and CaughtOffside understands this decision has been met with almost unanimous relief among players and staff.

There seems to be the feeling that a different manager would be more worth investing in than the Portuguese, who had been given plenty to spend already but failed to get anything like acceptable levels out of many star names like Alexis Sanchez, Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku.

Interpol Issues Arrest Warrant For Allison-madueke As FG Commences Extradition - Politics -

Adelani Adepegba, Abuja
The International Police have issued an arrest warrant for former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke following a request by the Federal Government to the agency.

An impeccable source stated that the necessary charges had been filed and attached to the extradition request by the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

By this request, all Interpol member countries were obliged to arrest the former minister anywhere she is seen on their territories.

Madueke had been holed up in London, United Kingdom for over three years.

Attached to the extradition request, our correspondent gathered, was the November 4, 2018 order for her arrest by Justice Valentine Ashi of the FCT High Court.

The court had directed the Inspector-General of Police; the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Director-General of the State Security Service and all heads of other agencies to apprehend the ex-petroleum minister.

The judge further directed that the order which was signed by the court registrar, E. Balami, should be attached to a warrant for execution on Madueke.