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Lionel Messi has revealed Ronaldinho told him to take his No.10 shirt months before the Brazilian left Barcelona in 2008. Ronaldinho joined Barcelona in 2003 and inherited the iconic number from Argentine midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme – who was sent on loan to Villarreal for two seasons. Lionel Messi has revealed Ronaldinho told him to take his No.10 shirt months before the Brazilian left Barcelona in 2008.  The Brazilian star left after six years with the club, scoring almost 100 goals in just over 200 appearances. And Messi revealed in an interview with Barca TV that Ronaldinho already promised him the No.10 shirt months before he announced he was leaving. “Before leaving the club (Ronaldinho) was coming off a few months where he was thinking about things,” Messi said. “He had it in his mind that he was leaving and he told me to have his number. “I took it without looking at what he had done with the shirt. If I did, I would not have taken it.” Messi

  The budget for the Federal Ministry of Transportation as contained in the 2016Appropriation Bill is over 1,000 per cent higher than what was approved for both the Transport and Aviation ministries in the 2015 Appropriation Act. President Muhammadu Buhari, while announcing the portfolios of his ministers, had merged the ministries of Transport and Aviation, but appointed a substantive minister for the ministry and a minister of state for aviation. Although the Federal Government had yet to spell out the actual amount meant for both sectors in the 2016 Appropriation Bill, an analysis of the bill showed that the N215.8bn budgeted for the Transportation ministry was 1,428.5 per cent higher than the combined budgets for the ministries of Transport and Aviation in the 2015 budget. In fact, the Transportation ministry’s budget for 2016 is N201.68bn higher than the combined budgets for the two former ministries this year. In the 2015 Appropriation Act, the Transpor

Tragedy struck on Friday when an inferno razed four buildings on First East Circular road in Benin, the Edo State capital. It was gathered that the fire started at about 12pm, when many Christians were still attending the Christmas service in their respective places of worship. Two residential buildings, a furniture showroom and workshop were affected in the fire. Although the cause of the disaster had yet to be ascertained by the appropriate authorities, at the time of filing the report, some eyewitnesses suggested that the fire might have been triggered by the storage of petrol in one of the rooms or the use of heavy firecrackers. “I suspect that somebody stored fuel or chemical. Otherwise, the fire would not have had such an impact,” one of them who identified himself as Mr. Ifeanyi, said. Sympathisers who thronged the scene of the incident to assist in putting off the fire described the disaster as a tragedy for the victims who had planned to celebrate

Suspected hoodlums on Friday disrupted the peace of fun seekers at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, the   News Agency of Nigeria reports . NAN  reports that many people who had come to the premises to spend the Christmas day lost their valuables during the incident which occurred between 4.30pm and 5pm The venue suddenly became chaotic as members of the public, who had come for relaxation and sightseeing took to their heels following the activities of the suspected hoodlums. But the Police at the National Theatre Post eventually apprehended some of the suspected hoodlums. Mr Philip Patrick, a 19-year-old student, told NAN that he just saw people running all over the premises of the theatre. “I came here with my siblings to spend the Christmas day. “We were having a picnic sort of, and all of a sudden, we saw people running in different directions; we also saw a ‘danfo’ bus moving speedily around the complex. “No one could really explain exactly what was happ

The Anambra Police Command said on Friday that eight persons died in Thursday’s explosion at a gas plant in Nnewi, near Awka. The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ali Okechukwu, told the News Agency of Nigeria that two bodies, a mother and her baby, were later recovered at a nearby building. Okechukwu also described as false the “alarming and misleading figure” of casualty put at over100 by the media. “After the incident, six persons were confirmed dead outside the perimeter fencing of the company. “Two other bodies of a woman and her child were later found dead in an adjourning building. “Six other persons who were seriously injured were also rushed to the University Teaching Hospital Nnewi, and later referred to the hospital in Enugu,” Okechukwu said. He explained that the fire might have occurred at the time when domestic gas was being dispensed to customers. “I think there was disconnect which led to the explosion,” Okechukwu said. He said investiga

Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has said that he will not subscribe to any move for the downward review of the present minimum wage, despite the financial hardship facing the state. He, therefore, reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to the welfare of civil servants, a statement by his media aide, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said on Thursday. Dickson maintained that rather than reduce the minimum wage, as being advocated in some quarters, his administration would do everything within its reach to create a more enabling environment for them to discharge their duties effectively. He restated his commitment to the training and re-training of public servants in 2016, adding that the development would promote human capacity building, which is one of the cardinal points of his administration. On the delay over the payment of December salary, Governor Dickson sympathised with workers on the development, explaining that up till the time of the briefing, the state was yet

Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, says Christmas has lost its moral relevance. The cleric said this in his Christmas message entitled, “Our hope does not disappoint us,” issued on Thursday. He said, “As the years have rolled by, Christmas has tended to lose its moral compass. This is a danger and a threat that we must address. The Chinese who do not believe in God have made the most out of Christmas by focusing on its economic value. “There is nothing wrong with this in principle. However, in reality, we must return to the spirit of what we are really celebrating. Jesus gave us a model in the circumstances of His own birth and life on earth.” The bishop said religion has not failed the world contrary to negative opinions about it. He said religion was not responsible for the hard times and insecurity being witnessed across the world. Kukah, however, said Christians should be blamed

SCORES of customers, who were stranded in some new generation banks on Thursday, have lamented their inability to get cash from most of the banks’ Automated Teller Machines. Though some customers, who succeeded in getting money, expressed surprise that they found it difficult to get money from the ATM a day to Christmas, a few others were lucky to be paid after trying for several hours. A customer, Philip Onyekachi, said he had been banking with one of the new generation banks for the past six years and had never been stranded until yesterday. Onyekachi told our correspondent that he had been trying to get money from the ATM to no avail, adding that none of the three ATMs at the bank was paying. Explaining that he was depending on using his ATM card to cash money for a last minute purchase of food items for the Christmas celebration, Onyekachi expressed disappointment that all the ATMs at the bank failed him. “I have been standing here for the past three hours to get money

Thousands of Muslims celebrating Maulud, which is the birthday of holy Prophet Muhammad, on Thursday escaped what would have possibly been an all-time record calamity, had some eagled-eyed vigilante operatives not intercepted five food flasks filled with bombs outside a popular Maiduguri mosque, reports Premium Times. A sign near a checkpoint of a vigilante group reads Civilian J.T.F or Civilian Joint Task Force in Maiduguri,. Young men and women have in recent weeks formed vigilante groups, hunting down Boko Haram Islamists who have sneaked back into the city following a military offensive on their camps on the Nigerian border with Niger, Chad and Cameroon with remarkable success. AFP PHOTO Five suspects believed to be members of Boko Haram loaded five big food flasks (otherwise known as coolers) on a hand-pushed cart and headed for Medinatu Mosques in the heart of Maiduguri, Borno state, where adherents of the Tijjaniya Islamic sect were marking the Maulud Nabiyi. Fortunatel

David Mark The Former Senate President, Sen. David Mark, has urged Nigerians not to write off the efforts the Federal Government is making to reposition the country in spite of the security and socio-economic challenges. Mark’s call is contained in a statement signed by his Media Assistant, Mr. Paul Mumeh and issued in Abuja on Thursday. He, however, advised the Federal Government to make the Nigerian people the focus of all its actions and policies in order to uplift the living standard of the citizens. The former senate president also urged the people to reciprocate government’s good gestures by being law-abiding. “We must at all times support constituted authorities as that is the only way to promote democracy, good governance, and development. “This period calls for sober reflection and a resolve to support the efforts of government to overcome the challenges,” the statement said. He noted that the current security, economic, and socio-political challenges

Porn star Rocco Siffredi, known as the “Italian stallion”, has launched a petition demanding sex education become mandatory in Italy’s schools and offered himself up as a teacher. “I wanted to launch this appeal because sex is a magnificent thing,” he wrote on the website that began collecting signatures on Tuesday.  “I put forth my name and my experience, I make myself fully available to go into Italian schools and personally promote this initiative,” the 51-year-old added. Despite efforts stretching back over a century and dozens of legislative proposals, sex education is not part of the curriculum in Italy’s schools.  The petition on change.org, addressed to Italian Education Minister Stefania Giannini, had gathered some 21,600 supporters by Wednesday. “Pornography should be entertainment, but due to lacking alternatives, it has become a means to learn, especially for young people,” he said. “I have been doing my work for 30 years and I have acquired enough experience to guar

The Former Senate President, Sen. David Mark, has urged Nigerians not to write off the efforts the Federal Government is making to reposition the country in spite of the security and socio-economic challenges. Mark’s call is contained in a statement signed by his Media Assistant, Mr Paul Mumeh and issued in Abuja on Thursday. He, however, advised the Federal Government to make the Nigerian people the focus of all its actions and policies in order to uplift the living standard of the citizens.The former senate president also urged the people to reciprocate government’s good gestures by being law-abiding. “We must at all times support constituted authorities as that is the only way to promote democracy, good governance, and development. “This period calls for sober reflection and a resolve to support the efforts of government to overcome the challenges,’’ the statement said. He noted that the current security, economic, and socio-political challenges in the country could be ov

Victor Osimhen could be the latest young player to be swayed by Arsenal’s state-of-the-art London Colney facilities after he was invited to the club for a trial. The Nigeria Under-17 starlet made his mark at the U-17 World Cup earlier this year, scoring 10 goals in 7 games to help the Super Eagles win the tournament, while also picking up the Golden Boot trophy himself. Speaking to footballlive.ng, Osimhen revealed that he has already received a substantial offer from Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg, but remains hopeful that Arsenal will also make an official bid shortly. “I spoke with the [Wolfsburg] coach who also made several promises and if I eventually choose to sign for them, I hope they’ll keep their word,” he said. “But I have not decided where to go yet because Arsenal are also showing strong interests and perhaps after my visit to the club, I will have a clear view of where I want to go. Vanguard.

  Publicity Secretary of Lagos PDP, Mr. Taofik Gani The Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party says the lingering fuel scarcity is the first Christmas gift to the people of Lagos by the All Progressives Congress. The Publicity Secretary of Lagos PDP, Mr. Taofik Gani, said this during an interview with our correspondent on Wednesday. Gani recalled that in his Christmas message last year, President Muhammadu Buhari, who was the presidential candidate of the APC at the time, promised Nigerians that that would be their last Christmas in darkness. The PDP spokesman, however, said since Buhari took over nearly seven months ago, things had deteriorated as petrol had become scarce. He said, “The first Christmas that Nigerians, especially Lagosians, will mark under the APC will go down in history as one of the worst due to the worsening fuel scarcity. The electricity supply which President Buhari promised last year has not come to pass and those who wan