News
Liverpool Face Wounded Man City As Premier League Title Race Heats Up
Published
4 months agoon
By
Editor
Liverpool’s charge towards the Premier League title has slowed ahead of a trip to Manchester City on Sunday, giving Arsenal hope of closing in on the leaders.
The Gunners can move to within five points of the Reds should they see off lowly West Ham at the Emirates.
Behind the top two, the race is on for a place in next season’s Champions League.
Only six points separate third-placed Nottingham Forest from Newcastle in seventh before they face off at St James’ Park.
AFP Sports looks ahead to the pick of Premier League action this weekend:
Liverpool’s title test
Arne Slot’s men appeared to be cruising towards a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title.
However, two 2-2 draws at Everton and Aston Villa in the past 10 days have brought the title race alive again.
READ ALSO: ‘How Liverpool Can Cope With PL Title Nerves’ – Van Dijk
But Manchester City, the dominant force in English football during the last decade, were outclassed by Real Madrid in midweek as they crashed out of the Champions League before the last 16 stage for the first time since the 2012/13 season.
The English champions may also be without Erling Haaland, who did not get off the bench at the Santiago Bernabeu due to injury.
But Pep Guardiola’s men showed what they are still capable of in a 4-0 thrashing of Newcastle last week and are in need of points themselves in the top-four race.
“They’ve had maybe one or two months in the seven or eight years he’s (Guardiola) there now that weren’t the best, maybe partly because of injuries as well,” said Slot.
“Injuries come back, they’ve signed three or four players, I can see them coming back already if you look at the result against Newcastle.”
Arsenal have the chance to up the pressure when they face West Ham 24 hours earlier.
Mikel Arteta’s side will be without a recognised striker for the rest of the season but have won 23 points from a possible 27 to remain in the race.
“If we constantly look at Arsenal or what other teams are doing, that would not help us,” added Slot.
READ ALSO: Chelsea To Play Man City In Women’s Champions League
“We already know how difficult it is to go to the Etihad, so we don’t need Arsenal to get involved in that even more.”
Chelsea crisis
Chelsea need to bounce back quickly if they are to retain hope of Champions League football next season.
The Blues flirted with a title challenge towards the end of 2024 but have won just twice in their last nine league games and crashed out of the FA Cup.
Manager Enzo Maresca said his side’s meek 3-0 defeat by Brighton last weekend was the worst performance of his tenure to date, amid concerns star man Cole Palmer could leave without the lure of the Champions League.
Chelsea travel to Aston Villa on Saturday, whose own hopes of a top-four finish are starting to fade.
Unai Emery’s men pushed Liverpool all the way in a four-goal thriller on Wednesday but find themselves down in ninth, five points off the top four, due to an inconsistent season.
Nottingham Forest’s acid test
Not in their wildest dreams could Nottingham Forest fans have imagined sitting third in the table with just 13 games to go.
READ ALSO: EPL: Why Liverpool Failed To Beat Man Utd – Klopp Reacts To 0-0 Draw
However, they face a stern test of their credentials to make it back to European football’s elite competition for the first time in 45 years.
Forest visit Newcastle on Sunday before hosting Arsenal and Manchester City in their next two home league games.
Newcastle have suffered back-to-back league defeats either side of their League Cup semi-final heroics against Arsenal, with Magpies manager Eddie Howe annoyed by his side’s see-saw form.
“I think we have days where we can look far from the team that we are when we’re on it,” said Howe. “It’s a real frustration for us because to be an elite team, you’ve got to be consistent.”
Fixtures (all times 1500 GMT unless stated)
Friday
Leicester v Brentford (2000)
Saturday
Everton v Manchester United (1230), Fulham v Crystal Palace, Ipswich v Tottenham, Southampton v Brighton, Bournemouth v Wolves, Arsenal v West Ham, Aston Villa v Chelsea (1730)
Sunday
Newcastle v Nottingham Forest (1400), Man City v Liverpool (1630)
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The Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) has announced the sale of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) for N100 billion.
AMCON’s Managing Director/CEO, Gbenga Alake, disclosed this at a media parley on Thursday.
Apart from IBEDC, AMCON also manages other distribution companies, including the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Benin Electricity Distribution Company, Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, and Kano Electricity Distribution Company.
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Alake said, “Today, I announce to you that Ibadan DisCo has been sold. When we came in, it had already been sold, but we renegotiated the price and got almost double of what it was initially going to be sold for.”
Regarding ongoing legal issues, Alake stated, “We have sold it, and whatever is still happening in court, we will face it.”
However, officials of IBEDC did not respond to inquiries about the sale.
News
Alleged Extortion: Abuja Court Strikes Bash Ali’s N500bn Suit
Published
4 hours agoon
July 3, 2025By
Editor
Justice Peter Kekemeke of an Abuja High Court on Thursday struck out former boxer Bash Ali’s suit for being “statute barred”.
Ali had instituted the suit against former Sports Minister and the National Sports Commission, Sunday Dare and Attorney General
Delivering a ruling on the preliminary objection by the defendant in the suit, Kekemeke held that the case was no longer valid because the time limit for bringing it to court had passed, as defined by a statute of limitations.
READ ALSO: I Went From Millionaire To Zeronaire, Bash Ali Laments At 68
“From the piece of evidence before the court, there is none pointing that the first defendant signed a contract.
“The suit was filed on Oct. 10, 2021, three months before the claimant’s counter affidavit; his case did not fall into the expectation known in law, and the cause of the act accrued on May 20, 2020, is statute barred.
“The notice of preliminary objection succeeds; the case is consequently struck out.”
Ali had in his suit prayed the court for an order declaring that withdrawal of support given to him was illegal.
READ ALSO: ‘Don’t Take Bash Ali’s Threats For Granted’, Sports Minister Begs Police For Protection
He prayed for an order of the court directing the first defendant to retract the defamatory matter published against him.
All further asked the court for an order of the court directing the first defendant to resume their support.
He also asked for N500 billion for loss of income, among other demands.
The defendants in the case are Sunday Dare, then minister of youth and sports development; the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development; and the Attorney General of the Federation.
(NAN)

The Nigerian Medical Association has issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to meet its demands to avert industrial action in the health sector.
The association, in a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, expressed disappointment and condemned the circular on the consequential adjustment of allowances under the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure for medical and dental practitioners in Nigeria.
A copy of the speech of the NMA President, Prof Bala Audu, made available to our correspondent, noted that the association rejected the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission’s circular (SWC/5/04/5.218/III/646), dated June 27, 2025, on the review of allowances for medical and dental officers in the Federal Public Service.
Prof Audu said the circular from the NSIWC violated previous Collective Bargaining Agreements with the government, adding that the recent development had worsened already existing tension among doctors who had remained committed to serving in Nigeria despite ongoing challenges.
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“The Nigerian Medical Association expresses grave disappointment and unequivocally condemns the circular purportedly issued to address the consequential adjustment of allowances under the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure for medical and dental practitioners in Nigeria.
“The circular is grossly inadequate, misleading and constitutes a flagrant violation of the spirit and letter of the agreements painstakingly reached during the collective bargaining process between the NMA and the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“We want to bring this to the attention of Mr President, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR), the National Assembly and the general public whom we are under oath to always protect and promote their well-being.
“We reject this new circular in its entirety and demand a new circular that reflects previous agreements reached,” Audu said.
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He stressed that the principles of fairness and justice must guide the adjustment of allowances as previously agreed.
He further noted that while the association had submitted the correct salary structure table as requested by the relevant government bodies, it was disappointed to find it was disregarded.
“Our demands include but are not limited to the immediate withdrawal of the circular on review of allowances for medical/dental officers in the federal public service dated 27th June 2025; immediate correction of consequential adjustments in line with the agreements of 2001, 2009, and 2014 CBAs; immediate correction of the relativity agreed between CONMESS and Consolidated Health Salary Structure and compliance with relativity in all professional allowances in accordance with the 2001 CBA, particularly regarding call duty allowances, and the payment of all accrued backlogs.
“The immediate settlement of all outstanding arrears of 25/35 per cent CONMESS, clinical duty and accoutrement allowances owed to medical and dental practitioners; the immediate payment of Medical Residency Training Fund for 2025, and review of the MRTF to reflect prevailing economic realities; the immediate convocation of the long-overdue Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations on CONMESS; the immediate release of the circular on clinical duty and other allowances for honorary consultants as agreed in January 2024.”
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The association also demanded the implementation of scarce skills allowances for medical consultants; approval of specialist allowances for all doctors; approval of excess workload allowances for all doctors; and adoption of relativity in all professional allowances in accordance with the 2001 CBA, particularly regarding call duty allowances; compliance with CBA of 2021 on hazard allowances; implementation of subsisting CONMESS circular of 2024 for house officers; and universal application of the CONMESS across all federal and state Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to combat internal brain drain.
The doctors also demanded the immediate reversal of the appointment of other healthcare professionals as consultants in hospitals, citing patient safety and the need to maintain medical care standards.
The NMA President stressed that the association had consistently engaged in dialogue with relevant government agencies and the Federal Ministry of Health in good faith, and remained committed to continued dialogue as long as their rightful entitlements were appropriately addressed.
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“As a responsible and responsive association that understands and respects values, we have painstakingly and repeatedly engaged in dialogue with the relevant agencies of government and the Federal Ministry of Health.
“We have exhibited so much goodwill and intend to continue the same as long as we get our appropriate and timely dues.
“We hereby expect that attention will be given to our demands within the next 21 days to avert disruption in the health services rendered to the Nigerian people,” he concluded.
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