Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

England and Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham has won the 2023 Golden Boy award – given to the best under-21 player in Europe’s top flights. Colombia and Real Madrid forward Linda Caicedo, 18, won the Golden Girl award. Bellingham, 20, moved from Borussia Dortmund to Real in the summer and has scored 13 goals in 14 appearances. This award comes after he was recognised as the best under-21 player in world football at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in October. “I’d like to thank everyone who has been part of my journey so far at Birmingham, Dortmund and now Madrid. It wouldn’t be…

Personnel of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Lagos Seaports and Marine Command have foiled an attempt to smuggle seven Nigerian girls to Burkina Faso. The Comptroller of Immigration, Lagos Seaports and Marine Command, Malam Mohammed Saddiq, disclosed this at a media conference in Lagos on Friday. According to Saddiq, the girls were intercepted on Nov. 12, at about 19.00 hours. He said that the prime suspect, Miss Helen Dandam Nanbyen, 26, hails from Wadata village in Wase Local Government Area of Plateau. “The suspects have been under the command’s radar for about two months following intelligence gathered by our operatives.…

The Court of Appeal has sacked Labour Party (LP) candidate, Olukayode Doherty, as the winner of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Amuwo-Odofin II Constituency election. The court upheld an earlier ruling by the Election Petition Tribunal, which sacked Doherty and declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Rauf Age-Suleiman, as the winner of the election. The tribunal had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to present Sulaiman with the certificate of return as the winner of the election. The court held that the Electoral Act 2022 does not allow a candidate to be declared winner if the candidate did…

Everton have received an immediate 10-point deduction after being found to have breached the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules. The punishment is the biggest sporting sanction in the competition’s history and leaves Everton 19th in the table on a new total of four points. The club said it was “both shocked and disappointed” by the “wholly disproportionate and unjust” ruling. Everton have said they intend to appeal against the decision. The Premier League referred Everton to an independent commission in March but did not reveal the specifics of the club’s alleged breach. Everton posted financial losses for the fifth successive year…

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the remand of Godwin Emefiele, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to Kuje Correctional facility pending the ruling on his bail application. The Federal Government had arraigned the former bank chief on a six-count amended charge, accusing him of alleged procurement misconduct. The original charge, which was 20 counts to the tune of N6.5 billion, was reduced to six, to the tune N1.6 billion. Emefiele was arraigned before Justice Hamza Muazu on Friday due to the nationwide strike, which stalled his arraignment on Wednesday. Mathew Burkaa, SAN, his counsel,…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has presented a Certificate of Return to Imo Governor, Hope Uzodinma. The certificate was presented to Uzodinma after the electoral body declared him the winner of the Imo governorship election on November 11, 2023. The event held at Rockview Hotel Owerri on Friday attracted several dignitaries, including All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains. Uzodinma was re-elected for another four-year term after securing the highest number of votes in the election. He received 540,308 votes, while the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came in second with 71,503 votes. The results announced by INEC showed that…

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has sacked Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf. The panel upheld the Tribunal’s verdict led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay, which sacked Yusuf on September 20, 2023. During the March 18, 2023 election, Yusuf of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) was declared the winner by the Independent National Electronic Electoral Commission (INEC) with 1,019,602 votes, surpassing Nasiru Gawuna’s 890,705 votes. However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) took the matter to the Tribunal, alleging electoral malpractice. Subsequently, a three-man panel, including Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay, along with two other judges, removed Yusuf from office on…

The Appeal Court, Abuja Division has affirmed the victory of the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, in the March 18 governorship election. The panel of three justices was unanimous, awarding no cost as the court ruled that each party to the matter should bear their costs. The All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, had challenged the judgment of the election petition tribunal, which affirmed the re-election of Mohammad of the PDP. The presiding justice read the judgment in the order of the appellant’s plea before the appeal court. On plea…

The Zamfara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has assured that the party would still secure a landslide victory in the event of a rerun election in the state, as directed by the Court of Appeal. Buhari Maijega, the State’s PDP spokesman, expressed this optimism during a telephone interview with newsmen in Gusau, the state capital. He confidently stated that Governor Dauda Lawal would emerge victorious in the rerun election. Maijega highlighted that Lawal was leading by over 65,000 votes against his opponent from the APC, former Governor Bello Mattawalle, in the previous governorship election. He emphasized that…

Malawian president, Lazarus Chakwera, has imposed a travel ban on himself and his government to cut public spending and help the country’s ailing economy. BBC reports that the Malawian president announced the move after the International Monetary Fund (IMF), approved a $175-million loan for the southern African nation. “I am imposing a freeze on all publicly funded international trips for public officers at all levels until the end of the financial year in March,” Chakwera said in a televised address late on Wednesday. According to the report, It means the former evangelical preacher will skip a scheduled attendance at the…

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, has said that the country can no longer afford to rely on borrowing to fund the 2024 budget. Edun stated this on Thursday when he appeared before the joint Senate Committee interrogating the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper chaired by Senator Sani Musa. Edun opined that the best way Nigeria can fund it’s annual budget is to spend more money on infrastructure. He insisted that Nigeria already has a borrowing profile and the focus should be on how to put an end to deficit financing.…

Coalition of Civil Society Organisations for Democracy, has urged the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, to resume his responsibilities without further delay or transfer power to his Deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa. The Convener of the group, Tunji Asaolu, while addressing a press conference on Thursday in Abuja, expressed concern over Akeredolu’s prolonged absence from Ondo State and called on all relevant authorities to ensure a seamless transition of power from Akeredolu to his deputy. He noted that the state cannot afford to be without effective leadership and demanded swift action to rectify the situation, stressing that the intent of the framers of…