Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

The naira yesterday depreciated to N1,030 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,010 per dollar on Wednesday. However, the naira appreciated in the Investors and Exporters, I&E, window yesterday to N759.2 per dollar. Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for the I&E window fell to N759.2 per dollar from N776.8 per dollar on Wednesday, indicating N17.16 appreciation for the naira. Consequently, the gap between the official and parallel market exchange rates widened to N270.8 per dollar yesterday from N233.2 per dollar on Wednesday.

Scotland’s bid to reach Euro 2024 was agonisingly prolonged after suffering their first defeat of the campaign on a frustrating night in Spain. Needing a point to reach consecutive European Championships, a combination of steely focus, last-ditch blocks and some Spanish profligacy was eventually cancelled out by Alvaro Morata’s ghosting run and header deep into the second half. Just minutes earlier Scott McTominay triggered revelry among the Scots as he lashed a wonderous free-kick past Unai Simon, only for the goal to be ruled out after a VAR review. Scotland’s anguish would be compounded in the closing moments as Spain…

Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun has commended the Nigerian military for shunning anti-democratic acts, describing democracy as a necessity for all societies. Adeleke gave the commendation during the visit of the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Taoheed Lagbaja, to his Ede country home on Thursday. The governor, who condemned what he described as democratic setbacks in some parts of Africa, called for the strengthening of democracy instead of an unnecessary coup d’etat. According to him, the Nigerian military is a thorough professional service that upholds respect for the constitution while serving as a protector of the democratic process and national stability.…

Several people were trapped in multiple tanker accidents in Lagos on Thursday night. Upon arrival at the incident scene at SIFAX inward Costain, a pile up of vehicles including two petrol tankers was found to be ablaze, according to emergency authorities. Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr. Dr Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, said: “Further investigations revealed that one of the tankers was ascending the bridge when it rolled back onto the other tanker and other vehicles. The collision impact resulted in the fire.” He stated that the number of people trapped in the inferno could not…

Former Spain manager Jorge Vilda has been appointed head coach of the Morocco women’s team. Vilda led Spain to the Women’s World Cup title in the summer, when they defeated England 1-0 in the final. However, the 42-year-old was sacked within a month amid the fallout from the Luis Rubiales scandal. He replaces Reynald Pedros, who helped Morocco qualify for their first Women’s World Cup in 2023 and guided them to the last 16, where they lost to France. “The Royal Moroccan Football Federation contracted the Spanish coach Mr Vilda to coach the women’s national football team in the next stage,” the Moroccan…

The Super Eagles Of Nigeria have been drawn in Group A of the Total Energies Africa Cup Of Nations along with hosts Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau. The draw ceremony which kickstarted at about 19:00 GMT took place in Abidjan, the Ivorien Capital and had in attendance, former Super Eagles captain, Mikel Obi alongside Ex-Chelsea and Ivory Coast Striker Didier Drogba, Senegal’s Sadio Mane and Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi. Ivory Coast will host the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations tournament, which is scheduled to kick-off in January 2023. Nigeria will face Guinea Bissau again, after already meeting each other…

UEFA has postponed Israel’s European Championship qualifying game against host Kosovo that was due to take place on Sunday. The decision by European football’s governing body comes after Hamas, an Islamist militant group that governs Gaza, launched a deadly attack on Israel on Saturday. Israel formally declared war on Hamas a day later. The conflict has claimed more than 2,500 lives on both sides and injured thousands. UEFA said in a statement on Thursday that the game in Pristina cannot be played “because the Israeli authorities currently do not allow their national team to travel abroad.” Israel are now two games behind schedule in a tight qualifying…

The House of Representatives has screened President Tinubu nominees to the Board and Management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), who appeared before the House Ad-hoc Committee mandated to conduct the screening on Thursday. They are Chiedu Ebie NDDC Chairman (Delta), and Samuel Ogbuku, Managing Director/CEO (Bayelsa) respectively, who shared their details of respective career trajectories and vision for the commission. The designates confirmed include Mr. Boma Iyaye, ED, Finance & Admin (Rivers); Mr. Victor Antai, ED, Projects (Akwa Ibom); Hon. Ifedayo Abegunde, ED, Corporate Services (Ondo); Senator Dimaro Denyanbofa (Bayelsa); Mr. Abasi Ndikan Nkono (Akwa Ibom); Rt. Hon. Monday Igbuya…

The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman has warned members of the academia and the university community over matters of sexual harassment on campuses, adding that the Federal Ministry of Education will deal decisively with perpetrators of such acts. A statement signed by Director Press and Public relations, Ben. Bem Goong on Thursday, stated that the Minister gave the warning when he received the report of the committee on alleged sexual harassment by Professor Cyril O. Ndifo, Dean, faculty of law of the University of Calabar. Mamman, said, sexual harassment is a serious criminal offence and must be dealt with…

The Defence Headquarters says troops have killed 50 terrorists and apprehended 114 others within a week in various operations across North-East, North- Central and North-West. The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, made this known while briefing newsmen on the operations of the Armed Forces, on Thursday in Abuja. Buba said the troops also rescued 49 kidnapped hostages within the week. He said troops of Operation Hadin Kai in the North East had sustained onslaught against Boko Haram and Islamic States of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists, leading to the surrender of some of their fighters in Borno and…

Napoli have held talks with Italian manager Antonio Conte to see if he would be interested in taking on the manager’s role at the club, as they consider sacking Rudi Garcia. Italy national team manager Luciano Spalletti won the Partenopei their first Scudetto since 1990 before deciding to leave the club at the end of the season. He has since taken on the job of managing the Azzurri. Napoli sought out a number of candidates to replace Spalletti, including PSG boss Luis Enrique, before deciding on former AS Roma manager Rudi Garcia. Garcia has not had the best start to life at the…

Real Madrid have reached an agreement with both Eduardo Camavinga and Federico Valverde over new contracts. The 14-time Champions League winners are also close to announcing a new deal for star winger Vinicius Junior and it’s likely that his extension will be confirmed before Madrid’s home game with Sevilla on 21 October. Led by the evergreen Carlo Ancelotti, Madrid have enjoyed a fine start to the post-Karim Benzema era, winning eight of their nine La Liga games thanks to the genius of summer signing Jude Bellingham. They have also picked up wins in their first two Champions League group games, with the former…