Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

The Super Eagles and Atalanta forward, Ademola Lookman, has expressed optimism over choosing Nigeria at the international level over the Three Lions of England. The 25-year-old attacker was born in Wandsworth, South West London to Nigerian parents. Although, he represented England at the youth level before switching his allegiance to Nigeria following the FIFA approval to play for Nigeria on February 10, 2022. In an interview with an Italian news platform, L’Eco di Bergamo, Lookman insisted that he is happy with the decision to represent the three-time African champions. I have no regrets, I took the right decision. This is my…

The National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has declared a State of Emergency on bleaching after establishing that Nigeria today has been ranked first in cases of bleaching, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director General of NAFDAC, raised the alarm on the menace of bleaching creams in Nigeria, saying the problem has become a national emergency that calls for serious attention. She stated this while flagging off a media sensitization workshop on Dangers of Bleaching Creams and Regulatory Control organized by the Association of Nigerian Health Journalists in Kano on Thursday. She added that 77 percent of those…

The National Universities Commission, NUC, has directed the closure of all universities and inter-university centres between February 22nd and March 14. NUC said there would be no academic activities during the shutdown. The announcement was contained in a statement signed by the Deputy Executive Secretary (Administration), Chris Maiyaki. According to the statement, the decision followed concerns about the security of staff, students and the universities’ properties during the general elections scheduled from February 25 – March 14. The Commission said the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, gave the directive following consultation with relevant security agencies.

The Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service has confirmed that it will deploy the use of WhatsApp, a social media platform and the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data service to enhance less cost effective method of payment of tax. The Executive Chairman of the state revenue service agency, Dr. Zaid Abubakar, made this known on Wednesday during a public-private dialogue on revenue generation drive. The dialogue was organised by a Civil Society Organisation, Tax Justice and Governance Platform, in collaboration with KADIRS and supported by Christain Aid. He noted that WhatsApp platform, used primarily for social engagements, would ease taxpayers the stress…

Africa’s quest for a third Club World Cup final appearance ended after European champions Real Madrid beat Egypt’s Al Ahly 4-1 in the semi-final on Wednesday. Al Ahly’s well organised defence capitulated as Vinicius Jr opened the scoring three minutes before half-time with Federico Valverde doubling the lead just after the break. The Red Devils competed well after the hour mark, and the pressure paid off when Eduardo Camavinga tripped Hussein El Shahat inside the box. Tunisia’s Ali Maaloul tucked away the penalty to make it 2-1 in the 65th minute. Al Ahly had their moments during a frenetic second…

With 16 days to the commencement of the 2023 general election, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to remove the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in Lagos State, Olusegun Agbaje. Atiku said Agbaje had been accused of attempting to compromise the upcoming election. He noted that the REC’s insistence on using the Lagos State Park and Garage Management Committee led by Musiliu Akinsanya, also known as MC Oluomo to carry sensitive election materials was a ploy to compromise the election. Speaking through his Special Assistant on Public Communication,…

Fears remain over the wellbeing of former Premier League footballer Christian Atsu, who is among those missing after a devastating earthquake in Turkey. The Hateyspor star and sporting director Savut Taner were among those buried in rubble days after the disaster that has killed at least 11,000 people across Turkey and Syria. Initially it was claimed by his club’s vice-president, Mustafa Ozat, that he had been pulled from the wreckage, with the Ghana FA claiming that the ex-Newcastle and Chelsea winger had been found. However, Hateyspor club doctor, Gurbey Kahveci, and Atsu’s agent, Nana Sechere, have since spoken out to say the 31-year-old…

Hours after the Supreme Court stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN from executing the February 10 deadline for the validity of old naira notes, the governor of the apex bank, Godwin Emefiele met with President Muhammadu Buhari. A seven-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Okoro, in a unanimous ruling had on Wednesday ordered that the old naira notes remain in circulation even after the new deadline. The development followed an ex parte filed on Tuesday by the Kogi, Kaduna and Zamfara state governments. The Supreme Court also held that the Federal Government and the CBN…

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has commended the Supreme Court for saving Nigerians and democracy by restraining the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, from implementing the February 10 deadline on the phasing out of N200, N500 and N1000 old notes. Wike spoke during the Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign in the Abua/Odual Local Government Area, where he urged the people to preserve their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to vote for the candidates of the PDP at the state level. He also commended the government of the three states that filed the suit. He said the Rivers State Government…

LeBron James has become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 39-year-old record. Los Angeles Lakers star James, 38, hit 38 points in a 133-130 defeat by the Oklahoma City Thunder to surpass Abdul-Jabbar’s mark of 38,387. Abdul-Jabbar initially broke the scoring record in April 1984, eight months before James was born. “To be able to be in the presence of a legend and great as Kareem, it means so much to me,” said James. James, who needed 36 points to break the record, did so with a fadeaway jumper at the end of the third quarter and he…

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has restrained the Federal Government from continuing with the full implementation of the demonetization policy. Three northern states, Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara, had, in a motion ex-parte filed on February 3rd, prayed the apex court to halt the Central Bank of Nigeria’s naira redesign policy. A 7-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Okoro, in a unanimous ruling, granted an interim injunction restraining the FG, CBN, commercial banks etc, from implementing the February 10 deadline for the old 200, 500 and 1000 Naira notes to stop being a legal tender. The court…

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board said it cancelled the registrations of no fewer than 817 candidates that registered to sit the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations and Direct Entry examinations. The examination body said it made the decision owing to the discovery of certain infractions such as use of strange biometrics during the registration process. The registrar of the examination body, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, who cited some of the affected cases in a statement on Wednesday morning, stated that some registration officers in the affected 178 Computer-Based Test centres added their fingerprints to complete the registration process for the…