BREAKING: NFF Appoints Finidi George As New Head Coach Of Super Eagles

April 29, 2024

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appointed former ace winger, Finidi George as Head Coach of the Senior Men National Football Team, Super Eagles. This followed the approval of the recommendation of the Technical and Development Committee by the Board of the NFF.

Finidi George, who spent 20 months as assistant to José Santos Peseiro before the Portuguese voluntarily left the post following the accomplishment of Africa Cup of Nations runner-up position at Cote d’Ivoire 2023, took charge of the squad in interim capacity during two friendly matches in Morocco last month.

His squad edged Ghana 2-1 in the first match, ending an 18-year winless streak against the Black Stars, but then lost 0-2 to Mali in the second game.
The new helmsman, a member of the so-styled ‘Golden Generation’ that won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Tunisia and emerged the second most entertaining team in Nigeria’s debut at the FIFA World Cup finals in USA the same year, won 62 caps for Nigeria, including featuring at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup finals.

He also won gold, silver and bronze medals from the 1992, 1994, 2000 and 2002 AFCON tournaments.
The 52-year-old former Ajax Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and Real Betis (Spain) forward, who made a scoring debut for fatherland in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Burkina Faso at the National Stadium, Lagos on 27th July 1991, also featured for Calabar Rovers and Sharks FC in the domestic scene before heading to Europe.

He assisted Rashidi Yekini (of blessed memory) to score Nigeria’s first-ever FIFA World Cup goal against Bulgaria in Dallas, USA on 19th June 1994.
Finidi George had actually scored the goal that took Nigeria to that FIFA World Cup debut, when he put Nigeria ahead against hosts Algeria in a crucial qualifier in Algiers on 8th October 1993.
The match eventually ended 1-1 and earned Nigeria a ticket to the finals in America.
The new helmsman’s immediate task will be to guide the Super Eagles to victory in two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against South Africa and Benin Republic in Uyo and Abidjan respectively, in a little over five weeks. The matches are must-win encounters, with the Super Eagles lagging behind in third place in Group C of the African campaign behind Rwanda and South Africa.

Between EFCC And Ex Gov. Yahaya Bello: Common Sense And The Law, By Yusuf Ozi-Usman

Greenbarge Reporters

April 27, 2024

One funny thing about Nigerians is the fact that most of them are highly emotional and sentimental when it comes to public discourse on any national issue. Their idea of democracy is strewn around what they choose to believe, and worse, would want everyone to accept their beliefs. They would go to any length to paint those who hold contrary views black in a clear abuse of democratic norms and practices..
Like the WhatsApp group I belong to; a seemingly intellectual group where almost everyone condemn the former Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, accusing him of being a thief, based on the words of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).
Even as intellectually based as the group is (mainly veteran journalists and legal practitioners, administrators, etc), my attempt to retionalise the circumstances of the issues at stake between the two combatants was attacked and I was branded “blackleg.”
One of them even said that I was supporting Yahaya Bello because he had bribed me with “Ghana-must-go” (huge amount of money).
We have been following the hide-and-seek game which Yahaya Bello and EFCC have been playing in the past couple of weeks. Of course, no one disputes the fact that being a Governor for eight years, Yahaya Bello has questions to answer on the issue of propriety and otherwise of his government.
Though, while the issue in discourse bothers on propriety and otherwise of it, the methodology rolled out by the EFCC to address it or to enforce it looks suspect, from the point of view of it’s ordinary. The legal part of it may be far different.
On the ordinary part of it, the following points present themselves for the impartial analysts to decipher:
1. EFCC first charged Yahaya Bello and others for money laundering amounting to over $80 billion, allegedly committed sometime in 2015, before he assumed office as Governor in 2016. Everybody knows that Yahaya Bello was into transport and estate businesses before he became governor, and was therefore dealing in currencies, whether legitimately or otherwise.
2. EFCC later changed the date to 2016, obviously to fit into the arrangement to rope in the former Governor.
3. Suddenly, EFCC came up with another charge last week that Yahaya Bello stole over $800,000 to pay his children school fees
4. That the school fees were paid by one Ali Bello, not Yahaya Bello (this one has serious legal implications). There doesn’t seem to be enough evidence that the money was from the coffers of Kogi state government.
5. The current governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, has since said that there’s no money missing in the government pulse.
6. The question is: “Is Yahaya Bello, who was alleged to have laundered billion of dollars in 2015 or 2016 now so poor that he could not afford mere $800,000 to pay his children school fees?
As a matter of fact, if it is proved that what the former Governor for eight years stole was $800,000, I will personally flog him (if I have my way) for being so naive even in stealing. How would he steal such a paltry amount when a female minister who was barely four months in office stole billions of dollars? When other Governors are sending their children to foreign countries where they pay billions of dollars as school fees? When others are sending their girlfriends to overseas for holidays with billion of dollars within weeks?
I was flowing with EFCC before they began to change goal poles, creating a clear picture of witch-hunting to bring down Yahaya Bello by ALL means.
I want to make it clear that Yahaya Bello does not know me from Adam. We have never met one-on-one and I’m not begging the issue here.
However, I am not in anyway quarreling with those who simply want to crusify him for one reason or the other.
However, as a public commentator, I have my democratic and fundamental human right not to follow the bandwagon of Yahaya Bello’s haters, and doing so without being seen as blackleg and or beneficiary of any kind of largesse…except if we want to turn all Nigerians into one lane of the road.

Sierra Leonean Minister Resigns Over Incesant Power Outages, Takes Full Responsibility For The Crisis

Greenbarge Reporters

April 27, 2024

The Sierra Leonean Minister of Power, Kanja Sesay has resigned from government over Incesant power outages in the country, saying that he took full responsibility for the crisis.
His resignation came after weeks of disruption in electricity supply which has been finally restored in most cities across Sierra Leone after a part payment was made for the $48m (£38m) utility bill it owed to a Turkish company, Karpowership.

Most electricity supplies to the capital, Freetown, is generated from a Turkish ship floating off the country’s coast.
Last week, Karpowership said it had severely cut supplies to the city, from 60 megawatts to 6 megawatt, citing backlog of unpaid bills.
Residents of the country’s main cities have been going for days on end without any power and hospitals have also been affected.
At least one infant has died because of a lack of power, while medics have been using mobile phones to provide light as they carry out procedures, Reuters news agency quotes a doctor as saying.
“How do you iron your clothes, how do you make your food, how do you go to sleep?
“We pay our electricity bills so I don’t see why we should be forced to live like this,” BBC quoted a second-year engineering student in Freetown, Fatmata Gassim as saying.
Following the resignation of Sesay, the office of President, Julius Maada Bio said the energy ministry would now fall under the direct supervision of the president.
Karpowership previously cut supplies to Sierra Leone in September over unpaid bills.
It is one of the world’s biggest floating power plant operators, with several African states relying on it for electricity.
In October, it briefly cut power to Guinea-Bissau, saying it had no option “following a protracted period of non-payment.”

Naira Appreciation: No Quick Fix, Says Ned Nwoko

Editorial staff

April 27, 2024

The Senator representing Delta North, Ned Nwoko, has cautioned the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) against implementing measures that could artificially force the Naira to gain value against other currencies.

In a press statement made available to journalists recently, Nwoko advised that such measures would not address the underlying issues responsible for the Naira’s depreciation and urged a focus on stimulating Naira demand instead.

According to Nwoko, Nigeria’s economic sovereignty and respect among nations are tied to the value of its currency. He suggested that conducting transactions on exported commodities like crude oil exclusively in Naira would incentivize buyers to seek out the currency, driving its appreciation due to increased demand and scarcity.

Nwoko also questioned the foreign reserve policy, describing it as “objectionable” and “counterproductive” to Nigeria’s economic sovereignty. He noted that other nations like the United States, Britain, France, and Japan hold their reserves domestically, and wondered why Nigeria should perpetuate a practice that raises questions about its colonial legacy.

The lawmaker, who is also a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales, acknowledged that the recent appreciation of the Naira was not solely due to the CBN’s new measures.

Instead, he attributed it to the decline in refined oil imports following the production and distribution of refined petroleum from the local Dangote refinery. He encouraged local production of other heavily consumed products to stabilize the currency, warning that without addressing the underlying issues, efforts against dollarization would fail.

Nwoko had previously advocated for crucial measures to combat dollarization and stabilize the Naira in a statement in January. While various measures have been implemented since then, he believes their efficacy is yet to manifest fully, as the root cause of Naira devaluation remains unaddressed.

Source: NAN

I’ve Lost 2 Reliable Allies; Sidi Ali And Baffa, Ex President Buhari Mourns

Greenbarge Reporters

April 26, 2024

Former President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness over the deaths of his two reliable socio-political allies, Sidi Hamid Ali and Dr. Hafiz Baffa Yola.
In a statement today, April 26, by Garba Shehu, the former President was quoted as describing late Sidi Ali, who died today after a protracted illness as a renown journalist, author, and politician.

Buhari said that Sidi Ali was a creative writer who “won my admiration when he wrote an excellent book chronicling my war against the twin evils of corruption and indiscipline as Military Head of State and followed up with another publication on my accomplishments as an elected civilian president.”
Buhari said that Sidi Ali also won the heart of many people “through his critical writings and the two books he wrote about me. He was a creative writer.
“My condolences to his family and admirers.”
On late Dr. Hafiz Baffa Yola, who also died today after a protracted illness too, Buhari said that the deceased was his special assistant on political matters, in the office of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
He described the deceased as “a famous medical doctor.”
Garba Shehu said that Buhari sent the condolence message to Abdulrahman Baffa Yola, a younger brother of the deceased, where he said that Dr. Baffa lived, not for himself but for the family, Kano community, and the nation.
He prayed to Allah to repose the souls of the deceased.

We’ll Refund $760,910 Which Ex Kogi Gov Paid As School Fee For His Kids – American International School

Greenbarge Reporters

April 26, 2024

The American International School of Abuja (AISA) has admitted that the immediate past Governor of Kogi State paid a total of $845,852 as school fees for his children, starting from 2021 to the end of their studies in the school.
In a letter addressed to the Lagos zonal commander of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), the school said the sum of $845,852 was paid in tuition “since the 7th of September 2021 to date,” but that the sum to be refunded to the EFCC “is $760,910, because it had deducted educational services already rendered.
“Please forward to us an official written request, with the authentic banking details of the EFCC, for the refund of the above-mentioned funds as previously indicated as part of your investigation into the alleged money laundering activities by the Bello family.”
In the letter signed by Greg Hughes, the school said: “Since the 7th September 2021 to date, $845,852.84 (Eight Hundred and Forty Five Thousand, Eight Hundred and Fifty Two US Dollars and eighty four cents) in tuition and other fees has been deposited into our Bank account.
“We have calculated the net amount to be transferred and refunded to the State, after deducting the educational services rendered as $760,910.84. (Seven Hundred and Sixty Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ten US Dollars and Eighty Four cents).
“No further additional fees are expected in respect of tuition as the students’ fees have now been settled until they graduate from ASIA.”
The school promised to draw the attention of the anti-graft agency if there are any further deposits by the Bello family.
The letter did not indicate that it was Yahaya Bello that paid money, but that “Ali Bello contacted the school on Friday 13 August 2021 requesting to pay the family school fees in advance until the students graduate from High School.”
The letter came as a result of the ongoing investigations by the EFCC on the alleged money laundering hanging on the head of the former Governor.
The anti-graft agency had to write to the American International School of Abuja to refund the sum of $760,910.84 paid for the children of ex governor Yahaya Bello.
The EFCC chairman Ola Olukoyede said at a press conference earlier in the week that Yahaya Bello withdrew $720,000 from the state’s coffers to pay his children’s school fees in advance.
The EFCC boss alleged that the former Kogi governor transferred money from the state coffers to a bureau de change operator, and used the money for his child’s school fee.
“A sitting governor, because he knew he was leaving office, moved money directly from the government to Bureau de change and used it to pay his child’s school fee in advance.
“Yahaya Bello took $720,000 from Kogi coffers to pay child’s school fees in advance.
Court documents show the school’s response asking the anti-graft agency to provide “authentic banking details” for the refund of fees leaked on social media.
The ex-governor’s children are in grade level 2 to 8 at the school.

DSTV, GOtv Subscribers Cry Out As Multichoice Increases Monthly Subscription Fees

Editorial staff

April 25, 2024

Multichoice, a satellite television service provider in Nigeria, has increased its monthly subscription fees for DSTV and GOtv, sparking outrage among subscribers.

The new rates, which took effect earlier this week, have been described as insensitive and exploitative.

Subscribers have expressed frustration and disappointment, feeling that the increase will further burden their already strained finances.

Many have taken to social media to vent their anger and call for a reversal of the price hike.

Multichoice has defended the increase, citing rising costs and the need to invest in new content and technology.

North Central APC Group Rejects Ganduje’s Confidence Vote

Editorial staff

April 25, 2024

The North Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum has urged State Chairmen of the party from the region to disown the confidence vote passed on the embattled National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje.

The Forum’s Chairman, Saleh Zazzaga, said the vote is not in the interest of the North Central region or the party, as the region has contributed immensely to the party’s development and deserves the National Chairmanship position.

Zazzaga argued that the North Central region has been instrumental in the party’s success, delivering five governors out of six states in the region and providing significant support for President Bola Tinubu’s election.

He stated that it is unfair for the region to be denied the National Chairmanship position, which is why they are pushing for the zoning of the position to the North Central region.

The Forum’s Chairman warned that if the State Chairmen from the region do not distance themselves from the confidence vote, they will face mass protests across the North Central states. He emphasized that the Forum is not meddling in Ganduje’s affairs but is fighting for the rights and privileges of the North Central region.

Imo Gov, Hope Uzodinma, Visits Muslim Hajj Commission In Abuja

Greenbarge Reporters

April 25, 2024

The Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma (second from right) paid a solidarity visit to the Headquarters of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), today, April 25. He was received by the Chairman of the Commission, Malam Jalal Arabi (third from right) and other members of the Commission’s Board.

119 Prisoners Escape In Suleja As Rain Storm Brings Down Fence, Cells

Greenbarge Reporters

April 25, 2024

No fewer than 119 prisoners have escaped from correctional center in Suleja, Niger State as a heavy downpour, which lasted for several hours, destroyed part of the custodial facility, including its perimeter fence.
The rain, which poured down uncontrollably yesterday night, April 24, brought down the Medium Security prison and surrounding buildings.

Confirming the incidence in a statement today, April 25, the Deputy Superintendent of Corrections Command’s Public Relations Officer in the FCT Command, A S. Duza said that the Service has immediately activated its recapturing mechanisms and in conjunction with sister security agencies, have so far recaptured 10 fleeing inmates and taken them into custody.
“We are in hot chase to recapture the rest.”
He said that the Service is not unmindful of the fact that many of its facilities were built during the colonial era, and that they are old and weak.
“The Service is making frantic efforts to see that all ageing facilities give way for modern ones. This is evidenced in the ongoing construction of six (6) number of 3000-capacity ultra-modern custodial centres in all the geo-political zones in Nigeria as well as the ongoing reconstruction and renovation of existing ones.
“The Service wishes to assure the public that it is on top of the situation and that they should go about their businesses without fear or hindrance.
“The public is further enjoined to look out for the fleeing inmates and report any suspicious movement to the nearest security agency.”

1...161162163...2,495 Page 162 of 2,495