Premier League side, Crystal Palace is set to splash the sum of €12 million for the services of Super Eagles and Leicester City striker, Kelechi Iheanacho, but a reliable journalist has revealed that Roy Hodgson will only make an official move on one condition.

Turkish journalist and Europe Transfer Football expert, Ekrem Konur revealed on Wednesday via social media platform-Twitter, that Iheanacho who doesn’t want to play in the English Championship, will be offloaded by the Foxes, owing to his huge weekly wage.

At the King Power Stadium, the Nigerian currently pockets £80k-per-week, which he has more than earned during his 210 senior appearances at the club since joining from the Premier League’s reigning champions Manchester City back in 2017.

According to Konur, “Crystal Palace is planning to open negotiations for Iheanacho with a bid of around €10million to €12million.”

However, the 26-year-old’s contract is set to expire in less than a year meaning that the ongoing window will be Enzo Maresca’s final opportunity to cash in should he not want to risk losing his prized asset for free, and especially having suffered relegation, that’s probably a sensible choice.

According to Football Insider, the Nigeria’s international could seal his departure in the final days of the transfer market, and whilst it’s stated that he has admirers over in Saudi Arabia, the centre-forward could end up staying in the top-flight and making his way to Selhurst Park.

The Nigerian Navy has set ablaze a vessel identified as ‘MV Cecilia’ with about 350,000 litres of stolen Automated Gas Oil also known as diesel in Woji, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The vandalised vessel, according to the Navy, had been inactive for two years, but was used as a storage tank for illegally refined products.

Commander of Operation Delta Safe Rear Admiral Olusegun Ferrera said, “The water tanks have been converted as a storage tank for these illegal products and the vessel has not been to sea for the past two years.”

Ferrera was represented by the maritime component commander of the Joint Task Force for Operation Delta Safe, South-South, Navy Commodore Adedokun Siyanbade.

Before it was set ablaze, two Naval gunboats manned with personnel had escorted the impounded vessel alongside a tug boat.

They pushed the vessel to a safe location in the sea where it gradually convulsed into flame. The process is reported to have lasted for two hours.

On August 16, personnel of the Nigerian Navy Ship, Pathfinder, Port Harcourt seized the MV Cecili vessel. Three suspects were arrested.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that the ban on the importation of whole-body SIM cards raked in over N55 billion for local manufacturers.

This was disclosed by the Executive Vice-Chairman (EVC) of NCC, Umar Danbatta, at the second edition of the Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE) in Lagos, on Wednesday, August 23.

Danbatta, who was represented by Ubale Maska, the commission’s Executive Commissioner (Technical Service), also revealed that they've created the Nigeria Office for Development of Indigenous Telecoms Sector (NODITS) as a special-purpose vehicle to bring it to fulfilment.

He said;

“I am happy to inform you that NTICE is one of the achievements of NCC through NODITS because it has served not only to promote pillar number five (strategic partnering) of the strategic management plan SMP 2020-2024 of the commission.

“The commission is equally committed to continuously supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and innovators to promote our talented young persons and ventures through angel investments, research and development support, exposure to investors and sponsorship to local and international tech events.

“This ban has not only eased the burden on our demand for foreign exchange but has also created business in excess of N55 billion for the local SIM card manufacturers in Nigeria which in turn has created direct and indirect jobs.”

Danbatta also urged the government to grant the telecommunications industry autonomy to enable it to thrive.

Following the hike in aviation fuel and the increase in the cost of operations, airline operators are of the view that an hour local flight within Nigeria could rise to N250, 000 anytime soon.

Spokesperson for Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON)and Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, Obiora Okonkwo, said this yesterday, while speaking as a guest on the ‘Morning Show’ on ARISE NEWS Channel.

According to him, the increase in cost of operations, could lead to an increase in air ticket, such that air passengers would pay as much as N250, 000 for air ticket from Lagos to Abuja.

“If you think tickets are expensive, then you probably don’t appreciate the sacrifices made by local operators. If we have to charge the fares, the way the costs are increasing every day, we should be paying not less than N250,000 from Lagos to Abuja,” Okonkwo said.

He stressed the need for local airlines to access foreign exchange through a designated window facilitated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He also called on the newly appointed Aviation Minister, Festus Keyamo, to collaborate with other governmental bodies to identify and rectify obstructive elements within the system, which a cording to him, is adding to the existing challenges.

Addressing the foreign exchange challenge, Okonkwo said: “You have naira and you can’t convert it to dollar. So, the solution to this is for our minister to understand that we need a special window with the CBN to access foreign exchange.”

He expressed concern over the unjustifiably high cost of aviation fuel, attributing the excess charges to speculative practices. He called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) to rise above board to stabilise the industry.

Recognising the significance of the aviation sector, Okonkwo advocated for its acknowledgement as an essential industry within Nigeria. He cautioned against any interference with the existing regulatory framework, stressing that stability and consistency were paramount. He urged the government and the new aviation minister to recognise the aviation industry as one of the essential industries in the country.

Okonkwo highlighted the currency disparity that local operators grapple with. He said earnings in naira must cover significant dollar-denominated expenses, making the industry particularly vulnerable to currency fluctuations. He therefore urged the minister not to tamper with the existing regulations and institutional structures. “The current minister should not interfere with the regulations. We had a very terrible past where the regulatory employees were given employment letters from the Federal Ministry of Aviation. That’s absurd and unacceptable,” Okonkwo said.

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State on Wednesday said he is shocked that President Bola Tinubu, who cam­paigned around the country, saying that he will remove subsidies, had no clear plans on what to do after its removal.

Obaseki stated that the nation’s eco­nomic situation is taking a turn for the worse as a result of bad policies by the Federal Government.

The governor, who said these while speaking with journalists in Benin, the state capital, expressed shock over what he called Federal Government’s lack of plan for Nigerians to effectively respond to the fuel subsidy removal policy.

He noted that the fuel subsidy re­moval has further improvised Nigeri­ans, inflicting hardship and suffering on the people.

According to him, “I have always warned. I warned Nigerians during the last May Day, this year. I told them that we have come to the end of the road and that the old economic order in Nigeria is gone and we have to come up with a new economic order and stop deceiving ourselves as a nation. ­

“Now, the subsidy is gone; the exchange rate is being aligned. The era of free money has almost come to an end. The consequence is that the weakest and most vulnerable in our so­ciety, unfortunately, will carry a huge part of the burden of these policies.”

He continued, “I am shocked that people who campaigned around the country, saying that they will remove subsidies, had no clear plans on what to do af­ter subsidy removal. They don’t know what to do and how to support those who will be vic­tims of subsidy removal.

“I am shocked and scared of what we are passing through today where the government doesn’t seem to have a plan or solution on how to respond to the consequences of the policy measure put in place by their administration.”

Obaseki added, “With the way they have mismanaged our national economy, we have to deal with inflation, between 20 and 25 percent. It means that the people will feel more pain, especially the weak and vulnerable in the society, particularly our pensioners as whatever they get as their entitlement will do only little for them.”

Reaffirming his govern­ment’s commitment to the wel­fare and well-being of Edo peo­ple, the governor further said, “For us in Edo State, we would not abandon you. We don’t like the word palliative because it is deceitful as we would rath­er use the word ‘support’. We would support those who are already victims of this policy measure.”

As global figure hits $7trn

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, has hinted that the lead world economic powers are leading in aggregate global fossil fuel subsidy.

It also stated that globally, total fossil fuel subsidies amounted to $7 trillion in 2022, equivalent to nearly 7.1 percent of global Gross Domestic Product, GDP.

The Fund in its report titled “IMF Fossil Fuel Subsidies Data: 2023 Update”, released yesterday, disclosed this stating that explicit subsidies (undercharging for supply costs) account for 18 percent of the total while implicit subsidies (undercharging for environmental costs and forgone consumption taxes) account for 82 percent.

The report states “Explicit subsidies have more than doubled since the previous IMF assessment, from $0.5 trillion in 2020 to $1.3 trillion in 2022, with sharply higher international fossil fuel prices.

‘‘However, much of the increase is due to temporary price support measures, and hence explicit subsidies are expected to decline if international prices continue receding from their peak levels.

‘‘Implicit subsidies are projected to rise in the baseline as the share of fuel consumption in emerging markets (where local environmental costs are generally larger) continues to climb.”

The report noted that the differences between efficient prices and retail prices for fossil fuels are large and pervasive across fuels, but especially for coal.

“Globally, 80 percent of coal consumption was priced at below half of its efficient level in 2022. ‘‘Underpricing for local air pollution and global warming account for nearly 60 percent of global fossil fuel subsidies and underpricing for supply costs and transportation externalities (such as congestion) explain another 35 percent (the remainder is accounted for by forgone consumption tax revenue).

“By fuel product, undercharging for oil products accounts for nearly half the subsidy, coal another 30 percent, and natural gas nearly 20 percent (underpricing for electricity accounts for the remainder).

‘‘By region, East Asia and the Pacific accounts for nearly half of the global subsidy.

‘‘By country, in absolute terms China remains the biggest subsidizer of fuels, followed by the US, Russia, EU, and India.

‘‘Fully reforming fossil fuel prices by removing explicit fuel subsidies and imposing corrective taxes such as a carbon tax would reduce global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 43 percent below ‘business as usual’ levels in 2030 (34 percent below 2019 levels).

”Indeed, for developing countries as a whole, revenue gains from full price reform exceed the estimated extra spending needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Fuel price reform would avert about 1.6 million premature deaths per year from local air pollution by 2030. Reforming fossil fuel subsidies is in countries’ own interest, even when excluding climate benefits” the report stated.

Federal Capital Territory FCT minister, Nyesom Wike has ordered the immediate identification and arrest of the owner of a two-storey building which collapsed in Abuja on Wednesday night.

POLITICS NIGERIA reports that two persons have been certified dead from the collapse, and 37 were rescued and taken to various hospitals.

The building, located at Lagos Crescent, Garki Village in the Garki District of the nation’s capital, was one of the first storey buildings in the area.

This publication learnt that the building caved in around 11pm on Wednesday amid heavy downpours. However, rescue operations were initially very slow over the night as there was no immediate access to an excavator, and rescue efforts were purely manual.

Speaking at the scene of the incident, Wike noted that original residents of the area were designated for resettlement; however, he wondered why, for years, the FCT Administration could not carry out such resettlement.

While he applauded the rescue efforts, Wike said, “It is unfortunate that we woke this morning to the very disturbing news of this building collapse. It is not what we contemplated. Let me thank the agencies particularly NEMA and FEMA that have supported us to rescue not less than 37 lives. It is unfortunate that we lost two lives. I will appeal to the Permanent Secretary to make sure that funds are raised to pay the hospital bills of those who were rescued so that we do not lose any more person, and this should be done immediately.”

“Secondly, these are the things we have been saying, nobody knows whose turn it will be, therefore when government says it will take actions in areas we believe there are illegal developments or buildings that do not comply with the standard codes, it is not as if anybody has any personal vendetta but for me it is for us to do the right thing.

“I don’t know why it has taken long that the FCTA has not resettled them and so we will take immediate action to see that the indigenes of these place are resettled and then government has to plan out this place.

“When government says take building plan, it is not to suffer anybody but to make sure that everyone is protected. Cities are planned to forestall this kind of occurrences. Imagine buildings without approval. I will ask that we must identify and arrest the owner of this property. It is very important.

“Government will, of course, take over this area and make sure no further development is carried out here. I want all the stakeholders here to please work with government in the interest of everybody. No one has come here to say I like A, I don’t like B. I know sometimes government’s decisions may not be too comfortable with the people, but in the long run, it is in the interest of the people. Now we are all gathered here and none of us is happy we are here. These are the things we are trying to forestall. Again I sympathize with those who lost dear lives, while government will pick up the bills of all those in the hospital. We will also support the rescue efforts and ensure that they get to the last level and rescue everyone still trapped in the rubble”.

“Thirty Seven persons have so far been rescued and evacuated to hospital, others reportedly still trapped. Rescue team and others are on ground. Rescue operations on but slowly due to ongoing rain”. They are making frantic efforts at getting an excavator to remove people from the rubble”, he added.

Meanwhile, the Director, Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, explained that the building had no planning approval because the area is meant for resettlement.

“The building is located within the Garki indigenous settlement. The building had two suspended floors, one used for commercial activities while the other floors were used as residential accommodation. The building caved in yesterday (Wednesday) and 37 persons were rescued

“The status of the place is that it is not a planned area so the development had no planning approval. In fact, the area is meant for resettlement from here to Apo resettlement town”

[PoliticsNigeria]

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has filed an application at the US District Court for an order directing discovery from Chicago State University of the record of President Bola Tinubu.

Naija News reports that Angela M. Liu, the United States counsel to the PDP candidate, filed the application with Case No. 23-cv-5099 pursuant to 28 United States Constitution 1782.

Liu, in the application, told the court she made efforts, including a subpoena, to get the university to confirm or deny the issuance of two diploma certificates with different dates to no avail.

She told the court that “I have personal knowledge of the matters set forth in her declaration, except as where specifically noted”, adding that “if called upon as a witness, I could and would testify competently thereto“.

The document she filed before the court and obtained by SaharaReporters on Wednesday is a 24-paragraph declaration in support of the Application, pursuant to 28 U.S.C 1782, for an Order granting leave to serve the Subpoenas attached to the Application as Exhibits 1 and 2, respectively, upon Respondent Chicago State University (“CSU”).

She declared: “It is a matter of public record that Applicant is a prominent businessman and politician in Nigeria. Applicant served as Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo. He won a contested primary to become the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Nigeria’s principal opposition party, during the 2019 presidential election.

“He was again the presidential candidate of Nigeria’s principal opposition party (the People’s Democratic Party, or “PDP”) in elections held in February 2023. The conduct and results of the elections in which Bola Ahmed Tinubu was declared the winner and Applicant was declared the runner-up are currently the subject of legal proceedings in the Nigerian courts (the “Nigerian proceedings”), which include proceedings brought by Applicant.

“Upon information and belief, Respondent CSU is a public university established and existing under the laws of Illinois, with its principal campus and offices in Chicago. See 110 ILCS 660; see also https://www.csu.edu.

“Both before and after the election, litigants commenced proceedings in the Nigerian courts challenging various aspects of the electoral processes and, later, the election results.

“Three of these proceedings are relevant to this Application: (1) proceedings commenced in November 2022, by Mr. Mike Enahoro-Ebah against Mr. Tinubu (“Enahoro-Ebah v. Tinubu”); (2) Applicant’s lawsuit, Abubakar et al. v. INEC, et al., which was commenced in March 2023; and (3) Peter Obi and Labour Party v. INEC, Tinubu et al., in the Court of Appeal at Abuja, CA/PEPC/03/2023, which commenced in March 2023.

“Attached hereto as Exhibit A is the Complaint in Enahoro-Ebah v. Tinubu, and attached hereto as Exhibit B is the Complaint in Abubakar, et al. v. INEC et al. CSU is not a party to these proceedings.”

She added, “Attached hereto as Exhibit C is a copy of a diploma purporting to have been issued to Mr. Tinubu by CSU on June 22, 1979.

“Attached hereto as Exhibit D is a copy of a document purporting to be a September 22, 2022, letter from the Registrar of CSU to Matthew J. Kowals, Esq.”

[NaijaNews]

The Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency (FCT FEMA) has confirmed the collapse of a two-storey building on Wednesday night, at Lagos Street, Garki village, Abuja.

The agency’s spokeswomam, Nkechi Isa, said in a statement on Thursday, that 37 people were rescued alive, while two others were fatally wounded.

A rescue operation was ongoing to search for more victims, said FEMA.

The statement added that a combined team of the FCT FEMA, Federal Road Safety Corps and FCT police command were on the ground to rescue and evacuate victims.

“The two-storey building, which serves both residential and commercial purposes collapsed on Wednesday night. FCT FEMA Search and Rescue Team are awaiting excavators to intensify the search to ensure that no victim is left in the rubble of the collapsed building,” said the statement.

The agency’s director-general, Abbass Iddriss, commended the efforts of all stakeholders, including members of the community working hard manually to rescue people trapped in the debris.

(NAN)