The father of Super Eagles winger, Ademola Lookman, has credited his son’s success in winning the 2024 CAF Player of the Year award to his humility, unwavering focus, and dedication to football.

The prestigious award was presented to the Atalanta forward during a grand ceremony held in Marrakech, Morocco, marking a major milestone in Lookman’s career.

Speaking after the event, Lookman’s father expressed pride in his son’s achievements, highlighting the personal qualities that set him apart.

“I am so proud of him as a father, because he is a very committed player, he is very humble, he does not like too much publicity, because he really wants to focus on his football. And that is what has taken him to this level,” he said.

Lookman’s performances for both his club, Atalanta, and the Nigerian national team, the Super Eagles, have earned him widespread praise throughout the year.

His consistency and work ethic have been pivotal to his rise in African football.

With this latest honour, Lookman becomes the sixth Nigerian player to win the coveted CAF Player of the Year award, cementing his place in the history of African football.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Enugu zone, says it has arraigned two bankers for allegedly selling mint naira notes (valued at N500,000) to customers.

In a statement on X on Tuesday, the EFCC said the bankers, Ekpe Okoronkwo and Umeonuoha Onyinye, staff of one of the new generation banks.

The commission said the bankers were arraigned before Mohammed Umar, the presiding judge of a federal high court in Enugu state, on December 12.

According to the EFCC, the defendants were arrested on November 15, 2024, following actionable intelligence linking them to the sale of naira mints in the state metropolis.

The anti-graft agency said the defendants (arrested at their workplace located at 18 Okpara Avenue, Enugu) allegedly sold N500,000 mints in N200 denominations, to a customer identified as Husseini Ibrahim.

“That you, Ekpe Anayaoha Okoronkwo and Umeonuoha Onyinye, sometime in October 2024 at Enugu, Enugu state, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, did sell a total sum of Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000.00) mints in Two Hundred Naira Notes (N200) denominations, issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria to one Husseini Ibrahim and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 21 (4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 and punishable under Section 21 (1) of the same Act,” the one count charge reads.

According to the statement, while Okoronkwo pleaded guilty to the charge, Onyinye pleaded not guilty.

In his response, Rotimi Ajobiewe, counsel and chief superintendent of the EFCC, asked the court for a short date to review the case regarding the first defendant.

“In respect of the second defendant, we pray for a date for trial to enable the prosecution to prove its case,” Ajobiewe said.

However, counsel to the second defendant, C. N. Agama prayed the court to remand Onyinye at the EFCC custody, pending the hearing of the bail application.

After listening to the prayers of the counsels, Umar adjourned the matter to January 15, 2025, for Onyinye’s bail application hearing and the conviction and sentencing of Okoronkwo.

The defendants were remanded at the Enugu correctional facility.

Faithia Williams, the Nigerian actress, has tackled an unidentified colleague, claiming she was blocked on Instagram.

In a video shared via her TikTok page, Williams questioned the colleague’s motive, although she did not mention names.

“Hey, they said you blocked me. Please if you blocked me on earth did you block me in heaven,” Williams said.

“Or even if you blocked me, did the God I serve block me? Or if you blocked me are you the God that I pray to who answers me?”

The identity of the colleague who allegedly blocked Williams has not been revealed, but speculation is rife that it may be actress Funke Akindele.

While neither of them has publicly confirmed the purported rift, there are rumours that Williams allegedly skipped Akindele’s ‘Everybody Loves Jenifa’ premiere on Sunday in retaliation for the filmmaker’s absence at her father’s funeral.

Checks by TheCable Lifestyle on Tuesday also showed the movie stars are not following each other on Instagram.

Williams, who hails from Urhobo in Delta state, was born in Ikeja, Lagos into a polygamous family of nine.

She attended Kwara State Polytechnic and earned a diploma certificate. In 2016, she furthered her education in film at Olabisi Onabanjo University in Ago Iwoge, Ogun state.

Faithia ventured into acting by chance when her uncle invited her to stand in for an actress who could not make it to one of their film productions. This marked her debut in the film ‘Ta Lo Pa Chief’.

She has also starred in several Nollywood productions including ‘A Tribe Called Judah’, ‘Aje Meta’, and ‘Mokalik’.

The 55-year-old actress was previously married to Saidi Balogun, with whom she shares two children, a son and a daughter.

The couple divorced in 2014, after which Faithia retained her husband’s surname until 2017 when she reverted to Williams, her maiden name.

President Bola Tinubu has assured Nigerians that his administration’s policies are carefully designed to foster long-term national wealth and prosperity.

Delivering a message through the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, at the 2024 Nigerian Media Merit Awards held at the Muson Centre, Lagos, Tinubu highlighted the critical role of reforms in reshaping Nigeria’s future.

According to the president, the push for tax reform is one of the most significant steps towards economic renewal.

While there may be differing views on specific details of the reform, Tinubu maintained that there is a collective agreement on the need to overhaul Nigeria’s outdated tax system.

Tinubu emphasized that the proposed tax reforms are aimed at reducing the number of taxes, easing the financial burden on vulnerable citizens, and increasing revenue allocation to states.

These measures are also expected to boost business growth through targeted incentives.

“I will say with every sense of conviction that our policies are deliberate and well thought-out.

“We are headed toward the restoration of Nigeria, on a path requiring a comprehensive approach that addresses economic diversification, human capital development, infrastructure development, wealth creation, and inclusive growth.

“Among our various landmark reforms is the one focused on tax, by far one of the most profound steps necessary for setting Nigeria onto the path of enduring national wealth and prosperity for all our people.

“There is a consensus that the tax administration system in Nigeria requires reform. We may not all agree on every detail of the required reform, but there will be many areas of convergence,” he said.

Highlighting the tangible impact of the reforms, Tinubu referenced the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee’s (FAAC) recent revenue distribution, which recorded the highest amount in Nigeria’s history.

“Just days ago, the federation accounts allocation committee recorded the highest-ever revenue distribution figure in the history of our country.

“These are the much-needed resources being freed up for investment in critical areas of the economy.

“At the federal level, these revenues are already financing impactful initiatives like the consumer credit scheme, students loan fund, presidential grants & loans scheme, the MSME clinics, 3 million technical talent programme (3MTT), presidential CNG initiative, massive road infrastructure projects, among many others.

“In the spirit of our federation, the various state and local governments also have their policies and programmes, meant to complement ours,” he added.

Tinubu noted that state and local governments also have their own programs and policies that align with the federal administration’s agenda.

This alignment, he said, would ensure that the positive impact of these reforms is felt across all levels of society.

Former presidential spokesman Garba Shehu has taken a swipe at former President Olusegun Obasanjo in a birthday tribute to former President Muhammadu Buhari, who turns 82 today.

In his birthday message to his former boss, Shehu criticised Obasanjo for undermining his successors while praising Buhari for staying away from Abuja to give the new administration space to stabilise.

“On the other hand, since leaving office, first as a military leader and subsequently as an elected president after two terms, President Olusegun Obasanjo has called and written to every head of state after him to put them to shame or disgrace, and in some cases, outrightly asking for their resignation or ouster in the next election,” he said.

He also noted that since completing his tenure on May 29, 2023, Buhari had only visited the nation’s capital twice, keeping his word to let the new administration function without distraction.

“The former president said to the hearing of everyone that once he handed over to his successor on May 29, 2023, he would be as far away from the nation’s capital, Abuja, so as not to cast a shadow over the new administration, to give them the space to effectively take off and stabilise without distractions. Being willing to renounce power is his extraordinarily admirable trait.”

“Since leaving office, he visited Abuja just twice: first to officiate at the launch of Femi Adesina’s brilliant book Working With Buhari, and the second time as a guest of President Bola Tinubu when they convened a meeting of the Council of State.”

Shehu highlighted that Buhari now enjoys a simple routine, which includes staying updated with the news, spending time with his grandchildren, meeting guests, and inspecting his farm, while also indulging in his love for reading and watching TV shows.

Popular Nollywood actor cum politician, Kenneth Okonkwo, has opined that the reason opposition politicians are defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is because they plan to use state institutions to rig the 2027 election.

The former spokesman of Obi/Datti Campaign Organization said under a free and fair election the ruling party, APC, would not get any vote from the citizens.

He stated this on Monday in an interview with Arise TV. Okonkwo claimed that the result of 2023 election did not reflect what happened at the polling units across the country on election days.

The Nollywood legend explained that it would be impossible to play opposition in Nigeria with its current electoral system.

“Do you play ruling party or opposition party in a country where there is no election at all? What I mean is that I was a spokesperson in 2023 election and I will say unequivocally that 2023 election did not reflect anything that was done on the ground.

“Till today, has INEC shown polling unit results by polling unit of the presidential election 2023? The law says that’s what they should do. Section 62, subsection 2 and 3 of the Electoral Act, have they shown that?” Okonkwo asked.

He alleged that politicians defecting to APC want the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to work for them in 2027.

The former APC chieftain emphasized that unless INEC conducts free and fair elections, opposition parties would remain docile.

“Now, the opposition are moving into the ruling party, not because they want to. As a matter of fact, because they need the ruling party in order to use INEC and the security agencies to rig election. In a free and fair election, no one person will near APC with a long rope.

“Except we begin to do a free, fair, credible and verifiable election, there is nothing like ruling party or opposition party. Because that is the pillar of democracy. What the opposition is doing is that they are running into the ruling party, so that they will use the state apparatus of power to rig election 2027,” he stated.

As experts see further pressures from festive season demand

There are indications that food inflation would exceed 40 percent mark this month as November inflation shows further rise in consumer prices.

Economy experts have cited structural constraints on food production in the northern part of the country as well as the festive season demand  pressures and increased transportation activities as main drivers of current inflationary pressure.

The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, in its Consumer Price Index, CPI, report for November 2024 released yesterday said food inflation rose by 0.77 basis point to 39.93 percent    from 39.16 percent in October 2024 due to increase in the prices of yam, water yam, coco yam, guinea corn, maize grains, rice among others.

Also the report said headline inflation rate rose by 0.72 percentage point to 34.6 percent  in November from 33.88 percent in October.

The Bureau stated: “In November 2024, the Headline inflation rate was 34.6 percent relative to the October 2024 headline inflation rate of 33.88 percent.

“Looking at the movement, the November 2024 Headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.72 percentage  points compared to the October 2024 Headline inflation rate.

“On a year-on-year basis, the Headline inflation rate was 6.4 percent points higher than the rate recorded in November 2023 (28.2 percent).

“This shows that the Headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in November 2024 compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., November 2023).

“Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the Headline inflation rate in November 2024 was 2.6 percent, which was 0.002 percentage  points lower than the rate recorded in October 2024 (2.64 percent).

“This means that in November 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is slightly lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in October 2024.”

On food inflation, NBS said: “The food inflation rate in November 2024 was 39.93 percent on a year-on-year basis, 7.08 percent points higher than the rate recorded in November 2023 (32.84 percent).

“The rise in Food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of the following items; yam, water yam, coco yam, etc (potatoes, yam & other tubers class), guinea corn, maize grains, rice, etc (bread and cereals class), beer, pinto (tobacco class), and palm oil, vegetable oil, etc (oil and fats class).

“On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in November 2024 was 2.98 percent which shows 0.05 percentage points increase compared to the rate recorded in October 2024 (2.94 percent).”

Commenting on the development in their ‘Macroeconomic Update’, analysts at Cardinalstone Limited, a Lagos-based finance and investment firm, said: “True to our expectation, the food basket materially skewed the inflation print for November, rising by 77bps to 39.92 percent.

“This escalation was attributed to ongoing security challenges in key agricultural regions in northern states, coupled with seasonal, festive-driven demand for staple food items. Similarly, the core basket rose by 37bps to 28.75 percent year-on-year, YoY, a consequence of sustained energy prices.

“In December, we anticipate continued upward pressure on the food index due to festive demand and structural constraints on food production in the north.

“The core index is also expected to remain elevated, driven by heightened transport activities during the holiday season. “Overall, we estimate inflation to settle at 35.09 percent in December.”

As associates call for activist’s release

DETAINED human rights lawyer and activist, Mr Dele Farotimi, has stated that he did not send anyone to plead with elder statesman, Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, who took him to court for defamation.

This came as some associates of the detained human rights lawyer, yesterday, called for his release, saying his rights had been violated.

Farotimi is currently standing trial in Ekiti State following a petition by Babalola regarding his book, ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System.’

Recall that the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, recently paid a visit to Afe Babalola, with sources suggesting that the visit was to make a plea on behalf of Farotimi.

But speaking on the Sunday edition of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, Mr Tope Temokun, a lawyer for Dele Farotimi, stated that during a prison visit on Friday, Farotimi denied asking Peter Obi to appeal to Afe Babalola or seek an out-of-court settlement.

Temokun said: “I visited Mr Dele Farotimi in a correctional service in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, yesterday afternoon.

“The events of the recent days; the visit of Mr Peter Obi, the (2023) presidential candidate of the Labour Party, to Aare Afe Babalola; his visit to Mr Dele Farotimi, created some lack of clarity; people are not so clear about some things; people are not clear about what is going on. It is based on this that I had to visit him yesterday, and we sat together and had a good discussion.

“After Peter Obi left Ekiti, the news that filtered through the town to the issue of the conditions for release, the issue of apology, the issue of whether Mr Dele Farotimi can do this or that to come out.

“I told him (Farotimi): the reason I am here is to confirm from you, ‘What do you think should be done?’ The visit of Mr Peter Obi to you in person and the subsequent visit to Aare Afe Babalola: What do you know about it? What is your message to Aare Afe Babalola? What is your message to the people outside? What is also your message to me as part of your legal team?

“He (Farotimi) said if anybody who is familiar with his antecedents, with his principles, with his philosophy over time should join anybody to believe that in a matter where he had written a book that he had published and that had been in circulation, that if anybody, or somebody should join others to believe that he has sent anybody to beg anybody, he said he will be so disappointed in that person.

“He told me categorically that even you, Tope, if you join anybody to believe that I could beg anybody or that I have sent anybody to beg anybody, I will be so disappointed in you.”

Associates call for activist’s release

Meanwhile some associates of Dele Farotimi, in a statement by Mr Taiwo Akinlami, stated that the recent arrest and detention of Farotimi reflect a troubling disregard for procedural fairness and the rule of law.

The group, however, insisted that there were irregularities in the arrest procedures of the activist.

The statement, titled ‘Unlawful arrest and detention of Mr Dele Farotimi: A call for justice’, reads: “We, the associates of Mr Dele Farotimi, a distinguished author and legal practitioner, are deeply troubled by the blatant violations of his rights following his recent arrest and detention. This press release is issued to highlight the irregularities surrounding his case and to demand his fair treatment and prompt release by the law.

“Mr Dele Farotimi, author of ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System’, has become the target of criminal and civil litigations tied to his book. Despite his willingness to address these issues legally, his recent arrest and detention reflect a troubling disregard for procedural fairness and the rule of law.

“These events have significantly disrupted Mr Farotimi’s ability to prepare for multiple civil suits filed during his detention. As associates, we are also concerned about the toll this situation is taking on his family, particularly his 76-year-old mother, who has already suffered the loss of one child.”

While condemning the misuse of state resources, the associates called for an investigation into the irregularities in his arrest and detention.

Akinlami said: “We condemn the misuse of state resources and apparatus to persecute Mr Farotimi and call on the Nigerian authorities to facilitate the immediate release of Mr Farotimi on bail; investigate

“This case is a test of the integrity of Nigeria’s justice system. We urge all individuals and organizations committed to justice, fairness, and the rule of law to join us in advocating for Mr Farotimi’s rights and freedom.”

The Naira yesterday appreciated to N1,660 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,662 per dollar last weekend.

However, the Naira depreciated to N1,550 per dollar in the official foreign exchange market.

Data from the Daily Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) published by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, showed that the indicative exchange rate for the naira rose to N1,550 per dollar from N1,540 per dollar last weekend, indicating N10 depreciation for the naira.

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate depreciated to N1,545.1 per dollar from N1,533 per dollar last week Friday.

Consequently, the margin between the parallel market and NFEM rate narrowed to N110 per dollar from N122 per dollar last week Friday.