Super Eagles’ interim coach, Augustine Eguavoen has hit out at Libya for ‘over-respecting’ his team during both sides’ 2025 Africa Cup of Nations AFCON, qualifier on Friday.

The Mediterranean Knights frustrated Eguavoen’s men with their delay tactics for the majority of the game.

However, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru’s 86 minutes goal gave the Super Eagles a 1-0 victory over Libya.

Speaking about Libya’s time-wasting, Eguavoen said at his post-match interview: “We have a time keeper also in the name of Thomas.

“Actually they wasted like fourteen, fifteen minutes out of the 45 minutes which is not so good.

“They are a good side. You can see that they move the ball if they wanted to move, but now trying to bring such strategies, I don’t think it’s a good thing.

“Maybe they over-respected us. They thought probably if they come out at the initial stage they are going to get a lot of goals behind them. I don’t know if that is the way they want to play.”

Fisayo Dele-Bashiru scored the winner as Nigeria defeated Libya 1-0 in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying match at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium on Friday.

The Group D encounter was a game of missed chances, gamesmanship from the Libyans and poor officiating by the referees but Dele-Bashiru proved the hero the Eagles needed with his late strike.

Coach Austin Eguavoen switched to a 4-3-3 with Ademola Lookman and Victor Boniface leading the attack alongside Moses Simon.

The Super Eagles had the first chance of the encounter when the Libya goalkeeper was forced into a save by Alex Iwobi. The team continued to have the upper hand but failed to make it count as William Troost-Ekong, the Eagles captain, fired wide from a rebound, following a save off Frank Onyeka’s shot.

Iwobi was then expertly denied by a point-blank save as both teams went into the interval on level terms.

Iwobi continued to enter the box at the right time but his finishing was abysmal, with the 27-year-old heading high and wide from six yards out before blazing a half-volley wide minutes later as Nigeria probed the Libyans more on the right wing.

The Libyans settled into time-wasting routine but Lookman found the back of the net with a low shot after exchanging passes but he was deemed offside despite replays showing otherwise.

Nigeria scored minutes later when Dele-Bashiru fired into the far corner from centre of the box off Simon’s pass from the wing, leaving the goalkeeper rooted to the spot while fans celebrated wildly.

The goal ensured Eguavoen’s side secured all three points to put them closer to qualification.

Victory takes Nigeria to seven points on the log from three matches, leading group D at the halfway mark of the qualification series.

The Super Eagles travel to Benghazi to face the Libyans on matchday four on October 15.

The Federal Government has officially granted petroleum marketers the authority to lift petrol directly from the Dangote refinery, circumventing the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).

This significant development marks a pivotal shift in the nation’s petroleum distribution landscape, effectively ending NNPC’s monopoly as the sole off-taker of Dangote’s refined fuel.

In a statement released on Friday, the Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Naira-crude sale implementation committee, Wale Edun, provided insights into the decision, highlighting its implications for the industry.

The announcement comes in the wake of increasing speculation regarding NNPC’s changing role in the procurement of petroleum products.

During a review meeting held on October 10, the Implementation Committee, chaired by Edun, assessed the progress of the initiative aimed at facilitating crude oil and refined product sales in naira.

As a result of this new policy, petroleum marketers are expected to engage directly with the Dangote refinery for their fuel needs, a move that could lead to more competitive pricing and improved supply chain dynamics.

He said, “The committee is pleased to report a successful transition of operations in line with the directive issued by the Federal Executive Council. This directive has established a robust framework for local production and distribution of crude oil and refined products for local consumption in naira.

“With this mechanism now in full operation, along with the commencement of local production, we are well-positioned to transition to a fully deregulated market for all petroleum products.

“Moving forward, petroleum product marketers are now able to purchase PMS directly from local refineries without the intermediary role of NNPC. Marketers are encouraged to initiate direct purchases from refineries on mutually negotiated commercial terms, which will promote competition and improve market efficiency.”

Edun noted that the government remained confident that, in the long term, these measures will create better market conditions for the benefit of all Nigerians.

Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has said Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL)’s action to fix imported and locally refined fuel prices is illegal and void.

Falana, in a statement on Thursday, referred to remarks made on September 5, 2024, by the Executive Vice President of Downstream NNPC Ltd, Adedapo Segun, who explained that under Section 205 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), NNPC Limited is established to operate in a deregulated market where free market forces determine petroleum prices.

Segun had said, “The market has been deregulated, meaning that petrol prices are now determined by market forces rather than by the government or NNPC Ltd. Additionally, the exchange rate plays a significant role in influencing these prices.”

However, Falana objected to the comment, stating that NNPCL has no legal authority to set the petrol price in Nigeria.

The human rights lawyer pointed out that despite Segun’s claim, NNPCL set the fuel price refined by Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited last month without allowing market forces to dictate the pricing.

Falana noted that on Wednesday, October 9, 2024, NNPCL again bypassed the mechanism of market forces in determining the cost by announcing new pump prices for fuel refined by the Dangote Refinery.

According to Falana, NNPCL actions violate Section 205 of the Petroleum Industry Act, which mandates that market dynamics determine the prices of petroleum products.

NNPCL deals with companies, not associations — Expert

By Obas Esiedesa

THE Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has observed that the full deregulation of petrol pricing, along with the withdrawal of NNPC Limited as the sole off-taker of petrol from the Dangote Refinery, means that marketers are now free to source products from various suppliers, including through imports.

This is even as an expert said the NNPCL does not deal with associations, including IPMAN but with companies that applied and paid for their petroleum products.

The IPMAN position came a day after the NNPC increased the pump price of petrol by 15 percent to N998 per liter in Lagos and N1,030 per litre in Abuja.

Speaking to Vanguard, the Public Relations Officer, IPMAN, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, said marketers would source their products from wherever they feel is cheaper and make them (IPMAN) competitive.

Ukadike pointed out that the current business environment in terms of petrol pricing is shrouded in secrecy with marketers not adequately informed about decisions before they were taken.

“The happening has been shrouded in secrecy but with time everything will come out because full deregulation has come into play. Marketers can now import and so let’s see what they will do. Then we will know whether we will go with Dangote or elsewhere where the price is better”, he stated.

Earlier in the day, IPMAN President, Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi Shettima, demanded a refund of N15 billion from NNPC Limited for petrol orders placed by independent marketers but were not supplied.

Shettima who made the demand in an interview with Channels TV stated that if NNPC’s current pricing is higher than that of Dangote Refinery, the national oil company must refund the payments made by independent marketers.

He criticized the NNPC for requesting additional payments from marketers despite not supplying the product for which they had already paid.

However, an expert that preferred to be anonymous faulted the oil marketers, stating that the NNPCL does not do business with oil marketers, including IPMAN.

He said: “NNPCL does not have a business relationship with IPMAN because the association did not fill a form and paid to lift petrol from the company. Rather, the NNPCL is dealing with many companies.

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and Airtel Nigeria collectively generated about N3.67tn from their data and voice services in the first half of 2024, an analysis of their financial results showed.

MTN, the country’s biggest telecom operator with almost 80 million subscribers, reported a combined revenue of N1.27tn for the first six months of 2024, driven by a significant uptick in data services.

The revenue includes N726.6bn from data services, reflecting a 55 per cent increase from N469.7bn in the same period in 2023. Voice services also grew, with revenue reaching N541.3bn, up from N474.1bn year-on-year.

The operator, which has been serving Nigeria’s vast population for two decades, attributed this growth to enhancements in service quality and the robust demand for data services. Price optimization strategies implemented in Q4 2023 further fueled this growth.

Airtel, with over 60 million subscribers, recorded $229m in revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. This revenue comprises $112m from voice services and $117m from data services.

Although voice revenue experienced a significant decline of 55.8 per cent from $254m in the same quarter last year, it increased by 21.6 per cent in constant currency terms, its financial report showed.

Data revenue also declined by 48.6 per cent from $228m in the previous year, but constant currency figures showed a robust growth of 41.3 per cent, indicating rising demand for internet services.

For the full year ending March 31, 2024, analysis of the report showed that Airtel achieved $711m in voice revenue and $654m in data revenue, bringing its total revenue across both periods to $1.594bn.

When converting the total revenue generated by Airtel Nigeria into naira, using the exchange rate of N1500/$1, the operator generated N2.4tn in six months.

The combined revenue figures for both companies indicated that Airtel generated N2.4tn, while MTN raked in N1.27tn, resulting in a total revenue of approximately N3.67tn from data and voice services over the six months.

The duo are adeptly navigating a dynamic telecommunications landscape, capitalizing on the growing demand for digital services amid Nigeria’s expanding digital economy.

However, the companies face significant challenges, primarily due to the weakening naira against the dollar, which has severely impacted operational costs.

Both MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa, listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, budget a significant portion of their revenues to diesel consumption.

Industry operators estimate that over 50 million liters of diesel are consumed by telecom operators each month to fuel their infrastructure.

In response to these rising costs, telecom companies are now shifting their focus towards renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, and lithium batteries.

The Director of Corporate Communications and CSR at Airtel Nigeria, Femi Adeniran, disclosed last month in Lagos that the company spends approximately N28bn monthly on diesel.

A senior telecom executive, who requested anonymity, revealed that MTN, with around 80 million subscribers, incurs over N30bn in monthly diesel expenses to power its approximately 25,000 base stations.

Collectively, MTN and Airtel spent approximately N570bn in the first eight months (January to August) of 2024 due to rising fuel costs, with diesel prices averaging N1,426.09 per liter, The PUNCH reported last month.

For the first half of 2024, MTN reported a loss of $519.1bn after tax, while Airtel posted an $89m loss for the fiscal year ending March 2024. However, Airtel managed to achieve a $31m profit in Q2, despite being impacted by $80m in derivative and foreign exchange losses.

The Senate on Thursday asked the Federal Government to deny allocations to local governments where the chairmen were selected by the state governor.

This resolution was adopted after the Senate Minority leader, Sen. Abba Moro, raised concern over what he describes as sham local government elections conducted on Saturday, 5th October 2024, and the abuse of the Constitution.

Moro alleged that in most places, elections took place in the private homes of the chieftains of the ruling party, making the entire process a mere coronation of candidates of the ruling party and not a proper election contemplated under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

Across party lines, the co-sponsors unanimously concurred that there was no election in Benue.

In the ensuing debate, other lawmakers further expressed worry over the lack of transparency and fairness in local government elections, citing examples in Rivers, Edo, Oyo, Akwa Ibom etc. in addition to Benue.

The upper chamber also condemned the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission’s blatant disregard for democratic principles in the sham local government elections of Saturday, October 5.

Lawmakers also asked the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission to conduct elections in those place where elections were not held and allow the people to choose the representatives of their choice.

The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, also mooted the idea of a national dialogue with a view to changing the narrative.

He maintained that the sham of LG elections transcends party lines, asserting that the National Assembly is poised to change the situation for the better.

Akpabio also called out the Edo state Governor, Godwin Obaseki, stating that he has no respect for the rule He referred to the Obaseki’s refusal to swear in duly elected members of the state house of assembly for four years despite court orders.

The Defence Headquarters stated on Thursday that it chose not to go after former Niger Delta militant warlord, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, to avoid being accused of acting “undemocratically.”

The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, made this remark in Abuja while responding to a recent report about Asari-Dokubo’s alleged threat to shoot down a military helicopter that had reportedly hovered around his residence.

Addressing journalists, the DHQ spokesman described Asari-Dokubo’s threat as laughable, challenging him to confront soldiers on the battlefield if he was bold enough.

Buba said, “Now, the comment by an individual that he can shoot down military helicopters is laughable. And I am about to laugh at that. We are in a democracy, and we are professionals. Of course, we cannot just, based on somebody’s comments, begin to take certain actions. They would accuse the military of being undemocratic.

“The military is not the only security force or department in the country. There are other security agencies that have a constitutional role to play in handling such issues.

“I tell you that he doesn’t have that capability, but I will allow the security forces responsible for such matters to take it up. As for us, come to the battlefield, and we’ll take you out. He should come to the battlefield and see whether we can react or not.”

Buba explained that the military’s focus remained on combating terrorists across various theatres of operations.

He said, “For us, the enemy we fight are the terrorists. Some may choose to call them different names in the different theatres of operations where they exist. In the North-West and North-East, some will say terrorists; some may prefer to call them bandits.

“I tell you, they are all terrorists, and that is what we see. Troops are making significant progress. As I mentioned earlier, we prioritise eliminating terrorist leadership, and we have been doing just that. In the last three quarters, we have taken out over 300 terrorist commanders, not to mention their foot soldiers.

“Our aim is to diminish their fighting capabilities and damage their military capabilities, which we have been successfully doing. As indicated in the brief you received, you can see how many weapons and ammunition we have recovered.”

Buba said a terrorist kingpin in Jigawa State, known as Mai Hijabi, was killed in an operation conducted during the week.

He noted that a total of 165 terrorists were killed, and 238 suspects were arrested.

Buba said, “Our operations have destroyed a substantial part of the combat capacity of these terror groups and their leadership. For instance, one of the notorious terrorist commanders in Jigawa State, known as Mai Hijabi, was eliminated from the battlefield during the week. Troops are, therefore, increasingly making significant strides across all theatres of operations.

“During the week under review, troops neutralised 165 terrorists, arrested 238 persons, and rescued 188 kidnapped victims.”

Buba added that troops also arrested 35 suspected oil thieves in the South-South region and prevented the theft of an estimated sum of N688,125,150.00.

He said, “Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed two dugout pits, 58 boats, and 39 storage tanks. Other items recovered include 13 cooking ovens, 35 drums, one motorcycle, one tricycle, four speed boats, 13 vehicles, and 65 illegal refining sites. Troops recovered 789,200 litres of stolen crude oil and 64,950 litres of illegally refined AGO.”

Buba also noted that troops recovered 153 assorted weapons and 2,182 rounds of assorted ammunition.

The breakdown, according to him, includes 81 AK-47 rifles, 23 fabricated rifles, 27 Dane guns, 13 pump-action guns, five locally-made pistols, three revolver pistols, 30 AK-47 magazines, and one bayonet.

Other items recovered are, “1,561 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, 278 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, 70 rounds of 50mm ammunition, 72 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 87 live cartridges, one Baofeng radio, 19 vehicles, 21 motorcycles, 45 mobile phones, and the sum of N64,100.00, among other items.”

The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has approved ₦10 million compensation to the families of five officers who lost their lives in a road accident.

The officers were returning from the Edo governorship election in September when the mishap occurred at Karfi town, Kura LGA of Kano State.

Force spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, saying eight of the injured officers had been discharged, while three remain in hospital.

“In response to this tragic event, the Inspector General of Police has taken decisive actions to provide support to those affected, by approving the compensatory payment of Ten Million Naira (N10,000,000) to the families of the deceased,” the statement reads.

Adejobi said Egbetokun also approved the immediate payment of N2 million each to those still in hospital, and N500,000 to those who had been discharged.

“He acknowledged their profound loss and providing assistance as they navigate this challenging period.

“The IGP has also approved the payment of Two Million Naira (N2,000,000) to those still receiving treatment, ensuring they receive the necessary medical support as they recuperate, and the sum of Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000) to those who have been discharged after treatment.”

The IGP reiterated the force’s commitment to supporting officers and their families.

See the full statement below:

PERSONNEL WELFARE: IGP APPROVES COMPENSATORY PAYMENT TO OFFICERS INVOLVED IN KANO ACCIDENT, REASSURES PAYMENTS OF OTHER BENEFITS.

As IGP Reaffirms Dedication to Personnel Well-being.

 

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun PhD., NPM., has approved the immediate payment of relief funds to the families of officers that were involved in a fatal motor accident on 24th September 2024 while returning from the Edo Elections Special Duty to Kano State Command.

The accident which occurred along the Zaria-Kano Expressway, Karfi Kura, had resulted in the loss of 5 officers, with 11 hospitalised after the accident. 8 individuals have been successfully discharged from the hospital after receiving medical attention, while 3 others are still undergoing treatment.

In response to this tragic event, the Inspector General of Police has taken decisive actions to provide support to those affected, by approving the compensatory payment of Ten Million Naira (N10,000,000) to the families of the deceased, acknowledging their profound loss and providing assistance as they navigate this challenging period. The IGP has also approved the payment of Two Million Naira (N2,000,000) to those still receiving treatment ensuring they receive the necessary medical support as they recuperate and the sum of Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000) to those who have been discharged after treatment.

The IGP reaffirms the commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to supporting officers and men of the Force and their families during trying times. The IGP once again expresses his deepest condolences to all the families of the deceased and prays for the quick recovery of those still receiving medical care.

 

ACP OLUMUYIWA ADEJOBI, mnipr, mipra, fCAI,

FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER,

FORCE HEADQUARTERS,