The CAF Technical Study Group (TSG) has released its initial assessment of the ongoing CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023, affirming that the tournament has surpassed expectations on the field.
As the competition progresses into its thrilling final stages, 50 matches have been officially played, providing ample data for analysis by the team of experts comprising data analysts, technical directors, former footballers, and coaches.
Raul Chipenda, CAF’s Director of Technical and Development, expressed delight with the tournament’s quality, stating, “We are witnessing an exceptional competition. This AFCON stands out as the best in history across multiple aspects.”
Chipenda highlighted the significant reduction in the gap between perceived smaller and larger teams, emphasizing the tactical prowess of coaches and the disciplined approach adopted by teams in various formations. He noted that the tournament has exceeded expectations by showcasing the evolution of the African game.
AFCON: Nigeria’s Super Eagles soar to final after defeating feisty South Africa on penalties
The CAF Technical Study Group, comprised of seasoned football analysts from across the continent, brings a wealth of experience to the assessment process, having served the African football community in diverse technical capacities.
In his concluding remarks, Chipenda emphasized the importance of African nations’ continued investment in football development. He advocated for active involvement from all countries, stating that increased investment would strengthen African football and nurture the emergence of world-class players domestically, reducing reliance on foreign talent.
Salihu Mohammed Lukman, former national vice chairman (North West) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has issued a stark warning to President Bola Tinubu, urging him not to disregard the mass protests erupting across the country over the high cost of living.
In a statement released in Abuja on Wednesday, Lukman, a former Director General of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), cautioned that failure to address the underlying issues could lead to widespread unrest in the nation.
Lukman expressed deep concern over the prevailing economic challenges, stating, “As it stands, the renewed hope agenda of our party has been overshadowed. Like the fluctuating Naira exchange rate, Renewed Hope is being exchanged for Renewed Anger, fueling frustration among citizens.”
Highlighting the severity of the situation, Lukman emphasized the prevalence of hunger in the land, lamenting that such hardships are occurring under the leadership of the APC. He criticized the statement by Mr Felix Morka, the National Publicity Secretary, attributing the protests to opposition influence, labelling it as dishonest.
“How can we attribute protests in APC strongholds like Minna and Kano to opposition sponsorship?” Lukman questioned. He reminded that both cities are known as APC strongholds, with Niger State ruled by the APC and Kano being the home state of Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the APC National Chairman.
Lukman stressed the need for the APC leadership to acknowledge the legitimacy of these protests as responses to the harsh realities Nigerians face. He warned that the protests would escalate nationwide if left unaddressed, posing a significant challenge to the party’s credibility, leadership, and democracy.
In conclusion, Lukman cautioned that ignoring the protests would be at the peril of the APC and President Asiwaju Tinubu, urging them to take decisive action to address the people’s grievances.
Nigerian film anctress, Ethel Ekpe, who played the role of Segi in Basi and Company, a sitcom that ran on Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) from 1986 to 1990, has died.
The University of Calabar graduate reportedly died of cancer on Monday.
Director general of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) Dr Shaibu Husseini announced her death in a Facebook post on Monday night.
The post read:
“(Ethel Aderemi nee Ekpe), the screen beauty that delighted fans with her inimitable interpretation of the role of Segi in the defunct sitcom on Nigerian Television Authority by Ken Saro Wiwa titled ‘Basi and Company’ has passed on.
“The actress and later day Pastor and star of Amaka Igwe’s ‘Forever’ and most recently ‘Sons of the Caliphate” reportedly died of Cancer today in Lagos.
“She will be sorely missed. My family will particularly miss her because we named my second daughter Ethel, after her. Good night good woman!”
The deceased also stars in Aguila Njamah’s Heartbeat, Tchidi Chikere’s Speak the Word and Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen’s Traumatised.
Popular Nigerian singer Timaya has taken to social media to issue a safety advisory to fellow Nigerians in South Africa following Nigeria’s victory over South Africa in the semi-finals of the AFCON football tournament.
The match, which ended with Nigeria securing a spot in the finals, seems to have sparked concerns regarding the safety of Nigerians in the host country.
Timaya, through his Twitter account, urged Nigerians in South Africa to “just day your day,” implying that they should remain indoors to avoid potential harm or clashes that could arise following the football match.
The tweet comes in the wake of heightened emotions surrounding the football match.
“If you’re a Nigerian and in SA tonight pls just DEY YOUR DEY!,” Timaya wrote.
Super Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong has named Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand as one of the players he would give his No.5 jersey up for amid the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
William Troost-Ekong said this in a post via his X account after Nigeria defeated South Africa on Wednesday to qualify for the AFCON final.
Recall that Troost-Ekong was exceptional as the Super Eagles beat the Bafana Bafana to set up a final clash with the host nation, Ivory Coast.
Ferdinand had in a show of support to the Super Eagles, posted several Nigerian flag on X and shared a picture holding the Super Eagles jersey with “Ferdinand 5” boldly written on it.
However, Troost-Ekong retweeted Ferdinand’s post and wrote: “One of the few players I would be willing to give my number up for! Legend!”
Troost-Ekong will hope to lead Jose Peseiro’s men to victory when they face Ivory Coast in the final.
[DailyPost]
Nigerian music sensation, Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe, also known as Ayra Starr, has revealed that American-Barbadian singer, Rihanna, alias Riri is her “greatest inspiration.”
She stated this in an interview with Rolling Stone that Rihanna’s ‘Anti’ is timeless and the greatest album ever made, adding that she listens to it repeatedly.
Ayra Starr said she picked a valuable lesson from the album, which is to come to terms with the fact that being oneself and accepting certain disappointments is okay as not everything will work out. In Ayra Star’s words:
“Rihanna’s ‘Anti’ is the album I can put on repeat for life. I love Rihanna. She is my greatest inspiration. She is my matriarch. She is my queen. Her album ‘Anti’ is timeless. I listen to it always. The more I listen to it, the more I understand it. I love it so much.
“What I heard from Rihanna is being myself, understanding myself; whatever works for me is fine, some things don’t work for me, it’s fine. I’m just going to be myself in every situation.”
In a related post, Ayra Starr in an interview with UK-based Kiss FM, stated that Rihanna influenced her fashion style.
Timaya sends message to Nigerians living in South Africa following AFCON semi-final victory
The singer who is known to wear very short outfits while featuring on Elle’s Game of Song Association in another interview, stated that she would love to collaborate with Rihanna aka Riri.
The “Rush” singer mentioned that collaborating with Rihanna has been her childhood dream as she considers her a “queen.”
She praised Rihanna’s music for instilling confidence in her and described her love for everything Riri.
Vice President Kashim Shettima met with the Super Eagles following their win over the Bafana Bafana of South Africa and promised that the Federal Government will reward them for their “commitment and dedication.”
The Super Eagles disclosed this in a statement and photos shared on their official X handle early Thursday.
The statement read, “The Federal Government has promised to reward the Super Eagles for their commitment and dedication in reaching the final of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivore.
“Vice President Kashim Shettima told the players and their officials in the dressing room, following their hard-fought victory over South Africa in the semi finals on Wednesday, that the government and people of Nigeria are proud of their accomplishment.
“The VP was in company with Governors Dapo Abiodun (Ogun) and Duoye Diri (Bayelsa), Minister for Youths, Dr. Jamila Ibrahim as well as oil mogul, Wale Tinubu, FIFA Council member, Amaju Pinnick, and NFF President, Ibrahim Musa Gusau.”
PUNCH Online reports that the Super Eagles of Nigeria advanced to the final of the tournament after beating Bafana Bafana of South Africa 4-2 on penalties.
Nigeria holds the record for the highest number of appearances at the AFCON semi-finals, having played 15 times.
[Punch]
N1.3bn Fraud: How General Overseer Acquired Hotel, Factory Primary School From Crime Proceeds [PHOTOS]
AdminA fresh report has revealed more details on the criminal activities of the General Overseer of Faith On The Rock Ministry International, Apostle Theophilus Oloche Ebonyi.
Recall that the clergyman was apprehended by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Ebonyi was arrested for allegedly defrauding his church members and other Nigerians using fake grants from the Ford Foundation to the tune of N1.3 billion.
He defrauded his victims, comprising Non-Governmental Organisations, NGOs and individuals, by advertising an intervention project through his NGO (Theobarth Global Foundation), claiming that the Ford Foundation was offering a grant of $20 billion to assist the less-privileged in society.
A report from the Punch showed that Ebonyi acquired a 23-room hotel, a pure water factory, two blocks of a Primary School and two bungalow office at Nyanya-Gwandara, New Karu, Abuja and a five-bedroom duplex at Karsana, Abuja with the proceeds of his fraudulent dealings with his subscribers.
He also set up a live broadcast channel with studio equipment for his Theobarth Global Foundation with the funds of his subscribers.
He allegedly deceived his victims into subscribing as beneficiaries of the phoney grant by asking them to pay for registration forms and clusters. Each subscriber group was made to pay N1.8 million.
Through this arrangement, Ebonyi allegedly raked in N1.3 billion from his unsuspecting subscribers and non-governmental organisations.
A statement by EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, showed that Ford Foundation had no arrangement, grant, relationship or business with Ebonyi.
According to the statement, Ford Foundation has pointedly disclaimed Ebonyi and his NGO, stressing that it had no link whatsoever with them. The Commission has also traced five properties he acquired as proceeds of his criminal dealings.
Ebonyi is still reportedly reaching his subscribers on some social media platforms to market his spurious grant from Ford Foundation despite his arrest and probe by the EFCC.
The pictures below, show some of the properties he acquired from the crime proceeds.
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Nollywood actor, Don Richard, has tackled married women who password their phones to make them inaccessible to people, including their husbands.
Naija News reports that the movie star, in a video making rounds online, said he finds it funny that a man would pay his wife’s bride price and spend so much on their wedding, and thereafter, she passwords her phone and restricts him from knowing the people she is communicating with.
Don Richard insists he must know everything about his wife’s phone and online conversation, stating that such an act of privacy should have ended when the woman was a single lady, or she should not have gotten married.
The thespian added that men who think it’s okay for their wives to password phones said they might end up training children for 25 years before discovering they are not the biological father.
He said, “It’s just really funny. How will I pay your bride price, pay for the wedding, not small money o, I then finish marrying you and you start putting password on your phone, saying I can’t check your phone, I can’t check who you’re chatting with on WhatsApp, I must not check who sent you a friend requests or voice notes and you call me your husband that married you the right way.
“You men, so your woman will tell you not to touch her phone because there’s a password, and you married her? Don’t you know how much you spent on the wedding? I pity you. You would have taken care of your children for 25 years before discovering you are not the father, better go and do a DNA test. How will you marry a woman and she says her phone is passworded? Is something wrong with her?”
The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, has made a bold declaration regarding his safety, stating unequivocally that he is beyond the reach of kidnappers and assassins, attributing his protection to divine rather than traditional powers.
This statement comes against the backdrop of increasing concerns over the security of traditional rulers in Nigeria, particularly amidst a spate of kidnappings and assassination attempts targeting monarchs.
In a press briefing at his palace in Iwo on Wednesday, Oba Akanbi addressed the issue of security for traditional rulers, especially in the southwest, emphasizing a shift from the reliance on ancient deities to seeking protection from God.
He argued that continued dependence on such deities not only fails to ensure safety but also tarnishes the honour of the thrones they occupy.
Oba Akanbi highlighted the imperative for traditional institutions in Yorubaland to recognize their role as representatives of God on earth, rather than emissaries of ancient gods.
He urged his fellow monarchs to embrace this perspective for their safety and protection, moving away from traditional practices towards a more divine trust in God.
Furthermore, the Oluwo touched upon the pressing issue of economic hardship in Nigeria, directing attention towards governors and lawmakers.
He criticized them for not alleviating the people’s suffering, especially in light of the income generated from the removal of fuel subsidies, which is distributed among states and earmarked for constituency projects.
In his critique, Oba Akanbi also called for the implementation of capital punishment for corruption, underscoring this as a crucial step if the government is truly committed to combating the menace of corruption.
He said, “The steps that this new government is taking is right. Money can’t get to Nigerians except through their governors, Senators, House of Representatives and others. Revenue going to states and others is unprecedented in the history of this country. Lets show love to each other, let’s help each other. Money accruing to the federal government after fuel subsidy removal is being shared all tiers of government in Nigeria. Why are people now becoming poorer? Why are Nigerians hungry. There should be meeting at the federal level where questions would be asked about how resources going to other tiers of government.
“A state in South South was said to have recieved over N437billlion between now and when subsidy was removed. Yet people are still hungry. All elected and appointed political office holders are getting money yet people are hungry. I feel they are covering each other. Mr. President should tell them the truth and ask them to use the available funds to ease economic woes of the people. Corruption is thrieving and to put an end to it, death penalty should be the punishment for graft.”
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Five pregnant girls have been rescued following a raid of a baby factory by security operatives at Umunya in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The rescue efforts followed a collaboration of the Anambra State Ministry of Health and security agencies in the South-Eastern state.
Briefing journalists on Wednesday, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Obidike said it was observed that the baby factory was functioning as a hospital but it was a base for child trafficking.
He identified the facility as ‘Mother and Child Hospital and Maternity located on a road along the Tansian University, Umunya.
“We found that some hospitals that are not registered are operating in the state. We have created data that will capture the hospitals in the state so that people will be able to have quality, good healthcare,” he said.
“Unfortunately, in one of the hospitals that we came for inspection, we found out that in our data system, they were not registered. We came here to verify and look at what is happening,” he said.
‘Ran Away’
He said the facility was not registered with the Anambra State Government, adding that the government that seven nurses on duty ran away.
The commissioner put the ages of the victims as 14 to 21 years, stressing that Governor Charles Soludo’s administration is determined to tackle the menace.
“Unfortunately, the hospital is not registered and activities are suspected to be very fraudulent. So we decided to just see the senior doctor in the hospital and all the seven nurses.
“They locked us outside. Before they opened the gate, they followed the back and ran away. Seven to eight of them ran away. We saw little girls here that are pregnant, some of them ranging from 14, 15, 16 and 21 years,” the commissioner said.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria have beaten South Africa’s Bafana Bafana on penalties to reach the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 final.
The match finished 1-1 after extra time and the three-time champions will face hosts Ivory Coast or the Democratic Republic of Congo in the final on Sunday.
Stanley Nwabali was the hero of the night as he saved two penalty kicks.
Nigeria were hoping to make it into their fourth AFCON final but were made to work for it early in the first half as South Africa bossed early proceedings.
Substitute Kelechi Iheanacho scored to give Nigeria a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over South Africa on Wednesday after an Africa Cup of Nations semi-final thriller in Bouake.
Ondo State Security Network, codenamed Amotekun Corps has intercepted some trucks loaded with arms and other dangerous weapons and charms from entering the state from the northern part of the country.
Amotekun nabbed the suspects during operations that took place in three local government areas of the state.
Parading the suspects in Akure, the state capital, the state commander of Amotekun Corps, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, said the agency had been monitoring the influx of strange persons in the last couple of weeks within and around forest reserves and other parts of the state.
Adeleye, who said another set of 31 suspected criminals were arrested two weeks ago, explained that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa had directed that buses carrying pupils in the state must be protected and placed on serious surveillance.
He said, “A couple of weeks ago, we started having a very heavy influx of strange people within our forest reserve areas and the Ondo State territory.
“Majority of these people who claimed that they were coming into the state as hunters, were arrested around the black spots where we have robbery operations and kidnapping in the local governments where they were nabbed.
“They surprisingly and carefully concealed and kept their weapons, bags of Indian hemp, and cutlasses under their vehicles and they claimed that they were coming from various parts of the country.
Adeleye added that the arrested 149 suspects have been profiled, while some of them are still being questioned.
Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, former Minister of Education and Founder of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG), has identified the shortage of competent political leadership as the root cause of Nigeria’s economic difficulties.
Addressing attendees at the inaugural session of the SPPG Distinguished Guest Speaker Series, Ezekwesili emphasized the urgent need for comprehensive reforms, including a new constitution and restructuring of political, electoral, and economic frameworks.
Highlighting the correlation between effective governance and national progress, Ezekwesili underscored the imperative for a political landscape conducive to good governance.
In her discourse-themed ‘Power, Performance and Legitimacy: Renewing Global Democratic Momentum,’ she underscored the findings of the #FixPolitics research, stressing that the absence of good governance remains the foremost impediment to Nigeria’s economic advancement.
Ezekwesili decried the prevailing trend where political leaders prioritize personal interests over the collective welfare of citizens, lamenting the failure of African politicians to fulfil their obligations to the populace.
Proposing a radical solution, Ezekwesili advocated for establishing an innovative SPPG to nurture a new cadre of principled politicians capable of prioritizing public welfare.
She emphasized the necessity of training a new breed of Nigerians in ethical politics, policy, and governance, with a curriculum tailored to instil values that promote the common good.
Moreover, Ezekwesili called for collective action among Nigerians to demand sweeping reforms, warning against the looming threat of state failure if urgent measures are not taken.
Echoing Ezekwesili’s sentiments, Prof. Larry Diamond from Stanford University criticized the monopolization of political power by ruling parties, undermining electoral integrity and stifling democratic processes.