Aisha Falode, the Chairperson of the Nigerian Women’s Football League, has said that FIFA will still pay the 2023 Women’s World Cup prize money through the country’s federation.

FIFA secretary-general, Fatma Samoura following the qualification of Super Falcons to the second round of the Mundial, reportedly said the world’s football governing body would send unpaid allowance to the country’s women’s football team to the players directly.

FIFA had announced that every player participating in the World Cup group stage will earn $30,000.

The match bonuses will increase to $60,000 in the second round of the competition.

By this virtue, each player of the Nigerian team is expected to earn at least $60,000 for reaching the round of 16 in Australia and New Zealand.

Falode, while making the clarification during a chat with Lagos Talks FM on Wednesday, said that the World Cup prize money will be “ring-fenced” to ensure it gets to the players without interference from a third party.

She noted that Falcons’ prize money from the ongoing World Cup will still be routed through the NFF.

She said, “FIFA did not say it would pay the players directly. It says working through the member association – working through your federations, we will pay you this money through the federations,” the NWFL chair said.

“FIFA will pay the federations the money, and the federation pays the players with the instruction. Everybody knows it is there in black and white.”

Nigeria will battle England in a second-round contest on Monday.

National Legal Adviser of All Progressives Congress, Ahmed El-Marzuq, has resigned from his position in the ruling party’s National Working Committee.

El-Marzuq, believed to an ally of former National Chairman of APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, reportedly threw in the towel on Wednesday.

Sources at the national headquarters of the party in Abuja confirmed that the legal icon has been under some form of pressure following the exit of Adamu.

The erstwhile national legal adviser was in the news three months ago when he recommended the expulsion of former National Vice Chairman for Northwest, Mallam Salihu Lukman, over his decision to take the party and his leadership to court.

El-Marzuq’s suggestion was contained in a leaked ‘legal opinion’ written to Adamu dated 28th April, 2023.

His resignation was the fourth after the exit of Adamu, Lukman and the immediate past National Secretary of the party, Senator Iyiola Omisore.

Efforts to get the reaction of the National Publicity Secretary of APC, Felix Morka, were unsuccessful.

Deputy National Organising Secretary of the APC, Nze Chidi Duru, however confirmed the report.

Following a series of calls to him and a number of other NWC members to authenticate the report, Duru replied via text message to confirm El-Marzuq’s departure.

“Yes,” he said but declined to comment further.

A chieftain of the Labour Party, LP, Kenneth Okonkwo, has slammed President Bola Tinubu’s administration for nominating 47 persons for ministerial appointments.

Okonkwo wondered why the administration considered setting up what he described as ‘the most bloated bureaucracy in the world’ when according to him, the nation is heading towards being the poorest country in the world.

The Nollywood veteran actor’s assertion was contained in a post via his Twitter handle on Thursday.

He claimed that the constitution allows only 37 ministers and not 47.

“What a regime? We are heading towards being the poorest country in the world, and this regime is considering setting up the most bloated bureaucracy in the world, which will lead to the highest cost of governance in the world. 47 Ministers when the government is only compelled to have 37.

“The money to be used to pay them will eventually be extorted from Nigerians through inordinate taxing and over-pricing of essential commodities and borrowing from outside sources because APC regimes produce nothing. I pity Nigerians under this clueless regime,” he tweeted.

Lateef Fagbemi, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), says the way corruption and grafts are being fought in Nigeria leaves so much to be desired.

He noted that the two major anti-graft agencies in Nigeria should be merged.

Speaking on Wednesday during his screening by the senate as a ministerial nominee, Fagbemi said investigation and prosecution of corruption cases should be handled by more than one agency.

The legal luminary, while suggesting ways to effectively fight corruption in the country, said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Related Commission (ICPC) should be “brought together” to perform separate functions of investigation and prosecution.

However, the senior lawyer did not state which of the agencies should be saddled with the responsibility of conducting the investigation or prosecution.

Both EFCC and ICPC are empowered by their enabling acts to investigate and prosecute cases of corruption.

According to the ICPC act, the commission is to investigate and prosecute corruption in the public sector, especially bribery, malfeasance gratification, graft, and abuse or misuse of office.

The EFCC, on the other hand, is to probe and prosecute people who engage in money laundering and other financial crimes.

“Truth be told, we fight corruption but at the same time, the way it is being fought in Nigeria leaves much to be desired,” Fagbemi said.

“If I have my way, I’ll advise the president to unbundle, first of all, bring ICPC and EFCC together, unbundle them.

“Investigation should not be handled by the same body that must be the supervisory authority within the same system.

“Prosecution is another body. It doesn’t augur well to ask the same authority to (carry out) investigation and prosecution. That is why we have problems.”

Fagbemi also emphasised that conducting investigations requires “patience” to ensure a thorough and proper examination.

He said: “We are not also patient enough. Investigation takes time, especially in serious corruption cases. Are we prepared to wait?

“My take is that, a situation such as the one that happened when Hushpuppy was arrested. They have been trailing him for years but he didn’t know, and nobody talked to him. But the day they said the time was up, he also knew that the time was up.

“Investigation should be thorough. It shouldn’t be that when a sitting governor leaves office then say EFCC is inviting you. That is not the way to prosecute criminal and corruption matters.

“We have to put in place very good laws to do this.”

The SAN asked the parliament to make laws that will be good for society without the lawmakers “anticipating” how it will affect me.

Fagbemi, who is a nominee from Kwara, was accompanied to the red chamber by AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq, governor of the state, and several SANs, including Wole Olanipekun, Yusuf Ali and Adeniyi Akintola.

Dino Melaye, the Governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the November 11, 2023 Kogi Governorship election has issued a warning to the All Progressives Congress.

According to Dino, he will win the Governorship election in the state come November, 11.

Speaking at the inauguration of the National Campaign Council for Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa states as well as the presentation of certificates of return to the party’s three governorship candidates in Abuja on Wednesday, Melaye said he has expertise in taming lions.

Melaye said the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC), will fail on November 11.

“I just want to announce that as far as this election is concerned in Kogi State, APC is history. APC has gone to oblivion.

“PDP is the party to beat in Kogi State and I assure the people of Kogi State, that my name is Daniel and Daniel is used to taming lions. I befriend lions, I kiss lions and subdue lions,” Melaye said.

Acting National Chairman of PDP, Umar Damagun, in his remarks said the chances of the party emerging victorious were brighter than ever.

“We will have Bayelsa, we will have Imo and we will have Kogi. These are PDP states. Somehow, they slipped away but Bayelsa has always had a PDP governor. I want to challenge everyone in this country to look at the states governed by PDP governors viz-a-viz the other parties. We have always excelled,” he said.

Speaking in solidarity with the contestants, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, said, “The chances of the PDP in the three states are very great because we are bringing light all the way and you know when the light comes, darkness vanishes.”

Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party have expressed optimism that the party will emerge victorious in the upcoming governorship elections in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa States.

The party leaders spoke at the inauguration of the National Campaign Council for the three states as well as the presentation of certificates of return to the party’s three governorship candidates, in Abuja, on Wednesday.

Acting National Chairman of the party, Umar Damagun, in his remarks described the inauguration as historic noting that the chances of the party emerging victorious were brighter than ever.

He said, “We will have Bayelsa, we will have Imo and we will have Kogi. These are PDP states. Somehow, they slipped away but Bayelsa has always had a PDP governor. I want to challenge everyone in this country to look at the states governed by PDP governors viz-a-viz the other parties. We have always excelled.

“Today marks another historic day for the PDP in its political development. As we inaugurate the National Campaign Council for Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States, I want to say a few things to members of these campaign councils.

“You’ve been carefully selected to go into these states and saddled with the campaigns. We don’t expect less from you because before you were selected, you were found very capable and we expect nothing other than victory.

“You are going in at a time whereby the country as it is, everybody is feeling the burden of the mistakes that have happened in this country.

“What is expected of you is go there and remind them that this is not what we bargained for and that there is a time God in his infinite mercy, always give us to change the course of history, and this is the time.

“To you that are going to Kogi and Imo states, remind them that it has not been like that before they made a mistake to where they are today. There are times and opportunities to change and there’s no better time than now.”

Damagun also charged members of the committee to go out and “conquer.”

Speaking in a similar vein, the party’s National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, who also spoke shortly after the presentation of certificates of return to the three candidates said, “We are here to present certificates of return to our three candidates for Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa States.

“The party is sure of coming victorious. As you are aware, we are presenting Gov Duoye Diri for Bayelsa State; our own National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu for Imo State and My own brother, Senator Dino Melaye for Kogi State.

“As you heard yesterday at the court, the judge said Nigeria needs a lot of prayers. We need prayers for these three candidates to win this election.”

On his part, Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri, who is seeking reelection on the party’s ticket said, “PDP is very sure of victory in Bayelsa State. We don’t have any internal crisis in the PDP in Bayelsa State.

“This is a governorship election in Bayelsa State and so, we are well organized. We have more members of the opposition coming into PDP in Bayelsa State.

“Those are no issues in Bayelsa State. Bayelsa PDP is very strong, vibrant and poised the win the election.

“If I should give you a scale, it would be like 80-20. Bayelsans have resolved unanimously that PDP as exemplified by me, you don’t need to change players in a winning team. Bayelsans are very resolute about that and I just want to say thank you. We will do it again.”

The party’s candidate for the Imo State election, Sen. Sam Anyanwu, in his remarks said, “Imo is traditionally PDP State. What you have there now is a product of the court. I am back to reclaim the mandate of the PDP.”

The National President of Heavy-Duty Drivers Association, Mr Uchenna Nebuwa, says members of the association and other drivers no longer use the second Niger Bridge because of security concerns.

Nebuwa told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Onitsha that criminals have taken over the route, including Obosi-Owerri axis of the road.

According to him, hoodlums, armed robbers and kidnappers now operate along the bridge.

“Drivers are afraid because there is no adequate security on the second Niger bridge, Federal Government should provide security to secure lives and property.

“Another worrisome one is the failed portions of Obosi-Owerri road, as our trucks fall on the road on daily basis, we have lost over N20 billion worth of vehicles and goods on that road.

”We are begging Federal Government to help us fix the failed portions of Obosi-Owerri road as this will encourage drivers to be using the second Niger bridge”, he said.

Also speaking, the Chairman, Great Tippers Association of Nigeria, Anambra Chapter, Mr Chukwuemeka Olekpe, expressed concern about the security situation, saying armed robbers and kidnappers have scared them away from using the bridge.

On his part, a commercial bus driver, Paul Osakwe, who plies Asaba-Owerri road, said drivers avoid the area because the bridge has become lonely and insecure.

“The bridge is not secure, it’s too lonely, you can’t even try to use it at night, even you inside the bus will be scared, government should at least install light on the bridge, maybe that will help”, he said.

Mr Seyi Martins, the Engineer in charge of the bridge, attributed its low usage to the security challenges in the South-East, adding that their mandate was to construct the bridge and open it to ease traffic.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Mr Mahmuda Mamman, had while inspecting the vandalised part of the bridge on Monday, urged security agencies to beef up security on the second Niger bridge and surrounding areas.

The chief executive officer of Convvy Estates Limited, Samuel Oni has lamented the current cost of labour and building materials triggered by removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government, saying it is affecting the cost of housing units in the country.

The Convvy boss, who disclosed this to newsmen in Lagos, revealed that the cost of labour and building materials have skyrocketed, saying he has been working around his finances and work’s ethics without compromising standards.

He said: “within the estate, we do some basic things by ourselves. Let me let you know that the cost of labour has also gone up. A mason or carpenter now collects N7,000 instead N3,500. We have to go back to the drawing board to look at our operation, then scale it down so that we will be picking it gradually. We are not stopping work, we are progressing but our activities are based on scale of preference.”

Due to these challenges, he said, the prices of the housing units have been affected, adding that the increase in price is tied to the present economic challenges.

“Housing units’ prices ranged from N55 million for outright purchase. The same unit can’t go for that in the next 12 months. When we started, the price was N48 million. The fuel subsidy removal is affecting our bottom line if you look at it very well,” he said.

He disclosed the 2025 deadline for the delivery of all the housing units, pointing out that, one uniqueness about the estate was that, immediately you subscribed and made payment, subscribers got all their documents immediately.

He added that lack of transparency in the area of documentation remains one of the reasons Nigerians in Diaspora are wary of investing in housing back home.

Oni said:” When we showed interest in investing back home in Nigeria, we said we wanted all the documents to be perfected before selling any of the property. And that’s what we are doing in Convvy Estate. As you subscribe to our estate and make full payment, you get all the documents.“

Having spent two years in putting Convvy Estate in shape, Oni is of the opinion that Nigerians, wherever they are either at home or in the diaspora, should be able to buy land, subscribe or get their home conveniently without any hassle, without omo-onile’s crisis, without the issue of documentation.

“Documentation is the most common thing that is really a hindrance to people living abroad from investing in real estate back home. For people living abroad, there is this kind of distorted information, process that you have to get this, you have to buy this, and at the end of the day after paying for some certain documents, developers would still go back to them that they still need to pay for one kind of document that does not really exists.

“I am a Nigerian and I live in Canada, I have witnessed how things are done over there in Canada, South Africa and other parts of the world. I am also bringing this to Nigeria and that is the basis of Convvy Estates,” he said.

A data and intelligence company providing subscription-based data and insight to global businesses and professionals, Stears has conducted a poll to understand public sentiment in the wake of a storm of policy reforms implemented by the current administration.

In the poll, the intelligence company has rated president Bola Ahmed

Tinubu’s policy approval rating better than former president Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

The newly introduced Stears Approval Rating (SAR) revealed that despite multiple policy changes, Tinubu’s policies have received twice as many approvals from respondents compared to those of the previous administration.

The inaugural Stears Approval Rating sampled 519 respondents across Lagos’ 20 local government areas.

The SAR is built from responses to 25 questions about socioeconomic policies, living conditions, institutional trust and voter status. Interviews were conducted in English, Pidgin English, and Yoruba, and lasted an average of 10 minutes.

“After Stears’ proprietary estimation model correctly predicted the outcome of the 2023 presidential elections, we wanted to continue to build on the application of data in governance and beyond. Particularly, we’re excited about how the SAR captures subtle fluctuations in consumer sentiment,” explains Tokunbo Afikuyomi, Economist at Stears.

Senior Governance Analyst, Joachim MacEbong, expressed the importance of paying attention to the survey results. He stated, “The Stears survey offers a valuable glimpse into the concerns of Nigerians, and it is clear that urgent action is needed to ease the cost burdens on citizens. Our poll showed that 42% of Lagosians are pessimistic while 32% said they were optimistic about the country’s direction.”

A United States-based financial expert, Kalu Aja has warned that Nigeria may not be able to sustain the war it is starting with Niger Republic.

President Bola Tinubu in a leaked memo ordered the Nigerian Army to proceed to Sokoto State and enforce a no-fly zone in Niger.

The Chiefs of Defence Staff of Togo, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Guinea, Gambia, Cote’Divoire, Cabo Verde, and the Republic of Benin held a meeting on Wednesday in Abuja over the matter.

The order by Tinubu was in response to the coup which took place in Niger Republic last week that ousted Mohamed Bazoum, the country’s elected president.

The Niger coup plotters however warned against ‘military intervention’ by ECOWAS.

Aja in his analysis said Tinubu does not have a fund appropriated by the National Assembly to fund a war.

He said considering economic realities, the country does not have the financial capacity to enforce a no-fly zone in Niger.

He said in his analysis seen by THE WHISTLER, “I don’t believe the President has this authority without NASS appropriation of funds for this action which will cost a lot of money.

“I personally know Nigeria does not have the means or financial resources to enforce a no-fly zone in Niger Republic, where is the aviation fuel?

“Last year bandits inside Nigeria shut down a Nigerian fighter jet, yet we are prepping to cross an international border? With fighter jets?”

Tinubu is facing an internal crisis. The fuel subsidy removal has induced hardship in Africa’s biggest economy leading to a national protest.

The country borrowed $800m from the World Bank as a palliative for subsidy removal.

According to the Debt Management Office, Nigeria’s total debt was N49.85trn as of March 2023, excluding the Ways and Means of N22.7trn.

Also, the country is battling with Boko Haram terrorists in the North as well as farmer-herder crisis. In the South Eastern region, it is faced with separatist agitations.

Aja explained, “Nigerian farmers do not have safe access to farms, this insecurity has led to high inflation in Nigeria caused by high food costs. Similarly, oil exports have been muted due to illegal oil theft inside Nigerian waters.

“A President that has told the Nigerian Labour Congress he inherited a mess and pleads with Nigerians still earning N30,000 as month minimum wage should focus on Nigerians, not Nigeriens.”