President Bola Tinubu salutes the Super Eagles of Nigeria for their tenacious performance in the final of the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d'Ivoire.

President Tinubu commends the team, the coach, the crew, and the entire management team for their hard work, assiduity, and sacrifice to come this far in the tournament, acknowledging the hurdles they consistently surpassed with steadily improving performance as they pulled through to the finals.

The President urges Nigerians to be of good cheer, emphasizing that we won a great victory in the hearts of Africa and the world by our grit, rigour, and determination in the field of play.

"Let this passing event not dispirit us, but bring us together to work harder. We are a great nation bound as one by the green-white-green banner of resilience, joy, hope, duty, and untiring love. To those cherished Nigerian youths expressing their gifts in communities, drawing lines in the sand as they play football in their humble rectangles of play, you can be our heroes tomorrow, do not relent in your pursuit. My administration is here to make dreams come true," the President says.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

Nigeria’s wait for their fourth Africa Cup of Nations title continues after they lost 2-1 to Ivory Coast in this year’s final.

At the end of the first half, it appeared the Super Eagles would have lifted the trophy again, after William Troost-Ekong’s goal.

The captain rose highest to head in a corner kick and give Nigeria the lead.

But second half goals from Franck Kessie and Sebastien Haller saw the Elephants win the title on home soil.

So what went wrong?

1. Peseiro got his tactics wrong: Credit to Jose Peseiro. After the 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea in the opening group fixture, he switched to a 3-4-3 tactical system that saw Nigeria go all the way to the final. However, from the semi-final against South Africa, the cracks in that setup began to show. And against the hosts, the Portuguese needed to switch it up again, possibly return to a back four.

2. Too many poor performances: From back to front, there were a few poor displays from Nigerian players. Calvin Bassey was shaky. Zaidu Sanusi returned to the starting XI, but remained unreliable. Ola Aina chose to have his worst game in the final. Alex Iwobi was merely a passenger on the pitch, while Samuel Chukwueze had no business starting the game.

3. Weight of history: The Super Eagles have never defeated a host country in an AFCON final. And from the moment Ivory Coast snuck into the knockout stages as the last team to qualify, it felt ominous. There was a call of destiny they had to answer. It was crowned by Sebastien Haller getting the winner. Almost two years ago, he was diagnosed with cancer. On Sunday, he was helping his country make history.

4. Poor officiating: For most of the tournament, fans and pundits hailed the use of Video Assistant Referees (VAR), urging the top European leagues to learn a thing or two. But officiating for the final was an eyesore. The referee seemed jittery and overwhelmed. Most of the 50-50 calls went the way of the hosts. Kessie, who equalized for the hosts, could have easily seen red after elbowing Sanusi.

The Nigerian Presidency has congratulated the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire for their victory over the Super Eagles.

President Bola Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said the Ivorian team equalled Nigeria as three time winners of AFCON.

Posting on X, Onanuga also congratulated the Super Eagles for emerging second.

According to Onanuga: “Congratulations Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire for being TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 champions, equaling Nigeria as three time winners.

“Congratulations the Super Eagles of Nigeria for picking the silver. There will always be another time for victory song. Today was not just the Super Eagles day.”

The Super Eagles lost 2-1 to their Ivorian counterparts.

Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Mohammed Sanusi, has said rather than blaming President Bola Tinubu for the present hardship in the country, accusatory fingers should be pointed at his immediate predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, over the way he handled the economy.

The former emir of Kano, who spoke virtually on Sunday at a religious event in Abuja, maintained that the immediate past administration failed to properly manage its economic policies.

According to him, Buhari turned a deaf ear to reasonable advice on how to take Nigeria out of its economic woes.

He said he would, therefore, not be able to meet the expectations of a section of Nigerians who wanted him to criticize President Tinubu over the current economic difficulties in the country.

The former royal father stated: “I have been, over the years, talking about the pending crisis ahead of the current economic hardship. Any economist who has studied monetary policy in the last eight years knows that Nigerians will fall into this difficult situation.

“The difficult situation Nigerians are facing is just the beginning (if the right decision is not put in place) because Nigeria is not exceptional; such situations happened in Germany, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Venezuela.

“The previous administration turned adamant about our appeal for corrective measures (on the economic policy). I have said in the presence of the now sitting president in Kaduna state, any politician who tells you that things will be easy, don’t vote for him because he is lying. People merely dismissed my advisory as a political statement.

“If I am to be fair and just to President Bola Tinubu, he is not to blame for the current hardship; for eight years, we were living a fake lifestyle with huge debt from foreign and domestic debts. The Central Bank of Nigeria owes over N30 trillion, which resulted in debt service surpassing 100 per cent.

“I can’t join other Nigerians criticising Tinubu on the current economic hardship, and I am not saying he is a saint free from wrongdoing, but in this current economic situation, President Tinubu is not to be blamed. I will also speak if I see any wrong economic policy of the Tinubu administration in the future

“It’s injustice for anyone to blame the Tinubu administration for the current economic hardship because there is no other alternative than the removal of the fuel subsidy. After all, Nigeria cannot even afford to pay the subsidy. In the last eight years, the Central Bank continued to print more money, and the Naira continued to depreciate. There is too much naira in circulation because the CBN is printing the currency without restraint.

“The economy was poorly managed, and they are not willing to take advice; in the last eight years, apart from sycophancy, nothing has been done; those sycophants are those buying the dollar at the rate of N400 and selling it at the rate of N600 to N700.

“A boy who has no record of service has a private jet and owns houses in Dubai and England just because he is buying dollars at so a rate and selling them.

“I can only plead with the people to endure the hardship, and those who have the means to help the downtrodden should do so.

“I am also pleading with commoners to live according to their earnings; we must not peg our lives above our earnings in this difficult situation where people are looking for what to eat.

The International Monetary Fund has said stalled per-capita growth, poverty and high food insecurity have exacerbated the ongoing cost-of-living crisis in Nigeria.

The report came amid rising inflation, exchange crisis, weak economic growth and business shutdowns.

The global lender said this in a new report titled ‘IMF Executive Board Concludes Post Financing Assessment with Nigeria.’

According to the report, low revenue collection has hampered the provision of services and public investment.

It noted that headline inflation reached 27 percent year-on-year in October (food inflation 32 per cent), reflecting the effects of fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate depreciation, and poor agricultural production in the country.

The report read in part, “Nigeria faces a difficult external environment and wide-ranging domestic challenges. External financing (market and official) is scarce, and global food prices have surged, reflecting the repercussions of conflict and geo-economic fragmentation.

“Per-capita growth in Nigeria has stalled, poverty and food insecurity are high, exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis. Low reserves and very limited fiscal space constrain the authorities’ option space. Against this backdrop, the authorities’ focus on restoring macroeconomic stability and creating conditions for sustained, high and inclusive growth is appropriate.”

Amid Nigeria’s current economic difficulties, the report noted that on January 12, 2024, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund concluded the Post Financing Assessment and endorsed the Staff Appraisal on a lapse-of-time basis. It added that Nigeria’s capacity to repay the IMF is adequate.

The IMF also expressed optimism that the new administration had made a strong start, tackling deep-rooted structural issues in challenging circumstances.

Immediately, it adopted two policy reforms that its predecessors had shied away-namely fuel subsidy removal and the unification of the official exchange rates.

It added, “The new CBN team has made price stability its core mandate and demonstrated this resolve by dropping its previous role in development finance. On the fiscal side, the authorities are developing an ambitious domestic revenue mobilisation agenda.”

According to data from the Debt Management Office, Nigeria currently owes the IMF the sum of $2.8bn. The Federal Government, in its 2024 budget plans to spend about N8.2tn on debt servicing.

Professional services firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers in a new report, warned that Nigeria’s rising debt service cost might affect the country’s debt servicing ability, credit rating outlook and borrowing cost.

PwC said debt service could rise from N8.25tn in 2024 to N9.3tn in 2025 and further to N11.1tn in 2026.

“With a high debt servicing to revenue ratio, the government aims to increase domestic debt in 2024 to meet its deficit funding requirements,” the report read in part.

President Bola Tinubu has praised the Super Eagles for their display in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final in Ivory Coast.

Despite their loss to the host nation, Tinubu said the Eagles demonstrated resilience and talent at the tournament.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, on Sunday.

The Elephants of Ivory Coast emerged victorious in the 2023 CAF African Cup of Nations (AFCON) final after beating Super Eagles 2-1.

Tinubu added that Nigeria has won a great victory in the heart of Africa and the world at large.

The statement read, “President Bola Tinubu salutes the Super Eagles of Nigeria for their tenacious performance in the final of the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire.

“President Tinubu commends the team, the coach, the crew, and the entire management team for their hard work, assiduity, and sacrifice to come this far in the tournament, acknowledging the hurdles they consistently surpassed with steadily improving performance as they pulled through to the finals.”

“The President urges Nigerians to be of good cheer, emphasizing that we won a great victory in the hearts of Africa and the world by our grit, rigour, and determination in the field of play.”

The president, however, urged Nigerians not to be demoralised, saying, “Let this passing event not dispirit us, but bring us together to work harder. We are a great nation bound as one by the green-white-green banner of resilience, joy, hope, duty, and untiring love.

“To those cherished Nigerian youths expressing their gifts in communities, drawing lines in the sand as they play football in their humble rectangles of play, you can be our heroes tomorrow, do not relent in your pursuit. My administration is here to make dreams come true.”

Following the Super Eagles 2-1 loss against hosts Ivory Coast in the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, Nigerians have faulted the team for reserving their worse performance for the most important game despite raising hopes with their run during the tournament, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

After captain William Troost-Ekong gave Nigeria a lead into the break with a header in the 37th minute, the hosts fought back in the second half, producing two goals courtesy of Frank Kessie and Sebastien Haller to win their third title.

Kessie found the equaliser in the 61st minute with a header while Haller, scored the winner and his second goal of the tournament with a poke in between Nigerian defenders with nine minutes left to play.

Despite the final changes made by coach Jose Peseiro, the Eagles couldn’t find the inspiration to come back into the game, missing the chance to win a fourth AFCON title, just like their failures in 1984, 1988 1990 and 2000.

Nigerians were left unimpressed by the team’s poor performance.

“Ivory Coast fully deserve this win. Unfortunately, the Super Eagles saved their worst performance for the final,” journalist, Nurudeen Obalaola remarked.

Another journalist, Wale Agbede also said, “Ivory Coast have been poor in this tournament, yet we somehow made them look so good. Letting them take control of the midfield and also cross at will.”

Others also blamed the players for their lack of sheer individua brilliance in the final.

“Lookman totally off, Iwobi is like he’s not there, Zaidu calamity even Aina is a shadow of himself. This parking the bus was always going to backfire,” A broadcast journalist, Benjamin Okenna also noted.

A brand and marketing enthusiast, Seun Odegbami also said the Eagles rode on luck throughout the tournament.

“Now I can finally speak my mind about the Super Eagles. The fact that the teams they played with in the group stage were fairly good was an advantage for us. If they played the tougher teams first, we wouldn’t have entered the quarter-finals.”

It’s the fifth AFCON final Nigeria will lose, and this year’s loss is similar to the 1984 edition, also in Ivory Coast when the Eagles were beaten 3-1 in the final by Cameroon.

Having reached the final eight times, Nigeria have won only three AFCON titles thanks to successes in 1980, 1994 and 2013. Despite Nigeria having the most podium finishes in the history of the tournament, they have not been able to make it count over the years, having also finished third on eight occasions.

United States authorities on Sunday said preliminary reports suggest that the chopper crash that killed Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holding Plc, Herbert Wigwe, his Wife, son and others was because of wintry weather conditions.

Speaking during a media briefing Saturday (3 am Nigerian time, Sunday), a National Transportation Safety Board member, Michael Graham, said officials were on the scene to gather perishable evidence.

“Witness reports of the weather conditions during the accident suggest rain and a wintry mix.

“The helicopter was not equipped with a cockpit voice recorder or a flight data recorder. This helicopter was not required to be equipped with those types of recording devices,” Graham said.

Asked about more information on the passengers, Graham stated there were no details but added that “any names will be released through the coroner’s office” without specifying a time frame.

Meanwhile, Access Bank had confirmed the death of Wigwe and his family members in a statement on Sunday.

DAILY POST recalls that reports filtered in on Saturday evening announcing Wigwe’s death in California United States plane crash.

Nigeria coach; Jose Peseiro has announced his starting eleven for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations against host Ivory Coast.

The team will heading to the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, for the encounter.

Porto defender Zaidu Sanusi has returned to the team after passing a late fitness test, having missed the semi final against South Africa.

The other change in the lineup sees Samuel Chukwueze replacing Moses Simon.

Stanley Nwabali retained his place in between the sticks with Semi Ajayi, William Troost-Ekong and Calvin Bassey keeping their spots in defence.

Alex Iwobi, despite criticisms from fans who believe his work rate is poor, starts in the midfield alongside Frank Onyeka.

Victor Osimhen will lead the attack with Ademola Lookman and Samuel Chukwueze coming in from the wings.

The Super Eagles will file out in what looks like a 3-4-3 formation.

Nigeria’s XI: Nwabali; Ajayi, Troost-Ekong, Bassey; Aina, Zaidu, Onyeka, Iwobi; Lookman, Chukwueze, Osimhen.

The final match of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations will kick off by 9pm Nigeria time.

Mr Osita Okechukwu, a member of All Progressives Congress (APC) has appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), to shelve their proposed strike and key into the Mass Housing Scheme of the Federal Government, and jointly structure long term finance and soft mortgage rates for affordable owner occupier houses for government and private workers nationwide.

Okechukwu also appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to as a matter of urgent national importance, utilise the monies he could have used for increase in salary to fund the new soft mortgage system; hence advancement of the long term finance of Mass Housing Scheme he launched recently with Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

“It is my considered view that arbitrary salary increase would definitely worsen the already spiked inflationary malaise in our dear country. Therefore, the provision of targeted one million owner occupier houses of long term finance and soft mortgage rates structured seamlessly is a Win-Win-Card for all Nigerians. It will be President Tinubu’s foremost legacy.” Okechukwu quipped.

He warned against a repeat of the mistakes of the Jerome Udoji Salary Commission of 1972, popularly called "Udoji award" which unwittingly railroaded Nigeria into dollarised economy.

Okechukwu argued that any arbitrary salary increase now, would spike unbearable inflation and eventually defeat the objectives of salary increase.

He noted that after careful scrutiny of the MOU between the Federal Government and Labour Unions, he couldn’t locate any mention of shelter among the fifteen items; shelter one of 1943 Abraham Maslow’s paper on hierarchy of deficiency needs which actualisation is Rent-Safety-Net for millions of our citizenry.

The former Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON) lamented that since some state governments and private firms have been unable to pay the N30,000 minimum wage engraved in law books; what is the guarantee that they have the capacity to pay the new salary increase?

Accordingly, he proposed that the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Ministry of Labour, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, Nigeria Employees Consultative Association and other relevant agencies should work out long term finance and new soft mortgage rates for affordable owner occupier houses which will draw funds from the savings accruals of the withdrawal of fuel subsidy, plus contributions from banks as stipulated in the National Fund Act and foreign direct investment.

He highlighted the multifaceted Win-Win-Card gains in view of the long term finance and soft mortgage rates of affordable owner occupier houses; among which are attraction of foreign investors, Rent-Safety-Net, unprecedented mass employment, lifting of millions out of poverty, change of work ethics,climate change and curbing insecurity via the immediate transformation of the whole country into busy construction site.

“My take is that immediately the cumbersome nature of accessing mortgage finance is watered down and cheap mortgage rates in place; it will be a new dawn for family’s comfort as the over 20 million housing deficit will be drastically reduced to single digit.” Okechukwu submitted.

Okechukwu once more appealed to NLC and TUC to consider this soft mortgage rates of affordable owner occupier houses and shelve the impending strike for the collective interest of workers nationwide and for peace and unity of our dear country.