Kelechi Iheanacho, a Super Eagles and Leicester City striker, has rejected a new contract with the club despite interest from Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 27-year-old striker has made only ten league starts in the EFL Championships this season, with Enzo Maresca preferring Zambian Patson Daka to lead the line for the Foxes.

Iheanacho, along with Wilfred Ndidi, are nearing the end of their Leicester City careers, as their contracts expire in June 2024. While the defensive midfielder wants to join a Premier League top-six club, Iheanacho is not interested in staying at the King Power Stadium.

According to Football Insider, the highest-scoring African in the history of the FA Cup was offered an improved deal with a weekly wage of £65,000, but the Nigerian striker rejected the offer.

‘‘He (Iheanacho) has been offered a new deal but not prepared to sign. But we will wait till the end of the season and see,’’ the report stated.

Several reasons might have sparked Iheanacho’s reaction, with the absence of playing time at the forefront. According to Football Fancast, Aston Villa are interested in bringing the 2021 FA Cup winner to Villa Park as a backup for Ollie Watkins.

The Villains have enjoyed a great season under Unai Emery and have their eyes locked on a place in the UEFA Champions League next season. Should Iheanacho join Villa, he would have the luxury of playing alongside skilled players like Douglas Luiz, Leon Bailey, Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby.

Aston Villa view Iheanacho as an experienced Premier League forward, representing a summer bargain that could make all the difference next season at Villa Park.

In 10 starts for Leicester, Iheanacho found the back of the net five times and created one goal, averaging a goal involvement every two games.

The Foxes have secured a return to the English Premier League after relegating on the last matchday in the previous season.

Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Lagos State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has initiated plans to reconcile all warring members of the party in a bid to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress in the state.

This was according to a chieftain of the party, Chief Olabode George, during Tuesday night’s edition of Newsday on Arise TV.

Since the poor performance of the party at the 2023 general elections, growing discordant tunes among stakeholders in the party have lingered on.

Even after a committee was set up by the leadership of the party to reconcile warring and aggrieved members, the party crisis lingered.

Recall that in February 2024, a chieftain of the PDP in Lagos State, Dr Adetokunbo Pearse, attributed the poor outings of the party in recent elections in the state to a lack of unity in the Lagos chapter.

He said the political party had also not been functioning well in the state because its structure had been weakened and had no leader serving as a rallying point in the chapter.

However, after several indoor meetings, some stakeholders of the party last Wednesday held a reconciliatory meeting to put the state chapter of the party in order ahead of the 2027 general election.

At the stakeholders’ meeting, which was held in Ikeja, the party chieftains stressed the need for forgiveness and unity within the party to increase the party’s chances at the forthcoming elections.

Shedding light on the series of efforts made at uniting the party ahead of the 2027 elections, the party stalwart noted that there was light at the end of the tunnel.

He, however, admitted that though there were some pockets of aggrieved members yet to be sorted out, the reconciliatory process was making meaningful headway.

He said, “In any organisation, any political party, you will have a kind of turmoil immediately after you lose an election; but the ability of the party and the managers of the party to get everybody back to a discussion table where we will do an in-depth postmortem analysis of what happened. How did we lose the elections, who were the people who were committed and loyal to the party, who were the other people who didn’t perform, who are the other people who are pretending that they are members of your party when they are working for your opposition?

“This is what we are going through now and I’m very happy that yesterday’s meeting in Ibadan that was chaired by the governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, and with all the other leaders from all the states of the Southwest came out to be a brilliant move. It shows that we still have leaders with the ability to rise above the pettiness, the inuendos of those who are struggling to get into positions in the party. You’ve got to work for it.”

Speaking further, George affirmed that efforts at ensuring the party was well-positioned for the 2027 general elections have been so far successful.

He stated, “We have been very successful in trying to move forward, it’s still a long time, 2027, the national meeting we had, the NEC meeting we had, plus the caucus meeting, the Board of Trustees meeting, to me was quite successful. So, we we told ourselves some truths, we are setting up committees for reconciliation, we had started our own in Lagos, and it’s been very highly successful.

“The one we did in Ibadan yesterday ended up on a very high note, very successful and I pray that by the next few months, people will see that unity, because once you are not united and you go to war as a General, you know you’ll be defeated. The same if we are not united to go into an election, we will be perpetually defeated.

“It’s high time, the electorate in Lagos are now fed up, they are looking for an alternative and if they see that we can weave ourselves as an indivisible group, they will now want to see how we can manage ourselves. One thing I will say is that there are discordant voices, a few that are throwing tantrums all over the whole place, those who got the ticket who were candidates, they collected humongous amounts of money, how they managed it and what they did were not quite plausible and the national itself, the managers at the national level they have realized it and they have given us the go-ahead to start mending fences.”

George said at the Ibadan meeting, they were able to close ranks for the leaders in Ondo, and it would be a reflection on state by state.

He added that the leadership of the party was determined to wrest power from the ruling APC in 2027.

“But we are determined that we are going to forge ahead, even if the numbers who are going to remain as members of the party are small. The members of the public can see that yes, these people are managing themselves very well.

“You can see even the party in government. Are they also completely trouble-free? No. Anytime you have any organisation, people will come with different tones and different voices, but the leaders first must respect their constitution and work according to the constitution.

“Yes, people will have interests in one thing or the other, but play the game according to the set rules. Once you do that, then you have no problem,” he said.

Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has rejected the newly-introduced cybersecurity levy by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, demanding its immediate withdrawal. 

NLC in a statement by its President, Joe Ajaero, lamented that the levy is another anti-people policy of the government in the midst of excruciating economic hardship. 

According to the statement, “The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, vehemently condemns the recent directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to levy a 0.005 percent ‘Cybersecurity Levy’ on electronic transfers. 

“This levy, to be implemented by deduction at the transaction origination, is yet another burden on the shoulders of hardworking Nigerians.

“In a circular issued by the CBN, the directive mandates banks and payment service operators to affect these deductions, effective next two weeks.

“This move, ostensibly aimed at bolstering cybersecurity measures, threatens to exacerbate the financial strain already faced by the populace.”

The Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered banks to stop charges on cash deposits.

The apex bank disclosed this in a May 6, 2024, circular signed by its Director of Banking Supervision, Adetona Adedeji.

The apex bank noted that the suspension will last until September 30, 2024. 

The development comes as Nigerian banks charge two per cent on deposits above N500,000 for individuals, while corporate account holders were to be charged two per cent on deposits above N3 million.

However, according to the latest circular to financial and non-financial institutions, CBN said the processing fees have been suspended.

“Please refer to our letter dated December 11, 2023, referenced BSD/DIR/PUB/LAB/016/023 on the above subject, suspending processing charges imposed on cash deposits above N500,000 for individuals and N3,000,000 for corporates as contained in the ‘Guide to Charges by Banks, Other Financial Institutions and Non-Bank Financial Institutions’ issued on December 20, 2019.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria hereby extends the suspension of the processing fees of 2 per cent and 3 per cent previously charged on all cash deposits above these thresholds until September 30, 2024,” the circular reads.

The development comes as money outside the banking system rose by 10.67 per cent to N3.63 trillion in March 2024.

The CEO of Binance, a popular cryptocurrency platform, claimed that some unknown persons, claiming to be agents of Nigerian officials demanded huge payments in cryptocurrency to make their problems in the country “go away”.

Richard Teng, the firm’s chief executive officer (CEO) who took over from founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao, made the claim in a blog post released Tuesday, May 7, on Binance's website.

He added that the request was made through a local firm it hired.

Speaking on Binance’s issues with the Nigerian government, Teng detailed how the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange tried to engage with the Nigerian authorities, including a meeting on January 8 in Abuja, where it was confronted with criminal allegations.

Teng said despite multiple requests, Binance had still not received details of the allegations, “and our employees, therefore, inquired if there was an opportunity to submit our responses in writing and in the absence of a public hearing”.

“There were a number of reasons for that, including the sensitivity of the information and getting the opportunity to see the allegations in full and prepare a thorough substantive response,” he said.


“The meeting ended with the Chair confirming they would consider the matter and revert through Binance’s local counsel.

“However, as our employees were leaving the venue, they were approached by unknown persons who suggested to them to make a payment in settlement of the allegations.

“Later that day, our local counsel — representing us at that time — was summoned by the Committee through someone purporting to be their agent, who relayed the Committee’s terms and instructed our local counsel to advise us.

“Counsel reported back that he had been presented with a demand for a significant payment in cryptocurrency to be paid in secret within 48 hours to make these issues go away and that our decision was expected by the morning.

"Our team grew increasingly concerned about their safety in Nigeria and immediately departed.”

Teng said the payment request was declined “via our counsel, not viewing it to be a legitimate settlement offer”.

The CEO said Binance clarified that it would engage in settlement negotiations on the conditions that the relevant petition or the details of all allegations were seen.

He wrote: "We, of course, declined the payment demand via our counsel, not viewing it to be a legitimate settlement offer, and clarified that we would engage in settlement negotiations on the following conditions:

"Binance needs to see the relevant petition and/or the details of all allegations.

"Any settlement must be official, recorded in writing, and signed by all relevant parties.

"Any settlement must encompass all relevant agencies and be in full and final settlement of all allegations, including any potential historic tax liabilities, if applicable, with guarantees.

“While the exact terms of any settlement may have to remain private, there would have to be some public acknowledgement that a resolution has been reached.”

The Binance boss also requested that the company's “contractors and employees are not to be intimidated, harassed, or detained.”

He said the Binance counsel relayed its conditions which Nigerian authorities initially objected to before they later agreed.

In continuation of its engagement with Nigeria, two Binance officials, Nadeem Anjarwalla, a 37-year-old British-Kenyan and Binance’s regional manager for Africa; and Tigran Gambaryan, a 39-year-old US citizen and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, arrived Nigeria to discuss further terms with the Nigerian government but they were arrested on February 28.

Anjarwalla later fled detention and left Nigeria.

On March 25, Nigeria’s government filed a criminal charge against Binance for “tax evasion”.

Teng appealed to the government to “Let Tigran go home to his family, and then Binance will work through the same process that we have done with Nigeria’s law enforcement community voluntarily more than 600 times in the past.”

He added: "We will always work to protect innocent users, and bad actors are not welcome on our platform. We will work tirelessly with public and private partners to remove them. Furthermore, we will continue engagement with Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service on resolving potential historic tax liabilities.”

The Federal government has said the country’s healthcare system is attracting foreign patients, including Indians seeking medical treatments.

In an interview on Arise TV on Monday, Minister of State for Health, Dr Tunji Alausa, claimed that the nation’s healthcare was no longer in crisis.

He claimed that with improvements in the healthcare system, the country was witnessing a reversal of the ‘japa syndrome,’ suggesting that medical personnel were returning home from abroad. 

The Minister pointed out that Nigeria had become a preferred destination for medical tourism, particularly for surgical procedures, which were more cost-effective compared to other countries.

According to him, the proliferation of aesthetic hospitals, numbering close to 900 across Nigeria, also contributes to attracting patients seeking services such as plastic surgery.

“Today, we have almost 900 aesthetic hospitals around Nigeria. People are coming to get plastic surgery,’’ he said.

He noted that the administration’s commitment to prioritising public health led to positive changes in the healthcare sector.

“We have a President now that believes a healthy nation is the core to harnessing our biggest asset, which is our human capital,” Alausa said.

He added that the government allocated dedicated funds and initiated collaborations to enhance primary healthcare services and expand health insurance coverage.

“The President has mandated us to increase coverage from about seven million to about 50 million people to have health insurance in the next two to three years. This marks the highest budget allocation for the health sector in almost 24 years”, he said.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday, issued a new directive to all financial institutions, including commercial, merchant, non-interest banks, payment service banks, and mobile money operators in the country, mandating the implementation of a 0.5% cybersecurity levy on all electronic transactions.

The fresh charge is in addition to other existing levies Nigerians pay for making electronic transactions.

Recall that according to the CBN directive, banks in the country would start charging the cybersecurity levies in two weeks’ time.

However, the apex bank exempted loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer, and intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank from the levy.

Also exempted from the levy were inter-branch transfers within a bank, cheque clearing and settlements, ⁠Letters of Credits, ⁠and Banks’ recapitalisation-related funding only bulk funds movement from collection accounts, savings, and deposits, including transactions involving long-term investments, among others.

Below is the list of charges Nigerians have to pay whenever they make electronic transfers.

1. Cybersecurity levy

N5 is charged on the transaction of N1,000

N50 is charged on the transaction of N10,000

N500 is charged on the transaction of N100,000

N5,000 is charged on the transaction of N1,000,000

N50,000 is charged on the transaction of N10,000,000

2. Transfer fee

N10 is being charged on the transaction below N5,000

N25 is being charged on the transaction between 5,001 and N50,000

N50 is being charged on transactions above N50,000

3. Stamp duties

N50 is being charged on transactions between N10,000 and N10,000,000

4. Short Messaging Service (SMS)

N4 is being charged on each electronic transfer notification

(Customers who use e-mail-only notification are not charged for this service)

5. Value Added Tax (VAT)

N0.75 is being charged on the N10 transfer fee

N1.875 is being charged on the N25 transfer fee

N3.75 is being charged on the N50 transfer fee.

Adebayo Shittu, a former Minister of Communication under former President Muhammadu Buhari, has said his former principal’s administration was full of manipulations and fraudulent approvals.

Recall that presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, had also said many approvals for releasing funds within the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under Godwin Emefiele did not have Buhari’s signature.

During an interview with Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, Shittu said many persons close to Buhari manipulated things to their favour, plunging the country’s economy into a downward slide.

Commenting on the reports that the previous administration was printing money to run the economy, Shittu said Buhari was unaware of some things.

The former Minister called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to wade into the matter and ‘probe properly.’

He said, “Let me tell you, there were a lot of manipulations and we even heard that a lot of the so-called approvals did not emanate from President Buhari.

“There were a lot of manipulations and fraudulent approvals which did not emanate from the President.”

“I am telling you confidently that a lot of it did not get his attention. There were a lot of people around the President who exploited their relationship with the President and conspired with the then-CBN governor.

“I hope the EFCC will probe properly as to how these things happen without the President knowing.”

Nigerian comedian, Seyi Law, has called out President Bola Tinubu, over the new cybersecurity levy directive issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Naija News reported that CBN had issued a new directive to all financial institutions, including commercial, merchant, non-interest banks, payment service banks, and mobile money operators, mandating the implementation of a 0.5% cybersecurity levy on all electronic transactions.

This move is in line with the provisions of the recently amended Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2024.

The directive, detailed in a circular, instructs that the levy be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, with the deducted amount to be reflected in the customer’s account as a “Cybersecurity Levy.”

In a post via his X handle, Seyi Law described the “Cybersecurity Levy” as punishment for Nigerians, stressing that the policy might discourage banking transactions.

The comedian also questioned Tinubu about implementing the minimum wage and when he would change ‘non-performing’ ministers in his cabinet.

He wrote, “I hate when government agencies don’t speak up to the understanding of the citizens and allow wrong narratives to fester before tackling it. Cybersecurity level, according to the act, is 0.005%, and different figures from 0.5% to 3% are being thrown around. A 0.5% charge in the Nigeria of today is in itself too much punishment on Nigerians. Are we trying to discourage banking transactions again and encourage cash keeping? @cenbankshould revisit this abeg.

“Stamp duty is something, and now this. It is unacceptable. @NGRPresident @officialABAT, let the poor breathe. When will the new minimum wage be announced and implemented? Some of your ministers need to look for another job. One year is here and we are counting. Whether it 0.005 or 0.5%, this is not the time to implement it. Simple. I apologise for the misinterpretation.

“Why do some id#ots think that because you support a person, you must therefore accept all his policies? Yes, the cybersecurity level is from ammended act, I presume, but I don’t think this is the time for the implementation. If there is anything that should be paramount to the government, it should be the new minimum wage.

“Some of you are crying, una never see anything. My brother, na your papa and mama dey collect minimum wage. E no reach where I dey. The truth is the supporters of Mr. President are better Nigerians because we criticise when it is needed.”

The CEO of Binance, Richard Teng, has criticized the Nigerian government’s detention of employee Tigran Gambaryan, calling it a “dangerous precedent” for international businesses and unjust.

Teng mentioned that despite Binance’s repeated efforts to engage with Nigerian authorities, Gambaryan remains in detention for no valid reason.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Binance’s CEO expressed alarm over the recent trend of inviting mid-level employees to participate in collaborative policy meetings and then detaining them, calling it a dangerous precedent for companies worldwide.

Teng said, “The message from the Nigerian government is clear: we must detain an innocent, mid-level employee, a former U.S. federal agent, and place him in a dangerous prison to control Binance.

“This regrettable turn of events contradicts the spirit of cooperation and transparency that Binance has consistently demonstrated in its interactions with the regulatory authorities.”

Naija News recalls that Gambaryan and his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla were apprehended on February 26 in relation to a criminal inquiry concerning Binance’s operations in Nigeria upon their arrival in the nation.

Anjarwalla escaped from custody, while Gambaryan remains detained at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the determination of his bail application.

The Nigerian government accused Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, of fixing exchange rates on its platform, which depreciated the naira.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission accused Binance, Gambaryan, and his fleeing colleague, Anjarwalla, of concealing the source of the $35,400,000 generated as revenue by Binance in Nigeria, knowing that the funds constituted proceeds of unlawful activity.

However, according to the Binance CEO, Nigerian authorities were unfairly keeping in custody one of its mid-level employees who does not hold decision-making authority.

The CEO emphasized the urgent need for resolution in the crisis, stressing the importance of allowing Tigran to return home for progress. Binance reiterated its commitment to collaborating with Nigerian law enforcement, highlighting past engagements. 

The company disclosed ongoing efforts to address tax liabilities with Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service. Recognizing Nigeria’s influence, the CEO underscored collaboration with authorities for the future of Binance and the crypto industry. 

Binance outlined its vision of partnering with the Nigerian government to foster economic development. 

Additionally, the CEO highlighted organizational restructuring and reiterated support for Gambaryan, emphasizing his non-decision-making role in Nigeria.